PREPARING A CONSTITUTION
This Guide will provide you with advice for writing many of the sections of your Organization’s constitution.
NAME As you consider a name that best describes your group’s goals and personality, remember that registered student groups may not represent themselves as an arm of the University and may only refer to the University of California, Berkeley in reference to geographic location. For example a group may not say that they are the University of California, Berkeley Bug Loving Crew, but they may say they are the Bug Loving Crew at UC Berkeley, the Student Bug Loving Crew at Cal or the Campus Bug Loving Crew.
PURPOSE This is your opportunity to think about why your group exists and what you hope to accomplish. You should be able to articulate the role of your group, how it is unique and who will benefit from your group. Although you do not need to include a detailed account of all your activities, it will be helpful to reflect on the following points and include those that are relevant: Who will your group serve? When and how did your group get started? Was there a precipitating issue or event? What will be the goal of your group’s activities? What types of activities will your group use to achieve its goals – will the group use activities that are mainly social, educational, activist, passive, web-based etc? Do you work with other groups on campus, regional or national level? How will you measure your impact? Are there other groups on campus that have a similar purpose, if so, how is your group different?
MEMBERSHIP Who you identify as potential members will be very specific to the purpose of your group. When you think about potential members, consider what type of diversity you would like to promote. Consider the following points when you think about your membership:
Will members be of a specific major or class standing? Will members be asked to pay dues? How much is reasonable? Is there an option for those who cannot pay a fee? Is anyone exempt from paying dues? Will members be required to maintain a specific GPA? Will community members be given honorary membership? Are members required to participate in certain activities with the group or the community?
LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE Your group’s leadership structure is one of the most important issues you will address. The structure of leadership that your organization uses will reflect the goals and personalities of your group. If your group considers the democratic process a priority, consider how you will create a system for a successful democratic process. Here are a few examples for you to use as a starting point as you consider your group’s structure. Please contact your OSL advisor if you have questions or concerns about implementing these models or about your group’s overall organizational development. Hierarchical A hierarchical structure is the one that most of us will recognize from national governments. Most have a President or Chair, a Vice President or Co-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. There may also be other offices such as Marketing Director, Webmaster, Events Coordinator and Community Coordinator, depending on the group’s needs. The President will drive the direction of the group but the contribution of all members is vital. Hierarchical systems will usually use a voting or majority system in making decisions. The benefits of this structure include clear lines of responsibility and time efficient decisionmaking. This structure works well when each officer will have enough work to keep him or her engaged and allow him or her some autonomy in decision-making. This structure may not be ideal for small groups or groups that prefer a high degree of consensus and creativity. This structure requires highly involved and skilled officers, otherwise the group may experience problems with motivation and member retention. If you are using a hierarchical structure, be intentional about the following:
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Setting up committees to ensure that everyone is involved and stays engaged Recognizing and rewarding members for their accomplishments and contributions
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Ensuring that everyone has a voice in meetings and decision-making and that everyone’s opinions are considered and heard before a vote
Spokesperson by Consensus or Circular Leadership This approach has gained significant popularity in recent years because of its positive effects on motivation and commitment. This system allows for the group to designate someone who will moderate or be the spokesperson for a group during a meeting or decision-making process. The group may choose a different person for each task, each meeting, or each semester to serve as the moderator and spokesperson. The spokesperson and every member hold an equal amount of responsibility in seeing that tasks are carried out. Decisions will usually be made by consensus. The role of spokesperson requires skill and should be agreed upon and put into writing. The spokesperson may be responsible for ensuring that:
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All voices are heard and people do not speak over each other Topics are adhered to and new topics are recorded for future consideration A person or committee has been assigned to each task discussed Timelines are attached to each goal or task The group sets a time for the next meeting
The strengths in this model include empowering a broad membership, building relationships, including diverse ideas and keeping members motivated. Team members need to be strong communicators and able to deal with conflict. This model needs to be implemented carefully, because there is a greater risk of unproductive and chaotic meetings, people being left without tasks, some members feeling bored and tasks not being completed, all of which are problems that will affect productivity and member retention. If you are using a Consensus Model consider including the following structures:
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The formation of committees for short-term and ongoing projects Designating one person to oversee your finances and budget Have the role of secretary or recorder be on a volunteer, designate or sign-up basis Setting up committees to ensure that everyone is involved and stays engaged Committees should be accountable to the whole group with deadlines
Steering Committees You may choose to simply have a steering committee, or group of people who attend meetings regularly and contribute equally to the group’s mission and activities. This approach would involve an active membership that is interested in being involved, as well as a general membership that may flux from time to time. Combination of Hierarchy and Consensus It is possible to find a middle ground between the two extremes of hierarchical leadership and unanimous consensus. By choosing the strengths of each model your group can design a strong leadership structure. Following are some examples of how you may choose to combine the two models: It may be useful to have officers who are responsible for specific tasks and a moderator from the group’s membership that changes every week. If you choose to have officers you may not want to pass amendments or decisions on a simple majority. You may choose to include greater amounts of discussion and consensus building before making decisions or employ a 2/3 majority. Utilizing committees for decision-making and important tasks keeps people involved and works to build motivation in a hierarchical structure. You may choose to use a method of modified consensus, with a vote being implemented when unanimous consensus cannot be reached. Consider appointing a moderator for these discussions and votes.
OFFICER SELECTION If you choose to include officers in your group’s leadership structure, you will need to determine the process for their selection. How will officers be selected? You may choose to hold elections for all or some of your officer positions. Or, your group may plan to elect an executive committee, or core group of officers, and fill remaining officer or committee chair positions via a nomination, application and/or interview selection process. Another method would be for certain outgoing leaders and an advisor to interview candidates for the highest positions and hold elections for other officers. When will officers be selected and take office? Will officers serve for a semester, an academic year or some other time frame? Will selection be held in the beginning of the semester or the end of the previous semester? Would it be helpful to specify that elections or selection will occur at one of the first general meetings? How much in advance will you notify active voting membership that an election is going to take place?
ELECTIONS How does a person become a candidate? Is there a nomination procedure? If so, can people selfnominate? If nominations are used, will these be verbal or written and to whom will they be submitted? Is there an application or interview procedure prior to elections? If you would like to limit the number of people running for any office within an election, you may choose to hold a primary election, where each member has one vote and the two candidates with the highest votes run in the general election. If your group plans to allow all interested parties an opportunity to run for an office, it is a good idea to have candidates submit a statement of candidacy to an officer in advance of the elections. Alternatively, you may pass around a sign up sheet or see a show of hands of people interested in running during the meeting prior to elections. This step will allow you to plan the election meeting and recruit for specific positions if necessary. It also helps to solidify commitments from people who intend to run. In order to clarify the officer’s roles, provide a description of each officer’s general responsibilities during the meeting prior to the election. These can be specific if you have an idea of what your group needs in each position, or general to allow for flexibility and creativity. How will officers present themselves? Many groups ask for 3-5 minute speeches from the candidates for each position at the election meeting. This time will vary depending on how many candidates you have running for positions. You could also have each candidate type up a platform or other information about themselves, their experience and their motivation toward the group. A Q&A may also be added for each candidate, if you have the time. Candidates should leave the room while they are not speaking, so each candidate does not gain exposure to their competition’s ideas. Who is eligible to vote in officer elections? Are elections open to the active, voting membership or are they limited to an executive board or other leadership group? Is a certain activity or attendance level required before a person is eligible to vote? How will votes be collected? Will your ballot be secret or involve a show of hands? You may have a pre-made ballot with space for write-ins or provide a piece of blank paper for each person to write their vote on. If you do use separate paper for each office, make sure you have a separate location for the ballots to be collected. Will you allow absentee voting or voting by proxy? How will votes be counted? It is best to use a third and independent party to protect the integrity of your election. Some groups count all the votes at the end of the meeting and announce the new officers, and others choose to announce officers one at a time, starting with president and going down the hierarchy. If you allow a person to run for more than one office at a time, you will want to count and announce each position individually and prior to the elections of the next officer.
How many votes are required for a candidate to win an election? Will a simple majority, plurality or a different majority of votes be required for an officer to win an election?
REPLACING OR IMPEACHING AN OFFICER There are often instances where an officer resigns or the membership would like to remove an officer that has not performed according to expectations. Although we always hope that these changes will not be necessary, it is important to know where your group stands if they are necessary. How would an officer resign? Is an officer considered to have resigned if they miss a certain number of general or executive committee meetings? Do they need to resign in writing or have a prior meeting with anyone in the group? Will an officer who resigns be considered for active membership? How will an officer be impeached from office? Who can put forth a motion to remove an officer? Is a vote needed to remove an officer and if so, what is the percentage of votes required for removal? Will there be an open debate or opportunity for the person to speak for themselves? How and when will you notify your voting members about an upcoming impeachment? How will a vacancy be filled? Will there be another election to fill the vacant officer position? Will the executive committee ask for applicants and/or conduct interviews before or in place of elections? Will other officers fill in for the vacant office and if so, is there a designated officer to perform this function?
MEETINGS The structure of meetings can vary about as vastly as the personalities in your group. What you think is an adequate number and frequency of meetings may be either too much or insufficient for others to feel productive and informed. You should consider the following questions as you discuss the structure of your meetings:
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How often will you meet? Will this be predetermined or flexible depending on group needs? Will the time for meetings be pre-set or will you come up with a time through discussion of members’ schedules? Would you like to have a plan for calling emergency meetings? Can any member call an emergency meeting or would a member of the executive or steering committee have to call an emergency meeting? How much advance notice is required for an emergency meeting? If you have an executive committee, will they have a separate meeting? If so, how often will that group convene?
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Who will run your meetings or be responsible for monitoring the flow of the meetings? Will someone be designated to take notes at your meetings, or will that responsibility rotate? What is to be done with the meeting notes after the meeting (e.g., emailed to group, typed and stored in a binder, reviewed at following meetings)? These records may be very valuable to future officers. Will your meetings have a pre-designated structure? Will your group follow Robert’s Rules of Order?
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AMENDMENTS OR MOTIONS An amendment could be a change to your constitution or mission, while a motion may be a simple call to action on an issue or activity. Who can call for an amendment? Does a member of the executive board or specific committee have to sponsor or present an amendment, or can any active member sponsor an amendment? Would your group require a special timeframe or format for the presentation of amendments? How long after the presentation of an amendment or motion would a vote or decision be made? Are all votes equal or do officers and committee chairs have weighted votes? What happens in the instance of a tie?
RECOMMENDATIONS ON QUORUM AND VOTING REQUIREMENTS Quorum is the minimum number of members present for any business to proceed. Based on the size and structure of your group you may want to state that meetings and planning do not go forward if less than a certain number of members are present. For example, if your group is relatively small, you may decide that quorum will be 5, and if less than 5 members are at a meeting, the meeting should be rescheduled. You may decide that quorum is a certain combination of members and officers or a certain percentage of your active membership. When voting on constitutional amendments it is wise to require a 2/3 vote to pass an amendment. Amendments have the power to change the mission or activities of the group drastically and a simple majority on such a change is unwise. When considering elections, however, it is not practical to consider a 2/3 vote for any one candidate. In the instance of elections with two candidates, a simple majority is possible. If you have more than two candidates running, a plurality vote (most votes) is most practical.