Alpha Sigma Xi

Constitution and By-laws of
Alpha Sigma Xi Chapter
Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society

 
ARTICLE 1.   Name of Chapter 

The name of this chapter of Phi Theta Kappa shall be Alpha Sigma Xi.

ARTICLE 2.   Purpose
 

The purpose of Alpha Sigma Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Columbia Gorge Community College shall be the promotion of scholarship, the development of leadership and service and the cultivation of fellowship among qualified students of this college.

 ARTICLE 3.   Membership

Section 1.       Membership in Alpha Sigma Xi Chapter shall consist of member, provisional member, alumni member, and honorary member.

               a.      Member. Each candidate for membership must have completed 12 hours of associate degree work, with a Grade Point Average of 3.25, adhere to the school conduct code and possess recognized qualities of citizenship. Grades for courses completed at other institutions will not be considered when determining membership eligibility. A Grade Point Average of 3.0 must be maintained. When a member’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.0, he or she has one quarter in which to bring the average to 3.0  If he or she fails to raise the cumulative GPA to 3.0 after one quarter, the member shall have his or her name stricken from the local chapter roll and the Phi Theta Kappa National Headquarters shall be notified to strike the name from the national roll as well.

b.       Provisional Member. A provisional member of Phi Theta Kappa is a student, who, in the opinion of the local chapter, has shown an active interest in the affairs of the fraternity and who serves the fraternity in some special capacity, but who does not meet the full requirements for membership in the fraternity. Chapter requirements for admission as a provisional member shall be academic excellence as defined a GPA of 3.5 on all credits taken in high school or completion of 6 college credits with a cumulative GPA of 3.25. In order to become a provisional member, a student must be enrolled in an associate degree at the two-year college, adhere to school conduct code and possess recognized qualities of citizenship. Provisional members will not be affiliated with the national organization of Phi Theta Kappa, cannot hold office and cannot vote on chapter, regional, or national matters. Provisional members will pay local dues of $7.00, but are not required to pay national and regional dues until they have qualified for full membership.

c.       Alumni Member. Alumni members shall be former members of the fraternity who terminated their active membership in good standing. Alumni members shall be entitled to all the privileges of full members except the right to vote or to hold office.

d.       Honorary Member. Honorary membership may be granted in this chapter to men and women who have rendered distinguished service. Honorary members may not vote or hold office.

e.        Transfer Member. A member from another Phi Theta Kappa chapter may transfer membership to Alpha Sigma Xi Chapter if he or she is currently enrolled at Columbia Gorge Community College and meets the maintenance GPA of 3.0 of the chapter.  

ARTICLE 4.  Chapter Advisor

Section 1.  The chapter advisor shall be appointed by the administration of Columbia Gorge Community College.

Section 2.  The chapter advisor shall be responsible for the guidance of chapter activities and shall act on behalf of the
                  national fraternity and official college administration.

Section 3.  The chapter ad visor shall oversee the completion of the annual report, membership report forms and
                  membership profiles forms required by the national Phi Theta Kappa fraternity.

Section 4.  The advisor shall not be a voting member of the chapter.

 ARTICLE 5.  Officers

 Section 1. All officers must be active members in good standing of Phi Theta Kappa. Officers must also be in good standing with the Alpha Sigma Xi chapter, meaning that they must attend 90% of all officer and general meetings. Officers must be in good standing at Columbia Gorge Community College; as role models for other Alpha Sigma Xi members and Columbia Gorge Community College students, officers must have good class attendance, and letter grades (not including Incompletes and Pass/No Pass) in the majority of their classes, reflecting a 3.0 GPA.

Section 2.  The Alpha Sigma Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa shall have the following officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Public Relations, Historian and Technical.

Section 3.  The duties of the President shall be as follows:

a.       Coordinate committees.
b.       Vote only in the case of a tie.
c.       Present Business to Organization.
d.       Represent the Organization at all times.
e.       Coordinate submission for the Hallmark Awards.
f.        Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Leadership Hallmark Award.

Section 4.   The duties of the Vice President shall be as follows:

a.       Assist in coordinating committees.
b.       Perform all duties of the president in the event of his/her absence.
c.       Head committee in charge of recruitment.
d.       Assist in coordinating Hallmark Awards.
e.       Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Leadership Hallmark Award.

Section 5.   The duties of the Treasurer shall be as follows:

a.       Receive all money and write purchase orders and check requests.
b.       Make a report of finances (one per term).
c.       Help with the annual report.
d.       Be in charge of ordering Recognition items for members.
e.       Be in charge of alerting members who have not paid.
f.        Head the committee for Fund Raising.
g.       Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Service Hallmark Award.

 Section 6.   The duties of the Secretary shall be as follows:

a.       Take and distribute minutes for meetings.
b.       Create agendas for meetings.
c.       Schedule and coordinate meeting times and dates.
d.       Help write articles for publicity.
e.       Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Fellowship Hallmark Award.

Section 7.   The duties of Public Relations Officer shall be as follows:

a.       Keep full record of chapter functions.
b.      Make press releases whenever possible to all area newspapers and Columbia Gorge Community College’s Campus View.
c.       Create posters to publicize events.
d.       Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Fellowship Hallmark Award.
e.       Maintain bulletin board

Section 8.   The duties of the Historian shall be as follows:

a.       Prepare and maintain chapter scrapbook.
b.       Keep full record of chapter functions.
c.       Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Service Hallmark Award.

Section 9.   The duties of the Technical Officer/Webmaster shall be as follows:

a.       Maintain chapter web page.
b.       Aid in setting up e-mail accounts for all members to increase correspondence between members.   
c.       Appoint and chair the committee responsible for the Scholarship Hallmark Award.                        

 

ARTICLE 6.  Election of Officers

Section 1.   All candidates for office must be members of Phi Theta Kappa, in good standing. 

Section 2.   Elections must be held at the second general meeting during the spring quarter of each year.

Section 3.   Officers shall hold office from the time of their election to the time of the next election. During their tenure officers shall not hold office in another student organization.

Section 4.   Nominations from the floor can be made at the same meeting as the election.

Section 5.   A simple majority vote shall elect any officer.

Section 6.   In any case when an officer must resign his/her office, an election shall be held to elect a new officer.
Nominations shall be made from the floor and will be made at the first meeting following the resignation of the officer. The election will be held at the first meeting following the nominations. A simple majority vote shall elect the new officer. The president shall have the power to make a temporary appointment at his/her discretion until a meeting can be held. With regard to the temporary appointment of the president, this shall be made by the remaining officers based on plurality of votes, until a general meeting can be held.  

ARTICLE 7.  Impeachment of officers

Section 1.   If any officer fails to fulfill the duties of his/her office, he may be removed as follows:

a.       A special meeting of the fraternity must be held to discuss the problem.
b.       All members must be notified of the meeting at least 10 days prior to the special meeting.
c.       A vote of 3/4 of the attending members is sufficient to remove and officer from office.

 ARTICLE 8.  Meetings

Section 1.   All business meetings will follow the general agenda:

Order of Business

a.       Call to order
b.       Reading of the minutes
c.       Treasurer’s report
d.       Committee reports
e.       Old business
f.        New business
g.       Announcements
h.       Adjournment

Section 2.   A quorum will exist if at least two officers and two members are present. Officers are understood to include presiding officer.

Section 3.   All meetings shall be governed by an adaptation of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 4.  Special committee meetings shall be called by the chairman of said committee. Procedures at such meetings are left to the discretion of the chairman. Reports of each meeting shall be presented at the following chapter meeting.

 ARTICLE 9.  Finances

Section 1.  Finances for this chapter will be raised by projects voted on by a majority vote of the members present at General Meetings.

Section 2.  Payment of National, Regional, and Local dues must be received by the chapter treasurer before members can be inducted.   

Section 3.  All members must pay local dues of $7.00 per year.

Section 4.  Disbursement vouchers must be submitted with supporting invoices and/or statements attached to the original invoice.

ARTICLE 10. By-laws

Section 1.  By-laws shall be passed by a simple majority vote of the membership and shall cover pertinent topics including interpretation of the constitution.

Section 2.  A permanent record of all by-laws shall be kept on file by the advisor.

ARTICLE 11.  Amendments and Revisions

Section 1.  The constitution and by-laws may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at any regular meeting, provided that the proposed amendment has be presented at a previous meeting. Any changes to the   constitution and or by-laws must be sent to the National Headquarters for final approval. 

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