DeVry/Orlando DeVry Student Activities Organization
What is the DeVry Student Activities Organization?
The DeVry Student Activites Organization (DSAO) is a committee of students concerned with promoting unity and personal growth among the diverse student population of DeVry/Orlando. The Organization represents the voice of the student body, and acts as a liaison between the students and the administration in an effort to encourage academic excellence, club participation and social awareness. The Organization is bound by the rules and regulations as outlined in the DeVry Student Activites Organization Constitution.
DSAO Constitution
Chapter 1
Article I: Name
DeVry Student Activities Organization, of DeVry University/Orlando, Florida
Article II: Purposes
The following shall be the purposes of this organization:
Section 1
To act as the umbrella organization of all DeVry/Orlando student clubs and organizations.
Section 2
To act as the student financial decision-maker for allocating monies to recognized on-campus clubs and organizations.
Section 3
To assist Student Services in the recognition process for new club/organization formation.
Section 4
To partner with Student Services, and other functional areas in bringing quality and diversified programming efforts to our campus.
Section 5
To act as a resource and referral to the student body.
Section 6
To organize and participate in leadership activities/efforts both on and off campus.
Section 7
To coordinate a Leadership Retreat once a year. (A Mini-Retreat is allowed for all officers of DSAO for the planning of the retreat.)
Article III: Membership
All students of DeVry University/Orlando who have paid their activity fee will be members of the Organization. (At this time evening and weekend students do not pay the one time activity fee.)
Article IV: Officers
Section 1
DSAO officers shall be students in good standing elected by popular vote. Being that these positions are paid positions, the officers are required to fulfill at least 208 hours per semester dealing with DSAO business. Each DSAO officer will receive an honorarium at the end of each semester. Payment shall be for Officers who complete the term in good standing and who fulfill their DSAO business hours.
Section 2
The officers of DSAO shall be as follows:
- Director of Cultural Activities
- Director of Educational Activities
- Director of Social Activities
- Director of Sports and Games
- Secretary/Treasurer
- Public Relations
Section 3
Officers will be members appointed by popular vote, to run the organization and to assist with activities programming or in any other matters DSAO deems necessary.
Section 4
The Officers shall be elected as prescribed in the By-Laws.
Section 5
The duties of the officers shall be prescribed in Chapter 2, Article 1.
Article V: Meetings
The DSAO officers will hold planning meetings on a weekly basis. They will also hold open forums for all members to attend twice per semester.
Article VI: Restrictions and Privileges
Section 1
This organization and its members shall not adopt any retroactive regulations, rules, or penalties.
Section 2
In the event of an accusation or conviction of violation(s) of organizational or university regulations, any member, officer, or campus group shall be confronted by the accusing party via the DSAO advisor; an investigation shall be headed by the advisor; and the advisor shall have at least one hearing before the case is disposed of; the accused shall have the right of appeal to the Organization.
Section 3
All Officers of DSAO will maintain a 2.6 GPA while in office. If their GPA falls below this standard, they will be given one semester of probation to improve their grade. The Officer will be asked to leave office if he/she is not able to raise their GPA at the end of their probation period. At such time, the Board will appoint a person to fulfill the vacated position. The people eligible to fill the vacated position are DSAO officers, committee members of the dissolved position, and presidents of established clubs.
Article VIII: Amendments
Section 1
This Constitution shall be amended only after a request by two-thirds majority vote of the Officers present at a specially scheduled meeting.
Section 2
Amendments may be introduced by any Officer or by petition by at least twenty-five percent of the student body.
Chapter 2
Article I: Duties of Officers
All Officers are required to be present at all regular meetings. Three consecutive absences within one term will result in an impeachment, if absence is without just cause as determined by the Board of Directors. Following impeachment, the Organization shall hold a special election, as soon as possible after impeachment to insure continuity of operations and representation.
General Elections are to take place on a regular basis every three semesters. A selected Election Committee shall be appointed to discuss and set the election rules.
Section 1
Each Director will oversee the clubs assigned to their area. They will act as a consultant to these clubs. Helping them with formulating proposals (of any type) and presenting the proposal before the DSAO Board. The director presenting the proposal will not be able to vote to determine the ratification of the proposal.
Section 2
Each Director is responsible for sanctions (with permission of the Board, presented through a proposal) to their assigned club(s). The Director will make sure that clubs follow through with planned activities to the best of their ability. They will continually inquire on the progress of each activity and aid the clubs when necessary.
Section 3
Each Director will be responsible for encouraging the attendance of each club's president at the Presidents Club Meetings. They will notify each president of the next Presidents Club Meeting and answer any questions.
If the President is not able to be present at the meeting, the next highest official shall be present. They will inform the Board of Directors the reason for the Club's President absence, if any. The DSAO directors will also sanction the Club when a President is not present at 3 or more consecutive President's Club Meetings or not represented by an officer of the organization for more than 2 consecutive meetings. The sanctions will be determined by a vote from the Board of DSAO.
Section 4
The directors will also be responsible for the collection of general meeting minutes from each club. These minutes are to be turned in typed (soft and hard copy) to the Associate Dean of Student Services for the minutes to be displayed on the School's shared drive.
Section 5
Each director will make sure that their assigned clubs have an updated copy of their constitution in the possession of the Associate Dean of Student Services. Constitutions must be updated every three semesters whether changes are made or not.
Section 6
Directors will have the responsibility of collecting the monthly information from all clubs so a compilation of all events can be made. This information will include all scheduled events and general club/organization meeting times (even if same from last month). This information will be kept by and must be provided to the Associate Dean of Student Services 5 business days before the end of each month. At this time, the Director will help the Associate Dean of Student Services in completing the forms for reserving space or supplies.
Section 7
Each director is responsible for heading a Committee. This committee will consist of individuals who will aid in offering services supplied by DSAO. Each Director will be allowed up to 5 committee members or one person per assigned clubs (whichever is greater).
Section 8
Each director will be required to offer one activity per month to the DeVry/Orlando body. This will be an activity within their area or an activity offered by one of their assigned groups. At least one member of their committee will act as a Public Relations person. This person will be the liaison between companies and the group, and will design and print propaganda for events.
Section 9
Directors will present written proposals before the DSAO Board for any of their assigned groups. They will present a written proposal completed and compiled by the officers of the said group. They will read the proposal before the Board. At the time of the presentation the director will give an explanation of the proposed activity, the work observed by the club to put together the proposal, and the chance for success of the proposed activity. The director presenting the proposal and the organization's advisor shall keep a copy of the proposal on file. The director will not take part in the voting concerning the implementation of the proposal.
Section 10
Directors are required to be active participants in the organization of an activity being offered by one of their assigned groups. If two or more groups are working together and they have different representing directors, each of directors will play a role in the implementation of the activity.
Upon the opinion that a person is not contributing an equal share of the responsibilities, they shall confide in the Associate Dean of Student Services. Then both will confront the alleged person to find a resolution.
Section 11
Another responsibility of each Director is to be prepared to offer a progress report of each club. An update of the general condition of each of their clubs is to be noted. This is to be a verbal presentation - the minutes taken by the secretary will serve as record. The progress report shall also consist of a monetary account in regards to the completion of any activities performed by a group. This will be a written document where they will note the number of people that attended the function, the rationale used in spending of their allotted monies, the cooperation seen among the officers of engaged clubs, their professional manner, and other important information to be reported to the board. Also within the report they should give their personal evaluation of the activity and the feedback given by students.
Section 12
Directors will be present at all activities they help organize or other function sponsored by DSAO. If they are not able to attend, they will present a credible reason to the Associate Dean of Student Services and arrange for the presence of another director or a committee member. The person taking the place of the absent director will compile a report as stated in Section 11.
Section 13
The Public Relations person shall have the responsibility of maintaining the DSAO website; making sure that it stays updated in reference to events, organization status, and other important information decided by the Board.
The Public Relations person will also be responsible for designing, printing, and posting advertisements for DSAO activities. The Public Relations person will also available for the needs of the Board of Directors.
Section 14
The Secretary/Treasurer will be responsible for taking detailed minutes of all Board Meetings and forums. At each meeting they will report the present balance of DSAO's financial and account status. The person will also compile a report of monies spent during activities, including receipts, and format an Excel spreadsheet with all information. The person will present this information before the Board at the next Board meeting following the activity. The Secretary/Treasurer will also complete any forms for DSAO including the preliminary paper work for new groups.
Section 15
All Board Members of DSAO will have office hours. They are required to work four hours a week in the DSAO office located in Student Services. The times for a person to be present in the DSAO office will be determined within the first two meetings of each semester. If a person does not fulfill their quota, sanctions will be decided by the Associate Dean of Student Services and accepted by a simple majority vote of the Board.
Article II: Responsibilities of the Organization
Section 1
The Organization shall require reports from its officers and committees at its discretion, but no more than bi-monthly.
Section 2
All student organization funds remaining in the organization's account at the end of each term.
Section 3
All event appropriations shall require no less than a one third majority vote of DSAO officers.
Section 4
Recognition of new groups shall be a function of DSAO in conjunction with Student Services. The application of any group for recognition must be accompanied by a copy of its constitution, and shall require a simple majority vote of officers present and voting. Upon a vote by officers, a group may receive a $50.00 seed-money donation from DSAO. After a two-month period following a vote on an organizational donation, another vote will be taken to determine further assistance of that group.
Section 5
Upon a vote by present officers, student groups will be awarded a $75.00 donation from the DSAO board upon completion of two semesters of being active. This money will be added to their account at the beginning of the next semester as long as the organization has the full intention of completing that semester in "active" status. All groups on probation for any amount of time during the semester shall only be allowed to receive a portion of the donation.
Section 6
Upon a vote by present officers, student groups will be awarded a $100.00 donation from the DSAO board upon completion of three semesters of being active. This money will be added to their account at the beginning of the next semester, as long as the organization has the full intention of completing that semester in "active" status. All groups on probation for any amount of time during the semester shall only be allowed to receive a portion of the donation. meeting)
Section 7
Suspension/probation of any student group shall require a one third majority vote of the officers present and voting, provided that a one-week prior notice of proposed suspension is given to all organization members and provided that the officers and the committee chairperson/members affected are given at least a two-week, written notice of said proposal. A hearing shall be held before the motion of suspension/probation period is voted on.
Section 8
DSAO reserves the right to suspend any financial allocation to the student organizations in the event of a financial crisis and until such condition is corrected. At which time the allocations may be reinstated. Student groups under "not active" status, suspension or probation will not receive any financial allocations.
Section 9
The DSAO board will organize a leadership retreat once a year. Attendance to the retreat shall be reserved to club officers, board members, and committee members depending on space available.
After all the student leaders slots have been filled, all remaining spaces will be open to the general membership. Each person will be required to complete and application form in order to state the reasons why they should be chosen to attend the leadership retreat. The application will be made available to all. The financial resources will be supplied by DSAO. Each DSAO director will have separate and correlating responsibilities during the retreat.
Article III: Committees
A: General
Section 1
Each director shall appoint a committee for each of their respective areas: Educational, Cultural, Social and Sports/Games.
Section 2
Special committees shall be established by the DSAO as the need(s) arise(s).
Article IV: Amendments
Any section of this Constitution may be amended by a one third majority vote of the membership of the DSAO present and voting at a special meeting. A request for change to this Constitution will be written in petition form. The petition will be presented to the DSAO board accompanied by fifty (50) member signatures.
If the DSAO board accepts the petition, the change will be adopted. If the DSAO board does not accept the petition, an arbitrator will be appointed as the governing authority. He/She will decide the validity of the petition. If he/she decides that the petition has merit, then a special election will take place during a regular meeting (Forum) where a three fourths vote of the membership will enact the amendment.
Article V: Elections of Officers
Section 1
A committee will be organized to head the election process. The DSAO advisor will appoint members to the election committee. The committee will consist of the following (if available): two staff members, one faculty member, one dean, one student with no group attachment, and an officer of a student organization. The member selection will be on an appointment basis and will be strictly volunteered.
Section 2
All positions within DSAO will be up for election every summer semester. The current officers will be allowed to campaign for their position (or any available position) as long as they are enrolled at DeVry/Orlando and are members of DSAO. There is no limit to consecutive terms in office.
Section 3
The Election Committee shall have the power to enact the first election process. Consecutive elections will follow the first election process and shall become part of this Constitution.
