POLICY OF
THE
Note: Parts in
italics are the Bylaws. Items in bold print are
policy.
ARTICLE 1 - NAME, PURPOSE
1.1 The name of the organization is
The
1.2 The
ARTICLE 2 - MEMBERS
2.1 CVEC membership is defined as
those who teach CVEC classes, participate in CVEC classes, administer, are an
affiliate with CVEC, or provide financial support. Active members are those who have participated in CVEC in one of
the two most recent years.
2.2 The Annual Membership meeting is
held following the spring term: the Board of Directors set the date, time, and
place, and notifies the membership at least two weeks before the meeting. Special meetings may be called with at least
a two-week notification by the Board Chair, the Executive Committee, or by a
one-third vote of the Board. Decisions
will be reached by a majority vote of the members present.
2.3 CVEC is an equal
opportunity/equal education organization and as such does not discriminate on
the basis of gender, race, color, national origin, disability, sexual
orientation, religion, age (50 plus) or marital status in any of its programs.
ARTICLE 3 - AFFILIATES
Affiliate status is determined by vote
of the Board of Directors. Affiliates
are sister organizations that provide significant program support and/or
collaborate with program offerings. CVEC's affiliates include the
Northfield Senior Citizens, Inc. and the
ARTICLE 4 - STUDENTS
4.1 There are no
formal education prerequisites for participants in CVEC classes.
4.2 The program is designed for
students of fifty years of age or older and their spouses of any age, with
registration open to those younger on a space available basis.
4.3 CVEC will
continue to offer intergenerational learning opportunities.
CVEC sponsors the participation of
interested high school students in selected intergenerational
classes.
4.4 Tuition $50 per course for regular courses
and $20 per course for lecture courses is due at the time of registration and prior to the first class
meeting. Some classes require book
and/or materials costs. Up to five dollars per student may
be requested by instructors to cover the cost of incidental materials. Any additional costs are shared by the
students. Financial assistance is available by request
to the CVEC Director.
Scholarships are limited to one per
student per term. If a course is canceled, full refunds are
made. Any appeals for exceptions to this
policy may be directed to the Board.
Class fees are not refundable after
the second class meeting. If a student
withdraws before the second class meeting and requests a refund, it will be
made.
ARTICLE 5 - FACULTY
5.1 Generally, faculty are retirees
who are professional educators. Others
with extensive experience or knowledge are also included as instructors.
5.2 Compensation
is a modest honorarium.
Course stipends will be paid by one
week of completion of each course. The
full honorarium of $500 per course is paid when five or more students
enroll. If fewer than five enroll, the
instructors may cancel. If fewer than five
and the course is offered, the honorarium will be $50 per student. If substitute instructors are needed they will
be paid on a pro-rated basis from the instructor's stipend.
5.3 Enrollment of
more than fifteen is at the discretion of the instructor.
The
desired class size is fifteen.
Permission of the instructor is required for more than fifteen. Occasional unlimited lecture classes with
reduced tuition are also held with consent of the instructor.
Prospective
faculty will present a current resume and course proposal to the Curriculum
Director. The Curriculum Committee
reviews applications and presents its recommendations to the Board for
approval.
Active faculty members will present course proposals and
descriptions to the Curriculum Director.
The description specifies course format (seminar, informal lecture,
lecture and discussion, etc.), text(s), cost, and amount of reading
involved. Costs should be reasonable for
students.
Class rosters are
sent to the faculty by the Associate Director prior to the first class
meeting so that course information
can be sent to the students if the instructor desires.
ARTICLE 6 - CLASSES
6.1 There are three terms per year,
each eight weeks in duration. Classes
normally meet each week for two hours.
6.2 Classes are
organized to encourage student participation.
6.3 Preferred
class size is fifteen.
Information regarding class
materials and reading requirements is available at registration. Instructors
make arrangements for book purchases and/or making
books available
in class.
Students complete course evaluations
that include questions regarding interests in future course offerings.
ARTICLE 7 - BOARD
7.1 Membership is limited to a
maximum of 15 and a minimum of 11 including representatives from affiliates
(2), current or past faculty (4), current or past students (5) and directors(4). Elected Board members receive no compensation
other than authorized expenses.
7.2 The officers are Chair, Vice
Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, elected at the first Board meeting following
the Annual Membership meeting. The Chair
convenes regularly scheduled Board meetings.
The Vice-Chair heads committees on special subjects as designated by the
Board. The Secretary is responsible for
keeping records of Board actions. The
Treasurer keeps financial records and gives reports at each Board meeting.
7.3 The Board meets a minimum of six
times a year. Special meetings of the
Board are called upon the request of the Chair, the Executive Committee, or
one-third of the Board. Notices of
special meetings are sent out to each board member one-week in advance.
All Board meetings are open to any CVEC
member. All Board members, nonmembers who are chair of a committee, staff, and the Founders of CVEC
should receive notices of Board meetings one week in advance.
7.4 Before business can be
transacted or motions made or passed, a quorum of seven Board members must be
in attendance.
7.5 The Secretary receives
resignations from the Board. A Board
member may be dropped, by action of the Board, if s/he has three unexcused
absences from Board meetings in a year.
A Board member may be removed for other reasons by a three-fourths vote
of the remaining directors.
7.6 When a vacancy on the Board
exists, nominations for a replacement member are received by the Secretary from
present Board members two weeks in advance of a Board meeting. These nominations are sent out to Board
members with the regular Board meeting announcement, to be voted upon at the
next Board meeting. Those elected serve
until the following annual meeting.
7.7 Elected Board members serve
two-year terms, but are eligible for re-election. If a Board member leaves the
Board in the first year of their term, the replacement elected at the annual
meeting will serve a one-year term. To
facilitate continuity, half of the Board members are elected each year
7.8 Two members
of the Nominating Committee are elected at the annual meeting.
7.8a A Nominating Committee composed
of one Board member and two from the general membership presents a slate of new
Board members at the following annual meeting.
7.8b Additional
nominations may also be made from the floor.
ARTICLE 8 - COMMITTEES
8.1 The Board creates committees as
needed. The Board Chair appoints all
committee chairs. To promote faculty and student
participation in policy formation and to gain their help in the administration
of CVEC, staffing committees from the general membership is encouraged.
The
following permanent committees will be established and chaired by a member of
the Board: Executive, Curriculum, Finance, Publicity, and Nominating. These committees will report to the Board as
needed.
Additional
committees will be appointed as needed and will report to the Directors.
The Curriculum Committee has the
Curriculum Director appointed as Chair and includes the Director. In
making course selections, the Curriculum Committee considers student interest,
curricular balance in each term and equitable distribution of faculty
opportunity for participation in the program.
The Curriculum Director is responsible for presenting the proposed
curriculum to the Board for approval.
8.2 The officers of the Board and
the Director(s) serve as the members of the Executive Committee. Except for the power to amend the Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws, the Executive Committee has all of the powers and
authority of the Board of Directors in the intervals between meetings of the Board
of Directors, subject to the direction and control of the Board of
Directors.
8.3 The Treasurer is chair of the
Finance Committee, which includes at least two other Board members. The Finance Committee is responsible for
developing and reviewing fiscal procedures.
The Board must approve the annual budget. The Board or the Executive Committee must
approve any major change in the budget during the year. The fiscal year is the calendar year. Annual reports are required to be submitted
to the Board showing income, expenditures and pending income.
ARTICLE 9 - ADMINISTRATION
9.1 The Board appoints the
Director(s) who receive(s) an annual honorarium set each year by the Board.
The
CVEC Director, Associate Director, Curriculum Director and Operations Director
conduct the administration. In
recognition of their services the CVEC Director receives an annual honorarium
of $2000, the Associate Director, $3000, the Curriculum Director, $1000, and
the Operations Director, $1000. All four
Directors are voting members of the Board.
9.2 The
CVEC Directors responsibilities are as follows:
The CVEC Director's responsibilities
include (1) overseeing the Elder Collegium,
(2) fund-raising, (3) community relations,
Web site and publicity, (4) working with the Curriculum Committee, (5)
class scheduling and planning, and (6) working with the Associate Director on
program decisions.
The
Associate Director's responsibilities include (1) managing CVEC class registration,
(2)
managing the CVEC mailing list, (3) operating CVEC administrative procedures
and (4) working with the Director on program decisions.
The
Operations Director’s responsibilities include (1) ) managing the financial
system including payroll, income recording and payments (2) preparing financial
reports for review by the Director and Treasurer, (3) preparing and submitting
reports to State and Federal Governments as required to maintain our non-profit
status, and (4) working with the Director and Associate Director to maintain
CVEC operations.
The Curriculum Director’s responsibilities
include (1) developing the course curriculum based on recommendations from the
Curriculum Committee, the CVEC Board, faculty and members, (2) working closely
with these groups to select an appropriate mixture of courses for each of the
three terms, (3) working with the Director and the Associate Director to
provide for the effective operation of the CVEC curriculum.
9.3
The Board appoints additional staff as needed.
CVEC employs a part-time writer.
CVEC employs a
layout technician for the newsletter and course brochure.
9.4
Payment and Disbursement of CVEC funds.
The
following are approved for signing checks: 1. Director, 2. Associate Director,
3.
Treasurer, 4. Chair of the CVEC Board, and 5. Operations Director.
No
officer can sign a check for payment to himself/herself. The Treasurer and the
Director will receive copies of monthly bank statements and review all
transactions.
Receipts
are required for all disbursements except for those under twenty-five dollars,
for which an explanatory notation is sufficient.
If CVEC disbands, the assets that
remain after ceasing operations and payment of
all of its obligations will be divided evenly between the Northfield Senior
Citizens, Inc. and the
ARTICLE 10 - AMENDMENTS
10.1
These bylaws may be amended at any Board meeting, a quorum being present (seven
members),
by the vote of two thirds of those present and voting, providing the proposed
amendments have been read at the previous meeting.
10.2
The Executive committee reviews the bylaws of CVEC annually, recommending any
changes
to the Board.
10.3
Any CVEC member may propose in writing to the Board a bylaw change.
ARTICLE 11 - FISCAL YEAR
11.1
CVEC's fiscal year begins January 1st and ends December 31st.
11.2
The Treasurer is responsible for fiscal management with oversight by the board.
11.3
The financial books are audited and a report is made at the Annual Membership
meeting.
ARTICLE 12 - PUBLIC INFORMATION
12.1 The financial records, by-laws
and other official documents of the
12.2 Sharing of the membership lists
with organizations outside CVEC is authorized only after review by the Director
and approval by the Board. The Director also reviews requests
for collaboration, including requests for mailing lists from organizations
outside CVEC. Whenever the request is
from a cause deemed worthy, procedures will be used that guard the
confidentiality of our membership. The Board will decide to act in a manner
that is consistent with good community citizenship.
These Bylaws were approved by
the Board of Directors on