Bylaws of the Academic Advising Association
Article I. Name
The name of this organization shall be the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Academic Advising Association.
Article II. Mission
In alignment with the mission and core values of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and recognizing that advising is a profession vital to student success, the UNL Academic Advising Association provides a network for all faculty, staff, and administrators with an appointment and/or an interest in advising to adopt and implement best practices, enhance professional development opportunities, and collaborate across colleges and departments.
Article III. Membership
III.A. The general membership shall be open to all individuals affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based upon any protected status. Please see https://go.unl.edu/nondiscrimination.
III.B. Active membership shall be open to any faculty member, staff, administrator, or graduate student affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who has an appointment and/or is interested in academic advising.
III. C. While Membership is free, membership is officially recognized upon completion of the annual membership form on the AAA website. The annual membership form will be electronic and solicited in August for the following year cycle. Interested persons may add membership outside of the renewal period at any time during the year by contacting the Communications Coordinator or completing the membership form.
III.D. Executive Committee, through a vote of the general association membership, can elect to establish yearly dues, for the sole purposes of supporting the agenda and mission of the Academic Advising Association. No funds shall be utilized to reimburse any member or officer for their service to the Association.
Article IV. Meetings of Membership
IV.A. Membership meetings will be at scheduled times throughout the semester as determined by the Executive Committee. The calendar year shall run from the Monday following Spring Commencement through the Friday of Finals Week the following spring.
IV.B. The Chair and Chair-Elect are responsible for the preparation of the general membership meetings. Individual members and departments shall submit agenda items to the Chair and/or Chair-Elect in advance of meetings.
Article V. Executive Committee
V.A. There will be nine officers in the Executive Committee: Chair, Chair-Elect, Immediate Past Chair, Secretary, Communications Coordinator, Website & Electronic Documentation Coordinator, Treasurer, Faculty Representative, and Graduate Student Representative. The Immediate Past Chair is not an official voting member of the Executive Committee.
V.B. Each officer must have been a member of the organization for at least 1 year to be eligible to run as a member of the Executive Committee.
V. C. Each position is elected as a sole position. Nominations for officers for the next year will be solicited at a Spring meeting and in at least one e-mail through the listserv. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for seeking nominations from membership body. If nominated for more than one Executive Committee position, nominees shall select only one position to run for. These officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the votes cast by ballot, to be conducted electronically during the 3rd week of April.
V. D. All positions, with the exception of Faculty Representative, will serve a one-year term, with the Chair-Elect assuming the Chair position the succeeding year. The Chair automatically becomes the Immediate Past Chair for the succeeding year. The Faculty Representative will serve a three-year term.
V. E. Membership should make a good faith effort to ensure that there is representation from both officially recognized academic advisors and non-academic advising professional staff on the Executive Committee.
V.F. Newly elected officers shall take office at the beginning of the university fiscal budget year (July 1st)
V.G. Should the Chair resign, leave the university, or otherwise cease participation in the organization, the Chair-Elect shall be appointed as interim chair, and will serve out the current and following membership year as Chair, at which time will then move to Immediate Past Chair status. A Chair-Elect shall be nominated by the Executive Committee for the duration of that membership year. Nominations will then be sought for the Chair-Elect position during the annual election cycle.
V.H. Should the Chair-Elect resign, leave the university, or otherwise cease participation in the organization, nominations for a new Chair-Elect will be sought for a special election that proceeds in a similar fashion to the traditional election cycle. The newly elected Chair-Elect will serve out the current Chair-Elect term, at which time will then move to the Chair position. After the special election of the new Chair-Elect, the normal nomination and election cycle will resume.
V.I. Should any other officer resign, leave the university, or otherwise cease participation in the organization, the Executive Committee will appoint an interim member to the position until the next election cycle.
Article VI. Executive Committee Officer Duties
VI.A. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Association and Executive Committee, is generally responsible for overseeing all of the Association’s activities, coordinates the election process with the assistance of the Secretary, calls the meetings of the Executive Committee, and creates and appoints any ad-hoc committees with the approval of the Executive Committee.
VI.B. The Chair-Elect assumes the duties of the Chair at the end of the university fiscal year, performs Chair’s duties when Chair is unavailable, is responsible for all committees, and will serve as the voice for all committee chairs at Executive Committee meetings.
VI.C. The Communications Coordinator solicits updates and information from college advising and support units to report to the organization, maintains current membership roster, and develops and maintains the listserv and other forms of communication.
VI.D. The Secretary keeps records of all meetings of the Association and the Executive Committee and reviews and maintains a copy of the current bylaws.
VI.E. The Immediate Past Chair shall act as a consultant to the current Chair and Executive Committee. This person can serve as a committee chair if elected. In a case where voting occurs within the Executive Committee and a tie occurs, the Immediate Past Chair shall become a voting member solely for that issue.
VI.F. The Treasurer is responsible for all facets of the budget and financial liability for the Association. They will maintain financial records, receive and disburse funds, record payment of conference fees and dues as established, prepare a monthly Treasurer’s Report for Executive Committee review, and answer questions that auditor may have regarding review of AAA’s financial records. This person will work with the staff person managing the SAP reporting for the Association for all account activity. The Treasurer will also sit on the AAA Conference Committee and lead duties for conference registration.
VI.G. The Faculty Representative recruits faculty members to participate in the Academic Advising Association and promotes the organization to faculty members. The Faculty Representative also acts as the liaison between faculty members and the Executive Committee.
VI. H. The Graduate Student Representative recruits graduate student members to participate in the Academic Advising Association and promotes the organization to graduate student members. The Graduate Student Representative also acts as the liaison between graduate student members and the Executive Committee. The Graduate Student Representative’s primary role on campus must be as graduate student.
VI. I. The Website & Electronic Documentation Coordinator works with the Executive Committee to coordinate the accurate and timely updating of the Association website and maintain the electronic storage of documentation. In addition, this person will also sit on the AAA Conference Committee and provide electronic updates as needed.
VI. J. The Executive Committee will request appointments to university committees in which they deem to be related to the organization. The Executive Committee shall solicit nominations and determine representation on said committees. A good faith effort will be made to ensure full representation of organization membership is on these university committees.
VI. K. The Executive Committee will determine distribution of any funds that are secured for the purposes of assisting with the function of the organization. All budget expenses must be approved by the Executive Committee through a majority vote.
VI. L. The Executive Committee will develop and maintain an Operations Guide which will govern their operations.
Article VII. Committees
VII.A. All committees shall be made up of interested membership by the general association.
VII.B. The Chair-Elect shall solicit nominations for committee chairs.
VII.C. The Executive Committee shall appoint committee chairs based on solicited nomination and shall make a good faith effort to distribute committee chairs across various colleges and departments.
VII.D. All committees will report to the Executive Committee through the Chair-Elect.
VII.E. Standing Committees shall include:
VII.E.1- Professional Development Committee: Provides programming around growing our professional knowledge and skillset, and sharing information and techniques to make us more effective practitioners. Previous activities include: conference summary presentations, brown bag lunch speakers, webinars, and common read book groups.
VII.E.2- Networking Committee: Facilitates social and professional connection between members. Previous activities include: a mentoring program, happy hours, trips to local attractions/activities, workday lunch hours, and holiday events.
VII.E.3- Social Justice & Inclusion Committee: Creates opportunities for members to understand and think critically about the experiences of underrepresented populations and develop effective strategies to implement in our practice.
VII.E.4- Conference Planning Committee: Coordinates and implements the annual conference for student affairs professionals in the state of Nebraska. Previous activities include: theme development, solicitation and review of conference proposals, registration, and event planning.
VII.F. Ad hoc committees may be created as the Executive Committee decides.
Article VIII. Amendments to By-Laws
VIII.A. Any active member(s) may submit a proposed amendment(s) to these By-Laws to the Chair of the Association. The proposed amendments must be submitted in writing or electronically. For a proposed amendment to go to association vote either A) two members must co-author the amendment; or B) have a motion to carry forward the amendment to vote by the executive committee if a second author is not included on the proposed amendment from membership. Proposed by-law amendments must be received by the Chair of the Association by April 1st for consideration at the end of the spring term, July 15th for consideration at the end of the summer term, or November 15th for consideration at the end of the fall term.
VIII.B. Proposed amendments shall be presented to the membership body for vote, and must pass with two-thirds approval of ballots cast. Voting shall be conducted electronically and be open for a period of no less than two weeks. By-law amendments will be voted on by the membership after the submission deadline as listed in Article VIII.A
Adopted by Advising Forum Formalization Task Force: March, 2013
Task Force Members included: Tony Lazarowicz; Betsy Klemme; Erin Burnette; Vicki Fisher; Ann Koopmann; Jeff Hall; Sara Sanchez
Adopted by Members: March, 2013
Revised April 4, 2014; April 27, 2017; February 7, 2019; May 4, 2023
Addendum I. Provisions for the Organization's First Year of Operation
Article 1. Any member may run for an elected Executive Committee Officer position during the first-year of the organization.
Article 2. Elections will be conducted as described in the By-laws for the first year of the organization. The elected officers will serve one year terms. The Chair shall assume immediate past chair status upon the completion of the first year; and, the chair-elect shall become chair upon completion of the first-year cycle.