IACEE Bylaws
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CONTINUING ENGINEERING EDUCATION (IACEE)
BYLAWS
ARTICLE I
NAME AND OBJECTIVE
1.1 The name of the organization is the International Association for Continuing Engineering Education, abbreviated to IACEE, and hereinafter referred to as the Association. The Association is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization, hosted in and operating under the laws of the United States of America.
1.2 The aim of the Association is to support and enhance lifelong technical learning and training and advanced engineering education worldwide, including the special needs of the developing countries.
To pursue its objectives the Association shall seek to:
a) promote international technology transfer through a better understanding of the continuing education process;
b) improve the quality of education and training of engineers and technicians, and of technical information through international cooperation;
c) develop and strengthen cooperation between education and industry;
d) promote the establishment of centers for continuing engineering education;
e) support the equality of women in engineering through continuing education;
f) promote and conduct research and development in the field of continuing engineering education;
g) initiate international and regional meetings and conferences on continuing engineering education and provide technical assistance in conducting them;
h) undertake other activities as determined by the members.
The Association shall work in close cooperation with such organizations as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to achieve its objectives.
1.3 To achieve its objectives the Association can receive gifts, grants, and legacies, own property, and, having received the necessary permission, raise funds through public subscriptions and from other sources.
1.4 The official language of the Association is English.
ARTICLE II
MEMBERSHIP
2.1 The Association has five general classes of membership, four of which are institutional and one individual:
a) the class of Regional Leader Organizations, which shall be reserved for three specific founding organizations that have been continuously active in their support of IACEE since its inception, namely ASEE for the United States of America, SEFI for Europe and CACEE for China;
b) the class of Professional Organizations and Societies, which shall be open to such organizations who are themselves involved in engineering education and who actively promote continuing engineering education;
c) the class of Industrial Organizations and Companies, whose commercial activities are not as providers of continuing engineering education, which shall be open to organizations and companies with an expressed interest in the promotion and/or provision of continuing engineering education and training for their staff;
d) the class of Academic Institutions and Other Coordinators and Providers of continuing engineering education, which shall be open to organizations which provide continuing engineering education and training.
e) the class of Individual Members, who are persons actively participating in or promoting continuing engineering education.
2.2 Application for membership shall be submitted to the Secretary General, who shall then submit the application to the Executive Committee for approval. Membership is effective from the date that the first payment of the membership fee is received.
2.3 Individuals who have rendered noteworthy services to the Association or who have made significant international contributions to promoting the objectives of the Association may be conferred the title of Honorary Member. A decision on Honorary Membership shall be made by Council with at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority of those present and voting, and the Honorary Membership shall take effect at the General Membership Meeting following the decision.
2.4 IACEE members shall be expected to promote the objectives of the Association. The members shall:
a) encourage membership and active participation in IACEE of eligible organizations and individuals;
b) participate in the election of Council members;
c) accept assignments in ad hoc committees and special interest groups of the Association;
d) utilize the communication channels of the Association;
e) support the Association's publications by contributing articles;
f) contribute to the dissemination of information regarding continuing engineering education worldwide;
g) participate in developing and organizing conferences, seminars and workshops on continuing engineering education;
h) engage in other activities to further the purposes of the Association.
2.5 Annual fees for the different classes of membership shall be determined by the Council.
2.6 Any member may withdraw from the Association by informing the Secretary General or the President in writing. Withdrawal shall take effect at the end of the existing term of the withdrawing individual’s/organization’s membership, unless that individual or organization specifies an earlier date.
2.7 Termination of membership in the Association may be effected by the Council with immediate effect if a member, after a written reminder, has failed to pay the annual membership fee within one year of the date due, or if a member does not comply with these bylaws.
2.8 Any member withdrawing or terminated from the Association shall relinquish all rights to the Association’s assets.
ARTICLE III
ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES
3.1 The decision-making bodies of the Association are the General Membership in attendance at the General Membership Meeting and the Council. The general management of the Association’s activities and the implementation of the Association’s policy shall be the responsibility of the Executive Committee of the Council.
ARTICLE IV
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
4.1 A general meeting of the members shall be held at least once in every two years at a time and place to be determined by the Council. Whenever possible a General Membership Meeting shall be held during the World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education.
The General Membership Meeting shall elect the President and the other members of Council. The General Membership Meeting shall also review the general policy of the Association, and discuss the prospects and developments in continuing engineering education.
4.2 An extraordinary General Membership Meeting shall be convened on the request of at least one-tenth (1/10) of the members. Such a request shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary General specifying the reason for the meeting. The meeting shall be convened within four (4) months of the receipt of the request and may be either a face-to-face meeting or an electronically-moderated meeting.
4.3 The General Membership Meeting shall be convened by the Executive Committee. Calls for the General Membership Meeting specifying the agenda shall be communicated to the members at least five (5) weeks prior to the meeting. Advance notice specifying the date, location, agenda and modality of the meeting is to be given no later than three (3) months before the meeting.
At the General Membership Meeting each Institutional Member shall have five (5) votes, and each Individual Member shall have one (1) vote.
ARTICLE V
COUNCIL
5.1 The Council shall define the general policy of the Association, and provide the overall guidance and oversight of the operation and management of the Association.
In particular, the Council shall
a) elect four Vice Presidents to join the President and immediate Past President on the Executive Committee, select the Association’s host country, and appoint the Secretary General;
b) determine the annual fees for the different classes of membership;
c) adopt the budget and define the general guidelines for the annual plan of action;
d) approve the accounts and discharge the Executive Committee and other persons accountable from liability;
e) elect two auditors, who shall not be members of the Council, to report to the Council;
f) decide on expulsion of a member from the Association;
g) choose the site and appoint the organizers for the World Conferences on Continuing Engineering Education.
5.2 The Council shall be elected by the General Membership Meeting and shall consist of:
- the President;
- the immediate Past President (during the first two-year term of the next President);
- one representative from each of the three (a) Regional Leader Organizations;
- member(s) who will represent category (b) Professional Organizations and Societies and who will be selected from votes cast for this category by those in that category.
- member(s) who will represent category (c) Industrial Organizations and Companies, whose commercial activities are not as providers of continuing engineering education and who will be selected from votes cast for this category by those in that category.
- member(s) who will represent category (d) Academic Institutions and Other Coordinators and Providers of continuing engineering education and who will be selected from votes cast for this category by those in that category.
- member(s) who will represent category (e) Individual Members and who will be selected from votes cast for this category by those in that category.
The size of the voting Council shall be nineteen (19) members, with the President elected and fourteen (14) of the members elected from the four membership classes in numbers proportional to each class’s voting strength in the Association membership at a point four months prior to the scheduled election. The four Council positions for which voting is not required are the three representatives of the Regional Leader Organizations, who are appointed by their organizations, and the immediate Past President (during the first two-year term of the next President). Each membership class shall have at least one (1) seat on the Council.
In addition, the Secretary General shall be a member of the Council, ex officio without voting rights.
Upon election of the Council, at its first meeting the Council shall elect four Vice Presidents to be responsible for the strategic goals of IACEE to join the President, the immediate Past President, and the Secretary General on the Executive Committee. Members of the Council will each have responsibilities for a specific theme within the domain covered by one of the Vice Presidents.
The nomination process and election process shall be defined in the Rules of Order adopted by the Council. A Nominating Committee, chaired by the most immediate Past President, shall be appointed by the Council one year in advance of the General Membership Meeting at which the elections are to be held.
5.3 The term of office of the Council is the time between General Membership Meetings. In case of a vacancy on the Council, the Council shall appoint a replacement for the remaining term of office.
The quorum for the Council meetings is one-third (1/3) of its voting members.
5.4 The Council shall convene at least once a year at the call of the Executive Committee, or on the request of at least one-third (1/3) of the Council members, as specified in Article IV.
Calls for Council Meetings specifying the agenda shall be communicated to the Council members at least five (5) weeks prior to the Meeting. Advance notice specifying the date, agenda, modality and location of the meeting is to be given no later than three (3) months before the meeting.
5.5 The IACEE Council (or Executive Committee) may vote electronically on any specific motion. To conduct an electronic ballot, the motion will require a proposer and a seconder. The motion will be sent by the President to all members of the Council (or Executive Committee), with a clear indication of the date by which a response is required (normally fourteen days after the motion is sent).
Only votes FOR or AGAINST the motion will be tallied by the President, who will also acknowledge all votes received and keep a list of the voters. A motion will pass when a simple majority of the votes cast are FOR votes. If the FOR and AGAINST votes are equal in number, the President may cast the deciding vote. A motion proposing a Bylaws change will require two-thirds of the votes cast to be FOR votes.
ARTICLE VI
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
6.1 The Executive Committee of the Council shall consist of the President, the immediate Past President, the four Vice Presidents, and the Secretary General, ex officio without voting rights. At least one of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall be a resident of the host country of the Association.
6.2 The four Vice Presidents shall be elected by the Council, by a majority of votes.
A First Vice President shall be elected from among the four Vice Presidents to assume the President’s duties in his/her absence or in the event of a vacancy in the Presidency.
6.3 The Executive Committee’s term of office is the time from its election until a new Council has been elected, and the new Council has appointed a new Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee is accountable for its activities to the Council. A quorum for Executive Committee meetings shall be three (3) voting members.
6.4 The President shall preside at the General Membership Meeting and the meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee of the Association.
6.5 In the instance where a member of the Executive Committee is unable to fulfill the duties of office, the seat will be filled by immediate appointment by the President, with ratification by the Council, for the remaining term of office.
6.6 Special Interest Groups may be formed to carry out special assignments according to general principles set by the Council. Special Interest Groups shall be convened as determined by the Executive Committee, with overall leadership provided by the Vice President, Special Interest Groups.
ARTICLE VII
SECRETARY GENERAL AND HEADQUARTERS
7.1 The Secretary General shall be responsible for the general operation of the Association, except as it pertains to the next General Membership Meeting, which shall generally be the responsibility of the host country of the World Conference and its national organizations.
7.2 The Secretary General shall be appointed by the Council. The term of office is two (2) years, unless the Secretary General is removed by the Council. The Secretary General may be re-appointed for additional terms.
7.3 Formally the office of the Secretary General shall be the Headquarters of the Association, which shall be located in the host country of the Association. However, with the prior agreement of Council or the Executive Committee, the Secretary General may operate from any location to be approved by the Council.
7.4 The Secretary General may appoint auxiliary staff as required for the general operation of the Association within budget constraints as agreed by Council.
ARTICLE VIII
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
8.1 The revenue of the Association shall be derived from:
a) membership fees;
b) support from the authorities of the host country;
c) public and private grants and contributions;
d) gifts and donations;
e) registration and other fees chargeable at conferences, seminars, workshops, and other events organized by the Association;
f) other sources as approved by the Executive Committee.
8.2 The fiscal year of the Association shall be determined by the Council.
8.3 The Secretary General, in subordination to the Executive Committee, shall be responsible for the accounts of the Association and shall present the audited accounts to the Council for approval.
The accounts and other documents to be approved by the Council shall be submitted to the Auditors no later than four (4) weeks before the Council meeting in question. The Auditors shall submit their report no later than two (2) weeks before the Council meeting.
8.4 The signatories of the Association are the Secretary General together with the President, or one of the Vice Presidents.
The Executive Committee may authorize members of the staff individually to sign for the Association in matters pertaining to the day-to-day management of the Association.
8.5 Annual compensation may be paid to the Secretary General as determined by the Council.
ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS, DISSOLUTION AND INTERPRETATION
9.1 These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of Council members present and voting.
Proposals for amendments to these Bylaws may be submitted for consideration by any dues paying member of the Association. Such proposals shall be submitted to the Secretary General in written form not later than two (2) months before the Council meeting at which they are to be discussed.
9.2 On the dissolution of the Association the remaining assets shall be used to further the objectives of the Association as specified by the Council Meeting deciding on the dissolution.
9.3 Any disagreement on interpretation of these statutes shall be resolved by the Council.
These Bylaws were adopted by the Founding Meeting of the Association in Beijing, China, on May 17, 1989, and amended by Council at its meetings
in São Paulo, Brazil, on May 7, 1995,
in Toronto, Canada on May 13, 2001,
in Valencia, Spain on May 30, 2003,
in Aarhus, Denmark on October 30, 2009,
via electronic ballot in March 2010
in Valencia, Spain on June 15, 2011.
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