RACC (Regional Admission Counselors of California) BY-LAWS Adopted and revised August 2013- San Jose ARTICLE I - NAME: The name of this organization is RACC (Regional Admission Counselors of California.) ARTICLE II - PURPOSES: The members of this organization are paid admission representatives from a college/university whose primary campus(es) are located outside the state of California. Additionally, the member either lives in California and holds CA as a recruitment territory; or, if they live outside of CA, but not in the institutions home state, and CA is a primary recruitment territory, they can be eligible for membership. The organization s objectives are the following: 1. To assist each other in counseling students for post-secondary study. 2. To assist high school, transfer and independent counselors through programs and informal sessions in the educating of students about post-secondary/community college opportunities. 3. To provide support to new regional representatives. 4. To offer guidance to a college/university that is considering adding a regional representative. ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP: Full Membership Guidelines include the following: 1. Admissions must be the member s primary profession. 2. Members usually work out of their homes or in small satellite offices. 3. Members must have California as a primary travel/recruitment region. 4. Members must represent a college/university that does not have its primary campus in California. 5. The institution or individual must be members of either the Western Association for College Admission Counseling or National Association for College Admission Counseling. 6. Members must reside in California or reside outside the state in which the college/university is located. 7. To maintain full-membership, fees must be current and Member must be active in RACC events. Activity will be reviewed by Membership Chair and Board in audit of Members. In-active Members are subject to being moved to Associate Membership status. For profit college/university membership only allowed as Associate Members. All prospective RACC members will complete the application which will be submitted to the Membership Chair. An application does not guarantee membership in RACC. If the Membership Chair determines that an applicant fails to meet the criteria for being a Full Member, then the applicant may submit an appeal to the Executive Board for consideration. Any
such appeal must be in writing, submitted to the Membership Chair, and address the following points: a. Why the applicant believes he or she should be considered as a Full Member. b. An account of which of the 6 requirements the prospective member meets c. The applicant s travel territory. d. How much recruitment time is spent in California. Those who do not meet all the above criteria for Full Membership are welcome to apply as nonvoting, at large Associate Members. Associate Members shall NOT be listed on the RACC website or in the RACC book, nor shall they be allowed to participate in counselor appreciation events. Participation in some initiatives like professional development activities may be allowed at the discretion of the Executive Board. Participation in mini-fairs and college fairs shall be allowed at the discretion of the RACC organizer and the partnering organization (high school, CBO etc.) ARTICLE IV - FINANCES AND DUES: Dues will be paid annually and used to support programs for counselors, publications, the web site and professional development workshops. 1. Annual dues shall be determined by the RACC Executive Board and approved by the membership. Dues may vary between different categories of membership. Participation in RACC is dependent upon the payment of dues. Statements for the succeeding year shall be mailed out as soon after June 1 as possible. Dues shall cover the fiscal year of August 1 July 31. 2. Dues Structure a. Full Members Each participating institution s initial member must be at full membership. Full members are: i. Listed on the web-site ii. Encouraged to attend the Counselor Appreciation Week iii. Listed in the RACC Book iv. Able to attend professional development events v. Able to attend college fair and mini-fairs b. Secondary Members may be added by a college/university that has more than one regional representative meeting membership requirements after the full member requirement is satisfied. Secondary members are: i. Listed in the RACC Book ii. Able to attend counselor appreciation events as sole representative from college/university. iii. Able to attend professional development events iv. Able to attend college fair and mini-fairs ARTICLE V - CHAIRS AND THEIR ELECTION: RACC Chair Positions: Chairperson, Vice-Chair (2), Treasurer; Secretary; Technology, Web Site & Publications Co-Chair (2), Membership Chair, Professional Development Chair. The above Chair positions are elected to 3 year terms (Amended August 2010.)
Elections will be held prior to, or during the annual Summer Meeting. Voting at the meeting as well as on-line voting prior to the Summer Meeting, will require majority of votes, plurality if there are more than 2 candidates. A single slate approach will applied whenever possible. The election committee will be run by a Board Member whose term is not ending in that year. Election to be run in four step process nominations, vetting/application, slating and voting. DUTIES OF CHAIRS: 1. The RACC Chairperson shall: a. Preside at all RACC Membership meetings b. Preside over Executive Board meetings c. Serve as the point of contact for individuals or college/university interested in RACC membership in cooperation with the Membership Chair d. Be authorized to sign checks and to use the RACC account e. Appoint members for special duties or committees f. Conduct the RACC survey of its membership at least every even year, to provide membership and potential member colleges/universities with the results of the comparative information g. Produce and present annual RACC Report h. The RACC Chairperson position shall be filled by a current or past Board Member. (Amendment in August 2010) 2. The 1 st Vice Chair and 2 nd Vice Chair shall: a. Assist the Chair b. When possible, there shall be a one Vice Chair representing Southern California and one representing Northern California c. Oversee the annual the annual luncheon/breakfast events for counselors d. Be authorized to sign checks and access the bank account. e. Provide membership with protocol and expectations for participation at the Counselor Appreciation Events f. Coordinate Mini Fair weeks g. Serve as one of the State s Registered Agent for the organization. 3. The Treasurer shall: a. Collect all dues and pay all bills b. Keep all financial records c. Make annual recommendation to the Executive Board regarding membership dues and budget. d. Prepare the Annual Budget to present at the summer membership meeting e. Serve as one of the State s Registered Agent for the organization. f. File the proper annual paperwork to the State of California g. Be authorized to sign checks (Checking account must list at least 2 executive board chairs)
4. The Secretary shall: a. Take minutes of all meetings and handle all correspondence b. Provide the minutes of the last meeting to new members c. Serve as the RACC historian (Added August 2013) 5. The Technology, Web Site & Publications Co-Chairs shall: (Amended August 2012 Chair position split and website added) a. Oversee all RACC publication needs (letterhead, brochures RACC books, etc.) b. Coordinate production and distribution of the RACC Book. c. Develop and implement website and web communication d. Maintain the RACC membership on-line database. Conduct annual audit, along with Membership Chair, of those listed on the RACC website e. Maintain, update both the website and member portal 6. The Professional Development Chair shall: a. Research and organize professional development events for all members b. Explore new opportunities for member outreach. c. Along with Membership Chair, provide training for RACC members on group events and procedures, including new member orientation. (Added August 2013) d. Along with Membership Chair, provide training for RACC members on group events and procedures, including new member orientation. (Added August 2013) e. Organize WACAC and NACAC Conference events (Special Interest) and session presentations f. Organize summer retreat, fall meetings and WACAC conference meeting time g. 7. The Membership Chair shall: a. Manage and maintain the RACC data base, grooming and adding new names of our RACC Partners. Annually update the data base-this b. Provide the Partners data-base to all RACC members in good standing c. Conduct drives and initiatives to gain new Partners d. Look for opportunities to offer RACC membership to potential new college/university members e. Work with new college/university considering RACC membership. Along with chair and Board, review applicants of RACC Members f. Along with Professional Development Chair, provide training for RACC members on group events and procedures, including new member orientation. (Added August 2013) g. Maintain internal roster of RACC Members (college/university) providing roster to all members and conducting Members audit on the web site with Technology Chair. All RACC Chairs are to keep records and a timeline to be passed on to their respective successor. TERMS OF SERVICE:
RACC chairs are elected prior to the summer meeting and board meeting to a three-year term of service. That term can be extended if there is no-one else to fill the position. Each office is required to have a Chair Transition Meeting before the first Executive Board meeting of an election year. During this meeting, all files and records will be turned over to the newly-elected chair. All RACC Board member positions should be accepted and carried out on three-year terms. It is preferred that Chair position terms will be staggered so as to avoid a complete overhaul of the Board in a given year. (Amended August 2011) Chairs leaving a position can run for election in a different Board position that same year. They must step away from their current Chair position for a period of at least one year, unless no-one else runs for the position. In that case, the term can be extended for one year. The one year extension can occur multiple times if no-one agrees to run for the position. (Amended August 2012) RESIGNATION OF CHAIR If a Chair resigns or leaves the organization during his or her term of office, the remaining members of the Executive Board will appoint a current RACC Member to take-over said Chair s term. Should the RACC Chairperson needs to resign, the Executive Board will appoint a member who is serving as a current Chair or has served as a past Chair or Chairperson to finish out the Chairperson s term. Election for the vacated Chairperson position will take place at the end of the original term, where-as other Chair positions will serve out a full term of three years after their appointment. (Amended August 2013) (Until the next summer election takes place) ARTICLE VII CODE OF ETHICS: RACC subscribes to the Statement of Principles of Good Practices of NACAC ARTICLE VIII AMENDMENTS: These Bylaws may be amended at the summer meeting of RACC by a vote of two-thirds of the voting members attending, providing that a notice of any proposed amendment has been sent to each voting member at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting By-law amendments can also be made at special meetings by a vote of two-thirds of the voting members attending, providing that a notice of any proposed amendment has been sent to each voting member at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting. (Added August 2013) By-laws can also be amended by a simple majority vote of the entire membership at any meeting, special meetings and via electronic voting, without prior notice of the amendments. (Added August 2013)