GSG Bylaws

A. The Duties of the President shall be:

• Plan, schedule, and preside at all General Assembly (GA) and Executive Board meetings.
• Ensure that the Executive Board meets bi-weekly.

• Coordinate the activities of the GA.

• Implement all resolutions and business of the GSG.

• Manage the GSG office.

• Cultivate leadership among Graduate Student Association (GSA) representatives and meet with GSAs who are not in good standing/meeting their active requirements (See Article III, section 3 of GSG Constitution for definition).

• Perform other duties of the office of the president as may be determined by the GA.

• Plan and implement, in consultation with GA and Executive Board, GSG programs throughout the academic year.

• Consider disciplinary action regarding GSAs failing to comply with GSG active status requirements. (see Article II, Section 4 for description of "active status")

• Serve on various university committees as needed.

• Be available in person during scheduled office hours. In case of personal absence, the office hours shall be made up within a week.

• Set up an external committee made up of GSA members to audit the books of the GSG at the end of each school year.

• Establish the dates for the semester of all GSG General Assembly by the beginning of each semester.
• In the event that a GSG officer is unable to fulfill their duties, the President will reassign these duties among the rest of the Executive Board. An emergency election may then be held in accordance with Section 12.

B. The Duties of the Vice-President shall be:

• Plan, schedule, take meeting minutes, and preside over all Group Grant Committee Meetings.
• Plan, schedule, take meeting minutes, and preside over the Excellence Awards Committee.
• Plan, schedule, take meeting minutes, and preside over the Research Fellowship Awards Committee.
• Recruit, Plan, schedule, take meeting minutes, and preside over members of all internal and external committees subject to Executive Board approval.
• Notify GSAs when active status is in question.
• Preside over the General Assembly and assume all duties of the President in their absence.
• Verify RESET of GSG and all GSAs.
• Serve as a liaison between Center for Student Involvement (CSI) and all the GSAs.
• Organize and conduct Officer Orientation for the GSA Presidents regarding access to GSG resources. 
• Serve on various university committees when needed.
• Communicate decision and rationale to GSAs concerning Group Budget and Group Grants.
• Provide timely information to GSAs on issues of importance.
• Be available in person during scheduled office hours. In case of personal absence, the office hours shall be made up within a week.
• Carry out additional responsibilities as decided by the President and approved by the Executive Board.

C. The Duties of the Treasurer shall be:

• Chair the Executive Board meeting on GSG budget allocation.
• Collect and receive all funds paid to the organization and deposit them in the GSG account.
• Audit books of all colleges who externally process any funds from the GSG account.
• In conjunction with the GSG President and Vice-President, approve GSG expenditures. Co-sign all checks with the President in payment of bills.
• Abide by all University Funding Policies and Procedures.
• Abide by all Policies and Guidelines set down by the University Funding Board (UFB) and Student Advisory Committee on the University Budget (SACUB).
• Complete and present the Year-end Report by the last GSG meeting of the current academic year.
• Keep account books, which will be open at all times to inspection by the GSG officers or any authorized auditor.
• Make reports at monthly GSG meetings and as otherwise directed by the  Executive Board.
• Organize and conduct Officer Orientation for the GSA Treasurers regarding access to GSG monies.
• Provide the necessary paperwork and forms for GSAs to access their funds and apply for travel reimbursements.
• Process travel program applications and ensure compliance with travel program guidelines. Provide needed follow-up when required.
• Represent GSG interest on SACUB (Student Advisory Committee on the University Budget) and Emergency Fund Committee and make monthly reports to the GSA.
• Present GSG budget in the first and last General Assembly of the academic year.
• Be available in person during scheduled office hours. In case of personal absence, the office hours shall be made up within a week.
• Failure to abide by these policies will result in financial probation of the GSG as defined by the University guidelines.

D. The Duties of the Campus Ambassador shall be:

• Record minutes of all GAs, Executive Board meetings and assume responsibility of sending copies to all Representatives within two (2) weeks.
• Act as a liaison between the campus and the GSG officers. Help develop communication with different student constituencies of UC.
• Act as a liaison between Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and the GSG and attend at least one USG Senate Meeting per month.
• Manage social and educational events.
• Manage diversity initiatives for GSG.
• Complete any necessary required training for maintaining the GSG website.
• Facilitate GSA involvement with listserv and webpage development.
• Maintain information located on the website.
• Implement web based projects identified by the Executive Board.
• Post events, updates and Award deadlines in all GSG social media – Linktree, Instagram, GetInvolvedUC, and LinkedIn.
• Advertise General Assembly meetings to all graduate students.
• Write and disseminate a monthly newsletter to all graduate students, which will include important announcements from the General Assembly meeting, updates from the university administration, and on-campus job opportunities.
• Meet with a representative from each GSA once per academic year.
• Provide lunch and beverages to all General Assembly attendees.
• Work with Graduate College on Graduate Student Orientation efforts.
• Serve on various university committees when needed.
• Create a “Year in review” document for GSG.
• Schedule space for GA meetings and prepare materials for the meetings.
• Carry out additional responsibilities as decided by the President and approved by the Executive Board.
• Be available in person during scheduled office hours. In case of personal absence, the office hours shall be made up within a week.

E. The President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Campus Ambassador

• Are required to perform up to twenty hours of work per week devoted to the GSG objectives and activities of which for at least five hours per week they shall hold scheduled office hours at the GSG office (683A Steger Student Life Center).
• Office hours are suspended during exam and break weeks, although appointments may be scheduled.
• The Executive Board shall determine the office hours served by each officer.
• Will be present at all GSG General Assembly Meetings
• Will meet bi-weekly
• Will respond to all emails within a timely fashion (within one week)
• Will update GSG General Assembly on any updates that are crucial to the graduate students.
• Will provide an agenda for each General Assembly meeting at least three days before the meeting. This agenda should provide details about important issues that will be discussed and any guest speakers who will be present. 
• Will train their successor on the obligations of the position.

F. The Duties of the GSA Representatives shall be:

• Attend all GA meetings.
• Represent their GSA.
• Disseminate all information obtained from the GSG to GSAs

G. The Duties of Committee Representatives are listed as below:

• It is required that a representative is nominated by each graduate member group with the intention that they will serve on an university wide external committee or GSG internal committee.
• Attend all meetings of the assigned committee.
• Each representative will be required to provide a written report per committee meeting, and if needed a verbal report to the GSG executive board member assigned, within 7 calendar days of the committee meeting.

H. GSG OFFICERS & REPRESENTATIVES COMPENSATION

• Officers are compensated as follows: The President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer and the Campus Ambassador shall each receive an honorarium in the amount of $25,000 per year.
• Up to $25,00 from the GSG budget will be distributed to representatives, as seen fit by the GSG executive board.

A. GSAs shall be funded by the GSG in accordance with guidelines established by the GSG budgetary process.

1. The Budgetary process shall be on file in the GSG office and changes shall be sent to each GSA.

B. Funds shall be available to each Member Group with "active status". (See Article III, section 3 of GSG Constitution for definition.)

1. Each GSA is given an equal base budget. Groups can augment this base budget through the following: 

   a. Group's number of graduate students

   b. GSG Group of the Year Award

2. GSA can apply for money for special projects through the Group Grant process. Application does not guarantee funding by GSG.
3. Money allocated to a GSA must be used for the benefit of the largest possible number of UC graduate students.
4. GSAs are encouraged to raise revenue from other sources in accordance with University Policies and with approval by the appropriate University offices.
5. Monies earned from GSG funded projects must be relinquished by GSA. 100% of the profits from these projects must be returned to GSG not to exceed the amount GSG contributed. Additional monies left after GSG’s contribution will be added to the GSA’s Group Budget. If monies must be paid back to other co-sponsors, GSG will take that into consideration.

C. Member Groups are allowed to spend their GSG base budget on food.

1. No GSG money can be used for the purchase of alcohol or be used at events where alcohol is served.
2. Do not use more than 25% of your Group Budget for a single food focused event.

D. Member Groups must have regular representation at GSA meetings and hold meetings at least once a semester to maintain active status and be eligible for the above money allocations. Groups lacking representation are penalized as follows:

1. The GSA is notified by email to the GSA's officers upon missing two meetings.
2. Upon missing two (2) meetings the GSA is on probation.

a. Probation entails a decrease in Group budget and accessible grant/travel funds by half of the total allocation.

b. Written notification will be sent to the GSA and to the GSA's University Advisor stating that the group is on probation within two (2) weeks of the group being on probation.

c. Probationary status shall be lifted upon representation at one (1) consecutive GA meetings of the group being on probation.

        3. Upon missing four (4) meetings the GSA is considered "inactive".

a. Inactive status entails the loss of the GSA’s budget, Group Grant, Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence Awards, Research Fellowship Awards, Excellence Awards, Conference travel and any other GSG funds for the remaining academic year or two (2) semesters, whichever is shorter.

     b. Inactive status shall be lifted upon representation at two (2) consecutive GA meetings of the GSA being inactive.

    6. Upon missing more than six (6) meetings, the GSA will be considered                   "defunct".

a. Defunct status entails the loss of the  GSA’s budget, Group Grant, Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence Awards, Research Fellowship Awards, Excellence Awards, Conference travel, any other GSG funds, and voting rights of the GSA for the remaining academic year or two (2) semesters, whichever is shorter.

b. Defunct status shall be lifted following representation at two (2) consecutive GSA meetings of the group being defunct. The Group must reregister with GSG and CSI, submit a new Group Constitution and By-laws, and present a letter from the Group's advisor stating that the group has made significant strides in correcting the problem(s) that led to the defunct status.

   5. Students whose travel takes place prior to the GSA’s status change to invalid or     defunct are not restricted in applying for individual Conference Travel Award. All     other travel rules and guidelines apply.

  6. Reinstatement of "active status" in any situation entails fulfillment of attendance     and registration requirements.

  7. In order for any GSA to obtain an attendance waiver for a certain semester, the     Dean of the College that the GSA is part of along with their advisor must provide     a letter certifying that no graduate student is available to attend the General     Assembly at the stipulated time. In addition, the GSA requesting such a waiver     must be willing to serve on some GSG related committees, as determined by the     Executive Board.

A. GSG elections shall be held at the second to last meeting of the academic year.

B. The GSG President must be notified in writing by all prospective candidates one week prior to the announced election date.

1. Each candidate must be present at the GSA meeting to be formally nominated.
2. Each candidate should speak for five minutes, and answer any questions the GSA may pose (Up to 10 minutes), while the other candidates step outside of the meeting room.
3. Any member in attendance with floor speaking rights may ask questions.
4. Quorum (66%) must be present for elections to take place.

C. Any graduate student registered in an approved / official graduate program may run for office.

1. Each candidate must attend at least 3 General Assemblies prior to running.

2. Each candidate may submit intent to run for another position should they fail to be elected to their first option - in accordance to the running order stated in Section 3D.

3. Each candidate must have at least one full semester of graduate training at UC prior to running.

D. All voting must be done at the election meeting.

No absentee ballots will be accepted. Election of officers shall be by voting cards or online poll and requires a quorum vote. The order of elections shall be for the positions of the GSG President, followed by the Vice-President, the Treasurer, and the Campus Ambassador. A candidate who has not been successful at election for a position, may choose to run for further positions that are uncontested, or that they have submitted prior intent for. Should a majority not be achieved by any candidate, a run-off vote shall be held during the same meeting involving the two (2) top vote recipients.

E. In the event of a withdrawal, resignation, or removal of any elected officer, an election to fill that vacant position shall be held at the next general GSA meeting.

The replacement election shall be conducted as above, with written notification of the results sent to all GSAs.

F. Elections will be run by outgoing GSG officers with support of the Evaluation Committee.

If all GSG officers are running for re-election then Evaluation Committee will run the election. Preferably a person who has served in the executive board in the past two years.

G. The vote of a Member Group equals its official GSA attendance representation.  

H. Voting members must be given the option to abstain from all votes. If abstentions account for a majority of votes, then the election for that position will be delayed until the following General Assembly meeting.

I. Voting members must have the option to request a vote for no confidence.

A. The Executive Board shall be composed of the elected officers of the GSG.

B. The Executive Board shall advise the GSG on the policies, activities, disciplinary measures of Members and Member Groups, and shall have general managerial control of the GSG.

C. The Executive Board is subject to GSA review.

1. An at-large member designated by the General Assembly may attend Executive Board meetings.

2. If the GSG General Assembly is dissatisfied with the Executive Board, they may impeach the officers according to the guidelines listed in Section 12.

D. The Executive Board shall review attendance at the meetings and discipline any Member Groups who have violated attendance requirements (see Section 2D).  

E. All members of the Executive Board must be present at all GSG General Assembly and remain for the entire duration. 

1. In the case of absences, apologies are to be documented in the meeting agenda/minutes.

F. Members of the Executive Board shall not apply for Research Fellowship Grants, Graduate Student Excellence Awards during their tenure on the eboard. For PMGSE, if an e-board member is recommended by a faculty or administrator, the officer will have to abstain from any procedures pertaining to the committee.

A. Any Member Group charged with conduct not in accord with the purposes of the GSG or the University and against whom such charges are sustained after due and proper hearing before the Executive Board may be expelled from membership.

1. Expelled Groups shall forfeit all interest in any funds and privileges and may not use the GSG name in connection with any further activities.

B. The Member Group will have the privilege of appealing to the GSA.

1. The Member Group must request said appeal in writing to the GSA within five (5) school days after the issuance of the ruling.

C. If the GSA supports the Executive Board's ruling, a final appeal may be requested from the Dean of Students within five (5) school days of the GSA ruling.

D. Each of these appellant groups must act on hearing the appeal within fifteen (15) school days, and must issue a written decision to be placed on file in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development within seven (7) days after the appeal has been completed.  

A. For all scheduled meetings of the GSA, voting can only be completed by Representatives and Alternates of Member Groups.

B. The vote of a GSA equals its official GSG attendance representation. Each GSA shall have a voting right.

C. A quorum shall be a majority of voting members of the GSA meetings.

1. Voting shall be conducted through Microsoft Forms or some other comparable virtual or physical system to ensure anonymity.

2. The option to abstain from a vote must always be included.

3. The option to show no confidence in a candidate must always be included.

A. GSAs must have ratified constitution and bylaws on their GetInvolvedUC page and it must be reviewed yearly.

B. GSAs must submit GSG and Center for Student Involvement (CSI) RESET registration forms by the deadline determined by CSI.

C. GSAs must hold elections by the second week of April in order to facilitate an effective transition between academic years – two semester programs can hold their elections by second week of August.

D. GSAs are required to do the following:

1. Send one member to attend all GSG General Assembly meetings
2. Send the newly elected president and treasurer to attend GSG Officer Orientations
3. Select one member to serve on a GSG Committee (as outlined in Section 10)
4. Oversee GSA elections and meet with the new eboard to ensure effective transition of responsibilities. For two semester programs, a sustainable document needs to be in place to pass on the responsibilities to the new eboard.
5. Meet with the Campus Ambassador once per academic year

E. A student may be a member of more than one GSA but may only apply for personal funding and vote with one GSA.

F. The name of the GSA should end with a Graduate Student Association. Please refrain from using other collective or degree-based nouns like department, organization, “University of Cincinnati”, Masters, Ph.D. to avoid confusion with other student and administrative bodies. It is understood that a GSA belongs to all graduate students within a department. For eg: Design Graduate Student Association. This should be reflected on GetInvolvedUC and constitution as well. Only exception for including other collective nouns is if it’s a collection of Departments like a school or a college. For eg: CECH Graduate Student Association.

A. The Executive Board may raise revenue from other sources subject to approval by the General Assembly, in accordance with University Policies and approval by the appropriate University office.

B. GSG member groups shall have the right to raise their own revenue.

1. Monies earned from GSG funded projects must be relinquished by Member Groups. 100% of the profits from these projects must be returned to GSG not to exceed the amount GSG contributed. If monies must be paid back to other co-sponsors, GSG will take that into consideration.
2. Means used to raise money must be in accordance with University policies.

A. The faculty advisor for the GSG shall be selected by the Executive Board and approved by quorum (66% of voting members) during the first General Assembly meeting of the year.

B. The faculty advisor will also carry out University responsibilities, and will:

1. Be consulted on all major business of the GSG.
2. Give approval for all off-campus activities of the GSG.
3. Be available to the Evaluation Committee additional assistance of its duties.

A. The Duties of Committee Representatives are listed as below:

• It is required that a representative attends all the meetings of their committee.

B. Committees may be established by the Executive Board or the General Assembly and shall perform such duties as defined in their establishment.

1. In the event of an emergent situation (social, financial, etc.), the Executive Board may form an emergency committee to address student needs. The General Assembly may also request that a committee be formed by a majority of a quorum (66% of voting members).

C. The executive board must set a deadline for the recruitment of committee members by the first week of summer semester and as deemed appropriate by the eboard.

D. Each committee will be chaired by an eboard member and can be co-chaired by a GSA representative or member of the graduate assembly – except for the Evaluation Committee which is chaired by a GSA representative elected by a majority of a quorum (66% of voting members). 

E. The Executive Board is responsible for communicating important updates from each committee at the General Assembly meeting.

F. If the Vice President or Executive Board is unable or unwilling to lead any of these committees, a member of the General Assembly may volunteer to lead a committee by a majority of a quorum (66% of voting members).

G. The Executive Board and the President shall only dissolve these established committees by a majority of a quorum (66% of voting members) of GSA representatives.

H. If a committee representative is unable to fulfill their duties, an alternative representative will be selected by the Vice President.

I. The following committees have been established by the GSG and shall be formed every year, unless otherwise decided by a majority of a quorum (66% of voting members):

• Research Fellowships Committee: This committee will review the applications for research fellowships and determine recipients of these awards. This committee will be led by the Vice President. If a member of the committee is applying for an award, they must be removed from the committee. 
• Excellence Awards Committee: This committee will review the applications for the Graduate Student Excellence Awards and determine recipients. This committee will be led by the Vice President. If a member of the committee is applying for an award, they must be removed from the committee.
• Professional Development Committee: This committee will organize and disseminate information regarding professional development programming available for graduate students, organize necessary professional development events, and advocate for further professional development support from the university. This committee will be led by the President and will meet at least once per month during the academic year.
• Mental Health Committee: This committee will advocate on behalf of graduate students for increased mental health support on campus and organize events for graduate students. This committee will be led by the President and will meet at least once per month during the academic year.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: This committee will advocate on behalf of graduate students for increased DEI initiatives, organize DEI events, and disseminate information regarding DEI. This committee will be led by the President and will meet at least once per month during the academic year.
• Campus Events Committee: This committee will organize events and disseminate information regarding campus outreach opportunities. Major events typically include the GSG Thanksgiving dinner and the Charity Spring Ball. This committee will be led by the Campus Ambassador and will meet at least once per month during the academic year.
• PMGSE Committee: This committee will review the applications for the Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence and determine recipients. This committee will be led by the Vice President. If a member of the committee is applying for an award, they must be removed from the committee.
• Evaluation Committee: This committee will work with the University Advisor and deploy a survey to the General Assembly to monitor the progress of the current GSG Executive Board. The survey will be deployed in September and the results reviewed before the December General Assembly meeting. The results of the survey will be shared with the University Advisor. If the performance of any member of the Executive Board is deemed unsatisfactory, the committee will be responsible for following the Impeachment procedures outlined in Section 12.

A. The GSG President will serve on all University committees. If the University asks for further graduate students to serve on a variety of committees, the GSG President will actively search to find graduate students to fill these positions and is responsible for updating the General Assembly about relevant information (on University Committees) in a timely manner.

B. Committee representatives shall attend all meetings of their assigned committee and provide a written report per committee meeting to the GSG President within one week of the committee meeting in the absence of existing meeting minutes.

C. If a committee representative is unable to fulfill their duties, an alternative representative will be selected by the President.

A. GSG eboard member may be impeached by a majority of a quorum (66% of voting members), with support of the Evaluation Committee, on charges of nonperformance or malfeasance of duties as specified in Section 1.

B. Charges must be in writing and brought by a member of the General Assembly or member of the Evaluation Committee

C. After the officer's answer has been received by the GA, a vote shall be taken at the next regularly scheduled meeting to determine the outcome of said charges.

D. A majority of a quorum (66% of voting members) of General Assembly is necessary for conviction.

E. The officer shall have the right of appeal.

1. After conviction, the officer may appeal to the Office of Student Affairs and Services in writing within two (2) school days. The appeal shall be heard by three members of the Student Affairs and Services Office. The Appeal Board must hold a hearing within thirty (30) days after the request has been made. A written decision must be made within seven (7) school days after the hearing.

A. The Bylaws of the GSG shall be reviewed once per year by the GSG Executive Board and the General Assembly. The Bylaws must be reviewed prior to the April General Assembly meeting, at which time the General Assembly shall vote to approve the Bylaws and any proposed changes.

B. Updated Bylaws must be posted on the University website before registration of the following academic year.

C. The Bylaws of the GSG shall be read and discussed as a key component of the GSG Officer Orientation.

The bylaws were reviewed and approved in April, 2024.