ACM SIG Bylaws: SIGUCCS

BYLAWS of the Special Interest Group on University and College Computer Services (SIGUCCS) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

  • Adopted: January 6, 2005

  • Amended: September 18, 2006


Article 1. Name and Scope

The organization will be called the Special Interest Group on University and College Computer Services (SIGUCCS) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. (the ACM); the organization will be referred to as SIGUCCS.

SIGUCCS is an association of professionals who support and manage the diverse aspects of information technology services in higher education institutions.

Article 2. Purpose

SIGUCCS' mission is to foster the professional development of practitioners involved in the support, delivery, management, and leadership of information technology services in higher education.

This is pursued through providing:

  • Forums for interaction and sharing knowledge and experiences
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Recognition for leaders who contribute in the field

Article 3: Charter

SIGUCCS will exist until dissolved by the Council of the ACM as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM.

Article 4. Officers

The SIGUCCS' officers are the Chair, Past Chair, Conference Liaison (Vice Chair), Secretary, Treasurer and Information Director. The duties of the officers are:

Chair: The chair is responsible for ensuring that the mission of SIGUCCS is met, leading the direction setting for products to be offered, and developing a team of officers who work together to provide a positive working relationship. The responsibilities are: promoting technical excellence through programs and activities; providing services to members and subscriber; promoting leadership and volunteerism in the field; and administering SIGUCCS in compliance with ACM policies.
Past Chair: The past chair will provide continuity for SIGUCCS operations. The past chair will act as the Chair when the Chair is unavailable. The Past Chair will also be the liaison with the Awards Program.
Conference Liaison
-- Vice Chair
The Conference Liaison will be the primary conduit with the conference management teams and the officers. The Conference Liaison will be the primary contact with any contracted conference management services.
Secretary: The secretary will write minutes for all formal meetings of the officers. The minutes will be posted on the web site. In addition, the secretary will be responsible for specialized correspondence.
Treasurer: The treasurer will track budgets and finances and manage SIGUCCS' finances according to the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM. The treasurer will coordinate with the treasurers of the conference and symposium.
Information Director: The information director will be responsible for the SIGUCCS Web Site. The Information Director will be the liaison with the communications awards committee.

Article 5: The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will consist of the officers defined in Article 4.

The general duties of the Executive Committee will be to advise the Chair on all matters of interest to SIGUCCS. Specific duties or responsibilities may be specified in these bylaws or assigned by the Chair. All SIGUCCS major management policy decisions must be approved by the Executive Committee.

All members of the Executive Committee must be members of SIGUCCS and ACM.

The Executive Committee will have formal meetings at the SIGUCCS conferences. Additional meetings will be called as appropriate.

Article 6. Vacancies and Appointments

Should the Chair leave office before his term expires, the Past Chair will assume the duties of the Chair. Should any other Executive Committee office become vacant, the Chair of the SIG Board may, on nomination of the Chair of SIGUCCS, fill the vacancy.

Should a vacancy be unfilled, either because of inadequacy of these bylaws or because of a dispute or for any other reason, the SIG Board may fill it (as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM).

The Chair may appoint committee director positions with terms of office expiring when the Chair's term expires. The committee directors will remain in their positions until a new chair appoints successors. Examples of committee directors are the Director for Tutorials and Executive Seminars, Coordinator of Vendor Relations and Coordinator for the State Captains program.

Article 7: Membership, Dues and Voting Privileges

Anyone may join SIGUCCS (SIGUCCS is an open SIG as defined in Section 6 of Bylaw 6 of the ACM).

A person is a member of SIGUCCS provided he pays the appropriate dues, which entitle membership for one year. The Executive Committee, with the approval of the Chair of the SIG Board, determines the dues structure.

All SIGUCCS members may vote in any ballot conducted for SIGUCCS.

Article 8: Reports and Records

SIGUCCS is responsible for providing the following reports to ACM:

  • An annual report on the activities of SIGUCCS during the previous year.
  • Reports required by the Financial Accountability Policy of ACM.
  • Closing reports on each conference and symposium (co) sponsored by SIGUCCS and required by ACM.

ACM Headquarters will maintain the membership records of SIGUCCS.
The Executive Committee will perform an informal program review annually. This review will determine the quality of the conferences and other services, the financial performance of SIGUCCS, and will make recommendations for changes to improve SIGUCCS operations and offerings.

A formal program review will be performed by the SGB, using a schedule defined by the SGB.

Article 9: Budget and Finances

The Treasurer, in collaboration with the Chair, will ensure that SIGUCCS is viable financially. This includes working with ACM to prepare an annual budget and to review expenditures to insure that they are handled appropriately.

The conference budgets will be created using the TMRF process. The Conference Liaison (Vice Chair) will insure that the reconciliation of the budget will be performed within 4 months after the conference is closed.

The fund balance requirement for an ongoing SIG, usually derived from the prior year's operating expenses, must be kept in the fund balance and considered in the operating budget. If, over time, fund balances accumulate beyond this requirement, the excess may be spent for the betterment of the conference or symposium, or for some activity beneficial to the SIGUCCS membership as part of the annually approved budget.

SIGUCCS guarantees that the ACM allocation will be handled as is specified by the ACM procedures.

Article 10. Elections

Elections will be held every three years. The Chair and Past Chair will form a nominating committee no later than September 15 of the year prior to the election. The nomination committee will present at least 2 candidates for Executive Committee Chair and at least 7 candidates for the offices of Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Information Director in SIGUCCS. The slate of candidates for elective office will be presented to the SIGUCCS members by January 31; notification may be done using email. A petition from 1% of the SIGUCCS membership will place other consenting candidates on the ballot. The Past Chair must receive petitions no later than March 15th. Executive Committee members will serve three-year terms.

ACM Headquarters will conduct the election among SIGUCCS members by June 1, following the election procedures of the ACM, unless the SIG Board has specified different procedures.

The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for Chair will be elected. The top four of seven candidates who receive the greatest number of votes will become the officers of the Executive Committee. The new Chair and Nominating Committee will determine the distribution of elected members into the Executive Committee positions. In case of a tie, the Executive Committee of the SIG Governing Board will determine the candidates. The Nominating Committee will inform the SIG Governing Board of the final officer positions. The new Executive Committee will take office on July 1.

Article 11: Amendments

These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the ACM Council, or by a vote of SIGUCCS members as provided below.

With the approval of the SIGUCCCS' Executive Committee and of the Executive Committee of the ACM, 2/3 of all the members of the SIG Governing Board may amend Article 1 of these bylaws without a referendum of the members.

The SIGUCCS Executive Committee, the SIG Governing Board, or a petition from 1% of the voting members of the SIG may propose amendments to these bylaws to be approved by a 2/3rds vote of the SIGUCCS membership.

All proposed amendments must be approved, prior to being submitted for a vote of the membership, by the Chairmen of both the SIG Governing Board and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of ACM, after the Executive Director of ACM has provided advice.

ACM Headquarters, following the procedures of the ACM for voting bylaw amendments, will conduct the ballot on the proposed amendment(s) among the SIGUCCS members, unless the SIG Governing Board has approved a different procedure.

The proposal is adopted only if at least 2/3 of the effective votes of returned ballots approve it, and only if at least 10% of the ballots are returned.

The Secretary will send a clean copy of the amended bylaws to the Executive Director of ACM and to the Chair of the SIG Governing Board.

Article 12. Dissolution

Should the SIG be dissolved, control of its assets will revert to the ACM.

Article 13. Consistency

The Constitution, Bylaws, and policies of the ACM and of the SIG Governing Board take precedence over any conflicting provisions of these bylaws or internal policies of the SIG.