It is the policy of Missouri State University and the Residence Hall Association not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, or veteran status in employment or in any program or activity offered or sponsored by the University.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Meeting Times and Places

The General Assembly meet Monday, 4-6 PM, excluding final exam week and vacation periods. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in residence hall student government.

The Executive Board meets at a time convenient to all members, usually meeting Wednesdays from 4-6 PM, excluding final exam week and vacation periods. Anyone is welcome to schedule a time with the President to speak with the Executive Board.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Meeting Format

The RHA General Assembly shall meet on a weekly basis. Attendance is recorded each week by the Administrative Assistant.

Each committee shall meet after the General Assembly meeting, and may also meet outside GA meetings, at a time convenient to the coordinator and the members. Meetings may be cancelled or postponed due to events and/or the coordinator’s discretion.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Flow of Business

The Standard Flow of Business refers to how the meeting is run, and in what order things are presented each week.

BUSINESS MEETINGS

I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER

II. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT

III. MINUTES: CORRECTION/APPROVAL

At this point, the President asks if any corrections need to be made in the minutes of the previous General Assembly meeting. A Representative should state the correction aloud during the meeting. If the correction is valid and approved by the General Assembly, it is entered into the minutes. After all corrections have been made, the President asks for approval of the minutes by the General Assembly.

IV. PRESIDENTIAL REPORT

V. SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS

A.SGA

B. SOFAC

C. SAC

D. Other Committees

E. NRHH

During this part of the meeting, RHA members report on activities of committees that RHA is involved in, or ad-hoc committees created by RHA. Only information that is vital to the operation of RHA is given. Full reports are to be written and given to the Administrative Assistant to be entered into the minutes.

VI. OLD BUSINESS

Motions dealing with issues previously reviewed by and/or reported to the General Assembly are discussed, debated, and voted on at this time. This includes tabled motions. This period is also for review of events that have occurred in the past week as well as progress reports on upcoming events.

VII. NEW BUSINESS

This period is for the introduction of new ideas for programs and events by the various committees.

VIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements from the General Assembly, Executive Board members, and advisors are made this time. This should also include announcements of upcoming Hall Council programs.

IX. ADJOURNMENT

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Removal of General Assembly Members from the General Assembly Due to Repeated Absences

A General Assembly member shall lose his/her position on the General Assembly after accumulating four unexcused absences per semester from weekly General Assembly meetings and weekly committee meetings. All absences are unexcused and may become excused in one of the following cases:

1) If an Executive Board member or advisor is notified prior to a General Assembly meeting, and a valid reason is given, or

2) If that General Assembly member’s respective committee Coordinator is notified prior to their committee meeting, and a valid reason is given.

If a General Assembly member is removed from his/her position, the open seat will be referred back to the respective hall. A replacement may be appointed by the RHA Executive Board upon recommendation of that building’s Hall Council and approved by the General Assembly.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning General Office Use

The Department of Residence Life and Services is responsible for office access. Executive Board members and advisors have office access, as well as custodial and maintenance employees.

Office users shall respect the security of the office and items in the office. Office users will not abuse the items in the office in any way, they will leave the office clean and orderly, and they will recycle paper. Users will defer use to Executive Board members and/or committees.

The computers may only be used with approval of an Executive Board member or advisor. Use of the ProImage machine is restricted only to Executive Board members and advisors, or as needed by staff with supervision by an Executive Board member or advisor.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Resident Surveys

Each year, RHA conducts a survey of the residents in order to get feedback as to the effectiveness of RHA programming, functions, duties, and other matters relating to resident concerns.

The Hall and University Enrichment Committee shall be responsible for drafting questions and organizing the format of the survey. The Internal Communications Committee shall produce, copy, and distribute the survey. Both committees assist each other in collecting data and compiling results. Copies of the results are made available to the Executive Board, advisors, General Assembly, and each hall. Any committee or even residents may assist in making input for questions, but the drafting of the survey is the responsibility of HUE and ICC.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Executive Board Elections

Rules will be suspended by the President. Candidates may distribute printed campaign materials before the elections begin. Each candidate will be allowed to speak before each office’s election for a maximum of three (3) minutes and then may field questions from the General Assembly. Those who wish to decline nominations may notify the President before the election for that office begins.

The candidates, General Assembly, the Executive Board, and others will act in an appropriate manner. If not, the individuals may be removed from the meeting and therefore lose voting rights. This option will not be exercised lightly.

Elections will be held in the order determined by the President before the rules are suspended. After the candidates are questioned, they are asked to leave the room regardless if the election is contested or not. Candidates with voting rights will be allowed to leave their ballots with the elections officer before they leave the room. After the candidates have left the room, discussion begins and may have time limits placed upon it.

New Executive Board members are determined by plurality of votes cast; meaning the one who gets the most votes wins, regardless of whether it is a majority. Vote for one candidate only by writing that candidate’s name on the ballot. Writing “no preference” is a vote not in the affirmative for any candidate. If the most votes are cast for “no preference”, new nominations are held for that position and a special election is called and, if necessary, a special session General Assembly meeting.

Ballots are collected and counted by the Election Official as determined by the President with the consent of the Executive Board/General Assembly advisor. Ballots will be stored in the RHA Office until the next Executive Board election. Results of the elections are announced by the President.

Standard Operating Procedure concerning Presidential Election Committee

A committee of 7 people will be set up to select the president. The seven people would consist of the following people:

1 RHA Advisor (staff)

1 NRHH Advisor (staff)

1 Other Hall Council Advisor (staff)

1 Out-going RHA president (student)

1 Non-Returning RHA Exec Board member (student)

2 GA members (students)

The RHA and NRHH advisor are chosen by the Department of Residence Life and Services. The other Hall Council Advisor will be chosen by the General Assembly based on attendance at RHA meetings and programs, as well as their own hall council events.

The current RHA president will choose the non-returning board member to sit on the committee if there is more than one person not returning.

The 2 GA members will be chosen in the following manner. The current RHA Exec board will choose one member that they feel will be most beneficial to the committee. The second member will be chosen by the GA themselves. This way they can pick the person they feel will best represent them.

If the RHA president is planning on running again, that position will be filled by the Administrative Assistant, as stated in the constitution. If the Admin is running for president the RHA advisor will then choose a member from either Exec or GA to take that place.

If at any point the RHA and NRHH advisor is the same person that position would be replaced by another Hall Council advisor chosen by the Department of Residence Life.

Process

The process is a three step process:

Three weeks before general elections for all other positions the President will take nominations for the position of president for the upcoming year at the general assembly meeting. People may nominate themselves for the position.

As soon as a person accepts the nomination, he/she will receive the application packet that is due by the next GA meeting. At that GA meeting the candidate will have to make a short speech declaring their intent to run for the position and what goals they have for the position.

Two weeks before general elections the people GA needs to choose for the committee will be chosen at the GA meeting.

One week before the general elections all presidential candidates will be interviewed by the chosen committee. Interviews will be no longer than 45 minutes and all candidates will be asked the same set of questions agreed upon by the committee. After all the interviews, the committee will have a pro-con discussion about the candidates and each member of the committee will get an equal vote. If in the case of a tie, there will be a revote with the tied candidates. The committee has the right to decide with appropriate reasons that any candidate is not fit to hold the position and remove them from the remainder of the process.

During the week of the general elections the outgoing president will announce who the committee picked as president (candidates will not be in the room) answer any questions from the General Assembly and ask for GA to ratify the decision.

If the GA decides not to ratify the decision a pro-con debate will be held on why they did not pass it and another vote will be taken. If it still does not pass, the committee’s second choice (if appropriate) will be announced and debated and voted on.

If the GA decides not to accept any of the committee’s choices the process will begin again with the GA being allowed to change their members on the committee. If any person was removed from the process the Assistant Director of Education and Development will decide if that candidate may run again. No member from the first committee may decide to run for the position at this time.

Application

The application will consist of two parts.

The first part is a resume of the candidate.

The second part asks them to answer questions about the position.

Why do you want the position?

What past experience do you have that relates to this position?

What do you believe the purpose of RHA is on campus?

What are your time commitments for the next academic year?

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning the Appointment of SGA Senators representing RHA

The two SGA (Student Government Association) Student Senate seats designated for representation by RHA shall be appointed by the President, and filled by one Executive Board member, and one General Assembly member. The Executive Board Senate seat may be filled by a General Assembly member, if the President deems it necessary. These appointments must receive a simple majority approval by the General Assembly. Once appointed, the Senators will represent the interests of RHA and report all activities, findings, and progress to the General Assembly during a regular business meeting. Senators appointed from the General Assembly may choose to be excused from serving on an RHA committee due to SGA committee involvement.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning the Appointment of Representatives of RHA to Ad-Hoc Positions

Ad-hoc positions deemed necessary by the President with advice of the RHA Executive Board and advisors are filled by a simple majority approval of the General Assembly. When feasible, application for an ad-hoc position will follow a simple interview process conducted by the President and/or other administrators, as needed.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning RHA Memorandum Format

All memos representing RHA in some capacity will include the following information:

• to whom the memo is directed

• the name and title of the author of the memo

• the date

• the subject matter

• the body text

• a closing statement

** All written material must be proofread by an advisor

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Publicity

All publicity representing RHA in any manner will contain the following information:

• what is being advertised

• where it is taking place

• when it is to occur

• “Sponsored by RHA” or equivalent

• other necessary information

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Budgeting Guidelines and Operations

The President will create a line-item budget for the RHA General Assembly and Executive Board. Copies of all financial transactions approved by the General Assembly or Executive Board are to be given to both the President and the appropriate RHA advisor.

The President is responsible for the administration of the RHA Resident Activity Fee account, as mandated by the Board of Governors. Each month a designated RHA advisor will request a line item budget report from the Department of Residence Life and Services. This will serve as the official balance statement. A copy of the report will be given to the President for auditing of RHA General Assembly or Executive Board expenses. The President will keep a separate internal auditing balance ledger. The two ledgers will be compared for discrepancies and corrected as needed. After each major program, the President will compile an expenditure report for the given program.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning the RHA Supportive Grants Service

The RHA President, constitutionally accountable for the joint administration of the RHA Resident Activity Fee, will create a budgetary allocation for this service. This allocation will be no more than ten percent of the RHA Resident Activity Fee funding after apportionment and is subject to the advice and consent of the RHA Executive Board.

The RHA Supportive Grants application process is as follows:

1) A Hall Council member, Building Association members, RHA General Assembly member, or Residence Life Resident Assistant, acting as the Grant Applicant, will contact the RHA President so that they can be placed on the RHA General Assembly meeting agenda. Notification must be by 5p.m. Thursday to be on the following Monday’s agenda, so the agenda may be posted on the website.

2) The Grant Applicant will present an oral and written description of the program or service that will be funded by the Grant at a regular RHA General Assembly meeting. A copy of the written description should be provided to all RHA General Assembly members.

3) The Grant Applicant must make their presentation to the RHA General Assembly at least two weeks in advance of the proposed event and must be prepared to answer any questions from the General Assembly.

4) The RHA General Assembly will have a week to discuss the Grant Application before presentation of a motion the following week.

5) The RHA General Assembly will choose whether to approve the application for an RHA Supportive Grant through a motion.

6) Upon approval of an application for an RHA Supportive Grant, the RHA President will be responsible for the administration and oversight of the RHA Supportive Grant funding transfer.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Program Reports and Documentation

After each activity or event, a summary report is submitted by the appropriate Executive Board member. These reports discuss the overall successes and failures of each activity or event. These reports also include suggestions for how to better the activity or event in the future.

Standard Operating Procedure concerning the Use of ACTION! Plans

Each Executive Board member creates an ACTION! Plan outlining activities, issues, and events to be carried out over the course of the semester. These include general goals of the activity, issues, events, targeted dates for implementation, a set list of details to be attended to, general information, and absolute final deadlines. These are designed with the help and input of the appropriate committee or the General Assembly.

Standard Operating Procedure concerning the RHA Website

The RHA Website shall be located at www.missouristate.edu/rha and shall be created and kept on Net Objects Fusion. The Internal Communications Coordinator shall have supervision over the website unless he/she decline this duty. In such a case, the president shall appoint a member of the Executive Board to take on the duty of updating the website.

The first page shall be a calendar of RHA events and shall be the home page for all computers in the residence halls. The site shall also include a copy of the Constitution, Standard Operating Procedures, a roster, next meeting’s agenda (if prepared), and descriptions of each committee.

Standard Operating Procedure Concerning Parliamentary Procedure

Introduction

At the first General Assembly meeting the General Assembly and Executive Board will set parliamentary procedures.

Motions in General

A motion is a proposal that the General Assembly TAKE A STAND or TAKE ACTION on an issue. In addition to making a proposal, a representative can express support for another’s motion by “seconding” it. Depending on the type of motion, discussion or debate may be in order. After this, a vote on the motion may be needed, usually requiring a simple majority.

Main Motions

This is usually a programming or policy proposal that needs to be discussed and approved by the General Assembly for it to take effect. During Old or New Business, any member, after being put on the agenda and being recognized by the President may make a motion. Main motions require a second before discussion can begin. A Main Motion must be presented in written or typed form, before the President will recognize it. A completed Main Motion/Amendment Request Form must be returned to the Administrative Assistant or President prior to presenting the motion.

Amending a Motion

If a member wishes to change part of a motion (main or otherwise) that is on the floor, that member should be recognized by the President and then present that amendment by saying “I move to amend this motion by…” Amendments require a second before discussion can begin if necessary. An amendment form should be filed with the Administrative Assistant prior to the conclusion of debate on the amendment.

Friendly Amendments

If an amendment is presented and seconded, the member making the original motion and the second for that motion will be asked if they accept the amendment. If they do accept, the member making the original motion will be asked to restate the motion as amended and it will become the original motion for purposes of the minutes and voting.

Parliamentary Procedure

Official ParliPro shall be agreed upon by the Executive Board during Fall Training. It shall run as follows:

Motion written and read

If no amendments are made, continue to debate/discussion.

Debate includes, opinions, facts, and any statement thereby pertaining to the motion on the floor. Questions may also be asked at this time.

A General Assembly member may “Call the Question” or call a vote.

The President will then say, “Question has been called. Is there any dissent?”

If no dissent, GA will proceed to vote.

If there is dissent, the person who called dissention will have the floor.

Question must be called again.

Vote.

Voting

Non-binding Votes

The President or advisors may call for a non-binding “straw vote” of all members present (including non-voting members) on certain issues. This will normally be done by show of hands.

By General Consent

When a motion is not likely to be opposed, the President will say “If there is no objection…” Members show their agreement by their silence. If someone says “I object” the matter must be put to a vote.

By Voice

The President asks those in favor to say “aye” and those opposed to say “nay.” Any member may move for an exact count by rising and saying “Division.” This means that the President will call for a vote in one of the following voting manners so that an exact count may be obtained.

By Show of Hands

Members raise their hands as sight verification of the exact count of “ayes,” “nays,” and abstentions.

By Roll Call

If a record of each person’s vote is needed, each member answers “aye,” “nay,” or “abstain” as his or her name is called.

By Ballot

Members write their vote on a slip of paper, to be counted by an advisor, Parliamentarian, or other member thereby appointed by the President.

Standard Operating Procedure for Approving Changes to the Bylaws and Constitution

All changes and amendments to the constitution and bylaws must be approved by the General Assembly, Residence Life, the Office of Student Activities and Student Government Association.

This site is maintained by the RHA Internal Communications Coordinator RHA@missouristate.edu

Page Last Modified 10/31/2007 Accessibility EO/AA

http://www.rha.missouristate.edu/files/bylaws.htm