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    Society of Software Engineers Constitution

    Last Ratified: Febuary 3rd, 2023

    Last Edited: January 12th, 2023

    Table of Contents

    DEFINITIONS

    DEFINITIONS

    ARTICLE I: Name and Purpose

    Section 1: Name

    The name of this Organization shall be the Society of Software Engineers, hereafter referred to as the Organization. The official acronym shall be SSE.

    Section 2: Purposes

    The principal purpose of this Organization shall be to improve the experience of students interested in software and affiliated with MSOE by providing opportunities to socialize, network, build their skills, and professionally develop. Other goals include

    ARTICLE II: Membership

    Section 1: Qualification for Membership

    Members must be pursuing (or already hold) a degree from MSOE (excluding sponsor members). There are no other qualifications. Consistent with all applicable federal and state laws and MSOE policies, this Organization and its subordinate bodies and officers shall not discriminate for or against anyone on the basis of race, gender, religion, culture, or sexual orientation.

    Section 2: Responsibilities of Members

    1. Members should attend all regular meetings held by the Organization.
    2. Members should attend events sponsored/held by the Organization.
    3. Members should offer suggestions for and help plan activities run by the Organization.
    4. Members should seek opportunities to improve the Software Engineering program and community.
    5. Members should encourage other interested students to participate in events held by the Organization.
    6. Members should attempt to keep pace with trends and current affairs related to technology.

    Section 3: Types of Members

    1. REGULAR members
      1. REGULAR members are those members who have earned at least 10 points in the current quarter and have the right to vote in any non-executive organization vote. Regular members may earn points for the following:
        1. General Meeting: 10 pts
        2. Event Attendee: 5 pts
        3. Subclub Meeting: 3 pts
        4. Social Media/Discord Participation (Limited Per Month): 2 pts
        5. Helping w/ Event/Project: 20 pts
          1. Game development club, website, any event
        6. Leadership Role in Organization/Project: 30 pts
          1. Game development club, website, any event
      2. Members with zero points at any given time are considered INACTIVE.
      3. Points reset to zero at the beginning of each quarter. A raffle will be held at the end of each quarter, and each 3 pts had by a member corresponds to one raffle entry.
    2. ALUMNI members
      1. ALUMNI members have graduated from MSOE with REGULAR member standing or those who have been granted ALUMNI status by a simple majority vote of the Executive board. ALUMNI members do not have the right to vote unless all ALUMNI members have been given the right to vote on a specific vote, such permission being granted by a ⅔ majority vote of the Executive board.
    3. SPONSOR members
      1. SPONSOR membership is granted to any organization, company, or individual (including professors) by a simple majority vote of the Executive board. SPONSOR members do not have the right to vote unless all SPONSOR members have been given the right to vote on a specific vote, such permission being granted by a ⅔ majority vote of the Executive board.
      2. The Faculty Advisor is automatically a SPONSOR member.

    ARTICLE III: Officers

    Section 1: The Executive Board

    The Organization’s Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and multiple Coordinators, including but not limited to Communications, Administrative, Events, Competitive Programming Team, and Webmaster. Any REGULAR, ALUMNI, or SPONSOR member may suggest a new Coordinator position to be created. The Executive Board, including both the coordinators and executive positions, will vote on the approval of the new coordinator position. All executive positions, including chairs, must be held by a regular member. If a coordinator’s status becomes inactive, a replacement will be appointed by the Executive Board from among REGULAR MEMBERS.

    Section 2: Election of Officers

    Each elected officer shall hold their position for one year, starting in the beginning of March (elections must be held by the end of Febuary). This is to allow time for the new board to be trained and to gain experience running SSE before the new school year starts. Yearly elections are to begin in the late January or throughout Feburary as determined by the board. Nominations must occur at a GENERAL meeting prior to a seperate GENERAL meeting where the vote will occur. Voting should occur by the end of Feburary in a GENERAL meeting. Election information should be distributed at least two weeks prior. Potential candidates must be a REGULAR MEMBER and be nominated by at least one REGULAR MEMBER during the REGULAR MEETING before any election for any executive position.

    Non-elected officers are appointed by the Executive Board do not have EXECUTIVE voting power.

    Section 3: Officer Responsibilities

    1. All Officers
      1. Attend scheduled Executive Board Meetings
        1. Provide digital notice of absence in the Teams channel at least 5 minutes before the meeting
        2. An officer should not miss more than two consecutive meetings
      2. Should make an effort to attend General Meetings
    2. President
      1. Elected by REGULAR MEMBERS
      2. Plan and lead General meetings
      3. Plan and lead Executive meetings
      4. Curate organization project opportunities
      5. Work in tandem with the VP to achieve their responsibilities
      6. Is able to view the balance of the Student Account, but not withdraw money
    3. Vice President
      1. Elected by REGULAR MEMBERS
      2. Serve as a liaison for University faculty and administration, industry representatives, other student organizations, and members of the local community
      3. Curate job postings and career opportunities
      4. Work in tandem with the President to achieve their responsibilities
      5. Track the membership, contact info of the membership, and membership point standings
    4. Administrative Coordinator
      1. Elected by REGULAR MEMBERS
      2. Manage general (non-event related) fundraising efforts
      3. Oversee the Organization’s account (balance and reimbursements)
      4. Record minutes at General and Executive Meetings
    5. Communications Coordinator
      1. Elected by REGULAR MEMBERS
      2. Serve as a liaison for leaders of other organizations on campus
      3. Publish periodic updates to all SE students via the website (and email for larger, more infrequent announcements)
      4. Curate and distribute a quarterly newsletter with valuable information for members and stakeholders
      5. Forward high-impact updates from individual members to the general membership and oversee social media . Work in tandem with the Event Coordinator to promote events in all channels (Discord, Teams, Slack, Instagram, etc…)
    6. Event Coordinator
      1. Elected by REGULAR MEMBERS
      2. Oversee/guide event committees to ensure events contribute to Organizational goals
      3. Manage SSE room and equipment reservations on the University’s room reservation software
      4. Refer to the event feedback forms from the previous year when planning new or recurring events
      5. Maintain SSE event calendar
      6. Work in tandem with the Communications Coordinator to promote events in all channels (Discord, Teams, Slack, Instagram, etc…)
    7. Competitive Programming Team Coordinator
      1. Actively recruit and develop members of the team
      2. Apply for competitions within the area, and if budget allows, in the US
      3. Apply for grants and scholarships to waive competition fees
        1. Maintain relationships with new and existing sponsors
    8. Webmaster
      1. Manage SSE website discussions and content
      2. Work in tandem with VP to maintain Organization membership and mailing lists
      3. Manage merge requests and a backlog for said website
      4. Reach out to other student organizations to assist with website creation as a service to the MSOE community at large
    9. Alumni Outreach Coordinator
      1. Are appointed by the EXECUTIVE Board
      2. Must have been on the EXECUTIVE Board before being granted Alumni Status
      3. Appointed Officer needs to be at least two years out from graduation
      4. Manage and grow the Organization’s alumni network
      5. Solicit donations from alumni as needed
      6. Provide guidance and membership for student board members
    10. External Coordinators
      1. Are appointed by the EXECUTIVE Board
      2. Are subject to this document and any rules and regulations of their Organization
      3. Sit in on EXECUTIVE Board meetings
      4. Do not have EXECUTIVE voting power

    Section 4: Removal of an Officer

    Should an Executive Board member fail to uphold their responsibilities, the other Executive Board members may decide to remove the Executive Board member in question with a ⅔ majority. A special election should follow to replace the Executive Board member, and voting should occur at the next General Meeting at least two weeks in advance.

    ARTICLE IV: Meetings

    Section 1: Types of Meetings

    1. GENERAL meetings
      1. (BEFORE SEMESTER CONVERSION) The cadence for GENERAL meetings is to be established within the first quarter with the new Executive Board. At the time of this revision, the current executive board has decided that General meetings are to be held on Friday at noon on weeks 2, 5, and 8 of each academic quarter. The purpose of GENERAL meetings is to conduct votes, discuss the direction of the Organization, and inform the members of upcoming events and opportunities.
      2. (AFTER SEMESTER CONVERSION) The cadence for GENERAL meetings is to be established within the beginning of the term of the new Executive Board. At the time of this revision, the current executive board has decided that General meetings are to occur at least four times a semester, with a spacing of two weeks in between each meeting at minimum. The purpose of GENERAL meetings is to conduct votes, discuss the direction of the Organization, and inform the members of upcoming events and opportunities.
    2. EXECUTIVE meetings
      1. The PRESIDENT or VICE-PRESIDENT should organize EXECUTIVE meetings at the beginning of each quarter to reflect changing schedules. The cadence is to be set by the Executive Board as a whole with an absolute majority, but it may not descend in frequency beyond bi-weekly meetings.
    3. SPECIAL meetings
      1. The PRESIDENT or VICE-PRESIDENT may call SPECIAL meetings with at least a ONE(1) week notice, the topic of which the organizer must decide. Attendance of the Executive Board is mandatory.
    4. SUB-CLUB meetings
      1. SUB-CLUB meetings include regular meetings for each the website, game development, competitive programming, and any other team. These should be set by the respective coordinator or team lead and should be subject to change each quarter with changing schedules.
    5. JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) meetings
      1. If no coordinator is appointed, this planning and organization shall be assigned to the PRESIDENT or VICE-PRESIDENT. The cadence of is to be set by the Executive Board as a whole with an absolute majority, but is mandatory to hold one event specifically dedicated to the topic of JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) once per semester.

    Section 2: Voting and Decision Making Process

    All votes involving regular members will be held in person during general meetings. Any member can suggest an item to bring to vote, and it then must be approved by a member of the Executive Board. Votes will pass by a simple majority of any currently assembled regular members who have attended at least one previous meeting during the current school year, with the Vice President receiving an extra vote in the case of a tie.

    Section 3: Location

    As of Winter 2022, it is encouraged to hold these meetings in DH 446 (The Software Student Organizations Office). Executive board meetings will be held in this office, and general meetings are encouraged to be held in DH 310.

    Article V: Committees

    Section 1: Committee Creation

    The Executive Board has the right to create a committee by a simple majority vote conducted either at a GENERAL meeting or an EXECUTIVE meeting. The purpose of the Committee must be explicitly defined in writing and added to the master list on the website. Each Committee must have an explicitly designated leader (Champion) from the REGULAR members at creation.

    Section 2: Committee Disbandment

    The Executive Board can disband a committee by a simple majority vote conducted either at a GENERAL meeting or an EXECUTIVE meeting. The Committee’s information must be removed from the master list, and all of its associated notes/files must be archived for historical reference.

    ARTICLE VI: Amendments

    Section 1: Amendment Process

    A ⅔ majority vote may amend these Articles at a general meeting. A notice and a copy of any proposed amendment shall be distributed to all members at least one meeting before the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered. The members shall be notified of adopted constitutional amendments by the most feasible means. Any member may submit amendments.