Structure:
A. Officers and Duties
The executive committee shall consist of the following: President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, Advisor, event coordinator, Public Relations Officer and sports coordinator.
1. The President and Vice-President must be a Pakistani student registered at The University of Minnesota for the duration of his/her term of office. A Pakistani refers to anyone having ethnic ties to Pakistan. The President’s duties shall be to call and preside over all meetings, to ensure that the constitution is adhered to, and to represent PSA on official matters.
2. The Vice-president shall assume the duties of the President in the event that the President is unable to perform his/her duties. The Vice-president shall prepare the agenda and assist the President in the day-to-day affairs. The Vice-President is also responsible for registering the PSA with the University of Minnesota.
3. The Secretary shall record the proceedings in the General Body, Election, and Executive Committee meetings, process all written material and correspondence. The Secretary shall also maintain track of all PSA assets.
4. The Treasurer shall maintain the financial records and shall present a financial statement at the beginning of each term, and at each General Body Meeting He/she shall be prepared to present a financial statement to the MSA or CIC upon request. The Treasurer and the President shall jointly operate the Association’s bank account. The Treasurer should be aware of grant resources and help the event committees in process of application for grants.
5. An optional office of an advisor is responsible for coordinating between the community and PSA. Nomination for this post can be from the previous members of executive board of PSA, or/and Faculty of UMN. The Advisor should be accessible with the Twin Cities Metro Area.
6. The Event Coordinator shall coordinate all of the events of the Association and shall prepare a detailed report, following the activity, detailing expenses, suggestions, etc. He/she shall keep track of past events and make recommendations for future events to the General Body.
7. Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for fostering relations between PSA and the University, media and the outside community. Also he/she will be responsible for increasing PSA membership. The Public Relations Officer should work in coordination with the Election Commission to determine the voting or non-voting status of a member. The PRO shall also maintain contact with the International Students Office and with past, as well as prospective students.
8. The executive committee shall be elected in the month of April and shall serve for a period of one year. The newly elected executive board will take charge on the first day of Fall Semester. In the meantime the newly elected members will work in coordination with the previous board as a part of their training. In the event that a member of the executive committee graduates before the end of his/her tenure, the executive committee can nominate a replacement.
9. The President has a power to form a new office if needed and can also have a cabinet that is not part of the Executive board but helps the president in the day-to-day running of PSA matters.
B. Members
1. There will be two categories of members: paid and unpaid.
2. Paid member will have paid the membership fees of PSA and will be eligible for all PSA benefits decided by the executive body.
3. Unpaid members are ones that have filled out the membership form but have not paid the membership fees and are not eligible for any PSA benefits as decided by the executive body.
4. Membership fee shall be decided by the executive body after taking votes from the General Body.
5. Executive Board members must be paid members of PSA.
C. Meetings, Elections and General Body
1. An election commission shall be responsible for outlining the rules of the elections.
2. The executive body shall nominate minimum of two persons in charge of election commission.
3. The persons in election commission shall not contest for any position in the executive committee.
4. The general body shall approve the election commission recommend by the executive committee. There should be a ¾ majority to approve the election commission in the general body meeting
5. The executive committee shall nominate the names of persons at least two weeks before the General body meeting at which the commission will be approved. The approval of the commission should be completed at least four weeks before the elections.
6. The election commission shall present guidelines for election to the general body at least two weeks before the elections. These guidelines should be made public at least a week before the approval meeting.
7. In the event that elections are not held by first week of September, the executive committee would stand dissolved. In such a case, any three members of general body can arrange new elections.
8. The executive committee shall be elected by a simple majority of the members.
9. Results of elections will be sent to the general body and relevant student services offices
10. The Executive Committee shall recommend to the members the removal of a committee member for negligence of duties. This removal may take place only with the consent of three-fourths of the total voting membership.
11. In case of a resignation by an executive committee member, the executive body shall appoint a replacement within a month of the resignation. The replacement must then be approved by a simple majority of the members present at the next general meeting.
12. An executive committee member who misses two or more meetings during the year without an adequate excuse shall be removed from his/her position. The executive body shall then appoint a replacement.
D. Responsibilities of the Executive Committee
1. The executive committee should arrange at least two social events during each quarter/ semester. A social event can be a lecture, a study break, a dinner, etc.
2. The executive committee shall make a financial statement publicly available at the end of each quarter/semester (e.g. by posting it on the PSA e-mail list).
3. If the executive committee fails to fulfill any of its responsibilities, any two members of the general body can call a general body meeting to discuss the issue and possibly remove the executive committee.
E. Constitutional Amendments
1. Any member may propose an amendment to the constitution. The amendment shall be posted for at least two weeks (on PSA web page and on e-mail list) at which point a meeting shall be held to consider the proposal.
2. A three-fourths majority of members present at the approval General Body meeting shall be required to pass an amendment to the constitution.
3. In the event of emergency, the president shall called the general body meeting to discuss the amendment in the constitution and approved it by ¾ majority of the members present at the meeting.
F. Procedure Conflicts
Points of conflict, methods of conduct etc., shall be resolved according to Robert’s Rules of Order. In the event that conflict cannot be solved, the executive committee shall decide on an alternative solution.
