Constitution
Postgraduate Students’ Association
University of Limerick
Constitution
Cumann na nIarchéimithe
Ollscoil Luimnigh
Bunreacht
Adopted at a general meeting of the University of Limerick Postgraduate Students’ Association 26 April 2000.
1st amended on the 1st of October 2009.
PREAMBLE
We, the Postgraduate Students of the University of Limerick, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution, revoking all previous Constitutions for the Postgraduate Students' Association of the University of Limerick, and notwithstanding any provisions which shall be made for the Association by the Governing Authority of the University of Limerick.
The Constitution derives its authority from the Postgraduate student body of the University of Limerick
This Constitution may be amended by Referendum or General Meeting
Any member seeking a copy of the Constitution is entitled to one from the President of the Postgraduate Students’ Association
This Constitution shall be published electronically
Name & Definitions
1. Name of the Association
1.1 The name in English is the Postgraduate Students’ Association.
1.2 Is é Cumann na nIarchéimithe an t-ainm as Gaelige.
2. Definitions
2.1 'University' means The University of Limerick.
2.2 'Association' refers to the association named "Postgraduate Students' Association" of the University of Limerick.
2.3 'Postgraduate’ means any person currently registered for a postgraduate qualification at UL.
2.4 'Executive' means the Executive committee of the University of Limerick Postgraduate Students' Association.
2.5 The Officers of the Association shall be: the President, the Deputy-President, the Treasurer, Mary Immaculate College Representative, the Publicity Officer and the Events Officer.
Aims and Objectives
3. The Objectives of the Association
3.1 To represent postgraduate students (collectively and individually) in all matters relating to the postgraduate experience.
3.2 To provide a means of communication between postgraduate students and the academic community, the University administration and other bodies concerned with postgraduate study.
3.3 To promote the development of a postgraduate 'culture' and community at the University and in both national and international forums.
3.4 To liaise with all relevant bodies.
3.5 To elect or nominate postgraduate students to representative committees, both within the University and elsewhere, where provision has been made for Association representatives.
4. Statement of Purpose
4.1 The Association alone shall represent and defend the interests of postgraduate students of the University of Limerick on Departmental, Faculty, University & other committees and shall be empowered to negotiate on all matters concerning both the employment of postgraduate students and the remuneration for such employment within the University.
Membership
5. Eligibility
5.1 All Postgraduate Students currently enrolled at the University of Limerick and Sabbatical Officers of the Association shall be deemed ipso facto to be full members of the Association.
5.2 Other Students and staff of the University are eligible for associate membership of the Association, subject to a fee to be set annually by the Executive committee.
5.3 Nothing in Article C 1.2 shall be deemed to give any person an absolute right to become an associate member of the Association. No one shall be admitted to associate membership when such an arrangement would be detrimental to the interests of the Association as determined by the Executive Committee.
5.4 In addition, the executive may bestow honorary membership on those they consider worthy.
5.5 The status of associate and honorary members shall be reviewed at the discretion of the Executive.
6. Rights of Members
6.1 Only full members shall have voting rights as prescribed in Schedule I.
6.2 Only full members on the date of polling shall be entitled to stand for election to the Executive.
6.3 The interests of associate members may be represented within College at the discretion of the Executive.
6.4 The Executive reserves the right to verify postgraduate status at the University before continuing representation of any individual.
Structure of the Association
7. Officers
7.1 The President, who shall, in particular,
7.1.1 Be the chief representative of Postgraduates in the University.
7.1.2 Be chairperson of the Executive Committee and General Meetings.
7.1.3 Be the principle initiator of policy for the Association.
7.1.4 Represent the Association’s members on the University’s Governing Authority, Academic Council and other boards and committees of the University as required.
7.1.5 Be the first spokesperson of the Association and be responsible for the co-ordination of all Association activities. He/She may, with the consent of the Executive Committee, form sub-committees, which may include any full members of the Association, for this purpose.
7.1.6 Train his/her replacement for a period of two weeks during the changeover.
7.1.7. Be a full-time Sabbatical Officer. The President shall take a leave of absence from his/her studies for the duration of his/her tenure as President, and shall not enter into any employment, which is in conflict with, or impinges upon, his/her duties as President of the Association
7.2 The Deputy-President and Treasurer, who shall, in particular,
7.2.1 On the instruction of the President or in his/her absence the Executive, deputise for the President in all matters. The Deputy-President shall be reimbursed for any such work at the discretion of the Executive.
7.2.2 Co-ordinate the activities of Association representatives on Faculty Boards. He/She shall chair the Association Council and convene such meetings with the agreement of the executive.
7.2.3 Act as the Association’s Secretary and shall hold overall responsibility for all the Association correspondence and office records.
7.2.4 Notify relevant University bodies, of the results of relevant Association elections and of changes to the Constitution of the Association.
7.2.5 Be jointly responsible with the President for all financial matters relating to the Association.
7.2.6 Report regularly to the Executive Committee on the financial state of the Association and shall provide a written report of income and expenditure quarterly.
7.2.7 At the end of each financial year, prepare and submit the accounts to the Executive Committee for its approval. The accounts shall include all income and expenditure of the Association for that financial year. The outgoing Treasurer shall ensure that these accounts are submitted to the next meeting of the incoming Executive Committee.
7.3 The Community Inclusion Officer, who shall, in particular,
7.3.1 Be jointly responsible with the President for all issues relating to the inclusion of postgrads who vulnerable to being excluded from the wider postgrad community. Examples of groups of postgrads who are vulnerable are mature, international, research and PhD students and students who are parents of young children and students from minority backgrounds.
7.3.2 Take it upon themselves to ensure that PSA policy is inclusive of all postgrads in the community.
7.3.3 Work with the other officers of the executive in general to encourage social inclusion, and with a particular focus on cooperation with the events officer to ensure that PSA events are as inclusive as possible.
7.3.4 The Mary Immaculate Representative, who shall, in particular,
Be responsible for representing Mary Immaculate College postgraduate students and for promoting the PSA on the MIC Campus.
7.3.5 The Publicity Officer, who shall, in particular,
Be responsible for publicising all meetings and all social events of the Association.
7.3.6 The Events Officer, who shall, in particular,
Be responsible for organising all trips, receptions and other social activities of the Association.
7.4 The term of office of a member of Executive shall be one calendar year from the date of their election to the executive.
8. Executive
8.1 The management of the Association shall be invested to an Executive Committee, which shall consist of the six officers of the Association.
8.2 All members of the Executive Committee shall be required to attend all Executive Committee meetings and to perform the duties outlined within this Constitution.
8.3 An Officer who is absent from two consecutive Executive Committee meetings without submitting apologies will be deemed to have resigned.
8.4 No person shall hold simultaneously more than one position on the Executive Committee.
8.5 No person shall hold the same officer's position for more than three terms; In addition, no person shall serve as an officer of the Association for more than five terms.
8.6 Officers of the Association shall not serve as Officers of other University of Limerick Student Representative bodies as defined in Schedule IV unless it is in fulfilment of their role on the Association’s executive.
8.7 The quorum shall be fifty percent of Officers
8.8 There shall be a minimum of three meetings in a semester, held at regular intervals.
9. Faculty Representatives
9.1 Faculty Representatives from each academic faculty shall be elected at the AGM as outlined in Schedule II, the President shall act as representative in his/her faculty of origin.
9.2 Faculty representatives shall serve as post-graduate representatives on Faculty Boards as nominees of the Postgraduate Students’ Association.
9.3 Faculty representatives with the President, shall facilitate the selection of ‘class representatives’ by Postgraduate courses & research areas.
9.4 The Executive Committee shall be empowered to remove from office a faculty representative who regularly does not attend meetings of the committee(s) to which he/she was elected or appointed.
9.5 Faculty representatives shall not serve as Officers of other University of Limerick Student Representative bodies as defined in Schedule IV
9.6 The term of office of a Faculty representative is one calendar year.
9.7 In the event of there being no Faculty Representative for a college, the President shall take on this role in addition to his normal duties
10. Association Council
10.1 The Executive, along with the Faculty Representatives shall be members of the Association Council.
10.2 The Executive, at its discretion may invite an officer of other University of Limerick Student Representative bodies as defined in Schedule IV to serve on the Association Council.
10.3 The Association Council may co-op up to two further members onto the Association Council in order to ensure the widest possible representation.
10.4 The Association Council is responsible for ensuring that the views and opinions of the postgraduate students of the respective colleges are represented to the association officers, to the faculty boards and to the university.
10.5 The quorum shall be fifty percent of eligible members
10.6 There shall be a minimum of three meetings in a year, held at regular intervals.
Association Meetings
11. Annual General Meeting
11.1 The AGM shall be held on a University day no later than the end of the month of October of each year, ten working days prior notice having been given to all members by means of notices in conspicuous locations throughout the University.
11.2 The Chair of the AGM shall be the President or his nominee
11.3 All business must be submitted to the President at least seven working days before the date of the meeting and published in the agenda.
11.4 The agenda must be published at least five working days before the date of the meeting and must be made generally available.
11.5 Amendments to the published agenda may be submitted to the President no later than three working days before the date of the meeting and must be published at least one working day before the meeting.
n lang="EN-IE">11.6 A quorum shall be required to carry any motion.
11.7 The quorum shall be thirty Full Members.
11.8 The meeting shall elect the Executive Officers and shall receive the annual reports of incumbent Executive Officers.
11.9 Proposed changes in the Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the President, ten working days before the meeting.
12 Extra-ordinary General Meetings
12.1 An EGM may be called by the Association Council, or by the Executive Committee, or at the request of at least fifty Ordinary Members in writing, directed to the President, who shall call the meeting within fifteen working days of receiving the request.
12.2 The meeting shall be held on a college day.
12.3 The Chair of the EGM shall be the President or his/her nominee
12.4 All business must be submitted to the President at least seven working days before the date of the meeting and published in the agenda
12.5 The agenda must be published at least five working days before the date of the meeting and must be made generally available.
12.6 Amendments to the published agenda may be submitted to the President no later than three working days before the date of the meeting and must be published at least one working day before the meeting.
12.7 A quorum shall be required to carry any motion.
12.8 The quorum shall be thirty Full Members.
12.9 In addition to the business submitted the meeting shall hold bye-elections for vacant posts of the Executive Officers and shall receive brief reports from incumbent Officers.
Elections
13 Election of the President
13.1 The President of the Association shall be elected by ballot by the full members of the Association, according to the provisions of Schedule I, at a special Election Convention, at a date to be decided by the Executive during the month of April.
13.2 Only Sabbatical Officer(s) of the Association, and full members of the Association who are registered for a full-time postgraduate degree in the University who have not presented themselves for election for another student sabbatical post in the calendar year of election, shall be eligible for election to the post of President.
13.3 If the position of President becomes vacant during the year, the position shall be filled by a bye-election within twenty-one calendar days. A Special Election Convention shall be called to hold a bye-election in accordance with Schedule II to this Constitution.
13.4 Nominations will be open ten working days before the Election Convention and they will be closed five working days before the Election Convention at which the election will be held.
13.5 Nominations must be signed by twenty full members of the Association.
13.6 The method of election shall be PR/STV in accordance with Schedule I.
13.7 The Returning Officer for the Election of President, PSA shall be nominated by the Office of the Vice President & Registrar, University of Limerick.
14 Other Executive Positions
14.1 Other members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the full members of the Association at the Annual General Meeting in each year, in accordance with Schedule I to this Constitution.
14.2 Only Sabbatical Officer(s) of the Association, and full members of the Association who are registered for a postgraduate degree in the University shall be eligible for election to the non-presidential officer posts.
14.3 If an Officer's position, other than the position of President, becomes vacant during the year, the position may be filled by a bye-election within twenty-one calendar days. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called to hold a bye-election in accordance with Schedule II to this Constitution. If no candidate comes forward to contest such an election the vacancy shall be filled by co-option by the Executive Committee.
14.4 If any of the non-Officer positions on the Association Council becomes vacant during the year, nominations for this position shall be sought. If no candidate comes forward within seven days, the vacancy shall be filled by co-option by the Executive Committee. If only one candidate comes forward, that candidate shall be deemed elected unopposed. If more than one candidate comes forward, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called to hold a bye-election in accordance with Schedule II to this Constitution.
14.5 If any vacancy arises less than sixty days before the Annual General Meeting, the vacancy may be filled by co-option by the Executive Committee. The period for which an Officer co-opted in this manner holds office, shall not be considered a term of office for the purposes of article D-2.5
14.6 Nominations will be taken during the Annual General Meeting at which the election will be held.
14.7 The method of election shall be PR/STV in accordance with Schedule I.
14.8 The Returning Officer for the non-presidential elections shall be appointed by the Association Council and shall not be a student of the University of Limerick
15 Faculty Representative Positions
15.1 Each candidate for the Faculty Representative positions must be a Postgraduate student of the relevant faculty and must be nominated and seconded by postgraduate students of that Faculty.
15.2 If no nominees are put forward for any college representative the Executive shall co-opt a postgraduate from the relevant Faculty to the position.
15.3 If any Faculty representative position is vacated during the year, the association council shall co-opt a postgraduate from the relevant faculty to the position.
15.4 Nominations will be taken during the Annual General Meeting at which the election will be held.
15.5 The method of election shall be PR/STV in accordance with Schedule I.
15.6 The Returning Officer for the non-presidential elections shall be appointed by the Association Council and shall not be a student of the University of Limerick.
Finance
16 Responsibilities
16.1 The Executive shall, subject to this constitution, control the expenditure, assets and liabilities of the Association and shall manage any funds accruing to it by way of fees or otherwise, and shall provide for banking, investment and spending of such funds.
17 Financial Year
17.1 The financial year of the Association shall run from 1 June to 31 May.
Constitutional Change
18 Alterations to the Constitution
18.1 Alterations must be decided at an Annual General Meeting or an Extra-ordinary General Meeting.
18.2 Approval of two thirds of members present and voting at an AGM or EGM is required for Change.
18.3 Constitutional amendments come into effect the day after the Annual General Meeting or Extra-ordinary General Meeting at which it is passed.
Interpretation
19 Interpretation
19.1 It shall be the role of the President to interpret the Constitution
SCHEDULE I: CONDUCT OF VOTING FOR ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES
1. Voting for Officers of the Association shall be by Secret ballot.
2. Voting for College Representative shall be by show of hands.
3. The Returning Officer as legislated for in E (1.7), E (2.8), E (3.5) shall be present at all votes to ensure that all voting is conducted in an efficient and proper manner.
4. The Returning Officer shall appoint two tellers to assist him/her in his duties, who are not candidates for election
5. Each full member of the Association shall be entitled to one vote only in each election and on each motion.
6. Only those full members present at time of voting shall be entitled to vote. No arrangements shall be made for proxy voting.
7. Notwithstanding the specific restrictions in Articles E (1.2) and E (3.1), any full member of the Association may stand for election to any position.
8. Each person proposing and seconding a nomination shall be a full member of the Association other than the person so nominated.
9. A candidate may be nominated only with his/her consent.
10. The election for each position shall be by secret ballot and by the system known as PR/STV as used in elections to Dáil Éireann.
SCHEDULE II: TERMS OF OFFICE OF OFFICERS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES
1. President; the term of office of the president shall be from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
2. Other Executive Officers; the other Executive Officers shall hold office from the end of the Annual General Meeting of their election to the end of the Following AGM.
3. College Representatives; the College Representatives shall hold office from the end of the Annual General Meeting of their election to the end of the Following AGM.
SCHEDULE III: DATE OF GENERAL MEETINGS AND ELECTION CONVENTIONS
1. Annual General Meetings, Extra-ordinary General Meetings and Election Conventions shall be held on a University day.
SCHEDULE IV: OFFICERS OF OTHER STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE BODIES
For the purposes of this Constitution, the term "Officers of other University of Limerick Student Representative bodies" as used in section D shall refer to
1. Any Officer of the University of Limerick Students’ Union, (Plassey Campus).
2. Any Officer of the Students' Union of Mary Immaculate College.
SCHEDULE V: ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
1. The admission of any person to associate membership of the Association shall be conducted
according to the following procedure:
a. All candidates shall apply in writing to the Executive, stating clearly their grounds for application.
b. The Executive shall have absolute discretion in deciding whether a person should be admitted to associate membership.
2. Upon admission of a person to associate membership, an annual subscription shall be paid by that person as decided annually by the Executive.
SCHEDULE VI: PUBLICATIONS
1. An academic year diary shall be produced annually by the Executive Committee and distributed to each member upon registration. The diary shall seek to inform members of the functions and activities of the Association and shall provide information of relevance to members throughout the University.
2. The Association’s web page shall be kept current at all times. The President and the Publicity Officer shall be jointly responsible for publication of the web page.
3. Other Publications, as deemed appropriate by the Association Council may be produced by the Association.
SCHEDULE VII: SABBATICAL OFFICERS
1. Each Sabbatical Officer shall carry out his/her duties in a full time capacity. The employment of each Sabbatical Officer shall commence on the date he/she takes office, and shall terminate on the date he/she leaves office, by resignation, by r