Constitution and By-Laws of the

University of South Carolina Chapter of the

Upsilon Pi Epsilon Association

An Honor Society in Computer Science at

the University of South Carolina

Constitution 

 Article I: Name and Object

1) The name of this organization shall be the University of South Carolina Chapter of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Association, an honor society in computer science.

2) The object of this chapter of the Association shall be the promotion of high scholarship and original investigation in the field of computer and information science.

3) The University of South Carolina Chapter of the Association shall be located at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC.

 Article II: Government

1) The University of South Carolina Chapter shall be governed by this Constitution, together with amendments to the same, and by the By-Laws enacted to provide for those governmental functions of a more routine nature.

2) The By-Laws of this chapter shall be adopted and changes thereto enacted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the active members of the chapter.

3) The provisions of this constitution shall be subordinate to those of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Association.

 Article III: Membership

1) This chapter shall consist of members and honorary members.

2) The membership of the chapter shall be made up of individuals whose academic achievements, reputation and creative abilities deserve recognition, and whose membership would enhance the stature of the Association. Specifically, the membership shall include graduate and undergraduate students, former students, and faculty in the Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Computer Information Systems programs, elected according to the procedures detailed in Article IV of this Constitution.

3) Honorary members shall be individuals of distinguished achievement in the field of computer and information science.

4) Eligibility for membership shall not be restricted according to race, creed, color or sex.

5) The active membership of this chapter of the Association shall consist of those members who satisfy the fiscal and attendance requirements set forth in the By-Laws. The privilege of voting in membership elections and participation in other official functions of the chapter shall be restricted to active members.

 Article IV: Election of Members

1) The eligibility of students, former students and faculty members for election to membership in this chapter of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Association shall be determined as follows:

a) A graduate student must be a candidate for a graduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Computer Science and Engineering, and must have completed at least sixteen semester hours for graduate credit. Further, he or she must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 exclusive of research and seminar courses, and must rank in the upper quarter of all students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering  satisfying the credit requirement.  Achievements in research and teaching as well as scholastic achievements shall determine eligibility for a graduate student. 

b) An undergraduate student must be a candidate for an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Computer Information Systems.  Furthermore, the student must have upper division status, rank in the upper third of all students satisfying the credit requirement in that program, and either:

1) have completed at least seventy-four semester hours of undergraduate credit applicable to the degree and have a grade point average of at least 3.65 in the respective Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Computer Information Systems degree program; or

2) have completed at least ninety semester hours of undergraduate credit applicable to the degree and have a grade point average of at least 3.5 in the respective Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Computer Information Systems degree program.

c) A faculty member must have been teaching in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering or in a closely related field  at the University of South Carolina for at least one year in order to be eligible for membership. He or she must have been in responsible charge of development, preparation, or presentation of courses, or in charge of research in the field of computer and information science. Achievements in research and teaching rather than scholastic achievements shall determine eligibility for a faculty member.

d) Former students, who at the time of their completion of degree requirements in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Computer Information Systems satisfied the grade point average and class rank requirements of subsections (a) or (b) of this section, shall be eligible for election to membership in this chapter of the Association.

e) Students, former students and faculty members who do not qualify under the provisions of the previous subsections, but whose achievements in and contributions to the computer and information science field qualify them, in view of the Membership Committee, shall be eligible for election to membership in the Association.

f) Any student who transfers into the Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Computer Information Systems program at the University of South Carolina and was previously inducted as a member of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Association may choose to affiliate with this Chapter at any time upon confirmation of membership from the Association or from the Chapter with which he or she was formerly associated. 

g) Transfer students who were not previously members of Upsilon Pi Epsilon may be considered for membership provided that they meet the requirements for membership in section (a) for graduate students or section (b) for undergraduate students and they have earned at least 18 credit hours in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering with at least a 3.5 GPA on all the hours earned in the department.

2) All candidates for election to membership, qualified according to the previous section, shall be reviewed by the Membership Committee. Those reported favorably by the Committee shall be proposed for election.

3) Each candidate must be considered individually by name, and the balloting for his or her election shall be carried out before the next candidate is considered. In case a candidate fails a first ballot, he or she may be discussed further, and a second and final vote shall be taken.

4) Election of a candidate to membership shall be by three-fourths affirmative vote by the members present and voting.

5) The maximum number of members shall not be limited.

6) At least one election of new members shall be held each year.

7) The President of the chapter shall appoint a standing committee on eligibility and membership upon his or her installation which shall serve until his or her successor is elected.

8) Membership should not be offered to a particular individual a second time if such membership has been previously declined by that individual for any reason with the exception of hardship cases.

 Article V: Officers

1) The Executive Council of the chapter shall consist of the faculty advisor and the following elected officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Historian.

2) The duties of the President shall be to call and preside at all meetings, to appoint committees and to authorize payment of bills presented against the chapter, upon approval of the Executive Council.

3) The duties of the Vice-President shall be to perform the duties of President in the absence of the President. He or she shall also become President in case of the resignation or disability of the President. In addition, he or she shall be responsible for the coordination of committees and the proper conduct of meetings.

4) The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep records of all transactions of the chapter, and in particular, to keep the minutes of the meetings. In addition, he or she will be responsible for the handling of all correspondence for the chapter.

5) The duties of the Treasurer shall be to collect all dues and assessments and to issue, with the assistance of the Secretary, notices of special assessments. He or she shall have charge of all funds of the chapter, and shall pay therefrom bills presented against the chapter and approved for payment.

6) The duties of the Historian are to keep a systematic account in chronological order of events of the chapter.

7) The Faculty Advisor shall be a member of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering teaching staff. The duties of the Faculty Advisor shall be to consult on matters of chapter policy and to act as auditor of chapter finances. He or she shall also be the presiding member of the Membership Committee.

8) Election of officers shall be held immediately after the election of new members each spring semester. Newly elected officers shall be installed and shall begin to serve the meeting following their election.

9) Vacancies in any office other than the President shall be filled by appointment by the President with the approval of the Executive Council.  In the event of vacancies in both the office of the President and the Vice-President the remaining members of the Executive Council or the Membership Committee will arrange for a new election of Officers. 

10) The Membership Committee shall consist of the Executive Council, the faculty advisor and at least two additional faculty members appointed by the Executive Council. The termination of service of the members of the Membership Committee shall be by resignation, submitted to and accepted by the Executive Council of the chapter. The Membership Committee shall be responsible for the screening of students who meet the scholastic eligibility requirements of the Association and shall recommend for election those they deem otherwise qualified.

 Article VI: Ratification and Amendment

1) This Constitution shall become effective immediately upon ratification by a three-fourths affirmative vote of the invited charter initiates and the Membership Committee of the whole.

2) This Constitution shall remain in effect until revised or amended.

3) Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by any member of the chapter at a regular or special meeting. The proposed amendment shall be discussed and a vote for further discussion shall be taken; a simple majority of the active members present shall determine that consideration. On approval, the proposed amendment shall be formally framed by the Executive Council.

4) Amendments framed according to the previous section shall be circulated to the entire active membership of the chapter, together with appropriate commentaries and a written ballot. The ballots will be returned to the Secretary within two weeks of distribution. The Secretary and Vice-President shall tally the votes and make the results of the balloting public at the following regular meeting of the chapter.

5) A three-fourths favorable vote of the returned ballots shall be required for ratification of each amendment.

6) The amendment shall become effective immediately upon announcement of the results of the ratification election.

By-Laws

Article I: Scope of the By-Laws

1) These By-Laws shall govern the conduct of the chapter in those matters not specifically treated in the Constitution.

2) Provisions of these By-Laws shall be subordinate to those of the Constitution.

 Article II: Election of Officers

1) The officers of the chapter shall be elected at the last business meeting of each spring semester of the school year, immediately after the election of new members.

2) Installation of officers shall take place immediately following their election. The new officers will assume their duties upon installation.

3) In order to be eligible to hold office, the President must have been active in the chapter for at least one semester.

4) The officers of this chapter shall be elected by secret ballot and there shall be no voting of proxies allowed.

5) To be elected a candidate for office must receive the greatest number and a majority of the votes cast under a system of approval voting wherein a member can vote for all acceptable candidates for the office.

 6) The faculty advisor shall be selected from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering teaching staff.

 Article III: Meetings

1) The Executive Council will prepare a schedule of regular meetings to be held during the fall and spring semesters.

2) Special meetings may be called by the President, the Executive Council, or by petition of one-half of the active membership of the chapter.

3) The time, place, and purpose of meetings will be announced to the members at least one week in advance.  A quorum shall consist of those members present at the meeting unless at least one-half of the active members of the chapter notify the secretary of their objections to the meeting.

4) Except as specifically stated in the Constitution and By-Laws, the parliamentary guide for the conduct of all meetings shall be Robert's Rules of Order.

5) The order of conduct of a regular meeting shall be as follows:

a. call to order

b. roll call

c. reading of minutes

d. committee reports

e. unfinished business

f. new business

g. program or technical session (optional)

h. adjournment

6) Initiation of new members may be conducted at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for the purpose.

7) Notification of all active members shall be given by the Secretary one week prior to a special meeting. The notification shall state the purpose of the meeting.

8) No business other than that for which the meeting was called for shall be conducted at a special meeting.

 Article IV: Attendance

1) Active members shall be required to attend all meetings of the chapter.

2) Any member who fails to attend fifty percent of all meetings in one year, or who misses three consecutive meetings, shall automatically revert to inactive status.

3) Restoration of a member to active status shall be by affirmative vote of a majority of the active members present.

 Article V: Finances

1) The minimum cash balance at the end of each school year shall be fifty dollars  Any deficiency from this amount shall be made up by an assessment of the active members.

2) The initiation fee charged each new member by the chapter shall be fifteen dollars  in addition to that of the Association.

4) Each initiate shall be required to pay all dues and initiation fees prior to his or her initiation.

5) One week prior to the election of officers, the Treasurer shall submit to the President and faculty advisor a written statement of the financial condition of the chapter. At the election meeting, this will be submitted to the chapter and entered into the minutes upon acceptance by the chapter.

6) Special assessments may be made at any time, upon approval by three-fourths of the active members of the chapter.

 Article VI: Initiation

1) The initiation of new members shall be held within four weeks of the time of their election.

2) The initiation shall specifically avoid any practice which conflicts with any University of South Carolina regulation or which constitutes an attack on the personal dignity of the initiates. The activities shall be devised to stimulate the candidate's interest in computer science and to better acquaint them with the members of the chapter.

 Article VII: Election of Members

1) There shall be one election of new members each fall and spring semester.

2) The Membership Committee shall prepare a list of all eligible candidates. Graduate and undergraduate students on the list will be ranked according to decreasing grade point average.

3) The list prepared according to the previous section shall be submitted to faculty members who are members of the Association, who shall be asked to make written remarks with respect to the fitness of the candidates with whom they are acquainted.

4) The list of eligible candidates, together with the faculty members' remarks shall be submitted to the chapter Membership Committee for final screening.

5) The names of those elected to membership shall be given to the Secretary, who shall then issue them invitations to become members of the Association, and of this chapter.

6) Failure of a member-elect to notify the chapter of his or her acceptance of the invitation to membership within three weeks of its issuance shall constitute notice of refusal.

 Article VIII: Adoption and Amendment

1) These By-Laws shall become effective immediately upon adoption.

2) These By-Laws shall remain in effect until revised or amended.

3) A provision of these By-Laws may be temporarily suspended by a two-thirds vote of the  membership of the chapter present at a meeting called for that purpose.

4) A two-thirds affirmative vote of the active membership of the chapter shall be required for the adoption of an amendment to these By-Laws.

5) These By-Laws shall be kept current by pen and ink correction and insertion of supplementary sheets, when such is necessary.