Association of Professional Technical Employees
APTE Constitution (Amended May 11, 2012)

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Article I. Name and Governance

Section 1. Name.

The name of this organization shall be the Association of Professional-Technical Employees of Austin Community College District.

Section 2. Governance.

The Guidelines for Effective Communication and Shared Governance Structure contained within Austin Community College District’s Organizational Reference material shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with the Constitution of this Association.

Article II. Purpose and Objective

Section 1. Mission.

The Association of Professional-Technical Employees (hereafter referred to as "the Association") of Austin Community College District (hereafter referred to as "ACC" or “the College”) is committed to providing leadership and support services to the Professional-Technical employees of the College in order to facilitate ACC’s mission of promoting student success and improving communities.

Section 2. Strategies.

The Association will pursue its mission by:

a. Influencing and participating in the shared governance of ACC, both in terms of specific employee group concerns and the mission of the College;
b. Improving the visibility of the Professional-Technical employees by supporting their involvement and representation on college committees, councils, task forces, and the like;
c. Urging the College to provide educational and career opportunities commensurate with professional growth needs and requirements for all Professional-Technical employees;
d. Providing ACC administrators with a comprehensive and representative Professional-Technical employee perspective in regard to compensation, benefits, professional development, programming, and institutional development;
e. Serving as a resource of concerned higher educational professionals for ACC and its service area;
f. Collaborating with other employee associations and the Student Government Association to ensure the delivery of quality educational services; and
g. Participating in and coordinating activities in collaboration with local, state, and national higher educational organizations.


Article III. Membership

Section 1. Criteria.

Membership in the Association shall be open to all persons employed at ACC as Professional-Technical employees as defined by ACC Human Resources.

a. Members shall have the right and responsibility to attend all general membership meetings.
b. Members shall be eligible to hold office in the Association.
c. Members shall be eligible to serve on the Executive Council.


Article IV. Officers of the Association

Section 1. Officers.

The officers of the Association shall be President, President-Elect, Past-President, Communications Officer, and Secretary-Treasurer, who shall serve for one academic year.

Section 2. Duties of Officers.

The President

a. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association. The President shall perform the duties customary to that office and such additional duties as necessary to assure progress of the Association. Such duties include:

  1. Executing and enforcing policy set by the Association and being ultimately responsible for executing decisions of the Executive Council and the general membership
  2. Representing the Association at the Board of Trustees meetings, all association officers’ meetings, meetings with the President of the College and his designees, and Shared Governance Councils’ meetings
  3. Serving as spokesperson of the Association
  4. Preparing written or oral reports for all Association members following ACC Board meetings
  5. Administering the business of the Association between regular Executive Council meetings, exercising authority consistent with the Constitution to include authenticating (by signature, if necessary) all acts, orders, and proceedings of the Association
  6. Appointing Officers and Executive Council Representatives to fill vacancies when they occur outside normal terms, upon approval of the Executive Council, with the exception of the President-Elect, in which case a special election will be called
  7. Appointing ad hoc committees to handle special concerns and implement special projects.

The President-Elect

b. The President-Elect shall be chairperson of the Executive Council and shall perform the duties of the President in his/her absence or incapacity.

  1. The President-Elect automatically becomes President upon completion of his or her term as President-Elect. Should the office of President become vacant for any reason during the term of the President, the President-Elect shall become President and shall fill out the term of the vacating President. The new President shall then serve the following academic year as President.
  2. The President-Elect shall be responsible for:

a. Presiding at meetings of the Executive Council
b. Designating Executive Council members as liaisons to each ad hoc and standing committee, as appropriate
c. Acting as ex-official member of all committees, except the Nominating Committee
d. Coordinating the election of members interested in serving on the shared governance committees
e. Assuming all or specific duties of the President as delegated by the President

The Past-President

c. The Past-President shall:

  1. Serve on the Executive Council
  2. Serve in an advisory role
  3. Perform other duties as requested by the President

The Communications Officer

d. The Communications Officer shall coordinate the dissemination of information for the Association including:

  1. Outreach and retention materials
  2. Website maintenance
  3. Marketing
  4. Surveys and polls
  5. Election materials

The Secretary-Treasurer

e. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be empowered to execute official documents and monetary disbursements of the Association. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for:

  1. Maintaining accurate records and minutes of all General Membership and Executive Council meetings
  2. Planning logistics of Association meetings
  3. Distributing copies of Association minutes to the President, Board and other appropriate individuals in a timely manner
  4. Maintaining a complete roll of all members of the Association
  5. Mailing copies of the agenda and draft minutes of the previous meeting (where appropriate) to all members prior to scheduled meetings
  6. Disbursing funds and maintaining accurate and up-to-date fiscal records
  7. Making a written semesterly report to the Executive Council that outlines the financial status of the Association
  8. Having on hand copies of the Constitution, bylaws, and lists of standing and ad hoc committees and their chairpersons

Article V. The Executive Council

Section 1. Composition.

The Executive Council shall be composed of the five elected officers identified in Article IV, Section 1, and the committee representatives who are elected or appointed to serve on official shared governance committees as defined by the Office of the President of the College. All shared governance committee representatives shall serve for a term of one academic year and must also serve on the Executive Council.  Executive Council meetings shall be open for attendance by any member of the Association; however, only Executive Council members are eligible to vote.

a. The Executive Council shall function to carry out the administrative responsibilities of the Association.
b. The Executive Council shall work to assist in developing objectives, goals, and purposes for the ensuing year.
c. The Executive Council shall serve to assist in developing policy statements.

Section 2. Duties of Representatives.

Representatives shall be charged with effectively representing the concerns of the Association and its members. Representatives shall be responsible for attending the meetings of the council or committee they were elected to serve, all Executive Council meetings, and each full Association meeting. Representatives are equally responsible for providing to the President minutes from the council or committee they represent.

Section 3. Ad Hoc Committees.

a. Ad hoc committees shall be temporary, task-specific committees established by the President as deemed necessary.

b. Ad hoc committees will be dissolved no later than the end of the academic year.

c. Membership of all committees shall be on a voluntary basis.

d. Membership of all committees shall reflect, whenever feasible, the composition of the membership of the Association.

e. The frequency of committee meetings shall be determined by the committee chairperson who shall report to the President.

f. The President shall assign the committee's charge and project a timeline for completion.


Article VI. Nominations and Elections

Section 1. Nominations.

a. Executive Council Representatives shall be nominated by any member of the Association or be self-nominated.

b. The Nominating Committee, an ad hoc committee consisting of volunteers, shall be appointed at least one month prior to the election and charged to prepare and present a slate of nominees for each office and committee.  All self-nominations will be included, unless subsection “d” applies.

c. Each nomination shall include a brief paragraph describing the qualifications of the nominee, which shall be posted with the nominee’s name during a duly-called election.

d. The Nominating Committee shall also ensure that no individual nominee is considered for more than two committees. An exception could be made if there are no candidates for an office or committee at the time a ballot must be presented.

e. If there are no nominations for a particular committee, the President has the duty to fill the vacancy or to call on the Nominating Committee to recommend nominees to the President who will fill the vacancy.

Section 2. Elections.

a. An Officer or Executive Council Representative is elected upon receiving a plurality vote by members during a duly-called election.

b. The date and place (or online medium) for the election shall be determined by the Executive Council with advance notice to membership.

c. The final list of nominees as determined by the Nominating Committee shall be posted online or in a publicly accessible place for not less than thirty days prior to the election.

d. Voting to elect Officers and Representatives shall be conducted via written or electronic ballot during a duly-called election.


Article VII. Meetings

Section 1. Guidelines.

a. A minimum of two full Association meetings per year shall be convened.

b. All Association meetings require an announcement and a tentative agenda to be circulated to all appropriate parties prior to the date of the meeting.

c. Voting at all Association meetings and at a meeting of the Executive Council shall be as follows:

  1. Voting may be by general consent, voice, raise of hands, or in writing.
  2. In order to pass, a motion requires a majority vote of those present, unless another percentage or number of votes is otherwise expressly required by this constitution.
  3. In order to pass, a motion which is deemed by the President and President-Elect to be a policy issue (including, but not limited to any public proclamation, pronouncement, or position committing the Association to a particular issue) requires a two-thirds vote of those present.
  4. In order to pass, a motion which is deemed by the President and the President-Elect to be a non-policy issue requires a majority vote of those present at the Executive Council meeting at which the motion is made.

d. A quorum necessary for a meeting of the membership of the Association or its Executive Council to be held shall be the number of members of the respective body who are in attendance, as long as all members of the body meeting have been notified of the meeting in writing or electronically three business days in advance of the meeting and the meeting is conducted during normal business hours.

e. All members shall be entitled to one vote per motion.


Article VIII. Removal from Office

Section 1. Grounds.

Any officer or representative (hereafter referred to as “representative in question”) who commits acts that may negatively affect the integrity of the Association may be subject to removal from office.

Section 2. Procedures.

a. A petition stating the grounds for removal may be presented to the President by any Association member.  In the event the President is the representative in question, the President-Elect shall receive the petition.

b. For matters of nonfeasance or neglect of one’s duties, the President or President–Elect shall request guidance from the Vice President of Human Resources and meet in private with the representative in question to discuss methods for rectifying the situation.

c. If the representative in question fails to meet with the President or President-Elect to rectify the issues, the representative will be removed from their seat upon a two-thirds vote of those present (excluding the representative in question) at the next regularly scheduled Executive Council meeting.

d. For more serious matters whereby the representative could be dismissed by the College, the representative shall become subject to ACC’s normal disciplinary process through the Office of the Vice President of Human Resources.  

e. The President or President-Elect, whichever Officer addresses the situation, shall inform all other Officers of developments as appropriate.


Article IX. Amendments

Section 1. Procedures.

a. Proposals to amend this Constitution may be initiated by the Executive Council and/or any member of the Association. If a proposal is initiated by a member, it shall be accompanied by a petition signed by at least one-fifth of the membership. Any proposed amendment must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer at least thirty days prior to a vote of the membership.

b. The Secretary-Treasurer must make the proposed amendment available to all association members at least fourteen days prior to a vote of the membership. The proposed amendment will then become an agenda item for the next regular or called general membership meeting for discussion and possible adoption.

c. An amendment to this constitution shall be adopted by means of an electronic vote of the general membership.

d. A majority vote of responding members is required for the amendment to pass.

e. If passed, ratification and implementation of the amendment shall be effective immediately following the vote.