Student Advisory Council Constitution
Article I: Name
The name of this organization will be The College of Natural Science Student Advisory
Council of Michigan State University (known throughout this document as SAC).
Article II: Purpose
The purpose of the SAC is to advise the Dean on issues concerning Undergraduate and
Graduate students within the College of Natural Science and to promote the interests
of these students.
Article III: Membership
The membership of SAC shall consist of both voting and non-voting members. The student
membership of SAC is restricted to full-time undergraduate students and half time
or full-time graduate students in good academic standing within a degree-granting
program in the College of Natural Science.
Section III.a: Voting Members
Each voting member shall have one vote.
Section III.a.1: Regular Student Membership
The regular student membership of SAC is not to exceed one graduate and/or one undergraduate
student from each degree-granting program.
Section III.a.2: Faculty Members
The Faculty Advisory Council shall choose two faculty members to sit on SAC.
Section III.b: Ex-Officio Membership
The Ex-Officio members of SAC shall not vote.
Section III.b.1: Additional Student Membership
Any student representative elected from the College of Natural Science to any University
Governing Body or committee shall have ex-officio membership in SAC. A student representative
selected by Lyman Briggs College shall also have ex-officio membership in SAC.
Section III.b.2: Dean's Representatives
The Dean and his/her associates involved with student affairs are ex-officio members.
Section IV.a: Term of Service
Members of SAC shall be selected for an academic year, beginning with the first meeting
of the Fall semester and ending with the last meeting of the Spring semester. The
selection of members to SAC must be completed before the second meeting of the semester
or no later than September 30 (whichever is later). Additionally, members selected
in the middle of the year will serve until the end of that academic year.
Section IV.b: Selection Process
In the Spring of each year the Dean's Office shall notify the offices that administrate
each degree-granting program and request that a member be selected. The exact process
is up to the program, but it is recommended that this be through some democratic process
involving the students of the degree-granting program.
Article V: Meetings
Meetings shall be held once a month during the Fall and Spring semesters. The first
meeting shall be held before the end of the third full week of classes. Special meetings
may be called by the Dean upon his/her initiative and/or by the request of the majority
of the student members and/or by the Agenda Committee. Robert/s Rules of Order shall
be the final authority on matters not addressed in this document.
Article VI: Officers
Officers shall be elected from among the voting members of SAC. The officers of SAC
shall be an Undergraduate Chairperson, a Graduate Chairperson, and a Secretary.
Section VI.a: Chairpersons
The Undergraduate and Graduate Chairpersons will share the responsibility of overseeing
SAC and chairing the meetings (and should be selected from the Undergraduate and Graduate
students respectively).
Section VI.b: Secretary
The Secretary is to keep minutes of all meetings as well as to attend to the preparation
and distribution of the minutes and agenda. The Secretary shall also keep records
of meeting attendance and oversee the attendance policy described in Article X.
Article VII: Elections
The election of officers to any position is by majority vote. At the close of nominations,
all unopposed candidates stand elected. A secret ballot shall be used for all other
elections. The Dean or his/her designate shall preside over the first meeting until
the Undergraduate and Graduate Chairpersons can be elected.
Article VIII: Standing Committees
There shall be an Agenda Committee consisting of the Dean's designee and the SAC Officers.
The Chairpersons shall alternate chairing the Agenda Committee meeting and the Secretary
shall record the proceedings. Any other committees deemed necessary by current affairs
shall be established at the discretion of SAC.
Article IX: Appointments
The SAC shall establish methods for appointing student representatives from the College
of Natural Science to any other committee or council requiring a student representative.
This provision will not apply in cases for which selection criteria are described
under the All-University By-Laws. Elections shall follow the procedure outlined in
Article VII.
Article X: Absence
The SAC shall consider any member who misses at least three regularly scheduled meetings
without prior excuse has decided to forfeit his/her membership. After two absences
the Secretary shall notify the member of the attendance problem; after the third meeting
is missed the Dean's Office shall, at the request of SAC, ask the Department for a
replacement member. In a case of extenuating circumstances, exceptions can be made
by SAC.
Article XI: Ratification and Amendments
Amendments to this document shall be made by presenting a proposed amendment to SAC,
followed by majority approval at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Last revised: 04/07/10
Revision history:
Original document and early revisions done sometime before FS94.
A second revision was worked out during the 1997-98 school year with major revisions
and rewriting including work on the composition of the committee and absences.
Further revisions approved at the 9/10/08 meeting of DSAC.
Revision to change name from Dean’s Student Advisory Council (DSAC) to Student Advisory
Council (SAC) approved at the 4/7/10 meeting of SAC.