Article II – Purpose
Article III – Membership
Article IV – Terms, Leadership Committee, Network Chair Roles, Working Group Coordinator Roles, College STAR Network Support Roles
Article V – Reports
Article VI – Meetings
Article VII – Voting
Article VIII – Publicity
Article IX – Publications and Intellectual Property
Article I – Introduction
1.1 The following Bylaws will be used to govern College STAR, a National Student Support Network.
1.2 These Bylaws were originally approved on ______ and will be reviewed annually and updated as needed by the elected network leadership team.
1.3 The Bylaws can be amended at any time by an affirmative two-thirds approval of the available network votes, unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws.
Article II – Purpose
2.1 The member campuses in this network join together in a cooperative effort to support the mission of College STAR. College STAR is a network of professionals who support students who have learning & attention differences (neurodiversities). The network establishes a nexus of experiences, expertise, and resources to enhance and improve our programs and create opportunities for students nationwide.
2.2 The College STAR Network has four major areas of focus, each with an active working group to guide and maintain positive momentum in their respective areas:
- K-12 Bridge: Support meaningful collaboration between network programs and K-12 constituents.
- Example activities could include:
- Mutual Sharing experiences & expertise between K12 and postsecondary educational professionals
- Development and dissemination of resources and information relating to post-secondary transition
- Facilitation of an annual Conference/Workshop Series
- Example activities could include:
- Messaging & Outreach: Coordinate general outreach, messaging, and partnerships with external constituencies & stakeholders.
- Example platforms could include:
- College STAR social media (external)
- College STAR Website
- Academic outlets for information dissemination (e.g., journals, organizations, websites)
- Network memberships & recruitment opportunities (e.g., conferences, program research and outreach)
- Marketing and communication support for conferences, research, and events
- Example platforms could include:
- Network Relationships: Foster opportunities for internal dialogue & communication to network partners.
- Example activities could include:
- Internal newsletters
- Professional development and coffee chats
- Listserv and internal communication platforms
- Network repository
- Membership log and partner information
- Example activities could include:
- Research & Evaluation: Facilitate collaborative research among network partners and guide ongoing internal shared learning and evaluation.
- Example opportunities could include:
- Gathering information from network partners to help inform our work
- Collaborating on collaborative network studies
- Disseminating outcomes from the network (including a presentation at the annual CS conference)
- Collaborating with network partners for inner-programmatic evaluation
- Example opportunities could include:
Article III – Membership
3.1 Membership Benefits: College STAR Network members have access to:
- Coffee Chats
- Quarterly Newsletters
- College STAR Network listserv
- Member profiles
- Professional development through leadership roles
- Shared expertise of working group coordinators
- Opportunities to support each program through collaboration in K-12 Workshop/Conferences
3.2 Member Responsibilities: The College STAR Network relies on ongoing and consistent commitment from network partners. Network members are asked to consider the size and scope of their organization and review the leadership roles and working groups defined below to determine how each campus can contribute to the network in a way that is both reasonable and manageable in relation to the network’s mission. While there are numerous additional ways to become involved, to maximize the impact & benefit of the network, we ask all network members to participate, at minimum, in the following ways:
- At least one representative from the program actively engaged during each quarterly meeting.
- Representation and consistent participation of program on at least one network working group.
- Serve in the newsletter rotation cycle. (Not required every year)
- Inclusion of between 1 and 5 representatives from each campus/program on the College STAR asynchronous listserv Contribute to outreach efforts (k-12 workshop facilitation; campus spotlight sessions) and collaborative research projects as applicable to your program.
Article IV – Terms, Leadership Committee, Network Chair Roles, Working Group Coordinator Roles, College STAR Network Support Roles
4.1 Terms
- Network Vice-Chair (Elect), Network Chair, & Past Network Chair will follow 3-year cycle, whereas the initial year of their commitment will begin in the Network Vice-Chair (Elect) role, the second year of the commitment will be in the Network Chair Role, and the final year of the 3-year commitment will be as the Past Network Chair.
- Working Group Coordinators will serve 1-year terms within their role. Working Group Coordinators may elect to extend their role beyond the 1-year term. Coordinators who wish to do so, should share their interest in maintaining their role to the Leadership Committee prior to annual network voting.
- College STAR Network Support roles that exist within a working group or are not defined above (Ex. secretary, treasurer, technology coordinator) will serve a 1-year term. College STAR Network Support roles may elect to extend their role beyond the 1-year term. These roles can be either be an elected role or network members can volunteer.
4.2 Network Chair
- Network Vice-Chair (Elect): The Network Vice-Chair (elect) will be a position that is voted upon by the network. This position will be expected to commit to a 3-year cycle, where they will hold the Network Vice-Chair (Elect) position for 1-year, the Network Chair position for 1-year, and the Past Network Chair for the final year of their term. Contingent upon availability of funding, the Network Vice-Chair (Elect) may receive up to $500.00 in funding for professional development purposes. Requests for usage of those funds are to be submitted to the Leadership Committee for approval.
- Anticipated Duties
- Member of the Leadership Committee
- Assist with Quarterly Meetings
- Hold an advisory support role for the K-12 Conference/Workshops
- Manage College STAR email accounts
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Network Chair: The Network Chair will be a position that is voted upon by the network. This person will be serving in the second year of a 3-year cycle (where they will hold the Network Vice-Chair (Elect) position for 1-year, the Network Chair position for 1-year, and the Past Network Chair for the final year of their term). Contingent upon availability of funding, the Network Vice-Chair (Elect) may receive up to $1,000.00 in funding for professional development. Requests for usage of those funds are to be submitted to the Leadership Committee for approval.
- Anticipated Duties
- Coordinate & Lead Quarterly Meetings
- Oversee progress towards network goals
- Plan & lead leadership committee meetings
- Communicate with external partners
- Coordinate an annual in-person meeting (funding permitted)
- Explore funding opportunities for network sustainability (ex. Grants, networks fees, fundraising)
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Past Network Chair: The Past Network Chair will be a position that is voted upon by the network. This person will be serving in the third year of a 3-year cycle (where they will hold the Network Vice-Chair (Elect) position for 1-year, the Network Chair position for 1-year, and the Past Network Chair for the final year of their term).
- Anticipated Duties
- Serve as an advisor to Network Vice-Chair (Elect & Network Chair)
- Coordinate communication amongst working groups
- Assist in the transition process for the Network Vice-Chair (ex. transfer of financial accounts)
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
4.3 Working Group Coordinators
- K-12 Bridge Working Group Coordinator: The Working Group coordinator positions are voted upon by the network. The K-12 Bridge Working Group Coordinator role is a 1-year term, and the same person can be elected to the role for multiple consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Serve on the College STAR Network Leadership Committee and attend meetings
- Lead efforts to build connections with K-12 schools and programs
- Chair & organize the K-12 Conference/Workshop Series
- Share information about transition and college resources, as applicable, during their term (ex. recruiting for conference/workshops)
- Lead working group break-out sessions during quarterly meetings
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Messaging and Outreach Working Group Coordinator: The Working Group coordinator positions are voted upon by the network. The Messaging and Outreach Working Group Coordinator role is a 1-year term, and the same person can be elected to the role for multiple consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Serve on the leadership committee and attend meetings
- Lead efforts for membership and network growth
- Coordinate working group to oversee management of network website
- Coordinate working group to oversee tech support and external marketing for K-12 conference
- Lead working group break-out sessions during quarterly meetings
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Network Relationships Working Group Coordinator: The Working Group coordinator positions are voted upon by the network. The Network Relationships Working Group Coordinator role is a 1-year term, and the same person can be elected to the role for multiple consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Serve on the leadership committee and attend meetings
- Oversee resource sharing among network and network working groups
- Coordinate connections and meetings (as applicable) between quarterly network-wide meetings for network members (ex. Coffee chats, professional development, newsletters)
- Lead working group break-out session during quarterly meetings
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Research & Evaluation Working Group Coordinator: The Working Group coordinator positions are voted upon by the network. The Research & Evaluation Working Group Coordinator role is a 1-year term, and the same person can be elected to the role for multiple consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Sit on the leadership committee and attend meetings
- Coordinate research and evaluation projects within the network
- Oversee the coordination of inner-programmatic evaluation amongst working groups and the network
- Disseminate network goals through internal evaluation purposes, with the intent of sharing amongst network partners
- Lead working group break-out session during quarterly meetings
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
4.4 College STAR Network Support Roles
- Network Treasurer: The Network Treasurer role will be voted on by the network. The Network Treasurer role is a 1-year term, and the person in this role may be nominated (or may self-nominate) for service in consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Manage network development of external fundings (grants, membership fees, conference/workshop fees, outside funding)
- Manage the conference/workshop budget
- Share and participate in leadership committee meetings as needed
- Assist in the transferring of Institutional Trust Fund (ITF) between networks
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Network Secretary: The Network Secretary role will be voted on by the network. The Network Secretary role is a 1-year term, and the person in this role may be nominated (or may self-nominate) for service in consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Record meeting minutes and attendance at quarterly meetings
- Share meeting minutes of quarterly meeting with network
- Record meeting minutes for leadership committee meetings
- Share meeting minutes from leadership committee meetings with leadership committee
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
- Network Technology Coordinator: To be housed within the Messaging and Outreach Working Group, the Network Technology Coordinator will be elected by that working group. The Network Technology Coordinator role is a 1-year term, and the person in this role may be nominated (or may self-nominate) for service in consecutive terms.
- Anticipated Duties
- Manage subscriptions for College STAR Network (google accounts, website domain, K-12 conference/workshop subscriptions)
- Manage College STAR Student Support website
- Provide technical support for the K-12 Conference/Workshop series
- Additional duties as needed
- Anticipated Duties
Article V – Reports
5.1 Working group leaders shall report progress towards working group & network goals to the Director of the College STAR Network and to its members.
5.2 The College STAR Network Chair shall provide an annual report outlining network status and operations to members of the network.
Article VI – Meetings
6.1 The Director of the College STAR Network will establish the schedule of activities and meetings as well as the agenda for the quarterly meetings and communicate that schedule in a proactive and timely manner to network membership.
6.2 Individual working group leaders will establish a schedule of activities and meetings in relation to their goals each year and make agendas available to those outside of the established working group upon request.
6.3 The College STAR Network Chair, Working Group Coordinators, and those in additional network leadership roles will meet semi-annually to discuss network initiatives, review projects, budgets, and discuss strategic plans.
Article VII – Voting
7.1 Voting on any issues related to the College STAR Network will be based on one vote per full members and requires a two-thirds approval of the available network votes.
Article VIII – Publicity
8.1 A member shall not use the name of the College STAR Network or any university in any publicity, advertising or news release without the prior written approval of an authorized representative of the affected university. Likewise, no university site may use the name of a member in any publicity without the prior, written approval of the member. Press releases will be coordinated between the Chair of the College STAR Network, Messaging and Outreach Working Group Coordinator, and participating press offices. Notwithstanding the forgoing parties may satisfy any reporting requirements of their respective organizations.
8.2 Subject to the recommendations of the College STAR Network, the Director may post the titles and descriptions of all network members on the network web site. The descriptions shall not contain confidential or proprietary information and may be published freely.
Article IX – Publications and Intellectual Property
9.1 Research/Logos/K-12 Conference Materials: The collaborative nature of much of the work of the network will necessitate members coming to an agreement about Intellectual Property ownership (hereinafter referred to as “IP”) for shared projects. These determinations may be needed on a case-by-case basis, but some general guidelines that depict the intent of the network are described here:
- Research: Research conducted by members of the network that requires IRB approval will be governed by the policies of the applicable campus IRB office. Manuscripts published in refereed journals should adhere to the policies of the applicable journal. Information gathered for evaluation and informing best practices within the network is only to be shared in formats and venues agreed upon by the research team and participating campuses.
- Resources: Resources developed collaboratively by members of the network should be available for broad sharing at no cost using a Creative Commons license agreed upon by network members developing the materials. Resources developed on individual campuses and shared within the network should only be shared more broadly with permission from network representatives on the original campus that developed the materials.
- Conference Materials: All materials developed for the College STAR conference should be made available for sharing freely with the Non-Commercial Share-Alike Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-SA)
- Name and Image: Campuses wishing to use the College STAR Name and Image must first secure approval from the current network Leadership Team.