Bylaws of Illinois Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (ILACEP) State Chapter of NACEP

Updated April 9, 2022

The Illinois Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships began in 2014 as a grass root cadre of concurrent enrollment practitioners and advocates from across Illinois meeting to discuss best practices, opportunities, and challenges.

Article I: Name

The name of this association is the Illinois Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (known as ILACEP throughout this document).

Article II: Purpose

Dual Credit (known as concurrent enrollment nationally) is defined as high school students who take college-credit courses taught by college-approved high school teachers.

The purpose of this organization is to support concurrent enrollment programs through the advocacy of best practices, research, and collaboration that promote student access and completion, program development, professional development, communication, and high quality standards.

Key focus areas include:

Disseminating the NACEP standards of quality concurrent enrollment programs
Providing professional development to all interested parties concerning quality concurrent enrollment programs, including discussions for best practices and challenges
Serving as a state advocate for concurrent enrollment
Fostering strong partnerships between post-secondary and secondary institutions
Advocating for concurrent enrollment with stakeholders and legislators.

Article III: Membership

Membership includes any institution or individual involved with concurrent enrollment partnerships that submits a membership application and pays annual dues as recommended by the Membership Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. Membership in ILACEP does not preclude institution or individual participation in other organizations or associations.

A. Categories of Membership

Institutional Membership: Any public or private postsecondary or secondary institution that submits a membership application and pays annual dues
Individual Membership: Any organization or individual who supports the mission of ILACEP that submits a membership application

B. Rights/Privileges of Membership

a. Institutional

Right to vote (one vote per institution, designated at the Annual Meeting)
Right to hold office, serve as committee chairs or members
Right to attend ILACEP sponsored activities
Right to reduced fees for ILACEP sponsored activities
Right to membership certificate

b. Individual

Right to serve as committee members
Right to attend ILACEP sponsored activities
Right to reduced fees for ILACEP sponsored activities
Right to membership certificate

C. Membership Meetings

General membership meetings are held at least once per year and in conjunction with the annual conference. A membership roster certified by the Membership Chair and Secretary is produced at the meeting. All designated institutional representatives appearing on the roster are entitled to vote at the meeting. The membership roster is made up of all paid members two months prior to the meeting date.

D. Membership Fees

Membership fees are based on each category of membership and established by the Board of Directors annually.

Article IV: Board of Directors

A. Management of ILACEP:
ILACEP is managed by a Board of Directors (hereby known as the “Board”) consisting of no fewer than twelve (12) members. The Board includes: The elected ILACEP officers (Past-President, President, President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer), four (4) elected Chairpersons of the Standing Committees and three (3) elected representatives from a secondary institution.

Terms are staggered to insure transfer of knowledge and consistency between Boards. The Board will be elected the fall of 2015. For the first election previous required service on the board will not be required.

B. Elections

Voting takes place at or before the Annual Business Meeting and is coordinated by the Elections Committee (an ad hoc committee). The results are announced at the annual meeting. Each board member holds office until the expiration of the term for which he/she was elected or appointed or until his/her resignation or removal.

C. Quorum of the Board of Directors

A majority of the entire Board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

D. Place, Time, Notification of Board Meetings

The Board can hold its meetings at any location, either within or out of the state, and at any time it determines. Board members will be notified at least two weeks prior to each meeting. There will be a minimum of 6 meetings a year which may be in person or conference calls or other means such as SKYPE.

E. Special Board Meetings

To call a special meeting of the Board, notice is given to board members by the President with three days’ notice by e-mail or phone. The Secretary, with written request of two board members, can also call a special meeting in a like manner.

Article V: Governance and Management

A. The Board of Directors shall manage the general operations of ILACEP. Members of the Board of Directors include: Past-President, President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and Representatives at Large who serve as Committee Chairs (4) and three (3) secondary representatives.

B. The Board is the legislative body of ILACEP and has full power and authority to set policy and provide strategic decisions for ILACEP, to adopt an annual budget and authorize expenditures, and to assign duties and responsibilities among the Board. The Board has full power and authority to review the actions of any committee or related subcommittee. The Board is comprised of members as defined in Article IV, Section A of these bylaws.

C. Removal, Resignation, Salary: Any Officer, Standing Committee Chair or Institutional Representative may be removed/replaced with or without cause by majority vote of the Board of Directors. In the event of death, resignation, or removal of a board member, the Board may elect or appoint a successor to fill the unexpired term. There shall be no salaries earned by any board member for the duties carried out in the name of ILACEP.

D. The Board of Directors shall consist of the following members: Past-President, President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Committee Chairs, and Secondary Representatives. The duties of these Officers are as follows:

Section 1. The President:

Presides at all meetings of ILACEP.
Appoints and manages ad hoc committees as necessary for the operation of ILACEP.
Sets the agenda for all ILACEP board, and general membership meetings, with input from board members
Serves as the official spokesperson, or assigns a designee, for ILACEP at state, regional, and national functions that promote concurrent enrollment partnerships
Performs other responsibilities usually conferred upon the presiding officer

Section 2. The President-Elect:

Succeeds the President after one year as President-Elect
Presides in the absence of the President and performs such duties as shall be prescribed by the Board
Monitors the progress of Standing Committees and serves as a resource
Assists the President in fulfilling the obligations of ILACEP

Section 3. The Secretary:

Maintains a full and accurate record of the attendance and proceedings of all Board and general membership meetings
Maintains a schedule of meeting dates and locations
Distributes the meeting minutes no later than thirty (30) days after the close of each meeting
Maintains the correspondence of ILACEP as directed by the Board
Insures that each Board member receives a copy of the agenda prior to each meeting
Tabulates and reports voting results

Section 4. The Treasurer

Maintains, prepares, seeks approval for, and reports on:
- Financial records
- Annual operating budget
- Annual report of the general fund, including income and expenditures of the fiscal year for presentation to the board and general membership

Section 5. The Past-President:

Provides advice and leadership to the Board.
Mentors the President and President-Elect, and provides transitional support to the Board
Presides in the absence of the President and President-Elect and performs such duties as shall be prescribed by the Board

Section 6. Qualifications.

To be nominated as President/President-Elect, the individual shall have served at least one term on the Board. To be nominated as any other officer or chairperson the individual shall be an active employee of the ILACEP member institution which has been in good standing for at least one year prior to office - Secondary Representatives nominees are exempt from this requirement. Prior service and prior member institution membership will not apply for the first election.

Section 7. Terms of Office.

Board members take office the day after the Annual Business Meeting each year and will serve through the end of the fiscal year of their last term. For the first year of ILACEP all board members will be elected electronically before the first business meeting. Any board member absent from three (3) consecutive board meetings will be contacted by the President for the purpose of determining that board member’s intent and ability to serve the remainder of his/her term. If it is mutually determined that the individual cannot fulfill his/her board responsibilities, a new board member will be elected by a majority vote of the Board to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. The length of term of office for each board member (including appointed positions) is two years (with the exception of President/President-Elect) and is on a rotating schedule:

To facilitate the rotating schedule, the officers will serve the following terms:

Past-President – 1 year (with the possibility of a one-time re-election)
President— 1 year
President Elect—1 year
Treasurer—2 years
Secondary Representative—2 years
Secretary—1 year
Professional Development Committee Chair—2 years
Membership Committee Chair—1 year
Government Relations Committee Chair—1 year
Communication Committee Chair—1 year

Section 8. Voting on Administrative Issues.

Between meetings of the Board, the President may canvas the members of the Board by mail, phone, or electronically for the purpose of voting on administrative issues. Any action authorized through these procedures shall be ratified and included in the minutes at the next regular meeting of the Board.

Article VI: Affiliation with Other Organizations

ILACEP may establish affiliation with national and international professional organizations which advocate for concurrent dual enrollment programs by two- thirds vote of those present at the annual meeting, may elect representatives as necessary and proper, may authorize the payment of appropriate fees for such affiliations and by two-thirds vote of those present at the meeting, and may terminate such affiliation when it is no longer in the interest of ILACEP.

Article VII: General Membership Meetings

ILACEP will meet at least once each year for the transaction of business and to perform functions that are consistent with the purposes of ILACEP. The Secretary shall send every member in good standing on the Membership Roster a notice stating time and place of the annual meeting. This notice can be sent by postmarked or electronic mail.

ILACEP may meet at other times upon the majority vote of the Board and with at least two weeks’ notice to the membership before the scheduled date of such meeting.

The Board may hold special meetings at the request of the President or any two members of the Board of Directors, consistent with Article IV, Paragraph E of these Bylaws.

A quorum at any meeting of ILACEP is at least twenty percent (20%) of the enrolled membership present at the meeting. A quorum of the Board shall consist of a majority of the Officers and Board members. Agenda items submitted from the membership must be submitted to the Board thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.

Article VIII: Finance

The fiscal year of ILACEP shall begin July 1 and end June 30 of each year.

The general fund of ILACEP shall consist of income of ILACEP. The general fund shall be the charge of the Treasurer and the Finance Committee who shall provide for the safekeeping and auditing of such funds.

The Treasurer makes disbursements from the general fund in accordance with the annual budget. All requests for funds must be accompanied by appropriate documentation.

The Treasurer, under the direction of the Board, prepares the annual operating budget. At the first meeting of the Board for the fiscal year, the Treasurer shall submit the budget to the Board for approval.

Article IX: Committees

Standing committee chairs are elected by the membership and include: Communications, Membership, Professional Development, and Government Relations; ad hoc and/or special committees are created by the President and/or Board of Directors as needed.

Section 1. The Communications Committee is responsible for external and internal communications. The committee acts as the communications center of ILACEP. Under the direction of ILACEP’s President and Executive Committee, the communications committee serves to ensure that public communications about ILACEP have a professional appearance and adhere to standard conventions of the English language and carries on such activities as:

Writing press releases about ILACEP activities and distributing those to ILACEP members for local or regional publication and distributing press releases to the national media and national organizations
Writing, designing and printing ILACEP letterhead, brochures, and other official forms and documents
Publishing and maintaining an updated website and other social media outlets for ILACEP.
Maintaining a listserv for ILACEP
Writing and publishing an electronic newsletter for ILACEP members
Completing other projects as assigned by the President and/or Board

Section 2. The Membership Committee administers the ILACEP membership process to assure applicant qualifications are reviewed, new members are recruited, membership status is accurately categorized, paid for, and confirmed, and membership renewals are completed, and maintains the membership roster. The Membership Committee will work with the Treasurer to ensure adequate invoicing and payment. The President and/or Board may assign other projects as appropriate.

Section 3. The Professional Development Committee, under the direction of and with approval from the Board, organizes the annual conference, including all promotion, registration, logistics (including theme, location, date/time, cost/budget, registration fees, etc.), speakers and evaluations, and presents a conference budget/expenditures report to the Board for approval. The Professional Development committee also organizes regular webinars and other professional development opportunities for the membership throughout the year.

Section 4. The Government Relations Committee is responsible for facilitating coordinating and maintaining ILACEP interaction with federal, state and local governmental and educational agencies. The Committee works to develop and maintain a positive image for dual enrollment programs and works to strengthen communication with policy-making governmental agencies by working in conjunction with other educational organizations that further the interests of dual enrollment partnership programs.

Under the direction of the ILACEP President and/or Board, the Committee carries on such activities as:

Coordinating contact between ILACEP and elected or appointed officials to policy-making position with federal, state, and local governmental and enrollment programs
Identifying and prioritizing opportunities for enlisting state support for dual enrollment and partnership programs and projects
Providing information to legislators concerning state legislation directly affecting the interests of dual enrollment partnership programs
Producing data and publications that highlight the positive effects of dual enrollment partnerships (in conjunction with the communications Committee)

Article X: Amendments

These by-laws may be amended at any regular or special meeting by a majority vote of the membership or by absentee or electronic ballots received prior to the meeting, provided thirty (30) days’ notice of any amendment is sent to each member.

Tabulations of the votes are made by the Elections Committee and reported to the membership thirty (30) days after the notice of ballot.

Resolutions from committees which affect institutional policies of member institutions, to be presented for vote at an Annual Meeting, must be submitted to the Executive Committee sixty days prior to the Annual Meeting and the Executive Committee shall be responsible for circulating the proposed resolution at least 45 days prior to the Annual Meeting.

Article XI: Rules of Order

ILACEP shall conduct business according to the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. A Parliamentarian, appointed by the President with approval of the Board of Directors, will advise the President of meeting procedures and serve as the ruling authority in the event of disputes concerning procedure.

Article XII: Dissolution

This association may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership participating at the meeting at which the vote is taken. In the event of the dissolution of the association, the assets shall be liquidated and distributed to the members in accordance with government regulations. No funds shall inure to the benefit of individual members.

Article XIII: Certification

Updates to these bylaws were voted on by membership and confirmed at the business meeting as part of the annual ILACEP Summit on April 29, 2022.