Houston Area OER Consortium

Bylaws

BYLAWS OF THE HOUSTON AREA OER (HAOER) CONSORTIUM

HOUSTON, TEXAS

These Bylaws shall be construed to comply with all applicable laws of the State of Texas and the United States.

ARTICLE I. NAME, MISSION, AND PURPOSE

Section 1. Name

The name of the society shall be Houston Area Open Educational Resources (HAOER) Consortium.

Section 2. Mission

The mission of the Houston Area Open Educational Resources Consortium is to harness the power of open education to improve teaching, learning, and degree completion.

Section 3. Purpose

The Houston Area Open Educational Resources Consortium is a diverse, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative community that establishes forums for its membership to share information, resources, and expertise in supporting and advancing open education initiatives. The HAOER Consortium also provides support and assistance to other open education advocates outside the Houston area network.

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership

Any faculty or staff member at any Houston area institution with a focus on education is eligible to be a member. An individual may become a member by joining the HAOER Google Group (“HAOER” or houstonoer@googlegroups.com).

Section 2. Voting Privileges

Any member is eligible to vote if they are a faculty or staff member at an educational institution, and have attended at least one regular quarterly meeting within the previous calendar year. If a member has not attended at least one regular meeting within the previous year, they will not be able to vote on a given motion.

It is recommended that voting occurs during meeting times through voice vote or hand count, but voting by proxy is allowed as long as the Chair is notified prior to the meeting when the vote takes place. Secret ballot is not required, but may be desirable in some circumstances. The Chair should decide on the manner of voting prior to calling the question. In the event an electronic or secret ballot is required, the Chair will make every effort to ensure that only eligible voting members participate. The Chair may seek consultation from officers or voting members to decide the manner of voting.

The Chair will not have regular voting privileges but shall cast the deciding vote in the case of a tie. The Vice-Chair and Past-Chair retain regular voting privileges.

Section 3. Quorum

A quorum consists of eligible voting members from at least four distinct institutions. For institutions of higher education, an institution will be considered distinct on the basis of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions framework.

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS

Section 1. General

The Officers of this organization shall consist of a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Past-Chair, each from separate institutions. Any member who is eligible to vote is eligible to be nominated for an officer position.

Section 2. Election and Terms of Office

The Vice-Chair shall be elected for a one (l) year term, followed by a one (1) year term as Chair, and then a one (1) year term as Past-Chair. Officer terms run from August 1st through July 31st. The officers should appoint a Nominations Committee by the time of the April membership meeting, which will be chaired by the current Past-Chair. Officer elections should be completed by the July membership meeting. A majority vote of eligible voting members who participate in the vote will determine officers for the upcoming year. In the event of a tie, the Chair will provide the tie-breaking vote.

Section 3. First Election

Prior to the adoption of these Bylaws, the society functioned under the direction of two co-chairs. The election process outlined in Article III, Section 2 stipulates a succession process that will not be possible in the first election. Consequently, rules for the “First Election” are required. These rules may be followed in any circumstance where the succession process becomes impossible.

For the first election, we assume no prior terms. Any member of the consortium is eligible to serve as either Chair or Vice-Chair. Members will conduct two, simultaneous elections, for Chair and Vice-Chair. An individual may be nominated to serve in either Chair or Vice-Chair, but no member may run for both offices simultaneously.

Section 4. Resignation and Removal

An officer may be removed for failure to complete duties or gross indiscretion by two-thirds (2/3) vote of eligible voting members at any meeting.

Section 5. Vacancies

Vacancies shall be filled immediately by election. Officers filling a vacancy are eligible to serve out the completion of the current term and successive terms as enumerated in Section 2.

Section 6. Duties and Responsibilities of Officers

The duties and responsibilities of the Vice-Chair are as follows:

  1. Send email notifications to members regarding upcoming meetings and events.
  2. Record attendance at the regular quarterly meetings.
  3. Coordinate with the Past-Chair and Chair to publish minutes on the HAOER Google Drive and the HAOER Consortium website.
  4. Assist the Chair in completing other tasks as needed.
  5. In the event the Chair is unable to fulfill their duties, the Vice-Chair fulfills duties of the Chair.

The duties and responsibilities of the Chair are as follows:

  1. Call and preside over quarterly meetings.
  2. Set agendas for quarterly meetings.
  3. Update and maintain the HAOER Consortium website and Google Group site.
  4. Conduct fundraising as needed to maintain the operation of the website.
  5. Coordinate with local host(s) to arrange in-person meetings, as needed.
  6. Recruit new members from Houston-area institutions and organizations.
  7. Communicate with community partners and governmental organizations.
  8. Execute the mission and goals of the organization as defined by members and the Bylaws.
  9. Mentor and work with the Vice-Chair on all of the above.
  10. Delegate any of the above duties to the Vice-Chair.

The duties and responsibilities of the Past-Chair are as follows:

  1. Mentor and work with the Chair and Vice-Chair in conducting business of the consortium.
  2. Record minutes for regular quarterly meetings and coordinate with the Vice-Chair to publish them.
  3. Serve as Chair of the Nominations Committee.
  4. Assist the Chair with recruitment, outreach, and fundraising efforts as needed.
  5. Serve on an Advisory Board as needed, as stipulated by Article IV, Section 2.

An officer who is no longer able to fulfill their obligations will delegate those duties to another member. If an officer does not delegate their duties to another member, the Chair will do so.

Section 7. Meetings

The Houston Area OER Consortium will convene regularly at quarterly meetings, to be held on the last Tuesday of the month (July, October, January, April) unless otherwise noted. Meetings are held from 12:00 – 2:00 PM and may be virtual, in-person, or hybrid. Virtual attendees are encouraged to participate fully as long as they can maintain a stable, virtual connection. The Chair shall be responsible for hosting or delegating hosting responsibilities for virtual meetings. Meeting changes must be publicly announced well in advance of meeting time. Institutions are encouraged to host a meeting when they are able. Every institution is encouraged to host a meeting.

It is recommended that the Chair and Vice-Chair schedule one meeting in-person (or hybrid) per year. In-person meetings typically occur over lunch, which may be provided and arranged by the host institution or as a brown-bag lunch.

ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES

Section 1. Committees

An officer may designate committees to address the goals of the organization at any time. Any member is eligible to serve on any committee. The officer designating the committee should provide the following in advance of recruiting members: a committee name; description or purpose statement identifying the scope of work; a timeline for work; roles and responsibilities for members; and project deliverables.

Suggested committees may include but are not limited to:

Bylaws Committee:
The Bylaws Committee reviews and evaluates the HAOER Bylaws, proposes revisions as needed, and facilitates voting on proposed revisions by the membership.

Nominations Committee:
The Nominations Committee solicits candidates for Vice-Chair/Chair and facilitates voting on officer elections.

Communications Committee:
The Communications Committee investigates opportunities to communicate the work and impact of HAOER, and/or develops and promotes appropriate content. This may include the website, social media, or other channels.

Section 2. Advisory Board

Any former officer may lead an advisory board which will consist of individuals who are able to provide contacts and special relationships with outside stakeholders. The Advisory Board will focus on building outside relationships to promote the purpose of HAOER. The board will be available to provide resources only when called upon by a current officer. The Advisory Board has no voting rights.

ARTICLE V. AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Amendments

An amendment to the Bylaws may be proposed at any regular meeting by any voting member. The proposal must be approved by a majority of eligible voting members. The amendment will be considered at the subsequent regular meeting and will be adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of eligible voting members who participate in the vote (see Article II, Section 2).

Section 2. Regular Review

The consortium shall undertake a regular review of the Bylaws at least every 5 years.

Bylaws originally certified by Founding Co-Chairs on May 12, 2020:

 

Co-Chair, Tonja Conerly, San Jacinto College

Co-Chair, Nathan Smith, Houston Community College

Bylaws Last Reviewed and Approved: April 25, 2023