About PMU > Governance > The Student Council

The Student Council (Constitution- Spring 2010)


PREAMBLE

We, the members of PMU Student Council, shall serve as an effective liaison between the student body, the administration and the faculty of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU). We shall voice the student opinions to the administration of PMU, and see that the students' best interests are properly served. We shall constantly strive towards improving the quality of life of all students as well as the academic experience of PMU undergraduate students.

ARTICLE I : The Name

This organization shall be known as PMU Student Council.

ARTICLE II : Purpose and Powers

The PMU Student Council duties and responsibilities are:

  1. To enhance the experience of the PMU student body;
  2. To serve as the official representative of PMU student body in front of the University's administration and faculty;
  3. To promote the student awareness of issues and university policies related;
  4. To aid student organizations, clubs and societies in applying for recognition and funding according to the university policies and procedures;
  5. To form groups, committees or task force to fulfill any goal that is deemed necessary for the welfare of the student body;
  6. To represent PMU student body in the community;
  7. To work on forging relations with other student organizations locally and internationally.

ARTICLE III : Membership

Section I- The General Cabinet

The General Cabinet consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Public Relations Officer, the Information Technology Specialist and the Special Officer, who is usually nominated based on the Cabinet’s program and campaign.

The Cabinet works actively on implementing the program it was entrusted with and elected for. It will strive to facilitate and improve communication channels with the PMU student body at large. It will assist in disseminating information on campus, orient students, new and returning, on existing and new university policies. It will seek efficient ways to increase student involvement in campus events and activities and will play a central role in representing the PMU student population internally and in the community.

  1. The Executive Board:

    The Executive Board consists of the President, Vice President and the Secretary.

  2. The President:

    The President duties are:

    1. To ensure and oversee the implementation of the program she/he was elected for;
    2. To call for regular and special meetings and general assemblies;
    3. To report the repeated or consecutive absences of members from meetings as well as the disruptive attitudes, behaviors and actions in meetings, event and activities on and off campus;
    4. To report factors impacting the student experience at PMU;
    5. To report factors affecting the active involvement of the Council in the student life at PMU;
    6. To actively participate in the planning and implementation of the Annual Student Satisfaction Survey;
    7. To contribute with other members to the planning of campus activities and events;
    8. To ensure rules of order when members are engaged in debates;
    9. To inform the Vice President in advance of her/his absence from a meeting;
    10. To prepare in coordination with the secretary, the agenda of the following meeting;
    11. To sign jointly with the Treasurer requests to withdraw money from the Council’s account and provide reports to justify expenditures;
    12. To take responsibility for all actions or activities that violate the university rules and regulations;
    13. To report officially at the end of each semester, the achievements of the Council to the Department of Campus Life;
    14. To officially present a plan of action at the beginning of each semester.
  3. The Vice President:

    The Vice President duties are:

    1. To assume the duties of the president in her/his absence or incapacity as Acting President until the President is able to resume his/her position. Otherwise, the vice president shall remain as acting president until the time of the following annual elections;
    2. To hold joint responsibility with the President with regards to the efficiency of the Council in implementing its program and meeting the students expectations;
    3. To assist in reporting on a monthly basis describing the Council’s performance;
    4. To assume responsibility for the inventory report once per semester and report to both the Student Council and the  Department Campus Life;
    5. To take the minutes of meetings in the absence of the Secretary;
    6. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.
  4. The Treasurer:

    The Treasurer duties are:

    1. To co-sign with the President all financial reports, budgets, transactions and funding requests;
    2. To hold joint responsibility with the President, with regards to the Council’s budget, assets and expenditures;
    3. To make sure that all expenditures are in accordance with the approved budget;
    4. To submit to the Campus Life Department regular budget reports, and avail such reports and information at any point of the semester or upon request;
    5. To provide the Campus Life Department with upcoming spending plans at the beginning of each semester;
    6. To ensure the Council is financially sound and ready for an audit at any point in the semester;
    7. To face personal responsibility for unaccounted expenditure by the Council;
    8. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.
  5. The Secretary:

    The Secretary duties are:

    1. To keep minutes of all meetings of the Council in a timely manner;
    2. To send copies of all minutes to the Campus Life department and make them available to all clubs/society members, and the student body at large;
    3. To record the attendance of all members and send copies to the Campus Life Department;
    4. To send notices of meetings to all members, and prepare meeting agendas;
    5. To maintain records and archives including but not limited to all proposals, reports, official letters, photos, memorabilia and e-mail printouts;
    6. To advise on the legality of the Council’s decisions and alignment to the university policies and procedures;
    7. To ensure that the Council is in line with the Student Code of Conduct;
    8. To serve as a repository of updated versions of the constitution and bylaws;
    9. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.
  6. The Information Technology Specialist:

    Information Technology Specialist duties are:

    1. To be responsible for maintaining the Council’s webpage;
    2. To act as a source of assistance as deemed necessary for the proper function of the Council;
    3. To advise the Cabinet on issues of technological importance;
    4. To ensure the Council’s webpage is updated with all official documents, minutes of meetings and recent news;
    5. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.
  7. The Public Relations Officer:

    The PR Officer duties are:

    1. To facilitate communication between the Council, the Student body and liaise with the community;
    2. To forge new communication channels with the student body and the community;
    3. To regularly write Council’s news and avail them for web posting;
    4. To be in charge of the Council’s column in the Student Newsletter;
    5. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.
  8. The Special Member:

    The Special member is usually nominated based on the Cabinet program and campaign. She/he will also be known as the program supporter.

    The Special Officer duties are:

    1. To support the Cabinet’s program;
    2. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.

Section II: College Representatives Board:

The College Representative Board consists of three representatives: The College of Business Representative, the College of Information Technology Representative, and the College of Engineering Representative.

The duties of the College Representative are as follows:
  1. To act as a liaison between his/her respective college and the General Cabinet and officially express the concerns and represent ideas of the students of her/his college;
  2. To hold a student college meeting per month and report outcomes to the General Cabinet;
  3. To inform the Vice President of the dates of her/his college meeting;
  4. To advice the General Cabinet on issues related to her/his college;
  5. To inform the students of her/his college of any Council developments;
  6. To plan and communicate events/activities for the respective college;
  7. To sit on college committees as designated by the respective college;
  8. To carryout specific projects that are beneficial to their respective college within PMU;
  9. To serve on committees as appointed by the President.

ARTICLE IV : Qualifications

Section IV-i: Qualification of Cabinet Members:

  1. General Guidelines

    Each member of the Council must:

    1. Be a senior, junior or sophomore student at PMU during her/his term of office;
    2. Possess a cumulative GPA not less than 2.7- in some cases, strong recommendation letters from faculty members and department chair may support the candidate at the discretion of the Director of Student Affairs;
    3. Remain in good standing with the Council;
    4. Remain in good standing with the attendance and penalty policies;
    5. Her/his major must be related to the role he/she is representing;
    6. Be enrolled and registered as a full time student at PMU with a minimum academic load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours per semester.
  2. Specific Guidelines

    The President must:

    1. Possess strong leadership, communication and critical thinking skills and a good record of teamwork as proven in the recommendation letters from faculty members as well as in her/his CV and portfolio, public speeches and debates;
    2. Possess a strong program with clear objectives- as assessed by the electoral committee;
    3. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 and above;
    4. Be registered a PMU as a full time sophomore, junior or senior student with a minimum academic load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours.

    The Vice President must:

    1. Possess strong leadership, communication and critical thinking skills and a good record of teamwork as proven in the recommendation letters from faculty members as well as in her/his CV and portfolio;
    2. Strongly support the President’s program and objectives;
    3. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 and above;
    4. Be registered at PMU as a full time sophomore, junior or senior student with a minimum load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours.

    Qualifications of the Secretary:

    1. Possess strong written communication skills and a good record of teamwork as proven in her/his transcript, CV and portfolio;
    2. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 and above;
    3. Be registered a PMU as a full time sophomore, junior or senior student with a minimum academic load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours.

    Qualifications of the Treasurer:

    1. Be a student of the College of Business majoring in Accounting or Finance;
    2. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 and above;
    3. Be registered at PMU as a full time sophomore, junior or senior student with a minimum academic load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours.

    Qualifications of the IT Specialist:

    1. Be a student of the College of IT and have passed courses such as Web Page (Server Management), Web Page (Web Programming and/or Network Management);
    2. Possess a good record of teamwork as proven in her/his transcript, CV and portfolio;
    3. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 and above;
    4. Be registered a PMU as a full time sophomore, junior or senior student with a minimum academic load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours.

    Qualifications of the PR Officer:

    1. Possess strong written and oral communication skills and a good record of teamwork as proven in her/his transcript, CV and portfolio;
    2. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 and above;
    3. Be registered a PMU as a full time sophomore, junior or senior student with a minimum academic load of 12 credit hours and a maximum of 18 credit hours.

Section IV-ii: Qualifications of the College Representatives:

General Guidelines

Each College Representative must:

  1. Be currently enrolled as a student at PMU in the college she/he represents;
  2. Remain in good standing with the Council;
  3. Remain in good standing with the attendance and general policies;
  4. Posses a cumulative GPA not less than 2.7;
  5. Be sophomore, junior or senior student during her/his term of office;
  6. Possess strong leadership, communication skills and a good record of teamwork as proven in the recommendation letters from the college (Dean/Chair/Associate Chair), as well as in her/his CV.

ARTICLE V : Meetings

  1. The Student Council shall meet at announced regular scheduled intervals to discuss plans, as well as, to review progress of programs under way.
  2. Meeting quorum is set at two third (2/3) of the members with the necessity of the presence of at least two of the three members of the Executive Board as well as one college representative;
  3. General meetings should be scheduled, announced and open to the student population;
  4. At least one general meeting should be held during each academic semester;
  5. Minutes of all meetings must be submitted to the Campus Life Department within three days from the last meeting;
  6. If a member is unable to attend a scheduled meeting, she/he must notify the Secretary in writing 24 hours in advance in order to be excused;
  7. Orders of the President are voted for with the majority of 2/3 of the members of the Council (President not included).

ARTICLE VI : Vacancies

  1. Should the position of the President become open, the order of succession shall follow the order of seniority: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, IT Specialist, PR Officer, Special Member and College Representative.
  2. Should any post in Cabinet become vacant, the vacancy will be announced to the student body and only members of the Council will be eligible to vote for the candidates running for that specific position;
  3. Should a college representative post become vacant at anytime in the school year, the candidate with the second highest votes will be appointed. Otherwise new college elections will be announced, or the concerned college will appoint a temporary replacement. This will be jointly decided by the College and the Division of Student Affairs;
  4. In the event of a vacancy, it is mandatory for any member who currently holds a student council position and is elected to another, to forfeit his or her original position.

ARTICLE VII : Campaigns

Candidates running for elected posts shall have the right to organize their electoral campaign. The candidates shall have the freedom to decide on the campaign message and elements, however, team consultation and team effort will be assessed by the Electoral Committee (representing the Division of Student Affairs and the academic departments).
The program, the preliminary plan of action and the campaign elements shall be reviewed by the electoral committee. In a second stage, each candidate shall deliver a speech in English to publicly convey her/his message to the student body- a step that will also be assessed by the electoral committee. At last, the candidates shall debate on a topic selected from a pre-determined list of topics chosen by the electoral committee. This step is the last to be assessed by the electoral committee, who will communicate the candidates’ scores to the Department of Campus Life. The scores will be made public but will not affect the elections results in any way; they are only meant to give another perspective to the electors outside the friendship and social connections circle.

During their campaigns, the candidates will strictly observe the university policy for posting of promotional materials. All campaign materials shall be approved by the Division of Student Affairs before they are made public. Within one (1) week from the end of the elections period, it shall be the responsibility of the respective candidate/cabinet any and all posted material related to their campaigns. Any candidate or cabinet in violation of this policy may be suspended from the elections by the Director of Student Affairs and or his designee.

ARTICLE VIII : Elections

The call for elections shall be announced in writing to all PMU qualified candidates whishing to run at least ten days prior to the date of elections, and shall indicate place, date and time.

Elections shall be held by secret ballot within a "common area" on the PMU campus.
Any member may run and be re-elected either to the same office or to any other office, for a maximum of one year in total. However it can be extended to one extra semester if the need is justified. A written petition to the Director of Student Affairs is then requested.

Election of the candidates (President and College Representative only) shall take place during the fourth quarter of the academic year. Elected posts shall be: the presidency and the college representation; there will be no election for the candidates of the cabinet; they shall be automatically appointed by the running President during the application phase.

Student eligible for election are active (not dismissed) registered college students: freshmen, sophomore, junior or senior.

Candidates running for elected posts shall have a campaign representative (chosen from their selected cabinet members) attending the ballot on site as a supervisory presence. The campaign representative will not have the right to communicate with the students on the elections site and will not perform any act to affect or influence the electors in any way. Any representative caught trying to do so will be suspended from the elections and from the post she/he is running for, and the incident will be recorded in her/his student conduct file.

The candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be installed into the office he/she is running for.

ARTICLE IX : Impeachment

Any officer may be removed from office under the following conditions:

  1. If she/he has not fulfilled her/his duties or has damaged the reputation of Student Council;
  2. If she/he has accumulated three strikes due to unexcused absences to regular and/or general meetings, or both.

     1 absence = 1 strike

    The procedures for impeachment or removal from office are as follows:

    1. The decision shall be made by a two third majority of the Council, with the majority defined as two third of the members ;
    2. A written statement of charges with the signature of the majority is required in the Council’s record and the Department of Campus Life;
    The decision will be kept in the student conduct file

ARTICLE X : Dissolution

In case of actions and activities that are deemed as "acts of contempt" against the philosophy, policies and/or mission of PMU by the Campus Life administration; the Director of Student Affairs reserves the right to suspend and/or terminate individuals and/or the Student Council in its entirety under orders from the Rector of the University without prior notice nor regard of those found in contempt.

In case of dissolution of the Student Council, the balance of funds, the office's keys, Student Council documents, minutes of meetings shall be addressed and resolved at the discretion of the Campus Life Administration.

ARTICLE XI : General Rules and Bylaws

  1. The Student Council shall stand for the spirit of the University's mission, rules and regulations.
  2. Where argument arises, the issue at hand shall be referred to the Campus Life Supervisor who shall make the first decision; all final decisions shall be made by the Director of Student Affairs, and may be appealed to the Appeals Committee.
  3. The duration of regular membership shall be for two consecutive semesters, unless an exception is made by the Director of Student Affairs.
  4. Members of the PMU Student Council who have received an academic warning during his/her term of service will be dismissed from the Student Council.
  5. Any member of the PMU community acting on the behalf of the PMU Student Council shall retain and protect the privacy of any information concerning the University and are forbidden to neither disclose not declare any private information unless it has been formally confirmed and approved for release by the Director of Student Affairs with no exceptions.
  6. It is forbidden to settle any issue concerning students without referring to the Campus Life Supervisor first, and all final decisions are reserved to the Director of Student Affairs.
  7. In case of two absences (strikes) by the member, he/she will get a warning letter. Upon accumulating three absences (strikes), the member will be dismissed.
  8. If any member is dismissed or have quit their duties, an alternate will be appointed by the Student Council immediately, under guidance of the Department of Campus Life.
  9. Members who violate these bylaws or any of the University's regulations will be dismissed and the Director of Student Affairs reserves the right to prohibit the concerned member(s) from future PMU Student Council elections and appointments.

ARTICLE XII : Amendment of Constitution and Bylaws

Amending the constitution and the bylaws may cause destabilization of the Student Council; therefore, it is subject to strict conditions and to final approval by the Director of Student Affairs.