Promoting Opportunities with Educational Retention (P.O.W.E.R) Initiative
Rules and Governance of the P.O.W.E.R. Center
I. Purpose
This document outlines the organizational structure of the Promoting Opportunities with Educational Retention Center (POWER Center, or Center). It provides for the establishment of the various policy and funding boards that shall govern the Center. This organizational structure shall become effective upon certification by the Associated Students and the University that this initiative passed in the ASUCI elections.
II. Executive Director of the CENTER
A. Hiring
The Executive Director of the Center shall be a University of California employee. The position will be full-time and paid. Funds for the Executive Director’s salary shall be allocated from proceeds of the P.O.W.E.R. Initiative, according to funding policies and guidelines that govern the initiative, and/or from funds provided by the University of California, Irvine. A committee shall be established to search for the Executive Director of the Center, composed of the following student representatives.
The members of this committee shall make all necessary arrangements for the search of the Executive Director and comply with all state and University policies. The Committee shall make its recommendations for hiring to the appropriate hiring manager which will be taken into consideration when selecting the final candidates
B. Duties
The Executive Director’s duty is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Center. The Executive Director will have an executive relationship with the Board of Directors, where the Board of Directors will decide on the Center’s policies and the Executive Director will be responsible for carrying them out. The director will also be an advisor to all students who utilize the Center. The director is also responsible for hiring interns and the chairs of the Retention and Academic Preparation committees.
III. Board of Directors
A. Responsibilities
The Board of Directors is responsible for guiding the general direction of the Center. All policies pertaining to the Center and its operating budgets are the responsibility of the Board, notwithstanding programming funding decisions which shall be made by either the Academic Preparation or Retention committees. The Board of Directors shall have the power to arbitrate funding appeals made by organizations applying for programming funds. The appeals process shall be predetermined and included in a set of bylaws adopted by the Board.
B. Establishment of Governing Bylaws
The Board of Directors shall be established upon certification of the POWER Initiative and upon the first meeting of available members. The first meeting of the Board shall occur no later than the first day of the Fall Quarter of the following academic year in which the Initiative is passed. Upon its establishment, the Board of Directors shall adopt a set of by-laws to govern its procedures, and said adoption of bylaws shall be done no later than three (3) months from its first meeting. The board of directors shall also adopt a set of bylaws for each of the Retention and Academic Preparation Committees, and said bylaws shall be adopted no later than six (6) months from the first meeting of the Board. For the first Board of Directors, the three at-large representatives shall be selected by the Executive Director through a fair and open application process. Once the Board is established, the outgoing Board as a whole shall share the responsibility of selecting the next year’s at-large representatives, through a predetermined application process that shall be included in the Board’s bylaws.
C. Membership
The Board consists of the following 10 members:
D. Transition
The Board of Directors, shall be the effective governing body as outlined in the provisions of Sec. III(B). In the interim, funding for academic preparation programs shall continue to be operated though the current system, through the Advisory Committee at the Center for Educational Partnerships. Proceeds from the initiative in the year of transition shall be divided according to the funding provisions established at the passing of the Initiative, and the Advisory Committee shall be responsible for the allocation of those funds in that year, according to any policies and guidelines established in this or any other document that is made in effect at the passing of the Initiative.
IV. Retention Committee
A. Definition
In the POWER Initiative, “Retention” refers to any activities, programs or efforts to help undergraduates attain academic success at the University level, and prevent any cause for possible student drop-out from the University.
B. Responsibilities
The committee will be responsible for coordinating programs through the Center as well as promoting external programs from other clubs and organizations. The committee will be responsible for allocating all programming funds as established by the funding policies and guidelines of the Center. The committee will provide guidance to the Board of Directors regarding the services that the Center will provide. The committee will also be responsible for establishing a system of tracking statistics designed to measure the effectiveness of all programs, and ensuring such a system is implemented. Such a system shall be incorporated into the committee’s bylaws. The committee will be required to publish all statistics pertaining to all programs.
C. Membership
The Retention Committee will consist of six members. The Chair will be selected by the Executive Director of the Center, by a predetermined application process to be included in the bylaws of the Board of Directors. The remaining five (5) members will be selected by the Board of Directors through a predetermined application process, to be included in the bylaws of the Retention Committee. The Chair of the Retention committee shall be a non-voting member of the Retention committee, but shall be a voting member of the Board of Directors. The Chair may serve for the length of one (1) calendar year from a predetermined date, but may not serve multiple terms. The remaining membership may serve multiple terms, including former Chairs, who shall be allowed to serve as non-chair members of the committee for multiple terms.
V. Academic Preparation Committee
A. Definition
In the POWER Initiative, “Academic Preparation” refers to those programs that are student-run and student-initiated by registered campus clubs and organizations that build relationships with local schools and the University community.
B. Responsibilities
The committee will be responsible for allocating all programming funds as established by the funding policies and guidelines of the Center. If there are other sources of funding available for student-initiated academic preparation (i.e. state or university funding) then the committee shall be responsible for the allocation of those funds as well, and shall be required to follow all funding guidelines established for those funds. The committee will provide guidance to the Board of Directors regarding the services that the Center will provide to campus organizations in aiding in their academic preparation programs. The committee will be responsible for establishing a system of tracking statistics designed to measure the effectiveness of all academic preparation programs funded by the Center, and such a system shall be implemented year to year and its results published to the general public. All sources of money shall be tracked and distributed in accordance with University policies and procedures. All restricted funds will be allocated in accordance with any applicable policies and procedures of the grant source. The Chair of the committee shall also serve as the representative of UCI at any statewide Student-Initiated Academic preparation coalition, if such exists, and all other external committees and bodies where Academic Preparation concerns arise. All guidelines governing these and other procedures shall be included in the committee’s by laws.
C. Membership
The Academic Preparation Committee will consist of six members. The Chair will be selected by the Executive Director of the Center, by a predetermined application process to be included in the bylaws of the Board of Directors. The remaining five (5) members will be selected by the Board of Directors through a predetermined application process, to be included in the bylaws of the Academic Preparation Committee. The Chair of the Academic Preparation Committee shall be a non-voting member of the Academic Preparation, but shall be a voting member of the Board of Directors. The Chair may serve for the length of one (1) calendar year from a predetermined date, but may not service multiple terms. The remaining membership may serve multiple terms, including former Chairs, who shall be allowed to serve as non-chair members of the committee for multiple terms.
VI. Exclusionary Clause
All governing procedures not explicitly stated here, or any other governing document passed at the time of the passage of the Initiative, are left to the Board of Directors to decide. All other procedures and changes to procedures and funding guidelines shall be included in the bylaws of their respective committee.
Distribution of Proceeds from the POWER Initiative
II. Enactment
The guidelines established in this document will be effective upon passage of the POWER initiative, as specified in the ASUCI Constitution. This document shall be considered the official language of the initiative, to which approval of the electorate constitutes approval of all items established herewith. Upon the first year enactment of the POWER Initiative the following funding distributions will be enacted:
(a) 33% Return to Aid
(b) 21% Outreach
(c) 46% Development Costs for POWER Center
Upon completion of the first year, the distribution of proceeds shall apply as stated in Sec. V of this document.
III. Origination of Funds and Fee Collection
Upon enactment, the undergraduate student body will pay a $7 “POWER Fee” each quarter of enrollment at UC Irvine. The fee will automatically be added to student fees collected by the Office of the Registrar. Collection of the “POWER Fee” shall begin in the Fall Quarter of 2008.
IV. Governance
The Office of the Registrar shall deposit funds collected from student fees in a designated account, whereupon the POWER Center, as outlined in the structure for the center, shall have operative control over the funds, pursuant to the guidelines set forthwith and any rules or bylaws established at the time of its creation.
V. Distribution
Notwithstanding the guidelines established in Sec. II of this document, the following is a breakdown of how proceeds from the initiative will be distributed. Percentages are reflective of the total gross proceeds from every quarter, and funds collected shall be distributed every quarter according to this breakdown.
(a) Return to Aid – 33%
Pursuant to rules established by the UC Office of the President, 33% of the total gross proceeds from the "POWER Fee" shall be used for financial aid.
(b) External Programming Fund – 21%
The Center for POWER shall make these funds available to the campus student organizations and groups who run Student Initiated Outreach programs through a designated grant process. Grant eligibility shall be determined by any rules or bylaws established by the POWER Center.
(c) Retention Programming Fund – 21%
The Center for Power, by any rules or bylaws established at the time of its creation, shall allocate funds to be used for programming promoted by the Center itself, and for external programs sponsored by campus organizations.
(d) Staffing – 15%
The POWER Center, by any rules or bylaws established at the time of its creation, shall allocate funds for the hiring of professional and/or student staff. The Executive Directors annual salary shall not exceed $55,000 annually, unless stipulated through a 2/3 vote by the Board of Directors.
(e) Overhead – 10%
The POWER Center, by any rules or bylaws established at the time of its creation, shall allocate funds for general office supplies, office upkeep and maintenance, including internal costs to maintain a functioning center.
VI. Reserves
(1) All surplus funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year shall be deposited to a designated reserves account bearing interest at prevailing rates. Funds in reserves will remain frozen and may only be withdrawn for the following
(a) Capital expenses
(b) Maintenance and building enhancement
(2) A proposal to withdraw funds from reserves begins when one member of the Board of Directors presents a proposal. Funding proposals must be voted on by the Board of Directors, following these requirements
(a) Quorum must be achieved
(b) Proposals must undergo a review period of a minimum of two weeks before being brought for a vote
(c) The proposal passes with 66% of all voting members from the Board of Directors voting "YES" for the proposal
(d) If less than 66% vote YES, the proposal fails, and must not come up for reconsideration for the remainder of the Board of Directors term.
(3) The Board of Directors, at their sole discretion, and only through the procedures outlined in Sec. VI(2)(a-c), shall have the power to establish an endowment scholarship fund. The following requirements must be met before such a proposal is made to the Board of Directors
(a) The interest generated by the funds in reserves is substantial
that an endowment scholarship is self-sustainable
(b) Withdrawals from the endowment fund do not exceed the amount
generated from the interest, or use any of the principle funds in reserve
(c) Any endowment fund scholarship ensures that some interest generated
in a given fiscal period also is deposited in reserves.
(d) Any endowment scholarship follows any rules and regulate established by the
University of California, Irvine
VII. Fiscal Responsibility
The Board of Directors shall at no time make any budgets that exceed the amount actually collected through student fees. The Board of Directors shall at no time make any one-time or long-term expenditure of any kind that exceeds the actual amount of revenues, nor are the Board of Directors at any time allowed to let funds in reserves fall below 0.5% of the revenue generated by the "POWER Fee" of that fiscal year. The Board of Directors may, through a proposal process outlined in Sec. VI(2)(a-c), acquire a loan for funds for major capital expenses, provided that payments to repay the loan are on a fixed payment schedule, only funds generated from the interest on reserves is used to pay the loan, and there is not another loan commitment outstanding.