ARTICLE III.

The Executive Branch of RHA

Section 1. RHA Executive Branch Organizational Structure  

A.    The Executive Board shall consist of the following officers: Administrative Aide, Hall and University Enrichment (HUE) Coordinator, National Communications Coordinator (NCC), Internal Communications Coordinator (ICC), Leadership Development Coordinator (LDC), Programming Communications Coordinator (PCC), and President.

B.     The executive branch shall include ad hoc positions, as created by the RHA Advisor.

Section 2. Elections and Terms of Office of the Executive Branch                       

A.    Elections shall be held no later than May 1 with the exception of the National Communications Coordinator.

B.     All elections shall be conducted by secret ballot. The election will be decided by a majority vote. If this is not received on the first ballot, a runoff election shall be conducted immediately after the end of normal balloting between the candidates receiving the top two vote totals with the winner decided by a simple plurality.

C.     Terms of office for all officers, excluding the National Communications Coordinator, shall begin the first day after the close of the spring semester and run until the completion of the following spring semester.

D.    The term of office for the National Communications Coordinator shall begin the first day after the close of the NACURH Conference and run until the completion of the following NACURH Conference.

Section 3. Requirements of the Officer Elects and the NCC-IT

A.    The National Communications Coordinator-In Training shall complete an unpaid training period under the supervision of the current National Communications Coordinator and the RHA Advisor beginning immediately upon election and running until the first day after the close of the NACURH Conference. 

B.     Executive Board officers-elect and National Communications Coordinator-In Training shall be required to complete an unpaid training period prior to the fall semester, shall have no authority until their term begins, and shall assist their outgoing counterparts in fulfilling the duties of the office.

D.  If an Executive Board officer-elect cannot meet training requirements as noted by the RHA advisor, the President or advisor may provide alternate training methods.

A.    Executive Board Officers-Elect and/or In Training must meet both the RHA semester and cumulative grade point average requirements.  In the event that this does not occur, the RHA Advisor will be responsible for notifying the new officer of the removal from his or her position.

1.      Under special circumstances an elect or in training officer not meeting required fall semester grade point average requirements may appeal to the RHA Advisor, who maintains the right to make the final decision.

2.      Other grounds for removal may be appealed to the Advisor who maintains the right to make all final decisions.

Section 4. Requirements for the Executive Board

A.    Executive Board officers must have a minimum of twenty-four (24) undergraduate credit hours completed, in progress, or registered for in order to run for an office.

B.     Executive Board officers must be full-time students as defined by the University. Exceptions may be made at discretion of the RHA Advisor.

C.     Executive Board officers must not be on academic or disciplinary probation.

D.    Executive Board officers must maintain a 2.6 semester GPA and a 2.5 cumulative GPA.

E.     Executive Board officers may not serve in any other executive board positions within RHA.

F.      The President shall have been a member of the General Assembly or Executive Board for at least one (1) semester prior to taking office.

G.    Resident Assistants and Residential Programming Assistants may not serve as Executive Board officers.

H.    Executive Board officers must sign the Executive Board Officer Contract upon taking office.

I.       Executive board members must reside on campus.

Section 5. Special Elections and Appointments

A.    Elections for the National Communications Coordinator-In Training (NCC-IT) shall be held no later than the last meeting of the Fall Semester.

B.     If an Executive Board Officer-Elect resigns prior to the beginning of his/her term and the General Assembly is in session, a special election shall be required at the General Assembly meeting immediately following the resignation.

C.     If the President-Elect resigns prior to the beginning of his/her term, and the General Assembly is unable to meet, the Administrative Aide-Elect shall act as the President until a replacement is made.

D.    If an Executive Board Officer-Elect other than the President-Elect resigns prior to the beginning of his/her term and the General Assembly is unable to meet, the President-Elect shall have the power to appoint an individual to the vacant position with the consent of the General Assembly.  If not in session, the appointment will be confirmed in the interim by the RHA Advisor. When the General Assembly reconvenes, the President must receive the consent of the General Assembly within three (3) meetings or the appointment will become invalid. If the appointment fails, the President will call a special election at the next General Assembly meeting. Election guidelines, as stated in the Constitution and Bylaws, will be followed.

E.     If any Executive Board position, other than President, shall become vacant, it will be filled by appointment by the President with the consent of the General Assembly, if in session. If not in session, the appointment will be confirmed in the interim by the RHA Advisor. When the General Assembly reconvenes, the President must receive the consent of the General Assembly within three (3) meetings or the appointment will become invalid. If the appointment fails, the President will call a special election at the next General Assembly meeting. Election guidelines, as stated in the Constitution and Bylaws, will be followed.

Section 6. Powers and Duties of the Executive Branch

A.    Powers and Duties of the Executive Board

1.      An Executive Board officer must sign a contract and take an oath of office upon accepting one’s position. The oath shall read:

B.     “I, (name), do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of (name of executive branch position), and will, to the best of my ability, uphold the Constitution and Bylaws of the Residence Hall Association of Missouri State University.”Each Executive Board officer shall act as a liaison to an assigned residence hall. 

C.     Each Executive Board officer shall be responsible for planning and implementing at least one program alone or jointly each semester.

D.    Powers and Duties of the Administrative Aide

a.       The Administrative Aide is the Vice President and Secretary of the organization. If for any reason the president cannot be present, the Administrative Aide takes over the presidential duties. He or she is in charge of taking attendance and minutes at all meetings and keeping the records for the organization. The Administrative Aide is responsible for making sure the office has all the supplies that the organization may need.

E.     Powers and Duties of the Hall and University and Enrichment (HUE) Coordinator

a.       The HUE is responsible for making changes on the Missouri State campus that students want to see. He or she is responsible for running the HUE committee that consists of the nine building liaisons. Major reoccurring projects for the HUE committee are the phone lists in the fall and the RHA Olympics in the spring.

F.      Powers and Duties of the National Communications Coordinator (NCC)

a.       The NCC shall organize delegations for all state, regional, and national conferences. He or she also communicates with other NCCs on a regional and national level. The NCC prepares the National Information Center Report and reaffiliation forms, and must serve as the Missouri State University voting representative in all NCC business matters of MACURH and NACURH. When the RHA general assembly elects a new NCC for the following school year, he/she is designated NCC-In Training for the following year during the spring semester.

G.    Powers and Duties of the Internal Communications Coordinators (ICC)

a.       The ICC is required to put up bulletin boards in three locations around campus. The boards are located in Blair-Shannon across from the dining center, across from the RHA office in Hutchens House, and in the Garst Dining Center next to Hammons, and should be updated once a month with designs to promote RHA. The ICC also writes a monthly RHA newsletter that is distributed to all residents of Missouri State. He or she also updates the RHA website and keeps it current with the various campus events that go on throughout the year.

H.    Powers and Duties of the Leadership Development Coordinator (LDC)

a.       The LDC is responsible for Fall Leadership Day, Silver Bells, Appreciation Days, 5 Paw, and the Spring Leadership Banquet. The LDC plans a lot of the bigger events throughout the year. He or she also designs and creates things such as invitations, programs, folders, and centerpieces.

I.       Powers and Duties of the Programming Communications Coordinator (PCC)

a.       The PCC plans, organizes, and implements educational and entertainment programs for on-campus residents as well as programs specifically for General Assembly. The PCC coordinates Halloween in the Halls and RHA Homecoming Events. He or she manages the programming budget and publicizes programs and events, as well as keeping reports and records of all RHA programs. The PCC is the head of the programming committee, attending MACURH and NACURH conferences, meetings, and programs. The PCC also represents Missouri State at all regional or national conferences. The PCC keeps in touch with MACURH via their website for programming ideas, as well as to keep the region notified of what is happening here at Missouri State.

J.       Power and Duties of the President

a.       The President represents the Residence Hall Association at all required functions. He or she also prepares the agenda for all Executive Board and General Assembly meetings and presides over all Executive Board and General Assembly meetings. The President assists Executive Board members with their designated tasks. He or she corresponds with other student leaders on campus through the Student Leaders Council. The President represents the resident population and is responsible for the adherence to the RHA Constitution and Bylaws.

K.    Additional Individual position powers and duties can be referenced from bylaws section XVI.

Section 7. Meetings of the Executive Board

A.    The Executive Board shall meet weekly except for final exam periods, vacation periods, and summer term.

B.     Meeting times for Executive Board meetings will be decided by the President with the advice of the RHA Advisor.

C.     Additional meetings of the Executive Board may be called on an emergency basis.

D.    The President may cancel Executive Board meetings with the consent of the RHA advisor.

E.     The President will conduct all Executive Board meetings. If the President cannot attend, then the Administrative Aide will conduct the meeting.

Section 8. Powers and Duties of the RHA Advisor

B.     The RHA Advisor shall remove a general assembly representative from his/her position for failure to maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.

C.     In the event that an Executive Board officer fails to comply with the grade point average requirement where less than a 2.60 GPA is earned, while continuing as a full-time student, yet maintains a cumulative grade point average of 2.50, the RHA Advisor shall be responsible for notifying the officer of the failure to comply.  Terms of the probation include, but are not limited to, the following:

1.   The officer shall have one semester in which to raise his/her grade point average to the required level.  During this probationary period, the officer may have limited duties at the discretion of the RHA Advisor, with the goal of allowing the officer to devote more time to academics.

2.   The officer shall be removed from office if he/she fails to comply with the semester grade point average requirement for two consecutive semesters.

3.   Appeals for probation may be considered on an individual basis and must be submitted in writing to the RHA Advisor within one calendar week of receiving notice of failure to comply.  Appeal letters must indicate a plan for improvement during the upcoming semester as well as an explanation of the reason for not meeting the required GPA.  It shall be up to the discretion of the RHA Advisor as to whether a meeting to hear the appeal will be granted.  The decision of the RHA Advisor during the appeal is final.

4.   The RHA Advisor shall remove an Executive Board officer from his/her position immediately in the case that they do not maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average at any given time.

5.      The RHA Advisor shall remove any Executive Board member for irrefutable violation with the consent of the Director and Associate Director of Residence Life.  Appeals can be heard by the Director or Associate Director of Residence Life.