Purposes and Procedures for Council on International Higher Education of the Association for the Study of Higher Education

The Council on International Higher Education is a Standing Committee of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and holds its annual meeting in conjunction with ASHE.

I. PURPOSE

The purposes of the Council on International Higher Education shall be:

1. To provide a forum for the dissemination and discussion of research in order to advance research and theory on higher education from comparative and international perspectives.
To provide a formal structure within ASHE that scholars with interests in international higher education can promote theory and research to explore contrasting cultural and international perspectives in the study of higher education.
2. To provide a focal point and network for students entering the field of international higher education research.
3. To provide a communication linkage among higher education researchers for the identification of research priorities, the exhcnage of ideas and methods and the facilitation of cooperative research and evaluation.

II. PROCEDURES

The Council on International Higher Education shall be governed by the following procedures as amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions thereof.

Section 1.0 MEMBERSHIP
All members of the Council on International Higher Education shall be members of ASHE in good standing. Applications for memberships shall be sent to the Council Secretary, who shall process them accordingly. The membership year shall be the same as that for ASHE. There is no additional fee associated with being a member of this Standing Committee of ASHE.

Section 2.0 ELECTED OFFICERS
The officers of the Council on International Higher Education shall be the Chair, Chair-Elect, the Communications Coordinator, and 3 Members-at-Large. These officers shall comprise the Council's Executive Committee. The Chair-Elect shall serve as Program Chair for the annual International Forum. A Program Co-Chair may be chosen from among the Members-at-Large. The Chair may invite any chair of a Council committee to be a non-voting member of the Executive Committee. Insofar as practical and possible, members of the Executive Committee shall be of divberse ethnic background, geographic region, and genders.

Section 2.1 TERMS

a. The term of the office for the Chair-Elect shall be one year, followed by a year as Chair. The terms of the Executive Committee Members-at-Large and Communications Coordinator shall be two years.

b. The terms of office shall begin the day following the close of the ASHE International Forum, which is held immediately before the ASHE Annual Meeting. If no Annual Meeting is held, the terms of office shall begin as close as feasible to the date the terms of office of their predecessors would normally expire, the exact dates to be set by the Executive Committee. If the Chair or Chair-Elect does not take office within one month of the time the term is to begin, the Executive Committee shall declare the given office vacant and appoint a substitute to serve until a successor can be chosen at a regular or special election. If a Member-at-Large does not take office within one month following the time the term is to begin, the Chair shall declare the office vacant and appoint a substitute to serve in the Members's capacity.

Section 2.2 NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

a. All officers of the Council shall be elected by written ballot of the voting members of the Council. These ballots will be distributed and collected during the first day of the annual International Forum, and results of the elections will be announced at the Council's business meeting, which is held at the close (sic) the International Forum. The Chair-Elect shall be selected by written ballot, and recommended to the ASHE President for appointment.

b. The Election Committee appointed by the Chair shall propose nominations (for at least two names for each office) and ascertain the availability of nominees for the office of Chair-elect, Communications Coordinator and Executive Committee Members at Large. As much as possible, the nominees shall represent different countries and continents.

c. The Election Committee shall submit to the Chair the names of nominees for Chair-elect, Communications Coordinator and Members at Large, accompanied by evindece of the nominees' consent to run. The Chair shall post the report of the Election Committee ont he Council's website for the membership's information. Voting members may also submit written nominations to the chair, which nomination shall be signed by not less than five percent of the voting members; members may sign more than one such nomination.

d. Persons nominated for a leadership position within the Council should attend the International Forum and be prepared to respond to members' questions about their candidacy.

e. The chair shall arrange for a ballot to be prepared which shall include the names of all duly nominated persons and provided to each voting member of the Council. The person receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected to office. The Election Committee shall review the procedures and certify the results to the Chair immediately, and to the members at the following annual meeting and on the Council's web page. In case of a tie, the election shall be settled by lot. The Election Committee will establish the procedure.

Section 2.3 SCHEDULE FOR NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

No portion of the period between the posting of the report of the Election Committee on the Council's website and the deadline for the submission of additional nominations by members, nor of the period between the mailing of ballots and the deadline for their return shall extend into the time between June 1 and October 1 inclusive.

a. The Election Committee shall be appointed within two months after the Chair assumes office. The Committee shall submit its nominations within 60 days of its appointment.

b. At least 30 days shall elapse between the mailing of election ballots to members and the deadline for their return. The Chair shall arrange for mailing the baloots and set the deadline for their return, which shall be at least 30 days prior to the ASHE Annual Meeting.

c. The Chair may choose to conduct the elections process in a reasonably fair manner different from that described in 2.3a and 2.3b, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.

Section 2.4 VACANCIES

a. When a vacancy in the office of the Chair occurs, the Chair-elect and the Council's Executive Committee shall designate an individual, whose name shall be submitted to the President of ASHE for appointment to the respective office for the remainder of the term.

b. When a vacancy occurs for an Executive Committee Member-at-Large, the Chair shall appoint an individual to serve out the remainder of the term.

c. If the Chair or Chair-elect is unable or fails to perform duties satisfactorily over a period of time, the Executive committee shall declare the office vacant and arrange for the duties of the office to be performed. The Executive Committee shall also take other reasonable steps to preserve intact the offices of the Council on International Higher Education, and to maintain the Council's operations.

d. If a Member-at-Large is uanble or fails to perform duties satisfactorily over a period of time, the Chair (after consulation with the Executive committee) shall declare the office vacant and to arrange for the duties of the office to be performed.

Section 2.5 DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

A. CHAIR
The duties of the Chair of the Council on International Higher Education are defined by these procedures and include the following:

1. Be responsible for activities that will further the objectives and aims of the Council on International Higher Education.
2. Call and conduct the annual business meeting of the Council.
3. Chair meetings of the Executive Committee of the Council.
4. Make all appointments to Council committees as described in this document.
5. Replace Members-at-Large in accordance with Section 2.4 above.
6. Report annually to the ASHE Board of Directors the activities and significant news of the Council on International Higher Education.

B. CHAIR-ELECT
The duties of the Chair-Elect of the Council on International Higher Education are defined by these procedures and include the following:

1. Serve as Program Chair of the annual International Forum. Working in collaboration with a team of Members-at-Large, the Chair-elect will coordinate the development and dissemination of the Forum's Call for Proposals, the review of proposal received, and the development of the International Forum Program.
2. At the close of the International Forum, the Chair-Elect will assume the duties and title of Chair.
3. The Chair-Elect will work closely with the Chair to oversee activities that will further the objectives and aims of the Council on International Higher Education.
4. The Chair-Elect shall co-chair meetings of the Executive Committee of the Council.

C. COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
The duties of the Communications Coordinator of the Council on International Higher Education are defined by these procedures and include the following:

1. Lead the Council's ongoing efforts to inform the membership of issues and events related to comparative and international research in higher education, as well as seeking ways to engage members of the International forum in meaningful dialogue.
2. coordinate the development newsletters or brochures, as well as electronic forms of communication (including websites and e-mail).

D. MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
The duties of the 3 Members-at-Large of the Council on International Higher Education are defined by these procedures and include the following:

1. Serve as an advisory group to the Chair.
2. Support the Chair-Elect with coordinating the International Forum program.

Section 3.0 MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

a. The Executive Committee shall hold at least one meeting each year, usually in conjunction with the Conference's Annual Meeting. The Chair may call meetings at other times, and must call one upon petition of a majority of the Committee's members.
b. Two-thirds of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum, and unless otherwise specified by these procedures, decisions shall be by majority vote of those present.
c. Any member of the Council on International Higher Education may attend a Committee meeting as an observor.

Section 4.0 COMMITTEES AND APPOINTMENTS
Section 4.1 COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
The Committee Structure of the Council on International Higher Education shall consist of (a) standing committees, (b) ad hoc committees, and (c) annual committees.

Section 4.2 STANDING COMMITTEES

a. Standing Committees may be established or discontinued by the Executive Committee. Standing Committees shall have not less than three members appointed by the Chair, upon the recommendations of the Executive Committee. Appointments normally shall be for three-year terms. The terms shall be staggered such that approximately one-third of the members' terms end in any year.
b. The duties of Standing Committees shall be prescribed by the Executive Committee. These duties may be revised from time to time by the Executive Committee.

Section 4.3 AD HOC COMMITTEES

a. Ad Hoc committees may be established by the Chair of the Council to carry out particular tasks as described in a charge from the Chair. The Chair shall designate the term of the ad hoc committee which shall not exceed the Chair's term of office.
b. Members of ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the Chair of the Council, and the committees shall be discharged at the end of their term or earlier if the tasks assigned are completed or if in the Chair's judgment, they are not making substantial progress toward their purpose.

Section 4.4 ANNUAL COMMITTEES
The Chair shall appoint necessary committees for one-year terms. Among them shall be an Election Committee which shall perform the duties specified in Section 2.2. and 2.3 of these procedures.

Section 5.0 FINANCES Revenues and expenses of the Council on International Higher Education shall be determined and managed consistent with Article VIII, SEctions 1-3 of the ASHE Bylaws.

Section 6.0 MEETINGS AND BUSINESS

Section 6.1. SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS
The chair shall arrange one session of the annual International Forum meeting for Council affairs. As a forum for report and discussion of Conference affairs at this meeting, agenda items shall be proposed by the Executive Committee.

Section 6.2 RULES OF ORDER
In all cases to which they apply and do not conflict with the provisions of these Procedures, Robert's Rules of Order (current edition) shall govern business meetings of the Council on International Higher Education.

Section 6.3 MEMBERSHIP APPROVAL
Items of business requiring the vote of the Council members shall be transacted at the annual meeting or by mail or e-mail amd must originate from the Chair or the Executive Committee in accordance with these Procedures. At least 30 days must elapse between the date on which the proposal is mailed to the members and the date on which the vote is counted. Decision shall be by majority vote. Any member may introduce items of business for discussion and reconsideration at the next succeeding business meeting of the Conference. A majority vote of the members present at the meeting shall be sufficient for submission by mail or e-mail of an action to the entire membership for vote, with opportunity for those favoring submission to state their reasons therefor.

A summary of actions taken by the membership shall be included in the Annual Report produced by the Chair for the ASHE Board and the Council membership.

Section 7.0 AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS

Section 7.1 INITIATION
Amendments to or other changes in these Procedures may be initiated in either of the following ways:

a. The Executive Committee may formulate proposals and submit them with any arguments it chooses to the members of the vote.
b. Five percent of the voting members may submit to the Executive Committee a proposed amendment or amendments in writing, signed by the sponsors. The Executive committee shall then submit the proposed amendment with any arguments by its sponsors and with the Executive Committee's arguments and recommendations for or against the motion to the voting members for action.

Section 7.2 AMENDMENTS
Amendments or revisions shall be acted on by the members of the Council on International Higher Education as follows:

The Chair shall send to the voting members of the council the proposed changes with explanations and arguments, together with a ballot to be returned by post mail. At least 30 days shall elapse between the date on which the proposal is mailed to the members and the date on which the bote is counted. An affirmative vote by two-thirds of the members returning ballots within 30 days shall be sufficient for ratification of an amendment. The Election Committee shall review the procedure and certify the result.The restuls of the vote shall be reported to the membership in the next availabale issues of a scheduled communication to the members.

Revised: September 24, 1999
JJF Forest