Article I
NAME AND INSIGNIA
SECTION 1
The name of the Organization shall be Tau Sigma.
SECTION 2
The emblem of the Organization shall be three strands of gold wheat with the Greek letters, Tau Sigma, superimposed thereon.
SECTION 3
The shield, which shall appear on the charter and the certificate, shall be burgundy with a gold border, with the emblem within. Below the shield is a banner with the words Tau Sigma inscribed within.
SECTION 4
The colors shall be burgundy and gold.
SECTION 5
The insignia cloth of the Organization shall be burgundy with gold fringe and shall bear the Greek letters, Tau Sigma
Article II
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Organization shall be to recognize the academic achievement of students transferring to an institution of higher learning from another academic institution and to encourage and promote the students’ involvement in the institution to which they have transferred.
Article III
ORGANIZATION
SECTION 1
The members of Tau Sigma shall be those persons who have met eligibility requirements and have accepted membership into the Organization. There shall be no discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or military or veteran status in the acceptance of individual members.
SECTION 2
Active chapters shall be those installed in regularly incorporated colleges and universities meeting the requirements of Article VIII of the By-Laws.
Article IV
AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1
Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by members of the National Council, and upon approval by a two-thirds vote of the Council, shall be submitted to the chapters. The National President shall call for a vote of the chapters. Votes of the chapters shall be returned to the Executive Director within one month and the results of the vote announced to the chapters and the National Council by the National President. Approval by two-thirds of the chapters voting shall be necessary for adoption of any amendment.
SECTION 2
Amendments may be proposed to the National Council by petitions from one fifth of the active chapters. For adoption, an amendment must be passed by two thirds of both the National Council and the chapters voting.
By-Laws
Article I
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION
SECTION 1
The National Organization shall consist of the National Council, honorary members, chapter advisors, alumni, and active members.
SECTION 2
The legislative and fiduciary responsibility of the Organization shall be vested in the National Council.
SECTION 3
Enactments of the National Council shall be classified as statutes if they are of a permanent character, and as resolutions if they are of a temporary character.
SECTION 4
A National Headquarters shall be maintained to execute the administrative and clerical responsibilities as designed by the National Council. An Executive Director and other staff shall be employed as necessary to function under the direction of the National Council.
SECTION 5
The National Organization shall conduct all activities without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or military or veteran status.
Article II
NATIONAL COUNCIL
SECTION 1
The National Council shall be composed of the National Officers, the Executive Director, and three Board Members.
SECTION 2
The National Officers of the Organization shall be a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary/Treasurer. These officers will comprise the Executive Committee and are authorized to meet, interpret policy and make decisions as necessary in the interim period between annual meetings.
SECTION 3
Officers and Board Members shall be elected by the National Council. Officers and Board Members shall be elected for a three-year term, with only one Board Member’s term expiring every year. Reelection of Officers and Board Members is permissible. Retiring officers shall deliver to their successors all books, records, papers and other property of the Organization.
SECTION 4
The National Council shall fill all vacancies occurring in its membership between the years designated for election of officers and Board Members.
SECTION 5
The National Council shall meet annually for the transaction of business, the time and place to be determined by the National Officers. No policy decisions nor Constitutional changes shall be made at other than the annual meeting. The President may call a special meeting to discuss certain specific announced items. A simple majority of Council members must be present.
SECTION 6
A written vote of the Council may be taken, without meeting on any question submitted to the Council by the President.
SECTION 7
The National Council shall have the power to discipline chapters. Such action shall be taken upon the recommendation of a member of the National Council. This power shall include placing a chapter on probation, rendering a chapter inactive, and revoking the charter and recovering any property of the Organization.
SECTION 8
The National Council shall determine the detailed specifications of all insignia of the Organization, and contract for the manufacture of the same. It shall also make and enforce regulations concerning the manufacture, the sale, and the distribution of the insignia of the Organization.
SECTION 9
The National Council shall have control of the financial affairs of the Organization and shall provide for the collection and distribution of revenue.
Article III
NATIONAL PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SECTION 1
The NATIONAL PRESIDENT shall be the official head of the Organization; shall call and chair the meetings of the National Council meetings as deemed necessary; shall sign and issue all charters, certificates of membership, and official documents of the Organization; and shall submit to the National Council such recommendations as seem beneficial to the Organization.
SECTION 2
An EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR shall be appointed by the National Council and shall attend all National Council meetings.
SECTION 3
The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR shall establish and maintain a national headquarters office where all monies due or donated to the National Organization will be received and held, and all bills of the Organization shall be processed and paid with dispatch. He or she shall furnish annually to the National Council a complete statement of the finances of the Organization; an account of the receipts and disbursements; and an annual budget developed along with the President for approval by the Council. The Executive Director shall sign all membership certificates, and shall supervise the accurate accounting of all members, mailing of initiates’ pins, and handling of other Organization documents and materials. The Executive Director shall uphold the provisions of the Constitution, By-Laws and Statutes of the Organization.
SECTION 4
The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR shall have a prominent role in chapter relations and expansion for the Organization through chapter campus visits and campus expansion visits; and shall recommend annually the chapters, advisors, and chapter presidents worthy of recognition and methods for recognition.
SECTION 5
The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR shall make arrangements for National Council meetings and provide for the recording and distribution of Council minutes.
SECTION 6
The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR shall perform such other duties as assigned by the National Council.
Article IV
ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE ORGANIZATION
SECTION 1
The student must transfer to an institution of higher learning from another academic institution with at least one full years’ academic credits satisfied at the prior institution(s).
SECTION 2
The student must be registered in a course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree and have completed a number of hours equal to an average full load for one term (usually 12 to 15 semester hours). Questions regarding eligibility arising from exceptional circumstances affecting an individual student must be referred to the National Headquarters for a decision.
SECTION 3
Membership in the Organization shall be based upon superior academic achievement by students during the first term in which they complete the number of hours equivalent to an average full load for one term (usually 12 to 15 semester hours) in the institution to which they transfer (only credit hours that count toward a bachelor’s degree can be used to determine Tau Sigma eligibility).
SECTION 4
The minimum academic average required for membership is either a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent thereof) or an academic average that places the prospective candidate in the top 20% of all transfer students during the term in question. These requirements are not subject to reduction by an individual chapter (qualifications using unconventional grading systems shall be approved by the National Council.) A chapter may petition to the National Council to raise the minimum academic average required for membership in their chapter.
SECTION 5
Academic eligibility shall be obtained on the grades of the first hours that constitute the equivalent of one full curricular period, i.e., semester, trimester, quarter, or term (usually 12 to 15 semester hours) at the institution to which the student transfers.
SECTION 6
Questions of interpretation or adjustments pertaining to eligibility should be referred to the National Headquarters.
Article V
HONORARY MEMBERS
SECTION 1
Faculty members or administrative staff may be elected to honorary membership by a local chapter with the approval of the Chapter’s Advisors. Any exception must be approved by the Executive Director in consultation with the National President.
SECTION 2
The National Council may elect to honorary membership individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of education.
Article VI
INDUCTION
SECTION 1
The chapter may hold an induction for students, currently enrolled on the main campus or in its centers or branches, who have met the membership requirements, provided the chapter:
- has submitted a list of names to the Executive Director for inclusion on the National Roll.
- has forwarded national membership fees to the Executive Director.
- has received from the Executive Director the official Authorization to Induct, which means that the names have been entered on the National Roll and membership fees received
SECTION 2
Honorary members may be inducted by the chapter in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Section 1 of this Article. No national membership fee shall be charged for an honorary member.
Article VII
ACTIVE CHAPTERS
SECTION 1
Active chapters may be chartered and established in regularly incorporated not-for-profit colleges and universities as provided in the By-Laws in Article VIII.
SECTION 2
Active chapters shall have the power to adopt By-Laws for local government and for regulation and control of their revenues and expenses, provided these By-Laws do not conflict with the Constitution, By-Laws, or enactments of the National Organization.
SECTION 3
The Chapter officers shall be the President, Treasurer, and such other officers (e.g., Vice President, Secretary, Editor, Historian, Senior and/or Junior Advisor) as may be desired.
SECTION 4
There shall be an Administrative Advisor or Faculty Advisor for each chapter. If not already members, these Chapter Advisors shall be inducted as honorary members.
SECTION 5
Induction shall be held in the form and the manner prescribed by the Ritual.
SECTION 6
Active chapters shall maintain records and make annual reports to the National Council as prescribed by statute or resolution. Any statute or resolution may provide, as a penalty for non-compliance with the provisions, the forfeiture of the charter of the delinquent chapter at the order of the National Council.
SECTION 7
A chapter may be declared inactive by the National Council if it fails for three successive years to initiate twenty student members per academic year.
SECTION 8
In the event a chapter has fewer than twenty members in any one year, the Administrative or Faculty Advisor and Chapter President shall be notified by the Executive Director that, if it fails for three successive years to meet membership requirements, it may be declared inactive. A chapter that has been declared inactive by the National Council may apply for re-activation when twenty or more eligible students re-organize the chapter and a college or university officer plus a designated advisor submit such a formal application to the National Council. Upon re-activation, the chapter will be re-issued a charter.
Article VIII
ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CHAPTERS
SECTION 1
An institution petitioning for a chapter of Tau Sigma must meet the following requirements:
SECTION 2
Chapters shall be installed under the direction of the National Council.
SECTION 3
A charter shall be presented to the chapter at the installation services.
Article IX
REVENUES
The revenues of the National Organization shall come from sources described in Statute I – Revenues, Section 2 and 3.
In the event the National Organization should become defunct, its funds shall be used for educational purposes.
Article X
AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1
Amendments to these By-Laws may be proposed by a member of the National Council and adopted by two-thirds affirmative vote of the Council. Notice of any change in By-Laws shall be sent to all chapters by the Executive Director.
SECTION 2
Amendments to these By-Laws may be proposed to the National Council by petitions from one-fifth of the active chapters. For acceptance, these amendments must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the National Council.
Statutes
Statute I
REVENUES
SECTION 1
The funds of the National Organization shall be kept in a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Bank to be designated by the National Council, and shall be paid out by the Executive Director only on order of the National Council.
SECTION 2
Before induction, a national membership fee shall be paid to the Executive Director for each student member.
SECTION 3
The National Council may grant, upon the recommendation of a Chapter Advisor, free membership to such students as are unable to pay the national membership fee. One free membership for each fifteen members, intended for students who are unable to pay, may be allowed for each induction based on the advisor’s recommendation.
Statute II
INDUCTIONS
Active chapters shall send to the Executive Director an Excel spreadsheet of names of the proposed members, duly certified by a Chapter Advisor of the chapter. (See Article IV, Sections 1 through 6 of By-Laws.) To assure delivery of certificates in time for induction, these lists, accompanied by a check or money order to cover cost of fees, must be received by the Executive Director twenty days prior to induction.
Statute III
ANNUAL STATUS REPORTS OF CHAPTERS
SECTION 1
Each chapter may be required to make an annual status report to the Executive Director for consideration by the National Council at its annual meeting.
SECTION 2
If required, blanks for the annual chapter status report shall be sent to the chapters by March 15, and shall be returned to the National Headquarters on or before April 30.
Statute IV
MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATES
Each member, after complying with the Constitution and the Statutes pertaining to membership, shall receive a certificate of membership bearing the crest of the Organization and signed by the National President and the Executive Director. The certificate shall state the name of the initiate, the name of the chapter, and the date of the initiation.
Statute V
NAMES OF CHAPTERS
Each chapter of the National Organization shall be known by the name of the institution at which it is located.
Statute VI
THE RITUAL
Copies of the Ritual shall be kept on file in the office of the Executive Director, and may be obtained by chapters upon request.
- First, the institution must be a 4-year and currently accredited by a regional accrediting association. Four year branch campuses which award baccalaureate degrees may be covered by the blanket accreditation awarded to the parent institution. Exceptions to this requirement can be considered by the National Council.
- Second, a report providing information regarding the institution shall be filed by an appropriate administrator with the Executive Director. Upon receipt of this information, the National Council will review promptly for a preliminary charter. The petitioning institution will be immediately notified of the Council action taken.
- Upon receipt by the Executive Director of the names of all members (a minimum of twenty) and their national membership fee, a formal charter will be granted to the petitioning institution.