Bylaws

1.1 The name of the organization is the International Association for Continuing Engineering Education, hereinafter referred to as IACEE. IACEE is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization, hosted in and operating under the laws of the United States of America.

1.2 The aim of IACEE is to support and enhance lifelong technical learning and training and advanced engineering education worldwide, including the special needs of the developing countries.

To pursue its objectives IACEE shall seek to:

a) promote international technology transfer through a better understanding of the continuing education process;
b) improve the quality of education and training of engineers and technicians, and of technical information through international cooperation;
c) develop and strengthen cooperation between education and industry;
promote the establishment of centers for continuing engineering education;
d) support the equality of women in engineering through continuing education;
promote and conduct research and development in the field of continuing engineering education;
e) initiate international and regional meetings and conferences on continuing engineering education and provide technical assistance in conducting them;
f) undertake other activities as determined by the members.

IACEE shall work in close cooperation with such organizations as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to achieve its objectives.
 

1.3 To achieve its objectives IACEE can receive gifts, grants, and legacies, own property, and, having received the necessary permission, raise funds through public subscriptions and from other sources.

1.4 The official language of IACEE is English.

2.1 IACEE has five general classes of membership, four of which are institutional and one individual:

a) the class of Regional Leader Organizations, which shall be reserved for three specific founding organizations that have been continuously active in their support of IACEE since its inception, namely ASEE for the United States of America, SEFI for Europe and CACEE for China;
b) the class of Professional Organizations and Societies, which shall be open to such organizations who are themselves involved in engineering  education and who actively promote continuing engineering education;
c) the class of Industrial Organizations and Companies, whose commercial activities are not as providers of continuing engineering education, which shall be open to organizations and companies with an expressed interest in the promotion and/or provision of continuing engineering education and training for their staff;
d) the class of Academic Institutions and Other Coordinators and Providers of continuing engineering education, which shall be open to organizations which provide continuing engineering education and training.
e) the class of Individual Members, who are persons actively participating in or promoting continuing engineering education.
 

2.2 Application for IACEE membership shall be submitted to the Secretary General. Membership is effective for one year from the date that the first payment of the membership fee is received.

2.3 IACEE members shall be expected to promote the objectives of IACEE. The members shall:

a) encourage membership and active participation in IACEE of eligible organizations and individuals;
b) participate in the election of Council members;
c) accept assignments to ad hoc committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of IACEE;
d) utilize the communication channels of IACEE;
e) support IACEE's publications by contributing articles;
f) contribute to the dissemination of information regarding continuing engineering education worldwide;
g) participate in developing and organizing conferences, seminars and workshops on continuing engineering education;
h) engage in other activities to further the purposes of  IACEE.

2.4 Annual fees for the different classes of membership shall be determined by the Council.

2.5 Any member may withdraw from IACEE by informing the Secretary General or the President in writing. Withdrawal shall take effect at the end of the existing term of the withdrawing individual’s/organization’s membership, unless that individual or organization specifies an earlier date.
 

2.6 Termination of membership in the Association may be effected by the Council with immediate effect if a member, after written reminders, has failed to pay the annual membership fee within one year of the lapse date, or if a member does not comply with these Bylaws.

2.7 Any member withdrawing or terminated from IACEE shall relinquish all rights to IACEE’s assets.

3.1 The decision-making bodies of IACEE are the general membership in attendance at the General Assembly and the Council. The general management of IACEE’s activities and the implementation of IACEE’s policy shall be the responsibility of the Executive Committee of the Council.

4.1 A general meeting of the members shall be held at least once in every two years, at a time and place to be determined by the Council. Whenever possible this General Assembly shall be held during the World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education.

The General Assembly shall elect the President and the other members of Council. The General Assembly shall also review the general policy of the Association, receive a report from the President, and discuss the prospects and developments in continuing engineering education.

4.2 An extraordinary General Assembly shall be convened on the request of at least one-tenth (1/10) of the IACEE members. Such a request shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary General specifying the reason for the meeting. The meeting shall be convened within four (4) months of the receipt of the request and may be either a face-to-face meeting or an electronically-moderated meeting.

4.3 The General Assembly shall be convened by the President. Calls for the General Assembly specifying the agenda shall be communicated to the members at least five (5) weeks prior to the meeting. Advance notice specifying the date, location, agenda and modality of the meeting is to be given no later than three (3) months before the meeting.

At the General Assembly each Institutional Member shall have five (5) votes, and each Individual Member shall have one (1) vote.

5.1 The Council shall define the general policy of the Association, and provide the overall guidance and oversight of the operation and management of IACEE.

In particular, the Council shall:

a) elect four Vice Presidents to join the President, immediate Past President, and the General Chair of the next World Conference on CEE on the Executive Committee, select the Association’s host country, and appoint the Secretary General;
b) determine the annual fees for the different classes of membership;
c) adopt the budget and define the general guidelines for the biennial strategic plan of action;
d) approve the accounts and discharge the Executive Committee and other persons accountable from liability;
e) elect two auditors, who shall not be members of the Council, to report to the Council;
f) decide on expulsion of a member from the Association;
g) choose the site and appoint the organizers for the World Conferences on Continuing Engineering  Education (WCCEE).

5.2 The Council shall be elected by the General Assembly and its voting membership shall consist of:

The size of the voting Council shall be nineteen (19) members, with the President elected and thirteen (13) of the members elected from the four membership classes in numbers proportional to each class’s voting strength in the Association membership at a point four months prior to the scheduled election.  The five Council positions for which voting is not required are the three representatives of the Regional Leader Organizations, who are appointed by their organizations, the immediate Past President (during the first two-year term of the next President), and the General Chair of the next World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education. Each membership class shall have at least one (1) seat on the Council.

In addition, the Secretary General shall be a member of the Council, ex officio without voting rights.

Upon election of the Council, at its first meeting the Council shall elect four Vice Presidents to be responsible for the strategic goals of IACEE to join the President, the immediate Past President, the General Chair of the next WCCEE, and the Secretary General on the Executive Committee.  Other members of the Council will each have responsibilities for a specific theme within the domain covered by one of the Vice Presidents.

The nomination process and election process shall be defined in the Rules of Order adopted by the Council.  A Nominating Committee, chaired by the immediate Past President, shall be appointed by the Council one year in advance of the General Assembly at which the elections are to be held.

5.3 The term of office of the Council is the time between General Assemblies. In case of a vacancy on the Council, the Council shall appoint an appropriate replacement for the remaining term of office.

The quorum for Council meetings is one-third (1/3) of its voting members.

5.4 The Council shall convene at least once a year at the call of the Executive Committee, or on the request of at least one-third (1/3) of the Council members, as specified in Article IV.

Calls for Council Meetings specifying the agenda shall be communicated to the Council members at least five (5) weeks prior to the Meeting. Advance notice specifying the date, agenda, modality and location of the meeting is to be given no later than three (3) months before the meeting.

5.5 The IACEE Council (or Executive Committee) may vote electronically on any specific motion.  To conduct an electronic ballot on any issue, a motion, which is proposed and seconded in the usual way, should be submitted to the President.  This motion will then be sent by the President, or at his/her request by the Secretary General, in an e-mail to all members of the Council (or Executive Committee). It will give a clear indication in the subject area of the mail of the date by which a response is required (normally fourteen days after the motion is sent to Council members) and to whom the response should be sent (e.g. subject: vote due mm.dd.yyyy). The voting e-mail should not include any other items of business.
 
Only votes FOR or AGAINST the motion will be tallied by the President or Secretary General, as stated when the vote is called, who will also acknowledge all votes received and keep a list of the voters.  A motion will pass when a simple majority of the votes cast are FOR votes.  If the FOR and AGAINST votes are equal in number, the President may cast the deciding vote.  A motion proposing a Bylaws change will require two-thirds of the votes cast to be FOR votes.

6.1 The Executive Committee of the Council shall consist of the President, the immediate Past President, the four Vice Presidents, the General Chair for the next WCCEE, and the Secretary General, ex officio without voting rights. At least one of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall be a resident of the host country of IACEE.

6.2 The four Vice Presidents shall be elected by the Council, by a majority of votes.

A First Vice President shall be elected from among the four Vice Presidents to assume the President’s duties in his/her absence or in the event of a vacancy in the Presidency.

6.3 The Executive Committee’s term of office is the time from its election until a new Council has been elected, and the new Council has elected a new Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee is accountable for its activities to the Council.  A quorum for Executive Committee meetings shall be three (3) voting members.

6.4 The President shall preside at the General Assembly and the meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee of IACEE.

6.5 In the instance where a member of the Executive Committee is unable to fulfill the duties of office, the seat will be filled by immediate appointment by the President, with ratification by the Council, for the remaining term of office.

6.6 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) may be formed to carry out special assignments according to general principles set by the Council. SIGs shall be convened as determined by the Executive Committee, with overall leadership provided by a SIG Coordinator appointed by the President.

7.1 The Secretary General shall be responsible for the general operation of IACEE.

7.2 The Secretary General shall be appointed by the Council. The term of office is two (2) years, unless the Secretary General is removed by the Council. The Secretary General may be re-appointed for additional terms.

7.3 Formally the office of the Secretary General shall be the Headquarters of IACEE, which shall be located in the host country of IACEE. However, with the prior agreement of Council or the Executive Committee, the Secretary General may operate from any location approved by the Council.

7.4 The Secretary General may appoint auxiliary staff as required for the general operation of the Association within budget constraints as agreed by Council.

8.1 The revenue of the Association shall be derived from:

a) membership fees;
b) support from the authorities of the host country;
c) public and private grants and contributions;
d) gifts and donations;
e) registration and other fees chargeable at conferences, seminars, workshops, and other events organized by IACEE;
f) other sources as approved by the Executive Committee.

8.2 The fiscal year of IACEE shall be determined by the Council.

8.3 The Secretary General, in subordination to the Executive Committee, shall be responsible for the accounts of IACEE and shall present the audited accounts to the Council for approval.

The accounts and other documents to be approved by the Council shall be submitted to the Auditors no later than four (4) weeks before the Council meeting in question. The Auditors shall submit their report no later than two (2) weeks before the Council meeting.

8.4 The signatories of the Association are the Secretary General, the President, or the First Vice President.

The Executive Committee may authorize members of the staff individually to sign for IACEE in matters pertaining to the day-to-day management of IACEE.

8.5 Annual compensation may be paid to the Secretary General as determined by the Council.

9.1 These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of Council members present and voting.

Proposals for amendments to these Bylaws may be submitted for consideration by any dues paying member of IACEE. Such proposals shall be submitted to the Secretary General in written form not later than two (2) months before the Council meeting at which they are to be discussed.

9.2 On the dissolution of IACEE, the remaining assets shall be used to further the objectives of the Association as specified by the Council Meeting deciding on the dissolution.

9.3 Any disagreement on interpretation of these statutes shall be resolved by the Council.