Constitution - Rc-sast - Sept 24

CONSTITUTION OF THE REGULATORY COUNCIL FOR SOUTH ASIAN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS Table of Contents CONSTITUTION OF THE REGULATORY COUNCIL FOR.......................................................................1 SOUTH ASIAN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.................................................................................. .....1 Table of Contents......................................................................................... ...................................1 ARTICLE I: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................2 Section I: Name of the organization............................................................................. ................2 Section II: Purpose of the organization.................................................................................. .......2 ARTICLE II: RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS..............................................................2 Section II: Responsibilities/Duties of students..............................................................................4 Section III: Violation of rights and/or neglect of responsibilities...................................................5 ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP......................................................................................... .......................5 Section I: Members...................................................................................... ................................5 Section II: Constitutional Posts...................................................................................... ...............6 Section III: Functions and powers of the Regulatory Council........................................................7 Section IV: Voting rules in the Board...........................................................................................8 Section V: Election of student representatives.............................................................................8 Section VI: Impeachment rules....................................................................................................9 ARTICLE IV: RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS.................................................................10 Section I: Responsibilities of honorary members and advisors..................................................10 Section II: Responsibilities of teachers ......................................................................................10 Section III: Responsibilities of South Asian Students’ coordinator .............................................11 Section IV: Responsibilities of student members........................................................................12 ARTICLE V: MEETINGS............................................................................................................... .....12 ARTICLE VI: AFFILIATED ASSOCIATIONS.........................................................................................12 The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 1

ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION......................................................................13

ARTICLE I: INTRODUCTION Section I: Name of the organization The name of the organization shall be “The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers” and shall henceforth be referred to as “Regulatory Council” or “The Council” and shall be abbreviated to RC-SAST.

Section II: Purpose of the organization The Regulatory Council shall strive to uphold the rights and freedoms of students. The members of the Council shall strive to maintain a fair, impartial, ethical, honest and transparent environment conducive to the mental, physical and professional development of the South Asian international students and teachers. It shall strive to abide by the rules and regulations of Dali University and laws in People’s Republic of China as applicable to foreigners, and shall carry out academic and civic duties in a responsible manner.

ARTICLE II: RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS Section I: Fundamental Rights of students Following rights are the inalienable rights of a student. Following the adoption of the constitution, these rights cannot be deleted. However, further additions or refinements can be made through amendments as seen fit. 1. Right to the pursuit of education Every student shall a. Have the right to access the faculty for academic purposes. b. Have equal access to academic resources and facilities provided by university and faculty. c. Have the right to learn in an environment that supports the freedom of selfexpression and the spirit of inquiry. d. Have the right to study in a calm atmosphere and have access to the dormitory study rooms.

2. Right to freedom from discrimination The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 2

Every student shall a. Be treated equally in matters of education and civic behavior in a strictly professional manner, and shall not be discriminated by teachers and dormitory staff based on age, sex or gender, sexual orientation, disability, color, religion, race, language, nationality or region. b. Have the right to expect that his/her academic work shall be evaluated based on academic standards alone. 3. Right to information Every student shall a. Have the right to know at the beginning of the semester the teaching plans/syllabii for the subjects concerned. b. Have the right to know the grading system and criteria followed by the concerned teachers at the beginning of the semester. c. Have the right to know the schedule for internal assessments and their syllabi at least 2 weeks in advance. d. Have the right to know the actual and the weighted internal marks that will be added to the final theory marks (including viva, practicals and other internal assessment marks) before the study period for the final examination. e. Have the right to know the marks obtained in one’s own paper and have the right to examine it. f.

Have the right to challenge the marks and apply for a re-evaluation of one’s own paper by paying a re-evaluation fee.

g. Have the right to challenge the results of another student so long as conditions are met. h. Have the right to privacy with respect to his/her affairs as brought to the Council. i.

Have the right to know about the activities of affiliated associations.

j.

Have the right to information on the financial activities of the Council.

4. Right to freedom of association Every student shall

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 3

a. Have the freedom to participate in activities and form religious, cultural and sports associations within the limits set by People’s Republic of China, Dali University and the Regulatory Council. i. Any such association must be registered under the Regulatory Council and its activities shall be regulated by the same in order to avoid public disturbance and/or interference with academic activities and the rules and regulations of Dali University. ii. Proposed activities of the association should be informed well in advance to the Regulatory Council. iii. The association shall not violate the fundamental principles set forth by the Regulatory Council in this constitution. 5. Right to participation in governance and judicial processes Every student shall a. Have the right to stand in elections, pursuant to the eligibility criteria set forth in this constitution. b. Have the right to resign from the Council with appropriate notice to speaker of the Council. c. Have the right to vote and the freedom to choose candidates for representation in the Regulatory Council. d. Have the right to indirectly participate in the policy-making processes of the Regulatory Council concerning their social and academic affairs, through his/her elected representatives. e. Have the right to file a complaint to the Regulatory Council if he/she feels that any of his/her students’ rights outlined in this constitution have been violated. f.

Have the right to ask for justice and not be discriminated against once he/she has filed a complaint.

g. Have the right to anonymity in front of the Council if he/she feels threatened.

Section II: Responsibilities/Duties of students Every student shall 1. Uphold and follow all codes of conduct, including this Code, relevant codes and bulletins of Dali University and dormitories, and all rules applicable to conduct in class environments or university-sponsored activities. 2. Obey all applicable university policies and procedures and all local and national laws of People’s Republic of China.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 4

3. Facilitate the learning environment and the process of learning, including attending classes regularly, completing class assignments on time, and coming to class prepared. 4. Respect university and public property and facilities and utilize these while not obstructing others’ rights to use the same (Art II; Sec I; 1b). a. Any student who is found/falls under suspicion repeatedly for littering, playing loud music, disturbing the academic environment and hence the rights of students (Art II; Sec I; 1d) 5. Uphold and maintain academic and professional honesty and integrity. 6. Not engage in physical, mental, sexual or verbal abuse or harassment and will not engage in discriminatory behavior based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, language or region. 7. Adhere to a dress code during classes and academic activities that a. Will be clean, neat and respectable. b. Not be revealing or distracting to the rest of the class. 8. Be responsible for their behavior, and respect the rights and dignity of others both within and outside of the university community.

Section III: Violation of rights and/or neglect of responsibilities 1. Any student who has been found to have violated the rights of any other student(s) shall be punished in a manner deemed suitable by the members of the Regulatory Council. 2. Any student who has been found to have been neglecting in his/her responsibilities such that he/she has harmed the campus and the environment shall be punished in a manner deemed suitable by the members of the Regulatory Council. 3. Any student, who has been found to have a disparaging attitude towards any teacher or faculty, shall be punished in a manner deemed suitable by the members of the Council. Students shall bring forward their grievances to the Council in a lawful manner, and not spread malicious rumors, to the detriment of the image of the South Asian community in general.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP Section I: Members 1. Honorary members and advisors

2.

a.

Saraswati International Education and Welfare Foundation (SIEWF) official

b.

Dali University official

Executive Board: Henceforth known as the Board. a. All teachers who are teaching the South Asian/International students enrolled for MBBS program in English and who are solely in charge of conducting theory classes and of evaluating papers for the subject(s) allotted to them.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 5

b. The student coordinator for South Asian students. c. Regulatory Council student members - elected students per academic batch as per Art. III, Sec. IV.

Section II: Constitutional Posts All constitutional posts shall be held by either teachers or the coordinator. Interested teachers/coordinator shall be on the ballot for the constitutional posts. Students shall mark on the ballot their choice for each of the posts during the elections. 1. Speaker a. Shall supervise the proceedings of the meeting in an impartial manner. b. Shall moderate debates and maintain order. c. Shall defend the rights of all members and petitioners, especially the right to freedom of speech. d. Shall guarantee that constitutional procedures are followed. e. Shall delegate the recording of the minutes to student members. f.

Shall maintain contact records (phone numbers, email IDs) of the Council members so that they can be summoned for a meeting if and when required.

g. Shall update and maintain the constitution. h. Shall maintain the meeting minutes and records of the Council deliberations. This shall also include copies of all records, including petitions, treasury records, and complaints.

2. Treasurer a. Shall maintain financial records of the Council in a complete and accurate manner. b. Shall collect and expend money as required, while documenting the same, under the guidance and authority from the Council. 3. Grievance Manager a. Shall receive complaints and grievances in the form of anonymous/non-anonymous written complaints from students, as desired.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 6

b. Shall codify each complaint in the presence of concerned students, collect the required fees, issue receipts and register the complaint with the code and signature of the student. c. Shall forward it to the Speaker. d. Shall transfer the money to the treasurer. 4. University Liaison a. Shall maintain communications with University officials. b. Shall update the University officials with the proceedings and requests of the Council. c. Shall update the Council about academic affairs and other notifications from the University. d. Shall maintain contact with SIEWF officials regarding the activities of the Council.

Section III: Functions and powers of the Regulatory Council 1. To ensure that the rights of students as listed in Article II, Section I are not violated. 2. If a complaint is made that rights of a student have been violated by any student, teacher or coordinator, then he/she/they shall be investigated in a fair and impartial manner and if found guilty will be punished as deemed appropriate by the Council. 3. The student who has made a complaint will be protected by the Council from any possible untoward consequences of having lodged a complaint. 4. If a student has been found to be lacking in performing his/her duties as listed in Art. II, Sec. II and/or has been found to have deliberately spread misinformation to disturb the environment as mentioned in Art. I, Sec. II, he/she will be punished as deemed appropriate by the Council. A simple majority of Board members shall be sufficient to summon the student to the Council for explaining his/her behavior. 5. Re-evaluation of papers will be done when the student pays a fee that will be the property of the treasury. 6. The students present in the Council shall be treated as equals and will have the right to voice their opinion during the meetings without fear of retaliation. They will have the right to complete information regarding the complaint and the procedures involved in resolving an issue. 7. The Council shall also regulate the functioning of student associations for religious, cultural and sports activities.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 7

8. In absence of the Speaker, the University Liaison, the Grievance Manager, and the Treasurer shall be the acting Speaker, in that order. At least one of these four post holders must be present for a meeting of the Council to proceed.

Section IV: Voting rules in the Board 1. Any issue brought to the Council requires at least 2 proposers before it is put to a vote. 2.

A Board member has to be physically present to cast his/her vote.

3. The Speaker shall ask the members if they wish to reverse their votes before the process of counting is initiated. 4. A vote cannot be reversed once the final results have been declared. 5. In case of a tie, the Speaker can ask for a re-vote, or cast the deciding vote. 6. The minutes of the meetings, results of resolutions/amendments shall be accessible to the entire student body. 7. Depending upon the nature of the issue at hand, the Board has the right to deem certain information as confidential, by a vote of simple majority. At least two Board members are required to propose imposing confidentiality for any issue at hand. This vote can be agreed upon through a strength-of-hand, unless a formal recording of the vote is specifically asked for by any Board member.

Section V: Election of student representatives 1. Every academic batch will have the equivalent of one vote per gender from the South Asian student population. 2. Elections shall be held within the first one month of each year. Elections shall be batchwise, and open to eligible students for participation as candidates. 3. Eligibility criteria: a. The student shall not have had more than two convictions recorded against him/her for having violated rights or shirked responsibilities. b. The student shall not have any pending resit examinations to give at the time of elections. If a resit examination is to be held within a month after elections, the student can stand for elections provisionally. Such a student after entering the council on winning the elections can be displaced by the next eligible candidate if he/she fails to clear the resit examination. If the student appeals for re-evaluation and the appeal is successful, he/she can be reinstated. 4. The Speaker shall declare the date and time (opening and closing) of the election (and any run-offs) and the deadline for registration of candidates who wish to stand in the elections. The list of registered candidates who will stand in elections shall be put up on the notice board. The outgoing Council shall decide on the eligibility of candidates for the new The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 8

elections, in a pre-election session, following which the date/time and other details shall be announced by the Speaker. 5. Each student shall have one and only one secret vote which shall include the names of atmost one male and one female registered candidate from the student’s batch, and his nominations for the constitutional posts. This shall be ensured by the coordinator and the teachers. The counting of the votes shall be the responsibility of the outgoing Council. 6. Each batch shall elect X=M/20 and Y=F/20 number of student members to the Council, where M and F are the number of male and female students in that batch, respectively. Both X and Y shall be rounded off to nearest number (e.g. 3.5 or more is rounded up, less than 3.5 is rounded down), not more than five. 7. If more students than the requisite number to be elected participate in the elections, a run-off shall be held among the top X*1.5 and Y*1.5 candidates (rounded up to nearest number). This number shall be 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 for X, Y = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. 8. The top X and Y male and female student candidates shall be chosen for the Council, each with a normalized Council vote proportional to the square roots of their vote fraction they received in the election. (Refer to Penrose-Banzhaff index. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_method). This shall ensure a more proportional representation of minorities on the Council. Consequently, elected members of a particular gender from a single batch shall have the net equivalent voting power of 1, on the Council. 9. The complete results of the elections shall be made available to the entire student body, with approval of the outgoing Council. In case of a tie in votes at any stage, the candidate shall be chosen with a vote by the outgoing Council. 10. Each teacher shall have a vote which is normalized to ensure that all teachers have the same weight as all students on the Council. The coordinator shall have the same vote weight as a teacher.

Section VI: Impeachment rules 1. Teachers and coordinator cannot be impeached or removed from the Council. Removal of a teacher or coordinator is beyond the scope of the Board. 2. A student can be impeached by the Board on the basis of a 2/3rd majority of the Board (where the student being impeached shall not have a vote). 3. If a student after entering the council has two convictions against his/her name for having violated rights and/or neglected responsibilities, then he/she can be impeached. 4. A simple majority is required to make a conviction, in the light of evidence. 5. A student member of the Council can be impeached if he/she skips the Council meetings without advance notice and adequate reason as sent in writing to the Speaker, two times in a row. The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 24 September, 2008

Page 9

6. The Speaker reserves the right to appropriately adjust the voting fraction of the members of a student’s batch in case of an informed absence. 7. Once a student is impeached, the voting fractions of the remaining students from that batch shall be increased proportionately. 8. If the impeached student is the only member of his batch from a particular gender on the Council, the student with the next largest number of votes during the elections shall be invited to the Council. 9. If no such students exist, a by-election for a single student of that gender from that batch shall be held at an appropriate time, as decided by the rest of the Board with a 2/3rd majority. That gender of that batch shall continue without a representation till that time. 10.A teacher/coordinator can be replaced for a constitutional post by a 2/3rd majority of the Council. Such a motion can be initiated by any 3 members of the Council.

ARTICLE IV: RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS Section I: Responsibilities of honorary members and advisors 1. To advise and guide the Board on regulation of academic, socio-cultural and sports activities of the students. 2. To facilitate co-ordination with Chinese administrative departments for easy functioning of academic activities.

Section II: Responsibilities of teachers 1. To be fair and impartial. a. To maintain strict professional relationship with students and colleagues in classrooms and in matters concerning education. b. Any inevitable personal interactions between students and teachers should not interfere with the professional conduct of either. c. A student should have the freedom to refuse in any activity of a personal nature suggested by any teacher and the student should not be held guilty for the same by any teacher.

2. To be transparent and accountable. a. To inform the students of the evaluation pattern and marks distribution 1 month in advance. The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 10 24 September, 2008

Page

b. To prepare three sets of question papers according to the standard accepted pattern. c. To safeguard the secrecy of question papers. d. To evaluate answer papers in a specified room during a specified time. e. To not carry answer papers outside the specified room. f.

To not entertain students in the specified room at any time during the evaluation process.

g. To submit the answer papers to the Council after evaluation is complete. h. To submit an ideal answer paper to the Council after evaluation is complete. i.

To allow the re-check of answer paper by a Chinese teacher of the same department, if available, using the ideal answer paper as a guide. If such a facility is not available, other teachers will recheck the papers, using the guide. An average of the marks given by other teachers shall be considered as the final marks.

j.

An answer paper is to be rechecked, if a student alleges that his/her marks should be at deviance from the allotted marks by equal or more than 20%, or suggests that he/she would move from a fail to a pass grade or vice-versa.

3. To assess complaint given by a student in a fair and just way. 4. To ensure that all members of the Regulatory Council will respect the right of a student to make a complaint. 5. To protect the rights of the student who has made a complaint and not harm the student in any way, directly or indirectly. 6. Ensure that a Regulatory Council member recuses himself/herself from the proceedings, if it involves a complaint against him/her, or he/she is involved in a tie-vote involving his/her re-election.

Section III: Responsibilities of South Asian Students’ coordinator 1. To be fair and impartial to all students and teachers alike. a. To maintain strict professional relationship with students and colleagues in matters concerning education. b. Any inevitable personal interactions with students and teachers should not interfere with professional conduct with the concerned students or teachers.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 11 24 September, 2008

Page

c. A student should have the freedom to refuse in any activity of a personal nature suggested by the coordinator and the student should not be held guilty for the same. 2. To monitor and maintain students’ academic records. 3. To monitor students’ social behavior as per the rules and regulations of the dormitory. 4. To maintain smooth functioning of academic activities by coordinating between students, teachers and the university. 5. To assess complaint made by a student in a fair and just way. 6. To protect the rights of the student who has made a complaint and not harm the student in any way, directly or indirectly.

Section IV: Responsibilities of student members 1. To be fair and impartial. 2. To collect grievances from students, register and forward complaints of an academic nature to the Grievance Manager. 3. To note down the minutes of the meeting as and if delegated by Speaker. 4. To not be involved in academic or social misconduct.

ARTICLE V: MEETINGS 1. Meetings of the Board will be held once every month, the dates having been decided at the beginning of the semester, or at the previous meeting session. 2. Additional meetings, if required, can be scheduled based on a 2/3rd majority by the Board. 3. Unscheduled meetings can be convened at the discretion of the Speaker with adequate notice and a simple majority. 4. Minutes of the meeting shall be recorded and made public.

ARTICLE VI: AFFILIATED ASSOCIATIONS 1. Associations by students for religious, socio-cultural and sports activities- representatives will discuss with the Board regarding the execution and management of a proposed activity.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 12 24 September, 2008

Page

2. It will be the responsibility of the association to inform all students about the proposed activity. The associations should respect the rights and responsibilities of students mentioned in Art II of this constitution.

ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 1. Additions or alterations to the constitution may be made on a consensus with a 3/4 th majority vote of the entire Board, in favor of the amendment. 2. Amendment requests can be brought forth by at least 3 members of the Council. 3. For an amendment to be passed at least 2/3rd of the Board must be in attendance.

The Regulatory Council for South Asian Students and Teachers - Constitution 13 24 September, 2008

Page