Bylaws

CONSTITUTION

NAME

The name of the organization will be American College of Counselors, Inc., and is nonprofit.

EXISTENCE

The existence of the College will be in perpetuity.

PURPOSES

The purpose of American College of Counselors, Inc., will be to determine and grant certification and to provide continuing education. The College will hold annual meetings, sponsor seminars and workshops for the educational gain of all counselors/therapists; publish a journal and newsletters; and cooperate with other groups in meeting the objectives.

As used in this Code of and Constitution, “accredited” means that , at some time between the individual’s matriculation and the present, the institution held “accredited, “candidacy,” “pre-accredited,” or “recognized candidacy” status with an agency that is or was at that same time, recognized either by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation, or by the US Department of Education, or by both; or a foreign institution that is the equivalent of the foregoing.

ARTICLE I. – OFFICERS

Section 1. CHAIRPERSON:

  1. A chairperson of the Board of Governors shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by and from among the members of the Board of Governors at each annual meeting thereof.
  2. The Chairperson shall be allowed to vote in all such matters brought before the College.
  3. The Chairperson shall become the chief spokesperson for the College and intervene in all disputes among the Board of Governors.

Section 2. PRESIDENT:

  1. A president shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by and from among the members of the Board of Governors at each annual meeting thereof.
  2. It will be the duty of the president to preside at annual meetings, or other meetings of the Board of Governors.
  3. S/he will initiate various programs with the consent and approval of the Board of Governors, and give a report at each annual meeting.
  4. Whenever the president attends an annual or special meeting, said person shall receive a per diem stipend of $75.00.
  5. Whenever the College treasury discloses there are insufficient funds, such per diam stipends shall be reduced or abated until the College treasury has adequate funds available.

Section 3. VICE-PRESIDENT:

  1. A vice-president shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by and from among the members of the Board of Governors at each annual meeting thereof.
  2. His/her main duties will be to preside in the absence of the president.
  3. Whenever the vice-president attends an annual or special meeting, said person shall receive a per diem stipend of $75.00.
  4. Whenever the College treasury discloses there are insufficient funds, such per diam stipends shall be reduced or abated until the College treasury has adequate funds available.

Section 4. SECRETARY:

  • A secretary shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by and from among the members of the Board of Governors at each annual meeting thereof. The secretary shall keep all corporate records of the College and shall make a report at each meeting of the Board of Governors.

Section 5. TREASURER:

  • A treasurer shall be elected for a term of one (1) year by and from among the members of the Board of Governors at each annual meeting thereof. The treasurer shall keep all financial records of the College and shall make a report at each meeting of the Board of Governors.

ARTICLE II. – MEETINGS

  • The meetings of the Board of Governors will be held at a time and place to be fixed by the Board. Normally Board of Governor members attend all meetings. In the event two (2) consecutive meetings are missed, the Boar of Governors may review the standing of the individual on the board.

ARTICLE III. – DUES

SECTION 1.

  • At the time of approval or at the time an individual makes application for certification, a fee of $150.00 will be payable to the American College of Counselors.

SECTION 2.

  1. Certified members shall pay annual dues of $100.00.
  2. Fellows shall pay annual dues of $120.00.
  3. Any nominated “Fellow” must be present in person at a convocation to receive the designation of Fellow.
  4. Diplomats shall pay annual dues of $120.00.
  5. Dues will be payable each year on the anniversary date of January 1. Dues received after 30 days will incur a $15.00 late charge with 30 days to respond before membership is terminated. The initial Founding Fellows, however, will be exempt from the payment of any annual dues.

ARTICLE IV. – GOVERNMENT

The government of the American College of Counselors, Inc. is a self-perpetuating Board of Governors, which shall consist of eleven members elected for terms of two (2) years each. Election of Board members shall take place at each annual meeting of the Board, immediately prior to the election of officers. Six(6) Board members shall be elected in each even numbered year, and five (5) Board members shall be elected in each odd-numbered year. The Board may, at any meeting fill vacancies in offices or Board positions for the balance of the unexpired term. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all incumbent officers and Board members as of 1 January 1998 shall be entitled to complete the terms for which they were elected; and, of the six (6) Board members to be elected in 1998, Five (5) shall be elected for two-year terms and one(1) shall be elected for a one-year term.

ARTICLE V. – AMENDMENTS

  1. Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation and Constitution will be by vote of the Board of Governors at any announced Board meeting by the affirmative vote of at least six (6) Board members.
  2. Amendments must also be ratified by the Advisory Committee and will require a simple majority among that group.

ARTICLE VI. – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. MEMBER:

  1. The membership of the College shall be divided into three classes. The first class shall be those members who receive CERTIFICATION, according to their professional specialty.
  2. Applicants applying for Certification shall be actively engaged in the practice of counseling; shall have earned a master’s or doctorate degree from a regionally accredited educational institution; has completed 1500 hours of a supervised internship and/or has competed two (2) full years of supervised clinical work; and holds clinical of fellowship status and/or is certified, registered or licensed by a state agency or through a professional counseling association, and/or holds equivalent membership in an organization deemed acceptable by the Board of Governors.

Section 2. FELLOW:

  1. The second class of membership shall be those individuals seeking Fellowship status to be known as FELLOWS of the College.
  2. Individuals seeking nomination for Fellow shall have been a member in good standing for at least five (5) consecutive years; shall have been endorsed by two (2) Fellows; and shall have demonstrated outstanding performance through contributions to the College. Examples of outstanding contributions are having organized or coordinated at least one annual meeting for the College; produced three (3) articles or edited at least one(1) issue of ACC COURIER, the newsletter; delivered three (3) papers or presentations at College seminars; and five (5) total presentations at professional societies. A cluster of two (2) or three (3) of these types of activities may qualify a candidate.

Section 3. DIPLOMATE:

  1. The third class of membership shall be those individuals seeking the highest level of professional achievement Board Certification as DIPLOMATE.
  2. An individual seeking the status of Diplomate shall have been a Fellow in good standing for a period of a least (5) consecutive years; shall have been endorsed by four (4) current College Diplomates or eight (8) Diplomates in an equivalent organization deemed acceptable to the Review Committee; shall hold an earned doctorate or terminal degree or equivalent in an appropriate field; shall have accumulated five (5) years in clinical practice of their professional area of expertise; and, shall have been certified or licensed, either through a state licensing agency or a professional organization which in the opinion of the Review Committee meets the necessary guidelines.

Section 4. GRANDPARENTING:

The Board of Governors by majority vote along with majority approval of the Advisory Committee may enact or extend a “Grandparenting” period at any or all levels of membership. However, any and all applicant(s) applying for membership shall possess all the necessary qualifications, provisions, and requirements as stipulated and outlined in the Code of Ethics and Constitution.

ARTICLE VII. – ADVISORY COMMITTEE

  1. The Advisory Committee shall advise the Governing Board of the College on matters relating to financial management, such as reviewing quarterly reports of the Treasurer and making recommendations regarding policies and other such issues and matters that may arise from time to time. Whenever an annual meeting or special meeting shall be convened fro the purposes of discussing the affairs of the College, the Advisory Committee members who are in direct attendance shall receive a per diem stipend in he amount of $75.00. Whenever the College treasury discloses there are insufficient funds, such per diem stipends shall be reduced or abated until the treasury has adequate funds available.
  2. The Advisory Committee members shall be composed of not more than seven (7) individuals, one of whom shall serve as Chairperson, and such members shall have been initial Founding Fellows of the College and/or serving in the capacity of a Board of Governor, Officer, or Director on or before September 25,1993.
  3. The Advisory Committee members who are actively volunteering to serve and attend all necessary meetings will be exempt from the payment of all membership dues. The term of the Advisory Committee member(s) shall e perpetual unless such member becomes incapacitated, demised, resigns by written letter, is absent for two consecutive meetings, or terminated for other such reasons by majority vote of he presiding members. If two (2) consecutive meetings are missed, the presiding members of the Advisory Committee may review the standing of the individual serving on the Committee. Whenever a vacancy occurs, the Secretary shall send notice to all Current and Founding Fellows and other such individuals as stipulated in Paragraph (B) that such a vacancy exists and the nomination of the new member shall be by majority vote.
  4. All services provided by members of the Advisory Committee are voluntary; and therefore, such members shall be immune from any liability, civil or otherwise, should any such litigation be brought against the College, its members, or from any outside sources.

ARTICLE VIII. – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

  1. The Executive Director shall be paid a Directors Fee semiannually from the funds of the College as may be fixed from time to time by the Advisory Committee. The necessary expenses of the Executive Director shall be paid from the funds of the College under the policies established fro such payments by the Advisory Committee. The Executive Director may also serve in the capacity of an Officer or Governor of the College upon election. The appointment of an Executive Director shall begin on January 1. This is an agreed contract for Directors Fee, and said individual shall be solely responsible for the payment of personal income taxes.

ARTICLE IX. – NONDISCRIMINATION

  • There shall be no discrimination against any individual regardless of ethnic group, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, age, and/or handicapping condition.

ARTICLE X. – ANNUAL MEETINGS

  1. Annual meetings of members will be held at a time and location to be designated by the Board of Governors within 60 days prior to the scheduled meeting date.
  2. Special meetings may be called by either the president, Board of Governors or on written demand of holders of 10 per cent of all votes entitled to be cast on an issue proposed to be considered at the special meeting.

ARTICLE XI. – NOTICE

  1. Written notice stating the day, place, and hour of the meeting, and the purpose if a special meeting, shall be delivered personally or mailed to each member entitled to vote an the meeting by not less than 10 days preceding the meeting. Mailed notices shall be regularly processed through the United States mail and sent to each member at the last address appearing on the corporate register for the member.
  2. As an alternative to notice by mail, at any time during which the total number of members exceeds 1,000, notice of meetings may be given by a single publication in any newspaper of general circulation, printed in English, in the county in which the corporation then has its principal office, not fewer than 10 or more than 30 days prior to the meeting.

ARTICLE XII. – VOTING

  1. Only the members of the Board of Governors can vote on issues pertinent to the corporation.
  2. A Board member may cast a vote by proxy executed in writing by the member or by a duly authorized attorney-in-fact, but no proxy will be recognized as valid eleven (11) months after the date of its execution unless expressly provided otherwise in the proxy.

ARTICLE XIII. – TRANSFER

Membership in this corporation is nontransferable and nonassignable.

ARTICLE XIV. – TERMINATION

Membership will terminate in this corporation on either of the following events.

  1. Receipt by th Board of Governors of the written resignation of a member, executed by the member or a duly authorized attorney-in-fact.
  2. The death of a member.
  3. The failure of a member to pay dues, assessments, or fines on or before their due date.
  4. The failure of a member to retain the incidents of qualification for membership as described in this document.