These ByLaws may be called the Constitution of IEEE Student Branch College of Engineering Chengannur.

Article I: Name and Purpose

• Sec. 1. Name of the Student Branch is “IEEE Student Branch Chengannur College of Engineering”. Informally known as “IEEE Student Branch College of Engineering Chengannur” or “IEEE SB CEC”.
  
  SB Code: 60451
• Sec. 2. The purpose shall be the dissemination of knowledge of the theory and practice of all aspects of Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science and Instrumentation branches of Engineering, as well as the furtherance of the professional development of its members.
• Sec. 3. The organization and operation of the Branch shall be in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the IEEE.

Article II: Executive Committee (ExCom)

• Sec. 1. The management of the affairs of the Student Branch shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee, consisting of the duly elected officers of the Student Branch. The term of the ExCom is from January to December.
• Sec. 2. The Executive Committee shall be the governing body of the Branch and shall transact all business it deems advisable, including the filling of vacancies in offices, authorization of expenditures, etc.
• Sec. 3. Following members constitute the SB ExCom
  
  
  • A. SB Counselor
  • B. SB Chairperson
  • C. SB Vice-Chair
  • D. SB Secretary
  • E. SB Joint-Secretary
  • F. SB Treasurer
  • G. All Society Advisors, Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Secretaries
  • H. All Affinity Group Advisors, Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Secretaries
  • I. Coordinators of all Special Interest Groups
  • J. Webmaster
  • K. Electronic Communication Coordinator
  • L. Membership Development Coordinator
  • M. LINK Representative
  • N. Student Branch Mentor
• Sec. 4. The Student Branch ExCom shall hold regular meetings at places and time as decided by the Executive Committee at least once a month.
• Sec. 5. ExCom meetings shall be convened with at least two days prior notice to the ExCom Members.
• Sec. 6. Agenda of the meeting must be conveyed to ExCom members prior to the meeting.
• Sec. 7. Any ExCom member can ask the SB Secretary in writing to include in agenda any specific matter requiring discussion or attention of the ExCom.
• Sec. 8. Discussion on any topic not specified in the agenda of the meeting will be at the discretion of the presiding officer.
• Sec. 9. An ExCom member may be impeached from his/her position
  
  
  • A. Due to his/her absence in four consecutive ExCom meetings without a valid reason.
  • B. If a member works in a manner derogatory to the post.
  • C. For impeachment, a notice must be sent to the respective ExCom member and a fair chance must be given to explain themselves before ExCom and if still 2/3rd of the members of the ExCom support impeachment, he/she shall be removed from the post.
  • D. For impeachment, Counselor and at least two SBC/AG/Society advisors must be present in the meeting.
  • E. Respective Society/AG advisor must be present in the ExCom meeting to impeach the Society/AG ExCom member.

Article III: Roles and Responsibilities

• Sec. 1. SB Chairperson:
  
  
  • A. Responsible for the overall management of all Branch affairs.
  • B. Preside all meetings of the Student Branch.
  • C. Hold regular meetings of the Branch Executive Committee.
  • D. Appoint Program, Publicity and Membership committee Chairs promptly.
  • E. Complete the annual plan in vTools – due no later than January 31st.
  • F. Arrange for the selection of new Officers annually and report via vTools Officer Reporting.
  • G. Ensure the smooth transition of information and materials to newly elected Officers and arrange an orderly transfer of Student Branch records.
  • H. Coordinate activities with local Section and Regional volunteers.
• Sec. 2. SB Vice-Chair:
  
  
  • A. Assist the Student Branch Chair in all Student Branch affairs.
  • B. Perform all functions of the Branch Chair in his/her absence or upon request.
  • C. Use OU Analytics and provide the required data to the Membership Development Coordinator.
  • D. Download the membership data from OU analytics (overall, Chapters & AG) on the first day of every month and handover to Membership Development Coordinator.
• Sec. 3. SB Secretary:
  
  
  • A. Prepare the Agenda of General Body Meetings/ExCom Meetings and send to all SB Members/ExCom Members.
  • B. The Student Branch Secretary serves as the record keeper and historian of the Student Branch. He/she is responsible for maintaining all records.
  • C. Keep detailed minutes of each meeting and circulate the deets of the meeting to all ExCom members.
  • D. Be responsible for all correspondence and the same must be mentioned in the correspondence register.
  • E. Ensure that the Branch Constitution and Bylaws are adhered to.
  • F. Arrange for an orderly transfer of all records to the incoming Secretary.
  • G. Must follow the IEEE SB Development Calendar.
• Sec. 4. SB Joint-Secretary:
  
  
  • A. Perform all functions of the Student Branch Secretary in his/her absence or upon request.
  • B. Ensure all activity reports of SB, SBC, AG and SIG are completed and reported timely by respective Secretaries.
  • C. Keep track of the activity calendar and no collision occur in those activities.
  • D. Transfers records to the new Joint-Secretary at the end of the year.
• Sec. 5. SB Treasurer:
  
  
  • A. Maintain the appropriate financial accounts. SB Bank account should require two signatures; the Branch Counselor and the SB Treasurer.
  • B. Prepare an annual financial report for inclusion in the Annual Activity Report (due 1 November annually).
  • C. Prepare the final Financial Statement for inclusion in the Annual Activity Report.
  • D. Oversee all fundraising efforts.
  • E. Arrange for an orderly transfer of all financial records to the incoming Treasurer.
  • F. SB Treasurer must produce a request letter stating the reason for withdrawal to SB Counselor to withdraw the amount from SB Account and the same request must be maintained in the finance register/file.
  • G. Serve as the treasurer for all events happening in the SB.
• Sec. 6. SB Counselor:
  
  
  • A. Serve as an advisor to the Student Branch.
  • B. Ensure that information from IEEE Headquarters is transmitted to the student Officers.
  • C. Attend Executive Committee meetings and assist the committees.
  • D. Participate in Regional Activities Committee meetings.
  • E. Consult with the Section SAC Chair, Regional SAC Chair, or Region Director about activities or problems.
  • F. Foster good relations with the local Section and encourage students to establish regular liaison with the Section SAC Chair.
  • G. Promote student awareness of awards, contests and benefits of IEEE Membership.
  • H. Establish industrial contacts for programs and activities.
  • I. Assist with promoting activities to other faculty members.
• Sec. 7. Chapter/Affinity Group Chair:
  
  
  • A. Preside at meetings of the Chapter and the Chapter Executive Committee.
  • B. Operate the Chapter to maximize the satisfaction of Chapter member needs with the resources available.
  • C. Develop and present plans for meeting members’ needs to the Chapter Executive Committee for review.
  • D. Identify appropriate volunteers and present their appointments to the Chapter Executive Committee for review.
  • E. Ensure that all Chapter Officers and Committee Chairs are properly trained for their jobs.
  • F. Sign off on the financial report where required and confirm that all reporting is accurate and submitted in a timely manner.
  • G. Ensure satisfactory performance from the other Chapter Officers and the Chapter Committee Chairs.
  • H. Prepare an annual report of Chapter Activities for submission to the Section Secretary, Region and/or Society Chapter Coordinators.
  • I. Represent the Chapter at all IEEE gatherings.
  • J. Transfer Chapter records to the new Chapter Chair at the end of the year.
• Sec. 8. Chapter/Affinity Group Vice-Chair:
  
  
  • A. Assist the SBC/AG Chair in all SBC/AG affairs.
  • B. Perform all functions of the SBC/AG Chair in his/her absence or upon request.
• Sec. 9. Chapter/Affinity Group Secretary:
  
  
  • A. Serve as the record keeper and historian of the Chapter/Affinity Group. He/she is responsible for maintaining all records of the Chapter/Affinity Group.
  • B. Keep detailed minutes of each meeting and submit a detailed report of all events/meetings to the SB Secretary.
  • C. Keep track of all correspondences related to the Chapter/Affinity Group and work along with SB Secretary regarding the same.
  • D. Work along with SB Treasurer regarding all financial matters.
  • E. Arrange for an orderly transfer of all records to the incoming Secretary
  • F. Must follow the IEEE SB Development Calendar.
• Sec. 10. Chapter/Affinity Group Advisor:
  
  
  • A. Serves as an Advisor to the Chapter/Affinity Group.
  • B. SB Treasurer must coordinate and seek advice from the Chapter/Affinity Group Advisor regarding the financial matters of the Chapter.
• Sec. 11. Membership Development Coordinator:
  
  
  • A. Responsible to conduct Membership Development Sessions for first-year students and non-members in other years.
  • B. Ensure that the recruitment and renewal process is done timely.
  • C. Must make use of group challan for all IEEE membership payments for more than 5 persons.
  • D. Must ensure that all ExCom members have IEEE Memberships.
  • E. Get the SB membership data from the Vice-Chair and analyze it to understand the trends and take steps accordingly.
  • F. Get the membership count and data from the Vice-Chair every month and maintain a record.
  • G. Ensure that the data is used with utmost care and it is not shared with anyone else.
• Sec. 12. Electronic Communication Coordinator:
  
  
  • A. Must update the IEEE notice board periodically.
  • B. Manage the social media channels of the Student Branch and ensure that the best practices are followed while updating the channels.
  • C. Manage the design team and ensure all the designs follow the IEEE Visual Identity Guidelines.
  • D. Ensure that the members are informed about all updates (events, announcements) happening in the Student Branch.
• Sec. 13. Webmaster:
  
  
  • A. To maintain the Student Branch Website.
  • B. To ensure that all IEEE Guidelines regarding website are adhered to.
  • C. Work hand in hand with SB, SBC and AG Secretaries and Electronic Communication Coordinator to ensure that details on the website are updated regularly.
• Sec. 14. LINK Representative:
  
  
  • A. A. LINK Representative shall act as a link between the Student Branch and the LINK.
• Sec. 15. Coordinators of all Special Interest Groups:
  
  
  • A. Coordinate the activities of the particular Special Interest Group within the Student Branch.
  • B. Represent the Special Interest Group in IEEE gatherings.
• Sec. 16. Student Branch Mentor:
  
  
  • A. Student Branch Mentor shall be an Alumni of the Student Branch who has graduated at least three years before, who is still an IEEE member and maintains a good relation with IEEE Kerala Section.
  • B. Selection of the mentor is the responsibility of the SB ExCom.
  • C. The mentor shall be an invitee to the SB ExCom and does not have any voting rights.
  • D. SB can approach the mentor for all sorts of advice and guidance.

Article IV: Quorum

• Sec. 1. Quorum, by default, unless otherwise specified will be half the number of voting members.
• Sec. 2. Quorum is not applicable for convening AGM and GMs.
• Sec. 3. The presiding officer, if he/she feels necessary, may insist 2/3rd voting quorum be present to decide on a particular agenda of importance.
• Sec. 4. The presiding officer of meetings will not have voting rights unless his/her vote changes the odds of the decision or unless voting is by secret ballot.

Article V: General Body Meetings

• Sec. 1. The Student Branch shall hold regular meetings at places and time as decided by the Executive Committee. At least 4 General Body meetings must be conducted in a year.
• Sec. 2. SB Annual General Meeting and General Body Meetings can only be convened with one-week prior notice to the members.
• Sec. 3. The Student Branch General Body consists of all the student members of SB.
• Sec. 4. The General Body is the supreme authority and its decisions shall be final and binding.
• Sec. 5. Agenda of the meeting must be conveyed to members prior to the meeting.
• Sec. 6. Any member can ask the SB Secretary in writing to include in agenda any specific matter requiring discussion or attention of the General Body.
• Sec. 7. Discussion on any topic not specified in the agenda of the meeting will be at the discretion of the presiding officer.

Article VI: SB Chapters and Affinity Groups

• Sec. 1. SB Chapters and Affinity Groups are not independent OUs but are under the governance of the Student Branch.
• Sec. 2. The Student Branch Chapter or Affinity Group General Body consists of all the student members of the particular Society.
• Sec. 3. The Student Branch Chapter or Affinity Group must periodically conduct SBC or AG General Body Meetings at least once in a month.
• Sec. 4. Financial transactions of an amount less than Rs. 3000 can be carried out by the Chapter/AG ExCom after discussing the same with Chapter/Affinity Group Advisor.

Article VII: Event Committees

• Sec. 1. For Society Chapter and Affinity Group events, the corresponding ExCom members (Society/AG Chairperson, Vice-Chair and Secretary) along with the Student Branch Chairperson shall be the Convenors.
• Sec. 2. ExCom members shall be core committee members and only in the absence of a suitable member from ExCom, an external IEEE volunteer in the SB is to be selected after approval in an ExCom meeting with the presence of Branch Counselor.
• Sec. 3. All members of the event committee (Core and Volunteer) must be IEEE members.
• Sec. 4. Society/AG Advisor(of the corresponding Society/AG conducting the event) and Branch Counselor should be advisors for the event.

Article VIII: Finances

• Sec. 1. All financial matters related to SB will be the responsibility and duty of the treasurer.
• Sec. 2. SB will have a single Bank account for all OUs.
• Sec. 3. Withdrawing to be done by Treasurer after Student Branch Counselor’s endorsement.
• Sec. 4. Separate files should be maintained for the finances of all OUs.
• Sec. 5. Expenses above Rs. 5000 must be approved only after presenting a proposal before ExCom.
• Sec. 6. For purchases of commodities summing more than Rs. 5000, quotations must be sought from a minimum of two qualified vendors.
• Sec. 7. SB Treasurer must act as the event treasurer for all SB events.
• Sec. 8. Exemption to Article VIII – Section 7 can be given by Branch Counselor after consultation with ExCom only if SB Treasurer is unable to take up the role.
• Sec. 9. All bills must be countersigned by the Branch Counselor and SBC Advisor after verification.
• Sec. 10. An estimate of the expenditure must be prepared before any event and must be approved by ExCom.
• Sec. 11. Bill settlement must be done within 20 days after the event.
• Sec. 12. Financial support can be provided for renewal of IEEE Membership for Branch Counselor and is limited to basic membership only.

Article IX: IEEE Library and Centre of Excellence

• Sec. 1. The SB Vice-Chair holds the position as Librarian of IEEE Library and Centre of Excellence.
• Sec. 2. The following position holders should verify the corresponding registers at the starting period of a new ExCom:
  
  
  • A. Vice-Chair – Books Register
  • B. SB Secretary – Correspondence Register, Endorsement Register and Volunteer Register.
  • C. WIE Vice-Chair – Hospitality Register
  • D. RAS Vice Chair – Components Register
• Sec. 3. The above-mentioned position holders should be responsible to keep track of the corresponding registers.
• Sec. 4. SB Chairperson, SB Vice-Chair and RAS Secretary should be the custodians of the keys of IEEE Library and Centre of Excellence.

Article X: Financial Support for Attending Events

• Sec. 1. Financial Support may be given to members to attend International and national events, following the guideline given below.
  
  
  • A. For International events, an amount not greater than Rs. 7000 can be provided as support. The ExCom should decide the amount after considering the factors such as the event, geographical location and support from other sources.
  • B. For members representing Student Branch at National events as a special invitee, an amount not greater than Rs. 2500 or Second Class Rail Fare (whichever is lower) can be provided as support (Personal representations not to be considered).
• Sec. 2. Members representing Student Branch or Student Branch Chapter as a special invitee at Kerala Section events can be given a travel allowance, not exceeding Second Class Rail fare.

Article XI: Endorsements

• Sec. 1. Executive Committee members before endorsing the applications or providing Letter of Recommendation (LoR) at their present capacity should verify that the facts stated are true with the Volunteer Register.
• Sec. 2. Applications (for scholarships or volunteer roles) by members which require SB/SBC/AG Endorsement must be informed to SB/SBC/AG Chair, Branch Counselor and Chapter Advisor. For LoRs, SBC/AG Advisor (if it is related to a particular SBC/AG) and Branch Counselor should verify the details and ensure that the application details are entered in the Endorsement register kept with SB Secretary and SB Secretary must regularly inform ExCom the same.
• Sec. 3. Executive Committee members seeking Endorsements must approach Branch Counselor or SBC/AG Advisor, whoever applicable.

Article XII: Nominations and Appointments

• Sec. 1. The nomination committee of the Student Branch consists of Branch Counselor, SBC/AG Advisors, SB Chairperson, SB Secretary and all SBC and AG Chairpersons.
• Sec. 2. Nominations to the Student Branch ExCom have to be invited before November 30th of every year.
• Sec. 3. During the call for nominations, the year of study of the applicants must be as follows:
  
  
  • A. Second Year:
  • i. SB Vice-Chair
  • ii. SB Joint-Secretary
  • iii. SBC/AG Vice-Chair
  • B. Third Year:
  • i. SB Chair
  • ii. SB Secretary
  • iii. SB Treasurer
  • iv. SBC/AG Chair
  • v. SBC/AG Secretary
  • vi. Membership Development Coordinator
  • C. Common (Both second and third years can apply):
  • i. Electronic Communication Coordinator
  • ii. LINK Representative
  • iii. SIGHT Coordinator
  • iv. Webmaster
• Sec. 4. Nomination committee can evaluate the nomination by the method of conducting interviews.
• Sec. 5. The nomination committee has to publish the slate of office bearers on or before January 15th of every year.
• Sec. 6. Nomination by petition must be open for a week after publishing the slate.
• Sec. 7. Any nomination by petition must be signed by two percentage or six members(IEEE members for General ExCom nominations and Society/AG members for SBC/AG nominations), whichever is lower.
• Sec. 8. In case of multiple nominations to the same position, a Tellers Committee has to be initiated by the SB Chairperson. Tellers Committee must include:
  
  
  • A. SB Counselor.
  • B. At least two Society Advisors nominated by the SB Executive Committee.
  • C. Three Student representatives nominated by the SB Executive Committee.
• Sec. 9. SB Chairperson cannot be a part of the Tellers Committee.
• Sec. 10. The Tellers Committee can evaluate the petition by a detailed analysis of their applications and may conduct interviews.
• Sec. 11. Tellers Committee may consider voting as a final option if they fail to arrive at a conclusion by other means.
• Sec. 12. All IEEE members will have voting rights for General ExCom Elections and only SBC/AG members will have voting rights for corresponding SBC/AG ExCom Elections.
• Sec. 13. The SB ExCom Transfer must be done in the Annual General Meeting only.
• Sec. 14. Vacancies in ExCom posts arising in between a term must be resolved in the following manner.
  
  
  • A. If the term ends in less than six months, the ExCom can assign a current ExCom member the additional duty.
  • B. Otherwise, normal procedures must be followed.

Article XIII: Amendments

• Sec. 1. Any amendments (addition, deletion or updates) to the ByLaws must be approved by Executive Committee and in General Body Meeting with the support of at least two-thirds of the quorum.
• Sec. 2. Any ExCom member can propose amendments to the ByLaws, for which he/she should ask the SB Secretary to circulate his/her proposal of edit to all ExCom members at least 14 days in advance to the ExCom meeting with his/her proposal in agenda. On approval of the suggested amendment by ExCom, the same should be presented in the next GM and approved to be brought into effect.
• Sec. 3. Any SB member may suggest an amendment in the General Body Meeting, for which he/she should ask in writing the SB Secretary to include his/her proposal of edit in agenda of GM. On approval of the suggested amendment in GM, the same should be presented in the next ExCom and approved to be brought into effect. If the ExCom disapproves the proposal, the same should be sent back to the GM to be discussed and a decision should be made on the same. If the General Body Meeting decides to not make edits in the proposal and is approved again with two third quorum, the ExCom must approve the same without voting and the amendment will come into effect.
• Sec. 4. Two-thirds of voting quorum is needed to be present in ExCom meeting to decide on Bylaw amendments.