Bylaws
Accepted and Adopted
UFFAB Bylaws are reviewed annually
Article I: Name and Affiliation
The name of this organization shall be the University Facility Fee Advisory Board (UFFAB).
Article II: Mission
The mission of the University Facility Fee Advisory Board shall be to provide guidance and advice concerning the University Facility Fee to the Vice President of University Operations and/or their designee; to review all project proposals for allocations of the University Facility Fee; and to ensure that all allocations of the University Facility Fee will be used to provide new facilities and/or to improve current facilities that directly benefit the students of Colorado State University.
Article III: Membership
Section 1
Voting members shall consist of student members of undergraduate college councils, a member from the Graduate School Council, and two student-at-large members.
Section 2
Each college council should try to appoint one student member from their respective college before the last meeting of the spring semester, and such members should be appointed by the first meeting of the fall semester, or as quickly as possible thereafter. New members shall be encouraged to work with outgoing members of the Board to aid in the transition process. In the absence of an appointment from a college’s College Council, the college’s representative shall be appointed by the dean of the college. Student-at-large members shall be appointed by the newly elected ASCSU (Associated Students of Colorado State University) President prior to the first meeting of the fall semester, or as quickly as possible thereafter. The Graduate School Council shall appoint the student member from the Graduate School. In the absence of an appointment from the Graduate School Council, the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies shall appoint a representative from the Graduate School. The UFFAB Board may appoint members to open positions after the 3rd meeting of the fall semester.
Section 3
The Associate Vice President for Facilities Management or their designee shall serve as Advisor to the Board. The Board will be co-advised by an Associate Dean of any college, or their designee. Additional ex-officio members may be appointed to a one-year term at the purview of the Chairperson.
Section 4
Members must not miss more than two (2) unexcused meetings per semester. Members may be excused from attending meetings at the discretion of the Chairperson. Members missing more than (2) unexcused meetings will be removed from the Board effective immediately, with their associate member becoming the new voting member from that College. Notice of planned absences shall be sent to the Program Manager and/or Chairperson at least 24 hours before the meeting.
Section 5
A member may be removed from the Board by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the total voting membership of the Board. All voting members must be notified at least one week prior to a vote for removal. In the event the voting member is removed from the board, the associate member will move to the voting member position, or, if there is no associate member, the appropriate appointing body will be asked to provide a new member. a
Article IV: Officers and Representatives
Section 1
The Chairperson shall be elected at the end of the spring semester by a majority vote of the voting Board members. The outgoing Chairperson shall preside over the election of the new Chairperson and relinquish the Chair at the end of the election proceedings. Members can nominate other members as Chair or Vice Chair, or a member can nominate themselves. The nominated party can decline the nomination if they choose. The nominated party must state what attributes they would bring to the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson position. The other members will then discuss and vote on each position.
The Chairperson shall work with the Adviser to schedule and preside over all meetings of the Board; prepare agenda; maintain correspondence of the Board; and serve as a representative to the ASCSU Student Fee Review Board (the SFRB (Student Fee Review Board)) and the President’s Student Financial Advisory Committee (PSFAC). The Chairperson should be a returning member of the Board, if possible.
Section 2
A Vice Chairperson shall be elected by a majority vote of the members present during the last meeting of the spring semester and no later than the end of the third meeting of the Board the following fall semester, or as quickly as possible thereafter. The Vice Chairperson shall preside over meetings in the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson and shall perform such other duties as assigned by the Chairperson.
Section 3
A Secretary shall be elected by a majority vote of the members present during the last meeting of the spring semester and no later than the end of the third meeting of the Board the following fall semester, or as quickly as possible thereafter. The Secretary shall maintain documentation and minutes of the activities of the Board.
Section 4
The Program Manager shall be responsible for maintaining records of the Board’s activities and serve as a representative to the ASCSU Student Fee Review Board. The Advisor, or their designee, shall serve as the fiscal manager for the University Facility Fee.
Section 5
The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, or Secretary may be removed from the Board by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the total voting membership of the Board. All voting members shall be notified at least one week prior to a vote for removal. In the event of removal of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson shall serve as Chairperson. In the event of the removal of the Vice Chairperson, a new Vice Chairperson shall be elected by the Board. In the event of the removal of the Secretary, a new Secretary shall be elected by the Board.
Article V: Meetings
Section 1
The schedule of meetings is determined by the Program Manager and Chairperson based on the agendas and presentation schedule of the Board. All Board members shall be notified of meeting time, date, and location at least one week prior to each meeting.
Section 2
All UFFAB meetings shall be open to the public. Interested parties are welcome to attend. The Board may elect to go into executive session by a two-thirds majority vote of the board or at the discretion of the Chair where non-board members shall excuse themselves from attendance. Project voting may be conducted in an executive session by a majority vote of the Board.
Section 3
All official actions of the Board shall be open for public inspection. The Program Manager shall be responsible for assuring that copies of the minutes and other material presented to the members at the meetings are available to members and other parties requesting these materials.
Section 4
Ex-officio members shall be non-voting members and serve in a support capacity, including advising, administrative support and other activities directed by the Chairperson. Ex-officio members may be asked to remove themselves from portions of meetings, at the discretion of the Chairperson.
Section 5
The Quorum shall consist of two-thirds of voting members, including any associate member sitting in for a voting member. If quorum is not met for a meeting, any necessary voting may be completed via an online vote within one (1) week of that meeting, or as quickly as possible thereafter.
Section 6
The newest edition of Roberts’ Rules of Order shall govern the Board in all cases where they are applicable and necessary.
Article VI: Responsibilities
Section 1
The Board shall be responsible for reviewing the conceptual designs and budgets for all areas funded by the University Facility Fee. To ensure that all projects conform to university policies and procedures and are integrated with the University’s Master Plan, all projects considered by the Board shall include a description of the scope of work and a project budget opinion or cost quote developed, reviewed, and approved by a Facilities Project Manager. The Program Manager shall ensure that this procedure is followed and shall work with the Chairperson to schedule and coordinate project proposal presentations to the Board. Such presentations shall include 1) project budgets with the bonded indebtedness presented as a separate line item, 2) a discussion of the degree to which the proposed project is in accordance with the University Master Plan, and 3) an analysis of how the proposed project aligns with the UFFAB Funding Rules presented in Section VII of these Bylaws. No project shall be recommended by the Board to the SFRB for funding unless they have made a presentation/request to the Board. No project shall be recommended by the board to SFRB if a portion of the project seeking funding has already commenced. No project shall be recommended by the Board to SFRB for funding if the project requires funding beyond UFFAB that has not yet been obtained. Projects not recommended for funding by the Board by the last meeting of the Board in an academic year shall be removed from further consideration by the Board. To be eligible for reconsideration, such projects must reapply to the Board in a subsequent academic year.
Section 2
All funded projects under the purview of the Board shall annually make a presentation to the Board until completion. Such presentations shall include summaries of:
- the project’s scope of work and budget,
- expenditures to date including expenditures on bonded indebtedness presented as a separate line item,
- expenditures planned for the current fiscal year,
- changes that materially and substantially affect the original design and/or proposed budget, and
- the project timeline and anticipated completion date. Projects shall remain under the purview of the Board until after they are completed, and a final presentation has been made to the Board. If there are any changes to the project, including scope of work or budget opinion, the Board must be notified by the submitter and/or Project Manager in advance of their scheduled presentation.
Section 3
Twenty percent (20%) of the first $10.00 of student fees shall be reserved for small cash-funded projects. Any additional income may, upon action of the Board, be bonded in whole or in part.
Section 4
Project proposals must be received on a schedule to be determined by the Chairperson and the Program Manager. The Advisor and/or Program Manager shall work with the Chairperson to determine and present to the Board feasible scenarios for University Facility Fee funding. The Chairperson, in consultation with the Advisor and/or Program Manager, may determine a procedure for receiving project proposals, pre-screening the project proposals, and for project proposal presentations to the Board.
Section 5
The Board shall approve project proposals and through the legitimacy process make recommendations of projects to be funded, including the amount of funding, to the SFRB based on the projected availability of funds. Such recommendations may be made in both the Fall and Spring semesters. However, to ensure that all projects considered by the Board are considered in a fair and unbiased fashion, approval for large projects, or numerous small projects, should generally be withheld until all projects proposals to be considered by the Board have been received and considered by the Board.
Section 6
The UFFAB Chairperson, Program Manager, and Advisor, with information from the Assistant Director for Finance and Accounting in Facilities Management, shall report annually to the SFRB the bonded indebtedness of the University Facility Fee as a component of the Board’s Spring SFRB budget presentation.
Article VII: Funding Rules
Section 1
The following criteria shall be evaluated by the Board considering the legitimacy of each project proposal. (In no specific order):
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- The degree to which the proposed project directly benefits Colorado State University students;
- The degree to which the project increases the equity of space for all students, including the accessibility of spaces and access to essential resources or utilities;
- The degree to which the program plan enhances innovative academic and/or research environment(s) for Colorado State University students;
- The aesthetics of the project, including the degree to which the architecture compliments and/or supplements the architecture in the locale of the project;
- The quality of the design of the project, including the anticipated lifetime of the project before refurbishment would be required;
- The environmental responsibility and longevity of the project, including ongoing maintenance. Considerations include, but are not limited to, the optimization of space use, minimization of energy use reuse of existing furniture or other materials; and the use of sustainably sourced or recycled materials;
- The justification and clarity of the proposed project plan and presentation;
- The projected availability of funds;
- The degree to which the proposed project contains infrastructure change or facilities maintenance initiatives;
- If a significant portion of the project’s total budget is allocated to technology, then the project also be submitted to UTFAB.
Article VIII: Voting
Section 1
All members shall have one vote. Quorum must be present before a vote can be taken. Votes should be based on funding rules articulated in Article VIII. A majority (more than half) of the quorum must vote in the affirmative for an item to pass, else it fails.
Section 2
A member who was absent from a given presentation, who did not have an associate member present in their absence, is required to review presentation materials and discuss said presentation with the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson to be given permission to vote on that project.
Section 3
Two votes shall be taken on every project proposal considered by the Board. The first vote shall be taken at the meeting at which the project is presented and shall be on the legitimacy of the project plan and budget. The second vote shall be taken prior to the end of the fall or the spring semester and in time to allow project recommendations to be made to the SFRB for that semester. Each member shall retain the right to vote “no” on any and all scenarios or to abstain from the vote. The Board’s recommendations shall be presented to the SFRB for approval prior to fund disbursement.
Section 4
The Chairperson shall poll all members who vote “no” on the project proposal, legitimacy, and funding approvals to clarify reasons for their votes. The reasons for voting as such on-project proposals shall be recorded anonymously in the meeting minutes, unless otherwise specified. This information shall be collected to determine if members are basing their votes on accurate information. The reasons for denial of legitimacy or final funding shall be communicated to the project proposers by referring them to the minutes of the Board meeting.
Article IX: Amendment Procedure
Section 1
Amendments to these Bylaws shall be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the total voting membership of the Board.
Section 2
The Board shall conduct a general review of these Bylaws every year, typically in the fall semester and/or the final meeting of the spring semester.
Section 3
All possible amendments should be distributed to the Board one (1) week prior to the bylaw review to allow preparation for deliberation. Said amendments may be further amended by the Board during the bylaw review session.