Updated November 15, 2024

ARTICLE I – NAME

The organization will be known as the New England College Health Association (NECHA), a voluntary, non-profit affiliate in Region V of the American College Health Association (ACHA). NECHA is composed of ACHA members from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland, Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. NECHA has been incorporated in the state of Maryland since May 2008 as a 501(C) (3).

ARTICLE II – MISSION

Section 1. NECHA advances the health of college students in our region by engaging college health professionals in networking, educational opportunities, advocacy, and information sharing.

Section 2. We support a diverse group of professionals who provide and/or offer health care, mental health care, health promotion, and/or administrative oversight for wellbeing within campus communities. NECHA members are integral to the missions of their institutions and play a vital role in the well-being of higher education.

As outlined by the American College Health Association, NECHA:

1. Serves the individual members of the Association as the infrastructure for making geographically local/regional connections among multidisciplinary college health professionals with campus wide constituents, including students, whose work affects the health and wellbeing of the campus community.
2. Provides a local/regional organizational structure for professional development and continuing education, networking, advocacy, collaboration, and dissemination of knowledge and standards based on the core values and strategic initiatives of ACHA.
3. Enhances channels of communication among members both locally and nationally.
4. Supports member recruitment and retention.
5. Develops members for leadership roles.
6. Is the recognized local organizational structure of ACHA.

Section 3. NECHA is guided by the American College Health Association’s values:

1. Collaboration: ACHA promotes interdisciplinary collaboration within and across campuses to ensure care of the whole person and help cultivate an overarching culture of well-being.
2. Diversity: ACHA provides opportunities to understand and celebrate diverse lived experiences and backgrounds, and incorporates these into our media, resources, and programs.
3. Education: ACHA regards education as critical to professional success and personal development
4. Equity: ACHA aspires to guarantee fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement to all, and to eliminate barriers to participation and success. Equity is everyone’s responsibility.
5. Expertise: ACHA relies on expertise based in evolving science, fact, and validated research.
6. Inclusion: ACHA seeks to create a welcoming, inclusive environment that embraces all individuals.
7. Justice: ACHA promotes justice in access and provision of healthcare, mental health care, and health promotion on campus and in our communities.
8. Leadership: ACHA leads from the front, focuses on the future, and does not shy from publicly addressing tough issues. We aspire to reflect in our leadership the wide array of backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives of our members.
9. Well-Being: ACHA creates and supports environments intentionally centered on well-being, where students, faculty, and staff are able to grow, thrive, live authentically, and support one another.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP, DUES, and FISCAL YEAR

Section 1. Membership

1. Membership in NECHA is obtained when an individual from the NECHA jurisdiction joins ACHA as an individual member, or is an ACHA member via their institutional membership. Categories of individual membership are: (1) regular, (2) student, and (3) emeritus.
   1. Regular Membership shall be open to anyone a) providing health services to students of an institution of higher education, or b) on the staff of an institution of higher education.
   2. Student Membership is open to individuals who are full-time students enrolled in a degree-granting curriculum at an institution of higher education. To be considered a full-time student, you must be enrolled in a Graduate program taking a minimum of 9 semester hours or an Undergraduate program taking a minimum of 12 semester hours. Proof of student status, either an unofficial transcript or enrollment verification of status documentation is required
   3. Emeritus Membership will be open to any individual member in good standing at the time of retirement provided the member has held such individual membership status in ACHA for at least five years immediately preceding retirement.
2. Privileges
   1. A regular member shall be eligible to vote and hold office in NECHA.
   2. Emeritus members may, on payment of individual dues, have the privileges of the type of membership (Regular or Student) to which they belonged prior to becoming Emeritus.

Section 2. Dues.

NECHA is a united affiliate member of ACHA. As a result, ACHA members within the jurisdiction of a united member affiliate receive concurrent membership in the affiliate organization at no additional cost. NECHA receives a designated portion of the ACHA membership dues from members within the NECHA jurisdiction.

Section 3. Fiscal Year.

The fiscal year for NECHA is January 1 to December 31.

This fiscal schedule can be altered at the discretion of the NECHA Executive Board, if needed and appropriately recorded in their meeting minutes.

ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of NECHA will be the Past-President, President, President-Elect, and a Secretary-Treasurer (or a Secretary and a Treasurer). Officers must be Regular Members of ACHA and NECHA. The Secretary and Treasurer shall each be elected for a two-year term at the Annual Meeting and will take office at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. The President-Elect will assume the office of the President and the President the office of Past-President at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. The officers of NECHA shall comprise the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The duties of each officer shall include, but not be limited to, the following with additional tasks as assigned by ACHA or the NECHA Board of Directors:

1. The President shall provide leadership for NECHA. They shall:
   • Represent the constituents’ concerns both regionally and nationally;
   • Conduct the annual NECHA Business Meeting, typically at the Annual Meeting;
   • Organize, coordinate, and conduct regular and special meetings of the Board of Directors;
   • Assist the President-Elect/Program Chair with planning the annual meeting;
   • Assist the Secretary-Treasurer (or Secretary and Treasurer);
   • Appoint Nominating and Awards Committees with the Past President as the chair;
   • Communicate regularly with the NECHA membership;
   • Communicate with ACHA;
   • Attend the Affiliate Officers’ ACHA Board Meeting;
   • Attend Region V Meetings;
   • Chair or designate a chair for the ACHA New Affiliate
   • Professional Award Committee.
2.  The President-Elect shall provide support and assistance to the President and the Board of Directors and be available to assume the Presidency at the Annual Meeting, following the term as President-Elect. They shall:
   • Serve as Program Chair to plan, organize, and coordinate the Annual NECHA Meeting;
   • Attend the Affiliate Officers’ ACHA Board Meeting;
   • Assume the President’s responsibilities in their absence;
   • Represent the constituents’ concerns both regionally and nationally.
3. The Past-President shall provide advice and assistance to the President and the Board of Directors. They shall:
   • Chair the Awards Committee;
   • Support other Executive Board Members’ duties as needed
   • Represent the constituents’ concerns both regionally and nationally.
4. The Secretary shall support the Board and membership. They shall:
   • Prepare, distribute, and maintain the minutes of each meeting of the Board;
   • Prepare and present for approval the minutes of the Annual Meeting;
   • Oversee all general correspondence with membership including email newsletters and maintenance of Board files.
5. The Treasurer shall oversee the financial operations. They shall be responsible for:
   • Maintenance of financial records reflecting receipts, disbursement, and accurate account balances;
   • Managing the assets of the organization;
   • Coordinating the development, Board approval, and execution of a fiscal year budget;
   • Reporting financial status to Board at its meetings and to the membership at the Annual Meeting;
   • Completing the Internal Revenue Report for the Association and submitting it to ACHA according to ACHA guidelines.
   • Complete 1099-NECs for any independent contractors paid over $600 in a calendar year and submit to the IRS no later than the end of January as published by the IRS.
   • Complete and provide w9s as requested by external vendors

Section 3. Vacancies in office which occur between annual meetings will be filled as follows: If the office of President becomes vacant, the President-Elect will assume the office of President for the remainder of the term and will continue as President for the subsequent year. If the office of President-Elect becomes vacant, the Board of Directors shall appoint an interim who shall serve until the next annual meeting at which time an election for President shall be held. Vacancies in the Secretary-Treasurer (or Secretary and Treasurer) offices will be filled by action of the Board of Directors until the next annual meeting. Should a Past-President be unable to serve, a recent Past-President shall be appointed with approval of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE V – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. There will be a Board of Directors composed of the officers; and five Members-at-Large. The Region V representative (for NYSCHA & NECHA) is a non-voting member. The Board of Directors may opt to include a student representative; student representatives are also non-voting members.

Section 2. Members-at-Large

1. Shall be elected at the Annual Meeting to serve a two-year term. Ideally, they should represent the diversity of college health professionals, and the various states within our region.
2. Vacancies remain unfilled until nomination and election at the next Annual Meeting. If the vacancy occurs prior to the first board meeting of the calendar year, the individual who received the next highest number of votes would be offered the Board position which continues down the voting roster. If the individual declines, the position remains vacant until the next election.
3. Members-at-Large may serve multiple and/or consecutive terms if nominated and re-elected.
4. Shall represent the Association and constituents’ concerns both regionally and nationally.

Section 3. ACHA Regional Representative – Region V – New England and New York State College Health Associations

The Region V Representative is an elected member of ACHA’s National Board and is the principal liaison between the NECHA Board of Directors and the American College Health Association. The Region V Representative serves both the NECHA and NYSCHA boards and may participate in NECHA board meetings as non-voting members.

1. Election: Regional Representatives are elected for 2-year terms by regular and student members of the NECHA and NYSCHA membership. The elections are hosted by ACHA and guided by their processes which includes an initial review by the national nominating committee.
2. Eligibility: Nominees for The Region V Representative must hail from a New England state or New York state. In accordance with ACHA’s bylaws, the Regional Representative must also:
   1. be a regular member during the entire term of their service
   2. be a regular member for at least three years prior to the election for this role
   3. have demonstrated leadership in association activities at the affiliate, regional or national level
   4. NECHA and NYSCHA established a Memorandum of Understanding where as the Boards of both entities collaborate to identify nominees for this role that alternate between a NECHA or NYSCHA member every cycle. Such that if a NYSCHA member is serving in the role during the current cycle, the nominating committee member and boards would work to identify and nominate a member, or members from NECHA for the next election cycle and vice versa.
   5. Because the Region V representative is a member of the national board of directors, In the event of a vacancy of the Region V representative, the ACHA National bylaws govern replacement procedures.

Section 4. ACHA Region V Nominating Committee Representative

1. Per ACHA’s bylaws, each Region puts forth a nominating committee member who is appointed by either the NECHA or NYSCHA board of Directors to represent the region in identifying and reviewing the slate of candidates for ACHA’s national Board of Directors The Nominating committee member could be a member of the NECHA Board of Directors or another designee.
2. The nominating committee member appointment is for 2 election cycles and alternates every 2 years in alignment with an established Memorandum of Understanding between NECHA and NYSCHA. This MOU encourages alternating representation (between NECHA and NYSCHA) on the national Nominating Committee as well as the Region V Representative Position.
3. The nominating committee appointee may be invited to attend NECHA Board meetings as a non-voting member, unless the person serving this role is already an elected officer for the organization.

Section 5. Student Representatives

1. Each President-Elect may opt to nominate one (1) student representative for a two-year term, when available. The Board shall consider and approve the nomination.
2. Vacancies may be filled through consensus of the Board.
3. Will provide input to the Board and represent the interest of students both regionally and nationally.
4. The student representative is a non-voting member.

Section 6. A NECHA Administrator or Conference Planner

1. A paid NECHA administrator/conference planner may be hired or appointed at the discretion of the Board to serve as a non-voting Ex-Officio member.
2. The President, President-Elect, and Treasurer acting on behalf of the Board may contract with said individual who would be compensated from the NECHA operating budget to complete duties as assigned.

Section 7. The Board of Directors will transact the business of NECHA in the interim between Annual Meetings of the membership and will report at each annual meeting.

ARTICLE VI – COMMITTEES

Section 1. Standing Committees

1. Awards Committee shall receive nominations for the President’s Award, the Louise Gazzara Award, ACHA’s New Professional Award for the Affiliate, and any other awards approved by the Board. The committee shall determine award winners by a consensus vote. It shall be composed of at least three members, chaired by the Past-President.
2. Membership Development Committee shall plan, promote, and host opportunities for members to engage with NECHA throughout the year and at the Annual Meeting. Activities may include webinars on program submission, information sessions for volunteer and Board roles, etc. It may be chaired by any Board member including Members-at-Large.

Section 2. The President, with the approval of the Board of Directors, will appoint such other committees as are needed to promote and maintain the affairs of NECHA.

ARTICLE VII – ANNUAL MEETING

Section 1. There will be an Annual Meeting at a time and place selected by the Board of Directors to which all members are invited.

Section 2. Special meetings may be called as deemed necessary by the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Per an existing memorandum of understanding, every other year, the Annual Meeting will be hosted in conjunction with NYSCHA.

ARTICLE VIII – ELECTIONS

Section 1. Officers and other members of the Board of Directors with the exception of Student Representatives will be elected by the membership at the annual meeting. NECHA members are notified of open positions prior to our annual meeting and an open call for nominees is offered. The slate of candidates is then presented to the membership in attendance at the annual meeting or via email for the body to vote via an electronic survey, with results disclosed at our annual open business meeting. Nominations from the floor and write-ins are available during this process.

Section 2. A majority of members present and voting shall elect. In the event there is more than one nominee for a single office, voting will be by ballot. The candidate with the most number of votes will be elected.

ARTICLE IX – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

In the absence of any provision to the contrary in the Bylaws, all meetings of NECHA will be governed by the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS

Amendments to these Bylaws may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members present and/or voting at any Annual Meeting, provided that notice of any proposed amendments will have been presented, in writing, to the membership at least three weeks prior to the Annual Meeting.

ARTICLE XI – DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION

Upon dissolution of this organization, all assets remaining after payment of debts or provision therefore will be distributed to the ACHA or to other organizations exempt from federal income tax, as described in Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.