Bylaws for the OWI Standing Group

Article 1 - Membership

Section 1. Membership in OWI shall be open to any member of CCCC who wants to join. All members are asked to join the group’s listserv.

Section 2. All OWI Standing Group members are eligible to serve as officers. All members are eligible to vote for officers (see Article 6).

Section 3. Members shall be informed of the activities of the OWI Standing Group through attendance at the OWI Standing Group meeting at CCCC each year, through the listserv, and other means of communication established by the Standing Group.

Article 2 - Executive Officers

During the first year of the Standing Group, 2017, appointed Co-Chairs will lead a meeting in which the bylaws will be presented and voted upon. Also, nominations will be taken for the following four officers and voted upon (see Article 4).

• Chair
• Associate Chair
• Communication Officer
• At-Large Member

Section 1. Officers of the OWI shall include elected positions of Chair, Associate Chair, Communication Officer, and an At-Large Member. Each elected officer serves a term of two years.

Elections for the Chair and Communication Officer will occur in odd-numbered years (2017, 2019, etc.), and elections for the Associate Chair and At-large Member will occur in even-numbered years (2018, 2020, etc.).

Should an officer be unable to complete an elected term, the remaining executive committee will consult each other to appoint a replacement for the balance of the original term.

Section 2. Individuals may be re-elected to any office.

Article 3 - Duties of Officers

Section 1. Chair

• Lead the Business Meeting portion of the Standing Group meeting at the CCCC.
• Submit the annual report no later than 30 days after the CCCC annual meeting each year. The brief annual report should include a report of activities, with recommendations for future action, and be addressed to the CCCC Officers. This report should also be sent to the OWI membership via the listserv.
• Implement the activities of the OWI at the annual CCCC.
• Organize topical program portion of the Standing Group meeting at the CCCC (such as asks speakers to attend and present on a topic.)
• Serve as the point person/spokesperson for the Standing Group.
• Serve as the primary liaison to the CCCC and other relevant organizations
• Conduct elections in even years

Section 2. Associate Chair

• Assist the Chair with the duties and activities of the OWI Standing Group.
• Conduct elections in odd years.
• Assist in the planning of activities at the annual conference.
• Lead the development of the Standing Group panel/workshop.
• Serve as liaison to other relevant Standing Groups or Consortiums.
• Organize social activities at CCCC

Section 3. Communications Chair

• Responsible for posting relevant notices to all communication channels in compliance with the bylaws.
• Coordinate the activities of the Website.
• Coordinate the content of the multiple areas of the OWI website
• Manage the communication channels.
• Take minutes at the annual meeting.
• Assist in the planning of activities at the annual conference.
• Distribute election information and links.
• Coordinates the Communication and Promotion Working Groups

Section 4. At-Large Member

• Assist Chair, Associate Chair, and Communications Officer
• Coordinates the Working Group

Article 4 - Elections

Section 1. Elections shall be held within a month after the OWI Standing Group meeting at CCCC. Elections are held in even-numbered years for Associate Chair and At-Large Member and in odd-numbered years for Chair and Communications Officer.

Section 2. Elections are won by a simple majority vote of those members who choose to participate in the election.

Section 3. At the OWI Standing Group meeting at CCCC, the Associate Chair will query the members in attendance for self-nominations or nominations for the positions up for election. Those nominated and willing to run will need to submit a 200-word statement (also acceptable in other forms for reasons of access). Voting will begin within 30 days of the CCCC meeting, will be anonymous, and will be open for one week. Voting mechanisms and links and the results will be announced on the OWI Standing Group communication channels (i.e., listserv, Facebook group, Twitter feed, etc.) by the Communication Officer.

Article 5 - Working Groups

The OWI Standing Group will be comprised of Working Groups. The specific Working Groups will be based upon the interest of the OWI Standing Group’s constituency each year. Each of these Working Groups is responsible for advancing the knowledge, advocacy, and visibility of effective practices for OWI by focusing on a specific OWI-related theme/topic (e.g., faculty matters, student matters, accessibility, instructor preparation, online writing labs). As a result, established Working Groups may be eliminated and new Working Groups may be formed each year based upon the interests of the group. A Working Group will be established if two or more people are interested in a given OWI-related topic. Each Working Group will be led by a Working Group Chair. OWI Standing Group members can participate in up to two different Working Groups, although focus on just one is recommended. Executive Officers can be members of a Working Group but should not chair one except under extenuating circumstances.

Section 1. Working Group Chairs

Every year at the CCCC meeting, upon the establishment of that year’s Working Group, the members of that group will elect a Chair and report who that Chair will be during the meeting. The Chair will hold this position for the entire year until the next CCCC meeting and can hold the position for more than one year. The Working Group’s Chair’s responsibility include

• Organizing and managing the work that the Working Group does throughout the year
• Attending and reporting at periodic Standing Group meetings (normally held by teleconference or virtual meeting app) the work of the Working Group and request support and resources from the Standing Group.
• Representing the Working Group in advising the Standing Group on the direction of OWI at CCCC and beyond.
• Working Groups will report virtually or in-person their outcomes.
• With the four officers, the Working Group Chairs will comprise a group that will function as an Executive Committee, meeting at times and conducting the direction and interests of the OWI Standing Group.

Article 6 - Standing Panel

The Associate Chair is responsible for creating a CFP and facilitating the coordination of the selection of the OWI Standing Group’s panel or workshop at the annual CCCC. Selection will be made by a committee to include the officers and Working Group Chairs.

The officers may be on this panel or workshop, though this is by no means required. This will be done by the Associate Chair who will solicit panel proposals through the OWI communication channels by April 20 and making a decision with the consultation of the other Executive Officers by April 28.

Article 7 - Meetings

Section 1. An annual planning meeting shall be held during CCCC each year. This meeting is open to the entire CCCC membership. Additionally there will be periodic synchronous online meetings of the Officers and Working Group Chairs throughout the year. At these meetings, Officers should report on activities from the year. At the annual convention, the Standing Group will also welcome new members and provide a site for planning activities, such as panels or suggested featured speakers for the following year. Other activities to be determined by the members. The Executive Committee should make efforts to make this meeting available remotely via teleconferencing applications.

Section 2. Notification of the annual meeting time at CCCC will be announced across the OWI Standing Group communication channels at least four weeks prior to the date of the meeting.

Article 8 - Amendments

Section 1. Proposals for amendment to these bylaws may be made by member suggestion at any time, on the listserv, at the annual OWI Standing Group meeting at CCCC, or by directly contacting the Chair or Associate Chair. The proposed amendment shall be distributed to OWI Standing Group members via the listserv. Changes will be formally approved through a majority vote of the members in the annual election. If approved, the amendment is effective immediately.

Section 2. Amendments and/or changes to the these bylaws that are a result of changes in CCCC-approved policies will be automatically incorporated into these bylaws for consistency (if consistent with Article VIII), and will be announced on through the group’s communication channels and at the OWI meeting at CCCC.

Article 9 - Access

The CCCC OWI Standing Group is committed to access for all members. All materials for this group must be provided in multiple formats, and consider the access needs, stated and potential, of all members. The Communication Officer will be responsible for creating this accessibility.

Article 10 - Dissolution

If there fails to be a meeting of the OWI Standing Group at CCCC for two consecutive years, the group is considered dissolved.