Bylaws

The name of this organization is the National Extension Technology Community. The acronym NETC is usually used when referring to the organization.

NETC is a non-profit corporation and shall be operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

NETC’s purpose is to ensure that land grant institutions and other educational institution employees and volunteers have opportunities to learn and/or collaborate with colleagues from across the nation. It may do this through mailing lists, web conferencing, and an annual conference.

The NETC Conference has traditionally been the centerpiece of the NETC organization and is an annual event, usually hosted by any institution in the Cooperative Extension System as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Proposals to host will be given to the NETC Board, and the board will decide who will host. Ideally, the subsequent year’s host will be chosen before the current year’s conference. The NETC Board works with and assists the host institution as requested to ensure a successful conference.

At the termination or dissolution of NETC, the allocation of resources will be determined based on the purpose of the breakup. If it is to make way for a new organization, then all assets shall be passed along to the new organization.

In all other cases, any monetary resources shall be split in half. The first half will be given back to the hosts of the previous three (3) NETC conferences. The funds should be split evenly among these institutions. If an institution is not able to accept the funds, or declines to do so, their share will get distributed in the same method as the rest of the funds.

Any remaining funds will be given to one or more Section 501(c)(3) organization(s) based on criteria selected by the board. Ideally, the chosen organization(s) will promote the use of education and/or technology in underserved populations.

Should NETC hold any non-monetary assets, the board will determine how to distribute them.

The NETC Board consists of up to 16 members.

The offices of the board (7):

• President
• Vice President
• Vice President-Elect
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Membership Manager
• Communications Manager

Other board positions (9):

• Representative for the North Central Region
• Representative for the Northeast Region
• Representative for the Southern Region
• Representative for the Western Region
• Representative for 1890 Institutions
• Representative for 1994 Institutions
• Host of Last Conference
• Host of Current Conference
• Host of Upcoming Conference

Officers, regional representatives, and institutional representatives hold voting privileges. Conference representatives do not hold voting privileges.

At minimum, the president, vice president, and treasurer positions must be filled for the board to be considered legitimate. Other positions may remain vacant if none are found to fill them.

All positions are elected except for the three (3) conference host positions. Any NETC members can run for a board position, and board members remain must be active NETC members.

Each institution may have no more than 3 board members and each region may have no more than 7 members. The president, secretary, and treasurer should not be from the same institution, unless they run unopposed for office.

Regions are defined by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). 1890 institutions are defined by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). 1994 institutions are defined by NIFA.  

• President
  • Conducts business meetings and serves as the point person for the board.
• Vice President
  • Assists the president.
• VP Elect
  • Assists the president and vice president.
• Secretary
  • Records meeting minutes and makes them available.
• Treasurer
  • Maintains the bank account, manages income and expenses for the organization, and provides reports on the accounting. They will also file any required paperwork to state and/or federal entities. The board will review the treasurer reports each year and will have an independent overview of the accounts each year. The Board may remove the treasurer for cause.
• Communications Manager
  • Maintains mailing lists, website, and manages communications from the Board.
• Membership Manager
  • Responsible for member relations, including facilitating payment and maintaining a list of active members.

Each elected board member will serve a 3-year term. The terms begin/end on July 31 to coincide with the membership cycle. Terms for conference hosts may not start until the year preceding their conference, limiting the term to 3 years.

Ideally, the election rotation will be as follows.

• Year 1 – VP Elect, Communications Manager, Northeast, 1890, and 1994 Representatives
• Year 2 – VP Elect, Treasurer, North Central and Western Representatives
• Year 3 – VP Elect, Secretary, Membership Manager, and Southern Representative

Board officers are elected in a general election in which any NETC member can vote. Elections for regional and institutional representatives are open to members from the represented institutions.

The VP Elect will serve one year as VP Elect, the next year as Vice President, and the third year as President.

Elections should be scheduled approximately 1 month before a conference so that new board members can be introduced at the conference. Voting should be open a minimum of 5 working days.

In the event fewer than 2 candidates run for a given position, the board reserves the right to hand-select a candidate and vote on that position, provided that the board communicates the process and decision to membership.

If a member of the board resigns mid-term, a special election can be held to fill the remaining term of that position. The board will determine whether the special election should take place or if the position should remain unfilled.

The board can call special elections as needed, for instance to fill the positions on the initial board.

The board has the option of adding/removing liaisons to the board at any time. The liaisons would be non-voting members of the board. Their purpose would be to ensure that NETC maintains a good working relationship with other organizations.

The board will have a  meeting open to all members at least once a year.The president may call additional meetings as needed.

The board will decide whether each meeting is open for all NETC members or restricted to the NETC Board. This decision will be communicated to members.

A quorum of board members is required for any meeting to be considered official. A quorum will consist of half of filled voting board positions plus one and including at least one member of the presidential track.

Oral votes are acceptable. Motions pass with a simple majority. When it’s not obvious whether a motion passes or fails, a re-vote will be conducted using a more verifiable method, to be determined by the president. 

Open Meetings

All NETC members may make motions and vote during open meetings. Motions must be seconded by a voting member of the board to ensure a level of board support for all motions made.

Closed Meetings

For closed meetings, only board members may vote and make motions. Motions must be seconded by a voting member of the board to ensure a level of board support for all motions made.

If a member holds 2 voting positions, only one vote is counted.

The board will operate in a transparent way whenever/wherever possible.

Serving on the board is a voluntary action, and no compensation will be made to board members.

The NETC organization exists largely for and because of the annual conference, so all reasonable effort will be made to conduct one every year. However, guidance is needed for years in which a conference is not held.

•  Members would need to pay dues as NETC “annual” members to maintain standing.
• All three conference representatives (past, current, future) may remain on the board until a host is found.
• The terms for elected board members would be extended an additional year.
• The board should meet during Spring or Summer. This meeting can be, but does not have to be, a face-to-face meeting. Treasurer and Secretary reports will be read.

The treasurer and secretary will give complete reports at the face-to-face meeting during the NETC conference and will give updates at other meetings as appropriate. 

The fiscal year shall be January 1 to December 31 of each year. 

There are no standing committees for the organization. The board may put together committees to work on recommendations and/or other projects. Any NETC member can be on one of these committees, as well as non-NETC members where appropriate.

In addition to bylaws, NETC may create a set of standard operating procedures (SOP). These SOPs will be publicly available documents that describe the day-to-day operations of NETC.

When a SOP is created or modified, the Secretary will notify the current NETC members of the change. SOPs can be changed with a meeting of the board.

SOPs could include topics such as:  who holds a conference if two institutions express interest; how to support the upcoming conference; roles and responsibilities for board members; how much money to maintain in reserve; and if NETC will offer a scholarship program, including how the program will work.

The board shall review the bylaws annually and may propose changes. When finished, the board will clearly communicate the proposed changes to all NETC members, allow for comments, then hold an election to vote on the changes. Any NETC member can vote in this election.