Government

The name of body of student representatives (Senators) shall be named the Student Government Association (SGA). 

The Student Government Association is a body of students elected by their respective classes duly appointed with the tasks of: promoting, coordinating, and directing student affairs and activities affecting the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; acting to voice student concerns to the TTUHSC Faculty and Staff; encourage interdisciplinary communication and participation among the individual schools that compose TTUHSC. 

1. The Student Government Association will advocate for the student body and liaise between the TTUHSC student body and the faculty and staff. 
2. The Student Government Association and its respective Senators will represent the TTUHSC student body as pertains to activities and other matters involving Texas Tech University including, but not limited to, representation on fee committees. 
3. The Student Government Association will acknowledge, communicate with, coordinate and assist with student organizations within the TTUHSC system. 

1. The Student Government Association shall make an effort to represent all student body populations within the TTUHSC system. 
2. The SGA will be composed of duly elected students from each school that comprise the TTUHSC system. 
3. Numerical representation ratios shall be in accordance to SGA by-laws. 
4. An Executive Council shall preside over all activities of the SGA and shall be composed of the following four officers:
   - President,
   - Vice President of Communications,
   - Vice President of Operations,
   - Vice President of Finance
5. Satellite Campuses shall be represented by one Senator from each school on each campus. 

Election Thereof
a. Senators in good academic and senatorial standing attending the Lubbock campus may run for any of the four officer positions and may win election of the position for which they are running by a majority vote in the SGA Senate. 
b. Eligibility to run includes one year experience in the SGA Senate with all attendance, community service, and SGA awareness requirements met. 
c. New officers must be elected annually by the SGA Senate body, no late than the last Friday of April of each year.
d. Incumbent officers are limited to two terms of service and must run for reelection annually. 
e. The outgoing Executive Council shall set the date of the election of new council members. Any Senators desiring to run for office must submit an intent to run to the Executive Council no later than two weeks prior to the election date. 

B. Resignation from Office
a. President
i. In the event that the president resigns before the end of a term, one of the Vice Presidents may assume the responsibilities of the office of President with approval of the SGA Senate by majority vote. 
b. Vice Presidents
i. In the event that one of the vice presidents resigns before the end of a term, the President shall appoint, within one week of the vacancy, a suitable replacement from the Senate. 
ii. The appointment of the new Vice President must be confirmed via majority vote in the SGA Senate no later than 30 days after the appointment. 
iii. The Senator filling a vacated Executive Officer position must be in good academic and SGA Senate standing. 

C. Officer Descriptions and Duties
a. President
i. Shall represent the official opinion of the student body at TTUHSC when requested to do so to persons outside the  Student Government Association. The President shall do so by vote of the Student Senate, if necessary.
ii. Shall preside over Senate meetings.
iii. Shall represent the Student Body of TTUHSC at all business or social functions or appoint a representative to do so.
iv. Shall call meetings, both special and regular, of the Student Senate.
v. Shall supervise the appointment and establishment of Senate committees,
vi. Shall hold regular meetings with the SGA advisor and members of the administration.
vii. Shall serve on the Student Service Fee Advisory Committee.
viii. Shall attend all of Board of Regents Meetings, Foundation Board, and others as required by TTUHSC Administration.
ix. Shall chair the student regent selection committee during TTUHSC student regent terms. In the event that the 
president wishes to apply for the student regent, they must designate a Vice President to chair the committee.
x. In the event of a deadlock over senate issues, the President shall cast the deciding vote.

b. Vice President of Communications
i. Shall preside over SGA Senate meetings when the President is absent.
ii. Shall oversee all committees and have weekly meetings with committee heads.
iii. Shall serve on the Student Health Fee Advisory Committee, Student Recreation Center Fee Advisory Committee, or  Student Athletic Fee Advisory Committee, as needed.
iv. Shall chair the Scholarship Committee.
v. Shall maintain communications with TTUHSC relations office.

c. Vice President of Operations
i. Shall be responsible for the recording of the minutes of SGA meetings and posting them on the SGA website. 
ii. Shall conduct all Executive Council correspondence.
iii. Shall keep all the papers, records, communications and correspondence sent by and received by the SGA.
iv.Shall chair the Operations Committee.
v. Shall maintain and regulate attendance records of all Senate meetings.
vi. Shall serve on the Student Health Fee Advisory Committee, Student Recreation Center Fee Advisory Committee, or Student Athletic Fee Advisory Committee, as needed.
vii. Shall monitor activities of voting members to ensure a quorum and the ability of the Senate to conduct business.
viii. Shall ensure the SGA minutes are delivered no later than 2 days after a scheduled SGA meeting to the student 
body. The method of distribution of minutes shall be decided by the VP of Operations and can include direct email or delegation of task to Senators, or other appropriate means. 
ix. Shall assist executive council on Senate Constitution changes.
x. Shall coordinate the population of all Standing Committees in accordance with current SGA By-Laws. 
xi. Shall have the power to appoint individuals to Standing Committees in the case of a vacant seat, or whenever a Senator is not part of any Standing Committee. 
1. Shall meet with Executive council concerning said appointments. 
xii. Shall meet with the Chairs of the Community Service and Public Relations committees on a weekly basis and work 
with them to evaluate senator standing. 

d. Vice President of Finance
i. Shall receive and disperse SGA funds with the approval of Executive Council.
ii. Shall serve on the Student Health Fee Advisory Committee, Student Recreation Center Fee Advisory Committee, or Student  Athletic Fee Advisory Committee, as needed.
iii. Shall chair the Senate Finance Committee.
iv. Shall present the HSC Student Budget to the Texas Tech Student Affairs Budget Allocation Committee.
v. Shall meet with the president and treasurer of every student organization to discuss budgetary concerns.
vi. Shall oversee all other financial responsibilities deemed necessary by the Executive Council.
vii. Shall hold meetings with the SGA advisor and administration as needed.

D. et alli
a. All executive officers are subject to the authority of the Vice President of Student Affairs. Any officer deemed by the 
Vice President of Student Affairs to be in dereliction of their duties, or in violation of the Student Code of Conduct, are subject to being removed from office by the Vice President of Student Affairs. 
b. All executive officers must maintain good academic standing in order to continue in office. 
c. Executive Officers may continue serving at the end of their term as at-large Senators with all the duties, rights and  privileges of an SGA Senator, excluding voting. 
i. The purpose of at-large Senators is to improve overall student body representation. 
ii. There is no limit to the number of at-large Senator seats. 
iii. At large Senators must maintain current TTUHSC enrollment and be in good academic standing and must abide by SGA by-laws. 
iv. These positions are to be re-evaluated annually by the SGA President and Director of Student Affairs. 
d. All at-large senators are exempt from community service and SGA awareness responsibilities. 

 

A. Lubbock 
a. Election thereof
i. Senators shall be elected annually at a time designated by the Vice President of Operations, by majority vote of their class in order to represent the interests of their respective classes in the SGA Senate. 
ii. In order to run for election, candidates must be in good academic standing. 
iii. The numbers of Senators elected from each class shall be determined within the SGA by-laws. 
iv. In the case that no individuals run for office from a particular class, the VP of Operations will petition the respective program's faculty to appoint senators. 
v. Senators are considered elected representatives of their class until: they graduate; fail to maintain good academic standing; voluntarily resign their SGA Senate seat; are dismissed from their seat due to failure to comply by the
requirements of their seat. 
b. Filling of Vacated Senate Seats
i. In the event that a Senator chooses to vacate their seat before the end of term, then the VP of Operations shall have the authority to run a special election within 30 days in order to fill the vacant seat. 
ii. Resignation without notification shall be deemed as un-honorable and the senator that vacates a seat without notice will not receive recognition upon graduation. 
iii. Any Senator who does not fulfill their obligations until the end of their term shall not receive recognition upon
graduation. 
c. Description
i. Members of the Student Senate shall be entrusted by the constituency to represent the interests of their respective school and campus as well as the general interest of the TTUHSC student body. 
ii. Each Senator is entrusted to advocate for TTUHSC students in all affairs and holds the duty of publicizing and debating student concerns during the SGA sessions. 
iii. All members of the SGA must be registered students at TTUHSC with a GPA of 2.5 or better current and cumulative. Students without a numeric GPA must be considered "passing" by their respective program both current and cumulative. 
d. Duties and Attendance
i. Senators are required to attend all SGA meetings and are allowed two total unexcused absences per year. Absences may be excluded based on conflicting class and clinical rotations. All other absences will be considered unexcused, unless decided otherwise by the Executive Council. 
ii. Following the second unexcused absence, the offending Senator will be notified by the Vice President of Operations that they must meet with the Executive Council prior to the next consecutive SGA meeting. 
iii. Senators will abide by all the regulations stated in the Senate By-Laws. 
iv. Each Senator will be required to participate in a minimum number of community service events/hours as designated by the Executive Council and as organized by the Community Service Committee. 
v. Each Senator will be required to participate in a minimum of SGA awareness events/hours as designated by the Executive Council as organized by the Public Relations Committee. 
vi. Each Senator will be required to serve on one of the standing committees, and may serve on any ad-hoc committees as they are formed. 
vii. Senators found delinquent in their attendance, community service or SGA awareness requirements shall be 
deemed to be in bad standing and must meet with the Executive Council on an agreed-upon date to discuss appropriate consequences. Consequences may include dismissal from the Student Government Association and/or a letter to the dean of their respective school. 
viii. Senators that are in bad standing at the end of the academic year are ineligible to return as a senator the following year, or to run for reelection. 

B.  Regional
a. A Regional Senator shall be defined as a student representative member of the SGA who has been elected by and represents the student body on a TTUHSC campus other than the Lubbock campus. 
b. Election thereof
i. Regional Senator elections will be conducted annually by the outgoing Regional Senator prior to the end of the spring semester. The outgoing Regional Senator must inform the Vice President of Operations of election results. 
c. Resignation
i. In the event that a Regional Senator chooses to vacate their seat before the end of term, then the Regional Senator shall have the authority to run a special election within 30 days in order to fill the vacant seat. Otherwise the Executive Council must organize a special election. 
ii. See Article VI Sec A Part b sentence ii. 
d. Description
i. See Article VI Sec A Part C.
e. Duties and Attendance
i. See Article VI Sec A Part D excluding sentences iv, v, vi. 
ii. Regional Senators are required to attend via TechLink one SGA meeting per month. 
1. Regional Senators will provide regional campus updates and engage in discussion concerning TTUHSC System-wide concerns. 
f. Voting
i. Regional Senators shall have the right to cast votes with regards to changes made to the structure of the SGA that affect the organization on a system-wide basis
ii. Voting that affects the SGA on a system-wide basis shall include: 
1. Constitutional Amendments
2. SGA By-Law alterations
3. Executive Council Elections
iii. Regional Senators shall be notified by the Executive Council in the event that such voting shall be taking place.

 

A. Lubbock - Standing Committees
a. Standing Committees shall be populated annually according to the By-Laws by duly elected Lubbock Senators on a volunteer or appointment basis as determined by the VP of Operations. 
b. All Standing Committees shall be chaired by a current member of the relevant committee, unless chaired by an Executive Council member as described herein. 
c. Committee Chairs shall be appointed by the members of each committee no later than the second meeting of the SGA in an academic calendar year. 

d. Social Committee
i. Shall coordinate and publicize the social functions of the Student Government Association on the Lubbock campus including but not limited to the following: 
1. Annual Holiday Extravaganza
2. SGA Awards Banquet
ii. Shall coordinate with Regional Senators regarding cross-campus Student Government Association social functions. 
iii. Shall coordinate with VP of Student Affairs and Executive Council on all SGA sponsored social events. 
iv. Shall report on a weekly basis to the VP of Communications. 

e.  Public Relations
i. Shall be responsible with coordinating TTUHSC SGA, and other, related announcements with the Daily Toreador.
ii. Shall organize and oversee all SGA Awareness events. 
iii. Shall maintain tracking of all SGA Awareness credits for all Lubbock Senators and determine Senator standing based on SGA Awareness compliance.
iv. Shall make announcements through Student Affairs regarding SGA, and other, events. 
v. The Chair shall report on a weekly basis to the VP of Operations, and coordinate with the VP of Operations to determine Senator standing. 

f. Community Service
i. Shall be responsible for researching, scheduling and conducting all community service events. 
ii. Shall coordinate and publicize the community service functions of the Student Government Association on the Lubbock campus including but not limited to the following: 
1. Raiderthon
iii. Shall maintain a record of all community service attendance and events in which Senators participate. 
iv. The Chair shall report on a weekly basis to the VP of Operations, and coordinate with the VP of Operations to determine Senator standing. 

g. Finance Committee
i. Shall be comprised of 6 individuals as follows: 
1. Shall be Chaired by the VP of Finance.
a. The VP of Finance shall act as an overseer and coordinator but shall have no voting power in the committee. 
2. In order to insure equitable disbursal of SGA special projects funds, the Finance Committee shall be populated by one Senator drawn from each Lubbock School (School of Medicine, School of Health Professions, School of Nursing, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences). 
ii. Shall discuss, approve and disperse allotted special projects funds to all registered student organizations in an equitable manner. 
iii. In the event that there is a deadlock within the committee in regards to any issue, the VP of Finance shall cast the deciding vote. 
iv. In the event that there is a deadlock, and the VP of Finance is deciding on funding pertinent to his respective school or a registered organizations in which he is a member, then the President shall be called on to cast the deciding vote. 

h. Scholarship Committee                     
i. Shall be comprised of 6 individuals as follows:
1. Shall be chaired by the VP of Communications
a. The VP of Communications shall act as an overseer and coordinator but shall have no voting power in the committee. 
2. In order to insure equitable disbursal of scholarship funds, the Scholarship Committee shall be populated by one Senator drawn from each Lubbock School (School of Medicine, School of Health Professions, 
School of Nursing, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences). 
ii. Shall coordinate with the Alumni Office and/or Student Affairs in all efforts to fund-raise for and coordinate 
scholarships and events including but not limited to:
1. The TTUHSC Student Endowment Scholarship Fund.
2. The Annual Phonathon presentation
iii. Shall determine the recipients of the TTUHSC Student Endowed Scholarship, excluding the dean's awards. 
iv. Shall plan and organize the event to award the Double T Scholarship.

i.  Operations Committee                     
i. Shall be chaired by the VP of Operations.
ii. Shall be populated in accordance with SGA By-Laws. 
iii. Shall be responsible for assisting the VP of Operations in administering all SGA elections. 
iv. One member on a weekly rotating basis shall assist in maintaining the SGA calendar. 
v. One member on a weekly rotating basis shall record meeting minutes and report them to Student Affairs. 
vi. Shall debate any and all changes made to the SGA Constitution prior to alterations being brought before the floor of the Senate. 

B. Regional      
a. Regional committees shall be formed on an ad-hoc basis in order to address specific regional campus needs. 
b. Ad-hoc committees shall be populated by no more than 7 students from a regional campus on a volunteer-basis. 
c. Regional Senators shall oversee the need for and population of ad-hoc committees. 
d. Regional ad-hoc committees shall be chaired by one Regional Senator. 

C. Lubbock Ad-Hoc Committees
a. Shall be formed by the Executive Council on a situational basis. 
b. Shall be populated by no more than 7 Senators on a volunteer or appointment basis. 
c. Shall be terminated at the end of the academic year or at the project's completion, whichever is first. 
Shall determine internally a chair person prior to any other discussions. 

 

1. The SGA will hear concerns from students on a petition basis in a first-come first-served manner
   
   
2. Petitions concerning changes in SGA organization, representation ratios, creation of student organizations with the desire to be funded via the SGA, and other actions that affect the TTUHSC system at large must be presented to the Executive Council with signatures of 10% of the student body no later than 2 weeks prior to presentation for vote at the SGA floor. 
   
   
3. All other petitions must be presented to the Executive Council, without the need for signatures, no later than 2 weeks prior to presentation for vote at the SGA floor. 
   
   
4. Petitions shall be presented to the SGA senate meeting by the author of the petition. 
   
   
5. A 2/3 vote on any petition is required for action to be taken by the SGA in regards to that petition. 
   
   
6. Upon hearing the presentation of any petition, the Senators will have the opportunity to vet via question or other investigatory process the petition and the author of that petition.
   
   
7. The Executive Council will determine whether any petitions that are presented as 'emergencies' reach the SGA floor if presented less than two weeks prior to a meeting date. 

1. Any Executive Council member or Senator of the SGA, TTUHSC student, TTUHSC Faculty or staff, may present themselves to speak before the SGA floor or may bring a third party to the SGA floor to speak. 
   
   
2. All speakers must be approved by the Executive Council no later than 3 days prior to a scheduled SGA meeting. 

1. The Student Government Association will be required to vote on and pass an annual disbursal to student organizations, as presented by the VP of Finance, on or prior to the second official meeting of any given academic year. 
   
   
2. A 2/3 vote is required on the SGA Senate floor to pass the disbursal of organization funds. 
   
   
3. Regional Senators shall not be counted during disbursement voting (The disbursal of SGA funding concerns monies derived from the Student Affairs Fees paid only by Lubbock attending students). 

1. The Executive Council shall determine all meeting dates prior to the start of the academic year.
   
   
2. Meetings shall be held twice monthly on the agreed-upon dates.
   
   
3. All meetings shall be open to the public.
   
   
4. Committee meetings shall be held as often as necessary to conduct their respective duties and business.
   
   
5. Quorum must be present (2/3 attendance) in order to conduct business and for voting purposes

1. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the President and the VP of Operations no later than 3 days prior to its introduction to the Senate.  
   
   
2. Proposed amendments may be brought to the SGA President by any Executive Officer or Senator in good standing. 
   
   
3. Amendments shall be introduced to the Senate and all discussions and voting shall be postponed until the following meeting. 
   
   
4. Amendments and By-Law changes must be approved by two-thirds majority vote. 
   
   
5. All voting shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules. 
   
   
6. Shall become effective immediately upon ratification. 

1. The Executive Council shall serve as the active Senate between semesters.
   
   
2. The Executive Council shall not have the power to enact changes to the Constitution during the inter-semester periods. 
   
   
3. The Executive Council shall not have the power to decide on the distribution of SGA monies during inter-semester periods

1. All elected Senators and Executive Officers shall take the following oath upon being installed, to be administered by the President or an individual appointed by the President: 
   
   "I do hereby solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the duties of my office and will to the best of my ability  preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Student Government Association of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the rules and regulations thereof."