ACCA Bylaws

Printable version of the ACCA Bylaws             

BYLAWS

of the

AMERICAN COLLEGE COUNSELING ASSOCIATION

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Article I

Name, Affiliation, and Mission

Section 1. Name. The name of this Association shall be the American College Counseling Association, hereinafter referred to as the ACCA or the Association.

Section 2. Affiliation. ACCA is a Division of the American Counseling Association, hereinafter referred to as ACA, and shall be subject to those provisions of its bylaws that apply to Divisions.

Section 3. Mission. The mission of the ACCA is to be the interdisciplinary and inclusive professional home that supports emerging and state of the art knowledge and resources for counseling professionals in higher education.

Article II

Membership

Section 1. Membership. At the time of application, persons may jointly join both ACCA and ACA (Unified Membership) or join ACCA only (ACCA-Only Membership). Membership shall be individual.

Section 2. Classes of Membership. There shall be six classes of Unified and ACCA-Only voting membership: Professional, Regular, Student, New Professional, New Professional Year 2, and Retired:

1. Unified Membership:

a. Professional Member – Open to members who hold a master’s degree or higher in counseling or a closely related field from a college or university that was accredited when the degree was awarded by one of the regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

b. Regular Member – Open to members whose interests and activities are consistent with those of ACCA and ACA, but who are not qualified for professional membership.

c. New Professional – Open to members who have graduated from a regionally accredited college or university recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation within the past twelve months.

d. New Professional Year 2 – Open to members who have graduated from a regionally accredited college or university recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation within the past twenty-four months.

e. Student Member – Open to members who are enrolled at least half-time in a regionally accredited college or university recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

f. Retired Member – Open to members who are former active Professional or Regular members who have been members for five or more consecutive years, who have retired.

2. ACCA-Only Membership: Open to those who support ACCA’s mission but do not hold membership in ACA. The six membership classes of unified members (Article II, Section 2, Subsection 1) shall apply to ACCA-Only members, as well. ACCA-only members shall have the right to vote but not to hold office.

Section 3. Dues. Annual association dues for members shall be established by the Board of Directors, hereinafter referred to as the Board. No annual increase shall exceed 20% of the current due rates.

Section 4. Severance of Membership. Membership from ACCA may be dropped at any time for the following reasons:

1. A member may be removed from membership for any conduct that tends to injure Association or to adversely affect its reputation, or that is contrary to or destructive of its mission according to the Association Bylaws, the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, or other policy which may be promulgated by Association or the ACA.

2. A member shall be removed from membership for the nonpayment of dues.

Section 5. Rights and Privileges.

1. All members are eligible to vote on matters coming before the Association.

2. All members shall have access to all benefits associated with membership (e.g., access to publications, discounted conference rates, etc.).

3. Only Unified members are eligible to run for and hold office in the Association.

Section 6. Ethics. All ACCA members must agree to abide by the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

Article III

Officers of the Association

Section 1. Elected Officers and Terms of Office.

1. The elected officers of ACCA shall be the President, the President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, the Representative to the ACA Advisory Council, and three (3) Members-at–Large. Of the three Members-at-Large, at the time of election, one shall be a graduate student or new professional member and one shall be affiliated with a community college, technical college, or other two-year institution.

2. All officers shall be elected at large from among the professional members of the Association.

3. All elected officers must have been members for at least one year within the last 5 years before being nominated and shall be Unified Members at the time of the election.

4. The term of office for the President, President-Elect, and Immediate Past President, shall be a one (1) year term. Succession to President occurs after serving as President-Elect for one year. After serving as President for one year, the President succeeds to Past President for one year. The Secretary and Treasurer shall serve a two (2) year term. Each Member-at-Large and the Representative to the ACA Advisory Council shall serve a three (3) year term, with Members-at-Large serving staggering terms.

Section 2. Duties of Officers.

1. President

a. To exert leadership in achieving the purposes of ACCA.

b. To preside at business meetings of ACCA, the Board, and the Executive Committee.

c. To appoint chairpersons of both standing and special committees of ACCA which are established under the office of President, except as otherwise specified in these Bylaws.

d. To serve ex officio on all committees of ACCA.

e. To submit all reports and other information as may be requested or required by ACA.

f. To notify ACCA candidates of election results.

g. To perform such other duties customary to that office and such additional duties as directed by the Board.

2. President-Elect

a. To serve as a member of the Board and Executive Committee.

b. The President-Elect shall be responsible for the convention planning for their year as President.

c. To perform such other duties customary to that office and such additional duties as directed by the Board.

d. To perform duties of the President in the event of the resignation, incapacity, absence, or death of the President.

3. Past President

a. To serve as a member of the Board and Executive Committee.

b. To serve as Chairperson of the ACCA Nominations and Elections Committee.

c. To perform the duties of the President-Elect in the event of the resignation, incapacity, absence or death of the President-Elect.

d. To perform such other duties customary to that office and such additional duties as directed by the Board.

4. Secretary

a. To serve as a member of the Board and of the Executive Committee.

b. To keep records of the proceedings of the meetings of ACCA, the ACCA Board, and the Executive Committee.

c. To conduct the official correspondence of the ACCA, including the issuance of notices of meetings when requested by the President.

d. To notify ACA of amendments to these Bylaws when adopted by the membership.

e. To notify ACCA candidates of election results, when requested by the Past President.

f. To solicit such written reports of standing and special committees for the Board and the ACCA business meeting as called for.

5. Treasurer

a. To serve as a member of the Board and Executive Committee.

b. To review and approve results for disbursements which have been authorized by the Board or the Executive Committee.

c. To review periodic financial audit statements from ACA, with specific reference to the finances of ACCA.

d. To present reports of the financial status of ACCA to the Board, the Executive Committee, and the ACCA membership at each meeting of these bodies.

e. To present a proposed budget to the Board.

f. To submit the ACCA budget to the ACA Advisory Council.

g. To perform such other duties customary to that office and such additional duties as directed by the Board.

6. Members-at-Large

a. To serve as members of the Board.

b. To participate at the request of the President in ACCA activities related to the functions of the Board, that are extrinsic to the duties of other officers of ACCA.

c. To perform such other duties customary to that office and such additional duties as directed by the Board.

7. Representative to the ACA Advisory Council

a. To serve as a member of the Board.

b. To attend the meetings of the ACA  Advisory Council and related committees, representing the Association's interests.

c. To inform the Board of considerations, concerns, and actions of the ACA that may affect ACCA.

d. To perform such other duties customary to that office and such additional duties as directed by the Board.

Section 3. Terms of Office. The term of office for the Immediate Past President, President, and President-Elect, shall be a one (1) year term. The Secretary and Treasurer shall serve a two (2) year term. Each Member-at-Large and the Representative to the ACA Advisory Council shall serve a three (3) year term, with Members-at-Large serving staggering terms.

Section 4. Vacancies. In the event of a vacancy in any office but that of the President or President-Elect, the Board shall, by majority vote, elect a successor to serve until the next annual election.

1. If a vacancy occurs in the office of President, the President-Elect shall complete the unexpired term and shall then serve a full term in their own right.

2. If a vacancy occurs in the office of President-Elect, the Past President shall perform the duties of the president-elect until a successor is duly elected by a majority vote of the Board.

Section 5. Removal of ACCA Officers. When an elected officer does not fulfill the duties of their office (i.e., failure to attend meetings, nonparticipation in the process), the President, in consultation with the Board, shall pursue removal of said member from the Board. First, the President should consult with the member to ascertain their intentionsregarding future participation in the activities of the Board. The results of this consultation shall be reported to the Board. Second, the Board may, by majority vote, decide to remove said member from the Board. In the event of removal, the President shall notify the removed member of the Board’s action. In accordance with the Bylaws, the Board shall then elect by majority vote a successor Board member, who shall serve until the next election (see Article III, Section 4).

Section 6. Executive Director/Management Services. The Board is responsible for delegating and overseeing the responsibilities of an Executive Director (ED). The Board can, at its discretion, assign the responsibilities to one or more persons or entities and enter into contractual relationships to outline the execution of said responsibilities. The duties of the ED are specified in the Policies and Procedures manual. The critical aspects of this role include, but are not limited to:

1. Manage the operations of the ACCA headquarters and its staff.

2. Liaise with other professional organizations to expand and protect the interests of ACCA and the college counseling profession.

3. Work with the Board to develop an annual membership plan.

4. Oversee the marketing and communication needs of ACCA.

5. Assist the ACCA Treasurer with the fiscal reporting of the organization.

6. Coordinate with the Board to plan the annual conference.

7. Advocate for ACCA and the college counseling profession in coordination with the ACA Public Policy Division.

8. Other duties deemed appropriate by the Board.

Article IV

Board of Directors and Executive Committee

Section 1. Board of Directors. The ACCA Board of Directors shall be composed of all current elected officers of the Association: President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, the Representative to the ACA Advisory Council, and three (3) Members-at–Large.

Section 2. Resignation. Any Director may resign by giving written notice to the Board of Directors. Unless otherwise specified in such notice, the resignation shall take effect upon receipt thereof by the Board or such officer, and acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

Section 3. Removal/Vacancy. As Board of Director Members are elected officers, refer to Article III Sections 4 and 5.

Section 4. Power and Functions of the Board. The Board shall:

1. Establish governance policies to guide the affairs of Association.

2. Formulate operational policies appropriate for executive action and direct the execution thereof.

3. Act on the reports of Standing Committees, Special Committees, and Task Forces.

4. Exercise such other powers and functions as may be necessary or desirable in the best interests of Association, not in conflict with the Bylaws.

Section 5. Meetings of the Board.

1. The Board shall meet a minimum of three times per year. A meeting will be held before, during, or after the ACCA Annual Conference. Expenses incurred in participation in Board meetings will be paid by Association in accordance with Association policies and procedures.

2. The President of Association shall preside at meetings of the Board and, in the President’s absence, the President-Elect shall preside.

3. A majority of the voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

4. At each annual meeting, and at any other time when so requested in writing, each officer of Association, and each Standing and Special Committee and Task shall submit a written report to the Association President who shall transmit the report to the Board. If so directed by the President of Association, electronic meetings of the Board of Directors or executive committee may be held.

Section 6. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee of ACCA shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

1. The Executive Committee shall act for the Board within policies as may be established by the Board. The Executive Committee shall function primarily to address those issues which are necessary for the efficient operation of Association where the time requirements necessitate immediate action. All actions and activities of the Executive Committee shall be communicated to the Board through minutes which are disseminated within ten working days of an Executive Committee meeting. The actions taken by the Executive Committee must be submitted for ratification by the Board at the next Board meeting. Any subsequent decision by the Board that is contrary to an action taken by the Executive Committee shall (to the extent permitted by law) be given only prospective effect.

2. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once per year in addition to the Board meetings. Other meetings may be called as determined by the President or the Board.

Article V

Meetings

Section 1. Board of Directors. The ACCA Board of Directors shall meet at least once each year. Additional meetings of the Board will be held as deemed necessary by the Board, the President or President-Elect (if scheduled in an upcoming governance year), or the Executive Committee. At least one-half of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum throughout any meeting of the Board at which official business is transacted.

Section 2. Executive Committee. Between meetings of the Board, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to execute the business of the Association. A majority of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for that body.

Section 3. Membership. The ACCA membership shall meet at least once each governance year. The purpose of this meeting is the hearing of summary reports from officers and committees and the conducting of such business of the Association as deemed necessary by the Board.

Section 4. Meeting by Electronic Communications. The Board, Executive Committee, and all committees shall be empowered to conduct and participate in meeting by electronic communications in which the words are transmitted to all persons. The Board shall establish the necessary policies and procedures to keep this process in accordance with these Bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order (see Article XII).

Section 5. Voting. A majority of votes carries any action, except where provided otherwise by law or by these Bylaws. Whenever the vote of Voting Members is required or permitted, such action may be taken without a meeting on the written consent setting forth the action taken signed by all Voting Members entitled to vote. Proxy voting is permitted in accordance with the requirements of Virginia law and the Board.

Article VI

Committees

Section 1. Number of Members and Tenure. The number of members and the tenure of committee members will be established by the Board. All chairs and committee members shall be current ACCA members.

Section 2. Standing Committees. The Standing Committees of the Association shall be the following: Nominations and Elections and Membership. All other standing and special committees shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.

Section 3. Composition and Function of Standing Committees.

1. Nominations and Elections Committee.

a. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall review and recommend procedures for conducting the annual election of the Association. The election dates shall be consistent with ACA procedures.

b. The Nominations and Elections committee shall consist of four members, including the chairperson.

c. The Immediate Past President of the Association shall serve as chairperson. Other members of the committee shall be appointed by the President.

d. The term of office for the members of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be one year. No member of the Nominations and Elections Committee shall be a candidate for office.

2. Membership Committee.

a. The Chairperson and the members of the Membership Committee shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Board or Executive Committee.

b. The Membership Committee shall recruit and maintain members for the Association.

3. Other Standing Committees. There shall be such other Standing committees as may from time to time be established by the Board to deal with matters of a continuing or recurring nature related to the accomplishments of the general purposes of ACCA. These committees shall be established according to the policies and procedures of the Board.

Section 4. Special Committees.

The Board or the President may establish special committees to deal with matters of an immediate or non-recurring nature related to the specific purposes of ACCA.

1. The President shall appoint the chairperson and the members of special committees.

2. The term of service of each special committee shall expire when the duties of the special committee are completed.

Section 5. Committee Meetings and Reports.

1. Meetings of committees shall be called by the chairperson.

2. The chairperson of each committee shall submit a written report of the committee’s activities and recommendations to the Board as requested.

Article VII

Nominations and Elections

Section 1. Procedures.

1. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall canvas the voting members of ACCA for nominations for elective offices of ACCA.

2. Unified members shall be eligible for nomination to any office.

3. Guided by the nominations, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare a slate of officers containing, if possible, at least two names for each ACCA office to be filled.

4. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall select nominations to appear on the slate on the basis of qualifications for office, number of nominating votes received from the ACCA membership and consideration of geographical location, cultural diversity, and the consent of the nominee, as outlined in the Policy and Procedures Manual of the Board

Section 2. Voting. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes for each office shall be elected to that office.

Article VIII

Business Affairs of the Association

Section 1. Severable or Transferable Interest. No member shall have any severable or transferable interest in the property of the Association.

Section 2. Control and Management. All property of the Association shall be subject to the control and management of the Board of Directors. Any accumulation or disposal of real property, except upon dissolution of the Association, must be approved in advance by the Board of Directors. Section 3. Work of Committees and Task Forces. Committee and Task Force members serve at the pleasure of the board. Whenever material is created through one of the Committees and Task Forces, or otherwise published by ACCA, the work shall be considered a work made for hire, and ACCA shall own the copyright for the original and any renewal term for such work, and have the exclusive rights not granted to Author to exploit the work in any manner. The authors may retain authorship credit, but the work product, data, and distribution rights of all ACCA committees and task forces shall belong to and remain the intellectual property of ACCA. The author further agrees to allow ACCA to use author’s name, likeness, image and voice in connection with the work. To the extent such work is not deemed a work made for hire, the Authors explicitly assign all of their rights, including copyright, to the ACCA. The author of any such writing shall be permitted to make a non-profit or non-commercial use of the work provided that there be affixed to each copy the copyright notice identifying ACCA and the year when the work was first published (e.g. © 20xx ACCA). For all other rights, the author shall seek the written consent of the ACCA.

Section 4 Disposal Upon Dissolution. Upon dissolution of the Association, none of its property shall be distributed to any of the members and all of such property shall be transferred to such other organization or organizations as the Board shall determine to have purpose and activities most nearly consonant with those of the Association, provided that such organizations shall be exempt under Section 501(c)(3) or the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding provision of the Internal Revenue laws.

Section 5. Appropriation of Association Funds.

1. No appropriations of Association funds shall be made except pursuant to the authority of the Board.

2. The Board shall adopt an annual budget.

Section 6. Association Year. The fiscal year and the governance year of the Association shall be July 1 – June 30.

Section 7. Reports. Members of the Board shall be sent quarterly income and expense reports from the Association Treasurer showing the financial state of Association.

Article IX

Indemnification

Section 1. Provision. The Association shall indemnify each member of its Directors and Officers for the defense of civil or criminal actions or proceedings as hereinafter provided and, notwithstanding any provision in these bylaws, in a manner and to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Section 2. Implementation. The Association shall indemnify each of its Directors and Officers, as aforesaid, from and against any and all judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement, and reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, actually and necessarily incurred or imposed as a result of such action or proceedings, or any appeal therein, imposed upon or asserted against him or her by reason of being or having been such a Board member or officer of the Board of Directors or committee member and acting within the scope of their official duties, but only when the determination shall have been made judicially or in the manner hereinafter provided that he or she acted in good faith or for the purpose which he or she reasonable believed to be in the best interests of the Association and, in the case of criminal action or proceeding, in addition had no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. This indemnification shall be made only if the Association shall be advised by its Board of Directors acting (1) by quorum consisting of Board members who are not parties to such action or proceedings upon a finding that, or (2) if a quorum under (1) is not obtainable with due diligence, upon the opinion in writing of independent legal counsel, that the Board member or officer of the Board of Directors or committee member has met the foregoing applicable standard of conduct. If the foregoing determination is to be made by the Board of Directors, it may rely, as to all questions of law, on the advice of independent legal counsel.

Section 3. Inclusion. Every reference herein to this indemnification shall apply to all the judgments, fines, amount in settlement, and reasonable expenses described above whenever arising allowable as above stated. The right of indemnification herein provided shall be in addition to any and all rights to which any Director or officer of the Association might otherwise be entitled and the provisions hereby shall neither impair nor adversely affect such rights.

Article X

Bylaws 

Section 1. Amendment and Revision. These Bylaws may be amended by (a) a majority of votes cast at an ACCA business meeting or (b) a majority of votes cast in an electronic manner, with the total number of votes cast exceeding 10% of the Association membership. These bylaws should be reviewed and revised as needed every three years.

1. Proposed amendments and revisions may be originated by the Board or presented to the Board by an Association Standing Committee (provided that the submitting entity is in compliance), or by an individual member, provided that in the case of an individual member the proposed amendment shall be presented over the signatures of at least 25 members in good standing.

2. All such proposed amendments and revisions must be submitted in writing to the Bylaws Committee no later than four weeks prior to the Board meeting at which the change may be considered.

3. The Bylaws Committee will transmit to the Board such proposed amendments with or without a recommendation regarding each proposed change at least two weeks before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board.

4. The Board will forward any proposed amendments to the Bylaws approved by the Board to the membership with the notice of a meeting of the membership for the purpose of considering the amendments to the Bylaws as well as any other business to come before the membership.

5. Changes in the bylaws of a division are not effective until (1) approved by the Association Board of Directors and (2) approved by ACA’s Board of Directors, in accordance with ACA’s Bylaws.

Section 2. Policies and Procedures. Supplement policies and implementation guidelines for these Bylaws are to be found in the Division Policies and Procedure Manual.

Article XI

Nondiscrimination

Section 1. Nondiscrimination. There shall be no discrimination against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital and familial status, military or veteran status, socioeconomic status, citizenship or immigration status, political affiliation, or being a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.

Section 2. Multiculturalism. ACCA actively promotes multiculturalism within the organization.

Article XII

Parliamentary Authority

Section 1. Parliamentary Authority. The current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, (edited by Henry M. Robert III and William J. Evans, and published by Perseus-HarperCollins) shall govern the proceedings of all bodies of the Association except where otherwise specified by these Bylaws.

Revised 04/02/08
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Revised 4/1/2009
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Revised 10/11/2012
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Revised 2/2017 RLT

Revised 2/2018 RLT

Revised 2/2020 RKS

Revised 9/2025 SRMH

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