Video Interest Section Governing Rules Article I. Name The name of this Interest Section shall be Video Interest Section, a professional Interest Section of TESOL, hereafter referred to as VIS. Article II. Statement of Purpose The VIS serves as a forum to exchange professional issues and concerns unique to the production and use of video materials in ESL instruction. VIS examines criteria for pedagogically sound video material; explores the dimensions of production and teaching; serves as a clearinghouse of information about ESL video material; acts as a network for sharing expertise on video and video-related technologies; and exploits features particular to video that enhance learning in order to use the medium efficiently and creatively. Article III. Membership A. All members of TESOL who designate VIS as their primary professional interest are entitled to one vote in any meeting of VIS or in any mail ballot it conducts. B. Members who designate VIS as a secondary professional interest shall be associate members without vote. Article IV. Meetings and Quorum A. An annual business (open) meeting for all members shall be held at TESOL s Annual Convention for the purposes of conducting business and disseminating information. The time and location of the meeting shall be determined by the TESOL Director in charge of the Annual Convention Program. 1. For conducting business, ten primary members of VIS shall constitute a quorum. 2. Business to be conducted shall include the election or ratification of the VIS delegates to the Interest Section Council. 3. Minutes of the business (open) meeting shall be kept for submission to TESOL along with the annual report of VIS activities. B. A planning meeting for the VIS shall be held on the last day of TESOL s Annual Convention. The time and location of the meeting shall be determined by the TESOL Director in charge of the Annual Convention Program. C. The business of the VIS may be conducted during the year between TESOL s Annual Conventions by such means as mail, telephone, fax and/or e-mail. 1. A quorum for conducting business by the Officers shall be a majority (1/2) of the members.
2. A quorum for conducting any business by mail of the VIS members shall be twenty. Article V. Officers A. The Officers shall be a Chair, Chair-elect, and Immediate Past Chair. 1. The term of office shall be from the close of one annual TESOL Convention until the close of the next annual Convention. Officers appointed to fill a vacancy shall take office upon their acceptance. 2. The Chair, Chair-elect, and Immediate Past Chair shall each hold office for one year. At the end of the term, the Chair-elect shall become the Chair. The Chair shall become the Immediate Past Chair. B. Nomination, election, and filling of vacancies shall be specified in Article VI. C. The duties of the Officers shall be as follows: 1. Chair: Interest Section Chairs accept responsibility for guiding their section and making sure that the group fulfills its organizational role as defined by the TESOL Bylaws and the Standing Rules. The duties of interest sections chairs fall into two areas: general duties and convention duties. General Duties: a. Provide leadership for the interest section. b. Work with the Interest Section Coordinating Committee throughout the year on issues relating to the needs of interest sections, including the development of policies and positions for consideration by the Board of Directors. c. Provide telephone numbers and addresses of current interest section leaders to the Second Vice President and TESOL Central Office throughout the year. d. Monitor the interest section s operating budget with the Director of Field Services. e. Oversee intra-section communication and participate in inter-section communication throughout the year. f. Supervise any special projects granted to the interest section. g. Manage special requests of the interest section or the TESOL membership. Work with the Director of Field Services to fulfill information requests. h. Keep the Chair-Elect of the interest section informed of activities. i. Submit the interest section s annual report to the Director of Field Services.
Convention Duties: j. Serve as a member of the TESOL Program Committee. Consult with the Second Vice President to ensure representation of the interest section on the convention program. k. Administer the refereeing of convention proposals for the interest section. l. Work with the Chair-Elect to plan interest section activities to be held during the convention. m. Attend scheduled interest section meetings at the convention (Planning Meeting, Business Meeting, Council Meeting, and Convention Planning Meeting) and invite other interest section officers to attend as appropriate. n. Conduct the annual business meeting of the interest section; plan and oversee the election of interest section officers. 2. Chair-elect: Interest Section Chairs-Elect accept a two-year responsibility for guiding their section. The first year, as Chair-Elect, they prepare the section s segment on the convention program; the second year as chair, they assume leadership of the section. The duties of the Chair-Elect are to: a. Work with the Second Vice President and Convention Associate Chair to plan the section s academic session and discussion groups for the convention. b. Assist the Chair in planning interest section convention activities. c. Keep the Chair informed of interest section expenses. d. Work with the Chair and the Interest Section Representatives on the Board of Directors on issues relating to the needs of the interest section, including the development of policies and actions for consideration by the Board of Directors. e. Assist the Chair in handling special requests of the interest section and the TESOL membership. Work with the Director of Field Services to respond to information requests. f. Work closely with the Chair in preparation for the following year s responsibilities. g. Attend all scheduled interest section meetings at the convention. 3. Immediate Past Chair: a. Assumes the duties of the Chair, if possible, should the chair be unable to serve the remainder of her/his term. b. Assists and advises the Chair and Chair-elect in their duties. c. Serves as a VIS Delegate to the annual Interest Section Council meeting, if membership is adequate to warrant three representatives.
Article VI. Nominations, Elections, and Vacancies A. The Chair-elect shall be nominated by VIS members at the annual business (open) meeting. B. Officers shall be elected by ballot at the annual business (open) meeting. 1. In elections conducted at the annual business (open) meeting, a simple majority of the members and voting shall constitute an election. C. If the office of Chair become vacant, the Chair-elect shall assume the office. D. In the event of vacancies in the office of Chair-elect, the Chair, in consultation with the other Officers, shall make appointments effective immediately and until the next annual election. E. In the event a delegate to the Interest Section Council is unable to attend the annual Council meeting, the Chair shall designate an alternate and inform the Central Office. The selection of an alternate shall be ratified at the annual business (open) meeting. Article VII. Authority A. The authority for the governance and maintenance of VIS is based upon the following: TESOL Bylaws, the Standing Rule for Interest Section (No. XI), the Handbook for Interest Section Leaders, and policies and procedures established by the TESOL Board of Directors. These Governing Rules shall not be conflict with any of the foregoing documents or actions. B. Robert s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (1990) shall serve as the authority for the conducting of business of VIS. Article VIII. Maintenance, Probation, and Dissolution A. The procedures for maintenance of VIS shall be as specified in Standing Rules XI, namely: 1. It shall retain at least 100 primary members, averaged over three years. 2. It shall hold a business (open) meeting and a planning meeting at each Annual Convention of TESOL. 3. It shall send the required number of delegates to the Interest Section Council meeting each year at the Annual Convention of TESOL. 4. It shall hold additional meetings of the Steering Committee as necessary. 5. It shall submit to the Board of Directors through the Field Services Director, an annual report of its activities, including a copy of the minutes of its business meeting/s at the Annual Convention of TESOL.
6. It shall present workshops, papers, etc. at the Annual Convention of TESOL and offer other services to its members. B. Procedures for placing VIS on probation or for the dissolution of VIS shall be as specified in Standing Rule XI, namely: 1. The Secretary of TESOL shall place VIS on one-year probation if for two consecutive years VIS has failed to meet two or more of the requirements for maintenance of Interest Sections. 2. The Secretary of TESOL shall dissolve VIS if, at the end of the one-year probationary period, VIS has not satisfied all the requirements for maintaining Interest Section status, or if within a six-year period, VIS is placed on probation more than two times. 3. The current Chair of VIS may request that VIS be dissolved by writing a letter to the Secretary of TESOL requesting dissolution for such reasons as a lack of volunteer leadership and support in planning the TESOL Annual Convention program. The Secretary, through the IS Coordinating Committee, shall recommend action to the Board of Directors who shall act on the recommendation at its next scheduled meeting. Article IX. Amendments These Governing Rules may be amended by a majority vote of the VIS members who participate in the voting, provided written notice of the proposed change/s has been given to the membership at least 30 days prior to the vote, or by a three-fourths (3/4) of the members voting if no such notice has been given. A quorum is required for the amendment to take effect. Article X. Publications A. VIS shall publish a newsletter, a periodical devoted to the special interest of this Section and not competing with any of the official publications of TESOL. B. Guidelines and policies for the newsletter shall be developed by TESOL. Additional guidelines and policies, not in conflict with TESOL guidelines and policies, shall be developed by the Editor/Coeditor and approved by the Officers. C. A Publications Committee, chaired by the Editor/Coeditor, shall consist of three additional members recommended by the Editor and approved by the Officers. The term of office shall be two years. Responsibilities of this committee shall include: 1. Recommending policies, guidelines, and matters related to all VIS publications to the Steering Committee. 2. Providing advise and assistance to the TESOL Matters IS column editor for VIS. 3. Soliciting articles for the VIS newsletter and other TESOL publications.