American Fisheries Society

Check List For Approval of Student Subunits

_____Seek guidance on the process.

Contact the AFS Constitutional Consultant as early in the process as possible to determine the necessary steps for establishing a subunit.

_____Contact your local chapter to inform them of your interest.

Contact your local AFS Chapter to discuss your interest in forming a Student Subunit during your initial planning stages.

_____Prepare bylaws and a slate of officers.

Prepare bylaws and a slate of officers. A petition to create a Student Subunit must be signed by at least six Active Members and an AFS member faculty advisor at a University or College. Note that all student officers and signatories on the petition must be Society members. (examples of all documents from existing subunits are available from the Constitutional Consultant)

_____Submit bylaws and slate of officers to Unit Services Coordinator.

Submit bylaws and a slate of officers to Gail Goldberg at The American Fisheries Society. The Unit Services Coordinator will start a file for the student subunit and forward the documents to the constitutional consultant for review.

_____Constitutional Consultant reviews and comments on bylaws.

Send your draft bylaws to the Constitutional Consultant to ensure that they are consistent with the AFS Constitution and Rules.

_____Forward bylaws to the your local State or Provincial Chapter.

After approval from the Constitutional Consultant, bylaws are ready to be forwarded to the local state or provincial chapter. Only the Executive Committee of the Chapter needs to review and vote approval of the text of the subunit bylaws. At this point the chapter membership will vote on whether to modify their bylaws to reflect the existence of the student subunit. If the membership accepts the subunit, send the final text of the bylaws to the Constitutional Consultant for presentation to the Governing Board at their next meeting (usually in March or August).

_____Governing board approval of revised bylaws.

The final step of the process is that the bylaws will be brought before the Governing Board for a vote of Society-level approval. When you receive an official letter from the Executive Director, the bylaws become effective.