Terms of Reference Student and Postdoc Advisory Committee (SPAC)

for 

CS-Can/Info-Can

1. MANDATE

1. Our mission is to foster and represent the community of Canadian Computer Science post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows.
2. SPAC will be run with oversight from the Board of Directors of CS-Can/Info-Can.

1. RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Develop and manage a CS-Can/Info-Can post-secondary computer science student and postdoc engagement program that contains elements as:

1. Disseminating information regarding CS-Can/Info-Can and SPAC affairs within the student community through an accessible website and an email list.
2. Overseeing and staging student-related activities, particularly at the CS-Can/Info-Can AGM.
3. Overseeing the administration of annual conferences and/or meetings, in particular facilitating an annual bidding process to select a new organizing committee for the Canadian Undergraduate Computer Science Conference (CUCSC); and, 
4. Appointing students to administer specific student committee affairs as needed. 

1. Represent student interests within CS-Can/Info-Can by:

1. Engaging in an active dialogue with students in all regions of Canada;
2. Providing advice and guidance to CS-Can/Info-Can and CS-Can/Info-Can committees on student-related matters;
3. Promoting student membership in CS-Can/Info-Can;
4. Participating on the CS-Can/Info-Can Board of Directors via the Student Representative on the Board; and, 
5. Recommending student nominees for SPAC and, as required, to other CS-Can/Info-Can committees or groups.

1. All public-oriented communications from SPAC are to be translated into the official languages of Canada, English and French.
2. Report on SPAC affairs by:

1. Preparing SPAC meeting agendas and minutes; and,
2. Preparing an annual report and budget forecast for submission to the CS-Can/Info-Can Board of Directors.

1. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

1. The CS-Can/Info-Can Student and Postdoc Advisory Committee will have between nine (9) to twelve (12) members, constituted as follows:

1. A Student Chair, who will also serve on the CS-Can/Info-Can Board of Directors as the Student Representative, and conduct SPAC meetings. In addition, the past committee chair can, at discretion, attend meetings of the new committee to answer questions and assist operation;
2. A Secretary, who is responsible for taking minutes and preparing meeting agendas, scheduling the meetings and sending invites, and updating the terms of reference if needed. Secretary will be the Acting Student Chair in the event that the regular Student Chair is unavailable;
3. An Undergraduate Representative, who will represent undergraduate student interests in SPAC for CS-Can/Info-Can;
4. A Graduate Representative, who will represent graduate student interests in  SPAC for CS-Can/Info-Can;
5. A Postdoctoral-Fellow Representative, who will represent postdoctoral-fellow interests in SPAC for CS-Can/Info-Can;
6. A Women’s representative, who will represent women’s interests in SPAC for CS-Can/Info-Can;
7. An Indigenous representative, who will represent Indigenous interests in SPAC for CS-Can/Info-Can;
8. The CUCSC President (non-voting), ex officio, who is not required to attend every SPAC meeting, but will be responsible for providing updates on their progress organizing the CUCSC 4 times annually, or more as needed;
9. Up to three members at large;
10. Effective 10-18-2020, the committee allows multiple assignments to representatives;
11. The immediate past chair, if voluntary, could remain on the committee to serve as the advisor to the new team members for the first six meetings and advise on the operations of the committee;

1. All the members are obligated to take upon responsibility of one of the roles below:

1. The Newsletter + Social Media Coordinator: Responsible for drafting email newsletters 2-3 times annually and maintaining a regular social media presence through Facebook and Twitter. Social media posts should be made at least once every two weeks about SPAC/CS-Can affairs or with links to relevant news in the community at large (e.g., a congratulations celebrating any recent CS-related Vanier Scholarship winners). 
2. Translator: Responsible for translating or proof reading automatic translations of outgoing material as needed.
3. Webmaster: updating the old content and adding new content to the official SPAC website.
4. Awards officer: in charge of administering both travel grants and student-run initiatives, designing a system for anonymizing the applicants for vote taking. Must regularly check for new submissions following each rolling deadline.
5. Finance Officer: Must follow-up with reimbursement claims and collect all invoices and receipts within a one month window. They will review the claims for errors and omissions, and forward the reviewed and signed claims to the CS-CAN finance manager, including both the SPAC chair and the claimer in the email. The Finance Officer will also be responsible for tracking all SPAC expenses in an up-to-date budget.

1. Student and postdoctoral fellows must be enrolled in their program at the time of the election and shall be eligible to serve on the committee for up to twelve (12) months after leaving their degree or program.
2. Members of SPAC shall be student members of CS-Can/Info-Can.
3. A ‘Regular Member’ of SPAC is defined as a student or postdoctoral fellow in good standing at any CS-Can/Info-Can member Institution.
4. Members of SPAC shall be selected by way of an annual election, which will adhere to the following regulations:

1. Eligible voters in the election are any and all Regular Members of SPAC.
2. Votes in the election will be cast using an instant-runoff ranked ballot system.
3. SPAC event attendees can vote in-person at the event location and during the adviced hours. Every SPAC student member is also able to cast their vote through the online system.
4. Any Regular Member that attends a Canadian University may be nominated for a position in the election.
5. Nominations may be made by the nominee or a third party; however, the nominee must consent to their nomination.
6. Nominees may run for up to two positions in the election, but may only hold one (1) position. In the event that they are elected for more than one (1) position, the nominee must decline all but one (1) position, and the remaining positions will be offered to the next-ranked candidate.
7. The election nominations must be completed and announced to all members at least two weeks in advance of the election date.

1. All voting members of the committee shall normally serve for a term of two (2) years; however, a term may be less than two (2) years to facilitate staggered terms.
2. The terms of the Student Chair and the Secretary should normally be staggered to ensure that at least one executive SPAC member has at least one year of experience.
3. Any member may withdraw from the Committee by sending a written resignation to the Student Committee Chair. To the best of their ability, the member should provide at least one month’s advance notice to allow the committee to prepare for their departure. Missing three consecutive meetings will lead to your automatic withdrawal from the committee, extensions due to extenuating circumstances may be made from time to time as deemed appropriate by the SPAC Committee or in case of a request for privacy by the Chair of SPAC.
4. If a member is incapable of performing their duties (cannot continue their work for a significant part of the term, have not made any progress on the project(s) assigned, etc.), a petition regarding their removal can be presented to (or organized by) the Chair of SPAC, who may make the decision to hold a vote among the committee members to rescind, cancel or terminate the appointment. The petition has to be signed by at least three (3) SPAC members, including the Chair. The member in question has to be informed of the petition at least two (2) weeks before the meeting at which the decision will take place and may follow up with a written appeal to the Chair. The CS-Can Board of Directors must be notified when a committee member of SPAC is removed.
5. In the event that a member of the committee withdraws or is removed, the committee may choose between one of three resolution strategies:

1. Redistribute the responsibilities of that member among the rest of the committee members;
2. Appoint a new, interim committee member, whose term expires at the time of the next election;  or,
3. Hold a by-election (subject to all of the regulations of a regular election) to elect a new committee member, whose term expires at the time of the second regular election following their appointment.

1. COMMITTEE OPERATIONS 

1. Meetings will be convened at the call of the Chair.
2. Online conference-call meetings should be scheduled approximately once a month, or more as needed, with at least one (1) week’s notice prior to the meeting.
3. Meeting agendas and all supporting documents should be made available at least three (3) business days (or 72 hours) before the meeting.
4. Meeting minutes are to be made available no more than two (2) business days after a meeting, and the committee will vote on their approval at the following meeting. Requests for additions or omissions should be made no later than three (3) business days (or 72 hours) ahead of the meeting at which a vote for their approval will be held.
5. A SPAC meeting should be held in conjunction with every CS-Can AGM. All SPAC members attending the AGM will attend the meeting in person, and all other available members will attend remotely.
6. For the purposes of decision-making, quorum is a simple majority of voting members.

1. ADMINISTRATION

1. A recommendation of amendment to these Terms of Reference may be made by Regular Member(s) of SPAC. Amendments submitted to SPAC in writing will be deliberated on at a Committee meeting no later than three (3) months from the date of submission under normal circumstances.
2. Any SPAC matter which may have unspecified procedural or ethical implications, especially matters which require legal clarification, shall be referred to the Board of Directors of CS-Can/Info-Can by the Student Representative.