- The official name of this recognized campus group is “University of Toronto Coders”
- The short name of this group is: UofT Coders.
The purpose, objectives, mission and/or mandate of organization is outlined here:
- To share and learn about coding techniques and best practices for computing and analysis
- To improve the collective competence and skills of researchers-in-training at the University of Toronto
- To build a community of like-minded individuals interested in teaching and learning about coding/programming in the context of scientific research
- To increase the awareness and need to learn proper programming and coding principals in order to improve the research that uses these techniques
Membership to the group is open to all the University of Toronto members (students, staff, faculty and alumni).
U of T members are permitted to run, nominate, and vote in elections and constitutional amendments. The group is open to non-U of T members. However, these members do not hold the aforementioned rights. Members must register with a designated executive by submitting their full name and a valid email address.
The executive committee shall be comprised of six (6) elected officers. These include a President, Technical Admin, Admin, Treasurer, Special Events Coordinator, and RQM Course Coordinator.
- Oversee the operations, management and success of the group
- Be the spokesperson for the group
- Hold signing officer authority along with the Treasurer for financial purposes
- Preside over executive meetings as well as general meetings
- Ensure transition of office to the future Executives
- Marketing
- Send out recruitment emails to various avenues to increase awareness
- Act as UofT Coders financial officer, and together with the President, ensure the groups financial stability;
- Oversee the group bank account;
- Keep receipts for all financial transactions, and record on the council repository all debits, credits, and cheques released, as well as the dates and remaining bank balance for maintaining and organizing bank records, and for conducting annual audits (if applicable) in accordance with policies established by Student Affairs, University of Toronto;
- Apply for funding and sponsorship for the group, as applicable;
- Prepare an annual budget at the start of fiscal year;
- Present current statements of accounts versus budget, and cash flow positions at Executive Council meetings;
- Prepare an annual financial report at the end of the fiscal year.
- Maintain the treasurer README with a summary of the financial status of the group, as up-to-date as possible.
- Be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the website.
- Oversee the activity of the studyGroup repository in terms of pull requests for new features or weekly lesson material.
- Be responsible for internal communications of the council and its members
- Inform members of UofT Coders events via email, create event postings for the website and contact instructors to create the event issue;
- Record the minutes of the Executive Council meetings;
- Inform and remind council members of items discussed in the meetings via email;
- Maintain the master email list for uoftcoders@gmail.com.
- Be responsible for coordinating and organizing:
- Software Carpentry workshops throughout the year (at least one per term)
- Workshops with various organizations (e.g. CUPE)
- Any other coding type events that come up (e.g. hackathons, code sprints)
- Be responsible for coordinating and organizing the Reproducible Quantitative Methods (RQM) course (based on the course by Christie Bahlai) at the University of Toronto with the help of the other UofT Coders executive council members;
- Act as the main liaison between UofT Coders and RQM host department, and/or any other groups at the University of Toronto related to the RQM course implementation.
Any member of the club who commits an act negatively affecting the interests of the club and its members, including non-disclosure of a significant or continuing conflict of interest, may be given notice of removal. The member up for removal shall have the right to defend his/her actions. A vote will be held at an executive meeting, and a two-thirds majority vote of the current executives present in favor of removal is required. The member must have the right to an appeal before the general membership, and the majority vote of the general membership will have the final say on the matter.
The member will be removed from the club’s membership and will lose any privileges associated with being a member of the club.
Executive members are subject to the same termination or impeachment process and, as determined by the vote, may lose their executive position along with their membership to the group.
The executive committee shall strike the Elections Committee and appoint one (1) Chief Returning Officer (CRO) from general members on the committee to conduct and hold elections in April. All members of the Elections Committee shall be non-biased in the results of the election and shall be required to disclose any and all conflicts of interest in the election.
The CRO Returning Officer shall accept nominations only from group members that are also registered U of T members (staff, faculty, students and alumni) for candidacy of executive positions from the general membership before the elections in April. Candidates have to be members in good standing and be part of the group for at least one month prior to the nomination period.
The CRO shall select an election date allowing a month for the voting period. These dates will be announced in a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to elections dates and must fall on weekdays.
The CRO shall provide each U of T member with a paper ballot on the voting date and ask the member to place their ballot in an enclosed box.
In preparation for a tie, the CRO shall select an executive from amongst the executive committee, to cast their ballot and seal it in an envelope. In the event of a tie for an executive position, the CRO shall break the seal and count the ballot in order to break the tie.
After the election is over, the CRO shall count the ballots. The candidate with the most votes shall be elected to the position. The CRO shall submit a report of the results of the elections to the Executive Committee and general members.
Registered U of T members may not vote by proxy. Non-U of T members may not nominate or vote in elections.
Only U of T members have been a member in good standing for 30 days prior to election dates are eligible for voting.
Term of executive positions shall be from May 1st to April 30th of the following year.
The Treasurer shall keep records of all income and expenses. The Treasurer shall present the group's financial health when requested and at a minimum once a year.
The group's executive or members may not engage in activities that are essentially commercial in nature. This is not intended to preclude the collection of membership fees to cover the expenses of the group, or of charges for specific activities, programs or events, or to prohibit groups from engaging in legitimate fundraising.
However, the group will not have as a major activity a function that makes it an on-campus part of a commercial organization, will not provide services and goods at a profit when that profit is used for purposes other than those of the organization, and will not pay salaries to some or all of its officers.
A majority of the executive council will take part in a twice-yearly internal review and audit of the finances and accounting. The goal of such review will be to maintain tidy and organized documentation surrounding the finances, to ensure integrity and accuracy of the financial condition of the organization, and to keep the executive members aware of the financial health of the organization. Audits shall take place every March and October of every year.
A) Annual General Meetings (AGMs):
The group shall hold general meetings at least once per year.
The Executive Committee will announce these dates two (2) weeks prior to holding the meetings. These meetings are intended to go over the group’s annual activity plan, financial health and propose or vote on constitutional amendments, if any. Motions will require 2/3 majority of registered members in attendance for a vote to be cast. The motion with the most votes will be passed.
B) Workshops, Tutorials, Co-Working Sessions and Social Gatherings
The group will hold events weekly, outside of holidays and agreed upon breaks in schedule, interchanging between coding workshops, tutorials, co-working sessions and social gatherings, termed Hacky Hour.
Any registered U of T members may propose and vote on amendments to this constitution. The Executive Committee will administer the process of having amendments discussed at general meetings.
Constitutional amendments shall require a 2/3 majority to be passed at Annual General Meetings by registered U of T members in attendance.
The Executive Committee shall formally adopt the new constitution and submit the revised constitution to the respective University offices (i.e. The Office of Student Life, The University of Toronto Students’ Union, etc) within two (2) weeks of its approval by general members.