Purpose:
The International Education Exchange Council (IEEC) is a student organization, that maintains a goal of supporting international education, study abroad, and student exchanges at SFSU. Our organization helps to connect international exchange students studying at SFSU, and American students who are seeking to study abroad or who have returned from an overseas study program. We also welcome anyone committed to international education and exchange.
Membership:
Any regularly enrolled student at San Francisco State University is eligible to join the IEEC and follow the guidelines of the CSU EO 1068. We welcome all domestic, J-1 visa, and F-1 visa SFSU students from all national backgrounds, gender/sexual identities, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and the differently abled. IEEC is designed for domestic students studying abroad, foreign exchange students at SFSU, and students returning from their exchange or CSU IP program.
Only currently registered SFSU students may be voting members of the organization.
Eligibility for membership or appointed or elected student officer positions shall not be limited on the basis of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or disability. The organization shall have no rules or policies that discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or disability.
Governing Structure:
The current governing structure thus follows: Two Presidents are in charge of IEEC. One president represents the interests of American students planning to study abroad or those who have returned. The other President represents all foreign exchange students with either J-1 or F-1 visas or students originating from foreign countries with permanent residency in the United States. The Presidents book rooms, hold Weekly Executive Committee Meetings, and maintain order within the organization. The Presidents are responsible for organizing the Study Abroad Fair, the IEEC Open House, and all officer retreats. They communicate all important matters to the Advisor.
The Structure of IEEC is split into 7 committees, each headed by a chairman who communicates directly with the Presidents. In addition, with the Weekly Executive Committee Meeting, each event committee meets once a week among themselves. The Finance Chairman (also known as the Treasurer) maintains the finances of the organization.
The Finance Chairman will monitor the solvency of IEEC. Within the Finance Committee, the Chairman will nominate Financial Officers to the positions of Deputy Chairman, Accountant, Fundraiser, Liaison to the Special Events Committee, Vendor Searcher, and Secretary. The Finance Committee will monitor the current state of the bank account and handle all AS funding. The Finance Chairman makes all final decisions with anything that involves the monetary funds of IEEC. The Finance Chairman can only be overridden by both of the Presidents and the IEEC Advisor. The Finance Committee’s goal each year is to not lose any money and to raise funds for scholarships which will be offered to SFSU students leaving for their exchange at the Bi-annual Study Abroad Ceremony in May and December.
The second most important committee in IEEC is the Special Events Committee. The Special Events Committee handle planning any event that is larger than 25 people. They create the majority of the IEEC’s scholarship revenue and also carry the organization’s greatest financial exposures. Every semester, they may plan a weekend trip to Yosemite, a Welcome or Halloween Party, a Lake Tahoe trip, and the end of the semester Gala. Their event goals are: costs as low as possible and as many people as possible. They must work closely with the Finance Committee, which oversees the event planning process. They may also add any event they deem fit as a cultural experience or for tourism purposes, as long as it is financially viable, such as a day trip to Santa Cruz or Napa wine tasting. Each semester, the IEEC lives or dies by the capability of the Special Events and Finance Committees.
The Social Committee organizes a weekly social event, usually Thursday or Friday. These are called TGITs and TGIFs. They are encouraged to plan events that Under-21s can go to, such as the Exploratorium Thursday nights or Bowling Night. The Social Committee must plan all weekly events at least one week prior to the social gathering.
The Creative Committee is responsible for planning events that are of cultural importance such as a monthly Movie Night at a different historic theatre in San Francisco. They may also arrange trips to Silicon Valley, tours of start-ups, Game Night, and attending Oakland First Fridays. If IEEC has an overload of officers in one semester, the Creative Committee can be thrice split into the Media Arts, Cross-Cultural, and Academic Committees, all of which specialize in a particular cultural event for that semester.
The Sports Committee is responsible for assembling one or two (based on the amount of interest) soccer teams that compete in the SFSU recreational league. The Chairman of the Sports Committee will monitor the safety of IEEC members participating in the sports activities. The Sports Committee also arranges events such as hiking trips, attending local sports games, and physical activities, such as skydiving or going to a trampoline house.
The Public Relations Committee (hereby PR) is responsible for maintaining and creating communication channels with IEEC members, including the Facebook pages (one for officers only and the other for general members) and the Instagram account. The PR Committee will help maintain the IEEC website http://www.ieec.sfsu.edu under the direction of the club advisor. The PR Committee will design all promotional materials for IEEC including but not limited to: flyers, posters, entrance tickets, pens, banners, etc.
The PR Committee is responsible for making sure all members are aware of every upcoming events.
Finally, the Executive Committee is the eyes and ears of the Presidents. The Executive Committee (hereby Executive Board) is headed by the presidents, other members include the Vice-President, Secretary, and committee representatives, and office manager, and web developer. The Vice-President serves as an advisor to the two presidents. They also share the duties and responsibilities of the presidents, including (but not limited to) helping to plan/facilitate weekly meetings.
The Secretary helps to maintain communication between all the committee members, with the help of the committee representatives. They are also responsible for recording the meeting minutes and preparing agendas. The Committee Representatives serve as liaisons and must meet with the Presidents and/or secretary, to inform them of the goings-on within the club. Their jobs are also to communicate information back to the Chairmen and their committees.
The Office Manager is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the IEEC Office in T 125. Every officer in IEEC is required to do one hour a week of duty in the IEEC Office. The office manager monitors the attendance of the officers.
The Webmaster is in charge of controlling and maintain the IEEC webpage. The Executive Board is also heavily involved in organizing the Study Abroad Fair, the Open House, and the Officers’ Retreat.
The Advisors shall fulfill the responsibilities specified herein. Advisors shall serve on an academic year basis or until their successor has been selected.
Officer Elections Process:
During the IEEC Officer Retreat at the beginning of each semester, elections are held to determine the two Presidents. After the candidates’ debate and list their skills and goals, all members vote for a Domestic President and an International President. It is done with a blind vote and the Advisor counts all the votes and reports the results. After the Presidents are chosen, the officers split up into the committees they wish to join and nominate the Chairman/other roles from among themselves.
Officer Removal Process:
If an officer must be removed, the Presidents must agree with each other that the officer has broken the rules. Then, they take the officer in question and go to the Advisor. The Advisor mediates the process and makes the final decision on the officer’s removal. An officer can be dismissed from any of the following:
- Violating Title IX policies
- Using substantial sums of IEEC funds without the Finance Committee’s permission
- Stealing money or personal possessions from IEEC members or the organization itself
- Driving IEEC members to an IEEC event without a license or insurance
- Drinking underage or in any instance where it is against American law
- Buying alcohol for students under 21
- Doing illegal substances during or on the way to any IEEC events
Chairman Removal Process:
If a chairman misses four committee meetings in a semester, they are automatically removed as chair but may remain on the committee. On the fifth meeting after the chair has been absent, the committee will elect a new chairman and will notify both of the IEEC presidents and staff advisor following the meeting.
Length of Term for Officers:
Every officer must attend the IEEC Orientation meeting every semester to renew their officer status, which can be renewed indefinitely. The Chairmen are switched out every semester, but it is possible to be nominated again by their committee. The Presidents must run for reelection every semester unless there are no other challengers.
501(c)(3) Amendment:
Our purposes are limited to charitable fundraising for scholarships and educating SFSU students on the increasingly internationalization of San Francisco and of the world at large. We are dedicated to the fair representation of people from all national backgrounds. We are not allowed to engage in other activities, such as raising funds for personal profit using the IEEC organization. If upon dissolution, we request that all our assets be given out as financial scholarships to SFSU students, the committee selecting the scholarships being the staff of the Division of International Education.
How to Amend the Constitution:
Any officer may suggest an amendment to the Constitution at the Weekly Officer Meeting at any time from the day in which it was written. Their motion must be seconded by another officer. The motion is taken to a vote with a minimum 50% in agreement to pass the amendment. Either one of the Presidents or the Advisor may veto the amendment. The measure may be taken to a revote and if 66% of the officers at the Weekly Officer Meeting agree and 4 out of 7 Chairmen agree, the veto is overridden.
Hazing Statement:
No member of this organization shall engage in hazing, including but not limited to physical abuse, causing excessive mental stress, verbal abuse, or subservience for the University’s hazing policy statement and student conduct code. Furthermore, students may not commit any act that causes or is likely to cause bodily danger, physical harm, or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to any fellow student or person attending this institution.
As Revised on October 21, 2026