Bylaws

Composition

The organization shall be divided into two distinct geographic regions. These regions will be the northern and the southern regions. School membership lists of each region are noted on the COADN webpage. Dues shall be determined by each organizational region.

•    Dues are collected each year from each ADN program in the organization in the   amount set by each region.
•    The members may vote to suspend the dues when the treasury balance exceeds $50,000.00.

Purpose and Objectives of the Organization

The purposes of the organization are to improve the quality of associate degree nursing education in the state and to promote safety and quality of patient care. These purposes will be achieved by:

1. Coordinating activities designed to enhance and improve student access, curriculum, career mobility, and employment.
2. Enhancing communication and networking between various nursing programs at all levels by providing a forum for discussion and sharing of successes, problems, and concerns.
3. Developing group position on current issues having a direct impact on associate degree nursing education and planning appropriate actions related to these positions.
4. Promoting, encouraging, and providing continuing education and staff development activities for associate degree directors and faculty.
5. Monitoring/disseminating information regarding legislation and appointments to boards, task forces, and similar entities that influence nursing.
6. Providing for the socialization and orientation process of new directors.

Meetings

The official organization shall meet at least once each year rotating the meeting site between the north and south. The date, place, and agenda for the meeting shall be planned by the host and co- chaired by the presidents of the north and south.

Each region (northern and southern) shall set their own meeting schedule. Special meetings shall be called as necessary by the president of the section. The majority of members present shall constitute a quorum for voting purposes. The organization’s meetings will be run on Robert’s Rule of Order.

Nominating Committee

The nominating committee shall be selected at the winter (December) meeting. The Nominating Committee shall consists of two (2) to five (5) volunteers. The Nominating Committee shall elicit names, contact individuals, distribute duties, and responsibilities of the respective office, obtain consent to serve, and prepare a ballot for the spring meeting. The specifics of the election process will be determined by each section, north and south. Members who are nominated for office will not be on the nominating committee. Members who are interested in running for office, should notify the nominating committee of their interest during the call for nomination period. After nominations from the floor, the final ballot will be prepared and distributed to all members. The nominating committee will count the ballots.

Election Cycles

When possible, elections will run on the following cycle. The president, president elect, and treasurer shall be elected every two years in odd years. The secretary and vice president shall be elected every two years in even number.  

For the election year, a nominating committee will be established at the December meeting, the ballot will be distributed by email no later than April 15. The results of the election will be announced at the May meeting. There is one vote per school. Members who have paid dues are eligible to vote.

Scholarship Committee

Each region, north and south, will have its own plan for scholarships, which may include forming a scholarship committee. Each region will determine the process for any available scholarships. 

Program Planning Committtee

Each region, north and south, will have its own program planning committee when they are assigned conferences to plan. The program planning committee will be established each year to plan the annual conference(s) for directors and/or faculty. This committee will be made up of a vice-president and a conference planning vice president, a treasurer, and at least two volunteer directors. The president and secretary will be ad hoc members of this planning committee. The duties of the program planning committee include registration, program and speakers, vendors, hotel, food, providing continuing education units (CEUs), flyers, and other conference materials.

Executive Committee

Each section, north and south, shall have its own executive board. The executive board shall consist of the elected officers. The officers shall be elected by majority vote. They will assume office on July 1st of the year elected. The Executive Board of the north and south shall be the executive committee of the organization.

In the event that a decision or action on the part of the organization (northern and southern Sections) becomes necessary, and it is impossible or impractical to gather the organization together, it shall be the obligation of the executive committee to make said decisions or to take actions on behalf of the entire organization. As a result of a majority vote, the executive committee shall report such decisions or action to the body of the whole at its next regular meeting and/ or by email. Matters that pertain to either the northern or southern sections will be handled by their respective executive board in the same manner as the organization.

Executive Boards

Those members who are directors as reported to the Board of Registered Nursing, may serve as elected officers of the organization. Assistant Directors may volunteer to hold committee chair positions and are appointed according to interest by the executive officers. New officers shall be announced at the appropriate meeting of the north and of the south. Officers shall assume their offices as of July 1st of the year elected. The officers shall include a president, president elect, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. The officers shall be elected by majority vote. Each section will determine the term of office for the executive board. No one school shall have a majority representation on the Executive Board.

Financial Responsibility

Each section, north and south, is a separate financial entity; each having its own federal tax ID number and filing its own tax returns. The sections do not co-mingle budgetary funds, and each is responsible for its own financial dealings. In that regard, the sections mutually agreed to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless each other, their boards, officers, and agents, individually and collectively, from and against all claims, liabilities, obligations and causes of action, of whatever kind, arising in any manner whatsoever, out of, or in connection with, any financial dealings of their respective section, for the active negligence and willful acts or omissions of their boards, officers, and agents.

Officer Duties and Responsibilities

President

The president shall preside over all meetings of the group. He/she shall have the responsibility of planning the agenda for the meetings, appointing subcommittees and ad hoc committees as necessary, and ensuring the goals and objectives for the organization are met. He/she shall be the contact person and spokesperson for the section. The president (or designee) will sign all contracts associated with operational business affecting the organization.

President Elect

The president elect shall succeed into the presidency at the end of the term of office, or if the current president has to step down, and shall promote the purpose of the organization.  The president-elect shall: consent to serve in the position, be elected by majority vote, and agree to serve as president for a two-year term following the term as president-elect. The president elect may oversee the activities of the webmaster and other duties as assigned.  

Vice President

The responsibility of the vice-president is to plan conferences for the organization and assume other duties as assigned. If the President Elect has to step down during the middle of the term, the Vice President can assume the duties of the President Elect, if agreeable. 

Secretary

The secretary shall notify all members of the meeting, record, and publish minutes of the meetings, and perform the necessary clerical functions for the group. He/she shall distribute minutes of the section meetings to the president of the other section as well as to all members and the appropriate section website. All official communication shall be distributed through the secretary. The list of membership schools will be maintained by the secretary.

Treasurer

The treasurer shall collect all funds, maintain bank accounts, make disbursements, and report at each meeting the financial status. The treasurer shall make arrangements for the preparation of state and federal taxes and reports to the California Secretary of State. The treasurer shall work with a tax preparer to maintain non-profit status and provide documentation necessary for tax returns. An independent audit shall be performed at least every three years to maintain accounting principles of practice.

Vacancy of Office

In the event an elected officer is unable to fulfill their term, a special election will be held to fill the office for the remainder of the term of service or the president may appoint the position if appropriate upon consultation with the membership.

Emeriti Directors

Emeriti Directors may choose to remain a member after stepping down from a permanent director’s position at an eligible community college. The dues for an emeritus director will be half of the regular fees. Fees may be waived for “in kind” services that benefits COADN members as approved by the executive teams. “In kind” services may include mentoring, committee support, or conference planning. The dues amount will be dictated based on the location, whether it is COADN North or South. An emeritus director may not hold an executive officer position. However, they may be a member at large or chair a committee.  

Assistant Directors

Assistant directors are eligible members who can be a member at large or a chair of a designated committee. Assistant directors are highly encouraged to participate in COADN activities. Assistant Directors are not eligible to hold executive officers' positions. The participation of the Assistant Director will prepare the member for future executive positions, once transitioned to a director/Dean position.

COADN Liason

There is a need for California Community Colleges and California State Universities to collaborate and to facilitate the seamless transition of registered nurses from Associate Degree Nursing programs (ADN) to advance their nursing education. The role of the COADN and California Association of Colleges of Nursing (CACN) liaison is to serve as a resource to communicate the needs, issues, and concerns of the respective group that have or might have an impact on nursing education.

The COADN liaison to CACN (both COADN presidents or their designees) will represent COADN    north and south. When travel is required, the organization’s representative who attends will be financially supported to attend, if needed. The executive board will discuss and approve the expenses up to a defined amount in advance, when possible. Each region will develop an expense form with outlined guidelines. The CACN liaison may attend the scheduled meetings of the COADN and speak on behalf of the CACN. The CACN liaison will not be member of COADN and is not able to vote.

QUAD Council
The presidents of the north and south, or President Designee, will attend representing COADN.

Review of Bylaws

The bylaws of the organization shall be reviewed every two years.

Changes to the bylaws must occur by a majority of voting members present at the meeting. The bylaws may have an addendum for the north and south.

Initial adoption April 1979, Draft approved 4, April 1986, Draft approved December 1986, Proposed revision October 1989, Revision October 1990, Revision February 1991, Revision October 1994, Revision March 2008, Revised March 2011, Revised May 2012, Recommended Changes March 2015, Revised Sept 2017, Revised January 2022; Approved May 2022 

Articles of Organization 2017 (Business Plan)

The organization is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to improve the quality of associate degree education in the state and to promote safety and quality of patient care.

Officers are the president, president elect, vice president, secretary and treasurer and are elected every two years. The treasurer keeps records of income and expenses and reports this information to the members at the regularly scheduled meeting. The treasurer deposits the income and pays the invoices as appropriate. The treasurer keeps records of invoices and dues, providing necessary documentation to tax preparer as needed. Decisions regarding the allocation of funds are made by the consensus or by the organization members at the regularly scheduled meetings. The officers are compensated for conference travel when the conferences are hosted by the organization if there are sufficient funds in the current fiscal year.

Income

1. Dues are collected each year from each community college in the organization in the amount set by each region. The members may vote to suspend the dues when the treasury balance exceeds $50,000.
2. Conferences that are hosted by COADN generate additional revenue from vendor donations and registration of the attendees.
3. The treasurer is responsible to collect and deposit checks in the business checking account.

Expenditures

1. Conferences--COADN may reimburse speaker fees, travel and expenses. COADN may also reimburse conference expenses (conference fees, hotel costs, conference meals and snacks, AV) to the conference committee members and officers as long as sufficient funds as identified by the Executive Board.
2. Officer Travel and Expenses--When the officers attend statewide meetings or events representing COADN, expenses may be reimbursed following state guidelines for meals and expenses.
3. Annual COADN Website maintenance cost is shared by both regions
4. Scholarships- When the balance of funds exceeds $25,000 the members may vote to give direct scholarships to nursing students. The amount and number of the scholarships depend on the balance in the account each year.
5. Donations- When the balance of funds exceeds $25,000 the members may vote to make donations to nonprofit nursing organizations such as HealthImpact, or Flo’s Cookie Jar. The amount and number of donations depend on the balance in the account each year.

Approved December 2008, Revised March 2015, Reviewed September 2017, Revised Oct 11, 2017, Approved Feb 2018; Approved May, 2022