Introduction

Founded in 1984, the Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages (hereafter referred to as COTSEAL) is a professional organization dedicated to promoting the discipline of Southeast Asian language teaching on all levels: teaching, materials development, and research.

COTSEAL is an affiliated member of the Southeast Asia Council (SEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS).  COTSEAL members are encouraged to join the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), but this is not a requirement for membership in COTSEAL.

ARTICLE I.  MEMBERSHIP

SECTION A.  ELIGIBILITY

Membership in COTSEAL is open to professionals and institutions in the field of Southeast Asian language teaching and research who support the goals of COTSEAL.

SECTION B.  PRIVILEGES

In addition to being able to interact with colleagues, COTSEAL members have other privileges, including the following:

1. They are eligible to submit a proposal to present their work in a COTSEAL-sponsored panel at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference.

2. They may participate in the COTSEAL/SEASSI annual July conference at no cost, and they are eligible to submit a proposal to make a presentation at the conference.

3. They may submit their work for possible publication in the Journal of Southeast Asian Language Teaching, the refereed e-journal of COTSEAL.

SECTION C.  OBLIGATIONS

In order to be considered a voting member of COTSEAL, annual dues must be paid in a timely manner.  In addition, it is expected that members will participate in COTSEAL meetings and other activities of the organization in order to promote the development of the field of Southeast Asian language teaching as a whole as well as their own professional growth. 

SECTION D.  ANNUAL DUES

The categories of membership and amounts of annual dues may be proposed by the COTSEAL BOARD and voted on by the members present at a regular COTSEAL Business Meeting; a majority vote of those attending the meeting shall be required to change the annual dues.

ARTICLE II.  MEETINGS

SECTION A.  REGULAR MEETINGS

1.      COTSEAL shall hold no less than two (2) business meetings every year, one at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Meeting in the spring and one in the summer during the COTSEAL Conference on Southeast Asian Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics.

  2.     Written notice of a meeting shall be mailed or emailed no less than two (2) weeks in advance of the meeting.

  3.     The officers, committee chairs, and journal editor shall report on their activities and submit any recommendations for adoption by the members.

SECTION B.  VOTING

          Only members in good standing shall be entitled to vote on business and issues before
COTSEAL.

SECTION C.  PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Roberts Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary authority when necessary.

ARTICLE III.  OFFICERS

SECTION A.  NUMBER

  1.     The officers of COTSEAL shall consist of a President, Vice President, and Secretary.

SECTION B.  ELIGIBILITY

  1.     Officers of COTSEAL shall be members of COTSEAL who are also members of the Association for Asian Studies.

SECTION C.  TERM OF OFFICE

  1.     The officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the ballots cast and hold office for 
          a term of three (3) years. Their terms will begin at the end of the respective AAS 
          meeting in the year in which they are elected.

  2.     No one shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms in the same office.

  3.     If an office becomes vacant, the COTSEAL Board shall, by a majority vote, elect a successor who shall hold office for the balance of the unexpired term.

  4.     Any officer may be removed from office, with or without cause, by a majority vote of the members at a special meeting called for that purpose.

SECTION D.  FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

  1.     No officer shall receive a salary.

  2.     Officers, or their agents, may be compensated for some of the expenses incurred in the fulfillment of their responsibilities.  Such reimbursement for expenses shall be authorized and limited in advance of their incurrence by the COTSEAL Board.

  3.     No member, director, or officer shall incur any personal liability for corporate action, omissions, or obligations.

SECTION E.  DUTIES OF OFFICERS

  1.     President

         a.   The President shall be the chief executive officer of COTSEAL, shall preside at   
      all meetings of the members and of the COTSEAL Board; she/he shall have    
      general active management of COTSEAL and shall see that all orders and   
      resolutions of the Board are carried into effect.

         b.   The President shall execute all bonds, mortgages and other contracts.

         c.   The President shall be ex-officio a member of all standing committees and shall 
      have the general powers and duties of supervision and management usually 
      vested in the office of President.

  2.     Vice President

          a.   The Vice President shall, in the absence or disability of the President, perform the 
      duties and exercise the powers of the President, and shall perform such other 
      duties as the COTSEAL Board shall prescribe.

  3.     Secretary

          a.   The Secretary should attend all sessions of the COTSEAL Board and all regular 
      meetings of the membership and record all votes and minutes of the proceedings 
      in a book kept for that purpose, and shall perform like duties for the standing 
      committees when required.  Copies of all minutes shall be sent to all members. In 
      the event that the Secretary must be absent from a meeting, the Secretary should 
      make arrangements ahead of the meeting for another member to record the votes 
      and minutes for that particular meeting.

          b.   The Secretary shall issue notices of all meetings of the membership and of the 
      COTSEAL Board and shall provide forms for voting when they are required.

          c.   The Secretary shall annually prepare a membership list of individual members and 
      institutional members; the list should contain current mailing addresses, telephone 
      numbers, and email addresses.

          d.   The Secretary shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the 
      COTSEAL Board, or President, under whose supervision he/she shall be.

          e.   At the end of his/her term, the minutes, correspondence, and other records shall 
      be turned over to the COTSEAL Archives.

ARTICLE IV.  COTSEAL BOARD

SECTION A.  COMPOSITION

  1.     The COTSEAL Board shall be comprised of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and the outgoing President or one other member to be elected at large. The editor of the Journal of Southeast Asian Language Teaching may be an ex-officio member of the Board.

  2.     No more than one member of an institution or organization may serve on the COTSEAL Board at the same time.

SECTION B.  MEETINGS

  1.       The COTSEAL Board shall meet on call.  A discussion by the COTSEAL Board via phone or email can be considered a meeting as well.  A written summary of Board discussions should be forwarded to the Secretary by the President to be distributed to the full membership. 

  2.   A quorum for Board meetings shall be three (3).

SECTION C.  DUTIES

  1.     Conduct the business of the COTSEAL according to policies established by the members.

  2.     Send a representative of COTSEAL, usually the President, to attend the annual meeting of the Southeast Asia Council (SEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies.

  3.    Supervise the committees and activities of the organization according to the procedures and bylaws established by the members.

  4.     Annually prepare a budget for the organization and seek funding from outside sources to support activities appropriate to the purpose of the organization.

  5.     Collect annual dues from members to cover the organization’s operating expenses.

  6.     Prepare an annual calendar of meetings, activities, and project deadlines.

  7.     Direct the Secretary to send out statements of annual expenses and income.

  8.     Consider and decide upon requests to conduct or co-sponsor workshops and other activities related to the purposes of COTSEAL.

  9.     Have the power to appoint special committees and supervise their work.

  10.   Set the dates for the business meetings of the organization according to the bylaws.

  11.   Select a nominating committee at least two months in advance of the election for the next three-year cycle.

  12.   Report at least twice a year to the members.

ARTICLE V.  COMMITTEES

Befitting skills and interests, members may be appointed to serve on a committee.  In committee deliberations, all committee members shall have an equal vote.  (Only COTSEAL members may vote on matters before the COTSEAL Board or one of its committees.)

SECTION A.  STANDING COMMITTEES

  1.     Selection and term of office

          a.   Standing committees shall be appointed by the President at the beginning of each 
      term of office.  Committees generally should have from three to five members.  
      The committee chair shall be appointed by the President.

          b.   The term of office for committee membership shall be one (1) year, but can be 
      renewed by the President.

  2.    Committee chairpersons shall submit written reports at business meetings. These six standing committees are listed below.

          a.   Membership Committee

          b.   Website Committee

          c.   COTSEAL Conference Committee

          d.   Workshop Committee

          e.   Newsletter Committee

          f.    Archive Committee

SECTION B.  SPECIAL COMMITTEES

  1.     The COTSEAL Board or the President may appoint special committees to accomplish specific, short term assignments.

  2.     The Nominations and Elections Committee is a special committee that solicits nominations from the membership for the positions of President, Vice-President and Secretary.  This committee is responsible for submitting a complete slate of candidates for these three positions. The Chair of this committee shall be appointed by the COTSEAL President at the Business Meeting of COTSEAL in July of the year before new officers are to be selected.  Two additional members will be appointed to the committee by the Chair.  An appropriate nominations deadline must be communicated to members.  Once a full slate is prepared, the committee will conduct the election.  The COTSEAL Secretary shall make an updated membership roll available to the Nominations and Elections Committee at least one month prior to the actual voting period.  Voting procedures for the officers may include both online and snail-mail voting.  The timeline for the nominations and elections process should be determined during the COTSEAL Business Meeting.  The newly elected officers will take their positions following the AAS annual meeting.  

ARTICLE VI.  Journal of Southeast Asian Language Teaching

The official publication of COTSEAL shall be the Journal of Southeast Asian Language Teaching (JSEALT).  The editor of JSEALT will be appointed by the President of COTSEAL to serve for a three-year term.  The editor, in turn, will appoint individuals representing a variety of institutions and Southeast Asian language professionals to the JSEALT Editorial Board.  The editor may be reappointed to additional terms by incoming COTSEAL presidents.

ARTICLE VII.  AMENDMENTS

SECTION A.  PROCEDURE

          Amendments to the By-Laws may be submitted to members at any Business Meeting of COTSEAL, providing the following procedure has been followed:

  1.     Amendments to the By-Laws may be submitted by the COTSEAL Board or by any official committee of COTSEAL.

  2.     Notices of a Business Meeting must announce the consideration of proposed amendments to the By‑Laws.

  3.     A written draft of the proposed amendment/s shall be sent to the Secretary, who shall distribute such draft to the members at the time notices of a Business Meeting are mailed and/or emailed to the members.

  4.     The amendment/s may be discussed at the Business Meeting, but the actual vote will be by email and snail mail and conducted by the Secretary.  Results should be reported to the membership in a timely manner.

SECTION B.  ADOPTION

Adoption of amendments to the By Laws by the members shall require a two‑­thirds (2/3) vote of all members in good standing.