UW Speech-Language Pathology Club
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be UW Speech-Language Pathology Club. We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large to promote awareness of the field of Speech-Language Pathology and connect students who share an interest in the profession. The club aims to foster opportunities for education, advocacy, student engagement, and meaningful community initiatives. Through collaborative events, workshops, and outreach initiatives, the club will bridge academic learning with real-world practice by introducing students with clinicians, researchers, and community partners in speech-language pathology. The Speech-Language Pathology club serves as a platform for students to translate interest into action by developing leadership skills, engaging in advocacy, and taking part in initiatives that address real communication needs within the community.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
·Collaborative volunteer workshop/project (e.g. ASL workshop, phonetics and speech science skill-building sessions)
·Guest speaker panels with clinicians, professors and graduate students
·Clinical case discussion nights
·Study groups for communication sciences-related courses
·Community engagement and advocacy initiatives
·Awareness campaigns/fundraisers for speech, language, and hearing disorders
·Collaborative events with health and rehabilitation student groups
·Social and networking events for members
What we have done so far/will continue:
·Specialty spotlight to spread awareness
·Instagram takeovers to share unique experiences
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is two consecutive academic terms, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The President ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
- Take the lead on internal operations (meeting follow-ups, ensuring deadlines are met, overseeing communication flow).
- Represent the club at events or meetings.
The President is a signing authority.
The Secretary ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
The Secretary is a signing authority.
The Treasurer ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
The Vice-President ensures that:
- Work alongside the President to co-lead the executive team and share responsibilities.
- Act as the primary support for coordinators, checking in on progress and helping troubleshoot challenges.
- Take the lead on internal operations (meeting follow-ups, ensuring deadlines are met, overseeing communication flow).
- Represent the club at events or meetings.
- Support succession planning by mentoring future leaders and helping new execs adjust to their roles.
- Collaborate closely with the President to ensure decisions are made fairly and transparently.
- Ensures that the next Vice-President is trained.
The Vice-President is a signing authority.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Executive Support Structure
The Marketing Coordinator ensures that:
- Develop a consistent posting schedule for Instagram (e.g., 2-3 posts per week)
- Design engaging graphics (posts, reels, carousels, story templates) that align with the club’s mission and branding
- Work with Research & Education Coordinators to turn information into eye-catching, student-friendly content
- Coordinate and manage Instagram takeovers to ensure smooth communication with guests
- Track engagement (likes, shares, story interactions) and suggest improvements to grow our page
- Ensures that the next Marketing Coordinator is trained.
The Outreach and Public Relations Coordinator ensures that:
- Maintain the outreach tracker for guest invitations, follow-ups, and collaborations.
- Monitor the outreach team group chat and ensure communication stays active and professional.
- Send reminders for pending emails and follow-ups.
- Flag unresponsive contacts and suggest next steps.
- Ensure all external communications meet professionalism standards.
- Ensures that the next Outreach and Public Relations Coordinator is trained.
The Research Coordinator ensures that:
- Track all research content deadlines for posts, awareness months, and events
- Monitor the research group chat to ensure steady progress updates
- Send reminders for upcoming deliverables
- Ensure all researched content is submitted on time for marketing use
- Flag any delays to the President’s immediately
- Oversee quality control and formatting consistency
- Help archive finalized educational resources
- Ensures that the next Research Coordinator is trained.
The Events Coordinator ensures that:
- Develop and maintain detailed event timelines for all workshops, panels, and information sessions
- Oversee the events team group chat to ensure logistics and tasks stay on track
- Send timely reminders for room bookings, technical setup, promotions, and guest confirmations
- Ensure all stages of event planning meet established deadlines
- Coordinate and track volunteer assignments and coverage for each event
- Proactively flag risks, delays, or incomplete logistics to the executive team
- Maintain a shared archive of event documents, templates, and post-event feedback
- Attend and support the majority of club events
- Ensures that the next Events Coordinator is trained.
The Fundraising Coordinator ensures that:
- Develop and maintain a fundraising timeline tracker for all sales, campaigns, and initiatives
- Oversee the fundraising team group chat to monitor order updates and logistics
- Send timely reminders for fundraiser launches, pickup days, and deposit deadlines
- Ensure all funds are accurately tracked, documented, and reported
- Maintain organized records of profits, expenses, and inventory
- Proactively flag any financial, operational, or logistical risks to the executive team
- Support volunteers during in-person sales and fundraising events
- Ensures that the next Fundraising Coordinator is trained.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold monthly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold weekly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
- Email and Instagram
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
- Email and Instagram
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
No organization(s) is/are currently affiliated with this club.