ASI Governing Documents Library

As California public benefit nonprofit organizations, associated student organizations are free to call their governing documents anything they want, and the list below bears witness to that prerogative. Among the documents below are articles of incorporation, constitutions, bylaws, charters, codes and policies.

Bylaws usually refer to a body of rules adopted by a governing body to dictate how its internal affairs will be conducted. They comprise the second-tier governing document and are adopted under the authority of and to implement the first-tier governing document. For corporations that first-tier document is generally known as articles of incorporation; for unincorporated associated student body organizations it is often called a constitution. Some associated student organizations have only bylaws, no constitution or articles of incorporation.

“Charter” is another name for a governing document. Historically, charters derive from the sovereign, while constitutions are written by the people, though in the case of associated student organizations, the use of the term may simply connote a grant of permission from the student government to conduct prescribed activities.

Codes and policies have a more limited scope, generally applying to a single activity, issue or course of action.