Constituting Statutes

The Graduate Student Society is a registered not-for-profit, incorporated provincially pursuant to The Corporations Act of the Province of Ontario, including the Regulations made pursuant to the Act, and any statute or regulations that may be substituted, as amended from time to time by the Government of Ontario.

The Corporation was incorporated October 24, 1980 with Letters Patent under the name The Graduate Student Society of the University of Windsor with the Ontario Corporation Number 436045. Further to this, on April 6, 1993, the legal name of the Corporation was amended to Graduate Student Society.

Effective 2010, the constituting statue governing the incorporation and registration in the Province of Ontario was replaced by the new law, the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. Further to this, in 2011 the Legislative Assembly of Ontario adopted Bill 184, College and University Associations Act, 2011, which explicitly dictates industry-specific rules for student associations and their actions and relationships with their members.

Charitable Status

The Graduate Student Society is not a registered charity, as not-for-profit corporations are not granted charitable status by default in Canada, as prescribed in the Income Tax Act.

Rather, charitable status is a special status granted upon selective application, an application that the Corporation has elected not to make. Therefore, personal donations to the Corporation cannot be accepted.

Taxation

The Graduate Student Society does not reclaim sales tax paid on expenditures by virtue of financial policy. The Corporation cannot by statute, and does not by practice, generate profit or unreasonable surplus from its activities. All revenues generated categorically satisfy tax-exemption or zero-tax criteria because of the type of revenue collected (membership fees; or corporate sponsorship in exchange for marketing services – promotional representation) and further supported by the academic and community nature of the business.

Overview

The Corporation is governed by a battery of documents, interdependent in a hierarchy of authority and prevalence. The aggregate of these by-laws, resolutions, policies, procedures, corporate directives and other relevant documents serve as the framework by which the various managers, employees and agents are guided and held accountable in the execution of their mandates, both managers and operations.

Furthermore, the documents are designed to promote, support and encourage the manner in which we conduct business; make effective use of resources; and identify certain activities that need to be carefully managed and controlled. They define our operating culture, ensure that we comply with relevant laws and current regulations, and ensure that our corporate objectives are properly defined and effectively achieved.

Governing LegislationCorporations Act, Ontario, 2010, S.O. 2010, c. 15
Corporation Number436045
Business Number88829-6753
Corporate NameGRADUATE STUDENT SOCIETY
Trade Names"Graduate Student Society"
"GSS"
"Graduate Student Society of the University of Windsor"
"Windsor Graduate Student Society"

Delegation of Authority and Document Categories

All documents classified by each specific hierarchical level is the under the jurisdiction of a specific governing body for regular review, modification and approval.

GSS desires to remain a leader in corporate governance and ethical business conduct by maintaining best practices, transparency and accountability to our stakeholders. This includes a commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance as CABS’ Board and management believe that good corporate governance practices tend to contribute to the creation and maintenance of shareholder value.

On an ongoing basis, the Board reviews its structure, practices and composition and initiates changes to improve its effectiveness.

Major Category Titles

CategoryOrder of Precedence
Governance1
Letter2
Memo3
Certificate4
Award5
Publicaton6

Governance Sub-Categories

CategoryJurisdictionOrder of Precedence
ResolutionsVaries1
ArticlesMembers2
By-LawsMembers3
PolicyBoard of Directors4
ProcedurePresident5
DirectivePresident6
FormPresident7

Document Security Classificaton

All official documents are assigned a document category for organization and a security restriction classification, which effectively limits the authorized readers or audience. Documents of the “Governance” category are also assigned a “type”.

ClassificationOrder of Secrecy
Classified1
Confidential2
Restricted3
Internal4
Public5

Official Documents Archive

 

 

Structure Explained

Members of the Graduate Student Society become members by default for the duration of each semester, as registered full-time or part-time students with the University of Windsor.

In the Fall semester, members participate in general election of the Board of Directors, more commonly referred to as "Council". Council has ex-officio members, but the majority of its voting members are representatives for each Graduate Studies faculty at the University. In some instances, multiple faculties are represented by a single combined representative.

Council either uses a hiring process or a democratic election process to appoint Council members to Board committees. One such committee, otherwise known as an "Office", is the Executive Office.

This office is special because it comprises of the executive management team, headed by the President. The President usually sits equally as the Chief Executive Office, who sits on the Board of Directors or Council. The President then presides over a team and manages the hired staff in the execution of day-to-day operations.

Note that, while the Board retains the right to appoint members to the Executive Office, it often defers this hiring process to the members through another democratic campaign-and-election process.

GSS Membership

Subject to the provisions of Bill 184, College and University Student Associations Act, 2011, and as aligned with common practice in post-secondary student associations across Ontario and Canada, the Graduate Student Society of the University of Windsor has a dynamic membership base, which changes each semester.

At the end of each semester, all members that are not expected to meet the criteria for membership in the subsequent semester then cease to be members of the GSS.

At the beginning of each new semester, membership of each registrant is automatically assessed by the University, based on program enrollment, and those meeting the criteria will be then automatically granted membership and the University will collect membership fees on behalf of the GSS.

There criteria include but are not limited to:

  • individuals registered in a full-time or part-time graduate program in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Windsor for the specific semester in question;
  • individuals who have paid membership fees to the GSS through the University tuition collections process for the specific semester in question; and
  • individuals that have been expelled or whose membership has been revoked, by the GSS Board of Directors adopting a special resolution to that effect in a general meeting.

Please refer to the GSS Constitution within the Official Documents tab for complete details.

Brands and Trademarks

The Graduate Student Society needs to manage how its brand is represented across all visual media in various different situations.

Our branding policy designates a corporate identity system of rules and elements, which explain how to correctly depict and embody our brand ethos consistently across different applications and in various markets to maintain the integrity of GSS.

The elements of the GSS brand may only be used as permitted by the branding guidelines and where authorized by the Corporation.

Request Permission for Branding Usage

Any individual looking for usage permission of our branding can make a request using this form to receive our full branding guideline and materials on approval of the request.

Website Legal and User Privacy Compliance

The Graduate Student Society presents the following legal notices under this special page as these documents are applicable to the usage of the website and online services managed, offered and/or coordinated by GSS. All users of the aforementioned web services, including you, are subject to and bound by the conditions of these documents.

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