SBO CONSTITUTION

PREAMBLE
We, the students of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, acknowledging God’s
grace, calling and leadership in our lives; and being aware of the privileges and
responsibilities given to us by God, the Church of the Nazarene and Asia-Pacific
Nazarene Theological Seminary, desire to establish an association dedicated to the
cultivation of a community of Christian students which transcends all barriers, including
racial, national and cultural barriers (Gal 3: 26-28; I Tim 2:5); which results in the
development of God glorifying servant leadership among the students; the
strengthening of the bridges of communication and co-operation between the students
and the staff, faculty, and administration of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological
Seminary; the meeting of the appropriate spiritual, social, physical, emotional and
intellectual needs of all students (Luke 2:52) and the extension of the Kingdom of God
through our united efforts in ministry. We believe this to be the will of God, and humbly
inviting His blessing and guidance on all our endeavors, we hereby ordain, adopt and
set forth as the fundamental law or constitution of the Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological
Seminary student body organization the following articles of organization and
government:
ARTICLE I: ASIA-PACIFIC NAZARENE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
STUDENT BODY ORGANIZATION (APNTS SBO)
Section 1. ORGANIZATION
This organization will be officially called Student Body Organization of APNTS (SBO).
All students enrolled at APNTS are entitled to membership in the Student Body
Organization. Only those Students who are currently enrolled at APNTS and who have
no outstanding financial obligations to the SBO, or are not under the disciplinary action
of the SBO are entitled to the privileges of voting in the SBO.
Section 2. MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES
Each financial member of the SBO shall enjoy the following privileges:

• to participate in the various activities organized by the Student Council or those

acting on its behalf upon the payment of appropriate fees (if any);
• to attend, participate in and vote in any SBO meeting.
• to nominate, be nominated, and/or elected to any office in the SBO, providing
any qualifications applying to that office are met in Article II, Section 2 at the time
of election. Students enrolled only for audit are not eligible to be nominated or
elected to office in the SBO;
• to attend all/any Student Council or Student Council Committee meetings.
Permission to speak in such meetings can only be granted by the majority
decision of the Council or Committee. The Student Council further reserves the
right to exclude any person from any Student Council meeting in such
 exceptional circumstances must be agreed to by at least two-thirds of those
Council members present and voting;
• to be represented to the Administration of APNTS by the SBO President, or
some other person chosen by the Student Council should the SBO President be
unavailable.

Section 3: MEMBERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

Believing that there cannot be privileges without responsibilities, it is expected that each
member of the SBO shall co-operate with all other members of the Association in
helping the SBO meet its stated objectives, by covenanting to meet the following
responsibilities unless providentially hindered:

• to maintain a character and lifestyle that brings glory and honor to our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, and reflects favorably upon the SBO, APNTS, and the
Church of the Nazarene;
• to endeavor to minister to the appropriate needs of other students as God brings
them to our awareness and gives us the resources or abilities, so as to help each
student achieve excellence in all areas of life, but especially the spiritual and
intellectual (2 Tim 2: 15);
• to faithfully attend all regularly-called SBO meetings;
• to faithfully attend and be an active and contributing member of at least one of
the committees of the Student Council;
• to pay the Student Activity Fee, or any other fees as may be levied by the
Student Council (with the approval of the SBO) promptly and in full to the
Treasurer of the SBO or his authorized representative; (Recommendation or
clarification letter addressed to the administrative body)
• to attend the various activities organized by the Student Council or by those
acting on its behalf;

Section 4. MEETINGS

• The Student Council shall determine the time, date and venue of all SBO
meetings including elections, and shall publicize those details and an agenda at
least one week prior to all meetings. Notice of all meetings should be announced
in at least two chapel meetings in the week preceding any meeting and
advertised on the student bulletin board;
• At least three (3) SBO meetings must be held every semester;
• The Student Council must meet at least once every month. If there is immediate
issue or matter that needs to be discussed then the council should meet more
than once every month. A copy of the minutes of all student Council meetings
must be publicly displayed for at least one week within fourteen (14) days of any
meeting held.
• Student Council Committees must meet at least twice every year or more as
deemed necessary (except during summer). Details of the meetings must be
reported to the Student Council at least one week in advance, and legible written
 or typed minutes submitted to the Student Council at the next Student Council
meeting by the Committee chairman
• No quorum is required for any meeting that is publicized in accordance with the
requirements of Article I Section 4.1; the quorum shall be a simple majority of
financial members living on the campus of APNTS;
• Meetings must be called to order within 15 minutes of the advertised starting
time, and must commence and conclude with prayer;
The president of the SBO (or a Student Council member authorized by the
Student Council) shall be the Chairman of all SBO and Student Council
meetings.
• Student Council committees shall be chaired by the chairman elected by the
SBO, or any person authorized by the Student Council if the elected chairperson
is unable to perform his duties;
• All meetings shall be conducted in an orderly fashion;
• Accurate minutes must be taken at all meetings;

Section 5. ELECTIONS AND TERMS OF OFFICE

• Only financial members of the SBO not under the disciplinary action of the SBO
shall nominate, vote for or be elected to office in the SBO;
• Any financial member of the SBO not under the disciplinary action of the SBO
may nominate any other financial member who is currently enrolled for credit at
APNTS and not on Academic Probation (according to APNTS catalogue), nor
under the disciplinary action of the SBO to any office in the SBO. This nomination
must be in writing, seconded by another financial member, and agreed to by the
nominee. This written nomination must be signed by the nominator, seconder
and nominee, and placed in the SBO mailbox no later than noon on the day prior
to any election.
• The President and the Secretary of the SBO (or two people authorized by the
Student Council in the event of their unavailability or nomination), shall publicly
display the list of nominees in alphabetical order by 2:00 p.m. on that day;
• No nominations can be made during the meeting conducted for elections;
• The Student Council may also serve as nominating committee with the provision
that no person serving on the nominating committee may be nominated by the
committee;
• In the event that only one name is submitted for a position, a “yes/no” ballot must
be conducted and a two-thirds favorable result obtained to secure election; In the
event that the name submitted does not receive a two- thirds favorable vote, the
Council may appoint for the position;
• In the event that no nominations are received for a position, the Student Council
will be permitted to appoint someone to that position;
• Elections for the members of the Student Council must commence no earlier
than the eighth week and no later than the tenth week of the second semester;
• Elections shall be by secret ballot on ballot forms provided by the Student
Council;
 • Only the nominating committee can remove the name of the nominees from the
ballot on the basis of the stated qualification in the by laws.
No proxy or absentee voting is permitted under any circumstance. Only those
financial members of the SBO present at the meeting may vote;
Only the President and Vice President nominees can also be nominated to
another position. In the event that they are not elected as President or Vice-
President, their names will be included in the election for members of the Student
Council on the positions that they are nominated. The nomination should also be
made prior to the election. Thus there will be one set election held on the same
day, which is no earlier than the seventh week nor later than the ninth week of
the second semester.
• The President shall be elected by at least two-thirds favorable vote of those
voting. In case two-third vote for President or a simple majority for other offices is
not reached during the first ballot, the second ballot will only include the top two
from the first ballot. Other members of the Student Council shall be elected by at
least a simple majority of those voting.
• Under no circumstance can a plurality vote be used to determine an election;
• Ballots shall be counted by at least three persons chosen by the chairman. No
elections shall be conducted while ballots are being counted unless those
counting are not qualified to vote;
• The full results of each ballot shall be notified in writing to the chairman of the
meeting and signed by each member of the counting committee, these results
shall be displayed publicly and in full by the chairman, and shall include an
accounting of the total ballots cast, the number of votes necessary to elect, and
the number of votes cast for each candidate;
• The term of office for the President and the other members of the Student
Council shall commence at noon on the Saturday preceding the final exam week
of second semester, and shall conclude twelve months later at the same time,
unless otherwise provided for by the agreement of at least two- thirds of those
present and voting in a meeting held for that purpose;
• Only the President and Vice-President nominees can also be nominated to
another position.
• Before all elections the following statement should be posted: “Students are
strongly urged to remember that APNTS is an international Christian institution.
You should prayerfully elect the person who will best represent all of the students
irrespective of racial, cultural, national, denominational or social background;
irrespective of age or gender.”

ARTICLE II. THE STUDENT COUNCIL

Section 1. COMPOSITION OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

• The Student Council shall be composed of the following voting members: The
President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer as well as the Chairpersons
of the Student Council Committees, namely Academic Enrichment, Editorial,
Evangelism & Compassionate Ministries, Social & Functions, Spiritual
Enrichment & Missions, and Sports.
 • Other Student Council sub-committees may be created and the chairperson of
those sub-committees granted membership and voting privileges on the Student
Council subject to a two-thirds favorable vote of financial Association members
present and voting in a meeting held for that purpose;
• Non-voting members of the Student Council may be appointed by action of the
Student Council’s majority decision.
• The Administration of APNTS is invited to appoint the Dean of Students (or any
other appointee) to serve as advisor to the SBO and the Student Council with
vote. The faculty advisor cannot vote in student Council or SBO matters, but is
welcome to attend any of the meetings.

Section 2. QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE

Each elected or appointed officer in the SBO or member of the Student Council must
meet the following qualifications at the time of nomination and election (or appointment)
and must maintain these qualifications to remain in office;
•
o not under the disciplinary action of the Student Council or SBO;
o not under Academic Probation;
o currently enrolled for credit at APNTS;
o not under any financial obligation to SBO;

Additionally, the President and Vice-President of the SBO must be:

• One who has studied at least one year at APNTS for a degree program.

Section 3. DUTIES OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

The Student Council shall have the responsibility of meeting the following duties:

• to plan and organize activities for members of the SBO that meet the stated
objectives or to delegate their planning and /or organization to the appropriate
committee or individuals;
• to represent the members of the SBO to the Administration of APNTS through
the SBO President or any other authorized person;
• to implement the decisions of the SBO where such does not contravene the
constitution of the SBO, the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene, or the just
laws of the Republic of the Philippines;
• to make recommendations to the SBO;
• to make recommendations to the Administration of APNTS;
• to foster Christian unity among students and between students and the staff,
faculty and the administration of APNTS;
• to supervise, direct and co-ordinate the activities of the various Committees of
the Student Council that have been formed or may in future be formed;
• to meet at least once every month;
 • to determine and publicize all details of each meeting of the Student Council and
SBO in conformity with the provisions of Article I Section 4 of this Constitution;
• to publicly display a copy of the minutes of all Students Council and SBO
meetings in conformity of Article I Section 4.3 of this Constitution;
• to inform the members of the SBO of any relevant decision that may affect them
as soon as practicable;
• to perform any other duties as may otherwise be delegated to it by the majority
decision of the members of the SBO in a meeting of that Association;

Section 4. DUTIES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

The duties of the members of the Student Council shall be as follows (failure to
satisfactorily perform any or all of these duties shall be deemed sufficient grounds for
removal from office subject to the procedures outlined in Article II Section 6 of this
Constitution:

• to consistently fulfill the responsibilities of membership in the SBO as listed in

Article I Section 3;
• to satisfactorily discharge the duties of the specific office to which elected or
appointed;
• to faithfully attend each meeting of the Student Council unless providentially
hindered. All anticipated absences should be made known to the President of the
SBO and a written explanation transmitted to the Student Council at or before the
meeting the absence coincides with;
• to submit as written report each Student Council meeting outlining all relevant
duties performed on behalf of the Student Council and/or SBO, clearly indicating
any failures to complete assigned tasks and suggested remedial action;

Specifically, the various members of the Student Council are responsible for the
following:
A. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SBO

• To represent the interests of the SBO to the administration of APNTS to the

maximum level of ability;
• to act as chairperson of all meetings of the Student Council and SBO unless ill,
incapacitated or otherwise providentially hindered;
• In the event of inability to perform any or all assigned duties or tasks, to inform
the Vice-President or the authorized Officer-in-Charge of the Student Council;
• to represent the SBO in whatever capacity the Student Association may be
entitled to representation;
• to follow-up recommendations of the Student Council and/or SBO to the
administration of APNTS and to report on their determination as soon as
practicable;
• to champion and defend the privileges of the members of the SBO as God grants
opportunity and ability;
 • to report to the SBO whether by letter or in an SBO meeting at least one every
three months on the various activities of the Student Council;
• the SBO President, the treasurer and another council member should be the
signatories of cheques, documents in withdrawing money from the bank.
• to perform any other duties that may be delegated by the Student Council or
SBO.

B. THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE SBO

• To perform the duties of the SBO President in the case of the latter’s absence,
illness, incapacity or disqualification unless another person has been authorized
by the Student Council or SBO to do so;
• to perform any other duties that may be delegated by the Student Council or
SBO;

C. THE SECRETARY OF THE SBO

• To preserve all records, minutes and correspondence of the Student Council and
SBO;
• to issue all official resolutions and communications of the Student Council and
SBO to the appropriate authorized parties;
• to manage the SBO office, including the recruitment and supervision of staff;
• to keep an accurate record of attendance at all Student Council and SBO
meetings, and to notify the Student Council when any person has more than one
absence per year;
• to publicize any meetings of the Student Council and SBO in accordance with the
provision of Article I Section 4 of this Constitution;
• to publicly display copies of the Minutes of Meetings of the Student Council and
SBO in conformity with the provisions of Article I Section 4.3 of the Constitution;
• to type or ensure the typing of all minutes and their preservation in a permanent
book or binder;
• to maintain the student bulletin board;
• to publicize student activities and events at the direction of the Student Council;
• to deliver to the newly elected Secretary all records, minutes and
correspondence held in trust upon request of the newly-elected Secretary or
within one week of the termination of office;
• to perform any other duties as may be delegated by the Student Council or SBO;

D. THE TREASURER OF THE SBO

• to keep an accurate record of the income and expenditure of the SBO, as well as
the current status of all SBO accounts, and to present a written report of the
same at each Student Council and SBO meeting;
• to receive and receipt all moneys owed, donated or remitted to the SBO, and to
deposit it at an authorized banking institution or with some other agency
 authorized by the members of the SBO by the conclusion of the next working
day;
• to sign with the SBO President and one other authorized signatory all cheques,
documents or other instrumentalities as directed by the Student Council or SBO;
• to keep an accurate record of all SBO members who owe the SBO money at the
current time, and to report the same at each Student Council meeting;
• to collect any dues, levies of fines as may be imposed on SBO members by the
Student Council or SBO;
• to disburse SBO funds only at the direction of the Student Council or SBO;
• to devise ways and means of raising funds for the SBO in conformity with the
Manual of the Church of the Nazarene and the just laws of the Republic of the
Philippines, and recommend the same to the Student Council;
• to deliver to the newly elected Treasurer all records held in trust upon the request
of the newly-elected Treasurer or within one week of the termination of office;
• to make available all financial records for audit by the auditor authorized by the
Council. Auditing shall be determined by the authorized auditor and a final audit
will be conducted at the end of each school year.
• to perform any other duties as may be delegated by the Student council or SBO;

E. CHAIRPERSONS OF STUDENT COUNCIL COMMITTEES

• to chair the meetings of the committee to which they were elected or appointed;
• to ensure that it meets at least twice a year as per Article I Section 4.4;
• to ensure that a committee secretary is elected by the committee and that
accurate minutes of all meetings are kept and reported at the next Student
Council meeting;
• to ensure that a committee treasurer is elected by the committee, and that an
accurate record be kept of any funds entrusted to that committee;
• to ensure that a committee deputy chairperson is elected, and that the deputy is
made aware of any anticipated absences by the chairman in advance, so that the
deputy can perform the duties of the chairman unless another person has been
appointed by the Student Council;
• to report the details of all committee meetings in conformity with Article I Section
4.4 of this constitution;
• to transmit all committee recommendations to the Student Council and advise the
determination of same to the committee members;
• to report on the attendance at all committee meetings, and to indicate to the
Student Council those who have been absent for more than one meeting;
• to supervise the activities of the members of the committee to ensure maximum
achievement;
• to ensure the implementation of all Student Council or SBO decisions relating to
the committee;
• to perform all duties that may be delegated or assigned by the Student Council or
SBO.

Section 5. DUTIES OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL COMMITTEES

The following duties are assigned to the various Student Council Committees:
A. ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT

• to discuss, devise, and recommend appropriate policies, procedures, and

programs designed to meet the academic and intellectual needs of the members
of the SBO to the Student Council;
• to plan and organize academic activities as directed or approved by the Student
Council or SBO;
• to manage and supervise the use of the SBO computer(s).

B. EDITORIAL

• To plan, produce and publish any student newsletters, journals, year book or
other publications as may be authorized by the Student Council or SBO;
• to devise ways of improving communication between students, alumni, staff,
faculty and administration of APNTS and recommend the same to the Student
Council;
• to provide appropriate outlets for creative written expression by members of the
SBO;
• to devise and recommend to the Student Council appropriate ways of funding
student publications;

C. FUNCTIONS AND SOCIAL

• to build a sense of community and fellowship among the APNTS family through
activities designed to meet the appropriate social needs of each individual;
• to create and conceive appropriate social activities and functions in conformity
with the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene, and recommend the same to the
Student Council;
• to plan and organize all social activities and functions assigned or approved by
the Student Council or SBO;

D. SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT AND MISSIONS

• to discuss and recommend activities designed to meet the spiritual needs of SBO
members to the Student Council;
• to publicized any existing spiritual activities held on the APNTS campus, or likely
to be of interest to SBO members;
• to evaluate all existing activities conducted at APNTS that are of a spiritual
nature, and to suggest ways of improving them to the Student Council;
• to plan, co-ordinate and evaluate all activities in relation to chapel services
should the administration of APNTS so allow;
• to promote the cause of world evangelization on the campus of APNTS,
especially through the missionary endeavors of the Church of the Nazarene;
• to recommend and publicize books, tapes, and other resources that would
increase awareness of missions;
 • to recommend at least one worthy project of the missions nature to the Student
Council each semester that SBO members can contribute to or support;
• to suggest appropriate ways of raising money for the Mission Project to the
Student Council; The mission need should be on the Asia-Pacific Region if at all
possible;

E. EVANGELISM AND COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES

• to identify individuals, families and groups in the community surrounding APNTS

who need to be led to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and /or need
to be incorporated into the responsible membership of a local church;
• to devise appropriate and effective means of building bridges of love and concern
to those in need in the surrounding community, and recommend the same to the
Student Council;
• to plan and organize such evangelistic or compassionate ministries as may be
approved by the Student Council;
• to publicize and promote activities that would increase the ability of SBO
members to effectively evangelize the lost;
• to identify and recommend practical ways of incarnating the compassionate love
of Jesus to the Student Council;

F. SPORTS

• to build a sense of community and fellowship among students through

appropriate games and sporting events;
• to promote and encourage a healthy lifestyle among students;
• to be stewards of any sporting or games that is owned by or entrusted to the
SBO, and to recommend policies for their maintenance to the Student Council;
• to recommend the purchase or replacement of sports and games equipment;
• to plan and organize sporting events or activities approved by or assigned by the
Student Council or SBO;

Section 6. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

• Any member of the Student Council may be asked to resign or be removed from
office for any of the following reasons: failure to satisfactorily discharge the duties
of office; failure to meet the responsibilities of the SBO membership; termination
of enrollment at APNTS; expulsion or suspension from APNTS; repeated
absence from student Council, SBO or Student Committee meetings;
• A member of the Student Council can be removed in any of the following ways:
• A petition signed by at east 25% of the financial members of the SBO, and
approved by at least two-thirds of the Student Council present and voting;
• the two-thirds decision of the Student Council Subject to a majority vote of the
members of the SBO in a regularly-called meeting held for that purpose;
 • in the case of a Student Council committee Chairman, by a two-thirds vote of that
committee and approved by a two-thirds vote of the Student Council present and
voting;
• A person removed from office can stand for re-election, providing that that person
is still qualified for membership in the SBO in conformity with Article I Section 1
and Section 3 of this Constitution;
• A person is automatically removed from office if that person no longer meets all
the qualifications for that office;

Section 7. FILLING VACANCIES

• In the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of the presidency of the SBO,
the Vice-President shall automatically become President and shall be entitled to
all the privileges and responsible for all the duties of the presidency; the position
of Vice-President shall be declared vacant, and elections scheduled within two
weeks;
• In the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of the Vice-President,
Secretary, or Treasurer of the SBO, an election must be scheduled within two
weeks in compliance with the provisions of Article 1 Section 4.;
• In the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of a Student Council Committee
Chairperson, the deputy chairperson of that committee shall become chairman
subject to the approval of the Student Council. In the event that the deputy
chairperson is disapproved by the Student Council, an election must be
scheduled within two weeks in accordance with Article I Section 4.

ARTICLE III ACCOUNTABILITY

Section 1. SBO FINANCES
•
o SBO fees shall be collected every semester (including summer) from each
person enrolled at APNTS by the Central office staff and to be remitted to
the Treasurer of the SBO. The Student Council shall determine the
amount of the student activity fee upon the approval of the Student
Organization and the approval of the administrative council.
o All SBO fees, dues, levies and fines shall be determined by the majority
decision of the members of the SBO in a regularly called SBO meeting;
any increase in fees, dues, levies or fines must be submitted to the
members of the SBO for approval;
o All moneys shall be received and issued with receipts by the treasurer of
the SBO or by those authorized by the Student Council or SBO;
o Money raised or received for a designated purpose must be disbursed for
such purpose only. In the event that this cannot be complied with or
should the Student Council decide to disburse funds in a different manner
than originally designated, the two-thirds favorable vote of the SBO
members and the written permission of the donor must be first secured;
v

• The Student Council may decide to invest the funds of the SBO with the
Administration of APNTS or elsewhere. Any change in banking arrangements
requires the permission of the members of the SBO in a meeting held for the
purpose;
• The Student Council may initiate fund-raising drives subject to the approval of the
Student Association and in conformity with the provisions of the Manual of the
Church of the Nazarene and the just laws of the Republic of the Philippines;
• All SBO funds must be deposited in a duly recognized commercial bank under
three signatories. Any two of the three shall be authorized to sign any cheques or
other financial instrumentalities. These should be the President, Treasurer of the
SBO and another signatory decided by the Student Council.
• All financial records of the SBO must be available for inspection within 24 hours
of a request by a member of the SBO;
• In the event of the dissolution of the APNTS SBO, all assets of the association
(after any liabilities have been satisfied) shall be transferred to the Administration
of APNTS to be invested and held in trust until such time as another SBO
representing all the Student of APNTS can be organized. In the event that no
such organization takes place within two years from the date of the dissolution of
this SBO, all assets shall be applied to the Student Scholarship Fund of APNTS.

ARTICLE IV AMENDMENTS AND EFFECTIVITY

• This constitution may be amended, approved, revised or dissolved by a two-

thirds vote of the financial members present and voting in a duly constituted and
regularly called SBO meeting.
• This Constitution shall take effect upon the two-thirds vote of the members
present in a duly constituted Student Body Assembly.

ARTICLE V TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

The incumbent officers and members of the Student Council shall continue to remain in
office, discharge the duties and functions assigned to them until their successors shall
have taken their oath.