PICU strives to maintain a consistent set of principles and values for all of our constituents. Our philosophy and policies can be found within our organization bylaws, which can be accessed below. Downloadable version available at the link in the title.
The name of this organization is Private Illinois Colleges and Universities; hereafter referred to as PICU.
Article II. Purpose and Objectives of PICU
The goal of PICU is to increase matriculation of Illinois community college students to Illinois-based
private colleges and universities. To accomplish this goal, the following objectives will be implemented:
Section 1 Increase community college awareness of private colleges and universities in the state of
Illinois.
Section 2 Educate community college students, counselors and faculty about the value and financial
resources available at private institutions.
Section 3 Promote private institutions’ contacts with students, counselors and faculty at community
colleges.
Article III. Steering Committee/Appointed Officers
Section 1 The Steering Committee of PICU consists of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary,
and four Regional Chairs. Members of the Steering Committee are elected to two-year terms except for
the Regional Chairs whose terms are continuous. The Appointed Officers serve as Chairs of the following
committees: Scholarship, Marketing, and Technology. The Steering Committee shall meet at least twice
a year, and shall serve as the Nominating Committee in election years (see Article VII).
Section 2 The Steering Committee and Appointed Officers shall carry out the duties specified by the
PICU Bylaws and those normally associated with their positions that are not so specified:
A. President
The President shall be the chief elected officer of PICU, and shall preside at all general meetings and
Steering Committee meetings of PICU. The President sets the agenda of said meetings with the
assistance of the Steering Committee and any suggestions from the membership. This office also
oversees the membership application process.
B. Vice President
The Vice President shall assist the President by increasing and maintaining PICU awareness and
outreach, providing content for association publications and media as requested, leading the PICU fair
scheduling and invitation process. In addition, he/she will coordinate established committees such as
the Scholarship and Budget Committees as well as any subcommittees needed for special projects. The
Vice President will conduct and serve the organization in the role of the president in their absence.
C. Treasurer
The Treasurer shall have the custody of, and be responsible for, all funds and investments of PICU, and
manage all financial business related to the PICU fiscal year (June 1 through May 31). The Treasurer shall
approve all expenditures after consulting the President and Secretary, keep receipts and an accurate
record of those expenditures and deposit all monies of PICU into such bank or depositories as the
Steering Committee may approve. The Treasurer shall provide financial reports to the Steering
Committee. The Treasurer also maintains records of all PICU members and sends renewal notices to
members.
D. Secretary
The Secretary shall keep all records of PICU, take and distribute accurate minutes of the general
meetings, notify membership of future meetings and take care of general correspondence. The
Secretary shall also work closely with the Regional Chairs to establish and distribute a yearly calendar of
PICU events. This officer will also maintain and update needed forms and publications.
E. Regional Chairs (4)
The four Regional Chairs of PICU shall plan, in association with the Secretary, all PICU events in their
specific regions of Illinois (Appendix A). Regional Chairs shall also ensure that community colleges in
their region be made aware of PICU activities and establish relationships with appropriate community
college personnel. The Regional Chairs are expected to facilitate the PICU counselor update sessions, as
well as record the attendance or absence of registered PICU schools during the scheduled events within
their region. If a Regional Chair is unable to attend an event in his/her region, another member must be
appointed in advance to perform this function.
F. Past-President
The Past-President shall serve PICU during the year following the two-year term as President in the role
of mentor and advisor for the new President and Steering Committee, ensure a smooth transition of
responsibility, and shall conduct business meetings in the event of the President’s absence.
The past president shall also serve on the Budget Committee – see Section 4 below.
G. Scholarship Chair
The Scholarship Chair shall collect all applications for PICU’s yearly scholarship review and oversee the
selection process by the Scholarship Committee.
H. Marketing Chair
The Marketing Chair is responsible for all publicity surrounding PICU events, scholarships, professional
conferences, as well as establishing and maintaining PICU’s presence in various social media outlets. The
Marketing Chair will work collaboratively with the Social Media Specialist to develop strategy, content,
and designs for all social media accounts. Additionally, the Marketing Chair will work closely with the
Technology Chair to continually explore ways to best utilize the PICU website in order to support the
goals and mission of the organization.
I. Social Media Specialist
The Social Media Specialist is responsible for overseeing all PICU social media accounts. This includes
working collaboratively with the Marketing Chair to develop a social media strategy and create unique
content to best promote PICU fairs, scholarships, and success stories. In addition to monitoring
accounts, the Social Media Specialist will also be tasked with recording data on reach, impressions, and
engagements of organic and sponsored posts.
J. Technology Chair
The Technology Chair shall conduct research as to the various technological methods that PICU can use
to research its audience and achieve its goals. This officer is responsible for facilitating updates and
overall operation of the PICU website – www.picuonline.org – and shall report such updates to the
Steering Committee and membership as needed. This position will also maintain and update the PICU
Membership Directory when institutional staffing changes occur.
Section 3 PICU shall not compensate any member or auxiliary party for services rendered to PICU,
except for expenses incurred in the performance of duties to PICU that have been approved by a
majority vote of the Steering Committee and/or the membership.
Section 4 The Steering Committee shall transact all necessary business of PICU, formulate and
recommend policies to the membership, and shall carry out such activities as directed by the
membership. They will also serve as the primary members of the Budget Committee – along with the
Past-President – to establish PICU’s operating budget for the ensuing budget year.
Article IV. Election of Officers
Section 1 The President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary of PICU shall be elected at the annual
spring meeting and shall assume the leadership role immediately following the election. If the election
of officers shall not be held at such meeting, an ad hoc election may be held soon thereafter as
conveniently as may be. If no other candidate for either office accepts a nomination, and one member
runs unopposed, the outgoing President shall declare the election over and the new officers shall
assume their leadership roles immediately. Nominations shall be made in the fall prior to the election
year or at another time determined by the Steering Committee or the President.
Section 2 In the event that any Elected/Appointed position becomes vacant, the Steering Committee
shall appoint someone from the membership to assume that role and serve the remainder of the term.
Officers may be removed from office by a majority vote of the Steering Committee and/or the
membership for failure to perform the duties of the office or failure to uphold the provisions of the
Bylaws.
Article V. Minimum Criteria and Process for Membership
PICU, as a private membership organization, reserves the right to deny membership for any reason, and
will consider each application holistically. These minimum criteria are offered as guidelines, not as an
exhaustive list of all factors that PICU may consider.
Each application for new membership may, at the discretion of the Steering Committee, be subject to a
majority vote of current members. Such votes can take place at one of PICU’s full membership meetings
when a quorum (i.e., two-thirds of the total membership) of schools is represented, or via online polling.
Section 1 Member colleges and universities must be non-profit private institutions accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission and members of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary
Schools, or directly accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Section 2 Membership is not available to individual departments, programs within an institution, or to
stand-alone graduate schools.
Section 3 Member colleges and universities that award technical or vocational degrees must also offer
and award Bachelor’s degrees.
Section 4 The representatives of participating colleges and universities must be direct employees of the
institution able to provide advising and evaluation of transfer credit, in addition to serving in the
traditional recruiting role.
Section 5 New membership is limited to institutions that offer site-based courses within the state of
Illinois leading to a baccalaureate degree. Institutions not headquartered in Illinois may be admitted if
they are able to award Illinois MAP Grants to eligible students and a majority of current members vote
in favor of their applications to join PICU.
Article VI. Responsibilities of Membership
Section 1 Payment of an annual membership fee shall be $400 for new membership and $300 for
renewal membership. The Treasurer will collect renewal dues once a year following the Summer
membership meeting. New members may be asked to pay a prorated amount according to the time of
year in which they were approved for membership.
Section 2 Invoices for membership dues will be sent late August/early September and will have a due
date listed of October 1 each year. Two reminders will be sent requesting follow up and payment. Any
institution that does not correspond with the Treasurer or President and does not pay dues in full by the
date of the fall membership meeting will not be invited to attend spring term fairs.
Section 3 Members are required to attend at least 10 transfer college fairs during each academic year –
including the update session with community college counselors – (those who attend fewer than 10 fairs
will be required to attend every fair in their respective region), provide an institutional update in the
standard format, and attend at least one of the three general membership meetings.
Section 4 Members are expected to support PICU through participation in the management and
development of the organization.
Article VII. Termination of Membership
Section 1 Membership in PICU shall be terminated if a member fails to pay annual dues or fails to satisfy membership eligibility requirements.
Section 2 Members may be dropped from membership for not attending fairs and/or counselor update
meetings. If the stipulations regarding PICU fair/counselor meetings listed in Article VI, Section 2 are not
met for two consecutive semesters, the Steering Committee shall convene and decide whether to
terminate membership of the institution in question. Said institution will be sent a warning notice from
the President after the first semester of non-attendance.
Section 3 Current members that transition to “for-profit” status and have maintained continuous membership, will be added to an exemption list. As of July 27, 2021, those institutions include Devry University. However, any current or future members that terminate membership with PICU, whether voluntary or not, would be held to the current membership criteria as stipulated by Article V.
Article VIII. Miscellaneous Guidelines Pertaining to Membership
Section 1 To be eligible for membership, potential members must meet all six criteria in Article V unless
waived at the discretion of the current membership, and with the approval of the Steering Committee.
Section 2 Current members that do not meet the six criteria in Article V are hereby allowed to remain in
the organization, provided that they maintain the standards established in Article VI.
Section 3 New members will be considered on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Section 4 Previous members seeking re-entry to the organization, that left in good standing and meet
current membership criteria, will be brought back at the current “returning member” dues rate and
without a vote from general membership. However, previous members seeking re-entry that were
dismissed for violating responsibilities of membership (as stipulated in Article VII) would be subject to a
vote by general membership and, if approved, would be brought back at the current “new member”
dues rate.
Article IX. Social Media Policy
Section 1 The Marketing Committee Chair is responsible for posting PICU fair schedules and event
reminders to the PICU Facebook page and, potentially, other social media platforms. The Chair also will
create posts promoting the PICU scholarship.
Section 2 Member institutions are allowed the opportunity to utilize the PICU Facebook page to post
college/university-specific events such as:
A. Open Houses
B. Transfer Visit Days
C. Admission and Scholarship Deadlines
D. On-site Admission Days
Member institutions can post the aforementioned information directly to the PICU page or tag the page
in their own postings. Other types of information not listed above may be considered for posting
pending approval of the Marketing Chair.
Article X. Scholarships
In support of the organizational mission, PICU will grant a minimum of seven scholarships each year –
three $1000 and four $500 award – to community college transfer students looking to achieve their
educational goals at a member institution. The scholarship application collection and review will be led
by the Scholarship Committee Chair. The Chair shall also notify scholarship recipients of their award no
later than two weeks after a decision has been made.
Article XI. Annual Meetings
The membership will gather for three annual meetings to discuss business matters related to the
organization: Fall (typically held in late October), Spring (typically held in late February), and Summer
(typically held the 3rd Friday in June on the campus of a member institution).
Article XII. Amendments
Amendments to the Bylaws may be discussed at any PICU membership meeting and need to be
presented to the President in writing. The President shall present the proposed amendments to the
membership within two weeks of the subsequent business meeting if significant changes are being
proposed. Any amendments to the Bylaws require the consideration of a simple majority of the
members present.
Article XIII. Non-Discrimination Policy
PICU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age,
affectional/sexual orientation, or disability in any of its policies, procedures or practices. This nondiscrimination policy covers membership and access to PICU programs and activities.
