Statute – UniRede

Note: The translation of this text is currently under review

ASSOCIAÇÃO UNIVERSIDADE EM REDE (UniRede)

Chapter I

NAME, HEADQUARTERS, CHARACTERISTICS AND DURATION

Art. 1 – The “ASSOCIAÇÃO UNIVERSIDADE EM REDE” (UniRede), is a non-profit civil association, headquartered in and under the jurisdiction of the City of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, located on Avenida Paulo Gama, nº 110 – Anexo 3 – sala 213 – Bairro Farroupilha – Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul CEP: 90040-060 and will be governed by this Statute and the legal provisions that apply to it.

Art. 2 – UniRede will exist indefinitely.

Chapter II

PRINCIPLES, PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES

Art. 3 – UniRede’s actions and policies are guided by the principles of:

democracy in decisions;
transparency of administrative acts;
cooperation between associates;
gratuity of partnerships between member institutions;
availability of productions for the purposes of Distance Education for the associated institutions.

Art. 4 – The purpose of UniRede is to promote the scientific and technological development of Distance Education, and for objectives:

a) develop, through partnerships with public and private institutions, teaching, research and extension projects related to Distance Education;

b) promote studies and research in the area of Distance Education and its relations with society;

c) encourage and carry out activities to evaluate strategies and the economic and social impacts of policies, programs and scientific and technological projects related to Distance Education in its most varied forms;

d) disseminate information, experiences and Distance Education projects to society;

e) promote interlocution, articulation and interaction between the most varied sectors in order to propose public policies aimed at democratizing access to education through Distance Education; and

f) to improve the programs and courses offered by the associated institutions, in order to implement measures and quality standards in Distance Education.

Chapter III

MEMBERS AND AFFILIATES

Art. 5 – UniRede consists of an unlimited number of members, distributed in the following categories:

Founders: all those signatories to the UniRede Constitution Act;
Institutional: Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs);
Collaborating Affiliates: private individuals who perform teaching and research activities in distance education, in connection with public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

Art. 6 – The rights and duties of the founding member are restricted to the process of creating the Association.

Art. 7 – The rights of the institutional affiliate are:

Vote and be voted for elective positions, in accordance with UniRede’s Internal Regulations;
forward proposals to the Board of Representatives or to the Presidency relevant to the fulfilment of UniRede’s purposes;
make use of the services and facilities provided by UniRede;
ultimately resort to the Board of Representatives for acts and resolutions of the Presidency that contradict their rights;
participate in seminars, meetings, workshops and other meetings organized by UniRede, according to the criteria established by the event.

Art. 8 – The duties of the institutional affiliate are:

comply with statutory, regulatory and regulatory provisions;
abide by the decisions of the Board of Representatives and the Presidency of UniRede;
appoint their representative and alternate to the Board of Representatives;
keep its basic information up-to-date by forwarding the Institution’s Annual Performance Report to the Political Coordination Committee, with the results of projects developed and in progress;
participate in the work and activities of UniRede, when requested;
contribute annually to the Association, under the terms and amounts stipulated by the Board of Representatives.

Article 9 – The collaborating affiliate’s rights are:

Vote for elective positions, subject to regional representation;
forward proposals to the Board of Representatives or to the Presidency relevant to the fulfilment of UniRede’s purposes;
make use of the services and facilities provided by UniRede;
ultimately resort to the Board of Representatives for acts and resolutions of the Presidency that contradict their rights;
participate in seminars, meetings, workshops and other meetings organized by UniRede, according to the criteria established by the event.

Art. 10 – The collaborating affiliate’s duties are:

comply with statutory, regulatory and regulatory provisions;
abide by the decisions of the Board of Representatives and the Presidency of UniRede;
keep their basic information updated by forwarding the Annual Performance Report to the Political Coordination Committee, with the results of their participation in projects developed and in progress;
participate in the work and activities of UniRede, when requested;
contribute annually to the Association, under the terms and amounts stipulated by the Board of Representatives.

Chapter IV

ADMISSION, DISMISSAL AND EXCLUSION OF AFFILIATES

Art. 11 – The admission, dismissal and exclusion of members will be governed by the following ways:

For the admission of institutional members, the interested institution must be duly recognized by the Government as a Public Higher Education Institution and apply for admission in the manner established by the Board of Representatives;
It is an indispensable requirement for the admission of individual associates (employees) to be linked to a Public Institution of Higher Education (HEIs), a Public Research Institution or Federal, State or Municipal Public Administration Bodies. The interested party must apply for admission in the manner established by the Board of Representatives.
Any member who incurs in acts or attitudes incompatible with UniRede’s postulates, in the form of the Internal Regulations and those who are not satisfied with the annuities, may be suspended from full enjoyment of their rights.
The Board of Representatives is competent to promote the temporary removal of the associate;
Members are not legally liable, not even jointly or subsidiarily for UniRede’s social obligations.

§ 1 – Once the right of defence is assured, the exclusion of members will occur as a result of non-compliance with the statutory provision, upon proposal by the President of UniRede and after approval by at least 1/3 of the members of the Board of Representatives.

Chapter V

ASSETS AND REVENUE

Art. 12 – The assets and rights acquired or that may be destined to any title are part of UniRede’s social patrimony.

Art. 13 – The financial resources necessary for the maintenance of UniRede come from:

agreements, contracts or any other adjustments made with public or private, national, foreign or international institutions;
social subsidies transferred to it by the Government;
contributions from members, in accordance with the provisions of the Internal Regulations and already provided for in these Statute;
income from commercial exploitation of its activities;
income from investments of its financial assets and others related to the equity under its management;
donations, bequests or inheritances;
loans or financing from national, foreign or international organizations, as provided for in the Internal Regulations;
other resources that may be allocated to you.

§ 1 – UniRede will not distribute any operating surplus, gross or net, to its associates, representatives, employees or donors, dividends, bonuses, participations or portions of its assets, earned through the exercise of its activities, and apply them fully in achieving their social objectives.

§ 2 – The general chart of accounts will discriminate revenues, expenses and other elements, in order to allow UniRede’s financial, equity and results assessments.

Art. 14 – In the event of the dissolution of UniRede, the assets that integrate its assets as well as the financial surpluses, resulting from its activities, will be incorporated into the assets of the Union, the States, the Federal District or the Municipalities, in proportion to the resources and goods allocated by them.

Chapter VI

STRUCTURE, ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION

Art. 15 – UniRede’s management bodies are:

General meeting;
Board of Representatives – BR;
Political Coordination Committee – PCC;
Presidency;
Executive Secretary;
Supervisory Board – SB.

Section I

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Art. 16 – The General Assembly of the associates is the highest decision-making body of the entity, being sovereign in its decisions, respecting the provisions of this Statute and its duties are:

Change the Statute of UniRede;
Approve the entity’s balance sheets and accounts;
Appreciate the Association’s annual activity report;
Empower the Board of Representatives;
Remove members of the Board of Representatives, the Supervisory Board, the Executive Secretary and the Presidency of UniRede;
Decide on the transformation, extinction, dissolution of UniRede;
Decide, as a last resort, on any and all matters of social interest, as well as on cases not covered by these Statute.

§ 1 – The summons of the General Meetings will be made through circulars sent by post, through widely circulated newspapers, or even by electronic means.

§ 2 – In any event, the convening acts of the General Meetings must be signed by the President.

§ 3 – At the General Meeting, voting by proxy is prohibited.

Art. 17 – The General Assembly will be constituted by the Presidency of UniRede, by a representative of each associated Public Higher Education Institution, elected under the terms defined in the Internal Regulation and a representative of the collaborating affiliates by region.

Art. 18 – The Ordinary General Assemblies will be held at least once a year, during the Annual Meetings held at the Congress of Higher Distance Education (ESUD), to appreciate the report and the accountability of the Board and other matters considered pertinent, all included in the Assembly’s agenda. The General Assemblies will be held at the request of the President of the Association or at the request of a third of its members, or at the request of a fifth of the UniRede members.

Section II

THE BOARD OF REPRESENTATIVES

Art. 19 – The Board of Representatives is the highest guidance and decision-making body of the Association.

Art. 20 – The Board of Representatives will be constituted by the President of UniRede and by a representative of each associated Public Higher Education Institution, elected under the terms defined in the Internal Regulation.

§ 1 – The position of component of the Representatives Committee is institutional, and the member must be replaced when the institution’s representation is replaced.

Article 21 – It is incumbent upon the Board of Representatives:

discuss and vote on matters on the agenda regarding the achievement of the Association’s objectives, under the terms of the Internal Regulation;
assist the President in his duties.

Art. 22 – The member of the Board of Representatives who misses, without justification accepted by the President of UniRede, will lose his mandate for two consecutive ordinary meetings.

Art. 23 – The Board of Representatives will meet:

ordinarily, once a year; and
extraordinarily, whenever called by its President or at the request of one third of its members, or at the request of one fifth of UniRede’s associates.

Art. 24 – The decisions of the Board of Representatives will be adopted by a simple majority of votes of the members present, with each member having one vote and the President having the casting vote.

Art. 25 – The President of UniRede may decide, ad referendum of the Board of Representatives, a matter that, given the urgency or threat of damage to the institution, cannot wait for the next meeting.

Section III

THE POLITICAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE

Art. 26 – The Political Coordination Committee will be composed of the President and Vice President of UniRede, a representative from each Regional of UniRede, a representative from federal institutions, one from state institutions and one from technological education institutions, one collaborating representative elected under the Internal Regulations.

§ 1 – Associated institutions will be grouped into regions, according to their distribution in the Federal Areas as follows:

North Region: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins;
Northeast Region: Ceará, Maranhão, Alagoas, Bahia, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe and Piauí;
Midwest Region: Federal District, Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul;
Southeast Region: Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo;
South Region: Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.

Art. 27 – Each member of the Political Coordination Committee is responsible for:

represent your region or institutional category with the Presidency;
represent UniRede, when appointed by the Presidency.

§ 1 – The position of component of the Political Coordination Committee is personal, and there must be a new election when the institution’s representation is replaced or a member resigns.

Art. 28 – The Political Coordination Committee is responsible for:

coordinate, together with the Presidency of UniRede, the policies and actions defined by the Board of Representatives;
to define guidelines for the planning and development of UniRede’s administrative and technical actions, taking into account the recommendations of the Board of Representatives, regional vocations and the demands of public policies at the national level.

Art. 29 – The Political Coordination Committee will meet:

ordinarily, every four months; and
extraordinarily, whenever called by its President or at the request of one third of its members.

Section IV

THE PRESIDENCY

Art. 30 – UniRede will be chaired by a President, who will also be the President of the Board of Representatives and of the Political Coordination Committee, and a Vice-President, elected in the form of the Internal Regulations, being responsible for promoting, executive institutional objectives, according to the guidelines and plans approved by the Board of Representatives.

Sole paragraph: During the term of president and vice-president, they will not exercise the role of institutional representatives.

Art. 31 – The President and the Vice-President will have a two-year term, with the right to a renewal.

Art. 32 – The President of UniRede is responsible for:

plan, direct and control UniRede’s services and activities, under the terms of the Internal Regulation;
establish the values of the annuities, after hearing the members of the Political Coordination Board – PCC;
represent UniRede actively and passively, in or out of court;

Art. 33 – The Vice President will replace the President in his absences and legal impediments and will have his duties defined in the Internal Regulation.

§ 1 – The vice president cannot hold the presidency for a continuous period of more than 12 months.

Article 34 – In the event of vacancy in the positions of President and Vice-President, the functions will be assumed by the oldest member of the Political Coordination Committee until the new election, which must be convened within sixty days.

Section V

THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Art. 35 – The Executive Secretary will carry out the actions determined by the President, adopting financial and administrative policies in support of the activities of the Presidency and the Political Coordination Board.

Art. 36 – The Executive Secretary will be headed by the Executive Secretary and composed of employees, in number and qualification consistent with the achievement of UniRede’s objectives.

§ 1 – The distribution and details of the powers of the Executive Secretary will be established in the Internal Regulations of UniRede.

§ 2 – The Executive Secretary will be appointed by the President and, after his nomination by the Political Coordination Committee has been approved, he will be appointed to exercise the position.

Art. 37 – The Executive Secretary will lose his position in case of violating the rules that regulate the operation of UniRede or if, manifestly, he does not fulfil his powers, in the form of the Internal Regulation.

Section VI

THE SUPERVISORY BOARD

Art. 38 – The Supervisory Board will be constituted of three members designated by the Board of Representatives, one President and two members.

Art. 39 – The Supervisory Board will meet periodically, as established in the Internal Regulations in ordinary sessions and, extraordinarily, when called by the Board of Representatives.

Art. 40 – It is incumbent upon the Supervisory Board to control UniRede’s financial actions, under the terms of the Regulations.

Chapter VII

HUMAN RESOURCES

Art. 41 – The management of UniRede’s employees will be carried out under the Consolidation of Labour Laws regime.

Art. 42 – UniRede’s Internal Regulations will regulate the basic principles of human resources regulation.

Chapter VIII

GENERAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Art. 43 – The members of the Board of Representatives, as well as of the Political Coordination Committee, and members of the presidency, will not receive remuneration for the services that, in this condition, they provide to UniRede, except for the cost of assistance.

Art. 44 – The fiscal year will coincide with the calendar year, ending on December 31 of each year.

Art. 45 – The institutions that belonged to the UniRede consortium on the date of its extinction are temporary Institutional Associates of the UniRede Association, for a period of six months from the date of approval of the Association’s internal regulations.

Art. 46 – This Statute can only be changed with the approval of at least 2/3 of the members present at the General Meeting.

Art. 47 – UniRede can only be dissolved by decision of 2/3 of its members, manifested in a general meeting specially called for this purpose.

Art. 48 – Except for the resolutions referred to in articles 46 and 47 of these Statute, the resolutions of the general meeting will be considered approved by a simple majority of the members with voting rights, even with the payment of the annuity and in the enjoyment of the rights social.

Art. 49 – The Forum of the Judicial Circumscription of Porto Alegre / RS is elected for any action based on these Statutes.

São João Del-Rei, MG – September 12, 2016.

Maria Teresa Menezes – Secretary of the Assembly

Freitas Ivete Martins Pinto – President of the Assembly

Delané Mayolo
OAB / RS 27,805