AIITE Bylaws

Adopted on September 20, 2026.

Article I — Name, purpose, and offices

Establishes the Institute's name and its purpose: advancing IT and engineering through education and community, recognizing outstanding achievement through the Fellow grade, and supporting ethical, professional development.
The principal office is set by the Institute; the fiscal year is the calendar year.

Two grades: Ambassador (active membership, no fee, admitted on verified application) and Fellow (selective, panel-approved). The grades are independent: Ambassador status is never a prerequisite of, nor does it confer eligibility, preference, or a presumption of approval for, Fellowship.
Fellow is the Institute's highest grade.
Fellows gain the FAIITE (Fellow of the American Institute for Information Technology & Engineering) post-nominal, Council eligibility, and inclusion in the Fellow Gallery.
Membership and Fellow status are non-discriminatory, may be resigned at any time, and may be suspended or revoked for violations of Institute policy.

Applicants must document evidence across four of seven categories: Innovation and Adoption, Leadership and Responsibility, Research and Knowledge Advancement, Peer Review and Professional Service, Professional Recognition, Organizational or Industry Impact, and Mentorship and Development.
One achievement may support more than one category, but the applicant must demonstrate how it independently satisfies each category's requirements. Repeating the same evidence does not, by itself, establish additional categories.
AIITE undertakes to publish its eligibility categories, Panel biographies, and aggregate acceptance rate at least annually, and to maintain a Fellow Gallery of current Fellows. The eligibility categories and Panel biographies are published before each review cycle opens; the Fellow Gallery, its roster of conferred Fellows, and first acceptance figures follow the close of the inaugural review cycle.

Recognized experts across information technology, AI, data analytics, and software engineering, drawn internationally, with names and biographies published.
Reviewers are appointed for one-year terms.
Every application goes to a panel of five Reviewers. Each Reviewer scores the four categories claimed by the applicant, plus an Overall Fellowship judgment worth twice a category score, for a maximum of 30 points; a Reviewer's recommendation to approve requires a rating of at least 3 (Substantive) in each of the four categories, a rating of at least 4 (Fellowship-level) in the Overall Fellowship judgment, and a weighted total of at least 22 of those points. All three requirements must be satisfied. Conferral requires at least three of the five Reviewers to independently recommend approval. No single Reviewer decides alone, and no Reviewer holds a casting or weighted vote.
Reviewers must disclose and recuse from conflicts, keep applicant materials confidential, and may be removed for breaches.
No panel of five may be constituted such that a single employer or organization holds a majority of its seats, so that no one organization can shape a determination through composition alone.
The determination and the vote it carried are recorded, and both are disclosed to the applicant in the conferral letter on a successful outcome.

Self-nomination or nomination by an existing Ambassador, plus two endorser endorsements: one Professional Relationship endorser with direct, first-hand knowledge of the applicant's work, and one Independent Expert endorser external to the applicant's current employer. Neither may be a subordinate, close relative, paid application preparer, or referral-benefit recipient. The applicant uploads a signed statement from each endorser as part of the application, held in confidence by the Institute, and AIITE may also contact either endorser directly to confirm it.
Application requires documented evidence, a professional biography, and an assessment fee.
Declined applicants may provide additional evidence and request one reconsideration by a newly constituted panel, for a reduced $99 fee.
Fellow status remains active once conferred, with no further fee.

AIITE is administered by its officers, who oversee strategy, budget, Review Panel appointments, and Council charters.
Those administering the Institute hold no vote on any individual Fellowship application. Determinations rest solely with the Review Panel under Article IV.
A majority of those administering the Institute must have no employment, ownership, or consulting relationship with any organization that prepares or files immigration, licensing, or other credentialing petitions. This is a direct independence safeguard.

Binding on every Officer and Reviewer: annual written disclosure of business, employment, and consulting relationships, plus mandatory recusal from any matter involving a personal or affiliated interest.
A dedicated provision requires disclosure and recusal for anyone involved in preparing or filing immigration or credentialing petitions where Fellow status could be used as supporting evidence.

An annual meeting, open to Ambassadors and Fellows, held in person or virtually, with at least 30 days' notice.

The Institute may establish Councils on defined disciplines, such as AI and machine learning, cybersecurity, cloud and infrastructure, or data and analytics, to advance knowledge-sharing and applied practice.
Councils are formed from, and chaired by, Fellows only. Ambassadors may take part in Council activities but cannot hold formal membership or leadership.
Each Council operates under an approved charter and has no authority over Fellow Selection, Membership, or Institute governance.

Bylaws amend by a two-thirds vote of those administering the Institute, with 14 days' notice.
Changes to the Fellow grade protections, the Eligibility Standard, the Selection Panel, or Conflicts of Interest require an additional 30 days' notice to all current Fellows before adoption.

Officers and Reviewers are indemnified, and shielded from personal liability, for good-faith actions on the Institute's behalf.

Governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina; standard severability and effective-date provisions apply.