The SAAL Board is grateful to the community for their engagement during the past few months. It has been an exciting time as we make progress on the implementation of a new strategic plan, evaluating and updating the board structure, and aligning the bylaws with our future direction. While the bylaws provide consistency and structure, the current board has determined a need to update large sections in an effort to support future boards. These updates are made with the best of intentions and focus on creating a sustainable organization that will serve our members, and our volunteers, in the best possible way.
The section following this post outlines the changes the board would like to implement beginning on January 1, 2023. Below are six major changes outlined by the board. We are providing space for public comment and a single vote in agreement or disagreement for the proposed changes. We believe it is in the best interest of our members to voice their opinion in one vote instead of having to submit multiple votes for every change. We have taken this course of action for a number of reasons: 1) folks are busy and your time is valuable, 2) the board believes these changes align with the needs of the community, 3) this comprehensive review should be considered as a whole to ensure future boards have the necessary vision and structure to provide the best possible tools for their success.
This post serves as the opening of a period for public comment regarding the bylaw changes. We are asking for your engagement once again in the form of comments, questions, concerns, or any additional responses you would like to provide about these proposed bylaw changes. This period will be open for two weeks. The board will make every effort to respond in a timely manner to all comments. We will follow up with a post providing an overview of the comments and responses. At the end of these two weeks, we will ask for you to vote on these changes.
We have a number of action items to complete as we finish the year and want to make sure you have every opportunity to voice your opinion. Please review the following action items and reach out to us at saassessmentleaders@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Action Items:
- Review the proposed bylaw changes and provide any comments between November 29, 2022 and December 13, 2022.
- Vote for or against all bylaw changes with a single vote.
- Vote on board elections between December 5, 2022 and December 16, 2022.
- Sign up for committee participation during elections!
We recognize the board has made a number of changes this year and appreciate your support. We have not undertaken these changes lightly, but deem them to be relevant and necessary given the state of our organization and the field of student affairs assessment. Thank you for your commitment to student affairs assessment and this organization.
Wishing you all the best for the remaining time this year!
The 2022 SAAL Board
SAAL Bylaws Proposed Changes & Updates
CHANGE 1
Article 2: Overview
Section 1: Vision
Proposed vision: SAAL nurtures a thriving community of individuals engaged in Student Affairs Assessment.
Section 2: Mission
Proposed mission: Create a robust, active, and inclusive community committed to supporting and advancing critical conversations with resources and scholarly endeavors related to student affairs assessment.
CHANGE 2
Article 4: Governance
Section 1: Governing Body
Proposed Governing Body change: The SAAL Board of Directors, the governing body of the SAAL Organization, proposes a change to the governing body of the organization.
The current board is comprised of the following voting members (1) Chair, (2) Secretary, (3) Governance and Administration Committee Chair, (4) Advancement Committee Chair, (5) External Relations Committee Chair, (6) Membership Committee Chair, (7) Professional Development Committee Chair, and a (8) Member-at-Large.
The Board proposes to change the governing body to the following voting members: (1) President, (2) Vice President of Community Development & Engagement, (3) Vice President of Professional Learning & Development, (4) Vice President of Profession Advancement, (5) Treasurer, (6) Secretary, (7) Communications Specialist.
The non-voting members of the Board may include additional members to support the mission and vision of the organization. Examples of these positions may include the Open Course Manager, Editor for the Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry, a Chief Project Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, and others that are deemed necessary. These positions shall be included at the discretion of the Board.
CHANGE 3
Section 5: Specific Duties
President
- Collaborate to ensure the development and implementation of Student Affairs Assessment Leaders (SAAL) strategic planning. The following statements will be included in a bulleted format: (a) work with SAAL Board and community to identify metrics to measure successful implementation of strategic plan (b) choose at least 2-3 measures that adequately demonstrate implementation of the strategic plan to share with the SAAL community.
- Ensure communication and collaboration between functional areas of SAAL (i.e., Community Development & Engagement, Professional Learning & Development, and Profession Advancement).
- Serve as the main-point-of-contact and liaison for external partners (e.g., CAS, ACPA, NASPA).
- Manage SAAL projects and maintain accountability among leadership with respect to mission-critical objectives and action team roles.
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
Vice President of Community Development & Engagement
- Maintain accurate membership records, including the annual renewal of membership.
- Facilitate and manage the recruitment and selection of SAAL members for involvement opportunities, such as committee membership, non-elected leader roles, and elected leader roles.
- Facilitate the onboarding and offboarding of Board and general members.
- Lead committee/work group to develop and implement strategic actions that support SAAL in fulfilling its mission and strategic plan by: (a) providing inclusive spaces and networking opportunities for student affairs assessment leaders, (b) implementing opportunities that mentor and support early professionals in student affairs assessment, (c) implementing opportunities for seasoned student affairs assessment professionals can engage with one another, (d) implementing ways to grow and sustain the membership of SAAL so that the organization can flourish.
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
Vice President of Professional Learning & Development
- Closely communicate and collaborate with the Vice President of Profession Advancement and Vice President of Community Development & Engagement to strategize the alignment of content across delivery methods (i.e., podcasts/structured conversations) .
- Lead committee/work group to develop and implement strategic actions that support SAAL to fulfill its mission and strategic plan by: (a) identifying the professional development needs of the field using current literature and/or conducting a needs survey of membership, (b) creating educational opportunities for members that meet the needs of the field using a variety of mediums (e.g., podcasts, webinars, virtual boot camps or conferences), (c) collaborating with the SAAL leadership design and administer measures to determine if professional learning and development has occurred as a result of engagement in professional opportunities, (d) using data to improve educational opportunities for SAAL membership.
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
Vice President of Profession Advancement
- Closely communicate and collaborate with the Vice President of Professional Learning & Development and Vice President of Community Development & Engagement (e.g., posting unique content on the same podcast).
- Lead committee/work group to develop and implement strategic actions that support SAAL to fulfill its mission and strategic plan. By: (a) identify the gaps in understanding that student affairs and higher education professionals have about the profession of student affairs assessment (e.g., the profession’s purpose, the benefit of having full-time student affairs assessment professionals), (b) create strategies responsive to the needs of the profession that will enhance the knowledge about the profession of student affairs assessment (e.g., podcasts, webinars, white papers), (c) administer measures to determine if the strategies result in higher levels of knowledge about the field of student affairs assessment, (d) use data to improve strategies to advance the knowledge regarding the student affairs assessment profession, (e) establish and execute the research agenda for SAAL including publishing whitepapers on promising practices, hot-topic issues, the landscape of the profession, etc.
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
Treasurer
- Manage non-profit status of SAAL.
- Ensure financial viability of SAAL.
- Ensure financial responsibilities of SAAL are paid by the organization.
- Manage contracts and external partner sponsorships.
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
Secretary
- Manage the administration of the organization’s constitution and by-laws.
- Keep accurate records for the organization, such as Board meeting minutes.
- Communicate regularly to SAAL membership and prospective SAAL membership through a variety of communication channels, such as social media and the website.
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
Communications Specialist
- Manage SAAL communication accounts (e.g., SAAL website, social media, listserv)
- Marketing SAAL to and with other professional associations (e.g. AALHE, ACPA, AIR, NASPA) or other organizations (e.g., Campus Labs, EBI).
- Work across all committees to co-create a monthly content calendar as well as develop & publish content for web, list serv, and social media accounts
- Commit to and serve a volunteer 3-year term, regardless of professional role changes, or help identify a professional to fulfill the remainder of the term.
CHANGE 4
Section 6: Terms of Office
Proposed Change: Members of the SAAL Board are elected for three-year terms. Board members are able to re-evaluate their commitment to the role annually.
CHANGE 5
Article 5: Committees
Section 1: Standing Committee Duties
Community Development & Engagement: Service for the Community (led by the Vice President of Community Development & Engagement)
The primary purpose of this committee is to foster a sense of belonging for SAAL members in the organization and the profession.
- Engage and manage the blog
- Mentor and support early professionals
- Engage on the listserv, providing/collecting resources, and focusing on professional development
- Help institutions develop structures that sustain a culture of assessment on all campuses
- Create a sustainable community of assessment practitioners
- Provide networking opportunities and spaces to discuss challenges facing full-time professional assessment folks
- Membership management
- Maintain membership database. Including the following: annual renewal of membership, board elections (including soliciting nominees for Board positions, preparing & administering the ballot, verifying results, and notification), standing committee membership recruitment and notification, newsletter
Professional Learning & Development: Service to the Community (led by the Vice President of Professional Learning & Development)
The primary purpose of this committee is to support student affairs assessment professionals to advance their knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- Support the development of podcasts, the structured conversation program, and the open course
- Support graduate students who are interested in engaging in student affairs assessment
- Describe and provide opportunities to develop the skills needed to successfully conduct assessment in SA
- Facilitate a 2-3 day 'bootcamp'
- Facilitate learning to improve quality of assessment practice
- Partner with AALHE/IUPUI , and other organizations, to develop and support graduate students
- Manage the resource repository and appropriate maintenance
Research On & Advancing Knowledge of the Profession: Service about the Community (led by the Vice President of Profession Advancement)
The primary purpose of this committee is to advance knowledge about the student affairs profession.
- Advance student affairs assessment scholarship
- Administer the assessment professionals landscape/needs survey
- Be responsive to the current assessment climate
- Move the field of SA assessment forward, including advancing timely and innovative practices
- Investigate competencies need to navigate assessment
- Establish and execute the research agenda for SAAL, and subsequent support mechanisms such as the creation of data fellows or internship opportunities
- Publish on various aspects of student affairs assessment
- Support the Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry
- Produce whitepapers on promising practices, hot-topic issues, and other timely topics that support the community
CHANGE 6
Section 2: Committee Leadership
Standing committees shall be led by the Vice President over that same functional area, with the support of the Board.