Commissions - Guidelines

A request to become a commission is forwarded to the Division Representatives at least two months before the Fall Commission and Interest Group Division (CIGD) meeting. It is assumed that any group proposing to become a commission will have previously met the outlined criteria for establishing and maintaining an interest group for two years (two post-conference reports submitted). The Division Representatives provide an application to create a commission. The application outlines the procedures and timeline for the creation of the commission. It should include the following:

Rationale for creation of the commission
Clearly identifiable goals
Diversity Charge — Include how the proposed commission will enhance and seek to expand the diversity of NACADA. With this charge, the NACADA Board of Directors seeks to increase the diversity of NACADA by attracting and involving members from diverse ethnicities, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, as well as from institutions of diverse sizes and types, in an effort to add the richness of diverse representation within all units of the association.
A first-year action plan. The action plan articulates how the commission will meet the identified goals (that is, journal articles, sponsorship of sessions at national, and where feasible, at regional conferences, and correspondence with membership of the commission).
An outline for a two-year strategic plan that includes how the commission will contribute not only to its constituents but also to NACADA and the advising profession
The names of the first appointed Commission Chair and Steering Committee members. Appointed Commission Chairs are invited to participate in the Fall Division Meeting but may not vote. If commission status is granted, the appointed chairperson will be replaced through the standard NACADA elections the following spring.

The Division Representatives will review the proposal to determine if it should be forwarded to the Division members for initial approval of commission status or returned to the Chair for revision. A vote will be taken at the Commission & Interest Group Division meeting to determine if the proposal is acceptable. If determined acceptable at the Division level, the proposal will be forwarded on to the Council for final action.

If the Council approves the application for commission status, appropriate elections will be held during the next NACADA elections process. The elected commission chairperson will become a voting member in the Division.

TIMELINE:

NOVEMBER 15: Initial indication due in post-conference report by Chair of Interest Group interested in seeking Commission status.
MARCH 1: Final notification due to CIGD Division Reps from Chair of Interest Group interested in seeking Commission status.
MAY 1: Final proposal due from Interest Groups seeking Commission status -- e-mail proposal to both Division Reps and Julia Wolf.

Additional Information:

Commission Chair Expectations

Evaluation and Review of Commissions:

The work of the commissions is regularly reviewed by the Commission & Interest Group Division Representatives and the NACADA Council for effectiveness and contributions to NACADA. Therefore, commissions can exist only if members contribute significantly to the activities.

To receive a successful review from the Division Representatives, a commission's annual fall report must show progress in relation to the goals submitted by the commission in the previous post-conference report (November).

If the Division Representatives determine a commission is not meeting expectations or contributing to the overall NACADA Strategic Plan, the Division Representatives may call for an initial vote of the Division as to whether the group should retain or lose commission status. If approved at the Division level, the issue will be forwarded to the Council for final action. The Council may recommend that a commission should be continued, disbanded, or continued with certain contingencies having to be met, or combined with other commissions.

A fall annual report is submitted from each commission and reviewed by the CIG Division Representatives before each Fall Division meeting. The annual fall report is completed electronically using the template provided in the online report system, which is structured to encourage identification of goals specifically addressing the NACADA Strategic Plan. These commission goals might include some of the following activities:

Contributions to NACADA publications (i.e. Academic Advising Today, Journal, monographs, and/or special publications).
Solicitation of Commission-related presentations for the annual and regional conferences (e.g. roundtables, preconference workshops, etc.).
Communications with commission members about activities, updates, etc., via list serves, commisson member e-mails, the Academic Advising Today e-publication, etc. In addition, the commission shall have an annual meeting at the fall conference.
Contributions to the specific area of academic advising represented by the Commission through such activities as white papers, web pages, reports, handbooks, discussions of current issues, seminars or other methods creating widespread exposure of the information and Commission.
Sponsorship or presentation of concurrent sessions at conferences of other organizations.
Participation in NACADA recognition and awards program by nominating noteworthy activities or individuals in the commission.
Submission of manuscripts to refereed journals other than the NACADA Journal.
Solicitation of funding through NACADA and outside agencies for pursuing special projects and activities.
Provision of resources, reference materials, or information for dissemination via the NACADA or Commission Web site.

NACADA Executive Office
Kansas State University
2323 Anderson Ave, Suite 225
Manhattan, KS 66502-2912
Phone: (785) 532-5717 Fax: (785) 532-7732
e-mail: nacada@ksu.edu