III. SECTION ADMINISTRATION

Membership

Section Handbook

A. NOMINATING NEW OFFICERS

As a practical matter, guidelines call for elected leadership. Recruitment and preparation of new leaders and continuity of operations is also an important matter. Some Sections have found it helpful to have multi-year terms for their officers. Others employ a system of past president, president, and president-elect to add continuity and allow more time to identify future nominees.

B. PLANNING ELECTIONS

Procedures for holding elections are set forth by individual Section by-laws.

C. MANAGING LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS

APSA encourages Sections to set up guidelines in order to facilitate the smooth transition of its leadership. It is helpful if the outgoing officer gathers all information pertinent to the administration of that office such as bylaws, financial statements, the APSA Section Handbook, historical Section information etc. This information can be handed off to the incoming officer each year at the Section Business Meeting or at the Organized Section Officer breakfast. Contact the National Office for further recommendations at sections@apsanet.org.

D. MAINTAINING COMMUNICATIONS AMONG OFFICERS

Email has made maintaining communication among officers much easier; Listservs can also be used to facilitate communication among members. Any Section desiring to start a listserv among the officers can contact APSA at sections@apsanet.org; those Section officers wishing to start a listserv for Section membership should asking their campus IT department if they can provide the service, and if not, it is possible to use a free, web-based service such as Yahoo! Groups.

E. PRESERVING RECORDS

A newsletter may serve adequately as the journal of record of Section meetings and activities, if minutes and other actions are routinely reported there. APSA headquarters will maintain complete records of Section newsletters and organizing documents, such as by-laws, as well as back records of Section OFficers and Award winners. Organized Sections should develop their own policies for archiving other Section records, and should notify APSA of the Archive's location.

F. KEEPING BY-LAWS CURRENT

Organized Sections are required to have by-laws, and provide the Association with updated versions as necessary. APSA collects current by-laws from Sections and will circulate its by-laws collection to Sections upon request. To receive copies of the sample by-laws (the by-laws of the Religion and Politics Section and the Presidency Research Section) or the by-laws of a specific Section, please contact Organized Section Liaison at sections@apsanet.org.

G. REPORTING NEW OFFICERS, DUES, AWARDS COMMITTEES, AND AWARD RECIPIENTS

APSA maintains a roster of all Section officers which is posted on the APSA web site and published annually in PS following the Annual Meeting. Be certain to keep this data current throughout the year. Changes in dues, changes in Section names, and the names and institutional affiliations of new officers should be submitted in writing to the Organized Section Liaison no later than the end of the first week of October. You can turn in notification of changes at the Annual Meeting Organized Section Breakfast, at the APSA convention office at the Annual Meeting, or by email/U.S. Mail (sections@apsanet.org or APSA, Attn: Organized Section Liaison, 1527 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036-1206).

IMPORTANT: Membership forms and Organized Section information are only printed once a year. If Sections miss the deadline, APSA cannot list accurate accurate information on the Section and will not be able to list new names or dues structures on the APSA membership forms or listed in PS. Changes in dues can be made in real time, at any time during the year, on the APSA web site, which is how the majority of members renew Section memberships.

*Due the by the end of the first week in October*:

H. POLICY REGARDING THE SCHEDULE OF REPRINTING APSA MEMBERSHIP FORMS

A new policy regarding the schedule of reprinting APSA membership renewal forms has been approved by the Committee on Organized Sections. The policy reads: "changes in membership forms, including changes in Section dues, will go into effect for the December renewal cycle each year". Such a policy is being established in response to the requests from Organized Sections to distribute Section journals via Section membership. This new policy ensures that any dues changes or decisions to incorporate journals into the dues made by Organized Sections (usually at the Annual Meeting and submitted to the APSA national office in late September) will be incorporated fairly quickly.

I. MEMBER SERVICES

The National Office is available to assist individual Sections in their endeavors to recruit new or returning members, by providing up to date information on its membership and their interests. Ideas for enhancing services for members include welcoming new members, contacting lapsed members, offering a newsletter and/or an electronic listserv. Getting feedback from members and suggestions for how to involve new members in Section activities are valuable and welcome from Section officers.

J. MEMBERSHIP DUES

Dues are the primary source of revenue for Organized Sections. Membership for Sections runs concurrently with APSA membership; a member's Section affiliation from the previous year will be indicated on their membership renewal invoice, and he/she is then given the opportunity to renew their Section membership along with their Association membership.

Collected dues are deposited directly into Section checking accounts quarterly. A copy of the deposit ticket will be sent to treasurer quarterly. A $2.00 surcharge is added to all international Section memberships for foreign postage. This reduces the income drain from mailing newsletters overseas.

K. MEMBERSHIP LISTS

The Association will supply chairs or other Section administrators with a quarterly membership roster in excel format on a quarterly basis, but more often, Chairs and Newsletter Editors request the roster directly as needed, generally just prior to sending out Section correspondence. If you need a membership roster at any other time, please feel free to contact the Organized Sections Liaison at sections@apsanet.org. APSA will not, however, send you mailing labels unless you request them. They will be sent via U.S. Mail, so keep this in mind and make sure you order them in a timely fashion. These services are included in the monies retained by the APSA from Section dues. If you are not an officer of an Organized Section you must request labels, for a fee, from DeAnna Hatcher, Infocus, 341 Victory Drive Herndon, VA 20170, tel: (800) 708-5478 x.2740, fax: (703) 834-0110, Email: dhatcher@infocusnet.com. Officers can submit requests to the Organized Sections Liaison at the email address above.