- Should local chapters require members to pay dues?
- What is the role of the NSSLHA chapter advisor?
- How should a chapter advisor be selected?
- What is the desired procedure when a new chapter advisor is selected?
- What happens if the chapter advisor leaves the position or retires?
- What happens if the chapter does not have an advisor that is a current member of ASHA?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of the local chapter officers?
- How should local officers be selected?
- What is the desired procedure when new officers are elected?
- What happens if the chapter does not have chapter officers that are current members of national NSSLHA?
- What is the role of committees in maintaining the local chapter?
- How does a chapter maintain national chapter recognition?
- What happens if a chapter is not in good standing with the National Office?
1. Should local chapters require members to pay dues?
Each chapter may set its own rules and regulations concerning membership. The national association does not dictate local membership requirements, but the chapter's membership policies must not conflict with the national bylaws. The national bylaws suggest that chapters encourage membership in both the national association and the local chapter.
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2. What is the role of the NSSLHA chapter advisor?
The National NSSLHA Bylaws require that every recognized local NSSLHA chapter have a faculty advisor who is member in good standing of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
The NSSLHA chapter advisor serves as a link between the students and the profession, as well as the link between the local NSSLHA chapter and the NSSLHA National Office. The chapter advisor is responsible for making sure that all information from the NSSLHA National Office is disseminated, either directly or through the chapter president to all students in a chapter.
A good chapter advisor will be a vital help in planning and developing chapter activities. The advisor can provide suggestions and ideas for meetings, speakers, videos, discussion topics, fundraising activities, and Regional Projects.
Once named, the advisor should be kept informed of, and invited to participate in, all chapter activities. The advisor's guidance should be sought on all policy matters.
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3. How should a chapter advisor be selected?
National NSSLHA does not have a policy on how to select a chapter advisor. Some advisors are selected based on their position in the university. Some chapter advisors have nominated themselves for the position. Whatever method your chapter uses to select a new advisor, make sure that this is well documented for future reference.
In any case, students should require that an individual who assumes the position of advisor be a member of the faculty or staff who shows an enthusiastic interest in student activities, particularly in NSSLHA. The advisor selected must be willing and able to devote time and guidance to the chapter.
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4. What is the desired procedure when a new chapter advisor is selected?
The national office recommends the following procedures for new chapter advisors:
- Report the change in Advisor to the National Office. Use the NSSLHA Chapter Recertification Form to update any changes in the local chapter.
- Review the Checklist for New Chapter Advisors (member only content) located on the Chapter Resources page of the NSSLHA Web site.
- Review the bylaws of the local chapter. If you do not have a copy of the local chapter's Bylaws, check with your office of student affairs (or it's equivalent) for a copy. You can also contact the NSSLHA National Office. We maintain copies of Bylaws for any new chapters established since 2000.
- Hold a meeting with the officers to debrief on any outstanding issues. Meet with the officers immediately to learn what projects are outstanding and what their problems are in the chapter. Develop a plan with the officers to resolve all outstanding matters and fix any problems.
If the chapter has not elected new officers, consult the local bylaw provisions related to the election of new officers. In the absence of the bylaws, identify four students that exhibit leadership qualities and select those students to become the new officers.
- Schedule regular meeting with the chapter officers to review the progress of outstanding chapter activities. Meet with the chapter officers regularly to monitor the progress of activities and to plan new activities.
- Read "NSSLHA Today" and forward the information to your students. The national office will send a monthly email to the chapter advisor and officers with timely information and announcements relevant to the chapter and students. It is important to read these updates and forward the information to students in your program. Keep your email address updated with the national office to ensure that you receive information on a timely basis.
- Visit the chapter resource section of the NSSLHA Web site or contact National Office staff for assistance. Resources for local chapters are available on the NSSLHA Web site. Visit the site whenever there are questions or contact the national office staff at nsslha@asha.org for assistance.
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5. What happens if the chapter advisor leaves the position or retires?
Provisions for replacing a chapter advisor should be included in the local bylaws. In the absence of the bylaws when a chapter advisor leaves the position, another advisor should be selected and the national office should be notified immediately.
You must use the NSSLHA Chapter Recertification Form to report any changes in the chapter to the National Office.
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6. What happens if the chapter does not have an advisor that is a current member of ASHA?
A local NSSLHA chapter operating with an advisor that is not a current member of ASHA is not in good standing. The advisor must join or renew membership in ASHA immediately to keep the local chapter in good standing.
Until the National Office receives confirmation that the advisor has retained membership in ASHA the chapter will be listed as status "pending" for one year.
After one year the chapter will be listed as a chapter not in good standing with the National Office.
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7. What are the roles and responsibilities of the local chapter officers?
There are no requirements in the NSSLHA Bylaws concerning local officers and committee chairs other than the requirement that officers must be members at the national level of NSSLHA. Each chapter may establish the officer positions that are deemed necessary, set its own policies regarding qualifications and duties of officers, and develop election procedures.
The experience of other chapters has shown that officers usually include a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and national liaison:
- The President serves as the spark plug of the organization. Presidents should be "idea persons" who can generate the interest and impetus to keep the chapter alive and working. The president's duties include selecting others for responsible positions, stimulating them and seeing that assignments are completed properly and on time. The president and other officers should encourage all chapter members to join the national NSSLHA in order to fully participate and receive all member benefits.
- The Vice President should work closely with the president, be kept aware of all chapter activities and programs, and be ready to step in whenever the president is unable to perform the assigned duties.
- The Secretary of the chapter has an important and exacting task, which includes enlisting the aid of committee chairmen in assembling information and drafting reports. The secretary has the ultimate responsibility for preparing and keeping chapter records and handling correspondence. A large and active chapter may wish to divide the work between a recording secretary and a corresponding secretary.
- The Treasurer must see that the chapter's finances are in order and accounted for, while assuring that all possible sources of revenue are explored. In addition, the treasurer might want to consider special fund raising events to finance chapter programs and activities.
- The National Liaison works closely with the president and chapter advisor to help facilitate the communication between the national NSSLHA and the local chapter. The national liaison may also be in close contact with the appropriate NSSLHA regional councilor to keep abreast of national NSSLHA information and activities. (This does not have to be a separate position in a chapter. This could be added to the roles and responsibilities of an existing position, for instance, the chapter president or secretary could assume this role as a part of their regular duties.)
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8. How should local officers be selected?
The national association does not have a policy on how to select local chapter officers. We only require that the students be members of the national association. However the chapter decides to select officers, make sure that this is well documented in your local chapter bylaws for future reference.
Keep in mind that students chosen to serve as local officers should be those who have shown a commitment to the local and national association and are willing to spend the time and effort such responsibility entails.
Spring elections are suggested so that the new officers each year will have a period of orientation with the outgoing officers and so that the chapter leadership will not lose continuity over the summer.
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9. What is the desired procedure when new officers are elected?
The national office recommends the following procedures for new chapter officers:
- Report the change in officers to the National Office. Use the NSSLHA Chapter Recertification Form to update any changes in the local chapter.
- Review the Checklist for New Chapter Advisors (member only content) located on the Chapter Resources page of the NSSLHA Web site.
- Review the bylaws of the local chapter. If you do not have a copy of the local chapter's bylaws, check with your office of student affairs (or it's equivalent) for a copy. You can also contact the NSSLHA National Office. We maintain copies of bylaws for any new chapters established since 2000.
- Hold a meeting with the chapter advisor to debrief on any outstanding issues. Meet with the chapter advisor and past officers immediately to learn what projects are outstanding and what their problems are in the chapter. Develop a plan to resolve all outstanding matters and fix any problems.
- Schedule regular meeting with the chapter advisor to review the progress of outstanding chapter activities. Meet with the chapter advisor regularly to monitor the progress of activities and to plan new activities.
- Read "NSSLHA Today" and forward the information to your students. The national office will send a monthly email to the chapter advisor and officers with timely information and announcements relevant to the chapter and students. It is important to read these updates and forward the information to students in your program. Keep your email address updated with the national office to ensure that you receive information on a timely basis.
- Visit the chapter resource section of the NSSLHA Web site or contact National Office staff for assistance. Resources for local chapters are available on the NSSLHA Web site. Visit the site whenever there are questions or contact the national office staff at nsslha@asha.org for assistance.
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10. What happens if the chapter does not have chapter officers that are current members of national NSSLHA?
A local NSSLHA chapter operating with officers that are not current members of NSSLHA is not in good standing. At a minimum, the chapter president and vice president must maintain membership in national NSSLHA. All chapter officers must maintain membership in national NSSLHA to keep the local chapter in good standing.
Until the National Office receives confirmation that the officers have retained national membership, the chapter will be listed as status "pending" for one year.
After one year, the chapter will be listed as a chapter not in good standing with the National Office.
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11. What is the role of committees in maintaining the local chapter?
The actual planning and development of chapter activities and programs are performed by committees established for specific purposes. Committee chairs are usually appointed by the president. To keep the interest levels high, as many chapter members as possible should be involved in working on committees.
Depending on the chapter, committees could be established to handle some or all of the following activities:
- Membership - to recruit members for national and local NSSLHA, collect dues (if dues are required by that chapter) and keep membership records.
- Educational Program - to plan meetings and other programs of an educational nature including arranging for speakers, assigning research topics, arranging for audio cassettes and videotapes, and other duties.
- Service Program - to plan service projects for the chapter, e.g.,"NSSLHA Loves" campaign events, speech and hearing screenings, volunteer work in facilities for the handicapped, and others.
- Publicity - to keep members aware of chapter activities through newsletters, bulletins, reminder phone calls, and to publicize any events open to nonmembers for the greatest possible participation.
- Fundraising - to plan fundraising events needed to finance chapter activities and programs.
- Nominating Officers - to prepare a slate of candidates for election.
- Hospitality - to organize social activities planned by the chapter and make refreshments available, when needed, at meetings.
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12. How does a chapter maintain national chapter recognition?
Local chapters must recertify annually with the National Office to remain in good standing. Annual recertification with the national office is important to keep track of the names of the current officers and the name of the Chapter Advisor, and it is a good reminder for members to keep up with their national membership.
By December 31 of every year, the local chapter must submit a NSSLHA Chapter Recertification Form to update the current address information for the chapter as well as listing the current chapter advisor and chapter officer information.
To remain in good standing the chapter must retain a chapter advisor that is a current member of ASHA and chapter officers that are current members of the national association.
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13. What happens if a chapter is not in good standing with the National Office?
Local chapters that are not in good standing with the National Office lose access to privileges and resources that are available from the National Office.
A chapter that is not in good standing cannot:
- Receive regional project grant funds.
- Nominate or be nominated for the NSSLHA Honors program.
- Nominate a student for a regional councilor position.
- Receive recognition for charitable contributions.
- Participate in chapter recognition programs.
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