In 2001 the board formed a Membership Committee to propose policies related to the classification of members. Its recommendations were presented in August, 2001 and adopted by the board and membership in October, 2001.
No details of the analysis have been recorded.
The following policies are active.
Associate Members:
To become [A1] or to remain [A3] an Associate Member, an individual must:
[A1] past Bylaw Clause 1:
Clause 1 defines the requirements to become an Associate Member, but not to remain as an Associate Member.
[A2] past Bylaw Clause 13
[A3] proposed Bylaw:
change as listed in [A4] of the Voting Member policy.
[A4] current Board Resolution Membership Committee Report 2001-08-09 proposed motion 'Associate Member A4' included in omnibus Board Resolution 2001-10-02 motion X:
Moved that Associate Members are encouraged to attend general meetings. [A6]
[A5] current Board Resolution Membership Committee Report 2001-08-09 proposed motion 'Associate Member A5' included in omnibus Board Resolution 2001-10-02 motion X:
Moved that in order to receive and maintain the approval of the Board for Associate Membership, an individual must have participated in the organization at least once (e.g. attended a meeting, training session, or search, or donated time or resources) in the last 12 months. [A6]
[A6] current Board Resolution 2001-10-02 motion X:
Be it moved that the Membership Policies and the Quorum Policies be accepted as presented by the Membership Committee in their report dated Aug 9, 2001.
[R1] Member participation makes the society stronger. Stating that members are encourage to attend meetings makes this explicit.
[R2] Written meeting notices are given to permit members to attend. It is expected that this will not be a burden to the organization as the notice can be given for the entire year once a year or upon joining.
[R3] Individuals who are not participating at all in the year are not contributing to the organization, but are still taking resources in mailings, newsletters, etc. Such individuals should not be members.
[R4] The board is the best group to suspend or expel members. If the matter must be brought to the membership at a general meeting, the issue will be too destructive on the cohesiveness of the organization and its relationship with the community. Additional policies can be created that restrict the manner or circumstances under which a member is suspended or expelled.