Guidelines for Organizing a Section Meeting of the ISAAPT
Compiled by Conley Stutz, Physics Department,
Bradley University,
Peoria, IL 61625 (retired). (Last updated September 9, 2014, cjw) These guidelines are intended to assist those who are considering or have agreed to hold a meeting of the Illinois Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers. The Illinois section holds two meetings per year -- one in the fall, usually in October, and one in the spring, usually in April. Most meetings are scheduled to begin on Friday and ending at noon on Saturday. Workshops are often scheduled for Friday mornings with the first plenary talk starting at 1:00 p.m. Longer workshops may run into Friday afternoon and some may be scheduled for Saturday morning when necessary to accommodate the presenters. I. Things to consider before offering to hold a meeting
II. Offering to hold a meetingThe offer to hold the meeting should be made at least two years in advance (arrangements can be made if offer is made with a shorter lead time) before the meeting and should consist of a written communiqué to the Council of the Section and should consist of the following:
III. 10-12 months before the meetingSoon after receiving approval of the Council of the Section the local organizing committee should meet and proceed as follows:
Hear progress reports from the organizing committee members and decide on the following financial matters.
VI. 5-6 months before the meeting
VII. Three months before the meeting
VIII. One month to six weeks before the meeting
IX. Two weeks before the meeting
X. The week preceding the meeting
XI. Day of the meeting arrange for the following
XII. During the paper sessions arrange for the following:
XIII. Following the meeting arrange for the following
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A Checklist for Planning an ISAAPT Meeting_____ a. Secure approval of the appropriate administrators to hold the meeting. _____ b. Get commitment from colleagues and others to help. _____ c. Pick a date and an alternative date. _____ d. Secure approval of the Section Council. _____ e. Investigate sources of funds. II. 10 -12 months before the meeting _____ a. Inform appropriate Section officers and representatives of plans. _____ b. Put together an organizing committee and divide up responsibilities III. 7-8 months before the meeting _____ a. Do financial planning _____ b. Issue invitations to plenary and banquet speakers. _____ c. Issue invitations to workshop presenters IV. 6-7 months before the meeting _____ a. Reserve necessary rooms _____ b. Make banquet arrangements _____ c. Reserve accommodations for speakers and workshop presenters. _____ d. Order mailing labels V. 5-6 months before the meeting _____ a. Mail first call for papers _____ b. Prepare materials for second mailing _____ c. Invite vendors and exhibitors to show their wares and provide prizes, etc. _____ d. Be sure Section officers are informed of your plans VI. 3 months before the meeting _____ a. Finalize catering arrangements for banquet and other refreshments _____ b. Mail second call for papers including registration forms, maps, preliminary program, etc. _____ c. Make second contact with vendors and exhibitors _____ d. Arrange for individuals to chair sessions _____ e. Inform campus security of the meeting and arrange for parking _____ f. Work carefully with the ISAAPT webmaster to get all meeting and registration on the ISAAPT web site VII. 1 month to 6 weeks before the meeting _____ a. Make final mailing which includes preliminary program, specific instructions, registration forms, late call for papers _____ b. Invite local celebrities to welcome participants and attend the banquet _____ c. Confirm arrangements for speakers and workshop presenters VIII. 3 weeks before the meeting _____ a. Finish official program and mail to all who have pre-registered and to colleges and universities _____ b. Check with co-hosts if any (SPS, TYC21, etc.) to see if there are any last minute changes in their agenda that might affect the plans for your meeting IX. Week of the meeting _____ a. Arrange for registration by preparing materials such as name tags, etc. _____ b. Assign helpers, ushers, etc. _____ c. Give caterer final counts _____ d. Arrange for seating at banquet for invited guest and others _____ e. Inform workshop leaders and session moderators of their responsibilities X. Day of the meeting _____ a. Put direction signs up _____ b. Unlock doors to rooms being used _____ c. Make sure registration materials and personnel are in place _____ d. Make sure there are guides available _____ e. See that all your session leaders and presenters are present _____ f. Provide for introducing greeters and plenary speakers _____ g. Be sure refreshments are in place _____ h. Make last check on banquet preparations XI. Following the meeting _____ a. Take care of money affairs locally and with Section treasurer _____ b. See that speakers depart in a timely manner _____ c. Mail attendance list with dues, etc. to Section treasurer _____ d. Write thank you letters to all who participated _____ e. Be sure newsletter editor receives copy of all abstracts, meeting program, and list of exhibitors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Budgeting Information for Hosting an ISAAPT Section MeetingBudgeting for a meeting can make all the difference between breaking even and a financial disaster. Meetings are expected to be self-supporting. If there is a shortfall due to unforeseen circumstances, then the ISAAPT can move to cover expenses. Budgeting requires that you carefully consider sources of expected revenue and areas of expense. Below are a few of these elements of budget planning: Income
Expenses
*Sponsor Support Combined, the university, college office, and physics department might be asked to contribute approximately $500 to $1,000 in support. This support might be for travel expenses associated with invited speakers or for hosting breaks by providing for refreshments. **Use of the Rossing Fund for Joint Meetings Declaring a joint meeting between adjoining AAPT sections or the ISAAPT and other organizations is the prerogative of the ISAAPT Executive Council only. Joint meetings require formal consent of both organizations' leadership councils. During officially declared joint meetings, it might be possible to use the Rossing Fund (contact Treasurer for details) to pay in part or in full expenses associated with one or more guest speakers. Use of the Rossing Fund is at the discretion of the ISAAPT Executive Council only and must be pre-approved by the Council. Conference hosts should be aware that the $30,000 principle of the fund may not be used; only investment income in excess of the principal may be used. In some years investment income can amount to zero. ***Dues ISAAPT dues collected at the time of the spring and fall meetings are not to be considered part of the receipts of the meeting. Dues are collected at meetings as a matter of convenience for members only. Collected amounts for dues should be transmitted directly to the treasurer. ****Registration Fees Registration fees normally are expected to cover all expenses associated with a meeting unless supplemental support is obtained through grants, gifts, or other types of support such as the Rossing Fund which may be used only during joint meetings. Such support may be used to lower the registration fee for a meeting as an enticement to increase registration numbers. Registration normally should be completed through the ISAAPT web site, but on-site registration will still be possible. Due to the need to produce added materials to address the unpredictable needs of on-site registrants, the on-site registration fee will be $5 higher than that available online. (Policy approved at the Spring 2014 Council Meeting) The registration fee should be large enough to cover meeting expenses, and should include (for both spring and fall meetings) an additional $3 to cover the cost of the Student Research Symposium. Expected Attendance It's not possible to predict in advance how many will register for your meeting. Well promoted joint meetings (ISAAPT, SPS, TYC21, two-state) with two or three well-known speakers have, in the past, drawn from 90 to 100 registrants. Meetings that have not been as well promoted and which have featured local talent have drawn from 40 to 50 registrants. Keep this in mind as you estimate your expected attendance for budgetary purposes. BUDGET CONSERVATIVELY, and count on fewer attendees that you might honestly expect. Finances of Meetings including Joint Meetings The ISAAPT normally will handle the registration process and its treasurer will collect all registration fees (and dues as appropriate) from its own conference hosts for the purpose of payment of bills (and membership). This also will be the case during joint meetings with other Sections unless agreed to otherwise in advance. After dues payments are removed from the income and all bills are paid, the ISAAPT will retain all excess income. In the case of joint meetings with other sections, remaining income will be distributed in proportion to the amount of registration fees (only) by each section membership. (Policy approved at the Summer 2014 Council Meeting) Budget Deficits While it is preferable that all meetings generate a small profit or at least break even from a budgetary viewpoint, it is acceptable - with the prior authorization of the ISAAPT Executive Council - to plan a meeting budget that includes a deficit if the purpose of that deficit is to bring in unusually interesting or qualified speakers that normal meeting registration fees would not otherwise completely cover. (Policy approved at the Summer 2014 Council Meeting) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Accounting FormsThere are two accounting forms with which meeting hosts should be familiar: 1.
Receipts Transfer Form The Receipts Transfer Form should be completed by the meeting host before transferring meeting receipts to the ISAAPT Secretary/Treasurer. Both the conference host and Secretary/Treasurer should count all money upon transfer. The amount being agreed upon, both host and Secretary/Treasurer sign the Receipts Transfer Form in duplicate and keep a copy for their records. The Profit-Loss Statement is completed by the conference host and transferred to the Secretary/Treasurer after all meeting bills have been paid and accounting completed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guidelines for Administering the Student Research SymposiumThe ISAAPT Student Research Symposium is held only during the spring meeting. Nonetheless, there are duties associated with the symposium for even the fall meeting host. Fall Meeting Hosts
Spring Meeting Hosts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Promoting the MeetingWeb Pages for the Meeting The process of hosting a meeting has been simplified by providing up to date information on the Web pages for the meeting. See various years of "Past Meetings" on the ISAAPT home page for examples. Mailing List and E-mail List Mailing labels are available via the Web if you wish to do a hard-copy mailing. The secretary and Webmaster both maintain an up-to-date e-mail list. Hard Copy Mailing Due to the increasing and essentially unrecoverable cost of hard copy mailings, we no longer have a hard copy mailing just for a given meeting. We now use the Illinois Physics Teacher newsletter as the medium for hard copy distribution of information about the meeting as it is mailed out approximately a month before both the fall and spring meetings. This mailing includes everyone who has paid their section dues in the past three years. There is no need for a Registration form or a Call for Presentations form to be mailed. All advanced registration is done online and only a few attendees register at the table. Content of Mailing to Membership Prior to each section meeting, an announcement about the meeting is sent by e-mail via the Webmaster. There is also a direct mailing. This should be a first-class mailing if the time is short; a second-class mailing is suitable if the information is entered into the mail at least 30 days prior to the meeting date. The mailing should include the following: a cover letter which constitutes an announcement and invitation; the tentative agenda; information about invited speakers, workshops, and special events; suitable information about the Student Research Symposium; registration information; registration form; paper submission form; a guide to hotels; and city and campus maps. There is no need to create the form or agenda from scratch. Examples can be found on the ISAAPT Web site under "Past Meetings". Coordinating Promotion The mailing dates of the ISAAPT's newsletter, The Illinois Physics Teacher, are based upon dates of the section meetings. It is the editor's goal to have the newsletter in the hands of the membership approximately one month prior to the spring and fall meetings. This serves as an excellent promotional source for the meetings. The meeting information should be provided to the editor in a timely fashion so that it might be included in the usual mailing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Differences between the Fall and Spring MeetingsThe differences between the fall and spring meetings are minimal -- but important.The spring meeting:
The fall meeting:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Important MiscellaneaAgenda PlanningThe agenda should contain time for both invited and submitted papers. Invited speaker typically address plenary sessions for 45-60 minutes. Submitted papers are typically limited to 10 or 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions and answers. "Take 5" presentations also are part of the agenda. They may either be clustered at one time, or interspersed throughout the agenda. Adequate time should allow for participants to return to their lodgings to freshen up at the end of the afternoon session and before the beginning of the evening banquet. WorkshopsWorkshops are particularly important for the professional development of in-service high school physics teachers. The meeting host(s) should work with the ISAAPT Committee for the Preparation, Recruitment, and Retention of High School Physics Teachers to develop at least a full day of workshops and talks geared toward the improvement of teaching. It should be noted in any solicitation for workshops that up to $500 is available for materials from the Executive Council for the material support of such workshops. (Approved summer Council Meeting 2014) ISAAPT Online Support The ISAAPT has a long and successful record of managing online meeting registration. Meeting hosts should work with the ISAAPT web master for the purposes of communicating information to the membership and arranging for online registration, publication of the meeting program, creation of name badges, and so forth. Useful information relating to campus maps, parking locations and procedures, and such should be communicated to the web master in a timely fashion. Breaks and Refreshments Break times can sometimes be one of the most important aspects of a Section meeting. Breaks should not be rushed; rather, they should be leisurely and probably last about 30 minutes if at all possible. Breaks should feature a variety of drinks (water, soda, punch, tea, coffee, etc.) and treats (snack cakes, finger foods, munchies, etc.) Break rooms should be held in rooms reserved for such a purpose and generally should not be held in wide open areas such as atriums and hallways. Post-meeting Survey Starting with the fall 2014 meeting, each meeting will include a survey to determine best how to improve future meetings. The meeting host should work carefully with the ISAAPT Executive Council to develop a specialist assessment instrument. This survey should be available in printed form for use at the conclusion of the meeting and available online for those who fail to submit the survey at the meeting. A sample online survey is available. (Policy approved Summer 2014 Council Meeting) Door PrizesNot infrequently door prizes are obtained in advance by the host. Door prizes may be given away at the end of the meeting. Due regard should be given to see that the door prizes are awarded quickly and efficiently.Commercial Exhibits & Informational FliersCommercial exhibitors are both welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting to show and demonstrate their latest products for educational and other purposes. Commercial exhibitors are often housed in the same room as the refreshments so that they can receive maximum exposure to the conferees. It is not inappropriate to ask for door prizes or even assess an exhibitor's fee to help offset the meeting costs in exchange for the opportunity to exhibit. Exhibitors prefer to come to well-attended, well-organized meetings. Contact exhibitors a year or more in advance if you want them to schedule a visit during your meeting. |