That old saying "Time flies when you're having fun" really applies to me. I'm as busy as can be, and I'm having a great time. I really can't believe how quickly the year is flying by. In some ways it seems like only yesterday that we were all together in Nashville for the annual conference, and I was raising my right hand to be sworn in as NADE President. Since then, I've had two face-to-face as well as monthly phone and electronic meetings with the Executive Board. I've also had the opportunity to represent NADE at the FACE conference at East London University (see the picture below), and I am planning to speak at a number of chapter conference visits this fall.

The NADE Executive Board has been busy, too. We have taken on a number of projects for the year. Having dubbed ourselves the "finishers," we are in the midst of finishing projects initiated by the last Board, but we also taking on new things as well.

One of the projects we will finish is the major overhaul of the NADE Handbook. The Handbook sections on chapters, committees, and special interest networks (SPINs) have already been changed and approved. We will complete the rest this fall, post it to the web, and have it available at the conference in Boston. 

As an Executive Board, we are also finishing some of the other activities begun in the past: the redesign of the NADE web site, the recommendations of the Committee of Committees, and the creation of a NADE Conference Planning Manual.

The Board is pleased that Past President Hilda Barrow is serving in a newly created capacity, the Committee Coordinator, and Karen Tompson-Wolfe is our SPIN coordinator. One of the initiatives of this Board is to highlight at next year's conference the work of our volunteers in the committees and SPINs. We will offer one session entirely devoted to our SPINS and committees, so we invite all members to attend and figure out where they can serve the organization best.

The board has also asked Past President Dessie Williams to serve in the newly created role of Marketing Committee Chair. The committee was created last year, so we're finishing this by asking Dessie to take on the leadership of this committee. If you are interested serving on this new committee, please contact Dessie at dessiew@lsua.edu.

The Executive Board has created a Strategic Plan which includes all of our goals for 2007-08. If you haven't looked at it yet, please do so on the new NADE web site: http://www.NADE.net.

At the rate it's going, the year will be over before we know it. When I see you in Boston, you'll receive an update on all of this and MORE!!

Left to Right:
Ted Stepp, PacADE; Gerry McBroom, NADE President; John Storan, FACE President

As President-Elect of NADE, it is my privilege to work with state and regional chapters. I'd like to share some information with you regarding NADE chapters.

If you are a chapter leader and have not sent in your Chapter Activity Report, please do so. This will keep your chapter in good standing and thus eligible for NADE grants and one conference fee waiver. The Chapter Activity Report can be found at the following address: http://nade.net/nade_forms.htm

In the reports I have received, several chapters have requested information for making their boards more effective and for increasing membership and involvement. What follows is a list created by the NADE Executive Board, May 2007.

Ideas for Increasing NADE Chapter Board Effectiveness:

·         Use team building activities

·         Use technology for new meeting formats (Centra, email, etc.)

·         Create and maintain a chapter website with links on NADE website

·         Plan a Board retreat to set vision, goals, objectives, and establish working rules

·         Meet in person often (at least quarterly)

·         Review NADE Policies and Procedures Handbook and Constitution and Bylaws

·         Establish and fulfill three annual goals

·         Explore different types of conferences

·         Increase diversity of region, school type, administration and faculty

·         Invite high school teachers and administrators to participate in conferences and articulation workshops

·         Enhance the chapter newsletter

·         Appoint a political liaison

·         Explore alternative Board structures (increased numbers and diverse assignments)

Ideas for Increasing NADE Chapter Membership:

• Conduct outreach to colleges with developmental programs (through the membership chair)
• Incorporate membership dues into fall conference fees
• Conduct a joint conference (example: TADE/TXCRLA)
• Hold a membership drive and award a prize for the school with the most new members
• Offer Institutional membership at the state or regional level
• Appoint the Past President as a membership chair
• Move the conference site to involve different geographic regions
• Rotate conference to a particular school to highlight that institution
• Establish the membership chair as an official board position
• Distribute membership renewal notices
• Create a membership benefits list
• Establish regional membership chairs in larger chapters
• Establish college liaisons at regional higher education institutions to recruit members
• Develop a newsletter

If you have other suggestions, please let me know at rkarr@ccccd.edu. In addition, please send me information pertinent to your chapter. NADE needs to maintain accurate records of current officers and conference dates for each chapter.  This information may be sent to the NADE Executive Assistant, Dr. Carol O'Shea at coshea@cox.net.

Click here to view a PDF map of NADE's chapters across the country and beyond!

Click here to view the same map as a Word document.

The NADE Executive Board has been keeping on top of NADE business through a series of meetings including face-to-face, telephone conference calls, and one foray into a cyber meeting room.

At our face-to-face May meeting in St. George, UT, we established our goals and ground rules, completed any outstanding business, and set future agenda items. The Executive Board members left the May meeting eager to begin NADE business at full speed.

June had us meeting via a cyber format called Centra. President-Elect Rosemary Karr set up our cyber meeting room using her college's Centra site license. It was a novel experience for many of us on the Executive Board learning how to raise our hands in cyber space when we wanted to speak and voting with the click of a button to indicate yes or no. With headsets that included a microphone, we were able to talk with each other in addition to typing in live chat and seeing documents which we had previously posted to the meeting room. This is exciting technology which offers an alternative to more traditional types of meetings. We hope to use it again as needed.

July and August meetings had us returning to the traditional telephone conference call. We are becoming quite efficient with this format and can conduct a great deal of business in our monthly calls.

September arrived, and with it came the chance to fly to Boston to meet with the NADE 2008 Conference team and to walk through the hotel where we will have our annual conference in February 2008. The Executive Board met Friday through Monday, September 7 through 10.

Future meetings will include conference calls or cyber meetings in October, November, December, and January. NADE members are encouraged to look on the NADE website to view the minutes for all the NADE Executive Board meetings up through the September meeting. Please contact your NADE Executive Board members if you have questions, comments, or concerns. We need to hear from you in order to make NADE and its services effective for you.  

A wonderful volunteer opportunity exists for anyone interested in working with exhibitors at the national conference. The Executive Board is currently seeking someone to serve as the National Exhibits Chair.

The National Exhibits Chair, who is appointed by the Executive Board, is responsible for maintaining relationships and contact information of existing and prospective exhibitors and sponsors. This person works closely with each conference team's Exhibits Chair, providing support and information to ensure that NADE's exhibitor policies are maintained. 

In addition, the National Exhibits Chair advises the Executive Board on matters pertaining to exhibitors and sponsors. Providing continuity from conference year to conference year is very important to NADE's relationship with its exhibitors, and this position is critical to that goal. 

If you would be interested in discussing this opportunity further, please contact Margaret "Mickey" Hay, NADE Vice President at mrhay@swmich.edu.

NADE has a new SPIN – Online Educators! This group is designed for professionals delivering developmental education via online methods either in a dedicated online environment or in a hybrid online/onground environment. The goal is to provide a consistent forum for sharing experiences and best practices for online developmental course delivery. A key part of this goal is sharing online teaching methods, platforms, and tools with our developmental education colleagues who haven't yet taught online. If you teach online developmental courses (or deliver online tutoring to developmental students) and would like to learn more, please contact the Online Educator SPIN Chair Marla Cartwright at mcartwright@kaplan.edu.

COMMITTEES

This is just a reminder that NADE needs your Committee Activity Reports by November 1, 2007. All committees must submit reports in May and November of each year to keep the Executive Board apprised of goals and achievements as well as problems and obstacles. This form must be submitted in order for a fee waiver to be granted to the committee. It doesn't take long to submit and can be done electronically, so please take care of this important task if you are a committee chair or co-chair. You can find the form at the NADE web site (www.nade.net).

A printable version of the descriptions and the form for submission are available at the NADE website (www.nade.net) under Executive Board Forms/Documents. The title is 2009-2010 Nomination Solicitation Flier.

Please give running for office serious consideration; we need a strong Executive Board to serve the membership.

DESCRIPTIONS FOR OPEN POSITIONS ON THE NADE EXECUTIVE BOARD

The President-Elect shall act as presiding officer of the Association in the absence of the Vice-President and shall assume primary responsibility for the development and coordination of the Association’s local chapters. In this capacity, the President-Elect shall maintain regular communication and act as primary Board liaison with state and regional chapters; participate actively in all Executive Board meetings and provide report of all activities; review and recommend action regarding chapter grant applications in collaboration with the Treasurer; participate on the Journal of Developmental Education Advisory Council; plan and facilitate the annual workshop for chapter officers in collaboration with them; update regularly the leadership notebook in collaboration with the chapter officers and the Secretary; collaborate with the Elections Committee Chair to coordinate the process of amending the Constitution and Bylaws; collaborate with the conference planners; maintain and disseminate appropriate listings of all chapter meeting dates; provide articles on a regular basis to the NADE Newsletter; perform additional duties at the discretion of the President and Executive Board; provide timely transition to the incoming President-Elect.

The Treasurer shall supervise, monitor, and finalize all financial transactions of the annual conference and shall be responsible for all activities related to the Association’s tax-exempt status. There shall be a certified audit of the Association's books upon change of the elected Treasurer or at the Executive Board's request. The Treasurer also shall participate actively in all Executive Board meetings and provide reports of activities; oversee and coordinate all financial activity of the Association; maintain regular communication with the Database Manager regarding financial transactions; act as co-signer for all Association checks; collaborate with the Association auditor to ensure appropriate financial processes are regularly followed; coordinate adoption of the annual budget in collaboration with the Executive Board; provide regular financial reports to the Executive Board and other appropriate groups; collaborate with the President-Elect to review chapter grant applications; collaborate with the Vice-President to review conference budgets; review and maintain Association insurance policies; coordinate tax-related activities; perform additional duties at the discretion of the President and the Executive Board; and provide timely transition to the incoming Treasurer.

NADE members are encouraged to nominate themselves or their colleagues for ACDEA Council Fellow. According to the 2006-2007 Induction Program, "Fellows are selected based on their long-term and significant contributions to the field. Selection as a Council Fellow represents the highest honor that may be conferred upon professionals in learning assistance, tutoring, and developmental education."

Individuals can be nominated by ACDEA Council member organizations or other Fellows. The nominees, under the direction of their professional organization, will work to compile a portfolio to showcase their contributions to the above-mentioned fields. Current ACDEA Fellows will then vote to determine who will be selected as new ACDEA Fellows. The induction ceremonies move among the ACDEA Council member organizations with the last one being held at CRLA in 2006.

For more information, NADE members may contact their Executive Board members or Dr. Hunter Boylan, ACDEA Chair, at boylanhr@appstate.edu.

OCTOBER 2007

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and its represented association directors continue to go through the involved process of revising current sets of standards that guide program assessment and creating new sets of standards in areas of professional development and program quality in higher education. 

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES:  A CAS committee consisting of representatives from NADE, CRLA, and AHEAD has worked over the last eighteen months to revise the current set of "Learning Assistance Programs" standards and guidelines. Many of you have provided input on those revisions, and the committee has seriously considered all of that input. As a result, the CAS Directors will consider the final draft of those revisions at its October 28-30, 2007 meeting. Following approval of the final draft, the revised copy will be incorporated into the current edition of the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education.    

A set of standards and guidelines is being developed for the use of technology services for students. In addition, sets of new standards are being considered for learning communities, study abroad, service learning, and undergraduate research. If you are interested in contributing ideas in any of these areas, I would be pleased to forward your name to committees working on those standards. 

PUBLICATIONS:  In August 2006 CAS unveiled its sixth edition of The Book of Professional Standards for Higher Education as well as a companion publication, The Book of Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development. This edition includes the first CAS Statement of Shared Ethical Principles that should guide program and individual conduct in higher education. A second new statement, the CAS Characteristics of Individual Excellence for Professional Practice, acknowledges skills, competencies, and self-mastery principles that should typify professional excellence. 

AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT:  CAS is accepting nominations for the Ted K. Miller Achievement of Excellence Award. This award will be given to an individual, higher education institution, or professional association in recognition of advancing standards of practice and quality assurance in higher education. Applications or nominations are being accepted until February 15, 2008. Criteria and process for applying are found on the CAS web site: www.cas.edu. 

For additional information about CAS and its publications, go to the NADE web site (www.nade.net) for links to CAS or go directly to the CAS website at www.cas.edu. 

If you have suggestions for CAS discussion items or would like to assist with upcoming standards development, please contact me at kpattyg@siue.edu.

Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neal once said, "All politics is local." With this concept in mind, NADE and its affiliate chapters must work to create relationships with local and national legislators. This year, the Political Liaison Committee is asking all chapters to invite local or national legislators to their conferences and to recognize them for their efforts and commitment to education. I believe that it is important in these political times to make legislators aware of the work we do. Bringing representatives to our conferences will allow us to showcase our passion, work ethic, and commitment to developmental education and the students we serve.

As NADE's Political Liaison chair, I had the opportunity to visit with Representative Martin T. Rucker of Missouri. Mr. Rucker was presented a plaque and honored at our regional MRADE conference for his involvement on the Education Appropriations Committee and the Special Committee for Educational Funding for Missouri (see the picture below). He was impressed with our group, the conference, and the work we do. Mr. Rucker spoke at the opening ceremony, mentioning the crucial work that real people such as developmental educators do to improve our communities and the people who live there.

The Political Liaison Committee utilizes a political list-serv and website to help the committee communicate and keep informed of pertinent issues. We are busy organizing and rebuilding our committee to strengthen our political voice both regionally and nationally. We now have 16 members on the committee, and we want to increase that number so that all chapters are represented. We will be working on political advocacy trainings for a future NADE conference. Please consider taking part in the committee or the upcoming training. This training will be based on our political advocacy resolution, which will be presented to the NADE board for approval. If you are interested in being involved, please contact Todd Phillips at Phillips@eastcentral.edu .

Left to Right:
Todd Phillips, NADE Political Liaison Committee Chair; Missouri Representative Martin T. Rucker

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION

NADE 2008

32nd ANNUAL CONFERENCE