Constitution

Constitution of the Association for Business Simulation & Experiential Learning

I.          NAME AND PURPOSE

A.        Name. The name of this organization shall be the Association for Business Simulation & Experiential Learning.

            B.        Purpose. The purposes of this Association shall be to:

Advance learning by encouraging the use, development, research, and assessment of simulations and experiential methods as applicable to the business environment.

C.        Objectives:  The objectives of this Association shall be to:

            1.         Promote exploration and adaptation of innovative teaching techniques, new media, and methods of delivering simulation and experiential learning in a global environment.

            2.         Represent the professional and scholarly interests of the members through the sharing and dissemination of leading edge scholarship.

II.         MEMBERSHIP

            The Association recognizes four kinds of members:

A.        Regular Members. A regular member is any person who has paid regular dues. Regular members may vote in Association elections and hold elective office.

B.        Student Members. A student member is any college student who has paid student dues. Student members may participate in the activities of the Association, but they may neither vote in Association elections nor hold elective office.

C.        Emeritus Members. An emeritus member is a regular member who has retired and has paid emeritus dues. Emeritus members may participate in the activities of the Association, but they may neither vote in Association elections nor hold elective office.

D.        Fellows. A fellow is one who has been honored with this status in accordance with the Association’s By-Laws.

III.        BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A.        Composition. The Board of Directors of the Association shall consist of members as outlined below.

1.         President.  Elected through succession from President Elect for a one year term.

2.         President – Elect.  Elected by the General Assembly for a one year term. Nomination for this position requires a minimum two years ABSEL Board experience.

3.         Vice President and Program Chair.  Elected by the General Assembly for a one year term.  Nomination for this position requires a minimum of two years ABSEL Board experience.

4.         Vice President and Executive Director.  Elected by the Board of Directors for a one year term.  This position does not have a term limit.

5.         Past President.  Elected through succession from President for a one year term.

6.         Treasurer.  Elected by the Board of Directors for a one year term. This position does not have a term limit. Nomination for this position requires a minimum two years ABSEL Board experience.

7.         Dean of Fellows.  Elected by the Fellows for a one year term.  This position does not have a term limit.

8.         Local Arrangement Chair.  Elected by Board for a three year term.  This position does not have a term limit.

9.         Director of Communications and Webmaster.  Elected by the General Assembly for a two year term.  This position does not have a term limit.

10.       Director of External Relations and Marketing.  Elected by the General Assembly for a two year term.  This position does not have a term limit. 

11.       Director of Internal Relations and Membership.  Elected by the General Assembly for a two year term.  This position does not have a term limit.

12.      Proceedings Editor.  Elected by the General Assembly for a one year term.

13.       Director at Large. Eight positions will be elected by the General Assembly for a two year term.

14.       Track Chair.  There will be a chair for each conference track elected by the General Assembly for a one year term.

B.        Duties. The Board of Directors shall be the final decision-making body of the Association.  It shall attend to the business of the Association. It shall elect the Vice President and Executive Director, Treasurer, and Local Arrangement Chair.  It shall approve expenditures according to fiscal responsibility guidelines.  It shall approve each year a Manual of Duties for officers of the Association. It shall report its activities annually to the General Assembly.

C.        Meetings. The Board of Directors shall meet at least twice a year. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be chaired by the President, or in the President’s absence, by the President-Elect. The conduct of meetings shall be governed by Roberts’ Rules of Order, Revised. Only members of the Board of Directors may vote at its meetings.

            D.        Committee Structure.  The Board of Directors shall operate in a committee structure as outlined below:

1.         Executive Committee — Consists of the President (Committee Chair), President Elect, Past President, Director of Communication and Webmaster, Vice President and Program Chair, Treasurer – Ex Officio member, and Vice President and Executive Director – Ex Officio member.

2.         Communication Committee.  Consists of the Director of Communications and Webmaster (Committee Chair), Director of Internal Relations and Membership, Director of External Relations and Marketing, Vice President and Executive Director, and a Director at Large.

3.         Conference Planning Committee.  Consists of the Vice President and Program Chair (Committee Chair), Proceedings Editor, Local Arrangements Chair, Track Chairs, and a Director at Large.

IV.       GENERAL ASSEMBLY

A.        Composition. The General Assembly of the Association shall consist of all regular members attending the annual meeting of the Association.

B.        Duties. The General Assembly shall elect the President Elect, Vice President and Program Chair, Proceeding Editor, Director of Communications and Webmaster, Director of Internal Relations and Membership, Director of External Relations and Marketing, Track Chairs, and Directors-at-Large as outlined in Board Composition.  Election shall be done at a General Assembly meeting or via email.

C.        Meetings. The General Assembly shall meet at least once a year. Meetings of the General Assembly shall be chaired by the President, or in the President’s absence, by the President-Elect. The conduct of meetings shall be governed by Roberts’ Rules of Order, Revised. Only members of the General Assembly may vote at its meetings.

V.        FELLOWS ASSEMBLY

A.        Composition. The Fellows Assembly of the Association shall consist of all Association Fellows attending the annual meeting of the Association.

            B.        Duties. The Fellows Assembly shall elect the Dean of Fellows.

C.        Meetings. The Fellows Assembly shall meet at least once a year. Meetings of the Fellows Assembly shall be chaired by the Dean of Fellows. The conduct of meetings shall be governed by Roberts’ Rules of Order, Revised. Only members of the Fellows Assembly may vote at its meetings.

VI.       FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY

A.        Contracts. The Vice President and Executive Director, the President, and the Treasurer are authorized to sign contractual agreements on behalf of ABSEL.

B.        Expenditure Approval. Expenditures require the following approvals.

1.         Expenditures up to $500.00 will be approved independently by the Vice President and Executive Director or the President.

2.         Expenditures between $501.00 and $2000.00 will be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee taken either in person or via email.

3.         Expenditures over $2000.00 will be approved by a majority vote of the ABSEL Board of Directors taken either in person or via email.

C.        Conference Expenses. The total of proposed conference expenses will be treated as a single expenditure, be presented as a total proposed budget prior to monetary commitments, and be approved according to fiscal accountability guidelines.

D.        Administrative Expenses. The total of proposed annual administrative expenses including but not limited to Simulation and Gaming subscriptions, web site maintenance, and membership overhead will be presented as a total proposed budget prior to monetary commitments and be approved according to fiscal accountability guidelines.

VII.      VOTING

A.        Quorums. Quorums are determined as follows. 

1.         Board Quorum.  Consists of a minimum of 50% plus one of the board members as designated by the Constitution.

2.         General Assembly Quorum.  Consists of the members present at a set and publicized General Assembly meeting or the members casting a vote during an email election.

3.         Committee Quorum.  Consists of a minimum of 50% of the committee members as designated by the Constitution.

B.        Methods.  Votes may be taken via hand votes in face to face meetings, secret ballots in face to face meetings or email/electronic.

BY-LAWS

            The Association’s Manual of Duties shall be its By-Laws (see below).

VIII.     AMENDMENTS

            Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by the Board of Directors, or by any regular member with support of 10% of the regular membership. Amendments must be approved by a majority vote of the General Assembly.

Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning

MANUAL OF DUTIES

Officer and Board Member Job Descriptions and Conference Timeline

Example Conference Timeline

October 28, 2019        Manuscript Submission Deadline

November 4                Track Chairs assign reviewers to manuscripts

November 25              Reviewers submit decisions and feedback to track chairs

December 9                 Track Chairs/Program Chair – decisions and feedback to authors

January 6                     Camera-ready deadline

???                               Program distributed to board for review

???                               Program sent to printer and posted to website

List of Positions

1. President
2. President-Elect
3. Past-President
4. Vice President & Program Chair
5. Vice President & Executive Director
6. Treasurer
7. Proceedings Editor
8. Director of Communications & Webmaster
9. Director of External Relations & Marketing
10. Director of Internal Relations & Marketing
11. Local Arrangements Chair
12. Experiential Track Chair and Associate Editor
13. Simulation Track Chair and Associate Editor
14. Games Ready to Play Track Chair and Associate Editor
15. Innovations and Future Directions in Education Track Chair and Associate Editor
16. Professional Development Workshop & Associate Editor
17. Directors at Large (8)
18. Dean of ABSEL Fellows

President

The President shall be responsible to the organization in all matters, upholding the mission and constitution. The President has the responsibility of representing the members of the ABSEL. The President will schedule and chair all full board meetings and Executive Committee meetings.  The President shall have voting rights. The President may establish committees, standing or special, as the organization or the Executive Committee shall from time to time deem necessary.  Members of these committees shall be appointed by the President, and such appointments shall be at the approval of the Executive Committee. The President shall have the responsibility for appointment of the Chair to special and standing committees as are deemed desirable and necessary by the membership, except a Nominating Committee.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. At the Friday morning meeting of the annual national conference, the  national conference, the President-Elect assumes the office of President and begins establishing goals and directives as to what she/he wishes to accomplish for the organization. At this first board meeting the President introduces the officers and directors of the new board.  An agenda should be prepared based on the most recent issues from prior board meetings. At this meeting, she/he will work with board members to set expectations and objectives for each position.   
2. In April after the conference, the President should plan the next board meeting to be held in late April or early May.  A Doodle poll is typically used to determine the best meeting time for maximum participation. She/he may confer with the Executive Committee to identify urgent matters for the meeting agenda.  At this time, she/he may create a welcome message for the ABSEL website and any promotional materials.
3. In late July or early August, the President should plan the first board meeting of the fall semester to be held in late August or early September.  next board meeting to be held in late April or early May.  A Doodle poll is typically used to determine the best meeting time for maximum participation. She/he may confer with the Executive Committee to identify urgent matters for the meeting agenda.  Another meeting is typically held within 1-3 weeks after the submission deadline and again in January around the camera-ready deadline. A final full board meeting is typically held 2-4 weeks prior to the annual conference meeting.
4. As needed, the President should schedule a conference call with the Executive Committee to discuss the organization’s business. Develop the agenda and run the conference call. Conference calls for Standing Committee meetings are typically 30-90 minutes long. Review the minutes from the previous meetings and have them approved.
5. By December, confer with the program chair about when to have the Wednesday afternoon board meeting at the next annual conference.   
6. One month prior to the annual conference, work with the Executive Committee to discuss open board positions and a succession plan.
7. Two weeks prior to the conference, develop an agenda for the board meeting.  Circulate the agenda among the board members and remind them why it is important for them to attend.  Discuss the annual business meeting with the Past-President, President-Elect, and Vice President/ Executive Director to determine who will oversee which tasks at the annual business meeting (Thursday) and the awards luncheon (Friday, as Past-President).  At the conference, the President will facilitate these meetings and prepare remarks to welcome the membership.

President-Elect

The President-Elect shall, in the temporary absence or incapacity of the President, shall assume all duties and responsibilities of the President until such time as she/he can reassume her/his position as President. The President-elect shall normally perform duties assigned by the President and shall automatically assume the office of President when it becomes vacant.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. The President-Elect first assists the President at the annual conference during the first meeting of the new board on Friday and the awards luncheon that day. 
2. At the next conference, the President-Elect assists the President during the Wednesday evening social, the business meeting on Thursday, and any social events on Thursday evening. 
3. On Friday morning, the new President takes over by chairing the meeting and overseeing the awards luncheon on Friday and making closing remarks to the membership.   

Past-President

The Immediate Past President – shall include responsibility for the annual election of national officers and Directors to the Board and help coordinate strategies at the national level.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. As Immediate Past President, the duties primarily involve conducting the Annual Election.
2. By mid-October, collaborate with the Directors to the Board (formerly At-large representatives) to formulate a slate of Officers for those positions which will fall vacant or need to be filled by the next Annual Meeting. This is the official Nominating Committee. The past-President is Chair.
3. By the end of October, communicate the slate of officers to the Secretary/Association management firm who will notify the membership of these nominations. As Chair of the Nominating Committee, be prepared to accept additional nominations up to 30 days following announcement of the slate of candidates.
4. By the end of November, request brief statements from each candidate running for office and prepare a ballot. The electronic ballot, accompanied by the brief statements, shall be sent to all current members via the Secretary. Ballots are accepted up to 30 days following the distribution of the ballot. The Chair will receive the votes electronically and copy members of the nominating committee. By simple majority, the names of the newly elected officers shall be presented to the Secretary who will notify the nominees and Board of Directors. The results will then be published to the membership.
5. Attempt to coordinate activities with the ABSEL Fellows.
6. Administer/coordinate a training session at the annual conference for new ABSEL members.

Vice President & Program Chair

The Vice President Programs shall be responsible for determining and carrying out the wishes of the membership concerning the conduct of the annual meeting(s). These responsibilities
include arrangement for facilities, lodgings, program content, participants, and any other
matters relating to the planning, preparation, and execution of the meetings. The Vice

President for Programs shall provide the Secretary-Treasurer and the Vice President- Communications with all necessary information concerning such meetings at such a time as to enable the membership to receive such information at least thirty days prior to such meetings. The Vice President- Programs is also responsible for the appointment of a Proceedings Editor.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. Establish a “conference committee” to assist with issues such as conference logistics, exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, and papers/workshops by the end of the previous year’s conference.
2. Establish a conference theme and market it at the previous year’s conference.
3. Develop the “Call for Papers” for the annual conference by March and posted on the ABSEL website.
4. Develop an exhibitors’ package by July 1 and have Exhibitors Chair solicit companies throughout the year.
5. Create an on-line conference submission site by mid June. Ensure that the on-line submission site is functional and ready to accept papers by July 1.
6. Identify Competitive Papers Chair, Best Practices Chair, and Workshops Chair by June 1.
7. Have the complete conference framework ready by June 1.
8. Start sending out monthly conference reminders through ABSEL listserv between May 1 and August 1. Send out weekly reminders between August 1 and submission deadline.
9. Serve as the primary contact with the conference site hotel.
10. Responsible for the conference site review at the mid-year ABSEL officers’ meeting. This includes issues such as room counts, food costs, available technology, social event, and ground transportation. Arrange meeting with hotel staff on site to review issues.
11. Identify conference speakers and local entertainment options available for conference attendees by mid-year officers’ meeting.
12. Have a conference registration form ready by Labor Day (on-line & hard copy).
13. Set and communicate registration dates and deadlines, with the advice of the executive committee, by the end of the summer meeting.
14. Coordinate the conference review process for papers, workshops, and best practices. The deadline for conference submissions is generally in mid September, with a decision date in late October or early November.
15. Have the on-line hotel registration set up by October 1.
16. Constantly monitor conference and hotel registration through the on-line systems.
17. Solicit time requests from authors with accepted submissions for program slots by December 1.
18. Develop and post on the website a draft conference program by December 15; finalize and post the program by January 15.
19. Deliver an opening welcome speech for the annual conference.
20. Prepare a conference summary report for the board meeting.

The Vice President-Programs Elect shall be responsible for providing assistance to and working with the Vice President-Programs concerning the planning, development and conduct of the annual meeting(s). These responsibilities include assisting in the arrangement for facilities, lodging, program content, participant development, and any other matters relating to the facilitation of the meeting(s). The Vice President-Programs Elect shall automatically assume the office of Vice President-Programs.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. Serve as one of the key members of the “conference committee” for the upcoming annual conference.
2. Work with the VP-Programs to develop a draft of the “Call for Papers” by March. This will be circulated and placed on the ABSEL website by April 1.
3. Work with the VP-Programs to create a conference website section by June 1.
4. Assist the VP-Programs with the conference site review at the mid-year ABSEL officers’ meeting.
5. Serve as competitive papers chair for the annual conference. This requires the identification of track chairs (by June/July) and reviewers (by August/early September).
6. Determine the Best Paper awards and communicate those recommendations to Program Chair by November 1.
7. Serve as the Proceedings Editor, which needs to be ready for distribution at the annual conference. Get all accepted papers from the conference submission site by December 1.
8. Work with the VP Programs to develop a conference program.

9. Develop presentation for annual conference to introduce the conference site for the following year. This will be presented at the closing luncheon of the previous year’s conference.

Vice President & Executive Director

The Vice President & Executive Director shall manage the keeping of a record of all proceedings, actions, and meetings of the ABSEL, recording the votes and minutes; shall give due notice of all meetings of members, shall insure that a current list of all members of the ABSEL is maintained; shall have custody of the ABSEL Constitution and Bylaws and their amendments; and shall manage the keeping of such other records and perform such other duties normally assigned to an organization secretary as well as those specified in the Bylaws. The Vice President & Executive Director shall serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the ABSEL; shall be responsible for assessing the financial implications of proposed programs, activities, projects, policies, and office practices in the light of the financial resources of the Association; shall see that proper accounting records are maintained via standard business accounting practices and supervise and approve disbursements, payments and receipts. The Vice President & Executive Director shall ensure that an independent financial audit is conducted annually and that all [501 C3] fillings are made on a timely basis.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. Keep minutes of all meetings in conjunction with association management firm.
2. Provide updates to the Constitution as needed.
3. Keep the books on a cash basis via QuickBooks. This includes:
   1. ensure transactions are entered and categorized properly, in order to facilitate 
accurate and effective financial reporting to officers, members, IRS, others.
   1. recognize revenue and expenses from source documents as they are recorded in 
the bank statement
   1. reconcile the books to bank
4. Maintain the chart of accounts in QuickBooks.
5. Keep documentation of cash flows (e.g., payment by members to ABSEL for conference registration and membership dues ; payment by ABSEL to vendors).
6. Handle all banking activities (e.g., make deposits of payments made by check; renew CD; new signature cards for new officers)
7. Access the online merchant settlement reports to verify and keep a record of the financial settlement of online financial transactions (e.g., members use credit card to pay conference registration and or membership dues). The conference registration documentation provided by the Program Chair is not sufficient for issuing receipts.
8. Be prepared to handle all financial transactions at the annual conference (receipts, tickets, cash credit cards). Onsite registration using a credit card requires the online merchant settlement site tools. Prepare receipts for conference registration.
9. Assist the Program Chair with financial matters associated with the annual conference (e.g., hotel will need a credit application filled out).
10. Settle the hotel bill with the hotel and the Program Chair at the conference.
11. Arrange an audit as appropriate (this is still an issue that needs to be addressed in terms of frequency and cost but it is in the bylaws).
12. File corporation report form with state of Missouri to renew ABSEL’s status as a corporation. Due by 08/31 of each year and can be paid ($10) online.
13. Files the 990 for ABSEL with the IRS (due 09/15 each year (five months and 15 days after the fiscal year end which falls is on April 30th)). File simple form unless received revenues are in excess of $25,000. The 990 form is undergoing a major revision by the IRS for 2010.
14. Offer input into the planning and implementation of conferences in order to facilitate financial oversight and coordination (e.g., ABSEL needs to address it not-for-profit status with hotels on the frontend, before signing a contract).

15. Prepare financial reports (statement of cashflows and statement of financial position) for any officers’ meeting and the business meeting at the annual conference, and upon request by the President during the year.

16. Provide financial oversight of the association management firm.

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall support the VP/Executive Director as a back-up when completing payments.   

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Proceedings Editor

The Vice President – Research & Publications shall be responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing an annual national ABSEL project competition. This includes securing funds to cover the costs of administering the competition and the cost of the awards, coordinating the evaluation of projects and announcing the award winners. In addition, the VP of Research & Publications shall assist and act as point person for the Editors of the Journal of Small

Business Strategy and the ABSEL Journal.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. Ensure all contracts with affiliated journals are up-to-date. Continue to ask journals about their on-going needs.
2. Coordinate the student project competition. Entry deadline is the second Monday in September.
3. Update all forms on the ABSEL website regarding the student project competition by July 1. Bring any significant changes in competition structure to the executive committee by the summer officers’ meeting for approval.
4. Identify judges for the annual competition by September 1. Send review assignments by October 1.
5. Tally results for the various project categories by Thanksgiving.
6. Notify winners by January 15 so that they can arrange to bring their students to the conference.
7. Coordinate the plaques and certificates for the winners. Be sure to provide this information to the President-Elect.
8. Present awards to the project winners at the National ABSEL Conference.
9. Constantly solicit project entries each year from new/existing schools.

Director of Communications & Webmaster
Tasks/Responsibilities:

Director of External Relations & Marketing

The Director of External Relations & Marketing shall be responsible for developing and implementing a marketing strategy (with Executive Committee approval), promotional material and related marketing tasks (this includes website coordination). The VP of Marketing & Communications shall be responsible for developing avenues for exchange of written information such as developing and publishing the E-Momentum newsletter at least twice per year, or shorter newsletter excerpts bi-monthly.

Tasks/Responsibilities:

1. Secure Board approval of marketing plan for the new membership year at the February new officers’ Board Meeting (at the annual conference), including a marketing budget.
2. Secure Executive Committee approval of marketing plan for remainder of membership year at the mid-year officers’ meeting.
3. Implementation of approved plan in coordination with Affinity Resource Group and other ABSEL Officers as appropriate (on-going).
4. Apprise Board of unplanned marketing opportunities that arise and secure Board approval to pursue them (on-going).
5. Evaluate results from marketing efforts and secure Board approval to make course corrections as necessary (on-going).
6. Ensure that the ABSEL Marketing Plan contains sufficient detail for ABSEL website, promotional materials and communications vehicles (on-going).
7. Publish E-Momentum (short version) every two months to drive membership (and prospective members) to the ABSEL website.
8. Immediately after the conference, review the website for changes and give new information to the association management firm for updates.

Director of Internal Relations & Marketing

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Local Arrangements Chair

Tasks/Responsibilities:

TRACK CHAIRS (FROM ALEX)

I have been asked to share some of my insights regarding being a track chair. I didn’t (and don’t) really think that my thoughts and ideas are anything new, but here goes. (Note: I thought that this would be a quick summary, it’s become a short novel. Apparently there are a lot small thoughts/ideas that I forget are all part of the process.)

The role of track chair is extremely important. It is the first contact most people have with ABSEL (in general) and with each conference (specifically). It is likely that you will have at least a few authors that have never attended an ABSEL conference and this is the perfect opportunity to be an ambassador to these new authors.

I was last a track chair before we moved to the easychair.com website, so my process may differ from what is done now, but the ideas should still be valid. This was also before we started the Games-Ready-To-Play and professional development tracks. Those tracks do not follow the standard paper submission process, nor are they considered for Best Paper Awards. The following are specifically in regards to the main paper tracks (Innovation, Experiential, and Simulations).

For each submission:

1. I would send a thank-you/acknowledgment email to ALL the authors (not just the corresponding author). I personalized a standard email. So it went something like, “Thank-you for submitting your article titled “xyz”. I appreciated the chance to review your paper and look forward to seeing you at the upcoming conference.
2. I would then ask if they were willing to act as reviewers. ABSEL is a small group, we all know each other, there are only so many people who can review papers. So, in the thank-you email I would ask something like, “Would you be willing to review some papers for the [your track] track?
3. Most of my authors would say yes. Some will say no or that you should only use them if I was really in need.
4. Note: I would send the invite only to those authors that I KNEW were repeat ABSEL attendees. I did NOT want first time authors as reviewers.
5. I kept track of everything in my own spreadsheet.
   1. I kept track of all submission critical information (title, authors, abstract) as well as track critical (reviewer name, email, sent, response received, accept/reject). This submission information is actually critical to the publication process.
6. I then did my best to assign a minimum of 2, but preferably 3 reviewers to each submission.
7. I don’t know what the reviewer format is these days, but when I sent out a letter to each reviewer I highlighted that written comments were extremely appreciated as it helped the authors improve the submission for further publication.
8. I was always short on reviewers, so I normally only assigned 2 reviewers on a paper unless there was some complication. Then I would assign a 3^rd, if possible. Remember that you, as track chair can be a reviewer – though it is harder to be impartial because you know who the authors are.
9. I would prepare the submissions for each reviewer by checking to verify that each paper was sufficiently blind.
   1. That means all the document properties were removed, the authors names/affiliations were removed from the actual paper, and the name of the file was changed to hide personal info.
10. I would then prepare an email to send to each reviewer requesting that they review specific papers. In that email I would ask them to fill out the review form and have it returned to me by a specific due date.
11. In the email I would ask the reviewer to acknowledge receipt of the reviews and let them know that I will be sending out email reminders.
12. I then sent out reminders. I don’t recall exactly, but I think that I sent out a reminder 1 week before the deadline, and then 48 hours before the deadline.
13. When the review came back, I would, again, acknowledge receipt of the review.
14. If the review was late, I would send out a reminder (that it was overdue) within 24 hours of the original deadline. In this email I would ask if they will still be able to finish the review. I would send out another at 5 days late, but at 1 week, if I hadn’t heard anything, I would call them and ask if they were going to finish it.
15. When I received all the reviews for a paper, I would look at the two reviews and see if they were consistent. If 1 reviewer said that paper should be considered for best paper but the second reviewer said it should be rejected, I would look into it in more depth (more on this later). If the reviewers were similarly positive, then I would accept it and send the appropriate acceptance letter with submission guidelines.
16. Mind you-this was before you track chairs were supposed to act as an assistant editor, (more on that later).
17. Three major concerns as a track chair: best paper nominations, late submissions and rejections
18. First, best paper nominations. The best paper awards are handled by the Fellows. As track chair, your job is to keep track of papers that the Fellows should consider for a Best Paper. It is NOT your job to figure out best paper recipients.
19. There are two types of best paper nominations that you need to consider. The first, student best paper awards. This one is easy. Any paper where the first author is a student is to be sent to the Fellows for consideration. All student papers are considered, assuming they are full papers. Just make certain you clearly label them as best student paper nominations.
20. The second type are the normal track best papers. I collect this list in 2 ways.
    1. The first, method, if any reviewer suggests that it should considered as a best paper, then I forward it along. I am not looking for reviewer consensus, let the Fellows sort that out. (For example, if 1 reviewer says it should be considered but the other 2 reviewers don’t say anything, or even trash talk it, then I would still submit it for consideration.)
       1. As a side note, different reviewers have differing ideas on what is (or isn’t) a best paper. At the moment, there isn’t a fixed standard that I know about. Some ABSELers want a solid academic research paper with lots of stats, others think a good theoretical paper is enough, but others have other ideas. Welcome to academe. 😊
    1. The second method, as a track chair I will take it upon myself to submit papers that I think should be considered for a best paper award regardless of reviewer comments. I may read a submission and think that it provides some new insights but none of my reviewers agree, in this case I will submit the paper to the Fellows anyway. After all, I’m in charge of the track.
21. On that note: You should not review your own paper. If you are in charge of the experiential track, and you submitted an experiential paper, work with the program chair to get a different track chair (or other board members) to review your paper. We do want to keep things on the up-and-up don’t we.
22. If a student best paper gets suggested for best paper, then submit it for BOTH best paper for the track AND best student paper. The Fellows will make sure that things work out in the best way for everyone.
23. Late submissions are generally pretty easy as well. If you receive an email saying, “can I have a few more days” or something similar, I always replied with something like, “The due date was/is xyz. If you can get it to me by [the new date] I can still work it in, but that is the best that I can do.” We are already extending the deadline 3 weeks from the original deadline, so another week should be the most that you offer, but we need submissions. Don’t automatically say yes, but work with them to get it in.
    1. You can also offer them the option of doing an extended abstract where they submit a paper-in-progress but we only publish the extended abstract (more than an abstract but less than a full paper) and they still present at the conference. This may (or may not) require a full review.
    1. We also used to allow presentations without a paper. Perhaps the author can give you a written outline of what they want to present (kind of like what some fields call a poster session). This won’t be published in the library, so there is a lot more leeway in what you accept here.
24. Finally, rejections. You normally won’t get too many submissions that the reviewer says to reject. And if you do, its even more rare for two reviewers to agree it was that bad. You, as the track chair, have the final say in terms of rejection. Personally, I try to use it only as a last resort. If a reviewer says to reject, I look at the reasoning given. I then personally read/review the paper. If it is not an obvious rejection, then I look to see if it is still acceptable at one level or another.
    1. What is an obvious rejection? You’ll know it when you see it. Normally they fall into three categories, not on topic for an ABSEL conference, unreadable (poor writing making it unreadable), or incomplete.
       1. If incomplete I would contact the author and ask if they meant to send the incomplete version and then offer the extended abstract or presentation options.
       1. If unreadable, I would contact the author and verify that they sent the correct paper (though I probably would have caught this before I sent it out for review when I was pre-processing it to make sure it was blind). I would politely say something like, “I was reviewing your submission and am having a difficult time understanding it. Would you verify that this was the correct submission.” If it was correct, then I would politely suggest that the paper is rejected, direct them to the online archives, and encourage them to try again next year.
       1. Off topic papers occurred the most often for me. I would receive a paper talking about Accounting theory (for example) with no mention of education/pedagogy. This would get a standard rejection letter saying thanks, but the paper is not appropriate for an ABSEL conference, and again direct them to the ABSEL archives.
       1. I had some reviewers who would read an excellent paper and reject it because it was the “wrong” track. This is a track chair issue where you (as track chair) either just review it and move on, and/or you contact the correct track chair for review. Don’t reject a paper for this reason [alone].
    1. Don’t accept the reviewer’s comments without further consideration
       1. I have stories for all the review/rejection types, but I’ll only share one at this time. One paper was reviewed by 3 different reviewers. The first reviewer said “definitely accept”, the second said “accept” but with a private note that they didn’t think it was a really good paper. The 3^rd reviewer said “reject” and added “with prejudice. This is NOT a good paper and these papers should be discouraged at ABSEL”. I looked at the paper. It was a standard ABSEL paper, but it was written in a light-hearted manner, not 3^rd person and scholarly. I contacted the author, who was a Fellow and attended the first ABSEL meeting (in 1974). Because of this, I was good friends with him and felt comfortable talking to him about this situation. I told him my situation and asked what he wanted to do. He said something to the effect that it was a sad day that the collegial ABSEL style that was so common for years is being criticized. He volunteered to rewrite it in a less ‘fun’ manner. After the re-write, I asked another board member (and Fellow) to review the rewrite. The rewrite was accepted and was even nominated for best paper (though it didn’t win). Long-story short, don’t be too uptight, work with the authors.
25. If the paper was accepted, and most were, there is a standard acceptance letter that we send out that asks for them to update their submission based on reviewer comments. I think that sometimes we send out a letter saying that it is accepted but with required revisions. Unless they are major errors, I don’t know of anyone who actually enforced the “revision” requirement. I know that I didn’t have time to go through and double check that any changes were made to the final submission.
    1. Perhaps someone needs to change/update our acceptance letter to say that the final submission is due and should be updated after consideration of reviewer feedback, but not state that it is required.
26. I guess you could say that the general theme with all this was “communicate”. Send out regular communications to reviewers and authors as necessary.
27. The final submissions are now supposed to be sent to the track chairs for the initial (first round) of publication editing. I’ll go into more detail from a proceedings’ editor view in a different (possibly long-winded) email. BUT you need to contact the proceedings editor and program chair with some critical information at some point in this process. In the past we called it “The Spreadsheet”.
    1. The proceedings editor and the program chair will need to know the following
       1. Which papers were accepted (total number)
       1. The name of each paper, the complete author names, and the abstract. Preferably in a spreadsheet format (again, to be shared in a different email).
       1. Any additional information (extended abstracts, presentations with no paper, etc) need to be communicated with the program chair ASAP.

Experiential Track Chair and Associate Editor

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Simulation Track Chair and Associate Editor

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Games Ready to Play Track Chair and Associate Editor

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Innovations and Future Directions in Education Track Chair and Associate Editor

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Professional Development Workshop & Associate Editor

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Directors at Large (8)

Tasks/Responsibilities:

Dean of ABSEL Fellows

Tasks/Responsibilities:

APPENDIX A – 1997 Manual of Duties (the original PDF with preserved formatting is available)

CALENDAR OF DUTIES

January

Program Chair

1 . Mail Registration Form and related conference materials to all remaining prospective participants, including ABSEL members who do not appear on the program and nonmembers who have indicated interest.

2. Get final copy of best-paper finalists from Senior Proceedings Editor, and mail blinded copy to selected fellows for final review.

Executive Director

1 . Process new memberships, and pay bills.

• Deposit conference registrations and updates database (See Process Checks).
• Mail quarterly financial reports and current member lists to all board members (October 1 through December 31

Senior Proceedings Editor

Send Proceedings to Printer (OmniPress).

February

Executive Director

1 . Generate labels of entire academic database file for Association Development Director in order to complete Call for Papers mailing.

• Process new memberships and pay bills.
• Deposit conference registrations and updates database (See Process Checks).

Program Chair

1 . Send Preliminary Conference Program to Newsletter Editor and Web Master.

• Send all session chairs and discussants copies of their agendas for their follow-up.
• Prepare conference operating budget and send to Executive Director and President.
• Inform President-Elect of best-paper decisions.

President Elect

Obtain plaques for Best Papers, Fellows, and President.

Local Arrangements Person

Obtain equipment for conference.

March

Executive Director

1 . Create financial reports (year-end financial statement) for presentation at conference.

• Deposit conference registrations and updates database.
• Process new memberships and pay bills (See Process Checks). Expect check requests for conference expenses: plaques, fellows, keynote speakers, banquets, printing.

AT THE CONFERENCE

Local Arrangements Officer

1 . Get to conference early to observe, check on rooms, survey registrations, and greet arrivals.

• See that all participants are asked to complete an Attendance and Recruitment Form.
• Resolve problems with equipment and facilities.

President Elect

Select future site for conference 3 years ahead.

Executive Board

Assign selection of future site and Local Arrangements Officer.

Following Year’s Program Chair

1 .  Select Track Chairs.

• Select keynote speaker and work out money arrangements with Local Arrangements Officer.
• Work with Local Arrangements Officer to determine registration fees (based on break-even at 80 people).
• Begin preconference registration procedure.

Association Development Director

1. Mail Call for Paper for the following year’s conference to entire academic mailing list.
2. Submit Call for Papers to academic newsletters and journals.

April

Executive Director

1 . Send out financial reports (for period January 1 though March 31) and current members list.

Local Arrangements Officer for Following Year Formalize hotel and other arrangements with President, and if necessary, the board within the next year.

May

Local Arrangements Officer

1. Send final financial conference report and review to the Executive Director and President.
2. Prepare conference participants list and sends to Executive Director and President.
3. Complete all other post-conference procedures.

Executive Director

1 . Use participants’ list to update master database file (See Process Renewal Members).

• Recognize those participants that are eligible for Simulation & Gaming subscriptions and send list to Sage Publications for processing.
• Generate labels for Spring issue of newsletter.
• Send labels of this years first time members to Association Development Director for sending Call For Paper.
• Send member renewal request to members who did not attend conference.

June

Association Development Director

Send Call for Papers to new members from the conference.

Executive Director

Process new members, requests for checks and invoices.

Newsletter Editor

Mail out spring newsletter.

July

Executive Director

1. Process new memberships and pay bills.
2. Send out financial reports (for period April 1 through June 30) and current membership list.

August

Senior Proceedings Editor

Update author’s forms and instructions and send master copy to the Junior Proceedings Editor.

Junior Proceedings Editor

Review forms received from Senior Proceedings Editor. Print sufficient copies of author’s forms and instructions for mailing to corresponding authors.

Local Arrangements Officer

Begin to contact airline and hotel to discuss discount packages.

Executive Director

Process new memberships and pay bills.

September

Track Chairs

Confirm reviewers by letter, telephone, or e-mail.

Local Arrangements Officer Arrange ABSEL conference outing that becomes part of the registration package.

Executive Director

Process new memberships and pay bills.

October

Track Chairs

1 .  Send papers to reviewers.

• Read papers and reviewers’ comments, tabulate ratings, and recommend action to Program Chair.
• Send one copy of every submission to Program Chair, two list of reviewers, three lists of all authors with corresponding authors identified, two sets of mailing labels of all authors, and two sets of mailing labels of corresponding authors.

Program Chair

1 . Update Registration Form and send sufficient copies to Junior Proceedings Editor.

• Decide submissions, including best-paper finalists.
• Send list of al/ authors to Junior and Senior Proceedings Editors, and send mailing labels of corresponding authors to Junior Proceedings Editor.

Junior Proceedings Editor

Collate forms, buy envelopes for mailing, obtain guide sheets from Omnipress, and mail to corresponding authors using labels supplied by Program Chair.

President-Elect

Solicits, by mail, nominations from the membership for fellows, Vice-President and Program Chair, and Junior Proceedings Editor; and suggestions for conference sites three years into the future.

Local Arrangements Officer

Finalize airline and hotel discount packages and promotional materials. Send to Jr. Proceedings, Development Director and others. Also sent to publishers, presenters, discussants, and other conference participants.

Executive Director

1 . Generate labels (membership only) for nominations for Program Chair, Junior Proceedings Editor, and Fellows. Send to President-Elect.

• Process new memberships and pay bills.
• Send out financial reports (for period July 1 though September 30) and current membership list.

November

President Elect

1. Submits nominations for fellows to the Dean of Fellows.
2. Conducts the election for the Vice-President and Program Chair, and Junior Proceedings Editor.

Program Chair

Inform submitters by mail of decision. Conference materials may either be sent with this mailing or in a separate mailing.

Junior Proceedings Editor

Contact corresponding authors by telephone or e-mail to assure that mailed instructions are understood and that final copy will be sent on time.

Executive Director

1. Use participants list to update master database file (See Process Renewal Members).
2. Generate labels for Fall issue of newsletter.

Association Development Director

Submit following year’s preliminary Call for Papers to academic newsletters and journals. December

Executive Director

1. Process new memberships and pay bills.
2. Check current membership list against Sage Publications list to be sure all members received Simulation & Gaming.

Senior Proceeding Editor

Contact authors who have not sent final copy. Prepare proceedings to be sent to printer (Includes table of contents, ABSEL board, author index).

Association Development Director

Obtain advertising for the Conference Program and possibly the proceedings, then sends the list to the Conference Chair.

Program Chair

1 . Arrange program. Sends preliminary program to Newsletter Editor and Web Master.

• A list of accepted papers goes in the fall newsletter.
• Print final Conference Program. Send to all conference participants.
• Confirm fee ($500.00) for keynote speaker.
• Get discussants and session chairs. Airline & hotel materials need to be sends to these people and the program must contain their names.

Newsletter Editor

Mail out Fall Newsletter to current members.

Local Arrangements Officer and Conference Chair

Make final hotel arrangements (breakout rooms, etc.).

OFFICERS’ DUTIES

Duties of President

1 . Coordinate directly and indirectly the activities of the other officers. Most of the coordination is indirect in that the appropriate officers (e.g., Program Chair and Local Arrangements Officer) work directly and merely keep the President informed.

• Serve as a source of information and assistance for the President-Elect and Program Chair, as well as other officers.
• In cooperation with the past president, contact first-time attendees at the conference an encourage them to attend the conference the following year.
• Work on special projects of interest as deemed appropriate by the Board.
• Revise this list of duties, and send revised copy to the Executive Director for distribution to ABSEL officers.
• Update ABSEL letterhead and stationery, and send updated copy to the Executive Director for distribution to ABSEL officers.
• Preside at the meeting of ABSEL Board and at the business luncheon at the national meeting.
• Appoint a “News & Notes” Editor for Simulation & Gaming.

Duties of President-Elect

1 . Solicits nominations by mail from the membership and conducts the election for Vice-President and Program Chair, and Junior Proceedings Editor.

• Obtain nominations for ABSEL fellows from the membership and distribute them to the other members of the Fellow Selection Committee, consisting of the Dean of Fellows, as chair, the President-Elect, and an ABSEL member agreeable to both who is neither a fellow nor a current ABSEL Board member.
• Prepare the best paper(s), presidential, and fellow plaques to be awarded at the conference.
• Award presidential plaque to the outgoing president.
• Take minutes at the annual preconference Board meeting in coordination with the Executive Director.
• Serve as a source of information and assistance for the Program Chair.
• Solicit site sponsors and locations for future meetings. Keep three planning horizons up-to-date. (See Local Arrangements Officer’s duties).
• Serve as President in the event the President is unavailable.
• Review airline routes and fares on possible conference sites,

Duties of Vice-President and Program Chair

1 . Review and revise as needed the Call for Papers issued and distributed by the Development

Director.

• Arrange for paper reviewers.
• Appoint a Track Chair for Simulation and Gaming, and a Track Chair for Experiential Exercises.
• Update forms:
  • Paper Review Form (for ratings and comments on papers). Send master copy to Track Chairs for printing and mailing.
  • Workshop and Demonstration Review Form (for ratings and comments on workshops and demos). Send master copy to Track Chairs for printing and mailing.
  • Program Request Form (for indicating interest in being discussants and session chairs, and need to be scheduled at certain times)
  • Equipment Request Form (for indicating computer and other equipment needs)
  • Registration Form. The form may include information about airline and car rental arrangements, and space for registrants to request extra tickets, but do not explain on the form what the registration fee covers, because ABSEL does not give discounts to those who miss a function. Set February 1 st as the early registration dateline.
  • Attendance and Recruitment Form (to update database and identify volunteer reviewer, to be completed at the conference and collected by new Program Chair, who forwards to Executive Director)
  • Suggestion Form (to be distributed at the conference and collected by new Program Chair)
• Receive from Track Chairs all submissions, completed review forms, tabulated ratings, and recommendations.
• Receive listings of reviewers and authors, and labels of corresponding authors (two sets) and all authors (another two sets) from Track Chairs.
• Decide on papers and proposals based upon judgment of quality and fit.
• Mail to corresponding authors of proposals accepted for publication in proceedings:
  • Letter of acceptance
  • Reviewers’ comments
  • Program Request Form and Equipment Request Form (to be returned to Program Chair). Junior Proceedings Editor will send out Registration Form, to be returned to Senior Proceedings Editor with final copy for proceedings.
• Mail to corresponding authors of submissions that will appear on the program but not in the proceedings:
  • Letter of acceptance or rejection
  • Reviewers’ comments, if any
  • Program Request Form, Equipment Request Form, and Registration Form (to be returned to Program Chair)
• Mail to secondary authors of all submissions:
  • Letter of acceptance or rejection
  • Program Request Form and Registration Form (to be returned to Program Chair)

1 1 . Send to the Junior Proceedings Editor a set of mailing labels on the corresponding author of all submissions accepted for publication in the proceeding; a listing that includes telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and postal addresses; and one Registration Form for each corresponding author. Receipt of one early registration with the final copy is required for inclusion in the proceedings.

1 2. Receive from the Senior Proceedings Editor corresponding authors’ Registration Forms and checks. Forward these to Local Arrangements Officer. Drop from program accepted submissions not followed by early registration.

1 3. Receive Program Request Forms and Equipment Request Forms. Arrange program to comply with requests to the extent feasible, and to minimize equipment movement and usage. Forward Equipment Request Forms to Local Arrangements Officer.

14. Send Preliminary Conference Program to Local Arrangements Officer, Newsletter Editor, and Web Master. Inform presenters of program requests that cannot be honored.

1 5. Receive master copy of advertisements for Conference Program, and get final Conference Program printed.

1 6. Obtain final copy of finalist paper(s) from Senior Proceedings Editor. Send blinded final copy of finalist paper(s) to fellows for final review. Receive reviewers’ recommendations, make final decision, and inform reviewers of decision. Inform President-Elect of decision so that plaques can be prepared.

1 7. Coordinate extensively with the Local Arrangements Officer.

1 8. Invite the keynote speaker at the conference.

1 9. Maintain a list/database for all registrants of the conference.

Duties of Executive Director

1 . Maintain databases for current members (See Process Renewal Member), past members, deans, prospective members (See Process Inquiry), and new members.

• Maintain mailing and membership lists:
  • As soon as possible after the conference, provide the entire Board with a current membership list.
  • Generate labels (See Making Labels) for call for papers for the following years conference for the Association Development Director.
  • Generate members-only labels (See Making Labels) for nominations for conference chair and Jr. Proceedings for the President Elect. d. Generate labels (activity last five years—See Making Labels) for newsletter twice a year for Newsletter Editor.
  • Add to master database: the conference participants list from conference chair/local arrangements person, the new member list (See Making Lists) from the membership director, and new potential advertisers list from the Development Director.
  • Generate member and/or advertiser list as requested. Coordinate with President if legitimacy of request is in doubt.
• Receive member application forms for entry into database.
• Correspond with members and supply information as requested about membership.
• Maintain the checking account, make deposits, and write checks to pay the Associations expenses (See Checking Account).
• Report to the Board at the annual meeting.
• Discuss the needs for funds for the next year with the President, Vice-President, Program Chair and Local Arrangements Officer to set the costs for the annual meeting.
• Interface with Sage Publications (See Sage).
• Prepare a preliminary budget report after the annual meeting and a final budget report for next year’s meeting (See Financial Reports).

1 0. Handle special problems and correspondence. For example, requests by publishers to print materials from prior ABSEL Proceedings.

1 1 . Received revised List of Duties from President for distribution to ABSEL officers.

condensed papers, and other submissions.

Duties of Dean of Fellows

1 . Organize fellows dinner at conference.

• Award plaques to new fellows.
• Chair the Fellow Selection Committee, consisting of the Dean of Fellows, the President-Elect, and an ABSEL member agreeable to both who is neither a fellow nor a current ABSEL Board member.

Duties of Local Arrangements Officer

1 . Arrange for hotel site–final site is approved by the president.

• Work with Program Chair to establish the number of rooms needed, coffee breaks, meals, costs, etc.
• Have registration form printed and mailed. Send pre-registration material to all attendees, Board members, past presidents, Fellows and other interested individuals.
• Receive completed registration forms and checks, and issues receipts. Local conference finances are handled by the Local Arrangements Officer until after the conference.
• Make arrangements for any equipment needs.
• Insure that sufficient equipment is present at the conference for the Game Room.
• Coordinate with publishers wanting to display their materials at the conference.
• Monitor the Game Room at the conference.

Pre-Conference Registration Procedures

1 . Receive Equipment Request Form, Registration Form, payments, and purchase orders.

• Get requested equipment, and inform registrant if equipment request cannot be met.
• Prepare receipts for payments received.
• Prepare name tags. Identify first-time registrant by a colored dot on their tags. Conference Procedures

Issue:

1. Conference name tag
   1. Conference program
   1. ABSEL Proceedings
   1. Receipt
2. Track registrations and periodically report totals to the Program Chair
3. Adjust guarantee numbers at functions to reflect difference between actual numbers registered and forecast.
4. Accompany Executive Director and Program Chair to hotel payment office to check billing before payment is made.

Post Conference Procedures

1 . Account for all monies-on-hand:

1. Verify that all checks have a matching receipt
2. Calculate total of monies-on-hand
3. Calculate total of receipts written
4. Justify any discrepancies
5. Prepare an Estimated Income Statement.
6. Identify Conference attendees who did not pay registration fees.
7. Forward monies-on-hand to the Executive Director for Deposit a. Prepare a status report of all Conference attendees.

b. Send all monies-on-hand, status report, and other supporting papers using registered mail.

• Send additional copies of Estimated income statement to:
  • Past-President
  • President
  • Program Chair
• Prepare and send letter of billing, within two weeks, to all attendees that have been identified as failing to pay Conference registration fees. Send correspondence copies to:
  • President
  • Exec. Director
• If payment for Step 5 has not been received within two weeks, send second letter of billing. Send correspondence copies to:
  • President
  • Exec. Director
  • Appropriate Dean, Department Chair, or other individual identified as occupationally related to attender failing to pay registration fee
• If payment from step 7 has not been received within two weeks, notify Program Chair for the subsequent years’ conferences. Send correspondence copies to the parties of Step 7.

Duties of Track Chairs

1 . Create three databases, one of all reviewers, one of all submissions, and one of all authors, including secondary authors.

• Receive copy of Paper Review Form and Workshop and Demonstration Review Form from Program Chair, check for errors, and print the forms.
• Mail, with appropriate review forms, at least two blinded copy of each non-panel proposal to two different reviewers, assuring that each reviewer gets at least three related papers and no reviewer gets more than five papers. Send unexperienced ABSEL reviewers the third copy of a submission reviewed by two experienced reviewers. Reserve Board members for late submission requiring quick turnarounds.
• Receive completed review forms, tabulate ratings of forms with written comments (discard forms with ratings but no written comments), recommend acceptance or rejection, and send one copy of each reviewed submission, all completed review forms, and a table of ratings to the Program Chair.
• Forward all panel proposals immediately to the Program Chair. These do not undergo blind review.
• Send to Program Chair two lists of reviewers, three lists of authors with corresponding authors identified, two sets of labels of all authors, and two sets of labels of corresponding authors.