‍Article I – Name
‍
‍The name of the organization is the Consortium for Research on Educational Assessment and Teaching Effectiveness (CREATE).  

‍Article II –Definition and Purpose

Section 1 – Definition
The definition of CREATE as a consortium is an association of educational professionals – individuals, institutions, and organizations – to pursue the vision, mission and purpose of CREATE.  

Section 2 – Purpose
The purpose of CREATE is to facilitate learning through educational assessment and teaching effectiveness.  

We strive to achieve this purpose by,
·      Facilitating interactive affiliations among institutions of higher learning, school systems, other educational entities, and independent
          individual members
·      Promoting ethical, research-based practices and policies
·      Publishing contributions from our membership throughout the year
·      Creating opportunities for networking
·      Creating opportunities for graduate students to share their research with professionals, and
·      Hosting conferences that emphasize research and practice related to educational assessment and teaching effectiveness

‍Article III – Membership

‍Membership in CREATE shall be open to all persons and organizations engaged in educational assessment or evaluation research, policy, or practice.  

Section 1 – Active Members
Any individual or organization that meets the criteria delineated above, and whose membership dues are paid is an Active Member.  

Section 2 – Membership Classifications
Membership classes may include but are not limited to: Individual, Student, Organizational, or Institutional, or any other classification as specified by the Board of Directors.  

Section 3 – Dues
Membership dues shall be set by the Board of Directors.  

‍Article IV – Governance

‍CREATE shall be governed by a Board of Directors consisting of ten elected Directors, three elected Officers (President, President Elect, and Past President), and three appointed officers, (Treasurer, Recording Secretary, and representative to the Joint Committee). All elected and appointed Directors and Officers must be active members of CREATE and maintain active member status throughout their tenure.  

Section 1 – Board of Directors
Elected directors shall serve staggered two-year terms, with five Directors elected each year. Directors shall take office at the close of the organization’s Annual Business Meeting. Elected directors may serve two consecutive terms.  

Section 1.A. – Board of Directors – Composition of the Board‍
‍Elected Directors shall represent a cross-section of the membership classification, including, but not limited to, individual representation, and/or institutional and organizational representation.  No institution or organization may have more than two elected Directors serving on the Board at any time.  ‍‍

Section 1.A. – Board of Directors – Vacancies
‍A vacancy that occurs on the Board shall remain unfilled until the regular election at which time a member shall be elected to fill the unexpired term.  Directors elected to fill an unexpired term shall serve to the end of the term, and shall be eligible for election to two additional consecutive terms.

Section 2 – Elected Officers
Elected officers (i.e., President, President Elect, and Past President) shall serve for one year terms of office. These officers shall serve as ex officio members of the CREATE Board of Directors.  

Section 2.A. – Duties – President‍
‍The President shall preside at meetings of CREATE and the Board of Directors. S/He shall appoint and dissolve committees at the direction of the Board of Directors, and s/he shall lead and coordinate the activities of CREATE and the Board of Directors.  A primary responsibility of the president will be to coordinate or designate the coordination of the CREATE conference in consultation with the Board of Directors.  The president shall have the authority to open and close bank accounts on behalf of CREATE pending the approval of a two-thirds vote of the elected directors of the CREATE Board of Directors.  

Section 2.A.1 – President – Succession in the case of abdication or inability to fulfil the role of President
Should the President be unable to carry out the duties detailed in Section 2.a, the order of succession of presiding officers shall be the President Elect and then the Past President.  ‍

‍Section 2.B. – Duties – President Elect  
The President Elect shall act for the President in his/her absence and shall serve as part of the CREATE leadership team with the President and Past President.  ‍

‍Section 2.C. – Duties – Past President‍
‍The Past President shall act as the President in the absence of the President and President Elect.  The Past President will serve as part of the CREATE leadership team with the President and Past President  ‍

‍Section 2.D – Succession of Elected Officers ‍
‍The President Elect shall become President at the close of the organization’s Annual Business Meeting one year from the meeting at which s/he was elected President Elect. The incumbent President shall become past President upon succession of the new President.  In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the President Elect shall become President and serve the remainder of the unexpired term.  S/he shall then serve his/her regular, full term as President.  

Section 3 – Appointed Officers
Appointed Officers shall be appointed by the CREATE Board of Directors and elected officers. They serve at the discretion of the CREATE Board and Officers. Appointed officers may not serve in more than one appointed position simultaneously.  ‍

‍Section 3.A. – Treasurer‍
‍The Board of Directors shall appoint a Treasurer to a term concurrent with the President. The Treasurer shall provide analysis and projections of the financial status of CREATE to inform the Board’s decision-making. The Treasurer shall sit on the Board of Directors as a non-voting member. The Treasurer shall not serve simultaneously as an elected director or as an elected officer while in the role of Treasurer.  ‍‍

‍Section 3.B. – Recording Secretary
The Board of Directors shall appoint a Recording Secretary to a term concurrent with the President.  The Recording Secretary shall take minutes at all meetings of the Board of Directors and business meetings. The Recording Secretary shall sit on the Board of Directors as a non-voting member, unless s/he is a duly elected member of the Board of Directors. The Recording Secretary may serve simultaneously as an elected director, but not as an elected officer while in the role of Recording Secretary.  ‍

‍Section 3.C. – Representative of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation
The CREATE Board of Directors shall appoint an active member of CREATE to serve as the Board’s representative to the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE). The Representative shall sit on the Board of Directors as a non-voting member, unless duly elected to the Board of Directors or as an elected officer.  ‍

‍Section 3.D. – Consortium Advisory Committee Coordinator
The Board of Directors shall appoint a Consortium Advisory Committee Coordinator (CACC) to a term concurrent with the President.  The CACC shall preside over the Consortium Advisory Committee and serve as a liaison between the Board and the Committee.  The CACC shall sit on the Board of Directors as a non-voting member. The CACC may not serve simultaneously as an elected Board Member but may serve Officer while in the role of Consortium Advisory Committee Coordinator.  

‍Article V – Committees

The President shall appoint and dissolve committees as deemed necessary by the CREATE Board of Directors.  ‍

‍Section 1. – Standing Committees Effective with the 2014 President term, a Consortium Advisory Committee will be formed to provide advice and guidance to the Board on issues as specified by the Board.  Committee membership should include one representative from each institutional and organizational member of CREATE, as designated by the institutional or organizational member.    

In addition, one individual member (with no institutional or organizational member affiliation) shall be appointed by the Board.  Committee membership shall run concurrent with the President’s term.  

‍Article VI – Elections
Section 1 – Time
Elections shall be conducted at the Annual Business Meeting. Officers and directors take office at the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting, or as specified by the term of the office.  

Section 2 – Slate and Nominations
Any CREATE member in good standing may submit nominations to the Board of Directors.  The President will prepare a slate of nominees prior to the Annual Business Meeting each year.  

Nominations will not be accepted from the floor at the time of the elections.  

Those seeking election to the Board of Directors or as an elected officer will be required to provide written responses to questions related to qualifications and a current CV at least two weeks prior to the election for review by the CREATE membership.  

Section 3 – Voting
The Board of Directors shall determine the manner of the voting.  When ballots are used, a member who is not a candidate shall tally the votes and a second member shall verify the results. Voting shall be limited to Active Members of CREATE.  Proxy votes for absentee members will not be accepted.

‍Article VII – Meetings

Section 1 – CREATE Conference
CREATE shall host conferences at times and places determined by the Board of Directors.  Unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, these conferences shall generally be held on an annual basis.  

Section 2 – Other Meetings
CREATE shall hold additional conferences, workshops, and meetings as determined by the Board of Directors.  

‍Article VIII – Publications

‍CREATE may produce a newsletter or other publications at the direction of the Board of Directors.  

‍Article IX – Business Affairs

Section 1 - Meeting of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors will hold a minimum of two face-to-face meetings annually.  Where possible, at least one of these meetings will be held at the site of the CREATE hosted conference.

Section 2 - Annual Business Meeting
CREATE will hold an Annual Business Meeting each year, generally at the site of the CREATE hosted conference.  If no conference is held in a given year, this Annual Business Meeting will be held electronically.  All active CREATE members will be informed of the dates and times of the Annual Business Meeting 30 days in advance.  

Section 3 – Organization
CREATE shall be a not for profit educational organization consistent with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code.  

Section 4 – Fiscal Year
The fiscal year shall be January 1 through December 31.  

Section 5 – Records and Reports
All records and reports shall be maintained at the principal office and shall be subject to inspection by any active member upon his/her written request.  The custodian of records may promulgate reasonable regulations regarding the safekeeping of records.  

Section 6 – Annual Report
The President shall present an annual report at the business meeting.

The annual reports should include, but not be limited to:
a) An update on CREATE’s activities over the preceding year;
b) A fiscal report of the financial status of the organization;
c) Information regarding new initiatives.  

Section 7 – Personal Expenses
Officers and directors may be reimbursed for all, or a portion of, personal business expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of the office, subject to recommendation by the President and the approval of the Board of Directors. All requests for reimbursement must be made and approved in advance, with subsequent documentation of incurred expenses provided.  

‍Article X – Amendments

‍Section 1 – Vote
These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at the Annual Business Meeting.  

Section 2 – Proposed Changes
Members proposing By-Law amendments shall present the proposed changes, in writing, to the President no later than thirty days prior to the business meeting at the annual conference.  The President shall send the proposed changes to the CREATE membership a minimum of two weeks prior to the Annual Business Meeting.  ‍

‍Section 2.A. – Expedited Vote and Proposed Changes
If the President, President Elect, and Past President unanimously agree that a situation warrants one or more changes to these By-Laws between the dates of the Annual Business Meeting, the proposed changes shall be presented, in writing, to the elected directors.  

The By-Laws shall be amended if and when the proposed changes are approved by a two-thirds vote of the elected directors.  If approved, the changes and rationale for the expedited vote will be presented to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting. The membership will have the opportunity to call for a vote for or against these expedited changes.  

Section 3 – Dissemination Proposed amendments shall be available, in writing, on the CREATE website, and will be also be forwarded to all active members via email.



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