Region Implementation Information
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Region Implementation Information Alpha Sigma Alpha is a flourishing and evolving organization, and the needs of its members are ever-changing. In order to best serve our collegians and alumnae and contribute to volunteer success, as well as attain the strategic priorities of the organization, Alpha Sigma Alpha’s current district structure will transition to a region structure in July 2016. The following parameters were used to determine the region structure: The ideal size of a region is 8 to 10 collegiate chapters, with the opportunity to grow to 12 in the biennium in the event of colonization. Regions should have no fewer than 6 collegiate chapters. There should be no restrictions on the number of alumnae chapters within a region as this will allow for continued growth of alumnae chapters. All chapters in a state should be kept within a single region. Alpha Sigma Alpha will have a total of 12 regions. Region States in Region Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, California, 1 Nevada, Utah, Colorado 2 Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas 3 North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas 4 Missouri 5 Illinois 6 Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida 7 Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina 8 Michigan, Ohio 9 West Virginia, Virginia 10 Pennsylvania 11 Washington D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island 12 New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine Region Implementation Information Alpha Sigma Alpha Regions Region Implementation Information Frequently Asked Questions How will this new structure be introduced to membership? Beginning in February 2016, all Alpha Sigma Alpha volunteers will be notified about the new structure. Collegiate and alumnae chapters will be notified by email and the general membership will receive a news release. Additional social media posts will occur throughout the transition time. How will this restructure impact collegians? Beyond the change in the title of their volunteers, e.g., district facilitator to region facilitator, the change will be minimal. However, with fewer collegiate chapters in a region, the collegiate chapters should expect to receive more personalized support from region volunteers. How will this restructure impact alumnae chapters and associations? Alumnae chapters and associations will operate as usual. Do we have enough volunteers to fill all of the volunteer roles in 12 regions? Absolutely! As we consider our alumnae members across the nation, there are more than enough qualified women looking for opportunities to get involved as volunteers. How will volunteers be placed in new region roles? Beginning May 1, the volunteer coordinator and volunteer management team will begin the recruitment and placement process to fill all region volunteer positions with the exception of region facilitators who are appointed by national council. During this spring’s evaluation process, currently placed volunteers will have the opportunity to express interest in staying in their position, moving to a new position or stepping back from volunteering. These evaluations will be taken into consideration during the placement process. Beginning July 1, 2016, all future volunteer placements will be handled by the volunteer coordinator at national headquarters since the volunteer management team will no longer oversee volunteer placement. Will we continue to require volunteers to live in the region for which they are volunteering? No; volunteers will no longer be required to live in the region in which they serve. Volunteers will be placed based on their experience and the needs of the region. With technology like Skype, Google Hangouts, webinars and conference calls, the need for in-person interaction on a regular basis is not necessary, so volunteers can live further from the members they support. Region Implementation Information How will the volunteer titles change with the new region structure? Title changes will be minimal as the volunteer structure is not changing. Current Volunteer Position New Volunteer Position District Facilitator Region Facilitator Recruitment Leader Recruitment Leader Social Responsibility Leader Social Responsibility Leader Membership Commitment Leader Membership Commitment Leader Finance Leader Finance Leader District Communications Liaison Communications Liaison District Panhellenic Liaison Panhellenic Liaison Advisory Board District Liaison Advisory Board Liaison Alumnae District Liaison Alumnae Engagement Liaison How will these changes affect District Day? With the new region structure we have the opportunity to change our approach to these annual events. The proposed new leadership conferences will be the same format as our current District Day in regards to programming, but they will allow staff to determine the best location for a chapter, removing the restraints once faced when trying to remain within a district and central to the district’s chapters. Collegiate chapters will be assigned to a conference location, similar to how LDI locations are determined, by examining the chapter’s proximity to the event, cost of travel and size of hotel, which may result in chapters attending a site closer than the District Day they have been attending. While this not only saves on travel costs, it may encourage more collegians to attend. The change in location for the leadership conferences will likely entice more alumnae to attend as the events will be in more metropolitan areas with a larger number of alumnae living in the area. Additionally, alumnae are encouraged to choose whichever leadership conference they would like to attend, even if that is not the closest to them. This is an excellent opportunity for alumnae to make the event a mini-reunion for chapter sisters -- spend Saturday at the leadership conference and explore the area on Sunday! Dates and locations of the leadership conferences will be announced soon. How will these changes affect Advisor Institute? Alpha Sigma Alpha will now offer Advisor Institute on one weekend at one location in the spring 2017. The Institute will provide both training on chapter operations as well as advisor Region Implementation Information skill building. Advisors will have the opportunity to interact with each other, share best practices and discuss current trends on college campuses. More information about Advisor Institute will be announced soon. Will advisors be reimbursed for attending Advisor Institute? All collegiate chapters must send two advisors to Advisor Institute. The two advisors attending Advisor Institute will be reimbursed for their travel up to $350 each. Food and lodging during the training will be provided by the national organization. Should additional advisors wish to attend, the cost will be the responsibility of the advisor/chapter. If there is not a District Day for each region, how will region volunteers get together to collaborate and train? If they wish to attend, region volunteers will be free to choose which leadership conference to attend based on where they feel the greatest connection, and they will have the opportunity to participate more fully in the event whether that is facilitating or attending alumnae programming. This should result in expanded opportunities to collaborate. In lieu of Friday evening volunteer meetings at the leadership conference, an annual region volunteer training will be held in Indianapolis. This required training will bring together region teams to provide team building, operational training, and personal and relationship development. This annual region volunteer training will be beneficial to volunteers in two ways. First, region volunteers will have an opportunity to interact with other volunteers serving the same role. Based on feedback from current volunteers who have attended face-to-face training with their counterparts, this interaction is essential to a positive volunteer experience. Second, with all region teams present, the region facilitators will have the opportunity to focus on team building and goal setting. Volunteers have expressed they would like more time to build their teams and this face-to-face training will accomplish that. More information about the annual region volunteer training will be available soon. Will region volunteers be reimbursed for attending the annual volunteer training? All region volunteers attending the annual training will be reimbursed for their travel up to $350. Food and lodging during the training will be provided by the national organization. Will volunteers be reimbursed if they attend a regional leadership conference? Region volunteers will no longer receive a stipend to attend, but can take advantage of the stipend provided to facilitators should they apply and be accepted to facilitate a workshop at the regional leadership conference. Region Implementation Information Can our budget sustain all of these changes in the next year? Yes. The 2016-17 budget was one of many careful considerations when deciding on the new region structure. What about future growth? Does the new structure take into account expansion opportunities and the ability to support our members? We researched campuses nation-wide to determine where potential expansion opportunities may occur in the future, as well as ensuring there will be room to grow in the areas where we currently have colonies. Additionally, a procedure has been created that will allow national council to continually examine the region structure and re-evaluate