Statement on CAS Council of Representatives

Statement on CAS Council of Representatives FY21 In-Person Meeting.

Dear Council Representatives, Partners, and Advisory Board Members,

The CAS Council of Representatives meets three times a fiscal year (FY) to conduct the business of CAS, facilitate connections across associations, and support the professional development and engagement of those appointed to serve CAS. For the last four years, two of these three meetings have been virtual (April and July) and we have hosted the November meeting in-person.

At this time, the CAS Governing Board has explored many potential scenarios for an in-person FY21 (September 2020 through August 2021) meeting. Given the uncertainty in which we are working, the concerns about future spikes in Covid-19 cases around the timing of our November meeting, the tight budgets faced by member associations, as well as the need for CAS to reduce expenses, we have decided to also host our November 2020 meeting virtually. We had considered postponing the meeting until Spring 2021 but understand through conversations with some of our member associations that FY21 budgets have been reduced and there is concern about sending representatives to an in-person meeting. We think making all meetings for FY21 virtual is the best decision.

To also be good stewards of CAS funds, the Governing Board will not meet in-person during our usual September, November and February meetings. and will likely not meet in person in FY21. We have budgeted for the potential for one in-person meeting in the case that as we get more into the spring and summer of 2021 we would be able to meet. 

The Governing Board is developing a plan to ensure that we continue to do the work of CAS and also are ready to lead you as representatives in this work. The Governing Board meets virtually each month and we believe that we can conduct our business for FY21 mostly if not entirely in this format. Additionally, we are conceptualizing what our FY21 Council meetings should include and how we can conduct our business, engage in professional development, and facilitate relationships across associations which benefit higher education. We should have a plan to present at our July virtual Council meeting (July 20th 12-4 ET).

We believe that for FY21 we can make enough progress through virtual meeting environments. It is important to express the point that CAS cannot be a virtual only organization. Relationships between associations matter and we benefit from the time in which we are together to conduct the business of CAS. While we believe the environment demands us not to meet in-person as a Council and likely not as a Governing Board during FY21, we hope associations will continue to invest in CAS through ensuring your representatives conduct CAS work and once we are able to return to in-person meetings, hopefully in FY22, that we can count on you to participate. 

Please contact Dan Bureau, President, at this email, with any questions or concerns about our decision.

Take care,

CAS Governing Board
Dan Bureau, PhD
President
Council for the Advancement of Standards
Assistant to the Vice President for Student Academic Success
University of Memphis