CAS Process and Operations

How does one become a member of CAS?
Because CAS is a consortium of professional organizations, there are no individual memberships available. The Council is composed of representatives from member organizations, and each member association has one vote on CAS business. Organizational membership information is available from the CAS national office.

How does one subscribe to the CAS standards?
In 2019 CAS began offering a subscription service to users seeking the most current and comprehensive access to CAS standards, products, and resources. For more information about how to subscribe, visit www.cas.edu/subscribe.

How often are CAS Functional Area Standards and Guidelines revised?
CAS policy calls for every set of functional area standards to be reviewed periodically on approximately a 5-year basis. Sometimes, significant changes to a functional area or related law and policy prompt a more timely review. Individuals or organizations who believe a given set of standards are in need of revision are invited to contact CAS to make such recommendations.

Does CAS have a presence at national association meetings?
Because CAS is a consortium of professional associations, each member association is responsible for providing its membership with information about the nature and availability of CAS standards. Most member associations include CAS-related presentations at their conventions. Several CAS officers and representatives are available upon request to provide CAS workshops or programs sponsored by professional organizations. CAS-oriented programs have been offered at numerous national and international conferences in recent years.

My association has established professional standards. What can CAS provide that we don't already have?
Several professional associations have established standards for their constituent members, some of which are quite comparable to CAS standards. In general, CAS standards are designed to be used in every type and size of higher educational institution and were created for this broad user base. A primary benefit of the CAS standards is the fact that CAS represents a profession-wide effort to develop, promulgate, and encourage use of its professional standards. Consequently, the professional credibility of the CAS Standards and Guidelines tends to exceed those proffered by a single organization. If an institution or division uses the CAS standards to study more than one functional area, use of CAS ensures that the areas to be examined and the criteria will be consistent across areas.

I think CAS needs to develop standards for a new functional area. How can I learn if CAS is working on my area of interest or make a recommendation?
CAS maintains a growing list of functional areas that have been recommended for developing new standards. Individuals or CAS representatives can make suggestions for new standards to the CAS Executive Director, to a member of the CAS Governing Board, or by filling out the CAS Users Feedback Form. The Governing Board may invite certain individuals or associations to complete a formal petition for new standards.

What are FALDOs?
FALDOs are Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes. They are intended as guides for practitioners who wish to measure selective college student learning outcomes as specified in the General Standards of CAS. Sixteen learning and development outcome domains are identified by CAS and there is one FALDO for each domain. All FALDOs are structured to include an introduction, theoretical context for learning and development, relevant variables, assessment examples, available instruments, related web sites, references, and recommended reading. Although the FALDOs are out of print, CAS continues to make them available for purchase as a downloadable file in the CAS Online Store.