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Best Practices Procedures Regional Meeting & Annual Meeting

WHAT ARE “BEST PRACTICES”?

Generally, "Best Practices" are activities that are created and completed by a chapter that further specific goals identified by the BOARD OF DIRECTORS of Beta Alpha Psi.  These activities should exemplify the spirit and purpose of Beta Alpha Psi and should, if applicable, allow other chapters to emulate those activities. Occasionally, the Board of Directors will ask chapters for their vision about some future activity/issue/topic; such vision should still be created by the chapter but can not be completed nor emulated. Deloitte sponsors the awards for this program.

Chapters are encouraged to share their Best Practices through a two step competitive process.  Initially chapters will submit an abstract and, if acceptable, make a presentation at their respective Regional Meeting; winning chapters (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place) will 1) receive verbal recognition and monetary awards and 2) earn the right to give their presentations at BAP’S annual meeting. Winning chapters at the annual meeting will also earn verbal recognition and additional monetary awards.

This document is organized sequentially, that is, Regional Meeting events are described before annual conference events. Similarly within regional event, earlier requirements are described before subsequent events.  Since the Best Practice competitive process involves many different parties, each is identified in this document by a distinctive color font as identified below.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS/BAP PRESIDENT
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
FORUM LIAISON/ATTENDING FORUM MEMBER
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
HOST CHAPTER
CHAPTER

REGIONAL BEST PRACTICES

Best Practice Topics

The incoming PRESIDENT of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), after consulting with the BOARD OF DIRECTORS, is responsible for proposing Best Practice topics for the year that incoming PRESIDENT will serve as PRESIDENT.  Topics will be provided by the incoming PRESIDENT to the board in January so that they can be disseminated at the Regional Meetings, permitting CHAPTERS to begin planning activities or conducting research during the spring and summer months.

Upon receipt, the EXECUTIVE OFFICE will 1) announce those topics by email to all chapters and concurrently post them conspicuously to BAP’s website.  Current year topics may be found at http://www.bap.org//bestpract/2007_best_pract_topics.htm

General Management of the Best Practices Process

The Chairperson of the FORUM will designate a member to act as the FORUM’s Liaison to each Regional Meeting not later than August of the year preceding the Regional Meetings.  In turn, the FORUM Liaison should form one judging team for each Best Practice categorycomposed of at least three other attending FORUM members.  If insufficient FORUM members are available, Board members and/or Faculty Advisors may judge so long as there is no affiliation or direct connection between that person and any schools participating in the competition.  Judging teams (names, email addresses, phone numbers, and employer) should be formed and announced to the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE and HOST CHAPTER no later than 40 days prior to the Regional Meeting’s first day.

Each HOST CHAPTER must designate at least one student to manage and coordinate the Best Practice presentation process.

• The HOST CHAPTER (s) should inform and remind (as part of all required correspondence – see Regional Meeting Manual) chapters, the FORUM Liaison, DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE and judging teams about the policies, procedures and deadlines for abstract submissions including, as a minimum, the following:
  
  
  • Name and email/mail address of the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
     
  • Date abstracts must be submitted to the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE.  This date should be 40 days prior to the first day of the Regional Meeting.  Under no circumstances should an abstract be sent to any other entity, including the HOST CHAPTER(s).  If done so accidentally, the HOST CHAPTER should not read that submission but should inform the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE of the situation. (The idea behind this requirement is to avoid any appearance of unfair advantage being gained by a HOST CHAPTER who is also participating in a Best Practice competition.)

Preparation/submission of a Best Practice Abstract

Shortly after announcement of the Best Practice categories, CHAPTERS should determine in which Best Practice categories they will compete.  For each category, they should designate a committee, ideally before the summer break to allow them to conduct the appropriate research and/or formulate plans.

Once the requisite activities have been completed and/or ideas formulated, the substance of those efforts should be reduced to an “abstract.”  An abstract summarizes the salient points of a larger piece of work, in this case, the presentation that will be made at the Regional Meeting.  (A PowerPoint presentation is NOT an abstract). 

• CHAPTERS must write one abstract for each Best Practice category in which they intend to present. Occasionally, a Best Practice category may have two or more sub-topics in which case, chapters may participate in only of the available sub-topic categories.  Best Practice instructions issued by the HOST CHAPTER should clearly state this limitation, when applicable.
   
• The abstract should not exceed one page (excluding a cover page), be in good form and free of grammatical and spelling errors.  See Appendix 1 for additional guidance on abstracts.).  Sample abstracts from the prior year’s Best Practice annual meeting competition may be found on the Beta Alpha Psi website.
   
• A cover page (see Appendix 1) and the abstract should be submitted by CHAPTERS to the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE by email not later than 40 days prior to the start of the Regional Meeting.  Abstracts received after that date will not proceed to the steps described below.
   
• Copyrighted materials may be used in the abstract (and presentation) only with appropriate recognition and permission from the copyright holder. Such permission should be acknowledged on the cover page (see Appendix 1).

Eligibility to Compete

The DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE will forward via email 1) requirements of each Best Practice category, 2) an initial evaluation sheet for each abstract, and 3) all abstracts received to the FORUM Liaison.

The FORUM Liaison will evaluate each abstract to determine whether it meets the minimum requirements set forth by the BAP PRESIDENT/BOARD OF DIRECTORS.  The FORUM Liaison may involve the applicable judging team in the initial evaluation process.  Should the FORUM member evaluating the abstract need an answer to a question, that question should be directed initially to the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, not the submitting CHAPTER.

The FORUM Liaison will, not later than 30 days prior to the start of the Regional Meeting, return each evaluation sheet to the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE with a decision as to eligibility for competition.  In turn, the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE will advise each submitting CHAPTER and the HOST CHAPTER whether the abstract will or will not be eligible for an award.

• If eligible, the submitting CHAPTER should proceed to prepare a 10 minute presentation based solely on the information found in the abstract.  (See below for further details regarding the presentation.)  New information should not be added nor should other material found in the abstract be deleted when preparing the presentation.
   
• If ineligible, the submitting CHAPTER may, at its preference, still present its activities/ideas at the Regional Meeting.  It will not, however, be eligible for verbal and monetary awards and will thus not be eligible to compete in the annual Best Practice competition.  The ineligible chapter must inform the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE and the HOST CHAPTER of its decision to present not later than 25 days prior to the beginning of the Regional Meeting to facilitate scheduling, otherwise it will be ineligible to make a presentation.

Presentation

The HOST CHAPTER should:

• Schedule presentations in each Best Practice category consecutively in separate rooms. If all the presentations in a given category cannot be scheduled in one time period, then the remaining presentations should be scheduled in the following time period so that all presentations are scheduled consecutively in the shortest time possible.
   
• Ensure computer software and hardware is available and functioning in each presentation room.  Ideally, a technically qualified student should be on call to solve technology-related problems.
   
• Ensure all presentations are loaded on supporting hardware and are accessible.
   
• Provide one or more moderators for each session, who will serve as the master of ceremonies, introduce each presenting chapter, time each presentation, terminate each presentation if it exceeds 10 minutes, and close the session.

Submitting CHAPTERS should:

• Bring their presentation materials on a flash drive and provide it to the HOST CHAPTER representative in sufficient time for it to be loaded prior to the presentation.
   
• Position any other supporting material in the presentation room prior to the Best Practice competition.
   
• Presentations should:
   
  • Include the same organizational elements and major points found in the abstract but with more detail.
  • Be delivered by the student members/candidates of the chapter only (no faculty advisors or non BAP members/candidates).
  • Last no longer than 10 minutes.
  • Be professional in nature, informative, and designed to generate interest/enthusiasm in the audience.  Supplemental items such as skits, audio and or video aids may be used so long as they are a minor element of the overall presentation.  (Presenting chapters are responsible for coordination directly with the host chapter to ensure supplemental aids will be supported.
  • Include evidence of approval to use copyright information
  
  
• Submitting CHAPTERS may desire to give their presentation in a region other than its own.  If so, that chapter should coordinate directly with the HOST CHAPTER of that region.  Such presentations will not be eligible for verbal or monetary recognition.

Presentation Judging

Each FORUM-led judging team should:

• Bring a copy of each abstract received to the meeting.  If they do not, they should contact the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE who will provide them with replacement abstracts.
   
• Select a moderator who will be responsible for the evaluation process.

Approximately 30 minutes before the presentations, the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE should meet with all judging teams to explain the process, ensure consistent standards and answer any questions that the team members may have.  A presentation evaluation sheet will be provided by the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE before the competition begins.  The HOST CHAPTER is responsible for informing judging teams and the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE as to the location of this meeting.

Judging teams will be asked to.

• Evaluate the abstract before the presentation. Prior to the presentation, the abstract should be thoroughly read and evaluated using an evaluation worksheet provided by the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE.  (NOTE:  There will be insufficient time on the day of the presentation to perform this function.). 
   
• Evaluate the presentation itself, using an evaluation worksheet provided by the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE.
   
• Rank the entire submission.  The abstract and presentation evaluations should then be combined after which all submissions should be ranked.  In evaluating both items, the following guidelines should be considered:
   
  • To what degree were the category’s goals achieved?  Timely submission of the abstract will be included in that evaluation.
     
  • The evaluation worksheet provided is not meant to be definitive.  Judges are free to under- and overweight components and use other evaluation criteria in their deliberations.
     
  • Submissions should be ranked as first, second and third place.  If the judges conclude that all submission in their category do not warrant a first place finish, they have the prerogative of awarding only a second and/or third place finish.  Ties for second and third place finishes are permissible but there may be only one first place winner.  Ties will split the monetary awards equally.
     
  • As soon as possible after rankings have been determined, the judging team moderator should:
     
    • Provide the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE with any documentation/checklists used to rank the Best Practice if such will not be retained by the judging team member.
    • Provide the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE and HOST CHAPTER with the identity and rankings of each Best Practice submission.  HOST CHAPTER should not disseminate this information to anyone prior to the official award announcements.

Awards

The HOST CHAPTER should prepare some evidence of placing first, second or third.  Typically this would be a certificate evidencing the accomplishment.  Certificates will be provided by the EXECUTIVE OFFICE

The DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE or his/her designee will announce during the meetings closing ceremonies the winners in each Best Practice category.  Besides the verbal recognition, winning chapters will receive the following monetary awards as funded by Deloitte:

• First Place - $500
• Second Place - $250
• Third Place - $125

The first place winner earns the right to compete in a Best Practice competition at the annual meeting (see below for further details).

After the close of the Regional Meeting, judging teams need to be available to provide individual feedback to any submitting CHAPTER upon their request.

Reporting

Within seven days of the Regional Meeting, winning CHAPTERS (1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place winners) should provide the HOST CHAPTER via email with:

• Chapter name and number
• Best Practice category and place (1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd)
• Complete address to which the monetary award should be sent
• Names and email address of the Faculty Advisor and each presenting member

In turn, the HOST CHAPTER should include that information in its final report (see Regional Meeting Manual for details.)

Upon receipt of the final report, the EXECUTIVE OFFICE will process and forward the cash awards.

Submitting CHAPTERS should report only one national/regional activity, regardless of the number of presentations given. Each presenter should report one professional hour for his/her effort.

ANNUAL BEST PRACTICES

Prior to the Competition

Eligibility to Compete

All regional Best Practice winning CHAPTERS who achieved a first place award at a regional meeting are eligible to compete in the best practices competition at the annual meeting.

The Annual Meeting Chairperson, in coordination with the DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE will designate a Best Practice Coordinator. The EXECUTIVE OFFICE will ensure the identity and contact information of the Coordinator is provided to all Directors and HOST CHAPTERS by February 1. Regional HOST CHAPTERS should include that information in all correspondence to regional CHAPTERS.

As soon as possible after receiving a regional first place award but not later than May 1, winning chapters should:

• Notify that Best Practice Coordinator of its intention to compete at the annual meeting;
• If the chapter desires to compete, provide a copy of its presentation abstract, including cover page, to the Best Practice Coordinator. Regarding those abstracts, winning chapters should:
  • Revisit the abstract guidelines at Appendix 1
    (The abstract should not exceed one page (excluding a cover page), be in good form and free of grammatical and spelling errors. See Appendix 1 for additional guidance on abstracts.).  Sample abstracts from the prior year’s Best Practice annual meeting competition may be found on the Beta Alpha Psi website.)
  • Amend/update the cover sheet as needed.
  • Amend the abstract.  The abstract itself should essentially be the same as that provided for the regional meeting.  While minor editorial/grammatical changes and reordering of major points are permissible, under no circumstances should new information be inserted into the abstract (or presentation).

The Coordinator should provide to the EXECUTIVE OFFICE not later than May 15th the identity of and categories in which all winning chapters intend to compete so that adequate facilities are scheduled at the annual meeting.

Planning for the Presentation

The EXECUTIVE OFFICE and/or the Annual Meeting Chairperson, in conjunction with the Best Practice Coordinator, should:

• Schedule the Best Practices sessions so they occur as early as possible after the morning or lunch sessions to allow chapters to adequately prepare for their presentations.
• Include the location, time and date of each Best Practice competition in the Annual Meeting instructions (and web page).
• Ensure functioning computer and projection hardware are in place at least one hour before the scheduled competitions.
• Ensure a qualified person is present at the designated time in the room prior to the presentation to assist in loading presentation software/programs.  Exact information as to the time the computer(s) will be available to load the presentation will be communicated to the presenting chapters prior to the annual meeting by the Best Practices Coordinator.
• Determine the order in which presentations will be delivered.  Such order should be determined randomly.

Planning for Judging the Presentation

The FORUM LIAISON should, prior to March 1:

• Compile a list of FORUM members wishing to judge best practice competitions.
• Form judging teams of at least three persons for each Best Practice category.
• Designate a judging team member as the lead judge. Where possible, this person should have had prior judging experience at an annual meeting and not have judged same Best Practice category at any regional meeting. Lead Judge responsibilities will be discussed below.
• Provide the EXECUTIVE OFFICE, Best Practice Coordinator, and Annual Meeting Chairperson with the names, email addresses and phone numbers of each judge. (The EXECUTIVE OFFICE should include the names and company affiliations of judges in its meeting program.)

The Best Practice Coordinator, in conjunction with the Forum Liaison, Executive Office, Annual Meeting Chair, should:

• Prepare a packet for each judge that includes:
  • The goal and guidelines for each Best Practice category.
  • The abstracts from competing chapter.
  • The Evaluation forms for each scheduled presentation. NOTE: While evaluation forms may be modified at the judges discretion from those used at the regional meeting, regional meeting evaluation forms should nevertheless be included in this packet as a reference.
  • General published policies and procedures relative to Best Practices.
• Distribute that packet to all judges prior to the meeting’s opening session, allowing judges to familiarize themselves with the forthcoming presentations.  NOTE:  Generally, there is insufficient time at the meeting itself to fully review all abstracts and familiarize one’s self with all judging guidelines/procedures/responsibilities.

The Lead Judge should:

• Designate a moderator, timer and door guard for each completion.
  • The moderator (if not the lead judge) should obtain the identity of and announce each presenting school.
  • The timer should ensure no presentation goes beyond 10 minutes.
  • The door guard should ensure no one enters or exits a presentation while it is in process.  Entrance or exit between presentations is permissible.
• Meet with his/her team members should informally prior to the competition to answer questions and ensure procedures and responsibilities are understood. See the competition below for more details concerning the judging process.
• Report the competition results to the Best Practice Coordinator in a timely fashion.

The Competition

Presenting chapters should:

• Determine when and where their presentation will be given.
• Deliver all presentation-related materials (including their presentation on a flash drive) to the appropriate location at the designated time prior to the scheduled presentation.
• Competing chapters should present the substance of their efforts or vision as summarized in their abstract within ten minutes. The presentation may take any form but should be professional in nature.

When a presentation ends, sufficient time should be given for the audience to ask questions. Generally, questions should not continue beyond five minutes. Before beginning the next presentation, the Moderator should ensure the judging team is ready for the next presentation.

Judging teams should record their individual observations about each presentation.  Summarizing the annual meeting evaluation form instructions:

• Evaluation Form - A generic evaluation form will have been provided as guidance. The criterion on this form conveys the general goals of the Board for the Best Practices competition. However, it is NOT meant to be a definitive piece of work that encompasses every aspect of the broad range of presentations and activities that will be judged, nor does it provide omnipotent judgment as to the weighting of these factors. At best, any evaluation of this type of presentation is a subjective measure that should allow the individual judge some discretion in the applicability and weighting of the criteria to establish their competitive rankings.

After the Presentation

Judging teams, under the guidance of the lead judge should meet privately to evaluate all presentations. After first, second and third place winners have been determined, the lead judge should inform the Best Practice Coordinator of the winners. In turn, the Coordinator should inform the EXECUTIVE OFFICE of all winners.

The EXECUTIVE OFFICE, in conjunction with the Best Practice Coordinator, should prepare the necessary certificates and, as soon thereafter as possible, forward the monetary awards to those chapters (currently $1,000 funded by Deloitte). Certificates should be provided to the Annual Conference Chairperson or his/her designee who, in turn, will announce and present them to the winners at the closing ceremony.

After the awards are presented at the closing ceremony, judges should make themselves available after the meeting has ended to give a chapter individual feedback on their presentations. Judges should retain their evaluations until it is apparent they are no longer needed.

The decision of the judges is final. Presenting chapters who seek comments from the judges should accept that feedback as constructive and unchangeable.

 

APPENDIX 1 – ABSTRACT GUIDLINES

 

Abstract Cover Page.  Each abstract submitted should have a cover page attached containing the following information

Greek name/number of SUBMITTING CHAPTER ____________________________________

Official school name ______________________________________________________

Best Practice category to which the abstract applies ____________________________

Student (with email address) to contact regarding this abstract_____________________

Faculty Advisor’s name, email address, and phone number _____________________________

Copyright statement.

The following copyright material is included in this abstract (and will be used in our presentation).  Permission has been received from the copyright holder to use the related information.

            (List each copyright protected item used in the abstract)

Complete name and address to mail awards if and when earned: ______________________

Names of students (with email addresses) that will probably be making the presentation: _________________________

*PLEASE NOTE:  Please bring a jump drive with your presentation to the annual meeting.  You will be given the opportunity to load your presentation onto the appropriate computer and test its operation. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the BEST PRACTICES ANNUAL MEETING CHAIR (Dr. Pattison at pattison@sandiego.edu or 760-274-6462).

Abstract:

An Abstract (a.k.a. executive summary):

• Is a concise yet complete summary of a larger piece of work that Interests the reader in learning more about the abstract’s topic.

As used in BAP’s Best Practice Competition, is a one-page summary of the presentation you plan to give at the Regional Meeting.

You are encouraged to explore the Internet for further information about what an abstract is and how to prepare an abstract.

Characteristics of an effective Best Practices abstract:

1. Clearly indicates which Best Practice category the abstract addresses.
    
2. Covers all components of the project as described in the “Goal” to be achieved.
    
   • Goals to be achieved by the project
   • Resources committed to the project, including at a minimum the number of members participating in and the total or average hours devoted to the project
   • Identification of non-member receivers/benefactors of the practice
   • Actual outcomes achieved (or expected if the project involves a futuristic projection)
   • Outcomes are meaningful/significant given the level of effort made
   • An assessment of the benefits to the chapter and others served by the project (i.e., lessons learned, etc.)
   
   
3. Qualitative factors
    
   • Demonstrates a professional writing style
   • Draws the reader in by telling a story that makes the reader eager to learn/hear more about the project
   • Demonstrates originality of thought, i.e., what was new and unique
   • Is confined to the major points only, that is, it omits details that are best left to the Regional Meeting presentation
   • Material is arranged in a logical sequence, that is, there is an introduction, a body, and concluding comments/results/observations
   • Reader has a clear idea of what the project entailed and the actual or expected end-results achieved
   • Free of grammatical and spelling errors
   • Limited to one page (excluding the cover page)

Sample Abstracts

Professional Organizations Forums: To be Successful, Get Involved Today

Seizing the Opportunity, To Give Back to Our Community

 

 

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