Committee on Education
I. Purpose
The Committee on Education has three complementary purposes: 1) to assess
the profession's educational needs; 2) to prepare and promote standards for
archival education programs, those based in graduate schools as well as post-appointment
and continuing education and training programs; and 3) to provide advice to
the SAA Education Office.
The Committee on Education's work is based on the following assumptions:
- Education and professional development are essential to the continued advancement
of the profession;
- Graduate education and continuing education must be addressed in a coordinated
manner, ensuring that developments in both areas are based on a common understanding
of the needs of the profession at all levels;
- Education and professional development offerings must be responsive to
the forces and circumstances that could or should shape the profession; and
- Education and professional development should be a cooperative enterprise
involving various participants, including SAA; other national, regional,
and local archival organizations; graduate-level academic programs; employers;
and related professional associations.
II. Committee Selection, Size, and Length of Terms
The Committee on Education consists of nine members (including a chair and vice chair) appointed by the SAA President for staggered three-year terms. The vice chair is appointed by the president normally from among the committee members serving the second year of their appointment. The vice-chair assumes the chair in his or her third year on the committee. The SAA Education Director serves as an ex officio member of the committee.
The membership of the committee shall include a balanced mix of archival educators and of practicing archivists with administrative or supervisory experience.
The vice chair of the Committee on Education serves as an ex-officio member of the Theodore Calvin Pease Award Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee, as a liaison to the Archival Educators Roundtable, and as an informal advisor to the Student Forum.
III. Reporting Procedures
The committee reports to Council, providing a formal written report in the
spring of each year and reporting on special initiatives as necessary or requested.
The committee works closely with the Education Director, serving in an advisory
capacity in education-related projects and programs operated out of the executive
office.
The committee maintains close liaison with the Archival Educators Roundtable,
using it as a means of informing and seeking comments from individual educators
related to committee initiatives.
IV. Duties and Responsibilities
The Committee on Education is charged with reviewing the needs for continuing education, assisting the SAA Education Office in developing relevant programming, and providing guidance to the Society in this area. Among the tasks or responsibilities that have been undertaken on a recurring basis are the following:
- Advise the SAA Education Director in establishing directions and priorities for the Society's continuing education program, monitoring the effectiveness of the offerings in light of professional needs and developments, ensuring that the education programs are of high quality, coordinating the work of the Education Office with other educational initiatives within SAA, and compiling a directory of educational opportunities;
- Review educational initiatives proposed and/or undertaken by other SAA committees and roundtables;
- Review and assess information provided by the Education Office on the full range of the profession's educational needs and the degree to which they are being met by existing educational opportunities, and make recommendations or undertake initiatives as appropriate;
- Advise the Council on conditions and developments that affect educational program needs;
- Maintain contact with educational offices/committees in related professions and organizations to explore opportunities for cooperative and mutually beneficial efforts;
- Develop and revise professional guidelines for continuing education.
The Committee on Education is also charged with reviewing needs for graduate archival education, drafting and promulgating guidelines, and providing guidance to the Society in this area. The committee establishes its own agenda except as otherwise directed by Council to perform specific tasks. Among the tasks or responsibilities that have been undertaken on a recurring basis are the following:
- Regularly assess existing guidelines for educational programs and if necessary propose appropriate revisions for Council approval;
- Review and assess information provided by the Education Office on the full range of the profession's educational needs and the degree to which they are being met by existing educational opportunities, and make recommendations or undertake initiatives as appropriate;
- Advise the Council on conditions and developments that affect educational program needs;
- Maintain contact with educational offices/committees in related professions and organizations to explore opportunities for cooperative and mutually beneficial efforts;
- Assist the Education Office with developing and maintaining the Education Directory;
- Assist the Education Office with issues relating to student chapters.
V. Meetings
The committee meets at the SAA Annual Meeting. Additional mid-year meetings
scheduled depending upon
the availability of financial resources.
Approved by the SAA Council: August 2008
Revised: January 1992, January 1998, May 2005, August 2008
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