Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning
Bylaws
American Educational Research Association
Special Interest Group:
Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning (ARVEL)
Article I.
NAME OF THE SIG
The name of this Special Interest Group (“SIG”) is Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning (ARVEL), (hereafter, the “SIG”).
Article II.
AFFILIATION OF THE SIG
The SIG is a Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (hereafter, “AERA” or “Association”) established to facilitate the formation of research specialties of an intra- or cross-divisional nature and to increase the exchange of knowledge within research arenas of special interest, and for other reasons in keeping with achieving the purposes of the Association.
Article III.
GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF THE SIG
The SIG shall be governed by the Association’s Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and policies. The Bylaws, decisions and actions of the SIG shall not conflict with the Association’s Bylaws and policies, including the SIG Handbook and all guidelines, procedures and policies associated with the Association’s Annual Meeting and its program.
Article IV.
PURPOSES OF THE SIG: Applied Research in Virtual Environments for Learning.
The purposes of the SIG are to, “steward a community of educators, scholars, and practitioners dedicated toward research in and on virtual environments. Using a variety of research methods, we support a diverse approach to understanding the optimal use of virtual worlds and environments for educational purposes. We're interested in developing a comprehensive research agenda, intended to encompass the breadth and scope of learning potentialities, affordances, challenges, and shortcomings of immersive virtual learning environments.”
Article V.
The number of this Article and all subsequent Articles will change if one or more Articles corresponding to a statement of your SIG’s Mission, Goals and/or Objectives is/are added.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE SIG
Section 1. Eligibility. Membership in the SIG shall be open to any AERA member who supports the purposes of the SIG and who pays the specified SIG dues and all additional fees required of SIG members by the Association.
Section 2. Joining the SIG. AERA members shall join the SIG by paying SIG dues and Association fees through the AERA Central Office using the appropriate AERA print or electronic form.
Section 3. Members in Good Standing. SIG members are considered ‘in good standing’ immediately upon the recording of their dues paid in full by the AERA Central Office.
Section 4. Length of Membership in the SIG. The length of membership in the SIG shall be from the date membership dues are received in Central Office to the end of the AERA membership year as established by the Association. AERA members may join the SIG at any time, but SIG membership expires coterminously with AERA membership.
Section 5. Voting Rights. All SIG members in good standing, fully paid in SIG dues, shall be entitled to vote for SIG officers and any other matter where a vote is taken or required.
Article VI.
OFFICERS
Section 1. Required Officers. The SIG shall have a Chair, Secretary/Treasurer and
Program Chair who shall be elected and shall serve as the three required officers. The SIG shall have any
other officers that its members from time to time chose to designate.
Section 2. Other Officers. The other officers of this SIG shall be (a) Immediate Past Chairperson, (b) Awards Director, (c) Membership Director, and (d) Communications Director
Section 3. Eligibility to Hold Office. All members in good standing of both AERA and the SIG and who are not restricted from holding a particular office due to requirements in the Association’s or the
Article VII.
OFFICER DUTIES
SIG’s Bylaws and policies shall be eligible to run as candidates for election as officers and for any
office within the SIG.
Section 4. Length of Term of Office. Unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws, the term of each
officer shall be for one year. The term of each officer shall begin the day following the close of the
AERA Annual Meeting and end on the last day of the next AERA Annual Meeting.
Section 5. Eligibility to Succeed to the Same Office for Consecutive Terms. Unless otherwise
specified or restricted in these Bylaws, individuals shall be eligible to be nominated and to succeed
themselves, if elected, to the same office for consecutive terms.
Section 7. Limit to Length of Service in One Office. No person may serve in the same office for more
than three consecutive years. The Chair of the SIG shall be charged with ensuring that this
requirement is met.
Section 8. Officers as Members of AERA for Entire Term. All individuals serving as officers of the
SIG shall be members of AERA during their entire term of office.
Section 9. Vacancies. Whenever any elected office is vacated for any reason before the term of that
officer has been completed, the Chair shall on advice from the Executive Committee appoint a
replacement until new elections are held. This replacement shall assume the full duties and
responsibilities of that office immediately upon appointment. In the case of the Chair being vacant, the
Executive Committee shall by majority vote elect an individual to complete the term of the Chair.
Article VII.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OFFICERS
Section 1. Chair. The Chair shall be responsible for the general administration of the SIG, for ensuring
that the SIG Bylaws are followed, and act as liaison between the SIG and AERA and the SIG and the
SIG Executive Committee. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and at
the Annual Business Meeting. The Chair shall act as parliamentarian or shall appoint a SIG member to
serve in that role for each meeting. The Chair shall appoint ad hoc committees as needed. Unless
otherwise specified in these Bylaws, the Chair of the SIG shall appoint persons to assist officers, to
chair committees or to carry out other work of the SIG.
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Section 2. Secretary [or Secretary/Treasurer]. The Secretary [or Secretary/Treasurer] shall be
responsible for managing and reporting on the financial accounts of the SIG and the safe keeping of all
financial documents of the SIG.
Section 3. . [This and other sections are to be added, with a separate Section for each other
officer. The Section heading is the title of each Officer, starting with the third required Officer of your
SIG.]
Article VIII.
OTHER LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
Section 1. Non-Officer Leadership Positions. The SIG may from time to time establish important
leadership positions that are not officers of the SIG.
Section 2. Titles of Non-Officer Leadership Positions. The SIG shall appoint or elect individuals to the
following non-officer leadership positions to carry out leadership or task assignments of the SIG for
the benefit of the SIG: [Write title of each non-officer position desired by your SIG here].
Section 2a. Unless otherwise stated in these Bylaws, the current qualifications, eligibility
requirements, duties, responsibilities, term limits, and manner and timing of appointment or election
for each non-officer leadership position shall be posted on the SIG’s website.
Section 2b. Individuals serving in non-officer leadership positions cannot serve, make motions or vote
on the Executive Committee, although they may, from time to time and at the discretion of the Chair,
be invited to participate and provide reports to the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Eligibility. All members in good standing of both AERA and the SIG and who are not
restricted from holding a particular non-office leadership position due to requirements in the
Association’s or the SIG’s Bylaws and policies shall be eligible to run as candidates for election or
appointment to any non-officer leadership position within the SIG.
Section 4. Length of Term for These Leadership Positions. Unless otherwise specified in these
Bylaws, the term of each non-officer leadership position, whether stated herein or on the SIG website,
shall be for one year. The term of each non-officer shall begin the day following the close of the
AERA Annual Meeting.
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Section 5. Eligibility to Succeed to the Same Non-officer Position for Consecutive Terms. Unless
otherwise specified or restricted in these Bylaws, individuals shall be eligible to be appointed or
nominated and to succeed themselves, if elected, to the same non-officer leadership position for
consecutive terms.
Section 6. [Optional] Automatic Succession of Non-officer Positions. There shall be an automatic
succession of the following non-officer positions, from _ to , in that order such that the
person elected as __ shall run unopposed for the office of
Section 7. Limit of Length of Term in the Same Non-Officer Position. No person may serve in the
same non-officer position for more than three consecutive years. The Chair of the SIG shall be charged
with ensuring that this requirement is met.
Section 8. Non-Officers as Members of AERA for Entire Term. All individuals serving in non-officer
positions of the SIG shall be members of AERA during their entire term of office.
Section 9. Vacancies. Whenever any non-officer position is vacated for any reason before the term
has been completed, the Chair shall appoint a replacement until the date of the next elections or
appointment cycle for that position. This replacement shall assume the full duties and responsibilities
of that position immediately upon appointment.
Article IX.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF NON-OFFICER LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF NON-OFFICER LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
Section 1. [This and other sections are to be added, with a separate Section for each
other leadership position. The Section heading is the title of each non-Officer leadership position of
your SIG.]
Article X.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1. Membership. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the SIG Chair, Secretary
[or Secretary/ Treasurer] and [insert titles of any other officers that your SIG wants as part of its
Executive Committee. The title of the third required Officer named above must be included on this
Committee.]
Section 2. Responsibility and Power. The Executive Committee shall have responsibility and power to
provide leadership and to direct and review the general affairs of the SIG within the limits set forth in
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these Bylaws. Other duties and powers of this Committee are as follows: [Include all that are to be
stipulated, if any.]
Section 3. Meetings. The Executive Committee shall hold at least one meeting each year in person and
shall communicate as needed throughout the year. This meeting may be during the Annual Meeting.
The Chair shall be responsible for setting the time and place of this meeting and for creating and
distributing the agenda for this meeting.
Section 4. Quorum and Decision-making. A majority of the members of the Executive Committee
shall constitute a quorum, and decisions of the Executive Committee shall be by a majority of those
present, provided a quorum is present.
Article
XI.
NOMINATIONS AND
ELECTIONS
Section 1. Oversight of the Nominations and Elections Process. The Executive Committee shall be
responsible for setting up, monitoring and providing other oversight duties regarding all aspects of the
nomination and election processes of the SIG.
Section 2. Nominations Committee. The Nominations Committee shall consist of (complete as
appropriate to your SIG.)
Section 3. Nominations and Nomination Process.
Section 3a. The Nominations Committee shall seek eligible individuals to serve as candidates for each
elected officer and Non-officer position.
Section 3b. No SIG member may nominate an individual for any SIG office without the prior consent
of that individual to be so nominated.
Section 3c. The SIG Chair shall encourage the membership and individuals involved in the
nominations process to elicit at least two candidates for each office.
Section 3d. By the deadline set by the Association, the Nominations Committee shall submit the
names of the candidates and any other information required by AERA for inclusion in the AERA
electronic ballot system. The deadline for this submission shall be determined by the Association.
Section 4. Date for Completion of Election Tabulation. All election processes and tabulation of votes
for designated officers and non-officer positions for the following year shall be completed within the
timeline and deadline established by AERA in conducting its electronic election of Officers of the
Association.. The Chair of the Nominations Committee shall receive the results of the balloting from
the Central Office.
Section 5. Notification of Results. The [SIG Chair or Chair of the SIG Nomination and Election
Committee – or write in another option for your SIG] shall be responsible for reporting the results to
the membership.
Article XII.
MEETINGS
Section 1. Annual Business Meeting. The SIG shall hold its Annual Business Meeting in conjunction
with the AERA Annual Meeting. Unless otherwise noted in these Bylaws, decisions during this
meeting shall be by the majority of SIG members present and voting.
Section 2. Other Meetings. The SIG may hold other official business meetings at times and places
approved by the Executive Committee and vote of the SIG members. The SIG may conduct SIG
business and vote on motions in person, electronically, or by e-mail or mail.
Section 3. Officer and Committee Meetings. The Officers and Committees of the SIG shall meet
when, where and as needed to conduct the business of the SIG or carry out the charges of the
committee within the parameters and requirements of these Bylaws. The SIG Chair, other SIG officers
and committee chairs shall set the meetings and notify all officers of the date, time, place and agenda
or purposes of the meetings.
Section 4. Notice of Meetings. Announcement of day, time and place of any official business meeting
of the SIG membership shall be made as far ahead as is reasonably possible. In all cases notice shall
be communicated to members at least three weeks in advance.
Section 5. Rules of Order. In all cases to which they apply and do not conflict with the provisions of
these Bylaws and the Association Bylaws, Robert’s Rules of Order (current edition) shall govern all
business meetings of the SIG.
Article XIII.
DUES AND OTHER FISCAL CONCERNS
Section 1. Dues. Dues for the SIG shall be decided by a majority vote of those members voting at a
duly called Annual Business Meeting or a majority of the membership by postal, e-mail, or electronic
voting.
Section 2. Effective Date of Dues Increases. All increases in dues shall go into effect for all categories
of SIG membership on the day following the last day of the AERA Annual Meeting.
Section 3. Allocation of SIG Assets. The Chair, the Executive Committee or majority of members
voting at the Annual Business Meeting or by electronic vote shall authorize the expenditure of SIG
funds for the purpose requested and approved. In instances where the Executive Committee or
majority of the membership approved a standing maximum expenditure as funds permit, such as to
cover the costs of awards or refreshments as part of the SIG reception following the Annual Business
Meeting, the Chair and Treasurer shall jointly be responsible for giving final consent to commit SIG
funds up to the amount approved.
Section 4. Overseeing the Allocation of SIG Assets. The Chair and the Treasurer shall have the joint
responsibility to ensure that all SIG assets, including money collected via dues, are allocated and spent
in ways and in a timely manner to fulfill commitments made by the SIG members or Executive
Committee, to pay fees to the Association, to pay debts and to enhance and promote the SIG and the
purposes, goals and objectives of the SIG.
Article XIV.
AERA-APPROVED AWARDS
Section 1. Name of the Awards. The SIG shall present on an annual basis, when merited, the following
Award as approved by Council: [write name of each and all awards here].
Section 2. The ARVEL Distinguished Researcher. This award shall be presented to [state specific category of
individual, such as senior scholar, recent graduate, graduate student] for [state specific reason(s) for
the award].
Section 2a. The [name of the award] is presented to the individual or individuals who meet the
following criteria as approved by the SIG and Council: [state all criteria here].
Section 2b. The process for determining the individual or individuals deserving of the [name of the
award] is as follows:[ state the specific steps in this process or set of procedures followed each year
this award is presented. These may be stated here in bullet or numbered order in sequence followed by
members of your SIG in determining who earns this award.]
Article XV.
TERMINATION/DISSOLUTION OF THE SIG
Section 1. Membership Decision to Voluntarily Dissolve the SIG. Should it be decided that the SIG is
no longer meeting the needs and serving the purposes for which it was founded, the SIG shall be
voluntarily discontinued by a majority vote of the members present at a SIG Business Meeting
followed by a two-thirds vote of those voting in a postal, e-mail, or electronic ballot sent out to the
total membership within 30 days of the vote to terminate passed at the Annual Business Meeting. A
message of the results of this election shall be sent in writing to the SIG membership, AERA Central
Office and Chair of the SIG Executive Committee by the SIG Chair within one week of the counting
of the votes.
Section 2. Other Circumstances that May Result in the Dissolution of the SIG. The SIG may
automatically be dissolved should its membership fall below the minimum number established by
Council for active SIGs; should its members approve the merging of the SIG with one or more other
SIGs, or for other reasons pursuant to the Bylaws of the Association and the SIG. In addition, a
Special Interest Group may be dissolved by the AERA Council for good and sufficient reasons.
Section 3. Distribution of SIG Assets. Should the SIG be discontinued for any reason, its assets shall
be used to pay all outstanding debts and obligations. Any remaining funds shall be returned to the
AERA.
Article XVII.
RATIFICATION AND AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Approval Process of the Initial Bylaws. The process for approving the initial Bylaws shall
be as follows, with the actions of AERA Council noted for the information of membership:
Section 1a. The officers of the SIG shall decide the process for the construction of a draft of the
Bylaws, and offer SIG members an opportunity to comment on this draft. The officers shall be
responsible for making specific revisions, additions and/or deletions in the Bylaws based upon the
feedback and suggestions.
Section 1b. After the membership has provided feedback and input on the draft of the Bylaws, the
Chair shall submit a copy of the draft to AERA Central Office for review. Central Office may send it
back to the SIG Chair with comments for revisions or forward the Bylaws to the SIG Executive
Committee for review and recommendation to Council for approval. The SIG Executive Committee
may return the Bylaws to the SIG Chair to address specific concerns before making a recommendation
to Council.
Section 1c. Council may require changes or revisions in the language of the Bylaws or amendments
thereof prior to final approval. Once approved by Council, the Chair shall be notified that the Bylaws
are in effect and will stay in effect until notification in writing to Central Office of the favorable or
unfavorable vote of SIG members. The SIG Chair and officers shall then complete the process of
getting approval of the Bylaws by a vote of SIG members. The SIG Chair shall have 30 days to
convey in writing to Central Office and the Chair of the SIG Executive Committee the dates and
manner of voting decided upon by the SIG officers.
Section 2. Ratification. After Council approval, these Bylaws shall require a majority vote of those
members voting electronically by postal, email, or electronic voting. The SIG Chair shall transmit in
writing the manner, dates and results of this vote to Central Office within 10 days of the final count of
the votes.
Section 3. Effective Date of Implementation. These Bylaws shall take effect immediately upon receipt
in writing to the SIG Chair by Central Office acknowledging the Chair’s written statement of the
favorable vote of the SIG membership for the presented version of the Bylaws or amendment(s)
thereof.
Section 4. Amendments to the SIG Bylaws. These Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of
those members voting at a duly called Annual Business Meeting or a majority of the members voting
by postal, e-mail, or electronic voting as designated by the Executive Committee or elsewhere within
these Bylaws.
Article XVIII.
POSTING OF THE SIG BYLAWS
Within 30 days of Council approval of the SIG Bylaws and all amendments to the Bylaws, the entire
set of Bylaws shall be posted on the AERA website for the SIG with the date of Council’s approval
included and the Chair shall send an electronic communication to all SIG members announcing the
posting of the Bylaws on the SIG website.
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