Area Board Vacancies

When a vacancy occurs at the Area Board level, it is important that Regional Administrative Supervisors follow the outlined steps.

Members serving in an official position often come to the difficult decision to step down from their position due to circumstances arising out of their control. When an officer comes to this decision, the following procedure must take place. Members serving in an official position often come to the difficult decision to step down from their position due to circumstances arising out of their control. When an officer comes to this decision, the following procedure must take place.

• A resignation should be a formal letter that includes the date, a name to whom it is addressed, the reason for the resignation, and the person's signature. The person resigning shall email their letter to the relevant board member. Under no circumstance should a verbal resignation be accepted.
  1. Area Coordinator for Area Boards
• Once the letter of resignation is submitted, it must be included in the following board meeting to finalize the resignation. A "resignation" is a "request to be excused" from duty and as such has to be acted upon and recognized by the remaining board members.
• The member submitting a resignation is able to withdraw their resignation letter at any time until deemed final.
• The resignation is deemed final 24 hours after the conclusion of the meeting where the board reviews and accepts the submitted resignation letter.

Once the resignation is confirmed final, the below should be completed.

• All necessary paperwork is completed or accounted for.

• All accounts and information is transitioned to the reporting Regional Officer.

REMINDER: If the resignation is from an Area Coordinator, the current Area Administrative Coordinator (AAC) shall then take the role of AC and the appointment call be to appoint a new Area Administrative Coordinator. [Standing Rules Part I, Chapter 6: Areas, Section II Area Officers, Letter D under Area Administrative Coordinator.]

Once the resignation notification is complete, the Regional Administrative Supervisor should follow the appointment process outlined in the Elections Manual (Standing Rules, Part 1, Appendix D, Chapter 4).

When determining an appropriate timeline, ensure to take the following into consideration:

• Are there major holidays occurring where members will not be sync'd to LTA business
• Work with the remaining Area Board to ensure that the proposed timeline doesn't conflict with anything they are working on.

Required pieces of the Appointment Timeline that should be planned for:

• When the application will be open / accepting applications. Typically aligned to the day the email is sent to the area.
• When the application will be closing.
• Allotting time for eligibility review. Typically 2 days will suffice, but you may need longer if multiple applicants.
• Allotting time for the remaining Area Board officers to review eligible candidates and vote on whom to appoint.

Once the appointment timeline has been finalized, the Regional Supervisor should prepare the email communication to be sent to the area. A sample email has been linked in the templates + materials section below.

Once the application period has closed, the Regional Supervisor should download each application and combine with related materials into one PDF and upload to their respective google drive folder within this google drive that will be used to save and share all items relevant to the appointment.

Once all PDF copies of applications have been saved to your respective regional google drive, Regional Supervisors will utilize the "Eligibility Spreadsheet" to determine each applicant's eligibility. Upon completion it should be sent to the area board for their review and vote. A template "Eligibility Spreadsheet", instructions, and email template is linked in the templates + materials section below.

What to do if an applicant is not eligible? If an applicant is not eligible, ensure to email the applicant using this template letting them know that at this time they have been disqualified with the reason(s) why. It is your responsibility to inform them of which eligibility requirement(s) they did not meet.

Reminder: Lambda Theta Alpha does not weigh one requirement higher than another. All eligibility requirements are to be assessed equally.

The Area Coordinator shall then inform the RegionalAdministrative Supervisor the result of the Area Board's vote on the eligible candidates by the designated date.  The Area Coordinator must provide a reason on behalf of the current area board as to why this candidate should be appointed.

Reminder: A majority vote shall determine the candidate that will be reviewed by the Regional Administrative Supervisor. The Regional Administrative Supervisor will then give their approval/denial to the appointment forwarded to them. Notification to candidates should not be made until the Regional Supervisor has confirmed/denied with the Area Board.

What do you do when a candidate is not appointed? The Regional Administrative Supervisor shall reach out to this candidate (via email or phone call) to inform them of the area boards decision prior to an appointment announcement is sent to the area. It is recommended to come to the meeting with empathy, open mind, and with constructive criticism towards the submitted application if it was provided by the area board.

Once the area coordinator has informed the Regional Administrative Supervisor which candidate the area board would like to appoint, the Regional Administrative Supervisor will need to reach out to the candidate via email to confirm they accept the appointment. A sample email has been linked in the templates + materials section below.

Once the candidate has confirmed their acceptance of the appointment, the Regional Administrative Supervisor can prepare and send an email communication informing the area of the appointment. A sample email has been linked in the templates + materials section below.

Following this email, the candidate should be connected with the corresponding supervising Regional Officer to being the transition and onboarding. Additionally, the Regional Administrative Supervisor should inform the Vice President of Internal Affairs and Vice President of Administration in order for the appointed member receives access to their email and other relevant items.

Below you will find several templates and materials to assist you throughout the appointment process.

Sample Application

Step-by-Step Instructions on setting up application