SIOP Dues Increase Needed
Angelo DeNisi
SIOP President
After considerable examination and thought, the Executive Committee will be
asking you to approve a dues increase for next year. Since we have not had an
increase in quite a while, and since the increase is substantial ($32 to $55 for
members; $10 to $25 for Student Affiliates), I wanted to take a minute to
explain to you the Executive Committee's reasoning behind the increase and the
specific amounts.
I raised this issue in my first Presidential Column to let the membership
know that a dues increase would be coming. As I told you then, we calculated
that member dues simply were not covering the cost of member services. The only
reason SIOP continued to be financially viable was because we made enough money
from the Conference and the Workshops to cover the other expenses. While this
has worked out in the past, the problem is becoming more serious and requires a
different approach. Let me be more specific.
Last year, the income from what we call General Member Services was just
about $223,000. The cost of the services we provided (TIP and the basic
things you expect of any association, such as registration materials and such)
was just under $284,000a net loss of about $61,000. Between the SIOP
conference, workshops, publications, and our investments, we were able to cover
this shortfall. However, we cannot (and should not) count on income from other
sources to compensate for losses due to increased member services costs. In
fact, we anticipate an operating loss for next year, because we expect the
Conference to cost even more than it did last year (and we plan no registration
fee increase), and we are bringing some new member services on line this coming
year. In addition, we have a little more than one year's budget in savings
(which is as low as we want to have that figure), leading the Executive
Committee to conclude that a dues increase is necessary.
The SIOP Executive Committee is extremely frugal and careful about spending
your money. Therefore, we do not take a dues increase lightly and would not be
asking for one if we did not believe it was necessary. The bottom line is that
our financial situation is fine for the moment but will not continue to be if
Member Services costs continue to surpass Member Services revenues. The amount
of dues increase being proposed is what we feel is necessary to stay in the
black and not have to propose another dues increase for awhile. This will be up
for a vote at the SIOP business meeting at the Annual Conference. I urge you to
vote to accept the increases.
To put this proposed increase into better perspective, I want to go back to
the time of our last dues increase, 1990 (the increase was voted on in 1989, and
implemented in 1990), and compare the services SIOP provided you then, with what
we all receive now. This also should give you a good idea of how costs have
increased over this period. The comparison between "then" and
"now" is presented below.
SIOP THEN
In November 1990, there were 2,832 members in total. There was no Membership
Directory, and no membership database existed. Any contributions you might have
wanted to make to SIOP had to go through APA, if you wanted them to be
tax-deductible. When you became a new member you received:
- Letter of Congratulations
- Membership Survey
- SIOP By-Laws
- Self-Nomination form for Committee membership
- A Dues Statement
SIOP NOW
In August of this year, there were 6,179 members. Our Membership Directory is
updated annually and distributed every October. There is a membership database
which can be sorted by membership status and other criteria. There is a SIOP
Foundation, which can provide a wide range of services that you will hear more
about in the coming year. One important service is that it can accept
tax-deductible donations. When you become a new member, now, you receive:
- Welcome Letter
- Dues Payment Form
- Committee Volunteer Form
- Publications Order Form
- Membership Certificate (sent after paying dues)
- Issues of TIP back to the beginning of the dues year
- Membership Directory, which now includes the By-Laws
- Receipt if you pay by credit card
The SIOP Conference THEN
The Conference was 2 days long. There were approximately 350 submissions to
the program, and approximately 1,000 people attended the Conference. There was
no formal job placement service. There were 12 pre-Conference Workshops, and
SIOP had just approved, on a trial basis, a Cash Bar during the first night of
the conference. SIOP did not take American Express, MasterCard, VISA or any
other form of credit card for any charges.
The SIOP Conference NOW
The Conference is 2 1/2 days long. This year there were 760 submissions, and
there will be 16 pre-Conference Workshops. Last year, nearly 3,000 people
attended the conference. There are a number of receptions, sponsored coffee
breaks, and a dessert reception (with live music!). You can now pay by credit
card.
SIOP Publications THEN
- TIP (averaged 50 pages per issue)
- Principles for Validation
- Guidelines for Education and Training
- The Science and Practice of I-O Psychology
- Graduate Training Programs in I-O Psychology (did not include
master's programs)
- Ethics Casebook (60 pages)
- Multiple Facets of I-O Psychology
SIOP Publications NOW
(either free or with a membership discount)
- TIP (has as many as 200 pages per issue, with more graphics as
well)
- Principles for Validation
- Guidelines for Education and Training at Doctoral Level
- Guidelines for Education and Training at the Master's Level
- The Science and Practice of I-O Psychology
- Graduate Training Programs in I-O Psychology (includes business
programs and master's programs)
- Ethical Practice of Psychology in Organizations (300+ pages)
- Membership Directory
- Affirmative Action Report
- Multiple Facets of I-O Psychology (1996)
- Handbook of I-O Psychology can be purchased through SIOP
- Practice Series and Frontiers Series (21 titles)
If you had questions or wanted more information THEN
You could contact the SIOP Administrative Office. In 1989, the
"office" consisted of one, half-time assistant at the University of
Maryland. In 1990, SIOP voted to move the administrative office to Arlington
Heights, Illinois. Bill Macey served as Director, and there was one, full-time
administrative assistant, and a separate phone line for SIOP use. No one even
dreamed of a SIOP website.
If you have questions or want more information NOW
You can still contact the SIOP Administrative Office, but that office is now
a much different operation. Now, the office exists in Bowling Green, Ohio, and
is headed by Lee Hakel. The staff includes an Office Manager; an Information
Technology Manager; an Assistant Manager for Membership; an Assistant Manager
for Publications; and a Clerical Assistant. There are 4 phone lines, and an ADSL
line (for use of modems). OR You can log onto the SIOP Web Page!
The SIOP website can be used to contact the Administrative Office, and it
allows access to information about positions available, graduate programs, TIP,
affirmative action, conferences, committees, grants, member email addresses,
calls and announcements, I-O Groups, I-O related sites, internet resources,
salary survey, SIOP past-presidents, the I-O teaching module and an online order
form.
Job Placement activities THEN
Placement activities consisted of ads in TIP, appearing 4 times a
year.
Job Placement activities NOW
We still have ads in TIP, but we also have next day ads on the
website, a placement service at the Conference and, in the coming year, you will
learn more about the year-round placement services that SIOP will offer.
AND ALL THESE CHANGES MEAN MORE SUPPORT FROM DUES IS NEEDED
The administrative support that is needed to carry out our member services
has increased dramatically. In 1990, we depended heavily upon volunteers to
perform most of the administrative tasks. The scope of those tasks was such that
we could ask volunteers carry out these tasks. Some of them included:
registration for workshops and the conference; processing of all Conference
submissions; typesetting and formatting the pre-press work on TIP and
other SIOP publications (including job placement books); organizing AV and
sponsors for the conference; and actually composing SIOP brochures. As the size
of the organization grew, so did the scope of these tasks. As a result, it
became more difficult for volunteers to handle them. All of these tasks are now
handled by the Administrative Office, as are an increasingly large number of
other tasks that are related to everything from SIOP Awards to SIOP Membership.
Please support and approve our dues increase for next year.
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