Academic associations are a critical component of education systems around the world. These associations are typically made up of members who are currently practicing as university lecturers, professors, and department heads.
These associations have the power to greatly influence our understanding of entire fields of study. They also have wide latitude to make recommendations on how information is presented to students across the country. The national and international nature of these associations has made academic and professional association online voting a must-have option for members.
Not everyone in a particular field can join an academic association. To determine eligibility, associations will typically set forth criteria for joining. These are academic in nature, often regarding relevant degrees, published research, or recognition in a particular area of study. Each association sets its own criteria based on the opinions of its members and governing body.
Associations also seek to maintain diversity. However, this is not just in opinions–they also seek to add members with specialized backgrounds within the field. For example, the American Sociological Association may seek sociologists who have made significant progress in a particular niche, such as international migration patterns or indigenous studies of at-risk tribes. The result is an organization that represents a broad spectrum of individuals with wide-ranging views.
For smaller organizations, the board of the association may review and select new members for their organization based on the above-mentioned criteria. In larger organizations that operate at the national level, this simply isn’t practical. With thousands of members, the board will typically appoint a separate committee that is responsible for reviewing applications and creating a shortlist for admission.
With the shortlist in hand, the committee or board will typically put the candidates to a vote, just as academic departments vote on new hires. These votes may occur in person, though increasingly votes are held online.
Can anyone be an academic association member? No–but being admitted to an academic association, especially a prestigious one, can have a range of benefits. This can include opportunities to attend conferences and access to academic studies and new advances in the field. Networking is just as important in academia as it is in any field, and having the recognition of your peers is critical to furthering a career.
Members also have the right to vote on a range of issues, including referendums on policies, new board members, and which areas of study to deem of critical importance. Association members can also vote on educational criteria and recommendations on how subjects should be approached and taught. These recommendations help to ensure that while each individual professor's voice is heard, certain tenets remain critical to the field and are taught to all students.
In many ways, these associations function almost as small governments. Their board of governors also has wide-ranging powers and can shape the entire field's direction. The importance of these organizations makes the democratic process necessary for a functional system.
As remote work and online education continue to grow, so, too, will online participation in associations. With so many members being spread across such a wide area, in-person voting is simply impractical.
With this in mind, ElectionBuddy has developed a secure, online voting platform. This platform is available for use by a range of organizations, from professional to academic, with voting systems that are transparent and secure.
The ElectionBuddy platform can handle everything from candidate profiles, introducing referendum policies, and the selection of board membership. The results can also be made publicly available to enhance trust in the democratic process!
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