MAB Policies

Policies and Procedures

CRLA Media Advisory Board

Approved Spring, 2006

The College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) Media Advisory Board (MAB) makes the following recommendations for policies and procedures to govern CRLA publications. Three levels of involvement in the publication process are addressed: (a) CRLA co-sponsorship of publications developed in agreement with other organizations and co-edited or co-authored by one or more CRLA members; (b) CRLA in-house publications such as books, monographs, guides, handbooks, conference papers, multimedia productions, bibliographies, or reports, or similar projects initiated by CRLA and published either by CRLA or through an outside publisher; and (c) CRLA funding of publications developed by CRLA subgroups such as special interest groups (SIGs), task forces, or standing or ad hoc committees. Recommendations are based upon discussion within the MAB, conversations with CRLA Executive Board members, and recommendations made by the earlier CRLA Ad-hoc Committee on Publication Policy chaired by Malcolm and Diane Van Blerkom. The ad-hoc committee suggested the following criteria for publication that would be applicable to any of the three categories listed above:

1.      The work makes a contribution to the field and benefits the members of CRLA.

2.      The work focuses on undergraduate reading, writing, math, developmental education, or learning assistance. To this list the MAB has added study skills, learning strategies, tutoring, academic counseling, and advising.

3.      The target audience is professionals, not undergraduate students.

4.      The work has a clearly articulated theoretical framework, is grounded in research (but the work itself does not have to be a research piece), and is connected to practice.

5.      The work is authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited by one or more current (i.e., dues paid for current year) national CRLA members.

Co-Sponsorships

“Co-sponsorship” refers to CRLA involvement in a publication in conjunction with one or more other professional organization(s), research center(s), educational institution(s), or other appropriate entity(ies). Co-sponsorships might include joint efforts in writing and editing as well as joint financial support for the project. Requests for co-sponsorship must be initiated during the initial phases of the development of the publication; CRLA will not entertain requests for co-sponsorship for completed or already published works.

Proposal Process

CRLA members can initiate a request for co-sponsorship by completing a CRLA Publication Co-sponsorship Request form to be provided by the MAB and attaching supplemental documents including (a) a description of the project and its target audience, (b) a literature review that delineates how this project will contribute to knowledge and how it will differ from works already published on similar topics, (c) a proposed table of contents, (d) a production timeline, (e) a budget of anticipated expenditures and income with a breakdown of the financial commitments of each of the sponsoring organizations, (f) a marketing plan, and (g) curriculum vitae for proposed authors and editors, and submitting five hard copies and an electronic copy of all materials to the MAB chairperson. The form will require that the responsibilities and obligations, financial and otherwise, of all co-sponsoring organizations be clearly defined.

Selection Criteria

MAB recommendations related to co-sponsorship proposals will be based upon the following criteria: (a) relevance to the membership of CRLA, (b) timeliness, (c) foundation in theory and research, (d) reflection of best practices, (e) qualifications of the proposed author(s) and/or editor(s), (f) the plan for the shared involvement of the other organization(s) co-sponsoring the project, (g) marketing plan; (h) required financial commitment; and (i) overall quality of the proposal, including the quality of writing. The MAB will recommend publication projects for co-sponsorship to the CRLA Executive Board, which will make all final decisions and enter into contractual agreements with all co-sponsors.

Contract Requirements

Prior to publication, all co-sponsoring organizations will enter into a publication agreement that will also delineate the disbursement of any profits from the publication among the sponsoring organizations. All proceeds from the sale of co-sponsored publications will go to the sponsoring organizations, to be divided as agreed upon prior to publication. Authors and editors of co-sponsored works will not receive any financial remuneration or royalties for this work.

CRLA Publications

Individual members of CRLA and groups including at least one CRLA member may submit proposals to the MAB for works to be published by CRLA in-house or contracted with a publishing house. These works may include, but are not limited to, books, monographs, guides, handbooks, conference papers, multimedia productions, bibliographies, or reports.

Proposal Process

CRLA members can initiate a proposal for a CRLA publication by completing a CRLA Publication Proposal form to be provided by the MAB and attaching supplemental documents including (a) a description of the project and its target audience, (b) a literature review that delineates how this project will contribute to knowledge and how it will differ from works already published on similar topics, (c) a proposed table of contents, (d) a projection of the page size and number of pages of the publication, (e) a production timeline, (f) a marketing plan, and (g) curriculum vitae for proposed authors and editors, and submitting five hard copies and an electronic copy of all materials to the MAB chairperson.

Selection Criteria

Members of the MAB will review the proposal according to the following criteria: (a) relevance to the membership of CRLA; (b) timeliness; (c) foundation in theory and research; (d) reflection of best practices; (e) qualifications of the proposed editor(s) and/or author(s); (f) marketing plan; (g) required financial commitment; and (h) overall quality of the proposal, including the quality of writing.

Ongoing Review

Upon completion of its review of the proposal, the MAB will make a recommendation to the CRLA Executive Board regarding CRLA support of the project. Approved projects will continue to require additional levels of review by the MAB, including the review of multiple drafts as necessary. In other words, acceptance of a proposal does not guarantee publication. The CRLA Executive Board, with input from the MAB, can veto publication of all or part (e.g., an individual chapter within a larger work) of the project by CRLA.

Contract Requirements

Contracts for these projects will be executed on a case-by-case basis depending upon the nature of the project. CRLA will assume the financial risk for these projects. Authors and editors of these works will not receive any financial remuneration or royalties; all proceeds from any sales of the publications will go to CRLA. The copyright for these projects will be held by CRLA. Authors and editors relinquish ownership and copyright of the published material. Thus, manuscripts may not be reprinted or posted on the World Wide Web without the written permission of CRLA. Authors and editors who are not in agreement with these terms should seek publication through a commercial publishing company.

CRLA Subgroup Publications

The process for publications sponsored by subgroups of CRLA, such as SIGs, task forces, and ad hoc or standing committees, will closely mirror that for co-sponsorships, almost as though the subgroup is co-sponsoring the publication with CRLA, but CRLA will ultimately bear the financial burden for the costs of publication. CRLA subgroups can initiate a request by completing a CRLA Subgroup Publication Agreement form and submitting it along with five hard copies and one electronic copy of all supporting documents to the MAB chairperson. The disbursement of the proceeds of any sales of CRLA subgroup publications will be part of the agreement to be negotiated between the subgroup and the CRLA Executive Board. When possible, the MAB recommends that all profits revert to the subgroup that volunteered its time and efforts to creating the publication. Authors and editors of subgroup-sponsored works will not receive any financial remuneration or royalties for this work. Note that with the creation of the CRLA Media Advisory Board, all subgroups of CRLA are required to go through this process prior to making any plans to develop publications. The CRLA Executive Board will not approve budgeted funds for publications that have not been reviewed by the MAB.