Council Policy Manual: G. Divisions and State and Provincial Associations

The APA Policy Manual is a collection of policy actions taken by the APA Council of Representatives. This edition includes actions taken after 1960 and up to but not including August 2001. The texts included in the Manual are the texts of the actual motions passed by Council.

• I. Consulting With Divisions
  
• II. Division Dues
  
• III. Division Journals
  
• IV. Division Membership
  
• V. Establishment of New Divisions

I. CONSULTING WITH DIVISIONS

1. 1968

Council moved that, insofar as possible, appropriate Divisions be consulted by Central Office staff and APA Boards and Committees with respect to legislation relevant to their interests.

II. DIVISION DUES

1. 1984

Central Office will disburse divisional dues and assessments to divisions managing their own funds by January 15 of the year following collection of those funds. Every month thereafter, Central Office will disburse additional funds collected.

III. DIVISION JOURNALS

1. 1978

Council received the following policy statement from the Publications and Communications Board with respect to division journals.

1. The Publications and Communications (P&C) Board acknowledges the value in the diversity of journals sponsored by APA divisions and encourages divisions to these publications activities.

2. The APA Bylaws charge the P&C Board with the supervision of the managing and editing of division journals. The Board believes it can best meet this responsibility as follows:

3. Divisions that wish to create new journals must obtain formal approval from the Council of Representatives through the P&C Board. Information necessary to enable the Board to recommend approval may be supplied by the division on a form obtainable from APA. Any questions from the Board will be addressed promptly to the relevant officer of the division. Because the intent of the P&C Board is to foster scientific communication, the Board will normally recommend to the Council of Representative that the new journal be authorized.

4. According to the APA Bylaws, a division is a constituent part of APA. Therefore, any publishing arrangement for a journal by a division which involves a contract for joint publishing or joint ownership of a journal with a non-APA publisher requires review and recommendations for approval by the PC Board prior to signing a contract.

5. The P&C Board reaffirms the importance of editorial freedom of division journal editors.

6. Because any division journal or newsletter published with the approval of the Council of Representatives is an official APA publication, all division journals are required by the Council to participate in the APA liability insurance program.

7. Division editors are encouraged to seek advice from APA Central Office and the P&C Board on matters of mutual concern, for example, printers and printing costs, postal regulations, advertising, accounting systems, copyright, and permission practices.

IV. DIVISION MEMBERSHIP

1. 1961

Council endorsed the following Policy and Planning Board statement and directed that the Central Office should prepare appropriate procedures for implementing the sense of the statement:

Psychologists should be encouraged to join at least one division of their choice. The Association should make it as easy as possible to apply for membership. This might take the form of a blank included with the annual statement of dues which would be filled out by the applicant, returned to the Central Office with the dues, sorted by Central Office personnel, and forwarded to appropriate division secretaries.

V. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW DIVISIONS

1. 1959

The policy of the Council with respect to the admission of new divisions shall be a positive one concerned with the spirit and intent of APA to give full recognition to diversity and to growth in the field of psychology. The Council shall not be overly restrained by considerations of orderliness, by fears of centralization, or by the problems created by a sheer increase in size. Council shall naturally satisfy itself that divisional status is warranted under the criteria established in the Bylaws. But, beyond the letter of these rules, Council shall establish that a proposed division represents a new, vigorous, and demonstrably viable interest; that it has achieved recognition in the literature of psychology and in institutional form within departments of psychology, industry, and government; and that it numbers among its members both established psychologists and younger persons who are not actively working in other divisions. When such new interests emerge, Council should be prepared to grant divisional status promptly.

Council Policy Manual: Table of Contents | Introduction | A. Elections | B. Awards | C. Membership | D. Human Resources | E. Ethics | F. Board of Directors | G. Divisions and State and Provincial Associations | H. Organization of APA | I. Publications and Communcations | J. Convention Affairs | K. Educational Affairs | L. Professional Affairs | M. Scientific Affairs | N. Public Interest - Part 1 | N. Public Interest - Part 2 | N. Public Interest - Part 3 | N. Public Interest - Part 4 | N. Public Interest - Part 5 | O. Ethnic Minority Affairs | P. International Affairs | Q. Central Office | R. Financial Affairs