Motion C Motion/Amendment/Resolution I move that the RID Board of Directors establish an ad hoc committee of seven certified members (three members appointed by the Board and four nominated by and elected from among the certified members) and charge this committee with identifying all steps, procedures, timelines and options to be pursued should the RID membership decide that RID should divest itself of all testing functions while retaining certification functions and Be it further moved that this committee must be constituted no later than February 1, 2014 with the nominating period concluded no later than December 1, 2013 and the election period held between December 15, 2013 and January 25, 2014; and Be it further moved that this committee make quarterly reports to the membership with its final report submitted and made available to the membership no later than April 1, 2015. Rationale Historically, social and political conditions were such that the RID had little choice but to serve as both the testing and the certifying body. However, given that those conditions no longer exist, a growing number of RID members now believe that it is a clear conflict of interest for RID (or any single body, for that matter) to serve as both the testing and the certifying body for interpreters. The recent revisions to the NIC test resulted in numerous objections and questions raised by the membership. The response (or lack thereof) to members’ objections and questions by the board and national office have made it quite clear that objectivity and advocacy on behalf of the membership is simply not possible when RID serves as both the certifying body and the testing body. The very perception of a conflict of interest is enough to call into question the integrity of the certification process. An entity cannot both promote a money-making testing process and simultaneously oversee the quality of said testing process in an objective and neutral way. Now is the time to prepare for making changes with consequences that could reach far and wide. As stated on the RID website, "We are at a point in the interpreting profession to not only witness but impact the progress and journey down this path." RID can accomplish this by preparing to seriously consider the question of divesting itself of testing functions. By preparing to seriously consider this issue RID will publicly display a commitment to positively impacting the progress of the profession. Finally, a growing number of members have come to believe that the organizational time, attention and resources devoted to the overseeing the test not only could be better used elsewhere but also prevent the organization from being an effective advocate for the membership in a number of areas. Therefore, this committee will identify a clear path or set of options when and if the membership decides that RID should divest itself of testing functions Estimated fiscal impact statement (if possible and applicable) It is envisioned that this committee will conduct most of its business via video conferencing software. If RID does not have video conferencing capability, the cost of a video conferencing platform (such as gotomeeting) is $468.00 per year (which would also be used by other committees thus reducing the cost). It may also be possible for this committee to use the gotomeeting plan purchased by the National Interpreter Education Center at Northeastern University. Should a face-to-face meeting be needed those costs cannot be determined until the composition of the committee is known. Costs of conducting the election are unknown to the members, but, given that everything
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:26:04 +0000
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