The Wider Membership Scheme (WMS) is IATEFL's scheme to extend
membership around the world in collaboration with its network of
Associates. At present approximately 10% of all international IATEFL
members are supported by WMS.
UPDATE
Extending membership WMS & Associates
IATEFL Young Learner SIG has recently agreed to provide Associate members
and WMS members, who are interested in working with Young Learners (students
from 3 to 17 years old), free access to their YLSIG website, which has a
members only section, and our discussion list which has become members only
recently.
To be eligible for this free access:
WMS members should contact the YLSIG membership officer Andy Jackson quoting full name, IATEFL membership
number and briefly describing how they are involved with Young learners. A
password will be sent and free access given as long as IATEFL membership is
paid and up to date.
Individual members of National associations who are IATEFL Associates
should request that their local association sends the following information
to the YLSIG membership officer, Andy Jackson.
- IATEFL Associate membership number
- Requesting member's full name
- Written acknowledgment that the requesting member is a paid up member of
the associate association.
Associate members have one year's free access, after which they must once
again send the above information to our membership officer.
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Members of all IATEFL Associates can already be "basic" IATEFL
members for much less than the normal full subscription. Under
WMS, Associates in countries whose economic circumstances qualify
them for the scheme are able to offer this basic membership at
even lower rates matched to the local cost of living.
This is made possible by an IATEFL fund built up over the years
from donations by members, associate organisations and other benefactors.
An important feature of the scheme is that it also enables Associates
in richer countries to support colleagues in less wealthy countries
by contributing to the fund.
The scheme is overseen by an independent advisory committee which
considers applications for support from Associates and recommends
to IATEFL how the available funds should be allocated.
- How can our members be international IATEFL members under
this scheme?
You will need to agree with IATEFL a local subscription rate for
a certain (maximum) number of memberships. Once this is settled
your members pay this subscription to you and you send their details
to IATEFL for their membership to begin. Later you transfer the
total amount of these subscriptions to IATEFL.
- Is this a "different" form of membership?
No, it's the same as any other basic membership of IATEFL. Once
each individual's details are received all communication is between
them and IATEFL, not via the Associate.
Membership under WMS lasts for a year from when members' details
are received by IATEFL and it can be renewed for a further year
at the same subscription. After this you need to bid again for
more WMS support.
By submitting a bid to the advisory committee with estimates of
how many of your members will take up IATEFL membership and at
what price. There are clear guidelines for this process. Please
contact Glenda Smart - [email protected].
- How often does this happen?
IATEFL contacts all Associates in December of each year, inviting
them either to submit WMS bids or to support the scheme with contributions.
However, once you have agreed a local subscription it holds good
for two years so in practice you only need to bid every two years.
- How do we send the money to IATEFL?
There are several ways to do this. It may be brought by people
coming to the annual conference in the UK ; it may be paid by an
individual member's credit card; In any case there is no need for
the money to be sent immediately.
- How does the Committee decide which associations
to recommend for support?
The Advisory Committee bases its recommendations on economic data
taken from United Nations sources, from representatives of impartial
organisations working in the relevant countries and from information
supplied by Associates themselves. Some aspects of these data are,
of course, subject to interpretation; each case is judged on its
individual merits by the Advisory Committee and this is why the
independence of the committee is so important.
More detailed questions and answers
Here are some more detailed questions and answers
- How do we know if our Association qualifies for WMS?
Do we have to find this out in advance?
The information sent out each year by IATEFL includes a table
based on United Nations statistics which gives an indication of
which countries are likely to qualify. In the last two bidding
rounds offers of WMS support were made to Associates in the following
countries: Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Macedonia, Pakistan,
Peru, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
- How long is membership for?
Individual membership is for ONE year. When it's time to renew
IATEFL contacts all members directly.
The WMS agreement lasts for TWO years. This means that when it's
time for members to renew, they pay the same in the second year
as in the first. After the second year you must submit another
WMS bid. Without this they will have to renew at the normal basic
membership rate.
- How do I work out what my teachers can afford to pay?
The bidding guidelines give suggestions for this but the answer
is probably a question - how do you work out what they can pay
for your local membership subscription?
- How many memberships am I 'allowed' to bid for? Does it depend
on the size of our Assocation? Is there a set limit or recommended
proportion?
No, there's no set proportion: some Associates are so large that
WMS could not possibly support more than a fraction of their members.
However, if the number is too small then the WMS committee may
take the view that it isn't really important to you and isn't doing
anything to promote IATEFL's international goals.
- What happens to the application if all the required information
has not been provided?
If only a few details are missing, your bid will probably be considered
and you'll be asked to provide these before a formal offer is confirmed.
If a lot of information is missing it will either be sent back
to you (if there's time) or rejected.
- What's the best and cheapest way of getting members' fees to
IATEFL?
Often the easiest way is for it to be brought in cash (sterling)
when someone visits the UK. But as long as you get the money to
IATEFL within the same financial year, we'll be patient and helpful...
- What happens at the end of one year? How is the membership
renewed? Through IATEFL or through the Associate?
IATEFL contacts each member individually inviting them to renew.
The first renewal is at the same agreed local rate. After that,
unless you've agreed a new local rate, renewal will be at the standard "basic" rate.
- What happens if the application is late, through reasons beyond
one's control?
It depends how late and it depends on the reasons. The normal
deadline is Associates' day, the day before the annual IATEFL conference
and this allows a few days' "slippage" during the conference. After
that it's unlikely your bid will be considered.
- Can an Associate apply every year for a two-year period, or
must we wait till then end of a two year period? i.e can we apply
in 2003 for e.g. 50 places for the years 2004-6 , and again in
2004 for 50 places in 2005-7, offering the places to different
associate members each time?
Yes, theoretically you can but the WMS committee may give priority
to other bids in the second year.