This Notice of Elections and Appointments from the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) is for four commissioner seats to be elected by the membership and two commissioner seats to be appointed by the Commission. All terms are for 3 years beginning on July 1, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2023. The Commissioner Nominating Committee invites you to nominate yourself or other qualified individuals for the positions described below. Interested individuals must complete and return the Nomination Form and all required documents by March 31, 2020, to elections@abhes.org.
Description of Open Elected Commissioner Seats
Bylaws Section 4.5.1. Categories and Qualifications of Elected Commissioners.
Academic in a Healthcare related area. Requires at least five (5) years of academic experience on site at a member institution or program, including active participation in an academic capacity in the day-to-day operations of a member institution or program during the three (3) years immediately preceding election (those three (3) years may count toward the five-year experience requirement).
Commissioner at Large.
Ownership Representative. (2 seats available) Requires current status as: (i) a sole or majority owner; corporate officer, chief executive officer or president of a member institution holding institutional accreditation, (ii) a member of the board of directors, a trustee, or an officer of a member institution or sponsoring institution holding programmatic accreditation owned or operated by a nonprofit entity; (iii) a person who owns a sufficient interest in a member institution or sponsoring institution holding programmatic accreditation that functions as a partnership or privately held corporation; OR (iv) an officer of a publicly held corporation that owns a member institution holding institutional accreditation.
Description of Open Appointed Commissioner Seats
Bylaws Section 4.6.1. Categories and Qualifications of Appointed Commissioners.
Practitioner in Specialty Area. Must be currently or recently directly engaged in a significant manner as a health-care related specialist in a field for which ABHES is recognized as a programmatic accreditor by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
Public Member. (At least 1/7 of Commission) A Public Member is an individual who is not (1) An employee, member of the governing board, owner, or shareholder of, or consultant to, an institution or program that is accredited by ABHES or has applied for accreditation, (2) a member of any trade association or membership organization related to, affiliated with, or associated with ABHES, or (3) a spouse, parent, child, or sibling of an individual identified in paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition.
Requirements and Responsibilities of an ABHES Commissioner
The requirements and responsibilities of an ABHES Commissioner can be found on the ABHES Commissioner Position Description attached.
Travel expenses for all Commission-related activities are reimbursed by ABHES with a modest honorarium provided for Commission meeting attendance. A sincere commitment to higher education, combined with high standards of integrity and impartiality, is mandatory. A signed statement regarding conflicts of interest and confidentiality is required prior to a commissioner taking office.
Process
Once the nomination deadline passes, the Commissioner Nominating Committee will meet to consider the experience and qualifications of those recommended for nomination, conduct interviews to assess each individual’s level of interest, and complete a reference and background check to assure each individual is able to properly serve ABHES in a fiduciary capacity. The Nominating Committee will formally place into nomination the most qualified individual(s) for each open seat. Their names will appear on the ballot distributed to the membership on Friday, May 15, 2020. The election will take place electronically through www.simplyvoting.com on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 and end at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Those recommended for nomination but not selected by the Commissioner Nominating Committee will be notified in a timely manner by ABHES’ Executive Director.
Eligibility to Vote
Only institutions and programs accredited by ABHES are eligible to vote for elected commissioners. The number of votes that may be cast is as follows:
Accredited Institutions: Each main campus or non-main campus receives two (2) votes.
Accredited Programs: Each address identified on record as having one or more accredited programs receives one (1) vote.