Fall Leadership Conference – Frequently Asked Questions | Maryland Association of Student Councils

*Does my school have to be a MASC member to attend this conference?*	No – all secondary schools (public, private, alternative, charter) are invited to attend this first conference.
*Can a student register themself for this conference?*	No – registration for all of MASC’s three major conferences must be done through the school’s advisor or an administrator. Online registration creates a binding financial contract between the school and MASC. Only an adult duly authorized to act as an agent of the school principal may do that. The entity attending the event is the school as represented by a delegation of students and an advisor. A school may not be represented at MASC events without the signed authorization of the school’s principal or designee.
*Do students/advisors select workshops ahead of time?*	Yes, but only for high school Students – High school students will rank order up to five workshops. Based on the requests and available space, they will be assigned to three workshops. Middle school students will all attend two workshops (one on Parliamentary Procedure and another to be determined). They will also participate in a Mock General Assembly to practice their parliamentary skills!
*Do advisors have to attend the conference?*	The Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) is not a student organization. As its name states, MASC is an association of school student councils, not students. Member schools send delegates as representatives and at least one adult attending advisor, all authorized by their principals. MASC recommends no more than 20 students per advisor. Although MASC prefers that students attend with their school SGA advisor, we realize that there are circumstances that prevent that from happening. Every student must be under the direct supervision of an adult authorized by their school’s principal. This individual is typically the school’s SGA advisor/sponsor, but he/she may be another teacher or other staff member approved by the principal. In some circumstances, the principal may approve of an attending advisor from another school or office (i.e. the Regional Advisor) to be responsible. On rare occasions and ONLY with special permission from the MASC Executive Director, the principal may authorize a parent to serve that function. The individual authorized must be familiar with and able to enforce the relevant student policies of his/her school and district. Additionally, they must fully meet MASC’s expectations of all advisors at the event.
*Can regional advisors register students?*	Yes and No – a regional advisor may register the regional president, 2nd vice president/middle school representative, and the student member on the Board of Education. Other students should be registered through their school’s advisor/administrator. Request for Exceptions – please email Karen.Crawford@mdstudentcouncils.org and Wayne.Perry@mdstudentcouncils.org
*How will schools pay for this conference?*	MASC accepts a school check or credit card – full directions are on the Registration Checklist and in the Confirmation Email sent immediately after online registration submission.
*Do students pay individually or do the schools pay for the students?*	The schools pays for their delegation to attend MASC events. How the school comes up with the cost of participation is totally up to the school. The cost of participating in a MASC event, determined by the number and roles registered, is the responsibility of the school. Many schools use student council funds or principal funds to pay registration fees. Others charge participants all or part of the fees for their participation. In such cases, the student/parent needs to give the cash or check to the school as the school’s registration, completed only by the school advisor or administrator, must be paid by credit card or official school/system check.
My principal and I didn’t receive emails as described in the registration instructions. Should I just register again?	No. If you clicked on the submit button at the top of the page, separate emails to you and your principal were immediately sent to the email addresses provided on the form you just submitted. It is sent from <no-reply@goformz.com>. Re-registering will only duplicate your information and complicate the whole process. The problem in such a case is typically one of the following: something in your system’s (or your school’s) network server has blocked or rerouted your email, your computer’s settings, your email software settings, or any combination of those possibilities. There is no uniform way school systems handle incoming emails. If you did not find it in your inbox immediately, try the following: Check trash/junk/spam folders for the <goformz.com> domain. Also, be aware that some email systems have various labels for legit inboxes such as “Updates,” “Social,” etc. Check in those too. There may be a time delay that your email system uses. Check for it again in a couple hours. If after waiting and searching you and/or your principal can’t find your emails, first contact your IT specialist in your school. Sometimes email servers will block certain email address domains. Your IT specialist should know what to do. Invite that individual to contact the MASC Registrar at <wayne.perry@mdstudentcouncils.org>. Not receiving the emails could also be due to a simple typo in an email address on the form. It can happen to the best of us and can even be an invisible space unintentionally added. If you have waited and searched and your IT specialist has no other explanation for why you can’t find your “Registration Confirmation” email, contact the MASC Registrar at <wayne.perry@mdstudentcouncils.org>.
What do event registration fees pay for?	Fees associated with participating in MASC events first go to pay for the costs of the event. The money collected pays for food, facility use, health staffing, instructional materials, and name tags, as well as administrative costs for office supplies, postage, server space, contracts, personnel, and other MASC operating expenses, including a stipend for the hosting school/region. MASC works very hard to keep participation in our events as affordable as possible. Situations involving prohibitive financial hardship should be discussed with the school principal and the regional advisor.
My delegation has changed significantly since I first registered online. Should I just start over?	No. Starting over duplicates information and complicates things. Inform the MASC Registrar of what kind of changes you need to make. The registrar will determine the easiest and most efficient way to deal with them. Occasionally, you will need to start over again, but contact the MASC Registrar first.
What do I do if I need another copy of an invoice?	A .pdf of your Registration Report/Invoice is attached to the emails sent after you submit your registration. Save that file so that you have access to as many copies as you may need.
I completed an initial registration, but then went on 2 more times to add more students. I now have 3 separate invoices. Is there a way to get one invoice that combines them all so that I can just pay a single amount?	It is perfectly fine to combine multiple invoices into one payment. That is totally up to the individual who is paying, usually your school bookkeeper. If a separate single invoice is required, contact the MASC Registrar, and one will be provided.