Frequently Asked Questions

(Revised 2/25/2018)

Here are some questions and topics that have come up over the years of MASC statewide events regarding registration.  For quick access, use <Ctrl-F> and enter a keyword from your question in the search box.  If your question is not addressed here, please contact the MASC Registrar at wayne.perry@gmail.com.

1. How do I register a delegation for a statewide event (Fall Leadership Conference, Legislative Session, or Convention)?

Only the school advisor may register a delegation for MASC statewide events.  This may not be delegated to a student as the process entails making a financial contract with MASC.  The first thing you need to do is create an MASC Event Registration account.  Once you have an account, you will use the same login for all events through the year.  Click on “Need an Account” and fill in the 5-field form; choose your school, fill in your name and email address, then create and confirm a password of your choosing.  After you submit that information, you will immediately be sent an email to verify your address and you’ll be sent to the login page. Enter your email and password and you can begin registering your school’s delegation.

2. What is an “attending advisor”?

MASC is not responsible for students attending events.  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 from the school.  In some circumstances, the principal may approve of an attending advisor from another school or office to be responsible. In other cases, the principal may authorize a parent to serve that function.  The attending advisor must be familiar with the relevant student policies of his/her school and district and is expected to participate as an advisor in the event.

3. What if my school wants to participate, but I am not able to attend?

Although MASC prefers that students attend with their school SGA advisor, we realize that there are circumstances that prevent that from happening.  The key point is that students are directly supervised by an adult authorized to do so by their school principal (see “attending advisor”).  In such circumstances, another teacher or staff member of the school attends as the advisor.  Alternatively, the principal may authorize the regional advisor or an advisor from another school in the district.  On rare occasions, the principal may even authorize a parent to serve in that capacity, but in such a case, the parent must be able to fulfill all the responsibilities of a school advisor.

4. Why can’t students attend MASC events without an advisor? Isn’t MASC a student organization?

Technically, 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, authorized by school principals, as representatives.

5. In the interest of building leadership capacity, can our SGA president take care of the online registration?

No.  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.

6. 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, nametags, as well as administrative costs for office supplies, postage, server space, and personnel.  After all of the expenses of the event are covered, any remaining funds are divided between MASC and the hosting 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.

7. Why does it say my school has “0” votes?

This indicates the number of votes your school is allotted.  “0” votes typically means that your school is not yet a member of MASC.  (Associate members, regional offices, etc. will always indicate “0” votes.)  Membership is not required to attend the MASC Fall Leadership Conference so this number is irrelevant.  Membership is also not required for the MASC Legislative Session, however delegates from non-member schools may not participate in the business of general assemblies or vote.  Membership is required to attend the MASC Convention.  You can apply for membership by clicking “Join Now” on the MASC website at http://mdstudentcouncils.com.  If you have already applied for membership, your application is likely still being processed.  Have you submitted your dues payment?  Have you submitted a copy of your application form signed by your principal?  Each of these will stall the processing of membership.  If you have any further question about your membership, contact the MASC Registrar immediately.

8. I didn’t receive a “Registration Confirmation” email. Should I just register again?

No.  If you got as far as the screen that says an email has been sent to you, that indicates that we have received the information you entered and an email from <no-reply@registered.solutions> was immediately generated and sent to the email address you used to login.  Re-registering duplicates your information and complicates 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 that blocked or re-routed your email, your computer’s settings, your email software settings, or any combination of those three.  There is no uniform way school systems handle incoming email.  If you did not find it in your inbox immediately, try the following:

• Check your other mailboxes/folders, such as “Trash,” “Junk,” or “Spam.”
• Some email programs have various labels for their inboxes. Check to see if it is under a label other than you primary one, such as “Updates,” “Social,” etc.
• There may be a time delay that your email system uses. Check for it again in a couple hours.

Not receiving your confirmation email could also be due to a simple typo in the email address you entered.  If you have waited and searched and still can’t find your “Registration Confirmation” email, contact the MASC Registrar immediately.

9. 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 registrar first.

10. What do I do if I need another copy of an invoice?

The quickest way to get another copy of your invoice is to log into the registration website again.  This action takes you to your dashboard.  Any invoice that you have created is listed.  Click on the one you need and print it out.  If you have more than one invoice, but you need a single invoice that is comprehensive, contact the MASC Registrar.

11. 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?

Yes.  Although we plan to have that option on your dashboard, we have not done that as of this date. Until then, simply contact the MASC Registrar.

12. Why are there deadlines for registration, payment, and refunds?

Unless you have participated in organizing a statewide event for many hundreds of people, you may not realize the amount of work that goes into efficiently planning and carrying out a successful event.  Detailed planning for MASC events begins at least a year prior to the actual event.  Facilities must be sought out and reserved.  Event materials like folders, handouts, t-shirts, etc. must be pre-ordered, and food must be determined and arranged (including as many as 50 special diets) long before an event takes place. A significant amount of money is spent or encumbered by the deadlines we set.  Vendors are not likely or able to accept changes if they are too late, and if they are able to make changes, there is frequently additional charges applied.  Most of the costs for a participant have already been paid for by the time the deadline comes along.

13. I thought we would be paying by check, but my principal wants to use her school credit card. Is that possible?

Yes.  Contact the MASC Registrar who can provide a link and procedure for doing that.  Remember to do this prior to the deadline to avoid a late fee.

14. I indicated we would be paying with a credit card, but we have decided to pay by check instead. What do I do?

You can use the same invoice to process payment by check.  Request the check using the invoice and mail the signed invoice and check to the MASC Registrar.  Remember to have it postmarked by the deadline to avoid a late fee.

15. Why does the principal have to sign our invoice?

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.

16. This is the first time my school has participated in an MASC event. When I tried to obtain a login, my school was not on the list. What now?

Our database of schools includes any school that has been a member or has participated in even one MASC event since 2004.  First, be sure you are looking for the formal name of your school. We make every attempt to use the school name that your system provided to MSDE. It’s easy to forget that your school’s name is much more formal than what it is called by students, teachers, and families. If you still do not see your school listed, the best way to be added to the list is for your school to become a member.  Click on “Join Now” at our website at http://mdstudentcouncils.com to begin the process.  The application process can be significantly accelerated by contacting the MASC Registrar.  It is also possible to have your school added to the database, even without becoming a member, simply by contacting the MASC Registrar.

17. What do I need to check-in my delegation when we arrive at the event?

Within a day or 2 of the event, you will receive instructions re: on-site check-in, but here is a brief explanation.  There are 2 purposes for on-site check-in:

• First is to verify that MASC has complete and accurate information about your delegation. To accomplish this, a Check-In Form will be made available on your dashboard just before the event that tells you what information we already have in our database. Simply print out the form, make any corrections needed according to the instructions, and bring it to on-site check-in. Then, you will provide critical additional information by submitting a Participant Emergency Form for each participant, including any adult. (For convention, you will also submit a Delegate Contract for each student.) You will need to declare that everything is complete and accurate.
• The second purpose is for you to receive the materials your delegation needs for the event. Among other things, this may include nametags, session materials, schedules, and sometimes t-shirts and other items.

18. Because of various reasons, I’m no going to be able to meet the deadline. What do I do?

Remember that meeting the deadline requires the submission of 2 items of equal significance:

Signed Invoice – The school principal (or designee) must formally authorize the delegation to represent his/her school. This is accomplished by a signature on the Registration Report/Invoice. A link to this form is provided to you in the confirmation email that is sent immediately upon completing on-line registration. The principal’s signature also indicates that the information on the invoice is accurate.

Payment of Fees – This requirement may be met by submitting a check, paying on-line with a credit card, or submitting a payment guarantee (this is described in the Registration Checklist available on the information page for the event).

Registration for MASC events is designed so that the school advisor is in control of meeting the deadline. First, the deadline is determined by the postmark, rather than when it is received. If it’s getting close to the deadline, an advisor can go into a post office and obtain a hand-stamped postmark. Additionally, choosing the payment guarantee frees the advisor from having to wait on someone else.  Meeting the deadline is the sole responsibility of the school advisor. Do not depend on someone else to meet your deadline.

It is always advisable to contact the MASC Registrar if you are concerned about meeting the deadline.

19. What is a payment guarantee?

This is a declaration by someone authorized to make payments on behalf of the school that the payment of the invoiced amount is being processed. It can be provided by the principal or another administrator, or even the financial secretary or bookkeeper, if he/she has that authority. The form of the declaration can be anything; a note or letter from the authorized individual, a copy of the form the school uses to request payments, a school or system purchase order, a note written at the bottom of the invoice when the principal signs it, or an email or phone call to the MASC Registrar from the authorized individual.  It simply needs to be an incontrovertible statement that the amount that the school has been invoiced will be paid.

20. What do I do if one of my students cancels at the last minute? Can I get a refund?

MASC strongly suggests that you arrange to have additional students ready to substitute for a delegate at a moment’s notice. As of 2017-2018, there is no additional fee for substitutes. If you have complete paperwork for him/her, you can decide to bring a substitute right up to the time you leave for the event. The only exception to this is for convention when the sub is a different gender. In such a case, contact the MASC Executive Director.

There are no refunds of registration fees after the postmark deadline. In cases of extreme circumstances, an appeal can be made to the MASC Executive Director for a partial or full refund. Remember that by the time of the postmark deadline, most of the anticipated registration fees for an event have been encumbered; materials have been purchased, food has been ordered, and contracts have been signed. Refunds after the postmark deadline are not losses to revenue; they are additional costs that hosts of the event must cover.