Policies: Publications and Documents

The policies in this document are designed and implemented to ensure protection of member information and consistent treatment of member and public information within the Society's publications.

Event Promotion Policy

Website:

The ASPB does not promote on its website:

events, workshops or webinars which are not directly sponsored by the Society, except as Other Professional Development Event Listings (see criteria under E-News below).

E-News:

The ASPB may, upon request, promote through its Alberta Biologists Bi-Weekly E-news and on the PD Event Listings on the website, events. workshops and webinars that meet the following criteria:

Must be substantially related to the profession of biology
Must be demonstrably relevant to Professional Biologists practicing in Alberta.
Must state clearly the name of the proponent organization and the name and email address of a contact person.
Must fit at least one of the following conditions:
- Be hosted by a registered non-profit organization
- Be hosted by the government of Alberta or Canada
- Be hosted in collaboration with a university or technical college
- Be hosted by a Member of the Society or a corporation of which a Member of the Society is a Principal

All requests for event promotion will be reviewed against the above criteria, and the final decision to publish rests with the Publications Editor in consultation with the ASPB Executive Director.

The Alberta Biologists Bi-weekly E-news is published on or about the first and fifteenth days of every month (26 issues per year).

Member E-Mail addresses and CASL

The ASPB adheres to the regulations of "CASL" (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation), and will not send out material by email to people who have not requested to be on our email list. All Members of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists have given consent to receiving our emails when they join, because email is our principal means of communicating with our Members.

What happens if I change my email address? If you change your Member email address, you must log-in to the Members' Portal and change it there. By doing so the mailing list will be updated and you will continue to receive member-relevant information from the ASPB.

What happens if I choose to unsubscribe to emails from the ASPB? If you click on the "Unsubscribe" button on an ASPB email, you will, of course, no longer receive professional member information from the ASPB. Because of "CASL" policy, we cannot re-instate your email address in the mail-out system; you must either change your email address or click on the "Sign up for The ASPB E-Newsletter" button at the bottom of the ASPB website HOME page. There, you can enter your email address.

What should I do if I receive duplicate emails from the ASPB? If you are receiving duplicate emails from the ASPB (for example, your work email as well as your main email address) you can use the "Unsubscribe" button on the copy of the newsletter which is addressed to your "extra" address. (Do not "Unsubscribe" from the newsletter that comes to your main email address.)

Can my colleagues subscribe to ASPB newsletters? Yes, your friends and colleagues may subscribe and unsubscribe using the button on a copy of an email (or the one at the bottom of the ASPB website HOME page).

Protecting your documents

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS

Effective January 1, 2016, any applicant documentation received by the Society which is not linked to a current, paid-in-full application will be destroyed after 90 days.

At the ASPB, we are committed to the security of our Applicant and Member information. As such, we are obligated to take care of personal information under our custody – but only when we are given complete consent by the individual submitting it to our organization. Without complete consent, however, we are not authorized to retain documentation within our files.

Complete consent occurs only when an application has been submitted and paid for in full. Applicants have a 90-day window to collect and submit all required information and records.

(For example, if you submitted documentation prior to October 1, 2015, and it is not linked to a submitted and paid-for application, it will be destroyed by January 31, 2016.)

Cancellation and Refund Policy

Conference Registrations

Cancellations 60 days prior to a conference receive a full refund less an administration charge of $25.00 plus g.s.t. ($26.25 total).

NO REFUNDS on cancellations within 60 days of the conference. Substitutions are allowed up to 7 days prior to the event. Substitution of a non-member for a member is allowed but only if the difference in price between a member and a non-member ticket in effect at the time of the substitution is paid 7 days prior to the event. Please notify the ASPB prior to the event of any substitutions.

Workshop Registrations

Cancellations 15 days prior to the event receive a full refund less an administration charge of $25.00 plus g.s.t. ($26.25 total).

NO REFUNDS on cancellations within 15 days of the workshop. Substitution of a non-member for a member is allowed but only if the difference in price between a member and a non-member ticket in effect at the time of the substitution is paid 3 days prior to the event.Please notify the ASPB prior to the event of any substitutions.

Applications

NO REFUNDS or transfers on cancellations of application to join or application for reclassification.

Membership Fees

NO REFUNDS or transfers on cancellations of ASPB Membership.