Membership regulations: grades, application, subscriptions
1. Grades of membership
a) Awarded
Fellow
Fellowship is awarded, not requested, entirely on the recommendation of members to the Council of the Institute, to those who satisfy the requirements for membership and have made an outstanding contribution to the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers or to the sound, communication and presentation industry in general. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters F Inst SCE.
Companion
Companionship is awarded, not requested, entirely on the recommendation of members to the Council of the Institute, to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers or to the sound, communication and presentation industry in general. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters Comp Inst SCE.
b) Technical
Member
The senior category of membership for those who apply, or for the major part of their careers have applied, technical, but not necessarily academic, knowledge in the industry. A candidate for election , shall either hold a degree (a Bachelor's degree), or equivalent in an appropriate technical subject recognised by the Council of the Institute and shall have at least three years experience in a senior position which demands the application of technical knowledge to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute, or shall satisfy the Council of the Institute that he/she has an equivalent knowledge and understanding and has had at least ten years experience in the industry and is employed in a responsible position to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters M Inst SCE.
Note: Examples of technical knowledge which is not academic are knowledge of installation techniques and manufacturing techniques.
Graduate
Candidates, shall hold a degree (a Bachelor's degree) or equivalent in a technical subject to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute and shall be employed in the sound and communications or allied industry, to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters Grad Inst SCE.
Technician
Candidates shall have demonstrated a standard of general education and technical competence which satisfies the Council of the Institute and either have been employed in the industry for not less than two years to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute or have successfully completed an education or training course recognised by the Institute and have been employed in the industry for not less than one year, and are still so employed (subject to temporary unemployment or other employment of up to two years), to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters Tech Inst SCE.
Student
Candidates shall satisfy the Council of the Institute that they are receiving appropriate training and/or preparation to fit them for employment within the sound and communications or allied industries. Students may retain their Student membership until such time as they qualify for another grade of membership or cease to be students of an educational establishment recognized by the appropriate British or other Government Ministry.
Note: Employment, vacation training and industrial placement in the sound and communications industry, before or during a student's study course, shall count towards the qualifying period of employment for transfer to another grade of membership. Full details of the employment duties and/or the training course content, and duration, shall be supplied, with confirmation by the employer or training course tutor. Students are advised to obtain these details in writing at the end of the period in question, as they may be difficult to obtain later.
c) Non-technical
Affiliate Member
The senior category of membership for those who, while not being qualified either academically or by extended technical experience and substantially not applying technical knowledge in their current position, are deemed by the Council of the Institute to have made or be making a significant contribution to the industry. They shall normally have been employed at senior level in the industry, to the satisfaction of the Council of the Institute, for not less than five years. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters A M Inst SCE. Note: The category of Affiliate Member exists specifically to recognise the contribution to the welfare of the technical personnel in the industry made by those whose contribution is substantially non-technical. It is therefore the appropriate category for Managing Directors, Directors and senior managers in financial, marketing or sales functions, managers of technical functions whose role is predominantly administrative rather than technical, and other senior non-technical persons.
d) Unclassified
Temporary member
A temporary grade of membership, granted on payment of the non-member premium for admission to an ISCE event, valid only until the following March 31 and not renewable. An undertaking to abide by the rules of the Institute is required. Membership in this category entitles the holder to use the designatory letters Temp Inst SCE ONLY while remaining in membership.
NOTE - Grants made between January 1 and March 31 inclusive are valid until March 31 of the following year.
Associate
A grade of membership granted on application and payment of the designated application and membership fees. An undertaking to abide by the rules of the Institute is required. Membership in this category does not entitle the holder to use designatory letters
2. Corporate members
Fellows and Members shall be Corporate members. All other members shall be Non-Corporate members. Companions who were Corporate members before being awarded the grade of Companion shall remain Corporate Members.
3. Applications for admission and transfer
Completed applications for admission or transfer, on forms available from the Secretariat, must be accompanied by copies of any certificates of academic achievement, competence or experience, except that for the grade of Associate they are desirable but not essential,. All new applications for membership, except for student grade, must be accompanied by an administration fee, which is non-returnable. The election to, or grant of, an appropriate grade of membership is governed by the Council of the Institute. Details of all applications are published to enable any comment to be made by the membership within twenty-one days. On acceptance, new members are required to remit a subscription.
4. Subscriptions
The rate of annual subscription for each category of membership is determined by the Council of the Institute and must be remitted by the specified date, which shall not be less than two months after subscriptions fall due, in each year for continuance of membership. Lapsed members must, on application for readmission, submit the current administration fee. Such applications shall be considered in relation to the current membership requirements only. Persons elected before the first day of January in any business year (1 April to 31 March) shall pay the annual subscription for that year. Those elected on or after the first day of January in any business year shall for that year pay half such annual subscription. There is no pro rata reduction in respect of the administration fee, which must be paid in full.
The foregoing provisions do not apply to members in the grade of Temporary member. For these members, grants of membership made between January 1 and March 31 inclusive are valid until the following March 31.
Persons transferred from one grade to a higher grade shall pay the difference between the subscription fee for the higher grade and that of the existing grade, provided that the subscription for the current year has been paid. These differences shall be paid irrespective of the effective date of transfer. Students transferred to a higher grade shall pay, in addition to the above, the administration fee applicable at the time of transfer.
In justified cases, the Council may remit the payment of subscriptions, temporarily or permanently, of a member of any grade. Such decisions shall be recorded in the member's record file.
memregs060506A Approved by Council 06-05-10
