[Announcements] Jasig and Sakai Release Merger-Related Documentation for Review and Comment

[Ian Dolphin]

Colleagues

The Jasig-Sakai Joint Working Group and the Apereo Founding Board are pleased to be able to share with our communities and the larger public a series of important documents related to the proposed merger between our two organizations. Although some of these documents have been released in the past in earlier versions, all of them contain new and updated information. We are also releasing, for the first time, the proposed Transitional Apereo Membership Fee Structure that will allow current members to understand how their membership fees will be affected by the merger if it is approved. Below is a brief list of each of the documents being released today. 

As announced recently, we are releasing these materials in advance of a planned membership vote on the merger as means to allow our members to better understand the rationale for merging, the value we believe it will bring to our work, and the benefits we hope to derive from it over the long term. We are also hoping that these materials will stimulate a broader discussion across and between the Jasig and Sakai communities about the merger and would like to encourage everyone to post your questions, comments and concerns to the previously established Jasig-Sakai Collaboration Google Group (seehttp://groups.google.com/group/jasig-sakai-collaboration). 

JASIG-SAKAI MERGER-RELATED DOCUMENTATION

(1) Proposed Transitional Apereo Membership Fee Structure - This document will provide the history, rationale and details associated with the initial membership fee structure that is being proposed for the new organization. Both the Jasig and Sakai Board of Directors endorsed this plan.

(2) The Value of a Common Foundation: The Case for Apereo - This is the third public release of this "living" document which discusses the rationale and benefits associated with the merger and has been updated to reflect prior comments and concerns from our communities. 

(3) Updated Apereo Bylaws - This final draft of the bylaws has been updated significantly since its initial release in August 2011 and has also been endorsed by both the Jasig and Sakai Boards.

(4) Jasig-Sakai Merger FAQ - We have developed an FAQ based on the questions and issues that our communities have raised over the past year and will continue to add to it as additional questions are posed. 

All of these documents can now be found on the Apereo web site (http://www.apereo.org) although it should noted that this basic web site is simply being used at this point as a convenient place to host these files (as opposed to duplicating them on our current web sites) and is not intended to "brand" or market Apereo nor suggest that the merger is in anyway finalized. 

Within the next week a series of webinars will be scheduled to provide opportunities for "live" interactions with Jasig and Sakai Board members.  Another email will be posted once the schedule is finalized with information on how to register. 

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Joshua Baron
Senior Academic Technology Officer
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, New York  12601
(845) 575-3623 (work)
Twitter: JoshBaron




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