National Student Nurses' Association

45 Main Street, Suite 606, Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 210-0705 Fax: (718) 797-1186
nsna@nsna.org www.nsna.org www.nsnaleadershipu.org

FORMING A RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE

Guidelines for State and School Chapters
The NSNA Resolutions Committee has compiled some suggestions on how to form a
Resolutions Committee at your chapter. We hope that this information is useful as you
determine the legislative participation of your organization.

Purpose of a Resolutions Committee

At the national level, the purpose of the resolutions committee is to:

 Review all resolutions submitted for presentation to the House of Delegates.
 Ensure workable implementation of all resolutions.
 Work with authors throughout the process to edit, revise, and/or combine resolutions for
clarification of facts and style. Sponsors who do not approve the changes have the option
of withdrawing their sponsorship.
 Be available during the Convention for author consultation and receipt of all resolutions.
 Request information from authors on pending resolutions.
 Reject resolutions, or parts of resolutions, that are infeasible, submitted after the deadline,
incomplete, or duplicate the results of another resolution already considered without
adding anything new. The sponsor will be informed of the reasons for the committee’s
rejection.

At the state level:

When there is a state level House of Delegates and resolutions voting process, the functions of a
resolution committee would be similar to the above.

At the chapter level:

A resolutions committee could function as above, or alternatively, as the designated authors of
the resolution for their chapter.

The benefits of selecting a committee or appointing resolution authors includes promoting

awareness to the resolution writing process, encouraging chapter members to begin resolution
writing early, and helping chapters engage in the resolution process both at a state and national
level.

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 1 of 7

 How to Form a Resolutions Committee

Each state and school chapter will have a different way of selecting individuals to serve on the
Resolutions Committee. It is suggested that the Resolutions Committee be separate from the
Board of Directors. It is also strongly suggest that members of the Resolutions Committee be
ineligible to be nominated as a candidate or apply for nomination for any elected position during
that term for their chapter or state level Board of Directors. Both of these measures act to
minimize conflicts of interest as the Resolutions Committee on each level is to remain a neutral
advisory and management body over the resolutions submission process.

At the national level, the President of NSNA appoints the Resolutions Committee members at
the first Board of Directors meeting in June following the annual convention. Those who are
interested in these positions invited to apply. In addition, a Chair of the Resolutions Committee
is appointed by the NSNA president. It is the Chairperson’s responsibility to: coordinate the
efforts of the Resolutions Committee, to oversee all resolution evaluation, and to be a resource
for both the state president and the Resolutions Committee members regarding the resolutions
submission process.
It is also possible to have an elected committee, and 2-3 committee members are recommended
at the state level, and a minimum of 2 authors/committee members are suggested at the local
chapter level.

When forming a Resolutions Committee, consult your own school and state chapter bylaws. If
your bylaws do not provide for a Resolutions Committee, consider whether a bylaws amendment
is necessary.

Author Recruitment

Whether or not you have a formal Resolutions Committee, active recruitment of resolution
authors is essential to the resolutions process. Here are some suggestions:
 Start early! Notify students early in the academic year so that they can prepare for the
responsibilities of writing a resolution. Include explanations of what resolutions are, what
the process is, and expectations of the committee.
 Advertise! Write articles in your newsletter; prepare posters and flyers; make
announcements in classes and at your chapter functions, utilize your organization’s online
networking media.
 Inform! Hold an information session to educate members of your chapter about the
resolutions process.
 Enlist the support of your faculty. Ask them to encourage involvement in your
association. Often, faculty members will count some of the time spent in student
association activities toward clinical or professional hours (refer to
www.nsnaleadershipu.org).
 Take advantage of your school curriculum. Some schools require courses in professional
writing. Arrange to make a presentation regarding the professional writing and advocacy
available to students through their own association.

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 2 of 7

  Identify students who have leadership skills and an interest in advocacy. Provide
mentorship for them so that they will be prepared to present a resolution.
 Encourage current board members to initiate activities relating to the themes and agendas
of recently passed resolutions. As the connection is made between research and action,
other students are more likely to realize that writing a resolution that impacts the work of
the organization is a tremendously rewarding experience.
 Make your activities exciting and worthwhile. Well-organized, successful activities and
programs are one of the best ways to generate interest among students.
 Love your job! Nobody wants to apply for a position that appears to be discouraging and
unrewarding. You need to be realistic, but do not diminish the importance of what you do
on the Resolutions Committee.
 Make one-on-one contact with potential authors to answer their questions and encourage
them. Continuous support is the key to success.

Purpose of Resolutions (from the NSNA Bylaws & Policies and Procedures Manual)

1. Definition of a Resolution: A resolution is a written main motion on a subject of great

importance expressed in formal wording. Within NSNA, it serves to establish the
association’s position on matters of national scope and significance affecting nursing
students, nursing, and the health needs of the public. No resolution is in order that creates a
conflict with the Bylaws of the association. Resolutions are adopted by a majority vote and
continue in force until rescinded.

2. Types of Resolutions:
A. “Resolutions of Substance” serve as one means by which opinions may be expressed,
purposes of NSNA implemented, and directions given for future action.
B. “Courtesy Resolutions” communicate an expression of gratitude for contributions
made to NSNA by groups or individuals.
C. “Emergency Resolutions” address topics that arise following the resolution deadline
date. The deadline for Emergency Resolutions is 5:00 pm on the opening day of the
annual meeting.

3. Submission of Resolutions: All resolutions submitted to the Resolutions Committee must be

pertinent to NSNA’s purpose and function. Only complete resolutions will be accepted. To
be complete, resolutions must be submitted with four copies of the following:
A. Printed copies (and one electronic copy of documentation, if available, saved on the
resolution CD).
B. Each “whereas” clause must have a specific citation in the body of the resolution. The
sentences referenced must be underlined in the print copies of the documentation.

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 3 of 7

 C. References should not be over five years old unless they are historical in nature. All
citations in the text should also be listed on the References page included on the
resolution CD.
D. Both in-text citations and references should be formatted according to APA 6th
Edition, second printing.
E. Names and email addresses of all organizations, agencies, and individuals mentioned
in the “resolved” clauses must be listed on a separate page.
F. A detailed list of the estimated cost for implementing the resolution, noted on a
separate page.
G. Abstract to include purpose of resolution and intended outcomes.
H. Copy of checklist for complete resolutions mailing (see Guidelines for Planning
Resolutions). All resolutions must be typed, double spaced, and submitted on a CD.

Resolutions Review Process

It is important to establish a deadline for resolution submission, so that proper and thorough
review of the submitted resolutions can take place. The NSNA requires a deadline eight weeks
prior to the annual national convention in April.

See the Guidelines for Planning: Resolutions Handbook

All resolutions should be reviewed by the committee to make sure they match the national
guidelines for approval. Committee members should utilize these guidelines when evaluating a
resolution. During the committee’s review of each assigned resolution, the following steps should
be undertaken:

 Verify that the resolution is not a duplication of resolutions passed during the past five
years by the NSNA House of Delegates. Lists for the last five years and last ten years are
available online at: http://www.nsna.org/Publications/Resolutions.aspx

 Verify Whereas statements. Whereas clauses summarize, with documentation, the

reasons and rationale for the resolution. Documentation must be fact rather than
opinion.
o Committee members are responsible to verify that statements in the
resolutions whereas clauses accurately reflect content in the supporting
documents (underlined within the source documentation submitted by the
student authors).
o Committee members are responsible to verify that all in-text citations are
also listed on the References page and that all listed references are used
within the text.
 Consider recommendations for changes. It is important that committee members, as they
review their assigned resolutions, make note of any recommendations for changes to the
resolution, including, but not limited to: grammar, clarity, conciseness of title or whereas

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 4 of 7

 statements, any need for updated documentation in whereas statements, or the need to
consider combining one or more other resolutions on the same topic. These
recommendations should be reviewed with Resolutions Committee Chair and
documented (see p. 2 of the Resolutions Worksheet - Appendix C) before discussing
them with the primary student author (see more information under Author’s Meetings
Procedures, p. 4).

 Important: All changes must be approved by the author(s), except for minor
typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors, as well as changing the title for
conciseness, adding “if feasible” or “and others deemed appropriate by the NSNA Board
of Directors”. The Resolutions Committee member should review and obtain author
agreement on any substantial changes by documenting and having student authors sign-
off on the changes (see the current year Resolutions Worksheet- Appendix C).

Resolutions Style Guide

Here are some general things to consider as you review your assigned resolutions. These
suggestions include standard changes that may needed, based on work of previous NSNA
Resolutions Committees.
These include:

 Add “if feasible” after each resolved statement requesting something of the
NSNA, such as publishing articles in Imprint
 Resolved statements must reflect the title
 Resolutions must be national in scope
 Titles should be simple and concise, and must not contain the elements of
all Resolved statements
 If it has a topic similar to a previous resolution but aims at changing
NSNA’s position, or is the same topic as a previous adopted resolution from
far enough in the past (over 5 years but no more than 10 years), the first
Whereas statement must recognize the original resolution
 Put “the” in front of each organization name, including “the ANA”
 Put a semi-colon before each “and be it further”
 Put an apostrophe after “Nurses” in the National Student Nurses’
Association
 State that the NSNA “support”, “encourage”, or “advocate for” instead of
“endorse”
 In Resolved statements leave the ‘s’ off of verbs
 Use simple language such as “used” instead of “utilized”
 Resolved statements may say “this issue” or “this topic” rather than
repeating the title
 Use of good documentation and researching the cons as well as the pros
helps the authors with defense during the Resolutions Hearings and HOD

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 5 of 7

  Know that the Microsoft Word program will automatically “correct” what it
perceives as a misspelled word each time the electronic document is
reopened. For example, in 2008 the abbreviation for “Electronic Health
Record” was changed to “HER.” Prior to the final draft being sent to the
printer, the staff liaison will check each resolution to prevent this error in
the resolution packets distributed to delegates.
 Add “…and any others deemed appropriate by the NSNA Board of
Directors” to the list of associations/organizations named in the last
resolved clause to receive copies of the resolution, if adopted.
 Ensure that other requested organization names are correctly spelled
 Only one resolution may be submitted by official school and state
constituents. Staff will verify constituency status.
Preparing for Resolutions Committee Work During Convention

 Become familiar with the computer tracking editing tool (Track Changes for Microsoft
Word documents), which the committee will be using to edit the resolutions. It allows for
changes to be visible while maintaining the original document, and for individual
changes to either be accepted or rejected during the author’s meetings.
 Become familiar with the APA Manual, 6th edition, second printing for in-text
citations and references pages. Two copies of the APA 6th edition, second printing
manual will be available for the Resolutions Committee and student authors in the
Resolutions Office at convention.
o Be aware that APA citations are removed from the final draft prior to
printing of the packets for delegate distribution. However, the Resolutions
Committee must save on a flash drive one final copy of the Resolution as
amended and adopted with the reference citations included, and also save
one final electronic copy of the resolution as adopted without the in-text
citations on the flash drive for historical purposes.
Resolutions at Convention

No amendments or motions are made during the Resolutions Hearings and thus no voting will
take place; there is only discussion. Only members of NSNA may speak; delegates from the
delegate section may speak from microphones located within the delegate section of the House,
and NSNA members from the gallery may speak using the microphone outside the delegate
section. The Resolutions Chairperson and committee members will conduct the Resolutions
Hearings from the stage. See the Business Book from last year’s national convention.

Resolutions in the House of Delegates

The House of Delegates debates and votes on resolutions. The Whereas clauses and title of the
resolution are not debatable and cannot be amended in the House of Delegates. When a
resolution reaches the House floor, the resolved clauses are debatable and a motion to amend the
resolved clauses may be made by any delegate, according to the Rules for NSNA Meetings (see
the Business Book at convention). Once the resolution is introduced in the House of Delegates
by the chair of the Resolutions Committee, the acting chair (i.e. President) opens debate and the

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 6 of 7

 resolution author is granted the courtesy to speak first and give the first two minute pro statement
about their resolution to the House of Delegates. Debate is then taken in order, alternating
between pro and con statements, beginning with the first con statement. In order for a resolution
to become NSNA policy and be implemented, it must be adopted by the House of Delegates.

During the House of Delegates, the Resolutions Committee members assist the Resolutions
Committee Chair by entering changes into the Resolutions Committee laptop computer so that
the current version of the resolution can be projected on the screens in front of the House of
Delegates as debate continues. Training and practice for this role will take place at convention
prior to the Opening of the House of Delegates.

After the conclusion of the House of Delegates, committee members will assist with saving final
versions of the resolutions adopted by the House of Delegates (HOD) to an NSNA flash drive,
with the references included in the text of the whereas clauses for historical purpose.

This document was developed by the 2011-12 National Student Nurses’ Association
Resolutions Committee, Kirsten Williams, Chair.

Forming a Resolutions Committee Guidelines Page 7 of 7