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Speaker Benefits Guidelines

Speakers form the nucleus of COMMON educational content and must work between conferences to research, develop content and create their material.

• QUALIFYING SESSIONS
  Regular sessions, seminars, labs and case studies with one or two speakers.



• NON-QUALIFYING SESSIONS
  Sessions with more than two speakers, Birds of a Feather discussions and COMMON Training Program Sessions.



• AMOUNT OF BENEFIT
  Speakers will receive (1) CC per session hour, each session hour is currently 1.25 hours in length.
  
  A CC shall have no monetary value but shall represent a percentage of fixed fees for the conference.
  
  There will be only one CC awarded per session hour. If there are multiple speakers for a 1.25 hour session, the CC will not be split. The CC will go to the lead speaker. The lead speaker will be, by default, the first speaker listed in the agenda. If there are two speakers for a two-hour session, by default, the CCs will be divided between the speakers.
  
  If there is an IBM speaker and a non-IBM speaker giving a session, the CCs will be, by default, given to the non-IBM speaker. IBM Speakers are compensated under a different policy.



• Usage of COMMON Credits
  Each CC can be utilized for the following and must be used in the order listed below:

  a) Twenty-five percent (25%) of a published conference registration fee (first four CC's can be applied toward registration only), or

  b) One night's hotel stay in any hotel listed in the COMMON housing portion of the
  COMMON registration brochure (above four CC's apply to housing first and then airfaire), or

  c) Twenty-five percent (25%) of round trip airfare.

  • For example, if a speaker earns 6 CCs he/she is compensated full registration + 2 hotel nights (providing speaker stays in COMMON housing as stated).

  Expenses will be reimbursed according to the Expense Reimbursement Policy (found in Members Only archives). The Speaker must pay airfare in advance unless the total is being covered by CCs, in which case the Speaker is encouraged to utilize COMMON's affiliated travel agency.
  
  A maximum of 20 CCs can be used at each conference. All CCs must be used before the conclusion of the conference or they will be forfeited. CCs cannot be carried forward to future conferences or be used at any future date.
  
  Speakers must submit their housing and registration forms prior to the set deadlines. Speakers must stay in a conference hotel to be eligible to receive any COMMON hotel reimbursement. A COMMON expense report detailing the expenses to COMMON must be received within 60 days of the event to which the CCs pertained.
  
  Expenses not submitted within this timeframe will not be reimbursed.




• TRANSFERABILITY
  CCs may not be transferred.



• DUAL POSITIONS
  Speaker CCs earned may be added to CCs earned in other volunteer positions. In no case may compensation exceed the maximum limit of 20 CCs per conference.