Membership Upgrade
Moving up the grade levels is an indication of growth in terms of skills and experience. When members join SBMEN at a grade level, they are expected to keep moving up the levels until they get to the last stage. At that point, they are encouraged to become accredited editing professionals, that is to say, members must reach the professional level in the society to become accredited.
It is important to note that members can only remain in a grade level for a specific term before they are expected to upgrade. Failure to upgrade can lead to the suspension of membership, unless for understandable reasons.
Furthermore, a membership upgrade is obtainable only by fulfilling the following mandatory requirements below:
- Payment of full membership fees
- Attendance of SBMEN events
- Participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities
- Completing the term limit between grades of membership
- Taking the membership upgrading standard tests (MUST) to show improvements in skill after term limit
Membership Upgrading Standard Test (MUST)
These are tests open to only members of the society. Members who are upgrading to a higher level in the membership category are obligated to take tests to demonstrate their competence. The editorial tests are based on SBMEN curriculum, which members must be familiar with at their level. SBMEN uses the test scores – among other criteria – as part of the requirements for upgrading membership.
- The Membership Upgrading Standard Tests hold every two years for members whose terms are about to expire.
- Members’ participation in other continuing professional development activities will count to qualify to a higher level including on the job experience.
- Members must score more than 45% in their MUST to move to a higher level
How To Earn Your Points To Upgrade
SBMEN operates a points system to track the development activities of its members who must earn a required number of points stated below in the following criteria.
NOTE: This information above was updated in December 2020.
Performance Assessment
The Board of Trustees and Committee on Standards oversee assessing members’ performance. They are authorised to make recommendations to approve their advancement to a higher level, to stay in current level, or move to a lower level.
Term Limits On Membership
The goal of the SBMEN is to enable editors reach professional proficiency. It is compulsory for members to upgrade to attain professional membership within 5 years of joining the society. There are limits on how long a member can remain a member in a level without progressing to a higher professional grade.
