PROPOSAL DECISION APPEAL PROCESS

With a growing number of submissions and limited space at our convention, we have seen an increase in the number of rejected sessions. This is to be expected given our very high-submission rate. However, as the number of rejected sessions continues to grow, so do the number of requests for appeal or further consideration. As such, we have prepared a formal appeal process. We do not consider appeals on issues related to the proposal content, however we will consider appeals based on technical or administrative issues wherein a proposal was not fairly considered. These issues include, but are not limited to, a failure of the Call for Papers System (e.g., a form was completed on time, but a system error nullified the submission) or a reviewer’s failure to identify a potential conflict of interest.

1. Submitter receives notification that paper was not accepted. Submitter sends an inquiry to [email protected]  referencing the proposal number as identified in the notification and requesting further details about the decision.

2. Inquiry is forwarded to the appropriate Topic Chair for response. Topic Chair reviews the full submission, scores, and reviewer comments and responds to inquiry. Topic Chair may share detailed or paraphrased comments, scores of reviewers, cite a lack of information, or state other factors or rationale used in the decision.

1. If the submitter believes a technical or administrative issue was a factor in the paper review, they must respond to the Topic Chair, who will initiate an inquiry. Call for Papers committee will then research within the Call for Papers System the technical documentation of each step of the submission and review process and will report the details to the Topic Chair.

• If no technical or administrative issues are uncovered, the decision remains as conveyed.

• If a technical or administrative issue is uncovered, the Topic Chair may consider the new information and ask for additional review. (Again, substantive issues with proposal content or failure on the part of submitter to accurately submit the proposal in completeness to the correct topic, format, or session type are not considered technical issues.)

• If the paper is ranked differently upon further review based on the technical or administrative issue, the Topic Chair may decide to accept and forward the information to the Convention co-chairs for scheduling.

b. If no technical or administrative issues are uncovered, the decision of the Topic Chair areas and the appeal is closed.

c. If an author or submitter is unsatisfied with the Topic Chair’s response after a second review, they may request that the Convention Co-Chairs provide further evaluation and rationale. The Convention Co-Chair may opt to speak with reviewers directly to delve deeper into anyreasoning, consider the details of the request for exception in context of the overall schedule, and ultimately makes a decision to support or reverse the decision of the Topic Chair. The decision of the Convention Co-Chairs is final.