FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Membership-Related Questions

  1. If I purchase a membership to the College Language Association, how long does that membership last? For regular, retiree, and student members, the membership year is one year from the date of purchase. This information will be indicated on the member landing page when you first log into the website. For lifetime members, membership will not expire.

  2. What happens if my membership lapses? If your membership lapses, your account will transition from active membership to prospect membership. You can still log into the website to renew your account at any time. However, until you renew, you will no longer have access to the College Language Association Journal or to the other members-only benefits that we offer.

  3. I am interested in purchasing a life membership with the College Language Association. What are some of the benefits of a life membership? Life membership includes all the benefits associated with regular membership, including online access to CLAJ, eligibility to vote and run for Executive Committee positions, eligibility for CLA awards, etc. that are outlined on the Membership Dues and Benefits page. Life members, however, do not have an annual membership fee, though we encourage life members to donate regularly to help support the work of the Association.

  4. Once I pay the $1000 fee for the life membership or satisfy the installment payments, will I receive a formal acknowledgment of my life membership? Who keeps a record of my membership? Once you have paid a total of $1000, either as a one-time payment or four annual payments of $250, your account will automatically update to reflect your new life membership. This will be reflected on the member landing page when you log into your account. These transactions will be monitored through the MemberClicks system as well as the treasurers of the College Language Association.

Convention-Related Questions

  1. Do I need to be a member of the College Language Association to submit an abstract for the annual convention? Yes, you will be required to create an account and purchase membership before you can access the abstract submission form. For those who are already CLA members, simply log in and then access the appropriate form on the Convention page.

  2. I am interested in submitting an abstract for the College Language Association annual convention. To whom do I email my abstract? Since 2017, the College Language Association no longer accepts email submissions for abstracts to the annual convention. There are forms available for abstract submissions to the English Area, World Languages Area, and Special Sessions. Members will use those submission forms to share their abstracts with the Program Committee. Note that you must be logged into your CLA account or register as a member to submit a proposal.

  3. Do I need to be a member of the College Language Association to present a paper at the annual convention? Yes, the CLA Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer will review the presenter list to ensure that all presenters are active members of the Association. Make sure to pay close attention to the expiration date on your member landing page. We will also send out reminders periodically so that you do not forget to renew.

  4. The topic for this year's College Language Association annual convention is really interesting, and I would like to be as involved as possible. How many presentations am I allowed to deliver? In order to include as many voices as possible, the College Language Association has limited the number of presentations members can deliver. Per the Convention Chair and Presenter Guide, you may deliver up to two presentations of different types (panel presentation, roundtable presentation, workshop, etc.). Presenters, however, may not present the same paper as part of two different sessions.

  5. I am interested in chairing a session at the College Language Association annual convention. How do I express interest? Once the Program Committee has had an opportunity to complete the initial draft of the program, it will be published on the CLA website for members to review. If there are any panels without a chair listed, feel free to reach out to the Program Chair to indicate that you would like to serve in this capacity. Please make sure to review the Convention Chair and Presenter Guide first to familiarize yourself with the expectations for this position.

  6. I am interested in attending the College Language Association annual convention. What do I need to do to attend? All individuals interested in attending the convention must complete the registration form (available in the Store menu) and pay the accompanying registration fee. This includes students, retirees, regular members, and life members. Note that the membership fee is separate from the registration fee.

  7. I am registered for the convention but sadly can no longer attend. What is the College Language Association's refund policy? We are sorry to hear that you are no longer able to attend the annual convention and certainly look forward to seeing you at a future CLA event. There is a no refund policy in effect. 

College Language Association Journal-Related Questions

  1. Do I need to be a member of the College Language Association to submit an article for the College Language Association Journal? Yes, all individuals interested in submitting a piece for consideration are required to be active members of the Association. The CLA Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer will also ensure that you have active membership status at the time of publication.

  2. I am a member of the College Language Association. How do I access the Association's journal? In 2018, the College Language Association Journal underwent a historic shift toward an exclusively digital format. Members now have unlimited access to past issues of the journal through the Journal Archives upon logging into their account. 

  3. Why can't I access the College Language Association Journal online? Access to CLAJ through the CLA website is a member-only benefit. If you are unable to access the journal, it is possible that your membership has lapsed. Log into your account, check the expiration date (as listed on the member landing page), and renew your membership if necessary. If you are still having difficulty, contact us at [email protected].

  4. In the past, the College Language Association had back issues of the CLAJ available for purchase. How do I secure a print copy of a back issue? For the moment, there are a limited number of print copies available for issues in Volume I through IX; see the Access/Subscription Rates page for additional information. Note that no additional copies will be printed moving forward, so once the repository of physical copies has been depleted, issues will only be available digitally.

  5. Is the College Language Association Journal also available through library databases? The College Language Association remains committed to ensuring that the journal is accessible to students and scholars worldwide and therefore has agreements to host its journal archives in key databases. Past issues through 2015 remain available through JSTOR while issues from 2016 forward will be available through Project Muse. Encourage your library to subscribe today.

Advertisement-Related Questions

  1. I am a member of the College Language Association and am interested in purchasing an ad (either a job ad, website ad, or ad in CLAJ). Is there a reduced price for members? Certainly, one of the benefits of being a member with the College Language Association is that we offer reduced pricing for advertisements. Please make sure that you log into your account before proceeding to complete any of the advertising request forms, available under the Store menu, in order to access that benefit.