Code of Conduct

Open

Version: 1.0.0
Updated: January 2021

The National Scholarship Providers Association membership consists of scholarship professionals working together to make a positive impact on students' lives. As such, the NSPA community is open and welcoming by default. We have a few expectations described in this code of conduct that we expect will come naturally to our members who elect to participate in any facet of the Data Standard Initiative.

This code applies equally to NSPA members, NSPA employees, contractors, subject matter experts, contributors, and members of the general public who provide input and support for the Data Standard Initiative. By participating in the Data Standard Initiative, you are asserting that you understand and agree to these guidelines.

The Code of Conduct Guidelines

This list is neither exhaustive nor exacting. Rather, it is intended to convey the core aspects of the NSPA community.

• Be friendly and open.

• Be welcoming. The NSPA community welcomes people of all backgrounds. This includes, but is not limited to, members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, age, family status, political belief, and religion. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable.

• Be considerate and respectful. Your work will be used by other members of the NSPA, and perhaps by the general public. You in turn may depend on the work of others. Be thoughtful about how you characterize your experience with products, organizations, and other people. We are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Communication should be appropriate for a professional or workplace environment.

• When we disagree, try to understand why. Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time, and the community of NSPA members is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. The strength of the community comes from its varied members who are people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong.

• Be mindful that we value transparency. Share information, and be clear about your interests and motivations. You should, of course, not share information with the NSPA membership that you feel is confidential or proprietary. Certain business-related exceptions may exist, for example, responses to requests for proposals or meetings covered by a specific non-disclosure agreement, and so forth may preclude the sharing of certain information.

• Be respectful of intellectual property rights. Those of us working in technology for the public good value free and open access to information — but remain mindful of the copyright, trademark, and licensing concerns that travel with our work. Please respect those rights, and ensure the information you copy and code you create is properly used and attributed.

Conduct on Public & Online Forums

We expect participants in online discussions and systems that allow public comment to adhere to the principles in this Code of Conduct. Moderators will review comments, and will remove any material that doesn’t adhere to these standards.

Reporting Issues

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, we ask that you report it by emailing ndelmuro@scholarshipproviders.org. We will treat the information you provide confidentially and with discretion.

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately. If an individual engages in unacceptable behavior, the NSPA may take any action appropriate, including a ban on future participation in the Data Standards Initiative.

Credit

This document was inspired by many, many sources, including the Open Source Contributor Covenant, the Ed-Fi Alliance, the Ubuntu project, the Fedora Project, and the Django project (which itself was inspired by the Code of Conduct from the SpeakUp! project).

Thanks for being a member of the NSPA Data Standards Initiative, and for honoring this Code of Conduct. We’ve had exactly zero breaches of this code, and expect that number to be steady going forward.

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