EuroSchools ToRs

EuroSchools working group Terms of Reference
08. 06.2015
Updated 07.06.2017

1. EuroSchools working group
    The EuroSchools working group comprises the school mentors of the ARISS-Europe Region.
    The group is led by the European School Selection Manager, under supervision of the ARISS-Europe chairman.

2. Windows

3. Tasks description

1. IARU member societies are invited by the ARISS-Europe chairman to publish an announcement in the January and August issues of their magazine concerning the opening of an ARISS-Europe Applications Window. This invitation is circulated two months in advance via the IARU Region 1 Secretary. A similar invitation is sent to the European AMSAT societies and published on ARISS Europe website.
2. The EU School Selection Manager collects Applications during the two Applications Windows and maintains updated the online database of received European applications.
   1. Till being selected, received Applications are password protected and available for ARISS-Europe school mentors only.
   2. The Schools Selection Manager e-mails a copy of each Application and Educational Project to the mentor in charge of the country.
   3. The mentors contact the schools during the Verification window, check the technical aspects of the requested contact and verify the consistency of the educational project.
   4. When requests from schools are submitted outside an Application Window, the School Selection Manager informs the school:
      1. the school is invited to submit an Application during the next Applications Window “Month A -> Month B” (see 1. Windows)
      2. the date of submission is NOT a selection factor.
      3. only a valid educational project and technical feasibility are taken into consideration.
   5. The Schools Selection Manager keeps a confidential archive of rejected requests. This archive is not published. It can be used in case of a lack of Applications for a future Selection period.
   6. Any time, Applications can be accepted:
      1. for contacts in July and August (Holidays period), provided enough slots are available.
      2. for contacts requested by governments or major international institutions.
         1. for contacts requested by ESA:
         2. per ESA-ARISS agreement, ESA can request 3 school contacts per Expedition
         3. these school contacts are HamTV contacts when technically feasible
         4. requests from astronauts are submitted in agreement with ESA’s educational service and count as ESA requested contacts. When an astronaut wishes to select schools other than the 3 ESA requested schools, these contacts are handled as normal school contacts by the EuroSchools working group.
3. The EuroSchools working group meets weekly per teleconference during each Selection Period and selects a number of schools for the corresponding Contacts Window.
   The number of schools is determined following the regional guidelines provided by the ARISS-international Educational outreach and School Selection Committee.
   Applications are presented by the mentor in charge. Selection decisions are taken collectively by the EuroSchools working group.
4. At the end of a Selection Period, the EU Schools Selection Manager informs the schools:
   1. Selected schools are informed that their ARISS school contact will be planned in the period “Month A -> Month B” (see 1. Windows)
   2. Selected schools are informed, that ARISS cannot guarantee that the contact will be operated, but that the chances are 80%
   3. Non-selected schools are informed that ARISS could not accept their application for the following reason:
      1. Quorum outnumbered
      2. Insufficient educational project
      3. Technical issues
      4. Other specified reason.
5. At the end of a Selection Period, the EU Schools Selection Manager communicates the list of selected schools to the ARISS Operations Committee.
   For each school, the Contacts Window is mentioned.
   Schools can be shifted by the ARISS Operations Committee to and from Contact Windows if needed.