DECA terms and definitions

The following are frequently used Washington DECA terms, definitions, and acronyms. The acronyms are listed first, in alphabetical order. The terms and definitions are then listed alphabetically by category—organization, conferences, and competition.

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Acronyms

ACTE – Association of Career and Technical Education

BLC – Business Leadership Council

CTE – Career and Technical Education

CTSO – Career and Technical Student Organization

FLC – Fall Leadership Conference

ICDC – International Career Development Conference

ME – Marketing Education

SBE – School Based Enterprise

SCDC – State Career Development Conference

WA-ACTE – Washington Association of Career and Technical Education

WAME – Washington Association of Marketing Educators

WRLC – Western Region Leadership Conference

Organization

Area – The Washington state association of DECA is divided into eleven geographic areas throughout Washington State. Each area elects an area leader, and each area conducts their own area conference where students from that area compete to qualify for the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) competition.

Area Leader – An area leader is a DECA chapter advisor elected by the advisors in his/her area to lead and represent them and to serve as a liaison between Washington DECA and area advisors and their administrations.

Area Leaders Council – The Washington area leaders council is a committee that serves in an advisory capacity to Washington DECA’s executive director. The area leaders council is comprised of the following members.

Eleven area leaders
Washington Association of Marketing Educators (WAME) president
Washington DECA executive director
Washington DECA staff

Area President – The area president is a student DECA member elected by the voting delegates of the state association to represent Washington DECA. The area president serves as a leader and liaison to his/her area under the direction of the area leader and the Washington DECA leadership development coordinator.

Business Leadership Council (BLC) – Washington DECA’s business leadership council is a group of local business leaders committed to providing additional support and assistance to Washington DECA.

Career And Technical Education (CTE) – Career and technical education is a program for middle and high school students who wish to explore career opportunities and acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies in an occupational field. Specialty areas within career and technology education include Agriculture Education, Business Education, Family/Consumer Sciences Education, Marketing Education, and Technology Education.

Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) – The term “career and technical student organization” (CTSO) refers to an organization for students enrolled in a career and technical education program. DECA is a CTSO within the marketing education program.

DECA – Formerly known as Distributive Education Clubs of America, DECA is an international student organization (local, state, and national) for high school students enrolled in marketing education courses. It is a co-curricular, student-centered organization led by a marketing teacher/advisor, providing hands-on experiences in the fields of marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. DECA provides conferences featuring college and career preparation as well as competitive events in which students can earn recognition, qualify for advancement to state and international competitions, and vie for scholarships while demonstrating career area knowledge.

DECA Advisor – A DECA advisor—usually an instructor in marketing, finance, hospitality, management, and entrepreneurship—is the adult who implements and leads a DECA chapter in a school.

DECA Chapter – A DECA chapter is a school organization chartered by a state association of DECA (such as Washington DECA) that consists of individual student DECA members and at least one advisor. It is a co-curricular organization associated with marketing education programs.

DECA Diamond – The official emblem of DECA is the diamond-shaped form. The DECA diamond has been represented in five distinct forms in DECA’s history, with the newest version of the DECA logo unveiled at the 2010 International Career Development Conference (ICDC).

DECA Divisions – DECA membership is organized into four divisions:

High School Division: Composed of individual high school chapters

Collegiate Division: Composed of individual college chapters

Alumni Division: Composed of former DECA members who wish to continue their participation in DECA and give back to the organization after high school or college.

Professional Division: Composed of individuals who have become business or marketing professionals and are interested in helping to develop the next generation of business and marketing leaders.

DECA, Inc. – DECA, Inc. is the legal identity of the adult group responsible for the youth program of DECA. DECA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit student organization with members in all fifty United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The United States Congress, the United States Department of Education, and state and international departments of education authorize DECA’s programs. For more information about DECA, Inc., visit www.deca.org.

DECA Member – A student DECA member is one who has joined the organization through their high school DECA chapter. DECA membership also is open to DECA advisors, alumni, and professionals. Students who are in college may join Collegiate DECA. DECA members pay chapter, state, and national membership dues.

Management Team – Washington DECA’s management team consists of three to four DECA advisors who serve in an advisory and assistant capacity to Washington DECA’s executive director in enforcing the student conduct code at Washington DECA conferences and the International Career Development Conference (ICDC).

Marketing Education – Marketing education is a program within the career and technical education department that prepares students for employment and/or continuing education opportunities in marketing through classroom instruction, experiential education, student internships, and through leadership and personal development.

School Base Enterprise (SBE) – A school based enterprise is a simulated or actual business/industry conducted by a school. It replicates a specific business or industry and is a learning experience that provides direct links between students, their curriculum, and the world of work.

State Advisor – A DECA state/provincial advisor is the chief operating officer for the high school DECA organization in a specific state or province. The state advisor is selected by the chartered association to plan and conduct DECA activities within a specific geographic region. Shanna LaMar, Executive Director of Washington DECA, is the state advisor for Washington.

State Association – Chapters within a state, province, or territory comprise the state/provincial associations. State/provincial associations are chartered by DECA, Inc. with authority to operate DECA chapters in that state, province, or territory.

State Officer – A state officer is an elected student leader representing the state association (Washington DECA) for one year as one of eleven area presidents or as the state president.

State President – The state president is a student DECA member elected by the voting delegates of the state association to represent Washington DECA. The state president serves as a leader to the state officer team and the members of the state association under the direction of the Washington DECA leadership development coordinator.

Washington Association for Career and Technical Education (WA-ACTE) – WA-ACTE is a state affiliate of the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the largest national education association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for careers. Washington ACTE’s mission is to support its members in providing high quality career and technical education (CTE) opportunities for all students in Washington State. For more information about WA-ACTE, visit www.wa-acte.org.

Washington Association of Marketing Educators (WAME) – The Washington Association of Marketing Educators is an organization of educators who network to improve business and marketing education in the state of Washington. To learn more about WAME, please visit http://wame.biz.

Washington Deca – Washington DECA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the state association of DECA for Washington State. Washington DECA is the fourth largest DECA association in the nation with more than ten thousand four hundred members in one hundred forty-four chapters across the state.

Washington DECA Board of Directors – Washington DECA’s board of directors is a fifteen-member group comprised of business representatives, community members, and DECA advisors who act in an advisory capacity to Washington DECA.

Washington DECA Eexecutive Committee – The Washington DECA Executive Committee (eleven members of the Board of Directors), sets policy for the organization and operation of Washington DECA.

Wester Region DECA – State associations are grouped together as regions (Western, Central, North Atlantic, and Southern). Washington DECA is one of thirteen states plus Guam that comprise Western Region DECA. For more information about Western Region DECA, visit www.wrdeca.org.

Conferences

Advancement Award – An advancement award is a donation of funds from a business or individual, sponsoring a particular competitive event. The funds are awarded to the chapter of the top SCDC competitor(s) in that event and are used to offset the expense of traveling to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). Advancement awards make it possible for many of our DECA students to advance to the next level of competition at ICDC.

Area Competition – Each of the eleven geographic areas in Washington conduct their own area competition where students from that area compete to qualify for the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) competition.

Delegate – The term “delegate” refers to any DECA member, including advisors, attending DECA conferences.

Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) – Washington DECA’s Fall Leadership Conference is a three-day leadership event that provides an opportunity for all Washington DECA student members to expand their knowledge, network with business professionals, practice and improve competition skills, interact with other DECA students in Washington, and gain a deeper understanding of DECA. For more information about FLC, visit the Fall Leadership page.

International Career Development Conference (ICDC) – The International Career Development Conference brings together approximately fourteen thousand high school students (state qualifiers), advisors, business professionals, and alumni from all fifty United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, and Puerto Rico for several days of excitement. Most participants at ICDC compete in one of DECA’s competitive events. The top competitors in each event are recognized for their outstanding achievements. In addition to the competitive events, many students and advisors participate in a variety of leadership and career advancing academies.

National Delegate – A national delegate is a student representative elected by his/her state association to conduct the official business of the student organization at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). National officers are elected by and from these delegates.

State Career Development Conference (SCDC) – The State Career Development Conference is a three-day event where more than thirty-five hundred area qualifiers from across Washington State compete in one of forty-two competitive events, vying to qualify for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) competition. Washington DECA welcomes more than six hundred volunteer judges—business professionals and community members—to evaluate our student competitors on their written projects and/or presentations that demonstrate solutions to real-world business situations within a variety of industries.

Voting Delegate – A voting delegate is a chapter member participating in the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) who may vote in the state officer elections. The number of voting delegates allocated to each chapter is determined by the chapter’s membership enrollment.

Western Region Leadership Conference (WRLC) – The Western Region Leadership Conference is a leadership event held in the fall for members from Western Region DECA, providing an opportunity for state association officers and DECA advisors to develop leadership skills through presentations, workshops, business tours, and exhibits. For more information about WRLC, visit www.wrlc2011.org.

Competition

Area Allocation – An area allocation is the number of competitors/teams an area may send to the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in each of the competitive event categories. A mathematical formula is used, based on the area’s total percentage of memberships submitted and paid by November 1 of that year, with a guarantee of three per area.

Area Qualifier – An area qualifier is a student who has competed at his/her area conference and has qualified to compete at the State Career Development Conference (SCDC).

Competitive Event – A competitive event is a contest or competition between individuals or teams. DECA offers a comprehensive, industry validated competitive events program to its student membership. Competitive events are aligned with the national curriculum standards in the career clusters. Students are evaluated on both a written component and an interactive component, with an industry professional serving as a judge.

Performance Indicators – Performance indicators are competencies used to evaluate students in role play competitions.

State Qualifier – A state qualifier is a student who has competed at the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) and has qualified to compete at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC).