2007-2008 ECUS OPERATING PROCEDURES

 (ADOPTED August 16, 2007)

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Committee Operating Procedures:  A summary of the standard operating procedures used to conduct business during the year.

• First and foremost the Executive Committee is a team and not a set of individuals.  To realize this philosophy we have adopted the following principles:
  • Communicate openly and candidly with each other -- holding back constructive criticism weakens the team
  • Resist communicating on behalf of the committee without consultation even if the item feels like a “no-brainer”
  • After consultation, copy the entire committee as you communicate on its behalf
  • It is the responsibility of all ECUS members to seek out and identify agenda items for discussion
  • It is expected that ECUS members practice circumspection and trust in committee processes and decisions that take place among members of the committee
• The Chair
  • Provides leadership and vision for the direction of the University Senate
  • Represents the University Senate at University Faculty meetings as necessary
  • Presents the Executive Committee Reports at University Senate meetings
  • Is perceived as the point person of the University Senate by those external to the Senate
  • Drafts the tentative agenda for meetings of the Executive Committee
  • Presides at meetings of the Executive Committee and the University Senate
  • Alerts the University Senate when agenda for a scheduled meeting is available
• The Vice-Chair
  • Assumes all duties and responsibilities of the chair in the absence of the chair
  • Maintain parking lots, i.e. committee “to-do lists”, that detail and categorize items that require future consideration and action.  These parking lots should be accessible to the committee at least periodically.
  • Maintains a list of the tentative agenda items for the following meeting.  This list is briefly reviewed by the entire committee just before adjournment.
• The Secretary
  • Drafts minutes of the University Senate meetings and Executive Committee meetings, the latter alternately with the individuals sharing the Undersecretary position.
  • Posts minutes of both Executive Committee and University Senate once the minutes have been reviewed by the respective bodies – including any amendments made as a result of the review.

o        Maintains the Executive Committee Action Tracking Form and posts this to the web.   Some agreements made by the committee require actions by one or more individual committee members to implement the agreement.   The Action Tracking Form is an aggregated listing of these actions specifying the following information for each such action: the date the action was charged, the action itself, the point person responsible for completing the action, the status of the action while it is being completed, and the date completed.

• Maintains an archive (in parallel with the University Senate archivist) of all minutes and handouts of both Executive Committee and University Senate meetings.
• Serves as Secretary of the Subcommittee on Nominations (SCoN) by drafting and posting the minutes of  SCoN.
• The remaining elected Senators on ECUS shall serve alternately as the Undersecretary of the Executive Committee
  • The Undersecretary
    • Prepares minutes for Executive Committee meetings, alternating this duty with the Secretary.  Minutes preparation is defined as distributing a draft of the minutes for review to the Executive Committee within two (2) working days of the meeting as well as incorporating any revisions resulting from this review for submission to the Secretary of the Executive Committee within four (4) working days of the meeting.
• The University Senate Webmaster
  • Maintains the web presence of the University Senate
  • Drafts the agenda for University Senate meetings for review by the Executive Committee and posts the final version of the agenda at the website.
  • Collects reports from the committee chairs following a University Senate Meeting and links these reports to the electronic agenda for the meeting.
• Communication
  • Communicate via the ecus@gcsu.edu email list with the 48-hour rule – member of Executive Committee has 48 hours to respond to an issue/proposal to confirm receipt and communicate approval or share constructive suggestions for refinement.
  • Standing weekly meetings

Note:  The following details worked well for 2007-2008, but particular meeting and deadline times may require revision for future Executive Committees

§         Standing meeting time for Fall 2007 is Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:50 am in the President's office/conference room.  The meeting time for Spring 2008 is to be determined, at present Thursdays from 9:30-10:50 is proposed.

• A tentative agenda for the next meeting is drafted by the Vice-Chair.  This list is briefly reviewed by the entire committee just before adjournment

§         No later than noon on Monday, either the meeting is canceled or a tentative agenda is distributed

• The tentative agenda is distributed by the chair by email as early in the week as possible and is finalized in consultation with the other members of ECUS
• Drafts of supporting documentation for agenda items are provided prior to the meeting whenever possible to encourage and facilitate review prior to the meeting.
• Drafts of ECUS minutes are provided to members by Monday afternoons for their review.
• Official minutes are usually posted  no later than noon on Wednesday.
• ECUS members review the initial draft of the minutes of the University Senate meetings prior to distribution to the University Senate.