Mobile optimized site

Volunteer State Community College

Preamble

College Standing Committees exist at the discretion of the President. The purpose of these committees is to make recommendations concerning governance of the College. Membership of a given committee should represent all employees and students who work and study at the College. Membership on College Standing Committees is one of several avenues of service to the College and the greater community available to employees and students. Service to the College and the greater community is an expected element of employment at the College.

Guidelines For Standing Committees

Membership - Selection and Responsibility

The request for membership will come from the President's Office. Employees may volunteer or be appointed to serve on committees. The President's Cabinet will review potential membership for best representation and will make the final appointment to committees. Members are responsible for fulfilling the committee's purpose. Attendance and participation is an important function of the membership and a report will be part of the employee's evaluation.

The number of committee members should be sufficient to fulfill the committee's tasks with representation from areas outlined in specific committees' guidelines. Employees may serve on as many committees as they choose unless the committee guidelines restrict membership to specific positions of the institution.

Committees have the ability to delegate projects to sub-committees which report findings and results to the main committees. Sub-committee members can be existing members of the main committee or volunteer or be appointed by the main committee Chairs. While a person may be required to serve on a sub-committee due to their expertise, no individual will be required to serve on multiple sub-committees.

The President in consultation with the Cabinet will select committee Chairs. Current committee chairs may recommend, to the appropriate Vice President or Director to whom the committee reports, the names of any individuals interested in serving as chair for future terms.

All committees and sub-committees will keep minutes which are to be recorded electronically. Committee Chairs have the discretion to communicate minutes or links to minutes through Exchange Users.

Committee on Committees

The Faculty Council recommended and the Cabinet has adopted an annual ad hoc Committee on Committees. This Committee will report to the President, and its responsibilities will include, but not be limited to:

Handling Committee composition and assignments:

  1. Annually soliciting volunteers for Standing Committees
  2. Assigning Committee members by filling slots as designated in the Committee on Committees 2004 Report
  3. Recommending changes to the membership composition requirements designated in the Committee on Committees 2004 Report
  4. Implementing the established master schedule for Standing Committee meetings
  5. Recommending the addition of new Standing Committees and the modification or deletion of existing Standing Committees
  6. Recommending any needed policy and procedural changes to improve the operation of Standing Committees

Chairperson - Selection and Responsibility

* The Chairs and Chairs-Select shall serve a minimum term of two years with staggered terms to minimize membership turnover.

* The Chairs should not chair more than one Standing Committee or Council.

Chairs shall;

  1. solicit agenda items
  2. conduct all meetings
  3. contact any member who has missed two meetings
  4. act as liaison with Vice President to whom the committee reports
  5. approve accurate reporting of committee minutes
  6. be a nonvoting member but serve as a tie breaker in the event of tie
  7. Identify and invite persons with expertise as the need arises

Recorder - Selection and Responsibility

The Recorder is selected through nomination, voted on by the committee membership and approved by the Chair for a term of at least one year. The Recorder should be a voting member of the committee and should be appointed without regard to the person’s position within the college. The Recorder’s responsibilities are to:

  1. take roll
  2. accurately reflect the minutes of each meeting, to include
    1. record who makes a motion and who seconds motion
    2. record action to be taken on recommendation
  3. post approved minutes of meetings in the official repository via portal.volstate.edu
  4. notify employees of posted minutes as appropriate in accordance with FERPA and other policies and guidelines

Ex-Officio Members

Ex-Officio members shall:

  1. be non-voting members
  2. be selected due to their expertise
  3. serve as liaison between the committee and the departments they represent
  4. not be included in the total membership ranges, nor be counted for quorum
  5. attend meetings at their discretion

Members-at-large

Members-at-large will:

  1. serve on a voluntary basis
  2. represent any position of the institution
  3. fill the maximum number of committee members specified in the committee’s guidelines but may not exceed the maximum membership indicated for the committee.

Note: All at-large committee positions do not have to be filled every year.

Meetings - Number

Committees shall meet once a month, or more if needed. Meeting times are to be established.

Reporting Relationships

Reporting relationships are described in the guidelines for each committee.

Evaluation Process

A year-end evaluation of the activities of the committee will be conducted by June 30th of each year and a formal report will be submitted to the Vice President to whom the committee reports. The Chair will conduct an annual evaluation of the members’ participation and the members will conduct an evaluation of the Chair. All evaluations will be sent to the Office of the Vice President to whom the committee reports for distribution to supervisors at the time of employee evaluations.

*Committee activities identified are minimums. Additional activities may be identified by committee or assigned.

*Committees should appoint sub-committees as the need arises.

*An annual report of actions and/or recommendations should be completed by May 30th of each year. Brief descriptions of the work of sub-committees should be included. This report should also include a list of members who wish to return to the committee for the following year.

Robert's Rule of Order

All Committee will use the Robert's Rules of Order to conduct business. Download Robert's Rules.

Guidlines for Adhoc Committees

Ad hoc committees are appointed at various levels of the institution. The administrators overseeing the work of the committee will appoint members to serve on the committee. Their purpose is to accomplish a specific task related to appropriate college business and the Chair develops their meeting schedule. Additional ad hoc committees may be formed at any time based on institutional needs as determined by the President. The following ad hoc committees are listed because they are recurring and college-wide.

  • Bookstore
  • Commencement
  • Discipline
  • Food Service
  • Promotion and Tenure