General information on joint committees
A page within Chancellor
What is a Joint Committee?
Joint Committees are advisory to the chancellor and are composed of individuals representing one or more governance groups (i.e., faculty senate, student senate, academic staff council, and university staff council) and often include other campus personnel who represent specific roles on campus. The composition of the committee should reflect the overall purpose of the committee and will be indicated in the committee's bylaws which require approval by the Chancellor. Governance groups nominate individuals through the processes indicated in their operating bylaws. The Chancellor charges the committee prior to the new academic year.
By the end of May, the chair of each committee should submit an end-of-year report that include the members, the approximate number of meetings, the activities of the committee over the year, and any suggested charges for next year’s committee. Minutes and other materials should be submitted regularly through the academic year.
UWL Joint Committees
|
Committee |
Academic Staff nominated by Academic Staff Council |
Faculty/IAS nominated by Faculty Senate |
University Staff nominated by University Staff Council |
Student Reps Nominated by Student Senate |
Other (as indicated in bylaws) |
|
Joint Committee on Environmental Sustainability (JCES) |
3 NIAS | 5 faculty/IAS | 2 | 6 | 6: see bylaws |
|
Joint Planning and Budget (JPB) |
5 NIAS | 7 faculty/IAS | 2 | 4 | 10: Vice Chancellors, Deans |
|
Joint Legislative/Regents Committee |
2 | 3 faculty/IAS | 1 | 1 | 1: Legislative Liaison |
|
Joint Multicultural Affairs Committee (JMAC) |
3 | 7 faculty/IAS | 1 | 3 | 4: VC D&I, AAO, OMSS Director |
| Joint Committee on Civil Discourse (JCCD) (n = 10) Convenor: Center for Transformative Justice Director |
2 | 2 faculty/IAS | 2 | 2 |
2: Center for Transformative Justice Director and an ad-hoc member appointed by the chancellor. |
|
Joint Ethics Advisory Committee |
2 |
1 tenured faculty/1 IAS (or two tenured if no IAS volunteers) |
NA | NA | Compliance Officer convenes but does not serve due to advisory nature of the committee. |
|
Joint Promotion Committee* |
NA | 12 full professors | NA | NA | 5: Provost and 4 Deans |
*JPC's operating policies are determined by Faculty Senate.
Individuals with Disabilities Advisory Committee (Convenor: ACCESS Center Director) - all reports to the Chancellor but representatives are not chosen through traditional governance nominating procedures.
Chancellor Committee Guidelines
The guidelines below are intended to help new conveners, chairs, and recorders in fulfilling their roles.
General
All committees are to follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Answers to some frequently asked questions can be found at http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html. All committees must comply with the Open Meeting Law.
In particular, the law requires the following:
The provision in Wis. Stat. § 19.84(3) requires that every public notice of a meeting be given at least twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting, unless “for good cause” such notice is “impossible or impractical.” If “good cause” exists, the notice should be given as soon as possible and must be given at least two hours in advance of the meeting. Wis. Stat. § 19.84(3).
Committees should post the meeting announcements following the procedure outlined on the UWL open meetings webpage.
Convener
Unless your committee has a regularly scheduled meeting time, contact all committee members (including student members if applicable) for their schedule and find a time to hold the organizational meeting. Call the organizational meeting to order and conduct an election for committee chair. Communicate information from the convener’s meeting to the new chair.
Chair
Promptly notify Chancellor's Office of the results of the election of officers. Make arrangements for meetings and give notification of date, time and place of meeting. Be sure to comply with the Open Meeting Law. Send out an agenda for each meeting at least a few days prior to the meeting. The agenda need not be long, but should include:
- Name of the committee
- Date, time and location of the meeting
- Topics that will be discussed at the meeting
- If appropriate, a statement indicating that the meeting may go into closed session (for student appeals, etc.) Run the meetings following Robert’s Rules of Order.
Submit an end-of-year report that include the members, the approximate number of meetings, the activities of the committee over the year, and any suggested charges for next year’s committee.
Recorder
Take clear, concise minutes for each meeting. (See below for recommendations on what goes into the minutes.) Type up each set of minutes and distribute to the committee members in a timely fashion. After the minutes have been approved by the committee (preferably at the next scheduled meeting), send the approved minutes to Chancellor's Office for posting. Confidential information (student names in appeals, etc.) should be removed before posting approved minutes. NOTE: If the job of recorder is rotated through committee members, the chair should take this responsibility.
Suggestions on taking meeting minutes. Minutes should include the following:
- Name of Committee
- Date and Location of Meeting
- Attendees (members & visitors)
- Absent members and whether the absence is excused.
- Meeting Time (when called to order & adjourned)
- Name of person who took the minutes.
- A summary of the committee discussions (not the content of every comment or who made the comment). Remember that minutes are the official record of what happened, not what was said, at a meeting.
- Complete statement of any motions and the results of the vote. Reports, statements, etc. should not be included in the text of the minutes. Rather, they should be attached to the minutes.
