Quorum, Participation and Communication – Just a quick reminder of our governance practices here at GCC…
Quorum
Ok so we understand that we need to meet quorum in order to conduct committee business.
According to Administrative Regulation 2511, the Governance Document, quorum is the simple majority of voting members of the committee, which is 50% + 1 of the total voting membership present at the meeting.
Please note that vacant voting seats are not counted towards quorum.
What about the “resource” members of the committee, they are part of the quorum count, right?
No, they are not included. Only voting members who are present at the meeting are counted towards quorum. “Resource” seats are non-voting members. They participate in discussion, but have no vote.
Can we approve the minutes from the previous meeting during this non-quorum meeting?
No. Quorum must be met in order to conduct any vote or to conduct any business.
Well, our committee convened but we didn’t have quorum, do we just leave?
Not necessarily. Committees can still have discussion of agenda items, but no action can occur that requires a vote.
So, do we record “minutes” for this meeting, which only entailed discussion?
Certainly! Recording information that was discussed during this non-quorum meeting is helpful for the committee members, and helpful for those who did not attend. Some committees refer to these “minutes” as notes versus official minutes. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to distribute such notes to the committee membership at the next meeting as an informational item. No vote to “approve” such notes is necessary. It may be recorded in the present meeting’s minutes that notes from the previous meeting were reviewed.
What if our committee often does not meet quorum, what do we do?
It is recommended that the chairperson contact members who are absent and to alert the Governance Review Committee that there may be an attendance problem.
Participation
All constituencies have an active role in participatory governance. Students, staff, faculty, managers and administrators hold a seat or two on governance committees. Your participation as a representative is crucial to shaping policy or procedure, and for fulfilling our Mission Statement.
If you are a voting member on a committee but cannot attend a meeting, please find a proxy. Assigning proxy enables the committee to meet quorum to do its important business. Instructions and criteria are included on the proxy form. The form is available on the governance webpage. However, if you are a sparkling new representative you should make every effort to attend.
Communication
Moreover, one final point, committee representatives should share information with their appointing body. What does this mean? Depending on which seat you hold on a committee, you would share information with the leadership related to that appointment. (Huh?) If you hold a ‘CSEA’ seat then you would share information with the CSEA leadership. If you hold a faculty seat as either a Guild or Senate or Joint Faculty representative then you would share information with the Guild or Senate.
HOW can I accomplish the above? Representatives may email the appropriate leadership executive board directly and forward the agenda along with a brief summary of the meeting.
Another way is to use the online tool. The online tool is an easy way to communicate with your constituent leaders. For faculty and classified, the online tool is available on go the governance webpage, from the left-side menu select either “Committee Report for Faculty” or “Committee Report for Classified Staff.”
For governance questions contact Frankie Strong fstrong@glendale.edu, ext. 5393
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