CampusGuides: Chaparral 2017-2018: 26.5 Governance TidBits

Governance TidBits

Participation and Reporting for Governance Committee Meetings

by Frankie Strong
Governance Office Coordinator

Just a quick reminder…

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. NOTE: a vacant voting member seat is not counted when determining quorum.”

Duly noted, is that vacant voting seats are not counted towards quorum.

What about the “resource” members of the committee; they’re part of the quorum count, right?

No, they are not included. Only voting members 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.

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.

Lastly, if you are a voting member on a committee but cannot attend a meeting, please find a proxy. Assigning a proxy enables the committee to meet quorum to do its important business. Instructions and criteria are included on the proxy form. The form can be found on the governance webpage.

Moreover, one final point: committee representatives should be sharing information with their appointing body. Representatives may email the executive board with a brief summary or 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 page within SharePoint: https://sp.glendale.edu/governance/Pages/default.aspx ; select either button for “Committee Report for Faculty” or “Committee Report for Classified Staff.”

References
Administrative Regulation 2511, Governance Document

Chaparral 2017-2018: 26.5 Governance TidBits