1. DUE AUG 30: Updated Committee Information. Finalize your committee membership and meeting schedule/details for the year (dates, times and locations/modality) and submit this update to the Senate as an Information Item.  You can view your committee's current information on the Senate website.

2. DUE DEPT 30: Submit your Annual Agenda - Submit a list the committee's priorities for the academic year to the Senate Leaders as an Information Item (Memo).

Action Item: initiates change to a policy or procedure, or requires action to follow up. EX: updating a policy beyond editorial changes (changes the intent), nominating someone to committee.

Information Item: describes an update on a project or status, or informs Senate of editorial based change in policy, etc. EX: reporting results of an election that has already occured or items already enacted, providing an update on progress.

1. Construct the Action or Information Item Memorandum (often called and "Action Memo" or "Information Memo") and submit it to the Senate Executive Committee (SEC):
   • Address your memorandum to SEC and/or Senate.
   • Do not combine your information and action items in the same document -- submit each item in a separate memo.
   • PDF Format is preferred.
   • Any policy file changes should be red-lined so the member of the Senate can easily discern what changes have been made to the policy. The sample Action Memo provided shows an example of red-lining textual changes.
   • Items should be named with the following naming conventions: date-type of memo-committee-brief description. Note: do not use spaces or capital letters in the names.
     

     Example Naming Conventions

     SEC	2023-08-22_action_sec_app_brief-description.pdf
     	2023-08-22_info_sec_app_brief-description.pdf
     Senate	2023-09-05_action_senate_app_brief-description.pdf
     	2023-09-05_info_senate_app_brief-description.pdf

     SAMPLE Action Memo

2. Submit the memo and related documents (PDF) no later than the submission deadline published in the Senate Calendar (typically the Monday of the week BEFORE an SEC meeting). Items must be submitted to the SEC and reviewed before they are placed on the Senate agenda (unless added from the Senate floor -- see item #4 below). 

3. Items received after the submission deadline will be included on the agenda for a subsequent meeting and may be delayed in reaching the Senate. If the item is urgent, and it is arriving late, in addition to uploading your memo(s) to the shared folder, please also send a PDF of your submission to the University Senate ([email protected]) with the subject "Late Submission."

4. Motion to Ammend the Agenda option: Any Senator may make a motion during any Senate meeting to ammend the Senate agenda for a meeting in progress to include a new item, which requires the approval of 2/3 of the voting members present.

Upon receipt of a Referral Letter from the Vice Chair of the Senate:

1. Use Trello (web-based project management) to manage the referral.
2. Share the referral/letter with the committee and develop a plan to address the issue raised.
3. Submit either an Information Item memo (no policy changes or elections/appoitnments, information only) or an Action Item Memo (any level of policy change) to the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) for feedback prior to sharing with Senate.
4. Present on your item at Senate.

GUIDE: Managing Referrals in Trello

This applies only to Standing Committees of the Senate only: APP, CBL, CCE, DEI, FAC, SEC, UCC, URP.

Publish your committee's agenda/minutes within three (3) working days following each committee meeting to the Committee's Google Drive. Preferred submissions will be a combined agenda and minutes in one single document.

STORE: Committee Documents

Report as needed via the Senate Help Request.

• Mid-year change to committee membership
• A member of your committee has stopped attending without explanation or communication, and does not respond to your inquiries

1. Once per year, review your committee’s charter in the Policy File.
2. Once per year, review other section(s) of the Policy File relevant to your committee’s work. (e.g. CCE would not only review its charter in the ByLaws, it woudl review policies that govern its work, like the policy governing how we form search or review committees).
3. Send recommneded updates to the Policy File as Action Memos for an SEC meeting.  

• To fill student vacancies on your committee, contact the Chair of the Committee on Committees and Elections (CCE), who provide the name and contact information of the student, as provided by SDSU Associated Students (AS). Committee Chairs may not appoint students to their committee, per the Univeristy Policy File.
• To fill staff vacancies on your committee, contact the Chair of the Committee on Committees and Elections (CCE), who provides the name and contact information of the staff member, as provided by Staff Affairs Committee. Committee Chairs may not appoint staff members to their committee, per the University Policy File.
• To fill faculty vacancies on your committee, contact the Chair of the Committee on Committees and Elections (CCE), who provides the name and contact information of the faculty member, per the University Policy File.
• Respond to Committee Roster Audits (may be sent from the Chair of the Committee for Committees and Elections, Senate Officers, or Senate Analyst).
• Ensure all rostered committee members have access to google drives/folders/docs and are included on the invites to calendar meetings.
• Unless otherwise stated in the Policy File, ensure your committee convenes at least one meeting per semester.

1. Elect and report next year's Committee Chair in March or early April and include this information in your Annual Report.
2. Review and update membership/meeting info for your committee for the next AY and include this information in your Annual Report.
3. Submit your annual report to the Senate as an Information Item Memo for the April SEC. These items are usually due the second or third week of April -- use the deadline for submissions to the final SEC meeting of the year (published on the Senate calendar). There is no standard format. Feel free to use traditional paragraphs, or bulleted lists, and organize the information in whichever manner makes the most sense. Typically, these reports are thorough, but brief (1-2 pages). The annual report shall include:

• Summary of referral-based and non-referral action: list all referrals completed and still open with progress notes, as well as any committee driven initiatives and their status. Note any work you expect to complete by the end of May, etc.
• Tentative agenda for next AY.
• Chair-elect for the next AY.
• Updated committee roster for the next AY.

SAMPLE Annual Report