Committee Chair Guide

Critical Resources / Quick Links

VIDEO: Senate Committee Chair Orientation August 2022. Tip: If the video is buffering too much, download the video and view on your device.

SUBMIT: SEC/Senate Agenda Items

This button is only for submitting Information or Action Items / Memos for inclusion on a future SEC and/or Senate Agenda.

SUBMIT: Committee Documents for Web

Use this button to submit your committee's annual agenda, end-of-year annual report, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, special reports to Senate Officers, typically for publication on the Senate Website (often as required by Senate policy). Do not submit items for review by the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) or for the Senate Agenda.

Description of Annual Responsibilities and Resources

  1. DUE AUG 30: Update Committee Information - Review your committee membership and meeting schedule/details for the year (dates, times and locations/modality) hosted on the Senate website for Standing Committees and/or Other Committees and Councils, and send any corrections to Senate leadership using the Senate Help Request.

  2. DUE DEPT 30: Submit your Annual Agenda - Submit a list the committee's priorities for the academic year to the Senate Leaders.

SUBMIT: Committee Documents for Web

  1. Construct an action or information item memorandum (often called and "Action Memo" or "Information Memo") to the Senate Executive Committee/Senate:
    • Address your memorandum to SEC and/or Senate.
    • Do not combine your information and action items in the same document -- submitted 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 file naming convention: date, dash, committee initials or name, dash, what the item is.
      Example Naming Conventions
      SEC 2022-08-23_Action_SEC_AP&P_Brief-Description.doc
      2022-08-23_Information_SEC_AP&P_Brief-Description.doc
      Senate 2022-09-06_Action_Senate_AP&P_Brief-Description.doc
      2022-09-06_Information_Senate_AP&P_Brief-Description.doc
      SAMPLE Action Memo
  2. Submit the memo and related documents (PDF) no later than the date 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). Note: Only the committee chair can access the submission folder.

    SUBMIT: SEC/Senate Agenda Items

  3. Items received after the submission deadline will be included on the agenda at 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.

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

SUBMIT: Committee Documents for Web

Report as needed via the Senate Help Request.

  • Changes to the membership of your committee mid-year
  • 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 any updates to the Policy File as Action Memos for the final SEC meeting of the year (April).  
  4. If there are no updates, send an email to [email protected] stating your committee has reviewed the Policy File for accuracy and no changes are needed.
  • To fill student vacancies on your committee, contact the Chair of the Committee on Committees and Elections (CCE), who provides 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.
  • Copy Senate Secretary and Analyst on all appointment related emails.
  • Work with the Senate Leadership Team / Senate Analyst to maintain the “Elected Senate Membership & Committees/Chairs” database so that it is always up-to-date, including term start and end dates (term 1 / Term 2); fill all vacancies.
  • Update the committee chair when membership changes on a committee (e.g., a proxy is noted, a vacancy is filled, a member leaves service).
  • At least once per academic year, review the list of standing and other committees and assess if any are defunct. If so, the Chair will follow the process as outlined in the Policy File for dissolution of committees.
  1. Elect and report next year's Committee Chair to the Senate Help Request.
  2. Review membership/meeting info for your committee hosted on the Senate website for Standing Committees and/or Other Committees and Councils, and send any changes for the coming year (e.g., new members, upcoming vacancies, revised meeting date/time) to Senate leadership using the Senate Help Request.
  3. Submit your annual report of committee business to the Senate Officers. A typical annual report will include a summary of referrals recieved, items discussed/debated and actions taken. There is no standard format. Feel free to write in paragraphs, use bulleted lists, and organize the information in whichever manner makes the most sense. Typically, these reports are thorough, but brief (1-2 pages).

SAMPLE Annual Report

SUBMIT: Committee Documents for Web