What do Standing Committees do? What is their purpose/role in college governance?
Standing committees report directly to the Executive Council, which is led by the college President and comprised of the four constituency group leads – the Academic Senate President, the Classified Senate President, the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Chair, and the Student Senate President. Standing committees may be directed by Executive Council to study, review, and make recommendations regarding issues related to their committee charge. Standing committees are also empowered by Executive Council to identify, study, review, and make recommendations regarding issues related to their charge and bring them to the attention of the Executive Council. Standing shared governance committees may appoint subcommittees and workgroups as needed.
Figure 1: Relationship between Standing Committees and Executive Council
Committee Charges
The college currently has the following standing committees (two of which meet jointly). These committees and their respective charges are as follows:
Utilizing the results of the college planning process and established criteria, the Budget Committee evaluates requests for budget allocations; establishes procedures and calendars used in the college budget process and recommends allocations of the monies available from the college unrestricted COLA/growth and one-time-only (OTO) funds. The Budget Committee operates with the college policy of maintaining historical operating base budgets.
Reviews short- and long-range plans for general campus development and modifications, as well as for specific facilities. Reviews requests for Facility Resources including space utilization, equipment, communications, and other related topics. Makes prioritized recommendations on the above Facility Resource requests to the Budget Committee for integration with budget and IT requests developed through the unit planning process.
The Campus Safety Committee promotes campus safety, security, and emergency preparedness to endeavor to create a safe and secure learning and working environment for the campus community. The Committee reviews and makes recommendations on campus safety and security issues brought forth by staff, faculty, and students; provides guidance, support, and recommendations regarding safety policies and programs; and assists with emergency procedures planning and programming. The Committee periodically reviews reports of accidents, incidents, and injuries that occur on campus, recommends appropriate action to mitigate adverse trends, and provides oversight of the Environmental, Safety, and Security Program Plan.
The Curriculum Committee promotes the development of curriculum and courses that meet the identified needs of the students, community, regional workplaces, and global society; reviews and recommends changes in instructional programs and courses, implementation of graduation and breadth requirements, and identifies courses that meet them; ensures compliance with statewide educational policy and articulation with other educational institutions; and examines topical instructional issues of major importance to the college.
Educational and Information Technology Committee
The EITC addresses equitable and effective use of educational and information technology at SCC, advocating for equitable student access, removing obstacles to equitable access and successful use of technology; collaborating with related campus and district committees such as student equity, digital inclusion, LMS coordinators, district Ed Tech; and advocating for the effective design of, communication about, and access to all the available resources for SCC students.
The SCC Grants Committee supports the college's grant activities by ensuring that grants are aligned with the college's mission, strategic goals, and resource needs; by sharing grant opportunities with the college community; and by reviewing and recommending revisions to grant-related policies and procedures.
Reviews policies on staff and student recognition programs (e.g., Celebration of Excellence, retirements, scholarship reception). Recommends guidelines for awards ceremonies and plans and conducts ceremonies. Develops and publicizes scholarships, reviews student applications for eligibility and selects recipients.
Promotes professional activities for all college personnel that include professional and personal growth as well as innovations in programs, curriculum and services that relate across the college including initiatives, institution, division/department, program, resource, and unit plans. Collaborates with the Staff Resource Center for Professional Development & Education Leadership in planning, collaboration, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of programs, projects, Flex Day activities, including Convocation. Reviews the results of the annual needs assessment of all college personnel to recommend and support professional development activities annually as part of a continuous improvement model. Develops and manages the process of Conference/Workshop/Travel Funding distribution.
Staff Equity and Diversity Committee
Develops, reviews, recommends and implements programs and services designed to enhance diversity and equity in educational, employment, and promotional opportunities for faculty and staff.
Student Equity and Success Committee
The Student Equity and Success Committee (SESC) intervenes on behalf of college students who seek higher education, transforms the institutional environment into one that promotes equity and inclusion by removing barriers to disproportionately impacted students, and acknowledges and honors human difference. The committee monitors student access, progress, success, completion, transfer, and employment, takes action on matters of support services, pathways, and technologies designed to welcome students and move them through to completion, and offers strategies for action through the shared governance structure to address equity issues that exist for disproportionately impacted students. The committee encourages all faculty, staff, and administrators to evolve into equity practitioners who work to create an educational experience that is transformative towards justice and liberation for students, faculty and staff, and the community at large.
Standing Committees FAQs
All members of the college community can serve on standing committees, with the goal of achieving effective and meaningful participation of students, faculty, classified professionals, and administrators. Committee members are appointed by their respective constituency group leader, and the duration of committee appointments is typically for one academic year (August to May). Standing committees are led by faculty, classified, and administrative tri-chairs, and these positions are also appointed by the constituency group leaders.
Committees are a vital part of the college governance process. Some basic expectations for standing committee members include:
Regular attendance and participation
If members don’t attend committee meetings, the work won’t get done. Committee participation is the foundation of effective participation in the shared governance process at the college. Committee tri-chairs should set expectations for attendance and record attendance in meeting minutes. Members should also expect to participate in committee work outside of regularly scheduled meetings.
Advance preparation
Tri-chairs should send out agendas and meeting materials to committee members at least 72 hours before the scheduled meeting. This gives committee members time to review materials in advance, and come to meetings prepared to discuss agenda items.
Communication
Effective committee work requires good communication. This includes reporting regularly to Executive Council, as well as gathering feedback and information from members of the college community regarding issues related to the committee’s charge.
Evaluation
Committees should establish a process to evaluate the effectiveness of the committee’s work. It could be a quick evaluation at the end of each meeting, or it could be a more formal evaluation at the end of the semester. The PRIE office also conducts college-wide surveys of the effectiveness of governance groups, and this information will be shared periodically.
Yes! At the end of this document, you’ll find a variety of tools and templates to help you chair your committees effectively. These tools include goal-setting templates, templates for agendas and meeting minutes, an Executive Council report template, a work plan template, and evaluation tools.
In addition to these tools, the Dean of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness conducts comprehensive training for committee tri-chairs and constituency group leads at the beginning of each academic year. The training provides an overview of the college’s governance system, sets expectations for committee work, and shares best practices for effective meeting facilitation.
A standing committee can make a formal recommendation to Executive Council by completing and submitting a Campus Issues Form. Executive Council will then review the issue and recommendation, and take formal action. Those actions might include vetting the recommendation with the four constituency groups (Academic Senate, Classified Senate, Senior Leadership Team, and Student Senate), referring the issue to a specific office or area, or making a decision to approve or deny the recommendation.
As the Process Coordinator, the Dean of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness can answer any questions you have about our governance process. You can also reach out to your Academic Senate President, Classified Senate President, Senior Leadership Team chair, or Student Senate President.