Committee responsibilities and processes

The University’s Taumata Teitei Vision 2030 and Strategic Plan 2025 commits the University to ‘efficient, effective, prudent, transparent, and informed operations.’ An effective set of committees helps us achieve this goal.

A University’s committee structure is dynamic. We need to maintain committees that are relevant, focussed, gather together the right set of people for the tasks entrusted to them, carry out their business expeditiously and effectively, and make the best possible decisions. These objectives have to be achieved within a collegial environment and in a way that ensures that all pertinent views are heard and considered.

Each year a schedule of central committee meetings is approved and noted by Senate and Council for the following year. Meeting Rooms in the ClockTower Building are booked through the online Room booking system and confirmed by Vice-Chancellor’s Office Reception, Room Booking Administrators who can be contacted  on ext: 85855 or email: vcoreception@auckland.ac.nz.    

Meetings are usually timed so that their business can be carried out and reported in a timely manner to Senate, to the Vice-Chancellor or to Council. However, it is possible that the schedule provides for too many meetings, or does not provide adequately for some committee business to be carried out. Chairs of Committees may vary the committee schedule or cancel meetings if there is insufficient business. If a meeting is to be cancelled, the Secretary of the Committee should let all members know as soon as possible and inform the Room Booking Administrator(s) so that the room booked can be released.

The preparation of the agenda and papers for the meeting is the responsibility of the Chair of the Committee, working with the Committee Secretary. In some cases, members will be approached for items for the agenda prior to the meeting; members have a right to suggest items which may be placed on the agenda.

It is desirable that agendas and papers reach members of committees three working days prior to the meeting. Committees should avoid tabling papers at meetings, unless the matter in hand is urgent.

Members of Committees should feel free to contact the Chair of the Committee prior to the meeting if they have questions about any agenda item. This can often expedite the process of the Committee.

It is important that members of a committee get to know each other and establish a way of working effectively together.

At the beginning of each year, the committee should discuss the role, responsibilities, and processes of the committee. An experienced member of the committee should be designated as a liaison person for new members seeking advice on the processes and business of the committee. New members of Senate are advised to liaise with their predecessors and/or contact an experienced Senate member in their Faculty.

Committee members usually attend meetings because they represent some constituency or have some particular expertise or responsibility in an area. Attendance is therefore important. Members should:

• Send apologies to the committee secretary if they cannot attend a meeting
• Prepare for the meeting by reading the agenda papers and thinking about points that need to be raised, clarified or discussed
• Discuss any matters that need decisions with the appropriate individuals and constituencies prior to the meeting
• Acknowledge and disclose any conflicts of interest
• Contribute to discussion
• Report back to their constituencies: this is particularly important for faculty representatives
• Carry out any follow-up action required of them.  

The chair of the committee is responsible for ensuring that committee business and meetings are effectively managed, that quality recommendations and decisions are made, and that follow up actions are completed. Chairs should ensure that a Deputy Chair is appointed so that committee business does not halt if they are required to be absent from a meeting. Meetings are usually held in person but the Chair can, in exceptional circumstances, decide that a meeting will be held virtually.

In particular, the chair is responsible for

• Chairing the committee meetings in a fair, objective, efficient and collegial manner
• Ensuring that members of the committee are properly inducted into the committee role, responsibilities and processes
• Determining relevant staff members who should be ‘in attendance’ at meetings
• Preparing agendas in conjunction with the committee secretary, ensuring that conflicts of interest are included as an agenda item
• Determining action in respect to disclosures of conflicts of interest, and ensuring that disclosures and actions taken are recorded in the meeting minutes
• Establishing any sub-committees and determining their terms of reference and membership
• At the beginning of the meeting, advising the committee that the meeting will be recorded to assist with the minute taking process. The recording will only be available to the Chair and the Secretary and will be deleted when the unconfirmed minutes have been completed. This should be recorded in the beginning of the minutes as a standing item.
  
• Reviewing and approving minutes
• Reporting committee recommendations and decisions to other University bodies
• Ensuring that policy and other decisions are effectively communicated and carried out.

Secretaries are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the committees. Their main tasks are:

• Developing a meeting schedule and establishing deadlines for meeting agendas
• Maintaining up-to-date list of committee members and their terms of office
• Providing new members with relevant information regarding terms of reference, membership, meeting schedule and meeting deadlines
• Arranging for room bookings outside of the ClockTower
• When necessary, setting up virtual and hybrid meetings, conference calling and technical equipment, including liaising with SSC for logging service requests.
  
• Organising catering
• Preparing the draft agenda and collating the papers
• Distributing the agenda after its approval by the chair, at least three and preferably five working days prior to the meeting. Papers received the day prior to the meeting should normally not be included in the agenda, except with the Chair's permission.
  
• Recording apologies
• Prior to the meeting, advising the Chair about the apologies and about any information that came up after distribution of the agenda
• Taking notes at the meeting
• Meetings can be recorded but only to assist the Committee Secretary with the writing of the minutes. These recordings need to be stored on the Committee Secretary’s device and not in the cloud and should be deleted as soon as the Chair has approved the unconfirmed minutes.
• When a meeting needs to be held virtually via Zoom or Teams, making closed captions available to increase the meeting's accessibility.
  
• Writing the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting
• After approval of the draft minutes by the chair, circulating the unconfirmed minutes to the members
• Keeping record of all committee related documents. All strategic and/or senior management University committee records must be stored permanently on the official Committees SharePoint site. Operational committee records may also be stored on the site available for them, where they can be accessed by appropriate staff for as long as they are required to be kept (a minimum of 10 years). For more information see the Records Management page on the intranet (staff only).

• The Effective Committee Chair
  
• The Effective Committee Secretary
• Minute Taking Workshop

Note: The following links take you to the Policy Hub.

• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Conflict of Interest Procedures