Dental Branch, Committee Procedures

Committee Procedures

Approved by the Committee on Committees and
The Faculty Senate

Revised ~ October 2006

Committees perform the bulk of the work of the Faculty Assembly. Through the use of committees, the responsibilities of the faculty are apportioned among its members. Work to be accomplished is delegated to committees and proposals are formulated by committees for final decision by the Dean, Faculty Senate, Faculty Assembly or other appropriate entity.

Committee business will be conducted in accordance with Sturgis' The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedures and procedural rules established by the UTDB Faculty Senate.

The committee year for all committees will be from September to August 31st of the following year unless stated otherwise in the Committee Charge. Volunteers for committees will be sought in the preceding March. Suggested changes to the committee charge will be submitted to the Committee on Committees by May 1st. Election of officers from eligible members will occur at the beginning of the committee year.

Election of Officers

An election of new officers shall be held at the first meeting of the new committee year in September. Committees should elect a chair, vice-chair and secretary. The Immediate Past Chair will schedule the first meeting of the committee and preside during the election of a new chair. The new committee Chair will conduct the election of the other officers. The Chair will forward the results of the election (and any subsequent elections) to the Chair of the Committee on Committees for posting on the Dental Branch website at Faculty and Staff/Committees. If a committee member prefers that the Committee on Committees conduct the election, this individual should contact the Chair of the Committee on Committees prior to the first meeting. The committee officers will be elected from among the regular faculty committee members. The elections may be conducted by secret ballot. If a committee has not elected its new officers in an appropriate time frame, the Committee on Committees will schedule a meeting for that committee and conduct the election of a new chair. In the event the committee still fails to elect officers, the positions may be appointed by the Committee on Committees.

Operating Procedures

At the beginning of the new committee year, the committee shall review its charge and purpose. The committee Chair shall provide a copy of the Committee Guidelines and a committee membership roster to each member. The Chair shall receive archival files and the latest annual report from the Immediate Past Chair. The committee shall also develop operating procedures to fulfill its charge.
When an item of complex nature needs to be addressed, consideration should be given to setting up one or more subcommittees. The subcommittee(s) should draft a report to facilitate discussion by the whole committee.

Quorum

Fifty percent of the regular faculty and student members (excluding ex officio members, except where appropriate) shall constitute a quorum. The committee Chair may base the quorum on the number of regular faculty members if he/she deems it necessary to conduct committee business.

Attendance

Attendance will be recorded at each meeting on the attached form and will be included in the Annual Report. Members should notify the Chair of absences due to schedule conflicts or illnesses.

Failure to Perform

A member of a committee who is unable or fails to participate in committee activities at a satisfactory level should be recommended for removal by the committee Chair. The Committee on Committees is responsible for decisions concerning the removal and replacement of the member with a recommendation to the Dean. Upon removal of an individual from a committee, the appropriate department Chair will be notified by the Chair of the Committee on Committees. Strict documentation of attendance and participation is prerequisite to such actions.

Scheduling of Meetings

The committee Chair, in conjunction with the members, should set meeting times to accommodate as many members as possible. Meeting times may need to be varied to facilitate participation by as many members as possible. Committee meetings should be no longer than one hour (if possible). A meeting should not be scheduled outside of regular work hours unless agreed upon by a majority of the committee. Committees are encouraged to set meeting dates for the committee year during the first meeting.
When a meeting is scheduled, the chair shall provide a tentative agenda and request additional items from the members. Members should be notified of the meeting time, date and location as far in advance of the meeting as possible. Any documents requiring discussion should also be provided to the members well in advance of the meeting.
In order to increase attendance, the Chair should send an email reminder of the scheduled meeting the day before the meeting.

Committee Structure

Committees are composed of regular faculty members appointed by the Dean at the recommendation of the Committee on Committees, ex officio members serving by virtue of their office, and student members elected by their classes. There are no student members on the APT, Credentialing and Student E&P Committees.

Changes in Committee Membership Composition

If a member of a committee wishes to resign, he/she must notify the committee Chair, the Chair of the Committee on Committees, his/her department Chair, and the Dean of their resignation. The Committee on Committees is charged with making recommendations for the assignment of Committee members. If a committee member wishes to be reassigned to another committee, he/she should resign from their current committee and request a new assignment from the Committee on Committees. The new appointment is based on the recommendation(s) of the Committee on Committees and the approval of the Dean.

Student Members

The UTHSC-Houston Health Science Center, the Dental Branch and the American Dental Education Association encourage student participation on standing committees when appropriate.

Procedures for Selecting Students for Committees:

The Chair of the Committee on Committees will supply the student officers with descriptions of the various Dental Branch committees on which students are eligible to serve, an indication of the types of students required, the expected time commitment, meeting times and any other useful information on the committees.
The student officers will discuss the committees with their classes and inform them of the nature of the committee duties, the expected time commitment needed, and the number of students needed to serve. The students will volunteer for committee service by identifying their first and second choices. Students must have a grade point average of 80 or better (at the time of appointment) to be eligible to serve on committees. A student committee member whose grade point average falls below the required average of 80 may be removed from the committee on which they serve by the Committee on Committees. A member of the Committee on Committees can be called upon to provide any additional committee information if the students request it.
The nominees and alternates identified from the student volunteers will be sent to the Dean for approval and appointment to committees.
The committee chairs should make a diligent effort to hold committee meetings at times when students can participate.

For committees where student representatives represent consecutive years, the Committee on Committees may nominate a student to the more senior positions in subsequent years as long as they remain eligible.

Student members of committees will be bound by the same responsibilities as faculty members. The following committees will have one student representative from the classes listed unless otherwise noted: Committee on Committees (President of the Student Council), Clinical Affairs (DH2, DDS3, DDS4), Curriculum (DDS3, DDS4), Dental Admissions ( DDS2, DDS3, DDS4), Dental Hygiene Admissions and Advisory (2 DH2 students), Outcomes (DDS3, DDS4), Research (DDS3, DDS4).

Voting

Regular faculty and student members have the right to vote on committees. Ex officio members do not have the right to vote unless otherwise specified in the Committee charge. The committee Chair shall vote only in the case of a tie vote.

Website Postings

Committee Procedures will be posted on the UTDB web page as general information. For each committee, the purpose, charge, and roster of members (with phone numbers and email addresses) will be listed.

Committee minutes and working documents will be available in Blackboard and accessible to UTDB faculty via their user ID and password. Confidential documents and information such as Credentialing, E&P recommendations and APT decisions will be available only to committee members and the Dean.

Committee Meeting Minutes

Written minutes must be taken for all official committee meetings.
Minutes are usually taken by the committee Secretary. Meetings may be taped, but the tape should be kept only until the minutes are approved.
Minutes should be designated as "Draft" until approved. Such approval may be undertaken at the next committee meeting or via electronic media on approval of the committee members. Approved minutes are the official record of the meeting.
Distribution of draft documents should be restricted to the committee members.
Corrected and approved minutes are to be kept in an electronic database and posted at the Committee site on Blackboard. The minutes should be available for general review unless otherwise noted.
For matters of a confidential or sensitive nature, e.g. student evaluations, abbreviated minutes may also be made to indicate those students evaluated, the date and the individual(s) to whom recommendations for action were sent. It is not appropriate in these abbreviated minutes to detail recommendations such as disciplinary action.

Minutes at a minimum should contain the following information:

A heading, noting the date, time and location of the meeting.

A list of members and guests present.

A list of members absent.

Name of individual opening and chairing the meeting and the time.

Generally it is not necessary or desirable to report all details but it is important to summarize the main items discussed. It is essential when referring to individuals and specific programs, documents, etc. to be accurate with titles and names. Minutes should not contain the names of individuals who have made specific points in discussions except for those proposing motions.

Motions and Voting must be according to Sturgis' The Code of Parliamentary Procedures. The individual who made the motion must be noted. The number of votes for, against and abstentions to the motion must be recorded. Ex officio members are appointed members without voting privileges. An exception is made for the ex officio members of the Outcomes Assessment Committee.) Minority opinions to motions must be included in the minutes.

A list of action items including the name(s) of the individual(s) responsible for accomplishing the task and a time for its completion.

The time of adjournment

Committee Reports

Committee recommendations or a report of the committee's activities may be forwarded to the Senate at any time for review and recommendations by the Senate or may be requested by the Senate President. Recommendations requiring implementation for the next school year should be forwarded by May 1st to allow for additional communication among the Senate, faculty and administration.

The Annual Report of activities and recommendations should be submitted to the Dean, Senate President and Chair of the Committee on Committees by August 1st (as appropriate). The Annual Reports will be archived at the Committee on Committees’ site on Blackboard . Department Chairs will be given access to the Annual Reports at the Committee on Committees’ site on Blackboard.

Format for Annual Committee Reports

Committee chairs should use the following format for the Annual Reports. The chairs of standing subcommittees should submit their Annual Report to the overall committee Chair and use this format.

A. Title

Annual Report
Committee Name
Period covered, e.g. 200X-200Y academic year.

B. Report

List the committee members, their departments and the end of their term.*

List the committee purpose as stated in the UTDB Bylaws.*

List the committee charge.* Please state if the committee fulfilled its charge.
If the committee did not fulfill its charge, describe the reason in this section and recommendations for corrective action in section 7 below.

Using the committee charge as a guide, list the major accomplishments of the committee.

List any significant ongoing activities of the committee.

List the dates of meetings, the approximate length and important issues covered.
Recommended deadlines for significant committee activities should also be listed in this section. If minutes were taken for the meetings, please state so in this section.

List and discuss (if necessary) any recommendations for change concerning the committee. Possible changes could include the committee purpose, charge, guidelines, size and the time frame for the term of the committee.

List any recommendations for new members.

Please attach the Activity Report rating the contribution of each member of the committee to the Annual Report. The form for the Activity Report shall be sent to each committee chair by the Committee on Committees. The Activity Report component of the Annual Report will not be posted on the individual committee’s site on Blackboard for confidentiality reasons.

List the officers elected for the next term of the committee.
Note: please use the underlined portions of B 1-8 as headings for those sections of the annual report.

C. Additional Comments

* Available on the UTDB Web pages

Subcommittees and Ad Hoc Committees

A committee has the right to appoint subcommittees and ad hoc committees and to delegate authority to those committees. Subcommittees are constructed solely from members of the committee. Ad hoc committees may include individuals who are non-members of the committee, but the Chair of an ad hoc committee must be a member of the standing committee. Subcommittees and ad hoc committees are directly responsible to the committee that created them and report only to that committee.
For the Subcommittees of the Student Evaluation and Promotion Committee, recommendations for membership will be made by the Committee on Committees.