1. Committee name
2. Membership and constitution - As well as the committee membership, there may also be people who are there by virtue of the role they hold (Ex-officio members) and those who may be invited to certain meetings or for certain items, so that they can inform or be kept aware of relevant discussions.
3. Terms of Reference (the remit of the committee)
4. Sub-committees or sub-groups
5. Committees or groups to which the committee reports. It may be helpful to draft an organogram to display this, such as in the example below.
6. Frequency of meetings
7. Date of last revision

Faculty Committees

• The Terms of Reference for the Faculty’s committees.

As an example of good practice, view the Terms of Reference for the Humanities Postgraduate Research Committee.

Example organogram showing reporting lines:

As a guide, business should be ordered and organised as follows, but this can be agreed and adapted as appropriate by the committee Chair and Secretary.

1. The date, time and place of the meeting.
2. Membership, including welcome to new members or attendees.
3. Apologies (the names of the attendees who could not be present at the meeting).
4. Confirmation of minutes of the previous meeting.
5. Consideration of matters arising from these minutes and review of action list
6. The main agenda items for discussion. For many committees this may include:

     a. Unreserved Business

          i. Chair's report
          ii. Student business
          iii. Items requiring resolution by the committee
          iv. Items for approval without discussion
          v. Reports from sub-committees or from members
          vi. Receipt of minutes of sub-committees

     b. Other matters for information only. Usually a ‘starred item’ by adding an asterisk* to the item
         (but can be unstarred if requested of the Secretary / Chair in advance of  the meeting).

     c. Any other business

7. The date and time of the next meeting

     a. Reserved business (see below)

For less formal meetings, such as weekly team get-togethers, the agenda may simply provide a list of the main agenda items.

Creating main agenda items

Following the suggestions outlined below will help you to prepare main agenda items effectively.

• Prioritise your agenda. The most important points should be addressed at the start of the meeting, with more time allocated to them than to lower-priority issues. These should be addressed towards the end of the meeting.
• Establish how much time is available for the meeting and then allocate a period of time in which to address each agenda point. Doing this will help to ensure that all the necessary issues are addressed in the time available.
• For each agenda point, clarify what exactly will be discussed, and how it will be addressed. For example, ‘brainstorm ideas for new business generation’ would be a more helpful agenda point than ‘new business ideas’.
• Before finalising the agenda, it is a good idea to invite the members to contribute items to the agenda. This will ensure that everything is covered and help attendees feel more involved and engaged with the meeting.
• The agenda and any other relevant documentation should be circulated among all attendees and any other interested parties at an appropriate point in advance of the meeting, usually a week before.This will provide others with the chance to read the papers, reflect on the agenda items and prepare effectively for the meeting.
• It is good practice to bring a spare copy of the agenda and papers with you, in case anyone forgets to print their own copies.

Informed by ‘Top Tips for Using Agendas and Minutes’ on the Staff Learning and Development Unit’s ‘Learning and Development Toolkit’.

Example agenda template

The University of Manchester

Faculty of Humanities Postgraduate Research Committee

A meeting of the above Committee will be held on [DATE], [TIME], [VENUE]

For any queries, please contact [Email]

Agenda 

Unreserved business

 [1] The coversheet for any papers should outline the purpose of the discussion.

Reserved business

Circulation

• List names of members
• List names of colleagues to whom papers should be sent for information

What should be on a cover sheet for the meeting. 

1. Title of paper submitted:
2. Author:
3. Intended recipient(s) (please delete/add meeting title as appropriate)

• DAG
• SMT
• HPRC

4. Date of meeting:
5. Purpose of document (please delete as appropriate):

• For information
• For discussion and/or feedback
• For endorsement before onward transmission to SMT or HPRC
• For decision
• For approval
• *Policy document – (i) draft for discussion/consultation;
• *Policy document - (ii) final version for approval and implementation
• Private and Confidential

6.  Please outline the key points for discussion, and specify the desired outcome of the paper being presented at the meeting.
7.  Communication of outcomes and next steps:

• To whom should decisions made at the meeting be communicated? (Eg the author of the paper, another committee...)
• Who else should be notified of the decisions made, and by whom?
• When will the decisions be shared?

8.  For policy documents only (Delete this section if not appropriate)

For (i) draft policy documents, please indicate method of consultation – eg via AD committees, via HPRC, etc;

For (ii) final version policy documents for approval and implementation, please include the following information:

Depending on the nature of the meeting, the minutes should capture some, or all of the following aspects: 

• the date, time and venue of the meeting;
• the name of the person leading the meeting (Chair);
• the names of all the attendees (and full names, with initials, using initials for action points);
• agenda topics covered;
• definition of problems, issues or challenges discussed;
• the alternatives/solutions presented in the meeting;
• details of any decisions made;
• the agreed action points, the person(s) responsible for delivering them, and the timescales and/or deadlines identified;
• the date and time of the next meeting.

The format for your minutes should be consistent and ideally you should be working from one template (see appendix E for a suggested template).

Taking effective minutes

Following these suggestions will help you, or an appointed attendee, to take minutes effectively during a meeting.

• Minutes can be taken in a variety of ways. Using pen and paper, typing straight into a laptop or hand-held device, and recording the meeting using a dictaphone are all valid methods of minute-taking (you may wish to inform the attendees if using the latter). As long as it doesn’t disrupt the meeting, the Secretary should be allowed to use the method that works best for them.
• If you are new to the committee, familiarise yourself with previous minutes so you are aware of the acronyms, areas under discussion and action points. At the first meeting ask everyone to introduce themselves and draw a table plan so you can remember who is who.
• If you are not sure of a point that has been agreed, do not be afraid to ask for clarification during the meeting.
• Using the agenda, you may wish to start drafting an initial outline of the minutes in advance of the meeting. This can save valuable time during the meeting, allowing you to record information and participate in the meeting (if appropriate) more readily.
• Minutes should capture the key discussion points and outcomes of the meeting, rather than a word-for-word transcript of it.
• Do not summarise reports that have been circulated with the meeting, even if the author has summarised for the benefit of the committee attendees. Simply state that the paper was noted by the Committee and note any action points arising from the discussion.

Useful Phrases

• The paper/report was noted.
• The (name of the guest) briefed the committee
• The Committee members discussed the item and concluded….
• A decision was delayed until the next meeting

• While it is acceptable to identify individuals where they are acting in their professional capacity such as presenting a report or other scheduled item, it is not recommended to identify individual participants together with their opinions. If it is necessary to note the opinions have a sub-heading ‘Noted’ and bullet the points beneath.
• It is good practice to write the minutes up within 24 hours of the meeting. The minute-taker is likely to find it easier to reflect the content of the meeting accurately when it is still fresh in their mind.
• Information in the minutes should be presented clearly and concisely; bullet points, headings and lists can all be useful ways of doing this.
• The wording of the minutes must be simple, precise and easy to read. Use plain English and avoid flowery language and keep your sentences short and to the point. Grammar should be past tense in the third person e.g. Donald Duck agreed to consult with undergraduate students and report back to the next meeting.
• The draft minutes should be sent to the chair to check for accuracy. They should be marked as ‘unconfirmed’ until they are approved at the next meeting, at which point they can be marked as ‘confirmed’.
• Establish the most appropriate way for sharing the finalised minutes with the attendees and other interested parties. Depending on how it has been agreed that the minutes will be shared, you may wish to send them via email, add to Sharepoint, or post to the intranet.

Informed by ‘Top Tips for Using Agendas and Minutes’ on the Staff Learning and Development Unit’s ‘Learning and Development Toolkit’.

The University of Manchester

Faculty of Humanities – XXXX Committee

(Un)confirmed minutes of the meeting held on [Date] [Example template]

Present:

Apologies for absence:

• GDPR – Key Policies and Resources
• Records Retention Schedule
• Freedom of Information Policy
• SLDU Learning & Development Toolkit: Top Tips for Using Agendas and Minutes
• SLDU Minutes, Meetings and Agendas Training Course

AD External Relations - Associate Dean External Relations

AHRC - Arts & Humanities Research Council

AHRC DTP - Arts & Humanities Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership 

AHRC NWCDTP - Arts & Humanities Research Council North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership

AVP (Environmental Sustainability) - Associate Vice President (Environmental Sustainability)

BWPI - Brookes World Poverty Institute

CMIST - Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research

CNW - Centre for New Writing

CoDE - Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity

CPD - Continuing Professional Development

DAG - Dean’s Advisory Group

E&D - Equality & Diversity

ERA - European Research Area

ESID - Effective States and Inclusive Development research centre

ESRC DTC - Economic and Social Research Council Doctoral Training Centre

ESRC - Economic and Social Research Council

EU - European Union

FairWRC - Fairness at Work Research Centre

FBAs - Fellows of the British Academy

FLT - Faculty Leadership Team

FOIA - Freedom of Information Act

FP - EU’s Framework Programmes for Research

GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation

GRAs - Graduate Research Assistants

GTAs - Graduate Teaching Assistants

HCRI - Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute

HE - Higher education

HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England

HEFCE T income - Higher Education Funding Council for England Teaching income

HESC - Humanities Employability Sub-Committee

HKFUMHong - Kong Foundation for The University of Manchester

HPRC Humanities Policy and Resources Committee

HR - Human Resources

HTLC - Humanities Teaching and Learning Committee

ICP - Institute for Cultural Practices

IMG - Intake Management Group

KPI - Key Performance Indicator

LPN - Low Participation Neighbourhood

MAP - Manchester Access Programme

MICRA - Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing

MIoIR - Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (formerly PREST)

MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses

N8 - The N8 Research Partnership is a collaboration of the eight most research intensive universities in the North of England: Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York.

NAFUM - North American Foundation for The University of Manchester

NSS - National Student Survey

NS-SEC - National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (groups 4-7)

NWC - North West Consortium

NWDTC - North West Doctoral Training College

PAG - Portfolio Advisory Group

PASC - Programme Approval Sub-committee

P&DR - Performance & Development Review

PDRs - Performance & Development Reviews

PG - Postgraduate

PGR - Postgraduate Research

PGT - Postgraduate Taught

PhDs - Doctors of Philosophy

PSS - Professional Support Services

RAE - Research Assessment Exercise [replaced by REF]

RBESS - Research and Business Engagement Support Services

RCUK - Research Councils UK

REF - Research Excellence Framework [replaced RAE]

RoRFA - Review of Research Finance and Administration

SCI - Sustainable Consumption Institute

Shanghai Jiao Tong - world rankings

SMT - Senior Management Team

SSRs - Student Staff Ratio

STDU - Staff Training & Development Unit (Now SLD or Staff L&D – Staff Learning and Development)

UG - Undergraduate