BFC Policy Proposals

Proposal to create, post, and archive records (e.g., reports, notes, or minutes) of meetings of BFC standing committees

submitted to the BFC Executive Committee February 2023

Here are proposed changes to BFC policy BL-ACA-B10 “Bloomington Faculty Council Committees”, with suggested additions in bold italics and suggested deletions crossed out:  

“2. Most committees should continually communicate with the campus community and accept feedback about what they are working on, including about specific issues and points of disagreement discussed at each meeting. Therefore, records (e.g., reports, notes, or minutes) for each committee meeting, save for meetings of the Budgetary Affairs, Nomination, and Executive committees, should be prepared within two weeks of each meeting and posted on the Bloomington Faculty Council website after approval at the subsequent meeting. After two academic years, such reports, notes, and minutes should be moved to an accessible University archive and retained there indefinitely.“

Notes about the above proposed changes:  

  • The rationale for saying “reports, notes, or minutes” rather than just “minutes” is that some people use the term “minutes” to refer just to a perfunctory, bare-bones sort of document that tends to be quite limited in what it communicates.  
  • The idea of moving reports, notes, and minutes to an archive after two years of being posted on the BFC website parallels what the BFC bylaws say should happen to records of BFC meetings < https://vpfaa.indiana.edu/policies/bl-aca-d9-bloomington-faculty-bylaws/index.html >: “The verbatim transcripts and the original recordings for the current and previous year will be accessible on the BFC website. Earlier transcripts and recordings will be available through University Archives.“
  • The idea of archiving information about meetings of standing committees is not new; indeed, the BFC bylaws say this: “The records and files of BFC committees, while not subject to these rules, are an important resource for the efficient administration of Council activities and a potentially valuable historical record. Chairpersons are encouraged to pass on BFC committee records and files to their successors at the conclusion of the Council year and/or to offer them to the University Archives at an appropriate time.” (Wouldn’t it indeed be useful for the BFC leadership and others to have a mechanism to learn in some detail what each committee has worked on in previous years and what challenges were encountered?)