Higher education establishments need a robust system of governance to ensure the smooth running of the organisation, now and into the future. Within this structure, you might find a Council, Senate and executive board, each with their own committees and sub-groups.
With each committee charged with overseeing and advising on key areas of the university or college’s operations and strategy, it is essential that meetings are efficient and effective. You need to create the most fertile environment for a productive session that results in decisions and actions that make a tangible positive difference to the place of learning.
Behind every good meeting is a robust agenda, guiding the discussion to ensure members tackle the most pressing issues and are prepared for the necessary debate. However, 20% of respondents to iBabs’ State of Meeting Management survey said that they did not know the agenda before they entered a meeting. Without this ability to prepare properly, meetings can lose focus and fail to achieve their aims.
Meeting agenda, annual plan, board resolution and more templates to use in your meetings
This article focuses on how to create an effective committee meeting agenda for higher education organisations, providing a template to guide you towards a structure that leads to more productive meetings.
How to write a committee meeting agenda
Define your objectives
Before you can populate your agenda template, you need to consider what you want or need to achieve from the meeting. For the Audit and Risk Committee, the priority might be to review a recent external audit, for example. The Ethics committee might need to urgently develop a strategy to inform management decisions over a new ethical issue that has arisen.
By knowing where the meeting needs to go, you can work out your route towards that point. This will help you create items of business and key topics for discussion that will help you make decisions that lead to your overall goal.
Review previous minutes
The previous meeting minutes will help you develop the agenda for your next meeting. You will find any issues that you did not have time to cover or which were left unresolved for any other reason. If they are still relevant, you can add them into the agenda for the next meeting.
This process will also remind you of any issues discussed at the previous meeting and help you select the ones that require a follow-up the next time the committee convenes.
Consult with stakeholders
Your meeting attendees will also have their own ideas about what should be on the agenda. So make sure that you send out the meeting minutes to them in good time. This means it remains fresh in committee members’ minds and they can have their say over the accuracy or any other issues within the minutes. By opening this engagement with attendees, you can understand better which topics to carry over to the next meeting.
Cast the net further to find out what other stakeholders on campus feel about the issues at hand. The faculty may have input about how the matters affect them and be able to give insights into ways to solve issues. Administrators could also help you with the structure of the committee meeting, as could students too, depending on what the pressing matters are.
Set the order of business and allocate timings
Once you have agreed on your agenda items, create a running order based on their importance and relevance to the governance of the educational institution. Start with the most pressing matters to ensure that they are discussed at the meeting and leave the less important subjects to the end.
Allocate timings for each agenda item and be realistic about how long you really need to properly debate them. The weightier topics will require longer so that the meeting can hear a wide range of inputs on them.
Although the chair should try to keep the meeting to time, for a more efficient experience for all, sometimes the discussion will require additional time. This is why it is essential to front-load the meeting with the highest priority matters.
Confirm speakers
Many items discussed at committees in the tertiary education sector will require expert input from practitioners, who can provide their wealth of knowledge and experience to the committee to help them make better-informed decisions.
Consider who should present or lead discussions on each item, whether it is a member of the committee or an external party. Someone from the wider campus community may also be needed to inform the debate.
Include necessary documents
Add supporting materials to your agenda to help provide context and background to the items for discussion. This will enable your attendees to research the topics, hone their points of view and formulate any questions they would like to know the answers to before they enter the meeting room. The earlier the committee members can prepare, the more comprehensive the discussion will be, setting the stage for better decision-making.
Finalise, distribute and allow for adjustments
Once you have collected the items together, invited speakers and created supporting documents, you can finalise the agenda and send it to your committee members. Try to distribute it in good time so attendees can consume the details and prepare accordingly.
This also allows for collaboration and discussion between members, providing feedback on the agenda and suggestions for amendments. Be open to making these changes, based on input from stakeholders and with the agreement of the committee chair.
Meeting agenda, annual plan, board resolution and more templates to use in your meetings
Best practices to create a committee meeting agenda
| Best practice | Explanation |
| Avoid overlap | Structure the agenda so that each discussion point is distinct and doesn’t duplicate previous or upcoming items. This prevents the committee wasting time debating the same points multiple times. |
| Categorise discussion items | Create logical categories from your items of business to help attendees understand the area of focus, such as governance, finance, strategy and so on. |
| Cover the key issues | Build the agenda so that you cover all the high-priority items that warrant the attention of the committee, whether it needs discussion, decision-making or updates on progress. |
| Prioritise | Structure the meeting on the agenda so that the most urgent and important topics come first, maximising the effectiveness of the meeting. |
| Provide research materials | Arm your committee members with the documentation they need for researching the matters for discussion so that you create the right environment for a well-informed debate. |
Benefits of a well-structured committee meeting agenda
- It ensures the meeting stays focused, on-topic and productive, avoiding unnecessary discussion on topics that will not impact the governance of the university or college in any significant manner.
- It encourages participants to prepare fully for the meeting, as they have clear information about the topic and the necessary supporting materials to research the topic and formulate their thoughts and opinions.
- It improves the decision-making process and outcomes from meetings because you can be sure that the meeting is discussing matters that will make a difference and doing so in receipt of as much background information as possible.
- It reduces misunderstandings about the discussion topics and encourages meeting attendees to work together to find the best solution based on facts and research.
FAQ
What is a committee meeting agenda?
A committee meeting agenda is a structured outline of topics and discussions to be addressed during a committee meeting, ensuring all members are prepared before they enter the room.
How can I ensure all committee members are prepared for the meeting?
Distribute the agenda and relevant supporting documents in advance, clearly outlining expectations and key discussion points.
What’s the ideal length of a committee meeting agenda?
The agenda should be concise, but comprehensive. Ensure that you outline what the topic is for each item, who will present it, what the supporting materials are and how long the discussion should last. A rule of thumb is that five to ten topics will fit into a 60 to 90-minute meeting.
How do I prioritise topics when creating the agenda?
Arrange items based on urgency, importance and how important it is to make a decision in a timely manner. Address high-priority issues first to ensure you don’t have to rush critical discussions.
Conclusion
A higher education committee agenda is important for shaping meetings and ensuring they run smoothly in order to make the best decisions possible. Knowing what to add to the agenda is key to providing attendees with a document that aids their research and keeps them on track throughout the process. Using our template, you can ensure your meetings are productive and efficient.
With the help of iBabs’ meeting portal, you can create an agenda in minutes and distribute it directly to your attendees’ devices. From there, they can access all the materials they need, annotate documents and collaborate with colleagues to hone their approach to the important aspects of the meeting. Request a demo to find out how iBabs can help make higher education governance more intuitive and effective.
