HGB Secretary Manual








INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your new position of your Hall Governing Board (HGB). The duties of each position are defined differently depending on which hall you are in and the way the position is set up in the hall’s constitution. This manual is an overview of how most halls defines their HGB secretary’s position. You will find yourself doing everything from writing minutes and agendas, to putting together an end-of-the-semester hall newsletter. As an executive board member of your hall, you also share some duties with everyone on the board. These will usually consist of putting on evens and helping out on big projects. Your job is to always try to improve your halls community life, and by doing so, make your residence hall not just a dormitory, but also a home.

I urge you, if you ever have any questions or concerns, to contact any of the Executives in Residents on Campus (ROC). We are formally trained for our positions and know how to help in situations that you face as a secretary on an HGB.

EXPECTATIONS

There are several duties that the secretary has. The three main duties of the secretary are writing agendas fir every meeting, writing the minutes for every meeting, and completing Hall Events Reports.

Other duties can include many different clerical activities. This can be anything from thank-you letters, to requests, to notices. The Residents on Campus Executives strongly encourage you to put together a newsletter for your hall.

Another very important thing to remember is that attendance should be taken at every meeting. It will be an official document of who in the executive board misses meetings. If there is an attendance policy in your hall’s constitution, all absences should be reported to your HGB president at each meeting.

Agenda

The important thing to remember about the minutes is keeping the order consistent. Agendas should be posted as soon as possible so members of the board can make changes. For your convenience I have copied the agenda from a ROC General Assembly meeting that took place in 2003.

Here is how most agendas are ordered:

  • Roll Call
  • Approval of last week's minutes
  • Guest Speakers
  • HGB Executive Members' Reports
  • Committee Reports
  • Items being discussed again
  • Items being brought up for the first time

As I mentioned in the introduction, this manual is just a guide. Some HGB’s do things differently. If you see a discrepancy, always go with what your hall constitution says. Please Note- Some hall practices that differ from ROCs practices might be breaking ROCs constitution. ROC overrules all of the halls constitutions.

Minutes

Writing the minutes is the most important aspect as your job as a secretary. Minutes of a meeting are the official record of that meeting. The minutes are an abbreviated transcript of what happened at the meeting. If any mistakes are found, they should be corrected before they are approved at the next meeting.

Here are some simple guidelines for writing minutes and what to include. I have also included a sample of Roc’s minutes from a meeting that took place in 2003.

  • Include the date and time of the meeting
  • Mention all group members and guest who are present at the meeting
  • Indicate who called the meeting to order and at what time he/she did so
  • Indicate if the minutes from the previous meeting were approved
  • Take notes that summarize all information discussed during the meeting. Include all suggestions given in a brainstorming activity, any motions, which made the motion, and the results of the motion, etc.
  • Include all committee reports
  • Include all guest speakers
  • List any business from the previous meeting that will be discussed at future meetings
  • List the time the meeting was adjourned
  • Distribute the minutes to all HGB members, and when approved for the whole hall to view

Taken from CAL POLY HOUSING, 1996

Hall Event Reports

Hall Event Reports (HER) are similar to Program Reports at other universities. HERs describes an event or program, which has already taken place. If filled out correctly, these HERs explain planning, implementation, and evaluation of your program. HERs are an excellent aid for the future leaders in you HGB when planning events. Please be detailed and prompt in writing your reports. It only takes a few minutes at the end of a program, and it makes a big difference in the future.

To get to the Hall Event Report form you must log onto First Class. Then go to the following locations (one inside the next):

Campus Connection -> Student Organizations-> Residents Halls -> ROC -> ROC Forms -> Hall Event Reports Survey

If you need help using the survey, please contact Scott Reynolds, President of ROC, on First Class. You can also contact the ROC office by calling 581-1760 or stopping by our office, which is located at 161 Memorial Union.

Newsletter

A hall newsletter is a very good idea for every hall to have. It brings the hall together, lets people know what is going on in the hall, and lets them know what their HGB has done throughout the semester.

There are many things that can be put into the newsletter. Some ideas include: how the halls intramural team is doing in different sports, a calendar of what is happening next semester (if the fall edition), what the HGB has done and what the Residence life staff has done. There could also be an article on a student that has achieved something great in the hall. There are endless options of what you could put in the newsletter, so be creative.

One thing that you should explain from the beginning is that it is not the secretary’s job to write the entire newsletter. Other members of the exec board, Residence Life Staff, or other residents of your hall should submit newsletter articles. The secretary’s job is to edit the newsletter, to decide what gets put in it, and to design the layout. A newsletter is a group effort, everyone needs to contribute.

Bulletin Boards

Each hall should have a designated bulletin board for the HGB. It is your job, as secretary, to keep it maintained. Like the newsletter, the possibilities pf what to post on the bulletin board are endless, and you should be creative so that it catches people’s eye. Some “Must Haves” include:

  • Next week’s agenda
  • Last week’s minutes
  • Calendar of events that the HGB is putting on

Some other options include...

  • Pictures and profiles of all the HGB members
  • Resident of the Month
  • Thank you letters given to the HGB or RD

MAINE LINE - BE CREATIVE!