Charter
THE STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC) CHARTER
Staff Advisory Council Statement of Purpose
Macalester’s Staff Advisory Council (SAC) is an elected body with proportional representation based on reporting lines. SAC has three central purposes: to advise on college matters that are relevant to staff, to advocate for the interests of staff as a whole, and to build community among staff. SAC advises on policies that affect staff. SAC facilitates a path for staff to have representation on college-wide committees that are relevant to the staff experience, and serves as one channel of communication between staff and the senior leadership of the college. SAC invites collaboration across teams and levels throughout the Macalester community to engage in activities that contribute to positive staff experiences at Macalester.
Composition of SAC
Officers
Officer roles are: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary.
Officers may only hold one role at a time, unless on an interim basis that lasts less than 6 months.
Officer election process: During the first SAC meeting of the academic year, officers are elected for the following academic year by the SAC members present. Officers are nominated, nominees accept or turn down the nomination, nominees are voted on through a private ballot, and nominees must be approved by a quorum as defined in Section 3 of this charter.
Chair
Term: 1 year, not eligible for consecutive terms, chair term starts and ends with each fiscal year
Responsibilities
- Provides updates to the Board of Trustees
- Runs SAC meetings
- Provides onboarding for the incoming Vice Chair
- Meets at least monthly with Senior Leadership Team (SLT) liaison
- Member of the President’s Advisory Committee
- Meets regularly with other campus partners (eg. Faculty Advisory Council, Macalester College Student Government, etc.) as necessary to advocate for staff
- Has access to the SAC website
- Monitors and addresses emails to the SAC email address.
Vice Chair
Term: 1 year, after 1 year moves into Chair role; not eligible for consecutive terms, cannot have served a term as Chair in the past academic year, vice chair term starts at the beginning of the academic year
Responsibilities
- Works in partnership with Chair
- Supports the work of the Chair
- Serves in Chair’s absence
- Meets regularly with other campus partners as necessary to advocate for staff
- Facilitates agenda/collect items
- Manages permissions (shared Google drive and website)
- Has access to website
- Monitors and addresses emails to the SAC email address in the Chair’s absence
- Serves as the interim primary officer the summer between their role as Vice Chair and Chair; onboards new SAC members during the summer between their role as Vice Chair and Chair
Treasurer
Term: 1 year, limit 2 consecutive terms; treasurer term starts at the beginning of the academic year
Responsibilities
- Provides regular reports to/for SAC spending
- Works with members to facilitate spending/FOAPAL/reconciliation
- Leads annual budgeting process
- Makes budget request to College
- Serves on the Task Force on Budget (TFOB) committee as SAC representative
- Serves on Board of Trustees Finance Committee as SAC representative
- Manages SAC budget, advises on what SAC can afford for certain activities.
Secretary
Term: 1 year, limit 2 consecutive terms; secretary term starts at the beginning of the academic year
Responsibilities
- Takes internal-facing notes during the meeting
- Drafts community-facing notes for SAC approval
- Routes these notes for approval
- Posts community-facing notes to web once approved
- Updates website as needed
- Serves as an ex-officio member of the Events and Communications Committee.
Membership Terms
3-year elected terms, limit to 2 consecutive terms, unlimited lifetime terms (interim representatives can run for the open position and serve the full three years), terms begin on the first day of the new fiscal year, members have the right to resign their positions at any time. Active members are elected members of SAC whose terms have begun but not yet expired.
Primary Duties of SAC
Represents the interest of their line to the best of their understanding and ability
Seeks out and shares information with staff in their area in order to understand and advocate for the needs of staff
Shows up at SAC meetings as a representative of their line
Shares concerns that affect staff in their line
Remains reasonably available to constituents as a resource and conduit for information and questions.
Members are expected to actively participate by attending all scheduled meetings and demonstrating respect for fellow members and SAC’s work. Consistent, courteous, and productive engagement are essential to SAC’s success.
Quorum & Decision Making
SAC uses the Democratic Rules of Order as a framework for discussion and decision making. Quorum is required for matters of official business. Quorum is 50% of active voting membership + 1 (eg. if there are 13 members of SAC, 7 are required for quorum). Examples of official business include, but are not limited to:
- Internal elections: office roles, interim appointments, etc.
- Financial: spending funds, allocating annual budget, etc.
- Partnerships and initiatives: agreeing to participate in partnerships, initiatives, co-sponsorships of events on campus, etc.
- Communication: messaging and agenda for mass communications such as remarks to the board remarks, newsletters, website, etc.
- Policy changes: internal policy changes to SAC policies, procedures, guidelines, etc.