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WriteAway Advisory Committee Terms of Reference
Approved: May 2018
WriteAway is a consortium of post-secondary institutions that work together to provide online writing assistance to students.
Mandate & Responsibilities
The WriteAway Advisory Committee provides direction for the WriteAway service. Reporting to the BC ELN Steering Committee, the Advisory Committee focuses on policy and planning, and directs operations for WriteAway.
The WriteAway Advisory Committee:
- Represents the interests and concerns of participating institutions.
- Brings forward issues and suggests initiatives.
- Sets the yearly WriteAway Service Support and Software Support Fees.
- Carries out research, or other work, in support of WriteAway, and offers recommendations.
- Communicates regularly with colleagues on WriteAway aims and progress.
Membership
Advisory Committee membership is representative of post-secondary institutions participating in WriteAway.
The WriteAway Advisory Committee consists of:
- 3 Representatives from the Two-Year Constituency Group (Colleges);
- 3 Representatives from the Four-Year Constituency Group (Universities and Institutes);
- A Chair (with no Constituency Group affiliation);
- 2-3 Members-at-large;
- BC ELN Executive Director (non-voting);
- WriteAway Coordinator (non-voting).
Constituency Groups may be added or changed as WriteAway membership evolves.
Constituency Group Representatives are elected from WriteAway senior level administrators. Senior level administrators are designated by their institutions upon joining WriteAway.
The two Constituency Groups will select, from their respective groups, three Representatives to serve as members of the Advisory Committee.
Committee member terms commence on October 1 and are for two years, renewable for one additional 2-year term.
The terms of appointment are staggered to allow for continuity. At the end of their term, each outgoing Representative will attempt to find someone from their Constituency Group to replace them.
The Committee also consists of 2 to 3 Members-at-large. Members-at-large ensure that WriteAway coordinators and/or service providers are represented on the Committee. Members-at-large:
- are selected by the Advisory Committee;
- have appropriate experience in composition and rhetoric, writing pedagogy, and/or online learning;
- reflect the different institutions participating in WriteAway.
The Administrative Centre will send a call for Member-at-large nominees to the WriteAway listservs. The list of nominees will be brought to the Advisory Committee, which will choose successful candidates by consensus decision, with the goal of balancing representation from different institutional types, sizes and geographies.
Member-at-large terms commence October 1. Terms are renewable for one additional two-year term. Terms of appointment are staggered to allow for continuity.
Chair
The WriteAway Advisory Committee Chair is elected for a one-year term, with the possibility of a one-year renewal, from among Advisory Committee Representatives. The Chair has no affiliation with a Constituency Group; upon election of a Chair, a new Representative for the Chair's Constituency Group will be elected by members of that Group.
The Chair runs Advisory Committee meetings and works closely with the WriteAway Administrative Centre to plan meetings, set agendas, and ensure that minutes are taken and distributed. The Chair acts as the liaison between the Advisory Committee and the BC ELN Steering Committee. The Chair, or designate, will be invited to participate in BC ELN Steering Committee meetings as appropriate.
The outgoing Chair will attempt to find at least one individual to stand as Chair but any other Representative on the Advisory Committee is welcome to stand for nomination.
Procedures
The Advisory Committee meets every three months, or as required. Meetings are held either in-person or via teleconference.
If a Representative of a Constituency Group is unable to attend a meeting, they should appoint an alternate from their Constituency Group to attend and act in their place.
Minutes are recorded by the WriteAway Administrative Centre and approval occurs by email. Meeting minutes are publicly available on the BC ELN website.
All committee correspondence will be distributed on the writeaway-advisory@bceln.ca distribution list.
Subcommittees
From time to time the Advisory Committee may delegate oversight of an initiative to a subcommittee under terms of reference set by the Advisory Committee. The subcommittee may make recommendations to the Advisory Committee on policy or operational matters.
The subcommittee will dissolve once their mandate has been achieved or by decision of the Advisory Committee.
Terms of Reference Review
These terms of reference will be reviewed every 3 years or as needed.