Major reform actions as well as the ongoing execution, review, and modifications of programs should be documented. Reform is oftentimes a cyclical phenomenon; each committee should have access to the work of its predecessors. While each committee may reach different conclusions, important insights can be gained from the records of earlier debates that reveal the issues considered and the conclusions formed at the time. Correspondence of the chair and deans may document why major projects or studies were undertaken and what they hoped to achieve. The records of sub-committees assigned to carry out such projects or studies provide greater detail of the process and the debate.
Documentation of the continuing development of Harvard programs has significant administrative value. For example, administrators and faculty on a curriculum committee may need to determine when particular courses were approved and why. These decisions are documented in the records of the curriculum committee itself, as well as in the records of other committees with overlapping areas of responsibility.
Minutes of departmental meetings and correspondence files of committee chairs and individual members record the process by which ideas and decisions are formulated and approved.
Minutes should be written in sufficient detail so that somebody not present at the meeting will still able to fully understand the transaction of business which took place.
- Give a precise and unambiguous account of the proceedings, recording all the necessary information, including date of the meeting and names of attendees.
- Stick to the facts. Provide details of the actions taken and the rationale for them.
- Be objective. Do not offer subjective comments or personal opinions.
- Do not quote individuals directly. Individual contributions should only be attributed when an individual expressly requests it and the committee agrees that the contribution should be recorded in the minutes.
- Do not record the discussion verbatim. A concise and objective statement of the discussion and the decision reached is adequate. On occasion, an individual's exact words may need to be recorded with any quoted statement recorded as an exact transcription.
Some committees may also maintain action lists of items that require action, the committee member responsible for the action and the anticipated date of completion. These lists may be attached to the minutes as confirmation of action items outstanding to ensure those responsible have a follow up list to refer to.
Typically the information recorded for each item discussed at a meeting will include:
- Background information about the item
- Key issues raised
- Conclusions or recommendations made
- A resolution (if required) that details the decision(s) made, what was agreed, responsibilities, any outstanding or further action required and any deadlines or key dates for the action to be completed
The committee chair should attest the minutes as true and accurate before they are circulated to all members of the committee. All committee members should be given the opportunity to request amendments to the minutes if any errors are noted.
All amendments must be requested at the following meeting of the committee and those amendments must be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting. Minutes are never approved until after the meeting following the meeting they describe, and all members of the committee agree that they are correct and accurate.
When minutes are approved, the word "approved" and the secretary's/administrator's initials and date of the approval are written next to the signature of the secretary/administrator.
Approved minutes, agendas and documents reviewed by the committee should be filed together and retained in accordance with the requirements of the University's records management policy. Records must be kept safely for the appropriate retention period, after which they should be transferred to an archives or destroyed.
Note: Committee records may be transferred to an archives only after their administrative use by the committee has ceased.
