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Writing Minutes

Minutes are the written record of a meeting. The document usually gives:

• date, time, and place of the meeting
• a list of those present
• apologies for absence for those not present
• approval of the previous meeting's minutes
• matters arising: a report on the discussion
of issues arising from the minutes of the
previous meeting
• for each item on the agenda, a record of the
principal points discussed and decisions
taken
• AOB (Any Other Business): a record of
any discussion of items not listed on the
agenda
• time, date, and place of the next meeting
• name of the person taking the minutes

In fact, there are two entirely separate documents created for a minuted meeting - the notes and
the minutes. Notes are usually written during the meeting by the minute-taker or secretary,
though sometimes, they are audio-recorded. They are then written up into minutes, filed for
future reference, and circulated to the meeting participants and other interested parties.

Minutes are important because they show:

• what was decided in the meeting

• what was achieved in the meeting
• what was agreed in terms of next steps (action items)

Without minutes, time is wasted trying to remember what was covered in the previous meeting.

To be effective, minutes must be:

• brief (a summary - not a word-for-word account)
• relevant (record important information, especially decisions and next steps}

The key stages for the minute-taker are:

before the meeting (preparing)
• read the agenda
• check with the chair of the
meeting if anything on the
agenda is not clear
during the meeting (taking
notes)
• listen
• summarise the discussion
• take notes of the decisions
and next steps
• use appropriate language,
especially vocabulary
• report what was said
after the meeting (writing up the
minutes)
• write u p a first draft from your
notes
• edit the first draft (focus on
content - brevity and relevance)
• ask the chair if any items are not
clear
• proof read the first draft (focus
on language - accuracy and tone)
• produce the final draft
• file the minutes for future
reference, and circulate them if
appropriate
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A form such as the one below can be used for taking notes before and during the
meeting. Here is a version of the form that you can use for your own note-taking.
Date: Present: Apologies for absence:
Time: Required follow-up after the meeting
Place: Person Timeframe/responsible
Agenda item Discussion Action(WHAT) Deadline
Matters arising: (WHO) (WHEN)

Committee for the Re-Organization of the Senate

April 1st, 2019

The committee met at 2:00 p.m. in 245 Patterson Office Tower with Chairperson Kent presiding and the
following members present: Falcone, Kent, Collins, Oliver and Samuels.

Minutes of the last meetings were approved.

Bernard Samuels presented a plan for reducing the student members of the Senate to 15. Some Committee
members expressed concern that the reduction might be too great in the College of Arts and Sciences, but
otherwise thought it was excellent. He is to take the proposal back to the Student association for its
modifications or approval and then return it to the Committee at the next meeting.

It was agreed to recommend that the ex-office members of the Senate would remain the same but that they
would become non-voting members.

Falcone raised the question of the length of term of Senators and the possibility of shorter terms in order to
involve more faculty in the senate. After more discussion, it was agreed to recommend a change in the
present rules.

Collins suggested that Committee chairpersons should have the privilege of requesting replacement of
Committee members for those who fail to attend. After discussion, it was agreed that nothing in the
present rules prevents a chairperson from asking the President of the Senate Council to add additional
members to the Committee. Therefore, no action was taken.

Falcone is to prepare a draft of the recommended Senate rules and have them ready for discussion at our
next meeting.

The next meeting date was set for Wednesday, April 17th, at 2:00 p.m. in room 245 of the Patterson Office
Tower.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:34 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

James D.Kent
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1-Read the minutes of the Committee of the Senate and find verbs that mean the following:

Suspended: …………………………… mentioned/brought up:…………………………….

Authorized/ ratified: …………………… Handed in:………………………………….

2-Fill in the table with information from the minutes:

Meeting date

Meeting time

Meeting place

Name of chairperson

Names of attending
persons

Items discussed

Decisions reached

Names of persons
making proposals

Given assignments

Names of the persons

who are to complete
the assignments

Closing time

Place of next meeting

Time of next meeting

Place of next meeting

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