SIUC Common Meeting Time Recommendation

Executive Summary
A Common Meeting Time (CMT) is an organization’s reserved block of
time that allows for meetings/events on a standard day and time throughout
the year. Valuable time and resources are wasted each semester (ex.
faculty, secretaries, and students) by repeatedly analyzing schedules to find
a common time to meet. Regardless of this outcome, there still is a loss of
attendance and communication at the college and university level because
all departments don’t share the same meeting time.

The purpose of this report is to recommend or dismiss the adoption of

a CMT for SIUC. This policywould allow for maximum participation of faculty
and staff at various unit level meetings and would be very beneficial for
improving communication. Using survey research, I have found that CMTs
are a widely acceptedpractice at many universities. I am recommending that
SIUC implement a CMT on a small scale, beginning with the Fall 2011
Semester in the College of Engineering.

Introduction
This report will analyze the need for a Common Meeting Time (CMT) in
our university. Findings from survey research of other collegiate institutions
will be presented to better understand the use of CMTs. Finally, a
recommended course of action will be presented.

There are several reasonsa CMT is needed. Currently a majority of unit

meetings are preceded by an analysis of faculty schedules at the department
level. Despite best efforts, there remains a loss of attendance and
communication at the college and university level because all of the
department’s meeting times are not synchronized. Additionally, there is a
negative impact on student organizations and student work groups who
struggle to find their own meeting time that doesn’t conflict with work,
homework and family responsibilities. Having a CMT policy improves
communication by enabling maximum participation of faculty and staff at
various unit level meetings.

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Findings
To understand the acceptance and use of CMTs by universities, a
single questionsurvey was emailed to 529 recipients at 51 Association of
Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) accredited
institutions which we feel represents a fair cross sample*See Table 1. They
weresimply asked if they had a CMT. A total of 46/51institutions responded
or 90 percent. Of those responding, 27/46 or 58 percentindicated having a
CMT. A follow up surveywas then distributed to the individuals that currently
use a CMT to define what day and time it takes place.The surveydata
identified the most popular time of day to hold a CMT is approximately Noon-
1:00p.m. on Tuesday & Thursday(as of current data). *See Figure 1&2

Conclusions
The data indicates that roughly 60 percent of respondents currently
have a CMT.Of those, 41 percent stated that their CMT is held twice a week
on Tuesday & Thursday from noon to 1:00pm. Using the data to illustrate
the acceptance of common meeting times in academic institutions, I have
found the benefits of a CMT include but are not limited to,attaining increased
information sharing as a result of better meeting attendance, and reduction
of wasted time byeliminating redundant schedule planning.

LIMITATIONS

Some limitations that should be taken into account include loss of

classroom utilization, the possibility of “double booking” meetings, and not
completely eliminating the need for separate meeting times.The limitation
associated with the loss of classroom utilization would be most prevalent
with classrooms or labs that have the greatest demand. Also, without
proper planning there is the possibility of conflicting unit meetings. The
implementation of a CMT is not a panacea; there will still be a need for
supplemental meetings, however, these problems can be effectively
eradicated through proper planning.

Recommendations
I recommend the formation of a committee to decide the most
appropriate plan for the implementation of a CMT on a small scale, starting

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with the 2011 Fall Semesterin the College of Engineering. Then, mid-
semester analyzesthe result of the CMT. If the results are positive, I
recommend that the entire university adopt in the policy. Implementing on a
college by college basis, ifthe committee is unsatisfied with the results I
suggest they make improvements in the existing policy establishedand
decide on a deadline for results. If satisfactory resultshave still not beenmet
by the deadline, I recommend canceling the program.

Bibliography / sources
URLs

https://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/home/tabid/163/Default.aspx
http://www.winthrop.edu/acadschedule/default.aspx?id=6570
http://www.oswego.edu/news/events/college_hour/

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Appendices

Figure 1

Figure 2

Appendices Continued

ATMAE Accredited Institutions

# Name of Name of Contact Contact
Institution
1 Example College Charles Dickens dickens@yahoo.co
m
2
3
4

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Table 1

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