Secretary Skills

A guide for secretaries, executive officers
and note-takers at meetings of all kinds.

WHAT ARE MEETINGS FOR?

What is a meeting? What is a committee? Like most universities, Flinders has many committees and these are an essential element of the University's management process.

* Why do Organisations have Committees?
* Flinders University's Committees
* Committee Terms of Reference
* Legal Liabilities
* The Characteristics of Committees and Working Parties

THE ROLE OF SECRETARY/NOTE-TAKER AT MEETINGS

* A brief outline of the role of the secretary or executive officer or note-taker
* The roles of Chairperson,
* The Roles of Members of a Committee
o How committee terms of reference are applied
o Meeting procedure and standing orders
o The importance of two way communication between minute secretary/note-taker and the Chairperson
* An introduction to agenda preparation
* Managing a committee

TAKING MINUTES

* Taking notes and minutes
* Record keeping and filing of minutes
o Central Records Office - Policy and Procedure for Archiving Minutes
o Policy regarding Contents and Access of Student Files
* University Style for minutes/agendas, including language and formatting
o Writing reports
o Examples of Style and format of minutes (Word Document)
These examples are downloadable and course participants are invited to work on them for practice
* Follow-up action