By-laws Article 5.1 Committees of the Board

Standing Committees were created in the reorganization of the Society’s Governance in 2012, from a Board of Directors that previously included members from different Canadian regions, to one that included Chairs of task-based Standing Committees.  In alignment with the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, the membership elects all Directors and the Board, once constituted, may or may not invite Directors to Chair Standing Committees of the Society.

The Nominations Committee coordinates the election of Directors at the Annual General Meeting of the Society for a term of three years. If a vacancy occurs, the Board may fill the vacancy with a member for the Society who completes the remaining term of the vacated position or hold an election for the new Director at the next Annual General Meeting of the Society.

The composition of any Standing Committee as struck by the Board, unless stated otherwise and subject to the approval of the Board, consists of the Chair of that Standing Committee, other members of the Society, and other experts as required and who are appointed by the Chair through consultation with the Vice-Chair of the Board. Subject to approval of the Board, the Chair of a Standing Committee may appoint a co-chair and advises the Board.

In addition to interim reports that the Board may request, Standing Committee Chairs are required to prepare, and submit to the Secretary, for approval of the Board and inclusion in the STLHE Annual Report, a Standing Committee Annual Report for the past calendar year (January 1 – December 31) no later than January 31 following the year being reported.

All Chairs, Awards Coordinators, and Standing Committee members contribute their time without remuneration and, subject to prior approval, out-of-pocket expenses may be reimbursed within the constraints of budget availability and according to STLHE financial guidelines and Policy 8 – Travel.

All Standing Committees are both struck and dissolved at the discretion of the Board.

1. Awards Standing Committee

The Awards of the Society include: The Council of Fellows National Teaching Fellowship, The Council of Fellows National Student Fellowship, Alan Blizzard Award, D2L Award, Christopher Knapper Awards for Lifetime Achievement and Volunteer of the Year, and the Pat Rogers Poster Prize.

The Chair of the Standing Committee for Awards is primarily responsible for carrying out the Society’s mandate for “recognition and rewarding of outstanding contributions to teaching excellence and educational leadership in post-secondary education” by overseeing and managing of STLHE Awards. The Awards Chair and/or Award Coordinators, in consultation with the Treasurer, prepares the budgets for the awards for approval by the Board.

The Standing Committee for Awards consists of the Chair of the Committee; the Coordinators of each of the Council of Fellows National Teaching Fellowship Award Sub-Committee, the Council of Fellows National Student Fellowship Award Sub-Committee, the Alan Blizzard Award Sub-Committee, the Christopher Knapper Award Sub-Committee and any other Sub-Committees as may be established by the Board; and other members of the Society appointed by the Chair of the Standing Committee for Awards as approved by the Board through consultation with the Vice-Chair of the Board. The Chair, subject to the approval of the Board, makes recommendations for the Coordinator of each Award Sub-Committee.

General responsibilities of the Chair, and the Standing Committee are to prepare and revise job descriptions for recruiting suitable and committed awards coordinators who are selected on recommendation of the Chair and with the approval of the Board. With the exception of the Council of Fellows National Student Fellowship and the Council of Fellows National Teaching Fellowship, the Chair provides ongoing support to help the coordinators manage all aspects of the award including: setting criteria, call for nominations, adjudication, and announcement of successful nominations. With the assistance of the Awards Chair, the Executive of the Council of Fellows National Teaching Fellows provides advice and guidance from the Council on all aspects of the Council of Fellows National Student Fellowship and the Council of Fellows National Teaching Fellowships Programs.

The Chair of the Standing Committee for Awards plans for the celebration at the Awards Ceremony at the Annual Conference of the Society and works closely with the Partnerships Chair with regard to the sponsorship of the awards.

2. Partnerships Standing Committee

The general responsibilities of the Chair and the Standing Committee are, along with any other duties authorized by the Board, to consult with the Chair of the Board, Vice-Chair of the Board and the Board itself to maintain, and when appropriate, develop new partnerships with external organizations that are mutually beneficial to both organizations by setting short and long term goals for each partnership. These partnerships are formed by negotiating letters of agreement (LOA) for partnerships not involving financial considerations and memoranda of understanding (MOU) for partnerships with financial considerations and payments to the Society. The Chair is typically the first contact for these groups. The Chair is also responsible for the implementation of “Policy 7 – Sponsorships, Affiliations, and Partnerships” which involves updating, subject to approval from the Board, the criteria, conditions and benefits of being a Society Sponsor. Within the Society, this Chair is responsible for the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Teaching and Learning Networks (TLNs) of the Society.

3. Publications Standing Committee

The publications of the Society include: Green Guides, Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching (CELT), and the Canadian Journal on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CJSoTL). With the exception of the Green Guides, revenue from the sale of publications offsets publication costs and furthers the Society’s goals and objectives; revenue from Green Guides is split equally between the Western University Bookstore, Teaching and Learning Services at Western University, and the Society.

The general responsibilities of the Chair and the Standing Committee are to further the vision and goals of STLHE through the Society’s publications and any other duties and publications authorized by the Board. These other publications may include briefing papers, position papers, conference proceedings and academic journals.

In undertaking these responsibilities, the Chair works closely with the Editorial Boards of CJSoTL and CELT, and the Annual Conference organizing team. The Chair is the Senior Editor of the Green Guides and, with Green Guide Editorial team, sets standards and priorities, calls for proposals, receives and coordinates peer review of submissions, and oversees their publication and publicity.

4. Bilingualism Advocacy Standing Committee

The general responsibilities of the Chair and the Standing Committee are, along with any other duties authorized by the Board, to promote and facilitate the participation of Francophone Post-Secondary Educators from across Canada in the activities of the Society through a network of Francophone Colleagues. The Chair is the Society’s ambassador at learning events/activities in Francophone venues across Canada and, where possible, oversees quality in existing bilingual communications of the Society and spearheads projects that would further the Society’s Francophone presence. The Chair and members of the Standing Committee are responsible for raising the profile of the Francophone members within the Society and the bilingual profile of the Society to the Canadian Post-secondary community.

5. Student Advocacy Standing Committee

The general responsibilities of the Chair and the Standing Committee, are, along with any other duties authorized by the Board, to represent the voices of students enrolled in Canadian post-secondary institutions by endeavouring to ensure support for them and their involvement with the Society. The Chair brings to the Board the ideas and concerns of students regarding their learning experiences in higher education and works with the Board to ensure that students comprise an active group within the pursuits and decisions of the STLHE.

6. Creation of Standing Committees

Occasionally the Board may be required to create additional standing committees to examine an issue, or course of action, in more depth and detail. The composition of such Standing Committee is at the discretion of the Board.

This policy was revised by the Board at its November 12, 2021 meeting.

This policy was approved at by the Board on June 20, 2016.
This policy was approved at the December 10, 2015 Board meeting with a unanimous vote.
2.05 was updated by the Board on February 19, 2016
This policy was revised on April 27, 2015 to accommodate changes associated with new constituencies of CSEC and SoTL Canada. Minor updates were made to match new bylaws – June 10, 2016