New representative information

Congratulations and welcome to the Staff Employees' Council!

Time is a precious commodity and your service on this important committee is much appreciated.

The Staff Employees' Council is an elected representative body that works year-round on staff concerns as part of the University's decision-making process. Staff Council members serve on a variety of council and university committees to help improve communication between administration and staff and to improve various aspects of working life at the University of Nevada. Members of the committee are elected by their fellow employees as a representative of their group. The term for a member is three years. The Staff Employees' Council meets every third Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.

Council goals and purposes

The goal of the Staff Employees' Council is to promote a positive and collaborative work environment. As taken from the SEC by-laws the council has several purposes:

• The Council's purpose is to serve in an advisory capacity to the President of the University, hereafter referred to as the President, concerning all matters about classified personnel and employee relations
• The Council shall provide a means of communication for disseminating information to classified employees of the University
• The Council shall allow classified employees to have a role in the governance of the University concerning matters pertaining to classified personnel and employee relations

Representative responsibilities

One of the first things new members should do is read the SEC bylaws. The bylaws will give you a sense of the purpose of the SEC and will also give insight into the committees.

Representatives are expected to attend the monthly staff council meetings. Representatives unable to attend should send a proxy in their stead. Always notify the secretary of the council if you will be unable to attend a regularly scheduled meeting.

As a newly elected member make yourself known to your group. Seek out the opinions of your constituents and ask for feedback. Inform your constituents of the topics to be discussed at the SEC meetings. If they are interested let them know they are always invited to attend meetings as guests.

Report to your constituents the activities of the council. Make them aware that the minutes of the meeting and other communications are available on the SEC website. You may consider other ways to distribute information to your group such as:

• Send a summary by email with a link to the website for official minutes.
• Post highlights of the meeting with a suggestion to call you for more information.
• Establish an SEC corner on your community bulletin board to post information distributed at the SEC meetings.
• Discuss council business at your department meetings.
• Promote the SEC website as a valuable information resource.

All SEC members are expected to serve as a representative on at least two committees with one being an SEC committee. Committee members are responsible for the flow of information back to their constituents and to the SEC committee at large. Committee work is vital to the ongoing program of the SEC Council. Refer to the SEC website and the bylaws for specific committee information.

Inform your supervisor of your election to the SEC. Always keep your supervisor fully informed of SEC activities during work hours. As stated in the SEC bylaws, the UAM, and approved by the President of The University, council members are allowed a reasonable period (eight hours per month) to attend SEC council meetings, and functions and to conduct council business. A leave slip is required for this time. On the leave slip check the "other" box on the leave request form and note "Administrative leave for SEC meeting" in the remarks section.