4.4 Implementation Procedures for University Units: Extraordinary (Search and Review) Committees

Definitation

Extraordinary committees are those committees constituted for a specific task, such as search committees and committees reviewing individuals at executive-level positions. Records of search and personnel-related review committees are official university records.

Statement

Documents created by search and review committees are crucial to understanding the history of the academic and administrative mission of the university. They provide insight into the evaluation of past direction and the future course of units or programs. They are important reference documents for future administrative activities.

The deliberations and correspondence of these committees document frank and candid expressions of scholarly and professional judgments. The illumination of these judgments, which make the records highly sensitive, contribute to their value as historical documentation of the mission of the university.

Responsibility of the Committee Generating the Records

  1. The activities of extraordinary committees should be documented and the documentation should be transferred by the appointing authority in charge of the committees to the Bentley Historical Library's University Archives and Records Program (UARP) at the completion of the committees' tasks.
  2. Chairs of search and review committees are encouraged to invite a member of the University Archives and Records Program staff to meet with the committees at an early stage to discuss the creation, maintenance, archival retention, and disposition of the committees' records.
  3. All documents created or assembled by the search committee -- one copy only -- should be transferred to the archives at the end of the search. The archives will hold the complete record for six years in compliance with affirmative action regulations. At the end of six years the documents will be processed, with retained records added to the archival holdings of the unit conducting the search. Search records are restricted for thirty years from the date of creation.
  4. The following records should be transferred to the university archives:
    1. mission statement or charge to the committee;
    2. agendas;
    3. minutes;
    4. committee roster;
    5. substantive correspondence;
    6. position descriptions and job postings;
    7. interview questions and selection criteria;
    8. evaluative statements which document the selection process;
    9. short list of candidates as recommended to the hiring authority including candidates' credentials;
    10. reports by the committee, including final report;
    11. news releases and public statements;
    12. final budget information;
    13. electronic records if used for committee work (See section 5.1 for guidelines for managing and preserving records in digital form).

UARP Records Policy and Procedures Manual - January 1993, 1st ed.,
September 2002, 2nd ed.