SLP Terms of Reference
STUDENT LIFE PROFESSIONALS NETWORK EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE – JUNE 2012
DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE – JUNE 2012
Student Life Professionals Network
The Student Life Professionals (SLP) group is a network of U of T staff dedicated to improving the student experience on all three campuses. The SLP network is, first and foremost, a communication vehicle dedicated to building a community among those working in student life through communication and collaboration.
The network seeks to foster a postsecondary environment that provides opportunities for a diverse array of students to develop their leadership potential, integrate academic and extra-curricular facets of the student experience, and to create a culture of respect, transparency, openness and partnership between the university and its students. It is built upon a premise of assessing and enhancing learning outcomes associated with student involvement.
To this end, the group meets regularly throughout the year, including one full day retreat, in order to create a forum for discussion of student life issues. SLP work strives to facilitate commitment to the importance of co-curricular learning and student life opportunities across the university. The network also explores issues that will enhance the credibility, resources and expertise of student life professionals at the University of Toronto.
SLP Network Sub-Groups
Each fall at the first meeting of the SLP network, there is an opportunity for network participants to identify key areas of interest and to meet as sub-groups on these areas of interest to share information, possibly conduct collaborative work, identify common issues, etc.
These groups identify a point person to help manage the meetings of the group based on the consensus of the group in the first meeting (meet monthly, meet once per term, meet on a particular project or initiative as needed, etc.).
Sub-groups may gather on a number of areas: mentorship between student life professionals, leadership, issues for commuter students, health and wellness, equity issues or initiatives, issues for international students, etc. The areas of focus and/or nature of the group discussions are managed by the groups as they wish to function. The SLP network fosters the opportunity for the groups to connect initially, but the groups will function to serve the ends that the members wish to see realized and are not necessarily directly tied to the function and structure of the SLP network overall.
Should the group wish to raise an issue or share information with the broader SLP network, the point person will approach the Chair to request time on the upcoming SLP meeting agenda. The Chair will consult with the Executive Committee as appropriate regarding group discussion topics shared with the full SLP network.
At the final SLP Network meeting of the year, the point person from each group will provide a brief reflection on the activities of the group for the year.
SLP Executive Committee
The SLP Executive Committee exists to support the function and operations of the overall SLP Network. The committee is responsible for:
- Planning and implementing two meetings per term
- Establishing ad hoc committees that plan one annual retreat and one social gathering for the network – one member of the executive must be identified to act as liaison to each of these committees
- Conducting an evaluation of SLP meetings and activities annually to inform future planning
SLP network meetings include one or two focus topics for presentation and discussion, as well as opportunities for networking between participants and sharing of information on key emerging issues. One meeting per term is held at either UTM or UTSC.
Meetings are typically held in late September, mid November, late January and late March/early April. The retreat is typically held in December and an end of year social gathering is held in late May/early June. All meetings and retreat topics are based on gathering input on areas of interest from the larger network.
SLP Chair and Secretary
Each year a new Chair is elected to be the primary point of contact for the SLP network overall and to coordinate and document the meetings of the executive committee and the network. A staff member from Student Life is also appointed annually as Secretary to support the chair in this role.
Executive Committee Membership
The executive committee is comprised of a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 12 staff members.
Any member of the SLP network may express interest to participate as a member of the executive, but must demonstrate a commitment to attend executive team planning meetings, which usually range between 2-4 per year. Planning meetings for the ongoing SLP network are typically held in late spring and summer and inform the planning for the retreat and the social, which are conducted the fall and early spring respectively.
Requests to participate as a member of the executive are received on a first-come basis between May and June. Once the key areas of representation noted above are filled, additional members are welcomed to the group maximum of 12. The term of membership on the executive committee is one year and can be renewed for an additional year.
Members of the executive committee should include representation from core areas of student life programming, which may correspond with the focus of some of the sub-groups, but the point person of the sub-group is not required to serve on the SLP executive. These areas can include, but are not limited to orientation/transition, retention and success, residence life, grad life, health and wellness, leadership, recreation, arts and culture, spirituality, equity, mentorship etc. It is also strongly recommended that the executive include representation from UTM and UTSC.
The Chair must also commit to serving as past Chair in the following year. This structure exists to facilitate both transition and succession among the executive committee.