BC.0.5 Faith and Student Life Committee

Eastern Mennonite University
Board of Trustees
Faith and Student Life Committee Charter

Purpose
On behalf of the EMU Board of Trustees, the Faith and Student Life Committee reviews all curricular and co-curricular aspects of the university in light of their impact on student development and engagement. The Committee provides advice and counsel to the vice president for student life. The Committee aims to foster student programs that embody Anabaptist values to educate the whole person in and outside the classroom to become engaged participants in our community of learning, thereby enhancing the intellectual, social-emotional, physical and spiritual development for all EMU students. The Committee supports and enhances EMU's focus on student learning with particular attention to the challenges and opportunities for improving faith formation and student life for undergraduates.

Committee Membership
The Faith and Student Life Committee will consist of at least five trustees. The vice president for student life & dean of students will serve as staff and primary liaison to the committee. The administrative assistant to the vice president or a designee serves as recording secretary for the committee.

Primary Governance Role
The Faith and Student Life Committee shall:

1. Ensure that the best interests of students are at the center of board considerations and decisions.
2. Educate themselves and board colleagues about student characteristics and the services in place to support them and their education.
3. Promote and support institutional efforts to create a learning community and climate that is focused on student engagement and success both inside and outside the classroom
4. Monitor information from periodic departmental reviews.
5. Ensure that the student life budget reflects the university's mission and priorities.
6. Ensure that student life personnel and policies comply with state and federal requirements, align with EMU's institutional priorities, and are applied systematically and equitably across the university.
7. Ensure that the institution assesses and reports the effectiveness of its co-curricular student life programs on a regular basis.

Committee Responsibilities
The Faith and Student Life Committee shall:

1. Regularly review pertinent data and other information to monitor student life programs.
2. Review student life policies and, as appropriate, propose new or revised policies to the full board.
3. Review and recommend faith statements of tenure-track faculty appointments, head coaches, and administrative appointments at the B-Level or higher.
4. Review on an annual basis assessment data from the EMU core curriculum courses.
5. Review significant findings and recommendations received from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and other specialized accreditation agencies, ensuring that any recommendations and requirements are addressed appropriately within designated timeframes.
6. Review student life key performance indicators and annual reports.
7. Serve as diligent and knowledgeable board members regarding student life programs and policies.
8. Bring to the attention of the full board any matters regarding the university's student life programs or administrators, which require guidance or direction from the board.
9. Consider and advise on any matter referred to the committee by the board, the university president, the provost, or the vice president for student life.
10. Perform other governance oversight as assigned by the board.

Review of Charter
This charter shall be reviewed and reassessed periodically by the Faith and Student Life Committee, and any proposed changes shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Approved and Adopted, June 2015