EMU Board of Trustees

Board Consent Agenda Policy

A consent agenda may be presented by the Board chair at the beginning of a board meeting. Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any Board member. Items not removed may be adopted by general consent without discussion. Removed items may be taken up either immediately after the consent agenda or placed later on the agenda at the discretion of the Board chair. Board members are accountable for due diligence of all consent agenda items.

Board consent agenda may include:

• Board meeting minutes;
• Board Committee reports and meeting minutes, except items from minutes that are on the list below of "not to be included" in consent agenda;
• Staff and advisory reports (e.g., President, Faculty Senate, Student Government Association);
• Board of Trustee appointments;
• Board Officers appointments;
• Board Committee chair appointments;
• Faculty appointments, tenure, promotions, emeritus/a status and sabbaticals;
• Updates or background reports provided for information only;
• Annual IRS Form 990;
• Final approval of proposals or reports that trustees have been dealing with or some time and are familiar with the implications;
• Board policies (e.g., Investment Policy, Sexual Misconduct Policy); provided they have had prior reading and discussion at board meetings:
• Correspondence requiring no action;
• Dates of future meetings

Board agenda that will not be included in consent agenda:

• Approval of president appointment and performance reviews;
• Approval of EMU's mission, vision, core values and strategic plan;
• Approval of annual operating budget, and tuition and fees schedule;
• Approval of annual Audit report;
• Approval of Campus Master Plan;
• Approval of Comprehensive Campaign plans;
• Approval of new and revised academic program recommendations;
• Approval of changes in EMU's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

The Board Consent Agenda Policy and Procedure will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees every three years.
EMU Board of Trustees

Approved: Board of Trustees, May 5, 2018

Revised: Board of Trustees, April 2020

Board Consent Agenda Procedure

Procedure

1. The Board Chairperson, in consultation with the President, determines which items will be placed on the consent agenda. The consent items will be listed as part of, or as an attachment, to the meeting agenda.
2. The full agenda, including consent items will be disseminated prior to the Board meeting along with any documentation or back up information so that board members can do their due diligence before voting.
3. As the first item of business, the Chairperson will ask board members if anyone wishes to remove any item under the consent portion of the agenda to be discussed. They can request to discuss the item, question the item or register a vote against the item. If an item is removed from the consent portion, the Chairperson will place it on the regular meeting agenda.
4. The Chairperson will asks for a motion to accept the consent agenda.
5. When preparing the minutes, the Board Secretary will include the full text of the resolutions, reports or recommendations that were adopted as part of the consent agenda.

Handling Consent Agenda Items That Require Clarification or Discussion

At times, board members will read the Board materials related to the Consent Agenda and will have a question they would like answered before voting. 

Items for Clarification or Questions

For items that require clarification, or for which a Board member has a question, clarification should be requested before the meeting. An item should not be pulled from the consent agenda only to clarify a question. That sort of information should happen before the meeting. Questions will be referred to the Board chair who will respond, or ask someone else to respond. 

In that way, the person being asked the question has time to gather relevant information. In addition, that clarification can be sent to all board members, so everyone has the same information before the meeting. 

Items for Discussion

If there is an item which a Board member believes requires further discussion, then a request is made during the Board meeting to pull that one item from the Consent Agenda, and to add it to the regular agenda as an item to be discussed. The remainder of the Consent Agenda items are voted on and approved, and only that single item is held out for discussion.