By Monday, October 27, the results of the PAG/TAG elections will begin to be communicated to the full list of nominees. This was the first time in 17 years of PAG/TAG selections that the vote was opened to all Institution and System members. As HEUG President, Steve Hahn indicated in his video and email announcement:
‘…as HEUG has grown in both numbers and geographic diversity the need for open access and transparency requires that the process of gaining membership in these groups move from appointed to elected memberships.’
I would like to commend Stan Jakubik (HEUG Past President and Chair, Nominations and Elections Committee) on the work he and his committee did both in developing the rules surrounding the elections, but also for being available to answer questions and guide the rulings for points in the process either not considered, or that needed further interpretation.
Making a change like this after all of these years is not easy. Fortunately a large number of individuals from PAG/TAG members, Board Members, members from other committees and individuals from the general HEUG membership had opportunities to provide feedback into the changes. While this valuable input provided us with a sound process for this year that seems to have resulted in the diverse, global representation the HEUG is seeking, there will be opportunities to improve upon the process in the coming year.
With the help of committee member and HEUG Board Member Buddy Combs (Kentucky Community and Technical College System) a list has begun to be compiled with regards to areas that should be discussed moving forward. Currently the list includes the need for additional discussion on:
- The ability to vote for more than one person in each advisory group
- Membership qualification for members to vote (deadline for membership dues to be paid)
- Membership qualification for individuals to become candidates for the election process
- Qualifications for members to vote for specific advisory groups (deadline for enrollment to list serve)
- Guidelines for setting recommended qualifications for nominees (not established to one person or organization)
- Communications for the overall process (both by HEUG and each advisory group)
- Communications to candidates to update their bio on HEUG
- Clarification on the event of a tie
- Clarification on the event an advisory group does not have enough candidates to fill all the vacant seats.
While many of these areas were addressed in the process this year, the short window of time to communicate the important elements of a complex process occasionally caused confusion. With more opportunity next year to first continue to solicit feedback and refine the process, and second to communicate the process to members over a lengthier time period I am confident the process will be well understood.
The Nominations and Elections Committee will continue to solicit input from the membership in the coming months in an effort to add to the list above. Feel free to send any feedback or input directly to HEUG Sr. Membership Manager, Brittany Sarvis, (bsarvis@heug.org) and she will make sure the committee receives the information.
Once again, this has been a very well thought out, transparent process, that has resulted in an excellent outcome in terms of new PAG membership. Feel free to help refine the process by offering your suggestions!