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Working and Open Meetings Convention committee meetings are of two types: working meetings and open meetings. Because of their normal three-year tenure, NCTE committees usually have only three convention opportunities to meet face-to-face. Working meetings are, therefore, most important, especially when a committee needs to get organized, assign tasks, plan a manuscript, or argue through divergent points of view. Although other members of the Council are not encouraged to attend working meetings, they may attend as nonparticipating auditors.
On the other hand, members of the Council are encouraged to attend open meetings. Chairs often identify potential committee members during open sessions at conventions and may request their appointment in postconvention reports. Committees often use part of their meeting time for working sessions and part for open sessions. All committee meetings, the time of the meetings, and the type (working, open, or combination) are listed in the convention program.
When meetings of committees are held, these kinds of items most often appear on the agenda: progress reports, needed decisions on activities and directions, clearer definitions of tasks, division of labor, and next steps. The chair plans the agenda, often with advice from committee members and liaison officers. The chair is urged to distribute the agenda a month before the meeting with background statements and attachments for appropriate agenda items.
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