Twelve work groups have been appointed to take up primary roles in studying the issues and options involved in the combination of the College of Education and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The charge and proposed timeline of each work group are available on the document titled, Work Groups: Planning Committee on Combination of College of Education and College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The work groups will report to the Planning Committee, and the Planning Committee will use the work groups findings and recommendations in preparing a proposal on the combination of the two colleges.

Role of convenor. One or two members of the Planning Committee have been assigned to take on the role of the convenor of the workgroups, to plan meeting times and places, to coordinate the collection of materials and information, and to coordinate the activity of the work group with the work of the Planning Committee. The Convenor will also see that minutes are kept and prepared for the Planning Committee web page.

Meetings. The workgroups should attempt to meet at least once before the end of the semester. These meetings will allow the workgroup to discuss its agenda, to plan for information that needs to be collected, and to produce a preliminary document for the Planning Committee. Given the size of the work groups, it is unlikely that all members will be able to attend all meetings, so group members will need to communicate by e-mail or phone with those unable to attend.

Preliminary report. Several groups have been asked to produce a preliminary report by mid-May. This is a progress report in which the group should identify key issues it will need to study and a list of information and documents it will need to do its work. This preliminary report will not contain recommendations about the combination. These progress reports will allow the Planning Committee to coordinate the best use of planning time over the summer.

Out-of-town members. Several volunteers for the work groups do not live in Ames; some are within driving distance and some are not. When at all possible, meeting times should be arranged to accommodate the needs of these off-campus volunteers. It is possible to include members through conference calls (the Provosts Office or the Deans Offices can assist in setting these up.)

Meetings during the summer months. It will be necessary for some of the workgroups to meet over the summer months to be able to complete their work by early fall, including the College Name and Mission group, the Deans Offices: Organization and Operations group, the Student Services group, and the Technology group. Other groups may also decide that summer meetings will be necessary. This scheduling will not be a hardship for those faculty on appointment during the summer or for those staff on twelve-month appointments. Those not on appointment during summer will be invited to take part as their schedules allow, with the understanding that work will need to take place during the summer.

Communication. The work groups should take minutes and prepare them for posting on the web page after they are approved by the group; they should be sent to Julie Tarbox at jtarbox@iastate.edu. Other materials collected and generated by the work group may be appropriate for posting also. The work groups are also encouraged to find other ways to communicate with interested parties during the review process. Some work groups may hold their own forums or brown bags to gather specialized input and feedback on specific ideas. Formal or informal surveys may be appropriate in other cases. Any open meetings or surveys should be coordinated through the Planning Committee if possible, or through facilitator Susan Carlson, to ensure that work groups are not duplicating activities.