Special Interest Groups

(download the PDF with Guidelines for Emeritus College SIGs)

1. Emeritus College SIGs operate independently, in accordance with these guidelines.
To ensure transparency, all proposals for new SIGs are brought to Council for information by the Coordinator of the Activities Cluster. In exceptional circumstances, Council may decide that a SIG cannot operate as part of the Emeritus College.   

2. Establishing a new Special Interest Group:

• an individual or group that is interested in establishing a new SIG should:
  • contact the Coordinator of the Activities Cluster and the Event Coordinator at the EC – this can be one group email.
  • provide both Coordinators with the same brief description of the proposed group in theform of a short article for publication in the EC newsletter.
  • submit the short article to the newsletter for publication after Council has been informed of the proposal.
• the Activities Cluster Coordinator will:
  • inform Council of the proposed group.
  • work with those interested to schedule a first meeting to gauge interest in the group, facilitate the meeting, and identify someone who is willing to act as the convenor for the group.

3. The EC Event Coordinator will provide the following support as needed:

• ask UBC IT to set up a mailing list for the group on the UBC list serve, which the SIG will maintain for contacting its members.
• add a section to the Emeritus College website, which the SIG uses to outline its aims and objectives, describe its activities, and provide other information to its members and the broader EC community (and with the SIG convenor, maintains the currency of this section asnecessary).
• help with coordinating planned activities to avoid unnecessary conflicts, and add events to the College event scheduling system.
• help with finding and booking space at UBC for SIG activities, when required.

4. Approved SIGs are expected to:

• be visible and transparent to all College members by maintaining current information on the College website, responding to queries, publishing occasional articles on their activities in the newsletter, and using other appropriate avenues for communication.
• offer membership to all members of the College and their partners, subject to reasonable constraints on the size of the group, based on its typical activities.

5. Group convenors should:

• act as the contact person for those wishing to join the group.
• maintain a record of group membership in a UBC mailing list, adding member names and email addresses as required, and use this list to communicate with members.
• maintain a count of the number of attendees at each group meeting and provide this number to the Events Coordinator following each meeting.
• prior to scheduling meetings – confirm with Events Coordinator there are no other meetings occurring on proposed date. Whenever possible, select event dates and times to avoid conflict with other College events.
• provide the Events Coordinator with up-to-date information on group meetings in order to keep the College website current and avoid booking conflicts.
• as appropriate, make sure group members understand possible liability issues and that they are responsible for deciding whether to take part in any group activities.

6. The Coordinator of the Activities Cluster will:

• maintain contact with the convenor of each group, and help resolve any issues that arise, if asked.
• meet with convenors as a group at least annually.
• report to Council on group activities as appropriate.
• make any necessary recommendations to Council relating to groups.