House Cabinet - Secretary

General Position Responsibilities

**Please note that these are suggestions, and not requirements

A House Secretary should know:

  1. How to write and format minutes.
  2. The roster of house residents (for attendance purposes).
  3. The house constitution and by-laws.
  4. The Department of Residence posting policy.
  5. How to establish a house e-mail list.

Secretary FAQs:

How should I format the minutes?
There are many ways to format minutes.
  • More structured minutes follow the agenda exactly and report on each item that was discussed.
  • Less structured minutes include only officer reports, old business, and new business.
  • Loosely structured minutes report only the main points from the meeting (often in bullets).
Good minutes are:
  • Brief - the residents should be able to read them quickly. Keep them to a page or two.
  • Concise - there's no need to record every word that was said. Summarize the main points.
  • Easy to read - use a good font, as well as bullets or numbers to make it flow well.
Use boldfaced or italicized words to indicate that a task needs to be done, or follow-up is necessary.
An effective way to format the minutes and keep them brief is to use two headings: "decisions made" and "tasks that need to be accomplished."
Get creative with the minutes. Use colored paper, clip art, different fonts, etc. Make them fun and interesting to read. At the same time, keep a clean copy for house records.
What are some effective methods of distributing the minutes?
It goes without saying - a great place to post things is in the bathroom. Try putting them in every stall, if your house has community bathrooms.
Make copies for each room.
Set up an e-mail distribution list and send them out electronically
How do I set up a house e-mail list?

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