what is the committee on student life?
The Committee on Student Life (CSL) collaborates with the administration to imbue in student life the principles, ideals, and values characteristic of the University. Committee activities broadly relate to policy and regulatory oversight, judicial action, and improvement of the student experience. Examples of committee responsibilities include: review and approval of constitutional changes to the student government, review and approval of changes to student governmental procedures and documents, oversight of student groups including Greek organizations, inquiry hearings related to misconduct within or by campus groups, adjudication of appeals by students who have been disciplined by the university, and administration of the Wendell Phillips Award.
The committee comprises seven or more faculty members, up to four elected undergraduate students, and one graduate student designated by the Graduate Student Council. Ex officio members without vote include the Dean of Student Affairs or designee, the Director of Community Standards, the Director of the Office of Campus Life, and the University Chaplain. All full-time faculty members are eligible to serve on this committee. Undergraduate student members are elected annually, and the graduate student member is designated annually. Faculty members are appointed to a five-year term.
The Committee meets twice monthly on Friday mornings. Most meetings last 90 minutes, though judicial cases often require additional time. Regular attendance is important to committee function since quorum and voting rules necessitate separate counts of faculty and student members. The Committee completes annual training with the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs in September. New members cannot participate in judicial actions without prior training. As part of the process for choosing the Wendell Phillips Award recipient, committee members are expected to review applications and to attend the presentations of the finalists. The Committee is jointly chaired by a student and a faculty member, and much of the Committee’s work is handled by these co-chairs. This committee is open to all full-time voting-eligible faculty members, including professors of the practice, lecturers, and senior lecturers.