Responsibilities of the Student Committee

  • Give committee members appreciation for their work.
  • Give committee members support, and enable them to do all they want on the committee. Perform the tasks they don’t want to do.
  • Inform college students about technical communication, the Houston chapter, and STC by:

—Recruiting members, such as the Employment and Membership managers, to staff booths at job fairs, for example, the Hispanic Forum, Texas Job Fair, and University of Houston College of Technology fair

—Writing letters to technical communication professors and sending them chapter and STC brochures

—Speaking to student writing classes and organizations

—Sending issues of the newsletter and STC journal to college career centers

—Distributing STC scholarship information to students

—Distributing corporate internship information to students

  • Keep informed about university and community college job fairs and make sure STC is represented.
  • Work with the Corporate Sponsor manager to keep informed about available corporate internships.
  • Help recruit judges for the Science Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH) Student Writing competition sponsored by Engineering Council of Houston (ECH) and University of Houston-Downtown.
  • Attend the SEFH Awards ceremony and help make the chapter’s scholarship presentation to the winners. Make sure that STC Houston is listed in the printed Awards program. Coordinate with the Recognition manager to make sure the winner names are published in the newsletter.
  • After the International High School Student Writing judging, find out if any Houston members are winners and coordinate with the Recognition manager to make sure the information is published in the newsletter.
  • Hold periodic program meetings or presentations for students. Ask chapter leaders to be speakers.
  • Advise the President and Recognition manager on nominees for the Jay R. Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching Technical Communication. Help the Recognition Committee complete the nomination forms.
  • Inform students and the chapter about the Austin chapter’s Student Writing Competition for college students by writing a newsletter article. The Houston chapter usually contributes money for the awards. Find out if any Houston members are winners and coordinate with the Recognition manager to make sure the information is published in the newsletter.
  • Write articles for the newsletter about committee projects, Houston chapter student scholarship fund, student internships, and student news. Send copies to the Publicity manager.
  • Recruit student members for other chapter committees as needed.
  • Prepare a budget of estimated income and expenses for the First Board meeting. If you expect some expenses to be donated, include them in the budget with an estimated cost. (Keep an extra copy of the budget to pass on to your successor.)
  • Give merchants a copy of the Texas Sales Tax Exemption Certificate when buying committee supplies. (We don’t pay sales tax as a nonprofit organization.) Complete the chapter’s Request for Payment/Deposit Form for purchases and deposits and give it to the treasurer.
  • Inform the Board if you believe your expenses may exceed your approved budget.
  • Attend each Board meeting, if possible. If you cannot attend, submit a report to the President beforehand on your committees activities.
  • Report on your committees actual expenses and income and on your committee’s accomplishments at the June Board meeting.

Resources Needed and Meeting Availability

  • Ability to attend as many regular program meetings as possible.
  • Ability to attend the first Board meetings during budget discussion and approval.
  • Ability to attend Board meetings whenever the agenda includes topics relating to your committee.
  • Two or three committee members (try to get at least one student on the committee).
  • Ability to make 5 to 10 telephone calls a week during working hours.
  • Ability to spend 10 to 20 hours a month on committee activities.
  • Access to fax machine and/or email.

Deliverables

Deliverable / Due Date / Receiver
Preliminary budget / Aug Board meeting / Administrative Council
Final budget / Sept Board meeting / Treasurer, V-P, President
Committee status report / every Board meeting / Administrative Council
Newsletter articles / Periodically / Newsletter manager
Information for Jay Gould Award nomination / February / President, Recognition manager
Information about Sigma Tau Chi nomination / February / President, Recognition manager
Information about local High School Science Fair and Engineering winners / March / President, Recognition manager
Information about Ken Caird Student Houston winner / March / President, Recognition manager
STC membership information and chapter brochures / Periodically / Student writing classes, organizations, professors, and career centers
STC scholarship information / Periodically / Student writing classes, organizations, professors, and career centers
Corporate sponsorship information / Periodically / Student writing classes, organizations, professors, and career centers
Information about local High School Science Fair and Engineering competition and about job fairs / As needed / Administrative Council

Receivables

Receivable / Due Date / Sender
Newsletters / Every month after printing / Newsletter manager
STC brochures / As needed / Society
Membership applications / As needed / Society
Chapter brochures / As needed / Publicity manager
Corporate internships / As needed / Corporate Sponsor manager

July 19981