C&I Dept. Mtg. Survey Results "Symptoms of Internal Meeting Problems." Oakley, B., Felder, R., Brent, R. & Elhajj, I. (2004).

Meetings generally begin 5-15 minutes late.

Members often arrive late, leave early, or never even show up for the meetings.

No agenda exists—members simply have a vague notion of what they want to accomplish.

One or two members monopolize discussion throughout the meeting.

Members have not read the assignment, performed the necessary background research, or done what they were expected to do. Consequently, individuals are poorly prepared for the meeting.

With words or by appearance, some members clearly convey that they would rather be elsewhere.

Members constantly interrupt each other or talk in pairs without listening to the individual who has the floor.

Issues never get resolved, only put on the back burner until next time.

No follow-up action plan is developed. Members are confused with regard to what the next step is and who is responsible for performing it.

The same individual or individuals end up doing the majority of the work. The meetings run on and on and on with little to show for the time spent on them.

Assignments are not completed on time or are completed poorly.

Other (please specify) I think we are doing much better. Even though the meetings are hectic, I think it is a "sign of the times." I struggle with the time frames but know they are helpful to keep us on track. I am satisfied with the way we are going and appreciate the faculty who attend each meeting and contribute to our department. I the question should be seperated as I have different answer for each question. "The same individual or individuals end up doing the majority of the work. The meetings run on and on and on with little to show for the time spent on them." The first questions, I think somtimes. The second question, I think hardly ever. For me the big problem is domination by two members. Some faculty almost never come to meetings. Faculty needs to focus The chair has a good grasp on issues of time management, group dynamics, and organization.

Other (please specify) While a vast improvement over the circus like chaos of department meetings in the past, discussions at most C&I meetings are monopolized by two or three faculty who seem to feel that their voices are the most important. Most of the time these two or three faculty seem to have no single (or logical) position on any issue and often argue all sides of the issue before relinquishing the floor to anyone else. The most distressing thing to me is that these same two or three faculty seem much more interesting in preserving the status quo in which they do little to contribute to the departmental or college rather than working to become part of a cohesive team of scholar practitioners. I don't think people realize that they need to come to a meeting prepared to work. There are often a lot of opinions, but without the background reading. I'm not sure that people realize that the meetings are more than information and decisions, but also rely on our activity - it's inconsistent. There is still a lot of kibutzing amongst members during the meetings... this is evident from the telephone connection which suffers from proximity to this at times.

Other (please specify) I don't think issues are pervasive, but there is room for improvement. However, the real issue is that there is simply too much work for too few people, and meetings, assignments, etc. are just more things added to an already too long list of tasks (that include all the other things on our position descriptions). So of course people talk a lot about their key issues, or try to multi task, or don't volunteer enough.... One faculty member in particular,, has a clear disregard for responsibility as a member by completely ignoring all meetings. And, is not even paid for 1/2 time, is FULL time, not like two other true part-timers that do participate. must be required to attend and participate--no excuses, or can find another home and we can use the money to get a reliable, participatory faculty member. In addition, typically participates in meetings from home (if participates) and not with the general group in. Both faculty are members and have a clear professional and ethical responsibility for all aspects of their job, including participation in all aspects of department meetings.