The University uses:
formal minutes
records of discussion
action lists.
All meeting reports should:
show the date of the meeting, including the year
have a footer showing a file path.
Formal minutes are required for statutory committees (Council and its sub-committees). Minutes of other significant groups where detailed records of decisions are important (eg Divisional Boards) reflect those of Council. Council minutes should be used as the guideline for styles and conventions. Providing full formal minutes for other meetings is, in general, more time-consuming than is required by the importance of the meeting.
Records of discussion should contain dot points of main issues discussed. These should be listed under headings related to agenda items. Outcomes and actions are also noted.
Action lists are presented in an almost tabular format and show:
item
action
responsibility
date by which action to be completed.
Writers should also consult the circulated protocols for Academic Board. The report should:
include a heading (topic) in Bold
start with a statement of the purpose of the report or proposal (which will be in part repeated in the recommendation)
establish the background to the topic
outline issues and options.
The report must:
conclude with recommendations in standard format (see Academic Board protocols). The recommendations may be for further action or, simply, to note the report
be signed and dated.
Ideally papers to SMG should provide a background and context to the issue. This not only assists SMG members, but also makes issues much clearer for people who have to take action on items later. If outlining issues in-depth makes papers very lengthy it may be advisable to provide an initial executive summary page.
Papers to SMG should follow a similar format to papers to Council. They should conclude with a recommendation as above.
Preparation and planning time must allow time for an iterative process between the person preparing and the person delivering the speech. Speeches generally require a shorter, simpler sentence style than written papers.
Format and style should be determined in discussion with the speaker; issues include:
whether to prepare dot points from which the speaker improvises or expands
whether to prepare a speech in full – usually for more formal occasions
font size, line spacing, setting out
whom to acknowledge in the speech
cultural issues and translatability/interpretability/comprehensibility if the speech is to be delivered to a NESB audience.
All correspondence should include in its template the mail address, street address, phone number, fax number, email, and University logo.
Letters to be signed by members of the Senior Management Group should never include the phrases/words:
further to your letter of
as you are aware
keen
regarding
with respect to.
Standard corporate templates for letter, memo and fax are available from the Branding and Styleguide website (staff access only).
When signing letters for others, the University uses ‘for’ rather than ‘per’ or ‘pp’.
External correspondence
The greeting should generally be typed Dear Title Familyname. The sender can strike this through in order to write Firstname if the addressee is known well to the sender. (Some managers prefer Dear Firstname to be typed to a well-known recipient.)
Responding letters should acknowledge the previous correspondence, for example ‘Thankyou for…’ and should routinely apologise if there has been more than one week’s delay in replying.
Initiating letters should begin, ‘I am writing to…’ or, ‘I write to...’ and explain the letter’s purpose in the first sentence or paragraph.
If action by the respondent is required, this should be clearly explained, not simply implied.
Most letters will conclude with an offer to provide further information/assistance as appropriate. Letters will usually conclude with, ‘Yours sincerely’.
Internal correspondence
Internal letter
These are usually written for personnel issues, including thanks, congratulations, disciplinary matters etc.
Points as for external correspondence (above) apply
Memos
Advice for memos is the same as that for letters in the areas of responding, initiating and action.
If only the person’s name is used after To: the memo is addressed to that person as an individual. If only the person’s position is used, the memo is addressed to the person’s position and may be circulated further.
Topic – should be in bold but with minimal capitalisation.
Memos should include a ruled line in the template separating the heading section from the text.
Leave to personal choice whether first name of recipient is typed in, handwritten, or omitted below the line and above the text
Memos should contain brief concise points rather than long paragraphs. Long memo structure could follow that for reports (background, issues, recommendations).
Fax
Fax cover sheets must include a confidentiality statement, the fax number of the recipient and the number of pages. The heading should be similar to that of a memo (above) and there should be a ruled line in the template separating the heading section from the text.
Filenotes should include a heading containing University, Division/Unit, followed by the notes, and be signed and dated by the person making the note. Subsequent additions must also be signed and dated.
As we increasingly present information about the University of South Australia to potential students in their first language, we need some conventions about using the University’s name in documents translated from English. UniSA International and MDU have agreed the following:
In any document or webpage aimed at an international audience we will use the University of South Australia in full (not UniSA) to avoid confusion between us and other institutions such as the Universities of South Africa and Southern Arizona.
MDU will create co-branded logo formats which incorporate the University’s logo, name and translated name. In the mean time if you wish to use a translation of the University’s name in conjunction with the logo please gain prior approval from the MDU publications team.
