STI Committees

The Following is a list of SANS Technology Institute Committees.

Academic & Student Affairs Committee

Charter for the STI Academic and Student Affairs Committee

Executive Summary:: The SANS Technology Institute (STI) Academic & Student Affairs Committee is a committee of the STI Board. Its members serve either as paid 1099 authors or instructors or in collateral (unpaid) duty positions. The committee reports to the greater Board of Directors.
Eligibility:: The Chair of the STI Board and the STI President are ex-officio and non-voting members of this committee. The President of STI appoints the other members of the committee. Some may be members of the STI Board of Directors and/or appointees with special skills and knowledge to support this committee.; NOTE:To ensure succession, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee may approve an "up and comer" as a non-voting "trainee" member.
Term of Service:: Permanent, once assigned. Members may retire from the committee upon giving advance notice to the committee. The STI Board may discontinue the committee.
Authority:: Advisory, this committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Removal:: The STI Board of Directors may remove a member from this committee by majority vote.
Benefit to Membership:: Members have the opportunity to shape the vision and plans for STI.
Primary Functions:: This committee is responsible for the study of the educational programs of STI and to promote a supportive educational environment that provides activities designed to give varied and meaningful experiences to help students develop academically and professionally. It investigates new programs and recommends programmatic changes. It conducts periodic reviews and evaluations of the policies of STI to ensure that STI's mission is being met and that the aims and objectives are being achieved. This committee recommends policies to the STI Board of Directors for maintaining qualified and competent faculty, high academic standards, and sound instructional practices.; To help in fulfilling its functions, the Academic and Student Services Committee uses the services of the STI Curriculum Committee and the STI Faculty Administration Committee. The Academic and Student Services Committee reviews the recommendations of these committees regarding the above matters.
Meetings:: Meetings are held as needed. The committee can work virtually (email, phone conference, etc.).
Quorum:: The STI Chair and STI President are ex-officio and non-voting members of the committee, but they may be counted to determine if there is a quorum (majority of the committee members) available to do business. For a vote to carry, the vote must be agreed upon by a majority of the voting members.

Faculty Administration Committee

Charter for the STI Faculty Administration Committee

Executive Summary:

The SANS Technology Institute (STI) Faculty Administration Committee is an administrative committee. Its members serve either as paid 1099 instructors and authors or as collateral (unpaid) duty STI/SANS employees. The Faculty Administration Committee reports to the STI Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

Eligibility:

SANS instructors that are highly experienced and are also SANS courseware authors that are willing to dig in and handle the nitty gritty operational details related to STI. The President suggests the membership, and the membership must be approved by the Academic and Student Affairs Committee. The ideal size of the committee is five members. The minimum size to consider the committee functional is four members, and due to the large number of issues that have to be covered in a limited amount of time, the maximum size is seven members.

NOTE: To ensure succession, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee may approve an "up and comer" as a non-voting "trainee" member.

Term of Service:

Permanent, once assigned. Members may retire from the committee upon giving advance notice to the committee. The Academic and Student Affairs Committee or the STI Board may discontinue the committee.

Authority:

This is an advisory committee, recommendations are not binding, and minutes are sent to the Academic and Student Affairs Committee for ratification.

Removal:

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee may remove a member from this committee by majority vote. In addition, the STI Board of Directors may remove a member from this committee by majority vote.

Benefit to Membership:

Members have a significant voice in establishing day-to-day policy and operations at STI.

Primary Functions:

Provide oversight of the faculty that teaches courses in the STI curriculum.
Serve as a resource when a faculty member runs into significant problems as reported by the Student Assessment Analysts as part of the Analysts' review of student forms or when a student writes in with a complaint.
Ensure that the appropriate policies and procedures are in place for STI to complete its mission as a computer security degree granting institution.

Meetings:

Meetings are held as needed, usually at Residential Institutes, though the committee can work virtually (email, phone conference, etc.) as well. The results of committee decisions are reported to the Academic and Student Affairs Committee for review and ratification.

Quorum:

The President is an ex-officio and non-voting member of the committee, but the President may be counted to determine if there is a quorum (majority of the committee members) available to do business. For a vote to carry, the vote must be agreed upon by a majority of the voting members.

Finance Committee

Charter for the STI Finance Committee

Executive Summary:: The SANS Technology Institute (STI) Finance Committee is a committee of the STI Board. Its members serve in a collateral (unpaid) duty position. The committee reports to the greater Board of Directors.
Eligibility:: The Chair of the Board and the President are ex-officio and non-voting members of this committee. The President of STI appoints the other members of the committee. Some may be members of the STI Board of Directors and/or appointees with special skills and knowledge to support this committee.; NOTE:To ensure succession, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee may approve an "up and comer" as a non-voting "trainee" member.
Term of Service:: Permanent, once assigned. Members may ask to retire from the committee upon giving advance notice to the committee. The Board may discontinue the committee.
Authority:: Advisory, this committee makes recommendations to the STI Board of Directors.
Removal:: The STI Board of Directors may remove a member from this committee upon majority vote.
Benefit to Membership:: Since money is a key tool for realizing goals, members have opportunity to shape the long term vision and plans for STI.
Primary Functions:: Financial accountability and future financial stability are the major objectives of this committee. It is responsible for making recommendations to the STI Board of Directors on budgeting, short and long-term investments, tuition and fees, and all other matters relevant to the financial health and growth of STI.
Meetings:: Meetings are held as needed. The committee can work virtually (email, phone conference, etc.).
Quorum:: The STI Chair and STI President are ex-officio and non-voting members of the committee, but they may be counted to determine if there is a quorum (majority of the committee members) available to do business. For a vote to carry, the vote must be agreed upon by a majority of the voting members.

Long Range Planning Committee

Charter for the STI Long-Range Planning Committee

Executive Summary:: The SANS Technology Institute (STI) Long-Range Planning Committee is a committee of the STI Board. Its members serve either as paid 1099 instructors or authors, or in collateral (unpaid) duty positions. The committee reports to the greater Board of Directors.
Eligibility:: The Chair of the Board and the President are ex-officio and non-voting members of this committee. The President of STI appoints the other members of the committee. Some may be members of the STI Board of Directors and/or appointees with special skills and knowledge to support this committee.
Term of Service:: Term of Service: Permanent, once assigned. Members may retire from the committee upon giving advance notice to the committee. The Board may discontinue the committee.
Authority:: Advisory, this committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Removal:: The STI Board of Directors may remove a member from this committee upon majority vote.
Benefit to Membership:: Members have the opportunity to shape the long term vision and plans for STI.
Primary Functions:: This committee is charged with identifying critical challenges facing STI over the next five (5) years. It reviews and updates strategic and long-term issues for STI and makes recommendations to the STI Board of Directors for long-range plans.
Meetings:: Meetings are held as needed. The committee can work virtually (email, phone conference, etc.).
Quorum:: The STI Chair and STI President are ex-officio and non-voting members of the committee, but they may be counted to determine if there is a quorum (majority of the committee members) available to do business. For a vote to carry, the vote must be agreed upon by a majority of the voting members.

Admissions Committee

Charter for the STI Admissions Committee

Executive Summary:: The SANS Technology Institute (STI) Admissions Committee is an administrative committee. Its members serve in a collateral (unpaid) duty position that reports to the Office of the President. The committee will provide an annual report for review by the Academic and Student Affairs Committee about the admissions process. The Admission Committee's primary responsibility is managing the admissions process.
Eligibility:: The President appoints the members from among STI/SANS/GIAC employees and/ or other persons who are highly familiar with the mission and culture of STI. Members of the Admissions Committee must have extensive experience with the information security population that we serve.; NOTE:To ensure succession, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee may approve an "up and comer" as a non-voting "trainee" member.
Term of Service:: Permanent, once assigned. Members may retire from the committee upon giving advance notice to the committee.
Authority:: Decisions from this committee are binding. If a decision is appealed, the Office of the President will render a ruling.
Removal:: The Office of the President may remove a member from this committee for failure to participate, frequent failure of judgment , or other cause.
Benefit to Membership:: Members have an early opportunity to meet the students as they are entering the program. Many students will become the leaders in the field of information security and might one day have significant roles in SANS/ GIAC.
Primary Functions:: The task of the Admissions Committee is to review applicants, admit the ones that should prove to be successful in the program, reject the ones that have little or no possibility of success, and on occasion, suggest a path forward for the marginal applicants.
Meetings:: Meetings are held as needed. The committee can work virtually (email, phone conference, etc.).
Quorum:: All members are voting member of the committee. A quorum (majority of members) is needed to conduct business. For a vote to carry, the vote must be agreed upon by a majority of the members.

Student Experience Assessment Committee

Charter for the Student Experience Assessment Committee

Executive Summary:: The Student Experience Assessment Committee is an administrative committee of SANS. Its members serve in a collateral (unpaid) duty position that helps to review the trends in student satisfaction and report to the STI Faculty Administration Committee.
Eligibility:: SANS employees that have shown discretion and experience dealing with both positive and negative student experiences. The ideal size of the committee is three members. The minimum size to consider the committee functional is two members, and due to the extremely proprietary material that is included in the planning process, the maximum size is three members.; NOTE:To ensure succession, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee may approve an "up and comer" as a non-voting "trainee" member.
Term of Service:: Permanent, once assigned.
Authority:: This is an advisory committee, recommendations are not binding, however their wise counsel is needed to make the student security college learning experience as valuable as possible and to ensure the students have the best learning environment possible as they pursue their security degree.
Removal:: SANS business unit managers may reassign members as needed so long as qualified replacements are found. The primary work of the committee is done by Student Assessment Analysts.
Benefit to Membership:: Members will have an opportunity to participate in continual process improvement by monitoring students' experience with the teaching facility and related matters.
Primary Functions:: The primary function of the Student Experience Assessment Committee is to ensure that STI is not missing a trend or change in the student experience; so that students continue to have a clean, safe, comfortable environment conducive to learning. For example, where negative experiences are reported about a facility, suggestions can be made for improvement to SANS personnel responsible for future facility contracts.; Currently each learning event is evaluated by the students per day. These evaluations are collected and either tabulated on site or sent to the Student Assessment Analysts. These are sent out by event to an oversight group generally consisting of the director of residential institute management, residential institute managers/planners, marketing director, and faculty coordinator.; After each residential institute (major national training event), the committee meets, reviews the aggregate scores, look for trends, changes and anything else significant that should be reported to the STI Faculty Administration Committee.

Governance: Committees