Bob Miller Julie Martin Jerry Garcia Hyemi Chen Sue Morrison

Study Group M-16 Team Charter

We the members of Study Group M-16 agree to uphold the following principles when working together throughout the upcoming year:

GROUP GOALS
Provide opportunities for Group Members to diversify their skills. (Where appropriate and according to individual’s preferences and needs)
Leverage strengths to meet deadlines.
Maximize group’s learning.
Maintain time efficiency.
Discuss group members’ strengths and weaknesses to identify methods of improvement.

ORGANIZATION
Assign team leads to major projects based on either background/strengths or personal development goals.
Team leads will be decided based on group consensus and personal preference.

PUNCTUALITY
Be on time for group meetings.
If more than 10 minutes late to group meetings, group member must contribute $10 to the group’s “kitty” to be used for group social events (dinner, drinks, etc.). $20 penalty in the event of unexcused absence.

PLANNING
Group will meet once per week to review assignments and develop an action plan for the week. (Group will make consistent effort to have weekly meetings on the same day/time.)
Keep group informed of conflicting commitments - Give notice as early as possible if
meetings need to be rescheduled.
Group values personal time and will make every effort to get work done so that Sunday is a day off.
Group meetings will be rescheduled if more than one person cannot attend.
Keep calendar of group members’ trips and major events.

PREPAREDNESS
Come to meetings prepared with assigned tasks complete.
Work in a shadow system to help ensure preparedness and individual learning.
Start work early enough to inform group of unexpected problems. If a situation arises, alert group as soon as problem is identified.

COMMUNICATION
Provide constructive criticism in a direct fashion to enhance the spirit of learning.
Maintain positive environment for giving and receiving feedback.
Use formal monthly feedback system to assess individual adherence to group norms and to provide constructive academic feedback in order to improve overall team performance.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION
If possible, compromise.
If necessary, majority rules.
Always be respectful of other members.
Address conflicts immediately and avoid holding grudges.
Be patient and make an effort to understand where other group members are coming from in case of a disagreement.

ACCOUNTABILITY
Manage individual accountability via open communication.
Alert group members to difficulties in accomplishing tasks.

TRUST
Relinquish control to group members in appropriate situations.
Don’t micromanage other members’ responsibilities.

EMPATHY
Be mindful of and sensitive to group members’ needs, commitments and priorities outside of the group.

FUN
Arrange for occasional gatherings/activities outside of work/school environment. (i.e. afternoon runs, potluck dinners, drinks, etc.). Make effort to include Peer Advisor in group’s social activities.
Maintain a serious but lighthearted spirit at group meetings.

COMMUNICATION LOGISTICS
Email is our primary mode of coordination. Everyone agrees to respond to their emails within 12 hours. If a response is not received within this time, we will proceed to call via phone in the priority order of mobile, home, work. Three consecutive failures to respond to emails will result in the same team fines as noted under Punctuality.
In-person meetings will be our standard for studying and preparing for projects to ensure that
we maximize the depth, richness, and effectiveness of communication. Specific portions o projects will be completed individually, but then shared and discussed in a face-to-face meeting.
When possible, we will meet in Williams Hall or Charter Hall. Break out rooms and empty
classroom space is typically available in both buildings.
Food is very important to us. We will rotate the responsibility for bringing snacks to meetings and whenever possible, end our meetings with a trip to a local pub (of course for the sole purpose of team building).