The high turnover rate of student members on the University Council has prompted one member to make a training manual for incoming student members.

UC student member Steve Cohen, a senior, said he doesn’t see why someone should sit on the UC and be “clueless” to the council’s procedures.

He said he wants to put together a training manual of issues and procedures that the students and the faculty of the UC should be aware of when they sit on the council.

Cohen, who has been a member of the UC for two years, said few students sit on the UC for more than one year.

The reason there is a high turnover rate is because, “It’s not an overly exciting job, it’s difficult at times and by the time (students) get to that level, it’s usually time to graduate,” he said.

Cohen, who plans to complete the manual this summer, said the manual would make students aware that they can make an impact or a change by being a council member.

The training manual will contain an introduction, including what the UC is and what its role is within the university from a student’s point of view, Cohen said.

It also will contain the process of how meetings are conducted, rules of conduct during meetings and the University Constitution and Bylaws. In addition, the manual will explain what the supportive organizations and the committees of the UC are.

UC Executive Secretary J. Carroll Moody said he is backing Cohen’s decision to make a training manual and he offered help in creating the manual.

“I think it could be useful to students who never served on the UC before or perhaps have never attended a meeting before to see what it is like,” he said.

Moody said he has orientation course in the fall each year to go over the concept of shared governance with new students. However, he said a manual would be useful to students if they forgot something they learned.

Student Association President Robert McCormack said he also thinks the manual is a good idea and would allow new members to “jump into” the UC meetings.

McCormack said some of the most common complaints made about university committees are the turnover rate of students and new members who come in with little background of the UC.

Moody said lack of procedure knowledge is not the fault of students. He said most of the faculty and administrators are experienced in shared governance because it is something they do daily within other university committees.