Some members of existing groups may be asked to attend Council meetings as consultants during the period of transition. The primary function of the Councils is to deal with college-wide operational policy issues. These Councils will not assume the responsibilities of existing groups for the implementation of decisions, though issues of operational policy will be transferred to Councils. Differentiation between policy and implementation is often difficult. Policy is defined as a plan or course of action designed to direct implementation decisions.
Implementation involves carrying out or accomplishing tasks in compliance with the policy.
On-going and effective communication between the Councils and implementation groups is essential to avoiding duplicative or even contradictive actions. The administrative office responsible for implementation in a particular sphere of activity is responsible for coordination between policy and implementation groups within that sphere. One element in this coordination is to ensure groups receive charters or charges. Another element for which the administrative office is responsible is the effective communication between the implementation groups and the appropriate shared governance council.