Senate
University Senate - Member Role Descriptions
Introduction
Senate is the principal academic body of the University, responsible to Council for:
- the academic plan of the University, its associated academic activities and the resources needed to support them;
- regulating the academic work of the University in admissions, teaching;
- assessment and research for academic awards of the University (including Honorary Degrees);
- the control and regulation of the conduct, discipline and academic progress of the Registered Students of the University; and
- the management of external examiners and assessors.
The University’s Articles of Government set out the Senate Terms of Reference.
Senate meets three times per year and is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor.
Membership
Responsibility for Senate membership lies with the University’s Council who has delegated this responsibility to the Vice-Chancellor. The membership of Senate is drawn from the academic staff and general staff of the University together with members of the Students’ Union. The composition includes the follow groups:
i) Senior academic staff (Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice –Chancellors)
ii) Deans of Schools and Dean of International Development
iii) Professional Services staff (Director of Computing & Library Services, Director of Student Services)
iv) President of the Students’ Union and other members appointed by the Students’ Union
v) Members elected by and from the Professors
vi) Members from the University’s academic staff who are elected by their peers
vii) Members from the University’s general staff who are elected by their peers
viii) Co-opted members.
Service Directors and the University Secretary are in attendance. The Director of Registry acts as Secretary to the Committee with the assistance of the Director of Registry’s office.
Elected Members
The appointment of elected members is made following a nomination and voting process by their peers. The term of office for each elected member shall be a once-renewable term of three years.
Registry identifies when a member’s term of office is expiring and sends a memorandum to the relevant staff group asking for nominations. If more than the required number of nominations is received, the nominees will be asked to write personal statements. The personal statements will be disseminated to the relevant staff group so that voting can take place electronically.
The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is used. The STV is a form of proportional representation where voters put numbers next to candidates in order of preference. In order to be elected, candidates need to reach a set share of the votes, determined by the number of positions to be filled. Each voter gets one vote, which can transfer from their first-preference to their second-preference candidate, so if a voter’s preferred candidate has no chance of being elected or has enough votes already, the vote is transferred to the second choice candidate in accordance with the voter’s instructions. STV is used because it ensures that very few votes are wasted, unlike First Past the Post, where only a small number of votes actually contribute to the result.
Senate Committees
The Committee Structure Chart shows the relationship between Senate and its committees:
- School Boards - local management committees.
- Research Committee - responsible for the strategic direction of research policy and for exercising oversight of the registration, supervision and examination of candidates for the University's research degree awards.
- Research Ethics and Integrity Committee - responsible for the development and implementation of policy and procedures to address issues related to research ethics and integrity.
- University Teaching & Learning Committee - responsible for overseeing all matters relating to the development and delivery of taught programmes of study and ensuring the maintenance of appropriate academic standards.
Meeting Schedule 2023/24
1 November 2023
6 March 2024
19 June 2024
Minutes of Past Meetings
2022/23
14 June 2023
2021/22
2020/21
2019/20
2018/19
2017/18
Papers are available on request, please use the paper reference in the relevant minutes and email registry@hud.ac.uk