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Academic Senate - Faculty Boards - Membership and Terms of Reference

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Section 1 - Establishment

(1) The Faculty Board of each Faculty was established by the Board of Governors on 14 November 1990 (BG 90/163 and BG 90/164).  The Board of Governors became known as the “Council” following the proclamation of the Charles Sturt University Amendment Act 1998 117 on 1 July 1999.

Background

(2) Charles Sturt University (the University) has a responsibility to ensure good governance and management practices around teaching, research and scholarly activities within its Faculties, including eligibility of students for entry into courses offered by the Faculty, and to ensure that any matter of potential academic risk is referred to the Academic Senate.

Purpose

(3) The purpose of the Faculty Board is to be the principal academic body of the Faculty, with responsibility for implementation and oversight of the Faculty’s academic governance.

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Section 2 - Glossary

(4) For the purpose of this document:

  1. the Board – means the Faculty Board of the respective Faculty, as approved by the Academic Senate.
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Section 3 - Membership

(5) The membership of a Faculty Board shall be:

  1. Ex-officio members:
    1. Executive Dean of the Faculty (Presiding Officer);
    2. Deputy Dean of the Faculty (Deputy Presiding Officer);
    3. Associate Deans of the Faculty;
    4. Head of Schools of the Faculty;
    5. Head of non-school bodies of the Faculty (such as Centres);
    6. Sub-Deans of the Faculty; and
    7. three academic staff members of the Faculty who are the elected Faculty members on the Academic Senate (refer to Division 3 of the Governance (Academic Senate) Rule 2006 No 6).
  2. Nominated members:
    1. up to three members of the Faculty nominated by the Executive Dean of the Faculty;
    2. two students enrolled in courses offered by the Faculty and nominated by the Student Senate with one of the students being enrolled in a postgraduate course;
    3. one representative of the Office for Students nominated by the Executive Director, Student Success; and
    4. one nominee (who is an academic staff member of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies) of the Head, School of Indigenous Australian Studies. Note: this category of membership applies to all Faculty Boards except the Faculty of Arts and Education Faculty Board.
  3. Elected members:
    1. a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) Professors (Level E);
    2. one academic staff member of each School of the Faculty (but not not non-School bodies of the Faculty, such as Centres) elected by the academic staff of the School.
  4. Audience and Debate:
    1. members of the Professoriate (Level D and Level E) of the Faculty;
    2. Faculty Executive Officer;
    3. Faculty Administration Manager; and
    4. Presiding Officer, Academic Senate.

Elected Members

Insufficient Nominations Received During an Election

(6) If at the close of nominations for candidates in an election to the Faculty Board no eligible nominations are received, or the number of eligible nominations is less than the number of available positions, then the Presiding Officer may recommend to the Faculty Board the name(s) of eligible candidates to be appointed to the position(s).

(7) A person so appointed shall hold office with the same rights and authorities and for the same term of office as if they had been elected to the position.

Casual Vacancy

(8) Should an elected member vacate their position on Faculty Board before the expiration of their term of office, or fail to attend for three or more consecutive meetings, the position will be deemed to be a casual vacancy and will be filled in accordance with the procedures listed below:

  1. the Secretary will ascertain whether, at the time that the retiring member was elected, there were more than the required number of candidates to fill the number of available positions. If there were then the last candidate eliminated from the ballot before the available positions were filled may be appointed to the vacancy, provided that:
    1. he/she is still eligible to hold the position on the Faculty Board; and
    2. he/she indicates that they are willing to accept the office;
  2. if an appointment cannot be made in accordance with clause 8a, then the Faculty Board may appoint the alternate member (refer to clause 10) to the vacancy; and
  3. if an appointment cannot be made in accordance with clauses 8a and 8b, then the Presiding Officer may recommend to the Faculty Board the name of an eligible candidate to be appointed to the vacancy.

(9) A person appointed to a casual vacancy on the Faculty Board shall hold office with the same rights and authorities and for the balance of the term of the elected member whom they replace.

Alternate Members

(10) Each School of the Faculty will be allowed one alternative member who may attend meetings with full voting rights if the elected School member is unable to attend.

Variation to Membership

Faculty of Arts and Education

(11) The membership of the Faculty of Arts and Education Faculty Board has been varied to include:

  1. one (1) Adjunct Professor or one (1) Adjunct Associate Professor from the School of Theology as members of the Board.

Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences

(12) The membership of the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences Faculty Board has been varied to include:

  1. one (1) Adjunct Professor or one (1) Adjunct Associate Professor from the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies as members of the Board.

(13) The Secretary to each Faculty Board shall be appointed by the Academic Secretary.

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Section 4 - Functions and Responsibilities

(14) Subject to the Charles Sturt University Act 1989 No 76, the Charles Sturt University By-law 2005, the Rules or Resolutions of the University Council, and to the Resolutions of the Academic Senate, the Faculty Board shall:

  1. be the principal academic body of the Faculty, with responsibility for implementation and oversight of the Faculty’s academic governance;
  2. exercise its authorities to ensure, in conjunction with its sub-committees, that the Faculty is maintaining its compliance with Academic Senate policy and requirements, and with those standards in the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 which relate to academic governance, including through consideration of HES reports;
  3. oversee and promote awareness of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 within the Faculty, and act and/or advise as required for any non-compliance with the Standards;
  4. advise the Academic Senate on all matters referred to the Faculty by the University Council, the Vice-Chancellor, or the Academic Senate;
  5. make recommendations to the Academic Senate on academic matters; and
  6. undertake and oversight quality assurance and risk management work within the Faculty, in relation to academic governance.
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Section 5 - Meetings

Term of Office and Quorum

(15) The term of appointment for members of the Faculty Boards and their sub-committees shall be two years.  The rules for conduct of meetings will be as detailed in the Boards and Committees Policy - Conduct of Meetings of Academic Committees.

(16) A quorum for Faculty Board is twelve members of the Board.

Meetings

(17) Meetings will be will be published by the Office of Governance and Corporate Affairs in an annual schedule.

Agendas and Minutes

(18) Agendas are circulated to the Board one week prior to the Board meeting.

(19) Minutes of the Board meeting are circulated to Board members following the meeting.  Minutes of the meeting are reported to the Academic Senate on a quarterly basis.

Conflicts of Interest

(20) Where a member has a perceived or material conflict of interest, they must declare this to the Presiding Officer and at the Board meeting prior to discussion of the item of business.

Variations

(21) Variations to the terms of reference and/or membership of the Board must be approved by the Academic Senate.