The Standing Orders may be varied by the Academic Board from time to time as appropriate.

In the conduct of meetings of the Faculty Board and the Faculty Standing Committee, all reasonable discretion is allowed to the Presiding Member.

1. Faculty Committee Structures

The new Faculty committee structures have been developed to improve communication and interaction between Faculty committees and the committees of the Academic Board and to encourage collegial decision-making. The idea of collegiality embraces the acceptance of representational decision-making. Provided wider consultative mechanisms are established, the quality of decision-making can be maintained while keeping to a minimum both the number of committees and the number of staff who sit on them.

Faculties differ markedly in structure, scale and student enrolment profile. These differences underpin the view that each Faculty should establish its own committee structure to meet its individual needs provided that such a structure conforms to the common principles for UNSW set out in UNSW Rule Section 3.

The composition of committees should reflect the philosophy which underpins the design of the Academic Board which includes in its membership ex-officio members (the Deans and Presiding Members of every faculty and the University Executive) together with an equivalent number of elected members.

At the first meeting in even-numbered years the Faculty Board will review the Faculty committee structure and membership of Faculty Committees. This will include reviewing which positions have ex-officio membership and ensuring there is a balance between ex-officio and elected membership to promote collegial decision-making.

All academic members of Faculty whether full-time or on fractional appointments, are members of the Faculty Board. The category of ‘such other persons’ allows the appointment of people who are associated with the work of the Faculty.

The Faculty Board is the forum for the collegial participation of all staff in matters which concern the Faculty with a particular focus on planning and strategic directions.

The Dean and the Presiding Member should work together to ensure that all meetings of their Faculty Board have business to consider which addresses the current operational aspects of the Faculty and matters concerning its future directions. It is their responsibility to ensure Faculty Board meetings have a quorum.

3. Faculty Standing Committee

The Faculty Standing Committee shall

• perform such duties as may be assigned to it by the Council on the recommendation of the relevant Faculty Board through the Academic Board;
• and provide advice to the Dean on matters of academic development and planning.

The composition of a Faculty Standing Committee will depend on a Faculty’s structure but includes the following categories:

Ex-officio members appointed under the Council Resolution: Dean, Presiding Member, Registrar;

Ex-officio members appointed under resolution of the Faculty Board;.

Elected members.

At the first meeting in even-numbered years the Faculty Board will review the delegations which have been given to the Faculty Standing Committee. Any recommended change will be forwarded to Council for approval through the Academic Board concerning those duties and powers as it considers appropriate.

4. Faculty Committees

Each faculty shall establish Faculty committees comprising the following:

4.1 Education Committee

• an Education Committee or
• an Undergraduate Education Committee and a Postgraduate Coursework Education Committee.

• Undergraduate education
• Postgraduate coursework education
• General education
• Professional and continuing education
• The review and monitoring of the procedures that relate to admission, progression and assessment in the teaching programs of the Faculty with a view to developing policy guidelines so that cases could be handled routinely and equitably through an administrative process.
• Providing Advice to the Dean on admission strategies into the teaching programs.
• Monitoring and review of admission decisions including advanced standing made by Program Authorities to identify problems and establish routine guidelines to streamline the process.
• The review of course progression rates within the Faculty, making appropriate recommendations.

Student representation in the membership should include at least one undergraduate and one postgraduate coursework student.

Student members would not be present during the consideration of student cases.

• a Research Committee or
• a Higher Degree Committee and a Research Management Committee.

• the administration of research degrees

• providing advice to the Dean on admission strategies into the teaching programs.

The membership will include the Associate Dean for Research, who will play a strong role in the work of the committee, and at least one higher degree research student. Student members would not be present during the consideration of student cases.

4.3 Assessment Review Group

The responsibility for assessment of students in any course lies with the Course Authority (usually a Head of School). Each Education Committee should establish an Assessment Review Group with limited membership to monitor overall performance of a student in each program in order to identify anomalies that may require particular action and to review cases for special consideration.

Many routine academic issues such as pass conceded judgements are best handled through standardised formulae with overriding authority in the hands of the Program Authority.

5 Other Committees

In particular circumstances a Faculty may need to establish a committee to consider other issues. These committees are most likely to be required to support the core functions of the Dean and as such they would report to the Dean. The Dean may also wish to establish a regular pattern of meetings with a small group of senior colleagues and Faculty officers in order to administer the day-to-day operations of the Faculty. The proliferation of such structures is discouraged and appropriate open reporting to the Faculty Standing Committee and the Faculty Board would need to be established.

When particular short-term issues arise, working parties may provide a useful avenue to address such matters. Working parties must, however, be established with a nominated termination dates so as to avoid the proliferation of ‘committees by another name’.

6 Schedule and Number of Meetings

6.1 Number of Meetings

The Faculty Board shall be called at least twice each year.

6.2 Special Meetings

A special meeting of the Faculty Board will be called upon receipt by the Registrar of a request in writing from sufficient members to constitute a quorum.

7. Memberss

7.1 Role of Presiding Member

The Presiding Member who chairs both the Faculty Board and the Faculty Standing Committee is charged with the responsibility of presenting Faculty business to the Academic Board and its committees and ensuring that relevant matters from Academic Board and its Standing Committees are taken back to the Faculty. S/he must ensure the efficient functioning of Faculty committees to effect not just the decision-making process but also encourage and support collegiality and the flow of information.

In the conduct of meetings of the Faculty Board and the Faculty Standing Committee, all reasonable discretion is allowed to the Presiding Member.

7.2 Term of Presiding Member

A person shall not be eligible to be elected Presiding Member of a Faculty for more than two consecutive terms of two years.

7.3 Chairs of Other Committees

Other members of Faculty with relevant expertise or background may be elected to chair other Faculty Committees within a Faculty.

7.4 Term of Elected Members

Elected members are elected for a two-year term and are eligible for re-election.

7.5 Registrar’s Representative

The Registrar’s nominee will attend meetings of the Faculty Board and the Standing Committee. A staff member from the Student Research Section will attend the relevant section of the meetings of the Research Committee (or the Higher Degree Committee) to record decisions on student cases.

8. The Agenda

8.1 Agenda Committee

The agenda for the meeting of the Faculty Board will be established by the Presiding Member, Dean and the Registrar (or nominee) [the Agenda Committee].

The Agenda Committee will also establish the agenda for the Faculty Standing Committee.

The draft agenda and accompanying documents will be considered and finalised, including determination of agenda items to be starred for discussion and of confidential items, by the Agenda Committee. This procedure will normally be carried out electronically.

The Standing Committee will not act as an agenda committee for the Faculty Board. The Presiding Member should ensure that the same issues are not raised repeatedly in different committees and matters should not be presented for discussion which have already been decided by another committee.

8.2 Agenda Papers

All papers concerning items for consideration for inclusion on the agenda will be received by the Committee Officer twelve days before the next meeting of the Board or Standing Committee.

The finalised agenda and papers shall be dispatched by the Committee Officer one week before the meeting of the committee.

9. The Meeting

To ensure the efficient consideration of the business by the Faculty Board and the Faculty Standing Committee:

• the meeting will consider the business on the agenda. Other business shall be considered only if the Presiding Member and a majority of other members present agree;
• discussion of items should be contained and to the point. The Presiding Member may suggest forming a working party to prepare documentation, setting out arguments and identifying recommendations for matters that are broad in focus or highly contentious;
• items under Business Without Notice should be signalled at the commencement of the meeting;
• items under Business Without Notice should be discouraged where there is no supporting documentation. For policy matters, tabled discussion papers under Business Without Notice should be considered at the next meeting of the committee;
• members wishing to bring up an issue either in relation to business on the agenda or Business Without Notice or a personal or individual complaint should be asked whether they have raised the issue first with the relevant member of staff and only when that avenue has failed to resolve the concern should the issue be considered worthy of committee consideration;
• student cases approved under delegation should not be reported back to the committee;
• meetings may be cancelled only if there is insufficient business on the decision of the Agenda Committee.

Only urgent student cases should be tabled. Sufficient copies of documents must be provided for members and the Research Student Section staff member. Wherever possible, such urgent cases should be presented to the Research Student Section two days prior to the meeting to enable recording and copying for the meeting. Tabled cases will only be considered at the meeting with the approval of the Presiding Member where there is a case made for urgency.

10. Adjournment of Meetings and Maintenance of the Quorum

The Presiding Member may adjourn a meeting of the Faculty Board or Standing Committee in appropriate circumstances; for example, if it was clear that it was unlikely that a quorum would be maintained or a long or contentious item of business was about to be discussed and it seemed advisable that the Presiding Member should adjourn the meeting before commencing discussion on that item rather than cutting off discussion in mid-stream.

The Presiding Member shall not adjourn a meeting to prevent a motion or amendment being put save with the approval of two-thirds of the meeting present. This discretion shall not limit any other powers of the Presiding Member to adjourn a meeting.

11. Inquorate Meetings

Where a meeting of the Faculty Board has been called but a quorum is not present within 15 minutes after the notified time of commencement, the members then present shall be a quorum (for the purpose of this clause 11, a "reduced quorum"). A resolution passed at a meeting of the Faculty Board which was convened with a reduced quorum shall be of no effect unless and until it is ratified by resolution of the Academic Board. (Resolved CL06/36)

12. Method of Voting at Meetings

At all meetings of the Faculty Board and the Standing Committee, voting in relation to any issue shall be on the voices except that:

1. the Presiding Member shall have a discretion to take a vote on either a show of hands or by ballot. In exercising this discretion, the Presiding Member shall consider whether there is a feeling in the meeting as to a preferable method of taking the vote or
2. any two members may request the Presiding Member to take the vote by either of a show of hands or by ballot.

13. Absence from Meetings

13.1 Presiding Member

If the Presiding Member is absent from a meeting of the Faculty Board, the meeting shall elect a Presiding Member for that meeting from the members of the Faculty present.

13.2 Elected Members

Absences by elected members are to be monitored, with the Presiding Member counselling any member failing to attend three consecutive meetings.

Given the desire to maintain a balance on Faculty Committees between ex-officio and elected members, if an elected member is unable to continue to attend the meetings of a Committee or expects to be absent for three consecutive meetings, it would be preferable if s/he were to stand down to allow another elected member to take the place.

13.3 Apologies

No apologies are to be recorded in the minutes for any meeting of the Faculty Board or Standing Committee.

13.4 Alternates

There is no provision in the By-law or UNSW Rules for a nominee or alternate to attend, speak or vote at meetings in a member’s stead. Faculties may choose to invite non-members of committees to attend and speak in cases where this will assist the committee in its work.

14. Record of Meetings

The Faculty Board and the Standing Committee will be serviced by the Secretariat in the preparation of the agenda and the minutes and their despatch. The draft minutes must be approved by the Registrar’s Nominee and the Presiding Member. No alterations of substance may be made to the approved minutes without the consent of the Presiding Member. The agenda and minutes of the Faculty Board and the Faculty Standing Committee will be made available to every member of the Faculty.

A formal resolution is not required to confirm minutes of a previous meeting.

Faculties are not obliged to keep formal minutes of Faculty Committees.

15. Voting for Elected Members

Members of Faculty in the relevant electorate are eligible to vote in elections for representatives on the Faculty Standing Committee and/or Faculty committees. In cases where preferential voting is deemed necessary, the Secretariat will provide support.

16. Cross-Faculty Committees

Two or more Faculties may establish a Cross-Faculty Committee to administer an interdisciplinary program. The participating Faculties recommend the structure and responsibilities to Council through the Academic Board.

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