University of Sydney (Academic Governance) Rule 2003 (as amended)
Please also see the University of Sydney (Authority Within Academic Units) Rule 2003 (as amended).
University of Sydney (Academic Governance) Rule 2003 (as amended)
1. Citation and commencement
2. Purpose
3. Dictionary
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academic staff member – as defined in Chapter 6 of the University of Sydney By-law 1999 (as amended)
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Dean – a dean of a Faculty; or a director or a principal of an academic college as defined in Part 5 of the Act
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Deputy Chair – a person appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Academic Board pursuant to Part 3 of this Rule
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primary vote – preferences marked on a voting paper equal to the number of vacancies to be filled, and which shall have equal value
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professor – a member of academic staff who is appointed or promoted to the position of professor
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secondary votes – preferences marked on a voting paper beyond the primary votes to be allocated in rank order according to their numerical values
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special resolution – a resolution passed at an Academic Board meeting by at least two thirds of all Academic Board members who are present at that meeting and are eligible to vote
4.1 General functions
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Subject to the governing authority and powers of the Senate and to the powers of the Vice-Chancellor, the Academic Board has principal responsibility:
4.2 Advisory functions
4.2.1
academic matters relating to and affecting the University's teaching and research activities and its educational programs, including general advice on the academic priorities and policies of the University;
4.2.3
policies concerning the academic aspects of the conditions of appointment and employment of academic staff;
4.3 Specific functions
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Subject to the governing authority and powers of the Senate and to the powers of the Vice-Chancellor, the functions of the Academic Board are to:
4.3.1
exercise authority as delegated to the Academic Board to approve new academic courses and changes to existing courses, the delegation being subject to:
4.3.1.1
the Academic Board's reporting to the Senate on important implications of the proposals; and
4.3.2
determine policy concerning the programs of study or examinations in any Faculty, college or Board of Studies and within such policy, determine requirements to be satisfied by candidates for the award of degrees, diplomas or certificates;
4.3.3
determine the terms and conditions of awards, scholarships and prizes established within the University and make awards;
4.3.5
request reports from, or refer matters to Faculties, colleges and boards of studies and similar organisational units for consideration and action as required;
4.3.6
consider and take action as required on reports or academic submissions from Faculties, colleges or boards of studies or similar organisational units;
4.3.7
play an active role in assuring the quality of teaching, scholarship and research in the University and co-ordinate and maintain an overview of the academic activities of Faculties, colleges and boards of studies and similar organisational units;
4.3.8
initiate and oversee a formal and regular program of review of academic activities of Faculties, colleges and boards of studies, and similar organisational units;
4.3.9
provide a forum to facilitate information flow and debate within the University and between the senior executive officers of the University and the wider academic community;
5. Constitution
5.1.4
the following elected academic staff members, who do not already hold office as members under Rule 5.1.1, 5.1.2 or 5.1.3 elected:
5.1.4.1
by a group of voters defined by each relevant Faculty and approved by the Academic Board; and
5.1.4.2.2
four academic staff members for each faculty with more than 40 but fewer than 100 full-time academic staff; and
5.1.4.3
for each group of academic staff members elected from a faculty at least one should be appointed at professorial level and at least one should be appointed at a non-professorial level;
5.1.5.1
one representative of each faculty, college and board of studies, elected by and from the student members of the relevant faculty, college and board of studies.
5.1.6
up to four members, who do not already hold office as members under rules 5.1.1 to 5.1.5 inclusive, appointed by resolution of the Academic Board at an ordinary meeting of the Academic Board on the recommendation of the Chair;
5.1.7
up to four members, who do not already hold office as members under Rules 5.1.1 to 5.1.6 inclusive, co-opted by resolution at an ordinary meeting of the Academic Board on the recommendation of the Chair (Note: co-opted members are defined as short-term appointees who are identified to assist the Academic Board with a specific issue or project, and their term of office will normally reflect the time-span of that issue or project).
5.2.1
the Vice-Chancellor may allocate to any one Faculty any member of the academic staff who is not a member of a department or school placed under the supervision of a Faculty; and
5.2.2
a member of the academic staff who is a member of more than one Faculty is taken to be a member only of the Faculty that supervises that person through the relevant department or school.
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A person ceases to be a member of the Academic Board if that person at any time during their term of office:
5.3.2
in the case of a member holding office under Rule 5.1.1, 5.1.2 or 5.1.3, no longer holds the relevant position;
5.3.3.2
an academic staff member in the category for which that person was elected (for example, if that person transfers to another Faculty);
6. Terms of office
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All academic staff members elected pursuant to Rule 5.1.4 hold office for a term of two years from 1 January in the year immediately following the year of their election.
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All student members elected pursuant to Rule 5.1.5 hold office for a term of one year from 1 January in the year immediately following the year of their election.
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All appointed and co-opted members appointed pursuant to Rule 5.1.6 or 5.1.7 hold office for the term and on such conditions as resolved by the Academic Board at the time of their appointment.
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A person filling a casual vacancy holds office from the time that person is elected or appointed to fill that casual vacancy, until the expiry of the term of that person's predecessor.
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Elected members of the Academic Board are eligible for re-election in the same category, on the conditions that they:
6.5.3
A period of service as a Chair of one of the Academic Board’s Standing Committees will not count towards calculating the term of membership referred to in clause 6.5.2 but service for a term as a member in a particular category immediately prior to service as a Chair of one of the Academic Board’s Standing Committees and service for a term as a member in a particular category immediately following service as a Chair of one of the Academic Board’s Standing Committees shall constitute service for consecutive terms for the purposes of clause 6.5.2.
7. Chair of the Academic Board
7.1.3
subject to any delegations of authority approved by the Senate or resolutions of the Academic Board, may apportion authority for carrying out the functions of the Academic Board to other members of the Academic Board; and
7.1.4
must present reports to the Senate about matters considered at meetings of the Academic Board held since the previous meeting of the Senate.
7.2.2
shall be elected by those persons who are members elect of the Academic Board as soon as practicable after elections are held according to Part 5 of this Rule*; and
7.2.3.1
if elected in the same year as the members elect, from 1 January following election for a period of two years, or
7.2.3.2
in any other case, from election for the remainder of the period of two years from 1 January in the year of election.
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A person elected as Chair is eligible for re-election, so long as that person does not serve more than three full, consecutive terms as Chair.
8. Deputy Chair of the Academic Board
8.1.1
assist the Chair in the performance of his or her functions as the Chair determines from time to time;
8.1.2
act as an alternate chair of meetings of the Academic Board when the Chair is unable to do so or if a casual vacancy in the office of Chair occurs; and
8.1.3
attend meetings of the Senate in the place of the Chair when the Chair is unable to do so, or if a casual vacancy in the office of Chair occurs.
8.2.2
shall be appointed by the Academic Board from among the Chairs of Standing Committees, on the nomination of the Chair, at the first meeting of the Academic Board following an election of Academic Board members; and
9. Chairs of Standing Committees
9.1.1
shall be appointed by and from the members of the Academic Board, on the nomination of the Chair at the first meeting of the Academic Board following an election of Academic Board members; and
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A person appointed as Chair of a Standing Committee is eligible for re-appointment, so long as that person does not serve more than three full, consecutive terms as Chair of that Standing Committee.
10. Meetings
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The Chair may at any time convene a special meeting of his or her own motion, and must do so if requested by:
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The Secretary to Senate, or the Secretary to Senate’s nominee, is to act as secretary to the Academic Board.
10.5.1.1
subject to Rule 10.5.1.2, be given at least seven days in advance of the meeting to which it relates; or
10.5.1.2
in the case of special meetings convened under Rule 10.3, be given at least three days in advance of the meeting to which it relates; and
10.5.1.3
specify the place, date and time of that meeting and a brief description of the business to be transacted at that meeting;
11. Meeting procedures
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Subject to Rule 11.3, no business may be transacted at a meeting unless a quorum of members is present at the meeting within 30 minutes of the time nominated in a notice given under Rule 10.5.
11.4.2
distributed to each Board member no later than the date when notice of the next meeting is given.
11.5.2
subject to Rule 11.6, may be carried or lost by a majority of votes of those present at the meeting and eligible to vote; and
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Subject to Rule 11.9, only the Chair may put a motion without notice to a meeting of the Academic Board.
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Subject to Rules 11.9 and 11.10, the Chair's decision on all matters relating to meetings (including, without limitation, how meeting procedures are to be interpreted) is final.
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Members of the Academic Board may [and without the need for notice to be given under Rule 10.5], by resolution of at least two-thirds of members present at the meeting:
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The following person must preside at the meeting while a motion is put to, and resolved by, the members of the Academic Board under Rule 11.9:
11.10.2
if that person is not present at that meeting, another member of the Academic Board elected by and from the members of the Academic Board present at that meeting.
12. Standing and other committees
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The Academic Board may, by resolution, establish such Standing Committees or other committees or working parties as it thinks fit to assist or advise the Academic Board in the performance of its functions.
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The Chair may establish committees (but not Standing Committees) or working parties to provide advice in connection with the role and functions of the Academic Board and the Chair.
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The terms of reference and the membership of Standing Committees or other committees or working parties established under this Rule 12 are to be as determined by (as the case may be) the Academic Board or the Chair, but the following principles apply to all of them:
12.3.2
they must, as appropriate, include the following members, taking into account gender, discipline and expertise:
14. Timing of elections
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The election of the elected academic staff members of each faculty and college board to the Academic Board shall be held in second semester of every alternate year (i.e. the last semester prior to the end of the term of office of such members), and will normally be scheduled to run in conjunction with the election of elected student members of each faculty, college board and board of studies.
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The election of the elected student member of each faculty, college board and board of studies to the Academic Board shall be held in second semester of each year, following the election of students to faculties, college boards and boards of studies.
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The election of the Chair of the Academic Board shall be held in second semester of every alternate year (i.e. the last semester prior to the end of the term of office of the Chair of the Academic Board), following the election of the academic staff members and the student members of the Academic Board as per sections 14.1 and 14.2 above.
15. Returning Officer
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The Secretary to Senate, or the Secretary to Senate’s nominee, acts as the returning officer for all elections.
16. Rolls
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The returning officer must, for the purpose of elections, establish and maintain separate Rolls for each category of elected members of the Academic Board prescribed in Rule 5, current as at the date of close of nominations.
16.2.1
A copy of each relevant Roll must be available for inspection at the office of the returning officer during the University's usual business hours for at least 14 days before the date on which the election is due to be held.
16.2.2
A person's entitlement to inspect a Roll is subject to any policies or procedures of the University from time to time concerning privacy of personal information.
16.3.1
correcting any mistake or omission in the details of any eligible voter entered on that Roll;
16.3.2
altering, on the written application of any eligible voter, the name or address of the person entered on that Roll;
16.3.4
removing the name of any person who is no longer entitled to vote in that election, or in the relevant category of that election;
16.3.5
removing the superfluous entry where the name of the same eligible voter appears more than once on the Roll; or
16.3.6
reinstating the name of an eligible voter removed from the Roll, where the Registrar is satisfied that such person is still entitled to be entered on the relevant Roll.
17. Eligibility for election and to vote
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A person is eligible for election to the Academic Board and/or (as the case may be) to vote in any election of the Academic Board if that person's name appears on the Roll in the relevant category at the time of close of nominations specified in the notice of election.
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Rule 17.3 applies to a person who claims he or she is entitled to vote in an election even though:
17.2.1
that person's name cannot be found on the Roll for the election for which the person is claiming an entitlement to vote;
18. Time intervals for different stages of the election process
18.1
there are not less than 14 days nor more than 28 days between the publication of the notice that an election is to be held and the time for nominations to close;
19. Notice of election
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When an election becomes necessary, the returning officer must publish a notice of election containing the following information:
20. Nominating candidates
20.1.1
A separate nomination form must be completed for each candidate and for each category in which that person is nominated.
20.1.2
Except under the circumstances outlined in 20.1.5 below, each person who nominates another for election must be eligible for election in that category. A person cannot nominate himself or herself for election.
20.1.3
Each nomination must be signed by the candidate, and by the two persons nominating the candidate.
20.1.4
A person cannot nominate more than one person in any category of election. If this occurs, the returning officer is to treat the first signed nomination form received as the valid nomination for that election.
20.1.5
In the case of nominations for election as a student member, both of the nominators must be enrolled as a student at the University of Sydney in the same faculty, college or board of studies as the nominee.
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An eligible person may be nominated in more than one category of membership of the Academic Board.
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At the time of nomination, a candidate may provide a statement of no more than 100 words containing any of the following information:
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The returning officer may edit any information provided by a candidate under Rule 20.4. Edited statements will be printed as a summary of information and distributed with voting papers.
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If, before the declaration of a poll for an election, a candidate dies or is no longer eligible for election, the election must proceed as if:
21. Receiving nominations
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Nominations must be received by the returning officer no later than 4pm on the date for close of nominations specified in the relevant notice of election.
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The returning officer must reject a nomination paper if satisfied that the nomination does not comply with the requirements of Rule 20.1. If a nomination is rejected, then the returning officer must, within seven days of receiving that nomination, send or deliver a notice to each person who has signed or endorsed that nomination paper, notifying the person that the nomination has been rejected.
22. Dealing with nominations
24. Postal votes
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The returning officer must, at least 14 days before the ballot is due to be held, send to each voter on the relevant Roll, at the voter's address listed on that Roll:
24.2.2.3
a declaration requiring the voter to state his or her name and that he or she is eligible to vote; and
24.2.2.4
two envelopes, one marked 'Voting Paper' and the other a returning envelope addressed to the returning officer.
24.3.3
enclose and seal the envelope and declaration, referred to in Rule 24.3.1 and 24.3.2 above, in the returning envelope addressed to the returning officer; and
26. Errors
26.1.2
an eligible voter did not receive a voting paper, or did not see displayed or receive a notice of election; or
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Notwithstanding Rule 26.1, and without limiting any of the returning officer's other powers, the returning officer may, at any time, declare an election invalid because, in his or her opinion, one or more of the events described in that Rule has materially affected, or is likely to materially affect, the outcome of that election.
27. Scrutineers
28. Informal voting papers
28.1.1
contains any mark or writing that, in the opinion of the returning officer, enables any person to identify the voter;
29. Tally sheet to be kept
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The returning officer must keep a tally sheet for each ballot containing the following information:
31. Counting votes for one candidate only
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Enter the total number of primary votes for each candidate next to that candidate's name on the tally sheet.
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If a candidate receives an absolute majority of primary votes, then declare that candidate elected.
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Where no candidate receives an absolute majority of primary votes, distribute secondary votes according to Rules 31.6 to 31.11 until one candidate receives an absolute majority.
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For each voting paper where the excluded candidate received a primary vote, allocate the next active secondary vote.
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If there is no active secondary vote on any voting paper examined then that voting paper is exhausted.
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Add together the primary votes and secondary votes for each remaining candidate and exclude the candidate with the lowest number of total votes.
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If, after the exclusion of a candidate, the next active secondary vote is to an excluded candidate then that secondary vote shall be disregarded and the next secondary vote, if any, distributed.
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Repeat the process as set down in Rules 31.6 to 31.11 until one candidate receives an absolute majority of votes.
33. Counting votes
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Enter the total number of primary votes for each candidate next to that candidate's name on the tally sheet.
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For each voting paper where the excluded candidate received a primary vote, allocate the next active secondary vote.
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Add together the primary votes and secondary votes for each remaining candidate and exclude the candidate with the lowest of total votes.
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If, after the exclusion of a candidate, the next active secondary vote indicates an excluded candidate, then that secondary vote must be disregarded and the next secondary vote, if any, allocated.
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Repeat the process as set down in Rules 33.5 to 33.9 until only the number of candidates required to fill the vacancies remain.
34. Election in more than one category
35. Filling casual vacancies or dealing with insufficient nominations
35.1.1
If a casual vacancy occurs in the office of any elected academic staff member of the Academic Board [other than in the office of the Chair], then that vacancy must be filled by the candidate at the immediately preceding election who was the last candidate to be excluded, and who remains eligible to be elected.
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then the Academic Board may fill that vacancy or position by appointing a person from the relevant Faculty who is eligible to be elected to that category of members, after first consulting with the relevant Dean.
35.1.3
If a casual vacancy or position cannot be filled according to Rule 35.1.2, then the position shall remain vacant until it can be filled for the remainder of the term according to Rule 35.1.1 or 35.1.2 [as the case may be].
35.2.1
If a casual vacancy occurs in the office of any elected student member, then that vacancy must be filled by the candidate at the immediately preceding election who was the last candidate to be excluded, and who remains eligible to be elected.
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then that vacancy or position must be filled by a student, who is not already a member of the Academic Board, on the nomination of the relevant dean or chair of the board of studies, who must first consult with the Presidents of the Students' Representative Council and the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association. For the purposes of that consultation the relevant Dean, the President of the Students’ Representative Council and the President of the Student University Postgraduate Representative Association shall have regard to the consideration that it is desirable that undergraduate students, postgraduate coursework students and postgraduate research students all be represented on the Academic Board”;
35.2.3
If a casual vacancy or position cannot be filled according to Rule 35.2.2, then the position shall remain vacant until it can be filled for the remainder of the term according to Rule 35.2.1 or 35.2.2 [as the case may be].