General Assembly - 16 May 1996

Subject - Membership of Faculty Boards

During this academic session there have been extensive discussions on the membership of the Faculty Boards that will replace the present Boards of Study on 1 August 1996. Except for the addition of student members and of Associate Deans, the rules of membership of these Boards seem to have remained largely unchanged since the Universityís establishment. Moreover, the previous four Boards of Study are to become three Faculties, so the size of the Boards would increase significantly if the rules for Departmental representation were not modified. Moreover there is a widespread feeling that the Boards provide, amongst other functions, useful routes by which more junior members of the University can be introduced to its structures and activities.

Senior staff and Directorates are agreed that the VC, Dean, ADs, HoDs and student members should continue as at present. The category of non-principal HoDs will disappear under the new Faculty structure, as there will be no cases where a taught course is controlled by a Department in one Faculty while the course itself belongs in another. Moreover since the number of Boards will fall, the number of co-opted places (currently 11) could be reduced to (e.g.) 7.

Two outstanding and related points have, however, been referred to General Assembly for an opinion. It has been suggested that, to avoid a preponderance of professorial staff on the Boards, automatic membership for all f/t Professors should end, and that such colleagues should (unless they are Deans, HoDs etc) be eligible for membership through a modified electoral arrangement. The counter argument advanced is that as Professorial staff are by definition the Universityís leaders in research and/or teaching, their experience and expertise should be available in full to Boards. Lastly there has been discussion about the necessity for HoD nominated representatives. These also date from the earliest days of the University, but their function is less clear now, especially if Departments have numerous other elected or ex-officio members.

General Assembly members are thus invited to comment on:

• a. Whether HoD nominated membership should continue; and

• b. Whether automatic membership for f/t professors should continue. The effect of the latter would be that the University would introduce new rules for elected members, taking into account that the candidates would include all staff, not just non-professorial staff. Each Department would continue to have at least one elected member, with additional members according to size.

Professor J N Miller