4. Guidance on the Election, Nomination, Appointment and Co-option of Members to Committees

4.1 Definitions

The composition of a committee may allow for members to be elected, nominated, appointed or co-opted by particular constituencies or to serve ex officio. If not determined by Ordinance or Regulation, the process is determined by the constituency concerned.

Elected members
will be nominated initially from the specified constituency. If there are more nominations than vacancies an election is held in which all members of the constituency may vote.
Nominated members
are identified by an individual or group and usually a single name is put forward for each vacancy. A Committee will commonly delegate to its chair the task of nominating a representative to serve on another body.
Appointed members
must be appointed by the body on which they are to serve although in practice they may have been nominated by the specified constituency and it would be unusual for the appointment not to be approved.
Co-opted members
Some committees have explicit reference to co-opted members in their composition. Such arrangements permit the inclusion of members who have expertise to offer to the business of the committee but who may not be clear representatives of any particular grouping associated with the committee. Names are usually discussed informally and put forward by the Chair to the committee for approval.
Ex officio members
are members by virtue of their office in the University, e.g. the Vice-Chancellor, Chief Operating Officer, Dean of School, Associate Deans etc.

 

4.2 Elections

Where a formal committee includes elected members, in the majority of cases the election arrangements will be carried out by a designated member staff within the Academic Registry in accordance with Ordinance XXX. This individual will inform the committee secretary of the outcome as soon as possible. Elections shall normally be by secret ballot and each person standing for election is invited to prepare a statement of up to 150 words to inform electors. These statements will normally only be available electronically (see Annex 1).

 

4.3 Council and its Committees, Senate and its Committees, and Human Resources Committee

Arrangements for determining the memberships of the above committees have special procedures which are set out in Annex 1.

 

4.4 Committees to Consider Individual Cases

Some committees are convened only when required by the submission of individual cases for consideration. These are:

The membership of these committees and the procedure for appointment of members is included in the relevant Ordinance or Regulation.

 

4.5 DVC, PVC, Dean and Associate Dean Appointment Procedures

The procedures for these appointments are available at:

 

4.6 Students’ Union Representatives

Nominations or appointments by º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Students’ Union to University committees are notified to Committee Secretaries at the beginning of each new academic year by the person responsible for Elections in the Academic Registry.

 

4.7 Nominations from Small Constituencies and Membership of Sub-Committees

Nominations from small constituencies are the responsibility of the Chair and Committee Secretary as are nominations/elections of a Committee’s members to its Sub-Committees.

 

4.8 Occasional Mid-year Vacancies in Membership

Vacancies arising on Committees mid-year (e.g. due to staff leaving or study leave) should be filled at the earliest opportunity where this is feasible. Where study leave means a member will miss only one meeting there is no need to seek a replacement (Ordinance XV). For most committees the new member should normally serve for the standard period of office rounded up or down depending on the time of year to account for the vacancy being filled part way through the year.

 

4.9 Participation in Committee Activities

  1. The University expects committee members to attend meetings regularly, read relevant paperwork in advance of the meetings and to participate fully in discussions. Members are expected to take a pro-active, creative and constructive role in the work of the committee. Whilst they may contribute the views of any constituency which nominated or elected them, they should be prepared to take decisions in the best interests of the University as a whole.
  2. The University actively welcomes nominations which reflect the diversity of the University encompassing ethnicity, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation and disability and, where appropriate, staff group. This statement is included in all centrally organised calls for nominations to committees and should also be used for calls made by individual committee secretaries. Secretaries and chairs should, as far as possible, actively seek to ensure membership of their committee is in accordance with this policy. Academic staff from all backgrounds are encouraged to participate in committee work by inclusion of committee work in School workload models.