Te Komiti o ngā Hotaka | Programme Academic and Quality Committee

Introduction

These Kaupapa | Standing Orders are for Te Komiti o ngā Hotaka | Programme Academic and Quality Committees (PAQC) and are applicable to all committee meetings and, as appropriate, to meetings of subcommittees. They are modelled on the publication from the Tertiary Education Commission: Guidance Guide for Council Members of Tertiary Education Institutions. Another useful guide is the D.I.Y Good Governance resource out of Northern Ireland.

Standing Orders are a set of rules and procedures that govern the way that Academic Committees at Unitec are run.

A Glossary defines the meaning of various terms used in these Standing Orders

On this page

Kaupapa | Values – Guiding principles of standing orders

Committee Meetings

Chairperson

Student Representation

Notice of meetings

Quorum

Attendance at meetings

Meeting procedure

Voting procedure

Discussion

Actions and Tracking

Electronic meetings (e-meeting)

Agendas

Minutes

Making amendments to standing orders

Glossary

1 . Kaupapa | Values

1.1 . Guiding principles of standing orders

Te Komiti o ngā Hotaka | Programme Academic and Quality Committee work is framed within the values of Kaitiakitanga for Programme Quality and Student Success and Mahi Kotahitanga and Ngākau Māhaki for the work of Academic Programme Managers, Teaching Staff and Academic Administration.

Standing Orders are a set of rules and procedures that govern the way that Academic Committees at Unitec are run. Committee procedures should be fair and contribute to open, transparent and informed decision-making. They should reflect levels of formality appropriate for the nature and scope of the responsibilities exercised at the meeting.

Committee procedures should be clear and follow policy direction to give the governing committee and the academic community confidence in the decisions and deliberations undertaken at the meeting.

All formal Committees at Unitec begin and end with an appropriate Karakia.

2 . Committee Meetings

2.1 . PAQC will meet regularly according to an approved yearly schedule. These meetings will be known as “ordinary” meetings.

2.2 . Other forms of PAQC meetings include:

• Electronic meetings (e-meetings) may be held in accordance with rules described in Section 4.8 below
• Extra-ordinary or Special meetings may be scheduled from time to time by the Chair as required for specific purposes (often to meet a specific deadline not previously scheduled).
• Standing Committee, which may be formed to exercise all powers and functions of the PAQC in relation to any matters that are considered “extraordinary” or that require urgent attention and that cannot reasonably be deferred to the next scheduled meeting of the PAQC. A Standing Committee will be formally approved by the PAQC and will detail membership and terms of reference, which shall be renewed annually.

2.3  Chair’s Action: Occasionally there may be items that the Committee is asked to deal with which are so urgent (and non-contentious) that a decision has to be made before the next meeting of the Committee. In this case they can be dealt with by Chair’s Action. This is when the Chair makes a decision on behalf of the committee. The Committee Secretary will need to keep a written record of the Chair’s Action and put an item on the next agenda of the Committee, so that members may note the action taken.

2.4 . Sub-committees or Working Groups may be established under Section 8.1 of the PAQC Terms of Reference with delegated authority for specific purposes. Any sub-committee will:

• Be formally approved by the PAQC
• Include detail of delegated authority, membership and terms of reference for each, which shall be renewed annually.
• Meet according to a schedule approved yearly by each individual PAQC.
• Each sub-committee will report to the PAQC at the next meeting and provide the minutes of its meeting (either confirmed or unconfirmed) for noting.

3 . Chairperson

A Chair and Deputy Chair shall be approved by the Executive Dean from among the Membership of the Committee. In appointing the Chair and Deputy Chair, the Executive Dean will consider the potential implications of the Chair and Deputy Chair holding a position of authority within the School.

3.1  The Chair of the meeting is responsible for:

• ensuring the preparation for the meeting is complete by working with the Committee Secretary to set the agenda for each meeting;
• conducting the meeting ensuring the timely transaction of business;
• maintaining order and ensuring that there is fair, open and courteous debate among members; and
• conducting the meeting in accordance with these standing orders.

3.2  During a meeting, if the Chair feels sufficiently strong enough about a matter, then they may vacate (leave) the Chair temporarily to participate in the debate. The Deputy Chair, or other agreed appointed member, may take up the role of Chair during these times. The Chair will return to their role at the conclusion of the debate to manage the vote.

3.3  If the Chair is absent, then the Deputy Chair shall take his or her place. If either the Chair, or Deputy Chair is absent then the meeting shall be postponed.

4. Student Representation

4.1 Unitec is committed to partnering with Students, who we regard as our primary stakeholders, so that they can engage in decisions and actions which shape their learning environment, including providing advice and insight to Unitec Governance Committees about ways in which both their learning and wider experiences at Unitec can be enhanced.

4.2 Student representation on PAQC’s is one way that Students can offer their perspective on matters that affect all students. Just like other members on the PAQC, students are present to add value through their unique perspective.

4.3  Student members have the same rights as all other members of the Programme Committee, and shall not, at any point, be asked to leave the meeting by the other members or the Chair.

4.4  The Student Representatives for a given academic year are elected only after the start of the 1st semester. For PAQC meetings occurring before this happens, the representatives elected in the previous year may be invited as Student Representatives. Once new Student reps are elected, programmes are responsible to update the membership of their PAQC in the information sheet.

5 . Conduct of Meetings

5.1 . Notice of meetings

• Notice of meetings shall be sent to all members no later than ten (10) working days prior to the date of the meeting.
• Meeting agendas will be distributed electronically in a timely manner.
• Meetings shall, subject to the presence of a quorum, start and conclude at the time set out in the notice of the meeting.

5.2 . Quorum

• A quorum shall consist of a majority of the number of members with voting rights.
• Appointed members may nominate a staff member proxy to represent them with full voting rights.
• If there is no quorum present within 15 minutes of the starting time, as set out in the notice of the meeting, the meeting shall lapse and will stand adjourned until a date and time to be determined by the Chair.
• The Chair may refer specific items from the agenda of a lapsed meeting to a Special Meeting or to the Standing Committee with the assent of the members present.
• All other business on the agenda of a lapsed meeting shall be included on the agenda of the next scheduled meeting and shall take precedence over new business.
• Meetings may be scheduled to occur over a number of sessions if required. At the conclusion of each scheduled session a motion of suspension shall be agreed, and the meeting will pause until the next occurrence. A quorum must be maintained in each occurrence of the meeting, however they do not need to be the same members. Attendance will be recorded and noted for each occurrence date.

5.3 . Attendance at Meetings

Members are appointed to the PAQC with the expectation that they will engage with the work of the committee which will be acknowledged through a time allocation. The following therefore applies:

• Attendance at PAQC meetings is deemed to be mandatory for appointed members. (See Tips for Dealing with Poor Attendance)
• Appointed members may nominate a staff member proxy to represent them with full voting rights.
• Members who continually find themselves unable to attend scheduled meetings must resign from the Committee to allow a new member to be appointed.

Attendance at PAQC meetings by persons other than members of the committee shall be by invitation of the Chair.

5.4 . Meeting Procedure

The Chair will call the meeting to order and begin to run through the agenda items. He or she will:

• Call for votes on agenda items that require a decision to be made (see 4.4 ‘Voting Procedures’ below) or facilitate discussion among the members for agenda items that do not require a vote.
• Use their discretion with regards to late or tabled agenda items to determine when these items will be considered in the meeting.
• Assign actions as required to a specific member or members, and a due date/deadline should be recorded (see 4.6 ‘Actions and Tracking’ below).
• Ask if there is ‘any other business’ once all items on the agenda have been covered. Committee members might bring up additional items at this point. Chairs may use their discretion with regards to how much time will be allocated for the consideration any ‘other business’ items.
• Will close the meeting once all matters have been covered.

5.5 . Voting Procedure

All resolutions that require approval, or formal receipt by the Committee shall be proposed by one member and seconded by another, and any such resolution shall be passed or rejected according to the voting of the members present. For example:

• If there is a motion to be considered (a decision that needs to be made, a change to be approved, etc.), the Chair will propose the motion, and ask for someone to “move” it, and someone to “second” it.  The Secretary records the names of the mover and seconder.  If there is no seconder, the motion will “lapse” and will go no further.
• If the motion is moved and seconded, the Chair asks if everyone is “in favour” (agrees with) the motion.  The Chair may ask members to say “aye”, or to raise their hands.  If most members are in favour, the motion is “carried” (passed).
• If there is no mover and/or seconder, the motion may be “withdrawn” (removed from consideration – no decision is made).
• If not everyone is in favour, the motion may be carried anyway (as long as at least half of the attendees are in favour), or it may be “denied” (refused) if less than half agree.  It may also be “withdrawn” at this point.
• Some members may choose to “abstain” from voting – this means that they do not want to vote either way, and choose not to be involved with this particular motion. .  A decision on the motion is arrived at by those persons present and voting.  Abstaining does not count as voting and that member cannot be counted in relation to the total numbers for or against the motion. The Secretary records the names of those who abstain.
• The Chair of the meeting shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

5.6 . Discussion

The Chair will manage discussion on all business of the meeting whether they are items for approval, discussion, or receipt. The Chair will encourage and stimulate meeting participant discussion to ensure the successful implementation of any decision taken by:

• Ensuring that everyone has had the opportunity to be heard.
• ‘Drawing out’ the quieter, more reflective participants; whilst managing and controlling the louder, more vocal participants.
• Constructively resolve any conflict that arises within the meeting.

To support the resolution of any conflict or difficulty in the meeting, each member needs to be clear when discussing a topic raised for discussion and should manage and remove their personal emotions from the topic being discussed.If members cannot reach consensus on the topic being discussed within a reasonable length of time, the Chair can, at their discretion call:

• cease the conversation and reconvene the topic of discussion at end of the meeting
• where appropriate, move the agenda item to the next meeting for continued discussion and additional information.

Matters arising from previous minutes are for exceptionally interesting, timely comments, clarifications or brief update on any items contained in the minutes of the previous meeting not included in the current agenda.  It is not an opportunity to introduce anything new or unrelated to the minutes.

The Chair has the discretion to declare a topic of discussion closed, if they determine the discussion is unproductive and becoming negative – to preserve relationships on the committee.

5.7 . Actions and Tracking

If actions are required for any item of business in the meeting, the Chair will assign these actions to a specific member or members, and a due date/deadline will be recorded.Tracking of actions is required for all PAQCs and the Committee Secretary will be responsible for preparing and updating a tracking spreadsheet to monitor progress and completion of actions.When an action is reported as being completed, it will appear in the next PAQC and will be agreed upon and received by the committee. Any completed actions will be reported in the tracking sheet of the minutes of the meeting, but will be removed from the new tracking sheet in the agenda.

5.8 . Electronic Meetings (e-meetings)

From time to time, it may be necessary to hold an e-meeting instead of actual physical meetings.  An e-meeting usually involves distributing information using an electronic medium such as by email, and receiving feedback and/or votes from committee members using the same medium.

All statute and policy requirements and procedures that apply to the conduct of face-to-face Committee meetings also apply to e-meetings.e-Meetings are useful when there are urgent matters to approve, and committee members are not available for standard meeting, however they are to be used sparingly and should never be used to substitute for a standard full meeting.

e-Meetings are suitable where simple, straight-forward decisions or resolutions can be approved or otherwise. They do not lend themselves well to items that need detailed discussion and the exploration of options. An e-meeting would be appropriate in the following circumstances:

• If there is little business for the committee to consider, but an item cannot wait for the next meeting to be approved.
• If it is known that many members will be unavailable and there would not be a quorum at the face to face meeting.
• If a matter requiring a decision arises between meetings, but it would be inappropriate for the Chair to make a decision (eg: processing results, graduations, etc.).

5.9  Additional procedures for e-meetings

• Notification: Members must be sent an email advising them of the meeting at least 24 hours before the start of voting (at least 2 working days where any documentation needs to be evaluated). The period between the opening and closing of the voting will be no less than 24 hours during the working week. The email must include an agenda, the date and time when voting opens, the date and time when voting closes, and the conditions for responding in the email – i.e. explanation of the tracking rule.
• Tracking participation: Microsoft Outlook allows for the tracking of read emails and can request a response of the reader, this will allow the tracking of participation to be recorded
• Responses: Members will be informed in the agenda email how their response will be recorded. Conditions may include:
  • whether they must reply with their vote via email.
  • whether non-response will be taking as a “yes” vote for the motion/s.
  • whether out-of-office auto-replies will be recorded as apologies.
  • If at least half the members do not respond in one way or another, then the meeting is not valid and will be deemed inquorate.
• Meeting management: The following will apply:
  • The Chair will preside in all e-meetings.
  • Any decisions taken in the absence of the Chair shall be considered null and void.
  • The person authorized to determine if and when a motion will be voted on via an e-meeting, and to approve the motion and all relevant information for distribution shall be the committee Chair.
  • The person responsible for distribution of the motion and tallying the electronic vote shall be the committee secretary.
  • The minutes of e-meeting will be signed off by the Chair and reported to the next full standard meeting of the Committee for approval.

6.  Agendas

6.1  ‘Agenda papers’ is the term for a document that includes the agenda (schedule) for the meeting, the proposed motions, and all of the supporting documents required. The agenda for a committee meeting shall use a standard template, in an electronic format, and will usually include:

• The agenda (schedule) for the meeting (usually arranged into sections – ‘for approval, ‘for discussion’, and ‘for receipt’);
• A copy of the previous minutes (requiring approval);
• Motions for all of the agenda items that require a motion, along with an explanation and any supporting documentation to accompany these agenda items
• For agenda items that don’t require a motion, details of the item and any supporting documentation to accompany the item;
• Links to any other supporting materials such as tracker sheets, etc. that can be accessed by members in the meeting;
• Minutes/notes of any sub-committees actions.

6.2  Agenda items ‘for approval, ‘for discussion’, and ‘for receipt’, will generally be submitted in the form of a memo and may also include accompanying support documentation. (Committee Templates)

6.3  Agenda papers are compiled prior to the meeting, and are distributed electronically to committee members to read beforehand. The agenda will be set by the Chair in collaboration with Academic Programme Managers and the Committee Secretary.

6.4  There will be a standard agenda for all types of meetings including standard PAQC Committee meetings, Electronic meetings, and Sub-committee meetings. These are available in the PAQC Nest resource pages.

6.5 The names of current students must not be used in agendas or minutes. Student ID numbers will be used. The only exception to this rule is when approving graduands, whose names may be included in both agendas and minutes.

6.6  The committee will deal with the items of business set down for the meeting in the order in which they appear on the agenda unless otherwise determined by the Chair.

7.  Minutes

7.1  ‘Minutes’ is the term for the written record of the proceedings and resolutions of every meeting. The minutes should be an accurate record of all decisions/resolutions of the meeting and are approved as such at the next meeting.

7.2  Minutes are a permanent record and signed copies are required to be kept under the requirements of official record keeping.

7.3  All motions should be recorded and, if requested, read back to ensure they are correct.

7.4  The minutes must contain a list of those present, apologies, names of guests or observers, outcomes of business in the order it was dealt with, actions that resulted from the business and the names assigned to the actions, copies of reports and state the date and time of the next meeting.

7.5  The minutes should not be a verbatim record of the meeting but should be sufficient to set out issues raised, and the decisions taken.

7.6  Minutes are official documents and can be used in legal proceedings – they must be written with this in mind.

7.7  Minutes cannot be changed after they have been approved (unless a motion is passed to correct them).  They cannot include information that is different from, or in addition to, what was covered at the meeting, as they are a record of what happened during the meeting only.

7.8  Minutes will be distributed to members once the Chair has approved the draft and advised any necessary changes. These will be distributed by email and will be posted the required folder in the E-Academic Library on the H:Drive and the PAQC page on the Nest.

7.9  Notification that the minutes are posted will be sent via email to a wider audience including support areas and School general staff.

7.10  Formal approval of the minutes will occur at the next meeting of the committee.  The Chair will ask Committee members to check the previous minutes and advise of any corrections.  A motion is then passed to approve the minutes (or approve them with corrections). Any approved corrections will be made to the master copy of the minutes which will be republished as redistributed as noted above.

7.11  Final approved minutes are sent to the Quality Alignment Board for notification.

8.  Amendments to standing orders

8.1  These Standing Orders are governed by Academic Board and reviewed annually.

8.2  PAQCs may proposed amendments to these standing orders by a resolution carried by a majority of members of the committee. Any such proposals will be forwarded to Academic Board for their consideration.

9.  Glossary

For assistance with any of the items on this page contact your Te Korowai Kahurangi Administrator or email us at tkk@unitec.ac.nz.