Senate Standing Committee elections
Information for Senate members interested in standing for election to a Senate Standing Committee
Role
Three positions on each of Senate's three Standing Committees are allocated to elected members of Senate. The three elected member positions are nominally assigned to each College.
Positions available
The number of positions and categories available for nomination are below. Nominees cannot seek membership of more than one Committee.
| Senate Standing Committee | Positions available |
|---|---|
| Senate Academic Policy and Regulations Committee | Three - each position is nominally assigned to a College |
| Senate Education Committee | Three - each position is nominally assigned to a College |
| Senate Quality Assurance Committee | Three - each position is nominally assigned to a College |
Terms of Office
Members serve for one academic year and the terms of office for 2023/24 are 1 August 2023 - 31 July 2024. Members can subsequently seek re-election to the relevant Committee (in line with the arrangements agreed by Senate) for up to two further sessions.
Eligibility
Current elected academic staff members of Senate plus the Senate Assessors and the Academic Staff Member of Court will have the opportunity to nominate themselves for membership of one of the three Senate Standing Committees. Nominees cannot seek membership of more than one Committee.
Where a member's term on Senate is due to end in July of that year, they can nominate themselves for a position on a Standing Committee, as long as they intend to stand for re-election to Senate. Members in this category would only be able to take up a place on the relevant Committee if they secure another term on Senate commencing in August.
Should a member cease to be a member of Senate prior to or during their representation on a Standing Committee, their membership on the relevant Committee will cease with immediate effect.
Staff who hold an ex officio appointment to Senate are not eligible to stand for election to a Senate Standing Committee, with the exception of Senate Assessors and the Academic Staff Member on Court. Ex officio members unable to stand for election include Heads of School, Heads of College, the Provost, Vice Principals and Assistant Principals. A full list of ex officio roles is available at Senate Membership.
Nomination & Election dates
Elections to Senate Standing Committees are held on an annual basis. Further information on the nomination and election process, including dates for the elections will be published online in February 2024.
Election process
In the event that the number of eligible nominations for a Committee exceeds the three available places, an election will determine which nominees are assigned to the membership of the Committee.
Should an election be required, the election would be conducted by means of the Single Transferrable Vote, Weighted Inclusive Gregory Method (STV WIGM). For each Committee, the three candidates with the greatest share of the vote would automatically be elected to the relevant Committee. In the event of a tie, the successful candidate or candidates would be determined by the drawing of lots.
Voting would be conducted online, and the counting of votes would be conducted using an electronic counting system facilitated by Civica Election Services (formerly Electoral Reform Services).
In the event that the number of eligible nominees for a Committee does not exceed the three available places each nominee will be assigned to the membership of the Committee.
If vacancies remain following each College being assigned a position, any remaining positions will be allocated to interested nominees.
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Contact
For further information or if you have any specific questions, please contact the Senate Support team at SenateSupport@ed.ac.uk