Roles and Responsibilities of Members
Regardless of their category of membership (that is, elected, nominated, ex officio etc) all members of Academic Senate and its committees have the following roles and responsibilities:
- to understand the purpose and functions of the committee;
- to regularly attend and actively contribute to meetings and to the work of the committee;
- to read and critically review all agenda papers before each meeting;
- to ensure due care and diligence is taken in decision making;
- to act honestly and in the best interests of the committee and the University;
- to maintain confidentiality, where required;
- to declare any conflict of interest that they may have with any matter on an agenda;
- to be the communication point between the committee and the member's School, Faculty, Division or other area in relation to discussions, decisions, policies and other developments of the committee;
- to comply with the law and University Rules, policies and procedures.
Elected, nominated or appointed members of Academic Senate or one of its committees are encouraged to bring to that committee their own experience and expertise and the views of the particular group or electorate (such as the student body or a School or Faculty) that they represent. However, as a member of the committee, their decision and input into the committee must reflect the interests of the university as a whole. Once they assume membership of the Academic Senate or committee they are subject to the overriding duty to serve the interests of the Academic Senate or committee (Bennetts v Board of Fire Commissioners of New South Wales (1967) 87 W.N. (Pt1) (NSW) 307 at 311 refers).