Policy Advisory Committee

Terms of reference:

1. To consider and report on any matter referred to it by the Academic Board, any of its standing committees, the Chair of the Board or the Vice-Chancellor.

2. To identify emerging issues of academic policy and to determine the priority to be given them by the Committee in the conduct of its business.

3. To identify resource needs and requirements associated with academic policy recommendations and draw these to the attention of the Vice-Chancellor.

4. In consultation with the faculties, to identify, and make recommendations to the Board on, changes in the academic activities of the University.

5. To create short term working parties, as necessary with such members as the Committee requires, which will analyse and report on the likely impacts of and options for responding to issues before it. Co-opted members of working parties need not necessarily be members of the Academic Board.

6. Except where the Board has authorised otherwise, final reports and recommendations of the Committee shall be made to the Academic Board for its consideration and action.

Professorial members of the Committee were initially selected at the meeting of the Academic Board held in December 1992. The Academic Board at its meeting in February 1994 changed the constitution of the Committee to make provision for the  Assistant Vice-Chancellor to be an ex-officio member of the Committee.

A review of the Academic Board was carried out in 1995, with a Report of the Committee of Review, dated July 1995, submitted to Senate in October 1995. The report proposed that the board of nearly 400 members be replaced by a two-tiered structure: an Academic Forum of about the same number and an Academic Board of 61 members. The Board would be supported by 6 committees instead of 12, the new committees to be Undergraduate Studies, Graduate Studies, Teaching and Learning, Research, Library and Information Technology, and Academic Staffing. The new structure came into place in October 1996. The Committee held its last meeting on 31 October 1996 (AB minutes 13/11/1996 p.12)