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Faculty Advisory Committees
Provisions regulating Faculty Advisory Committees (sometimes known as Faculty Visiting Committees) have been substantially revised with the introduction of the UOW Academic Review Policy. Section 6 of that policy now regulates the operation of Faculty Advisory Committees. Section 6 is reproduced below:
Purpose of Faculty Advisory Committees
1. Faculty Advisory Committees have an essential role in academic reviews as external advisory and monitoring bodies.
2. Each Faculty shall establish a Faculty Advisory Committee to promote the quality of academic management by the Faculty by providing external expertise and independent perspectives.
3. A Faculty may obtain approval from the Vice-Chancellor to establish more than one Advisory Committee, where appropriate for the structure of the Faculty (e.g. on a school or discipline basis), each of which shall comply with the requirements of this section.
Terms of Reference
4. The terms of reference for a Faculty Advisory Committee shall, at a minimum, include a responsibility to:
a. Support the Faculty’s strategic planning processes by providing advice and perspectives on:
i. future trends and opportunities
ii. areas for innovation
iii. relevance and quality of the Faculty curriculum, research and community linkages
b. Assist in identifying and securing financial assistance for the Faculty (including via benefactions, scholarships, grants and research funding)
c. Assist in developing close ties with business, industry, professions, public sector and community organisations to pursue mutually beneficial objectives for learning and teaching and research
d. Enhance the local, national and international reputation of UOW and the Faculty
e. Monitor reports on the outcomes of:
i. Triennial reviews of the performance of the Faculty against its Faculty Plan and against the goals set out in the UOW Strategic Plan (submitted to it in accordance with section 7.1 (c))
ii. Reviews of the faculty or its academic units (submitted to it in accordance with section 7.15
iii. Reviews of courses, specialisations or Major Course Proposals (submitted to it in accordance with sections 8.16 or 8.35)
and provide advice and feedback to the Dean and DVC(A) as the advisory committee sees fit
f. Act, at all times, within the parameters of an advisory role
Membership
5. Membership of the Faculty Advisory Committee shall generally be between 6 and 15 persons, no more than two of whom shall be serving UOW academic staff members. The Dean of the Faculty shall be an ex-officio member of the committee. The chair of the committee shall be a person independent of the University.
6. Members shall be prominent persons held in high esteem in their field and have:
a. relevant expertise in the professions related to the disciplines and activities of the Faculty, including relevant professional bodies, or
b. relevant expertise in government or industry, or
c. a capacity for and interest in contributing to the work of the Committee and the faculty.
7. Committee members shall be drawn from both within and outside the local area and, as far as possible, the committee shall be gender balanced.
Approval and Review
8.
a. The Faculty Dean shall provide to the DVC(A) and DVC(O):
i. draft terms of reference for the Faculty Advisory Committee in accordance with section 6.4, and
ii. a draft list of nominees eligible for membership under section 6.5 – 6.7, providing details about each nominee and their suitability for membership.
b. Faculties may propose that the requirements for terms of reference and membership of Faculty Advisory Committees be varied to meet their particular needs.
9. After consultation with the DVC(A) and DVC(O), the Dean shall finalise the terms of reference and draw up a formal list of members which shall include details of qualifications, membership of professional associations and work experience for submission to the Vice-Chancellor.
10. After consultation with the Dean, DVC(A) and DVC(O), the Vice-Chancellor shall:
a. determine and approve the terms of reference and composition, and
b. appoint the members, the chair and deputy chair of the Committee.
11. At the Council meeting following establishment, the Vice-Chancellor shall inform Council of the terms of reference and composition of the Committee.
12. The terms of reference and composition shall be reviewed by the Dean every four years or more often if necessary (e.g. to add members with additional expertise) and any proposed changes shall be approved and communicated in accordance with sections 6.8 to 6.11 above.
13. Each Committee chair shall hold office for a term of two years, subject to renewal by the Dean for a further two years. The appointment of a new chair shall be approved in accordance with the procedures set out in sections 6.8 - 6.11 above.
14. Deans should use their best endeavours to nominate new members on a regular basis so as to ensure a balance between the continuity of operations and renewal of Committee membership.
Meetings and Quorum
15. Committees shall meet not less than two and not more than four times per year (in accordance with emerging needs).
16. The quorum for any meeting of a Committee shall be one half or, where one half is not a whole number, the whole number next higher than one half of the total number of members of the Committee.
General
17. The Dean of the Faculty shall be responsible for:
a. convening meetings of the Committee in accordance with section 6.15;
b. ensuring, in consultation with the Chair, that the activities and outcomes of the Committee meetings are reported annually in the Faculty’s review against its plan which is submitted by the DVC(A) to the Vice-Chancellor; and
c. providing executive assistance and relevant information via the Faculty Executive Officer.
18. The Dean shall be responsible for managing all correspondence issued by or on behalf of the Committee, including that relating to the convening of all meetings and the submission of reports and related documentation.
19. The Committee may co-opt additional persons to work on or support subcommittees or specialist working groups provided that such subcommittees or working groups shall be confined to examining issues within the Committee’s terms of reference.
20. The Faculty should facilitate ongoing communication between members of the Committee, Faculty staff and students regarding the work of the Committee.
