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Student Representation and Consultation Policy

Please note that this policy has not yet been converted to the new format.

Note that provisions regarding student representation on Council and Academic Board are contained in Statute 2 - Governing bodies, committees, and university organisations. Representation on other committees should also be interpreted subject to this statute.

Student representation and consultation

An integral part of the university's commitment to effective teaching is its acknowledgment that students have a significant contribution to make to the development of educational programs. The institution has a responsibility to ensure that there are effective procedures for seeking regular feedback from students and for involving them in decisions affecting their learning.

  1. Faculties shall establish and maintain procedures for seeking regular feedback from students about educational programs and for involving them, where appropriate, in decisions and discussions affecting them in their studies.
  2. Faculties and academic staff shall recognise the importance of interviews between staff members and students and their responsibility to provide feedback to, and to seek feedback and input from, students.
  3. Faculty boards shall appoint student representatives nominated by the student body to serve on important standing committees whenever appropriate, and to new committees and working parties, especially where the agenda concerns students.
  4. Faculties shall prepare and publish faculty students' guides to consultation.
  5. Departments shall continue to use questionnaires to seek students' comments on subjects taught, in accordance with university policy on student evaluation of teaching.
  6. When course reviews and course development are undertaken, faculties and departments shall seek student comment widely, through questionnaires, interviews, and membership on committees where appropriate.
  7. Faculties shall develop procedures for timely communication to students of information affecting their studies.

Each faculty shall review student representation on faculty bodies which make decisions affecting students in their studies, including numbers of representatives, method of filling positions, gender balance, terms of office, timeliness of filling positions, filling of casual vacancies and other relevant procedural matters, with a view to developing proposals to implement the above principles for approval by the Academic Board, through the Education Committee.

Faculties shall conduct regular reviews of procedures to ensure that principles relating to student representation and consultation are being met, with findings to be included in deans' annual reports to the Academic Board through the Education Committee

Representation on senior university committees - undergraduate

Academic Board

4 Members elected for 1 year, term of office to commence 1 January in the year next following election; electorates to be each of: Caulfield/Peninsula, Clayton, Gippsland, Parkville/Berwick.

Education Committee

1 nominee of each of the student organisations viz MSA, MUGSU, Pharmacy Students Association and Berwick Student Association.

Two nominees from MonSU – 1 nominee from Caulfield and 1 from Peninsula

Term of office to be 1 year from January to December.

Faculty Boards

At least 1 student per campus on which the faculty operates with a minimum of 4 and normally resulting in a total of 6 student members; however the maximum number is at the discretion of the faculty.

Student representation on senior university committees—postgraduate and graduate

Academic Board

2 members elected for annual year term; electorate is all postgraduate students at the university.

Education Committee

2 members, 1 Masters by Coursework and 1 Graduate Diploma student appointed by MPA for annual 1 year term.

Faculty Boards

At least 1 research and 1 non-research postgraduate student with maximum number to be at the discretion of the faculty.

Postgraduate and Graduate Nominations

  1. Vacancies shall be advertised in Magnet (the publication of MPA) and circulated to postgraduate students on all campuses
  2. Election shall be the primary and preferred method of filling vacancies
  3. MUFSO shall be requested to nominate students if the electoral process fails to yield any candidates
  4. MUFSO should forward nominations as per c) above via an official notification directed to the secretary of the committee concerned, and which shall include the name and contact address and telephone numbers of the nominee. Upon receipt of the official nomination the committee concerned shall formally appoint the nominee at its next meeting. The Secretary of that body shall notify the nominee of his/her appointment.

Diploma Students

For the purposes of election graduate diploma students shall be defined as graduate students rather than undergraduate students.

Purpose

The objective of this policy is facilitate feedback from Monash students in university decision making.

Scope

This policy applies to Academic Board, the Education Committee and Faculty Boards.

Definitions

MonSU means the Monash University Student Union Incorporated (Caulfield and Peninsula Campuses)

MPA means the Monash Postgraduate Association

MSA means the Monash Student Association (Clayton) Incorporated

MUFSO means the Monash University Federation of Student Organisations

MUGSU means the Monash University Gippsland Student Union

Related Documents

Governing Documents

Responsibilities for Implementation

  • University wide - Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, Secretary of Academic Board, Secretary of Education Committee, student organisations
  • Faculty wide - Faculty Managers, Deans, student organisations

Review Schedule

Academic Board shall consider this policy for review three years after approval, or earlier if required.

Approved

Approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Planning) on 2 December 2002

Change to "Responsibilities for Implementation" made by Education Committee Meeting 6/2005, 26 October 2005.