Academic Board

Open Discussion - Instructions

The Academic Board Open Discussion item is devoted to topics of University policy issues which fall within the scope of the Academic Board (see the Academic Board Policy). The Open Discussion should stimulate discussion and debate at meetings of the Academic Board, which contribute towards policy development and decision making.

A summary of previous Academic Board Open Discussion topics is available through SharePoint to UQ staff and student representatives on Committees of the Academic Board.

Procedure

  1. The President will call for submission of suggested topics from Board members consisting of a 100-300 word description and a title. Submissions must be made to academic.board@uq.edu.au no later than three weeks prior to each Board meeting. Topics may be submitted at any time throughout the year.
  2. The President encourages all Board members, individually or collaboratively, to submit a relevant topic of current interest to the University. A topic and sponsor will be selected by the President and Deputy President in consultation with the Vice-Chancellor, based on the relevance and importance of the issue to the University.
  3. The sponsor will introduce the selected topic at the meeting in the form of a 5 minute presentation. Approximately 20 minutes will be allotted for subsequent discussion.

Rules of discussion

  1. The sponsor will briefly introduce the topic at a Board meeting (no longer than 10 minutes).
  2. The ensuing discussion will be limited to 20 minutes, with an extension of 10 minutes allowable at the discretion of the Chair, or, if voted upon by the Board.
  3. It is the responsibility of the Chair of the Board to ensure that the above timelines are strictly adhered to and that all members wishing to speak are provided with an opportunity to do so.
  4. The discussion will occur immediately following the Vice Chancellor’s statement and questions without notice directed to the Vice-Chancellor.
  5. As discussion will be informal and free-flowing, adherence to the rules of debate (according to the Standing Orders of the Academic Board) will not apply. In order for a member to speak a second time, the Chair must be satisfied that all other members have first had an opportunity to speak.

Outcomes

Outcomes of the discussion may include recommendations of actions to Board committees, to the Vice Chancellor’s Executive, or, to Senate. The Board may decide to take no action. The discussion will be included in the minutes of the meeting.