Senate

What is Senate?

Senate is the body responsible for academic decision making. This includes approving new courses and programs, policies related to academic performance, exams, and other academic matters.

What Senators do.

As a faculty member of Senate, you represent your peers on Senate, making academic decisions for the university and giving a voice to faculty. Faculty have the experience that enables them to make academic decisions that will improve processes and student outcomes. Senate meets monthly during the school year, and each senator serves a two-year term.

One of the main roles of a senator is being part of a senate committee. There are 7 Standing Committees of Senate: Executive, Academic, Bylaws and Procedures, Planning and Review, Quality Assurance, Research, and Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation. Each of the committees (aside from the Executive Committee) should have representation from each school and each senator is expected to be on a committee. You can learn more about each committee and their mandate on the Senate committee website.  Committee meetings depend on the workload but are generally biweekly. This is where the majority of the ‘work’ gets done, that is brought to Senate for approval.

Why should I be a Senator?

Being a senator is a great way to learn about new programs and initiatives, work collaboratively with other schools and academic units, and be part of making changes at our university. Senators can make an impact and are involved with creation of/ or changes to policies that impact students as well as their work. As a senator you have insight into details such as current student numbers, upcoming changes, new initiatives, and other information you might not normally have in your day-to-day work.

2025 Senate Meeting