Role of Senate Assessors

There are six Senate Assessors on the University Court, three of whom also serve as Senate Assessors on the Operating Board, as indicated below:

Professor N Hutchison, until 30 September 2014; also on Operating Board
Professor P Edwards until 30 September 2014; also on Operating Board
Dr C Brittain, until 30 September 2013
Dr N Vargesson, until 30 September 2013
Dr J Skakle, until 30 September 2014
Professor S Heys, until 30 September 2016; also on Operating Board

Prior to the Senate Effectiveness Review, Senate Assessors were nominated and elected by the Senate on a non-representative basis. Following the establishment of Schools and Colleges, this method of nomination and election did not guarantee the appointment of a Senate Assessor from each of the three Colleges on the University Court; and would result in at least one College, and potentially two Colleges, not being represented by a Senate Assessor on the JPFEC (now Operating Board).

Following the Senate effectiveness review, the Senate agreed that, in order to ensure representation from each College, in future, nominations for Senate Assessors should be sought from, and elected by, the Senate members within each College; and that, in order to ensure College representation, nominations to fill future vacant posts would be sought on this basis as and when vacancies arose. Furthermore, the University Court agreed, on the recommendation of the Senate, that the composition of the JPFEC (now Operating Board) be revised to provide for the appointment of three Senate Assessors on the JPFEC (now Operating Board), one from each College.

Since it had been a long-standing requirement that at least two of the Senate Assessors be Readers or Lecturers at the time of their election, in order to maintain this representation the Senate agreed that, of the six Senate Assessors on the University Court, one should be nominated from and elected by the Established and Personal Professors who were members of the Senate within each College, and one should be nominated from and elected by the Readers and Lecturers who were members of Senate within each College.

It was also agreed that the Senate Assessors currently elected by the Senate to the Court and the Operating Board should continue in that capacity for the duration of their Assessorship.

The Operating Board replaced the JPFEC in 2008 and continues to include three Senate Assessors, one from each College in its composition.

The remit of the Senate Assessors from 2008/09 is summarised below:

to attend meetings of the University Court (and, where appointed, the Operating Board)
to introduce items at Senate that Assessors had placed on the agenda in regard to issues discussed or to be discussed at the University Court and/or the Operating Board, subject to careful caveats concerning boundaries, e.g. in regard to confidentiality or other sensitive issues

[Note: Minutes of Court and Operating Board meetings will be published after they have been approved at the following Court/Operating Board meeting and will be accessible by all staff].

In addition, the Senate Assessors on the Operating Board are members of the Senate Business Committee, whose primary role is to draft Senate agendas for approval by the Principal.