• Section 1 - Purpose
• Section 2 - Composition
• Section 3 - Additional Provisions

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) Faculty Boards are committees of Academic Board that:

1. provide advice to Academic Board on academic initiatives and innovations of each Faculty or College in the context of the broader University strategy; and
2. oversee the quality of academic matters relating to research and teaching programs, practices and standards within each Faculty or College.

(2) For the purposes of these Terms of Reference and other Academic Board Rules, Policies, Procedures and Guidelines, Faculty Board means such a committee of Academic Board in any Academic Work Unit of the University, whether a Faculty or otherwise. 

(3) Faculty Boards will:

1. advise and make recommendations to Academic Board or relevant committees of Academic Board on:
   1. academic initiatives and innovations related to teaching, research and the student experience within the Faculty or College; and
   2. academic Rules, Policies, Procedures and Guidelines.
2. monitor and report to Academic Board or relevant committees of Academic Board on issues within the Faculty or College related to:
   1. academic quality, standards and integrity;
   2. student assessment and awarding of grades;
   3. research and research training quality, standards and integrity; and
   4. the student academic experience.
3. approve, or make recommendations to Academic Board or relevant committees of Academic Board on, matters related to:
   1. curriculum design and development as set out in the Course and Unit Approval Authorities;
   2. prizes and awards as set out under the Prizes and Medals Policy.
4. facilitate staff and student forums for consultation and discussion on academic strategic directions and activities relevant to the Faculty or College; and
5. consider and report on any matters referred to it by an Executive Dean, College Dean, the Academic Board, or Chair, Academic Board.

Section 2 - Composition

(4) Each Faculty and College of the University will have a Faculty Board with the following membership:

1. Elected members:
   1. Chair
   2. Deputy Chair
   3. One academic staff representative from each Discipline, or for Faculties or Colleges without formally recognised Disciplines, two academic staff members from the Faculty or College 
   4. One undergraduate or postgraduate coursework student member
   5. One Higher Degree by Research student member, in the case of Faculties or Colleges that supervise Higher Degree Research students
2. Ex Officio members from the Faculty or College:
   1. Executive Dean or College Dean;
   2. Associate Dean (Education), where this position exists in the Faculty or College;
   3. Associate Dean (Research), where this position exists in the Faculty or College;
   4. Director, Higher Degree Research, where this position exists in the Faculty or College;
   5. Academic Integrity Officer
   6. One Curriculum and Accreditation Coordinator, nominated by the Executive Dean or College Dean where this position exists in the Faculty or College;
   7. Discipline Chairs, where positions exist in the Faculty or College;
   8. Course Coordinators
3. One nominee of the Director, Student Administration Services.

(5) The Chair will be elected from the academic staff who nominate for the position and who are, at the time of nomination, a permanent or fixed-term staff member of the Faculty or College at Level B and above with at least a 50% fractional appointment.

(6) If there are no eligible nominations for Chair, the Associate Dean (Education) will be the Chair.

(7) The Deputy Chair will be elected from the academic staff who nominate for the position and who are, at the time of nomination, a permanent and fixed-term academic staff member of the Faculty or College with at least a 50% fractional appointment at the time of nomination. 

(8) If there are no eligible nominations for Deputy Chair, the Board may elect a Deputy Chair from its members. 

(9) Other elected academic staff members will be elected from the academic staff who nominate for the position and who are, at the time of nomination, a permanent and fixed-term academic staff member of the Faculty or College with at least a 50% fractional appointment at the time of nomination. 

(10) If there are no eligible nominations for an elected academic staff representative position, the position will remain vacant. 

(11) Elected staff members of Faculty Boards, including the Chair and Deputy Chair, will be elected by the permanent and fixed-term academic staff of the Faculty or College with at least a 50% fractional appointment at the time of the election.

(12) The Council Secretary (or nominee) will call for nominations for elected staff positions by email or other appropriate publication. The nomination period will be for a minimum of 14 days.

(13) If necessary, an election will be conducted using a first past the past voting system. In the event of a tie, the Chair will have the casting vote. 

(14) All elected academic staff members of Faculty Boards will serve for a period of two years following election.

(15) Elected staff will cease to be members of the Board if, at any time, they no longer hold a permanent or fixed-term appointment within the Faculty or College or are otherwise unable to fulfill the duties of a Board member.

(16) Student members will be elected from students who nominate for the position and who are, at the time of nomination:

1. in the case of coursework students, admitted to a course administered by the Faculty or College; or
2. in the case of Higher Degree Research Students, admitted to a Higher Degree Research course of the University and whose principal supervisor is an academic staff member of the Faculty or College.

(17) If there are no eligible nominations for an elected student member position, then the position will remain vacant. 

(18) The Council Secretary (or nominee) will call for nominations for student members by email or other appropriate publication. The nomination period will be for a minimum of 14 days.

(19) If necessary, an election will be conducted using an optional preferential voting system.

(20) All elected student members of Faculty Boards will serve for a period of one year following election.

(21) Student members will cease to be members of the committee if, at any time, they no longer meet one of the criteria for nomination set out in clause (16).

(22) The Board is responsible for maintaining its membership to include appropriate disciplinary expertise, gender diversity, representation of Indigenous Australians and representation across Academic Staffing Levels and may co-opt such other persons to its membership as it determines from time to time. 

Section 3 - Additional Provisions

(23) In order to fulfill their purpose, Faculty Boards may establish sub-committees to perform functions delegated to them by Faculty Boards.

(24) Ordinary meetings of Faculty Boards will normally be held once during each Study Period, on dates determined by the Academic Board.

(25) Notwithstanding any other provisions set out in these Terms of Reference, Faculty Boards will distribute the agenda and business papers for meetings to all currently employed academic staff of the Faculty or College and implement a formal process to enable those staff to provide their views on relevant matters in writing for consideration during the meeting.

(26) A decision made by the Faculty Board will not be invalid merely because an academic staff member did not receive a copy of the agenda or business papers.