Structure, Rules and Procedures

A. Responsibilities of Council of the Faculty of Graduate Studies

As the pan-university Committee of Senate responsible for graduate and postdoctoral educational development, the Council will:

• provide the oversight and advocacy of graduate and postdoctoral educational development in the university’s mission to achieve excellence in scholarship, research, and teaching in pure, applied and professional fields;
• consult, cooperate, and plan strategically with graduate programs, anchor Faculty Council Graduate Committees, and other relevant units across the university to support disciplinary, multi-disciplinary, and cross-Faculty initiatives;
• develop and maintain uniformly high standards of graduate and postdoctoral educational development, research and professionalization across the University. These standards are to be supported by the adoption and review of regulations governing standards of admission, examinations, academic progress milestones and completion;
• define the minimum membership criteria for appointment to the Faculty of Graduate Studies to facilitate student and program development in the areas of teaching, scholarship, research, and supervision;
• enact such policies, regulations, guidelines, and procedures as are necessary to conduct the affairs of the Faculty.

B. Membership of Council:

The Council will consist of the following categories of members:

Voting members:

Graduate Program Faculty Member Representatives:

• the graduate program director or other member as determined by the members of the graduate program (one per program).

Student Representatives:

• 25% maximum of total Council members (including 7 student members of FGS Standing Committees)
• One designated representative of the York University Graduate Students’ Association (YUGSA)
• One designated representative from each anchor Faculty serving in the role of YUGSA Chief Councillor
• Representatives from five disciplinary areas: Social Sciences/Humanities Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research, Health Studies/Sciences Research, Creative Arts, and Professional Degrees, with no more than two students from any one anchor Faculty at any time.

Nominations for representatives from the five disciplinary areas should reflect broadly the diversity of the Faculty, including disciplinary breadth and representation from students self-identifying as belonging to equity-deserving groups. All registered graduate students at the time of election are eligible to vote. Elected candidates shall be recommended to the Nominating Committee who, in consultation with a representative from YUGSA, confirms selections to ensure balanced and open representation.

Arrangements for the election of representatives from the five disciplinary areas shall be made by the Faculty of Graduate Studies annually. Seats for disciplinary areas will be equally distributed based on the maximum total of Council members. In the event that equal distribution is not possible, additional seats will cycle annually, cascading in alphabetical order. Biographical/interest statements and a self-identification process will assist the Faculty of Graduate Studies to ensure disciplinary breadth and representation from students self-identifying as belonging to equity-deserving groups.

Anchor Faculty Council Graduate Committee Representatives:
Committee Chair or designate (one per Committee)

Postdoctoral Researchers:
of which one member must be a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF)

York University Libraries Representatives:
Associate Deans or designates

Indigenous Council Representatives

Enable York Representatives

Council of Research Directors Representatives

Major Awards Committee/Research Chair Representatives

Faculty Members of FGS Standing Committees

FGS Representatives on Senate Committees and Sub-Committees

• Senate Executive Committee; Academic Standards, Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee (ASCP); Academic Policy, Planning and Research Committee (APPRC); Honorary Degrees and Ceremonials Sub-Committee (one per Committee)

FGS Dean’s Office (Ex-Officio):

• FGS: Dean; Associate Dean, Academic; Associate Dean, Students

Non-voting members:

Ex-Officio Members:

• FGS: Executive Officer; Associate Director, Graduate Academic Affairs; Associate Director, Graduate Student Affairs; Associate Director, Communications, Recruitment & Digital Engagement; Manager, External Scholarships & Graduate Awards; Coordinator, Faculty Governance
• Faculties: Anchor Faculty Associate Deans, Research/Graduate (or designate)
• University: President; Provost; Vice-Provost Academic; Vice-President Research & Innovation ; Vice-President Equity, People & Culture; Senate Chair, Dean of Libraries

The current membership of Council will be tallied in alignment with the above-mentioned principles each September.

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C. Officers of Council

The officers of Council are:

• Chair of Council
• Vice-Chair of Council
• Secretary of Council (Coordinator, Faculty Governance)

Elections will be held annually for the Vice-Chair for a 1-year term, with the Vice-Chair shifting to the position of Chair for a subsequent 1-year term.

Elections will be held for Chair in any year that the Vice-Chair is unable to fill the position.

All elections will be held on an annual basis as part of the general Council elections processes.

Interim elections will be held as required should the term of the Chair and/or Vice-Chair be interrupted for any reason.

Only full-time faculty members appointed to FGS may stand for election for Chair or Vice-Chair of Council.

The Chair will preside over meetings and represent Council as needed and undertake other duties as required.

The Vice-Chair will serve in the place of the Chair in the Chair’s absence and undertake other duties as required by Council.

The Dean designates the Secretary of Council, normally the Coordinator, Faculty Governance, each September. The Secretary of Council attends all meetings of Council and acts as a Returning Officer for elections. They preside over the maintenance of Council records and procedures, the preparation of resolutions and reports, and other duties required by Council.

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D. Procedures of Council

• Meetings will normally be held at least once per term (fall, winter, summer) or as often as business requires. 
• A special meeting of Council on the request of not fewer than ten percent of members of Council will be called by the Chair of Council on not less than twenty-four hours notice, solely for the transaction of such business as may be specified in the notification of such meeting.
• At all regular or special meetings, twenty percent of voting members of the Council will form a quorum. 
• Proceedings of Council and its Committees will be governed by The Senate Handbook: Rules, Procedures and Guidelines.
• No voting member will have more than one vote. 
• The Chair may vote on any question. In the case of equality of votes, if the Chair has not voted, then they will be required to cast the deciding vote.  
• All questions which come before the Council will be decided by a majority of the members present, but in the case of equality of votes, the question will be deemed to be lost. 
• On any question except the motion to adjourn the Council, the Chair will declare the result of every vote for and against. 
• When a motion has been made and seconded, it will be debated and voted on, unless the mover and seconder, with the consent of the Council, withdraw it or allow it to stand over. 
• When a question is under debate, no motion will be received by the Chair except for one of the following purposes:

• to adjourn the Council; 
• to adjourn the debate; 
• to put the question; 
• to refer the matter to an appropriate Committee; or, 
• to amend. 
  
• A motion to adjourn the Council or to adjourn a debate will always be in order, but no member may speak to such a motion for more than five minutes. 
• A motion to refer a question to an appropriate Committee will, unless it is defeated, preclude all amendments to the main questions. 
• All community members of the Faculty of Graduate Studies may attend meetings of Council, subject to capacity constraints. They may participate in Council discussion. Only the above-mentioned members specified as voting members may vote. 
• Minutes of all meetings of Committees of Council will be retained with the Secretary of Council. 

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E. Standing Committees

1. There will be five Standing Committees of Council:

• Academic Planning and Policy Committee
• Petitions Committee
• Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee
• Awards Committee
• Nominating Committee

2. Composition of Standing Committees

• Each graduate faculty member elected to the standing committees will be elected by the Council to serve as a voting member for two-year terms from July 1st to June 30th, with normally one-half of committee members to retire each year.
• Each master’s student elected to the standing committees will be elected by the Council to serve as a voting member for a one academic-year term from October 1st to June 30th.
• Each doctoral student elected to the standing committees will be elected by the Council to serve as a voting member for two academic-year terms from October 1st to June 30th, with normally one-half of committee members to retire each year.

Vacancies occurring on any standing committee may be filled by vote of the Council at any regular meeting of the Council for the remainder of the current term of the vacant seat.

3. Procedures of Standing Committees

1. The elected Chair of Council will be the Chair of the Academic Planning and Policy Committee. The voting members of each of the other Standing Committees will elect their own chairs at the first meeting of each academic year.
2. Each Standing Committee will fix the time and place of its meetings.
3. The quorum for decisions by each Standing Committee will consist of at least half of its voting members, except in the event that summer authority is invoked in the summer term.
4. Each Standing Committee will have the authority to delegate business to sub-committees, but such sub-committees must report to the parent committee.
5. If an elected faculty member or graduate student of any Standing Committee fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Committee, then the Chair of the Committee may declare the position vacant.
6. Every member of the Council will have the right to be present at any meeting of the Academic Planning & Policy Committee but will not take part in the Committee’s proceedings, except by invitation of the Chair.
7. Each of the FGS Council committees, Academic Planning and Policy Committee excepted, shall be able, in cases where quorum cannot be attained (after attempting a minimum of four meeting options over a one-month period), to delegate authority to a smaller committee composed of at least
   1. Associate Dean, FGS
   2. 2 standing committee members, one of whom must be a faculty member

Committee Chairs will report to Council before the end of each annual session, preferably by May, via Academic Planning & Policy Committee, regarding such Committee matters as: enactment of the Committee’s mandate; the year’s trends; issues arising from Committee business; and priorities for the following year.

The Associate Dean, Academic would become a voting member only in the event of a tie in decision-making, save for the Petitions Committee where the Associate Dean, Students would become a voting member only in the event of a tie in decision-making.

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4. Academic Planning and Policy Committee

MANDATE:

• advises the Dean on academic policy and planning for the Faculty by developing, reviewing, and/or assessing planning documents;
• initiates and refers major policy issues to the Council or its appropriate Committee, and reviews policy submitted from other Faculty Committees before transmitting to Council for approval;
• reviews the academic standards of the Faculty; recommends changes to the general regulations, rules and procedures of the Faculty as considered desirable; and refers them to Council and Senate for approval;
• reviews and makes recommendations respecting the criteria and procedures for appointment of faculty members to FGS.
• Committee members will be asked to demonstrate familiarity with York’s DEDI principles by having attended in-house or equivalent DEDI training (Polaris, the DEDI Toolkit or other available options) either within the first term of their appointment to the committee or no longer than two years before.
• Committee members will consider aspects related to Decolonization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as well as Accessibility in line with the DEDI principles outlined in the York University DEDI Strategy, when enacting the committee mandate. This will be enacted through the use of reflective questions provided by the Division of Equity, People & Culture.
• safeguards that York’s DEDI principles are considered in the procedures of Faculty Council and all of its Standing Committees.
• The Chair of Academic Planning & Policy Committee will report to Council at the last meeting of Council each year regarding such Committee matters as: enactment of the Committee’s mandate; the year’s trends; issues arising from Committee business; and priorities for the following year.

STRUCTURE:

Voting Members:

• Chair of Council
• Vice-Chair of Council
• four faculty members
• two graduate students

Ex-officio Non-Voting Members:

• Dean
• Associate Dean, Academic
• Associate Dean, Students
• Associate Director, Graduate Academic Affairs
• Coordinator, Faculty Governance

The elected Chair of Council will serve as chair.

5. Petitions Committee

MANDATE:

• reviews and adjudicates petitions concerning extensions of part-time status, extensions to finish incomplete courses, retroactive withdrawals from courses, leaves of absences, advanced standing and degree requirement substitutions, grade changes, reinstatements, or any other petition at the request of the student;
• reviews as needed FGS’ policies relating to petitions, makes recommendations on changes to such policies, advises the Dean and Associate Deans on such matters, and reports regularly to Faculty Academic Planning & Policy Committee on such matters of policy;
• undertakes other responsibilities as may from time to time be delegated by Council;
• activities of this Committee are confidential.

STRUCTURE:

Voting Members:

• four faculty members
• two graduate students

Ex-Officio Non-voting Members:

• Dean
• Chair of Council
• Associate Dean, Students
• Associate Director, Graduate Student Affairs

6. Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee

MANDATE:

• adjudicates cases involving academic honesty, grade reappraisal appeals, and appeals of petitions according to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty, and the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ Graduate Academic Petitions and Leave to Appeal Policies, Grade Reappraisals Policy, and Academic Honesty Procedural Guidelines;
• reviews as needed FGS’ policies relating to academic honesty and relevant appeals, makes recommendations on changes to such policies, advises the Dean and Associate Deans on such matters, and reports to Faculty Academic Planning & Policy Committee on such matters of policy;
• undertakes other responsibilities as may from time to time be delegated by Council.
• activities of this Committee are confidential.

STRUCTURE:

Voting Members:

Appeals and Academic Honesty

• three faculty members
• one graduate student
• Chair may vote in the event of a tie

In the event of a formal hearing for an alleged breach of academic honesty, the Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee will be augmented as follows:

• above-named Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee
• plus two faculty members and one graduate student from the program of the student
• Chair may vote in the event of a tie

Ex-Officio Non-voting Members:

• Dean
• Associate Dean, Academic
• Chair of Council
• Associate Director, Graduate Student Affairs
• Graduate Academic Affairs Assistant

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7. Awards Committee

MANDATE:

• recommends terms and conditions of new scholarships for FGS in consultation with relevant units;
• selects the recipients of relevant internal and recruitment scholarships, awards, and prizes;
• recommends nominations for external student awards (such as CAGS, NAGS, etc.), and advises the Dean concerning nominations for external faculty teaching awards, as required;
• reviews nominations for the FGS Teaching Award according to guidelines established by the Council and may make a recommendation to the Dean to confer a teaching award on not more than two individual graduate faculty members annually;
• reviews as needed FGS policies relating to teaching awards, prizes and scholarships, advises the Dean and Associate Dean, Academic on such matters, and reports regularly to Faculty Academic Planning & Policy Committee on such matters of policy;
• undertakes other responsibilities as may be delegated by the Council;
• activities of this Committee are confidential.

STRUCTURE:

Voting Members:

• six faculty members
• two graduate students

Ex-officio Non-voting Members:

• Dean
• Associate Dean, Academic
• Chair of Council
• Manager, External Scholarships and Graduate Awards
• Coordinator, Faculty Governance

8. Nominating Committee

MANDATE:

• nominates graduate faculty members and graduate students for election to Committees of Council; graduate students for election as representatives of Council from the five disciplinary areas; and graduate faculty members for election to FGS seats on Senate Committees with designated-Faculty seats;
• in the rare event that the graduate student representatives from the five disciplinary areas do not reflect diversity from equity-deserving groups, confirms selections for graduate students as representatives of Council from the five disciplinary areas;
• advises the FGS representative on the Senate Executive Committee with regard to nominations for election to Committees of Senate;
• makes other nominations and undertakes other responsibilities as may be delegated by Council from time to time.
• activities of this Committee are confidential.

STRUCTURE:

Voting Members:

• FGS representative on Senate Executive Committee
• Chair of the Academic Planning and Policy Committee
• Chair of the Petitions Committee
• Chair of the Appeals and Academic Honesty Committee
• Chair of the Awards Committee

Ex-officio Non-voting Members:

• Dean
• Associate Dean, Academic
• Associate Dean, Students
• Chair of Council
• Vice-Chair of Council
• Associate Director, Graduate Academic Affairs
• Coordinator, Faculty Governance

Before any meeting at which nominations are to be made, the Nominating Committee will invite Graduate Program Directors to suggest nominees for the positions to be filled.

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F. Amendments to Rules and Procedures of Council

These rules and procedures may be amended at regular meetings provided all proposed amendments have been reviewed by the Academic Planning and Policy Committee and submitted to members of Council prior to the relevant meeting.

• Approved by Council, December 2, 1996
• Editorial revision, January 30, 1997
• Further Revisions approved at the October 7, 1999, meeting of Faculty Council
• Received for information by Senate Executive Committee on November 11, 1999
• Further revisions approved at the March 5, 2009, meeting of Faculty Council
• Change from Bourinot’s Rules to Senate Handbook approved at the October 7, 2010, meeting of Faculty Council
• Change to elect Chair and Vice-Chair of Council approved by Council on December 1, 2016
• Change to confidentiality of Standing Committees approved by Council on December 1, 2016
• Change to create smaller committees with authority to act for full Standing Committees when necessary approved by Council on January 5, 2017
• Changes to Chair and Vice-Chair election, Standing Committee confidentiality and creation of smaller committees approved by Senate Executive Committee on January 17, 2017
• Changes to membership of Academic Planning & Policy Committee (remove Associate Dean Students) and Awards Committee (replace Executive Officer with Manager, External Scholarships & Graduate Awards); approved by Council on February 4, 2021 and by Senate Executive Committee on March 16, 2021
• Extensive changes to mandate, membership and rules of Council approved by Council on June 2, 2022, and by Senate Executive Committee on June 7, 2022
• Changes to student membership and minor amendments approved by Council on May 4, 2023, and by Senate Executive Committee on May 16, 2023
• Changes to membership of Academic Planning & Policy Committee (re-add Associate Dean Students) and voting structure of Nominating Committee; approved by Council on May 2, 2024, and by Senate Executive Committee on May 14, 2024
• Changes to Committee procedures about reports and reporting channels, and DEDI matters, June 7, 2024

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APPENDIX

Council may form sub-committees as deemed necessary to address specific policy and governance matters, and more routine administrative matters, in relation to its mandate. Composition could consist of one faculty, one student, Associate Dean, Academic and Coordinator, Faculty Governance.

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