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Rules and Procedures

YORK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF HEALTH

RULES AND PROCEDURES OF COUNCIL

1. CHAIR/VICE-CHAIR

The Chair is responsible for providing leadership to Council; presides at all meetings; ensures that Council and its standing committees operate in conformity with the rules and procedures enacted by Council, and; acts as the official spokesperson for Council. The Vice-Chair assists the Chair in giving leadership to Council; presides at meetings of Committee of the Whole, and; presides at meetings in the absence of the Chair.

The Council shall elect annually, at the time of its annual elections, a Vice-Chair of Council to take office on the following July 1st. The Vice-Chair shall serve as Chair in the year following the term as Vice-Chair and will succeed the chair in the event of the Chair’s resignation.

2. MEMBERSHIP

The following may attend and participate in all meetings of Council and shall have the right to vote:

  1. The Dean, full time members of the faculty, contract faculty for the term during which they hold a teaching appointment and emeritus faculty (retirees) for the term during which they hold a teaching, administrative or supervisory position.
  2. Ten student members registered in the Faculty of Health. This number will include the Faculty of Health student senators (ex officio) and at least one student from each of the academic units elected annually by the students in the Faculty of Health.
  3. Two members of the non-academic staff. These two members may not be from the same unit and will be elected by the non-academic staff to serve a one year term.
  4. The University Librarian (ex officio) or designate and the Health Librarian (ex officio).
  5. The Chair of Senate (ex officio) and the Secretary of Senate (ex officio).
  6. The President of the University (ex officio) and the Vice-President Academic (ex officio).

The Council may issue invitations for either the full academic year or for a particular meeting to individuals who are not members of Council. Such individuals shall be entitled to participate in the meeting(s) of Council to which they have been invited but shall not have the right to vote.

3. All members of the Faculty of Health including non-academic staff and students registered in the Faculty of Health shall have the right to attend Council meetings, but shall not have the right to vote.

4. SECRETARY

The Secretary of Council shall be appointed by the Dean.

The duties of the Secretary shall be to take charge of the records and papers of the Council; to keep the same properly arranged for convenient reference; to be responsible for keeping minutes of the proceedings of all Council meetings; and shall prepare and countersign all official Council documents.

5. MONTHLY MEETINGS

Monthly meetings shall be held from September to May, inclusive, unless otherwise ordered by special motion or by the Executive and Planning Committee.

6. Following the last meeting of Council (usually May unless otherwise decided by Council), and until the first regular meeting of Council in the Fall, the Executive and Planning Committee of Council shall possess and may exercise any or all of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in or exercisable by Council with the understanding that the Executive and Planning Committee shall report to Council upon any actions taken under this authority at its first regular meeting.>

7. The Chair of each meeting shall conduct the proceedings in conformity with the rules and procedures enacted by the Council, and in all cases not so provided for, the rules of the Senate of York University and/or Bourinot’s Rules of Order shall govern.

8. Monthly meetings of Council will not normally proceed for longer than 90 minutes unless two-thirds of the members present and voting agree to continue with the business of the meeting.

9. SPECIAL MEETINGS

A special meeting may, and upon the request of the Executive and Planning Committee or by not fewer than ten members shall, at any time, be called by the Chair, with not less than twenty-four hours’ notice, for the transaction of such business only as is specified in the notification of such meetings.

10. QUORUM

At all regular or special meetings, twenty-seven voting members of Council shall form a quorum.

11. DISCUSSION

Any member desiring to speak during a meeting shall address the Chair and shall not speak unless recognized by the Chair.

12. Originally, no member shall speak more than once (and not longer than ten minutes, unless permitted by Council) to the same question, except the mover, who shall have the right of replying after all members choosing to speak have spoken. A member may, at any time, with the permission of the Chair, explain a material part of the speech that may have been misunderstood.

13. MOTIONS

The Chair may take part in a debate on any subject but, before doing so, shall leave the chair’s position and appoint the Vice-Chair, or some other member, to occupy it until the Chair has spoken.

14. No member shall speak to a question after it has been put by the Chair and no motion can be made and no other intervention is permitted until the tally is completed and the results announced.

15. All questions that come before Council shall be decided by a majority of votes cast. The Chair may vote to break a tie.

16. On any question, all members of Council shall have only one vote by show of placard. Votes may not be transferred or delegated.

17. The Chair shall declare the results of every vote and, on any question except the motion to adjourn the Council or a debate, any member may require the yeas and nays to be recorded.

18. All motions, except those for adjournment of Council or a debate, shall be put in writing and recorded before being debated or put from the chair. No motion introducing new matters, other than matters of privilege or petition, shall be taken into consideration at any regular meeting of Council, except upon a two-thirds vote of the regular members present, unless notice in writing has previously been given to the Secretary for circulation with the notice of meeting, and circulated no less than six days in advance.

19. When a motion has been made and recorded, it shall be disposed of. Unless there are objections from Council, a mover may withdraw a motion.

20. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received by the Chair except for one of the following purposes:

  1. To adjourn Council
  2. To adjourn the debate
  3. To put the question
  4. To refer the matter to an appropriate committee (committee and purpose to be specified )
  5. To amend

21. The motion to adjourn Council or a debate shall 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 (committee and purpose to be specified) shall, unless it is defeated, preclude all amendments to the main question.

22. ORDER OF BUSINESS

The following order of business shall be observed by the Chair in bringing matters before the Council at all regular meetings, and no variation from this order shall be allowed, except by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which shall be taken without debate.

  1. Chair’s Remarks
  2. Reading and disposing of the minutes of the last meeting and of all intervening special meetings
  3. Business arising out of the minutes
  4. Inquiries
  5. Reading and disposing of communications, to be disposed of as read
  6. Consent agenda items
  7. Report of the Dean
  8. Reading and disposing of reports of standing committees and special committees, to be disposed of as received
  9. New business
  10. Adjournment

The notice of meeting may identify items to be dealt with by consent. A consent agenda item is deemed to be approved unless, prior to the commencement of a meeting, one or more members of Council advises the Chair of a request to debate it.

23. STANDING COMMITTEES

Standing committee duties shall be defined by Council from time to time.  Standing committees will report at least annually to Council.

  1. Executive and Planning Committee
  2. Curriculum Committee
  3. Committee on Examinations and Academic Standards
  4. Committee on Research and Awards
  5. Petitions Committee
  6. Committee on Tenure and Promotions

24. STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP AND TERM OF OFFICE

Unless otherwise specified, standing committee membership shall include, one member elected from each of the Faculty’s schools/department, and two students. Terms of office shall normally be two years in duration.

Members may be re-elected in subsequent years.

Student members on standing committees shall be appointed from among the eight elected student members to Council. Their number shall be augmented by an additional eight students, selected on the basis of expressions of interest to serve on standing committees, in response to Faculty of Health governance volunteer opportunities for students.

Student members on standing committees shall serve one year terms and may be re-elected or reappointed in subsequent years.

25. The Dean (or designate) shall be chair of the Executive and Planning Committee. Other standing committees shall elect their own chair, unless otherwise specified. The President, the Chair of Council and the Dean shall be members (ex officio) of all standing committees.

26. The quorum of any standing committee shall consist of the majority of its voting members.

27. Any member of Council shall have the right to be present at, but shall not take part in, any meeting of any standing committee with the following exceptions:

  1. Meetings of Council or its committees designated as dealing with confidential information (such as student grades or marks) shall not be open to students.
  2. Meetings of the Tenure and Promotions Committee in which individual cases are discussed shall be held in camera and shall be completely confidential.
  3. Meetings of the Petitions Committee shall be held in camera.
  4. Any standing committee of Council may, when discussing confidential matters, declare a meeting, or part thereof, to be held in camera by a vote of two-thirds of the voting members present.

28. Vacancies occurring in a standing committee may be filled at any regular meeting of Council.

29. No proposal to amend any of the foregoing rules and procedures shall be considered except at a regular meeting, and unless notice of the proposed change has been given at the previous meeting of Council (normally one month in advance). The amendment text shall be circulated in its entirety no less than six days in advance of the meeting at which the proposal will be considered.

30. None of the foregoing rules shall be suspended at any meeting of Council except by a two-thirds vote of the members present.

31. STANDING COMMITTEES

  1. Executive and Planning Committee
  2. Curriculum Committee
  3. New or changes to certificates
  4. New or changes to programs of study, and
  5. Other matters relating to academic policy and planning
  6. Committee on Examinations and Academic Standards
  7. Committee on Research and Awards
  8. Petitions Committee
  9. Committee on Tenure and Promotions

32. ESTABLISHMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEES

Each Council standing committee shall have the authority to delegate business to sub-committees but such sub-committees will report to the parent committee.

  1. Sub-committees shall be established for the academic year only, but the parent committee can re-establish a sub-committee beyond 30 June each year.
  2. A sub-committee does not need to have any of its membership from the elected members of the Council standing committee.