Governance

Ordinances 

Ordinance 19

HEADSHIP OF ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS

1.     Duties

        To undertake responsibility to the Council for the conduct of the Department in accordance with the policies of the University.

2.     Appointment of Heads of Academic Departments

2.1   A Head of Department may be appointed either:
        (i) through open advertisement and recruitment, or
        (ii) from among eligible staff ( as outlined in 4 below) as a result of an internal process

3.     Period of Office

3.1   Unless otherwise decided by the Council in accordance with Clause 3.2 below the term of office of a Head of Department shall be 5 years, renewable for a
        further period of up to 5 years, and, where the Selection Committee thinks that circumstances warrant it, for further terms, each of up to five years.

3.2   The Council may at its discretion and upon the recommendation of the Selection Committee decide that the term of office of a Head of Department which is
       to be associated with a vacant post shall be for a term either shorter or in excess of that prescribed in clause 3.1 above.

3.3  The Vice-Chancellor may at any time institute a review of the Headship of a Department. Such review shall be conducted by a Selection Committee
       constituted in accordance with clause 5.1. The Selection Committee shall have the power in such circumstances to recommend to the Council a change in
       the Headship of Department.

3.4  A Head of Department may at any time tender to the Council his/her resignation from his/her appointment as Head of Department.

3.5  The Council may resolve that an appointment to a professorship shall carry with it the designation of Head of Department, in which case clauses 3.1 and
       3.2 above and the procedures set out in clause 6 below shall apply.

3.6  The Council may resolve that an appointment to a non-professorial academic post shall carry with it the designation of Head of Department, in which case 
       the appointment shall be made by the Council in accordance with clauses 3.1 and 3.2 above on the recommendation of a Selection Committee constituted 
       as in clause 5.1 below, with provision for the committee to appoint an assessor who has specialist knowledge of the relevant academic field.

4.    Persons eligible for appointment as Head of Department

4.1  Professors, Readers and Senior Lecturers shall be eligible for appointment as Head of Department; in addition the Selection Committee shall not be
       precluded from recommending the appointment of a Lecturer where the circumstances are considered by the Committee to justify it.

5.    Selection of Heads of Departments

5.1  The appointment of a Head of Department, except as provided in clause 6, shall be made by the Council normally on the recommendation of a Selection
       Committee consisting of the following:

                The Vice-Chancellor
                1 representative of the Council
                2 members of Senate normally a Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor

       No representative on the Selection Committee shall be or have been a member of the Department for which a Head is being selected.

5.2  The Selection Committee shall conduct its business in accordance with defined procedures.
5.3  When a post, the holder of which was Head of Department, becomes vacant the Council shall decide whether or not to separate the Headship from the
       other duties and grade of the post. If it does decide to separate them, then the Selection Committee shall choose a Head from among existing members of
       staff and submit the name for the consideration of the Council.

6.    Joint appointment of Professor and Head of Department

6.1  When the Council has resolved that the appointment to an established Chair shall carry with it the designation of Head of Department, whether for a 
       specified term of office or permanently, the appointment shall be made by the Council on the recommendation of an Appointment Panel as defined in
       Ordinance 30.

7.    Appointment of an Acting Head of Department

7.1  In the event of the absence of a Head of Department, the Council may appoint an Acting Head of Department on the recommendation of a Selection
       Committee, the membership of which is defined in 5.1 above.

7.2  An Acting Head of Department shall act either until such time as the existing post holder resumes his/her duties, or until a permanent appointment is made, 
       or for such period as may be decided by Council.

Ordinance 20

FACULTIES

1.     The Faculties of the University shall be as follows:

                     The Faculty of Arts
                     The Faculty of Science
                     The Faculty of Social Sciences

2.     The Faculties are advisory bodies subject to the Senate. Each Faculty shall report to Senate, which shall exercise power in accordance with the Charter and 
        Statutes, unless the Senate shall have delegated executive powers to that Faculty by resolution for each particular case.

3.     The composition of Faculties, and the appointment of representatives on other bodies shall be regulated by Regulation and/or their respective Standing Orders,
        which shall be subject to the approval of Senate.

Ordinance 21

1. APPOINTMENT OF DEANS

1.1     The University will appoint a Dean for each Faculty

1.2     The date of commencement of the appointment of Dean shall normally be 1 September.

1.3     The initial term of office of Dean shall be four years with the possibility of re-appointment for a period of two years.

1.4     The appointment of Dean shall be made by the Council normally on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of the following:
               The Vice-Chancellor (Chair)
               Two Pro Vice-Chancellors
               One lay representatives of Council
               One Head of Department from the Faculty

1.5   The Selection Committee shall conduct its business in accordance with defined procedures.  To avoid an imbalance in representation at Faculty level, the 
        appointing panel will seek, where possible, to avoid appointing two members of the same department to the posts of Dean and Deputy-Dean.

2. APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY DEANS

2.1     The University will appoint a Deputy-Dean for each Faculty

2.2     The date of commencement of the appointment of Deputy-Dean shall normally be 1 September

2.3     The initial term of office of Deputy-Dean shall be two years with the possibility of re-appointment for a period of two years

2.4     The appointment of Deputy-Dean shall be made by the Council normally on the recommendation of a Slection Committee consisting of the following:

One Pro Vice-Chancellor
The Dean of Faculty
One Dean from another Faculty
One Head of Department from the Faculty

2.5     The Selection Committee shall conduct its business in accordance with defined procedures.  To avoid an imbalance in representation at Faculty level, the appointing
          panel will seek, where possible, to avoid appointing two members of the same department of the posts of Dean and Deputy-Dean.

 

Ordinance 22

RECOGNISED ASSOCIATIONS OF THE FORMER STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY

1.     The Association of former students which is hereby recognised as an Old Students' Association shall be the Association which was formed in 1892 and named 
        ‘University College of Wales Aberystwyth Old Students Association'.

2.     The recognition hereby conferred is afforded on the footing that the Old Students' Association is a separate body independent of the University and that the
        University shall not at any time interfere with its constitution or internal management.

Ordinance 23

RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS AND ACADEMIC STAFF

1.     The Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar and Secretary, and other members of the Academic Staff except those appointed on a fixed-term basis, shall normally be
        required to retire at the end of the session in which they attain the age of 65, but may retire prior to this subject to the agreement of the Council.

2.     This Ordinance shall not prejudice the position of any members of Academic Staff appointed before 1996 whose terms and conditions of service provide that
        they be required to retire not later than the end of the session in which they reach the age of 67.

3.     Detailed procedures to be followed in the retirement of the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar and Secretary and other members of the Academic Staff shall be set
        out in a Retirement Policy.

Ordinance 24

STUDENT DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

1.     The Senate shall by Regulation determine the procedure to be followed in student disciplinary cases.

2.     Such a procedure shall include:

              (a) the right of the student to be told of the charges against him/her;
              (b) the right of the student to make written and/or oral representation to the person or committee established under such Regulation to deal with the case;
              (c) the right of the student to be accompanied if he/she chooses by another person, who may speak on his/her behalf;
              (d) the right of the student to call and question witnesses;
              (e) details of the penalties which may be imposed by the University if the student is found to have been guilty of a breach of discipline;
              (f) the right for the student to appeal against the decision and any disciplinary penalty imposed.