Academic Board

Academic Board advises the Vice-Chancellor on the University’s academic and other activities. In particular it considers and advises on matters relating to awarding taught and research degrees. To help it carry out its duties, the Board delegates responsibility for some matters relating to quality management to its committees, as well as to Assessment Boards and Programme Committees.

Academic Board Committee Structure Chart

Terms of Reference

Subject to the provisions of the Articles of Government, to the overall responsibility of the Board of Governors, and to the responsibilities of the Vice-Chancellor, the Academic Board is responsible:

(i) for general issues relating to the research, scholarship, learning and teaching and courses at the institution, including criteria for the admission of students; the appointment and removal of internal and external examiners; policies and procedures for assessment and examination of the academic performance of students; the content of the curriculum; academic standards and the validation and review of courses; the procedures for the award of qualifications and honorary academic titles; and the procedures for the expulsion of students for academic reasons, such responsibilities shall be subject where appropriate to the requirements of validating and accrediting bodies;

(ii) for considering the development of the academic and related activities of the University and the resources needed to support them and for advising the Vice-Chancellor and the Board of Governors thereon;

(iii) for advising on such matters as the Board of Governors or the Vice-Chancellor may refer to the Academic Board.

Membership

i	Chair:	Vice-Chancellor
ii	Deputy Vice-Chancellor
iv	Chief Operating Officer
v	The Pro-Vice-Chancellors
vii	One Head of Department from each faculty, nominated by the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor (term of office: 2 years)
ix	One Faculty Head of Education nominated by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education (term of office: 2 years)
ix	One Faculty Head of International nominated by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor International (term of office: 2 years)
ix	One Faculty Head of Research & Knowledge Exchange nominated by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research & Knowledge Exchange (term of office: 2 years)
ix	Three members of the Professoriate nominated by the Chair (term of office: 2 years)
viii	One elected member of staff from each faculty (term of office: 2 years)
x	The President of the Students' Union
xi	Students' Union Vice-President (Education)

Membership List 2017/18

Schedule of Delegated Authority

The Academic Board Schedule of Delegated Authority (updated version approved 8 November 2017) defines the responsibilities of the Academic Board, its sub-committees and named University Officers.

According to the terms of reference, the responsibility for the enactment, implementation and monitoring of operational procedures is delegated by the Academic Board to its Committees. However, the Academic Board is ultimately responsible for the actions and discussions taken by its Committees, Sub-committees or persons to whom it has delegated its responsibilities. The following responsibilities are retained by the Board and not delegated:

• Determination of academic strategy and strategic planning;
• Approval of policy;
• Approval of policy statements;
• Approval of Institutional Codes of Practice;
• Approval of regulations;
• Approval of documents prepared for institutional reviews;
• Approval of substantial revisions to any of the above;
• Approval of changes to terms of reference and composition of the Board's committees.

Meetings

Academic Board meetings are generally held at least once a term on Wednesday afternoons at 2pm, unless otherwise stated.

Dates for 2017/18:

• 9 October 2017 (Monday, 10am)
• 8 November 2017
• 21 March 2018
• 13 June 2018
• 11 July 2018 Reserve

Dates for all Academic Board and Committee meetings are available on the University Calendar.

Papers

All papers for Academic Board meetings should be submitted to the Governance & Secretariat Team 2 weeks before the meeting.

Deadlines for 2017/18 are:

Meeting	Paper Deadline
9 October 2017	25 September 2017
8 November 2017	25 October 2017
21 March 2018	7 March 2018
13 June 2018	30 May 2018
11 July 2018	27 June 2018

Minutes and papers for previous Academic Board meetings are available on the Meeting Papers web page.

Academic Board Highlights

A report will be published each term following Academic Board meetings to update staff and students on the issues discussed. The reports are available from the Academic Board Highlights web page.

Academic Board Committees

Information on the committees that directly report to Academic Board can be found on the following web pages:

• Academic Quality and Standards Committee
• Education Committee
• Research Ethics and Governance Committee
• Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee

Further details on the University Committee Structure and terms of reference are available from the Committee Handbook, Appendix B: Committee Terms of Reference.

Information for Members

Information on responsibilities for members and links to various useful documents is available from the Information for Academic Board Members web page.

If you have any queries please contact Pam Aspden on 5948 or p.aspden@mmu.ac.uk.

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