2017 Legislative Session: 6th Session, 40th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

MR. ANDREW WEAVER

BILL M 222 – 2017

UNIVERSITY AMENDMENT ACT, 2017

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

This Bill amends the University Act to reduces the number of board members that the Lieutenant Governor in Council appoints and it empowers the convocation of universities to elect their Chancellor. In doing so, this Act introduces a standard of autonomy for the governance of universities to ensure they are free from political interference in their internal operations.

This Bill also amends the University Act to change the composition, not the powers, of the senate for special purpose teaching universities.

The governance of universities is unique in that they have two governing bodies: the Senate and the Board of Governors. The Senate operates in an autonomous manner from Government due to its academic responsibilities. The Board of Governors, on the other hand, has an accountability relationship with the Ministry of Advanced Education, as well as an important linkage between the university, Senate, and the local community.

The current composition in the University Act of the Senate for special purpose teaching universities defeats this bicameral model because the majority of votes in these bodies is always in the hands of the university administration. By way of contrast, faculty hold the majority of votes in the senates for research universities. This Bill ensures that the Senate composition at special purpose teaching universities is similar to that at research universities.

Section 11 of the University Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 468, is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) There must be a chancellor of each university, who is to be elected by the members of the convocation. ,

(

b) in subsection (1.1) by striking out " appointed " and substituting " elected ",

(

c) in subsection (2) by striking out " reappointment " and substituting " reelection ", and

(

d) in subsection (3) by striking out " appointed " and substituting " elected ".

Section 12 is amended in subsection (2) by striking out " appointed " and substituting " elected ".

Section 19 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out " 15 " and substituting " 13 ",

(

b) in subsection (1) (

d) by striking out " 8 " and substituting " 6 ",

(

c) in subsection (2) by striking out " 21 " and substituting " 19 ", and

(

d) in subsection 2 (

e) by striking out " 11 " and substituting " 9 ".

Section 35.2 (2) (

g) is repealed and the following is substituted:

(

g) a number of faculty members equal to twice the number of senate members provided in paragraphs (

a) to (f), to consist of 2 members of each faculty elected by the members of that faculty, and the remainder elected by the faculty members in the manner that they, in joint meeting, determine; .

Explanatory Note

This Bill amends the University Act to reduces the number of board members that the Lieutenant Governor in Council appoints and it empowers the convocation of universities to elect their Chancellor. In doing so, this Act introduces a standard of autonomy for the governance of universities to ensure they are free from political interference in their internal operations.

This Bill also amends the University Act to change the composition, not the powers, of the senate for special purpose teaching universities.

The governance of universities is unique in that they have two governing bodies: the Senate and the Board of Governors. The Senate operates in an autonomous manner from Government due to its academic responsibilities. The Board of Governors, on the other hand, has an accountability relationship with the Ministry of Advanced Education, as well as an important linkage between the university, Senate, and the local community.

The current composition in the University Act of the Senate for special purpose teaching universities defeats this bicameral model because the majority of votes in these bodies is always in the hands of the university administration. By way of contrast, faculty hold the majority of votes in the senates for research universities. This Bill ensures that the Senate composition at special purpose teaching universities is similar to that at research universities.

Copyright (

c) Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada