Role and Responsibilities of Senators

The Senate approved at its meeting in September 2019 some principles of membership of the Senate, some responsibilities of Senators and a 'job description' of a Senator.

You can read these by clicking on the links on the left.

Background

The University seeks to be a Values-Led organisation. Senators should uphold the Values to:

• Belong
• Collaborate
• Inspire
• Celebrate

The role of Senate as detailed in the Charter and as delegated by the Court is to be responsible for:

“the academic work and standards of the University, Programmes of Study, teaching and research, and the regulation and superintendence of the education and discipline of the Students. The Senate shall take such measures and act in such manner as shall appear to it best calculated to promote the interests of the University and/or any member of the Heriot-Watt Group as places of education, learning and teaching, research, knowledge exchange and scholarship.”

Membership of the Senate is a privilege bestowed on only a small proportion of the University community at any given time. The role therefore requires commitment and engagement.

This paper seeks to articulate a shared understanding of how colleagues undertaking the role can be informed by the University Values whilst they contribute to the work of the Senate, and helping to deliver Strategy 2025. This is articulated as being a “Senator 2025”.

The following principles and behaviours are agreed by the Senate as a whole in order to help Senators to operate, taking account also of the University’s Constitutional Framework (i.e. the Charter, Statutes, Ordinances, Regulations, Policies, Procedures, and Standing Orders).

The benefits of a fully functioning Senate, informed by the Values, will be to help ensure the delivery of Strategy 2025 in a collegiate, informed and respectful manner.