The governance of the University of St Andrews is laid down in a series of

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...

(the Universities (Scotland) Acts) enacted between 1858 and 1966, and the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016. In common with the other

Ancient universities The ancient universities are British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities founded before the year 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland. The ancient universities in Britain and I ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, there are three bodies responsible for governance, as determined by the

Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. This Act created three bodies: the

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

, University Court and Academic Senate (''Senatus Academicus''). The General Council, chaired by the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, represents the interests of all staff and graduates of the University and has an advisory role, but the Principal and University Court are required to present an annual report to the General Council. The University Court, chaired by the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, is the ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' supreme governing body of the University with the authority to appoint the Principal, and the power to overrule the ''Senatus Academicus''. The ''Senatus Academicus'', chaired by the Principal, is charged with determining the programmes of teaching for the students, and deciding on the regulations for the awarding of degrees. The ''Senatus Academicus'' has the ''de facto'' responsibility for student discipline, subject to the

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

of the Court.

General Council

The General Council is a standing advisory body of all the

graduates Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

academics An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and former academics of the University. It meets twice a year and appoints a Business Committee to transact business between those meetings. The most important jobs it performs is in appointing two Assessors to the University Court and electing the University

University Court

Remit and jurisdiction

The University Court was established by the

as the supreme governing body of the University, in effect the University's

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

, which has responsibility for the

finances Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of finan ...

and

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

of the University. The University Court has the power to overturn decisions made by the ''Senatus Academicus'' and all of the academic staff of the University are ''de jure'' appointed by the Court, but ''de facto'' such decisions are made by the Principal and the Academic Council.

Membership

At its creation the Court had a small membership representing the Chancellor, Rector, Principal and Senate, but the Universities (Scotland) Act 1966 non-professorial staff were added to the Court. The Court maintains a significant majority of members drawn from within, or appointed by those within, the University community itself. The only person appointed from outwith the University is the Assessor of the Provost of Fife Council. Six of the eight co-opted members could come from beyond the University community. The Court is chaired by the

who is elected by all the

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

students of the University, and is the ordinary president of the Court. The membership of the Court was set by Court Ordinance No. 121 of May 2002 (as approved by the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of e ...

) which is: * the

(elected by

students, and is

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Court) * the Principal, ''ex officio'' * the Senior Vice Principal, ''ex officio'' * the Chancellor's Assessor (nominated by the Chancellor) * the Rector's Assessor (nominated by the Rector) * the Provost of Fife's Assessor (nominated by the Provost of

Fife Council Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members. Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...

) * two assessors elected by the

* four Academic Senate assessors * a non-teaching staff member (elected by and from this constituency) * the President of the

Students' Association A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

, ''ex officio'' * the Director of Education of the

, ''ex officio'' * eight persons

co-opt Co-option (also co-optation, sometimes spelt coöption or coöptation) has two common meanings. It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintai ...

ed by the Court (to include at least two

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

)

Rector

The

Rector of the University of St Andrews The Lord Rector of the University of St Andrews is the president of the University Court of the University of St Andrews; the University Court is the supreme governing body of the University. Overview The Rector is elected every three years by ...

is the ordinary president of the University Court, and is chosen every three years by the matriculated students of the University. The office of

was created by the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

when it passed the

, which regulated academic governance and provided for the election of a Rector at all of the universities in existence at the time in

. To this day it is only the four

ancient universities of Scotland The ancient universities of Scotland () are medieval and renaissance universities which continue to exist in the present day. The majority of the ancient universities of the British Isles are located within Scotland, and have a number of distinct ...

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, and

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, as well as the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

, that elect a rector, whereas modern universities do not.

Senior Governor

The University created the position of Senior Governor to undertake the other responsibilities of a

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of a

Board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

, to ensure that the Court fulfils its responsibility of superintending the Universities officials, and enabling the effective functioning of the Court's committee. The Senior Governor is selected by the Court from among its lay members (those members who come from outside the University community.) In 2016 the Scottish Parliament mandated that a senior lay member be appointed for the governing body of, in Section 1 of the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016. At the same time, the 2016 Act affirmed the continued position of Rector as President of the Court. The Rector, when present, will preside over meetings of the Court but may not otherwise normally be involved in Court business in the way that a company chairman might be. They have a more active role in the business of court. They have become ''de jure'' the working President of the Court. Senior Governor is Dame

Anne Pringle Dame Anne Fyfe Pringle (born 13 January 1955) is a British diplomat and the former HM Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Russian Federation. From 2001 to 2004, Pringle was the British ambassador to the Czech Republic. Pringle presented ...

, who was appointed in August 2016 and is an alumna of the University. The previous Senior Governor was Professor

Ewan Brown Ewan is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic name Eòghann. It is possibly a derivative of the Pictish name, ''Vuen'' (or 'Wen'), "The Warrior" or "born of the mountain". It is most common as a male given name in Scotland and Canada. It is a ...

, who was appointed in June 2007. Professor Brown is an alumnus of the University.

Academic Senate

Remit and jurisdiction

The ''Senatus Academicus'' is the supreme academic body under the presidency of the

University Principal The principal is the chief executive and the chief academic officer of a university or college in certain parts of the Commonwealth. In the United States, the principal is the head of school at most pre-university, non-boarding schools. Canada ...

. It consists of all

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

s, deans of faculties, heads of school, a number of elected non-professorial members of staff, and four student members. Another function of the Senate is the discipline of students. Under the ''

Sponsio Academica The Sponsio Academica is the oath taken by all students matriculating into the four ancient Scottish universities. Traditionally the oath was given orally in Latin but it is now appended to the matriculation form signed by each student. Each studen ...

'' the Senate has the power to expel a student should they bring the University into disrepute. However, the full ''Senatus Academicus'' has not met as a governing body since 1995, with only ceremonial meetings taking place, such as graduation. Much of the Senate's business is delegated to a smaller body, the Academic Council.

Principal's Office

The

Principal of the University of St Andrews The Principal of the University of St Andrews is the chief executive and chief academic of the University. The Principal is responsible for the overall running of the university, presiding over the main academic body of the university, known as the ...

is the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the University and is assisted in that role by several key officers. The Principal is analogous to a

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

or a President of an

American university The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

. As of 23 October 2018 the members of the Principal's Office were: *Principal: Professor

Sally Mapstone Dame Sally Mapstone (born 1957) is an academic and principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews. Early life and education Sally Mapstone was born in 1957 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, and grew up in West London. She read ...

Master of the United College The United College of St Salvator and St Leonard (commonly referred to as United College) is one of the two statutory colleges of the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. It was founded in 1747 by the merging of St Salvators Colleg ...

: Professor Garry Taylor *

Quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

and

Factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

: Derek Watson *Vice-Principal Education (Proctor): Professor Phil Hibbert *Vice-Principal (Governance): Alastair Merrill *Vice-Principal (International Strategy and External Relations): Professor Brad MacKay *Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation): Professor Derek Woollins *Assistant Vice-Principal (Collections and Digital Content): Dr Katie Stevenson

Faculties

The University is divided into four Faculties –

Arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

– each one governed by a Faculty Council comprising all permanent members of academic staff in each school in the Faculty (members of cross faculty schools may attend either or both Faculty Councils). These Faculty Councils, in association with the Senatus Academicus, are ultimately responsible inter alia for the approval of new undergraduate and postgraduate courses and for overseeing monitoring of the progress of students. The Deans of Faculties and other faculty officers, including those responsible for postgraduate matters, are elected by the Faculty Councils. The Faculty Councils meet once annually, towards the end of each academic year.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee

The routine business of the Faculties is conducted throughout the year by the Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA) Committee, a standing committee reporting to Senate, and by the Faculty Business Committees. The Faculty Business Committees, comprising the Faculty officers and any other co-opted members, meet in advance of each TLA committee to dispatch routine affairs and review issues arising from the implementation of policy or course proposals, highlighting issues which may need discussion in the wider forum of the TLA.

Planning and Resources Committee

The Planning and Resources Committee is a joint committee of both the University Court and the ''Senatus Academicus'' and attempts to bring a unified approach to both academic and financial planning. The Planning and Resources Committee has student representation with the President and Director of Education of the

University of St Andrews Students' Association The University of St Andrews Students' Association is the organisation which represents the student body of the University of St Andrews. It was founded in 1885 and comprises the students' representative council and the Student Activities Forum ( ...

Student representation

Students' Representative Council

Students are represented by the statutory

students' representative council {{Unreferenced, date=July 2014A students' representative council, also known as a students' administrative council, represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms par ...

, which was instituted by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 The Students' Representative Council is currently part of

, and has representatives elected from

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

and

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

students.

Election of Rector

All matriculated students of the University have the right to vote in the election of the Rector, who holds office for a three-year period, and is President of the University Court. The Rector appoints the Rector's Assessor who is also a member of the University Court, and since 1970 the Rector has appointed a student as Assessor. The Rector's Assessor is a member of the Students' Representative Council, and as of April 2017 the Rector's Assessor was Dylan Bruce. The

and Director of Education of the

are members of the University Court.

University committees and councils

The President, Arts & Divinity Faculty President, Science & Medicine Faculty President, and the Postgraduate Academic Convenor are members of the ''Senatus Academicus'' and the Academic Council. The President of the Students' Association is a member of the Senate Business Committee, which is responsible for considering business for the Senate and Academic Council, and for establishing working groups or commissioning reports. The Students' Representative Council itself exists to represent students on all matters and is the recognised channel of communication between students and the University authorities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governance Of The University Of St Andrews University of St Andrews

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

General Council

University Court

Remit and jurisdiction

Membership

Rector

Senior Governor

Academic Senate

Remit and jurisdiction

Principal's Office

Faculties

Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee

Planning and Resources Committee

Student representation

Students' Representative Council

Election of Rector

University committees and councils

See also

References