Senate Agenda: Types of Business

An agenda typically has the following items, in order from first to last; motions indicate a decision to be made by Senate.

Conflict of Interest

For each session (open and confidential), Senators must declare conflicts of interest with any agenda item in that session based on Senate Bylaw 1, section 8 “Declarations of conflict of interest.”

“A member shall be considered to have an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest, when the opportunity exists for the member to use confidential information gained as a member of Senate, or any of Senate's committees or councils, for the personal profit or advantage of any person, or use the authority, knowledge or influence of the Senate, or a committee or council thereof, to further her/his personal, familial or corporate interests or the interests of an employee of the university with whom the member has a marital, familial or sexual relationship.”

– Senate Bylaw 1, section 8 “Declarations of conflict of interest.”

Approval of the Agenda

A motion is requested to approve the agenda as presented. The agenda may also be amended at this time, at the request of a member and with concurrence of Senate.

Approval of the agenda also includes matters placed in the consent agenda and is the opportunity to remove items from the consent agenda into the discussion portion of the agenda. Senators are encouraged to reach out to the Secretariat with regards to items to be discussed or as part of the consent agenda.

Approval of the Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting are a record of the meeting’s decisions, with content to situate the discussion at the meeting. Senate is required to approve the minutes, whether as presented or with amendments to correctly reflect the activity of the meeting.

Business Arising

Business Arising typically includes updates pertinent to Senators between meetings or provides an update on any follow up conducted in response to business at a previous meeting.

Report of the President, and Leadership Updates

The president, the vice-president, academic & provost, and the vice-president research and international all provide operational reports from their respective offices, with a focus on topics germane to Senate. Within these reports, senators will often receive presentations or engage in panel discussions on matters of interest.

Reports From Committees and Councils

Reports originating from the committees and councils of Senate are included in the agenda, with items for Senate approval and other items reported to Senate for information purposes, e.g., matters approved by the junior body on behalf of Senate, or a summary of discussions on a topic germane to Senate.

Reports from Senate’s committees and councils provide assurances to Senate that due diligence has been taken and for information sharing with the parent governing body.

Motions

Senators may send motions, in writing, to Secretariat Staff in advance of each meeting. The Senate Executive Committee will review and, if appropriate, will include in the agenda. More information about how motions are handled during the Senate Meeting will be found in the next section.