Academic Senate

Academic SenateAcademic Senate is responsible for protecting, promoting and enhancing academic standards and quality at the University and advises Council on core academic activities including teaching, learning and research, through its President, who is also Council member.

Council delegates specific powers to Academic Senate for example approving and amending academic polices, approving exams results and completion requirements for degrees, introducing new programs and courses, and revising and discontinuing programs. In summary, all academic related matters are debated, discussed and resolved by Academic Senate or sent on to Council for its consideration.

To help it make decisions, Academic Senate has a number of committees and is also supported by the College Boards.

Find out  more about Academic Senate with this short podcast - Academic Senate Podcast - What Does Academic Senate Do? (WAV, 32KB).

Academic Senate meets regularly and operates in accordance with the Governance Rule, the University of Newcastle Act 1989, and the University of Newcastle By-law 2017 which set out the powers and functions of the University and how these must be performed.


Senate Committees

Academic Senate committees

To help deal effectively with specialised issues, Academic Senate is supported by the below committees:

Learn more about each committee, committee members and meeting dates here.

Senate Meeting Dates

Academic Senate meeting dates

Now Available 2024 Academic Senate and Committees Calendar (PDF, 104KB)

This calendar includes Academic Senate, Research Committee, Teaching and Learning Committee, Program and Course Approval Committee and Pathways and Academic Learning Support Centre meeting dates.

Academic Senate members

Meet the 2024 members of Academic Senate (PDF, 161KB).

Most members are elected by academic staff and other members are elected student members or ex-officio members which means they are part of Academic Senate because of their position at the University.

Latest news for Academic Senate

Senate News - The Academic Senate Communique

The Communique provides a brief outline of the matters discussed at each Academic Senate meeting. View the Communique below:

Senate Constitution

Report Template and Resources

Papers for Academic Senate, Research Committee and the Teaching and Learning Committee should be prepared on a specific template. Access the approved Academic Senate and Committees Report Template (DOCX, 41kb).

View the relevant resources: Functions of Academic Senate (PDF, 80kb), Academic Senate Standing Orders (PDF, 228kb) and Governance Rule.

Please email academicsenate@newcastle.edu.au for enquiries regarding meeting papers and minutes.

Academic Senate Handbook

The Academic Senate Handbook (PDF, 399KB) is primarily designed to help new and existing members of the Academic Senate and its Committees/Boards to understand their roles and responsibilities as a member.

It is also a useful resource for staff if you are interested in learning more about the University's academic governance and understanding the role of the Academic Senate (or its Committees/Boards), areas of focus and responsibilities.

Who to contact

COMMITTEE CONTACT
Academic Senate academicsenate@newcastle.edu.au
Teaching and Learning Committee academicsenate@newcastle.edu.au
Research Committee academicsenate@newcastle.edu.au
Program and Course Approval CommitteeKim Austin 

College Boards

College of Engineering, Science and Environment 
CESE-CollegeBoard@newcastle.edu.au

College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
CHMW-CollegeBoard@newcastle.edu.au

College of Human and Social Futures
CHSF-CollegeBoard@newcastle.edu.au

Pathways and Academic Learning Support CentrePals-Education@newcastle.edu.au
Research Training Sub-CommitteeGareth Patterson