Read the terms of reference and minutes of Full Faculty Meetings.
Purpose and Authority
To fulfill the duties of the Faculty of Medicine referenced in the University Act, the purpose of Full Faculty Meetings is to:
- Make rules for governance, direction, and management of the Faculty and its affairs and business, subject to the approval of Senate and the University Act.
- Approve Faculty business including curricular and academic program changes and administrative structures.
- Approve candidates for degrees and scholarship awards (vote held in camera, excluding students).
- Recommend to UBC Senate any Faculty of Medicine business requiring its approval.
- Deal with other matters assigned by the UBC Board of Governors or Senate.
Additionally, the purpose of Full Faculty Meetings is to:
- Inform all faculty, clinical faculty, and staff about academic, executive, and financial activities of the Faculty.
- Provide an opportunity for members to inform the decisions and directions affecting teaching, research, and service in the Faculty of Medicine.
Composition
Please see the Senate Policy on voting membership in Faculties.
All voting and non-voting members of Faculty and emeriti, as well as students, residents, and representatives from other Faculties who have been appointed as voting members by the Dean, are invited to the meetings.
Attendees are welcome to participate in any discussion; however, only voting members are eligible to vote on motions under consideration.
Appointment Process
Appointment of representatives from outside the Faculty of Medicine is coordinated annually by the Dean’s Office.
Term
Appointed members are appointed for one year, renewable.
Chair
Chaired by the Dean, Faculty of Medicine or the Executive Vice Dean, Faculty of Medicine.
Meeting Schedule and Administration
The Faculty of Medicine normally holds two Full Faculty Meetings each year in May and November, and if required, at the call of the chair. Meeting dates are posted on MedNet each summer.
The agenda is determined by the chair on the recommendation of the Dean’s Executive Advisory Council, which serves as the Agenda Committee for Full Faculty Meetings. The agenda is normally based on business arising from the Faculty Executive Committee on the advice of the Faculty’s senior leadership, and other such motions with prior notice of motion.
In addition to the dates of the two meetings for the upcoming academic year, the ‘Deadline for Receipt of Documents’ date is also posted on MedNet. This is the deadline for voting members of Faculty to propose agenda items to the Dean. When such items are proposed, it will be accompanied by a background document and justification. The document receipt deadline for such items will be thirty days before each meeting date. Requests to submit agenda items for an upcoming Full Faculty Meeting should be directed to the Dean’s Executive Coordinator well in advance of each meeting.
Agenda items are generally presented to Faculty either for information, to be received, or to be approved. Some items will then require formal UBC Senate approval before final implementation by the Faculty.
The agenda, attachments, and previous minutes will be circulated by email from the Dean’s Office no later than three weeks before the meeting date. Agendas are circulated to all faculty members using HRMS contact information, as well as to other Faculty of Medicine Voting Members appointed by the Dean.
To ensure agendas are received, faculty members, emeriti, and other voting members are strongly encouraged to keep their business email address and contact information current via the Self-Service Portal for Faculty and Staff.
Regrets from those invited to the meeting but unable to attend should be directed to the Dean’s Office.
Note that extraordinary Full Faculty Meetings are only convened at the call of the Dean. Such would be the case if there was a major issue before Faculty that required deliberation at a Full Faculty Meeting as spelled out above. It would be a member’s responsibility to convince the Dean and Agenda Committee that a special meeting is necessary. A signed petition by 10% of the Faculty’s members eligible to vote would indicate extensive support for a given issue to be considered at a Full Faculty Meeting. Any major motion would require notice of motion to be circulated to all members before a Full Faculty Meeting.
The chair must be aware of any additions to the agenda before the meeting, and additions, deletions, or changes to the agenda must be accepted. There should not be any items that members have not had time to review or consider. Should any member bring such items without consultation, they may be declined by the chair or tabled for a subsequent meeting depending on the nature of the item.
Rules and procedures will be determined by the chair who will be guided generally by Roberts Rules of Order.
Normally a brief background document in support of an agenda item will be circulated with the agenda. Presenters will provide this to the Dean’s Executive Coordinator 30 days before the meeting date in order for it to be reviewed and circulated in a timely way.
PowerPoint presentations will be forwarded to the Dean’s Executive Coordinator no later than 5 days before the meeting date in order for appropriate arrangements to be made for videoconferencing. These presentations are normally hyperlinked to the minutes which are prepared by the Faculty Secretariat.
One academic standing committee reports directly to Faculty:
Faculty Executive Committee: carries out Faculty business between Full Faculty Meetings. Faculty Executive minutes are posted on MedNet. A motion to approve the actions of Faculty Executive is voted on at each Full Faculty Meeting.
Other academic standing committees report to the Faculty Executive Committee.
Administrative standing committees that report to the Dean provide regular (normally annual) reports to the Faculty Executive Committee for information.
Minutes of Faculty of Medicine Meetings
Minutes are taken by the Faculty Secretariat, a service provided by Senate and Curriculum Services for all UBC Faculty Council Meetings. The Dean’s Office will post the draft minutes when available and they will be circulated with the next meeting’s agenda. Once the minutes have been formally approved by Faculty they will be posted on MedNet.
May 2022
November 2022
May 2021
November 2021
Quorum and Decision Making Process
The quorum for Full Faculty Meetings is 50 voting members for issues of policy (approved at the Faculty of Medicine Meeting February 25, 1988).
Attendees at each meeting site are required to register upon entering the meeting to confirm their attendance and their voting status. Voting members attending at one of the five sites will be given a card or electronic clicker with which to vote*. Those attending by webcast will log onto an introductory registration page using the current webcast program in order to confirm their attendance, and voting members will be given access to a voting page.
Proposing motions, seconding motions, and amending motions may only be done by members with voting privileges. Members attending by webcast may do this by enabling the ‘ask a question’ feature on the webcast program. A moderator will direct these comments to the chair.
Every motion requires a vote including, but not limited to, approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, receipt of committee reports, conferral of degrees, and approval of curriculum changes. The chair will issue a reminder at the beginning of the meeting that voting and non-voting members may speak to the minutes or make corrections, but only voting members may vote.
Voting by faculty members attending at one of the five sites may be done by a using the cards or electronic clickers issued to voting members when they register. Voting members attending by webcast will toggle to a voting page. The chair will require that regular procedures be followed for votes on motions.
*When warranted, the Dean may determine that voting will be carried out by secret ballot conducted electronically by Enrolment Services. Examples might include motions with respect to significant curriculum changes, or the creation/merging/disbanding of academic units. If required due to timing, for example between a scheduled Full Faculty Meeting and the necessary Senate Meeting, voting on a motion may be held between the scheduled Faculty Meetings. In all cases, widely-circulated and appropriate Notice of Motion and instructions will be circulated by the Dean’s Office well in advance of the actual Notice of Voting. Voting by proxy or alternates is not permitted at Full Faculty Meetings.
Lines of Accountability and Communication
The Faculty of Medicine:
- Makes recommendations to Senate.
- Receives recommendations from the Faculty Executive Committee and the academic standing committees that report to it.
- Delegates to the Faculty Executive Committee its responsibilities between Full Faculty Meetings, and approves (or not) Faculty Executive Committee actions at Full Faculty Meetings.
Responsibilities
The Faculty of Medicine Full Faculty:
- Meets regularly to conduct Faculty of Medicine business as per its mandate.
Approval
This version of these terms of reference has been approved by the Faculty Executive Committee on September 26, 2017, and by the Faculty of Medicine (Full Faculty) on November 14, 2017.