HKUST Statutes | ustccss

(a) the President, who shall be Chairman;
(b) the Provost;
(c) the Vice-Presidents;
(d) the Deans;
(e) the Heads of academic departments or divisions;
(f) the Academic Registrar;
(g) the Director of Library;
(h) the Director of Student Affairs;
(i) four other academic staff members from each School (other than the School of Humanities and Social Science and the Fok Ying Tung Graduate School) who are full-time employees of the University, and who shall be elected by the full-time academic staff members of the respective Schools, provided that during such time as the number of academic departments and divisions in any School shall be less than four, the number of appointees in respect of that School under this provision shall be the same as the number of academic departments and divisions for the time being;
(j) one other academic staff member from the School of Humanities and Social Science who is a full-time employee of the University and who shall be elected by the full-time academic staff members of the School;
(k) three other academic staff members who are full-time employees of the University and who shall be elected by the full-time academic staff members of the University;
(l) one student, who shall be President for the time being of the Students' Union and who shall be registered as a full-time student of the University;
(m) one undergraduate student who shall be registered to read full-time for a degree in the University and who shall be elected by the undergraduate students in the University similarly so registered;
(n) one postgraduate student, who shall be registered to read for a degree in the University and who shall be elected by the postgraduate students in the University similarly so registered.

2. The Senate shall have the power to co-opt further full-time academic staff members of the University to serve for such periods as the Senate may determine.

3. Members of the Senate elected under paragraphs 1(i), 1(j) and 1(k) shall hold office for 2 years from the date of their election and shall be eligible for re-election.

4. The member of the Senate appointed under paragraph 1(l) shall hold office during such time as *he shall hold office of President of the Students' Union.

5. Members of the Senate elected under paragraphs 1(m) and 1(n) shall hold office for 1 year from the date of their election and shall be eligible for re-election.

6. In the event that any casual vacancy shall occur, the Senate shall have power to fill the same, and any such member so appointed shall hold office for the balance of the term of the appointee whom *he is replacing and shall be eligible for re-election.

7. No person shall be eligible for membership of the Senate in more than one capacity.

8. The Senate shall meet at least once in each term or semester of every academic year, and additionally at any time at the direction of the Chairman or on the written request of any 10 members of the Senate.

9. The quorum of the Senate shall be the smallest number which is not less than 50% of the number of members for the time being.

10. The Senate may determine its own procedure, subject to the approval of the Council.

11. (a) Student members of the Senate, and of such committees and other bodies as the Senate may establish, shall not be entitled to participate in that part of meetings which are reserved areas of business nor to see papers or any other documents relating thereto.

(b) The reserved areas of business are:-
- (i) matters affecting the appointment, promotion and other affairs relating to academics and other members of the University staff as individuals;
- (ii) matters affecting the admission and academic assessment of students as individuals;
- (iii) any other matters of a like or different nature considered by the Chairman to be reserved areas of business.

The Chairman of the Senate, or the Chairman of the Committee or other body established by the Senate, as the case may be, may decide in any case of doubt whether or not a matter falls within one of the reserved areas of business and *his decision shall be final.

* Words and expressions importing the masculine gender include the female.

Statute 2 Powers and Duties of the Senate

1. Subject to the provisions of the Ordinance and the Statutes, and to the availability of the funds provided by the Council, the Senate may do all things that are necessary for, or incidental or conducive to the performance of its duties and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may:-

(a) make recommendations to the Council on the academic aspects of any matters affecting the University, and on the appropriate resource requirements;
(b) decide what persons have qualified for the conferment of degrees (other than honorary degrees) and other academic awards;
(c) require any student on academic grounds to terminate studies at the University;
(d) make regulations, subject to the approval of Council, for the welfare and discipline of students;
(e) report to the Council on academic matters referred to the Senate by the Council;
(f) receive reports from the President on the annual estimates of expenditure of the University;
(g) delegate any of its powers to any member of the Senate or any permanent or ad hoc committee of the Senate;
(h) appoint academic staff members to the Board of each School of the University;
(i) receive reports from, and to give guidance and directions to, the Board of each School.

2. Subject to the provisions of the Ordinance and the Statutes, and to the availability of funds provided by the Council, the Senate shall:

(a) plan, develop and review academic programmes;
(b) regulate the teaching and research conducted in the University;
(c) regulate the admission of persons to approved courses of study and their attendance at such courses; and
(d) regulate the examinations leading to the degrees and other academic awards of the University.

Statute 3 Board of Each School

1.The Board of each School shall consist of:-

(a) the Dean of the School who shall be Chairman;
(b) staff on academic terms of appointment, except for those at the rank of Assistant Lecturer, who are members of the academic departments or academic divisions of the School and who are full-time employees of the University;
(c) such other academic staff members as may be appointed by the Senate.

2. The Board may from time to time co-opt such other persons, not being academic staff members, to serve for such periods as the Board may determine, provided that the number of such persons shall not exceed one-tenth of the whole number of members of the Board.

3. The persons appointed under paragraph 1(c) shall hold office for a period of one year or such other period as the Senate may specify in any particular case and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

4. The Board of each School shall be responsible to the Senate for the teaching of the subjects assigned to that School and shall report to the Senate thereon from time to time.

5. The Board of each School shall meet at least once in each term or semester of every academic year, and additionally at any time at the direction of the Chairman.

Statute 4 Powers of the Board of Each School

Subject to the provisions of the Ordinance and the Statutes, the Board of each School shall have the power:-

(a) to advise the Senate on any matters relating to the work of the School; and

(b) to perform any duty which the Senate may delegate to it and to do all such acts and things as may be required to perform the same.

Statute 5 Congregations

1. For the purpose of conferring degrees and other academic awards and for such other purposes as may be determined by the Council, at least one congregation of the whole University shall be held in each academic year.

2. The time, place and procedure of congregations shall be determined by the Council.

3. The Chancellor or in his absence the Acting Chancellor or in their absence the Pro-Chancellor or in their absence the Chairman of the Council or in their absence the Vice-Chairman of the Council or in their absence the President shall preside at congregations.

Statute 6 Degrees

1. The degrees which may be conferred by the University shall be:-

(a) Bachelor of Science - B.Sc.
(b) Bachelor of Engineering - B.Eng.
(c) Bachelor of Business Administration - B.B.A.
(d) Master of Science - M.Sc.
(e) Master of Philosophy - M.Phil.
(f) Master of Business Administration - M.B.A.
(g) Executive Master of Business Administration - E.M.B.A.
(h) Master of Arts - M.A.
(i) Master of Public Policy - M.P.P.
(j) Master of Public Management - M.P.M.
(k) Master of Technology Management - M.T.M.
(l) Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D.
(m) Doctor of Business Administration - D.B.A.
(n) Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa - D.B.A. honoris causa
(o) Doctor of Engineering honoris causa - D.Eng. honoris causa
(p) Doctor of Humanities honoris causa - D.Hum. honoris causa
(q) Doctor of Laws honoris causa - LL.D. honoris causa
(r) Doctor of Letters honoris causa - D.Litt. honoris causa
(s) Doctor of Science honoris causa - D.Sc. honoris causa
(t) Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa - D.Soc.Sc. honoris causa

2. New degrees and academic awards may be established from time to time by the University.

3. The act of conferment of degrees shall be undertaken by the Chancellor or in his absence by the Acting Chancellor or in their absence the Pro-Chancellor or in their absence the Chairman of the Council or in their absence the Vice-Chairman of the Council or in their absence the President.

4. No degree or academic award other than an honorary degree or an honorary academic award shall be conferred on any person who has not:-

(a) completed an approved course of study;
(b) passed the appropriate examinations or other testing or assessment procedure; and
(c) complied in all respects with the academic regulations made from time to time by the Senate pursuant to section 15 of the Ordinance and with all other regulations made from time to time by the University.

5. Honorary degrees and honorary academic awards may be conferred by the University on any person who has rendered distinguished service to the University or the community, in the advancement of learning and knowledge or otherwise, or who in the opinion of the Council is worthy of such a degree or academic award for outstanding human endeavour or devotion to the greater good of mankind.

6. No person shall be deprived of any degree or academic award except for good cause and on the resolutions of both the Council and the Senate.

Statute 7 The Court

1. The Court shall consist of:-

(a) Ex-officio members who shall be:-
- (i) the Chairman of the Council
- (ii) the Vice-Chairman of the Council
- (iii) the President
- (iv) the Treasurer of the University
- (v) the Provost
- (vi) the President for the time being of the HKUST Students' Union who shall be a registered student at the University
- (vii) the President for the time being of the HKUST Alumni Association, and
- (viii) the Chairman for the time being of the HKUST Staff Association,
(b) Honorary Chairmen who are appointed by the Council from time to time from past Chairmen of the Council. Honorary Chairmen shall not be required to attend meetings of the Court.
(c) Appointed members who shall be:-
- (i) four members of the Senate to be nominated from time to time by the Senate and appointed by the Council, and
- (ii) thirty other members to be appointed from time to time by the Council, and
- (iii) ten other members to be appointed from time to time by the Chancellor,
- and
(d) Honorary members shall include persons who are not Honorary Chairmen and are appointed by the Council from time to time. Honorary members need not have been previous members of the Court and shall not be required to attend meetings of the Court.

2. No Ex-officio member of the Council shall be eligible for appointment as an Appointed member of the Court.

3. The Ex-officio members shall continue as members so long as they hold the office in virtue of which they became members of the Court. Any Appointed member may resign at any time by written notice to that effect addressed to the secretary to the Court.

4. The Appointed members shall hold office for three years from the date of their appointment and shall be eligible for re-appointment, normally for one further consecutive term of three years. An Appointed member may normally serve as a member of the Court for six consecutive years. In exceptional circumstances, the Chancellor or the Council, as appropriate, may re-appoint Court Members who have served six consecutive years for up to four additional years.

5. Honorary Chairmen and Honorary members may resign at any time by written notice to the secretary to the Court. Their appointments may also be terminated by the Council at its discretion.

6. Vacancies shall be filled as they occur and as soon thereafter as conveniently may be.

7. The functions of the Court shall be as set out in the Ordinance.

Statute 8 Meetings of the Court

1. The Court shall meet at least once in each academic year.

2. The Chancellor, on recommendation of the Council, may appoint a person from among Honorary Chairmen to be the Chairman of the Court for a term to be determined by the Chancellor. The Chairman of the Court shall preside at meetings of the Court. In the absence of the Chairman of the Court, the Chairman of the Council, or in their absence the Vice-Chairman of the Council or in their absence the President shall preside at meetings of the Court.

3. If at any time none of the Honorary Chairmen can take up the chairmanship of the Court, the Chairman of the Council shall be the Acting Chairman of the Court and as such shall in all respects act as and perform all the functions of the Chairman of the Court.

4. The Chairman of the Court may convene a meeting of the Court at any time and from time to time.

5. The quorum for meetings of the Court shall be one quarter of the number of Ex-officio members of the Court and one quarter of the number of Appointed members for the time being.

Statute 9 Election for appointment of a full-time employee to the Council

1. One full-time employee of the University shall be elected from among full-time employees for appointment by the Council to the Council.

2. A full-time employee of the University means a person who is employed directly by the University and whose contractual hours of work is not less than 39 hours per week.

3. Each eligible employee shall be on the electoral roll and shall be entitled to vote and to be nominated as a candidate.

4. The election shall be co-ordinated by the Council Secretary who shall act as the Election Officer with responsibility for organising and overseeing the election process.

5. The Election Officer shall determine the election timetable and the nomination and polling procedures subject to the approval of the Council.

6. If there is only one candidate for election, that candidate shall be declared elected unopposed. Where there is more than one candidate, the Election Officer shall organise a poll.

7. Voting shall be done by secret ballot and no proxy shall be allowed.

8. The candidate who receives the most votes shall be declared elected. If the polling results in a tie, the Election Officer shall determine the result of the election by drawing lots.

9. Results of the election shall be announced by the Election Officer.

10. An elected employee shall be appointed to the Council for three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

11. In the event of a vacancy for appointment of a full-time employee to the Council, the Election Officer shall determine whether to conduct a by-election or full election to fill the vacancy. The candidate who is elected in a by-election shall serve the remaining term of the previous holder of the vacated seat.

12. The Council may create or amend additional regulations governing the election process from time to time.

Statute 10 Election for appointment of a full-time student to the Council

1. One full-time student of the University shall be elected from among full-time students for appointment by the Council to the Council.

2. A full-time student of the University means a person who is registered on any full-time programme of study leading to a degree, degrees or other academic award(s) of the University as approved by the Senate.

3. Each eligible student shall be on the electoral roll and shall be entitled to vote and to be nominated as a candidate.

4. The election shall be co-ordinated by the Academic Registrar who shall act as the Election Officer with responsibility for organising and overseeing the election process.

5. The Election Officer shall determine the election timetable and the nomination and polling procedures subject to the approval of the Council.

6. If there is only one candidate for election, that candidate shall be declared elected unopposed. Where there is more than one candidate, the Election Officer shall organise a poll.

7. Voting shall be done by secret ballot and no proxy shall be allowed.

8. The candidate who receives the most votes shall be declared elected. If the polling results in a tie, the Election Officer shall determine the result of the election by drawing lots.

9. Results of the election shall be announced by the Election Officer.

10. An elected student shall be appointed to the Council for one year and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

11. In the event of a vacancy for appointment of a full-time student to the Council, the Election Officer shall determine whether to conduct a by-election or full election to fill the vacancy. The candidate who is elected in a by-election shall serve the remaining term of the previous holder of the vacated seat.

12. The Council may create or amend regulations governing the election process from time to time.

Statute 11 Convocation

1. The Convocation shall consist of:-

(a) persons on whom an honorary degree or honorary fellowship has been conferred;
(b) graduates on receipt of an academic award at degree or postgraduate diploma level granted by the University;
(c) such other persons as may be prescribed by the Council.

2. The objectives of the Convocation shall be:-

(a) To help promote goodwill among members of the Convocation and between the Convocation and the University;
(b) To offer help and ideas to the University;
(c) To promote good relations between the University and the general public;
(d) To contribute to fundraising efforts of the University;
(e) To promote the objectives and activities of the University.

3. The Constitution and Rules of the Convocation, and other matters relating to the Convocation shall be subject to approval of the Council and may be amended by the Council from time to time.

4. The business of the Convocation shall be conducted in accordance with its Constitution and the Rules.

5. Members of the Standing Committee shall be elected from members of the Convocation in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules. Any retiring Chairman shall be eligible for re-election except for the retiring Chairman who has, at the same time of such retirement, held such office for 2 consecutive full terms.

6. There shall be a Standing Committee of the Convocation which shall be the executive body of the Convocation.

7. An Annual General Meeting of the Convocation shall be convened by the Standing Committee every calendar year between January 1st and March 31st.

8. 30 members of the Convocation shall form a quorum for meetings.

9. A register containing the name of all members of the Convocation shall be kept by the Secretary of the Convocation.