General Council
Latest General Council News
General Council Meeting
The General Council recently met in Glasgow on Friday 23 November 2012 in The Wolfson Medical Building, University of Glasgow.
View gallery of images from the event.
General Council Elections
Information about vacancies on the Business Committee and Committee of the Alumnus Association and how to nominate a candidate can be found here.
Next General Council Meeting
The next meeting of the General Council will take place in St Andrews at 10.30am, Saturday 29 June 2013 in Parliament Hall.
What is the General Council?
The General Council of the University of St Andrews is the corporate body of all graduates and senior academics of the University of St Andrews in Scotland. It was originally instituted by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, but its constitution and organisation have been considerably altered by subsequent statutes.
Who are members of General Council?
Membership of the General Council is governed by ordinance No. 96 of the University of St Andrews and is as follows:-
"The Chancellor, all graduates of the University (including honorary graduates) and holders of the Licentiateship in Dental Surgery, members and former members of the University Court, Professors and former Professors of the University, Readers and Lecturers who have been in office for more than one year, former Readers and Lecturers who were members of the Council during their tenure of office as such and who continued in the employment of the University until retirement."
The Principal of the University is a member of the General Council Business Committee
What does the General Council do?
The General Council has a Business Committee made up of elected and ex-officio members whose role is to transact business remitted by the General Council, to frame the programme of business to be submitted to meetings of the Council and to act on behalf of the Council, under powers specifically conferred upon the Committee, or in circumstances of emergency. Members receive regular reports on the activities of the University which are open to discussion and comment. The University Court, the senior governing body of the University, is obliged to respond to any comments made by the General Council. Members may raise any matter bearing upon the University by referring it to the Convener of the Business Committee of the General Council via the Clerk to the General Council
The General Council elects the Chancellor of the University who is President of the Council. The General Council also elects two assessors to the University Court. In addition, there are at least two other lay members who are graduates.
Under the Universities (Scotland) Act 1966, new Ordinances and Resolutions from the University Court are communicated in draft form to the General Council, whose opinion is taken into consideration.
The General Council also has a Committee of the Alumnus Association. The Alumnus Association was founded in 1926 at the instance of the General Council to further the interests of former students and to work for the good of the University. Members of the General Council are ipso facto members of the Association. The Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University is the Honorary President of the Association. The Committee comprises a Convener and four members elected by the General Council from its members and three ex officio members namely the President of the Students Association, and the Convener and Vice Convener of the Business Committee of the General Council.