Joint Committee On Student Participation

At The 1968 Annual General Meeting of this association a resolution was passed suggesting a joint committee be set up to consider the part to be played by students in the government of the university. The University Council subsequently aggreed in principle to the establishment of the joint committee, suggested some changes in its composition and proposed terms of reference. These changes and the terms of references were accepted by your Executive in early May. The joint committee consisted of four members each from the University Council, the Professorial Board and the Students' Association and it was chaired by the Chancellor. The joint committee held eight meetings in 1968, received submissions from interested stall and students, and made numerous recommendations from interested staff and students, and made numerous recommendations during the course of the year. These recommendations resulted in many new positions for student representatives or members including a further representative on the University Council, three members on the Professorial Board, and representation on various council and Professorial Board subcommittees.

It was appreciated by members of the Joint Committee that the question of student participation involved considerably more than just membership of committees. It involved a realisation by academic and administrative staff and students alike first that a university is a community of people, sec-only that there should be effective communication of ideas and decisions within the community, and thirdly that students wanted and should be given the opportunity to make a contribution to the university community.

These factors and the various recommendations are to be explained fully in the Joint Committee's Report which was scheduled for publication early in 1969