Senate Elections

The Senate meets bi-monthly, every first Thursday of the month (from 3 pm to 5 pm).

For more information, see the Senate Bylaws.

Yes! All new members will participate in an orientation session and will receive a comprehensive manual before their first Senate meeting.

No, this is a volunteer position. For faculty members, this position will be considered towards any applicable service requirements. All Senate members may submit requests for reimbursements for any reasonable expenses incurred.

Please complete the appropriate forms.

If you have any questions about the nomination process, please contact elections@ucanwest.ca.

If you no longer wish to stand for election and wish to withdraw your nomination, please contact elections@ucanwest.ca to withdraw your nomination. Once withdrawn, you will not be eligible for the election and any votes for a withdrawn candidate will be invalid.

Please note that, if you are elected, it is our expectation that you will serve the entire term of office, to the best of your ability.

Voting will be done electronically (instructions to follow).

An orientation session will be held for all candidates. It is the sole responsibility of the candidate to ensure they are familiar with all the rules of the election, whether they attend the orientation or not.

Each nominee will be asked to provide a Statement of Intent (maximum 300 words and no links) in the Nomination Form. This Statement of Intent will be made available to the electorate on the Senate Elections webpage.

Campaigning is allowed and encouraged, but must be undertaken at the individual’s expense and in their own time. Candidates may not abuse UCW’s resources for election purposes. All candidates are required to act with honesty and integrity.

Candidates are expected to conduct themselves in a manner respectful of other candidates, and all campaign material must comply with human rights and other legislation.

Campaigning includes: word-of-mouth and direct communications, posters, flyers, websites and social media. Encouraging individuals to vote is not considered campaigning if there is no reference to an individual candidate or group of candidates.

Each candidate may post one campaign poster (8.5×11”) on each Community Board at the UCW campuses and may choose to distribute flyers on UCW campuses (at their own expense). Staff and faculty candidates may also post one campaign poster (8.5×11”) in each UCW faculty and staff lounge or work area.

If you have any questions about the campaigning process, please contact elections@ucanwest.ca.

Nominations will be submitted on your own behalf but must be signed by three other eligible faculty members.

To nominate an individual, vote, or stand for election, faculty members must:

have a continuing appointment at UCW as an instructor, a lecturer, an assistant professor, an associate professor, or a professor in a degree program (i.e., undergraduate and graduate).

Instructors that have a continuing appointment and that teach in the University Access Program (UAP) may nominate an individual, vote in an election or stand for election as staff members, not as faculty.

Please note that visiting, adjunct and sessional faculty are not eligible to nominate, run for election or vote in the upcoming Senate elections.

No. Faculty and staff members who are also UCW students are not eligible to run as student representatives.

Nominations will be submitted on your own behalf but must be signed by three other eligible staff members.

Staff members must be employed by UCW and be past their probationary period to be eligible to stand for election. All staff members are eligible to vote for and nominate another staff member.

Officers of the University (President, Vice-Presidents, or the Registrar), faculty members (except UAP instructors with continuing appointment), Chairs, and the University Librarian are not eligible.

Instructors that have a continuing appointment and that teach in the University Access Program (UAP) may nominate an individual, vote in an election or stand for election as staff members, not as faculty.

Continuing faculty are those who teach in the degree programs, and have continuous appointments, an assigned rank and either a contract with no end date or are on a continuing track.

Yes, librarian staff are allowed to vote in the staff election. The University Librarian is the only person in the Library department who cannot vote. The same is true with the Registrar and Registrar’s Office staff.

The campaigning period will start on September 10 and end on October 8. Candidates may release campaign messages during this time period. Voting will be online only.

Staff members will only be able to vote for staff, and faculty will only be able to vote for faculty. The system will track the votes and an audit will be conducted at the end to make sure the results were tracked appropriately.

The University will not provide resources for campaigning, and all campaign materials (such as posters, signs, social media, websites, etc.) will be produced at the candidates’ expense.

Candidates are reminded to minimize disruptions during business operations; while it is acceptable to remind voters during regular meetings, there should not be any solicitation of votes during regular business interactions.

We ask that each candidate respect their colleagues’ time and our shared workspaces by following these campaign best practices:

1. Limit group emails to a maximum of two (2) messages on behalf of each candidate during the campaign period (September 10 to October 8)
2. For all group emails, please blind copy (BCC) all recipients
3. Campaign posters may be placed on the boards in the faculty prep rooms and employee lounge areas at both the Vancouver House and West Pender campuses
4. Limit of one campaign poster per candidate per board/area
5. Campaign posters may not be placed on walls or in stairwells at either campus

Candidates are reminded to be respectful of other candidates and support a campaign process that is fair, reasonable and in compliance with human rights or any other applicable legislation.

In terms of communication, candidates are recommended to present themselves honestly, covering items such as your motivation for running in the election, your intentions if elected and what would be the focus of your attention during your term on the Senate.

Yes, both Chairs and current elected members of the Senate are allowed to vote.

Senate votes are not tallied by department; all faculty and staff members (and more broadly, all Senate members) are asked to consider the best interests of the University and its students.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to reach out to voters. Candidates are encouraged to be mindful of using the University resources for campaigning purposes.

The membership for each Senate Committee is generally restricted to members of the Senate (including elected representatives of students, faculty and staff). The Committee Chairs can extend invitations to non-committee members for projects or certain initiatives, as needed.

All employees of the University are eligible to vote for another staff member. The exceptions are: officers of the University (President, Vice-Presidents or the Registrar), faculty members (except UAP instructors), Chairs and the University Librarian. For election purposes, UAP instructors are considered staff.

Faculty will not be able to vote in staff elections. Instead, faculty members with a continuing appointment can vote for their continuing faculty representative.

For more information about eligibility, see Sections 2.1 and 4.1-4.5 contained in Appendix A to the Bylaws (Rules to Govern Elections to the Senate).

The successful candidates for the Senate elections are determined according to the ‘first past the post’ principles: candidates with the most votes are declared winners.

In the event of an equality of votes between two or more candidates in an election, the final result will be decided by lot amongst the candidates, under the direction of the Registrar.

Candidates will be acclaimed for a vacant position if:

1. The number of candidates nominated is equal to or less than the number of vacant positions;
2. A candidate has withdrawn his or her nomination and, as a result, the number of remaining candidates is equal to or less than the number of vacant positions.

For more information, see Section 12.0 (Election Results) contained in Appendix A to the Bylaws (Rules to Govern Elections to the Senate).

The Senate Elections team has advertised broadly for the available positions on the Senate and has used the principles of equity to ensure that expressions of interest are appropriately supported and guided through the application process. As the final decision is made through an open election, the final decision on the candidates belongs to the voting members of the UCW Community.