1. General
These Guidelines are intended to outline attendance expectations for visitors to meetings of the University of Waterloo Board of Governors and its standing committees. It is the expectation that the business of these meetings can proceed appropriately and with full attention to a safe and secure environment for all meeting participants.
These Guidelines describe measures that are consistent with the University of Waterloo Act, 1972 (“the Act”), as amended, Board By-law 1 and other University policies and protocols addressing individual conduct, safety and security.
2. Authority
Section 27(1) of the Act requires that meetings of Board of Governors be open to the public
…the meetings, including committee meetings of the Board of Governors and of the Senate shall be open to the public, prior notice of the meetings of the Board of Governors and of the Senate shall be given to the members and to the public in such manner as the Board of Governors and the Senate by by-law shall determine, and no person shall be excluded therefrom except for improper conduct…
Board Bylaw 1, s.D6 provides that, “Non-Board members in attendance at meetings may participate at the pleasure of the Chair and shall observe rules of decorum”.
The Act, and Board Bylaw 1, provide for circumstances in which a meeting of the Board or its committees may be held in closed session, “Where any matter is a confidential financial matter of the University or an intimate financial or personal matter of any person, such matter shall be so designated on the agenda for such Board meeting and described in a manner consistent with maintaining the confidentiality of such matter. The Board shall initially deal with any such confidential matter in camera, but, after receiving the pertinent information, relative to the confidential matter, may direct that the matter be thereupon considered in open session.[1]
3. Registration of Attendance
The Secretariat will establish and make public a registration process for visitors to attend and observe proceedings of the open session of a Board of Governors meeting.
4. Representations to the Board of Governors
4.1 Members of the University community wishing to make representations to a meeting of Board must file their request with the Secretariat, in writing, by noon on the Friday that precedes the scheduled regular meeting of the Board, as published on the Secretariat website, and include the nature of the proposed representation. Requests should include reference to other internal and/or governance bodies previously engaged in the matter, as appropriate. The Secretariat may be contacted for assistance in filing such requests.
4.2 Requests are considered by the Chair of the Board of Governors and granted with approval from the Board when the agenda is considered.
4.3 Speakers are required to limit their remarks to five minutes, with exceptions at the sole discretion of the chair.
4.4 All meeting participants shall avoid personal attacks or offensive references to any individual.
4.5 A maximum of fifteen minutes may be devoted to representations from individuals and groups who wish to address the members of the Board. These statements will normally be heard following dispensation of the minutes.
4.6 If more than three requests for representations are received for a given Board meeting, they will be considered in the order received with priority to be given to recognized associations and groups from the University community, as well as to requests pertaining to items of business on the meeting agenda.
4.7 An individual or group may bring a representation to the Board on a given subject normally once during the governance year (September 1 to August 30).
4.8 The Chair of the Board of Governors may exercise discretion to appropriately direct the request to a committee of Board or to another governance or administrative body.
4.9 The Chair of the Board of Governors has the authority to adapt the process outlined in these guidelines in cases where its application is uncertain.
5. Order and Decorum
5.1 As the presiding officer of the meeting, the Chair is responsible for maintaining order and decorum at meetings.
5.2 Only duly appointed and elected members of Board and its standing committees may participate in debate and/or sit at the table. Members of senior administration and/or resource persons who attend meetings of Board or a standing committee or council to facilitate its work may be called upon to respond to questions. Visitors to meetings do not have speaking privileges unless otherwise provided by the Chair.
5.3 Interference with the progress of a meeting by a visitor will not be permitted and any visitor who attempts to impede the business of the meeting will be instructed by the Chair to leave.
6. Recording of Meetings
Audio and/or video recording or transmittal of meetings is not permitted unless permission has been granted by and at the sole discretion of the Chair. The Secretariat may cause the meeting to be recorded for minute-taking purposes. Such recordings will be held confidentially and securely on University-supported servers and destroyed following approval of the respective minutes.
7. Contact
Questions related to these guidelines should be directed to the Secretariat at board@uwaterloo.ca.
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Approved by the Board of Governors, 29 October 2024.
[1] Board By-law 1, Section D, 8-9