Elections by Congregation: Audit and Scrutiny Committee - HT 2023

General Information about this constituency

This constituency is comprised of one member elected by Congregation from the faculties in the Divisions of Humanities and Social Sciences who shall not serve on Council or on any committee which in the view of Council has mainline executive authority within the University, or hold any office in the University or any college which involves executive authority.

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee meets at least four times a year, with special meetings held as required. The Committee reports to Council its annual opinion on risk management, control, governance, value for money and data management and assurance, and makes additional reports to Council when necessary. The membership of the Committee includes a majority of external members and three members elected by Congregation. It is chaired by an external member of Council. The Committee’s Regulations specify its role in providing independent assurance to assist Council in fulfilling Council's responsibilities for ensuring the adequacy and effectiveness of the University’s policies and processes, and its compliance with its statutory obligations.

The terms of reference and membership of this body are set out in Council Regulations 15 of 2002.

For further information, please contact the Secretary.

General Notes

The elections on 2 March 2023 will be conducted electronically.

Nominations

Hard copies of nomination forms will not be processed. Nominations must be made on an official  nomination form. Completed nomination forms must be sent as an email attachment to the Elections Office by 4pm on Thursday, 2 February. Please ensure that the nominators listed in section D are also copied into the email when the nomination form is submitted, as this will act as verification of the nomination in lieu of supplying original signatures.

General requirements and eligibility

All candidates are asked to note the general requirements which apply to all committee members, as set out in Council Regulations 14 of 2002 (General Regulations of Council for Committees). Current members seeking re-election are also asked to check for specific restrictions on consecutive service. For further information, please see the eligibility and amendments to nominations sections within the Information about University elections pages of the Elections website.

Candidate’s statement

Candidates are invited to include with their nomination forms a written statement of no more than 250 words, setting out their reasons for standing and qualifications for the office being sought.

Contested elections

In the event of a contested election, the successful candidates will be determined by an electronic ballot. An email with further instructions will be sent to eligible voters on Wednesday, 15 February, using the email addresses provided in the electronic register of Congregation (NB with few exceptions, notably clinical staff, this will be the work address ending ‘ox.ac.uk’). Candidates’ statements will be published online and in the Gazette dated Thursday, 16 February. Voters may wish to read these statements before completing their electronic vote. The voting period will close at 4pm on Thursday, 2 March 2023.

Uncontested elections

If the number of nominations received by the closing date is no more than sufficient to fill the vacancies, the candidates nominated shall be deemed to be duly elected as of the close of the nomination period on Thursday, 2 February. When required, places will be allocated according to academic standing, as defined in Council Regulations 22 of 2002, Part 2: Academic Precedence and Standing. If the number of nominations received by the closing date is less than sufficient to fill the vacancies, those candidates nominated will be deemed elected unopposed, and the remaining vacancies will lapse, in which case, in accordance with the regulations, the places must remain vacant until appointments are made jointly by the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors.

Period of office

All vacancies are with immediate effect unless otherwise stated. In accordance with Congregation Regulations 2 of 2002, in any election where vacancies are to be filled for periods of different length, the elected candidates shall hold office so that the tenure of those who receive more votes shall be longer than that of those who receive fewer votes; but if the election is uncontested or if two candidates receive the same number of votes, the candidate senior in academic standing shall hold office for the longer period.

For further information, please contact the Elections Officer.