Senate
Senate
Senate is our senior academic board and is responsible to Council for: general issues relating to the research, scholarship and teaching of our courses; taking appropriate action to safeguard the standards and quality of our awards; considering the development of our academic activities and the resources needed to support them; and for general advice on other matters that Council or the Vice-Chancellor may refer to them.
Senate is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and membership includes senior academics and professional service employees, representatives of the University’s teaching body, and Students’ Union representatives. Senate is supported by the Governance and Compliance team. For queries please contact Dr Emma Tomsett, Clerk to Council and Head of Governance and Compliance. Proposed agenda items should be sent to the Secretary at least two weeks before the meeting to enable the agenda to be set in good time.
Senate meetings and sub-committees
Meeting dates for Senate in 2025-2026 are: 26 September 2025, 5 November 2025, 21 January 2026 and 10 June 2026. Members may access Senate paperwork by logging in to their Board Effect Platform.
The work of Senate is delegated to various sub-committees. Please see the University Committees document for full details of constitutions and terms of reference.
Research and Enterprise Committee is chaired by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and has responsibility for monitoring and reviewing research performance across the University, identifying priority areas for research and enterprise effort and activity, and monitoring the research student environment. This includes preparation for our submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise.
Meeting dates for REC in 2025-2026 are: 15 December 2025 and 20 May 2026.
For queries, please contact Kam Baht, Governance and Compliance Officer and Secretary.
Quality Assurance Committee is chaired by Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and aims to ensure high quality academic programmes and credible awards through rigorous approval, monitoring and quality assurance processes.
Meeting dates for QAC in 2025-2026 are: 11 December 2025, 10 March 2026 and 3June 2026.
For queries, please contact Komal Sharma, Governance and Compliance Officer and Secretary.
Teaching and Learning Committee is chaired by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Pedagogy and Practice) and aims to enhance pedagogic excellence for BNU’s programmes, ensuring best practices and student support.
Meeting dates for TLC in 2025-2026 are: 19 November 2025 and 13 May 2026.
For queries, please contact Kam Baht, Governance and Compliance Officer and Secretary.
University Collaborations Committee is chaired by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (External Collaborations) and is focused upon enhancing the University’s UK and transnational education partnerships; apprenticeships; international recruitment and admissions; and external collaboration.
Meeting dates for UCC in 2025-26 are 9 September and 12 November 2025, and 14 January, 18 March, 29 April and 17 June 2026.
For queries, please contact Ciara Walsh, Governance and Compliance Officer and Secretary.
Additional information
If you would like more information on the way in which Senate and its sub-committees operate, or would like to explore the role of different members on a committee, please consult the Committees Handbook. For a diagram of the University’s deliberative committee structure please see the University Committees document.
