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Students' Council Standing Orders

01. Rules of Order

  1. Roberts’ Rules of Order will be observed at all meetings of Students’ Council except where they are inconsistent with the Bylaws or Standing Orders of Students’ Council.

  2. Where the Bylaws, Standing Orders and Roberts’ Rules of Order fail to provide direction with respect to procedure, the Speaker will decide.

 

02. Structure of Meetings

  1. The Order of Business for Students’ Council will be:

    1. Call to Order

    2. Land Acknowledgement

    3. Speaker’s Business,

      1. Opening Attendance,

      2. Announcements,

    4. Consent Agenda,

    5. Presentations,

    6. Ex-Officio Member Reports:

      1. President

      2. Vice-President Academic

      3. Vice-President External

      4. Vice-President Operations & Finance

      5. Vice-President Student Life

      6. Undergraduate Board of Governors Representative

    7. Open Forum,

    8. Question Period,

    9. Unfinished Business,

    10. Board and Committee Business,

    11. General Orders, and

    12. Closed Session.

      1. Closed session will only be held if items have been submitted to the speaker for discussion in closed session.

        1. The only items that may be submitted to the closed session are discussion or information items.

      2. A motion to begin Closed Session requires a mover and two seconders.

        1. Council shall then move in-camera immediately,

        2. The mover shall then explain the necessity of the in-camera session,

        3. Then a two-thirds majority of Council shall allow the in-camera session to continue,

      3. Closed sessions shall be held in-camera and shall last until:

        1. A Motion to Conclude Closed Session is passed by majority vote which shall return Council to Committee of the Difference and move Council ex-camera simultaneously, or

        2. The time outlined in Section 18(2) is reached at which time Closed Session shall conclude immediately and Council shall adjourn with final attendance taken in accordance with Section 18(2).

      4. Strictly procedural motions may be made while in-camera, including but not limited to:

        1. Motions to extend the meeting,

        2. Motions to move to a Committee of the Whole,

        3. Motions to adjourn,

      5. The results of any procedural motions made while in-camera shall be noted in the public Votes and Proceedings record for that meeting.

    13. Adjournment

  2. The Order of Business for the introductory meeting of the incoming Students’ Council, which shall occur before May 15th, will be:

    1. Election of a Speaker,

    2. Approval of Annual Meeting Schedule, and

    3. Nominations to:

      1. Standing Committees, and

      2. Operational Committees.

  3. The Order of Business for the first meeting of the year will have the following Orders of the Day added to Speaker’s Business:

    1. Installation Ceremony,

    2. Inaugural Addresses of Executive Officers and the Undergraduate Board of Governors Representative, and

    3. Approval of Standing Orders.

  4. The Order of Business for the last meeting of the year will have the following orders of the day added to Speaker’s Business:

    1. The Gateway’s Students’ Council Awards Presentation, and

    2. Farewell Addresses of Executive Officers and the Undergraduate Board of Governors Representative.

  5. At the first regular meeting of each trimester and the first meeting immediately preceding a by-election, the Oath of Office shall be taken by all members of Students’ Council.

  6. Acknowledgement of Traditional Territory shall be read by the Speaker at the start of every meeting.

    1. Refer to Aboriginal Relations & Reconciliation Committee Standing Orders for current Acknowledgement of Traditional Territory text.

 

03. Meetings

  1. Regular meetings shall be defined as those approved during the introductory meeting.

  2. For the purposes of Robert’s Rules, a session shall be defined as a single meeting of Students’ Council.

  3. Attendance required activities shall be defined as those approved during the introductory meeting.

  4. Special Meetings of Students’ Council may be called by the:

    1. Speaker of Students’ Council,

    2. Majority vote of Executive Committee members, or

    3. Majority vote of Students’ Council

  5. All members of Students’ Council must be notified of Special Meetings of Students’ Council immediately upon the meeting being called with no less than 96 hours prior to the meeting time.

  6. The officer or body calling a Special Meeting of Students’ Council may, by including it in the notification to Students’ Council, propose an alternative Order of Business to that in section 2(1).

    1. Any alternative Order of Business proposed for a Special Meeting must be approved by Students’ Council by a simple majority vote at the beginning of that meeting.

  7. Regular Meetings of Students’ Council may be canceled by:

    1. The Speaker of Students’ Council,

    2. A majority vote of Students’ Council so long as the decision is made more than 96 hours before the start of the intended meeting.

  8. Meetings of Students’ Council shall be canceled when no submissions beyond information Items and written questions have been received prior to the submission deadline for the main order paper.

  9. Meetings of Students’ Council shall be canceled if all the items of business have been withdrawn.

 

04. Orders of the Day

  1. Any voting member of Students’ Council may submit General Orders to be considered by Students’ Council.

  2. Any Board/Committee of Students’ Council may submit Board and Committee Business to be considered by Students’ Council.

  3. Any Students’ Union Member may submit an information item for inclusion in the agenda package provided that it is related to the proceedings.

  4. Orders of the Day shall appear on the Order Paper in the order they were submitted.

  5. Any submitted General Orders should provide proper context and information in the council submission form. This includes:

    1. Filling out all mandatory fields;

    2. Consulting with the appropriate committee(s);

    3. Justifying why the motion requires discussion by the entire Council.

  6. Should an Order be submitted with insufficient information, the Speaker and/or Governance Team will work with the mover to add the information.

  7. Should the mover refuse to provide the necessary information, the Speaker may rule the submission out of order.

    1. This is subject to appeal to the Council Administration Committee.

  8. Information Items shall be prioritized as follows:

    1. Information items pertaining to Board and Committee Business and General Orders except presentation slides,

    2. Written reports from Executives, Board of Governors Representative, Committee Chairs and members from other Boards and Committees,

    3. Supplementary information such as Students’ Council Attendance, Students’ Council Motion Tracker, Executive Committee Motion Tracker, Students’ Council Votes & Proceedings, presentation slides, etc.

  9. Committees of Council can submit items to the Consent agenda, if those items fall into the following categories:

    1. If the items are deemed minor, trivial, or editorial where;

      1. Minor and trivial meaning having no effect on actions taken; and

      2. Editorial meaning having to do with syntactic changes;

    2. If the item consists of the nomination of Student-At-Large positions; or

    3. If the item is assumed to be uncontentious.

  10. Any member of council may request an item to be removed from the Consent Agenda and
    have it added to Board and Committee Business, appearing there in the order that they were
    originally submitted to the Order Papers.

    1. Pulling an item can be done by any voting member of Council before the approval of
      the consent agenda and does not require a vote.

  11. Orders of the Day including items for the Consent Agenda, must be submitted to the Speaker and the Administrative Assistant to Students’ Council by 8:00 a.m. on the 2nd business day prior to a Students’ Council meeting.

    1. Any type of submission must indicate whether an item is for the consent agenda or
      not.

  12. Late additions to the Order Paper must be submitted by 1:00 p.m. on the day of a Students’ Council meeting.

  13. The agenda package will be published in the following manner:

    1. A full electronic copy will be e-mailed to all members of Students’ Council, proxies and Councillor-designates,

    2. A full electronic copy will be e-mailed to The Gateway News Editor,

    3. A full electronic copy will be e-mailed to the Student Representative Associations (S.R.A.s) on an opt-in basis,

    4. A full electronic copy will be placed on the Students’ Union web page,

    5. A full paper copy will be printed for a Council member only if requested by the late additions submission deadline outlined in Standing Orders 4.6.1.

  14. The agenda package will be published no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 2nd business day prior to a Students’ Council meeting.

  15. For meetings called under the authority of Standing Order 3(2), there will be no submission or publishing deadline.

 

05. Submissions to the Orders of the Day

  1. Submissions to the Order Papers prior to the deadline automatically become an Order of the Day.

  2. Submissions to the Late Additions prior to the deadline are not automatically considered an Order of the Day.

  3. The Speaker may designate any submission from the Late Additions as an Order of the Day should they deem that it meets any of the following criteria:

    1. the submission cannot be postponed to a future meeting of Students’ Council for resolution without risking serious and detrimental consequences to the Students’ Union, or

    2. postponing the submission would result in a contravention of Students’ Union legislation.

 

06. Speaker's Business

  1. At the start of Speaker’s Business, the Speaker will give a reminder of the Oath of Office and the Acknowledgement of Traditional Territory statement in 2(6).

  2. During Speaker’s Business, the Speaker will address all day-to-day regulatory concerns of Students’ Council, including but not limited to:

    1. Resignations,

    2. Any process by which a member is permanently removed from Students’ Council,

    3. Reports of the Chief Returning Officer,

    4. Announcements,

    5. Voting on the Students’ Council Scholarship,

    6. Motions making Orders of the Day Special Orders, and

    7. Attendance.

 

07. Presentations

  1. Presentations must be sponsored and seconded by voting members of Students’ Council and can be submitted to Orders of the Day only if accompanied by the following:

    1. An abstract of the presentation to be no more than one hundred (100) words.

      1. Presentations that substantially deviate from the abstract are out of order.

    2. Presentation slides that are to be used during the presentation must be submitted to the Orders of the Day in either .pptx (preferred) or .pdf format prior to the submission deadline outlined in 5(g).

      1. Presentation slides not submitted in accordance with 7.1.b may not be used.

    3. Presentation slides will be posted to the Students’ Council Presentations page at the same time as the Order Papers and included in the agenda package.

  2. With no opposition, the presentation may proceed. In the case of opposition, the opposer may state their opposition before proceeding to a vote to receive the presentation. The presentation may proceed with a majority vote in favour.

  3. Presentations will be limited to four (4) per Council meeting.

    1. Presentations will be received in the order they were submitted. 

  4. Presentations shall not exceed twenty (20) minutes in duration, including the presentation and subsequent questions or discussion.

    1. After twenty (20) minutes, a presentation may be extended for ten (10) minutes at a time with a two-thirds (2/3) majority.

  5. Presentations relating to a motion may not occur less than seven (7) days from the date of the presentation.


08. Nominations

  1. A motion to nominate will be posted in the Committee Business section of the agenda;

    1. Nominations require a list of current members, meeting schedule, and abstract for the committee's mandate, if available.

  2. Nominees for Students’ Council Standing Committees and seats to which Council appoints may submit a written nomination of no more than 250 words to be added to the Late Additions;

    1. Nominees added to the Late Additions may self-nominate;

    2. In the event that there is no contest for a nomination following submissions to the Late Additions, such seats shall be automatically filled unless a member follows the procedure as outlined in section 8.3; and,

    3. In the event that there is a contest for a position, the nominees shall be given one (1) minute speaking terms in order of their submission.

  3. Nominations from the floor shall be considered privileged motions, with the following limitations;

    1. They shall be non-debatable;

    2. Nominations from the floor shall not self-nominate;

    3. The Nominee shall be given one (1) minute to introduce their nomination; and

    4. Shall require a simple majority to be considered as a nomination by the assembly.

  4. Following Nominees introductions, before a selection takes place, members of Students’ Council may ask one thirty (30) second question to candidates to be answered in order of nomination submission.

  5. Nominations of all Students-at-Large shall follow the procedure as outlined in Bylaw 12.11.

  6. Votes on contested nominations shall take place in a confidential manner.

 

09. Reports

  1. Written Reports will be listed in the main agenda package under Information Items:

    1. The Executive Committee will provide a written report at a minimum of one (1) meeting of Students’ Council per month,

    2. Chairs of Standing Committee’s will provide a written report at the end of each trimester to Students’ Council, as per Bylaw 100,

    3. The Speaker of Student’s Council will provide a written report at the end of each trimester to Students’ Council,

      1. They may also provide additional written reports as needed.

    4. The Undergraduate Board of Governors Representative will provide, at minimum, a report following each Board and Board committee meetings,

    5. Additional written reports may be submitted at any time.

  2. Oral Reports will not exceed two (2) minutes and can be provided at every Students’ Council meeting, as per the Order Papers. They will be provided, on a voluntary opt-in basis, by:

    1. Members of the Executive Committee or designate(s),

    2. All standing Committee (including the Executive Committee) or designate(s),

    3. By any Councillor on a Dedicated Fee Unit or designate(s),

  3. Any other member of Students’ Council may make an oral report, not to exceed two (2) minutes, or a written report on business or information related to Students' Council.

 

10. Open Forum/Question Period

  1. Open Forum provides an opportunity for registered guests of Council to ask questions or make comments to members of Students’ Council.

  2. Question Period provides an opportunity for members of Students’ Council to ask questions or make comments to other members.

  3. A ‘participant’ refers to a guest during open forum, or a member of Council during Question Period.

  4. Open Forum and Question Period shall be fifteen (15) minutes in duration each.

  5. Open Forum or Question Period will be extended once for fifteen (15) minutes upon the request of five voting members of Students’ Council. Further extensions require a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.

  6. Written questions or comments may be submitted for inclusion with the Orders of the Day.

    1. Written questions should be directed to a member of council for response.

    2. Written questions shall only be submitted to the Order Papers.

    3. Written questions may be responded to in writing or orally.

    4. Written responses shall be submitted to the Late Additions.

    5. Written questions will have priority over questions posed orally.

    6. There is no limit to the number of written questions submitted.

    7. Participants may be allowed one (1) follow-up question germane to the response given to a written question without exhausting a speaking turn, with the question and answer subject to the time limits in 6(c) and 6(d).

  7. Participants shall have three (3) speaking turns for oral questions or comments during Open Forum or Question Period.

    1. Upon being recognized by the speaker, the participant will indicate whether they wish to make a comment or ask a question.

    2. Should the participant be asking a question, the participant shall indicate who their question is directed to.

    3. The time to make a comment shall be limited to two (2) minutes.

    4. The time to ask a question shall be limited to thirty (30) seconds.

    5. The time to answer a question shall be limited to two (2) minutes.

  8. The Speaker shall rule any comment or question out of order that they deem inappropriate.

 

11. Modified Rule of Debate

  1. Members having obtained the floor to speak to a motion can speak no longer than four (4) minutes.

  2. The Speaker may limit debate at any time on any Order of the Day.

  3. A member of Students’ Council may not move the previous question at the same time as they speak to the motion.

  4. The Speaker may disallow moving the previous question if, in the opinion of the Speaker, the motion has not been sufficiently debated.

  5. Subsidiary motions are not permitted to be applied to the main motion until the motion has had the opportunity to be spoken to at least two times, one in favour and one opposed.

  6. Where a member rises on a Point of Order, citing the violation of a federal, provincial or municipal law, the member must provide a copy of that law to the Speaker at the time the Point of Order is raised.

  7. The member who has the floor may yield a portion of their speaking turn to another member for the purpose of permitting a question and response. Any time used by the other member counts against the time of the member who has the floor. 

 

12. Guests of Students' Council

  1. Any person may become a Guest of Students’ Council by making themselves known to the Speaker at the beginning of each meeting of Students’ Council.

  2. The Speaker will only recognize guests if no member entitled to obtain the floor wishes to do so, except where a guest has information particularly pertinent to the debate, or where a Councillor having obtained the floor extends their speaking privileges to a guest.

 

13. Voting

  1. The following procedures shall be used to conduct voting:

    1. In the case of main motions during Unfinished Business, Board and Committee Business, and General Orders​​, an electronic balloting system shall be used;

    2. In the case of motions where 3 or more options are possible, a method of balloting capable of this consideration shall be chosen by the Speaker;

    3. In all other cases, voting shall take place in a manner in which votes for/against/abstain are recorded in the minutes;

    4. Notwithstanding the above, Council may, by a simple majority vote, determine to use electronic voting for any motion.

  2. Voting using electronic balloting shall abide by the following standards:

    1. Voting shall remain open for 2 minutes, but may be extended at the discretion of the Speaker;

    2. The Speaker may, at their discretion, accept votes submitted through other mediums by members experiencing technical difficulties;

    3. The votes of individual members shall not be disclosed unless by means of a properly requested roll call vote;

  3. Roll call voting shall be ordered at the request of any voting member until the close of voting.

    1. The order for roll call voting shall bring the current method of voting to a close and immediately begin roll call voting.

    2. The results of roll call voting shall be recorded in the minutes.

    3. Notwithstanding the above, the Speaker, on their own accord or at the request of a voting member, may rule a request for roll call voting out of order if the matter being voted on is of a potentially sensitive nature.

 

14. Recess & Adjournment

  1. Students’ Council will recess for fifteen (15) minutes at approximately 7:30 p.m.

    1. Any business in progress must be concluded prior to the recess being called.

    2. Attendance must be taken prior to the recess.

    3. The recess shall begin after attendance has been taken.

  2. Students’ Council shall adjourn at approximately 9:00 p.m.

    1. Any business in progress must be concluded prior to adjournment being called.

    2. Final attendance must be taken prior to adjournment being called.

    3. Any business left unresolved due to 18(2) shall be automatically added to Unfinished Business at the next scheduled meeting.

 

15. Attendance Requirements

  1. The Speaker will take attendance orally two or three times each meeting: 

    1. Once immediately after the meeting being called to order,

    2. Once prior to the recess if necessary, and 

    3. Once immediately prior to adjournment.

  2. Attendance will be recorded on the Students’ Council Attendance Spreadsheet in the following manner:

    1. The number denoting the amount of roll calls present (0, 1, 2, 3),

    2. A suffix of (P) denoting present by proxy or councillor-designate and (T) denoting present by teleconference either via the Students’ Council livestream, Skype, telephone, etc.

    3. Members of Council or their proxy are required to indicate in the affirmative if they are in attendance, either in person or on the livestream, to be recorded as present.

      1. The Speaker will call the member’s name only once with a short pause before moving on and

      2. At the Speaker’s discretion, they may accept an attendance in extenuating circumstances that violate 2.c.i.

  3. Members of Students’ Council may attend Council meetings via audio/video conference services upon providing the Speaker with appropriate notification. Members attending via audio/video conference services may continue doing so during in-camera sessions.

  4. Formal attendance regulations and penalties for Students’ Council and its Standing Committees are outlined in Bylaw 100.

 

16. Quorum

  1. Quorum shall be checked each time a motion is voted upon.

  2. Should Students’ Council lose quorum, the remaining members may choose to adjourn or continue the meeting. 

    1. In the event of a decision to continue a meeting without quorum, the minutes shall record this fact and any decisions taken must be ratified at the next meeting.

 

17. Discipline

  1. The Speaker may discipline a member of Students’ Council for breaches of Standing Orders.

  2. The Speaker may rule any action out of order if it violates the Student Governance Code of Conduct.

  3. Any member of Students’ Council may call for decorum, which when called for will remain in effect for the duration of the motion under consideration and result in the Speaker removing first the speaking privileges for the duration of the motion, and secondly the right to attend the meeting from anyone in the chamber caught speaking without having properly obtained the floor.

  4. Students’ Council may rebuke the action or conduct of an individual through a motion to censure. A censure is an on-the-record rebuke that entails no additional actions or consequences.

 

18. Proxies

  1. To appoint a Proxy, a Councillor must provide a notice to that effect, including:

    1. The name and faculty of the Councillor appointing the proxy,

    2. The full name, legal or preferred, of the proxy being appointed, and

    3. The date of the meeting in which the proxy shall be appointed.

  2. Any notice to appoint a proxy must be in writing at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance to the Speaker. Extenuating circumstances may be accommodated at the discretion of the Speaker.

 

19. Records of Students' Council

  1. When feasible, an audio record of Students’ Council proceedings will be recorded.

  2. The audio record is considered approved as recorded.

  3. Anyone wishing to record or stream video, with the exception of the official Students’ Council Livestream, at a meeting of Students’ Council must either provide written notice to the Speaker by noon on the business day prior to the meeting date or have the sponsorship of a voting member of Students Council prior to the commencement of the meeting.

  4. The Speaker shall, in advance of the Students’ Council meeting in question, notify all members of Students’ Council and all scheduled presenters of any notices to record or stream video at the meeting.

  5. When an audio record is not possible, minutes of Students’ Council proceedings will be recorded.

  6. The minutes are considered approved as transcribed.

  7. Members may Clarify Comments in Minutes: Whenever minutes are transcribed, a member’s comments may be amended in accordance with the member’s wishes.

  8. Record of Votes and Proceedings - A record styled “Votes and Proceedings” will be compiled from the audio record or minutes of Students’ Council and will consist of:

    1. All motions moved except joke motions,

    2. All written questions and answers provided during Open Forum and Question Period,

    3. Any comments provided during Open Forum,

    4. Any event having legal consequences extending beyond the adjournment of that meeting,

    5. A record of all regulations and decisions approved by Students’ council Boards and Committees that are required by Bylaw to report such regulations and decisions to Students’ council, and

    6. A record of attendance.

 

20. Live Streaming

  1. Where possible, meetings of Students’ Council shall be live streamed through an appropriate teleconferencing platform.

  2. The only official Students’ Council Live Stream shall be organized and set up by the Speaker of Students’ Council.

  3. Online attendees may ask questions via live stream as they would in person during Open Forum or Question Period accordingly.

 

21. Miscellaneous

  1. A motion that the Speaker vacate the chair:

    1. is always in order,

    2. takes precedence over any other motion,

    3. is not debatable or amendable, and

    4. shall include a finite time period at which the Speaker shall regain the chair.

  2. Meetings of Students’ Council are open to the public, unless Students’ Council moves in camera.

  3. Only official Students’ Council documents may be distributed to members within the chamber.

  4. A summer retreat for Students' Council members will be held before July 31st of each year.

  5. A fall retreat for Students' Council members will be held before October 31 of each year.

  6. The Council Administration Committee, with the assistance of Discover Governance, shall be responsible for the planning and organization of all retreats, and may cancel a retreat due to low attendance.

  7. If a guest of Council or member of Council requests a translator or reasonable accessible aid, they are required to give the Council Administration Committee at least one week’s notice. The Council Administration Committee will attempt to make the necessary accommodations with limited expense to the Students’ Union.

  8. At the last meeting of the year, the mover of the motion or the Speaker may declare any motion to be a “joke motion,” such a motion having no effect if carried.

 

Appendix 1: Oath of Office

I am not here for me.
I am here for the people that lent me their power in exchange for a promise.
I will keep that promise to make decisions with their interest in mind.
I will vote after knowing the facts, not before.
I will use Robert’s Rules for their purpose, not my own.
I will oppose ideas, not people.
I will think before I speak, not speak just to think.
I will take the job seriously or not take the job at all.
I will represent my fellow students’ interests, not my own.
I am not here for me.

 

Appendix 2: Acknowledgement of Traditional Territory

  1. The University of Alberta and the University of Alberta Students’ Union occupy Indigenous land in amiskwacîswâskahikan (Beaver Hills House), on Treaty 6 territory. From time immemorial, the banks along the river valley have been known as the Pehonan, a meeting place for the nêhiyawak (Cree), the Niitsítapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Dënesųłiné (Dene), Ojibway/Saulteaux/Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and others. The University, the Students’ Union and much of the city are located on the unlawfully stolen land of the forcibly removed Papaschase Cree.

    We acknowledge that sharing this land gives each of us the responsibility to research the historic contexts of Treaty 6, to reflect on our personal relationships to the land, the Nations we’ve named, and to our roles in upholding justice on this territory. Since they began, the Students’ Union and the University have benefited from historic and ongoing dispossession of land and resources from Indigenous Peoples. As a result, it is our responsibility to seek the restitution of this land and its resources. Finally, we seek to do better by working to make our learning, research, and governance align with the histories, languages, teachings, and cultures of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples in the land presently occupied by the Canadian state.

    We encourage critical reflection by asking the following question. In relation to the territory on which you are situated, what role do you play in strengthening the resistance and resurgence of Indigenous students within your communities? 

  2. The Acknowledgement of Traditional Territory will be included in writing at the beginning of every agenda package, including the agendas of all Standing Committees of Students’ Council.


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