Everything about General Council Scottish University totally explained
The
General Council of an
ancient university in
Scotland is the corporate body of all
graduates and senior
academics of each
university. They were instituted by the
Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, but each has had its
constitution and
organisation considerably altered by subsequent
statutes.
The Act of 1858 established a tripartite structure of the General Council (
advisory body),
University Court (
finance and administration), and
Academic Senate (
academic affairs).
The
Chancellor of each university is elected by the General Council and is
President of the Council.
Role
The business of each Council is to take into consideration all questions affecting the well-being and prosperity of each university, and to make representations from time to time on such questions to the
University Court, who shall consider the same, and return to the Council their deliverance thereon.
Each Council elects
Assessors to the University Court. No member of the
Senatus Academicus is entitled to vote or take part in the election of any Assessor of the General Council. (The Senate elects its own Assessors to the Court.)
Under the
Universities (Scotland) Act 1966, new
Ordinances and
Resolutions are communicated in draft form to the General Council, whose opinion thereon is taken into consideration.
The
General Council of the four
ancient universities in
Scotland is an advisory body to the respective
university whose membership is all the
graduates and
academics of the university.
The most significant functions of the General Council is appointing people to serve on the
University Court (the governing body of each university), of whom there must be at least four, and of electing the
Chancellor. The Chancellor is the titular head of the university and serves for life.
Its terms of reference also include the requirement to "take into consideration all questions affecting the well-being and prosperity of the University" and "make representations from time to time on such questions to the University Court". These activities are carried out by half-yearly meetings whilst a Business Committee prepares the papers put forward to these meetings.
History
The origins of the General Council lie in the reforming spirit of the
19th century. The universities at that time suffered from varying degrees of difficulty.
Glasgow was relatively successful. It was felt that
Aberdeen would benefit from the union of its two institutions.
St Andrews was slowly recovering from the lean times of the
18th century but still had problems with dilapidated buildings. However, it was the problems of government at
Edinburgh University: a dispute between the
professors and the
Town Council, ending in the courts, that led to the
Royal Commission on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland, established in
1826. This Commission reported in
1831 after exhaustive work and recommended that
university courts look after administrative and financial matters, while
academic senates would determine matters related to teaching.
The conversion of the Commission's report into
legislation was much delayed by political expediency. During this time the
alumni of the universities, led by
James Lorimer, began to push for reforms beyond those of the Commission, including giving the graduates some voice in the government of the universities. The creation of a corporate body of graduates would enhance the value of graduation and introduce young minds to the running of the universities. In addition, such a body would, "be a means for inducing those alumni who become prosperous and influential, to promote the interests of institutions with which they'd thus all along continued to be connected." By this Lorimer had in mind the endowment of the universities by wealthy graduates.
Others, loosely connected with Lorimer's group, saw the possibility of securing a parliamentary vote for graduates and this indeed came to pass. The Scottish universities elected three
members of Parliament up until the abolition of pluralism in the
Act of
1948.
In
1857 Lorimer was invited to draft what was to become the
Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, which established the
Court,
Senate and General Council structure.
Current situation
Today, General Councils are generally limited in the issues to which it can competently contribute since its response time is essentially the six months between meetings. The Royal Commission of 1876, appointed to investigate the results of the act of
1858, found that, "the attendance at the meetings of Council is relatively very smalI," and the same comment is applicable today.
The University of St Andrews takes the
winter meeting to other venues than
St Andrews has been reasonably successful in boosting attendances. These meetings can be a good way to identify potential new members of Court. The University is keen to maintain a dialogue with graduates. There is the possibility in future that digital communications may assist members who are spread around the world to contribute.
The activities General Councils now are primarily geared towards consideration of the longer term future of each university and to promoting the history and culture connected with each university.
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