Standard rules of procedure for department forums

1.                  The department forum consists of ... (a maximum of 25) … members. The department forum consists of the head of department as well as representatives elected among the department's academic staff, including PhD students employed by the university, the department's technical and administrative staff and the department's students.

(2)       The department forum elects, cf. the By-laws Section 28(1), a chair and a vice-chair among the representatives of the academic staff, including the head of department/school.

(3)       The composition of the department forum must take into account the size, composition and diversity of the department, and it must be ensured that the academic staff, PhD students, the technical and administrative staff and students are appropriately represented. 

(4)       The number of members and the structure of the department forum are determined by the head of department, taking into account that the forum must be actually functional. 

2.                  The student members of the department forum are normally elected for a period of one year. The other members of the department forum are normally elected for a period of four years.

(2)       The dean may choose a different election period, see Article 3. 

(3)       At the first meeting of the department forum after newly elected student members have joined the forum, the head of department briefs the department forum on the forum's work, and the forum schedules its future meetings. 

3.                  The dean approves the size of the department forum and the term of the elected members.

4.                  The department forum has the following tasks:

1)      Ensuring ideas generation, quality, transparency and legitimacy in all decisions on academic issues. 

2)      Ensuring the department's academic and social identity and coherence. 

(2)       Through continuous and timely involvement, the head of department must ensure co-determination on academic issues in a broad sense. The head of department must therefore discuss important issues within research, talent fostering, knowledge exchange and education with the department forum.

(3)       The department forum may make statements on all academic issues of substantial relevance to the activities of the department and has a duty to discuss academic issues presented by the dean or the head of department for its consideration. 

(4)       The department forum has the right to make statements to the dean. 

5.                  The chair leads and is responsible for convening meetings and for the agenda, in cooperation with the vice-chair, cf. the By-laws Section 28(2).

(2)       The chair and the vice-chair are, cf. the By-laws Section 28(3), responsible for drawing up an annual schedule and a plan for regular meetings to ensure that all relevant issues are discussed as planned and in due time. 

(3)       The department forum's annual schedule should include: 

1)      The department/school's strategy. 

2)      Thematic discussions of issues of principle.

3)      Budget. 

4)      Employment and recruitment policy. 

5)      Professorship policy. 

6)      The department/school's physical and social framework. 

7)      Involvement in and development of management structures and forms. 

8)      The student's environment and welfare.

6.                The department forum holds regular meetings, normally 2-4 annual meetings. 

(2)       The chair distributes an agenda or a notice cancelling the meeting to the members no later than four working days prior to each meeting. Agendas must also be published on the department's website or in another suitable manner. 

(3)       If, no later than one week prior to an ordinary meeting, a member requests that a case be considered, the chair must include the case as an item on the agenda for the meeting in question. 

(4)       The chair must ensure that the information required to assess cases is presented to the members. 

7.                  Extraordinary meetings must be held as and when deemed necessary by the chair. Extraordinary meetings must furthermore be held if requested by one-third of the members of the department forum. The meeting must be held within one week of such request being made.

(2)       Extraordinary meetings must be convened subject to a notice of no less than 24 hours. The notice must specify the items on the agenda and must contain the information required to assess the cases. 

8.                  The meetings of the department forum are public. The department forum may decide, however, that meetings will be held behind closed doors during the consideration of individual items on the agenda if deemed necessary by the department forum.

9.                The department forum has an advisory position to the head of department.

(2)      The chair presides over the meetings of the department forum. The chair decides in all matters relating to the conducting of the meetings. Cases are normally considered at meetings in the order in which they are listed on the agenda. 

(3)      During its meetings, the department forum may decide to include new items on the agenda, and it may decide to deviate from the original order set out in the agenda and consider cases in another order. 

10.              Where a member is absent for a long period of time, a substitute may be called in. If no substitutes have been elected, an election may be held in accordance with the same rules as those applying to the original election (vote or uncontested election) if deemed necessary.

11.            The chair is responsible for ensuring that minutes of the department forum's meetings are prepared. The minutes are submitted to the department forum's members in writing for approval no later than eight days after the meeting.

(2) The head of department ensures that the viewpoints and recommendations of the department forum are included in the subsequent work. 

(3) Approved minutes of the department forum's meetings are published on the department's website or in a similar manner. 

(4) Together with the head of department, the chair is responsible for actively communicating the work of the department forum. 

12.              These Standard Rules of Procedure enter into force on 1 November 2012.