How will the Tallinn University Senate be elected?

Last October, the Rector called upon a working group to prepare the changes in the TU Statute and reach agreements on the principles of university and academic unit leadership.

The working group emanated from the Senate decision on rearranging the academic structure from September 29th, 2014 which set a task of increasing the cooperation, integration and kinship within the university.

The working group found the Senate assembly procedure needs to change and the number of members needs to be reduced. From this, a suggestion was made to assemble the senate via elections where lecturers and researchers can set up their candidacies – after all, the Senate is a board, which represents and decides over the whole university.

The call to change the TU Statute is also connected with the proposal of the working group, wherein the rector should have a panel of academic and administrative unit leaders who consult the rector in operative matters, such as preparing legislation for the Senate.

The working group sees the best size of the Senate to be 10 members. Given the ratio of lecturers and researchers, the positions should be divided at a ratio on 7:3. The Universities Act states that these members will be supplemented by five members of the rectorate as well as student representatives at a ratio of 1/5 of the Senate’s membership (4). This would make the Senate a body of 19 members, which would be around 20 members less than it is currently.

The members of the Senate would be elected at a pan-university election from all academic staff via a secret ballot. They will be elected for three years. A member of the senate cannot be employed as a director of an academic unit. A more precise act for the elections will be developed after the Statute has been accepted.

At the Statute discussion on March 4th there were both proponents and opponents to the new principles. It was proposed heads of institute councils, who are not directors, should also be members of the senate.

All the proposals to change the statute will reach the Senate Development Committee. The Statute will be discussed in the Senate on March 30th.