The Governance Intranet is a central repository for UCT’s committee and other governance documentation.
Types of committees
Within the portal, committees are classified into two categories:
- Open committees: Within these committees, information is open, i.e. not confidential, so any member of the UCT community can access the documentation via the Governance Intranet. Examples are Senate, Faculty Boards, Committees of Senate and Council, above the Faculty level.
- Closed committees: These committees either affect individuals in their personal capacities (e.g., selection, promotion, awards, and disciplinary committees), or they deal with matters that are kept confidential to protect the interests of the University. An example is Council, which is a body on which all sectors of the University community are represented.
Who determines the status of a committee?
At the faculty level, each faculty can determine the open or closed status of their committees. There is currently no preference either way, so faculties can maintain the current status of their committees until such time as open governance is better established in the University committee system, allowing for guidelines that better inform faculty choices.
However, even when a committee is open, the chair can make some matters private by setting a confidential (i.e. closed) agenda. This agenda can either replace the standard open agenda, or it can be an extra item added to the existing agenda.