HONORARY DEGREES & HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS Regulations for Award, Procedural Guide and Nomination Forms
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HONORARY DEGREES & HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS Regulations for Award, Procedural Guide and Nomination Forms Approved by Academic Board 5 December 2014 Approved by Court 15 December 2014 EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE AWARD OF HONORARY DEGREES AND FELLOWSHIPS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. The University constitution1 makes provision for the conferment of Honorary Degrees and Honorary Fellowships. These are awarded to persons of distinction or eminence in a particular field who, through their work and/or other activity, embody the values of Edinburgh Napier University. 1.2. The purpose of this guide is to present the regulations, procedural guidelines and nomination forms for use by those who wish to make nominations for Honorary Degrees and Honorary Fellowships. 1.3. The criteria for awarding honorary awards and titles may be changed from time to time, following discussion at the Honorary Awards Committee. Prior to publication of any amendments, details would be ratified by the Academic Board and University Court. 1.4. The electronic version of this guide and all the forms are available from the Governance Services area of the University intranet. 1.5. The University confers Honorary Degrees and Fellowships each year at its Graduation Ceremonies. Nominations may be submitted by any member of staff or member of the University Court or Academic Board at any time in the year. There are also two published deadlines for the submission of nominations, which coincide with meeting dates for the Honorary Awards Committee. 1.6. Nominations for Honorary Awards are strictly confidential and should not be discussed with any individual until approval of the award has been granted by the University Court and offers have been accepted by candidates. 1.7. The procedures for the nomination, consideration and award of Honorary Degrees and Fellowships are detailed in the following text and summarised in the flow diagrams in Annexes 5 & 6. 1.8. There are separately published regulations, procedures and guidance relating to the award of other University honorary academic awards: Honorary and visiting teaching and research fellows regulations can be sought from the Clerk to Academic Board and/or viewed on the Governance Services area of the University intranet 1The Napier University (Scotland) Order of Council 1993 (as amended) can be viewed at: http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/CorporateAffairs/governance/govman/Pages/InstrumentsofGovernance.aspx Page 2 of 16 APPROVED DECEMBER 2014 Honorary, visiting and emeritus professorship regulations can be sought from the HR Department and/or viewed online2 . 2. REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE AWARD OF HONORARY DEGREES Background 2.1. The decision to confer an award and the precise title of the degree rests with the University Court on recommendation from the University’s Honorary Awards Committee and the Academic Board. 2.2. The Honorary Awards Committee is constituted through these regulations and is convened by the Principal. The constitution of the Honorary Awards Committee is detailed in Annex 3. 2.3. There are two categories of Honorary Degrees3: an Honorary Doctorate Degree, appropriate for those who have made a major contribution in their field at national and/or international level; an Honorary Master’s Degree, appropriate for those who have made a major contribution in their field in a particular region or locality, or for outstanding service to the University. Submission of Nominations 2.4. A call for nominations for honorary awards will be advertised throughout the University by the Clerk to the Honorary Awards Committee. The Committee will particularly welcome nominations for people who have not already had an honorary award conferred on them by another university, although the possession of such a previous award will not preclude any individual from consideration. 2.5. Nominations can be made by any member of staff, member of the Academic Board or member of the University Court using the Nomination form HonD/1 (Annex 1). 2.6. Nominations for Honorary Degrees are strictly confidential and should not be discussed with any individual until approval of the award has been granted by the University Court and offers have been accepted by candidates. 2.7. Brief biographical notes on the nominee should be provided on the form HonD/1. Copies of published biographical references should be provided, and where there is an entry in a reference book (e.g. Who’s Who), then the location of this reference should be stated. 2.8. The statement in support of the nomination should indicate clearly: 2 http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/hr/hrdocuments/Pages/Documents.aspx 3 a list of available Honorary Degree titles is given in Appendix 4 Page 3 of 16 APPROVED DECEMBER 2014 in what field the nominee has earned distinction and eminence (ESSENTIAL criteria); the manner in which their achievements are in accordance with the values of the University (ESSENTIAL criteria); and where appropriate: i. how they have contributed to the success of the University , Scottish life or the wider international community (DESIRABLE criteria); and, ii. the potential for their ongoing involvement with the University (DESIRABLE criteria). Nominations which insufficiently address the essential criteria will be returned to the nominator for additional information. 2.9. The Honorary Awards Committee attaches considerable importance to the statement in support of the nomination and a strong case should be made. Where the nominee has had a considerable input into Scottish life or the wider international community this should be explicitly stated as part of the support statement. 2.10. The proposed title of the degree to be awarded should be stipulated on the nomination form. A list of available honorary degree titles is given in Annex 4. 2.11. A list of Honorary Awards which have already been conferred is available on-line, or from the Clerk to the Honorary Awards Committee. Approvals Process 2.12. The closing date for nominations to the Honorary Awards Committee shall be advertised throughout the University by the Clerk and all nominations received by this date will be considered at the first available meeting of the Committee. 2.13. Recommendations from the Honorary Awards Committee will be put to the first available meeting of the Academic Board, which will either support or decline the recommendations of the Honorary Awards Committee. Those nominations supported by the Academic Board will be submitted to the next available meeting of the University Court, which will either give approval to, or decline, the recommendations of Academic Board. 2.14. Unsuccessful nominations may be revised and resubmitted at a later date. The resubmission would begin again at the start of the process. Strict confidentiality must continue to be applied at all times. After Approval 2.15. Only after approval has been given by University Court shall the nominee be invited to accept the Honorary Degree. This invitation shall be extended in writing by the Principal & Vice Chancellor. 2.16. Until the nominee has accepted, the nomination remains strictly confidential and should not be discussed with any individual out with the University. Page 4 of 16 APPROVED DECEMBER 2014 2.17. Following acceptance, the names of honorary graduands for a forthcoming Graduation Ceremony will be published. 2.18. Honorary Degrees may not be awarded in absentia save that in posthumous circumstances. Parchment 2.19. The parchment for an Honorary Graduate shall be branded in the current style and shall record: the name of the University; the honorary award being conferred; the date of the ceremony at which the Honorary Degree is conferred; The name of the person receiving the honorary award (taking into account the preference of the honorary graduand with respect to any titles and honours they possess, but not to include any qualifications, memberships of professional bodies, previous honorary awards, or suchlike ‘post nominals’)4 2.20. The parchment shall bear the signatures of two of the senior office bearers of the University drawn from: i. The Chancellor; ii. the Vice-Chancellor, or iii. the Vice-Principal (Deputy Vice-Chancellor). 3. REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE AWARD OF HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS Background 3.1. Honorary Fellowships are available to be awarded to academic and professional service staff no longer employed by Edinburgh Napier University. They should be awarded to individuals who have made a considerable contribution and/or have been of considerable value to the University. 3.2. The University Court agreed in 1998 to delegate the power to confer Honorary Fellowships to the Academic Board, on recommendations from the University’s Honorary Awards Committee. The University Court is to be informed of all awards made. 3.3. The Honorary Awards Committee is appointed by the Academic Board and is convened by the Principal. The constitution of the Honorary Awards Committee is detailed in Annex 3. 4 If the recipient so wished, it would therefore be appropriate to show (eg) Professor Sir Patrick Stanton CBE, but not (eg) Professor Sir Patrick Stanton CBE, BSc, PhD, HonDArt, MBIM Page 5 of 16 APPROVED DECEMBER 2014 Submission of Nominations 3.4. A call for nominations for honorary awards shall be advertised throughout the University by the Clerk to the Honorary Awards Committee. The Committee will particularly welcome nominations for people who have not already had an honorary award conferred on them by another university, although the possession of such a previous award will not preclude any individual from consideration. 3.5. The sole limitations on eligibility for the award of the title shall be that serving members of the staff and enrolled students of the University shall not be eligible. 3.6. Nominations can be made by any member of staff, member of the Academic Board or member of the University Court using the Nomination form HonF/1 (Annex 2). 3.7.