Purpose
To ensure the process followed by the board in the selection and appointment of governors is consistent with the Protocol for Board Nominations and Appointments issued by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, April 1, 2003, revised January 1, 2011 (the “Protocol”).
To ensure that the board is comprised of individuals who possess the skills, qualities and experience to collectively contribute to effective board governance.
To assist the board in identifying qualified individuals to become governors.
To establish the process to be followed by the board to appoint board-appointed governors.
Guiding Principles
1. The nomination and appointment process shall be guided by the principles of merit, diversity and probity.
2. The board will seek a balance within the board with respect to the skills and experience of governors, while considering the strategic directions of the college and any unique or special requirements of the college at the current time.
3. The board will ensure all governors possess the behavioural qualities necessary to perform their role as governors.
4. The board will seek a range of relevant backgrounds for governors that support the strategic directions of the college and complement the board composition in terms of representing a broad cross-section of the community that the college serves.
Application
5. This policy applies to external governors, those appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council or by the board.
Term of Office
6. A governor is appointed to the board for a term of up to three years, and may serve for a maximum of six years.
Process for Nominations
Nomination Committee
7. The board shall establish a Nomination Committee which shall be charged with the responsibility of identifying and recommending individuals to become governors.
8. The size and composition of the Nomination Committee shall be determined by the board from time to time.
9. The board shall appoint the chair of the Nomination Committee who shall be a member of the board.
Nominations Process
10. The board shall identify qualified candidates through the following process:
a) A profile for governors shall be established.
b) The number of vacancies will be determined each year, and the necessary criteria to fill those vacancies will be identified by conducting a skills matrix analysis.
c) The skills, experience, knowledge and behavioural qualities that the board will consider in approving a profile for governors may be drawn from the skills, experience, and knowledge and qualities in Schedule A.
d) Incumbent governors must re-apply for a second term. The following factors may be considered when deciding on re-appointment: attendance, compliance with applicable bylaws and policies, and behaviour consistent with the Behavioural Qualities listed in this policy.
e) A call for nominations will be made and interested parties will be encouraged to submit applications.
f) Vacancies will be advertised in the local newspapers as well as on the college’s website.
g) Applications will be submitted to the chair of the Nomination Committee and reviewed by the Nomination Committee.
h) A short-list of candidates will be developed by the Nomination Committee of those individuals who meet all of the criteria as identified by the board. Short listed candidates must be interviewed by the Nomination Committee unless they are standing for reappointment in which case an interview would be at the discretion of the Committee.
i) Reference and background checks may be completed by the chair of the Nomination Committee or as delegated.
j) Nominees will be required to confirm in writing that they:
i. Have read the Board of Governors Terms of Reference;
ii. Will adhere to college by-laws and policies, including the Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy;
iii. Will participate in board orientation sessions.
Appointment Process
Lieutenant Governor in Council appointed External Governors
11. The Nomination Committee shall identify candidates to be forwarded to the Standing Committee of Government Agencies through the manager of Colleges Unit of the Ministry as required by the Protocol. Up to three candidates may be identified for each position.
12. All candidates shall be approved by the board before they are submitted to the Colleges Unit.
Board Appointed External Governors
13. The Nominating Committee shall identify candidates for recommendation to the board.
14. In the event that the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies, the governors (other than those nominated for re-election) shall be asked to vote by secret ballot for or against the slate and, if such vote does not carry, the vote shall take place for or against each nominee individually with any governor who is the subject of the particular vote not participating in the vote.
Amendment
15. This policy may be amended by the board.
Schedule A
Skills, Experience and Knowledge
The board will reflect a complementary mixture of skills, experience and knowledge. The skills, experience and knowledge the board will consider in selecting governors include the following:
1) Knowledge/experience in post-secondary education
2) Business management
3) Human resources management
4) Government and government relations
5) Political acumen
6) Construction and project management
7) Legal expertise
8) Strategic planning
9) Risk management
10) Information technology
11) Accounting designation
12) Financial expertise
13) Advancement/fundraising
14) Knowledge and experience in research
15) Quality and performance management
16) Labour relations
17) Board and governance expertise (knowledge of performance measurement as it relates to College and Board processes/governance would be an asset)
18) Public affairs and communications
19) Ethics
20) Demographic characteristics
21) Gender balance
22) Aboriginal representation
23) Multicultural representation
24) Representation from the major employers in the resource sector
25) Health sector
26) Board of Education, Staff Development/Training
27) Demonstrated commitment to and participation in regional economic development, including the local business sector.
28) Representation from small/medium enterprise
29) Alumni representation
30) Participation of campus geographic areas
Behavioural Qualities
The board requires all governors to:
1) Commit to adhere to the vision, mission, and core values of the organization;
2) Act with honesty and integrity;
3) Understand a governor’s role and fiduciary duties, and the role of the board;
4) Think strategically;
5) Work as part of a team;
6) Communicate effectively;
7) Have, or commit to acquire, financial literacy appropriate for the college’s scope of activities;
8) Be willing to devote the time and effort required to be an effective governor including attendance at board orientation, board retreats, board meetings, committee meetings, and organization events;
9) Be free of conflicts that would impede a governor’s ability to fulfill his or her fiduciary duties;
10) Demonstrate ability to recognize and manage specific conflicts of interest that arise from time to time.
BY‐LAW NO. 2
BY-LAW NO. 2
(Internal Elections)
BE IT ENACTED as a by-law of THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE CAMBRIAN COLLEGE OF APPLIED ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY as follows:
Definition of Candidates and Their Constituencies
1. For each of the staff definitions below, eligibility will be determined by employee status at January 31st of the year of the election. Persons in each category must continue to meet the criteria below at the time of the election in order to be eligible to vote or be nominated.
a. Academic Staff Member – is a person who is employed full-time by the College as a teacher, a counsellor or a librarian.
b. Support Staff Member – is a person who is employed full-time by the College as a member of the office, clerical, technical, health care, maintenance, building, service, shipping, transportation, cafeteria or nursery staff and is not governed by the Terms and Conditions of Employment for Administrative Staff.
c. Administrative Staff Member – is a person who is employed on a full-time or permanent basis by the College who does not fit the definition of an academic or support staff member. Permanent employment is defined as continuous service from January 1st to December 31st of the year immediately preceding the election.
d. Student – is a person enrolled in a Program of Instruction at Cambrian College, whether on a full or part-time basis. A program of Instruction is defined as a group of related courses leading to the awarding of one of the following credentials: Ontario College Certificate, Ontario College Diploma, Ontario College Advanced Diploma, Applied Degree or Ontario College Graduate Certificate.
Terms of Office and Right to Renewal
2. Members elected by academic, administrative and support staff shall hold office for a term not to exceed three years and shall not serve for more than six years consecutively but are eligible for re-election after two years absence from the Board for successive terms not to exceed six years in total.
3. A member elected by the students shall hold office for one-year term and shall not serve for more than two years consecutively but is eligible for re-election after two years absence from the Board.
4. Where a person elected to the Board ceases temporarily or permanently to be a student, academic, administrative or support staff member, as the case may be, the person ceases to be a member of the Board. Notwithstanding the above, a student who graduates prior to the expiration of the student’s term may remain a member of the Board until August 31 in the year of his or her graduation.
5. Except in the case of a by-election to fill a vacancy during a term, all internal members of the Board shall take office on the 1st day of September in the year of their election. All members’ terms will terminate on August 31 of the year in which the term ends.
Filling of Mid-Term Vacancies
6. Where a vacancy occurs for an internal staff position of the Board of Governors, for any reason, the Board will declare the position vacant and order a by-election provided that more than six months remain before the next regular election; if less than six months remain, the position will remain vacant until the election takes place.
Co-ordination and Conduct of Elections
7. Election of the student representative will, to the degree that is reasonably feasible, be coordinated with the Student Administrative Council (SAC) such as to allow the nomination and polling of nominees for the student representative to coincide in whole or in part with the nomination and polling for the executive members of the College’s student government(s).
Notwithstanding any other provision of this by-law, time lines may be abridged in order achieve at least a partial coordination of election dates with SAC.
8. The President’s delegate will perform the duties of Chief Returning Officer (CRO) for the elections. The CRO will be responsible for the co-ordination and conduct of the election process and will supervise the election procedures. Any decisions made by the CRO may be appealed to the Chair of the Board by submitting a request in writing no later than three (3) days from the date of the decision.
9. The appeal should include the decision by the CRO being appealed, a description of the situation and the resolution sought by the appellant.
Online election process
10. Elections may be conducted online as long as the online election process has been approved by CRO for use in electing an internal governor (i.e. security, access by eligible voters, one vote per eligible voter, confidentiality of votes, etc.). The process must respect the principles outlined in the By-law.
The Election Process
Call for Nominations
11. Call for nominations will be announced via internal e-mail, will be posted on appropriate areas of the College’s web site or applicable portal and may be posted in prominent locations throughout all campuses. The call will include the positions for which elections are being held, the election date and the deadline for nominations. A minimum of two weeks from date of call will be allowed for nominations.
12. Nomination forms will be made available to all College staff and students. Nominations for each employee group are to be submitted to the CRO by the date and time specified. Nominations must be seconded by two members of the constituent group being represented and signed by the candidate indicating his or her willingness to stand.
13. Where only one nomination is received to represent a constituent group, that candidate will be declared elected by acclamation.
Campaigning
14. After nominations are closed, a list of nominees for each group, in alphabetical order, will be prepared by the CRO and circulated by e-mail and/or posted to the College’s web site or applicable portal.
15. Two weeks will be provided for nominees to campaign for office.
16. The CRO will resolve any disputes that may arise during the campaign.
17. There is to be no electioneering at any campus on election day(s). “Electioneering” includes but is not limited to putting up for display or replacing campaign materials, distributing campaign information (printed and electronic), and speaking to members of the electorate with a view to asking them to vote for a particular candidate.
18. Should the CRO find a candidate or his/her helper to be in violation of the By-law or any ruling by the CRO, the CRO shall take such action as he/she deems reasonably necessary up to and including disqualifying the candidate from running in the election.
Notification of Election Dates
19. The CRO will fix the date of the election(s), allowing the required time for the call for nominations and campaigning by candidates. An advance poll may be held at the discretion of the CRO. These dates will be included in the call for nominations and on the Nomination Form and will serve as first notice to the electorate.
20. After nominations are closed, notices will be sent by e-mail and/or posted on the College’s web site or applicable portals.
Voting
21. An eligible voter is only permitted to cast one ballot in the election. The individual is limited to voting in a specific constituent group that is established through the voter’s affiliation with the College.
a. Voters’ Lists for employee governor elections will be prepared at the close of nominations. Once the lists are prepared, they will be available to candidates for their review at the President’s office.
b. Votes may be cast using paper ballots or by electronic means, as determined by the CRO.
c. Ballot boxes, if paper ballots are used, will be set up at locations to be determined by the CRO. Voters may only vote at the polling station at their assigned campus. Voters who will be at another campus on Election Day must submit a written request to the CRO to change their voting location at least one week prior to the day of the election.
d. Voting will be by secret vote. Each polling station, where paper ballots are used, will have a listing of each member of the constituent group assigned to that campus. The name of each voter will be crossed off after a ballot is distributed.
e. The form of paper or electronic ballots, as the case may be, will be approved by the CRO.
f. Hours of voting will be determined by the CRO. The polls will be open during hours such that eligible voters have a reasonable opportunity to vote.
Counting of Ballots
22. Counting of ballots will take place as determined by the CRO. This process will be supervised, or where done electronically, will be approved by the CRO.
23. The successful candidate will be determined by a simple majority of votes cast by persons in the applicable constituent group. In the event of a tie, the CRO will conduct a draw by lot.
24. The candidates will be notified of the day the ballots will be counted so that they or their designated representatives may be in attendance throughout the count procedures.
25. On the specified day, the ballot boxes (if paper ballots are used) will be opened in the presence of the CRO. The sealed ballots from each campus will be counted and compared to the number of voters removed from the official Voters’ List for that campus. If there is a discrepancy, the Chair of the Board will determine whether the discrepancy is significant enough to warrant voiding the election results.
26. Once the total number of voters from each campus has been confirmed against the official Voters’ List the count will commence.
27. The CRO will rule on the eligibility of any ballot disputed due to improper marking.
28. Where a candidate has made an application for a recount within 5 working days and it has been accepted by the CRO, the recount will be done from the ballots.
Dispute Resolution
29. In the event of an appeal of a ruling of the CRO, the Chair of the Board will be requested to rule.
30. Complaints must be filed within ten (10) days of the official announcement of the vote. If, at the expiration of the 10-day period no complaints have been filed, all election materials will be destroyed.
Notifications
31. Candidates will be informed of the results by the CRO once the official count has been completed.
32. Board of Governors will be informed of the results at next meeting of the Board.
Orientation of Elected Members
33. Elected members will participate in the regular orientation program each year.
Close of elections
34. The CRO will destroy the ballots following the receipt and tabulation of all votes, the communication of the results, and the elapse of the dispute resolution time provided for in this by-law or the resolution of any dispute initiated in accordance with this by-law, as the case may be.
Installation of New Members
35. New members will begin their duties in September of each year unless otherwise stipulated in the Call for Nominations.