Senate

The highest body representing the university community. The Senate (Claustre ) debates general policies for the University, manages job posts and gives impetus to policymaking in other governing bodies.

It is re-elected every four years, with the exception of the student section, which is re-elected every two years.

The Senate meets at least twice a year. In addition to its full sessions, the Senate may also create specific commissions.

The main roles of the Senate (Claustre) are:

• drawing up and approving the University Regulations;
• reforming the University Regulations when changes have been agreed by the rector, the Governing Council and a fifth of the senate members;
• approving its own internal regulations;
• summoning extraordinary elections for the position of rector, in accordance with article 59 of the Regulations;
• choosing and dismissing the ombudsman, and approving the regulations by which approval is given to the annual report written by the ombudsman on his or her activity;
• choosing the representatives of the Governing Council;
• understanding and debating the general policies of the University;
• requesting information on any aspect of the university's activity from the rector and from other areas of management, governance and administration;
• requesting that representatives of the university's academic and institutional bodies appear before the Senate;
• presenting recommendations, proposals and institutional declarations;
• debating reports presented to it and assessing the management of the university bodies and services;
• drafting proposals, to be sent to the Governing Council, on changes to the regulations;
• carrying out the other responsibilities awarded to it by current laws, the Statutes and the regulations for development.

The Rector presides the Senate. The other members are the Secretary General, the Administrator and 300 Senate members. These 300 members include:

a) the deans of the faculties and directors of the university schools;

b) two directors of UAB research institutes, representing all the research institutes;

c) the heads of department;

d) a representation of full-time UAB teaching staff who hold doctoral degrees distributed across the faculties, schools and departments. The total of this representation, in addition to the ex officio members with doctoral degrees that are officials and belong to categories a), b) and c) mentioned above, making a total of one hundred and three people;

e) a representation of the remaining academic staff and the research staff in training that teach, proportional to the number of faculties, schools and departments, making a total of 27 members;

f) a representation of the students from each faculty and centre, proportional to the number of students in each of these faculties and centres, making a total of 90 members, of which a minimum of 5% must be doctoral students;

g) a representation of the administration and services staff, making a total of 30 members.

The current Senate committees are: 

• Staff Policy Committee
• Economic Monitoring Committee
• Ombudsman Liaison Committee