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Governance Review Committee
Terms of Reference
Purpose: In recent years, the governance of the Society has been a contributing factor to prevalent issues. Council has determined that they wish to complete an internal governance review to determine what further governance changes are required to improve the performance and structural functionality of the Society. This Committee has been established by Council to lead this governance review by consulting with relevant stakeholders, researching alternative governance structures, creating feedback
mechanisms, regularly updating, and consulting Council, reviewing proposed changes with an external governance consultant and providing a final report with recommendations for Council to consider including an implementation plan. This review will ensure that the Society is best able to serve its membership according to the mission statement of the Society and the values we hold as an organization.
The Governance Review Committee shall be composed of:
- 3 Non-Executive Voting Council Members, appointed by Council;
- The President, who shall be the Chair;
- 1 Executive Committee Member, appointed by the Executive Committee;
- 1 student at large, appointed by the committee;
- The Strategy and Governance Lead, who shall be non-voting; and
- The AMS Archivist, who shall be non-voting.
The Governance Review Committee shall be defined in scope as follows:
- Conduct a 5-year retrospective code, policy, and bylaw change review to assess the impact, effectiveness, and unintended consequences of major governance changes including those made in and preceding the 2023 AMS Governance Review;
- Conduct a review of AMS procedures, policies, and governance that are non-transparent and facilitate bad practice, including suspensions of AMS code, consent agenda use, and in-camera use and procedures;
- Conduct a review of all AMS in-camera business conducted over the last 5 years to set a standard for what should and should not be discussed in-camera;
- Conduct a review of the nature, dynamic, functionality, and structure of AMS policies, code, plans, bylaws and internal policies;
- Conduct a review of AMS policy review windows to mitigate the trend of policies being consistently delayed or partially completed;
- Review executive goals framework, including how goals are set, measured, and reported, with an assessment of the accuracy of reporting in previous years;
- Determine strategies and recommendations on ways to improve the general functioning, oversight, transparency, accessibility, and accountability measures of AMS Council and Executives;
- Determine if the current functionality and structure of AMS Council is effective and propose recommendations for its improvement if appropriate;
- Work with the Executive Committee to determine any necessary changes to the management structure of the AMS or the functionality of AMS governance;
- If appropriate, this Committee will refer any issues that arise from this review outside of its scope to the respective AMS body for resolution; and
- To achieve its mandate and deliver recommendations on the aforementioned areas, the Committee shall engage in robust consultation with stakeholders which include but are not limited to the following:
- Current and former AMS Councilors
- Current and former AMS Executives
- Current and former AMS Executive student staff
- Presidents Council
- Managing Director
- Senior Manager of Student Services
- Affiliate institutions
- AMS Subsidiaries
The ad hoc Governance Review Committee shall:
- Conduct a comprehensive review of the Society’s governance structure and provide regular updates to Council;
- Consult stakeholders throughout the review process and establish opportunities for feedback and engagement;
- Work with Committees, the Executive, and Staff to develop governance recommendations for Council’s consideration;
- Have access to all Society records for governance review purposes;
- Subject to applicable privacy laws.
- Prepare a final report with recommended Constitution, Bylaw, Policy, and Code changes, along with an implementation plan;
- Have all the regular duties and powers assigned to the Governance Committee;
- Review proposed changes with an external governance consultant to ensure best practices and impartiality are maintained; and
- Carry out duties within a mandate approved by AMS Council and perform additional tasks assigned by Council related to the governance review.
The procedures regarding the Governance Review ad hoc Committee meetings are the
following:
- The Committee shall meet at least once a week until their work is completed;
- The Chair shall only cast a vote on a motion to break a tie-vote.
The Committee shall report to Council by the end of February 2027.
Reports
Meeting Agendas
Meeting Minutes
