University Management and Governing Committees

The Senate decides on matters relating to teaching, study and research which are of fundamental importance and which are not, by law, delegated to another institution, the faculties or the higher education institutions for final decision. The Senate is responsible, amongst other things, for:

• adopting the Basic Regulations
• adopting regulations governing the administration and use of the university’s facilities
• taking decisions relating to the establishment, amendment and abolition of degree programmes, university departments and joint committees.

The Senate may establish decision-making and advisory committees. The voting members of the decision-making committees must be members of the Senate. There is currently one advisory Senate committee, the MIT Users’ Committee.

The Senate may admit guests for selected items on the agenda of a Senate meeting. 

The Chair of the Senate is the Rector. 

Composition of the Senate

The Senate comprises ex officio members with voting rights (the Rector, the Chancellor and the Equal Opportunities Officer), ex officio advisory members (Vice-Rectors and Deans) and elected members with voting rights. Elected members with voting rights are drawn from the professorial staff, the administration and the student community.

An ex officio advisory member may – provided they have been elected – also be an elected member with voting rights.

The Senate may admit guests for selected items on the agenda of a Senate meeting. 

The chair of the meeting:

The composition of the Senate can be found in the annual report.

Appointments

The Senate appoints members of the university to deal with a wide range of matters.

The university’s appointees are listed in the annual report.

The University Council is responsible for the development of the university and proposes measures designed to enhance its profile and improve its performance and competitiveness. It supervises the management of the Rector’s Office. The University Council’s responsibilities include, amongst other things,

• approving the draft budget and adopting the financial plans
• passing resolutions on structural and development plans 
• establishing principles for the allocation and the economically sound and task-appropriate use of funds for teaching and applied research, based on performance- and workload-oriented criteria and on evaluation results
• approving the establishment, amendment, dissolution and assignment of university bodies and joint committees
• passing resolutions on the job descriptions for professorships.

Members of the Rectorate and representatives of the Ministry of Science attend meetings of the University Council without the right to vote.