MINUTES OF A BOARD MEETING OF THE WAIKATO STUDENTS’ UNION (INC)
HELD ON THURSDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2024 VIA ZOOM and IN GURU ROOM
- MEETING OPENED: 4:04 PM
2. KARAKIA: Mira
- PRESENT:
In-person: Mira Arif, Zac Isaac, George Liu, Milly Miriro, Yasir Saifudeen Shemeena, Fuad Syed, Ben Woodgates (minute taker).
By Video: Seamus Lohrey, Sophie Priddy, Temepara Smith.
- APOLOGIES:
Sana Nisar Ahmad sent a formal apology to the board via email. Sana was overseas and had connection issues.
Moved: Chair
THAT the apology be accepted.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
- REGISTER OF RELATED INTERESTS
Noted and discussed. Board members were reminded to update it as appropriate.
- MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING:
Minutes of the Board Meeting held 25th January 2024.
Moved: Chair
THAT the Minutes of the Board Meeting held Thursday 25th of January 2024, be signed by the Chair as a true and correct record.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES:
Fuad and Yasir drafted an email to the Acting General Manager in response to his report dated 23/01. The board discussed the draft email and subsequently agreed it was ready to send.
Action: Fuad and Yasir to send the response to the Acting General Manager regarding this 23 January report.
In the 23 January hui, the board agreed to ask WSU staff to prepare an impact assessment on WSU’s relationship with the Lawrenson Group. As no one was delegated this task, it was missed. The board agreed they still wanted an impact assessment report.
Action: Mira to email the Acting General Manager to ask him to prepare an impact assessment on the WSU’s relationship with the Lawrenson Group.
A board motion was made on the 25 January hui to retrieve the contracts of the Independent Governance Advisory Committee for review. George was tasked with retrieving the contracts from the accounts staff but was unsuccessful in getting them. The board agreed they still wanted these contracts.
Action: Ben and Yasir to try to retrieve these contracts from staff.
Yasir drafted an email to the Acting General Manager requesting that WSU staff advertise for the Board Secretary role through WSU media channels. The board agreed to hold further discussions on the criteria for applicants and the potentially temporary nature of the role.
The board discussed availability for a board meeting in Tauranga. They agreed to pencil in Wednesday 13 March.
Items of business
- REVIEW OF ONGOING HR MATTERS
The board moved into Committee at 4:18 PM. Everyone except board members was excluded from the room.
Mira shared updates on the ongoing HR matter. The board discussed these updates and next steps.
The board moved out of Committee at 4:40 PM.
- DIRECTOR ROLES, COMMITTEES, PORTFOLIOS AND EXPECTATIONS
The board discussed the structure and membership of committees and portfolios for the year ahead.
George left the meeting 5:00 PM
George joined the meeting 5:04 PM
The board decided on the following committee structure and membership:
- Engagement and Communications Committee: Temepara, Ben, Seamus.
- Representation Committee: Mira, Sana, Sophie.
- Wellbeing Committee: George, Milly, Seamus, Sana.
- Kaupapa Māori Committee: Temepara, Zac, Ben, Director Pacific.
- Academic Equity Committee: Mira, Yasir, Fuad, Sophie.
- Annual Plan Committee: George, Pacific Director, Milly.
- Internal Structure and Performance Review Committee: Zac, Fuad, Yasir.
Moved: Ben Seconded: Yasir
THAT the board agrees on the committee structure and membership, subject to change throughout the year.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Moved: Ben Seconded: Yasir
THAT the board agrees that committees are to report to the board as needed throughout the year, and a midyear report will be provided to the board by each committee near the end of A Trimester.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
- REVIEW THE RESIGNATION AND NEW APPOINTMENT PROCESS – DIRECTOR PACIFIC
The President received a notice of resignation from the Director Pacific via email on 15 January. The President called the Director Pacific to query their resignation on 15 January. The President subsequently sent them a Zoom meeting link for the 23 January hui via email. At the 23 January hui, the President mentioned that the Director Pacific sent his resignation to him, but the President believed that after their phone call, the Director agreed to remain on the board and to join the following board meetings. The board was surprised to hear this as no other board member had contact from the Director Pacific. The board expressed concern that they were hearing of the resignation a week after it was received by the President. To gain clarity, on 23 January, the board agreed for the Vice-President to contract the Director Pacific. On 26 January, Mira made contact with the Director Pacific, who clarified that he resigned on 15 January via email and reaffirmed this to the President on their phone call. Members again expressed concern that the President did not understand the Director Pacific’s position during their phone call.
The Director Pacific resigned as they are no longer a student of the University, therefore ceasing to be a member of the association and thus no longer able to be a Director (as per point 18.1.2 of the constitution).
Moved: George Seconded: Fuad
THAT the board accepts the resignation of the Pacific Director.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
The board discussed the process of filling the Pacific Director position. The board agreed they wanted to fill the role as soon as possible, while ensuring students had time to consider the role and express their interest. They noted that students may miss social media posts about the vacancy before the beginning of A Trimester. They noted that the requirement of student endorsements upon applying may be difficult while many students are on break. The board discussed the importance of conducting a strong, fair process in filling the vacancy. The board discussed advertising the vacancy as soon as possible, with a promotion push at the start of A Trimester, closing off entries on 8 March. This is to be confirmed after further discussion with the Acting General Manager.
Moved: Mira Seconded: Yasir
THAT the board agrees to ask for expressions of interest for the Pacific Director role, and applicants to be shortlisted, interviewed and selected by a panel decided by the board.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Action: Yasir and Ben to discuss the expressions of interest material and process with the Acting General Manager.
- A BRIEFING REGARDING ACTING GM REPORT 23/01 RESPONSE (LED BY FUAD)
Fuad discussed points in the GM report dated 23 January that went unaddressed in the 23 January meeting, including orientation week, board committees, and board merchandise.
Moved: Fuad Seconded: Zac
THAT the board agrees in principle to create and sell WSU merchandise, including creating individualised merchandise for board members.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Action: Fuad and Yasir to include merch matter into GM report response email.
Action: Ben and Yasir to further discuss merch with the Acting General Manager tomorrow.
- APPOINTING AN EXTERNAL AUDITOR (LED BY MIRA)
Mira discussed that the board needs to appoint an auditor. The board discussed that the Independent Governance Advisory Committee may be able to assist with this.
George left the meeting: 5:59 PM
George joined the meeting: 6:03PM
Moved: Mira Seconded: Zac
THAT the board agrees to consult with the Independent Governance Advisory Committee on appointing an auditor, in a capacity yet to be confirmed.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
- POTENTIAL CONSTITUTION REVIEW (LED BY MIRA)
The board discussed that they have come across unclear and unproductive parts of the Constitution. The board agreed that the Annual Plan Committee will lead a review of the Constitution over the next few months. The board discussed getting external advice on this.
Ben left the meeting: 6:09
Ben joined the meeting: 6:12
Moved: Ben Seconded: Zac
THAT the board agrees that the Annual Plan Committee will lead a review of the Constitution and report back to the board in due course.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
- PAYMENT TO INDEPENDENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (IAC)
The board discussed their need for knowledge on the frequency of payments to the Independent Governance Advisory Committee (IGAC) members. They are currently unsure of if or when payments have been made.
Moved: Sophie Seconded: Seamus
THAT the board continues to attempt to retrieve the contracts of the IGAC members, and subsequently agrees to meet with the members for introductions and discussing their future engagement.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Action: Yasir and Ben to try and retrieve IGAC member contracts tomorrow.
- DISCUSS POTENTIAL SUPPORT SOLUTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ VISA MATTERS (LED BY GEORGE)
George discussed concerns about the lack of visa support international students can get from the University. He discussed that there was great support from the University in the past with a licensed Immigration Adviser at the Student Centre. Renewing or applying for a student visa through the University was $50 dollars cheaper than applying on the Immigration official website, but this service is no longer available. Accordingly, international students have to seek immigration advice from external licensed advisers, paying the consultant fee themselves. George discussed the high costs for international students for immigration advice, while the higher tuition fees paid by these international students. George suggested they may deserve to have more substantial visa application support from the university.
Milly shared similar concerns from international students who could not receive visa support from the University.
Action: George to create a shared document to outline visa support concerns and solutions, to be formatted as an email to send to the University.
- DISCUSSION ON STUDENT CONCERNS ABOUT MICROSOFT AUTHENTICATOR (LED BY GEORGE)
George discussed concerns raised by students, particularly new students, about the requirement to use the Microsoft Authenticator app to log into their University accounts. He expressed that some students, particularly international students, are either unable to use the Microsoft Authenticator app on their devices or do not have a device. The board agreed to investigate this further through contact with the University.
Action: George will draft an email on behalf of the WSU board to send to the University asking for more information about the Microsoft Authenticator for students.
- SET A DATE FOR ORIENTATION BRIEFING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EVENT (LED BY GEORGE)
The board discussed when to meet with staff for a briefing on orientation events.
Action: Yasir and Ben to ask the Acting General Manager when it is best to meet.
- DISCUSSION ON STUDENT CONCERNS ABOUT CAMPUS WI-FI
Fuad discussed student complaints about the speed of campus wifi. The board agreed to seek further information from the University about the wifi.
Action: Fuad to draft an email to the University and share it with the board for feedback.
Standing items
- GENERAL BUSINESS
Zac asked the board when they should start receiving regular reports from the President and Vice-Presidents. The board agreed these reports will be important to keep the board up to date once A Trimester begins.
George discussed an email received from the President of the Waikato Disabled Students Association. Board members agreed to invite the President to the next meeting for the new board to meet them and discuss how they can work together going forward.
Action: Mira to invite them to attend the next board meeting.
George discussed an email received from the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) about establishing an SVA club on campus. Zac was happy to liaise with the SVA and assist them.
Action: Zac to contact SVA via email.
George asked the board if catering was needed at board meetings. The board agreed that catering is not a good use of student money.
The board discussed responding to the Acting General Manager regarding The Lawrenson Group.
Action: Mira to reply to the Acting General Manager.
The board discussed an email about financial concerns received from the Acting General Manager.
Action: George to meet with the Acting General Manager about becoming a Director of the company that holds the Don.
Action: Board is to meet again to discuss financial concerns with the Acting General Manager and staff.
Ben discussed meeting with Shane Vulgar and his colleagues of the Tertiary Education Union. They would like to brief the board.
Action: Ben to invite Shane Vulgar to the next meeting to brief the board.
- NOTICES
- MEETING CLOSE: 7:05 PM
- NEXT MEETING:
10:00am Tuesday 20th February 2024 via Zoom and at the Hamilton Campus
Karakia – Ben
MINUTES CONFIRMED.………………………………….
DATE………………………………