Confidentiality of An Bord meetings under Irish Universities Act 1997

Student_AnBord

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone has any information on the confidentiality of board meetings held under the 1997 Universities Act (www [dot] irishstatutebook.ie/1997/en/act/pub/0024/)? I can only find information on the composition and basic procedures of the board but need to know if the content of those meetings are supposed to be confidential or not. The reason I ask is I'm a student representative for my college and have been told by senior management not to relay any information from the meetings. I thought that my role was, at least partly, to keep other students informed but I can't find any hard evidence to say that I am allowed do this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thank you so much,

K

One eyed Jack

The devil is in the detail there OP.

As a member on the Board, you're the representative of the students, but you don't actually represent the students, and your meetings as part of the Board should remain confidential.

Your duties as a member of the Board should have been explained to you by the Chairman of the Board.

Peregrinus

Student_AnBord wrote: »

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone has any information on the confidentiality of board meetings held under the 1997 Universities Act (www [dot] irishstatutebook.ie/1997/en/act/pub/0024/)? I can only find information on the composition and basic procedures of the board but need to know if the content of those meetings are supposed to be confidential or not. The reason I ask is I'm a student representative for my college and have been told by senior management not to relay any information from the meetings. I thought that my role was, at least partly, to keep other students informed but I can't find any hard evidence to say that I am allowed do this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thank you so much,

K

The legislation doesn't refer to you as a "student representative". You are just a "student of the university" who is an elected officer of the Students Union.

On the subject of representation, this is what the Act has to say (in Sch 3, para 7(3):

"A member of a governing authority of a university shall at all times act, as a member, in the best interests of the university and shall not act as a representative of any special interest provided that nothing in this paragraph shall restrict a member from representing at meetings of the governing authority the views of those by whom he or she has been elected or to restrict the freedom of expression of that member."

So there is it. In so far as you have a representative role, it is to represent students at meetings of the Board. It is not to represent the Board to students. Hence you can tell the Board what is being said among the students, but that's not the same thing as telling the students what is being said among the Board members.

The Act doesn't explicitly say that Board members should treat the information they receive in their capacity as Board members as confidential, but it does say (in Sch 3 para 14) that "a governing authority shall regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, its procedure and business", and this certainly allows them to adopt a rule of confidentiality with respect to Board business. And that would be pretty standard; generally speaking boards of management simply don't function properly if members don't feel that they can discuss matters among themselves in confidence.

Carawaystick

Peregrinus wrote: »

"A member of a governing authority of a university shall at all times act, as a member, in the best interests of the university and shall not act as a representative of any special interest provided that nothing in this paragraph shall restrict a member from representing at meetings of the governing authority the views of those by whom he or she has been elected or to restrict the freedom of expression of that member."

This seems to say the op can say what they like, so maybe there's some other restriction.

Peregrinus

Carawaystick wrote: »

This seems to say the op can say what they like, so maybe there's some other restriction.

No, it doesn't seem to say that at all. Freedom of expression is not absolute. A lawyer has freedom of expression, but that doesn't entitle him to make public information which has been imparted to him in circumstances which give rise to an expectation of confidentiality. The same is true for a doctor, or a counselling psychologist, or a banker, or someone in an employment which involves handling confidential information, or a member of the governing body of a university.

Carawaystick

The op wonders where any expectation of confidentiality originates. Are the best interests of the university *always* served by board members confidentiality?

Student_AnBord

Hi there- thanks for your advice! I wasn't told by the chairman that the meetings were confidential and felt it was in the student's best interests that I share some basic information with the Students Union (nothing major). Afterwards two members of staff sent me very personal emails (one sent two and the other sent one) about my breach of confidentially, making statements about my character and behaviour that had little to do with our interactions. I also received an email from the chairman- it's been stressful to say the least. I'm more than willing to accept fault but am not sure the actions of the two staff members was fair, given their position in relation to mine.

conorh91

It's not something that is likely to be contained in the Act of 1997, but rather, under the statutes of your own university.

Pro Hoc Vice

Student_AnBord wrote: »

Hi there- thanks for your advice! I wasn't told by the chairman that the meetings were confidential and felt it was in the student's best interests that I share some basic information with the Students Union (nothing major). Afterwards two members of staff sent me very personal emails (one sent two and the other sent one) about my breach of confidentially, making statements about my character and behaviour that had little to do with our interactions. I also received an email from the chairman- it's been stressful to say the least. I'm more than willing to accept fault but am not sure the actions of the two staff members was fair, given their position in relation to mine.

Simply reply saying can they point out where 1 the confidentiality clause is contained and 2 where same was brought to your attention. Then simply thank them for their input but unless they can back up their attack on your character you will be forced to bring the matter to the relevant committee within the university.