Question 1

EL-1 Global Executive Constraint

Accepted Answer

The President shall not cause or allow any organizational practice, activity, decision, or circumstance that is either unlawful, imprudent, or in violation of commonly accepted business, professional, or academic ethics and practices.

Question 2

EL-2 Respect for Persons, Society, and the Environment

Accepted Answer

With respect to the treatment of members, paid and volunteer staff, directors, councillors, and customers the President shall not cause or allow conditions that are unfair, inequitable, unsafe, unsanitary, undignified, disorganized, unclear, untimely, or unnecessarily intrusive.

With respect to all persons, the President will not:

1. Solicit, collect, or receive information beyond what is reasonably required to deliver the membership experience of the individual whom information is being collected from.  2. Use methods of collecting, reviewing, transmitting, or storing personal information that fail to ensure appropriate privacy and or fail to protect against improper access to the material.  2.1.  Fail to ensure that the organization complies with the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

2.2 Disclose any personally identifiable information, including to the University, about a member without explicit consent of that member, except to the extent necessary for the provision of basic GSA-UW Services.

2.3 Fail to keep private information shared with the President in confidence, either by a member or group of members; unless given the explicit permission of the member or all members of the group to share that information for a specific purpose.

2.4 Fail to delete in a timely fashion information voluntarily shared by a member, above and beyond that which is required for the basic operations of the GSA, upon the request of said member.    
 
2.5 Allow meetings to be recorded without the expressed permission of all attendees, or for any other purpose other than assisting minute taking.

2.5.1  Fail to delete the recording after the completion of the meeting minutes or after 30 days after recording, whichever is earliest.

2.5.2  Allow the meeting recordings to be shared with anyone except the minute-taker and the   meeting chair.

2.5.3  Allow or cause a confidential or in-camera meeting to be recorded.

2.6  Fail to ensure reasonable precautions are taken with any confidential GSA information stored on a personal device.

2.7  Collect information without the expressed or implied permission of members, excepting basic information such as name and student number which are required for administering core GSA services  3. Fail to ensure accessibility and human rights.

3.1. Fail to ensure that the organization complies with:  3.1.1. The Ontario Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act; 3.1.2. The Ontario Human Rights Code.

4. Fail to acquaint persons with the President’s interpretation of their protections under this policy.

5. Fail to inform persons of this policy, or to provide effective ways to be heard, and appropriate remedies, for persons who believe they have not been accorded a reasonable interpretation of this policy.

6. Fail to report to the board any complaints under this policy.  With respect to paid and volunteer staff, the President will not:

7. Operate without a written employee handbook that (a) clarify rules for staff (e.g. code of conduct), (b) provide detailed job descriptions, (c) provide for effective handling of grievances, (d) protect against wrongful conditions, such as workplace harassment, conflicts of interest, nepotism, and grossly preferential treatment for personal reasons, and (e) provide for progressive discipline.

8. Allow staff to be uninformed of external, policy, management, or operational changes that affect their work.

9. Fail to ensure safety and worker protections.  9.1.  Fail to ensure that the organization complies with:  9.1.1. The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act; 9.1.2. The Ontario Employment Standards Act.

10. Retaliate or allow retaliation against any employee for non-disruptive expression of dissent.

11. Allow staff to be unprepared to deal with emergency situations.

12. Fail to implement equitable hiring practices that ensure that the organization reflects the diversity of its members, including but not limited to:         12.1  Cultural diversity         12.2  Racial diversity         12.3  Gender diversity; and         12.4  Reconfirming the organization’s adherence to the established hiring practices of the University of Waterloo  With respect to members, the President will not:  Fail to familiarize members with the services offered by the organization. Fail to establish with members a clear understanding of what may be expected and what may not be expected from the service offered. Fail to provide services to support the academic and social experiences of:

15.1 Black graduate students;             
15.2 Gender minorities;            
15.3  Graduate students of color;             
15.4 Graduate students with disabilities;             
15.5 Indigenous graduate students;             
15.6 LGBTQ2+ graduate students;             
15.7 Racialized graduate students;             
15.8 Other equity-seeking groups of graduate students designated by the GSA-UW Board or otherwise and;            
15.9 Reconfirming the organization’s adherence to the Ontario Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code.  With respect to the treatment of society and the environment, the President will not:

16. Cause or allow capital to be invested in any asset without screening for the triple bottom line (social, environmental, and financial).

17. Cause or allow capital to be invested in tobacco, gambling, defence/weapons, or fossil fuels.

18. Fail to mitigate production by the organization of wastes that are harmful to society and the environment.

19. Fail to comply with the University of Waterloo’s Campus Sustainability policies and strategies.

Question 3

EL-3 Essential Services

Accepted Answer

The President shall not cause or allow the organization to fail to provide any of the following services:  A supplementary health benefits plan. A supplementary dental benefits plan. A Grand River Transit bus pass. A social club, titled “The Graduate House”. The President will not:  Alter the structure, functions, or cost of any essential service without prior Board approval.

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 4

EL-4 Fees

Accepted Answer

The President will not cause or allow the organization to fail to charge to members any of the following termly fees:  An association membership fee. A supplementary health benefits plan fee, provided that a member may opt out if they supply adequate proof of equivalent coverage during the change-of-coverage period.

A supplementary dental benefits plan fee, provided that a member may opt out if they so request during the change-of-coverage period. A Grand River Transit bus pass fee. A social club fee.

The President will not:  Cause or allow graduate students to be subjected to new fees or to increases in fees, whether administered by the organization (in which case the Corporate Bylaws also apply) or by any other party (e.g. the University), without prior approval by the Board and consultation with the Council. Proposed fees and fee increases must be explained and justified to the Board and the Council in plain language.

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 5

EL-5 Financial Planning/Budgeting

Accepted Answer

The President shall not cause or allow financial planning for any fiscal year or the remaining part of any fiscal year to deviate materially from the Ends priorities, risk financial jeopardy, or fail to be derived from a strategic plan.

The President will not allow budgeting to:  Risk incurring those situations or conditions described as unacceptable in the Board policy “Financial Condition and Activities.” Omit credible projection of revenues and expenses, separation of capital and operational items, cash flow, and disclosure of planning assumptions. Provide less for Board and Council prerogatives during the year than is set forth in the Cost of Governance policy.

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 6

EL-6 Financial Condition and Activities

Accepted Answer

With respect to the actual, ongoing financial condition and activities, the President shall not cause or allow the development of financial jeopardy or material deviation of actual expenditures from priorities established in Ends policies.  The President will not:  Expend more funds than have been received in the fiscal year to date unless the Board’s debt guideline (below) is met. Incur debt in an amount greater than can be repaid by certain and otherwise unencumbered revenues within sixty days. Use any long-term reserves, such as the internal health reserve or contingency reserves, without prior board approval.

Conduct interfund shifting amounts greater than can be restored to a condition of discrete fund balances by certain and otherwise unencumbered revenues within thirty days. Fail to settle payroll and debts in a timely manner. Allow tax payments or other government ordered payments or filings to be overdue or inaccurately filed. Make a single purchase or commitment of greater than $10,000. Splitting orders to avoid this limit is not acceptable. Acquire, encumber, or dispose of real estate. Fail to aggressively pursue receivables after a reasonable grace period.

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 7

EL-7 Emergency President Succession

Accepted Answer

In order to protect the Board and the Council from sudden loss of President services, the President shall not permit there to be fewer than one other senior employee, including the Vice-President, sufficiently familiar with Board, Council, and President issues and processes to enable them to take over with reasonable proficiency as an interim successor.

Last Amended: August 17, 2020

Question 8

EL-8 Asset Protection

Accepted Answer

The President shall not cause or allow corporate assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained, or unnecessarily risked.  The President will not:  Fail to insure adequately against theft and casualty and against liability losses to Directors, Councillors, staff, and the organization itself. Allow unbonded personnel access to material amounts of funds. Subject facilities and equipment to improper wear and tear or insufficient maintenance. Unnecessarily expose the organization, its Board, its Council, or staff to claims of liability.

Make any purchase: (a) wherein normally prudent protection has not been given against conflict of interest; (b) of more than $2,500 without having obtained comparative prices and quality from different sources; (c) of more than $5,000 without a stringent method of assuring the balance of long-term quality and cost. Orders shall not be split to avoid these criteria. Fail to protect intellectual property, information, and files from loss or significant damage. Receive, process, or disburse funds under controls that are insufficient to meet the board-appointed auditor’s standards. Compromise the independence of the Board’s audit or other external monitoring or advice, such as by engaging parties already chosen by the Board as consultants or advisers. Invest or hold operating capital in insecure instruments, including uninsured checking accounts and bonds of less than AA rating at any time, or in non-interest-bearing accounts except where necessary to facilitate ease in operational transactions.

Endanger the organization’s public image, credibility, or its ability to accomplish Ends. Change the organization’s name or substantially alter its identity in the community. Create or purchase any subsidiary corporation. Fail to produce an operating manual and update the Board on changes to the document once per year.

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 9

EL-9 Compenasation and Benefits

Accepted Answer

With respect to employment, compensation, and benefits to employees, consultants, contract workers, and volunteers, the President shall not cause or allow jeopardy to financial integrity, morale, or livelihoods.  The President will not:  Change the President’s own compensation and benefits, except as those benefits are consistent with a package for all other employees. Promise or imply permanent or guaranteed employment.

Operate without a written pay scale that (a) matches compensation with levels of skill, authority and accountability, and seniority (b) limits income inequality, such that the highest wage is no more than four times the lowest wage (including tips), and (c) prevents poverty, such that the lowest wage (including tips) is at least the current Waterloo living wage. Create obligations over a longer term than revenues can be safely projected, in no event longer than one year and in all events subject to losses in revenue.

Establish or change retirement benefits so as to cause unpredictable or inequitable situations, including those that: Incur unfunded liabilities. Provide less than some basic level of benefits to all full-time employees, though differential benefits to encourage longevity are not prohibited. Allow any employee to lose benefits already accrued from any foregoing plan. Treat the President differently from other employees. Establish a pension plan.

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 10

EL-10 Communication and Support to the Board

Accepted Answer

The President shall not cause or allow the Board to be uninformed or unsupported in its work.

The President will not:

Neglect to submit monitoring data required by the Board in the Board-Management Delegation policy “Monitoring President Performance” in a timely, accurate, and understandable fashion, directly addressing provisions of board policies being monitored, and including President interpretations consistent with the Board-Management Delegation Policy “Delegation to the President”, as well as relevant data. Allow the Board to be unaware of any actual or anticipated noncompliance with any Ends or Executive Limitations policy of the Board regardless of the Board’s monitoring schedule. Allow the Board to be without decision information required periodically by the Board or let the Board be unaware of relevant trends. This information should normally include, but is not limited to, that listed in the appendix to this policy. Let the Board be unaware of any significant incidental information it requires including anticipated media coverage, threatened or pending lawsuits, and material internal and external changes.

Allow the Board to be unaware that, in the President’s opinion, the Board is not in compliance with its own policies on Governance Process and Board-Management Delegation, particularly in the case of Board behaviour that is detrimental to the work relationship between the Board and the President. Present information in unnecessarily complex or lengthy form or in a form that fails to differentiate among information of three types: monitoring, decision preparation, and other (e.g. things of potential interest).

Allow the Board to be without a workable mechanism for official board, officer, or committee communications, internally and externally. Deal with the Board in a way that favours or privileges certain Directors over others, except when (a) fulfilling individual requests for information or (b) responding to officers or committees duly charged by the Board. Fail to submit to the Board a consent agenda containing items delegated to the President yet required by law, regulation, or contract to be board-approved, along with applicable monitoring information.

Allow the Board to be without a Recording Secretary.  Stakeholder relations – Description: Report on current stakeholder relations and assessment of perceptions, level of engagement, and opportunities for collaboration – Frequency: Annually – Month: March  Type of information: Work plan – Description: An overview of the actions the President anticipates to fulfill the organization’s strategic priorities and Ends – Frequency: Fall, winter term – Month: September, January  Type of information: Work plan progress – Description: President’s progress on actions in the work plan – Frequency: Fall, winter term – Month: November, March  Type of information: Financial and operations – Description: Overview of fund balances, financial statements, fees, and operations for preceding term – Frequency: Termly – Month: June, October, February

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

Question 11

EL-11 Communication and Support to the Council

Accepted Answer

Last Amended: April 14, 2021

The President shall not cause or allow the Council to be uninformed or unsupported in its work.

The President will not:

1. Fail to keep the Council apprised of the organization’s current progress towards accomplishing Ends and addressing near-term student needs.

2. Fail to consult the Council with respect to organizational strategies for accomplishing Ends and addressing near-term student needs.

3. Fail to keep the Council apprised of the organization’s compliance with Council’s political positions.

4. Allow the Council to be without decision information required periodically by the Council or let the Council be unaware of relevant trends.  4.1 It is expected that, whenever possible, the President will provide Council or the Council Speaker with the relevant information at least one week ahead of a regular or special Council meeting.  4.2 Information received after this one-week deadline can be considered at next regular or special Council meeting, subject to the discretion of the Council Speaker.

5. Let the Council be unaware of any significant incidental information it requires.

6. Present information in unnecessarily complex or lengthy form or in a form that fails to differentiate among information of four types: Ends, near-term student needs, organizational strategies, and representation of political positions.

7. Allow the Council to be without a workable mechanism for official Council communications, internally and externally.

8. Deal with the Council in a way that favours or privileges certain Councillors over others, except when fulfilling individual requests for information.

9. Fail to support the Speaker with annual elections and by-elections.

10. Deal with candidates for Councillorship in a way that favours or privileges certain candidates over others, except when fulfilling individual requests for information.

11. Allow the Council to be without a Recording Secretary.

Question 12

EL-12 Communication and Support to the Membership

Accepted Answer

The President shall not cause or allow the membership to be uninformed or unsupported in making decisions through general meetings or referenda. The President shall also not cause or allow the membership to be uninformed about the GSA.

The President will not:

Cause or allow the membership to be without decision information – such as analysis of alternatives, costs projections, trade-offs, opportunity costs, risks, and uncertainties – or let the membership be unaware of relevant trends. Cause or allow the membership to be unaware of any significant incidental information it requires. Cause or allow information to be presented in unnecessarily complex or lengthy form. Deal with the membership in a way that favours or privileges certain members over others, except when fulfilling individual requests for information. Deal with candidates for Directorship in a way that favours or privileges certain candidates over others, except when fulfilling individual requests for information. Fail to use multiple means of communicating information so that all graduate students have ample opportunities to be informed and supported. Allow general meetings to be without a Recording Secretary.

Last Amended: May 10, 2021

Question 13

EL-13 Representation

Accepted Answer

The President will not:  Fail to ensure that members are appointed as required to represent the organization to external governing, advocacy, and advisory bodies, hereafter referred to as Representatives. Fail to ensure that Representatives are properly oriented, supervised and instructed, supported, and regularly debriefed. Fail to ensure that Representatives who perform improperly or inadequately are corrected or, if necessary, removed and replaced. Fail to keep the Board and the Council apprised of the organization’s representation. Fail to ensure that Representatives advocate the organization’s political positions, or cause or allow the organization, or any of its Representatives, to act contrary to its policies or political positions. Cause or allow the organization to become committed to agreements with third parties that have a material effect on the organization’s interests without prior board approval and, whenever appropriate, consultation with the Council.

Question 14

EL-14 Vice-President

Accepted Answer

The President will not fail to recruit a Vice-President to support the work of the President. The President will not fail to follow the process for recruiting a Vice-President as determined by the Board and the Council.

Question 15

EL-15 Graduate House

Accepted Answer

Last Amended: August 17, 2020  The President shall not cause or allow:  Staff to be without adequate training in the knowledge and skills that they require for their work (e.g. health and safety, point-of-sale, operating procedures, service standards, etc.) The Graduate House to be without a Health and Safety committee The Health and Safety Committee to fail to include equal representation from Management and its staff The Graduate House to be managed by someone with inadequate hospitality or management experience The Graduate House to be without operating procedures, which are known to staff The Graduate House to be without service standards or operating hours, which are known to staff and customers Staff and Graduate House performance to go unmonitored Staff hours to go unmonitored (e.g. sign-in/sign-out sheets) Staff scheduling to go unsupported by a budget Food, beverage, and supply inventories to go unmonitored (e.g. an alcohol reconciliation process) The Graduate House to close during regular hours for private events

Policy Registry

The Graduate Student Association – University of Waterloo exists to ensure that:

EL-1 Global Executive Constraint

EL-2 Respect for Persons, Society, and the Environment

EL-3 Essential Services

EL-4 Fees

EL-5 Financial Planning/Budgeting

EL-6 Financial Condition and Activities

EL-7 Emergency President Succession

EL-8 Asset Protection

EL-9 Compenasation and Benefits

EL-10 Communication and Support to the Board

EL-11 Communication and Support to the Council

EL-12 Communication and Support to the Membership

EL-13 Representation

EL-14 Vice-President

EL-15 Graduate House

GP-1 Board Job Description

GP-2 Directors' Code of Conduct

GP-3 Governing Style

GP-4 Agenda Planning

GP-5 Chief Governance Officer's (Chair's) Role

GP-6 Board Secretary's Role

GP-7 Board Committee Principles

GP 8 - Council

GP-9 Cost of Governance

GP-10 President Term and Recruitment

GP-11 Executive Director Term and Recruitment

GP-12 Board Executive Committee

GP-13 Changing Policies

GP 14 - Document Integrity & Control

GP-15 Strategic Planning

GP-16 Vice-President Term and Recruitment

GP-17 Recognition

GP-18 Referenda

GP-19 Emergency Powers

GP-20 Conflicts of Interest

GP-21 Elections

GP-22 Vacancies and Resignations

BM-1 Global Board-Management Delegation

BM-2 Unity of Control

BM-3 Accountability of the President

BM-4 Delegation to the President

BM-5 Monitoring President Performance

CP-1 Executive Committee

CP-2 Council Procedures

CP-3 Training

CP-4 Councillors' Elections and Terms

CP-5 Election of the Speaker