The nitty-gritty of the Senate’s responsibilities as stated in the University Act:
“the academic governance of the university is vested in the senate and it has the following powers:
to regulate the conduct of its meetings and proceedings, including the determination of the quorum necessary for the transaction of its business, and the election of a vice-chair at least annually, who is to chair meetings in the absence of the president;
to establish committees it considers necessary and, by 2/3 vote of its members present, to delegate to one or more committees those of its powers as it may determine;
to determine all questions relating to the academic and other qualifications required of applicants for admission as students to the university or to any faculty, and to determine in which faculty the students pursuing a course of study must register;
to determine the conditions under which candidates must be received for examination, to appoint examiners and to determine the conduct and results of all examinations;
to consider, approve and recommend to the board the revision of courses of study, instruction and education in all faculties and departments of the university;
to provide for courses of study in any place in British Columbia and to encourage and develop extension and correspondence programs;
to provide for and to grant degrees, including honorary degrees, diplomas and certificates of proficiency, except in theology;
to recommend to the board the establishment or discontinuance of any faculty, department, course of instruction, chair, fellowship, scholarship, exhibition, bursary or prize;
to award fellowships, scholarships, exhibitions, bursaries and prizes;
to determine the members of the teaching and administrative staffs who are to be members of each faculty;
to make rules for the management and conduct of the library;
to establish policies regarding the conservation of heritage objects and collections that are owned by or in the possession of the university or any of its faculties, divisions, departments or other agencies;
to provide for the preparation and publication of a university calendar;
to deal with all matters reported by the faculties, affecting their respective departments or divisions;
to establish a standing committee to consider and take action on behalf of the senate on all matters that may be referred to the senate by the board;
subject to the approval of the board, to enter into agreements with any corporation or society in British Columbia entitled under any Act to establish examinations for admission to the corporation or society, for the purpose of conducting examinations and reporting results, and those corporations or societies have power to enter into the agreements;
to make rules respecting the conduct and financing of examinations referred to in paragraph (r) and other examinations conducted by the senate under any other Act;
to make rules respecting the reporting of results of examinations referred to in paragraphs (r) and (s);
to establish a standing committee of final appeal for students in matters of academic discipline;
to establish a standing committee on relations with other post-secondary institutions in British Columbia;
to require any faculty to establish an advisory committee consisting of students of the faculty and members of the community at large.”