The University Council Executive Committee voted Thursday to increase the number of members allowed on University Council.

The committee approved a motion to increase the student representation from 23 members to 25 members.

“The Council has increased the number of faculty and staff on the Council during the last few years and last year the students asked us to increase the number of students on the Council,” said Elizabeth St. Pierre, chair of the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws and Committees.

Faculty and administration make up about 85 percent of the University Council. Students make up nearly 11 percent and staff make up just more than 4 percent. With the proposed student increase, the students would make up 11.6 percent of the University Council, faculty and administration would make up just more than 84 percent and staff representation would stay around 4 percent.

The Committee also approved a motion to increase the number of ex-officio members of University Council by one member. Ex-officio members of University Council include the president of the University, the registrar, deans from each school and college, various vice presidents and senior vice presidents, and other non-tenure track faculty.

“We have a limit of 30 ex-officio members on Council,” St. Pierre said. “What’s happened is we’ve hit the limit of 30 and we have a new dean . . . of the Medical College.”

The committee discussed looking into making a separate policy concerning the proportion of each type of member group of University Council.

“We don’t have any formula,” said Irwin Bernstein, professor of psychology in the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences. “[The executive committee] should ask the [Committee on Statutes, Bylaws and Committees] to consider this and come up with some kind of policy considering the proportion of representation on the Council. This keeps changing haphazardly.”

St. Pierre said the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws and Committees will look at the matter of balance of membership in the University Council, and there may be another motion brought forward about it at a future meeting.

Also discussed was the Educational Affairs committee’s proposals to amend the Academic Affairs policy. The Educational Affairs committee approved proposals Feb. 16 to add language into the Academic Affairs policy allowing students to make up missed work if they are summoned for jury duty.

The Educational Affairs Committee also approved two clarification statements affirming that all labs may administer tests and quizzes on the final instruction day, and that take-home final exams cannot be due earlier than the final examination slot assigned for the course.

Jeff Dorfman, professor of agricultural and applied economics in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said the clarification statements “let everyone see in writing what they’re already allowed to do.” The statements were added to the Academic Affairs policy because of professors asking what is permissible for final examinations, he said.

But Bernstein said his classes always have been structured so a take-home final is due on the last day of class and students are given feedback during the final examination period, which would be against the proposed policy clarification statement.

“I give essay exams. I need considerable time to read them,” Bernstein said. “And the students need feedback.”

The issue of the policy stating professors must allow students until the scheduled final examination period to turn in a take-home exam was discussed at length, but no changes were made to the proposed statement. The amendments to the Academic Affairs policy were all approved and will go before the University Council on March 19, along with the proposals concerning University Council membership.