Universities: Board Elections with Online Voting Scytl Blog
By Jake Mahr on June 15, 2022

Universities: Board Elections with Online Voting

Many key decisions that affect a university and how it is run are made by a board of directors, or a board of governors. These boards are often one of the highest governing bodies at a university, overseeing and guiding university activities, leadership, and finances, among other responsibilities.

 

There are many instances in which a university board might hold a vote, such as during an Annual General Meeting when the board addresses important agenda items, or in elections for new board members and for appointing a university president or rector. In each of these instances, online voting can help modernize and streamline the voting process.

 

Benefits of Online Voting

Boards that implement an online voting solution will benefit from an overall simplification of the voting process. Organizing an election is an easy process of working with your online voting provider to define your election specifications, like candidate information, voting times, and electoral system, and then setting up the digital ballots in the online voting portal.

 

Multidevice online voting scytl blog

By transitioning to 100% online voting, there is no worrying about printing and distributing election material before election day, saving time and minimizing resource use.

 

An online voting solution also makes it possible for board members to participate in votes and elections from anywhere, using their own personal devices. This convenience lifts some of the burden that comes with needing to travel great distances in order to attend annual meetings, making sure a quorum is always reached and effective decisions can be made, even if not everyone is in the room.

 

Lastly, an online voting solution adds security to your online meetings and elections. While it may seem possible for a board to meet remotely over a standard video-conferencing solution, they don’t always offer the security you need when making important and sensitive decisions. Using a trusted online voting solution can make sure your decisions and data remain private and secure.


Planning and Running an Online Election or Meeting

Organizing a university board of directors’ online voting event is quite similar to planning any online meeting or election. It all begins with selecting the right online voting solution, which typically comes down to whether you will be voting on items during the course of a regular meeting, or if you are holding an election over a certain period of time.

 

With a solution procured, you will work alongside your online voting provider to set up your event specifics, prepare the online ballots or agenda, and notify your board members. In order to access the online voting portal, your members will need secure login credentials. These can be generated by your online voting provider, or you can typically also use your existing university intranet credentials.

 

On election day, your members will log on to the portal where they can access their online ballots or the meeting agenda. In line with your event specifications, they can then begin voting. If you are holding a meeting with multiple agenda items, you can choose to open each item for voting individually after discussion, or to open them all at once. Once the voting is complete, the results are automatically calculated in a matter of minutes. You can then publish them online and share them with the board.

 

An online voting solution can help a university board of directors overcome the challenges of modern in-person voting and decision-making events, all while streamlining the process. If you interested in finding out more about what your board can gain from Scyl’s online voting solutions, contact us today or request a demo.

 

Published by Jake Mahr June 15, 2022

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