DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE
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Minutes of a Meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:00 pm in Room 3210 WMC
Open Session
.
Absent
Brennand, Tracy
Easton, Stephen
Godson, Ali
Golnaraghi, Farid
Harding, Kevin
Lee, Shara
Lewis, Cynthia
Li, Fiona
Lowe, Brandt
McArthur, James
Myers, Gordon
Nadison, Ada
Noble, Cameron
Patel, Ravi
Pavsek, Christopher
Percival, Paul
Ruben, Peter
Russell, Robert
Sahinalp, Cenk
Scott, Jamie
Tiffany, Evan
van der Wey, Dolores
Woodbury, Rob
Present
Stevenson, Michael, President and Chair of Senate
Beale, Alison (representing C. Geisler)
Bezglasnyy, Anton
Chapman, Glenn
Chiu, Christina
Copeland, Lynn
Cormack, Lesley
Dow, Greg
Driver, Jon
Fizzell, Maureen
Francis, June
Funt, Elliot
Gibson, Eli
Gordon, Robert
Hannah, David
Haunerland, Norbert (representing M. Pinto)
Hiscocks, Graham
Janes, Craig
Joffies, Michel
Krane, Bill
Laba, Martin
Leznoff, Daniel
MacGrotty, Alysia
Magnusson, Kris
Moubarak, Cristel
Nesbit, Tom
O'Neil, John
Parkhouse, Wade
Paterson, David
Percival, Colin
Peters, Joseph
Pierce, John
Plischke, Michael
Rajapakse, Nimal
Shapiro, Daniel
Thompson, Steve
Wakkary, Ron
Warner, D'Arcy
Williams, Tony
Zelezny, Joseph
Ross, Kate, Registrar and Secretary of Senate
Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary
In attendance:
Collins, Colleen
Hinchliffe, Jo
Murray, Catherine
Verdun-Jones, Simon
Weinberg, Hal
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S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 2
Approval of the Agenda
The Agenda was approved as distributed.
2.
Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of November 2. 2009
Referring to his remarks under Item 4 on page 2, the Chair clarified that it was not his
intention to proceed in a way that overlooked highly successful and productive programs
nor did he believe that had been the case in the past.
Following the above-noted clarification, the Minutes were approved.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
The Vice-President, Academic reported the following changes that have been made as a
result of the discussion at Senate about the recommendations of the Task Force on
Teaching and Learning. The University Council on Teaching and Learning will not be
formed at this time. Instead, a short-term advisory committee consisting of faculty, staff,
and students, will be established with the purpose of providing advice to the Vice
President, Academic on what action to take with respect to the final recommendations of
the Task Force. When the final report on teaching and learning is complete, the report
will be released to the entire University community for comment and will be brought to
Senate for discussion and advice. Senate's comments will be forwarded to the advisory
committee for consideration. J
.
Driver reconfirmed his statement from last meeting that
no changes affecting the academic activities of the University would be implemented
without action from the appropriate Senate committee. Senate was advised that the
appointment of University Teaching Fellows had gone ahead. The purpose of these
appointments was to encourage debate about the best practices in teaching and learning in
each Faculty and liaise with faculty and staff but Fellows have no mandate to evaluate
teaching or to interfere with the professional judgment of any faculty member about the
way a course should be offered.
4.
Report of the Chair
i)
2009 Gold Award for Public-Sector Leadership in Education
The Chair was pleased to report that the University won the 2009 gold award for public-
sector leadership and innovation in Education from the Institute of Public Administration
of Canada. SFU was recognized for establishing its campuses in downtown Vancouver and
Surrey.
ii) Maclean's Ranking
It was noted that Maclean's has ranked Simon Fraser University the best of Canada's
comprehensive universities and the Chair wished to acknowledge the contributions of
faculty, staff and students whose energy and creativity contribute to the success of the
university.
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S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 3
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5. ?
Question Period
i) ?
Paper S.09-131 - Response to Question: Impact of new scheduling policy
The Associate Vice-President, Academic noted that the document before Senate provided
the results of a comparison done by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning of
the Fall semester prior to the introduction of the new scheduling policy and the Fall
semester immediately after its implementation. A brief explanation was provided for the
various graphs and Senate was informed that although the results were not as dramatic as
expected, they were moving in the right direction but it will be important to continue to
monitor the effect of the policy.
6.
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Reports of Committees
A) ?
Research Ethics Board
i) ?
Paper S.09-132 - Annual Report (For Information)
S. Verdun-Jones, Chair, Research Ethics Board, and H. Weinberg, Director of the Office
of Research Ethics, were in attendance in order to respond to questions. Senate received
the 2008/2009 Annual Report for information.
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B) ?
Senate Committee on University Priorities
i) ?
Paper S.09-133 - New Program: Joint Major in Latin American Studies and
International Studies
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by L. Cormack
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the full
program proposal for a Joint Major in Latin American Studies and
International Studies in the Latin American Studies Program and the
School for the International Studies within the Faculty of Arts and Social
Studies"
An inquiry was raised about the language requirement and whether there were concerns
that SFU offered only one year of Portuguese and whether two years of Spanish language
training was sufficient. A suggestion was made that one more course at the 3' year level of
Spanish should be required. Senate was advised that the equivalence in Portuguese was
added to accommodate students with Portuguese coming from other institutions so they
would not be required to take Spanish. Adding another Spanish course would
unnecessarily restrict students because not all Spanish courses were offered every year at
the senior level so it would be difficult to ensure access to required courses. It was noted
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that one of the requirements of the program was to spend a term abroad and if students
spent this time in a Spanish-speaking country they would likely acquire sufficient language
skills.
S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 4
There was reference to the Caribbean in the program but it was noted that there did not
appear to be any courses offered at SFU specifically dealing with this region. Senate was
advised that there were no faculty members within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
with the Caribbean as their primary research focus, but that some of the LAS courses
included the Caribbean. It was better to include the Caribbean because it allowed for
fliture expansion in that area.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
ii)
Paper S.09-134 - New Program: Certificate in Social Justice
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by A. Mc Grotty
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the full
program proposal for a Certificate in Social Justice in the Department of
Sociology and Anthropology within the Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
iii)
Paper S.09-135 - Department of Women's Studies - External Review and
resulting Action Plan
The Vice-President, Academic advised Senate that this was the new format for
recommendations concerning external reviews. The process was developed in response to
concerns raised about the vagueness of the recommendations that have come to Senate in
the past.
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by L. Cormack
"that Senate approve the recommendation from the Senate Committee on
University Priorities to implement the Action Plan for the Department of
Women's Studies that resulted from its External Review"
C. Murray, Chair of the Department of Women's Studies, was in attendance in order to
respond to questions.
Question was called, and a vote taken. ?
MOTION CARRIED
iv)
Paper S.09-136 - Department of Women's Studies Name Change to Department
of Gender. Sexualit y,
and Women's Studies
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by A. Beale
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the name
change of the Department of Women's Studies to the Department of
Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies"
S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 5
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C. Murray, Chair of the Department of Women's Studies, was in attendance in order to
respond to questions.
In response to an inquiry as to the reason for the name change, Senate was informed that
the external reviewers strongly advised that the name be amended to include the
department's minor in gender studies and a broader set of debates evolving in the field.
The new name was seen to be more inclusive and would provoke interdisciplinary
research within and across a number of departments and Faculties.
Since gender was now included in the new title, a question was posed as to whether it was
still necessary to retain the reference to women. Senate was advised that this issue was
extremely important to some of the more established faculty members in the Department,
and since the Department felt there was sufficient interest to sustain women's studies, the
new name would be relevant for quite some time. It was also noted that women's studies
was an area of interdisciplinary research that has growing support in many countries of the
world, especially in developing countries, and it was very important politically and
strategically therefore to retain this reference.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
V)
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Paper S.09-137 - Creation of the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business
Studies
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Moved by J. Driver, seconded by M. Fizzell
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the
proposal for the creation of the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Studies
as a Schedule A Centre based in the Faculty of Business Administration"
It was noted that other than one very short reference to India, the only country
mentioned in the document was China, and a question was raised as to whether the
Centre was meant to only focus on China. Senate was advised that there was no intention
to restrict the activities of the Centre to China, that the focus would be on the entire Asia
Pacific region, and that the actual name of the Centre was the Jack Austin Centre for Asia
Pacific Business Studies.
The motion was amended as follows to correct the name of the Centre
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the
proposal for the creation of the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business
Studies as a Schedule A Centre based in the Faculty of Business
Administration"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION (AS AMENDED) CARRIED
S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 6
vi)
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Paper S.09-138 - Centres and Institutes Report 2008/2009 (For Information)
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The Associate Vice-President, Research advised Senate that the two Centres who had
failed to submit annual reports, have now done so. Following this clarification, the Report
was received by Senate for information.
v)
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Paper S.09-139 - Revision of Policy R40.01 Research Centres and Institutes
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by N. Haunerland
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the
revisions of Policy R 40.01 - Research Centres and Institutes"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
C) ?
Calendar Committee
i) ?
Paper S.09-140 - Web-based Calendar (For Information)
J .
Hincbliffe, Assistant Registrar and Secretary of the Calendar Committee, was in
attendance in order to respond to questions.
Although having an online Calendar was favourably received, the following
concerns/issues/suggestions were raised:
- An annual Calendar needs to be maintained; having a new Calendar every semester
would considerably increase the workload of advising staff and staff reviewing
credentials for graduation as staff would have to be aware of three different Calendars
every year instead ofjust one. Senate was advised that having a semesterly Calendar
was advantageous to students since they would have access to a newer program earlier.
The increase in workload was acknowledged. A final decision on this issue would not
be made until after the Curricunet system was implemented and the concerns would
be taken under advisement.
- Upon admission to the University and/or into programs, students are governed by the
Calendar in effect at that time so a historical database needed to be readily readable so
that faculty and staff can determine the relevant program at the time of a student's
admittance. Senate was advised that historical Calendars will be archived online.
- Recommendation was made to rephrase wording in the memo to clarify that the
official Calendar version is that which appears online, and to delete the word 'solely'
from the third paragraph in order to allow more flexibility and options in case there
was a desire/need to print a Calendar for limited circulation to a specific audience.
- Having the entire Calendar in a single searchable file online would make it easier to
search and find whatever is needed rather than having to download the complete
Calendar. Senate was advised that the Calendar would be a single, searchable file with
sections of the Calendar printer friendly so users would be able to print out what they
need and put together a catalogue for their use.
S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 7
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J. Hinchliffe stated that the concerns, suggestions, and recommendations made by Senate
would be taken under advisement by the Committee.
D) ?
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies
i.a) ?
Paper S.09-141 - Revision of Admission Requirements for Entrance to Business
Administration
Prior to moving the motion, the Associate Vice-President, Academic advised Senate of
the following corrections to the motion/paper:
- the motion should read 'effective for the Fall 2011 term' rather than Fall 2010
- on page 1, the second sentence should read 'Revision of Admission Requirements for
the 2011/2012 calendar' rather than the 2010/2011 calendar
- section (c) should be deleted since this issue is already covered under a different
admission regulation
Moved by B. Krane, seconded by J. Francis
"that Senate approve the revision of admission requirements for entrance to
the Faculty of Business Administration effective for the Fall 2011 term"
C. Collins, Associate Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, was in attendance in order
to respond to questions.
In response to an inquiry related to the rationale for Section A, Senate was advised that the
focus of Item A was on the maximum of two repeated courses within the nine required
courses. Since this was now delayed to 2011/2012 anyone planning to transfer would be
grandiathered and would be fully aware of the change.
A question was posed about the omission from the new Calendar wording of the number
of students granted entry to the Faculty per academic year. Senate was advised that the
Faculty felt that specific numbers were no longer appropriate since admission intakes are
managed through other processes such as SCEMP targets and budget constraints.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
i.b) ?
Paper S.09-142 - Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Business Administration (For
Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting
under delegated authority, approved minor revisions to existing courses and program
requirements in the Faculty of Business Administration.
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S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 8
ii)
Paper S.09-143 - Curriculum Revisions - Facult y
of Applied Sciences (For
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Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting
under delegated authority, approved a course deletion in the School of Computing
Science.
iii)
Paper S.09-144 - Curriculum Revisions - Facult y
of Arts and Social Sciences (For
Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting
under delegated authority, approved course deletions in Archaeology, French, and
History; Temporarily Withdrew courses in Archaeology, Criminology, Economics,
Humanities, International Studies, Greek, Language, and Linguistics; Reinstated a course
from TW status in Archaeology, and approved new courses in Women's Studies.
iv.a) Paper S.09-145 - Revision to Faculty Requirements for admission to the
TechOne Program
Moved by B. Krane, seconded by C. Moubarak
"that Senate approve a change in the Faculty requirements for admission to
the TechOne Program"
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It was pointed out that there were students who took the TechOne program and then
transferred into other Faculties. Concern was expressed that the needs of these students
would not be served if the program now became a more focused program serving only
FCAT students. Senate was advised that the TechOne program was indeed being
restructured to meet the needs of FCAT students but there were plans underway to create
separate equivalent programs in Applied Sciences and Business Administration to service
the needs of their students.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
iv.b) Paper S.09-146 - Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Communication. Art &
Technolog y
(For Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting
under delegated authority, approved minor changes to existing courses and program
requirements in the School of Communication and the TechOne program.
V)
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Paper S.09-147 - Faculty of Education - Curriculum Revisions (For Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting
under delegated authority, approved one new course and course deletions in the Faculty
of Education.
S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 9
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vi) ?
Paper S.09-148 - Facult
y
of Science - Curriculum Revisions (For Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting
under delegated authority, approved minor revisions to existing courses and program
requirements in Earth Sciences and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
E) ?
Senate Graduate Studies Committee
i)
Paper S.09-149 - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences - Curriculum Revisions (For
Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under
delegated authority, approved course deletions, new courses, and minor revisions to
existing courses and program requirements in Criminology, Economics, English,
International Studies, Liberal Studies, Political Science, and Psychology.
ii)
Paper S.09-150 - Faculty of Business Administration
- Curriculum Revisions (For
Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under
delegated authority, approved revisions to existing courses in Business Administration.
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iii) ?
Paper S.09-151 - Facult
y
of Environment - Curriculum Revisions (For
Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under
delegated authority, approved a new course in the Faculty of Environment.
iv)
Paper S.09-152 - Faculty of Health Sciences - Curriculum Revisions (For
Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under
delegated authority, approved new courses, course deletions, and minor revisions to
existing courses and program requirements in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
v)
Paper S.09-153 - Faculty of Science - Curriculum Revisions (For Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under
delegated authority, approved new courses in the Department of Biological Sciences.
F) ?
Senate Committee on Continuing Studies
i) ?
Paper S.09-154 - Annual Report (For Information)
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Senate's attention was drawn to the third paragraph on page 4 which dealt with an
agreement reached with Thompson Rivers University to ladder non-credit courses into a
credit management and professional program at TRU. A concern was expressed about
how these non-credit courses would be handled if a student transferred back to SFU. If
S.M. 7 December 2009
Page 10
these non-credit courses were given the equivalency of credit courses, this would be
problematic for Business Administration because of its accreditation status and the
accreditation review process by an external body. The Chair directed the Dean of
Continuing Studies to take this concern under advisement for future considerations of this
sort.
G)
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Senate Nominating Committee
i) ?
Paper S.09-155 - Elections
The Secretary reported that no nominations had been received and that outstanding
vacancies would be carried forward. The Senate Nominating Committee hoped to
undertake an active recruitment process to try and fill these vacancies and Senators were
encouraged to submit recommendations for nominations to J
.
Hincbliffe, Secretary of the
Senate Nominating Committee.
7.
Other Business
i) ?
Paper S.09-156 - Revision of Deans Search Committee Policy - A13.05
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by C. Moubarak
"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the
revision of A13.05, the policy regulating the search committees for Deans"
A suggestion to include a comma after the word University in the new wording under
stage 1, stage 2, terms of reference for the Dean, and number D was accepted as a friendly
amendment.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
? MOTION CARRIED
8.
Information
The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of Senate is Monday, January 11, 2010.
The Open Session adjourned at 7:55 pm, and Senate moved directly into Closed Session.
Kate Ross
Registrar and Secretary of Senate
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