. DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE
Minutes of a Meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on
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Monday, May 13, 2002 at 7:00 pm in Room 3210 WMC
Open Session
Present:: Stevenson, Michael
President and Chair of Senate
S
Absent: Barrow, Robin
Chang, Jack
Clayman, Bruce
Deigrande, James
Dempster, Peter
Gill, Alison
Grimmett, Peter
Jensen, Britta
Jones, John
Kilymson, Sarah
Mauser, Gary
McArthur, James
Muirhead, Leah
Paterson, David
Sekhon, Devinder
Sirri, Odai
Tansey, Caralyn
Thandi, Ranbir
Warren, Joel
Wessel, Silvia
Wong, Milton
Yerbury, Cohn
Aloi, Santa
Atkins, Stella
Chan, Albert
Copeland, Lynn
D'Auria, John
Driver, Jon
Dunsterville, Valerie
Gerson, Carole
Haunerland, Norbert
Heaney, John
Hill, Ross
Jackson, Margaret
Jones, Cohn
Krane, Bill
Lewis, Brian
Love, Ernie
Mathewes, Rolf (representing W. Davidson)
McFetridge, Paul
McInnes, Dina
Naef, Barbara
Percival, Paul
Perry, Tom (representing J. Pierce)
Peters, Joseph
Russell, Robert
Steinbach, Christopher
Stephenson, Brock
Van Aalst, Jan
Waterhouse, John
Weldon, Larry
Wortis, Michael
Zaichkowsky, Judith
In attendance:
Grieve, Tom
Heath, Nick
Kaufman, David
Khan Hemani, Rummana
Heath, Ron, Dean of Student Services /Registrar
Watt, Alison, Director, University Secretariat
Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary
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S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 2
1.
Approval of the Agenda
The Agenda was approved as distributed.
2.
Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of April 8, 2002
The Minutes were approved as distributed.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
There was no business arising from the Minutes.
4.
Report of the Chair
The Chair acknowledged the recent loss of two senior, highly respected
colleagues - Ted Wells, recently retired member of the Department of Chemistry
and John Hutchinson, faculty member, Department of History. On behalf of
Senate, the Chair expressed condolences to members of their families.
On behalf of Senate, the Chair wished to express thanks and appreciation to
retiring members of Senate - Student Senators: Jack Chang, Peter Dempster,
Sarah Klymson, Leah Muirhead, Odai Sirri, Brock Stephenson, Christopher
Steinbach, and Caralyn Tansey; Faculty Senators: Parveen Bawa, Paul Budra,
James Deigrande, Michael Words; Convocation Senator: Albert Chan. Retiring
members who were in attendance were presented with a certificate
acknowledging their contributions to Senate.
The Chair noted the re-election of the following Senators and, on behalf of
Senate, expressed appreciation for their continued service: Student Senators:
Britta Jensen and Joel Warren; Faculty Senators: Stella Atkins, Carole Gerson,
Cohn Jones, Gary Mauser, and Paul McFetridge; Senators elected by
Convocation: Chancellor Milton Wong, Valerie Dunsterville, James McArthur,
and Silvia Wessel. Albert Chan will continue as a Convocation Senator until a
replacement has been elected.
The Chair reported that he had just completed a successful two-week trip to East
Asia in which he and other members of the University had met with Alumni and
friends of the university in a number of cities. Connections were developed
regarding institutional partnerships and projects in the following areas: a project
in Vietnam with the Asia Development Bank, a twinning program with
institutions in Malaysia and the establishment of articulation programs,
consultation in the development of a new university in Malaysia, the offering of
the Object Technology Program in Hong Kong, and an exchange agreement with
Hong Kong University along with guarantees of accommodation for SFU
exchange students.
5.
Ouestion Period
There were no questions submitted.
6.
Reports of Committees
A) Senate Committee on University Teaching and Learning
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S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 3
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i) ?
Paper S.02-30 - Annual Report (For Information)
Tom Grieve, Acting Chair of SCUTL, and David Kaufman, Director of LIDC and
Secretary to the Committee were in attendance in order to respond to questions.
Reference was made to recent email correspondence from the Faculty
Association concerning the role and use of teaching evaluations, and surprise
was expressed that reference to the work of SCUTL was not part of the debate.
Senate was informed that SCUTL had been occupied recently with the
preliminary report from the Ad Hoc Senate Committee to Review
Undergraduate Curricula and has just begun discussing teaching evaluations.
B)
Senate Appeals Board
i) ?
Paper S.02-31 - Annual Report (For Information)
Nick Heath, Director of Admissions and Secretary to the Senate Appeals Board
was in attendance in order to respond to questions. No questions were raised.
C)
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies
i)
Paper S.02-32 - CRUA 2000-2001 Report (For Information
Rummana Khan Hemani, Acting Director of Student Academic Resources and
Secretary to the Committee was in attendance in order to respond to questions.
No questions arose.
ii)
Paper S.02-33 - Revisions to Academic Standing and Continuance
Regulations
Moved by J
.
Waterhouse, seconded by P. Percival
"That Senate approve that the current regulations governing
Academic Standing and Continuance be revised, as set forth in
S.02-33, effective Fall Semester 2003"
Nick Heath, Director of Admissions, was in attendance to respond to questions.
Concern was expressed about the deletion of the 9 credit hour requirement
during the probation period. Senate was advised that the proposed revision
would still enable a student to take a light course load such as one course for
example but if the student did poorly he/she would be required to withdraw.
It was generally agreed that the document required editing.
• Reference was made to the section entitled 'Required to Withdraw' and lengthy
discussion ensued as to the intent of the revised wording and what conditions
resulted in required to withdraw status.
S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 4
A question was posed as to why the statement with regard to repeating courses
while on academic probation was being deleted. Senate was advised that the
University limit on duplicate courses was a sufficient safeguard against a student
repeating too many courses to maintain a grade point average.
It was moved by M. Wortis, seconded by R. Hill
"that the motion be tabled and the document sent back to the
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies for changes in the
wording"
It was pointed out that the regulation was extremely complicated and technical
in nature and although the document required editing, the revised document
greatly improved the situation and SCUS had done a good job in clarifying the
rules. It was suggested that the exact Calendar text could be edited for clarity. It
was pointed out that since the regulations were to take effect in September 2003,
it was more appropriate for SCUS to make the necessary changes and have the
exact wording brought back to Senate for approval.
Senate was informed that the original documentation contained several examples
which described a variety of CPA scenarios but SCAR had decided that Senate
would not want to see that much technical information and the material had
been
Question
deleted.
was
This
called,
may
and
have
a vote
contributed
taken.
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to the lack
MOTION
of clarity
TO TABLE
felt by Senate.
CARRIED
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is
ii)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate
Studies, acting under delegated authority, approved the deletion of BUEC 333
from the Upper Division Core for the Business Administration Major and Joint
Majors (with the exception of the Joint Major and Joint Honors with Economics).
iii)
Paper S.02-35 - Deletion of Courses Not Offered -
Senate regulations provide that any courses not offered within a six semester
period be deleted from the Calendar unless adequate justification for retaining
the course is presented.
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate
Studies, acting under delegated authority, approved the deletion of ACMA 455,
MATH 452, MATH 466 and MATH 471 under this regulation.
iv)
Paper S.02-36 - Reinstatement of courses from TWC Status - Computing
Science and Criminology (For Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate
Studies, acting under delegated authority, approved the reinstatement from the
S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 5
Temporary Withdrawn Category of the following courses: CMPT 411 and CRIM
.
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430.
D) ?
Senate Committee on Universit
y
Priorities
1) ?
Paper S.02-37 - External Review - Department of Linguistics
Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by P. McFetridge
"that Senate concur with the recommendations from the Senate
Committee on University Priorities concerning advice to the
Department of Linguistics on priority items resulting from the
external review as outlined in S.02-37"
In response to an inquiry about follow-up to the recommendations, Senate was
advised that there was a mechanism for reporting back as part of the function of
SCUP.
Reference was made to recommendation six with respect to the implementation
of faculty colloquia. It was suggested that departmental colloquia were an
important part of academic life and should be more widely advertised by Simon
Fraser University News. Concern was expressed about the lack of information
about ongoing campus events on the SFU web site. More co-ordination of
information by departments and Media and PR is probably required, to ensure
that the community is aware of colloquia and other events.
Reference was made to the external review procedure in general. It was noted
that Senate appeared to be micromanaging in setting priorities for a department
and a Senator asked if this was normal. Senate was advised that for the past
several years the practice has been for SCUP, in consultation with the Dean of the
Faculty and the Chair of the Department, to develop a detailed set of priorities.
Question arose as to what would happen if a department did not meet the
priorities agreed to. It was pointed out that the priorities are phrased as
recommendations and comment was made that they can also be used by a
department as leverage to request the support they need from the Dean.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
ii) ?
Paper S.02-38 - Annual Report -
Question arose with respect to the external review procedure for non-academic
departments and how it is determined whether or not reviews come to Senate.
Senate was advised that non-academic departments are not reviewed on a
regular cycle and it is not customary for such reviews to go to SCUP or Senate
unless the focus of the review is centrally-related to the academic mission of the
university, such as the Library. In the case of Student Services, the review was
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presented to SCUP because of the potential impact the review would have on the
university budget.
S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 6
iii)
Pal2er
Planning
S.02-39
Committees
— Mandate and MembershiI2 of SCUP Committees (For ?
•
Senate received information with respect to the mandate and composition of the
two academic planning committees for SFU at Surrey.
iv)
Paper S.02-40 - External Reviews Scheduled for the 2002/2003 Academic
Year (For Information)
Senate received information that the following external reviews have been
scheduled for the 2002/2003 academic year: Engineering Science, Resource and
Environment Management, Contemporary Arts, Economics, Sociology and
Anthropology, and Earth Sciences.
E) ?
Senate Graduate Studies Committee
i)
Paper S.02-41 —Graduate Curriculum Revisions -
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting
under delegated authority, approved the following special topics courses: BUS
770, 771, 772, 773,561 and 562.
ii)
Paper S.02-42 - Graduate Curriculum Revisions - Facult
y
of Education
(For Information)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting
under delegated authority, approved the following new courses: EDUC 854, 856,
and 861.
F) ?
Senate Committee on Enrolment Management and Planning
i) ?
Paper S.02-43 - Undergraduate Admission Targets for 2002/03
Moved by J
.
Waterhouse, seconded by B. Lewis
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the undergraduate admission targets, as set forth in
S.02-43, for each basis-of-admission group and for each semester in
2002/03, and that SCEMP be delegated authority to make
adjustments based on actual enrolment experience in 2002-2 and
2002-3; and
that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the undergraduate admission targets to each Faculty as
indicated in the Tables set out in S.02-43, and that SCEMP be
delegated authority to make adjustments based on actual
enrolment experience in 2002-2 and 2002-3"
Typographical errors were noted in the semester dates in the last part of Table 1.
S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 7
• Reference was made to the proposed increase of admissions to the Faculty of
Education. Senate was advised that the Faculty had decreased the number of
students being admitted to graduate professional programs which resulted in a
related increase in the undergraduate enrolment.
Question arose about the decrease to proposed enrolments in the Faculty of
Business Administration and Senate was advised that this was an attempt to
compensate for an over enrolment in the current semester.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
7. ?
Other Business
i) ?
Paper S.02-44 - Student Senator Parking Privileges
Moved by A. Chan, seconded by C. Steinbach
"That Senate recommend to the Vice-President, Finance and
Administration that effective September 2002, free parking
privileges should be removed from student senators who attended
fewer than 75% of all Senate meetings that were held within their
term of office during the previous semester"
Senate's attention was drawn to the attendance rate of the student senators over
the past year. It was pointed out that Lay Members of Senate and the Board are
entitled to receive a Special Parking Pass but students were the only members of
Senate to receive a regular parking permit free of charge. This had been the
practice for many years. As a result, it was felt that some students were running
for Senate in order to obtain a. parking pass and if the pass was revoked due to
poor attendance at Senate, it might discourage students who are only interested
in the parking permit from running for office.
Discussion followed with respect to the proposed 75% attendance requirement.
It was suggested that revocation of a parking permit was not an appropriate way
to deal with the problem of non-attendance. Furthermore, the penalty for poor
attendance was that the designated group was not represented. It was also
mentioned that Student Senators participate in a variety of university and Senate
committees and perhaps parking passes could be supplied on a meeting to
meeting basis. Discussion ensued as to how this might be organized for the
+1-
250 meetings per year.
Amendment moved by J. Zaichkowsky, seconded by A. Chan (for constructive
debate purposes only)
"That parking privileges be provided only on a meeting to meeting
basis"
Qu
esti o n
was called, and a vote taken.
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AMENDMENT FAILED
S.M. 13 May 2002
Page 8
Amendment moved by P. Percival, seconded by J
.
D'Auria
"That Senate advise the Vice President Finance and Administration
that some student senators are not fulfilling their responsibilities
and request that the award of parking privileges be reconsidered"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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AMENDMENT FAILED
Question was called on the original motion and a vote taken.
MAIN MOTION FAILED
The Chair noted that there was obviously sympathy in principle and that serious
efforts should be devoted to considering how to improve student participation
on Senate.
ii)
Notice of Motion - T. Warren
The following Notice of Motion was received from Senator Joel Warren:
"Whereas; there have been revelations of administrative
misconduct with regard to the candidacy of David Noble to the
Woodsworth Chair on the part of President Stevenson, Vice-
President Academic Waterhouse, Dean of Arts John Pierce, and
Associate Vice-President Academic Judith Osborne;
Be it resolved that Senate demands the resignation of Stevenson,
Waterhouse, Pierce, and Osborne"
It was suggested that such a motion would be out of order since it calls
upon Senate to exercise a power which it does not have. This will be
considered by the Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules.
iii)
Paper S.02-45 - Election Report - Spring 2002 - Senate and Board of
Governors (For Information)
Senate received a report of the results of the Convocation Election (Chancellor
and Convocation Senators) and the results of student and faculty elections to
Senate and the Board of Governors for information.
8.
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Information
The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of Senate is Monday, June 3,
2002.
Open Session adjourned at 8:30 pm and moved directly into Closed Session.
Alison Watt
Director, University Secretariat