DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE
Minutes of a meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on Monday, November 2,
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1998 at 5:30 pm in Room 3210 West Mall Centre
Open Session
Present:
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Blaney, Jack, President and Chair
Akins, Kathleen
Barrow, Robin
Boland, Larry
Bowman, Marilyn
Burton, Lynn Elen
Chan, Albert
Clayman, Bruce
Copeland, Lynn
D'Auria, John
Dunsterville, Valerie
Emerson, Joseph
Emmott, Alan
Finley, David
Fletcher, James
Gagan, David
Giffen, Ken
Gillies, Mary Ann
Harris, Richard
Heaney, W. John
Jones, Cohn
Kanevsky, Lannie
Kirczenow, George
Lewis, Brian
Marteniuk, Ron
Mathewes, Rolf
Mauser, Gary
Morris, Joy
Naef, Barbara
Ogloff, James
Osborne, Judith
Overington, Jennifer
Percival, Paul
Peterson, Louis
Peters, Joseph
Pierce, John
Reader, Jason
Russell, Robert
Waterhouse, John
Weeks, Daniel
Wortis, Michael
Absent:
Beattie, Suzan
Berggren, Len
Cheng, Winnie
Coleman, Peter
Dhillon, Khushwant
Jones, John
McInnes, Dina
Russell, Maya
Sanghera, Balwant
Segal, Joseph
Veerkamp, Mark
Warsh, Michael
Wickstrom, Norman.
Zazkis, Rina
In attendance:
Brockman, Joan
Brown, Robert
Heath, Nick, Acting Registrar
Watt, Alison, Director, Secretariat Services
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Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary
S.M.2/11/98
Page
The Chair welcomed Senate member Lynn Copeland, Librarian pro tern, and
first
Kathryn
meeting
Aberle,
of Senate,
newly
and
appointed
recognized
Director
the presence
of Media
of
and
Jack
Public
Kowarsky,
Relations,
Chair
to
of
their
the
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at
Board of Governors.
1.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The Chair requested that item listed under Report of the Chair - Burnaby Mountain
Community Corporation Board - be moved to Item 6 under Other Business.
Following this change, the Agenda was approved as amended.
2.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF OCTOBER 5, 1998
Typographical errors were noted with respect to the second paragraph on page 3
and the third paragraph on page 4 regarding the word 'policies' which was printed
as 'polices'. Following this correction, the Minutes were approved.
3.
BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
Reference was made to the recent headline in SF News which announced Senate's
support of the President's two-year agenda. It was noted that Senate had not
approved an official statement of support and suggestion was made that SF News
should be more objective in the way Senate activities are reported.
4.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR
There was no report from the Chair.
5.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
a) SENATE NOMINATING COMMITTEE
i) Paper S.98-83 - Elections
The following are the results of elections to the following Senate Committees:
Senate Committee on Academic Planning (SCAP) and Senate Committee on
University Budget (SCUB)
One Student Senator to replace Lawrence Tam from date of election to May 31,
2000.
Elected by acclamation:
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Khushwant Dhillon
Senate Committee on Continuing Studies (SCCS)
One Student Senator to replace Lawrence Tam from date of election to May 31,
2000.
Elected by acclamation: ?
Albert Chan
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S.M. 2/11/98
Page 3
Sb) UNIVERSITY BOARD ON STUDENT DISCIPLINE (UBSD)/SENATE
COMMITTEE ON DISCIPLINARY APPEALS (S CODA)
PaDer S.98-84 - Annual Re
p
ort (For Information
Joan Brockman, Coordinator of the UBSD was in attendance in order to respond to
questions.
It was pointed out that the statistics provided in the third sentence of the first
paragraph on page 2 did not add up. The Chair indicated that the figures would be
checked.
Secretary's Note: The sentence should be corrected as follows - Of the nine cases
heard by the University Board on Student Discipline, eight
(delete seven)
were
cases involving allegations of academic dishonesty, two
(delete three)
cases of
plagiarism, three cases of altering examinations or marks, two cases of cheating on
examinations, and one case of submitting an assignment used in another course,
and one was a case of non-academic misconduct.
Reference was made to the first paragraph on page 3 wherein a misplaced
quotation mark was noted in the third line. The phrase - with no specific
membership composition required - was an editorial addition rather than part of
the quoted change. The Chair noted the correction.
Following the above amendments, the Annual Report of UBSD/SCODA was
received by Senate.
c)
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC PLANNING
i) Paper S.98-85 - Dissolution of Institutes and Centres (For Information)
Senate received information concerning the dissolution of the following Institutes
and Centres: Institute for Business and Innovation Studies (Schedule B), Institute of
Human Factors and Interface Technology (Schedule A), and Centre for Human
Independence Engineering (Schedule A).
d)
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC PLANNING/SENATE GRADUATE
STUDIES COMMITTEE
i) Paper S.98-86 - Graduate Calendar Revisions - Engineering Science (For
Information)
Senate received information that SGSC, acting under delegated authority, approved
a change of description for ENSC 890 and a new course - ENSC 800.
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Page 4
ii)
Paper S.98-87 - Graduate Calendar Revisions - Resource and Environmental
Management (For Information)
Senate received information that SGSC, acting under delegated authority, approved
editorial changes to requirements and to the description of elective courses in the
Master's Program.
iii)
Paper S.98-88 - Graduate Calendar Revisions -
Administration (For Information)
Senate received information that SGSC, acting under delegated authority, approved
changes to the Executive MBA Program, including changes to degree completion
requirements, Weeknight and Weekend Residential Program Schedule, course
sequence, electives, list of core courses, new courses - MBA 601, 602; and minor
editorial changes to a number of existing courses.
iv)
P
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r S.98-89 - Graduate Calendar
Senate received information that SGSC, acting under delegated authority, approved
a Ph.D. emphasis in Mathematics Education, including a new course - EDUC 946.
e) SENATE POLICY COMMITTEE ON SCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS AND
BURSARIES
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i) Paper S.98-90 - Annual Report (For Information)
J. D'Auria, Senator and Chair of the SPCSAB was in attendance in order to respond
to questions.
It was pointed out that under current regulations, the marks received by
undergraduate students on formal exchange programs do not get calculated for
scholarships during the period of exchange. It was suggested that this was unfair to
students and an inquiry was made as to whether SPCSAB was the appropriate
committee to review this regulation. Senate was informed that role of SPCSAB was
to look at regulations of this kind and a request was made to the Senator raising the
issue to provide a written submission to the Committee for consideration.
The increased value of graduate scholarships was noted and it was commented that
this was a very positive move by the Committee.
1) SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGENDA AND RULES
I) Paper S.98-91 - Change in Terms of Reference - Senate Policy Committee on
Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries
Moved by D. Gagan, seconded by L. Boland
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Ot
S.M. 2/11/98
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"that the annual reporting date for SPCSAB be changed in the
committee's terms of reference to October from June"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
ii) Paper S.98-92 - Motion on Committee concerning Information Policies
Moved by D. Gagan, seconded by
J.
Reader
"that a working group be established, composed of two faculty
members and one student, all selected by SCAR, and the University
Archivist/FOl/POP Coordinator, to explore and recommend
implementation processes to be incorporated into I 10.10 to comply
with the FOl/POP legislation regarding the return of assignments and
exams"
Amendment moved by M. Words, seconded by L. Boland
"that the last phrase 'regarding the return of assignments and exams'
be struck and replaced with 'and which are reasonably convenient
for faculty"
The intention of the amendment was to broaden the motion slightly so that it
applied to the whole of policy 110.10 rather than the specific section dealing with
the return of assignments and exams.
Question was called on the amendment,
and a vote taken. ?
AMENDMENT CARRIED
Question was called on the main motion,
and a vote taken.
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MAIN MOTION (AS AMENDED) CARRIED
- Proeress
le
Moved by D. Gagan, seconded by
J.
Morris
"that the Schedule of Dates for the academic year 1999/2000 (99-3,
2000-1 and 2000-2) as recommended by the Registrar and as set out
in the attached documentation be approved by Senate"
It was noted that the Fall semester included two Monday statutory holidays with an
added Monday at the end, but the Summer semester in which there were also two
statutory holidays did not have an extra Monday added at the end. It was pointed
out that the Summer schedule followed the normal pattern and had not been
changed.
Amendment moved by L. Boland, seconded by M. Wortis
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"that an extra Monday be added to the end of the Summer semester
similar to that done for the Fall semester"
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It was pointed out that the amendment affected many other dates, not just the one
day.
Discussion about the technicalities of adding one additional day ensued. Items
included a suggestion for a compressed exam period, a brief discussion about
requirements allowing either a one day or a two day break prior to the start of
exams, and a discussion about the maximum number of exams a student may be
asked to sit in one day.
Opinion was expressed that more time was needed to consider the proposal and
inquiry was made as to the urgency of the issue. Senate was advised that it could
wait until the December meeting but not any longer than that.
Moved by P. Percival, seconded by L. Boland
"that the issue be tabled to the next meeting of Senate"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION TO TABLE CARRIED
It was understood that the Registrar would come back with another Calendar
proposal which reflected the amendment to add an extra Monday to the Summer
semester so that Senate would be in a position at the December meeting to select
between the two alternatives.
Although there would be an opportunity for full debate on the entire proposal at
Senate, Senators were invited to submit any specific concerns to the Registrar while
this is being looked at again.
6. ?
OTHER BUSINESS
i) Paper 98-94 - Burnaby Mountain Community Corporation
Robert Brown, President Designate of the Burnaby Mountain Community
Corporation was in attendance in order to respond to questions. The following
draft documents were distributed at the meeting for discussion and advice of
Senate:
- Mandate: Burnaby Mountain Community Corporation
- Composition of the Board and Meetings
- Terms of Reference - Advisory Committee
Senators were reminded that motions to amend the draft documents would not be
entertained but Senate could propose and pass motions which would take the form
of advice to the Board of Governors, and the full nature of the discussion would
also be reported to the Board.
S.M. 2/11/98
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R. Brown briefly described the consultation process followed thus far. Meetings
with twenty-five campus groups had taken place and the majority of those
consulted strongly supported the project and in most cases there had been no
criticism of the proposed mandate or steering committee drafts. The proposed
composition of the Corporate Board was not included in the consultation process
because it had only recently been drafted following receipt of legal advice. The
Student Society had expressed opposition to the proposed composition of the
Corporate Board and suggested that the Board be based on a 'stakeholder model'.
A 'stakeholder model' endorsed the concept of equal representation but the
Steering Committee felt that the Board should be a working committee capable of
running a very large business. The input from Senate would be taken to the
Steering Committee for further discussion, and the proposals would then be taken
to the November meeting of the Board of Governors for approval. Expectations are
that once the Corporation is formed, the planning process for the master plan
which would involve a campus wide consultation phase would commence. Once
designed, the master plan would come to Senate for discussion before going to the
Corporate Board and Board of Governors for approval. An envisioning document
would also be presented to Senate for input. The purpose of the envisioning
document was to project into the future how the University wanted the community
to look like in ten or fifteen years and the intent was to work back in the
development of the master plan from that projected image. However, the
Consultants hired to.prepare the envisioning document were overdue with their
submission.
Discussion took: place with respect to the draft documents, and the following
comments and suggestions were made by one or more members of Senate:
Mandate
-
It was suggested that the opening statement of the Mandate be clarified with
respect to the term 'University property' so that it is defined as being the
property associated with the development and not the entire campus
- It was suggested that the nature and purpose of the University Club might be
revisited in the context of the development project
Composition of the Board and Meetings
- Preference was expressed for Option 2 over Option 1
- The omission of a staff member on the Board was noted
- A discrepancy in wording between Option 1 and Option 2 was pointed out
with respect to the expertise of the external experts
- Terms of office for members of the Board of Directors should be specified, and
terms should be staggered to provide continuity in membership
- It was suggested that one additional faculty member and one additional student
be added to the Board as it would be preferable to have more than one person
speaking for each group
- The issue of publicizing minutes from meetings was raised and Senate was
given assurance ,
that minutes of Board meetings would be published on the
Web
S.M.2/11/98
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Membership of the Vice-President, Research was felt to be peripheral to the
Board and a potential conflict of interest was noted with respect to issues
affecting Discovery Park
It was recommended that the Chair of the Advisory Committee be made a
member of the Board in order to provide a built-in liaison between the two
bodies
Terms of Reference - Advisor
y
Committee
- Senate was advised that the Faculty Association Executive had expressed
preference to elect the faculty representatives and the wording would be
changed to reflect this recommendation
- It was suggested that the staff might prefer to elect their representative
Inquiry was made as to why the Advisory Committee included community
representatives from the Burnaby Mountain Preservation Society and the Stoney
Creek Residents' Association. It was felt that the University would want to be very
sensitive to environmental issues and since these two environmental groups focus
primarily on Burnaby Mountain their advice would be helpful and very much
appreciated.
Brief discussion ensued with respect to the area of expertise expected from external
experts, and Senate was advised that real estate, marketing, development, and law
would be included.
It was noted that UBC had experienced many pitfalls in their community
development project and it was hoped that SFU would not make the same
mistakes. In terms of the development of residential housing, Senate was advised
that UBC had passed on what they have learned to SFU. It was pointed out that
UBC had developed a unilateral corporate housing venture without following the
same consultative planning process which SFU has undertaken. SFU has also
deliberately chosen a mandate with two objectives: one primary purpose of the
development is to develop more of a community on campus; the second is to
establish a revenue source for the University.
The Chair thanked Senate for its advice and comments which he indicated would
be forwarded to the Board of Governors for consideration.
7. ?
INFORMATION
The date of the next regular meeting of Senate is scheduled for Monday, December
7, 1998.
The Open Session adjourned at 6:40 pm. Following a brief recess, the Assembly moved
into Closed Session.
Alison Watt
Director, Secretariat Services