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(in conjunction 

conjunction with 

MEMORANDUM

S.80-134) 

•.......SENATE 

?

.....................................From.

91•

ON AGENDA AND RULE. 

Subject..

I'PRT. .-. ? 

STUDENT    

?

. ?

198

REPRESENTATION 

On recommendation of the Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules, the above 

mentioned Report was placed on the agenda for the November meeting of Senate 

for disussion but not for the formal placing of motions on the recommenda- 

tions and actions thereon. The intent was that the Report be placed on the 

agenda for the December meeting of Senate for formal action with motions at 

that time. 

SCAR has considered with some care the nature of various meetings which have 

been held in and across Faculties since release of the Report in mid-October 

and the nature of discussion at the November meeting of Senate. It has now 

been recommended to the Chairman of Senate, and it has been accepted by him, 

that action proceed as follows: 

MOTION 1 

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"That Senate consider the Report of the Senate 

Committee on Student Representation." 

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Notes: (a) 

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If the vote on this motion is in the affirmative then Senate 

will proceed with discussion and action on the eight recom- 

mendations, and their components, of the SCSR Report, seriatim. 

Under this procedure each of the eight recommendations can be 

debated upon individually, with amendments if desired, and voted 

upon individually. Whn that is completed Senate may then vote 

upon the Report, as amended, in its entirety and/or consider any 

other appropriate motion. 

(b) ? 

If the vote under Motion 1 is in the negative, motion will be made 

as follows - i.e. a Notice of Motion for debate and action at the 

December 1 meeting. 

MOTION 2 

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"That each Faculty be directed to discharge its responsibilities 

under Section 39(b) of the University Act and to report back to 

the Chairman/Secretary of Senate by February 10, 1981. 

This motion, if placed, is open to amendment. 

(Note: The Universities Act is now called the University Act; Section 40(b) 

of the previous Act is now Section 39(b).) 

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If Motion 1 has been in the affirmative, debate and action will be undertaken 

on the following, seriatim: 

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RECOMMENDATION # 1:

That Senate adopt the f011owing statement of general principle 

regarding the participation of student representatives in the 

academic governance 

the Faculties and their respective 

departments.* ? 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Student representation is provided for in Section 40 of the 

Universities Act and is desirable in all academic decision- 

making bodies in the Faculties and their respective departments. 

2. ? 

To this end, Senate encourages students to form and maintain 

departmental student unions to promote student participation in 

the academic governance of the University. 

3. ? 

Students, as members of the academic community, have an obliga- 

tion and a responsibility to actively participate in the 

academic governance of the University. 

4. ? 

The right of students to participate in the meetings and proceed- 

ings of the Faculties and their respective departments includes 

the right of duly elected student representatives to participate 

with full voice and vote in all academic decisions of departments 

and Faculty, including decisions concerning such matters as: 

a)

class and course scheduling 

b) curriculum planning 

department speakers programs and conferences 

d)

establishing and amending procedures concerning student 

appeals 

e)

establishing meeting times and agendas 

f)

new faculty appointments 

g)

practicum and work-study programs 

h)

selection of the departmental chairperson 

i)

selection of the departmental committee chairpersons or 

coordinators 

j)

space planning and equipment purchases 

k)

student/faculty relations 

1) ? 

teaching support staff appointments 

rn) ? 

other substantive, academic matters and issues concerning 

the department and/or the Faculty. 

5. The extent. of student representation should be the subject of an 

agreement between the faculty of a.department or Faculty and the 

recognised departmental student union; and the proportion of 

The term "department" includes all academic departments and acad- 

emic administrative units including area studies programs in the 

Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies and other academic programs 

including

programs leading towards graduate and/or advanced 

degrees (e.g. M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., M.B.A., M.P.M.) 

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students to faculty initially established shall not be less than 

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the minimum specified in the regulations of Senate. 

6. ? 

In the absence of a recognise ci èpartmental student union, 

students shall nevertheless be invited and encouraged to parti- 

cipate in the meetings and proceedings of a Faculty and/or a 

department through an appropriate number of student representa- 

tives voting on all academic department or Faculty decision- 

making bodies. 

The extent of student representation and the procedures for 

obtaining student representatives shall be 

consistent

with Senate 

guidelines, and shall be the subject of an agreement between the 

Faculty and the student Forum of the Simon Fraser Student Society, 

who shall assume responsibility to assure that all established 

student positions are filled. 

- SENATE GUIDELINES: 

The Universities Act of B.C. provides that the academic governance of 

the University is vested in the University Senate. Among Senate's 

powers is the power to consider all matters reported by the Faculties 

affecting their respective departments and programs. Senate must, in 

fact, approve any general rule or regulation of a Faculty before it 

can become effective and enforceable. 

To ensure that the rules and regulations of Facul- 

ties and their respective departments regarding 

student representation are properly adopted, enfor- 

ceable and uniform, the Committee recommends: 

RECOMMENDATION

#

That Senate require each Faculty 

rules and regulations concerning 

representatives in its meetings 

for approval to Senate. 

and its departments to establish 

the participation 

student 

and proceedings and submit them 

To promote equity of treatment within and between 

the Faculties and their departments, and to ensure 

the

maintenance

of reasonable minimum standards of 

student participation in the academic governance of 

the University, the committee recommends; 

RECOMMENDATION # 3:

That Senate adopt the following guidelines 

and

approve only 

those.

rules and regulations 

of a

Faculty which substantially 

oQmpiy.

with the following guidelines: 

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1. ? 

DUE PROCESS: 

The rules and regulation regarding department and Faculty com- 

mittees and other academic decision-making bodies shall contain 

the following: 

a)

a statement of the terms of reference and membership compo- 

sition of all committees and decision-making bodies, and 

b)

the procedures that must 

followed for establishing 

regular meeting times and the convening of special meetings 

including the minimum period of notice that must be given, 

and

the minimum number of voting members of the committee or 

decision-making body required to convene and to conduct a 

meeting, and 

d) ? 

a requirement that a written record be maintained at all 

meetings 

including

the time and place, the names of the 

members who were present, and the outcome of any votes which 

are taken. 

2. MINIMUM EXTENT OF STUDENT REPRESENTATION: 

Within each Faculty and its departments, students shall be entit- 

led to elect voting representatives on committees and other 

decision-making bodies equal in number to at least one-third (1/3) 

the number of voting members of the committee except that: 

a)

in the case of committees dealing with matters 

concerning

the undergraduate curriculum, the minimum total voting 

student representation shall be one-half (1/2) the number 

of total voting members, and 

b)

in the general assemblies and general meetings of a'Facuity 

and of its departments, the minimum number of student rep-. 

resentatives entitled to be present and to vote shall be 

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.

the lesser of: 

(i)

one-third (1/3) the number of faculty entitled to 

present and to vote, or 

(ii) 

the number of student representatives who are from 

time to time holding voting positions on all 

arid decision-making bodies in the Faculty or deartznentir 

.

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,

3. ACCOUNTABILITY OF STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: 

!

The

academic 

rules 

governance 

and regulations 

of a Faculty 

regarding 

and its 

student 

departments 

participatoi 

shall 

j

jn the.? 

include: ? 

.' ? 

.

,.

a)

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a fixed and definite term of office for all elected tident 

:

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representative positions of no less than one semester and 

no more than one year, and 

b)

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a procedure which enables members of the student union to 

remove an elected representative during his/her term of 

office for failing to adequately represent the interests of 

students, and 

a procedure which enables students to fill any student rep--' 

resentative position which becomes vacant during the term 

of office of the position. 

RIGHTS OF STUDENT REPRESENTATION:

The rules regarding department and Faculty committees and other 

decision-making bodies shall state that all duly elected student 

representatives shall have the same rights, privileges and 

obligations as all other voting members of the committee or 

decision-making body; and 

a)

It is required that student representatives be recognised 

by faculty and University administrators and that student 

representatives not, in any way, be discriminated against 

for opinions voiced, nor for positions taken in the per- 

formance of their duties and responsibilities; and 

b)

Student representatives shall have reasonable access to 

administrative support services required to carry out their 

duties; and 

Student representatives shall have access to information 

including all data and communication required to carry out 

the duties of their offices. Without limiting the foregoing, 

this shall 

,

include access to the written record of 

all:: 

decisions made by the decision-making body of which they' 

are members; and 

? . ? 

. ?

'• . 

Student representatives shall be entitled tothesameadvance 

notice of meetings as all other members of a committee or. 

decision-making body, and the rules regarding advance notice 

of the items of business shall be sufficient to enable 

consultation and discussion between student representatives 

and their department student union; and, 

C) ?

The rules shall state that a voting student'xneiitber of al 

co

m

-mittee or decision-making body shall have the right to cast 

his/her vote in all cases regardless of the method of voting 

selected by the committee or decision-making body, except 

in the non-voting chair position. 

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d) The student representatives shall be entitled to all other 

rights and privileges as accorded to all other voting members. 

5

5. DEPARTMENTAL STUDENT UNIONS: 

A recognised departmen4l student union is the appropriate body 

from which student representatives are to be: obtained for 

student participation in the academic governance of the Faculties 

and their departments. 

a)

A

departmental student organisation shall be recognised as 

a Department Student Union provided it has been recognised 

by the Simon Fraser Student Society and meets. the follow- 

ing criteria: 

To be recognised the organisation must: 

i)

maintain and comply with the requirements ofa written 

constitution; and 

ii)

recognise as automatic voting members all University 

students who are members of the department, including 

graduate students, declared undergraduate majors and 

minors, and all students who are presently enrolled- 

in a University course offered by the department. 

b) A recognised departmental student union shall be entitled 

to elect its representatives to participate in the academic 

governance of the department and the Faculty in a manner of 

their own choosing and without interference or influence by 

or from a member or members of the faculty or administration 

of the University. ? 

is

6. RE-EVALUATION 

OF

RULES AND PROCEDURES: 

These guidelines are intended to provide minimum standards for 

student participation in the academic governance of the Univer- 

sity, in the meetings and proceedings of the Faculties. The 

Faculties and their departments are permitted to 

exceed these 

standards with respect to the minimum proportion of student rep- 

resentatives in their committee and decision-making bodies. 

The Faculties, the members of their respective departments, and 

the members of the departmental student unions, shall periodically 

review and re-evaluate their rules and procedures for student 

representation. The Senate expects that this review process will 

result in the submission of proposed amendments by the Faculties. 

to improve, and where appropriate, extend the participation of 

student representatives in the academic governance of their 

departments and Faculties. 

To implement recommendations 2 and 3, the Committee 

further recommends: ? 

.

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... ? 

.

RECOMMENDATION # 4:

a) ?

That having estabUshed its guidelines, Senate invite the 

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members of the Faculty and the departmental student unions 

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to carefully review the current rules and practices of their 

departments and Faclties, and, through consultation and 

discussion, attempt to develop appropriate revisions and 

amendments to satisfy the requirements of the Senate guide- 

lines. 

b)

At the Faculty level, these discussions shall occur between 

the Dean and an appropriate committee of the Simon Fraser 

Student Society with stu-ent representation from within that 

Faculty. 

c)

After this review, the Faculties and their respectivedep- 

artments shall submit to Senate for its approval written 

statements of their rules and regulations concerning the 

participation of student representation. 

Because it is only reasonable to expect that disputes 

may arise between parties, the Committee further rec- 

ommends: 

RECOMMENDATION # 5: 

That the University President or a special Senate Committee be 

S ?

made responsible for attempting to mediate between students and 

faculty whenever this assistance is requested by either or both 

of the parties. If a committee is chosen, it shall be composed 

in the same manner as the Senate Committee on Student Represent. 

ation that is composed 

two faculty elected by and from Senate, 

two students appointed by the SFSS Student Forum, and one lay 

member 

Senate, elected by and from Senate 

) the Chairperson 

elected by and from Committee members. 

RECOMMENDATION # 6; 

That whenever the addition of student representatives on a com- 

mittee threatens to make it unreasonably large and too unwieldy 

to carry out its functions, the total number 

members should 

be reduced, retaining the appropriate ration of students to 

faculty. 

Tenure and Promotion: The Committee acknowledges 

the concern that has been expressed by faculty and 

by departmental student unions concerning the . ac- 

ulty tenure and promotion decisions. We' understand 

that the procedures contained in the currentagree- 

ment between the University and 

the SFU 'áculty 

Association exclude 

the participation of student 

.representatives. Although the Committee agrees that 

student representatives ought to be able-to partic- 

ipate in these kinds of decisions, we also agree 

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that we are not well enough informed about the 

present agreement to provide specific recommenda- 

tions as to the mot appropriate method of obtaining 

student participation inthe tenure and promotion 

process. The committee therefore recommends:          

RECOMMENDATION # 7: 

The Senate strongly recommends that the University Board of 

Governors adopt a policy which would ensure that students have 

been appropriately consulted before recommendations concerning 

the

the

teaching 

promotion, 

staff 

tenure, 

of the 

dismissal 

University. 

or nonrenewal 

any member 

Senate further recommends that the President establish a special 

committee of representatives of the Student Society, the S.F.U. 

Faculty Association and lay people to recommend an appropriate 

mechanism 

this area of 

for

University 

the participation 

governance. 

student representatives 

in

Thursday Free Period: The committee heard a number 

of complaints and expressions of concern and frus- 

tration with the problems experienced by faculty 

members and by students in 

arranging 

meetings at 

times when all of the members could attend. Although 

not the only factor, the current practice of sched- 

uling classes and tutorials into every working hour 

of the week creates a significant problem for the 

scheduling of committee meetings of departments and 

Faculties and student unions. The Committee there- 

fore recommends: 

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RECOMMENDATION # 8: 

That Senate require a two-hour time period be set aside at a 

standard time during each week in which there will be no ached- 

uled classes, tutorials or labs, but will be available for the 

scheduling of meetings of departmental student unions, depart- 

mental and other committees, 

.