SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
?
MEMORANDUM
To .
SENATE
.,
?
.,.
From
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGENDA
AND
RULES
STUDENT REPRESENTATION
?
JANUARY 24, 1978
Subect...
................................................ Date
......................................
S
.............
^11
Attached is a draft regarding the nature
and
terms of
reference of a proposed ad hoc Senate Committee on Student Repre-
sentation, submitted by Senator Brad Palmer.
Upon the recommendation of the Senate Committee on
Agenda
and
Rules and with the concurrence of Senator Palmer, the
proposal. with accompanying rationale is
now presented to Senate
for Information
and
informal
discussion at its February 6, 1978
meeting.
It is intended that after determining the general desires
of Senate, the Senate Committee on Agenda
and
Rules in cooperation
with the proposer of the original request will undertake to present
a proposal for formal consideration by Senate at its meeting on
March 6, 1978.
It is intended that discussion at the February meeting
not exceed thirty minutes.
0
ASSOCIATION dn
ETUDIANTSI SiMON FRASER
. ?
d.
SIMON FRASERI STUDENT SOCIETY
To ?
V...
..From........8rad Palmer ?
.
Sublect
S
t u d ent R a
v
r one n t a t i on
.......8
97
............................................
The draft ?
eneLoi*diLcdor*ta the points we agreed to in our
4•j
discussion ttbt8 or4n
?
g;d$.g the nature and terms of reference of
the prop000d-4onatO l tevo g
f-tti#"Vii student representation. I have also
incorporáted'a
few
e44px.aggsstions regarding terms of reference
and coinppsiti.on. If
.
yth j
t i
Ibt further discussion would be useful
before the Tuesday meeting of S.C.A.R. please leave word wüh the SFSS
Secretary at Local 3181
Hank
Benoit is in the process of preparing a samewhat lengthly rationale for
our proposal which he will forward to you at the beginning of next week.
.
simon freest unlvstsfty
I
barneby 2, b.c.
I
t&spion8291-3181
.mkm'sfts simon
ftss, I
burnaby 2, c.-b.
I
tslsfon 251-3111
SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
?
MIMOIANDUM
To
?
SENATE
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From
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.. ? ..
NOTICE OF NOTION - FOR DISCUSSION AT
Subad ?
MARCH
MEETICOFSgNATE .....................
D&...
JANUARY 23, 1978
MOTION: "That Senate establish the Senate Committee on
Student Representation (SCSR), ad hoc, Reporting
Category "C".
The terms of reference shall be:
I. To develop and recommend to Senate a set of
guidelines for student representation in University
governance in
a.
the Faculties and their committees, and
b.
the academic Departments and Programs and their
committees.
2.
These guidelines shall be used to assist Senate
in consideration of all rules submitted to Senate
by the faculties concerning student representation
in la. and lb. above.
3.
These guidelines shall also assist the individual
faculties in establishing rules and regulations
regarding student representation in Faculties,
academic Departments and Programs.
4.
This committee shall invite submissions from all of
the Faculty Deans, chairpersons of academic Departments
and Programs, departmental student unions and other
interested parties.
5.
The meetings and proceedings of this committee shall be
open to all interested members of the University
community.
6. This committee shall make its recommendations to Senate
not later than October 31, 1978.
The composition of this Committee shall be as follows;
- two faculty members elected by and from the members of
Senate, and
- two students appointed by the SFSS Student Forum, and
- one person elected by Senate from among the lay members
of Senate.
The chairperson shall be elected by and from the members
of the committee."
E1
.
S
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RATIONALE
The proposal to establish a Senate committee on student representation
should be seen as part of a continuing process of defining an appropriate
role for students in the governance of the University. In the
early
spring of 197 the Committee on Student Rights for Participation in
University (overnance was established in the Faculty of Arts. This
committee was chaired by the former dean of
the
Faculty, W.A.S. Smith,
and it was created at the reouest of President Jewett as a way of
initiating what was hoped to become a university-wide review of the
issue of student representation.
The Smith Committee saw as its terms of reference to collect informa-
tion and then make recommendations for ways to improve the involvement
of students in the governance activities of the University.
The Committee collected copies of departmental constitutions and policies
and procedures regarding student representation. Unfortunately, for
several reasons it was unable to complete its pins for a set of meetin:s
(or interviews) with department chairpersons,. faculty members and mem-
bers of student unions. The Committee was also unsuccessful in soliciting
written submissions from these and other interested parties.
5
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In his final report Dean Smith cited the following as among .he reasons
for the Committee's inability to complete its work:
1 • a problem in maintaining a constant and complete mi'mbershi.p
in part as a result (lif.licnities causr'd by the su ncr nemeste'
2. the lack of well established student unions in most of the
departments of the Faculty.
In this same report Dean Smith made the
fnl
iowir recommondn Lions:
'...it seems to me essential that the focus move from the Faculty
to the University level if real progress beyond the descriptive
or data collecting phase is to occur. Thus i think it is impor-
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tant that your (President Jewett's) o
ff
ce, possibl:
?
rou'h
ibe appointment or de-legation
of respon: IL 1 i ty for cha Hing.
the act iv ii
en,
assume responsibility
for
Lhr
(ommi
tteC.
It is important to note that since the writin' of this
renrt;
(Sept. 3.),
I
9i()
there have been a number of s igni i. cant develo
p
ment,
-
v
?
th .1
ti
the s todi. nt commurL I ty that serve to focus at Lrtion on th
r1
of
s
tudent jnvolietnent .i ri uni vers. it.y govrrnance . i-orh;ipr H '
siniJieant o? tJen
?
developments has
been in i_ho f'orsiti:
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i '
'irpart-
menti.1. r tuient, c:
?
nizat.ions or student union
.
In
?
iust of l/ ?
the Simon
T'raser
Student Se'' ' .:
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rco ?
,
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of Student
UrI.ort
Fieldworker as a full-time
taft
position
Us
n' ?
... Hi.
a ?
counsel students in the formation and deveiopment of
sL:;srit
urilor.;.
in Sptemher the members of the SFSS Executive Council established
a standi.r committee to administer a system of semesterly operating
grants and other funds required to finance the operations of' the
unions.
To .lepitimize this new level of student irvolvemerit major revisions
-2 -
in the Student socibty's constitution were approved by the rnemhershi
at there annual general meeting. A new by-law was incorporated which
clearly
states
the conditions that must he satisfied for a student
union to be recognized by the Society as the legitimate medium of
student representation within a university department or academic
program. Finally the primary policy-making body of the Student Society
was altered to provide the members of each student union with a voting
representative on the new Student Forum.
Since the time when Dean Smith presented his final report to President
Jewett there has been a dramatic increase in the number of established
and recognized departmental student unions. At present there are no
less than eighteen student unions out of a potential total of twenty
five if one includes General Studies and the five area studies programs
of the Faculty of T.D.S. The students, working, through their depart-
mental student unions are now in an excellent 'position to respond to
a request for submissions from the proposed Senate committee on student
representation.
In addition to these structural or organizational changes there have
been a number of events in recent months which point to the need
for a clear set of guidelines to claify the ri.hts of students to
participate in the governance of the University in the Faculty and
Departmental levels.
There continues to exist a number of academic departments which
operate without voting studfnt representatives on any departmental
committees. Among those departments which make some provision ror
student representation there continues to exist a significant; variation.
Wany Faculties and departpents provide for student representation only
on their standing committees and not within their "general meetings"
which usually retains the authority for making "final' decisions on
most questions of (ii rec t concern to students.
Durinr the previous semester the members of several student unions
have made attempts to obtain representation on (1epartment11 corn-
mi.ttes and general meeting. These attempts have largely beer unsuc-
cessful in part as a result of the lack of a clear set of guidelines
or policy within their particular Faculties.
The recent experience of several student unions with the S.C.U.S.
grading proposals has also served to illustrate the need for the
establishment of a clear and consistant set of minimum standarti:.;
for student representation. These student unions found that they
were not able to fully part ic.i.pate through elected representa tives
in their Department's consideration of the grading proposals.
The 5:-sue of student representation was also a topic of cons idesable
discuss ion at the Common Coals Workshop held in
:ie
It Is
NOT
of l ?
t: year. Among the students , faculty mernhc'
?
adm I n
ts-i
tor:.
who at tended the conference there was general ag :s.en t as I
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o w:.;
.3...
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"The .
Senate should strike a Senate
Governance. The Committee should
representation, especially at the
toward University-wide standards.
Committee on University
work toward more student
Departmental level, and
from the minutes of the
Conference as recorded by
Bill Stewart, Director,
Student Services
As a final point it is interesting to note,hat since the passage of
the new Universities' Act the only Faculty, to our knowledge, that
has proposed rules and regulations concerning student representation
has been the Faculty of Arts. At the request of representatives of
the Simon Fraser Student Society
.
, Dean Munro has agreed to postpone
bringing the proposed regulation before Senate until Senate has had
an opportunity to develop policy to ensure the consistent treatment
of proposed rules and regulations of a similar nature which should
he forthcoming from the other Faculties of the University.
In conclusion
.
, thereis a pressing need for Senate to establish a
clear set of guidelines, concerning student representation. The
• members of the student community see this issue as a high priority,
and, working through their departmental student unions, they are
prepared to co-operate in every possible way with a Senate committee
formed for this purpose.
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