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To . 

SENATE            

.,

?

.,.

From

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGENDA

AND

RULES

STUDENT REPRESENTATION

JANUARY 24, 1978

Subect...

................................................ Date

......................................

.............

^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

. ?

SIMON FRASERI STUDENT SOCIETY

To ?

V...         

..From........8rad Palmer ? 

.

Sublect

S

t u d ent R a 

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

ftss, I

SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MIMOIANDUM

To

?

SENATE 

?

From

.. ? ..

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." 

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. 

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- 

?

?

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, 

-

th .1

the s todi. nt commurL I ty that serve to focus at Lrtion on th 

r1

of

tudent jnvolietnent .i ri uni vers. it.y govrrnance . i-orh;ipr H ' 

siniJieant o? tJen

developments has

been in i_ho f'orsiti: 

?

i '

'irpart- 

menti.1. r tuient, c: 

?

nizat.ions or student union 

­

.

In

?

iust of l/ ? 

the Simon 

T'raser 

Student Se'' ' .: 

?

rco ?

. ?

of Student 

UrI.ort 

Fieldworker as a full-time 

taft 

position 

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 

?

c) i 

?

o w:.; 

.3... 

?

-3-

"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. 

4 ?

r)c4.