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To

....................SENATE 

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B.C. WILSON ? 

VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC 

.......... .DELEGATIONOFRESPONSIBILITY 

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OCTOBER 14, 191 

SCUS 

MOTION: 

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"That Senate's responsibility for review and.. 

approval of changes in prerequisites and other 

regulations for admission to courses be dele- 

gated to the Senate Committee on Undergraduate 

Studies, with such delegation to apply to 

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changes for entry to courses for the forth- 

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coming Spring Semester 72-1 only." 

ANS AND CHAIRMEN OF DEPARTMENTS 

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B. C. WILSON 

To

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

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

DE

VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC 

OCTOBER 8, 1971 

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SYSTEM 

INTRODUCTION 

FOR SPRING 

OF PRE-REGISTRATION 

SEMESTER 72-1 

At its meeting on December 1, 1969, Senate approved the 

principle of pre-registration. The Student Society had already 

passed a motion endorsing the concept of computerized pre- 

registration. Considerable developmental work and money have now 

been expended to develop a system of pre-registration for this 

institution. The President has outlined, in recent communications, 

a number of the advantages which would accrue from implementation 

of this system. 

There have recently been meetings between the Registrar 

and Academic Planner with Deans, Chairmen and Departmental Assist- 

ants together with other involved staff to provide information 

about the nature of the pre-registration system and to seek co- 

operation. These discussions have identified a number of problems 

requiring resolution before the system can be implemented. Among 

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the most significant is the issue of prerequisites and other 

requirements which have influence upon the admission of students 

to individual courses. Let me identify three specific problems. 

1.

The accommodation of the requirement of "permission 

of instructor and/or permission of the department" 

within a mail pre-registration system. 

2.

Checking pre-registration forms to ensure that students 

enrolled in courses have fulfilled stated prerequisites. 

3.

The accommodation of waivers for individual students 

where prerequisite requirements to individual courses 

have been waived by the instructor. 

Continuation of the present policy wherein each department 

approves the enrolment of each student into any one of its courses 

would necessitate the movement of individual student documentation 

from office to office for such individual approvals to be obtained. 

Such a procedure is unworkable under a pre-registration system due 

to time and other constraints. It was the original intention to 

provide for the approval of student course elections to be given 

either by the department in which a student was a fully declared 

major or intended major or, where no major was declared, by the 

office of the Dean of the Faculty in which the student was enrolled. 

This presumes that each of the approving agencies has familiarity 

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with the regulations pertaining to course/subject areas across the 

entire university. Objection to the proposed procedure has been 

expressed both because of the complexity of regulations across the 

university, particularly in their Calendar description, and the work-- 

load involved. 

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Consideration has therefore been given to alternative ap- 

proaches which might provide satisfactory resolution of these 

difficulties. It is my intention, therefore, to implement the 

following policies: 

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A) ? 

Throughout the pre-registration process, students will 

have the opportunity to pre-register in courses of their 

choice subject only to the constraints of space and the 

availability of instructional staff. It will be the 

responsibility of each student to ensure that he possesses 

the required prerequisites for each.course which he elects 

to take; there will be no subsequent check to ensure that 

he has in fact completed mandatory prerequiste courses 

successfully or has obtained the approval of the instructor 

and/or the department, where such is stipulated in the 

Calendar. 

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• B) ? 

Following the pre-registration system, class lists will be 

provided to each course instructor. Each student will be 

instructed to bring his transcript with him on the first 

date of each class so that, if instructors wish, they may 

check to ensure that students have fulfilled prerequisites 

for that particular course. A student who has met the 

requirements of the course as stipulated in the Calendar 

cannot be required to withdraw from the course by the 

instructor; a student who has not met the requirements of 

the course as stipulated in the Calendar may be required 

to withdraw from the course by the instructor. 

These policies will apply both in those instances where pre- 

requisites are stated and where permission of the instructor and/or 

department is required. 

Because of the introduction of these policies, some depart- 

ments and program committees may wish to reconsider the nature of the 

requirements for their course offerings as stated in the present 

Calendar. 

Normally changes in prerequisites and other regulations for 

admission to courses require Senate approval, following recommendation 

through the appropriate Faculty Curriculum Committees. It is my intent 

to ask Senate, for entry to the forthcoming semester only, to delegate 

responsibility for its review to the Senate Committee on Undergraduate 

Studies. 

Assuming that Senate approves this action, then subject to the 

approval of the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies of. recommenda- 

tions from Faculty Curriculum Committees, the following policies will 

apply for the Spring semester 72-1: 

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A) ? 

Where a course already has stated prerequisites, these may 

be reduced in number or removed completely but no additional 

requirements can be stipulated. 

B) Where a course now requires approval of instructor and/or 

approval of department, specific prerequisites may be 

proposed as an alternative. In those special cases where 

permission of the instructor/department is retained, a 

student who has pre-registered may be required to withdraw 

at the discretion of the instructor/department. Such a 

student who is currently on campus may, of course, seek 

approval of the instructor/department prior to the pre- 

registration procedure. For students not on campus, this 

provision may cause some concern with potentially adverse 

results on enrolments in these particular courses. 

It is essential that any modifications to cover these special 

cases be submitted to me from the Deans of Faculties and Divisions as 

quickly as possible and in no case later than October 26th. 

For the benefit of individual students, your own department 

and the general academic advising offices of the university, I regard 

it as essential that course requirements be set forth with maximum 

clarity. While students will be strongly urged to seek prior academic 

advising in order to identify requisites, the effect of our efforts 

will be considerably enhanced if we can have your cooperation in further 

• ? clarifying your own course requirements. 

I believe that these policies represent the most viable 

solution to what is clearly a very difficult problem; I recognize that 

their implementation under very real time constraints may cause some 

inconvenience for departments but I hope you will bear with us as we 

move towards implementation of the pre-registration system. Any 

comments and suggestions will of course be carefully considered. 

(B. G. Wilson) 