. DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SENATE OF SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY HELD
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ON MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 1995 IN ROOM 3210 WMX, 7:00 P.M.
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OPEN SESSION
.
Present: ?
Stubbs, J.O., Chair
Alderson, E.
Amason, K.
Barrow, R.
Blaney, J.
Boland, L.
Bullock, D.
Chan, K.
Cina A.
Clayman, B.
Cohen, M.
Crawford, C.
D'Auria, J.
Dhir, A.
Driver, J.
Einstein, D.
Etherington, L.
Hater, L.
Heinrich, K.
Hoeflich, K.
Jones, C.H.W.
Lord, T.
Luk,W.S.
Marteniuk, R.
Mathewes, A.
McInnes, D.
Morrison, T.
Munro, J.
Naef, B.
Osborne, J.
Percival, P.
Perr
y
, T.
Peterson, L.
Rawicz, A.
Sanghera,. B.
Shapiro, S.
Stewart, M.L.
Swartz, N.
Vining, A.
Wickstrom, N.
Wideen, M.
Winne, P.
Heath, W.R, Secretary
Grant, B., Recording Secretary
Absent:
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Bacani,J.
Beattie, S.
Dean,.C.
Dobb, T.
Dunsterville, V.
Eaton, C.
Giffen, K.
LeMare, L.
Mauser, G.
McAskiII, I.
Segal, J.
Warsh, M.
Wu, S.
In attendance:
Cullen, J.
Dutton, P.
Farrell, A.
Roberts, M.
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Page
1.
Approval of the Agenda
At the request of the Vice-President, Academic, item 5.a).ii) Paper S.95-2 was
withdrawn from the Agenda. The revised Agenda was approved.
2.
Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of December 5. 1994
Following a request to amend the words "pointed out" to "suggested" (first
sentence of the last paragraph on page 4), the Minutes were approved as
amended.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
There was no business arising from the Minutes.
4.
Report of the Chair
The Chair reported that the Government has struck a committee to' decide on
the future of Royal Roads. Deadline for the committee's recommendatiàn is
February 28, 1995.
5.
Report of Committees
a) ?
Senate Committee on Academic Planning
i) ?
Paper S.95-1 - External Review - Department of History - For Information
P. Dutton, Chair, Department of History, was in
,
attendance in order to respond
to questions. ? . ?
..
In the brief discussion that took place with respect to Recommendation 15
concerning hiring priorities in East Asian and Women's History, Senate was
informed that the question of when a new position in Women's History will be
authorized has not yet been resolved.
Discussion turned to Recommendation 11 regarding credit for graduate
supervision. It was noted that this issue appears to be a common problem
among Departments across the University, and concern was expressed that
there appeared to be no solution forthcoming from the administration. Senate
was advised that the present faculty workload policy includes a mechanism for
dealing with this issue but it is not widely
.
useth A revised policy, presently
being circulated in its second draft, attempts 'to address thisissue but it was
pointed out that policy can only be facilitating'
,
and that this issue has to be
worked out within each department.
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. ?
.
Commenting in general about external reviews, it was noted that the majority of
external reviewers have been Canadian. 'Opinion was, expressed that an
international and somewhat broader perspective of review, would be more
desirable and inquiry was made about using reviewers from the United States
or Great Britain.'Reviewers
,
from the United States have 'been used but it is not
feasible to bring reviewers from elsewhere.. because of.travel 'costs and other.
factors..History is a large discipline within Canada and it was felt it could be
S
S.M. 09/01/95
Page 3
well reviewed by faculty from other Canadian universities. However, in certain
disciplines where that might not be the case, the University is not bound to limit
itself to Canadian reviewers.
b) ?
Senate Committee on Academic Planning/Senate Committee on
Undergraduate Studies
i)
Paper S.95-3 - Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions - Arts
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by T. Lord
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions for the Faculty of Arts as set
forth in S.95-3 as follows:
S.95-3a Cognitive Science Program"
Reference was made to the rationale statement, on page 3 referring to MACM
101 replacing MATH 151 as a prerequisite, and it was pointed out that the
proposed changes had no effect on MATH 151 since it was still a hidden
prerequisite for CMPT 201. Brief discussion followed, and the Registrar was
asked to seek clarification and report back should any further adjustments be
necessary.
Question was called, and a vote taken
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MOTION CARRIED
Secretary's Note
,
: At the Senate meeting of December 5, 1994 in S.94-66b, the
prerequisite for CMPT 201 was changed from CMPT 101 or 104, 105, MATH
151 !Q.CMPT 101 (or 104), 105, MACM 101. MATH 151 is no longer a hidden
prerequisite.
ii)
Paper S.95-4 - Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions - Education
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by A. Barrow
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions for the Faculty of Education as
set forth in S.95-4 as follows:,
i)
New courses:
EDPR 410,411,412,413 - Field Based Studies in
Curriculum Development
EDPR 414,415,416,417 - Field Based Studies in
Educational Practice
ii)
Change of grading for EDUC 452-8"
Discussion ensued with respect to the grading alternatives of pass/fail as
opposed to pass/withdraw. Senate was advised that the grades of P/W show
on a student's transcript but do not get calculated in the GPA, whereas an F
grade will affect the GPA. Courses graded on a P/W basis are subject to the
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S.M. 09/01/95
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same Calendar regulation as other courses with regard to. the number of times
they can be repeated.
It was noted that EDUC 452 is a required course in a Minor program and
opinion was expressed that students taking this course as a requirement should
be graded in the normal way.
It was suggested that, since there appeared to be no Calendar regulation with
respect to criteria under which the category of P/W is to be used, the University
should examine this issue and draft a policy specifying under what conditions
this would be an appropriate way of grading courses. It was pointed out that
any course being proposed for a P/W grade has to come to Senate for approval
and be accompanied with a rationale which is acceptable to Senate. Since an
appropriate grading system is ultimately dependent on a particular course
situation, opinion was expressed that it would not be particularly helpful to
attempt to develop a formal policy with respect to criteria.
Moved by J. D'Auria, seconded by K. Amason
"that the motion be divided to allow consideration of item (1) and
item (ii) separately"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION TO DIVIDE CARRIED
Item(i)
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
Item (ii)
Moved by J. D'Auria, seconded by P. Percival
"that this item be referred back to the Senate Committee on
Academic Planning for further discussion and additional rationale"
Brief discussion ensued with respect to the merits and route of referral.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION TO REFER FAILED
Question was called on Item (ii),
and a vote taken. ?
MOTION CARRIED
iii) ?
Paper S.95-5 - Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions - Science
It was agreed that the items contained in the covering motion on Paper S.95-5
be considered individually.
S.95-5a - Department of Biological Sciences
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by C. Jones
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"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions for the Faculty of Science as
set forth in S.95-5a - Department of Biological Sciences"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
S.95-5b - Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by C. Jones
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions for the Faculty of Science as
set forth in S.95-5b - Department of Mathematics and Statistics"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
S.95-5c - Department of Physics
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by C. Jones
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions for the Faculty of Science as
set forth in S.95-5c - Department of Physics"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
S.95-5d - Earth Sciences Program
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by C. Jones
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions for the Faculty of Science as
set forth in S.95-5d - Earth Sciences Program, including new
courses EASC 101,102,201,202,203,204,205,206"
Dr. M. Roberts, Director of the Earth Sciences Program, was in attendance in
order to respond to questions.
Senate was informed that the Earth Sciences program was approved by
Senate and the Board of Governors in 1988. At that time the overall program
structure was presented in detail but the courses to be offered were listed and
described briefly but not approved. Senate is now being asked to approve the
100-200 level courses in order to allow implementation of the program in Fall
1995. The 300-400 level courses will be brought forward at a later time. The
Academic Enhancement Fund and the Faculty of Science will provide base
funding building over a five-year time frame. The Program will be operated by a
Steering Committee chaired by a Director of Earth Sciences.
Opinion was expressed that there was a general perception that Earth Sciences
• programs were declining due to a decline in mining, petroleum and coal
activities around the world. The response was that the curriculum in this
program emphasizes Environmental Geosciences. Concern was expressed
S.M. 09/01/95
Page
that there appeared to be nothing innovative or different about the lower
division courses in this program. It was pointed out that the core of required
lower division courses within this program is designed to meet the professional
requirements for certification by the Association of Professional Engineers and
Geoscientists of British Columbia, and the innovative nature of the program is
not apparent until the third and fourth year level.
Discussion turned to the course offerings and concerns were expressed with
regard to overlap between courses within the program and others offered by
Chemistry and Physics. It was pointed out that the courses within the Earth
Sciences program have a different thrust. For example, crystal structure is
considered from the practical aspect of identification of minerals, whereas
courses in Physics and Chemistry have a more theoretical approach.
Reference was made to EASC 205 on page 16, and it was suggested that the
prerequisite should read CHEM 118 rather than CHEM 115.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
S.95-5e - B.Sc. Program in Environmental Science
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by C. Jones
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the curriculum revisions in the Faculty of Science as set
forth in S.95-5e - B.Sc. Program in EnvironñiCnt Science,
including new courses ENPL 100,200"
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.
?
.
A. Farrell, Department of Biological Sciences, was in attendance in order to
respond to questions.'
Senate was advised that the two new courses - ENPL 100 and 200 - are, part of
an undergraduate program proposal in the School of Resource and
Environmental Management to be called the Environmental Planning Program.
That program is not yet ready to come forward but the two courses before
Senate are integral to the proposed B.Sc. Program in Environmental Science
and have been brought forward separately so that the B.Sc. program could
proceed in Fall 95-3. It was further pointed out that there has been intensive
consideration of environmental programs within the Faculty of Science, the
Faculty of Applied Sciences, and the Faculty of Arts at the committee level with
a view of working towards an integrated set of
.
undergraduate programs. It was
hoped that all programs could be brought forward at the same time, but since
this was not possible it was decided to bring forward the Faculty of Science
component because it can be offered largely with existing courses.
In response to a question on the large number of required courses, it was
pointed out that the five streams within the program' offer students a wide
spectrum of choice and provide an in-depth core within the Science discipline.
In addition, they have considerable breadth built into them and, as a
consequence, the streams are relatively rigid and highly structured.
S.M. 09/01/95
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. In response to an inquiry about the course EVSC 401 referred to in the
supporting documentation, Senate was advised that the course proposal would
be brought forward for approval at a later date.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION CARRIED
iv) ?
Paper S.95-6 - Deletion of Courses Not Offered
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by J. Osborne
n
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors that the following courses be deleted:
ATHL 200
Olympic and Educational Gymnastics
CMNS 301
Communications Network Research Methods
CMPT 350
Information and Public Policy
CMPT 483
Parsing and Interpretation
GERO 405
Aging in Rural Canada
POL 383
Government and Politics: India
POL 482
Comparative Political Elites
PSYC 435
Sensation
PSYC 440
Motivation
SA 469
Symbol, Myth and Meaning
SA
477
Southern Africa
CHEM 005
The Chemistry of Life"
Senate was advised that Gerontology had originally agreed to thedeletion of
GERO 405 because they had not been able to find a suitable instructor.
However, a qualified individual is now available on a continuing basis to teach
the course and they would like to retain it for offering in Summer Semester 95-2.
Amendment moved by E. Alderson, seconded by B. Clayman
"that GERO 405 be removed from the list of courses for deletion"
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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AMENDMENT CARRIED
Brief discussion took place with respect to the criteria and procedures followed
with respect to the deletion of courses under this regulation.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
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MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED
c) ?
Senate Committee on Academic Planning/Senate Committee on
?
Continuing Studies
i)
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Paper S.95-7 - Non-Credit Post Baccalaureate Certificate Program in
Employment Communication Skills
Moved by J. Munro, seconded by J. Blaney
S.M. 09/01/95.
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"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors the proposed non-credit post-baccalaureate Certificate
Program in Employment Communication Skills"
?
..
J. Cullen, Continuing Studies, was in attendance to respond to questions.
In response to an inquiry about the possibility of offering this program in line
with other Continuing Studies offerings as evening or part-time options, Senate
was advised that although it would take quite some time to complete the
required 140 contact hours on a part-time/weekend basis, there was no reason
why it could not be done that way.
Reference was made to the budgetary implications on page 5, and Senate was
advised that the program will operate on a cost recovery basis. Based on 50
students per course, fees are expected to be at least $1,000 to cover the cost of
salaries and overhead. Request has been made to Employment Canada for
bursary assistance and expectations are reasonably optimistic that some form
of bursary help will be available.
Reference was made to the component on technological skills and concern was
expressed that students graduating from University would not already possess
these skills. Senate was advised that this component has .a very wide range of
skills in terms of students and exemptions will be considered for those not
needing this component.
Opinion was expressed that the title of the Certificate seemed to imply
,
a much
narrower program than the contents of the program actually indicate, and
Senate was informed that the title may be modified prior to implementation.
Question was called, and a vote taken.
?
MOTION CARRIED
d), ?
Senate Committee on International Activities
? .
i) ?
Paper S.95-8 - Annual Report - SCINIUSEC - For Information
Clarification was requested with respect to the Development Education
component in the Eastern Indonesia University Development Project. Senate
was advised that it essentially brings into the project components that deal with
environmental and social development, broadens the science-based focus of
the project, and attempts to make the project more instrumental in the
development of Indonesia along sustainable lines. The addition of this
component was instrumental in the positive recommendation of Phase II and
the Committee expects to receive regular reports on the implementation of this
component. A considerable report has already been received and is available
to Senators. Reference was made to the issue of human rights in Indonesia
and inquiry was made as to the University's position on this matter. Senate wasP
advised that the Committee felt the effect of the project on the human rights
situation would be considerably more positive if the project continued than if it
S.M. 09/01/95
Page 9
• did not continue, and the Committee is satisfied that the guidelines for
international activities which were approved by Senate are being adhered to
within the project.
Senate was advised that further study has led to the conclusion that a branch
campus in Malaysia is not feasible at this time.
Senate was advised that the number of students placed in other universities
under the exchange agreement is roughly equal to number of students
attending SFU.
Discussion turned to Item #3 and concern was expressed about final approval
of the Kenya Field School being made at the last minute, thus making it difficult
for departments to schedule on-campus courses and teaching assignments a
year in advance because of the possible off-campus involvement of faculty
members. Senate was advised that provided certain conditions are met, the
next Kenya Field School is tentatively scheduled for Spring Semester 1996-1,
and as soon as a final report on the 1994 Field School and a proposal for 1996
have been submitted, final decision can be made.
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6. ?
Other Business
There was no other business.
•
?
7. ?
Information
The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of Senate is Monday,
February 13, 1995.
The Assembly moved directly into Closed Session at 8:45 p.m.
W.R. Heath
Secretary of Senate
9