DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE

Minutes of a Meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on

Monday, June 3, 2002 at 7:00 pm in Room 3210 West Mall Centre

Open Session

Present: Stevenson, Michael

President and Chair of Senate

Absent:

Barrow, Robin

D'Auria, John

Gerson, Carole

Gill, Alison

Haunerland, Norbert

Heaney, John

Higgins, Anne

Jensen, Britta

Mauser, Gary

McFetridge, Paul

McInnes, Dina

Naef, Barbara

Percival, Paul

Phipps, Kate

Sekhon, Devinder

Thandi, Ranbir

Wong, Milton

Aloi, Santa

Apaak, Clement

Atkins, Stella

Blackman, Roger (representing J

Pierce)

Bourke, Brynn

Cameron, Rob (representing B. Lewis)

Chan, Albert

Chen, Danny

Clayman, Bruce

Copeland, Lynn

Davidson, Willie

Driver, Jon

Dunsterville, Valerie

Garcia, Carlos

Gordon, Robert

Grimmett, Peter

Gupta, Kamal

Hill, Ross

Horvath, Adam

Jackson, Margaret

Jones, Cohn

Jones, John

Joyner, Charles (representing C. Yerbury)

Kemper, Michelle

Krane, Bill

McArthur, James

Meredith, Lindsay (representing E. Love)

Peters, Joseph

Poletz, Taira

Russell, Robert

Tyab, Azam

Vaisey, Jacques

Van Aalst, Jan

Warren, Joel

Waterhouse, John

Weldon, Larry

Wessel, Silvia

Zaichkowsky, Judith

In attendance:

Egan, Kieran

Krebs, Dennis

Loo, Tina

Wong, Amy

Wortis, Michael

Heath, Ron, Dean of Student Services and Registrar

Watt, Alison, Director, University Secretariat

Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 2

Approval

The Chair

requested

the Agendathat

the agenda be changed to include the election of a Vice-

Chair for the meeting in order to allow the motion from Senator Warren (Agenda

Item 7.i) to proceed. Following this change, the agenda was approved as

amended.

In response to a call for nominations from the floor of Senate, Cohn Jones was

nominated and agreed to serve as Vice-Chair.

Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of May 13, 2002

Reference was made to the last paragraph of the Chair's report on page 2 and

Senators attention was drawn to the editorial changes to this paragraph on the

revised page distributed at the meeting. Following this change, the Minutes

were approved.

Business Arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising from the Minutes.

Report of the Chair

The Chair reported that senior administration members have been advocating

the interests of the University with Government and referred to a successful

event organized by the University and held in Victoria. "SFU Day in Victoria"

was well attended and provided an opportunity to bring to the attention of

MLAs and senior officials of the Ministry particular interests and issues

important to the University. A well attended evening event was held with SFU

alumni at the conclusion of the day in Victoria.

The Chair concluded with a report that the Minister of Advanced Education had

been on the Burnaby campus that day, meeting with a range of individuals and

learning more about SFU.

The Chair welcomed the new members of Senate to their first meeting.

Ouestion Period

There were no questions submitted.

Reports of Committees

A) Ad Hoc Senate Committee to Review and Develop the Undergraduate

Currricula

i) ?

Paper S.02-46 - Report - For Discussion

Senate was reminded that the ad hoc committee had been struck by Senate a year

ago and the committee's penultimate report was before Senate for discussion.

The Committee wished to have Senate's views on its recommendations, and

following completion of the consultation process, the committee will report

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 3

formally to SCUP. Upon approval of the report in principle, SCUP will then

undertake detailed implementation considerations.

The following members of the Ad Hoc Committee were in attendance in order to

respond to questions: D. Krebs (Chair), K. Egan,

T. Loo,

J .

Peters, A. Wong, and

M. Wortis. M. Fizzell was unable to attend the meeting.

By way of introduction to the report, Senate was advised that the Committee had

not looked at the specific curricula of particular departments but rather looked at

the curricula of the University as a whole with a view towards providing a

general/liberal education. University-wide consultation resulted in the set of

recommendations contained in the report which the Committee felt would be a

very good starting point at SFU for change to the university wide curriculum. It

was recommended that as a University SFU adopt a set of requirements that

must be met by all students in order to receive Bachelor degrees. The

requirements include that all students must take two writing intensive courses

(W), two quantitative intensive courses (Q), and eight breadth courses (B).

Information was provided to Senate with respect to details concerning the

implementation of the W/Q/B course requirements and it was pointed out that

there were exemptions built into the regulations to handle exceptional

circumstances and allow departments flexibility. The Committee's goal was to

give a sense of how the requirements should be framed but has recommended

that a task force be formed to work out the details of the recommendations.

Senate was being asked to provide feedback about the general spirit of the

recommendations and whether implementing them would significantly enhance

the educational experience at SFU, and to provide input about the

details /suggestions with respect to implementation.

Comment was made that it might be better to use an in-house examination for

the writing requirement rather than the

LPI

which was administered outside

SFU, and concern was expressed about the impact of the breadth requirements

on students with double/triple majors. Senate was advised that the Committee

had reviewed the

LPI

and felt it was a reasonable test that had a long history of

use. It was also noted that Continuing Studies at SFU offered pre-university

courses in writing which could help students improve their writing ability to a

level where they could pass either the LPI or equivalent test. With respect to

students with multiple majors, it was pointed out that the W and Q courses

could also be counted as breadth courses.

Depending on how a department interpreted its freedom within the regulations,

concern was expressed that students could be required to take one or two extra

semesters in order to fulfill the requirements. Particular concern was expressed

about the impact of the breadth requirements on students trying to do sequential

courses outside their area. Detailed discussion using the Chemistry curriculum

as an example took place with respect to how the regulations might be

implemented. Senate was assured that it was not the Committee's intention to

require students to take an extra semester but it was hoped that departments

. ?

would cooperate in doing their share to help meet these general education

requirements by incorporating them into existing programs. It was suggested

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 4

that the document was not clear as to whether the breadth courses were to be an

integral part of a program or an add on.

Concern was expressed about the grade requirements especially for the Q

courses and the impact it might have on student access. It was pointed out that

they were not entrance requirements; they were standards which would exempt

students from the suggested placement tests. In response to an inquiry as to how

the recommendations would affect current students, Senate was informed that

there was no intention to retroactively apply the regulation and that existing

students would be required to fulfill the requirements that were in effect at the

time they entered the university.

Discussion turned to the question of how Q requirements could be built into

programs in a way that was relevant to students in Humanities and Fine Arts

programs. The Committee acknowledged that programs had different needs and

it would be more difficult in some programs than others. The Committee

believed however that it could be done in a way that was relevant to all students

and programs but that it might require the development of some new courses.

Inquiry was made about how many Arts students enter with Grade 12 Math and

if there was a breakdown available between Social Science students and

Humanities students in this regard. It was suggested that the Q requirement

might discourage students interested in the Humanities and Fine and Performing

Arts from coming to SFU. It was stressed that these requirements are not

entrance requirements, and that students would have until the end of the first

year to bring their writing and quantitative abilities up to the level required in

the placement tests.

Reference was made to the writing courses and concern was expressed about the

expense and considerable workload attached to these courses. A discussion

ensued in which a number of models were discussed in regard to delivery

method and resource requirements.

Discussion turned to recommendation four with respect to GPA calculation and

a senator asked whether there would be three different grade point averages on a

student's transcript. Senate was informed that the addition of a GPA for the

Major program was an attempt to decrease the barriers to breadth and that the

Major GPA would be used for qualification inside the program and for

scholarships, etc. It was pointed out that program GPAs were already in

existence at the University so this was new. It was suggested that instead of so

many sets of GPAs, some W/Q/B courses could be graded on a pass/fail basis.

Concern was expressed that the implementation might have a host of exceptions

and would turn out to be bureaucratically difficult. It might be better to have

simpler regulations with fewer exceptions.

It was noted that there was a history and tradition at SFU for a great deal of

independence and these recommendations were a change to that culture. It was

suggested that the University needed to address the underlying principle of

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 5

what the University, as a whole, would like to see in an undergraduate education

before deciding whether the requirements are reasonable and worthwhile.

On behalf of Senate the Chair thanked members of the Committee for the report

and their attendance at the Senate meeting. Speaking personally, the Chair felt

the report was a very thorough and thoughtful piece of work that promised to

produce for Senate policy changes and recommendations that would advance the

cause of undergraduate education at SFU.

Senate Committee on University Priorities

Paper S.02-47 - Transition of TechBC Graduate Programs

Moved by J

Waterhouse, seconded by J

Driver

"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of

Governors the extension of the Cohort Special Arrangements in

Computing Arts and Design Sciences to include PhD students as

outlined in S.02-47"

Tables 1 and 2 were omitted from the original documentation but were

distributed to Senate at the meeting.

Concern was expressed that the wording of the motion was too general and in

. ?

order to clarify issues raised within the document support papers, the following

revision proposed by C. Jones was accepted as a

friendly amendment

"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of

Governors the extension of the Cohort Special Arrangements in

Computing Arts and Design Sciences to include PhD students as

outlined in S.02-47. No new admissions to the PhD program be

permitted unless a regular graduate program in this area has been

approved by Senate"

Senate was informed that the motion would allow existing TechBC doctoral

students to continue in their programs and two things were expected to happen.

One was that the cohort program would continue until the time described in the

document and students would graduate as part of the Cohort Special

Arrangements Program, or the program would act as a temporary solution to

allow students to continue in their programs until a permanent graduate

program was put in place at SFU at which time they would be transferred.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

Senate Committee on University Honours

Paper S.02-48 - New Honorar

Degree Designations

Moved by V. Dunsterville, seconded by A. Chan

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 6

"that Senate approve the following Honorary Degrees for award by

the University:

D.Litt. (Letters) ?

for outstanding achievement in literature

D.Sc. (Science) for outstanding achievement in science,

engineering science, computing science,

medicine

D.F.A. (Fine Arts) ?

for outstanding achievement in the fine and

performing arts

LL.D. (Laws) ?

for outstanding achievement in other areas

The Senate Committee on University Honours will make

recommendations to Senate regarding both the names of

individuals to be honoured and the degree to be awarded in each

instance."

Brief discussion took place as to what 'other areas' would include.

Question was called, and a vote taken. ?

MOTION CARRIED

D) ?

Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies

i) ?

Paper S.02-51 - School of Engineering Science - Changes to BASc and

BASc (Honors) programs

Moved by R. Cameron, seconded by J

Jones

"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of

Governors the proposal from the School of Engineering Science to

refine the existing BASc program to provide both a general and an

honors degree as set forth in S.02-51, effective September 2002.

Furthermore, Senate affirms that the designation BASc (Honors)

may be used by those who have graduated from the BASc program

prior to Fall 2002, provided that both a CGPA and a UDGPA of

least 3.0 were obtained on graduation"

Inquiry was made as to what options were available to current students not

meeting the 3.0 GPA requirement or who do not complete the undergraduate

thesis. Senate was advised that students could obtain a Bachelor of General

Studies from Applied Sciences but substantial additional work would be

required to obtain a Bachelor of Science.

Question arose as to whether it was intended to retroactively reproduce

academic records and parchments for students who had graduated prior to Fall

2002. Senate was advised that there was no intention to do that but students

would be entitled to use the Honors designation.

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 7

In response to an inquiry as to why 2.4 was chosen as the graduation

requirement, Senate was advised that because of the high academic standard the

program had built a reputation with respect to the quality of its students. There

had been some concern within the School that a general degree would dilute that

reputation so 2.4 was chosen as a compromise.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

? MOTION CARRIED

Senate Nominating Committee

i) ?

Paper S.02-49 - Elections

A revised paper showing additions and deletions was distributed to Senators

along with additional information supplied by candidates. The following are the

results of elections by Senate to Senate committees:

Senate Committee on Disciplinary Appeals (SCODA)

Three Faculty Members (at-large) (1 Regular, 1 Alternate).

Elected by acclamation as Regular member

for term of office to May 31, 2004:

Colleen Collins-Dodd

Elected by acclamation as Alternate members

for terms of office to May 31, 2003:

Sam Black

Cathy D'Andrea

Five Students (at-large) (3 Regular, 2 Alternate) for terms of office to May 31,

2003

Elected as Regular members: ?

Brynn Bourke

Danny Chen

Michelle Kemper

Elected as Alternate members: ?

Gina Fernandez

Chris Steinbach

Senate Committee on University Priorities (SCUP)

Five Faculty Senators (one from each Faculty) for terms of office to May 31, 2004

Elected (Applied Sciences)

Joseph Peters

Elected by acclamation (Arts)

Carole Gerson

Business Administration ?

Vacant

Elected by acclamation (Education) ?

Peter Grimmett

Elected (Science) ?

Paul Percival

Two Student Senators elected for terms of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Bryrm Bourke

Azam Tyab

Lay Senator elected for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation

Valerie Dunsterville

Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules (SCAR)

Two Senators (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected ?

Peter Grimmett

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 8

Margaret Jackson

One Student

Elected

Senator

by acclamationfor

term of

office to May 31, 2003

Carlos Garcia

Senate Committee on Continuine Studies (SCCS'

Four Faculty Senators for terms of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ?

Margaret Jackson

Gary Mauser

Rob Gordon

Larry Weldon

One Student Senator for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ? Joel Warren

One Alternate (at-large) Student for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ? Muneer Esmail

Senate Committee on University

Honours (SCUH'

One Senator (Faculty of Science) for term of office to May 31, 2005.

Elected by acclamation

Norbert Haunerland

Two Lay Senators for terms of office to May 31, 2005

Elected by acclamation ?

Valerie Dunsterville

James McArthur

One Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Kate Phipps

One Student Senator for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ? Britta Jensen

(LPAC ) - Dual Position

One Undergraduate Student Alternate for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ?

Jennifer Siegfried

One Graduate Student Alternate for term of office to May 31, 2004

Vacant

Senate Nominating Committee (SNC)

Four Senators (at-large) for terms of office to May 31, 2003

Elected by acclamation ? Carole Gerson

Ross Hill

Jan Van Aalst

Vacant

One Student Senator for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected by acclamation ? Joel Warren

One Student Alternate (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected

Reza Pourvali

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards & Bursaries (SPCSAB)

One Faculty Senator (as Chair) for term of office to May 31, 2005

Elected by acclamation ? John D'Auria

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 9

One Faculty Member (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2004. Balloting

resulted in a tied vote between M.A. Gillies and K. Gupta. K. Gupta

subsequently withdrew his nomination.

Elected ?

Mary Ann Gillies

One Undergraduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003. The

student elected to this committee also becomes a member of SUAAC. Prior to

balloting, B. Bourke withdrew her nomination.

Elected by acclamation ?

Taira Poletz

Note: T. Poletz subsequently withdrew her nomination. The vacancy will be

carried forward to next meeting of Senate.

One Graduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003. The student

elected to this committee also becomes a member of SGAAC.

Elected by acclamation ?

Amit Goel

Senate Undergraduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SUAAC)

One Lay Senator for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation

James McArthur

One Undergraduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Kate Phipps

Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC

One Lay Senator for term of office to May 31, 2004

Vacant

One Graduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Mavis MacMillen

Senate Appeals Board (SAB)

Two Faculty Members (at-large) (1 Regular, 1 Alternate) for terms of office to

May 31, 2004. Candidates were elected by acclamation, balloting was required to

determine committee position.

Elected as Regular member

Mark Wexler

Elected as Alternate member

? Sam Black

Two Graduate Students (at-large) for terms of office to May 31, 2004. Candidates

were elected by acclamation, balloting was required to determine committee

position.

Elected as Regular member ?

Peg (Randy) Peters

Elected as Alternate member ?

Peter Liljedahl

Committee to Review Universit y

Admissions (CRUA)

One Faculty Member (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation

Geoff Madoc-Jones

Two Graduate Students (at-large) for terms of office to May 31, 2004. Candidates

were elected by acclamation, balloting was required to determine committee

position.

Elected as Regular member ?

Clement Apaak

Elected as Alternate member

Felix Tang

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 10

Two

Senate

Undergraduate

Committee on

Students

Undergraduate

(at-large)

Studies

for terms

(SCUS)of

office

to May 31, 2003.

Elected ?

Danny Chen,

Graham Percival

Senate Committee on Enrolment Mana

ement and Plannin g

(SCEMP

Two Faculty Senators for terms of office to May 31, 2004

Elected ?

Kamal Gupta

Larry Weldon

One Undergraduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Azam Tyab

One Graduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected by acclamation

Felix Tang

Electoral Standing Committee (ESC)

Three Senators (one of whom must be a student) for terms of office to May 31,

2004.

Elected by acclamation

Brynn Bourke

Jon Driver

Vacant

Senate Committee on International Activities (SCIA)

Two Faculty Senators for terms of office to May 31, 2004

Elected ?

Cohn Jones

Larry Weldon

One Undergraduate Student Senator for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ?

Taira Poletz

Secretary's Note: T. Poletz has subsequently withdrawn her nomination; the

vacancy will be brought forward to the next meeting of Senate.

One Graduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation

Clement Apaak

One Senator (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation

Valerie Dunsterville

International Student Exchange Committee (ISEC)

Two Faculty Members (at-large) for terms of office to May 31, 2004

Elected by acclamation ?

John Bechhoefer

Anne Higgins

One Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Clement Apaak

One Faculty Member (at-large from the Faculty of Arts) for term of office to May

31, 2005

Elected by acclamation

Tom Grieve

S.M. 3 June 2002

Page 11

One Faculty Member (at-large from the Faculty of Science) for term of office to

May 31, 2005

Elected by acclamation

Bernard Roitberg

One Undergraduate Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003.

Balloting resulted in a tied vote between D. Chen and J

Siegfried. D. Chen

subsequently withdrew his nomination.

Elected ?

Jennifer Siegfried

Diverse Oualifications Adjudication Committee (DOAC

One Lay Senator for term of office to May 31, 2004

Elected ?

Barbara Naef

Two Undergraduate Students (at-large) for terms of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Kate Phipps

Taira Poletz

Calendar Committee

One Student (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003

Elected ?

Graham Percival

Vice-Chair of Senate

One Senator (at-large) for term of office to May 31, 2003.

Elected ?

Paul McFetridge

Other Business

i) ?

Paper S.02-50 - Motion from Senator Warren

Michael Stevenson and John Waterhouse left the meeting at this point. Cohn

Jones took the Chair and invited Senator Warren to move the motion. J

Warren

yielded to the floor.

Moved by M. Kemper, seconded by C. Garcia

"that the motion be tabled"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION TO TABLE CARRIED

Information

The date of the next regular meeting of Senate is Monday, July 8, 2002.

Open Session adjourned at 9:10 pm; the Assembly moved directly into Closed Session.

Alison Watt

[ -

-I

Director, University Secretariat