DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE

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

Monday, January 10, 2005 in Room 3210 WMC at 7:00 pm

Open Session

Present: Percival, Paul, Vice-Chair of Senate

Brennand, Tracy

Budd, James

Copeland, Lynn

da Silva, Gisele

Dean, Charmaine

Dickinson, John

Driver, Jon

Easton, Stephen

Fizzell, Maureen

Giacomantonio, Chris

Gordon, Irene

Gordon, Robert

Harder, Derrick

Hayes, Michael

Higgins, Anne

Honda, Barry

Horvath, Adam

• Hunsdale, Shawn

Johansen, Elinor

Krane, Bill

Love, Ernie

MacKenzie, Christine

MacLean, David

McKinnon, Stephanie

McInnes, Marcia

Parkhouse, Wade (representing B. Lewis)

Pierce, John

Pinto, Mario

Plischke, Michael

Rozell, Sara

Sears, Camilla

Schellenberg, Betty

Scott, Jamie

Shaker, Paul

Smit, Bernard

Smith, Don

Waterhouse, John

Weeks, Daniel

Wong, Josephine

Woodbury, Robert

Yerbury, Cohn

• ?

Zandvliet, David

Heath, Ron, Dean of Student Services and Registrar

Watt, Alison, Director, University Secretariat

Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary

Absent:

Apaak, Clement

Beynon, Peter

Blackman, Roger

Breden, Felix

Delgrande, James

Dunsterville, Valerie

Fung, Edward

Grimmett, Peter

Gupta, Kamal

Haunerland, Norbert

Li, Ze-Nian

Mauser, Gary

McArthur, James

McFetridge, Paul

Stevenson, Michael

Tombe, Trevor

Wessel, Sylvia

Wong, Milton

In attendance:

Dinning, Mike

Gill, Warren

Ignace, Marianne

Perry, Tom

Trottier, Howard

S.M. 10 January

2005

Page 2

Approval

Reference

was

the

made

Agendato

the

two documents distributed prior to the meeting. Senate was

advised that the one document was an additional item to be reported under item 4 -

Report of the Chair - dealing with a new guaranteed admission initiative and the other

document was an amended page relating to S.05-1 - Annual Report on Student

Discipline. The Agenda was approved with amendment.

Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of December 6, 2004

The Minutes were approved as distributed.

Business Arising from the Minutes

Reference was made to an issue raised during Question Period at the December, 2004

meeting concerning declining entrance averages for college and high school students.

The Associate Vice-President, Academic B.Krane provided detailed admission data for

Fall 2003 and Fall 2004 for the following groups of students: College Transfer, Grade

12, and Diverse Qualifications. In general, the data indicated that there were very minor

reductions in the average admissions grades and the cut-off grades for these categories in

some Faculties. The admissions averages for the Arts (and Social Sciences) college

transfer group experienced the largest decline.

A question was asked about the availability of data for the Spring 2005 semester. Senate

was advised that the data were probably available now but had not been available at the

time the information was gathered for the Fall semester. It was pointed out that it was

possible to prepare an analysis each Spring if Senate was interested, but in light of the

new guaranteed admission initiative it was likely not very useful.

Report of the Chair

i) ?

Paper

S.05-

Guaranteed Admission Initiative

Senate's attention was directed to the paper distributed at the meeting. R. Heath

explained that the new initiative was meant to correct misinformation in the secondary

schools about admission requirements, acquaint the general public with the university,

increase awareness about the entrance scholarship program, and make SFU more

competitive in attracting students. Senate was advised that the admission guarantee

would not result in over enrolment because if admission targets were met and limits

reached, offers would be cut off and any additional students would be offered a

guaranteed admission to a subsequent semester.

In response to a suggestion that a drop in admission applications might be due to

increased tuition fees, Senate was advised that although this may be a factor, many

universities across the country also experienced similar circumstances.

Discussion turned to the issue of early registration for first year students. It was

explained that first year students were the least familiar with the registration process and

have the least number of course options due to the prerequisite structure. Allowing them

early registration provides a level of comfort in terms of an orientation to registration and

puts SFU on the same competitive level as UBC who also registers freshmen students at

about the same time.

S.M. 10 January 2005

•

Page

In response to an inquiry as to whether or not all students with a minimum admission

average of 90% are guaranteed a Summit Scholarship, Senate was informed that all

eligible students across Canada would be offered a Summit Scholarship.

A question arose about the planning, evaluation and feedback with regard to this new

initiative. Senate was advised that a number of scholarship student groups had been

consulted and showed overwhelming support for it. Comment was made that some initial

feedback on the initiative indicated a perception that SFU was lowering its standards. It

was stressed that the standards were being made more transparent but not lowered and

expectations were that the average GPA should increase as a result of the initiative.

In response to a question about international students, Senate was advised that

international students are admitted on the same basis as domestic students and if the

admission average from their home institution is judged to be eligible they would receive

the same admission guarantee. There are separate quotas for international students,

however, that are closely monitored.

A question was posed as to how long the guarantee would be in place. It was expected

that the campaign would be successful and would likely be seen as a new way of doing

business.

Question Period

Inquiry was made as to when the Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and

Bursaries was going to meet, especially to discuss financial aid and scholarship issues.

Senate was advised that the meeting to discuss financial issues would not likely take

place until the proposed budget for next year was known, but there were some graduate

issues coming forward so there may be a meeting scheduled for late January.

Reports of Committees

A) ?

Paper S.05-1 - Annual Re

port

- Student Discipline (For Information)

The following persons were in attendance in order to respond to questions: H. Trottier,

Coordinator of the University Board on Student Discipline, M. Dinning, Associate Dean

of Student Services, and R. Heath, Dean of Student Services and Registrar.

Senators were reminded of the replacement page with respect to amended statistical data

from the Dean of Student Services and Registrar which had been distributed prior to the

meeting.

Questions arose with respect to several UBSD cases. H. Trottier provided details with

respect to these inquiries. Senate was reminded that the case summaries were quite brief

and generic and did not include specific details which explained some of the reasons for

•

the variation in penalties.

Reference was made to the statistical data on academic dishonesty and inquiry was made

as to why there appeared to be such an increase from 01-02 to 03-04. R. Heath felt that

S.M. 10 January 2005

Page 4

in terms of cheating and plagiarism the numbers seem to be relatively consistent and the

increase might be the result of having more students.

Inquiry was made as to whether any cases were ever submitted to the RCMP, with

particular reference being made to the case involving fraudulent letters of reference from

SFU faculty. M. Dinning advised that the university process proceeds in parallel to

anything that might happen with the RCMP, but generally the police were not involved

unless the incident involved very serious issues such as violence or threats.

B) ?

Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules

Paper

S.05-2 -

Naming of Simon Fraser Universit

Campuses

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by J. Driver

"that the official names of the Simon Fraser University campuses be:

Simon Fraser University for the main campus on Burnaby Mountain,

Simon Fraser University Vancouver to encompass activities in downtown

Vancouver, and Simon Fraser University Surrey for the Surrey campus"

W. Gill, Vice-President, University Relations was in attendance in order to respond to

questions.

It was pointed

out that the Great Northern Way Campus was not mentioned in the

documentation and inquiry was made as to whether it was envisioned to be part of the

activities in Vancouver. Senate was advised that it was not part of the Vancouver campus

since GNW was a joint effort by four institutions and was not controlled by SFU.

Comment was made that many faculty members include Vancouver as part of their

address for Simon Fraser University, especially at international meetings, because

Vancouver was so well known. An opinion was expressed that using Vancouver for

downtown activities only might cause confusion, and suggestion was made that it might

be better to use SFU Downtown. It was pointed out that other cities also have a

downtown area and, in addition, there were three other institutions already in downtown

Vancouver and SFU needs to make a claim to that geographical location.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii)

Paper

S.05-3 -

Named Recognition of Buildings, Academic Endowments and

Academic Units Policy GP

Moved by J. Waterhouse, E. Love

"that Senate approve, and recommend to the Board of Governors, the

Named Recognition of Buildings, Academic Endowments and Academic

Units Policy GP

35"

S.M. 10 January 2005

Page

W. Gill, Vice-President, University Relations was in attendance in order to respond to

questions.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iii)

Paper

S.05-4 -

Recommendation for a new Senate Committee on Academic

Integrity in Student Learning and Evaluation (SCAISLE)

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by E. Johansen

"that the Senate Committee on Academic Integrity in Student Learning

and Evaluation (SCAISLE) be created"

Senate was informed that the committee was being created as a result of one of the

recommendations of the Task Force on Academic Honesty and Integrity which had been

established in response to some highly publicized events surrounding student cheating in

the Spring of 2002.

The issue of having alternate members on the committee was discussed, and a suggestion

to add alternates for the student positions on the committee was accepted as a friendly

amendment. A minor revision changing 'Chief Librarian' to 'University Librarian' was

also accepted as a friendly amendment.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iv)

Paper

S.05-5 -

Senate Review of Policy R20.01 on University Research Ethics

Review

Moved by M. Pinto, seconded by C. Sears

"that Senate approve the review of Policy R20.01 as outlined in Senate

Paper S.05-5"

In response to an inquiry as to why there was no undergraduate student representative on

the committee, Senate was advised that although there were a few undergraduate students

undertaking undergraduate research studies in independent study semester courses, most

of the research matters fell under the purview of graduate research. It was also pointed

out that in the case of undergraduate research courses, the faculty member in charge of

the course would have the responsibility for making sure that the policy was adhered to.

A question arose as to whether Faculty representation was taken into consideration in the

composition of the committee. It was pointed out that there was no attempt made to have

representation across all Faculties. The main consideration was to have representation

from units frequently dealing with research involving ethical issues and M. Pinto felt that

the proposed membership was very capable of undertaking a comprehensive review.

S.M. 10 January 2005

Page 6

Reference was made to the two external members and an inquiry was made as to why

membership outside SFU was proposed. Senate was informed that ethical issues have

become so complex that it was necessary to have professional and legal representation.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

v) ?

Paper

S.05-6 -

Change of Membership - Senate Graduate Studies Committee

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by C. Sears

"that Senate approve the changes to the composition of the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee, as set out in Paper

S.05-6"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

Senate Nominating Committee

i) ?

Paper

S.05-7 -

Elections

Senate was advised that Bernard Smit had withdrawn his candidacy for the Senate

Committee on University Priorities. Derrick Harder had subsequently been nominated

and was elected by acclamation to the Student Senator position on SCUP for term of

office to May 31,

2005.

The remaining student vacancies on the Committee to Review

University Admissions and the Senate Committee on Disciplinary Appeals would be

carried forward.

Senate Committee on Universit

Priorities

i) ?

Paper

S.05-8 -

External Review - SFU Program at Kamloops (formerly

SCES/SFU Program)

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by I. Gordon

"that Senate concur with the recommendations from the Senate Committee

on University Priorities concerning advice to the Simon Fraser University

Program at Kamloops (formerly the SCES/SFU Partnership) on priority

items resulting from the external review"

T. Perry, Associate Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, and M. Ignace, Academic

Coordinator, SFU Program at Kamloops were in attendance in order to respond to

questions.

Questions arose with regard to the size of the program and library access to the Internet.

Senate was advised that enrolment at Kamloops varied between 100 - 250 part-time and

full-time students. Until recently the Kamloops program was unable to access the

Internet but improvements were currently underway to allow access.

S.M. 10 January 2005

•

Page

Giacomantonio, speaking on behalf of students in the Kamloops

program, pointed out

that it was their hope that action would be taken as quickly as possible to put substantial

plans in place and they look forward to the report which was due back by March 3Is.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii) ?

Paper

S.05-9 -

RBC Financial Professor in Technology and Innovation - Terms

of Reference

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by M. Fizzell

"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the terms

of reference for the RBC Financial Professor in Technology and

Innovation"

Several Student Senators expressed opposition to naming a professorship after a

corporate donor, and concerns were expressed about the effect of this process on the

academic freedom and future programming in a Department or Faculty. Strong concerns

were also raised regarding the process that was followed in the establishment of this

particular Professorship. It was noted that news releases and web postings announcing

the creation of this Professorship and the intention that the current Dean of the Faculty of

• Business Administration would be the first recipient appeared as early as October 2004.

Since Senate and Board approval was required with regard to the naming of

Professorships, and the Board was responsible for the awarding of a Professorship, there

appeared to be a number of problems with respect to process, since neither Senate nor

Board had given their approval. The Vice President Academic reiterated that no

appointments could be made without following the procedures and process set out in

Policy A 10.06 and that the news releases and web postings were not accurate.

In response to an inquiry as to what the consequences would be if Senate defeated the

motion, it was pointed out that the donation would likely be at risk.

Discussion turned to the proposed name of the Professorship and whether it might be

appropriate to include the term 'management' in the title. Senate was advised that during

negotiations the donor was very clear that they wished to have it named "Technology and

Innovation".

Reference was made to the clause in the terms of reference specifying that the Dean of

the Faculty of Business Administration would normally hold the Professorship. A

question was raised as to whether this meant that the Dean would always have to have a

specialization in that area and if the donor would have any role in the appointment

process. It was pointed out that the word 'normally' was inserted to allow for the fact

that a future Dean may not have an interest or specialization in that particular area, and in

that case the Professorship could be awarded to another faculty member. Senate was

assured that the donor was not part of the appointment process and that all appointments

must follow the procedures set out in University Policy A10.06.

S.M. 10 January 2005

Page 8

Ethical and conflict of interest concerns were raised by a Student Senator with respect to

the involvement of the current Dean and potential recipient of this Professorship in the

negotiation process. E. Love reported that he was not intimately involved in the

negotiations. The Advancement Office had worked with the donor and he was only

involved in follow-up discussions in regard to the specific title for the Professorship.

Opinion was expressed that the involvement of a potential recipient of an endowment in

the negotiation process was questionable and suggestion was made that in future the most

ethical course of action would be for the intended recipient to remove him/herself entirely

from the process.

A suggestion was made that removal of the phrase 'normally held by the Dean of the

Faculty of Business Administration' would still allow the Faculty to award the

Professorship to the Dean if they wished, but would remove some of the concerns

surrounding the definition of this being held by someone by virtue of their administrative

office. It was pointed out that the donor requested that the endowment be established

within the Business Faculty and held by the Dean. The word normally had been inserted

by the University to allow for an appointment other than the Dean. It was not an

uncommon practice for donors to specify that the endowment normally be made available

for a specific position.

On this matter, several Student Senators expressed their opposition to attaching corporate

names to endowments and asked whether there had been any precedents. The

Weyerhauser professorship was cited as one example of an existing named professorship.

It was pointed out by other Senators that the University was entering a period of intensive

fundraising. Funds for all sorts of university support, including scholarship and bursaries,

would be sought from corporations and private donors, and scholarships named after

corporations and in memory of individuals would most certainly be established.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iii)

Pa p

er S.05-10 - Tom Buell BC Leadershi p

Chair in Salmon conservation and

Management - Terms of Reference

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by D. Smith

"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the terms

of reference for the Tom Buell BC Leadership Chair in Salmon

Conservation and Management"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iv)

Paper S.05-11 - Interdisciplinary Research in the Mathematical and

Computational Sciences Centre (IRMACS)

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by M. Plischke

"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the

proposal to establish Interdisciplinary Research in the Mathematical and

Computational Sciences (IRMACS) as a Schedule B Centre"

S.M. 10 January 2005

Page 9

MOTION CARRIED

0 ?

Question was called, and a vote taken.

v) ?

Paper S.05-12 - MA, MSc and PhD Programs in the School of Interactive Arts

and Technology

R. Woodbury, Senator and Graduate Program Chair was in attendance in order to respond

to questions.

Motion I - MA Program

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by R. Woodbury

"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the

proposal for a MA program in the School of Interactive Arts and

Technology"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

Motion 2— MSc Program

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by R. Woodbury

"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the

I ?

proposal for a MSc program in the School of Interactive Arts and

Technology"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

Motion 3 - PhD Program

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by R. Woodbury

"that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the

proposal for a PhD program in the School of Interactive Arts and

Technology"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

E) ?

Senate Committee on Under

g raduate Studies

Paper

S.05-13 -

Waiver of 2-semester waiting period to offer SA 203,

353

and

302 in Summer 2005 (For Information)

Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting

under delegated authority, approved a waiver of the 2 semester waiting period to allow

SA 203,

353

and 302 to be offered in Summer 2005 semester.

ii)

Paper S.05-14 - Curriculum Revisions - Facult

of Science (For Information)

Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting

under delegated authority, approved new courses, deletion of courses, and minor changes

to existing courses and programs in the following departments: Biological Sciences,

Chemistry, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics.

S.M. 10 January

2005

Page 10

Senate Committee on Continuing Studies

i) ?

Paper S.05-15 - Annual Report (For Information)

C. Yerbury, Senator and Dean of Continuing Studies was in attendance in order to

respond to questions. Senate received the Annual Report of the Senate Committee on

Continuing Studies for information. There were no questions.

Senate Graduate Studies Committee

Paper

S.05-

Curriculum Revisions - Facult

of Education (For Information)

Senate received information that the Senate, Graduate Studies Committee, acting under

delegated authority, approved one new course and minor revisions to existing courses and

programs in the Faculty of Education.

ii)

Paper S.05-17 - Curriculum Revisions - Earth Sciences (For Information)

Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under

delegated authority, approved one new course and a minor revision to an existing course

in the Department of Earth Sciences.

7. ?

Other Business

The Vice President Academic announced that there would be a memorial held for victims

of the South East Asia tsunami on January 14

at 12:30 pm in Convocation Mall.

Senators were encouraged to attend.

Information

The date of the next regular meeting of Senate is scheduled to take place on Monday,

February 7,

2005.

Open Session adjourned at 8:30 pm and Senate moved directly into Closed Session.

Alison Watt

Director, University Secretariat