SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY ?
University Secretariat ?
1. MEMORANDUM
2. Subject: ? changes to the time of Senate Meetings
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY ?

DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE

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

Monday, October 16, 2006 at 5:30 pm in Room 3210 WMC

Open Session

Present:

Stevenson, Michael, President and Chair of

Senate

Black, Sam

Brennand, Tracy

Caufield, Sarah

Collinge, Joan (representing J. LaBrie)

Copeland, Lynn

Corbett, Kitty

Dagenais, Diane

Dickinson, Peter

Driver, Jon

Easton, Steve

Ester, Martin

Fizzell, Maureen

Fox, Graham

Gencay, Ramo

Gordon, Irene

• ?

Gregory, Titus

Harder, Derrick

Haunerland, Norbert

Hayes, Michael

Joffres, Michel

Lewis, Glyn

Liljedalil, Peter

Parkhouse, W. (representing B. Lewis)

Percival, Cohn

Percival, Paul

Perry, T. (representing J. Pierce)

Peters, Joseph

Plischke, Michael

Rebman, Rachelle

Russell, Robert

Smart, C.

Tingling, Peter

Vaid, Bhuvinder

Van Baarsen, Amanda

Warner, D'Arcy

Waterhouse, John

Williams, Peter

Wong, Josephine

Watt, Alison, Director, University Secretariat

Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary

Absent:

Breden, Felix

Deigrande, James

Dunnet, Margo

Gordon, Robert

Halpern, Erica.

Honda, Barry

Javed, Waseem

Kelly, Vanessa

Krane, Bill

Li, Wei

Louie, Brandt

MacKenzie, Christine

McArthur, James

Pinto, Mario

Schehlenberg, Betty

Shaker, Paul

Shermer, Thomas

Smith, Don

Weeks, Dan

Zandvhiet, David

In attendance:

Bérubé, Denis

Laba, Martin

Marshall, Dan

Weinberg, Hal

Whittlesea, Bruce

S.M. 16 October 2006

Page 2

A pproval

of the Agenda

The Agenda was approved as distributed.

Approval of the Minutes of the O

en Session of Se

ptember

18, 2006

The Minutes were approved as distributed.

Business Arising from the Minutes

In response to an inquiry as to whether there was any information on the ability to

implement the additive credit option for Co-op Education, Senate was advised that

this initiative is still expected to be implemented on schedule.

Report of the Chair

On behalf of Senate, the Chair welcomed two new Student Senators: Bhuvinder

Vaid from the Faculty of Education, and Graham Fox from the Faculty of Arts and

Social Sciences.

In a brief report about budget, the Chair advised that the Ministry is expected to

operate within the parameters of the previous announcement to fund 25,000 new

student spaces in post-secondary education. However, the Chair wanted Senate to

be aware that if no provisions for inflation and no provisions for cost overruns on

the infrastructure already committed were forthcoming, the University would be

facing a serious classroom, office and laboratory shortfall. The universities were

pressing the Government strongly on the issues of inflation funding and graduate

student funding. Information on the budget is expected in early November and

internal consultations will take place on the budget in mid-November.

Senate was advised that under Other Business, the Vice-President Academic would

report on enrolment.

i) ?

Paper S.06-1 10 - Annual Financial Statements (For Information)

D. Bérubé, Acting Associate Vice President Finance was in attendance in order to

respond to questions.

Reference was made to page 10, under Scholarships, Bursaries and Prizes. It was

pointed out that the Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and

Bursaries (SPCSAB) allocated approximately $1 lm of the $22m noted in the

Financial Statements, and a question was asked about the balance of these funds.

Senate was advised that there were a number of scholarships allocated through the

operating fund and a large part of scholarships were funded through the

endowment fund and this figure is a combination of all the scholarships from all of

these funds. The Chair of the SPCSAB requested that the Committee be appraised

of the full scope of financial assistance funding in the University, and the Chair

indicated this would be done.

S.M. 16 October 2006

Page 3

. ?

Clarification was requested with respect to the difference between the 2005 and

2006 amounts under Accounts Receivable on page 9. Senate was advised that

because the Government wanted all of the collective agreements settled by March

31st the University made one-time payments according to the terms of the various

agreements to employees but the funding had not been received from the

Government by that date.

A question was raised about the impact on the operating budget of opening and

maintaining new buildings. It was noted that the Government has not provided

additional funds for new buildings which is why the University was strongly

arguing for inflation adjustments.

Reference was made to Sponsored Research Revenue onpage

and question was

raised as to whether there was a public list detailing the source of the money. No

one was available to respond to the question so the Chair indicated that he would

ask the Vice President Research about this issue and report back.

Following discussion, the Annual Financial Statements were received by Senate.

Question Period

A question was raised as to whether the University was engaged or had plans to

engage in the Campus 2020 process. The Chair advised that, as a member of the

• ?

Advisory Committee to the Minister of Advanced Education, he had just met with

the Commission on Campus 2020. The Commission had been advised that the

timing of the Burnaby event coincided with the Senate meeting. However, the

Chair indicated that SFU would participate in the Surrey and Vancouver sessions

of the Commission. It was the Chair's belief that the Commission is of significant

importance since policy issues and long term structural issues affecting the quality

of higher education in this Province could be addressed. The University Presidents'

Council (TUPC) is preparing a system-wide brief to Campus 2020. A submission

is also being prepared on behalf of SFU by former

Academic, Dr. John Munro,

which will largely reflect statements and ideas in public statements and agendas.

This document will be reviewed by SCUP and will then be available to Senate for

information. At the request of the Ministry, nominations for the non-public

sessions had been submitted, and the Chair commented that he was amenable to

submitting additional names. In answer to a question, the Chair indicated that

student nominations had been included.

Referring to the email about Campus 2020 that was circulated by the President to

the university community, it was suggested that the distribution list could be

expanded to the entire student body. The Chair indicated that he would be happy

to work with the Student Society on ways to most effectively provide that

communication to students.

• ?

Reference was made to the Arts and Social Sciences and Health Sciences buildings

and whether the openings were on schedule. Senate was advised that the Arts and

S.M. 16 October

2006

Page 4

Social Sciences building probably would not be finished until mid-February

although the teaching spaces (except for the large lecture hall) would open in

January. It was reported that the Health Sciences building was on schedule for

opening in January

2008, 

provided that additional infrastructure funding is

forthcoming.

6. ?

Reports of Committees

Research Ethics Board

i) ?

Paper S.06-111 - Annual Re

port

(For Information)

B. Whittlesea, Chair of the Research Ethics Board, and H. Weinberg, Secretary of

REB, were in attendance in order to respond to questions.

The Annual Report of the Research Ethics Board was received by Senate for

information.

Senate Committee on University Priorities

Paper

S.06-112 - 

External Review

School of Communication

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by S. Easton

"that the School of Communication and the Dean of Applied Sciences be

advised

112" 

to continue the pursuit of the priority items as set out in Paper S.06-

M. Lab a, Director of the School of Communication, was in attendance in order to

respond to questions.

Reference was made to point 4 of the priority items, and clarification was sought as

to whether Communication was being explicitly supported as opposed to other

Schools in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. Senate was informed that there was no

intent that resources would be re-directed from other Schools in Applied Sciences

to Communication.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii)

Paper

S.06-113 - 

Faculty of Science - New Streams in Earth Sciences

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by Peter Williams

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

proposal for changes to the Earth Sciences Major and Minor programs to

include the addition of three new streams: Geology, Environmental

Geoscience, and General"

Question was called, and a vote taken. ?

MOTION CARRIED

-S.M. 16 October 2006

Page

iii)

Pa p

er S.06-114 - Faculty

of Health Sciences - B.Sc. Major, Minor and

Honors

Moved by J. Waterhouse, seconded by M. Hayes

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

proposal for a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (Major, Honors, and

Minor in Health Sciences) offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences"

It was noted that courses not offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences, such as

Geography, History, Philosophy and Sociology/Anthropology were part of the

degree requirements but no funds had been allocated to any of those departments to

service the students being projected in the program. Senate was advised that funds

were allocated to Faculties and from Faculties to Departments based on the number

of students registered in courses. Departments experiencing an increase in student

enrolment as a consequence of this program should then receive funding. Concern

was expressed that if funding followed student enrolment increases, departments

would not be able to accommodate students in the first year of the program. The

funding for Health Sciences has been based on projections for student enrolments

and has been provided on a planning basis. Currently funding is allocated

according to an enrolment plan approved by Senate for Faculties, and if additional

S ?

funding was necessary on a planning basis for courses to be taught in other

departments, then discussions should be undertaken with the appropriate Dean.

Referring to the FTE targets on page 11, it was noted that actual enrolment had not

met the targets and the accuracy of the projected enrolments was questioned. It was

pointed out that there was a difference between the number of students admitted to

a program and the number of students taking courses offered in the program. It was

suggested that the projected enrolment for Health Sciences seemed overly

optimistic and a question was raised about funding if the targets were not met. The

VP Academic noted that if enrolments did not materialize, the allocation of

resources would be reduced.

A few errors were pointed out in the Senate paper that will be corrected.

Discussion then followed about the specific selection of statistics courses for this

program. The Chair suggested that follow-up with the Department of Statistics

could take place and any necessary amendments could be brought back to Senate.

It was noted that the Senior Seminar (HSCI 481) was not an option for the B.Sc.

students.

Fundamental concerns were expressed about the lack of mathematics in the

program. Several senators stated that B.Sc. programs universally include first year

mathematics, especially basic calculus. A lengthy discussion of this point took

place, with those involved in the development of the program explaining that the

interdisciplinary nature of the program required compromise in the selection of the

S.M. 16 October 2006

Page 6

courses, and on balance, it was felt that the program should include mathematics

courses which are listed as recommended courses. However it was pointed out that

a B.Sc. program without a year of mathematics was not unique; there were other

B.Sc. Health Science programs being offered at other recognized universities, such

as the University of Western Ontario, McMaster and Queens, that do not require

mathematics, and this program met the benchmark of these other programs.

A concern was expressed about the effectiveness of bringing students together

from the BA and the B.Sc. in Health Sciences to take the common core courses,

when their preparation for these courses would be quite different. It was noted that

the four courses 211-215 will include units that cover a wide range of subjects, and

in order to accommodate the different groups of students, sections and labs will be

associated with the units to provide sufficient background for those students who

might lack the necessary preparation. It was pointed out that the Foundation course

- HSCI 130 - will also help prepare all students to take the 200-level courses

mentioned above.

It was noted that the Calendar entry would have been a useful addition to the

documentation.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

i) ?

Paper

Senate

S.06-115

Graduate

Studies

SFU Participation

Committeein ?

the Canadian Graduate Student

Research Mobility Agreement - Visiting Research Students

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by M. Hayes

"that Senate approve SFU participation in the Canadian Graduate

Student Research Mobility Agreement (CGSRMA) as set out in

Paper S.06-115"

Question was called, and a vote taken. ?

MOTION CARRIED

Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules

i) ?

Paper S.06-109 - Scheduling of Senate meetings

The Chair advised Senate that SCAR sought advice from Senate on this issue and

recommended that Senate should move into a Committee of the Whole.

Moved by S. Easton, seconded by J. Waterhouse

"that Senate move into a Committee of the Whole for 15 minutes

to discuss the scheduling time of Senate meetings"

S.M. 16 October 2006

Page 7

The following is a brief summary of the points raised during discussion:

- an earlier time of day would cause inconvenience to students with regard to

class scheduling and would be a detriment to students serving on Senate;

- most faculty members in addition to their teaching duties have administrative

duties which need to be carried out between

9-5

and to block another afternoon

once a month would make it impossible to schedule a class on a Monday

afternoon;

- 'a daytime meeting would be more accommodating to people with families;

- the survey should be undertaken to find out whether there are members of the

community who are interested in serving on Senate but cannot because of their

unavailability in evenings;

- the survey should note that Senators are also expected to sit on some of the

Senate committees and that those committees are scheduled in daytime hours;

- the survey should include a sampling of students to determine how they would

find an evening versus an afternoon meeting;

- the survey should identify all the barriers to sitting on Senate;

- the Alumni Association should be consulted to see if their members would be

more or less able to come to meetings during the day since Senate includes four

Convocation Senators who likely work off campus;

- Senate could be scheduled on Saturday.

• ?

The Chair felt that there were conflicting equity and time management obligations

to students and to those teaching that are quite difficult to balance and that the

sense of Senate was that it would be useful to survey faculty, a sample of students,

and alumni, on this issue. Staff will be asked to prepare a survey proposal for

consideration by SCAR.

Moved by I. Gordon, seconded by L. Copeland

"that Senate move out of the Committee of the Whole"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

E) ?

Senate Nominating Committee

i) ?

Paper S.06-116 - Elections

Senate's attention was drawn to the finalized version of S.06-116 distributed at the

meeting. The following candidates were elected by acclamation: Waseem Javed,

Undergraduate Student (regular position) on the Senate Appeals Board; Bhuvinder

Vaid, Student Senator on the Senate Committee on University Honours; Graham

Fox, Undergraduate Student (regular position) on the Senate Library Committee

and the Library Penalties Appeal Committee. Amanda van Baarsen was elected as

the Student Senator Alternate on the Senate Committee on University Priorities.

The remaining vacancies were carried forward to the next meeting of Senate.

S.M. 16 October 2006

Page 8

Other Business

The VP Academic provided Senate with a brief update on the status of registrations

at SFU following the Fall semester enrolments. This semester, the total FTE target

for domestic undergraduate student enrolment has been met. Students are taking

slightly larger course loads and more students are returning to take courses, but the

number of new admissions is below target. International student enrollments and

new admissions were also below target for the University as a whole. These results

are consistent with the experience of the University of Victoria and some other

universities.

In some quarters there has been concern expressed that the new English language

admission requirements have been confusing. This will be looked at as soon as

data are available from this year's admissions cycle to see whether they have

influenced the applications and admissions patterns. Requiring the Language

Proficiency Index (LPI) as a condition of admission for students who received less

than 80% in English 12 may have caused difficulties. A better strategy might be to

admit students and, if they receive less than a certain grade point average in

English 12, require them (after admission) either to register in the Foundations of

Academic Literacy (FAL) course or to earn exemption from that course by

successfully completing the LPI at a certain level. Senate was assured that this

issue was being looked at and that any adjustments would be recommended

quickly. One Senator urged caution about dispensing with the LPI requirement as

it was, in his view, sometimes a better indicator of language proficiency than the

Grade 12 English mark.

In response to a question about the number of admissions to Fraser International

College, Senate was advised that 81 students were admitted to FIC and the number

is expected to increase to over 100 in January. Enrollment for 2007/08 is expected

to be on target.

In response to a question about enrolments across Faculties, Senate was advised

that specific figures could be obtained from Analytical Studies but generally

speaking the Faculty of Business Administration and the Faculty of Arts and Social

Sciences had exceeded their domestic undergraduate targets, whereas Computing

Science, Engineering Science and the Tech One program in Surrey were under-

enrolled. A suggestion was made that perhaps the new WQB requirements and the

lack of support around the requirements were factors which influenced students to

attend other institutions. It was pointed out that there was significant infrastructure

associated with the WQB requirements, including the new Student Learning

- Commons in the Library and the foundation courses in literacy and numeracy. The

Chair provided brief background information relating to the general decline of

admissions not only at SFU but other institutions: the increase of degree granting

options, the competition for applicants from the same pool, and significant

reductions in transfer from other institutions to universities because of incentives

and the environments at these other institutions. Regarding international students,

enrolment declines are being experienced across the country because of

S.M. 16 October 2006

Page 9

S ?

competition and because there are difficulties with federal immigration and visa

requirements which put Canada at a disadvantage.

Information

The date of the next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 6, 2006.

The Open meeting of Senate adjourned at 7:20 pm and moved directly into Closed

Session.

Alison Watt

Director, University Secretariat

S.06-109

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

University Secretariat

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

Senate

From: ?

Alison Watt, Secretary, Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules

Subject: ?

changes to the time of Senate Meetings

Date: ?

4 October, 2006

At the meeting of the Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules (SCAR) today, SCAR reviewed the

notice of motion that was presented to Senate at the last meeting and the rationale outlined in the

attached memorandum.

Members of SCAR felt that this matter could benefit from a discussion at Senate that touched on the

following matters:

Is the current membership of Senate interested in changing the time of Senate from

7p.m. or 5:30 p.m. to an earlier time of 2:30 p.m.?

• 2. Would other members of the university community be more likely to seek to

participate in Senate if the time of Senate was in the afternoon and not in the

evening?

3. ?

Would Senators like SCAR to pursue this matter further and seek advice from the

university community?

SCAR recommends that discussion of this matter at Senate take place in "committee of the whole" with

no formal motion on the floor at the outset of the discussion.

, ?

I,!

-_EW

Room 3186, Strand Hall

8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6

S.06-1O9

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

University Secretariat

MEMORANDUM

To:

Senate

From:

Alison Watt, Director, University Secretariat

Subject ?

Scheduling of Senate meetings

Date: ?

5 September, 2006

Notice of Motion

Time of Senate meetings

A senator recently raised the issue of the difficulty of engaging faculty in governance

and service roles in the University. As evidence of this, it was noted that all the Faculty

Senator positions, except one, were elected by acclamation this spring.

One problem that has frequently been raised as a barrier to involvement in Senate has

been the timing of Senate - scheduled in the evening since 1965. This item has been

considered a couple of times by Senate but has been rejected in the past.

The original rationale for the evening meetings has been that it would not conflict with

classes. However, this is not the case now. SFU runs classes until 10 p.m. and there is

no time that this would be "class-free".

Another concern is the availability of off campus members of Senate. In a recent change

to the University Act, the Government eliminated four of the eight off-campus members

of Senate (the Order-in-Council members) and currently there are four Convocation

Senators, two of whom are connected to the campus and two who are employed off

campus. The Convocation elections will take place in 2008 and if the change in the

time is approved by Senate, we can ensure that candidates are aware of the new times.

Some of the advantages include:

Consistency of time. Senators and staff would know that the meeting was

scheduled at the new time, rather than the fluctuation between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

that we have seen frequently in the last few years.

Making Senate more visible and accessible to the community by having it held in

the day-time when more people are around.

Service on Senate is a service to the University that is one of the responsibilities

of faculty members and it should be included within the regular work-day, as are all

Senate's committees.

Room 3186, Strand Hall

8888 University Drive,

Burnaby, B.C.

V5A 1S6

A 2:30 p.m. start would allow for Senate meetings to end at 5:30 p.m. in time for

people to collect their children from Childcare.

The elimination of the Senate dinner would be a cost saving.

SCAR is agreeable to having this debated at Senate in October with a suitable motion

which would include an automatic review of the time of Senate in May 2009.

Room 3186, Strand Hall

8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6