DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE

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

Monday, February 2, 2009 at 7:00 pm in Room 3210 WMC

Open Session

Present: Easton, Stephen, Vice-Chair

Agnes, George (representing W. Parkhouse)

Bains, Aman

Bocking, Natalie

Brennand, Tracy

Chapman, Glenn

Collinge, Joan

Collins, Colleen (representing D. Shapiro)

Copeland, Lynn

Cormack, Lesley

de Castell, Suzanne

Dow, Greg

Driver, Jon

Fergusson, Andrew

Fizzell, Maureen

Francis, June

Gencay, Ramo

Gibson, Eli

Harding, Kevin

Joes, Michel

Jones, John (representing C. Jones)

Krane, Bill

Laba, Martin

Lee, Benjamin

Letourneau, Michael

Leznoff, Daniel

O'Neil, John

Paling, Joseph

Patel, Ravi

Pavsek, Christopher

Percival, Cohn

Percival, Paul

Peters, Joseph

Pinto, Mario

Plischke, Michael

Scott, Jamie

Seal, Brent

Shermer, Thomas

Tapia, Earl Von

Thompson, Steve

van der Wey, Dolores

Williams, Tony

Ross, Kate, Registrar & Senior Director Student Enrolment

Watt, Alison, Director, University Secretariat

Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary

Absent:

Arsenault-Antolick, Haida

Bart, Brad

Golnaraghi, Farid

Gordon, Robert

Hannah, David

Janes, Craig

Liljedahl, Peter

Louie, Brandt

MacDonald, Camille

McArthur, James

Popadiuk, Natalee

Russell, Robert

Stevenson, Michael

Tiffany, Evan

Vaid, Bhuvinder

Wakkary, Ron

Warner, D'Arcy

In attendance:

Popowich, Fred

Dench, Sarah

S.M 2 February 2009

Page 2

Approval of the Agenda

The Agenda was approved as distributed.

Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of January 12. 2009

The Minutes were approved.

Business Arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising

Report of the Chair

There was no report from the Chair.

Question Period

First question from C. Pavsek.

This past year the tuition waiver for senior students was removed.

Can the President, or the appropriate party, please provide an accounting of the cost savings that this

cut has provided and is expected to provide? J.

Driver responded that the estimated increased

revenue from the removal of the tuition waiver for seniors was about $300,000. He noted

that a bursary fund had been established to assist seniors in need, and 14 awards had been

provided in Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters, totalling $8,000.

A follow-up question was

asked about whether the same number of seniors had continued to enroll. J.

Driver responded that

he did not have that data available, but that the University had exceeded its undergraduate

enrolment targets for Spring 2009.

Paling asked whether seniors have to qualify for

government assistance to take advantage of the bursary program. J

Driver responded that

the bursary program is administered in the same way as other bursary programs.

Commenting on this issue, C. Pavsek stated that he felt that this was a false economy, and

noted anecdotally that his large class in cinema history had a number of senior students in

the past, and now only one senior is enrolled - a person who used to enroll in 2-3 classes a

semester and now can only afford one.

Secretary's Note: A clarification about the senior's bursary was provided by J. Driver

under Business Arising at March Senate 2009.

Second question from C. Pavsek.

Can a detailed list and accounting of all cuts that have been

made, or will soon be made, to programs and services at SFU be provided? Can this list please

specify which programs, and what amounts, have been cut? I understand that the cuts for

200812009 have been applied equally to all budgets, but can a list of the specific program cuts be

provided? I realize that funding is to a degree decentralized and that faculties have some autonomy

in deciding how to administer funds, but there must be some centralized accounting of the specific cuts

that have been made. Or, to put it another way: in his update on the University budget process

distributed in the middle of December 2008, Vice-President Academic Jon Driver stated that the

University "will attempt to fund activities that have the highest priority, and we will decline to fund

activities that have a lower priority." Which activities, specifically, are of the "highest priority" and

which are of "lower priority"? J.

Driver responded that he was not able to provide the detailed

information requested because the University was still currently constructing the budget

which will first go to the Senate Committee on University Priorities which will provide

advice to the President, and will then go to the Board of Governors for approval.

S.M 2 February 2009

Page 3

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Following approval of the budget, the major changes in the budget will be known.

Turning to the issue of priorities, J. Driver indicated that after consulting the deans, the

high priority areas had been defined as the Surrey campus and its programs, areas that had

projected undergraduate growth, areas of high research quality and high demand areas -

particularly those areas where student faculty ratios were under stress. In answer to a

follow-up question regarding when information about the budget would be known, J.

Driver noted that the budget is a plan, which may be affected by later decisions and

possible changes in last-minute funding, but that the budget that goes to the Board is

expected to provide an overview of the priority allocations and cuts, and more detailed

information could be obtained from specific faculties and departments.

Third question from C. Pavsek.

Last year Policy B 10.08 was revised to standardize the merit

award pool for senior administrators at 1.5 steps. Is it the case that senior administrators did receive

1.5 steps on average in the last round of salary reviews? Has there been any reduction in this

amount, or alterations made to this policy, in light of the current financial situation? A.

Watt

responded that the policy allowed the President to allocate funds equivalent to 1.5 steps

and 96.5% of these funds had been distributed. She indicated she was unaware of any

proposed policy changes.

Fourth question from C. Pavsek.

In his update on the University budget process distributed in

early December, 2008, Vice-President Academic Jon Driver stated that "There are no plans to

eliminate funded continuing faculty positions that are currently filled, except through the recently

. ?

announced Voluntary Faculty Exit Incentive Program." Has this plan changed at all? That is, are

plans now being considered for the elimination of such positions, that is filled continuing faculty

positions? Has the Voluntary Faculty Exit Incentive Program been as successful as was hoped for?

Or has its success necessitated a rethinking of earlier plans?

Driver responded that his

statement remained correct and there are no plans to lay-off faculty members. The

Incentive plan was initiated and has now been completed and a number of applications

from faculty members were received and approved, resulting in savings to the budget.

question from K. Harding:

Student Senators recently received an email effectively announcing

the demise of the Canadian Studies program. Students are concerned about what appears to be a

closure of a program before any procedures have been undertaken at Senate or the Board of Governors.

What arrangements have been made for currently declared students, and when might Senate make the

decision to close the program?

L. Cormack responded that she was suspending declarations

for Canadian Studies pending a re-evaluation of the program so that students who have

already entered can complete their degrees. Funding has been decreased and redeployed.

Furthermore, the process of considering the closure of Canadian Studies would be first

considered by the Faculty's Curriculum Committee and if approved, would then proceed

to Senate. In a follow-up question, K. Harding suggested that the majority of students

who might consider entering the Canadian Studies program are in Political Science, and

these students had not received any notice of this potential closure. L. Cormack noted

that there are 10 declared students (5 majors, 4 joint majors and 1 minor) and 1 intended

major; she also noted that the enrollment pattern over the past decade had been an average

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of 10 students per year. There are 6 active Canadian Studies courses and 156 cognate

courses available for students to flulfill their programs. No notice had been provided

S.M 2 February 2009

Page 4

because there has been no decision to close but she indicated that she would take

suggestions about avenues to notify students of the suspension of admissions.

6. ?

Reports of Committees

Senate Committee on Universit

Priorities

i) ?

Paper S.09-13 - External Review - Cognitive Science Program

F. Popowich, Director of the Program was in attendance in order to respond to questions:

Moved by J

Driver, seconded by M. Fizzell

"that Senate approve the recommendations from the Senate Con'miittee on

University Priorities concerning advice to the Cognitive Science Program

and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences on priority items

resulting from the External Review"

After noting the very positive review of the program, P. Percival pointed out that

the report argued that the Cognitive Science program is under-resourced. This

reinforced a view he held that resources appear to flow to new programs and

existing units are continually cut back. K. Harding also commented on the

strength of the program, and noted that one concern highlighted by the review is

the issue of how contributions of cross-appointed faculty are recognized. J

Driver

agreed that this matter needs attention, particularly as the university expands with

the creation of the three new faculties, and engages in more interdisciplinary

programming.

The question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii) ?

Paper S.09-14 - Report on Academic Operations at Fraser International College

September 2007-August 2008 (For Information)

S. Dench, Director, University Curriculum and Institutional Liaison was in attendance.

C. Percival complained that the report showed that there had been no improvement in

the diversity of country of origin of the FIC students, that an even greater percentage of

students were taking business courses, and that the quality of the students was no higher

than students coming to SFU directly from abroad. In his yew, FIC had been a failure.

G. Chapman agreed that the diversity of students was not as promised and noted that IBT

(now Navitas) was an experienced organization which didn't appear to be able to recruit

students from significant markets in India and the Middle East. M. Fizzell indicated that

her view was completely opposite and that FIC had been a resounding success. She went

on to note that SFU had more control and involvement in the programming than in any

other college, that more students transferring to SFU are moving into Arts and Social

Sciences and not Business Administration, and that it was unfair to expect FIC to recruit

S.M 2 February 2009

Page

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significantly more students from a wide array of countries within a one year period. J.

Driver reminded Senate that the FIC program is intended to develop long-term recruiting

relationships and there is evidence that there has been success in recruiting students from a

more diverse range of countries, but that the reality is that most international student

populations in North America are dominated by a few Asian countries.

J. Paling asked questions about student committee representation and the possibility of

formalizing arrangements so that FIC students might take advantage of the services offered

to students at SFU, such as the U-Pass. J

Driver indicated that NC students have been

invited to serve on the Academic Advisory Committee and have, so far, declined. NC

students are entitled to organize themselves, but they are not SFU students.

Another question was posed about the fact that Navitas is applying (with SFU's support)

to the BC Government for permission to offer an associate degree. S. Dench noted that

some students have difficulty in getting a student visa if they are not studying directly in a

program that results in a credential. Furthermore a credential would be of assistance to

those students who complete the Navitas program but who do not meet the threshold for

transfer to SFU.

iii)

Paper S.09-15 - Centres and Institutes Report 2007/2008 (For Information)

Senate received this report for information. In response to a question Vice-President

Research Pinto indicated that a review of the policy was being initiated under the

guidance of the Associate Vice-President Research Dr. N. Haunerland.

B) ?

Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies

Pwer S.09-16— Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions

- Faculty of Applied

Sciences (For Infonnation)

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

under delegated authority, approved six new courses and changes to courses and course

descriptions and requirements in Kinesiology.

ii)

Paper S.09-17 - Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Business

Administration (For Information)

Minor editorial revisions were made to the wording of the motion.

i) ?

New Concentration: Management of Innovation

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by M. Fizzell, and amended:

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

of Innovation Concentration in the Bachelor of Business Administration in the

Faculty of Business Administration"

The question was called, and a vote taken. AMENDED MOTION CARRIED

S.M 2 February 2009

Page 6

ii) ?

New courses (For Information)

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

under delegated authority, approved four new courses.

iii)

Paper S.09-18 - Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions

- Education (For

Information)

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

under delegated authority, approved minor revisions to existing courses and revisions to

the requirements of the Minor in Early Childhood Education.

iv)

Paper S.09-19 - Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Science (For

Information)

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

under delegated authority, approved the deletion of one course, and revisions to courses in

Biological Sciences, and approved four new courses and changes to existing programs and

courses in Mathematics.

C) ?

Paper

Senate

S.09-20

Committee

- Graduate

on Graduate

Curriculum

StudiesRevisions

Faculty of Applied

Sciences (For Information:

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

delegated authority, approved a new course in Resource and Environmental Management.

ii)

Paper S.09-21 - Graduate Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Arts and Social

Sciences (For Information):

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

delegated authority, approved one new course and revisions to grading for two courses in

International Studies, and approved one new course in Urban Studies, and revisions to

programs in Political Science, and Psychology. The Graduate Certificate in Latin

American Studies, listed on Paper S.09-21 in error will be forwarded to SCUP for review

before proceeding to Senate.

iii)

Paper S.09-22 - Graduate Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Business

Administration (For Information)

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

delegated authority, approved revisions to grading in the MBA Internship.

S.M 2 February 2009

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iv)

Paper

S.09-23 - 

Graduate Curriculum Revisions - Facult

of Education (For

Information)

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

delegated authority, approved program changes to core and elective courses in the

Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (TESL) Program.

Paper

S.09-24 - 

Graduate Curriculum Revisions

- Faculty of Health Sciences (For

Information)

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

delegated authority, approved two new courses and program changes to core, electives

and credit hours for the Master of Public Health program.

vi)

Paper

S.09-25 - 

Graduate Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Science (For

Information)

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

delegated authority, approved course revisions and two new courses in Molecular Biology

and Biochemistry, and program revisions (grading/calendar changes) in Physics.

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships. Awards and Bursaries

i) ?

Paper

S.09-26 - 

Annual Report (For Information)

The Annual Report of the Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships Awards & Bursaries

for the fiscal year

2007-2008 

was received by Senate for information There were no

questions.

Senate Nominating Committee

i) ?

Elections

Senate was advised that no further nominations had been received. Ravi Patel was

therefore elected by acclamation to the Student member position on the Calendar

Committee <CC) and the Student Senator Alternate position on the Senate Committee on

Agenda and Rules (SCAR), and Joe Paling was elected by acclamation to the Student

Senator position on the Senate Committee on University Priorities (SCIJP). The

remaining vacancy for the Senate Committee on University Honours (SCUH) will be

held in abeyance until the spring committee elections as the principal work of SCUH has

concluded for the year.

7. ? 

Other Business

There was no Other Business.

S.M 2 February 2009

Page 8

8. ?

The

Informationdate

of the

next regularly scheduled meeting of Senate is Monday, March 2, 2009.

The Open Session adjourned at 7:55 pm, and Senate moved directly into Closed Session.

Alison Watt

Director, University Secretariat