As amended by Senate

October 5, 2009

DRAFT UNTIL APPROVED BY SENATE

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

Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:00 pm in Room 3210 WMC

Open Session

Present ?

Absent

Stevenson, Michael, President and Chair of Senate

Beale, Alison

Brennand, Tracy

Chapman, Glenn

Geisler, Cheryl

Gibson, Eli

Golnaraghi, Farid

Hiscocks, Graham

Janes, Craig

Joifres, Michel

Louie, Brandt

MacGrotty, Alysia

McArthur, James

Sahinaip, Cenk

Bezglasnyy, Anton

Chiu, Christina

Copeland, Lynn

Cormack, Lesley

Dow, Greg

Driver, Jon

Easton, Stephen

Fizzell, Maureen

Francis, June

Funt, Elliot

Godson, Ali

Gordon, Robert

Hannah, David

Harding, Kevin

Haunerland, Norbert (representing M. Pinto)

Krane, Bill

Laba, Martin

Lee, Shara

Leznoff, Daniel

Li, Fiona

Magnusson, Kris

• ?

Mathewes, Rolf (representing M. Plischke)

Moubarak, Cristel

Myers, Gordon

Nadison, Ada

Nesbit, Tom

Noble, Cameron

O'Neil, John

Parkhouse, Wade

Pate!, Ravi

Paterson, David

Pavsek, Christopher

Percival, Colin

Percival, Paul

Peters, Joseph

Pierce, John

Rajapakse, Nimal

Ruben, Peter

Russell, Robert

Scott, Jamie

Shapiro, Daniel

Thompson, Steve

Tiffany, Evan

van der Wey, Dolores

Wakkary, Ron

Warner, D'Arcy

Williams, Tony

Woodbury, Rob

Zelezny, Joseph

Ross, Kate, Registrar and Secretary of Senate

Grant, Bobbie, Recording Secretary

In attendance:

Anderson, Gail

Beauregard, Erick

Busumtwi-Sam, James

Gandesha, Samir

Guthrie, Larry

Hibbitts, Pat

Mezei, Kathy

Pochurko, Martin

S.M. 14 September 200

Page 2

Approval of the Agenda

The Agenda was approved as distributed. ?

Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session of

1& 6. 2009

The Minutes were approved as distributed.

Business Arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising from the Minutes.

Report of the Chair

The Chair welcomed the following to their first meeting of Senate in their official

capacity as Dean: Kris Magnusson, Dean, Faculty of Education; John Pierce, first Dean of

the new Faculty of Environment; Tom Nesbit, Interim Dean of Continuing Studies; and

Cheryl Geisler, first Dean of the new Faculty of Communication, Art & Technology. The

Chair also welcomed all Senators to the beginning of a new academic year.

Although a detailed report on enrolment was not available at this point, the Chair

reported that both the domestic and international undergraduate enrolment was above

expectations, and he wished to extend thanks to everyone from Student Services through

to faculty and staff members in Faculties/Departments for the success of the recruitment

cycle.

The Chair also extended a special note of thanks to the Student Society and to the student

volunteers

students such

for

their

success.

tremendous contribution in making this Fall's Orientation for new ?

Commenting on recent press releases about the Provincial budget, the Chair reported that

in comparison to many other public sectors, advanced education has been relatively well

protected in that revisions to the earlier pre-election budget are minimal. The Chair

pointed out however that advanced education is not entirely unaffected. Firstly, there has

been a one-third cut to the ancillary capital budget which means that some urgent capital

renovations and/or maintenance will not go forward this year, and secondly, there has

been a global cut to student financial assistance, but again, the affect on university students

at research institutions is not as great as at other post-secondary institutions. Because of the

University's legal obligation to accommodate disabled students, cuts in this area will have

to be picked up by the University. Cuts to the Michael Smith Foundation will affect

funding for appointments and other research activities and collaborations at the research

universities, and one of the biggest concerns is that transfers to post-secondary institutions

will be frozen for the next three years which means that the costs of inflation will have to

be absorbed through adjustments to expenses in the operating budget.

The Chair announced that consultations within the University will begin in the near

future to address the difficulties of the budget cuts and how to respond to a freeze in

funding over the next two to three years.

S.M. 14 September 2009

Page 3

0 ?

i) ?

Paper S.09-96 - Annual Financial Report (For Information)

P. Hibbitts, Vice-President, Finance and Administration, M. Pochurko, Associate Vice-

President, Financial Services, and L. Guthrie, Director, Accounting Services, were in

attendance in order to respond to questions.

Senators were reminded that the financial statements for last year were greatly impacted by

what happened to world markets. The market has improved and some recovery has

already been made this year. It was pointed out that the other important factor to note is

that the University has now received funding to pay off expenses from last year related to

the Faculty Exit Program which also impacted last year's loss.

It was noted that the University's expenses were much larger than the University's

revenue and that the University's balance sheet was very much out of line between its

current assets and its current liabilities, and inquiry was made as to whether there was a

liquidity problem. It was pointed out that the investment loss, together with the expense

for the faculty exit program, mostly accounted for the difference between revenue and

expenses and that attempts were being made to put the balance sheet in better shape.

Senate was assured that there was no liquidity problem and that the basic operations of the

University were in balance. It was pointed out however that the budget for scholarships,

awards and bursaries was over spent last year which created a significant variance

in this

• ?

area of funding.

Given the over spending from last year, and the current financial constraints this year,

inquiry was made as to the impact this would have on financial assistance to students.

Senate was advised that the issue of scholarships, awards and bursaries will be given serious

discussion and consideration during budget consultation and deliberations. Brief discussion

took place with respect to the over spending of the scholarship budget. The Chair stated

that acceptance offers on scholarships was greater than anticipated and the surplus on

spending from the year before contributed to the variance. As a result, the University

chose to run a deficit which could be corrected in the future rather than turn away

scholarship students.

Reference was made to the decrease in endowment investment and the income

stabilization reserve. It was noted that most endowments have conditions attached to

support and benefit specific programs, and concern was expressed about the University

committing to endowments which support targeted areas that may end up putting areas

without endowment support at a disadvantage. Senate was reminded that the University

was contractually bound by the terms of reference for endowments but that money from

endowments represented a very small proportion of the total budget so this would not

have serious affect on other areas. With respect to the income stabilization reserve,

suggestion was made that the University may want to consider increasing funds to ofiet

future fluctuations so that the fund doesn't get completely wiped out as it did last year. It

• ?

was noted that the current focus was to bring the stabilization reserve fund back up to

where it was and that some recovery had already been made. It was pointed out that

increased funding to the stabilization reserve fund would have to come out of the

S.M. 14 September 2009

Page 4

operating budget so there was a trade off between whether to build the reserve bigger or

add income to the operating budget.

Referring to the differences between the amounts for revenue and expenses on page 9

versus the amounts shown on page 25, inquiry was made as to how they match up against

each other. Senate was advised that the information on page 9 was a very high level of

data consolidation which is broken down in more detail on page 25 and that there is an

alignment between the two sets of information behind the scenes. The Chair suggested

that anyone interested in a particular reconciliation contact Financial Services for further

details.

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

Question Period

Inquiry was made as to why enrolments went over target, and request was made that a

report showing head count and FTE numbers be provided at the next meeting. The Vice-

President, Academic agreed to provide a report on enrolment at the next Senate meeting.

Reports of Committees

A) ?

Senate Committee on International Activities

i) ?

Paper S.09-97 - Change to membership and terms of reference of SCIA, and

dissolution of the International Student Exchange Committee (ISEC'

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by J. Francis

Motion 1 and 2:

"that Senate approve the proposed changes to SCIA membership and terms

of reference, effective immediately; and that Senate approve the dissolution

of the International Student Exchange Committee (ISEC), effective

immediately"

Busumtwi-Sam, Chair of the Senate Committee on International Activities, was in

attendance in order to respond to questions.

In response to a request for a more detailed rationale, it was pointed that it was SCIA's

primary responsibility to provide oversight for all formal exchange agreements and

international activities. However, such agreements were currently only going to ISEC and

once that responsibility was transferred to SCIA, ISEC was no longer needed. In addition,

ISEC was meeting approximately twice a year to deal with routine administrative issues

that could easily be dealt with by SFU International, and it was felt by both committees

that it would be better to streamline and centralize the decision-making in SCIA.

Question was called, and a vote taken. ?

MOTION CARRIED ?

S.M. 14 September 2009

Page 5

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B) ?

Senate Committee on Universit

Priorities

Paper S.09-98 - Dissolution of the B.C. S

ynchrotron

Institute

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by D. Hannah

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

proposal to dissolve the B.C. Synchrotron Institute as a Schedule A Centre

based in the Department of Physics within the Faculty of Science"

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii)

Paper S.09-99 - Creation of the Centre for Research on Sexual Violence

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by R. Gordon

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

creation of the Centre for Research on Sexual Violence as a Schedule A

Centre based in the School of Criminology within the Faculty of Arts and

Social Sciences"

E. Beauregard, School of Criminology, was in attendance in order to respond to

questions.

Question was called, and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iii)

Paper S.09-100 - New Program: Certificate in Police Studies

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by R. Gordon

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

proposal for a Certificate in Police Studies in the School of Criminology

within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences"

G. Anderson, School of Criminology, was in attendance in order to respond to questions.

In response to an inquiry as to whether a similar program offered by the Justice Institute of

B.C. would have the same target audience, Senate was advised that the JLBC program was

vocational rather than academic and would not be considered similar.

It was noted that the program was targeted to police officers and other members of the

criminal justice system and inquiry was made as to how these off campus groups would be

admitted to the program. Senate was advised that anyone wishing to take this program

would apply to the University and be admitted through any of the normal admission

• ?

categories so they would be SFU students but not necessarily in a degree program.

Question was called, and a vote taken. ?

MOTION CARRIED

S.M. 14 September 2009

Page 6

iv) ?

Paper S.09-101 - New Program: Master of Arts in Humanities

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by K. Harding

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

proposal for a MA in Humanities in the Department of Humanities in the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences"

S. Gandesha and K. Mezei, both from the Department of Humanities, were in attendance

in order to respond to questions.

Question was called, and a vote taken. ?

MOTION CARRIED

C) ?

Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies

Paper S.09-102 - Faculty of Business Administration: Curriculum Revisions (For

Information)

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

under delegated authority, approved a revision to the eligibility calculation for admission

of Category 2, 3 and 4 students, a revision to the honors requirements, and the extension

of the SFU Business Broad Based Admission Pilot program for Fall 2010.

ii)

Paper S.09-103 - Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Education (For Information'

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

under delegated authority, approved the reinstatement of two temporarily withdrawn

courses in the Faculty of Education.

iii)

Paper S.09-104 - Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Science (For Information

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

under delegated authority, approved a change to the upper division requirements and

electives to reflect a revision from four streams to three streams.

D) ?

Senate Graduate Studies Committee

Paper S.09-105 - Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Health Sciences (For

Information)

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

delegated authority, approved minor revisions to existing courses in the Faculty of Health

Sciences.

ii)

Paper S.09-106 - Curriculum Revisions - Faculty of Science (For Information'

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

delegated authority, approved a new course and a change to the course work

requirements.

S.M. 14 September 2009

Page 7

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C) ?

Senate Nominating Committee

i) ?

Paper S.09-107 - Elections

The Secretary reported that no further nominations had been received so the names as

shown on Senate Paper S.09-107 were declared elected by acclamation. Outstanding

vacancies would be carried forward to the next meeting of Senate.

Other Business

i) ?

Paper S.09-108 - SFU Academic Vision. Outcomes and Vice-President Academic

Goals for 2013 (For Information)

Referring to the bulleted list on page 4, it was noted that some points start with a noun,

others with an action verb and suggestion was made that the items listed should be

grammatically consistent.

The Vice-President Academic introduced the document by explaining that the document

went through a fairly public consultative process and that the final report before Senate

was a result of that process. Since the planning process itself is mandated by Senate, it was

felt that it would be useful to bring the document to Senate's attention and let Senate

know that there had been a slight deviation from the normal practice. Rather than

beginning the planning process at the departmental level, which would then go through

the Faculty to the Vice President Academic, the process started with consultation that

. ?

resulted in some general goals and visions for the next three years. Departments and

Faculties were now being asked to take these general statements into consideration as they

begin to prepare their individual plans for the next few years.

Concern was expressed about the term 'relevant' in the last point on page 8 under the

section 'Outcomes 2013'. It was pointed out that the term was of concern to a lot of

faculty, especially those teaching in humanistic disciplines where relevance is not

necessarily apparent, and the term was felt to be potentially threatening to those disciplines

especially in times of budget constraints. It was suggested that a vision statement should

have included a statement that defends and advocates the pursuit of knowledge for its own

sake.

With regard to the public consultation process, it was pointed out that junior faculty were

only given two or three days notice prior to the public meeting so it was very difficult for

a lot of faculty to attend. However, one of the most important things brought up which

was very important for

all

junior faculty who attended the meeting, was that there was no

mention under the review of pedagogy on page 7, of face to face instruction with real

students in real classrooms. It was felt that the academic vision of SFU should reaffirm its

commitment to small classes and suggestion was made that the VPA be more emphatic

about SFU's commitment to these principles of pedagogy.

J .

Driver explained his belief that research by faculty members need not necessarily be

. ?

applied research but faculty should be able to justify its value for society in general. With

respect to in person education, it was pointed out that this type of instruction currently

dominates the University. Section 4.1 simply was there to provide support for faculty

S.M. 14 September 2009

Page 8

and/or departments who want to experiment with new teaching methods. This was not

an attempt to determine what the pedagogy should be for the University.

It was noted that the term interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary appear throughout the

document and opinion was expressed that the University should be working towards

interdisciplinary programming in order to preserve resources and maximize their use in

innovate ways. Currently there are administrative roadblocks and it was hoped that during

the planning process units would not only look at their own research strengths but also

research strengths that could be build upon with other units across the university.

The Vice President Academic stated that there was considerable interest among the

Faculties for more collaboration and sharing of resources and skills and that consideration

was being given to find ways of rewriting policies to make the sharing of activities across

the University easier.

Although there was ample opportunity for students to participate in the broad vision,

there appeared to be a problem in the creation of the three-year plans in some

departments where students were not given an opportunity for input. An opinion was

expressed that when reference to students and their best interest are included in planning

statements, the University may be doing itself a disservice when opportunity for student

input is not provided. It was pointed out that most departments have graduate and

undergraduate student representation on curriculum committees and there would be

opportunity for input as plans unfold and curriculum is reviewed. Opinion was reiterated

that students should also be part of the initial planning process, not just after a plan has

been developed and is under review.

Reference was made to the recent circulation of the Strategic Research Plan and

suggestion was made that the research plan should have some connection to the academic

plan and it was hoped that attempts would be made to connect the two. The Chair stated

that this same issue has been brought forward with respect to other planning documents

such as the President's plan, financial planning and the strategic enrolment plan, and the

need to bring these activities into a more coherent interface was acknowledged by the

Chair.

Brief discussion continued with respect to the term relevance, and applied research versus

other research. The Vice-President Academic stressed the fact that the document was

before Senate for information only; that other than the grammatical corrections mentioned

earlier, the document would not be rewritten, and academic plans for the various units

and for the University as a whole will be developed as a result of taking the general

statements from the document into consideration.

8. ?

Information

The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of Senate is Monday, October 5, 2009.

The Open Session adjourned at 8:25 pm, and Senate moved directly into Closed Session.

Kate Ross

Registrar and Secretary of Senate