APPROVED BY SENATE

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

Monday, June 13, 2011 at 5:30 pm at the West Mall Complex (Room 3210)

Open Session

Present:

Petter, Andrew, President and Chair

Armstrong, Arthur

Black, Sam

Brandhorst, Bruce

Cameron, Rob (for N. Rajapakse)

Chapman, Glenn

Chen, Alexander

Cyr, Dianne

Dhillon, Arinder

Driver, Jon

Easton, Stephen

Eckman, Charles

Fee, Jane (for J. Craig)

Fizzell, Maureen

Fontaine, Marc

Francis, June

Geisler, Cheryl

Hughes, David

Janes, Craig

Kong, Shuyu

Krane, Bill

Laitsch, Dan

Lee, Benjamin

Leznoff, Daniel

Magnusson, Kris

Mathewes, Rolf (for C. Cupples)

Moghaddamjoo, Sarah

Nilson Levisohn, Michelle

Percival, Colin

Percival, Paul

Perry, Tom

Peters, Joseph

Pilarinos, Andreas

Tabin, Yvonne (for H. Wussow)

Tashakor, Pasha

Yeung, Lorenz

Hinchliffe, Jo, Assistant Registrar (representing K. Ross)

Gair, Shelley, Recording Secretary

Absent:

Acierno, Kyle

Brennand, Tracy

Garneau-Scott, Christi

Golnaraghi, Farid

Gordon, Robert

Kohn, Jordan

Kopahi, Moe

Kropinski, Mary Catherine

Leacock, Tracey

Mann, Geoff

McRae, Jennifer

Myers, Gordon

O’Neil, John

Parkhouse, Wade

Paterson, David

Pavsek, Christopher

Pierce, John

Pinto, Mario

Reyeros, Diego

Ruben, Peter

Russell, Robert

Sahinalp, Cenk

Saif, Mehrdad

Shapiro, Daniel

Shaw, Chris

Somers, Julian

Taylor, Carole

Warner, D’Arcy

Woodbury, Rob

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S.M 13 June 2011

Page 2

1.

Approval of the Agenda

The agenda was approved as distributed.

2.

Minutes of the Open Session on May 24, 2011

The minutes of the open session on May 24, 2011 will be approved at the Senate meeting on July

4, 2011.

3.

Business Arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising from the minutes.

4.

Report of the Chair

The Chair welcomed the newly elected and re-elected Senators to the first meeting of their term

of office and thanked them for their service to the University:

New Convocation Senators:

Tracey Leacock, Jennifer McRae

Re-elected Convocation Senators:

Colin Percival, D’Arcy Warner

New Faculty Senators:

Tom Perry, Michelle Nilson Levisohn

Re-elected Faculty Senators:

Farid Golnaraghi, Robert Gordon, June Francis, Daniel Leznoff,

Glenn Chapman, Christopher Pavsek, Tracy Brennand

New Student Senators:

David Hughes, Arthur Armstrong, Jordan Kohn, Marc Fontaine, Diego

Reyeros, Alexander Chen, Andreas Pilarinos, Lorenz Yeung

Re-elected Student Senators:

Sara Moghaddamjoo, Pasha Tashakor, Kyle Acierno, Arry Dhillon,

Ben Lee, Christi Garneau-Scott

5.

i)

Response to Senator Black’s Question (S.11-82)

Senate received a written response from the Vice-President Academic to Senator Black’s

questions about published data in the March 6, 2011 issue of Maclean’s magazine regarding

responses to student satisfaction questions collected by the National Survey of Student

Engagement (NSSE) and the Canadian University Survey Consortium (CUSC). A request was

made to have these survey results available to all Senators. Senate was informed that the results

are available on the Institutional Research and Planning website but it was suggested that a guide

could be added to the main page to help locate the information.

A comment was made regarding the low ratings of SFU’s food service. Senate was informed by

the Chair that the current food services contract will be coming up for reconsideration next year

and that consultation with the entire community is planned.

A question was raised regarding evaluating the effectiveness of new initiatives. Senate was

informed that some, like first year cohort programs, are offered because research suggests that

these programs improve the student’s experience. As well, there are some initiatives that are more

closely monitored such as the Student Success program, which has data showing improved

performance and retention of students who would otherwise have left SFU. Not all the initiatives

have a collection of data that shows their effectiveness at SFU and an opinion was expressed that

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S.M 13 June 2011

Page 3

this is an area that can be improved. The Chair pointed out that the accreditation process that SFU

is currently involved in, requires that outcomes are measured.

6.

Reports of Committees

A) Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS)

i)

Motion

Moved by Bill Krane, seconded by Ben Lee

“that Senate approve the deletion of the Guaranteed Placement Program in the School of

Computing Science within the Faculty of Applied Sciences effective Spring 2012.”

Question was called and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii)

Undergraduate Curriculum Revisions (S.11-84 to S.11-89)

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

delegated authority, approved new courses and minor revisions to existing courses and program

requirements in the Faculties of Applied Sciences; Arts and Social Sciences; Beedie School of

Business; Communication, Art and Technology; Education; and Environment.

B)

Graduate Curriculum Revisions (S.11-90)

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

delegated authority, approved minor revisions to existing courses and program requirements in

the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

C) Elections by Senate (S.11-91)

Senate received a summary of the nominations and outstanding vacancies for the Senate

committees. Senate was informed that online voting will be open for 48 hours starting on June 14,

2011.

7.

i)

Election Report to Senate (S.11-92)

Senate received a report, for information, on the results of elections to Senate and the Board of

Governors.

Open session adjourned at 5:53 pm and Senate moved directly into the closed session.

Jo Hinchliffe

Assistant Registrar