OFF
I
C
E OF
TI
-
T
E
VI
C
E
-
PRE
S
ID
EN
T
,
r
\
C
AD
E
l\IJ
C
AND
PROV
O
ST
8888
U
nj
vcrsity
Drive, Burnab
y,
B
C
Canada
V5
r
\ 1
S6
TEL:
778.782.3925
FAX:
77
8.
7
82.5876
MEMORANDUM
ATTENTION
FROM
Se
n
ate
DATE
December 14, 2011
Bill
Kra
n
e, Acting V
ic
e-
Pr
es
id
ent,
A
cademic
PAGES
1
/
1
a
nd Provo
st,
and
Ac
tin
g C
hair
, SCUP
S.12-6
vpacad
@
sf
u.
ca
W\Vw.sf
u
.ca
/
vpacademic
RE:
Fac
ul
ty
of
Arts
and
Soc
ial
Sc
ienc
es
:
S
u
s
p
ens
ion
of
A
dmi
ss
ion to th
e
Major
in
Latin
A
m
e
rican
Studies
(SCUP
11
-50)
At
its November 23, 2011 meeting SCUP reviewed
and
approved the proposal to suspend admission to
the
Major
in Latin American Studies within the
Faculty
of
Arts
and Social Sciences.
(effective May 2012)
Motion
:
That
Senate approve the suspension of admission to the Major in Latin American Studies within the
Faculty
of Arts and Social Sciences.
Encl.
c:
P.
Budra
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
THINKING
OF
THE WORLD
SCUP 11-50
OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC AND
ASSOCIATE
PROVOST
8888 University Drive,
Burnaby,
BC
Canada V5A 1S6
TEL: 778.782.4636
FAX: 778.782.5876
www.sfu.ca/vpacademic
MEMORANDUM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTENllON
Senate Committee on University
DATE
November 4, 2011
FROM
RE:
Priorities
Bill Krane, Chair
PAGES
1/1
Senate Committee on Undergraduate
Studies
Faculty of
Arts and Social Sciences (SCUS 11-50i REVISED I
Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies at its meeting of
November
3, 2011, gives rise to the following recommendation:
Motion:
That
SCUP approve and recommend to Senate the suspension of admission to
the Major in Latin American Studies within the Faculty of
Arts and Social
Sciences effective
Summer 2012.
The
relevant documentation for review by SCUP is attached.
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
THINKING OF THE WORLD
Latin American Studies
Program
STREET A DDR
F.SS
HHHH University Drive
Burnaby
BC Canada
VSA 1Sii
77H-7H2-351
H
(Tel)
77H-7H2-5791J (Fax)
FACULTY
OF
AHTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
SCUS 11-SO(i) REVISED
October
18,
2011
To:
Paul Budra, Associate Dean, FASS
R
e:
LAS undergraduate Major
Dear Paul,
The
Latin
Am
e
tican
Studies Program
has
decided
to
dissolve our
undergraduate
Major, and requests that, as of
May 2012,
no
funher
students
be admitted
to
our Program
.
Please
note, we will retain
the
Minor
in
Latin American Studies.
Sincerely,
Alexander Dawson
Director
,
Latin American Studies
Program
Simon
Fraser University
aldawson
@sfu.ca
SIMON
I
'
Ui\S
E
R
lJNIVI<liSITY
THINKING
OF
THF
WORI
D
3
Latin
American
Studies
Program
street address
8888 University Drive
Burnaby
BC
Canada
VSA1S6
778-782-3518 (Tel)
778-782-5799 (Fax)
FASSCC 11-25
SFU
SCUS 11-SOi
faculty of
arts and social sciences
September
20,
2011
Dear Colleagues,
Attached you will find a resolution calling for the dissolution of the
undergraduate
Major
in
Latin
American
Studies.
It is
with
great regret that we propose this course of action. We must do this
because
in
recent years we have lost most of the faculty who
teach in
this
program, making it impossible for us
to
offer the courses
that
students
require
in order to complete the undergraduate major, particularly LAS 100.
While one faculty hire
in
Latin American Studies would allow us to avoid
this decision, we have
been
critically understaffed for nearly two years,
and
see no relief
in
the foreseeable future.
As
it stands, the program
is
simply not
viable.
We
will
retain the Minor
in
LAS, and the LAS MA Program.
Please
also
note that any student who completes LAS 100 prior to May 2012
will be
permitted
to complete the major. Currently this includes
at
least one
student
who has arranged to take LAS 100 at UBC.
Sincerely,
.
'/
. ,,,
.
...
... .
.. ..•.
,.,
...
-
Alexander
Dawson
Director,
Latin
American
Studies
Program
Simon
Fraser
University
aldawson@sfu.r.a
Slli&ON UASER UNIV&aSlTY
THINKING OF THE WORLD
SIMON
PRASBR
UNIVBRSITY
Deane
Proaram Dissolution Process
From time to time, it may be necessary to discontinue and dissolve existing
academic programs.
The proposal to discontinue and dissolve a program must be
comprehensively
documen~d
in order to ensure that all consequences of
dissolution have been taken into account to the fullest possible extent
Approvals aad Documentation Required
The documentation described below is necessary for consideration and approval of
a proposal to discontinue and dissolve a program at every stage of the process.
Committee Approvals Required
• Faculty undergraduate and/or graduate curriculum committees (or
appropriate alternative)
The LAS Steering
Committe~
.Agrecu last Year to stop admitting new students to
tltc Major. We will discuss the Dissolution of the Major and Vote the resolution
ir1
our
me~ting
on September G, 2011.
• SCUS or SGSC
• SCUP
• Senate
•
Board of Governors
Please note that the process as outlined may
take
a few months to complete, and wiJl
not begin until appropriate approvals are received. In some circumstances the
university may be required
to consult with the Ministry of Advanced Education.
Proposals must allow for appropriate lead-time for completion, including the
removal of program information from the SFU Calendar.
Format for the Proposal
The proposal to discontinue and dissolve a program must present the rationale in a
clear and comprehensive manner.
The proposal must provide sufficient information
so that
all committee levels are able to fully understand the contributing factors, and
to
meet SFU's standard of open, accountable academic governance processes.
It
is with great regret that we propose that at this time the Major in Latin American
Studies be dissC'Ilved. We will retain the Minor in LAS. We must do this because in
recent years
we
h\Wc lost most of rhe faculty who teach in this pruijranl, making lt
impossihlc
for us to nffur tho courses students rcqutro in order to complete the
unrlcrgrnduatc major, pnrtlcularly LAS 100. While one thculty hire in l..<1tin Arnerican
Studies would allow us to avoid this decision, we have been critically understaffed
for nearly two
yea~,
and sec no relief in the for.csccablc future.
As it
stands, the
progt.am is simply not vlnble.
A proposal to discontinue and dissolve a program will normally only be considered
once
all of the above committees have previously approved the suspension of new
admissions to the program.
The proposal to discontinue and dissolve a program must include the following:
1. All impacted credentials, levels and categories of the degree, and specific
discipline or field of study;
LAS will retain the Minor in Latin American Studies and the T.alin American Studies
MA, but will no longer nJfcr
J.
Major in Latin American Studies. This will impnct Joint
majors
in
Anthropology,
Archaeology,
Business
Administration,
Communications,
Economics,
Geography,
llistory,
International
Studies,
Political
Science,
and
Sociology. We anticipate that students wanting to do the work of the Joint Major
will be directed towards the Minor in Latin American Studies.
2. Location of the program;
Burnaby
3. Faculty(ies), Department(s), or School(s) offering the program;
The program is offered principaJly through the FASS, but a couple of our joint
Majors (sec a hove) arc offered in other Faculties.
4. Anticipated final dissolution date;
May 2012. That said, thc1.c ill'c some students at the university who may
hav~
completed some of the program rcquireml!nts aud
will
wish to finish the joint Major
after that date. We woulc.llikc to grandf.1ther these
studr.mts
in, allowing them to
finish what they
st~1rted.
S. Reasons for discontinuance and dissolution of the program, including:
a. Financial resources
b. Enrollment demand
c. Curricular issues
'J'ho Oissoluti<lll ot'tlw p1.ognnn is due to llnnnctal
rc~our<:c:ti,
principally U1e strains
c:tused by scvcrul rcth.cmcnts ,,"''other
r ..
H."Uitylosses, none ufwhich hl'IYl' been
replaced. Between 2010 onc.l 20 11 alone
w~
lo$l a faculty cotnplcment that offered 6
courses
per year. We arc simply not viable under thestt circumstances.
6. Plan for phasing-out of program, including:
a. Steps taken to inform students and prospective students
Students will be informed onlhe websitL! (which will continue to be maintained, as
the undergraduate major is only one part
of
our work), and through undergraduate
advisor~
in the DeparbuenLc; that offer the Joint Mojors.
b. Steps taken to inform instructors and
staff
This doe!!: not impact staff or instr"Uctors, as there arc no duties to be re-assigned.
c. Description of the reallocation or any remaining program and
associated resources when program
is dissolved
LAS will maintain a graduate program,
n
graduatt• certificate, and an undergraduate
minor.
At
p1.csent there are no rcsou,.ccs
dt'dii.:Jted
to the undergraduate Major. We
would also request
th~t
LAS t•cmain permitted to offer LAS 412 and LAS 300
pcriodic.llly, as
these courses represent the only venues on campus in which l.atin
American Literature courses arc taught LAS .112
i~
being offered during the PaH
2011 Semester, cro:;s listed with a World
Liter<~tnre
course. It has 30 students
registered. This
dcmonstrutcs that there is a robust dt'rn;md for Latin American
Studies ou campus (a fact made further clear by the enrollment in courses on Latin
America offered within the disciplines). We thus require resources to continue to
meet c;lmpus demand for Latin America.
d. Confirmation of consultation with other impacted departments and
Faculties
Consultations hJve been ongoiug for over a year. No other department has been able
to offer the resources needed to maintain the Major.
e. Impacts on and/or reorganization of curriculum in cognate disdplines
While this .t!Tccts joint Majors, it does not impact thl.! ability of other programs to
of1'cr
stand
nlone
Majors.
f.
Timeline of activities
7
We will immediately remove infornu1Lion about the Major from our Wcb:;iw. During
this yenr the l.,ASS undergraduate Committee will vote the dissolution of the Major.
We anticip•tte this will be
fin~lized
by
the end of thl! AcndtJmlc yoar 2011-2012.
7. Name, title, phone number and email address of the institutional contact
person
in case more information is required (normally, the Dean of the
Faculty in which the program Is housed).
john Craig
O~on
FASS
Alc.'<Jndcr
Dawson
Director
latin American Studies Program
2-3405
aldawson<cvstu.cn
