APPROVED BY SENATE

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

Monday, September 10, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the West Mall Complex (Room 3210)

Open Session

Present:

Andrew Petter, President and Chair

Black, Sam

Brandhorst, Bruce

Brennand, Tracy

Burley, David

Corbett, Kitty

Craig, John

Cupples, Claire

Cyr, Dianne

Delgrande, Jim

Driver, Jon

Easton, Stephen

Eckman, Charles

Elle, Elizabeth

Flodr, Sarah-Sophia

Francis, June

Hall, Angie

Hedley, Nick

Kessler, Anke

Kopahi, Moe

Laitsch, Dan

Leacock, Tracey

Leivdal, Joseph

Magnusson, Kris

McRae, Jennifer

Myers, Gordon

O’Neil, John

Palis, Heather

Parekh, Nimisha

Parkhouse, Wade

Percival, Colin

Percival, Paul

Perry, Tom

Pilarinos, Andreas

Pinto, Mario

Quarmby, Lynne

Rajapakse, Nimal

Jo Hinchliffe, Associate Registrar

Shelley Gair, Recording Secretary

Robinsmith, Stacey

Ruben, Peter

Sakhrani, Rohan

Schellenberg, Betty

Shapiro, Daniel

Shaw, Chris

Somers, Julian

Szeto, Hendson

Tingling, Peter

Warner, D’Arcy

Wilson, Meaghan

Wussow, Helen

Zhang, Kevin

Absent:

Chapman, Glenn

Chen, Alexander

Geisler, Cheryl

Golnaraghi, Farid

Gordon, Robert

Hejazi, Michael

Kropinski, Mary Catherine

Leznoff, Daniel

Li, Paul

Lundgreen-Nielsen, Jens

Nilson Levisohn, Michelle

Pavsek, Christopher

Pierce, John

Ross, Kate

Taylor, Carole

Woodbury, Rob

In Attendance:

Daminato, Cathy

Lee, Jacy

Nicholls, Glynn

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1.

Approval of the Agenda

The agenda was approved as distributed.

2.

Minutes of the Open Session on June 11, 2012

The minutes of the open session on June 11, 2012 were approved as distributed.

3.

Minutes of the Open Session on July 9, 2012

The minutes of the open session on July 9, 2012 were approved as distributed with a minor

revision.

4.

Business Arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising from the minutes.

5.

Report of the Chair

The Chair welcomed Anke Kessler as a new Faculty Senator and Gord Myers in his new position

as Associate Vice-President Academic.

It was reported that the Higher Education Strategy Associates ranked different research

universities by performance in two categories (i.e. Social Science and Humanities, Science and

Engineering) and SFU was rated in the top ten in both categories.

SFU was admitted this summer into full membership in the NCAA which means that SFU

athletes can now compete right across the NCAA, rather than just regionally. This will provide

greater opportunity for competition and should build more awareness and support for the Clan

within the university. As well, home games are now available to watch on the SFU website.

The SFU vision continues to be utilized in various ways and will be reflected in a community

engagement plan that will be going out for consultation in the next few months. The opening of

the SFU Public Square will be happening at the Orpheum on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 and

all were encouraged to attend. The first annual summit will be around the theme of isolation and

disconnection in the urban environment. The Vancouver Sun will be running a series of ten

articles associated with the SFU Public Square. The Public Square has also gained support from

organizations like the City of Vancouver which has requested that SFU host and facilitates

dialogues on their behalf.

6.

Question Period

There were no questions submitted for question period.

7.

Reports of Committees

A)

Senate Committee on University Priorities (SCUP)

i)

Terms of Reference for the Ryan Beedie Chair in Finance (S.12-124)

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Motion

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by C. Shaw

“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the Terms of Reference

for the Ryan Beedie Chair in Finance.”

A question was raised regarding whether income from the fund will be sufficient in covering the

salary, benefits and related research expenses for the Chair. Senate was informed that when a

finance position becomes available, this will become a part of that position. It was clarified for

Senate that a new position will not be created.

Question was called and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

ii)

Motion

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by S. Easton

“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the Terms of Reference

for the Keith Beedie Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.”

Question was called and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iii)

Motion

Moved by J. Driver, seconded by J. Craig

“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the dissolution of the

Certificate in Family Studies in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology within the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, effective Summer 2013.”

Question was called and a vote taken.

MOTION CARRIED

iv)

External Review Update for the Faculty of Education (S.12-127)

Senate received the External Review update report for the Faculty of Education. A request was

made for the results of the FAL (Foundations of Academic Literacy) review to be made available

once the review is complete. It was confirmed by the Dean of Education that this information will

be accessible.

v)

External Review Update for the Department of Psychology (S.12-128)

Senate received the External Review update report for the Department of Psychology within the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for information.

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B)

Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS)

i)

Motion

Moved by G. Myers, seconded by S. Easton

“That Senate approve the Missed Class guideline, to be placed in the Enrolment Policies

and Procedures section of the SFU Calendar.”

Concern was expressed that some of the key terms were not clearly defined, that student and

faculty obligations were not clear, and that the guideline did not directly include accommodation

for students missing classes due to religious observance. Senate was reminded that this was a

general guideline rather than a policy, and that individual departments also have their own

policies governing this area. A discussion followed and enough concern was expressed regarding

inconsistencies in the guideline that a motion to refer this item back to the committee was moved.

Moved by C. Percival, seconded by S. Black

“That this item be referred back to the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies for

consideration of the issues raised during the Senate discussion.”

Question was called and a vote taken.

MOTION TO REFER CARRIED

ii)

(S.12-130)

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

delegated authority, approved new cross-listed courses in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and

Faculty of Environment.

iii)

Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (S.12-131)

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

delegated authority, approved new courses and revisions to existing courses and programs in the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (French, Gerontology, Explorations, International Studies,

Latin American Studies).

Clarification was requested with several of the curriculum items in S.12-131. Those items are as

follows: the proposed new language for the French and Humanities Joint Major program; the

prerequisites for GERO 450; similarity between two new courses (EXPL 135 and 235); the

reason for the deletion of LAS courses. The chair confirmed that these items will be looked into.

iv)

Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Communication, Art & Technology (S.12-132)

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

delegated authority, approved a new course and revisions to existing courses in the Faculty of

Communication, Art and Technology (Interactive Arts and Technology).

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v)

Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Health Sciences (S.12-133)

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

delegated authority, approved a new course and a revision to an existing course in the Faculty of

Health Sciences. An opinion was expressed that the evaluation structure for HSCI 345 was

ambiguous and a request was made to present this information in a more clear way.

C)

Senate Graduate Studies Committee (SGSC)

i)

Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (S.12-134)

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

authority, approved a revision to an existing course in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

(Labour Studies).

ii)

Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Science (S.12-135)

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

authority, approved revisions to existing courses in the Faculty of Science (Chemistry, Molecular

Biology and Biochemistry).

D) Senate Nominating Committee (SNC)

i) Senate Committee Elections (S.12-136)

Senate received a summary from the Senate Nominating Committee regarding the election results

from the July Senate meeting, nominations received since the last meeting, and outstanding

vacancies.

7.

i)

Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) Reports (S.12-137)

Senate received the 2011/12 Grades Report, and the 2011 Undergraduate Student Survey (UGSS)

Report for information. Concern was expressed regarding the finding in the Student Survey that

62% of graduating students expressed that they would have liked to have participated in co-op

and 55 – 67% would have liked to have participated in field schools, international exchange/study

abroad and work-study, and what the reasons are for this finding. Senate was informed that this

was the first year that this question was asked and a commitment was made to ask the question

again this year with some follow-up questions.

Another concern expressed was with the finding that improved course availability continues to be

identified as a factor that would help improve the student experience. The Vice-President

Academic informed Senate that this has been an ongoing problem which is complex to

understand. Efforts to understand the problem and attempts to try various solutions (e.g. course

scheduling policy, extra funding, pilot projects), have had some impact but the problem persists.

There are issues such as the trimester system, the pattern in which students take courses, a

flexible curriculum, and being significantly over-enrolled, that all contribute to the challenges in

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resolving this problem. Senate was informed that this issue will be given a higher priority this

year by having the former Associate Vice-President Academic move into a Special Advisor

position that will focus on getting to the root of this problem.

Another concern raised was the tendency of students to enroll in courses and then drop them just

before the deadline at the end of week one. Several explanations were provided for this pattern

such as availability of courses, filling up the course schedule for student loans while on wait lists,

amount of information provided on courses before registering.

The Chair of the Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries committee asked Senate for advice on what

extent the aggregate measures from the Grades Report should be considered with scholarships of

various kinds considering the disparity of grades within the university. It was noted that this is a

complicated issue involving both internal and external factors.

ii)

NWCCU Accreditation – Year One Self Evaluation Report (S.12-138)

Senate received the NWCCU Accreditation – Year One Self Evaluation Report for information.

A question was asked regarding the graduation rate of 63.9% and how this compares to other

universities. Senate was informed that this is a composite rate which includes graduate and

undergraduate students and that it is similar to other universities. It was noted that the actual

completion rate within the B.C. system as a whole is significantly greater because students often

move from institution to institution before completing their degree.

A request was made to include extra columns in the “Indicators and Data” table showing the

specific targets and comparisons with other universities. An additional request was made to break

down the composite graduation rate into PhD, Master and undergraduate students. Senate was

informed that these indicators are imperfect and only provide a very general impression of how

the university is doing. They are not a comprehensive analysis of the performance of the

university and therefore shouldn’t be used in that way. As well, one of the challenges in

comparing SFU’s data with other institutions is that different universities tend to use different

definitions in reporting their data.

8.

i)

Date of the next regular meeting – Monday, October 1, 2012.

Open Session adjourned at 8:08 pm

Jo Hinchliffe

Associate Registrar