APPROVED BY SENATE
Minutes of a Meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on
Monday, March 4, 2013 at 5:30 pm at the West Mall Complex (Room 3210)
Open Session
Present:
Andrew Petter, President and Chair
Birmingham, Elina
Black, Sam
Brandhorst, Bruce
Brennand, Tracy
Burley, David
Chapman, Glenn
Collins, Colleen (for D. Shapiro)
Driver, Jon
Eckman, Charles
Elle, Elizabeth
Flodr, Sarah-Sophia
Francis, June
Gordon, Robert
Hall, Angie
Kopahi, Moe
Laitsch, Dan
Leacock, Tracey
Li, Paul
McFetridge, P. (for J. Craig)
Myers, Gordon
O’Neil, John
Palis, Heather
Parekh, Nimisha
Parkhouse, Wade
Pavsek, Christopher
Percival, Colin
Percival, Paul
Perry, Tom
Pierce, John
Pilarinos, Andreas
Quarmby, Lynne
Ruben, Peter
Rajapakse, Nimal
Robinsmith, Stacey
Kate Ross, Registrar and Executive Director, Student Enrolment
Kris Nordgren, Recording Secretary
Schellenberg, Betty
Somers, Julian
Tingling, Peter
Warner, D’Arcy
Wilson, Meaghan
Wussow, Helen
Absent:
Chen, Alexander
Corbett, Kitty
Cupples, Claire
Cyr, Dianne
Delgrande, Jim
Easton, Stephen
Geisler, Cheryl
Golnaraghi, Farid
Hedley, Nick
Jozaghi, Ehsan
Kessler, Anke
Kropinski, Mary Catherine
Kwon, Caleb
Leivdal, Joseph
Leznoff, Daniel
Lundgreen-Nielsen, Jens
Magnusson, Kris
McRae, Jennifer
Paterson, David
Pinto, Mario
Sakhrani, Rohan
Shaw, Chris
Szeto, Hendson
Taylor, Carole
Zhang, Kevin
In Attendance:
Chan, Liny
S.M. March 4, 2013
Page 2
1.
Approval of the Agenda
The agenda was approved as distributed.
2.
Minutes of the Open Session on February 4, 2013
The minutes of the open session on February 4, 2013 were approved as distributed.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
Senate was informed that the change in S.13-35 in the vector for HSCI 442 includes the number
of contact hours and was considered and approved at the Faculty level prior to submission to
SCUS.
Senate was informed that the apparent budget overspending reported in S.13-17 was due to
endowed awards and raised funds run through the Financial Aid accounts and this discrepancy
will be fixed for future reports.
4.
Report of the Chair
The Chair reported that the Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, John
Yap, has stepped down. The Minister’s replacement is Ralph Sultan.
The Chair reported on the release of a Green Paper on Quality Assurance by the Ministry of
Advanced Education. The Chair reported that the research universities would be submitting
feedback through the Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia (RUCBC).
The Chair reported that the B.C. Provincial budget recently came down. The main concern for
the University is the $50 million cut to post-secondary education over three years. The research
universities continue to push the opportunity agenda and the need for new investment to grow
post-secondary spaces, to provide better access for students, and a more strategic approach and
commitment to research.
The Chair reported on the one-year anniversary of the strategic vision and the opportunity for the
University community to participate in on-line and in-person consultation on community
engagement.
5.
Question Period
No questions were submitted for the March 2013 meeting.
6.
Reports of Committees
A)
Senate Committee on Enrolment Management and Planning
i)
Enrolment Plan 2013/2014; Undergraduate Admission Targets for 2013/2014 S.13-39
Motion 1
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by T. Leacock
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the 2013/2014 Enrollment Plan
attached as Appendix A to document titled
For SENATE March 4, 2013
.”
A question was asked why the intake target for domestic students for the Faculty of Education
was so far below the actual total intake of new students. Senate was informed that the target is for
S.M. March 4, 2013
Page 3
external student intake; however, the Faculty of Education accepts students both externally and
through internal transfers. The actual intake will exceed the target when there are large numbers
of internal transfer students.
Clarification was requested regarding the acronym AVED. Senate was informed that the
acronym refers to the Ministry of Advanced Education.
A question was asked regarding the calibration of international student enrolment targets in terms
of GPA cutoff. Senate was informed that the international enrolment targets were over target due
to the lack of effective admission controls. The University wants to ensure that the intake of
international students is adequate to ensure that the number of international students does not
decrease significantly when the currently enrolled students graduate.
A question was asked if the flat Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) enrolment projection to 2020 was an
indication that the number of Surrey positions is no longer expected to double. Senate was
informed that the University is continuing to press the Ministry of Advanced Education for a
commitment to expand the Surrey campus as soon as possible.
A question was asked whether the University needs an alternative metric for costs that do not
behave according to FTE. Senate was informed that FTE is the metric used to report to the
Ministry of Advanced Education and that academic planning is most easily done in terms of FTE
students. Enrolment headcount information is available in the Enrollment Dashboard on the IRP
http://www.sfu.ca/irp/enrollments/EnrollmentDashboard.html
).
A question was asked whether the targets reflect the actual costs required to run the Faculty of
Environment at the existing rate. Senate was informed that SCEMP makes recommendations on
student enrolment based on input from all the faculties. The weight accorded to an FTE has an
impact on budget allocation.
A question was asked whether GPA cutoffs for admission by faculty could be included in the
report as had been done in the past. Senate was informed that the admission GPA cutoffs would
be included in future.
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 2
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by S. Black
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the 2013/2014 DOMESTIC
undergraduate admission targets to each Faculty, by semester and basis of admission category as
indicated in Table C1 in Appendix C.”
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 3
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by S. Black
S.M. March 4, 2013
Page 4
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the 2013/2014
INTERNATIONAL undergraduate admission targets to each Faculty, by semester and basis of
admission category as indicated in Table C2 in Appendix C.”
A question was asked regarding the high percentage of incoming international students from
Fraser International College. Additional questions were asked on this topic regarding the Beedie
School of Business and the lack of recruiting from a broad range of countries of origin. Senate
was informed that the high percentage of international students in the Beedie School of Business
is a result of the agreement between SFU and FIC and that Business is a popular program among
international students in general. Senate was informed that FIC has similar demographics to SFU
in terms of countries of origin.
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
B)
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS)
i)
Curriculum Revisions –– Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (S.13-41)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, added new courses and made revisions to existing courses and programs in
the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (French; Economics; World Literature Program; English;
History; School of Criminology; First Nations Studies, Linguistics).
ii)
Curriculum Revisions – Beedie School of Business (S.13-42)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made revisions to an existing program in the Beedie School of Business.
iii)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology (S.13-43)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, added a new course and made revisions to existing courses in the Faculty of
Communication, Art and Technology (School of Interactive Arts and Technology; School for the
Contemporary Arts).
iv)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Environment (S.13-44)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made changes to existing courses in the Faculty of Environment
(Environment; Archaeology).
C)
Senate Graduate Studies Committee (SGSC)
i)
Curriculum Revisions – Beedie School of Business (S.13-45)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under delegated
authority, made revisions to an existing course and program in the Beedie School of Business.
ii)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Science (S.13-46)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under delegated
authority, added new courses and made revisions to existing courses and programs in the Faculty
of Science.
A question was asked whether there is a University minimum level of enrolment for courses.
Senate was informed that the minimum enrolment level for a course and whether a faculty
member would receive teaching credit for that course is determined by the Faculty or department.
S.M. March 4, 2013
Page 5
D) Senate Nominating Committee (SNC)
i) Senate Committee Elections (S.13-47)
Senate received a revised summary from the Senate Nominating Committee of nominations
received and outstanding vacancies for positions on Senate committees that are elected by Senate.
7.
Other Business
i) Election Report (S.13-48)
Senate received the results of student elections to Senate, the Board of Governors, the Senate
Graduate Studies Committee, and the SFU Community Trust for information.
8.
Information
i)
Date of the next regular meeting – Monday, April 8, 2013.
Open session adjourned at 6:28 pm and Senate moved directly into the closed session.
Kate Ross
Registrar & Executive Director Student Enrolment
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