APPROVED BY SENATE
Minutes of a Meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on
Monday, April 8, 2013 at 5:30 pm at the West Mall Complex (Room 3210)
Open Session
Present:
Andrew Petter, President and Chair
Antle, Alissa
Birmingham, Elina
Black, Sam
Brandhorst, Bruce
Burley, David
Chapman, Glenn
Corbett, Kitty
Craig, John
Cyr, Dianne
Driver, Jon
Easton, Stephen
Eckman, Charles
Elle, Elizabeth
Flodr, Sarah-Sophia
Francis, June
Geisler, Cheryl
Gordon, Robert
Haunerland, N. (for M. Pinto)
Hedley, Nick
Jozaghi, Ehsan
Kopahi, Moe
Kropinski, Mary Catherine
Laitsch, Dan
Leacock, Tracey
Leznoff, Daniel
Li, Paul
Magnusson, Kris
Myers, Gordon
Parkhouse, Wade
Paterson, David
Pavsek, Christopher
Percival, Colin
Percival, Paul
Perry, Tom
Pierce, John
Quarmby, Lynne
Rajapakse, Nimal
Kate Ross, Registrar and Executive Director, Student Enrolment
Kris Nordgren, Recording Secretary
Schellenberg, Betty
Shapiro, Daniel
Somers, Julian
Szeto, Hendson
Tingling, Peter
Wussow, Helen
Absent:
Brennand, Tracy
Chen, Alexander
Cupples, Claire
Delgrande, Jim
Golnaraghi, Farid
Hall, Angie
Kessler, Anke
Kwon, Caleb
Leivdal, Joseph
Lundgreen-Nielsen, Jens
McRae, Jennifer
O’Neil, John
Palis, Heather
Parekh, Nimisha
Pilarinos, Andreas
Robinsmith, Stacey
Ruben, Peter
Sakhrani, Rohan
Shaw, Chris
Taylor, Carole
Warner, D’Arcy
Wilson, Meaghan
Zhang, Kevin
In Attendance:
Dawson, Alexander
Lougheed, Patrick
Nesbit, John
Rhodes, Susan
Tiffany, Evan
Verdun-Jones, Simon
S.M. April 8, 2013
Page 2
1.
Approval of the Agenda
There was a concern raised regarding late changes to the agenda and documentation.
The agenda was approved as distributed.
2.
Minutes of the Open Session on March 4, 2013
The minutes of the open session on March 4, 2013 were approved as distributed.
A question was asked regarding the wording of the response to S.13-39 SCEMP Enrolment Plan,
whether GPA cutoffs
could be
or
would be
included in the future. Senate was informed that the
March 4 meeting recording would be checked for the correct wording.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
Senator Driver provided an update on the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Report and the
proposal that resulted from the discussion at the February 2013 Senate meeting. The proposal has
been posted for comment and discussed at three town hall meetings. The revised proposal will be
brought forward to the May 2013 Senate meeting.
4.
Report of the Chair
The Chair welcomed a new faculty Senator, Alissa Antle from the Faculty of Communication,
Art and Technology, and then provided an update on several items.
The Chair reported that, as the provincial election approaches, he continued to meet with MLAs
and candidates to press the Opportunity Agenda. The Chair spoke to the Boards of Trade in
Surrey, Burnaby, and Vancouver and is encouraged by the level of support for the Opportunity
Agenda and for more post-secondary spaces.
The Chair reported on the federal budget, including the following items of note: funding support
for Genome Canada; confirmation of funding for the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI); a
$60 million fund for incubator and accelerator organizations; and new funding for internships for
graduates of post-secondary institutions.
The Chair reported that SFU researchers received NSERC Discovery Grants, Research, Tools and
Instrumentation (RTI) equipment grants, and SSHRC partnership grants. Also, SFU retained all
NSERC and SSHRC Chairs and added several new CIHR chairs, for a total of 47 Chairs.
The Chair reported that the public announcement of the honorary degree recipients has been
made.
The Chair noted that Chancellor Carole Taylor’s husband, Art Phillips, recently passed away and
that the details for a celebration of his life would be circulated to Senate.
5.
Question Period
No questions were submitted for the April 2013 meeting. There was a question submitted after
the deadline regarding indigenous student support and success that will be researched and
reported on in either the May or June Senate meeting.
S.M. April 8, 2013
Page 3
6.
Reports of Committees
A)
Research Ethics Board (REB)
i)
Annual Report (S.13-49)
Senate received the Research Ethics Board annual report for 2012 for information.
B)
Senate Appeals Board (SAB)
i)
Annual Report (S.13-50)
Senate received the Senate Appeals Board annual report for 2011-2012 for information.
C)
Senate Committee on International Activities (SCIA)
i)
Annual Report (S.13-51)
Senate received the Senate Committee on International Activities annual report for 2012 for
information.
A comment was made that the list of committee positions in the report did not match the list on
the SCIA website. Senate was informed that the discrepancy will be communicated back to the
committee.
A question was raised whether the Faculty of Education field schools could be included in the
SCIA annual report. Senate was informed that this suggestion would be forwarded to SCIA.
D)
Senate Committee on University Priorities (SCUP)
i)
Suspension of Admission and Dissolution of the Joint Major and Joint Honours in
Computing Science and Philosophy (S.13-52)
Motion 1
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by J. Craig.
“That Senate approve the suspension of admission to the Joint Major and Joint Honours in
Computing Science and Philosophy in the School of Computing Science and Department of
Philosophy within the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
effective Fall 2013.”
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
Motion 2
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by J. Craig.
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the dissolution of the Joint
Major and Joint Honours in Computing Science and Philosophy in the School of Computing
Science and Department of Philosophy within the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Faculty of
Arts and Social Sciences effective, Fall 2014.”
A question was raised regarding the time between the suspension of admission to the program and
the dissolution of the program. Senate was informed that notice is usually provided between
suspension and dissolution of a program.
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
S.M. April 8, 2013
Page 4
ii)
Graduate Certificate in Curriculum and Instruction (S.13-53)
Motion
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by S. Black.
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the Full Program Proposal for a
Graduate Certificate in Curriculum and Instruction within the Faculty of Education, effective Fall
2013.”
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
iii)
Concurrent Bachelor’s – Master’s Program in the School for International Studies
(S.13-54)
Motion
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by J. Craig.
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the Full Program Proposal for a
Concurrent Bachelor's- Master's Program in the School for International Studies within the
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, effective Fall 2013.”
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
iv)
Revisions to Policy R20.01 – Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Participants
(S.13-55)
Motion
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by S. Easton.
“That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors the revisions to Section 15.1(e)
and Section 15.2(e) of the Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Participants (R20.01).”
A comment was made and noted that it is no longer possible for an SFU staff member to serve on
the Research Ethics Board as a result of these revisions.
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
v)
NWCCU Accreditation 2012 Progress Report (For Information) (S.13-56)
Senate received the progress report concerning SFU's accreditation with the Northwest
Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) for information.
E)
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS)
i)
WQB Requirements for Second Degrees (S.13-57)
Motion
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by P. Percival.
S.M. April 8, 2013
Page 5
“That Senate approve the permanent exemption of all second-degree students from WQB
requirements, with the exception that the upper-division W course in the major and a three-credit
Q course will still be required for a second degree.”
A question was raised why the Q course is not an upper division requirement. Senate was
informed that there has never been an upper division Q requirement.
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
ii)
Course Withdrawal Notation Change (S.13-58)
Motion
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by S. Easton.
“That Senate approve effective Fall 2013 students withdrawing from courses during week 3 of the
term will have a WD standing recorded for each withdrawn course on their academic record.”
Various concerns were expressed regarding the impact to students, including: the need to make
the decision to withdraw from courses earlier and the potential increase in WD notations on
transcripts. Senate was informed that aligning the WD notation date with the tuition refund
deadline would be clearer to students and that the WD notation is not punitive.
A question was asked whether international exchange students would be impacted by this change.
Senate was informed that the WD is not transcribed onto the transcript for exchange students.
Question was called and a vote taken.
MOTION CARRIED
iii)
Curriculum Revisions –– Faculty of Applied Sciences (S.13-59)
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 Applied Sciences (Geographic Information Science; School of Computing Science;
School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering).
Concern was expressed that some of the new Mechatronic Systems Engineering courses appeared
to overlap with courses in the Faculty of Science. The concern was noted and Senate was
informed that the courses went through the approval process at SCUS, where Associate Deans
from each faculty are consulted regarding course content and overlap issues.
A question was asked how first year students would learn to write lab reports with the removal of
PHYS 131 from the Engineering Science major program. Senate was informed that PHYS 131
will be replaced by ENSC 120, which will provide Engineering students with lab work that is
more attuned to Engineering.
iv)
Curriculum Revisions – Beedie School of Business (S.13-60)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, added new courses and made revisions to an existing program in the Beedie
School of Business.
S.M. April 8, 2013
Page 6
v)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Education (S.13-61)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, added a new course and made revisions to existing courses and an existing
program in the Faculty of Education.
vi)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Health Sciences (S.13-62)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made changes to existing courses and an existing program in the Faculty of
Health Sciences.
F)
Senate Graduate Studies Committee (SGSC)
i)
Annual Report (For Information) (S.13-63)
Senate received the Senate Graduate Studies Committee annual report for 2011-2012 for
information.
ii)
Curriculum Revisions –– Faculty of Applied Sciences (S.13-64)
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 Applied Sciences (School of Engineering Science; School of Mechatronic Systems
Engineering).
A question was asked why students in the Master of Engineering (MEng) program are ineligible
for university financial support. Senate was informed that the MEng program is a professional
program and the rules state that professional programs are ineligible for scholarship awards.
iii)
Curriculum Revisions –– Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (S.13-65)
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 Arts and Social Sciences (French; School of International Studies; Political Science; Urban
Studies Program).
iv)
Curriculum Revisions – Beedie School of Business (S.13-66)
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 Beedie
School of Business.
v)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology (S.13-67)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under delegated
authority, made revisions to an existing course and existing programs in the Faculty of
Communication, Art and Technology (School of Communication).
vi)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Environment (S.13-68)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under delegated
authority, added a new course in the Faculty of Environment (Geography).
vii) Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Science (S.13-69)
Senate received information that the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, acting under delegated
authority, made revisions to existing courses in the Faculty of Science (Earth Sciences;
Mathematics).
S.M. April 8, 2013
Page 7
7.
Other Business
i) Election Report (S.13-70)
Senate received the results of Faculty elections to Senate and the Board of Governors for
information.
8.
Information
i)
Date of the next regular meeting – Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
Open session adjourned 6:18 pm and Senate moved directly into the closed session.
Kate Ross
Registrar & Executive Director Student Enrolment
Back to top
