MSVU Senate Minutes -- January 29 2007
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2010-04-15T17:24:51Z
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Senate, Mount Saint Vincent University
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Senate Meeting January 29, 2007
Rosaria Boardroom 7:30 p.m.
Minutes of Meeting
Present: K. Laurin (Chair), K. Arbuckle, I. Blum, D. Bourne-Tyson, B. Casey, P. Crouse, A.
Davis, R. Fisher, P. Glenister, P. Gouthro, C. Hill, N. Kayhani, B. King, M. Lyon, R. MacKay, J.
MacLeod, H. Mallette, K. Manning, A. McCalla, G. McCarney, M. Ruck-Simmonds, J. Sawler,
S. Seager, J. Sharpe, L. Steele, B. Taylor, P. Watts, R. West, M. Whalen, A. Whitewood, D.
Woolcott, R. Zuk.
Regrets: R. Bérard, S. Ganong, C. MacDermott, S. Mumm, L. Nash, M. Raven
1. Approval of Agenda
Moved by B. King, seconded by P. Watts to approve the agenda as circulated with the addition of
item 7.4.2 (for information). CARRIED.
2. Approval of Minutes of November 27, 2006.
Moved by L. Steele, seconded by A. Whitewood to approve the minutes with a correction to Item
7.15, line 4 (insert an apostrophe â studentsâ research) and line 5 (insert â andâ after â UREBâ ).
CARRIED.
3. Business Arising from the Minutes
3.1 Revision to Senate By-law 1.1 Senate Membership (Proposed addition of
Director of Information Technology and Services)
Senators discussed this matter which was initially proposed in item 7.1.1 of the October 30/06
Senate Agenda and subsequently referred back to Senate Executive for further review.
Moved by R. Zuk, seconded by M. Lyon that Senate approve the recommendation in accordance
with the January 15 /07 decision of Senate Executive to create a category of Senate member ex
officio voice without vote and request Senate Executive to draft a By-law governing that category
of membership. CARRIED with 1 opposed.
3.2 Revision to Senate By-law 10 Nominations and Elections by Faculty Members
(Notice of Motion â Item 7.9.1 of November 27, 2006 Senate Meeting Agenda)
I. Blum noted that the Nominations Committee has had difficulty enlisting candidates to be
elected to serve on Senate Committees and that the intent of the proposed changes to By-law 10 is
to make the nominations process easier, fairer and more transparent as described in supporting
documentation.
Moved by I. Blum, seconded by R. Fisher that Senate approve the proposed revisions to By-law
10, Nominations and Elections by Faculty Members, and that the provisions of the revised Bylaw
be applied during the elections process currently underway. CARRIED.
3.3 Revision to Senate By-law 14.3.2 Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
(Notice of Motion â Item 7.5.1 of November 27, 2006 Senate Meeting Agenda)
Senators noted the minor amendments (Membership and Chair sections) made to supporting
documentation since its initial submission at the Nov. 27 /06 Senate meeting and discussion
focused primarily on the ambiguities created between By-law provisions and practice by
prescribing a deadline of August 31 in the By-law for submissions for Calendar revisions to the
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee while permitting later submissions, as well as the benefit
of having more time to prepare submissions. Alternative options were suggested: to remove any
reference to the date; change it from August 31 to September 15; consult further with Department
Chairs before making changes; or, approve the proposed By-law revisions and have the
Committee subsequently consider bringing a motion forward to change the August 31 date.
Moved by D. Woolcott, seconded by I Blum that Senate approve the proposed revisions to Bylaw
14.3.2 Undergraduate Curriculum Committee with an amendment removing the last two lines
which read â All curriculum material for Calendar revisions must be submitted to the Committee
by 31 August before September and to the November meeting of Senate Executive.â CARRIED.
4. Presidentâ s Announcements
K. Laurin welcomed Senators back to their first meeting of the new year and wished all a
rewarding and successful semester. She reported that a capital campaign chair should be
announced in the next few weeks. With respect to strategic planning, she indicated considerable
feedback to Draft 2 of the Vision Mission and Values document has been received to-date and
that she hopes draft 3 will come out of a meeting on February 9.
5. Question Period
With respect to strategic planning, in response to Senatorsâ inquiries K. Laurin indicated she will
arrange for Senate to be informed of external advisory committee membersâ names, that the town
hall or face-to-face sessions would be the most appropriate forum for Senators to seek answers to
questions they have posed in their written submissions and, as the Steering Committee has not yet
talked about the kind of forum that will be used subsequently, she suggested the best course of
action if answers have not been forthcoming would be to bring those unanswered questions back
and the Committee will do its best to answer them.
6. Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
7. Committee Reports (Standing and Ad hoc)
7.1 Senate Executive
7.1.1 Ratification of election to Academic Appeals Committee (James Sawler)
Moved by I. Blum, seconded by B. King that Senate ratify the Senate Executive decision of
January 15 /07 to approve the recommendation of the Nominations Committee (Agenda item
7.9.1) to elect James Sawler as a member of the Academic Appeals Committee to allow him to
act as Committee Chair beginning with its January 21 /07 meeting. CARRIED.
7.2 Academic Appeals Committee
J. Sawler reported that the Committee has met and a meeting is scheduled to deal with several
appeals.
7.3 Academic Policy and Planning
7.3.1 Academic Calendar Changes
7.3.1.1 Bachelor of Education
Senators discussed the importance of students receiving ample warning before they are required
to withdraw from the program and of clarifying that a B.Ed. student who receives a final grade of
â Fâ in the practicum will not be permitted to continue in the program. It was noted that students
can currently fail practicum and then continue in the program; under the new rule they would be
required to withdraw.
Moved by D. Woolcott, seconded by S. Ganong that Senate approve that the new calendar
description under â Continuation of Studyâ be added to the Academic Calendar. CARRIED with 1
opposed.
7.4 Graduate Studies Program and Policy
7.4.1 Department of Womenâ s Studies
New Course Proposal:
GWOM 6620 Special Topics in Women & Gender Studies
Moved by M. Lyon, seconded by A. McCalla that Senate accept the proposal. CARRIED.
7.4.2 Womenâ s Studies Program Change in Application Deadline (for
information)
M. Lyon reported that deadline date for applications from Canadian students for the Womenâ s
Studies Program has been changed from March 15 to April 1 to be consistent with a change to
April 1 made by Saint Maryâ s University which was communicated to her on January 28.
7.5 Undergraduate Curriculum
7.5.1 Undergraduate Curriculum Proposals (for information)
7.5.1.1 Education
EDUC 3451 â Introduction to Educational Psychology
Remove Prerequisite to the Elementary Bachelor of Education
Program from prerequisite information
7.5.2 Undergraduate Curriculum Proposals (for approval)
7.5.2.1 Co-op
Change admission requirements for:
Business Administration co-operative education
Information Technology co-operative education
Public Relations co-operative education
Tourism and Hospitality Management co-operative education
Senators noted that the words â Department Chairâ should be capitalized and that references to
â admission requirements toâ should be changed to â admission requirements forâ throughout
supporting documentation, and discussed the appropriateness of the use of the word â normallyâ .
Moved by M. Lyon, seconded by H. Mallette that Senate accept the proposal. CARRIED.
Change program standard for co-operative education
Moved by M. Lyon, seconded by H. Mallette that Senate accept the proposal. CARRIED.
Change admission criteria for Business co-operative education
Senators noted that the words â Department Chairâ should be capitalized throughout supporting
documentation.
Moved by M. Lyon, seconded by H. Mallette that Senate accept the proposal. CARRIED.
7.5.2.2 Education
Change admission requirements for Secondary Education
Moved by M. Lyon, seconded by J. Sharpe that Senate accept the proposal. CARRIED.
7.6 Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure or Permanence for Academic
Administrators (CAPTPAA)
There was no report.
7.7 Committee on Information Technology and Services
There was no report.
7.8 Library
7.8.1 Library LibQUAL+Survey (for information)
D. Bourne-Tyson outlined this no-cost and highly reputable surveyâ s purpose and benefits and
encouraged all to support the effort by taking 15 minutes to complete it online when it is
conducted February 16-March 11 /07, its baseline year.
7.9 Nominations
7.9.1 Nominations for Standing Committees
I. Blum noted that James Sawlerâ s appointment has already been approved under item 7.1.l and is
therefore not part of the current motion, and also reported that with Senate approval of the
following all current vacancies on Standing Committees have now been filled except Nancyâ s
Chair Committee (2 vacancies) for which efforts to fill will be made through the normal election
process in May/07. He encouraged Senators to put forward nominations for the faculty elections
process which is underway with a nominations deadline of next Thursday. K. Laurin extended
her appreciation to the Nominations Committee for its hard work.
Moved by I. Blum, seconded by H. Mallette that the following Senate Nominations Committee
recommendations for election to the Standing Committees of Senate be approved.
CARRIED.
Committee Nominee Term Begins Term Ends
Academic Appeals Dr. James Sawler (Arts & Sciences) Jan. 15, 2007
(Executive
Approval Date)
June 30, 2009
Information Technology & Services Stanislav Orlov (Librarian) Jan. 29, 2007 June 30, 2009
Research & Publications Dr. Hazel MacRae (Social Sciences) Jan. 29, 2007 June 30, 2009
University Research Ethics Board Dr. John Reid (Arts & Sciences)
Dr. Helen Mallette (Member at
Large)
Jan. 29, 2007
June 30, 2009
Graduate Scholarships, Assistantships
& Awards (new)
Dr. Joan Turner (CGYS)
Dr. Florencia Carlino (Arts &
Sciences)
Jan. 29, 2007
June 30, 2009
Graduate Studies Program & Policy
Committee
Dr. Meredith Ralston (GWOM)
(replacing Dr. Donna Varga)
Jan. 29, 2007 June 30, 2009
In addition to the above:
Dr. Marlene Ruck-Simmonds is ratified as Chair of the Student Judicial Committee.
Dr. Hui Li is moved from an alternate to a full member of the Student Judicial Committee.
Dr. Randi Warne and Prof. Robert Bagg are alternate members on the Student Discipline Appeals
Committee and the Student Judicial Committee.
Prof. Ann MacGillivary (Professional Studies) and Dr. Marie-Lucie Tarpent (Humanities) have
been elected to serve on the University Review Committee effective Dec. 13, 2006 and will also
serve on the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure or Permanence for Academic
Administrators. Both will serve until June 30, 2007, as the former will then go on sabbatical and
the latter will retire.
7.10 Research and Publications
A. Davis reported that the Committee is meeting January 30 for its adjudication of approximately
6 internal grant proposals in this cycle and is pleased to note that, if all applications are
successfully funded, there will be no standard university internal resources left for the March
competition. He also extended his thanks to the Nominations Committee for its efforts in filling
vacant Committee positions.
7.11 Student Affairs
There was no report.
7.12 Committee on Teaching and Learning
7.12.1 Notice of Motion: Revisions to Senate By-law 14.10
P. Watts reported that the Committee met on January 10 /07 concerning this motion. She also
reminded Senators that February 28 is the Teaching Award nominations deadline for the
Teaching Innovation and Instructional Leadership awards. G. McCarney commented that
creation of a separate award for teaching at the graduate level would be worthwhile to recognize
the greater element of mentorship in graduate programs.
7.13 Writing Initiatives
B. King reported that the Committee is revising its terms of reference and has begun planning
activities for the coming spring.
7.14 Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships
On S. Ganongâ s behalf in her absence, P. Glenister reported that the Committee has not yet met.
7.15 Graduate Scholarships, Assistantships and Awards
M. Lyon reported that the Committee has met and completed the nomination process for graduate
scholarships and is looking at the terms of reference for internal scholarships.
7.16 University Research Ethics Board
A. Davis thankfully acknowledged the work of the Nominations Committee in filling the
Committeeâ s two vacancies. He reported that Committee work is now proceeding apace,
although the workload continues to be onerous, an issue the Committee is seeking to address.
8. Other Reports
8.1 Board of Governors
N. Kayhani reported that the Board will meet on February 8 /07.
8.2 Studentsâ Union
8.2.1 Academic Amnesty for Feb. 7 /07 â CFS Day of Action
Senators discussed the requirement to have earlier notice each year to alert them at least to the
prospective date(s) of this event if the actual date has not yet been established to avoid scheduling
conflicts with other important university/academic activities, a number of which were noted by
several Senators around this yearâ s day of action. Discussion also covered the need for
participating students to identify themselves to their instructor(s) to arrange to make up missed
work and to avoid extending academic amnesty to students who do not participate. It was noted
that the date is set by the national studentsâ organization making it impossible to vary locally, but
that proactive efforts should be made in future processes to have more regional feedback. To
accommodate this yearâ s event as best as possible, which begins in the morning of February 7
with a pep rally, buses leave the campus at noon and activities end by suppertime, Senators
agreed that the following amended motion be substituted for the proposed motion described in the
supporting documentation.
Moved by K. Arbuckle, seconded by K. Manning that Senate approve an amended motion as
follows to replace the second and third paragraphs of the initial proposed motion described in
supporting documentation and that Senateâ s decision be communicated by both email and printed
copy to instructors and others as appropriate in the university community:
Whereas the Senate acknowledges the usefulness of a strong student effort to increase funding for
post-secondary education, be it resolved that, where possible, faculty are encouraged to allow
students to attend this event without academic penalty between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 provided students make up missed work and identify themselves to
their instructors. CARRIED.
K. Arbuckle also reported the upcoming Winterfest carnival week during which the Feb. 7 Day of
Action will be promoted with a â tuition fees are too highâ concert in the pub Friday evening. She
also advised that the Unionâ s annual general meeting will take place on Feb. 14, that preliminary
planning has begun for awards night on March 22, and the Union is hiring returning officers for
spring elections in March.
9. New Business
A. Davis reports that planning is well advanced for the Research and Scholarship
February 7 open house. There will be 36 presenters representing the entire scope of the
university faculty and student activity and a special open house supported by a grant for the
renovated teaching labs in Evaristus. The deadline for nominations for the MSVU research
award is Jan. 31 but to date no nominations have been received.
10. Items for Communication
1. Senate By-laws will reflect approved revisions to Senate By-law 1.1 Senate Membership, Bylaw
10 Nominations and Elections by Faculty Members, and By-law 14.3.2 Undergraduate
Curriculum Committee.
2. Academic calendar changes will be communicated in the Calendar.
3. The Graduate program curriculum changes will be communicated in the Calendar.
4. The Undergraduate curriculum changes will be communicated in the Calendar.
5. The Secretary of Senate will notify the new members and chairs of Senate Standing
Committees of their appointments.
6. The Secretary of Senate will notify all full and part-time faculty of Senateâ s decision
concerning student academic amnesty to attend the Canadian Federation of Studentsâ National
Day of Action on Wed., Feb. 7, 2007.
11. Adjournment
Moved by J. MacLeod, seconded by S. Seager to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m.
CARRIED.