MSVU Senate Minutes -- December 8 2003
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2010-04-15T13:33:04Z
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Senate, Mount Saint Vincent University
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Senate Meeting December 8, 2003
Rosaria Boardroom 7:30 p.m.
Minutes of Meeting
Present: S. Brown (Chair), P. Baker, K. Blotnicky, S. Bornemann, B. Casey, K. Darvesh, K. Dewar, S. Drain, R. Farmer, M. Fitzgerald, C. French, F. French, P. Glenister, K. Harding, F. Harrington, C. Hill, M. Lyon, S. Medjuck, J. Mills, D. Nevo, P. Oâ Neill, D. Plumb, S. Seager, L. Steele, L. Theriault, S. Walker, P. Watts, A. Whitewood, D. Woolcott
Regrets: A. MacGillivary, R. MacNeil, J. McLaren, D. Norris
Guest: M. Landreville
1. Approval of Agenda
Moved by A. Whitewood, seconded by S. Medjuck to approve the agenda. CARRIED.
2. Approval of Minutes of November 24, 2003
The minutes were amended by the addition of several words to the first line of item 7.12 as follows:
â D. Nevo reported that SCOTL has met and is still reviewing its terms of reference, especially the term stating that SCOTL will act as an appeal committee for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition.â
Moved by L. Steele, seconded by B. Casey to approve the Minutes of November 24, 2003. CARRIED.
3. Business Arising from the Minutes
There was no business arising from the Minutes.
4. President's Announcements
S. Brown reminded Senators that they were invited to attend her annual Senate Holiday Reception at The Meadows after the meeting.
5. Question Period
A Senator asked whether S. Brown had recently sent, or planned to send, any letters to any individuals inviting them to be nominated for a Tier One Canada Research Chair. S. Brown replied that she has not written any such letters. The Senator noted that, given the history of the CRC selection process, it was very important to make sure the policies and procedures are as clear and transparent as possible.
Returning to a topic raised at the Senate meeting of November 24, 2003, a Senator asked another question about the universityâ s advertising policy, relative to that part of the mission which states that the Mount is a university primarily dedicated to the education of women. A. Whitewood advised that the Mount now has an Integrated Marketing Committee which is constituted to look at a range of advertising and marketing issues. A. Whitewood encouraged Senators to contact representatives of the Committee to gain a better sense of the range and scope of the issues under consideration. S. Brown agreed it was a good suggestion for the Integrated Marketing Committee to look at these issues.
A Senator stated that during the summer, the Metro Transit No. 18 bus route was changed and the No. 12
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bus route was eliminated. The Senator asked whether Metro Transit consulted the Mount before making these changes. S. Brown replied that neither she nor the Vice Presidents were consulted when Metro Transit introduced many changes to a number of routes. S. Brown offered to take up the issue with Metro Transit again, but also encouraged everyone with an interest in this issue to write a letter to their HRM counsellor, noting that these decisions are made in City Council on the advice of Metro Transit staff.
6. Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
7. Committee Reports (Standing and Ad Hoc)
7.1 Senate Executive
There was no report.
7.2 Academic Appeals Committee
L. Theriault reported that there has been one hearing to date, with two other hearings scheduled to take place before the end of term.
7.3 Academic Policy and Planning
7.3.1 Deansâ List Criteria (For Approval)
D. Woolcott introduced the item for Senateâ s approval, explaining that CAPP was asked to review the policy on the Deansâ List by some part-time students who felt they were disadvantaged by the existing criteria. The new policy is informed by research undertaken by CAPP who, with the assistance of the Registrar, looked at a number of other universities to ascertain what practices are currently being observed.
Moved by D. Woolcott, seconded by L. Theriault that Senate approve the revised Deansâ List criteria for inclusion in the 2004-2005 University Calendar. CARRIED.
A Senator asked for clarification on whether this amendment allowed students who were pursuing their studies over a prolonged time period to appear on the Deansâ List in the year in which the terms of the new criteria were achieved. D. Woolcott affirmed that this would be the case. Another Senator asked when the new policy would come into effect. S. Brown advised it would come into effect in the 2004-05 calendar. Several questions arose concerning implementation protocol. D. Woolcott suggested that some further dialogue on the specifics of implementation should take place at CAPP in consultation with the Registrar. A Senator suggested an implementation strategy might be that for the next Deansâ List calculation, anyone with five units of credit not calculated in a prior Deansâ List would be eligible for inclusion in the Deansâ List at that time. A number of Senators supported this suggestion. S. Medjuck reported for Senateâ s information that the percentage increase in the Deansâ List in the last six years has been 38%.
7.3.2 Procedures Relating to Academic Offences (For Approval)
D. Woolcott introduced the item for Senateâ s approval, explaining that this policy came about as a result of work done by a Task Force chaired by Dean Carol Hill. D. Woolcott advised that the Task Force had been working on this matter for several years, with CAPP involved in reviewing earlier drafts as the policy was being developed. She commended the Task Force for its consultation in the university community, noting that a variety of strategies were used to formulate the new procedures. D. Woolcott advised that members of the Task Force were present to answer Senatorsâ questions.
Moved by D. Woolcott, seconded by C. Hill that Senate approve the Procedures Relating to Academic Offences.
A Senator was concerned that the policy removed the instructorsâ discretion to assess and mete out proportionate responses. They questioned at what point the instructor had to invoke this procedure, one that would be more complicated and time consuming for the instructor, the Chair, and the Dean. A number
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of Senators echoed these comments, expressing concerns that certain academic offences such as plagiarism might go unreported and not be addressed at all if this procedure were adopted. C. Hill stated that the new procedures were designed to address pieces of work that were significant. D. Woolcott reminded Senators that a large part of the document was grounded in academic integrity, a current topic of discussion and research within most universities today. She advised that CAPP and the Task Force hoped we would adopt an educational program to talk about what academic integrity means, as one of the key strategies for trying to reduce the number of academic misconduct cases we are dealing with, and thus change the values in our system to discourage cheating from occurring.
A Senator stated workload issues would need to be addressed in the context of the Faculty Association Collective Agreement. C. Hill advised that the Task Force was asked to undertake this work in response to serious concerns about the equitable treatment of students, and issues of consistency in how the policy and procedures were being applied. Another factor was the number of appeals going forward that might have been avoided if there was a better understanding of how the policy was applied, and more consistency in how the cases were dealt with. The Task Force tried to balance those concerns with the instructorsâ discretionary ability to deal with offences that are borderline in nature or which presented themselves as a result of the â educational learning curveâ often experienced by first year students while making the transition from high school to university. A Senator was concerned that fairness and consistency may be first to disappear if the policy was adopted. A Senator, referring to equity and consistency, noted that there is presently no way to monitor or track students who repeatedly misuse the system. A Senator was not in favour of having access to information on prior offences when deliberating cases and determining penalties, preferring this information to remain and be dealt with at the level of the Dean. A Senator, who had served on the Student Discipline Appeals Committee in the past, said the job of handling student appeals was very frustrating because of lack of consistency in how issues were handled from the outset. A Senator was concerned that the onus rests on faculty in these matters, and students still retain the right to evaluate courses and instructors, notwithstanding certain penalties that might be assessed in their cases.
After a great deal of discussion, during which a number of Senators expressed concerns about the proposed procedures, the motion was DEFEATED.
7.4 Graduate Studies
There was no report.
7.5 Undergraduate Curriculum
7.5.1 Undergraduate Curriculum Proposals (For Approval)
7.5.1.1 Business and Tourism
a) Changes to existing program
i. Bachelor of THMT â Addition of Honours program
Moved by S. Medjuck, seconded by K. Blotnicky the addition of an Honours program to the Bachelor of THMT. CARRIED.
b) New course
i. THMT 4499 â Honours Thesis (1.00 unit)
Moved by S. Medjuck, seconded by K. Blotnicky the addition of the new course THMT 4499 â Honours Thesis. CARRIED.
7.5.1.2 English
a) Changes to existing program
i. Drop CMPS 1160 â Electronic Publishing (0.5 unit) from List of Electives for the Certificate in Professional Writing & Rhetoric, replacing it with PBRL 2013 â Communications: Theory and Practice (0.5 unit).
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Moved by S. Medjuck, seconded by S. Drain to drop CMPS 1160 from the list of electives for the Certificate in Professional Writing & Rhetoric, and to replace it with PBRL 2013. 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
L. Steele reported the committee has experienced some delays but will be meeting soon.
7.8 Library
There was no report.
7.9 Nominations
There was no report.
7.10 Research and Publications
There was no report.
7.11 Student Affairs
There was no report.
7.12 Committee on Teaching and Learning
There was no report.
7.13 Writing Initiatives
S. Drain reported that the Committee had met and has been working on a document containing recommendations about the education process around promoting academic integrity, and discouraging offences against academic integrity.
7.14 Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships
The Committee is meeting and developing its agenda for the year.
7.15 University Research Ethics Board
There was no report.
8. Other Reports
8.1 Studentsâ Union
S. Bornemann reported that the Union held its Annual General Meeting on November 28th at which there was a large turnout.
9. New Business
There was no new business.
10. Items for Communication
Calendar changes, Deansâ List Criteria.
11. Adjournment
Moved by M. Fitzgerald to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.