UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH SENATE. Tuesday, October 17, 1989

Transcription

1 UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH SENATE Tuesday, October 17, 1989 A meeting of the Senate was held at 20:00 on Tuesday, October 17, 1989 in Room 113, MacNaughton Building. The following members were present: J. R. MacDonald (Vice-Chair) B. Abercrombie (Secretary) K. Airey F. D. Horney H. J. Robinson R. c. Anderson R. F. Horton C. Rooke R. Ankli D. Huard S. R. Scadding J. Bailey W. James C. V. Senoff N. Bailey L. T. Jordan P. Joosse E. K. Balon B. D. Kay R. Shuebrook R. M. Barham R. P. Knowles T. K. smith R. W. Barron M. Kremer W. R. smith A. G. Bennett J. Law R. Smook W. J. Bettger G. Lothrop J. R. Stevens D. Britney B. C. Lu R. Stevenson G. L. Brinkman S. Lucas C. Stewart J. H. Burton A. R. MacKinnon E. R. Swart J. L. Campbell E. L. McFarland. R. L. Thomas L. W. Conolly R. McCrindle J. Vanderkamp F. Dahms F. L. McEwen P. Van Haren R. Davidson-Arnott T. E. Michaels F. Vaughan J. H. Davis J. E. Miles M. Ventresca D. Douglas D. R. Murray G. Vernon R. S. Downey J. Murray M. W. Waldron o. P. Dwivedi N. o. Nielsen M. Wall H. Ferguson M. A. Nightingale J. S. Walton L. Gerber R. Ollerhead T. H. Wardrop L. N. Gibbins D. P. Ormrod T. K. Warley D. Grieve D. Paramskas P. Whelan J. Griffin D. H. Pletsch L. White J. C. Hall J. L. Pratschke H. R. Whiteley S. Hilts J. F. Prescott R. Yada W. G. Hines C. Reeves C. Zavrel A. G. Holmes E. G. Reiche J. R. MacDonald took the Chair and called the meeting to order. I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Waldron/Vaughan that Senate approve the agenda of October 17, The motion was carried.

2 II REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR 2 Dr. MacDonald conveyed apologies from the Chairperson, who was on a speaking engagement for National Universities Week. III APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV V VI VII James/Vaughan that the minutes of the Senate meeting of september 19, 1989 be approved. The motion was carried. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the minutes. READING OF ENQUIRIES AND COMMUNICATIONS There were no enquiries or communications. QUESTION PERIOD R. Ankli asked why members of the University of Guelph faculty were required to pay a registration fee to attend the Science and Technology Conference. J. R. MacDonald and M. W. Waldron explained that the Steering Committee had decided to levy the fee in order not to discriminate in favor of faculty from the University of Guelph. It was pointed out that faculty members could use their professional development allowance for registration. On hearing that student registrations (at $60 a head) accounted for more than half of the 500 paid registrations received to date, some Senators expressed disappointment that both students and faculty could not attend without paying. Dr. MacDonald responded to a query about the stable graduate enrolment figures by asserting that this did not represent a change in the University's plan to increase graduate enrolment. In fact, the fraction of graduate students qualifying for B.I.U. income had increased, as had the proportion of students graduating. He noted that this year's increase in undergraduate enrolment was unplanned, mainly owing to the increase in accepted offers of admission. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business.

3 VIII REPORTS OF STANDING BOARDS AND COMMITTEES 2. Striking Committee 3 The report was presented by F. Vaughan, Vice-Chair of the striking Committee. Vaughan/Wall that Senate elect to the Special Committee on Academic Freedom: Jay Newman Ann Clark Marion Steele Ian McMillan Eugene Benson John Pratschke Maurice Oishi Anna Webster. The motion was carried. Senators were asked to note the following amendments to part (b) of the Striking Committee Report: Senate Committee on Educational Development Add: Patrick Whelan B.Sc. Sandra Watson M.A. (Social Science) Committee on Student Petitions Delete: Jerry Grabec Vaughan/Wall Add: John Szentimrey, B.Sc.(Eng.) that Senate approve the proposed changes (as amended) to the membership of Senate Boards and Committees for The motion was carried. 3. Board of Undergraduate Studies The report was presented by the Chair of the Board of Undergraduate Studies, N. I. Bailey. Bailey/Scadding that Senate receive for changes in the Bachelor admission requirements. carried. information the of Science The motion was

4 4 In presenting the Semester Schedule of Dates, Professor Bailey asked Senate to note four amendments: delete "Rescheduled to Monday, December 3" from the entry for Monday, October 8 delete "Rescheduled to Monday, April 15" from the entry for Friday, March 29 delete "Rescheduled to Tuesday, August 6" from the entry for Monday, May 20 delete "Rescheduled to Wednesday, August 7" from the entry for Monday, July 1. Attention was also drawn to the final sentence of the rationale for the proposal, which should state "Similar to previous years, the schedule for the D.V.M. Program has certain modifications; to meet accreditation requirements, the schedule cannot accommodate a winter break for fourth year students." Bailey/Nightingale that Senate approve the Semester Schedule of Dates. In answer to queries, Professor Bailey affirmed that there would be a vigorous information campaign directed to faculty and students before each semester concerning both the dates of the first class meeting and the rescheduling of classes around holidays. Professor Ankli asked (a) what incentive there was for upper-year students to attend classes on September 6 and 7, and (b) what could be done about students who were not present during the first two days of classes in quota and restricted-add courses. Professor Bailey responded that the names of such students would be removed from the preregistration class lists on the second day of classes (Friday) if they did not appear. She felt that this would serve as a powerful incentive to attend. The motion, as amended, was voted upon and carried. 8. committee on Bylaws and Membership The report was presented by o. P. Dwivedi, Chair of the Committee on Bylaws and Membership. Dwivedi/Hines that Senate approve the following changes to the terms of reference of the Senate Executive committee: section (d) changed to read:

5 5 "(d) Consider and report to Senate on such matters as are referred to it by Senate, or by committees and boards of Senate, or on other matters not falling with the purview of a Senate committee or board which may be of concern to Senate;" Hew Section (e) added, as follows, and following sections renumbered: "(e) Recommend to Senate the establishment of special committees to deal with matters of general concern which do not fall within the accepted area of jurisdiction of an existing committee or board and which require policy formulation;" The motion was carried. 10. The committee on student Petitions The report was presented by L. Thomas, Chair of the Committee on student Petitions, who pointed out that P. Shantz, a member of the Committee, had changed her name to P. Joosse. Thomas/Hines Thomas/Rooke Thomas/Paramskas that the statement "hearings can be requested only for cases involving grades for Spring Semester 1978 and thereafter" be removed from the Undergraduate Handbook. The motion was carried. that the general regulation (A.2.) regarding the Senate Committee on Student Petitions be revised to read... will meet during the third and eighth weeks of each semester... The motion was carried. that Senate receive the Report on the Disposition of Student Petitions, , for information. At the request of a Senator, Professor Thomas defined "compassionate grounds" as an incident or circumstances beyond a student's control that would have affected his or

6 6 her performance. Both he and F. Dahms denied F. Vaughan's charge that the Committee was becoming too lenient in its decisions on these grounds. The Chair of Student Petitions also defined "alternate solution" as a remedy applied by the Committee which did not correspond to the relief requested. The motion was voted upon and carried. 13. Committee on University Planning The report was presented by CUP's Chair, R. Horton. Horton/Gerber that Senate approve items (a), (b) and (d) of the proposed organizational structure for the University School of Rural Planning and Development, effective immediately; and that it refer item (c) of the proposal to the Joint Faculty Policies committee for action. J. R. stevens asked whether the changes recommended were consistent with the definition of a University School established by Senate when it approved the 1967 Report of the Committee on University Government. The Chair offered to investigate and respond at the next Senate meeting. The proposal was questioned because it allowed the University School of Rural Planning and Development to "retain control over its program and budget", which was seen as incompatible with item (d) vesting in the University School's Dean the "responsibilities and authority which were formerly vested in the Office of the Vice-President, Academic." Professors Horton and MacDonald made it clear that, while the School would become part of the academic structure of a College and thereby gain a Dean as its' advocate and judge, the Dean would not have the right to transfer monies in or out of the School's budget. Some speakers pointed out that this gave the School a special status not enjoyed by other Departments. No change in representation for the School on Senate committees was implied; the Director would continue to hold an ex officio seat on the Committee on International Activities; and one of the ten elected seats on the Board of Graduate Studies would continue to be set aside for a representative of the School. Some Senators maintained that it was unrealistic to expect the Deanship of the University School to rotate every five

7 7 IX years, as it was difficult for an academic unit to adjust to a new college. Professor Horton pointed that the proposed legislation provided the capacity to change the Deanship as needed, but not the compulsion. This was taken by Senators as a gloss on section (b) of the proposal. The motion was voted upon and carried. NEW BUSINESS 1. COU Report The report was presented by the Academic Colleague, S. Scadding, who amplified the first section by relating the new Minister's view that education was unlikely to attract more provincial funding as long as health care remained an important political priority. Mr. Conway had counselled COU to develop---* more public support for Universities. Professor Scadding gave a detailed summary of D. Stager's recently completed study "Focus on Fees", which set out policy options for revising the current tuition fee structure. Professor Stager had found, for instance, that tuition fees were not a significant impediment to accessibility; more important factors contributing to students' attendance at university were family and social background and parental educational level. Moreover, fees constituted only a small proportion of the total cost of attending university, and students' expectation of benefits remained quite high. In his exploration of the rationale for public support for tuition, he found that support was regressive, i.e., lower income groups pay more than they receive in benefits. The author argued that tuition fee policy and student aid should be considered independently, and that support for student from lower income backgrounds should be targeted. Some Senators expressed an interest in hearing more about the teacher education conference to be held in the Spring of L. W. Conolly offered to pass information on to Senate as plans for the conference proceeded. 2. Other Business Kremer/Murray that Senate move into closed session. The motion was carried. 9. Committee on Graduation and Ceremonials The report of the Committee on Graduation and Ceremonials

8 8 was presented by the Chairperson, J. C. Hall. Senate voted on proposals for five honorary degree recipients and one Honorary Fellow of the University. Senate adjourned at 21:20 on a motion by J. Vanderkamp, seconded by H. Robinson. J. R. MacDonald, Acting Chair B. Abercrombie, Secretary ID.