Report: Governing Council - October 29, 2020

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
THE GOVERNING COUNCIL
OCTOBER 29, 2020

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL held on October 29, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. via virtual meeting.

Present:
Claire Kennedy (Chair), Brian D. Lawson (Vice-Chair), Rose Patten (Chancellor), Meric S. Gertler, (President), Cheryl Regehr, (Vice-President and Provost), Olivia Batt, Harvey T. Botting, David N. Bowden, Adanna Chigbo, P.C. Choo, Teodora Dechev, Stark Draper, Janet L. Ecker, Susan Froom, K. Sonu Gaind, Avrum I. Gotlieb, Sandra Hanington, Sarosh Jamal, Joan Johnston, Amin Kamaleddin, Shashi Kant, Anna Kennedy, Paul Kingston, Sameer Lal, Ernest W.N. Lam, Mark Lautens, Kikelomo Lawal, Ron Levi, Jiazhen (Diana) Li, Jan K. Mahrt-Smith,  Rajiv Mathur, Douglas E. McDougall, Joanne Jean McNamara, Andrew Padmos, Danielle Skipp, Andrew Szende, Nicholas Terpstra, Wisdom J. Tettey, Marium Vahed, Grace Westcott, Bruce Winter, Vishar Yaghoubian, Samra Zafar, Lara Zink

Sheree Drummond (Secretary of the Governing Council)

Regrets:
Stephane Martin Demers, Salvatore M. Spadafora

In Attendance:
David Estok (Vice-President, Communications), Alexandra Gillespie (Vice President and Principal, University of Toronto Mississauga), Kelly Hannah-Moffat (Vice-President, Human Resources and Equity), Scott Mabury (Vice-President, University Operations), David Palmer (Vice-President, Advancement), Joe Wong (Interim Vice-President, International), Heather Boon (Vice-Provost, Faculty and Academic Life), Nadina Jamison (Assistant Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives, Office of the President), Bryn MacPherson (Assistant Vice-President, Office of the President and Chief of Protocol), Anthony Gray, Director (Strategic Research, Office of the President), Nora Gillespie (Senior Legal Counsel, Office of the Vice-President and Provost), Jane Harrison (Director, Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life), Steve Moate (Senior Legal Counsel, Office of the President), Archana Sridhar (Assistant Provost)

Guests:
Ellen Hodnett (Ombudsperson), Melinda Scott (Director of the Office of the Vice Provost, Students and Student Policy Advisor), Kira Cheung (student presenter), Gemma Donn (student presenter), Shenwei Hu (student presenter), Lauren Hung (student presenter), Thea Vu-Nguyen (student presenter), Sarina Wong (student presenter)

Secretariat: 
Samantha Frost, Kristi Gourlay, Cindy Ferencz-Hammond, Anwar Kazimi, Kata Skoko 
Emma Thacker, David Walders

1. Chair’s Remarks
   
   The Chair welcomed members and guests to the meeting. She briefly reviewed meeting protocols for the virtual meeting format. She announced the appointment of a new teaching staff governor, Professor Stark Draper, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who had been elected to serve a term until June 30, 2022.
    
2. Report of the President
   
   The President began his report by welcoming representatives from three student groups that were recipients of the U of T COVID-19 Student Engagement Award, an initiative launched in May 2020 and led by the Office of the Vice-President International with support from across the University. He noted that the Award was designed to recognize and support student groups for exceptional projects focussed on community building during the challenging times of the pandemic. The President reported that there had been tremendous interest in the initiative: close to 300 applications had been received. Of these, 155 projects, involving over 500 students, had each been selected to receive a $3,000 award. The President invited each group to provide a brief overview of their work.
   
   Group #1: Renewed Perspectives
   Thea Vu-Nguyen and Shenwei Hu, undergraduates from the University of Toronto Scarborough, described their team’s project, “Renewed Perspectives.” It was an exhibit of thirteen paintings intended to capture positive things that the community had come to appreciate during the pandemic. They reported that they were selling prints of the paintings through Etsy and donating the proceeds to organizations supporting children’s mental health.
   
   Group #2: Bridgespace
   Undergraduate students from Rotman Commerce and the Faculty of Arts and Science, Sarina Wong, Lauren Hung, and Kira Cheung, described their team’s project, “Bridgespace.” Bridgespace was an online student engagement platform which sought to bridge the gap in skill development, campus programming, and accessibility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing together student clubs worldwide onto one platform. They reported success in their efforts to date.
   
   Group #3: Songs in Self-Isolation
   Gemma Donn, a student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), presented her team’s project, “Songs in Self-Isolation.” This project sought to support hospital patients and others experiencing isolation and loneliness due to the pandemic through virtually performed music dedicated especially to them. She reported success with the initiative and that the group was expanding its efforts to include a website and a YouTube channel.
   
   The Chair thanked the students and all of the members of their teams for their presentations and for the work that they were doing. She said she was impressed with the range of projects, noting that they were innovative and caring during a time when it was important to spread a positive message within the University community and beyond.
   
   The President echoed the Chair’s thanks and congratulated the students on their work. He then went on to report on a number of matters: 
   
   Temerty Gift 
   President Gertler highlighted the recent $250-million gift from the Temerty Foundation, the largest gift in Canadian history, in any sector. He reported that in recognition of this landmark gift, the Faculty of Medicine had been named the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and the gift would support new resources for students, program support, and other priorities. He noted that the gift was spirit-lifting for the University in these challenging times and it reaffirmed, and reinforced, the University’s leadership position in medicine and related health sciences. 
   
   Rankings  
   The President then commented briefly on the University’s continued success in the annual university rankings that were announced each fall. Specifically, he cited the following:  
   • Academic Ranking of World Universities by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy: the University had moved up one position to 23rd overall. 
   • Times Higher Education ranking: widely regarded as the gold standard of the university rankings, the University had maintained its ranking of 18th in the world overall, 8th in the world among public institutions, and 3rd among public institutions in North America. 
   • National Taiwan University Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, also known as the NTU Ranking: the University had risen one place to 3rd overall, and was the top-ranked public institution in the world. 
   • U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities Rankings: the University had risen one place to 17th worldwide. It had been ranked 7th among public institutions, and 1st among institutions outside the United States or United Kingdom, public or private. 
   • Maclean’s Reputational Rankings: the University had maintained its position as the top institution in Canada overall. It had also been named as the top university for spurring innovation, and for producing “leaders of tomorrow.”

President Gertler remarked that the University’s sustained excellence across all of these rankings was remarkable and a testament to the University’s ability to recruit and retain superb academics, teachers, and researchers and to provide the conditions for their success. 
 
National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities  
The President acknowledged the success of the two-day National Dialogues addressing Anti-Black racism held on October 1st and 2nd and organized by the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) in concert with the Vice-President of Human Resources & Equity. The Dialogues had focussed on moving from words to tangible, concrete actions. There had been three thousand virtual participants from across the country, from nearly sixty post-secondary institutions. He congratulated Professor Wisdom Tettey, Vice-President and Principal, UTSC, and Ms Karima Hashmani, Executive Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, for their tremendous leadership in organizing this initiative. 
 
Fall Convocation 
The President reported that the University would be hosting a virtual ceremony for Fall 2020 Convocation, similar to Spring 2020 Convocation. He noted that the convocation ceremony would feature an address from speaker Maydianne Andrade as well as congratulatory messages from students and academic leaders. The virtual ceremony would be broadcast at noon on November 21 and would thereafter continue to be available online. 
 
Advocacy
Federal Matters 
The President reported the University’s appreciation of the federal government’s recent announcement that travel restrictions had been amended to allow all international students, regardless of where they were traveling from or when their study permit was approved, to enter the country provided that they were asymptomatic and their “designated learning institution” had an approved COVID-19 readiness plan in place. He observed that this was a crucial announcement of vital importance to the post-secondary education sector and had been the focus of Federal advocacy by the University over many months. 
 
Provincial Matters 
President Gertler closed his remarks with the news that in September, the provincial government had announced that it would be delaying the activation of performance-based funding for up to two years, in light of the destabilizing effects of the pandemic. Performance-based funding had been part of the third iteration of the Strategic Mandate Agreements under which up to 60% of provincial grant funding to universities would be contingent on performance as measured against a set of key metrics. He noted that the recent focus of the provincial government had been almost exclusively on combatting the pandemic and that the University continued to play a major role in assisting the government in its efforts. He noted that the 2020-21 Provincial Budget would be tabled on November 5, and that the University would be watching closely.  

At the invitation of the President, the Provost provided an overview and update on the University’s efforts to manage the impact of the pandemic on the University community. Professor Regehr began her remarks by expressing her pride and gratitude to the members of the community who had been working so diligently to adapt to the new realities of the pandemic. 
 
Reversion to Modified Stage 2
The Provost reported that on October 9, the Province had announced additional public health measures in Toronto and other regions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This had resulted in some University-wide measures which included:
•    the closure of indoor gyms and fitness centres;
•    limiting of food service options to take-out only and the closure of seating in dining halls;
•    a request to Principals and Deans to consider their in-person activities carefully to ensure that they were essential (even though in-person teaching was exempt from the province’s social gathering restrictions);
•    mandatory self-assessment for those visiting the campuses. She noted that the UCheck web portal had been offered as a convenient way to meet this requirement, but paper-based or offline logs were also available to track self-assessments; and
•    the creation of an online dashboard on the UTogether2020 web page to help keep the community informed about cases in the community, past and present. Professor Regehr reported that no outbreaks had been reported on any of the three campuses to date.

Students 
The Provost reported that the University had been recognized by the federal government as a designated learning institution (DLI) with the result that, as of October 20, the University was able to welcome all international students approved for study permits. To meet the regulations that required a 14-day quarantine period, the University had set up a Quarantine Program which included transportation from the airport, welcome kits, accommodations, meals, check-ins with Health and Wellness, and testing. She reported that more than 1,000 students had enrolled in this program to date, 920 had completed it, and the University was ready to welcome the next group of students. She said that the University had contacted the students who had started their programs in their home countries, to determine how many had the necessary permits and planned to travel to Canada soon, to ensure that the University was prepared for their arrival. 

The Provost observed that many students were dealing with loss of employment and unforeseen expenses caused by the pandemic. She reported that since March, the University had provided $6.8 million in emergency bursaries to more than 6,000 students, and that this program would continue to be available. She also reported that to assist the students who did not have reliable internet or a place to study, the University was providing safe spaces where they could study and access courses.  
 
Professor Regehr reported that, at the end of September, the University had launched Navi—short for “navigator”—an online tool to help students access mental health support during this stressful time. She noted that it was one of a number of outcomes of the Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health.
 
The Provost informed members that the University had extended the cancellation of its Study Abroad programs until the end of April 2021 when the situation would be reassessed.  
 
Research 
Professor Regehr reported that the Province’s return to a modified stage-2 response to the COVID-19 pandemic had not required any immediate changes and, at this time, research was continuing with measures in place to follow public health guidance. She noted that contingency plans were in place to enable research to continue in the event that further provincial restrictions were required. 

Budget Update 
The Provost reported that despite the significant uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, early indications were that overall enrollment levels for the fall term were roughly inline with last year, with some differences at the level of individual divisions and programs. She conveyed the University’s hope that this trend would hold through the fall and into the winter term. She reported that ancillary service units — such as residences, food services, and parking — had been hard hit by the reduction of on-campus activity and that the University would work with them during this challenging time.

Professor Regehr concluded her remarks by reporting that the University continued to work closely with local and provincial governments and public health officials and would modify practices based on their guidance. She reiterated the gratitude of herself and the President to the members of the University community who had been working so diligently and creatively to keep the University going during these challenging times. 
 
The Chair thanked the President and Provost for their reports. She asked members for comments or questions.

The Chair endorsed a member’s commendation of the student presenters, both for their presentations and for the work that they had done, which showed much awareness and social conscience.

In response to a member’s question about the cost of the Quarantine Program, the Provost confirmed that it was offered free of charge to the students with the cost being covered by the division in which the student was registered.

The Chair echoed another member’s positive comments and thanks with respect to the success of the University’s shift to online learning. She noted that in these stressful times it was important to pause and thank those who had contributed to the University’s success.

3. Report of the University Ombudsperson for the period July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 and Administrative Response
   
   At the invitation of the Chair, the Ombudsperson, Professor Emeritus Ellen Hodnett, highlighted some of the content of her Report. She reported that the number of individuals who had sought the assistance of the Office in 2019-20 had increased from the previous year, from 288 to 341, and that the increases occurred across the categories of undergraduate and graduate students and administrative and teaching staff. She noted also that contact from individuals outside the Office’s jurisdiction had dropped and suggested that all of these changes might be due to the Office’s new communication strategy. She reported that, as in past years, the most common actions taken by the Office had been providing information and referrals, and that cases seemed to be either quite uncomplicated or quite complex. 
   
   Professor Emeritus Hodnett noted that all of her recommendations were straight forward and focused on the theme of communication. She expressed her satisfaction with both the administration’s acceptance of her recommendations and their proposal of concrete actions to implement them. She noted that while she had drafted her recommendations before the pandemic hit, they were even more relevant now given the heavy reliance of the University community on communication via websites and email. 
   
   She reported that she had reviewed seven cases managed under the University-Mandatory Leave of Absence Policy and, like last year, it was clear to her that every case had been handled fairly and compassionately, with strict adherence to the Policy. 
   
   Professor Emeritus Hodnett concluded her remarks by observing that the Review of the Office of the Ombudsperson was imminent, followed by the search for and appointment of her successor. She noted her confidence in the current Ombuds Team and her anticipation of a smooth transition. 
   
   At the invitation of the Chair, the Provost thanked the Ombudsperson and her staff for another insightful report and her work this year. She acknowledged that the administration had accepted all of the report’s recommendations and had already shared these recommendations with the Principals and Deans. She said she was confident that the implementation of the recommendations would contribute significantly to the University’s ongoing efforts to provide a caring environment for its community. In closing, the Provost thanked Professor Emeritus Hodnett for her diligence and deep caring in preparing the Report. 
   
   In response to a member’s question about whether the Office of the Ombudsperson had the opportunity to survey clients about their satisfaction with the process, Professor Emeritus Hodnett spoke about the challenges of measuring satisfaction. She noted that the Office focussed on the fairness of the process, and that complainants would have to separate the process from the outcome, a difficult task, especially in situations where the process was fair, but the outcome was not as hoped. She observed that unfavourable outcomes often distressed complainants, and favourable outcomes often resulted in enormous gratitude. Professor Emeritus Hodnett said that while she did not think it possible to overcome these challenges, the Office did take other approaches to ensure quality improvement and control. She reported that before closing a case, the Office followed up with the complainant to assess whether the Office had been able to help or if there was anything else the Office could do to assist. She also cited routine consultation among the Ombuds Team in complex cases. She noted that it was gratifying to see the number of complainants who profusely thanked the Office for their assistance.
   
   A member inquired about the administration’s response to the Ombudsperson’s recommendation that all divisions ensure information about the academic appeals process is transparent and easily accessed on their websites and other resources for students. The member asked whether, in addition to reviewing their own central websites, the administration could review the content of each of the websites of the nineteen divisions to confirm that it was accurate and presented in the most accessible way possible. The Provost responded that she would pass on this suggestion to the University’s Provostial Advisory Group on Academic Integrity.
   
   In response to a member’s question about whether a central email address could be set up to enable students to report broken website links, the Provost responded that she would ask Information Technology to look into to it.
   
   In response to a final question with respect to the large number of Ombuds cases that fell into the category of “administrative policy”, the Ombudsperson confirmed this was typical. She noted that the category was very broad and captured a number of issues in order to protect the confidentiality of complainants.
   
   The Chair thanked Professor Emeritus Hodnett and her staff for their careful and thoughtful work. She noted that this was Professor Emeritus Hodnett’s final term and that there would be further opportunities to recognize her contributions over a long and distinguished career. The Chair reported that at its meeting on October 20, the Executive Committee had approved the establishment of a Committee to review the status and progress of the Office of the Ombudsperson and to make recommendations about the appointment of a new Ombudsperson. She noted that she was pleased to be chairing this Committee and offered her thanks to the governors who had agreed to share their time for this important process.  
    
4. Items for Governing Council Approval
   1. Proposed revisions to the Policy and Procedures on Employment Conditions of Part-Time Academic Staff (Part-Time Policy); and amendments to the Policy and Procedures on Academic Appointments (PPAA) and the Policy and Procedures Governing Promotions in the Teaching Stream (PPPTS) 
      
      The Chair introduced the item noting that this item had previously been considered by both the Academic Board, which was responsible for policies on the nature of academic employment, and the Business Board, which was responsible for agreements with respect to terms and conditions of employment. 
      
      Professor Heather Boon, the Vice-Provost, Faculty and Academic Life, introduced the item and provided an overview of the proposed changes to the Policy and Procedures on Employment Conditions of Part-Time Academic Staff (Part-Time Policy). She highlighted key elements of the proposed revisions, including the following:
      • Under the Memorandum of Settlement between the University and the Faculty Association (UTFA), the Part-Time Policy and related PPAA were considered to be “frozen” policies meaning that they could not be changed without the mutual consent of both parties.
      • The Policy was last amended in 1994 and many of its terms dated back to the original policy of 1974; the updating of the Policy was thus a milestone event and the product of long discussion over three years.
      • It applied to more than 350 part-time faculty who served an important role bridging the absence of full-time faculty members who might be on leave or retired or were working professionals who combined their own professional practice with teaching/research.
      • The Policy introduced consistency of norms and implemented consistency of practice.
      • It provided a degree of security for long-serving part-time faculty and resulted in the reduction of unnecessary effort. Rather than reviewing and renewing contracts every year/three years, under the new Policy a single successful review in year six would result in a continuing appointment. This meant that part-time faculty would still be reviewed and receive feedback on performance but their contract would continue until they were given notice/severance. She clarified that a continuing appointment was not the same as tenure or continuing status.
      • The Policy clearly articulated notice and severance provisions for part-time faculty with continuing appointments who were terminated without cause.
        
        
        At the invitation of the Chair, Professor Nicholas Terpstra, Chair of the Academic Board, commented on the discussion of the item at that body. He reported that Professor Boon had provided clarification on the following in response to members’ questions: 
         
      • Faculty appointed as clinicians (such as many at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine), were governed by a separate policy and would not be impacted by the proposed revisions.  
      • Requests for a change in status from FTE to part-time would generally be approved, but would be limited to a set period of time to facilitate the unit’s planning; a request resulting from an accommodation under human rights law would not have the same limitations.  
      • The administration would continue to work with divisions to update any guidelines as required to ensure that expectations regarding promotions were clearly communicated.   
      • A part-time faculty member who received a continuing appointment would not be considered for promotion at that same time.  Instead, an academic unit should review all assistant and associate professors, teaching stream with continuing appointments, annually, for possible promotion.  
      • Leave accruals were tracked centrally and would be automatically pro-rated upon a change of status to part-time; it was confirmed that salary would also be pro-rated.  
        
        He also reported that in response to a question about how long it had been since the Part-time Policy had last been reviewed, Professor Boon had remarked that this was an example of a ‘frozen policy.’ She had explained that it was only recently that UTFA and the administration had developed a mechanism for changing such frozen policies, and that both parties shared a strong commitment to update the Part-Time policy.  
        
        Ms Anna Kennedy, Chair of the Business Board, then commented on the discussion of the item at that body. She noted that in response to a question from a member regarding financial implications, Professor Boon had confirmed that there were no changes to the benefits to which part-time teaching staff were eligible, and that the Policy codified what had been recommended across academic units with respect to severance and other benefits, so that the approach would be consistent across all units. Ms Kennedy noted that, based on its Terms of Reference, the Board had considered only the part of the broader motion regarding the Memorandum of Settlement Between the University of Toronto Faculty Association and the University Administration, and that the Board had supported the recommendation of the Provost. 
        
        The Chair thanked Professor Terpstra and Ms Kennedy for their reports. Then, in response to members’ questions, Professor Boon clarified the following:
         
      • Continuing status would not reduce the flexibility of units to make changes every few years. For the first six years, the same flexibility applied and after a successful review in year six, units still would have the ability to make assessments based on program needs and terminate with notice and severance.
      • Six years was chosen as the appropriate threshold to ensure that part-time faculty had enough time to build up experience and a dossier that was sufficient for units to assess. She confirmed that it was not analogous to a tenure review.
      • The term “continuing” was the outcome of substantial discussion. It was a term the Faculty Association had wanted and the University did not object. She indicated that the term was clearly defined in the Policy so should not be a cause for confusion. 
        
        On motion duly moved, seconded and carried 
        
        It was Resolved  
        
        THAT the Memorandum of Settlement Between the University of Toronto Faculty Association and the University Administration, dated May 7, 2020, regarding the Policy and Procedures on Employment Conditions of Part-time Faculty be approved, effective immediately; and  
        
        THAT revisions to Policy and Procedures on Employment Conditions of Part-time Academic Staff be approved, effective January 1, 2021; and  
        
        THAT the amendments to Policy and Procedures on Academic Appointments be approved, effective January 1, 2021; and  
        
        THAT the agreement that the ranks and titles of part-time teaching stream faculty members change from the current titles of Lecturer and Senior Lecturer to Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream and Associate Professor, Teaching Stream be approved, effective immediately.  
        
        THAT the amendments to Policy and Procedures Governing Promotions in the Teaching Stream be approved, effective January 1, 2021.

 The Chair commended the Administration and the Faculty Association for working together over a long period of time to reach the result that had been presented at this meeting. 

2. Revisions to the UTSC and UTM Campus Council and its Committees Terms of Reference

The Chair introduced the item, noting that the proposed changes to the Terms of Reference had arisen from the recommendations of the Report of the Committee to Review the UTM and UTSC Campus Councils (CRCC) which had been approved by Governing Council on June 25, 2020. 

At the invitation of the Chair, Ms Samra Zafar, Chair of the UTM Campus Council, commented on the discussion of the item at that body. She noted that the proposal had also been presented for information at the UTM Campus Affairs Committee and the UTM Academic Affairs Committee. She reported that members had had no questions or comments on the proposed changes.  

Professor Paul Kingston, Chair of the UTSC Campus Council, commented on the discussion of the item at that body, noting that the proposal had also been presented for information to the UTSC Campus Affairs Committee and the UTSC Academic Affairs Committee. He reported that there had been no questions from members about the proposed changes.   

In response to a member’s question about Officers of the Councils, Sheree Drummond, Secretary of the Governing Council, clarified that the CRCC Report had recommended, and Governing Council had approved, that the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Councils be appointed by the Governing Council to make the process consistent with that of the Boards. She confirmed that the Secretary would still have the same role, but that language referring to the Secretary of the Council was removed in order to be consistent with the Terms of Reference of the other bodies. 

The Chair affirmed that the purpose of the proposed changes was to harmonize the governance bodies within the governance structure so that there was consistency across the three campuses.

On motion duly moved, seconded and carried 

It was Resolved  

THAT the proposed revised UTM Campus Council and Standing Committees Terms of Reference be approved, effective immediately, replacing the Terms of Reference approved on February 15, 2017; 

and  

THAT the proposed revised UTSC Campus Council and Standing Committees Terms of Reference be approved, effective immediately, replacing the Terms of Reference approved on June 25, 2014. 

CONSENT AGENDA

The Chair confirmed that only one of the items on the Consent Agenda, Item 5 the Report of the previous meeting of the Council, required approval and that all other items were for information only. She noted that no requests had been made to place any consent agenda items on the regular agenda. 

On motion duly made, seconded and carried 

It was Resolved 

THAT the consent agenda be adopted and items on it approved.

5. Report of the Previous Meetings of the Governing Council – September 9, 2020 
   
   The minutes of the September 9, 2020 meeting were approved.  
    
6. Business Arising from the Reports of the Previous Meetings 
   
   There was no business arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.   
    
7. Reports for Information 
   
   Members received the following reports for information: 
   1. Report Number 41 of the Pension Committee (May 27, 2020)
   2. Report Number 219 of the University Affairs Board (September 30, 2020)
   3. Report Number 254 of the Business Board (October 6, 2020)
   4. Report Number 43 of the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus Council (October 6, 2020)
   5. Report Number 43 of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Council (October 7, 2020)
   6. Report Number 229 of the Academic Board (October 8, 2020)
   7. Report Number 517 of the Executive Committee (October 20, 2020)

END OF CONSENT AGENDA

8. Date of Next Meeting – Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. 
   
   The Chair advised that the next meeting of the Governing Council was scheduled for
   
   December 17, 2020.
    
9. Question Period
   
   The Chair reported that a member had submitted a question in advance concerning an item approved by the Business Board at its meeting on June 18, 2020, the establishment of University Development and Campus Services as an unincorporated business ancillary. A concern had been raised about the process leading to that decision. The Chair noted that the member had posed a similar question at the meeting of the University Affairs Board on September 30. For the benefit of members who were not present at that meeting, the Chair summarized the response that had been provided. 
   
   The Chair explained that the body that had the jurisdiction to approve business ancillaries, including unincorporated business ancillaries, was the Business Board. She confirmed that while the University Affairs Board had no formal role in approving the establishment of a business ancillary, feedback from the Chair and Vice-Chair had been sought, as the proposal would impact the approval process for fees charged to students, which was a matter for which University Affairs Board was responsible. She confirmed that the role of the University Affairs Board in fees related to student matters had not diminished under this new model, but the additional lens of the Business Board had been added, to consider the fees charged to students as part of a broader business ancillary. 
   
   In response to a question as to the role of the Governing Council in such a matter, at the invitation of the Chair, the Secretary explained that important powers are delegated to the Boards and as such that Boards have the authority to approve certain matters on behalf of the Governing Council. This had been one such matter. In response to a follow-up question the Secretary indicated that there had been no change in approach as a result of COVID-19.
    
10. Other Business
    
    There was no other business. 

The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

November 13, 2020