Report: UTM Campus Affairs Committee - February 10, 2020

Ayah Abdeldayem (President, University of Toronto Mississauga Association of Graduate Students), Atif Abdullah (President, University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union), Miguel Cabral (Campus Council Member), Sabrina Coccagna (Assistant Director, Conference & Events Services, Hospitality & Retail Operations), John Flynn (Assistant Director, Planning, Financial and Budget Services), Brian Hoppie (Acting Manager, Parking & Transportation), Vicky Jezierski (Director, Hospitality & Retail Operations), Antonia Lo (Assistant Director, Student Services and Ancillaries), Lorretta Neebar (Registrar & Director of Enrolment Management), Jessica Silver (Director, Centre for Student Engagement), Meredith Strong (Director, Office of the Vice-Provost, Students and Student Policy Advisor), Veronica Vasquez (Acting Director, International Education Centre)

Secretariat:
Cindy Ferencz Hammond (Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council), Alexandra Waters (Governance Coordinator)

1. Chair’s Remarks
   The Chair welcomed members to the meeting and provided a brief Elections update. Elections were underway for the Full-time Undergraduate Student and Administrative Staff constituencies of the UTM Campus Council, and the Teaching Staff, Administrative Staff and Graduate Student constituencies of the Campus Affairs Committee. Voting would close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 14.

2. Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE)
   The Chair invited Ms Jessica Silver, Director, Centre for Student Engagement, to present. Ms Silver provided an overview of the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE), which was administered by many North American post-secondary institutions to first-year, transfer, and delayed-entry students prior to the start of their first fall and winter semesters. The survey collected data about students’ academic and co-curricular experiences prior to entering university, as well as their expectations of these experiences in their first year of study. The BCSSE was administered at UTM for the first time in July 2019 and had a very good response rate. Survey data provided information about students and their anticipated challenges, and results would inform transition programming. Data collected indicated that many students faced financial challenges, their grade expectations typically did not align with first-year averages, and their service expectations were sometimes mismatched to those that were actually available. Upon completion of the survey, advising reports would be created for each student as a means to understand how their expectations calibrate with typical experiences. Survey results would enable the University to identify individuals that would benefit from early intervention based on skewed expectations prior to entering first year. The survey would continue to be administered and data would be used to inform services and planning. The University would also compare results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which would collect data on students’ first-year experiences, and the BCSSE.
   
   In response to a member’s question about the skewed expectations of student-faculty interaction, Ms Silver stated that feedback indicated that there were not enough opportunities for informal student-faculty interaction and that students did not understand the purpose of office hours. Once more data was available from future surveys, the University hoped to gain a greater understanding of this discrepancy.
   
   A member inquired what early intervention methods to manage student expectations would encompass. Ms Silver stated that partnerships would be established across the campus, and noted that the Office of the Registrar would use the data to inform first-year advising and assist with retention analysis. In terms of intervention strategies, she noted that the demographics of the student population would be analyzed to identify more tailored methods of student support.
   
   In response to a question about individual student advising reports, Ms Silver indicated that advising reports based on BCSSE responses were not currently used as a means to indicate early intervention, but likely would be in the future.
3. Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees – Report and Analysis: 2019-20
   Ms Strong stated that fees were categorized into three areas: Campus Service Fees, Cross-Divisional Student Societies, and Divisional Fees. She noted that fees varied by campus and registration status, and provided examples of fees paid by UTM students in each category. She indicated that UTM students no longer paid fees to the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) since the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) had become the representative student group for UTM students. She additionally showed a fee break-down by category for all divisions and Federated Colleges across the University.
   
   The Chair advised members that this item was presented for information and invited Ms Meredith Strong, Director, Office of the Vice-Provost, Students and Student Policy Advisor, to present an overview of Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees - Report and Analysis for 2019-20. Ms Strong explained that the report provided an inventory of all compulsory non-academic fees collected by the University over the past two years. The report included a fee breakdown for student services and student societies as a result of the Student Choice Initiative, which included 523 optional fees in the Fall 2019 session.
4. Operating Plans and Fees: UTM Student Services
   The Chair advised members that pursuant to The Memorandum of Agreement Between the University of Toronto, The Students’ Administrative Council, The Graduate Students’ Union and The Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students for a Long-Term Protocol on the Increase of Introduction of Compulsory Non-Tuition Related Fees (The Protocol) approved by the Governing Council on October 24, 1996, the UTM Quality Service to Students committee (QSS) reviewed annual operating plans of fee-funded student services, including current and proposed future budgets and related compulsory non-academic incidental fees and would then offer advice to the Committee on those plans. The Chair invited Mr. Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs, to present the advice shared from QSS.

(i) Advice from the Quality Service to Students Committee (QSS)
As per The Protocol, Mr. Overton noted that student input was provided in relation to compulsory non-academic incidental fees through consultations with QSS, which was composed of student leaders and administrators. Fees under consideration were the Health and Counselling fee, the Athletics and Recreation fee, and Student Services fee, which had a number of subcomponents. Straw polls had been used to gage support for the Student Services fee subcomponents, and all subcomponents except Academic Support had passed unanimously. Mr. Overton reported that all three fee proposals received unanimous support from QSS.

The Chair invited Mr. Atif Abdullah, President, UTMSU, to speak to the matter. Mr. Abdullah stated that the QSS members that had polled against the Academic Support subcomponents of the Student Services fee felt that the elements outlined in the proposal did not pertain specifically enough to academic support matters.

(ii) Operating Plans and Fees
Mr. Overton summarized the three fee categories for which increases were proposed and noted that the proposed increases had been supported by QSS. He noted that the fees allowed under The Protocol indexes would have been higher than what was currently proposed. Mr. Overton noted that fee categories for 2019-20 had been restructured to reflect the new Ontario fee streams developed under the Student Choice Initiative.

He provided rationales for fee increases in Health Services, Athletics & Recreation as well as the Student Services Fee category based on student feedback and consultation.  He particularly highlighted the expansion of access to personal counselling and same-day appointments in the Health & Counselling Centre as well as exploring the possibility of alternate delivery formats for mental health education, such as peer support and online delivery of some mental health supports.

On motion duly made, seconded and carried,

YOUR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED,

THAT the 2020-21 operating plans and budgets for the UTM Health & Counselling Centre; the UTM Department of Recreation, Athletics & Wellness; and the UTM Student Services under the Student Services Fee, recommended by the Dean of Student Affairs, Mark Overton, and described in the attached proposals, be approved; and

THAT the sessional Health Services Fee for a UTM-registered or UTM-affiliated full-time student be increased to $60.15 per session ($12.03 for a part-time student), which represents a year-over-year increase of $8.45 per session ($1.69 for a part-time student) or 16%; and

THAT the sessional Athletics & Recreation Fee for a UTM-registered or UTM-affiliated full-time student be increased to $205.88 ($41.18 for a part-time student), which represents an increase of $2.04 ($0.41 for a part-time student) per session or 1%; and

THAT the sessional Student Services Fee for a UTM-registered or UTM-affiliated full-time student be increased to $201.25 ($40.25 for a part-time student), which represents an increase of $9.10 ($1.82 for a part-time student) per session or 4.7% 

5. Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees – Student Society Fees: UTM Student Society Proposals for Fee Increases (UTMAGS & UTMSU)

The Chair noted that student society fees were subject to the terms and conditions of the Policy on Ancillary Fees and the Policy for Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees. He invited Mr. Overton to speak to the matter. Mr. Overton advised members that the fee increases requested by student societies adhered to the appropriate processes.

On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried

YOUR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED

THAT beginning in the Fall 2020 session, the University of Toronto Mississauga Association of Graduate Students (UTMAGS) fee be increased as follows: (a) an increase of $6.36 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time only) in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion of the fee; and (b) an increase of $3.88 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time only) in the Mississauga Transit Summer U-Pass portion of the fee.^[1]

If approved, the total Fall/Winter UTMAGS fee will be $215.32 per session, charged to all full-time UTM-affiliated graduate students.

Be it also Recommended,

THAT beginning in the Summer 2020 session, the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union (UTMSU; legally, the Erindale College Student Union) fee be increased as follows: (a) an increase of $9.87 per Summer session (full-time and part-time) in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion of the fee;

THAT beginning in the Fall 2020 session, the UTMSU fee be increased as follows: (a) an increase of $0.73 per session ($0.02 part-time) in the society portion of the fee; (b) an increase of $0.02 per session (full-time and part-time) in the Academic Societies portion of the fee; (c) an increase of $0.18 per session (full-time only) in the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) portion of the fee; (d) an increase of $0.02 per session (full-time only) in the Downtown Legal Services portion of the fee; (e) an increase of $0.01 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time and part-time) in the Food Bank portion of the fee; (f) an increase of $0.01 per session (full-time and part-time) in the On Campus First Aid Emergency Response/Erindale College Special Response Team (ECSPERT) portion of the fee; (g) an increase of $0.04 per Fall and Winter sessions ($0.02 part-time) and $0.02 per Summer session (full-time only) in the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Levy portion of the fee; (h) an increase of up to $10.21 per session (full-time only) in the Health Plan portion of the fee; (i) an increase of up to $8.53 per session (full-time only) in the Dental Plan portion of the fee; (j) an increase of $6.26 per Fall and Winter sessions (full-time and part-time) in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion of the fee; and

THAT beginning in the Fall 2020 session, the UTMSU fee charged to Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM) students in the Fall and Winter sessions be increased as follows: (a) an increase of $6.80 per Fall and Winter sessions in the Mississauga Transit Summer U-Pass portion of the fee.

If approved, the total Fall/Winter UTMSU fee will be up to $409.35 per session (up to $144.32 part-time), charged to all UTM undergraduate students. The total Fall/Winter UTMSU fee for MAM students will be up to $491.70 per session.  

6. Reports of the Presidential Assessors

The Chair invited Professor Amrita Daniere, Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean, to present her report. Professor Daniere stated that a proposal to make the Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) a category A Extra-Departmental Unit (EDU) would be presented at one of the Committee’s upcoming cycles. While IMI was currently an EDU:B, it would be recommended that it be changed to an EDU:A because it had the size and complexity similar to one of UTM’s  academic departments. The transition to an EDU:A would benefit both faculty and students, as faculty would have the ability to hold their primary appointments within the unit, and therefore students would be taught by faculty with a primary responsibility to the program.

A member inquired about the impact of the proposed change. Professor Daniere indicated that one additional administrative staff member would be hired and the hiring of one or two additional teaching staff members was already built into the complement plans.

The Chair invited Ms Saher Fazilat to provide her report. Ms Fazilat stated that consulting firm Brook MacIlroy Inc. had been hired for the work surrounding the updating of the Campus Master Plan. Members of the campus community should be looking out for communications regarding related consultations in the spring.   

CONSENT AGENDA

On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried

YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED

THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 8 - Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.

7. Report on Capital Projects – as at January 31, 2020

8. Report of the Previous Meeting: Report 38 – January 15, 2020 
Report number 38, dated January 15, 2020 was approved.

9. Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting

10. Date of Next Meeting – March 25, 2020 at 4:10 p.m.

11. Other Business

The meeting was adjourned at 5:02 p.m.