Report: UTSC Academic Affairs Committee - September 12, 2019

REPORT NUMBER 39 OF THE ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

 

To the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Council
University of Toronto Scarborough

Your Committee reports that it met on Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 4:10 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Arts and Administration Building, with the following members present:

Present:

Absent:
George Arhonditsis, Sandra Bamford, Corinne Beauquis, Christine Bolus-Reichert, Radhapriya Chawla, Shadi Dalili,    Suzanne Erb, Arda Erturk, George Fadel, Barry Freeman, Alen Hadzovic, Thembela Kepe, Margaret Kohn, Jacob Koudys, Michael Lambek, Patricia Landolt, Katherine Larson, Andrew Mason, Karen McCrindle, Michael Molloy, Mari Motrich, Juvenal Ndayiragije, William Nelson, Varsha Patel, Rania Salem, Sonia Sedivy, Grace Skogstad, Michael Souza, David Zweig
 

*Telephone Participants

1. Chair’s Remarks

The Chair welcomed members and guests to the first Committee meeting of the 2019-20
governance year. She introduced herself and invited members to introduce themselves as well.

2. Orientation of Members
    

The Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary delivered an Orientation presentation  to the Committee. The presentation included the following key points:

• The distinction and role of university administration and governance;
• An overview of the unicameral system of governance at the University and the Governing Council and its Boards and Committees;
• Committee membership composition and areas of responsibility;
• Expectations of Committee members;
• The role of Assessors and their priorities for the 2019-20 academic year;
• Types of decisions made by the Committee;
• Guidelines on attendance at meetings; and
• Meeting preparation, agendas, cover sheets, and the Diligent Boards governance portal.

Prior to presenting her 2019-20 Assessor Priorities, Maydianne Andrade, Acting Vice-Principal, Academic and Dean, congratulated Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz, Vice-Principal, Research, on being named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
 

3. Category 2 Certificate: Certificate in Bioarchaeology

The Chair invited Mark Schmuckler, Vice-Dean, Undergraduate, to present the proposal to the Committee.

Professor Schmuckler reported that three types of certificates existed at the University as outlined in the Policy on Certificates (For-Credit and Not-For-Credit). Under the University of Toronto Quality Assurance Process (UTQAP), Category 2 Certificates followed the same governance approval as minor modifications. Mary Silcox, Vice-Dean, Graduate, explained that the proposed Certificate was being offered in conjunction with an undergraduate degree program. She remarked that students had expressed interest in the field of archaeology, and the Department of Anthropology was able to meet that demand through a curricular focus on the sub-field of bioarcheology. Leveraging the expertise of two faculty members in the Department, a cluster of courses to form the Certificate were established. Professor Silcox concluded by sharing that completion of the Certificate would be documented on students’ transcripts and had the potential to support students’ future applications for graduate studies.

A member commented on the financial resource implications for the development of the Certificate. Professor Schmuckler indicated that because the Department had two existing faculty members to teach the courses associated with the Certificate, no new financial resources would be utilized to offer the Certificate.

On motion duly made, seconded, and carried,

YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED,

THAT the proposal to introduce a new (Category 2) Certificate in Bioarchaeology, as described in the proposal dated July 11, 2019 and recommended by the Acting Vice-Principal Academic and Dean, Maydianne Andrade, be approved effective January 1, 2020 for the 2019-20 academic year.
 

4. Annual Report: 2018-19 Subcommittee on Academic Appeals