To request an official copy of this policy, contact:

The Office of the Governing Council
Room 106, Simcoe Hall
27 King's College Circle
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1A1

Phone: 416-978-6576
Fax: 416-978-8182
E-mail: governing.council@utoronto.ca
Website: http://www.utoronto.ca/govcncl/

Preamble

Part I: Introduction

Part II: Units and Their Administrative Functions

1. Description of Types of Extra-Departmental Units at the University of Toronto
2. Establishment
3. Appointment of an Administrator: Director, Coordinator
4. Reporting Authority
5. Appointing Rights for Faculty
6. Teaching Role
7. Research Role
8. Budgetary Authority
9. Administration of Grievances
10. Process of Review
11. Disestablishment

Part III: Recommendations

Preamble

The former Provost, now President David Strangway, charged the Provostial Committee on Centres and Institutes with the task of reviewing the existing relationships of centres and institutes and other similar groups in relation to the Haist Rules at the University of Toronto. We were asked to look at the administrative structure, appointment authority and academic role of such units and to look at the relationship among such units. We were asked to recommend a set of guidelines which would fit with existing rules or to propose changes to those rules where necessary. We have located over 300 units which are known as institutes, centres, groups or programmes. Of these, some two dozen or more are known as institutes or centres, with over half of these in the School of Graduate Studies.

Membership of the Committee reflects the wide range of activities in extra-departmental units in every part of the University. Those serving on the Committee are listed at the end of the report.

This report is intended for wide circulation within the University community. The report is organized into three main parts. In the first part, we have set out the premises and assumptions on which we based our work; the second part is a description of categories of units and their proposed administrative functions and relationship to the governing structure of the University. The third and final part of the report consists of our list of recommendations drawn together from the body of the report.

This report is presented to the Provost for action through the appropriate Councils and Committees of the University.

Part I: Introduction

The University of Toronto has a larger faculty than any other academic institution in Canada. The diverse research and teaching interests of this group have provided great strength in traditional departments and degree programmes. There are few departments which do not include some of the leading Canadian authorities in the discipline and scholars of international reputation. A salient feature of the University during the past fifty years has been the extent to which faculty members are permitted and encouraged to develop research and teaching interests which do not fit easily within rigid and orthodox disciplinary boundaries. Over the years this has given rise to a large and diverse range of co-operative groupings, some involving informal collections of two or three faculty members without elaborate administrative structures, and others formalized into large institutes with substantial budgetary and administrative support. It is no criticism of traditional departments to say that some of the most exciting and innovative work at this University has been stimulated by these initiatives. It is clear that the flexible policy of the university has encouraged these developments, and this situation contrasts notably with that at some other leading universities in this country. In the opinion of this Committee, such a policy has had academic and administrative advantages. The Provostial Committee, in undertaking a review of the various extra-departmental arrangements which have arisen, does not wish to take any action which would hamper or stifle innovative activities by the faculty. Thus, the task has been to determine if there are administrative measures of clarification and identification which can encourage and enhance such activities.

To differentiate extra-departmental units offering research and/or teaching programmes at the University of Toronto, the Provostial Committee on Centres and Institutes has drawn up a set of characteristics for four different types of units that operate within the University outside the basic structure formed by departments.

We recognize that the names of existing units are traditional, and it is not our intention in this report to advocate that these names necessarily be changed. Therefore, we have labelled the types of units EDU (Extra-Departmental Unit) with a number. The terms "institute", "centre", "group/research group" and "programme" describe those units with which we are familiar. It is our hope that the sets of characteristics we have differentiated can be recognized as institutes, centres, groups and programmes, and that those in such units will be consistent in the naming of their units where possible. EDU:01 = institute, EDU:02 = centre, EDU:003 = group, and EDU:004 = programme.

Some of the existing EDU's are "in" the School of Graduate Studies. We have begged the question of establishing the criteria by which a unit ought to be within or outside of the School. It is our opinion that the School should continue to have the exclusive responsibility to approve graduate courses and programmes and to recommend them to the Academic Affairs Committee of Governing Council. In addition, rights to make appointments to the graduate faculty should be retained by the School for all units, including EDU's. However, if the recommendations of this report are accepted, a process of evolution will take place in units as they move into alignment with what has been proposed. In that evolutionary process, we suggest that the budgetary and reporting responsibilities for each EDU should be determined in discussions involving the unit, the School, and the cooperating deans and chairs of departments.

For units formed in cooperation with other universities or outside agencies, such as research ancillaries, the relevant principles of organization and responsibility as listed below should apply; the Vice-President (Research and Government Relations) is normally responsible for overseeing such agreements.

Part II: Units and Their Administrative Functions

The pages below describe the processes and procedures involved in the establishment and work of each type of unit. These are intended to establish lines of authority and reporting, and to clarify issues concerning reviews and the work of coordinators or directors.