Report: UTM Campus Affairs Committee - September 12, 2019

Chair’s Remarks  
The Chair welcomed members to the first meeting of the Campus Affairs Committee for the 2019-20 academic year. He introduced Professor Robert Gerlai, Vice-Chair of the Committee; Professor Amrita Daniere, Vice-Principal Academic and Dean, Ms Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, and Mr. Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs. The Committee’s non-voting assessors were also introduced: Ms Christine Capewell, Executive Director of Financial & Budget Services, Ms Andrea Carter, Assistant Dean, Student Wellness, Support & Success (not in attendance), Ms Stepanka Elias, Director, Operations, Design & Construction, Facilities Management & Planning (not in attendance), and Mr. Dale Mullings, Assistant Dean, Students and International Initiatives.   

Orientation  
The Chair, Professor Joseph Leydon, and Ms Alexandra Di Blasio, Governance Coordinator, provided an overview of governance1, and members were directed to Orientation Resources available on the governance portal. The Chair explained that the Committee would oversee matters affecting campus and student life, and would monitor, review, and make recommendations concerning a broad range of planning issues and priorities, as well as for the use of campus resources. He also gave an overview of the difference between the roles of governance and administration, and discussed the types of decisions that would be made by the Committee.  

Portfolio Overview 
At the invitation of the Chair, Ms Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, Professor Amrita Daniere, Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean, and Mr. Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs, provided overviews of their portfolios and their priorities for 2019-202. Ms Fazilat stated her office continued to prioritize safety and cleanliness on campus, and worked to increase sustainable initiatives at UTM. In terms of talent management, efforts continued to increase diversity of the staff and faculty complement. She noted that the Campus Master Plan was being updated and would be brought forward to this Committee in the near future, and discussed the construction of the new Science Building, which was expected to begin in Fall 2019, with completion in early 2023. Other capital construction projects that were in early planning stages included the Arts, Culture and Technology Building, a Robotics Lab, the Annex and a new student residence; members would be hearing more about these projects when appropriate. Ms Fazilat additionally noted some challenges faced by her office, which included the space shortage on campus, cyber security, and the need to rebrand Campus Police due to a change in legislation. 

Professor Daniere discussed the various portfolios within her office and the implementation of the Academic Plan. She reported that a dashboard had been created that tracked progress on the goals and objectives of the Academic Plan (https://academicplan.utm.utoronto.ca/). Professor Daniere noted that her office continued to make progress towards the planned writing and numeracy initiatives, which involved new faculty hires. The expansion of experiential learning opportunities were also a priority and UTM had received funding to assist with growth in this area. She further stated that UTM continued to increase sustainable practices and research on campus. The campus would participate in the Global Climate Strike in September and would host an international sustainability conference in October. In addition, her office would develop a Sustainability Pathways Certificate. Lastly, Professor Daniere noted that faculty hiring continued, and would include an indigenous scholar in the Department of Historical Studies as well as one Robotics scholar. 

Mr. Overton stated that his administrative group planned to complete and launch the expanded Health & Counselling Centre, which included upgrades such as additional exam and counselling spaces and increased privacy in the reception area. With the Vice-Provost, Students, his group continued to track the rates and impact of student fee opt-outs under the new provincial guidelines of the Student Choice Initiative. He also noted additional work to expand campus and community support for students that exhibited significant behavioural concerns. Residence expansion was another area of focus, both to meet high demand for the first year student guarantee and assist upper year students that wished to return to residence. Additional plans included addressing increased demand for outdoor field space given the increased student interest in sports and activities. He also noted that assessment of student services would be strengthened and the launch of UTM participation in the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE).  

In response to a member’s question about outdoor field space, Mr. Overton indicated that in the long term, the north field may be returned to an open greenspace with potential replacement and an additional field added at the south end of campus, possibly designed in such a way that two adjacent soccer-size fields would be utilized for cricket as well. The possibility existed that the fields would be lighted and potentially covered for greater use throughout the year. He would update the Committee as these plans progressed.  

In response to a member’s question about BCSSE data, Mr. Dale Mullings, Assistant Dean, Students & International Initiatives, explained that data collected in 2019-20 would act as baseline statistics to compare against in future years. The data would be matched against NSSE statistics and generic student profiles would be created based on responses to determine what supports might be adjusted or created across campus services.  

Current Year Operating Budget 
The Chair invited Ms Saher Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, to present3. Ms Fazilat explained that the budget was determined based on academic and service priorities of the University, and was informed by external factors, such as Provincial policies. The presentation included the following key points: 

Student Choice Initiative Update 
The Chair invited Mr. Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs, to present. Mr. Overton discussed the new online opt-out process for some campus fees and student society fees that were previously mandatory but now deemed optional based on provincial guidelines. Options would be seen on students’ ACORN accounts, with a process by which students could opt-out of those select fees. The University managed 523 optional fees across the institution, and UTM had a total of 120 fees that students could opt out of. Each student’s account would display the specific fees that pertained to them. He noted that the Student Choice Initiative proved challenging for student organizations’ and services’ budget projections.  

A member inquired if a student’s choice to opt-out of a fee impacted the individual student’s ability to access services. Mr. Overton stated that the issue was complex and under discussion, and noted that the level of opt-out for each service would determine how to address the matter. He noted that service providers would consider whether to offer different services dependent on whether the student opted to pay that service’s fee. Ms Lorretta Neebar, Registrar & Director of Enrolment Management, added that students had the ability to opt back into services through the Office of the Registrar for a limited period of time.  

In response to a member’s question, Mr. Overton stated that, excluding health and dental, students could opt out of 3-8% of their non-tuition ancillary fees depending on their classification as full-time, part-time or graduate students.  

He noted that service providers would consider whether to offer different services dependent on whether the student opted to pay the service fee. 

Update on Food Services  
The Chair invited Ms Vicky Jezierski, Director, Hospitality & Retail Operations, to present4. Ms Jezierski noted the previously existing food outlets that had been transferred to the new Davis Building Food Court, and noted the introduction of several new food outlets, which included Harvey’s, Thai Express and Bespoke Mongolian Grill. The newly introduced outlets, such as the Fusion 8 food, can accommodate a wider variety of dietary restrictions. She stated that a second Starbucks location would open in Deerfield Hall on September 23. Lastly, she noted that self-ordering kiosks were in production and were scheduled to open in January 2020. The kiosks would be available for food items that did not require a high degree of customization.  

A member inquired about plans for the space that the Temporary Food Court had occupied. Ms Fazilat, Chief Administrative Officer, stated that the long-term plan was to develop a student plaza that would consolidate a variety of student services.  

Calendar of Business, 2019-20  
The Chair referred members to the Calendar of Business, and advised that the document would be updated on the Office of the Campus Council website every Friday; he encouraged members to review the Calendar on a regular basis and consult with the Secretariat if they had any questions about forthcoming items. 

Report on Capital Projects – as at August 31, 2019 

Report of the Previous Meeting: Report 35 – May 2, 2019 
Report number 35, dated May 2, 2019 was approved.  

Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting 

Date of Next Meeting – October 29, 2019 at 4:10 p.m. 

Other Business  
There was no other business.