Report Number 227 Of The Committee Of Academic Policy & Programs
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025
To the Academic Board,
University of Toronto,
Your Committee reports that it held a meeting on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 3:10 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Simcoe Hall with the following members present:
PRESENT: Catherine Amara (Chair), Walid Houry (Vice-Chair), Nicholas Rule (Vice-Provost, Academic Programs), Joshua Barker (Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education and Dean, School of Graduate Studies), Sheila Batacharya*, Laurent Bozec*, Pier Bryden*, Susan Bondy, Robert Cooper, Ehab James*, Shone Joos*, Kevin Temple, Rosa Saverino, Suzanne Wood
REGRETS: Robert Austin, Daniel Bowyer, Tarun Dewan, Annabelle Dravid, Jason Harlow, Akina Lalla, Marcus Law, Yee Fun Lo, Amy Mann, Anuradha Prakki, Karen Reid
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: Leah Cowen (Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives), Angelique Saweczko, University Registrar
SECRETARIAT: Joanne Chou, Timothy Harlick
IN ATTENDANCE:
Lachmi Singh, Director, Academic Programs, Planning & Quality Assurance, Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs
Jennifer Francisco, Academic Change Specialist, Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs
Annette Knott, Academic Change Specialist, Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs
Katie Larson, Vice-Dean, Teaching, Learning & Undergraduate Programs, UTSC*
Shelby Verboven, Registrar and Assistant Dean, Strategic Enrolment Management, UTSC*
Don Boyes, Acting Vice-Dean, Undergraduate, FAS
Lisa Feng, Faculty Registrar & Director, Academic Services, FAS
Tamara Jones, Senior Advisor, Policy Review and Implementation, FAS
Bryan Stewart, Vice-Dean, Academic, UTM*
William Gough, Interim Vice-Principal Academic & Dean, UTM*
(*attended remotely)
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair welcomed members and guests to the meeting. She extended a warm welcome to Professor Nick Rule, Vice-Provost, Academic Programs, the newly appointed Senior Assessor to the Committee. - Reports of the Administrative Assessors
The Chair invited Professor Nick Rule, Senior Assessor to offer his report.
Professor Rule began by remarking that he was honoured to step into the role of Vice-Provost, Academic Programs as of November 1, 2024, having previously served as Vice-Principal Academic & Dean at UTM. He had been a Provostial Advisor on University Resilience, former Chair of Psychology and Interim Vice-Dean, Undergraduate in Arts & Science. Professor Rule explained that the Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs (VPAP) played a pivotal role in shaping the academic landscape of the institution, supporting the University’s efforts in academic policy, for-credit academic programming, and evolution of the curriculum. He noted that the office also oversaw the institution's various academic initiatives, academic continuity, and the cyclical review of academic programs and units. He concluded by expressing his enthusiasm for ongoing collaborations with colleagues across all three campuses to enhance academic opportunities for the students, exploring new possibilities, and strengthening the University’s reputation for academic excellence.
The Chair invited Professor Leah Cowen, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives to offer her report.
Professor Cowen began by highlighting a number of internal competitions that were underway. These competitions were also shared through research alerts, and details could be found on the VPRI website. The first was the President's Impact Award (“PIA”), which was open for nominations with a deadline of February 19, 2025 and nominations must be endorsed by the nominee’s division. These awards honoured Faculty whose research had led to significant impact beyond academia. PIA winners received an award of $10,000 per year for five years towards their research. A second award that recently launched was the inaugural Connaught Mid-Career Researcher Award. The value of the award was $250,000 and the funding supported mid-career researchers in leading significant innovative research with the goal of attracting large-scale external research funding, particularly from the Tri-Agencies. Eligible applicants were full-time, tenure-stream faculty members at the Associate Professor level and, as of the date of application, were within no less than 5 years and no more than 15 years of their first tenure-stream professorial appointment. Nominations from their primary academic division were also required to apply, with the deadline of March 15, 2025.
Professor Cowen noted that U of T Faculty on campus and at the affiliated hospitals continued to lead in important recognitions. This included the new Fellows named in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, representing 20% of the total over five years, denoting a 33% share of the total in 2024. She added that Professor Jo Bovy of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences was awarded the Steacie Prize for 2024 for his research in galaxy formation and dark matter, and Professor Javad Mostaghimi of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Inventors.
Professor Cowen then shifted to focus on the evolving geopolitical challenges, noting the impact of federal funding towards research. There continued to be uncertainty with regards to the United States federal research funding and the research environment in the U.S. more broadly which the University was monitoring closely. Professor Cowen explained that further communication would be shared to affected faculty members in due course, and that information had been shared via the Provost’s Digest that individuals holding U.S. funds should expect delays and disruptions. Grant holders were encouraged to ensure that all of their relevant and eligible expenses had been posted to their correct account.
In response to a member’s question regarding the amount of funding the University received from the United States, Professor Cowen responded that a great deal of work had been done to understand the University’s risk and exposure. She added that although the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) was the largest source of funding, the University also received funding from the National Science Foundation (“NSF”) and a number of other entities in the U.S. She emphasized the level of funding that was at risk, and that the University was ready to mobilize advocacy to the Canadian government with regards to mitigation measures should the funding be discontinued.
In response to a member’s question regarding the funding at risk and whether it was all government funding, Professor Cowen responded that it was U.S. federal funding. She added that the overall exposure for the institution was relatively contained for U of T; approximately 5% of the total research funding was from foreign governments, representing significant impact. Although this funding was not evenly distributed, the funding supported trainees, research scientists and staff that were driving various research programs, as well as support for research expenses.The Chair thanked Professors Rule and Cowen for their reports.
- Proposal to Change the Policy on Determination of Academic Status, UTSC
The Committee reviewed the recommendation to change the Policy on Determination of Academic Status, at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC).
Professor Rule reported that the Committee was considering 5 changes to academic regulations. The regulation changes were focused on creating greater transparency and clarity on options for students to help them achieve academic success. The first regulation proposal changed the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) grade-point-average thresholds used to determine a student’s academic status. Currently, each of UTSC’s Cumulative and Sessional Grade-Point-Average thresholds did not align with the other arts and science divisions in the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) and the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). The proposed change would harmonize the thresholds for students in the arts and science programs across the three campuses. He added that the registrars at UTM, FAS, and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design offered their support for the proposal, which takes effect on September 1, 2025.
Members had no questions.
On motion duly made, seconded, and carried
IT WAS RESOLVED,
THAT the proposed changes to University of Toronto Scarborough academic policy, as described in the proposal from the University of Toronto Scarborough dated January 23, 2025, be approved effective September 1, 2025. - Proposal to change undergraduate regulations related to Letters of Permission and Transfer Credit, UTSC
The Committee reviewed a second recommendation from UTSC to change undergraduate regulations related to Letters of Permission and Transfer Credit.
Professor Rule began his report by noting that in the previous year, the University Registrar had brought forward a change to the Policy on Transfer of Course Credits that the committee reviewed ahead of approval by the Academic Board on May 23, 2024. Among the changes to this Policy included a definition of post-admission transfer credit, credit that would be granted for courses completed at another recognized institution once a student was registered at U of T. The revised Policy added two new principles to guide transfer-credit decisions related to post-admission transfer credit:- Post-admission transfer credit would not be granted for courses administered by a third-party organization.
- Post-admission transfer credit for online courses completed at another recognized university would be considered for transfer credit with prior approval from a students’ home academic division, referred to Letters of Permission (“LOP”)
The Policy also confirmed that academic units would determine the conditions under which consideration for post-admission transfer credit, and that academic calendars would provide specific policies related to transfer credit.
Professor Rule then remarked that the UTSC proposal before the Committee altered UTSC’s undergraduate academic regulations in alignment with the changes related to post-admission transfer credit in the Policy. He explained that the proposal offered the following:
- Removed the option for students to apply for transfer credit for a course that was already completed and clarified that courses taken elsewhere must be pre-approved through the mechanism of a LOP, through the University’s Study Abroad program, or another approved process.
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The proposal restricted transfer credit for courses offered by private third-party providers.
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It clarified language to confirm that students should take courses at U of T and that the LOPs would be granted when a course could not be taken at U of T.
Professor Rule added that UTM, FAS and Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design all supported the change, which takes effect on September 1, 2025.
In response to a member’s clarification if an approved course would not be accepted for transfer of credits unless it was pre-approved, Professor Rule responded that was correct, that the student would obtain a letter of permission in advance. He added that in certain instances, a student would find that the course they had taken did not meet the usual quality standards, and this process would prevent them from being in a situation of disappointment or discouragement.
In response to a member’s question whether the Policy applied to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), Professor Rule responded that the University Policy applied to SGS as well.
On motion duly made, seconded, and carried
IT WAS RESOLVED,
THAT the proposed changes to University of Toronto Scarborough academic regulations, as described in the proposal from the University of Toronto Scarborough dated January 23, 2025, be approved effective September 1, 2025.
- Proposal to change undergraduate regulations related to Letters of Permission and Transfer Credit, FAS
The Committee reviewed a third recommendation from the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) to change undergraduate regulations related to Letters of Permission and Transfer Credit.
Professor Rule reported that similar to the UTSC proposal, the proposal from FAS changed undergraduate regulations related to Transfer Credit. The changes were that:- The transfer credit for courses completed at a recognized institution were considered in cases where the courses were pre-approved through an LOP.
- The removal of the current option for students to apply for transfer credit for courses not pre-approved.
- Changes to the language to clarify that a maximum of 5.0 credits remains in place for transfer credit granted for courses completed at a recognized institution.
While this criterion was removed in a previous change to the FAS calendar in 2019, the Faculty found that it was helpful to ensure clarity to avoid potential student confusion. Professor Rule concluded by noting that a benefit of these changes ensured that students were aware of their eligibility for transfer credit prior to enrolment. UTM, FAS and Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design all supported the proposal.
In response to a member’s question regarding how transfer credit is handled for students who transfer to U of T from another institution, Lisa Feng, Faculty Registrar & Director, Academic Services explained that for students that fell under the on-admission policy for transfer credit, so they would be considered separately from the letter of permission process.
On motion duly made, seconded, and carried
IT WAS RESOLVED,
THAT the proposed changes to Faculty of Arts and Science academic regulations, as described in the proposal from the Faculty of Arts and Science dated January 21, 2025, be approved effective September 1, 2025.
- Proposal to Change the Assessment of 12.0 Distinct Credit Regulations, FAS
The Committee reviewed a fourth recommendation from the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) to change the assessment of 12.0 distinct credit regulations.
Professor Rule reported that current enrolled FAS students in two Majors, or in one Major and two Minors, must complete 12.0 distinct full-course-equivalent credits across these programs as part of their degree requirements. Students that completed the combination of two Majors plus one Minor, only had the 12.0 distinct credits assessed across the two Majors, thus the courses completed for the additional Minor were not considered for the assessment of distinctiveness to complete their degree. The proposal altered the 12 distinct credit assessment for students completing two Majors and one Minor so the Minor contributed to the 12.0 distinct credit degree requirement. Similarly, UTM, UTSC and Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design all supported the proposal, which takes effect on September 1, 2025.
Members had no questions.
On motion duly made, seconded, and carried
IT WAS RESOLVED,
THAT the proposed changes to Faculty of Arts and Science academic regulations, as described in the proposal from the Faculty of Arts and Science dated January 21, 2025, be approved effective September 1, 2025. - Proposal to Change the Repeating Passed Courses Policy, FAS
The Committee reviewed a fifth recommendation from the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS) to change the repeating passed courses policy.
Professor Rule began by noting that the principal focus of this proposal was to revise two aspects of FAS’s current policy for repeating passed courses:-
To allow the current limit on the number of courses for which the first attempt at taking the course to be marked “Extra” to include repeated courses which allowed for other possibilities to be considered, and the removal of the limit.
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Removal of duplicated information, and creating a new section called “Repeating Passed Courses” in the calendar.
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These important revisions would simplify things for students by refining the regulations related to repeating passed courses. FAS would be better aligned with the cognate policies at UTM and UTSC, both of whom (in addition to Daniels) had indicated their support for the change, which Arts & Science would like to take effect September 1st of this year.
In response to a member’s question regarding how repeated courses were shown on the transcript, Professor Rule noted that it would be marked ‘EXT’ for extra.
On motion duly made, seconded, and carried
IT WAS RESOLVED,
THAT the proposed changes to Faculty of Arts and Science academic regulations, as described in the proposal from the Faculty of Arts and Science dated January 21, 2025, be approved effective September 1, 2025.
- Program Closure: Major in Exceptionality in Human Learning, UTM
The Committee received and reviewed the proposed program closure of the Major in Exceptionality in Human Learning, at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).
Professor Rule reported that closing programs was a normal and positive part of the academic process, an academic circle of life. Since the introduction of UTQAP in 2011, 68 programs and program structures had been closed to date. There had been extensive consultations to close this program in advance of its consideration by the Committee.
He explained that the Specialist in Exceptionality in Human Learning was introduced in 2003 and followed by a Major program in 2004. The decision to close the Major in Exceptionality in Human Learning was in response to a departmental review, in addition to:- Significant overlap with the other Psychology Major programs;
- Lack of exposure to scholarly foundations of topics concerning individuals with disabilities or giftedness; and
- The desire to reduce redundancy while maintaining a specialized focus through the Specialist program.
Enrollment in the Major was administratively suspended as of May 2019, with no active students in the Major as of 2022. The department had four inactive students that could return to complete the program as they would be offered the necessary courses. Future students would be directed to the Specialist or to the Psychology Major. The closure of the Major was expected to have a positive impact on the department by eliminating program overlap, and improve the department’s slate of academic offerings. The closure date of the UTM’s Major in Exceptionality in Human Learning was slated for May 1st.
Members had no questions.
On motion duly made, seconded, and carried
IT WAS RESOLVED,
THAT the proposed closure of the Major in Exceptionality in Human Learning, University of Toronto Mississauga, dated November 28, 2024, to which admissions were administratively suspended on May 1, 2019, be approved with an anticipated program closure date of May 1, 2025.
- Annual Report: Student Financial Support, 2023-24
The Committee received and reviewed for information the Annual Report: Student Financial Support, 2023-24.
Ms. Angelique Saweczko, University Registrar, reported that the Report was provided annually in accordance with the University’s Policy on Student Financial Support.
She noted that the Report provided information on merit-based and need-based support, Ontario Student Assistant Program (“OSAP”) debt-load for students graduating from undergraduate direct-entry programs, and funding for graduate students in doctoral stream programs. With regards to graduate funding, there were two broad categories of financial support: student assistance and research-stream master’s and doctoral-student support. She explained that the Need Navigator tool that was implemented in 2022-23 helped ensure consistency and rigor in the need assessments, and enabled the verification of data via government student aid processes. The report has been expanded in recent years to provide a fuller picture of financial assistance offered to students at the U of T. In 2023-24, the university spent $300M in total student support.
Ms. Saweczko provided a summary of the University’s financial aid program, composition of support and its relationship with OSAP, and noted that the report also analyzed aggregate OSAP data to profile student financial need.
The report on student financial support highlighted the following:- The University of Toronto provided $330M in financial support to students, a $21.4M increase from the prior year.
- $107.5M of need-based support was provided, a $5.7M increase over the prior year.
- $196.3M of merit-based support was awarded to undergraduate and graduate students, a $13M increase over the prior year.
- International expenditures increased by approx. $11M compared to last year, This is due to an increase in budget and the maturity of the international scholarship program, which is expendable over 4 years.
- Funding for graduate students also increased by $19.2M across award income, employment income and their research stipend. This is a 4.9% increase compared to last year. Just a note that the new minimum funding levels for PhD and SJD students will be implemented in the Fall 2025.
- The first phase of the UTAPS phased redesign was implemented in 2023-24 and included several key changes which included the decoupling UTAPS assessments from government OSAP need-assessment policies, incorporating realistic living costs for the Greater Toronto Area into UTAPS assessments, and providing early estimates of funding during the admissions process. These changes resulted in UTAPS expenditures increasing to $42.6M
- The Indigenous Tuition Initiative, launched in Fall 2023, provided either a tuition grant or a fee reduction to the Ontario Tuition rate for graduate and undergraduate students. 31 Indigenous students received approximately $286,000 in grants or fee reductions through this program. In addition, the university provided approximately $1.9M to 298 Indigenous undergraduate and graduate students. To date, over $19M has been raised in endowed funds dedicated to Indigenous students.
- The U of T Toronto continues to provide significantly more funding of student compared to other Ontario Universities - 68% more funding. U of T was recognized for these efforts in the provincial 2023 Blue Ribbon Panel Report.
- 63% of U of T students did not have any OSAP debt at time of graduation, which is a 2% improvement from the prior year. While the number of students graduating had lower debt, those with debt, had a higher debt level than the prior year. The average repayable debt level increased in 23-24 due to a shift with government funding from grants to more loan funding. The amount of weekly loan funding provided by both the provincial and federal governments increased, while the COVID enhancements to the Canada Student Grant program were sunset. These grants had previously doubled the amount of non-repayable funding available to students, reducing debt levels significantly in 22-23.
Members had no questions.
- Annual Report: Student Awards Established, Amended and Withdrawn, July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
The Committee received and reviewed for information, the Annual Report: Student Awards Established, Amended and Withdrawn from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Ms. Saweczko reported that during 2023-2024, 278 new awards had been established, with a total endowment value of $17.5 million, an expendable fund of $2.3 million, and 164 awards were amended. A total of 112 awards with an approximate value of $194,325 were withdrawn. These awards were withdrawn because the expendable fund was exhausted, or the donor commitment ended. There was continued clean up of the award records in Award Explorer, which was a multi-year project. The new award system would allow the team to better monitor and track the data, and the ongoing clean-up would improve the award records in Award Explorer and fewer amended awards.
Members had no questions.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 11, the Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.
- Report of the Previous Meeting
The report of the previous meeting was approved. - Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
There was no business arising from the report of the previous meeting.
- Date of the Next Meeting: Thursday, April 10, 2025
The Chair confirmed that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Thursday, April, 10, 2025 in the Council Chamber. - Other Business
There were no items of other business.
The meeting adjourned at 3:51 p.m.
February 27, 2025