REPORT NUMBER 81 OF THE
UTSC ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2025
To the UTSC Campus Council
University of Toronto,
Your Committee reports that it held a meeting in the UTSC Council Chamber, Arts & Administration Building on October 16, 2025 with the following members present:
PRESENT: Elaine Khoo (Chair), Rachel Sturge (Vice-Chair), Linda Johnston (Vice-President & Principal, UTSC)*, Iris Au, Sandra Bamford, Emily Bell, Christine Bolus-Reichert, Christopher Cochrane, Jessica Dere, Sebastien Drouin*, John Hannigan, Elaine Khoo, Katherine Larson, Ainsley Lawson, Christine Lorence, Julian Lowman, Karen McCrindle, Sharlene Mollett, Anisa Persaud, Silma Roddau, Thy Phu*, Hadiya Roderique*, Shelby Verboven
REGRETS: Sukaina Abbas, Folakunmi Awofisayo, Joshua Barker, Corinne Beauquis, Michelle Buckley, Andrea Charise, Keith Colaco, Jessica Erb, Atiqa Hachimi, Angela Hamilton, Lisa Harvey, Joseph Hermer, Inaaya Imran, Mariana Jardim, Thembela Kepe, Sarah King, Mandy Liao, Mary Elizabeth Luka, Randy Lundy, Karen McCrindle, Mike Molloy, Alison Mountz, Julia Nefsky, Elizabeth O’Brien, Faith Opoku Agyemang, Varsha Patel, Karin Ruhlandt, Mahinda Samarakoon, Michelle Silver, Antonio Sorge, Ace Tabisaura, Mauricio Terebiznik, Phil Triadafilopoulos, Jessica Wilson, Trevor Young, Marco Zimmer-De Iuliis, David Zweig
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: Kevin Mak, Suzanne Sicchia*
*remote attendance
SECRETARIAT: Miranda Edwards (Secretary), Amanda Grant (Governance Coordinator)
IN ATTENDANCE: Lee Bazely, Shehna Jameel
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair welcomed members and guests to the Cycle 2 meeting. She noted that the Committee had begun the governance year with five vacant seats. A by-election was held from September 15 to October 3, 2025 where one seat was filled. Four seats (2 teaching staff seats and 2 graduate student seats) remained vacant. The Chair welcomed the Committee’s new member, Professor Thembela Kepe. The Chair noted concern that all graduate student seats across the three UTSC governance bodies remained vacant. - Annual Report: 2024-25 Subcommittee on Academic Appeals
Ms Shelby Verboven, Registrar & Assistant Dean Strategic Enrolment Management, reviewed the petitions and appeals processes and provided highlights of the appeals data provided to Committee members. She noted concern about the increasing number of petitions submitted and an increase in the number of appeals submitted to the Dean’s Advisory Committee. The number of appeals submitted had tripled from 2,812 in 2017-18 to 6,034 in 2024-25. The number of appeals heard by the Dean’s Advisory Committee had similarly increased from 15 in 2017-18 to 49 in 2024-25. The most frequent subject of appeals was deferred examinations. The Registrar’s office was undertaking substantial work in exam administration reviews to ensure consistent and fair examinations processes. Ms Verboven noted that international students were disproportionately represented in petitions cases.
Ms Verboven reported that, as the case load increased, there were no additional staff resources available; therefore, the Registrar’s office was focused on streamlining workflows and adjusting policy standards and best practices. She also noted that her office routinely assessed patterns in petitions cases to assess where University policy or processes might need to be adjusted. Ms Verboven told the Committee that her office had seen a small but increasing number of cases where fraudulent supporting documents were used in petitions applications. There was also a high number of cases related to student mental health. Her office was committed to supporting students with the stress and anxiety caused by assessments, deadlines, and workloads. She noted that some petition submissions resulted in referrals to the Health & Wellness Centre.
In response to a member’s question, Ms Verboven noted that her office was working towards a more robust data gathering process regarding petitions and appeals.
In response to a member’s question, Ms Verboven clarified that the increase in petitions cases had far outpaced enrolment growth; therefore, the increase in cases was not solely attributable to an increase in the student population. She further noted that the frequency and weighting of exams as an assessment tool was increasing as instructors responded to the use of generative AI, which might be a cause in the increasing number of petitions related to examinations.
Members discussed other possible causes of the increase in petitions, including international student travel schedules and an increase in multiple deferral requests for examinations. - Undergraduate Major Modification: Combined Degree Program for UTSC Major Program in Music (HBA) with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Master of Teaching
Professor Katie Larson, Vice-Dean Teaching, Learning & Undergraduate Programs, presented a proposal for a Combined Degree for the UTSC Major Program in Music (HBA) with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Master of Teaching. Professor Larson informed the Committee that the most common pathway to becoming a music teacher was through a music degree program that often required a formal admissions audition. UTSC recognized that some students might possess strong musicianship but without having traditional performance qualifications. Reflecting distinctive features of UTSC’s music program, this new degree program would allow such students to build on their strengths and work towards a career as a music teacher.
Students would be required to apply to the program in their third year of undergraduate studies and would need to be in good academic standing with a mid-B average or better.
Consultations were conducted with faculty members at OISE and UTSC in addition to the St. George campus’ Faculty of Music. Extensive planning coordination had taken place between Deans’ offices.
Members had no questions.
ON MOTION DULY MOVED, SECONDED, AND CARRIED
Your Committee approved,
THAT, subject to the approval of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Faculty Council, the new Combined Degree Program as described in the September 22, 2025 proposal be approved, effective Fall 2026. - Reports of the Presidential Assessors
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Professor Karin Ruhlandt, Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean
Professor Katie Larson delivered a report on behalf of Professor Ruhlandt. She provided an update on the UTSC Working Circle’s Curriculum Review Milestone Report which was scheduled to be released in the coming weeks.
The Report was an integral part of UTSC’s commitment to inclusive excellence and a direct response to student advocacy. The review centered Indigenous, Black, racialized, international, and intercultural perspectives, also taking an intersectional approach. The Working Circle was made up of faculty, staff, librarians, students, and community members.
Since the initial 2022 report, which outlined 56 recommended actions, meaningful change had taken place, including new courses, inclusive assessment design, mentorship, and professional development, the establishment of the Pedagogies of Inclusive Excellence Fund, which had supported more than 250 initiatives across campus.
Amid successes, Professor Larson noted ongoing challenges including uneven uptake across disciplines, the challenge of building sustainable practices on project-based funding, and siloed efforts. The review also found tensions between inclusive pedagogical practices and traditional expectations for academic preparation, the rapid growth and influence of AI, the perceptions of symbolic versus substantive change, and the emotional fatigue of advocacy work.
Professor Larson told the Committee that the next phase would invite the campus to focus on several priorities, aiming to synthesize key themes emerging from ongoing implementation and to identify areas where further efforts would support lasting institutional change. She concluded her report by noting that the full report and a detailed presentation would be brought forward to the next Committee meeting.
In response to a member’s question about the uneven uptake of recommendations across disciplines, Professor Larson stated that the majority of new courses responding to the curriculum review were in the humanities and social sciences, which was consistent with the starting point of the curriculum review in 2022. She noted, while there was more work still to be done in programs such as the sciences and management, other evidence of impact across disciplines could be seen in pedagogical approaches, case studies, and course modules. -
Professor Alison Mountz, Interim Vice-Principal, Research & Innovation
Professor Alison Mountz did not deliver a report.
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- Report of the Previous Meeting - Report Number 80 (September 11, 2025)
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 Next Meeting – Monday, January 26, 2026
The Chair confirmed that the next meeting would take place on Monday, January 26, 2025.
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
October 16, 2025