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 THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA
Vancouver Senate Secretariat
Senate and Curriculum Services
Enrolment Services
2016-1874 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
www.senate.ubc.ca
Vancouver Senate
MINUTES OF APRIL 15, 2009
Attendance
Present: Prof. S. J. Toope (Chair), Mr. B. J. Silzer (Secretary), Dr. Y Altintas, Dr. R.
Anstee, Dr. K. Baimbridge, Dr. J. Brander, Dr. B. Cairns, Mr. B. Cappellacci, Mr. A.
Cheung, Dr. B. Craig, Dr. J. Dennison, Mr. G. Dew, Ms. A. Dulay, Dr. W Dunford, Dean
B. Evans, Dr. S. Farris, Provost D. Farrar, Dr. D. Fielding, Ms. M. Friesen, Dean N. Gallini, Prof. R. Gardiner, Dr. W Hall, Dr. P. G. Harrison, Mr. S. Heisler, Ms. D. Herbert, Dr.
A. Ivanov, Mr. A. Johal, Dr. B. S. Lalli, Dr. D. Lehman, Dr. P. Loewen, Mr. A. Lougheed,
Prof. B. MacDougall, Dr. P. L. Marshall, Dr. W McKee, Mr. W McNulty, Mr. C. Meyers,
Dr. C. Orvig, Dr. K. Patterson, Dean S. Peacock, Dr. J. Plessis, Ms. S. Purewal, Dr. A.
Riseman, Dr. L. Rucker, Dean J. Saddler, Mr. M. Sami, Dean R. Sindelar, Dr. S. Singh, Dr.
R. Sparks, Dr. B. Stelck, Mr. D. Thakrar, Dr. S. Thorne, Mr. B. Tomlinson, Dr. M. Upadhyaya, Mr. D. Verma, Dr. M. Vessey, Dr. R. Windsor-Liscombe, Ms. M. Young, Dr. T.
Young.
By Invitation: Ms. R. Vlaar.
Regrets: Dean T. Aboulnasr, Ms. K. Aminoltejari, Dean M. A. Bobinski, Principal M.
Burgess, Mr. G. Costeloe, Mr. C. L. Gorman, Dr. S. Grayston, Dr. R. Irwin, Dean M.
Isman, Dr. S. B. Knight, Ms. H. Lam, Mr. D. Leung, Ms. S. Morgan-Silvester (Chancellor), Dean D. Muzyka, Principal L. Nasmith, Dr. G. Oberg, Ms. A. Peterson, Mr. G. Podersky-Cannon, Dr. T. Ross, Ms. A. Shaikh, Dean C. Shuler, Dean G. Stuart, Dean R.
Tierney, Mr. B. Wang, Mr. A. Warbinek, Dr. P. Ward, Dr. R. Wilson, Dr. R. Yaworsky.
Recording Secretary: Ms. L. M. Collins.
Call to Order
Senate Membership
Mr. Silzer reported that Dr. Stephen Farris had replaced Dr. Wendy Fletcher as the representative from the Vancouver School of Theology.
Vol. 2008/2009
122
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Senate Membership, continued
Mr. Silzer reported that, while not all student elections had been completed, some recently
elected Student Senators were present. Student Senators in attendance introduced themselves.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Dr. Rucker l     That the minutes of the meeting of March
}
Mr. Verma J     25, 2009 be adopted as circulated.
The minutes were
adopted by
consent.
The President thanked Ms. Collins for having taken outstanding minutes.
Remarks from the Chair and Related Questions
BUILDING PROJECTS
The President reported on several exciting decisions made over the previous 10 days that
would allow the University to move forward on building projects. Approval and funding
had been secured for the Earth Systems Science Building, and the federal and provincial
governments had approved funds to proceed with the Bioscience Renew project. An
announcement was expected shortly about a third major building project that had been
waiting in queue for some time.
LEADERSHIP CHANGES
The President made reference to his April 2, 2009 memorandum regarding leadership
changes in the portfolios of the Vice President Finance, Resources and Operations; the
Vice President Students; and the Deputy Vice Chancellor, UBC Okanagan. He cited the
main purposes as flattening the administrative hierarchy, increasing the responsiveness of
service units, and providing leadership opportunities for some of the University's strongest
staff members. He noted that the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources would now
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Remarks from the Chair & Related Questions, continued
report directly to the President rather than to the Vice-President, Finance, Resources, &
Operations. This change was intended to signal the importance of people to the success of
the University and to give a sense of impetus to the implementation of the Focus on People
Plan.
Supply Management, a UBC system-wide unit, would now be based at UBC Okanagan.
The President stated that he expected that some other system-wide services and units
would follow suit over time. The President expressed the opinion that placing system-
wide functions at UBC Okanagan highlighted the importance of the Okanagan campus to
life of the UBC system as a whole.
NCAA CONSULTATION
The President reported that the UBC executive had decided to defer any decision about
application to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II until at
least 2010. The NCAA had opened membership beyond the United States for the first
time in January 2009 as a pilot project with Canadian schools, and the deadline for application was June 1, 2009. The NCAA had decided to accept a maximum of three Canadian
institutions, and Simon Fraser University had already decided to apply. At UBC, it had
been determined that the University required additional information in the following
areas before reaching a decision:
• Exemption for UBC from the NCAA academic accreditation requirement;
• Ongoing discussions about the level of competitive opportunities and financial support
for student athletes that UBC and other universities were having with Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), the main body in which most UBC athletes currently compete;
• Clarity about whether students would be able to compete in both the CIS and NCAA.
The President thanked Ms. Marie Earl and Dean Daniel Muzyka as co-chairs of the
NCAA Division II Review Committee for UBC Vancouver for the Committee's excellent
report. Consultation had revealed that the UBC community was very divided, and that
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Remarks from the Chair & Related Questions, continued
those who felt most strongly did not always fully understand the issues. There was a general sense that the role of athletics in a university education was not well understood at
UBC.
The President was pleased to report that the NCAA opportunity had prompted significant
discussion among Canadian universities about the future of athletics and possible changes
to Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
From the Board of Governors
The Senate received for information confirmation that the following items approved by
the Vancouver Senate had been subsequently approved by the Board of Governors as
required under the University Act.
Senate Meeting of January 21, 2009
Curriculum Proposals from the Faculties of Applied Science and Arts.
New Awards.
Senate Meeting of February 25, 2009
Curriculum Proposals from Faculties of Applied Science (School of Nursing),
Arts, Education (School of Human Kinetics), Graduate Studies (Applied Science,
Arts, College for Interdisciplinary Studies, and Medicine), and Land & Food Systems.
The establishment of the Julia Levy BC Leadership Chair in Macular Research in
the Faculty of Medicine.
Change to the Regulations Governing University Awards.
Four Year Fellowships for PhD Students.
New Awards.
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Admissions Committee
REVIEW OF UBC UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSION POLICIES: STATUS REPORT
Committee Chair Dr. Fielding presented the report. The following is an excerpt:
At the May 2008 meeting of the Vancouver Senate, the Admissions Committee
was directed to undertake a review of UBC's undergraduate admission policies
with a view to determining their efficacy in meeting goals of Trek 2010 and the
UBC Academic Plan and report back to the Senate no later than December 2008
with recommendations for any necessary changes. The membership of the Admissions Committee for the 2008-2011 Senate electoral term was approved in September 2008. Given the new membership of the Committee and the scope of the
review referred to it by Senate, an extension was granted at the December 2008
meeting of Senate with a revised report back deadline of April 2009. The Committee's review of admission policies is ongoing and the progress report presented
herein outlines the Committee's activities to date in meeting its mandate. A final
report will be presented to Senate in December 2009.
Prior to undertaking a detailed review of undergraduate admission policies, the
Committee first identified relevant policies for examination in light of Senate
approved Principles of Effective Undergraduate Admission to UBC. The policies
were then prioritized and assigned to several working groups that were constituted to meet the Committee's mandate with representation from the Committee,
Enrolment Services, the International Student Initiative, the Office of Planning
and Institutional Research, and with consultation with representatives of UBC
Okanagan where appropriate. The working groups were directed to undertake a
detailed analysis of assigned policies and make any necessary recommendations
for change. Five broad issues were identified by the Committee and assigned for
review by working groups as follows:
1. Working Group 1 - Review of the English Language Admission Standard
2. Working Group 2 - Level and Subject Matter of Secondary School Courses
Used for Admission to UBC Vancouver
3. Working Group 3 - Implications of Optional Provincial Examinations and
Comparative Standards
4. Working Group 4 - Review of Broad Based Admission Practices
5. Working Group 5 - Assessment and Monitoring of Changes in Admission Policies
Dr. Fielding described the process undertaken by the Committee to address the Senate
referral, acknowledging that the review was a complicated task that would take addi-
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Admissions Committee, continued
tional time to complete. At his invitation, the chairs of several of the five working groups
gave a brief overview of working group discussions and progress.
Dr. Fielding l     That the report of the Admissions
Dr. Anstee J     Committee on "Review of UBC
Undergraduate Admission Policies: Status
Report" be received.
DISCUSSION
In response to a question from Dr. Dunford, Dr. Fielding stated that the idea of instituting
entrance examinations (for either admissions or for scholarship adjudication) was not
under active consideration by any of the working groups. Dr. Dennison noted that several
English universities had recently instituted entrance examinations and recalled that the
Senate had debated this topic quite extensively during the 1980s. Despite broad support
for the concept within the academic community, entrance examinations had been rejected
at that time based on administrative difficulties and high costs.
Dr. Dennison suggested that student rank-in-class standing was a fairer way to judge performance than were raw grades. He further suggested that the Committee consider recommending changes to the University's admission policies for mature students. Upon
recognition by the assembly, Ms. Vlaar noted that changes to mature student admissions
had been recently approved and implemented, although it was too early to judge the policy's relative success. She described the new policy as much more open and flexible.
Mr. Heisler stated that some high schools traditionally emphasized academic performance, while others promoted student involvement in extra-curricular activities. He
asked whether an admissions process focusing solely on academic performance might
inadvertently reward a lack of broader student development. Dr. Fielding responded that
several Faculties had implemented broader-based admission processes in order to consider
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Admissions Committee, continued
student characteristics in addition to academic performance. Dr. Brander stated that there
was debate within Working Group 4 about the extent to which these broader characteristics ought to be weighted in comparison to the academic admission average when making
admission decisions.
Dr. Brander spoke briefly to differences in grading between high schools, stating that a
grade of 80 percent from one school might be equivalent to 85 percent at another school.
Although the University had developed expertise over the years in dealing with large international differences in grading, the University did not differentiate between BC high
schools. Since discrepancies between BC high schools on the order of 10 percent had also
been observed, it had become necessary to consider whether or not to adjust for these differences in the admissions process. One concern was that some of the most desirable students were not being admitted to UBC because they did not meet the competitive
admission average. Dr. Brander predicted that differences between schools would grow
larger due to the optional nature of provincial examinations. He stated that Working
Group 3 would appreciate advice on how to proceed.
Dr. Young asked about the effectiveness of broader-based admission criteria as predictors
of student academic success. Dr. Fielding stated all Faculties that had implemented
broader-based admissions were represented on Working Group 4 and that this would be
a topic of discussion within the group.
In response to a question from Ms. Purewal, Dr. Anstee stated that statistically significant
differences in high school grading seemed to persist across all four years of university
undergraduate programs. In response to a further question, Dr. Anstee stated he had not
analyzed data to consider whether students living in residence fared better or worse than
students living off campus.
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Admissions Committee, continued
In response to a question from Dr. Baimbridge, Dr. Anstee stated that UBC offers of
admission based on interim grades were only conditional in the sense that a student's final
admission average had to remain above the University minimum in order to retain the
offer.
Ms. Dulay asked about differences between private and public schools, with reference to
socioeconomic factors. Dr. Fielding stated that Working Group 3 was looking at this issue
among many others.
Dr. Dennison pointed out that the BC Council on Admission & Transfer (BCCAT) had
amassed data over several decades on performance of college transfer students by institution. He suggested that Working Group 3 consider this data as a resource in reviewing
admissions processes for transfer students.
The motion was
put and carried.
1
E
Dr. Fielding l     That the Senate Admissions Committee be
Dr. Windsor- J     permitted to report back at the December
Liscombe 2009 meeting of Senate in lieu of the April
2009 meeting specified by Senate.
Carried.
Curriculum Committee
See also Appendix A: Curriculum Summary.'
Committee Chair Dr. Marshall presented the report.
Dr. Marshall reported that the proposal from the Faculty of Science to amend the pre-requisite statement for first-year mathematics courses had generated a significant amount of
discussion. The proposed change was as follows:
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Curriculum Committee, continued
Current: High-school calculus and a score of 67% of higher in Principles of
Mathematics 12
Proposed: One of (a) a grade of 80% or higher in BC Principles of Mathematics
12 (or equivalent), (b) a score of 73% or higher in the BC provincial examination
for Principles of Mathematics 12, or (c) a satisfactory score in the UBC Mathematics Basic Skills Test.
Dr. Marshall stated that the Faculty of Science had conducted wide consultation with
respect to this change and that, because the change would affect newly admitted students,
the proposal had also been discussed at the Senate Admissions Committee. The following
concerns had been expressed during the consultation process:
• That the new pre-requisite statement was not in alignment with UBC's overall goals.
• That it would constitute a barrier to student recruitment. This first-year mathematics
proposal had been compared to the Language Proficiency Index (LPI) requirement for
first-year English, which some people viewed as in need of reform.
• That BC students would be unfairly held to a higher standard than students from provinces and other countries without provincial examinations.
• That the Basic Skills Test would not be readily available to students from other countries and provinces prior to their arrival at UBC.
• That implementation for September 2009 did not allow sufficient time to notify students of the change.
Dr. Marshall reported that, after discussion, the Curriculum Committee had voted
strongly in favour of the proposal.
Dr. Marshall l     That the curriculum proposals brought
Dr. Anstee J     forward by the Faculties of Applied Science,
Graduate Studies (College for
Interdisciplinary Studies, Land & Food
Systems, and Science), and Science be
approved.
DISCUSSION
Pre-Med Alternative Path from Engineering
Dr. Harrison spoke in support of the Pre-Med Alternative Path from the Faculty of
Applied Science as a way for engineering students to complete the pre-requisite courses
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Curriculum Committee, continued
for the Doctor of Medicine program while completing their Bachelor of Applied Science
degree. He felt it important to note that students targeting a medical program were not
necessarily required to begin their postsecondary studies with a Bachelor of Science.
Pre-requisites for First-Year Mathematics Courses
Dr. Ivanov stated that the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science had expressed concern
that there would be a negative impact on student recruitment and on the student experience, and that approval of this change could lead to the institution of similar pre-requisites for many other first-year courses. Dean Peacock responded that he had spoken with
Dean Aboulnasr, and that he felt that some early misconceptions had been resolved. Dean
Peacock stated that the overall goal was to increase the success rate for students learning
introductory calculus. Students entered UBC with a very wide range of math skills, and he
described MATH 110 as a two-term course that had been designed to support students at
serious risk of failure. He noted that implementation of this proposal would require an
investment of resources from the Faculty of Science. Dean Peacock stated that, although
asking students to register in a two-term calculus course might extend a student's program, he viewed this outcome as far preferable to the stigma associated with failure of a
three-credit first-year calculus (CA1) course.
Mr. Tomlinson spoke in support of the proposal, noting that students with marginal
mathematics skills who were forced to take CA1 courses often paid a price with low
grades on their transcripts.
Mr. Lougheed asked why the intent was to require that some students register for MATH
110, rather than strongly suggesting this course of action. Dr. Anstee stated that it would
not be prudent to allow students with low averages to register in CA1 courses because the
risk of failure was too high. He cited the example of a student with a grade of 61 percent
in Principles of Mathematics 12, who would have only a 50 percent chance of success in
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
a CA1 course. He added that the Department would consider requests from individual
students who felt that an exception was warranted.
In response to questions from Mr. Lougheed, Dr. Anstee stated that there was no fee to
write the Basic Skills Test, and that the test would be invigilated to ensure security.
In response to a question from Mr. Cappellacci, Dr. Loewen stated that detailed issues
related to course timetabling had not yet been worked out.
There was some discussion about whether there would be a stigma attached to having
taken MATH 110. Dr. Marshall stated that this would not be a problem because students
who completed MATH 110 would have covered the same material after six credits as students in CA1 would have achieved after three credits.
In response to a question about how many students would be affected, Dr. Anstee stated
that the Department of Mathematics estimated that approximately 500 students would
not meet the 80 percent grade threshold each year, and that approximately 150 of those
students would not pass the Basic Skills Test.
Amendment by Consent
Dr. Brander referred to the following paragraph in the rationale for the Mathematics proposal:
Students who do not satisfy the thresholds in options (a) or (b) will be required to
initially register in MATH 110 and then take the basic skills test. If they achieve
a satisfactory score on the test, they will be required to change their registration
to a CA1 course.
Dr. Brander noted that a student who wished to remain in MATH 110 might deliberately
perform poorly on the Basic Skills Test. He suggested that students be permitted to remain
in MATH 110 should they wish to do so and that the Basic Skills Test be made optional
for these students. Dr. Anstee expressed concern that some overqualified students might
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Curriculum Committee, continued
register for MATH 110 as an easy six-credit option. After further discussion, the above-
mentioned paragraph in the rationale was amended to read as follows:
Students who do not satisfy the thresholds in options a) or b) will be required to
initially register in MATH 110. Such students then have the option of taking a
basic skills test. Students who achieve a satisfactory score on the test would then
transfer out of MATH 110 and would be required to change their registration to
a CA1 course.
In response to a question from Mr. Heisler, Dr. Anstee reported that four previous versions of the Basic Skills Test would be made available as a resource for students. Mr.
Heisler suggested that information about the test be made available to students linked
directly from the registration interface in the Student Service Centre.
me motion was
P'
put and carried.
Report from the Provost & Vice-President, Academic
PLACE AND PROMISE: THE UBC PLAN
The following draft revisions of the University's vision and mission statements had been
circulated for information and discussion. More information about the strategic plan was
available at: www.strategicplan.ubc.ca.
Vision Statement - proposed
The University of British Columbia, as one of the world's leading public universities, is committed to creating an exceptional learning environment that fosters
global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and inspires outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
Mission Statement - proposed
Rewrite the mission statement as values and commitments, pulling these out of
the current mission statement and results of the consultations that have happened
since August 2008. (see next section)
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Place and Promise, the UBC Plan, continued
VALUES
Academic Freedom The University is independent and cherishes free inquiry and
scholarly responsibility.
Advancing and Sharing Knowledge The University supports scholarly pursuits
that contribute to new knowledge and understanding, and seeks every opportunity to share them broadly.
Excellence The University, through its students, faculty, staff, and alumni, strives
for excellence, and educates students to the highest standards, developing abilities
that improve the world.
Integrity The University acts with integrity, fulfilling promises and ensuring open,
respectful relationships.
Mutual Respect The University values and respects all members of its communities, each of whom makes a contribution to create, strengthen and enrich our
diversity.
Public Interest As a public institution, UBC embodies the highest standards of service and stewardship of resources.
COMMITMENTS
Aboriginal Engagement The University engages Aboriginal people in mutually
supportive and productive relationships and opportunities, and works to integrate understandings of Aboriginal culture and history.
Alumni Engagement The University engages its alumni fully in the life of the institution as valued supporters and advocates who contribute to and benefit from
connections to each other and to the University.
Creating an Exceptional Learning Environment The University provides a rich
learning experience that develops communication skills, critical thinking and creativity, facilitates social engagement and service, and helps individuals be global
citizens.
Creating an Exceptional Work Environment The University provides a fulfilling
environment in which to work, learn, and live; maintains our values of academic
freedom, mutual respect, integrity, dignity, and inclusivity; and encourages the
open exchange of ideas and opinions.
Effective Use of Resources The University marshals its financial, human, information and physical assets, and integrates academic, environmental, and societal
needs to create a community that models effective stewardship.
Excellence in Research The University creates and advances new knowledge and
understanding, improves the quality of life through the discovery, dissemination
and application of research across a wide range of disciplines, and aims to engage
all students in primary research.
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Place and Promise, the UBC Plan, continued
Excellence in Teaching The University supports innovative and transformative
teaching that actively engages students in building their own learning experience.
External Relationships The University facilitates opportunities to bring together
scholars and the wider community to enhance societal good.
Internal Collaboration The University promotes connections among faculties and
units to create, develop, and share vital initiatives that advance the interests of
UBC and its many communities.
International Excellence The University envisions and strives for robust internationalization, and collaborates and communicates to influence globally.
Navigating Cultural Differences The University engages in reflection and action
to build cross-cultural aptitudes, create a strong sense of inclusion, and enrich our
intellectual and social life.
Sustainability The University explores and exemplifies all aspects of sustainability, from stewardship to dissemination of effective practices.
The President gave an overview of the strategic planning process to date. Because Trek
2010 plan was coming to the end of its natural life, it was time for renewal. The planning
process included the development of a number of interrelated intermediate plans that
were concurrently in development. Examples of intermediate plans included the Aboriginal Strategic Plan, Faculty-based academic plans, a research plan, and a sustainability
plan. Through an iterative process, key themes emerging from the intermediate plans
would be brought together in the University's overall strategic plan. As a living document,
the plan would continue to evolve during its implementation.
The vision and mission statements represented the highest level of the plan. The following
step would be to identify a series of goals mapped from the commitments. The goals
would more precisely articulate what the University hoped to achieve in order to meet its
commitments and to fulfill its values. The goals would be closely linked to action items
and to concrete budgetary decisions.
The President gave an overview of a participatory process that had begun in July 2008.
Communications and consultations included:
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Place and Promise, the UBC Plan, continued
• Letters to the community;
• Consultations with many groups, including the Board of Governors, several President's
Advisory Committees, and deans;
• A survey undertaken in September 2008, which had generated nearly 1400 responses;
• A series of "questions of the week" that had generated hundreds of responses; and
• Four articles published on the web, with broadcast email messages announcing each of
the articles.
Consultants had provided a full panoply of advice and commentary. An overarching
theme was that, although people generally liked the Trek 2010 vision statement, it needed
some adjustment. For example, rather than aspiring to be one of the world's best universities, the suggestion was that UBC simply describe itself as one of the world's leading
public universities. It had also been deemed important to denote UBC's status as a public
university as a way to reflect a particular civic obligation. Language about preparing students to be global citizens had been revised to reflect an interactive learning process for
the entire community, rather than a unilateral transfer of knowledge from faculty to student.
The President reported that consultants felt that the mission statement seemed redundant
in light of the vision statement, and that a decision had therefore been taken to replace the
previous mission statement with values and commitments. While the values were those
that any globally influential public research intensive university might want to uphold, the
commitments were seen as more specific to UBC.
DISCUSSION
Mr. Dew spoke in opposition to the inclusion of the word "public" in the vision statement, expressing the opinion that the University's primary funding source should not constitute a parameter around excellence. Mr. Johal agreed, stating that he viewed UBC as a
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Place and Promise, the UBC Plan, continued
leading university. He noted that the word "equity," which appeared in the Trek 2010
mission statement, had been lost in the proposed list of values.
In response to questions about grammatical corrections, the President suggested that
members notify Ms. Collins.
Dr. Harrison spoke in support of removing the previous mission statement, which he
described as cumbersome. He suggested that the lists of values and commitments not
carry the title of mission statement. In the vision statement, he preferred the language of
"advances" and "inspires" over the phrase "is committed to creating an exceptional
learning environment." He suggested adjusting the latter phrase. Prof. Toope explained
that this phrase was meant as a conditioning statement for all that followed it.
Dr. Young expressed support for both the vision and mission statements, suggesting that
the concepts of equity and diversity could be made more explicit among the values.
Dr. Windsor-Liscombe spoke in general support of the document and made the following
comments:
• Although the use of the word "public" in the vision statement had given him pause, he
suggested keeping it;
• The concept of collegiality appeared to be missing;
• "Excellence" appeared as a value and then reappeared multiple times among the commitments;
• "Robust internationalization" might be misunderstood by the broader community;
• Although cultural diversity was important, the term "navigation" implied imminent
danger.
Ms. Young agreed that the ideas equity and diversity should be further developed, and
noted that the idea of local citizenship was notably absent. Prof. Toope stated that
describing the University as a public institution was intended to capture an obligation
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Place and Promise, the UBC Plan, continued
related to local citizenship. Ms. Young agreed with the sentiment, but felt that the word
"public" did not fully convey the idea.
Referring to the commitments of Excellence in Teaching and Internal Collaboration, Mr.
Dew expressed the opinion that words like "support" and "promote" could be strengthened. He stated that the University had not done the best job of ensuring accountability
in innovative and transformative teaching over the previous several decades. Although
there had been some progress, it seemed slow. On Internal Collaboration, he requested
language on accountability for efficient use of resources.
Dr. Hall stated that the exceptional learning environment referenced in the vision statement as a foundation for the values and commitments did not sufficiently acknowledge
the role of faculty in conducting outstanding research. Prof. Toope stated that the idea
was to convey that faculty could be successful in research because of the vitality of the
University's learning environment. He stated that the learning environment should be
characterized by sharing between all participants, rather than as faculty teaching students.
Dr. Hall agreed, and suggested that this idea be better emphasized in the values and commitments.
Prof. Gardiner spoke in favour of including language about public engagement and civic
responsibility for the University.
Dr. Ivanov asked whether the proposed commitment to engage all students in primary
research was the best way to ensure research excellence.
Dr. Vessey spoke in favour of the vision statement, describing it as pragmatic, verifiable,
and accountable. He was less supportive of the use of the word "inspire," because if true
inspiration did exist, the University should not attempt to take credit for it. He suggested
that the word "promote" would be better.
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Place and Promise, the UBC Plan, continued
In response to a question from Dr. Riseman, the President stated that people charged with
drafting intermediate plans were encouraged to use the draft vision, values, and commitments as a guide for the structure of those plans.
Dr. Plessis suggested that "alumni engagement" become "alumni and community engagement." Prof. Toope agreed that idea of community engagement needed to be emphasized
somewhere, but perhaps not in this exact place. Mr. Dew spoke in support of the reference
to alumni engagement as a significant step forward from the previous plan.
Dr. Brander expressed support for the proposed vision statement, values, and commitments, as well as for the removal of the previous mission statement. He noted, however,
that the placement of the commitments to excellence in research and teaching as two of
12 commitments did not sufficiently emphasize these two primary commitments. Prof.
Toope suggested that the commitments to research and teaching could be made more
prominent by visually presenting the commitments in a non-linear way, with research and
teaching at the centre of a circle with other commitments shown as contributors.
Dr. Baimbridge suggested that the commitment to International Excellence was confusing
and needed to be reworked. Prof. Toope agreed. Dr. Baimbridge noted that the use of the
term "University" without definition should be reconsidered.
Dr. Loewen asked how the idea of "place" had made its way into the title of the document
as "Place and Promise." Prof. Toope stated that one of UBC's greatest strengths — internally and externally — was its sense of place, and that Senators could expect to see this
emphasized both in the strategic plan and in a new branding strategy that would be
launched in conjunction with the plan.
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Minutes of April 15, 2009
Proposed Agenda Items
THURSDAY NOON-HOUR BREAK REINSTATEMENT
Dr. Dennison reminded Senate that the one-year suspension of the Thursday Noon-Hour
Break that had been approved by the Senate for the 2008/2009 academic year was about
to expire. He requested information about the reinstatement of the break for the 2009/
2010 academic year, with particular emphasis on how the University might monitor
observance of the break.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. The following regular meeting of Senate was scheduled for May 13, 2009.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 141
Minutes of April 15, 2009
APPENDIX A: CURRICULUM SUMMARY
Faculty of Applied Science
NEW COURSE
MINE 488 (3)
CALENDAR CHANGE
Pre-Med Alternative Path
College for Interdisciplinary Studies
NEW DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM
M.A.A.P.S./M.A.P.
Graduate Studies
CALENDAR CHANGE
Grading Practices
LAND & FOOD SYSTEMS
NEW COURSE
ANSC 549 (12/18)
SCIENCE
NEW COURSES
BIOC 549 (18)
EOSC 516 (2)
PHYS 560 (3)
Faculty of Science
NEW COURSES
BIOL 340 (3)
BIOL 341 (2)
CPSC 110 (4)
CPSC 210 (4)
CPSC 301 (3)
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 142
Minutes of April 15, 2009
Appendix A: Curriculum Summary, continued
CALENDAR CHANGES
MATH 100 (3)
MATH 102 (3)
MATH 104 (3)
MATH 180 (4)
MATH 184 (4)