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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 FEBRUARY 25, 2009
Attendance
Present: Prof. S. J. Toope (Chair), Mr. B. J. Silzer (Secretary), Dean T. Aboulnasr, Dr. Y
Altintas, Dr. R. Anstee, Dr. K. Baimbridge, Dean M. A. Bobinski, Dr. J. Brander, Dr. B.
Cairns, Mr. G. Costeloe, Dr. B. Craig, Mr. G. Dew, Ms. A. Dulay, Dr. W Dunford, Dean
B. Evans, Dr. D. Farrar, Dr. D. Fielding, Mr. B. Frederick, Ms. M. Friesen, Dean N. Gallini, Mr. R. Gardiner, Mr. C. L. Gorman, Dr. S. Grayston, Dr. W Hall, Dr. P. G. Harrison,
Ms. D. Herbert, Dr. A. Ivanov, Dr. S. B. Knight, Dr. B. S. Lalli, Dr. D. Lehman, Mr. D.
Leung, Dr. P. Loewen, Mr. W McNulty, Mr. C. Meyers, Mr. A. Mohan, Ms. S. Morgan-
Silvester (Chancellor), Dr. G. Oberg, Dr. C. Orvig, Dean S. Peacock, Dr. T. Ross, Dr. L.
Rucker, Dean C. Shuler, Ms. L. Silvester, Dr. S. Singh, Dr. R. Sparks, Dr. B. Stelck, Dr. S.
Thorne, Dean R. Tierney, Mr. D. Verma, Dr. M. Vessey, Dr. R. Windsor-Liscombe, Dr. T.
Young.
By invitation: Ms. S. Nakata.
Regrets: Ms. K. Aminoltejari, Ms. H. Boyd, Principal M. Burgess, Mr. D. Dance, Dr. J.
Dennison, Dr. W Fletcher, Mr. S. Heisler, Dr. R. Irwin, Dean M. Isman, Ms. H. Lam, Mr.
A. Lee, Mr. A. Lougheed, Mr. B. MacDougall, Dr. P. L. Marshall, Dr. W McKee, Mr. R.
McLean, Dean D. Muzyka, Principal L. Nasmith, Dr. B. Osmond, Ms. A. Peterson, Dr. J.
Plessis, Mr. G. Podersky-Cannon, Dr. A. Riseman, Dean J. Saddler, Ms. A. Shaikh, Dean
R. Sindelar, Dean G. Stuart, Dr. M. Upadhyaya, Mr. B. Wang, Mr. A. Warbinek, Dr. P.
Ward, Mr. A. Wazeer, Dr. R. Wilson, Dr. R. A. Yaworsky, Ms. M. Young.
Recording Secretary: Ms. L. M. Collins.
Call to Order
The President called to order the sixth regular meeting of the Vancouver Senate for the
2008/2009 Academic Year. He introduced and welcomed guest Ms. Shirley Nakata, University Ombudsperson.
Vol. 2008/2009
87
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 88
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Senate Membership
DECLARATION OF VACANCY
The Secretary declared a vacancy for one representative of the students at-large to replace
Mr. Ping Hei Alfie Lee.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Dr. Rucker l     That the minutes of the meeting of January
}
Mr. Verma J     21, 2009 be adopted as circulated.
The minutes were
adopted by
consent.
Business Arising from the Minutes
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC ADVISING ISSUES RELATED TO A
CULTURALLY DIVERSE STUDENT BODY
Recalling that the Senate had received at its January 2009 meeting the report of the above-
mentioned ad hoc Committee, Dr. Farrar reported that a working group had been struck
as part of the University's strategic planning process to examine the student experience.
Dr. Farrar indicated his intent to pass the ad hoc Senate Committee report to this working
group for their consideration.
Remarks from the Chair and Related Questions
PROVINCIAL BUDGETARY CONTEXT
Due the global economic downturn, many US states had seen substantial cuts to higher
education budgets. Pressure was also increasing in some Canadian provinces. The President was pleased to report, however, that the situation was reasonably positive in British
Columbia. Close reading of the budget letter from the provincial government suggested
that the previous year's cut had been restored. The President stated that this change had
been the result of collaboration between universities and student and faculty advocates.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 89
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Remarks from the Chair & Related Questions, continued
The provincial government had also indicated that universities might see a small increase
over the following three years, although the details were not yet known. The President
noted that factors including an upcoming provincial election and the possibility of further
economic instability could change the situation yet again.
RESEARCH AND THE 2009 FEDERAL BUDGET
The President reported that the 2009 federal budget had contained some good news for
higher education:
• $2 billion to repair, retrofit, and expand facilities at post-secondary institutions;
• An additional $87.5 million towards the Canada Graduate Scholarships program;
• A new investment of $750 million in the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
There were also some concerns:
• Genome Canada did not receive funding for new research projects;
• A planned reduction of five percent of Tri-Council funding;
• No new investment in undergraduate student scholarships.
The President noted that it would be critical to find ways to communicate the successes of
UBC researchers to ensure that support for research remained on the agenda at the federal
level. Both the Group of 13 and the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada
had identified research as a top advocacy area.
NEW ENDOWMENT POLICY APPROVED ON 5 FEBRUARY 2009
The President noted that, although UBC's Endowment had fared better than others, it had
still lost roughly 20 percent of its value over the previous nine months. A new policy
approved by the UBC Board of Governors committed the University to proceed as follows:
• Spending no more than 3.5 percent of the value of each endowment fund (a decrease
from five percent spending rate);
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 90
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Remarks from the Chair & Related Questions, continued
• Providing a stable pay-out of Endowment income that preserves the gift against inflation and allows predictability;
• Adopting practices that anticipate restoring individual endowments to their original
value within 10 years.
The President noted that the new policy meant that the net amount available to be spent
from the Endowment would decline by about 50 percent in the following fiscal year. For
student assistance and scholarships, this would mean an annual shortfall of about $6.5
million. While it was clear that the University would need to work creatively to address
the situation, the University wished to assure students that support for the current academic year would continue and that no need-based awards would be cut.
Faculties and Colleges would see a projected reduction of approximately $15 million. In
most cases, surpluses held in anticipation of other uses would help to smooth the transition. In other cases, senior administrators would need to work with units to fashion a
bridging plan to offset the loss of income. The two units expected to be most affected were
the Faculty of Forestry and the College for Interdisciplinary Studies because of their reliance on endowment funding.
DISCUSSION
In response to a question from Mr. Frederick, the President stated that General Purpose
Operating funds were already being used to support merit-based student awards. At its
February 2009 meeting, the Board had focused on the creation of a new endowment policy rather than on adjustments to the UBC budget.
In response to a question from Mr. Costeloe, the President confirmed that although recent
provincial budgetary decisions had improved the overall budget picture, the University
remained under substantial budgetary pressure. The President cited the strategic planning
process as an opportunity to determine how UBC could marshall its resources to make the
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 91
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Remarks from the Chair & Related Questions, continued
biggest possible difference to the world. He added that it was time to have a robust discussion about, for example, how the College for Interdisciplinary Studies related to other
units.
Admissions Committee
Committee Chair Dr. Fielding presented the following reports:
a. English Language Admission Standard - Changes to Admissions Calendar Entry;
b. Change of Degree Program/ Campus - Changes to Admissions Calendar Entry;
c. Classification of Students (Visitor) - Changes to Admissions Calendar Entry;
d. Applicants Following Other International Secondary School Curricula - Changes
to Admissions Calendar Entry;
e. PSI Calculus Assessment 12: Applicants Following the BC/Yukon Secondary
School Curricula - Changes to Admissions Calendar Entry;
f. BC First Nations Studies 12: Applicants Following the BC/Yukon Secondary
School Curricula - Changes to Admissions Calendar Entry;
g. Canadian Aboriginal Students - Changes to Admissions Calendar Entry;
h.   Graduate Programs in Physics and Astronomy (Faculty of Graduate Studies) -
Changes in Admission Requirements;
i.    Graduate Programs in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (Faculty of
Graduate Studies) - Changes in Admission Requirements;
j.   Faculty of Law—Changes in Admission Requirements.
Dr. Fielding l     That the Senate accept the recommendations
Dr. Rucker J     of the Admissions Committee in approving
items (a) through (j).
DISCUSSION
Referring to item (a) on requiring scores from English language proficiency tests written
in a single sitting, Dr. Dunford noted that many BC students need to write the Language
Proficiency Index (LPI) multiple times before succeeding, and suggested that the LPI
requirement also be examined in future.
In response to a question from Mr. Costeloe about item (h) on GRE requirements for
graduate students in physics and astronomy, Dr. Loewen noted that the proposed change
 Vancouver Senate
Minutes of February 25, 2009
08/09 - 92
Admissions Committee, continued
would align physics and astronomy students more closely to those in mathematics, for
whom no GRE score was required.
"he motion was
;
put and carried.
Curriculum Committee
See also Appendix A: Curriculum Summary.'
Committee member Dr. Fielding presented the curriculum reports for approval.
Dr. Fielding
Dr. Rucker
That the new and changed courses and
programs brought forward by the 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 be approved.
Nominating Committee
ADJUSTMENTS TO SENATE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Committee Chair Dr. Windsor-Liscombe presented the report.
Dr. Windsor-
Liscombe
Mr. Frederick
That Senate approve the following revisions
to the membership of Committees of Senate:
Academic Policy Committee
Mr. Alex Lougheed to replace Mr. Alfie Lee;
Curriculum Committee
Dr. Andrew Riseman to replace Dr. Mahesh
Upadhyaya;
Library Committee
Mr. Alex Lougheed to replace Mr. Alfie Lee;
Student Appeals on Academic Discipline
Committee
Dr. Mahesh Upadhyaya to replace Mr. Dean
Leung.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 93
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Nominating Committee, continued
Carried.
Student Awards Committee
Committee Chair Dr. Stelck presented the reports.
NEW AWARDS
See also Appendix B: New Awards.'
Dr. Stelck l     That the awards listed be accepted and
Dr. Fielding J     forwarded to the Board of Governors for
approval, and that letters of thanks be sent
to the donors.
Carried.
FOUR YEAR FELLOWSHIPS (FYF) FOR PHD STUDENTS
The Committee had circulated a proposal to establish new Four Year Fellowships for PhD
students. The short description of the new awards was as follows:
Fellowships of tuition fees plus $16,000 (adjusted for inflation) per year are available to full-time PhD students during the first 4 years of their PhD program. Continued Fellowship support is subject to satisfactory academic progress. Students
who receive Tri-council or other prestigious external awards must accept those
awards. Tri-council recipients (except Vanier and CGSD award holders) will
receive an annual FYF-funded tuition award in addition to their external award
funding. All prestigious award winners will receive FYF when their external
award ends for the remainder of the first 4 years of their program. Students
should contact their graduate program for further information.
Dr. Stelck l     That Senate accept and recommend to the
Dr. Windsor- J     Board of Governors for approval the
Liscombe establishment of Four Year Fellowships
(FYF) for PhD Students as described in the
attached background paper; and
That Senate approve the associated
Calendar entries.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 94
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Student Awards Committee, continued
DISCUSSION
In response to a question from Dr. Rucker, Dean Evans defined a "prestigious award" as
having a value equal to or exceeding that of a University Graduate Fellowship (UGF).
Dean Evans agreed to add this definition in parentheses.
There was some discussion about whether there existed standard Tri-Council terminology
for scholarships, fellowships, and awards. Dr. Baimbridge suggested that the Tri-Council
used "fellowship" exclusively for post-doctoral awards. Dr. Brander, having checked the
Tri-Council website, found that there appeared to be no consistent use of terminology to
distinguish between different kinds of awards for doctoral students.
Dr. Baimbridge noted that the background paper was not explicit about how funding
would be distributed to the academic units. He requested clarification on which "input
and output measures" would be used, and expressed concern that, depending on the measures chosen, new programs might not receive a fair share. Dean Evans agreed that developing appropriate measures constituted a significant challenge. For the current year, the
Graduate Entrance Scholarship (GES) formula would be used as an input measure. For
future years, input measures would include the relative success of students in Tri-Council
competitions and in the University Graduate Fellowship competition. Outcome measures
would consider a program's success in graduating students. Dean Evans assured Senators
that decisions about measures would be made in an integrative way and that Associate
Deans would be involved in the discussion.
In response to a question from Dr. Fielding, Dean Evans stated that no funding previously
allocated to undergraduate student support would be redirected to fund the new fellowship program. Dean Evans added that the funding would be monitored carefully every
year and adjusted as necessary to ensure the health of the fellowship program.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 95
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Student Awards Committee, continued
Dr. Rucker suggested that the wording be adjusted to ensure that students were not discouraged from applying for smaller awards because they worried about being disqualified
from consideration for Four Year Fellowships. Dean Evans agreed to take this into consideration, and expressed the hope that students would be considered for the Four Year
Fellowship first. She noted that most of the smaller awards were distributed by disciplinary Faculties to top up other awards in an effort to recruit the best students.
"he motion was
put and carried.
Prof. Toope offered his congratulations to the group working on the development of the
Four Year Fellowship initiative as a way to bring the brightest students to UBC.
CHANGE TO REGULATIONS GOVERNING UNIVERSITY AWARDS
The Committee had circulated a proposal to amend the Regulations Governing University
Awards as follows:
Section 2 currently reads as follows:
2. Awards issued by the University are applied to tuition fees. If the amount of the
award is greater than the fees, the excess is paid to the student after the tuition
fees have been deducted.
Proposed additions appear in italics:
2. Awards issued by the University are applied to tuition and to other student fees.
If the amount of the award is greater than the fees, the excess is paid to the student after the tuition and other student fees have been deducted.
Dr. Stelck l     That the Senate approve the change in the
Mr. Costeloe J     Regulations Governing University Awards
as recommended by the Student Awards
Committee.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 96
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Reports from the Provost & Vice-President, Academic
Dr. Farrar presented the report.
JULIA LEVY BC LEADERSHIP CHAIR IN MACULAR RESEARCH
The Provost had circulated a proposal to establish the above-named Chair. Dr. Julia Levy
is the Founder and Director Emerita of QLT and Professor Emerita of Microbiology at
UBC.
Dr. Farrar l     That Senate approve the establishment of
Dr. Ivanov J     the Julia Levy BC Leadership Chair in
Macular Research made possible by funding
from the Province of British Columbia's
Leading Edge Endowment Fund and QLT
royalties.
Carried.
Other Business
ISSUES OF BROAD ACADEMIC INTEREST
Dr. Vessey noted that the Senate meeting had concluded relatively quickly. He suggested
that the Agenda Committee consider collecting discussion items to be placed on meeting
agendas that were otherwise short. Members of the Agenda Committee agreed and stated
that this discussion was already underway within the Committee.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. The following regular meeting of the Senate was scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, 2009.
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 97
Minutes of February 25, 2009
APPENDIX A: CURRICULUM SUMMARY
Faculty of Applied Science, School of Nursing
NEW COURSES
NURS 302 (6)
NURS 303 (8)
NURS 304 (2)
NURS 305 (1)
NURS 306 (1)
NURS 333 (6)
NURS 334 (6)
NURS 335 (6)
NURS 336 (6)
NURS 337 (12)
NURS 338 (2)
NURS 339 (2)
NURS 340 (2)
NURS 341 (2)
NURS 342 (1)
NURS 343 (2)
NURS 344 (2)
Clinical Nursing Major program entry
NURS 420 (6)
NURS 422 (6)
NURS 423 (6)
NURS 424 (6)
NURS 425 (6)
NURS 427 (8)
Degree Requirements >Third and Fourth Year courses
Faculty of Arts
NEW COURSES
GEOG 459
HINU 450
PHIL 101
PHIL 102
PROGRAM CHANGE
B.A. > Program Requirements - declaration of major at 27 credits
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 98
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Appendix A: Curriculum Summary, continued
Faculty of Education, School of Human Kinetics
NEW PROGRAM
Co-operative Education Program
NEW COURSES
HKIN 101 (6) Co-operative Work Placement
HKIN 201 (6) Co-operative Work Placement
HKIN 301 (6) Co-operative Work Placement
HKIN 401 (6) Co-operative Work Placement
HKIN 402 (6) Co-operative Work Placement
HKIN 403 (6) Co-operative Work Placement
Graduate Proposals
APPLIED SCIENCE
NEW COURSES
MECH 522 (3)
MECH 533 (3)
ARTS
NEW COURSES
ASIA 598 (3)
ENGL 500 (3)
FIPR 534 (6)
FIPR 535 (6)
FIPR 536 (6)
PROGRAM CHANGES
MFA in Film Production
MFA in Film Production and Creative Writing
College for Interdisciplinary Studies
NEW COURSES
CELL 508 (1.5)
CELL 509 (1.5)
CELL 510 (1.5)
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 99
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Appendix A: Curriculum Summary, continued
CELL 511 (1.5)
CELL 512 (1.5)
PROGRAM CHANGES
Master of Arts in European Studies Suspension of Admission
MEDICINE
NEW COURSES
RSPT 564 (5)
RSPT 565 (6)
RSPT 566 (4)
SURG 510 (3)
PROGRAM CHANGES
MPT Program Requirements
Faculty of Land & Food Systems
NEW COURSES
FNH 398 (3)
FNH 477 (3)
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 100
Minutes of February 25, 2009
APPENDIX B: NEW AWARDS
Mark COHEN Prize in Ophthalmology: A $1,000 prize is offered to an undergraduate medical student in the Doctor of Medicine Program at the Faculty of Medicine who will be pursuing
a residency in a Canadian ophthalmology post-graduate training program and who, in the opinion of the Department of Ophthalmology, shows promise to be an outstanding clinician. The
award is made on the recommendation of the Department. (First award available for the 2008/
09 Winter Session)
CONCERT Properties Leaders' Award: A $5,000 award is offered to an outstanding undergraduate student entering or continuing in the Bachelor of Commerce Program at the Sauder
School of Business. The award was established to mark the 20th anniversary of Concert Real
Estate Corporation and honours the commitment, perseverance and vision of the founding and
leading supporters of Concert who have been instrumental in Concert's success. The award is
made on the recommendation of the Sauder School of Business to a student in good standing
who has demonstrated leadership and service in the UBC/campus community and/or the wider
community. (First award available for the 2009/10 Winter Session)
Yamuna KALYAMPUR Prize in Obstetrics and Gynecology: A $1,000 prize is offered in
honour of Dr. Yamuna Kalyampur, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Faculty of Medicine. The award is made on the recommendation of the Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology to an outstanding resident in obstetrics and gynecology. (First award available
for the 2008/09 Winter Session)
Russ PATRICK Arts Undergraduate Student Research Award: A $2,000 scholarship has
been endowed by Russ Patrick to recognize outstanding achievement in research writing by an
Arts undergraduate. The donor's contribution to the endowment principal has been matched by
the Faculty of Arts. Candidates who are interested in this award should contact the Dean of
Arts' office or information. Submissions are judged by professional standards and assessed on
their ability to communicate the research and its significance to a non-specialist audience. The
award is made on the recommendation of a selection committee in the Faculty of Arts, including
the Dean of Arts in its membership. (First award available for the 2009/10 Winter Session)
Garreth Ewan THOMAS Memorial Award in Mechanical Engineering: Awards totalling
$2,000 have been endowed by family and friends, and by Peter Kiewit Sons Company, in memory of Garreth Thomas. Garreth was a man of faith, a leader, loyal friend and mentor, youth
counselor and teacher, musician and all-round sportsman, who was looking forward to joining
Engineers Without Borders. The award recognizes a Mechanical Engineering student enrolled
in the Co-op Program, with proven leadership skills and community involvement, who demonstrates a strong interest in social responsibility and international development. The award is
 Vancouver Senate 08/09 - 101
Minutes of February 25, 2009
Appendix B: New Awards, continued
made on the recommendation of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of
Applied Science. (First award available for the 2009/10 Winter Session)
Dr. Juan TOBIAS International Scholarship in Dentistry: A $1,000 scholarship is offered in
memory of Dr. Juan Tobias to a student entering the International Dental Degree Completion
Program in the Faculty of Dentistry. In 1971 Dr. Tobias was one of the first international dental
students admitted to the Faculty of Dentistry to pursue his Canadian D.M.D. credentials after
immigrating to Canada and leaving his dental practice in Chile. He was a pioneer in the International Dental Program and, being twenty years senior to his fellow students, a mentor among his
peers. Upon graduation in 1973, Dr. Tobias became a dedicated part-time faculty member for
the next twenty-five years. The award is made on the recommendation of the Faculty. (First
award available for the 2009/10 Winter Session)
Previously-Approved Awards With Changes in Terms or Funding Source:
Award 02728 - KOOTENAY Bar Association Memorial Scholarship in Law: (revised
description) A $1,000 scholarship is offered by the Kootenay Bar Association to honour members of the Association who have since passed away. The scholarship is given to a student in any
year of study in the Juris Doctor (J.D.) Program, with a preference that the scholarship is
granted to a law student who is from the Kootenays. The award is made on the recommendation
of the Faculty of Law.
How amended: This award was formerly named the "Mike Edwards Memorial Prize"
but is now a scholarship which honours all deceased members of the Kootenay Bar
Association. The prize was previously restricted to Civil Litigation and Criminal Law,
but the revised scholarship is now open to law students in any year of study, with a
preference (where possible) for a student from the Kootenays.