ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
2007-08
The terms of reference for the Academic Programs Committee were revised last spring
when Council approved the elimination of the Budget Committee and related transfers of
responsibilities to the Planning & Priorities Committee and to the Academic Programs
Committee. The primary change for APC is that the Committee now has responsibility for
review of all aspects of academic program proposals, including resources, budget, and assessment
of program quality. The Committee’s revised terms of reference are as follows:
1)
Recommending to Council policies and procedures related to academic programs and
sustaining program quality.
2)
Recommending to Council on new programs, major program revisions and program
deletions, including their budgetary implications.
3) Approving minor program changes, including additions of new courses and revisions to
or deletions of existing courses and reporting them to Council.
4) Reporting to Council processes and outcomes of academic program review, following
consultation with Planning and Priorities and other Council committees as appropriate.
5) Undertaking the academic and budgetary review of proposals for the establishment,
disestablishment or amalgamation of any college, school, department or any unit responsible
for the administration of an academic program and forwarding recommendations to the
Planning and Priorities Committee.
6) Undertaking the academic and budgetary review of the proposed or continuing affiliation
or federation of other institutions with the University and forwarding recommendations to the
Planning and Priorities Committee.
7)
Reporting to Council on the academic implications of quotas and admission standards.
8)
Approving the annual academic schedule and reporting the schedule to Council for
information and recommending to Council substantive changes in policy governing dates
for the academic sessions.
9)
Approving minor changes (such as wording and renumbering) to rules governing
examinations and reviewing and recommending to Council substantive changes.
10) Recommending to Council classifications and conventions for instructional programs.
The Academic Programs Committee of Council held 17 meetings this year (compared to
12 last year). The Committee has dealt with 20 proposals for new programs and program
revisions this year, compared to 11 the previous year.
This workload demonstrates the implementation of Integrated Planning initiatives in the
last year of the first planning cycle.
Curricular Changes
Council’s curricular approval process. As indicated in the Terms of Reference, the Academic
Programs Committee has responsibility for oversight of curricular changes at the University of
Saskatchewan. Before 1995, the U of S system required that every change, even so much as a
course title, had to be approved by a university-level committee. The resulting complexity and
gridlock were disincentives for curricular renewal. Approval authority has been devolved so that
colleges are now in substantial control of their own curriculum.
University-level approval procedures now focus on major curricular changes or changes
which may affect the students or programs in other colleges. Many curricular changes can be
approved quickly and, for the most part, automatically through the Course Challenge. This
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allows the Academic Programs Committee to focus on the major curricular innovations and
improvements which colleges propose. The Committee also deals with wider academic and
curricular policy issues, and acts as a reference and approval body for various academic policies
and policy exemptions for the Student and Enrolment Services Division .
New Programs and major program revisions. The Academic Programs Committee reviews
major curricular innovations and improvements and makes recommendations to Council
regarding approval. The Academic Programs Committee has also been delegated the authority to
approve several types of program changes from colleges, including new Options and Minors in
new fields of specialization. This improves Council’s ability to handle these types of program
changes more quickly and efficiently, while still maintaining a university-level review of the
changes to maintain quality and resolve any conflicts with other colleges.
The following proposals for new programs and program revisions were dealt with by
APC this year:
Agriculture & Bioresources
BSc in Renewable Resource Management
BSA: Reduction of credit units
Diploma in Agribusiness and Diploma in Agronomy, to replace the Diploma in
Agriculture; termination of diploma fields of specialization in Animal
Science and General Agriculture
BSA: Reinstatement of the Agronomy major
Arts & Science
Bachelor of Arts and Science degree structure
BA: Change of name for RUD program
BA: Anthropology program revisions
Minor in Water Science
Medicine/ Arts & Science
BSc: Biomedical Sciences program revisions and professional college admission
requirements
Graduate Studies & Research
Master of Public Administration
Master of Education: Course-based Program Option in Educational
Administration and Educational Foundations and related changes to
project options
Master of Music: Reinstatement and revision of Performance Option
Graduate programs in Environment and Sustainability
MSc and PhD programs in Health Sciences
Master of Nursing: Revisions to the Nurse Practitioner Option
Engineering
Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering degree
Review of the following proposals will continue in September, 2008:
Agriculture & Bioresources
Program termination for Cooperative Education Program
Arts & Science
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Minor in Biotechnology and Social Change
Edwards School of Business
Program termination for Major in Biotechnology Management
The Committee also reviewed a proposal for a PhD in Economics, which was referred back to
CGSR until resource issues can be dealt with.
Course Challenge. Course challenge is an approval process which allows for efficient but
collegial review of curricular revisions. Course challenges are posted on the Course Challenge
website at www.usask.ca/university_council/acad_prog/challenges.shtml. Since May 2007, a
total of 16 Course Challenge documents have been posted (compared to 12 posted the previous
year):
New courses, prerequisite changes and course deletions:
Agriculture & Bioresources, Arts & Science, Business, Dentistry, Education,
Engineering, Graduate Studies & Research, Kinesiology, Law, Medicine.
New minors:
Arts and Science: Minor in Toxicology
Program changes:
Agriculture & Bioresources: changes to Agricultural Biology program; deletion
of minor in Agricultural Economics
Arts & Science: program changes in Art & Art History; Languages &
Linguistics; Philosophy; Geography; International Studies; Land Use &
Environmental Studies; Northern Studies; Regional & Urban Planning;
Sociology; Biochemistry; Bioinformatics; Biology; Biology &
Biotechnology; Computer Science; Food Science; Geophysics;
Microbiology & Immunology.
Graduate Studies & Research: Master of Business Administration
Engineering: program changes in majors; deletion of Biotechnology Option in
Chemical Engineering program
One curricular change was challenged this year and the challenge was resolved by the Provost &
VP Academic.
Other curricular changes: Authority for approval of many other curricular changes, such as
course titles and descriptions, has been delegated to colleges. In some cases, such as changes of
course labels, this should be done in consultation with SESD. Changes of this type which affect
the Calendar listings of other colleges can be posted for information in a course challenge
posting. In addition, changes to non-university-level programs, such as certificates of successful
completion and certificates of attendance are authorized by the Dean and/or the Provost and
Vice-President Academic. The Approval Authority chart is located at
www.usask.ca/university_council/acad_prog/reports/changes_chart.shtml
Proposal forms, examples, and other information about approval procedures is available
on the Committee’s website at www.usask.ca/university_council/acad_prog/procedures.shtml
Policies and Procedures
There are a number of areas of Council policy and procedures which are reviewed on a regular
basis by the Academic Programs Committee. These include issues around implementation of the
enrolment plan, exam regulations, admission policies and procedures, and other areas of interest
to students and faculty. This year, the Academic Programs Committee dealt with the following
policy issues:
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Revision of the Program Termination Procedure
This procedure was approved by Council in 2002. Revisions were required when responsibility
for terminations and for program quality were given to the Academic Programs Committee last
spring. The Academic Programs Committee prepared a revised procedure and this was approved
at the April meeting of Council.
Challenge for Credit policy review
Council approved the Challenge for Credit policy in 2002. This policy allows the award of
course credit to students who qualify for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR).
At that time, the Academic Programs Committee also agreed to review the policy at a later time to
determine whether any revisions were required.
SESD reported to the Committee in January about the operation of PLAR and this was
subsequently discussed by the Associate and Assistant Deans. The report and memo is attached.
At its meeting on May 9, 2008, the Committee approved the following motion:
That we accept the Challenge for Credit recommendations from Dr. Hannah and continue
with the program.
Referral from Coordinating Committee: On-line Calendar issue
Academic Programs Committee reported on this issue to the May meeting of Council. It was
noted in that report that SESD will produce an “Advisors Guide” available summer 2008, which
will contain all of the program and course information formerly published in the General
Calendar, as well as relevant university regulations.
Academic schedule
The Committee reviewed and approved the 2008-09 Academic Schedule. This was reported to
the January, 2008 meeting of Council.
Policy exemptions
The Committee was not asked to deal with any exemptions to academic policies this year.
Discussions
The Committee discussed drafts of the Teaching and Learning Foundational Document and the
Framework for Assessment document.
Deadlines
This year the Committee experienced a significant problem with proposal documents arriving
late. Of the 20 programs reviewed by the Committee this year, only five were submitted before
Christmas; seven arrived after the first of May.
The expectation that all programs and courses will be approved for implementation in September
creates a difficult challenge, both for the Committee to provide the rigorous review of proposals
which Council expects, and for SESD to undertake the necessary programming so that courses
and programs are set-up for registration. This is also complicated because SESD is responding
to long-standing student demands for earlier registration; this year registration is beginning in
mid-June.
The Committee has agreed on the following procedure:
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- when a College submits a fully completed proposal by March 15, the Committee and SESD
promises to deal with it in a timely manner, with the goal to achieve implementation of the new
program in September
- incomplete proposals or proposals submitted following March 15 will receive lower priority and
there are no guarantees. However, both the Committee and SESD will still try their best to deal
with approval and implementation in as short a timeline as possible.
Members of the Academic Programs Committee
Due to changes to Committee terms of reference approved last spring, the membership in the
Academic Programs Committee was increased.
Council Members (5)
Trever Crowe (Chair)
Gordon Hill
Francois Messier
Phyllis Shand
Greg Wurzer
Agriculture & Bioresource Eng.
Chemical Engineering
Biology
Applied Microbiology & Food Science
Library (Law)
General Academic Assembly Members (6)
Hilary Clark
English
Len Proctor
Curriculum Studies
Fred Remillard
Pharmacy & Nutrition
Roger Maaka
Native Studies
Li Chen
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Michel Desautels
Physiology
Sessional Lecturer
Elaine Hulse
Education
Undergraduate Student Member
Josie Steeves
VP Academic, USSU for 2007-08
Brea Lowenberger
VP Academic, USSU for 2008-09
Graduate Student Member
Josiah Obero/ Samuel Adaramola VP Academic, GSA for 2007-08
Xiaodong (Daniel) Zhang
VP Academic, GSA for 2008-09
Ex Officio
David Hannah
Kelly McInnes
Associate Vice-President Academic
Registrar
Ex Officio (non-voting)
Marion Van Impe
VP Finance designate
Resource Personnel (Non-voting)
Pauline Melis
Director of Institutional Planning
Jim Spinney
Director of Budget Planning
Administrative Support
Cathie Fornssler (Secretary)
University Secretary’s Office
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I wish to thank Committee members for their willingness to undertake detailed and comprehensive
reviews of program proposals. Their commitment to excellence and high standards resulted in
improved programs for the University of Saskatchewan. In particular, I am grateful to Gordon Hill
and Francois Messier who acted as vice-chairs of the Committee this year.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,
Trever Crowe, Chair
ATTACHMENT: SESD report on Challenge for Credit policy
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