AGENDA ITEM NO: 10.1
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
Bob Tyler, Chair
DATE OF MEETING:
February 17, 2011
SUBJECT:
Planning and Priorities Committee Mid-Year Report to
Council
COUNCIL ACTION:
For information only
ATTACHMENTS:
Planning and Priorities Committee Mid-Year Report for 2010-11
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP:
Bob Tyler, Chair
Lois Jaeck, Vice Chair
Pat Renihan, Vice Chair
Jim Basinger
Lorna Butler
Omeasoo Butt
Brett Fairbairn
Moira Day
Rob Hudson
Laura Kennedy
Eric Neufeld (until Dec 31, 2010)
David Parkinson
Chary Rangacharyulu
Alison Renny
Karen Semchuk
Bing Si
Chris Stoicheff
Jim Traves
Resource Personnel
Ginger Appel
Bryan Bilokreli
Pauline Melis
Colin Tennent
Sandra Calver, Secretary
Jean Goldie, Secretary
MID-YEAR REPORT TO COUNCIL
OF THE
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
During the first half of the year (September-December), the Planning and Priorities
Committee held twelve regular committee meetings. In addition, committee members
serve as representatives on subcommittees of the Planning and Priorities Committee, i.e.
Centres Subcommittee, Finance Subcommittee, Capital Subcommittee, on other
committees of Council, i.e. Coordinating Committee, Bylaws Committee, and on a
number of university-level advisory committees, i.e., CABIS (Campus Advisory Board
for Institutional Systems), Financial Resources Commitment-Resource Allocation
Steering Committee.
The following is a brief summary of the committee’s activities to date and an indication
of some of the planned future discussions. As the committee reported earlier to Council
on its review of the 2011-12 Operations Forecast, revisions to the Notice of Intent
Template for New Programs; and Areas of Focus for the Third Integrated Plan, these
items are not described in detail in this report. The committee will present its final report
on the year’s activities to Council in June.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
In keeping with its mandate to conduct and report to Council on university-wide planning
and review activities, the committee reviewed and commented on the following reports
and updates for information:
Enrolment Report
Diversity Commitment Update
Information and Communications Technology Update
Survey Synthesis Report
The Achievement Record (second version)
Priority Determination Process Commitments
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Academic Priorities Fund
2011-12 Operations Forecast
Areas of Focus for the Third Integrated Plan
INTEGRATED PLANNING
The Planning and Priorities Committee continues to be involved in all aspects of the
University’s integrated planning processes, hearing updates on the implementation of the
commitments of the Second Integrated Plan and planning for the development of the
Third Integrated Plan, including discussion and presentation to Council of the focal areas
identified for the next planning cycle.
UNIVERSITY FINANCES
Resource Allocation Project
The committee continues to be very involved in the evolution of a new model for
resource allocation, as a key outcome of the Financial Resources Commitment of the
Second Integrated Plan. The model proposes to move from the University’s existing
model for resource allocation, which is based on historical allocations and incremental
budgeting, to an activity and strategy driven model, based upon the designation of units
either as revenue centres or support centres. The committee will report fully on the
project to Council later this year.
University Pensions
The committee heard an update on the University’s pension plans. As the University’s
pension solvency gap is $100 million, pensions remain an issue of significant and
ongoing concern. Various strategies are being employed to improve the financial health
of the University’s pension plans, which include pursuing permanent solvency relief,
providing additional funding from the operating budget, regulatory changes, new
investment strategies, and increasing member contributions to ensure premium costs are
following salary costs.
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Tuition
The Finance Subcommittee of the Planning and Priorities Committee met to consider the
University’s approach to establishing tuition rates for 2011-12. The full committee will
consider this matter further in January and February, prior to approval by the Board of
Governors of tuition rates in April, 2011.
Service and Process Enhancement Project
The Service and Process Enhancement Project (SPEP) is a commitment, associated with
the Second Integrated Plan, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service
provision at the University of Saskatchewan. The first phase of the project consisted of an
assessment by PricewaterhouseCoopers of the University’s administrative processes for
communications, finance and procurement, human resources, information technology,
consumer services, research services, and student services. The final report on the first
phase identifies areas where improvement is possible and contains recommendations on
where changes in process would generate the greatest benefit. The report will be
submitted to PCIP for their consideration, and will be made available to the campus
community. The Planning and Priorities Committee had opportunities to provide
feedback on the goals of the project and on the main findings of the first phase. The next
phases are ones of designing and implementing improvement strategies.
CAPITAL PLANNING
The committee received an overview of the University’s capital planning process and
capital projects in progress. A future presentation to the committee will be devoted to the
University’s physical infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs.
Major Capital Projects
The Planning and Priorities Committee considered the Campus Wireless Project, which
has been approved and upon completion will provide complete wireless coverage of the
entire campus. A committee representative will serve on the Project Steering Committee.
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A number of capital projects have been identified for discussion by the Capital
Subcommittee in the next month or two. A summary of the Major Projects Planning
Process and the status of each project are found on the Facilities Planning section of the
Integrated Planning web site at
www.usask.ca/ip/inst_planning/major_planning/capital_planning/progress_report.php.
Clicking on the individual project name links to project specifics, such as overall
projected cost, project approval stage, executive sponsor(s) and visual representations.
ACADEMIC
Notices of Intent
To date, the committee has reviewed Notices of Intent for the following programs:
Postgraduate Diploma in Aboriginal Agriculture and Land Management
Combined B.Sc./B.Ed. Program in Physics Education
In addition, the committee received an update on the proposed School of Architecture,
including a business case for the School. In June, 2010, the committee reported to
Council on its review of a Notice of Intent to establish the School. Programming
envisioned for the School consists of an undergraduate degree and a professional
Master’s degree. Discussions with the Province and the City of Saskatoon continue with
respect to funding to establish the School.
Centres
The Centres Subcommittee reviewed a proposal to establish a Centre for Forensic
Behavioural Sciences and Justice Studies as a Type B centre. The Centres Subcommittee
also reviewed an early-stage submission outlining the potential to establish a Confucius
Institute at the University of Saskatchewan. Both proposals require further development.
The Centres Subcommittee will consider a notice of intent for a new centre, the Global
Institute for Water Security, at its January meeting and anticipates reviewing several
other notices of intent over the next few months.
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Centres Policy
The Centres Subcommittee is engaged in revisions to the Centres Policy to incorporate a
reporting and review process for centres and a process for the formal dissolution of
centres. The revised policy will be submitted to Council for consideration, hopefully later
this year.
Reviews
The Committee received the report of the Information Technology Services (ITS)
Division review team as the first administrative unit to be reviewed under the Framework
for Assessment approved by Council. Further discussion is planned upon receipt of the
senior administrative response to the review. Overall, the recommendations within the
report advocate for a stronger central role in information technology governance and the
provision of services, including clarity regarding the funding model for ITS, which
presently derives in part from fee-for-service billing. The review of the College of
Dentistry, as the first academic review conducted under the Framework for Assessment
model, will be received and discussed by the committee in the coming months.
In submitting this report, I wish to recognize and acknowledge the contributions and
efforts of all members of the Committee, and the excellent support received from staff
members in the University Secretary’s office. We look forward to many productive
discussions in the months ahead. Looming large on the horizon are review of the
University’s multi-year operating budget framework, along with development of
procedures and templates for the review of academic and administrative unit plans, which
will take place in the latter part of 2011 in conjunction with development of the Third
Integrated Plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Tyler, Chair
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