AGENDA ITEM NO: 9.1
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
Bob Tyler, Chair
DATE OF MEETING:
June 16, 2011
SUBJECT:
Planning and Priorities Committee Year-End Report to
Council
COUNCIL ACTION:
For information only
ATTACHMENTS:
Planning and Priorities Committee Year-End Report for 2010-11
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP:
Bob Tyler, Chair
Lois Jaeck, Vice-Chair
Pat Renihan, Vice-Chair
Jim Basinger
Lorna Butler
Omeasoo Butt/Xue Yao
Brett Fairbairn
Moira Day
Rob Hudson
Laura Kennedy
Eric Neufeld/Mobinul Huq
David Parkinson
Chary Rangacharyulu
Alison Renny
Karen Semchuk
Bing Si
Chris Stoicheff/Scott Hitchings
Jim Traves
Resource Personnel
Ginger Appel
Bryan Bilokreli
Rick Bunt
Joan Greyeyes
Pauline Melis
Colin Tennent
Sandra Calver, Secretary (September – December)
Jean Goldie, Secretary (January – June)
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
YEAR-END REPORT FOR 2010-11
The Planning and Priorities Committee (the Committee) met a total of 24 times in 2010-11, 12
times since the mid-year report was presented to Council in February. The chair and/or members
of the Committee also served on subcommittees of the Planning and Priorities Committee
(Finance Subcommittee, Capital Subcommittee, Centres Subcommittee) and on the Coordinating
Committee, the Bylaws Committee, CABIS (Campus Advisory Board for Institutional Systems),
the Resource Allocation Steering Committee (and its recently-established successor, the Model
Development Oversight Team), the Campus Wireless Project Steering Committee and the
Childcare Steering Committee.
In addition to its mid-year report, the Committee presented the following items to Council for its
consideration: 2011-12 Operations Forecast (for information), Template for Notice of Intent for
New Programs (for information), Areas of Focus for the Third Integrated Plan (request for
decision), Mid-year Report (for information), Proposal to Establish a Global Institute for Water
Security (request for decision), Proposal to Establish a Centre for Forensic Behavioural Sciences
and Justice Studies (request for decision), Unit Plans Review Committee Criteria and Procedures
(for information), Update on Resource Allocation Project (for information), Faculty Complement
Foundational Document (request for input).
The following is a brief summary of the Committee’s activities over the past five months.
STRATEGIC AND INTEGRATED PLANNING
The Committee reviewed and provided its perspective on the following plans, reports and
presentations:
Unit Plans Templates for the Third Integrated Plan
Resource Allocation Commitment of the Second Integrated Plan
Provincial Degree Granting Status Consultation Process and Potential Impact on the
University of Saskatchewan
Nuclear Initiative
Service and Process Enhancement Project – Initiatives Proposed for Phase II
Faculty Complement Foundational Document
Third Report on the Second Integrated Plan
Report on Focal Area Workshops
Signature Research Areas – Innovative Initiatives
Sustainability Commitment of the Second Integrated Plan
In conjunction with the process for development of the Third Integrated Plan, which will be
presented to Council for endorsement on March 1, 2012, the Committee developed, and presented
to Council, terms of reference and templates for review of unit plans by the Unit Plans Review
Committee (UPRC). UPRC, which consists of all members of the Planning and Priorities
Committee and two members from each of the Academic Programs Committee and the Research,
Scholarly and Artistic Work Committee, will be heavily engaged in the review of 37 unit plans
during the fall of 2011.
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The Steering Committee for the Resource Allocation Committee has been disbanded upon
completion of the first phase of the project. Members of the Planning and Priorities Committee
have been invited to serve on its successor, the Model Development Oversight Team.
UNIVERSITY FINANCES
The Committee reviewed and provided its perspective on the following plans, reports and
presentations:
New Faculty Start-up Program
Operations Forecast 2011-12 Update
Provincial Budget 2011-12 Update
Budget Measures Outcomes and Communications Plan
Detailed Operating Budget 2011-12
Annual Capital Plan 2011-12
Multi-Year Budget Framework 2011-12 to 2014-15
Saskatchewan Universities Funding Mechanism (SUFM)
The Capital Subcommittee met in April to discuss and provide input on the draft Annual Capital
Plan 2011-12. The draft plan was presented to the Planning and Priorities Committee at its
meeting on May 25th. After review by Council, the Provost’s Committee on Integrated Planning
(PCIP) Advisory Committee and PCIP, the Annual Capital Plan 2011-12 will be presented to the
Board of Governors for approval. Once approved, the full document will be available at
www.usask.ca/ip/inst_planning/major_planning/capital_planning/index.php. The Committee is
hopeful that funding might become available in 2012-13 for the Gordon Oakes-Red Bear Student
Centre.
A Multi-Year Capital Plan for the period 2012-16 will be prepared over the next year in
conjunction with development of the Third Integrated Plan, and capital profiles highlighting the
capital needs of individual planning entities will be prepared to assist in development of unit
plans. The challenge of deferred maintenance will figure prominently in the Multi-Year Capital
Plan and the Committee looks forward to hearing more about the RenewUS strategy now under
development.
As described in the Committee’s mid-year report, the Finance Subcommittee met in December to
discuss the University’s approach to setting tuition rates for 2011-12.
ACADEMIC MATTERS
Notices of Intent
The Committee discussed and provided feedback on a notice of intent to create a School of
Professional Development in the College of Engineering.
Centres
Proposals for two centres were presented to and approved by Council, namely the Global Institute
for Water Security and the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Sciences and Justice Studies.
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The Centres Subcommittee met several times during the year to discuss notices of intent and
proposals for new centres and to develop a revised Policy on Centres. It is anticipated that the
Policy on Centres will be presented to Council early in 2011-12 for input and approval.
Items in early stages of development include centres for nuclear science and cyclotron science, a
minerals innovation institute, and a food security institute.
Reviews
The Committee reviewed and discussed the report of the reviewers of the College of Dentistry
and the response from the College. The Committee also met with the Dean of the College of
Dentistry. In the opinion of the reviewers, the most critical need in the College of the Dentistry is
development of a research culture, a long-term process involving the hiring of faculty having a
strong interest in research and the obtaining of adequate research funding. Research opportunities
appear to exist in the areas of community dentistry and materials science. The response from the
College of Dentistry was supportive of the reviewers’ perspective.
The Committee received and discussed the responses of the Provost and of the Chief Information
Officer to the reviewers’ report on Information Technology Services and the response to the
reviewers’ report from ITS.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
In submitting this report, I wish to highlight the contributions of all members of the Committee
over the past year. Our discussions were always lively, enjoyable and constructive. I also wish to
recognize all Committee members who took on extra duties as vice-chairs, as members of
subcommittees of the Committee, or as Committee representatives on other university
committees. My heartfelt thanks go to Sandra Calver and Jean Goldie for keeping me on track
and for their invaluable support of the Committee’s work.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Tyler, Chair
June 16, 2011
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