Report of the Planning Committee
to University Council
Sept. 20, 2001
Items for Action
1. Affiliation with Briercrest College (attached)
The Planning Committee recommends that Council approve the following
motion:
That Council approve the affiliation of Briercrest Bible College and Biblical
Seminary with the University of Saskatchewan.
The report of the Joint Subcommittee which reviewed the Briercrest College
application for affiliation is attached. This report and the affiliation with Briercrest has
been approved by the Planning Committee, the Academic Programs Committee and the
Budget Committee.
The Budget Committee recommended that approval be for a five-year period, as
was established by the Senate affiliation policies under the old University Act. The time
period for affiliations will be addressed this fall, when the Bylaws Committee brings
forward the revisions to the old Senate Statutes.
Items for Information
The Planning Committee is reviewing the Operations Forecast draft and expects
to report on this at the next meeting of Council.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,
_______________________________________
Jene Porter, Chair
Committee members:
G. Feltham (Commerce)
L. Ferguson (Nursing)
G. Khachatourians (Agriculture)
F. Leighton (Veterinary Medicine)
L. Sackney (Educational
Administration)
W.W.E. Slights (English)
J. Thompson (Sociology STM)
E.B. Waygood (Coordinator of Health
Research)
K. Coates (Dean, Arts & Science)
J. Wallace (USSU academic vicepresident)
J. Bobyn (GSA president)
Ruth Thompson (Sessional Lecturer)
M. Atkinson, Vice-President Academic
and Provost
A.J. Whitworth, Vice-President (Finance
and Resources)
M. Corcoran, Vice-President (Research)
R.P. MacKinnon, President
B.L. Dubray, University Studies Group
P.M. Melis, Office of the Vice-President
Academic
C. Fornssler, Committee Coordinator,
Office of the University
Secretary
REPORT OF THE JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
TO REVIEW THE BRIERCREST BIBLE COLLEGE APPLICATION
FOR AFFILIATION
Background
In October 2000, Briercrest Bible College made a formal request to enter into discussions
towards establishing Affiliate College status with the University of Saskatchewan.
Under Section 61 (e) (iii) of the University of Saskatchewan Act, 1995, responsibility for
authorizing affiliation or federation with any educational institution rests with the
University Council. President MacKinnon referred the Briercrest request to Council,
noting that he had met with President Magnus of the Briercrest College, and had visited
the College’s facilities, and could see no impediment to consideration of the request on
its academic merits.
At its meeting on January 25, 2001, Council decided that a Joint Subcommittee
comprised of members from the Planning Committee, the Academic Programs
Committee and the Budget Committee should be struck to examine the request, and to
prepare jointly a report for Council addressing the implications of the proposed affiliation
with respect to matters falling within the jurisdiction of Council.
The members of the Joint Subcommittee to Review the Briercrest Application are:
Jene Porter, Planning Committee, Chair
Bill Slights, Planning Committee
Geoff Hughes, Academic Programs Committee
Lal Kushwaha, Academic Programs Committee
Bob Gander, Budget Committee
Joan Llewellyn, Budget Committee
Gordon Barnhart, University Secretary
Maureen Gammell, Secretar
Ken Coates, Dean of the College of Arts and Science was subsequently invited to join the
Subcommittee
Approach and Process
The Joint Subcommittee met three times to develop an approach, consider background
material, plan to meet with a delegation from Briercrest, arrange to visit the Briercrest
campus and to assess what had been seen and learnt. Extensive material on existing
affiliation relationships was considered; details of Briercrest’s history and accreditations,
calendars and academic offerings were collated, and statistical abstracts relating to
faculty, students, library holdings and the like, examined. A Briercrest team visited the
University of Saskatchewan to meet with the Joint Subcommittee on April 25, 2001, and
the Joint Subcommittee visited the Briercrest campus to tour the facility and meet with
faculty, staff and students on June 18, 2001. Consultations were held with the Deans of
Commerce and Education in addition to the Dean of Arts and Science. The Registrar’s
Office provided important information and insights into existing affiliation relationships
and advice. The President of the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union was
approached to ensure that student issues were considered.
The Joint Subcommitte reviewed the terms of affiliation required by the University
Senate, which, prior to the 1995 University Act, had responsibility for approving
affiliations. The Joint Subcommittee decided to be cognizant of these previous
requirements, but wanted to consider the Briercrest application on an ad hoc basis,
unfettered, and in relation to existing University standards. Members of the Academic
Programs Committee suggested that they would draft skeletal guidelines for reference,
specific to their Committee’s mandate.
The Subcommittee felt it important to determine the exact nature of what Briercrest
expected of affiliation, and also sought clarification of the College’s “confession of faith”
requirement.
Briercrest Expectations
Briercrest elaborated that the request for affiliate status with the University of
Saskatchewan would establish an articulated agreement and define a process for
relationship between the two institutions. The objective would be to facilitate the
negotiation of credit transfer in accordance with an agreed protocol.
Briercrest, as accredited by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC),
enjoys a defined relationship with Waterloo University whereby admission and transfer
credit policies specific to Bible College applicants have been developed. The Bible
College would like a comparable relationship with the University of Saskatchewan to
provide its students pursuing further education with the option of staying in the province.
It was also acknowledged that affiliate status with the University of Saskatchewan gives
the College additional profile and respected credentials.
Confession of Faith
Briercrest is an interdenominational Christian college with over 60 denominations
represented in its student body. As a confessional college, like any such body - Roman
Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, etc.- its institutional mission and purpose are formed
within the framework of its religious confession. All candidates for faculty or
administrative positions, and students enrolling are fully informed of the confessional
stance and voluntarily enter the community.
The College was open and very willing to discuss its stance, and provide its Statement of
Policy regarding academic freedom. In essence, the Statement defines academic
freedom as, “the freedom of professionally qualified persons to inquire, teach, present
and publish the truth as they see it within their field of competence, without extrinsic
compulsion or control”.
The College also provided a summary of its Faculty Hiring Policy.
The Joint Subcommittee was pleased with the tenor and substance of discussions on both
of the above subjects. The Joint Subcommittee suggests that affiliation with Briercrest
would provide a worthwhile recruitment source. Mechanisms exist to examine, approve
or reject courses offered, and guidelines exist to determine the acceptable number of
transfer credits. This has primarily been the responsibility of the College of Arts and
Science in other affiliation relationships, and the College has volunteered to continue to
be the point of contact to affect these requirements. (See attached Memo from Dean
Coates to Academic Programs Committee).
The Joint Subcommittee was also satisfied that academic freedom and faculty hiring
practices are appropriately addressed and that any transgressions would be properly dealt
with under Human Rights legislation.
Examination of Facilities at Caronport
The Joint Subcommittee visiting the Briercrest campus was impressed with the physical
facilities of the College.
The College was founded in 1935. The present campus incorporates the Caronport
Airforce Training base, using a former hangar as its gym. A new and impressive chapelcum-auditorium with a seating capacity of 2000, adjoins an open and very large
multipurpose area suitable for a variety of functions. Most classrooms are built to
accommodate approximately 30 students, with the College priding itself on the intimacy
and interactive nature of its lectures and discourse.
The College is fully wired for computers with freestanding internet hookups in several
locations.
The Library has recently been expanded and houses approximately 61,450 catalogued
volumes, and 384 periodical subscriptions. Materials embraced wide-ranging points of
view and academic substance did not appear in any way circumscribed.
The Library networks with the Saskatchewan Provincial Library, Saskatchewan Union
Catalogue and interlibrary loan system, Saskatchewan Provincial Database Licensing
Project and EBSCO host.
Faculty
Briercrest has:
31 Full time Instructors
37% with earned Doctorates
17% with Doctorates ABD
47% with Masters Degrees
70 Part-time Instructors
Students
The College has 273 new admissions entering as first-time freshmen and 40 entering
seminary.
Geographical Origins:
British Columbia 15.2%
Alberta 13.2%
Saskatchewan 33.6%
Manitoba 8.9%
Ontario 13.9%
Other 3.2%
The University of Saskatchewan may process approximately 50 applications from
Briercrest in a year. Students are primarily interested in entering Arts and Science or in
pursuing a teaching career. There is also some interest in Commerce and Kinesiology.
Tracking of these students or statistical evidence of outcomes has not been readily
available, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the Briercrest students who enter the
University of Saskatchewan “do very well”. Waterloo University reports similar
experience.
The Joint Subcommittee met with a number of Briercrest students and found them to be
open, articulate, enthusiastic and most engaging. In subsequent discussion specific
affirmative comment was made on the attitude and general demeanor of the students.
Course Evaluation
Calendars have been examined, and additional guidelines proposed for course credit
transfer. The process of evaluating individual courses will include:
1. Provision of course outline or syllabus, which describes in reasonable detail: course
objectives; reading, writing and other study requirements, including main text(s) used;
and testing and grading procedures.
2. A complete resume of the instructor’s academic credentials, and
3. Such additional documentation as the reviewing department may consider necessary to
form a reasonable evaluation of the academic merits of the course.
Other considerations
The Joint Subcommittee is aware of the social, financial and political forces at work
promoting opportunities for post-secondary education in rural centres of the province.
Briercrest provides the opportunity for local students to stay in their home area for the
first few years of a post-secondary education.
In addition, the attraction of small classes in a known environment brings students of a
particular nature from a wide catchment area, and addresses many retention issues. The
College also provides a readymade recruitment centre for the University. The University
of Saskatchewan is aware that it is in competition for students with all other Universities,
and recognizes the value of tapping into a niche market.
While attendance at Briercrest for the first couple of years towards a degree gives
students advantages of economy and diversity, affiliation with the University of
Saskatchewan facilitates the educational aspirations of students and further expands their
opportunities.
The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina are the only two degreegranting institutions in the province, apart from the granting of religious degrees. As
colleges such as Briecrest grow the pressure on government to allow additional degreegranting institutions is inevitable. The first President of the University of Saskatchewan
viewed such proliferation as undesirable. Strong arguments relating to limited provincial
resources suggest Walter Murray’s position remains valid.
Committee Deliberations and Recommendations
The Joint Subcommittee supports the request for affiliation. Individual members
undertook to report to their home committees for further discussion and
recommendations.
The Joint Subcommittee invited Briercrest to submit a letter, presenting the nature of the
College’s expectations and providing relevant information on the College that could be
taken to the constituent committees for discussion.
The Budget Committee determined that the budget implications attached to the Briercrest
affiliation request were minimal and that these related essentially to some administrative
time. It was voiced that affiliation would provide a service to students. The Budget
Committee felt that the issues to be resolved could be dealt with by the Academic
Programs Committee and the College of Arts and Science. The Budget Committee
recommended that the relationship be facilitated, and that it should be subject to review
in five years.
The Planning Committee examined the request and was satisfied that relevant issues had
been appropriately addressed, and that the range of consultations ensured adequate
consideration by those most involved in its implementation. The Planning Committee
recommended that the Report be referred to Council for approval of the Briercrest request
for affiliation.
The Academic Programs Committee examined the proposal and felt that the review was
most thorough and it too recommends that Council accept the request of the Briercrest
Bible College for affiliation.