Report of the Planning Committee
to University Council
Feb. 17, 2000
Items for Approval
1.
Veterinary Medicine Reorganization
The Planning Committee and the Academic Programs Committee of Council have reviewed the
request from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine to reconfigure the three departments of
Herd Medicine & Theriogenology, Veterinary Anesthesiology, Radiology & Surgery, and Veterinary
Internal Medicine into two departments focused on Large Animal Clinical Studies and Small Animal
Clinical Studies. Attached as Appendix One is the request from the college and a memo of support
from the Academic Programs Committee.
The Planning Committee recommends that Council approve this departmental reorganization in
Veterinary Medicine, as described in Appendix One..
2.
Computer Science Internship admission changes
The Department of Computer Science has proposed a change in admission requirements for their
Internship program to allow students in the Post-Degree Specialization Certificate program, as well
as in the B.Sc. Four-year program, to enter the Internship program. This proposal has been
approved by the Academic Programs Committee and the Budget Committee.
The Planning Committee recommends that Council approve the revision in admission requirements
for the Internship program in Computer Science, as described in Appendix Two.
3. Changes in Nursing Enrolments
The administration of the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan (NEPS) is governed by an
agreement between the University of Saskatchewan and SIAST through which 180 students are
admitted annually to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. In the NEPS program,
these students attend their first two years in SIAST and their last two years at the university.
Last spring, the provincial government announced that an additional 80 nursing students would be
admitted in the fall of 1999 to SIAST, without the concurrence of the university. It has not been
clarified whether another increase in admissions will happen again this fall.
The first group of additional nursing students will complete the SIAST portion of their nursing
program in 2000-2001 and will be eligible to enroll for the university portion of their program in
September, 2001.
However, only University Council has the authority to establish enrolment quotas in degree
programs, with approval by Senate. No approval has yet been given by Senate to increase the
enrollment quota for this program to 260.
Consideration of increasing the admission quota to a program requires confirmation from the college
and the university that sufficient resources will be in place for students to complete the program
prescribed for the degree. No proposal to put in place the resources necessary to increase the
admission quota for nursing or to revise the program to accommodate these additional students has
been received by the Planning Committee at this time.
-2 -
Planning Committee
Feb. 17, 2000
The Planning Committee recommends that Council approve the following motions:
1.
That Council reaffirms the value of a four-year (123 credit units) degree program leading to a
Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, as described in the current Calendar, with the first two years of
this program presently offered through SIAST.
2.
That Council affirm that the approval of changes in admission quotas for any university degree
program requires the approval of Council and of Senate, that no change in the quota for Nursing will
be brought before Council until the full resource implications of a change are examined by the
Planning Committee and the Budget Committee, and that approval depends upon adequate resources
being made available.
3. That the Planning Committee, on behalf of Council, review the management agreement for
NEPS to determine how provisions in the agreement affect the University's autonomy in setting its
degree programs, make recommendations to the Vice-President (Academic) for appropriate changes,
and report back to Council.
Submitted on behalf of the Planning Committee of Council,
_______________________________________
Jene Porter, Chair
Committee members:
R.P. MacKinnon, President
M. Atkinson, Vice-President (Academic)
A.J. Whitworth, Vice-President (Finance and
Administration
M. Corcoran, Vice-President (Research)
S. Junor (USSU)
S. Pinder (GSA)
R. Thompson (Sessional Lecturer)
R.E. Bilson
S. Fowler-Kerry
R. Hickie
G. Khachatourians
L. Qualtiere
W.W.E. Slights
E.B. Waygood
B.L. Dubray, University Studies Group
P.M. Melis, Office of the Vice-President
(Academic)
C. Fornssler, Committee Coordinator