SUB 238
6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, B.C.
V6T 1Z1
UBC-V Student Senate Caucus
UBC-V Student Senate Caucus Meeting
Date: December 17, 2014
Time: 4:36 - 5:36pm
Venue: SUB 206 (Council Chambers)
Present:
Voting Members: Graham Beales (Applied Science), Nina Karimi (Member At-Large), Daniel Munro
(Arts), Mona Maleki (Member At-Large), Brenda Gershkovitch (Law), Sukhpaul Gurm (Dentistry), Julienne Jagdeo (Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies), Christopher Roach (Member At-Large), Casey Chan
(Medicine), Collyn Chan (Land & Food Systems), Aliya Daulat (Pharmacy)
Guests: Shirley Nakata (UBC Ombudsperson for Students), Neil Yonson (GSS Policy Researcher), Louise
Nasmith (Principal of the College of Health Disciplines)
Regrets: Cole Leonoff (Sauder), Melanie Chartrand (Education), Sonam Vohra (Forestry), Aaron Bailey
(Science), Justin Wiebe (Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies), Eric Zhao (Member At-Large), Anne Kessler
(Member At-Large),
Meeting start: 4:36 pm
1. Adopt Agenda
Christopher Roach, SSC Co-Chair
BIRT the UBC-V Student Senate Caucus meeting agenda for December 17th,
2014 be adopted as presented.
4:36 pm – 4:36 pm
Carried.
Moved: Daniel Munro; Seconded: Graham Beales
2. Minute Approval
Christopher Roach, SSC Co-Chair
4:36 pm – 4:37 pm
Be it resolved that the minutes entitled “UBC-V student Senate Caucus Meeting_Minutes_20141119” be approved as presented.
Carried.
Moved: Aliya Daulat; Seconded: Sukhpaul Gurm
3. PD – “Vernacular/Process of Fairness in the Senate”
Shirley Nakata, UBC Ombudsperson for Students
4:37 pm – 4:59 pm
Shirley gave a presentation to the caucus, entitled “Procedural Fairness in Senate”, and received the
following questions:
Christopher asked for suggestions on how to raise the idea that another member on a committee is not acknowledging his or her bias. Shirley gave a few tips: to make the bias known
early, and to provide clear reasoning for the bias. The caucus was warned to weigh the risks
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UBC-V Student Senate Caucus
SUB 238
6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, B.C.
V6T 1Z1
of ousting a bias versus upsetting a committee member as well, with the suggestion that in
some cases it may be worth asking the committee members to reflect on any bias they may
have at the start of the discussion instead. It was also noted that all decision makers are
given the assumption of no bias in a discussion, so that ousting one may become an uphill
battle.
The caucus discussed the idea of precedence in decision making as well, with Mona and
Shirley noting that one must ensure that the case being examined is the same, and to remember that each decision is specific to its individual case. Neil gave an example of this—he
served on a jury over the summer in which they were explicitly not allowed to examine other
cases, but only the facts of the case before them.
4. Senate Meeting Material Review
Mona Maleki (SSC Co-Chair)
4:59 pm – 5:10 pm
Graham said that he would mention the incorrect spelling of Delhi in the Senate Proper agenda.
Curriculum Committee:
Chemistry 111/113: Christopher noted that as written, students who take 111 in the current
year who may not be able to take 113 in the spring may be left required to retake either
Chem 111 or 121 to continue, and asked the SSC to mention it at Senate Proper.
The language surrounding Indigenous Languages had been changed since the curriculum
committee meetings, and therefore is less likely to be brought up at Senate Proper.
Joint Report from the Curriculum and Admissions Committees:
The tuition consultation for the PharmD program had not yet been completed. That the program should go to Senate Proper for approval before before the tuition consultation is completed was against the understanding between the VP Students’ office and the AMS VP Academic’s office.
Neil asked why the flexible PharmD program would be replacing the previous graduate program, and received the answer that both the current undergraduate and postgraduate programs are being combined into a single Entry-to-Practice program.
5. Closing of the College of Health Disciplines
Louise Nasmith, College of Health Disciplines Principle
5:10 pm – 5:36 pm
This was an unusual kind of consultation—one for a proposal to disestablish the College of Health Disciplines. An important art of the process was to establish how the work of the College will be continued in different administrative units, most likely under the Vice-Provost, Health. A major reasoning
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UBC-V Student Senate Caucus
SUB 238
6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, B.C.
V6T 1Z1
behind the disestablishment was the College’s lack of authority over itself, as well as a lack of a mechanism for it to work with the health disciplines. Louise asked where students saw the largest losses
and benefits from the disestablishment of the College.
Sukhpaul asked whether Louise saw this change helping increase trust between the different units
that are currently in the College of Health Disciplines, and received the reply that the biggest current
push-back is whenever there is a cost associated. As well, she has noticed a perceptible change in
public opinion as the Council of the College learned that its input is taken.
While he was a fan of creating an integrated health system, Christopher had the worry that the single,
(largest) program would creep to the top of the others, and receive preference. It was understood
that well the current Vice-Provost, Health is the Dean of Medicine, this was just temporary. As well, it
had become clear that the two positions must be separate due to a person’s maximum work capacity.
Louise noted that the search-committee for the new Dean of Medicine has ensure her that an understanding of equality is important to the committee, and that it is her (Louise’s) job to ensure that all
disciplines within the new integrated health system will have an equal voice independent of the number of students enrolled in each program.
Mona asked if the current IHHS courses that are taken by many undergraduate students will still be
available. In reply, Louise states that the 17 courses will primarily be transferred to the School of Population and Public Health, with a few heading to the School of Social Work and one to the Faculty of
Land and Food systems as well, so they will still all be available for undergraduate students to take.
Each of the courses will receive a new course code and number, and they may even get tagged as ‘interprofessional’ in a similar manner to courses relevant to sustainability receiving a tag. All of these
courses will not be restricted to the school/program’s own disciplines.
Louise also stated that students can get involved in the integrated health system in multiple ways.
First, there’s a new equivalent to the Council of the College of Health Disciplines, which will continue
to have two student senators on it. As well, there is another council which needs to have two students placed on it. Christopher recommended having the health professional undergraduate programs have a meeting at which they select the two students themselves each year.
Be it resolved that the Student Senate Caucus meeting is adjourned.
5:36 pm – 5:36 pm
Moved: Nina Karimi; Seconded: Graham Beales
Meeting Adjourned:
5:36pm
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