News Articles
Senate
Academic credit for co-op work terms not practical for now
U of G has decided against assigning academic credit for co-op work terms for the time being. Senate approved a resolution to that effect at its March 10 meeting.
Senators had voted last April to explore this option, but Prof. Neil MacLusky, chair of the Board of Undergraduate Studies (BUGS), reported that, after careful review and discussion with faculty advisers and students, BUGS determined that it’s not practical to assign academic credit at this time. He said there is too much variation among programs and departments. For now, the focus will be on enriching the co-op experience and implementing educational learning objectives through the co-op work-term reports.
Senate also heard an overview of proposed academic changes expected to come forward to Senate standing committees in the next few months. Prof. Maureen Mancuso, provost and vice-president (academic), emphasized that the proposals have been generated by colleges, departments and program committees, and will move through the appropriate governance processes accordingly.
Generally, the University can expect to see changes in three areas: resource use, undergraduate curriculum and the structure of some academic units, said Mancuso. To better use resources, departments and program committees are being asked to discuss courses that consistently have fewer than 10 students enrolled and majors that consistently register fewer than 40 students.
She said U of G will also move towards a discussion of the elimination of minors, which add complexity to advising, administering, recording, tracking and course scheduling. The University currently offers 58 minors.
Other proposals include revising the credit/course load ratio for first-year and capstone courses and restructuring academic offerings to improve efficiency.
Some senators offered comments or expressed concerns about the proposed changes, and Mancuso stressed that there will be opportunity for discussion at the appropriate Senate standing committees as well as at Senate.
The first set of specific proposals is expected to make its way to the April 7 meeting of Senate, following review, recommendation and/or approval by BUGS and/or the Board of Graduate Studies, as appropriate.
In other business, senators received the revised Human Rights Policy and Procedures document.
In addition, president Alastair Summerlee provided an update on U of G’s budget situation. He reported that Guelph continues to look for additional cost reductions and revenues in the face of flatlined government support for at least the next two years.
Because of the funding freeze, the University has had to amend its budget targets to make up for funding shortfalls, he said. The total target under the four-year plan is now $46.2 million.