Academic Programs Committee Reports

Report of the Academic Programs Committee
to University Council
June 21, 2001
Annual Report of the Committee
Several additional program options will be available for University of Saskatchewan students with the new and revised programs approved this year. Additionally students will benefit from policies to remove moribund courses from the Calendar, and to promote the prompt reporting of final grades.
Faculty and students will also see a significant improvement in communications and program flexibility with the introduction of the electronic calendar (http://www.usask.ca/registrar/) which will be updated four times per year.
The Academic Programs Committee of Council held 13 meetings this year. Several subcommittees also met frequently to develop policies and reports.
Programs and program changes
College of Arts and Science
· Deletion of Classics programs
· Addition of the Classical, Mediaeval and Renaissance Studies program
· Addition of aDouble Honours in Geography and another subject
· Addition of a Double Honours in Physics and another subject
· Addition of a Minor in Philosophy
· Addition of a Minor in Political Studies
· Addition of a four-year degree in Palaeobiology
· Major revisions to the programs in Drama

College of Agriculture
· Major revisions to the Diploma in Agriculture
· Deletion ofseveral minors
· Changes to the Agronomy major

College of Kinesiology
· Addition of an Honours in Kinesiology

The Committee also reviewed a proposal for an Honours program in Women�s and Gender Studies. This proposal was later withdrawn pending changes to the B.A. Four-year program in that subject.

Policies and Procedures
Moribund Course Archive Policy A policy to archive untaught courses was approved by Council at its March meeting. As a consequence students and student advisors will see a Calendar that more accurately reflects current course offerings. However, within limits departments may reactivate a course without an external approval process.

Policy on Reporting of Final Grades. A policy to promote the prompt reporting of final grades was approved by Council at its April meeting.

Nomenclature Review. A Subcommittee to revise the Nomenclature Report of 1979 has finished a draft and will be circulating this to colleges and programs for discussion. Nomenclature refers to the terminology used by the University on transcripts, in the Calendar and in the Registration Guide, in course labels and descriptions, program types, program levels, affiliations, and for statistical analysis of courses and students. Several suggestions for changes to nomenclature are being made in this draft, including a clarification of program types and levels that would streamline the approval process for programs. Once consultation with colleges and other units has been completed, the policy will be brought to Council for approval.

Guides for Submission of Program Proposals. This was the first year that colleges and departments used the new �guide for submission of program proposals� forms. In general, the new guide proved to be a useful format for many colleges. However, the guides require a significant amount of detail that may not be necessary for some types of proposals, particularly minor program changes (such as the changes to the agronomy major this year) and new levels of concentration in existing programs (such as the new minors in Arts and Science). The Committee drafted a new �short form� for these types of changes and intends to implement this form next year once the revisions to the Nomenclature Report have been approved.

Policy on Consultation The Committee developed a policy to define what amount of consultation across units is required before a proposal can be brought forward for approval.

Review of Course Retake policies and Amending of Academic Records The Committee surveyed colleges to determine whether course retake policies should be standardized across colleges. Since retake policies reflect graduation standards and professional accreditation requirements that are specific to each college, it agreed that no attempt to standardize such policies be undertaken. The Committee agreed that the authority to amend academic records should remain with the Office of the Registrar.

Next year a major task for the Committee will be to review college and university exam regulations.

Initiatives
Several new communications initiatives were developed to keep colleges and departments informed about committee activities. The Committee began distribution of �Academic Programs Updates� for policy and procedure changes. The Course Challenge is now being distributed electronically, and is reaching a greater number of academic administrators on campus.
Following Council approval last spring, the Office of the Registrar has implemented an electronic course calendar that will be updated four times a year. The electronic calendar will expedite the introduction of new programs and program revisions and provide more flexibility for the review process undertaken by the committees of council.

Other
The Committee is participating in a joint subcommittee with Planning and Budget to review a request for affiliation from Briercrest College.
At the request of the Vice-President Academic, the Committee is investigating the first-year experience and whether a common first-year course selection would be beneficial for students.

On a personal note I wish to thank Committee members for the high degree of professionalism and competency that they demonstrated in the execution of their committee responsibilities. Special thanks go to Cathie Fornssler for providing Committee members with invaluable organizational support and institutional memory.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,
_____________________
Bob Lucas, Chair
Academic Programs Committee of Council
Committee members:
L. Brown, Extension
L. Currie, Library
R. Kushwaha, Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering
G. Hughes, Plant Science
L. Proctor, Curriculum Studies
D. Pennock, Soil Science
S. Reid, Chemistry
N. Senior, Languages and Linguistics
H. Wagg, Sessional Lecturers
S. Shukla, USSU
M. Acharya, GSA
K. Smith, Registrar
P. Melis, Office of the Vice-President Academic
M. Evered, Associate Vice-President (Academic)
M. Atkinson, Vice-President Academic and Provost
P. MacKinnon, President
C. Fornssler, Committee Coordinator (Secretary)