| PRESENTED BY: | Beth Bilson, Chair, Planning Committee |
| DATE OF MEETING: | June 16. 2005 |
| SUBJECT: | Masters in International Trade |
| DECISION REQUESTED: | That Council approve the Masters in International Trade proposal for a five year period after admission of the first cohort of students. |
SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL:
The Masters in International Trade is an interdisciplinary, course-based, self-supporting professional Masters program, with probationary or "limited-term" approval for a five year period.
For program details, please see the MIT website: www.MIT.usask.ca
Probationary or "limited-term" approval
It is intended that this program will not request permanent approval unless long-term demand for the program has been established. The program intends to admit four cohorts of students before evaluating the program to determine whether permanent approval should be sought and whether the program should be revised. As a limited-term program supported by tuition, the program can proceed without the permanent allocation of resources, through annual reimbursement to colleges for instructors, until long term demand is established. The use of limited-term approvals for interdisciplinary course-based masters programs is similar to the "special case" Masters programs which are already approved on an individual basis.
RATIONALE:
The Masters in International Trade is designed to enable students to acquire an integrated understanding of the interrelated legal, economic, political and business issues involved in international commercial transactions and enterprise, and to prepare them to respond effectively to those issues. The program would be unique in Canada because it offers a condensed interdisciplinary program designed for a student body of legal, business and government professionals
IMPACT AND RELATIONSHIPS:
The program will be managed by an interdisciplinary committee. The MIT committee consists of Hans Michelmann (Chair) (Political Studies); Tamara Buckwold (Law), Grant Isaac (Management and Marketing), William Kerr (Agricultural Economics) and Kathy Schwarz (Extension). Colleges will be reimbursed for the costs of releasing instructors for course development and for teaching in the program. The program will also employ a program director and administrative assistant so that its administrative costs will not be borne by any college.
COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATION:
Academic Programs Committee
The Academic Programs Committee reviewed the Masters in International Trade proposal over several meetings and discussed it with Professor Hans Michelmann. The Committee approved the following motion at its May 6, 2005 meeting:
That the Academic Programs Committee confirms this as an imaginative and inventive program and recommends approval of this program on a probationary basis.
The Committee also agreed to recommend that the program consider adding additional elective courses on logistics and cultural analysis and that it undertake additional market analysis.
Budget Committee
Attached for the information of Council is the original business plan for the program, the memo sent from the Budget Subcommittee to Hans Michelmann regarding this budget, the updated program budget and the memo from Hans Michelmann covering variety of updates to the proposal document.
In discussing the program at its June 6 meeting, the Budget Committee viewed the revised budget as less optimistic than the initial budget, but members noted this was a more realistic budget with projections to 2010. The budget increase for advertising and promotion coupled with the reconfiguration of the Director's position as central to program recruitment was viewed positively. It was noted the Director's salary and status, as either full-time or part-time, may be adjusted as recruitment to the position has not yet been finalized. Course maintenance costs were still viewed as somewhat low, although these have been adjusted based on consultation with the Extension Division, and there is a contingency in the budget that could cover additional costs. At the subcommittee's request, TEL funding now appears in the revised budget as an indication of the investment in program start-up costs. Members agreed that although an element of risk continues to be associated with attaining the required program enrollment, that the revised budget provides a much better sense of the risks involved and addresses these in a realistic manner.
The Budget Committee agreed to recommend to Planning Committee that the Masters of International Trade Program be approved and that the Academic Priorities Fund cover any program deficit, with the understanding that the projected program deficit may be higher than indicated in the revised budget submission.
Planning Committee
The Planning Committee reviewed the program proposal and the recommendations from the Academic Programs Committee and the Budget Committee at its June 7 meeting. The Committee agreed to recommend that Council approve the Masters in International Trade for a five-year period after admission of the first cohort of students, estimated to be 2011.
ATTACHED: Proposal documentation and memos.
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