Please note these minutes have not been approved yet. S-03-42 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-03-38 to S-03-41 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA Mr. Friedlander moved, seconded by Ms. Malone, that the Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF MARCH 9, 2004 S-03-38 Prof. Barrette moved, seconded by Prof. Grant, that the Minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the Minutes. (4) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Committee on Student Standing S-03- 39 804.1 The report of the Committee on Student Standing was noted. - Procedures for the Committee on Student Standing S-03-40 804.2 Prof. Robert Martin, Chair, CSS, introduced the item and said that the changes were merely housekeeping, reflecting the creation of the positions of Associate Dean (Academic) and Associate Dean (Student Affairs) from the previous position of Associate Dean (Academic & Student Affairs). Prof. Martin moved, seconded by Prof. Gyakum, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. b) Academic Committee S-03-41 SECTION A: NEW PROGRAM - Ad hoc Minor Program in Physiology AC-03- 151 Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Mr. Friedlander, that the ad hoc Minor Program be approved. The motion carried. SECTION B: MAJOR PROGRAM CHANGES None SECTION C: NEW COURSES GEOGRAPHY GEOG 507 Advanced Social Geography AC-03- 153 3 credits GEOG 509 Qualitative Methods AC-03-154 3 credits Prof. Frances moved, seconded by Prof. Sengupta, that the courses be adopted. The motion carried. SECTION D: MAJOR COURSE CHANGES GEOGRAPHY GEOG 688 Social Statistics 1 AC-03-155 Changes: split of course, title, credit weight, description 1.5 Credits GEOG 689 Social Statistics 2 AC-03-156 Changes: split of course, title, credit weight, description 1.5 Credits Prof. Ewing moved, seconded by Prof. Sengupta, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. - Associated M.A. Program Change (For Information Only) M.A. in Geography; Social Statistics AC-03- 157 SECTION E: MINOR PROGRAM CHANGES (For Information Only) None SECTION F: MINOR COURSE CHANGES (For Information Only) - Report on Minor Course Changes AC-03- 150 SECTION G: OTHER (For Approval) - B.A. & Sc. Admission Policy AC-03-158 (Current Admission Criteria, AC-03-160) 804.3 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced and briefly described the admission policy for the B.A. & Sc. Degree. Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. Kemme, that the admission policy for the B.A. & Sc. Degree be adopted. The motion carried. SECTION H: OTHER (For Information Only) Online Course Evaluations AC-03-159/AC-03- 161 804.4 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced Document AC-03-159, the results of a survey of departments regarding current practices for course evaluations. The survey also sought departmental input on the possibility of introducing online course evaluations. He said that a workgroup would be formed to review departmental practices in more detail, and to compare these to University regulations. This workgroup would report to Faculty in Fall 2004. 804.5 Associate Dean Mendelson said that Deputy Provost and Chief Information Officer Masi had made a presentation to the Academic Committee concerning MOLE (McGill Online Evaluation). The consensus of the Committee was that the Faculty should participate in this pilot project, and four Science courses had done so. The Academic Committee had, however, felt that assistant professors should not yet participate because of the possibility of adverse effects on tenure. Associate Dean Mendelson said that he had recently received word from Deputy Provost Masi that the pilot project had been received well, and that the response rate for the participating Science courses was considerably higher than the averages for their departments. The results of the online evaluations would be analyzed. 804.6 Dean Shaver said that the Academic Committee had also expressed concerns about potential problems in online evaluations for multi-section and multi-instructor courses; these concerns should be addressed before widespread adoption of online evaluations. He invited members to comment on online evaluations, and answered members' questions. 804.7 Dean Shaver said that he would keep members informed concerning online evaluations. c) Other Reports or Academic Business - Planning Update 804.8 Dean Shaver said that the Planning Report had been submitted to the Provost, and would be posted on the Web for members' information and input. He thanked chairs and associate deans for the work they had done for the report. (5) REPORT ON ACTIONS OF SENATE - Senate Meeting of March 17, 2004 - Prof. S. Whitesides The numbers on the items correspond to the numbers on the minutes of Senate. Only items of particular interest to the Faculty of Science appear below. 1. A resolution on the death of Prof. Tavenas was read by Prof. Roger Prichard. Prof. Tavenas served as Vice Principal for Planning and Resources at McGill during 1989-97, and most recently, served as founding Rector of the University of Luxembourg. 4. Principal Munroe-Blum's Chair's remarks included the following: - The message that higher education is underfunded in Quebec appears to have gotten through to members of the Commission parlementaire. Its members were well-informed. - Quebec put forward only half of McGill's applications to the Canada Foundation for Innovation in the most recent round. Amoung the McGill projects supported was that of Prof. Lasko from Biology. - Vice-Principal Wells, the Provost and Deans are currently addressing academic priorities for the next fund raising campaign. - Congratulations to Prof. Hong Guo, Physics, for his Killam Research Fellowship. 5. A question was raised about McGill outgoing email being returned as a source of spam by internet service providers. Prof. Masi replied that tractable solutions and policies (e.g., filtering of outgoing messages from McGill) are being studied. 6. A question was raised about whether students have the right to view final exams without being charged a fee (a practice apparently imposed by some departments). Dr. Vinet agreed with the principle that barrieres should not be placed to discourage exam viewing, and promised to investigate the practice. 9. Motion to Amend the Statutes: Senate recommended to the Board of Governors that the proposed new B. A. & Sc. degree should be granted. Board of Governors. 11. Recommendations concerning the use of plagiarism detection software: Dean Shore presented and moved the recommendations, seconded by Prof. Mendelson. A long discussion ensued, accompanied by placard waving students who filed into the back of the auditorium. The students were totally against the recommendations, and many faculty senators were also opposed. Students cited, among other issues, the possible creation of a climate of distrust, bias against material written in English, and copyright and intellectual property issues. Faculty senators felt the policy was not clear and tried to deal with too many issues. Points raised in favour of the recommendations, or at least, in favour of having a policy, were that plagiarism detection software is demonstrably a deterrent that is more effective than education alone, that other universities are already using such software. Dean Shaver reminded Senate that the university must recognize its responsibility to ensure the integrity of the grading process. A motion to refer the matter back to the Committee on Student Affairs carried. 805.1 Dean Shaver said with regard to turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection service, McGill was studying the ramifications of, and issues involved in, using this service. (6) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD There were no members' questions. (8) OTHER BUSINESS There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m. 4 FacultyMinsApril.doc