S-00-38 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, April 3, 2001 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-00-34 to S-00-37 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA 701.1 In Document S-00-37, Academic Committee Report, Section F Items 2,3,4 to be considered at the beginning of the Academic Report. Prof. Harpp moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the modified Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH OF EMERITUS PROFESSOR JOAN MARSDEN - Professor V. Pasztor Prof. Pasztor read a formal resolution on the death of Prof. Marsden (Appendix B, attached to the permanent copy of the minutes). The resolution was passed unanimously. (3) RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH OF PROFESSOR NORMAN DRUMMOND - Professor T. Moore Prof. Moore read a formal resolution on the death of Prof. Drummond (Appendix B, attached to the permanent copy of the minutes). The resolution was passed unanimously. (4) MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 6, 2001 S-00-34 704.1 Under Item 6(b), Report of Subcommittee on Scholarships, the name of the AstraZeneca Scholarship should be "AstraZeneca Scholarship in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biology." Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Moore, that the modified minutes be approved. The motion carried. (5) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES - Minute 606.3, AstraZeneca Scholarship in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biology 705.1 Prof. Brown, Chair, Science Scholarships Committee, suggested that for the first year the scholarship be given to the most deserving student from among the three departments, and that in subsequent years the scholarship should rotate among the departments on the basis of alphabetical order (i.e., starting with Biochemistry). This was agreed to. 705.2 After some discussion about the maximum amount of scholarship/prize money a student could receive according to University policies, Prof. Brown agreed to report this back to a future meeting. - Minute 607.2, Problems encountered by McGill students attempting to access journal information from outside McGill 705.3 Dean Shaver said that Ms. F. Groen, Director of Libraries, had given the following Web address for more information concerning this item. http://www.mcgill.ca/ncs/access/remote/vpn - Item 6(d)(i), Reports of Committees, Ad hoc Graduate Studies Committee Course in Science Writing and Publishing (455-645) 705.4 Associate Dean Mendelson said the Faculty of Education would be offering the above six-week course in September 2001. (6) ANNOUNCEMENTS 706.1 Dean Shaver reminded members that announcements were routinely sent by e-mail to the Faculty of Science's mailing list. (7) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Committee on Student Standing S-00- 35 707.1 Associate Dean Mendelson read the report of the Committee on Student Standing. b) Proposed Procedures for CSS S-00-36 707.2 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the above document. Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the new procedures be adopted. 707.3 Prof. Farrell, seconded by Prof. Baines, suggested that on Page 2, Item 2, the words "or a predisposition toward the outcome" be removed. After some discussion, Associate Dean Mendelson accepted the amendment as friendly. 707.4 Prof. Farrell, seconded by Prof. Mucci, moved an amendment that on Page 2, Item 5 be deleted. The amendment carried. 707.5 A vote was then held on the amended motion. The amended motion carried. c) Academic Committee S-00-37 FRENCH BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA (AC-00-191) Ms. Sanagan moved, seconded by Prof. Moore, that the item be approved. The motion carried. SECTION A: NEW PROGRAMS 1. Ad hoc Major Concentration in Quantitative Science (AC-00-146) Prof. Barrette moved, seconded by Prof. Harpp, that the ad hoc program be adopted. The motion carried. 2. Department of Physical Education (Faculty Of Education) - Minor in Kinesiology for B.Sc. Students (AC-00-199) Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. Brown, that the program be adopted. The motion carried. SECTION B: MAJOR PROGRAM CHANGES GEOGRAPHY - B.Sc. Honours in Geography (AC-00-195) Prof. Moore moved, seconded by Prof. Mucci, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. SECTION C: NEW COURSES Physics 198-521A Astrophysics (AC-00-201) 3 credits Prof. GrÅtter moved, seconded by Prof. Harpp, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. SECTION D: MAJOR COURSE CHANGES Geography 183-424B Europe: Places and Peoples ( AC-00-194) 3 credits Changes in title, prerequisite, credit weight [from 6 to 3] and description Prof. Moore moved, seconded by Prof. Mucci, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. SECTION E: MINOR PROGRAM CHANGES None SECTION F: OTHER 1. Committee on Materials Science - Prof. B. Lennox (AC-00-193) 707.6 Prof. P. GrÅtter, on behalf of Prof. Lennox, introduced the above document. Prof. GrÅtter moved, seconded by Prof. Dhindsa, that the proposal for the establishment of the McGill Institute for Advanced Materials (MIAM) be adopted. The motion carried. 2. Letter Grades in Banner (AC-00-202) 707.7 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the above document, and said that Ms. Sylvia Franke, SIS Project Manager, Banner, would answer questions. 707.8 Members overwhelmingly would have preferred to have a system which could accommodate both letter and numerical final grades, or at least to have the grade of A+ introduced into the grading system. However, Ms. Franke said that because grades were such a fundamental piece of information, and since the university's official grade is a letter grade, the system would not be able to accommodate numerical as well as letter final grades. 707.9 Dean Shaver said that the issue would be brought back to the Academic Committee to determine the Faculty's position on letter and numerical grades. 3. Computation of GPA after Interfaculty Transfer 707.10 Associate Dean Mendelson explained that there were three options for calculating GPA after transfers between faculties. Option 1: GPA in the first faculty is included in GPA calculation in the second faculty. Option 2: Courses that do not count towards the new degree do not count in calculating the new GPA. Option 3: GPA is restarted at the time of transfer (similar to status quo). 707.11 There was some discussion of the issue, and Ms. Franke answered some questions. 4. Multi-term courses 707.12 In association with Banner implementation, Associate Dean Mendelson said that 'D' should be split into 'A' and 'B' courses, unless there were good academic reasons for not doing so. Dean Shaver thanked Ms. Franke and Prof. Rigelhof for appearing at the Faculty meeting. SECTION G: Minor Course Changes & Other (For Information Only) 1. Minor Course Changes (AC-99-190) 707.13 Associate Dean Mendelson drew members' attention to the fact that the School of Computer Science was restricting entry into many of its courses, to students in programs affiliated with the School of Computer Science. 707.14 Several members pointed out that this change could very much affect students in other Science programs. Secretary's Note: This issue will be brought to a future Academic Committee meeting. 2. Geography - B.A. Program Changes: - Minor Concentration in Geography (AC-00-196) - Honours in Geography (AC-00-197) - Joint Honours - Geography Component (AC-00-198) (8) DEAN'S BUSINESS There was no Dean's business. (9) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD There were no members' question. (10) REPORT ON ACTIONS OF SENATE Senate Meeting of February 14, 2001 - Prof. A. Baker Professor Farrell was in the Chair. The steering committee report and the Minutes of the January 31, 2001 were approved. Steering committee granted 106 B.Sc degrees and 124 M.Sc. Degrees. Question Period 1. QUESTION RE STUDENT HOUSING Mr. Sagal asked what the University planned to do about the 15% shortfall in residence places for out of town first year students. Vice-Principal Yalovsky replied that the University was looking for real estate to increase places in residences. In the short term there is an accommodation program run by the housing office. Its staffing will be increased. 2. QUESTION RE THE UNIVERSITY'S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POLICY ON DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT Mr. Ahmad asked why the policy on discrimination and harassment had not been implemented when the policy on Sexual harassment has been. Vice-Principal Vinet reported that an ad hoc group chaired by Professor Morton Weinfeld has been formed to review the draft policy and expects to report to the Subcommittee on Race and Ethnic Relations by March 21, 2001. 3. QUESTION RE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY IN HIRING AT MCGILL Mr. Ahmad asked "Given the fact that McGill is set to hire 100 professors over the next ten years, will employment equity in hiring now become a priority?" Vice-Principal Vinet replied that employment equity is a priority. All ads mention this. If women are well represented in the application pool and departments are aware of the issue the matter should settle itself. Prof. Numoff asked if a report on the effectiveness of this strategy could be generated. Vice- Principal Vinet said he would report back with an estimate of how long it would take to generate such a report. 4. MOTION RE EXAMINATION ACCOMMODATION TO STUDENTS ATTENDING THE PEOPLE'S SUMMIT Mr. Sim, seconded by Mr. Ahmad, proposed the following motion (this was a revised version of the resolution that had been distributed to Senate as Document D00- 47): Whereas some students have expressed interest in attending the People's Summit in conjunction with the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting held in Quebec City between April 19 and April 22, inclusive, Be it resolved that Senate request that examination accommodations be made for students attending the People's Summit between April 19 and April 22, 2001 inclusive; Be it further resolved that the Associate Deans make the appropriate arrangements to accommodate students who indicate in writing by March 15, 2001 their intent to attend the summit. There was a lengthy discussion of this issue much dealing with technical issues. However the main argument in favor of the motion was that the university should support student involvement in important political issues. The main arguments against were: 1. Why this particular protest? If this privilege was granted should not every other cause have equal rights. 2. Denying special permission in no way removes the student right to go to the summit, it just means that they have to sacrifice to do so. Is this not what political commitment requires in the real world. 3. Some of the meetings are on the weekend and in any case it would be very unlikely that any student would be precluded completely from participating in the event by exam schedules. 4. How would one police the sincerity of the written requests for exam accommodations? The question was called and the motion was voted on and failed. 7. COMMITTEE ON STUDENT AFFAIRS ANNUAL REPORT, 1999- 2000 Dean Jukier presented the Committee on Student Affairs Annual Report, 1999-2000 (D00-45), and responded to questions and comments. The report mentioned the implementation of the Harp/Hogan exam-monitoring program. It will now be used across the university in classes of more than 25 students using exams with more than 30 questions. Disciplinary officers will be given the output and must then confirm if the students in question were seated near one-another. Associate Dean Mendelson will act as an interpreter and consultant on the output. The Chair thanked Dean Jukier for this, the last Report of the Committee on Student Affairs during her deanship, and for all the previous reports she has made to Senate. 5. 330th REPORT OF THE ACADEMIC POLICY AND PLANNING COMMITTEE There were no major program or course changes presented. However Vice-Principal Vinet, seconded by Dean Crago, moved approval of the Graduate Thesis Student Questionnaire and Implementation Protocol. Some discussion ensued. The question was called and the motion passed. There being no more business the meeting adjourned. Senate Meeting of March 7, 2001 - Prof. M. Baines 1. RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH OF PROFESSOR EMERITUS JOAN MARSDEN The following resolution on the death of Professor Joan Marsden was presented by Dean Shaver and adopted unanimously by Senate. 2. REPORT OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE The Report of the Steering Committee (00-01:R-09) was received. Professor de Takacsy stated that the Federal Contractors' Program defines four categories in the context of employment equity: women, aboriginal peoples, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities. While the University does track gender, it does not track the other categories. Consequently its information is based on voluntary self-identification through surveys which is notoriously inaccurate and provided little reliable data. This was stopped for a combination of reasons: HR needs to prioritize its resources to respond to the Quebec Pay Equity legislation, it is awaiting a response from the Federal Contractors agency, and it is implementing Banner. Based on available resources, and the expectation that much of Banner HRIS will be implemented this summer, a survey is feasible in the fall of 2001. 3. MOTION TO RECONSIDER The proposal that Senate reconsider the issue of examination accommodations for students attending the People's Summit between April 19 and April 22, 2001 inclusive, which had been voted upon at the previous meeting, was voted upon and failed to carry by the requisite two thirds majority. 4. 331st REPORT OF THE ACADEMIC POLICY AND PLANNING COMMITTEE was approved without significant comment. 5. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE COORDINATION OF STUDENT SERVICES Dean Jukier presented the 2000-2001 Annual Report of the Committee on the Coordination of Student Services (DOO-50), including the Student Services Fee Schedule 2001/02 that will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval. REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE Dean Crago presented the Report of the Nominating Committee with respect to statutory selection committees which was approved without significant comment. 7. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIVERSITY STATUTES Senate received a memo from the Principal regarding Proposed Amendments of the University Statutes (D00-33). REPORT OF THE HONORARY DEGREES AND CONVOCATIONS COMMITTEE Senate moved into Confidential Session for discussion of the Report of the Honorary Degrees and Convocations Committee. Senate adjourned at 3:20 p.m. Senate Meeting of March 21, 2001 - Prof. G. Schmidt After the usual preliminaries Senate moved to the main business with Dean Buszard in the chair. QUESTIONS BY MEMBERS 1. Professor Noumoff asked, in reference to the Federal Contracts Program, whether the University was prepared to initiate a more-proactive position aimed at more precisely identifying our base line and how we intend to improve upon our current numbers in the designated categories. Professor de Takacsy responded that a number of measures had been taken to develop a work and study environment free from discrimination and to eliminate barriers to members of the university achieving their full potential. For various reasons heavy demands on the HR personnel made it impossible to assess the continuing effectiveness of these measures before the fall of 2001. On a further question from Professor Noumoff he said that at the next Senate meeting he would be able to predict whether a Fall 2001 survey was a reasonable target and also that the results of the 1998 study (previously circulated to Senate) could be made available. 2. Concerning the Banner system Professor Noumoff asked whether the Administration would confirm that "we have become prisoners of that software whereby Banner determines what we do and do not do, rather than the other way around and further its intention not to rewrite any parts of the program and at least partially reverse this fact?" Dr. Masi replied at some length, giving various reasons why he felt that the Banner 2000 system had been the appropriate choice but apologising for mistakes made in implementing the financial information system. He said that he had never used the excuse that the Banner system cannot handle our requirements but rather emphasised that our older system could not do so. While we are not prisoners of Banner we must let it help us determine where our practices are failing us. He claimed that Banner is sufficiently flexible that it can accommodate to our policies even if we must sometimes change our procedures. He said that we can and will modify it where necessary to fit better with our needs. On a supplementary question from Professor Noumoff he reiterated a commitment to ask for comment from the community and rewrite code if needed... and stated that substantial changes are already being made to the Financial Information System and to the Student Information System. On a question from Professor Mendelson concerning the need for consultation when changes have academic implications Professor Masi stated that several bodies are examining such implications. Professor Masi finally stressed again that one must separate principles or policies from practices and procedures. 3. Mr. Sims had a question concerning an action plan on environmental policy developed by a working group under the Senate Committee on Physical Development, struck under a Senate resolution of April 18, 1999. On February 1,2001 the final draft of this plan had been tabled by the Committee on Physical Development. He wanted to know what schedule had been established for the adoption of an Environmental Policy and when the workgroup would be given the opportunity to bring the policy to Senate. Dr. Yalovsky responded that the purpose of the postponement was to ensure that the proposal remained on the Committee's agenda. A new motion, allowing the committee to take ownership of the environmental agenda, had immediately been proposed and approved. Environmental issues will become a regular item on the committee's agenda. The document prepared by the workgroup will be a valuable resource to the committee as it pursues the environment agenda and brings it forward to Senate and other appropriate bodies. APPC REPORT Two new Centers were appproved: 1. International Center for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviours. 2. McGill Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology. Approval of the first center was preceded by a long discussion surrounding partial funding for the center by Lotto-Quebec, and the defeat of a motion to refer the issue back to APPC. There were various assurances that there would be no restrictions placed on researchers. AMENDMENTS TO STATUTES, RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF ACADEMIC AND LIBRARIAN STAFF Senate voted in favour of amendments to the statutes allowing 1. new appointments at the rank of full professor (librarian) where that rank had been previously attained elsewhere, without the intervention of a Statutory Selection Committee; 2. tenured appointments as associate or full professor (librarian) where tenure has been granted at another university, without the intervention of a tenure committee. Recommendations for such appointments are to come from the Principal following a formal request by the dean of the faculty involved (Director of Libraries) based on a recommendation from the unit involved. The precise wording incorporated text from an amendment proposed by members of the Faculty of Engineering making explicit the role of Deans and departments in such decisions. The Financial statements for the year ending May 31, 2000 were presented briefly by V.-P. Yalovsky. The main point was an additional grant of $1.609 million received from the QuÇbec Government. Some other universities did receive significantly large additional grants. There was also a brief discussion of budgetary considerations for the current year. A number of additional reports were received with little or no discussion. (11) OTHER BUSINESS There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:18 p.m.