“Senate is the academic governing body of UFV, with the university president and vice-chancellor Joanne MacLean as the chair. They are responsible for making decisions on everything academic, including: approving new courses and programs, approving changes to programs, and setting entrance requirements and the academic calendar. The Board of Governors, which looks at the business side of the university, is advised by Senate on matters of mutual interest.
All at the university are welcome to attend Senate’s public meetings, held once a month. Senate makes decisions that impact the daily lives of both students and faculty. This article will recap the main agenda items of the hybrid Senate meeting on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.”
At Senate, a special thirty-minute presentation on what a “student ready” university looks like was facilitated by Dr. Alisa Webb, vice president students. The presentation explained that being student ready at UFV includes “meeting students where they are,” and supporting them as they navigate university to the best of their abilities.
According to Webb, some of the defining characteristics of a student ready university include promoting student involvement and hearing their concerns and suggestions, and being an inclusive, user/student friendly, “supportive and developmental” institution.
“We are all committed to our students and to being an institution where the decisions that we make and the process that we take — in terms of our daily activities around policy and other matters — [think] specifically about the impact on students,” said Dr. Joanne McLean, chair.
Additionally, Webb also pointed out that having a student focus at UFV already connects well with the vision of the new Student Enrollment Management (SEM) plan created by Dr. James Mandigo, as well as the Integrated Strategic Plan. Both of those documents seek to be more student ready in their goals. For more information on UFV becoming a student ready university, please see this article to read more.
Senate also proposed changing the number of members attending online from 11 to 15 to help ensure that meetings can maintain a face-to-face presence, and not be shifted to an online platform when members are unable to attend in-person.
A motion was made in Senate to change the name from the Faculty of Professional Studies to the Faculty of Business and Computing. This request was made by Chris Schinckus, dean faculty of professional studies, on Sept. 16, 2022. The request was later voted on by the Academic Planning and Priorities Committee on Oct. 7, 2022 to be brought to the attention of Senate. The motivation for this name change came from the results of an internal survey conducted. The faculty members who were surveyed desired to create a name that offers a clearer identity for their faculty department and what they represent. The motion was voted on and carried unanimously.
During senate, a motion was made to approve the changes made to the engineering physics diploma in mechatronics. These changes were brought to the attention of MacLean by Samantha Pattridge, undergraduate education committee chair, on Oct. 11, 2022. The reason behind the changes for this program include having more current entrance requirements and being more accessible for students with different backgrounds. Other reasons include taking out unnecessary courses and replacing them with classes that can be transferable to other institutions within B.C. as well as to update the residency requirements. Senate voted in favour of the approved changes, which are set to start in January 2023.
Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.
