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, March 18, 2022.
The main item on the agenda for March’s Senate meeting was the 2022-23 draft consolidated budget presentation made by chief financial officer Jackie Hogan. A point of interest for students in this budget presentation was the two per cent tuition fee increase for both domestic and international students. Notice of this fee increase, however, is not on the publicly accessible budget draft linked in the Senate’s meeting minutes. This tuition inflation aligns with a recent UBC Board of Governors agenda item that announced a two per cent increase in their tuition fees as well.
Student fees account for UFV’s largest source of revenue, making up 46 per cent of the budget, with government operating grants following closely behind at 42 per cent of UFV’s revenues. Since the start of COVID-19, UFV’s international student enrollment rate has dropped. However, this budget optimistically anticipates these enrollment rates will begin to increase again as restrictions begin to relax. International student tuition and fees make up about 21 per cent of UFV’s revenue.
Salaries and benefits of staff and faculty account for UFV’s largest expense at 73 per cent of all expenditures at $116.95 million, with 29 new positions added into the 2022-23 budget. Some of these positions reflect UFV’s budget priority of “Indigenization and Reconciliation,” with one new support position within the Indigenous Affairs office, a faculty position to support the newly proposed graduate certificate and diploma in Halq’eméylem, and one other “Indigenous hire” in science. Some other positions that were added in this new budget are: a new faculty position in Social Justice and Global Stewardship, a director in the Centre for Environmental Sustainability, a director of student academic support, another practicum coordinator, and a tenure promotion advisor and faculty mentor.
In her presidential report, Joanne MacLean announced this to be a “historical” day in Senate, as the proposed graduate certificate and graduate diploma in Halq’eméylem was presented during the in-camera portion of the meeting.
“I think of it as a really noteworthy day in that this is UFV stepping up in our opportunities to be a part of engaging Indigenous language instruction and preservation,” said MacLean.
This part-time program’s purpose is to preserve and revitalize this endangered language that currently only has one fluent speaker left. There is already an intermediate proficiency certificate in Halq’eméylem offered at UFV, but this certificate was created after seeing a need for learners to advance their proficiency in the Upriver Halq’eméylem language, and seeing a growing demand for learning this language, as HALQ 101 and HALQ 102 had waitlisted students for the first time in winter 2021.
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
