Faculty Meeting Friday, November 11, 2005

A meeting of the Faculty Council was held on Friday, October 14, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. in the ATAC Board Room 5035.

 

 

It was moved by D. West and seconded by J. Siddall that the agenda be approved with the following changes:

 "Canadian Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences - D. West" added as item i)  under 'Other Business.'

                                                                                    Carried.

 

 

K. Fedderson welcomed and introduced the following new colleague and guest:

 

a)   Spencer Rowe, Program Coordinator for Native Access and Counsellor for Aboriginal Culture and Support Services

 

b)   John Smith, Director of Academic Advising - Enrolment Management (Attachment 1)

 

J. Smith met with the Faculty Enrolment Management Committee on Thursday.  They requested that he also speak to Faculty Council.  He spoke about current advising problems in the University and provided suggestions for mprovements.  A discussion followed. 

 

It was affirmed that departmental chairs and advisors were the final legal authority for approval of student programs. Currently, the Registrar's office is working on improving  the Datatel system.  Academic units should work closely with the Registrar and  Academic Advising.

     

 

It was moved by Dr. West and seconded by A. Carastathis that the Minutes of September 16th be approved.

                                                            Carried.                       

i)          Interdisciplinary Programs in Social Sciences and Humanities

 

            K. Fedderson introduced a new document for consideration by Council with respect to offering an interdisciplinary BA and HBA in Orillia.  He presented a split motion  for Council to consider.  Discussion followed.  A friendly amendment removed the word "interdisciplinary" from the first motion. 

 

            It was moved by K. Fedderson and seconded by D. West that Council approve in principle to establish two new programs, a BA and HBA in Social

Sciences and    Humanities, at Lakehead's satellite campus in Orillia only.

 

                                                                    Carried. (1 Abstention)

            Discussion followed with regard to the second motion.  Two friendly amendments:

            i) added to the second mandate of the Task Force "with a view to explore the possibility of creating an interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary program" and

             ii) included in the composition of the Task Force "a member of an             interdisciplinary program."

 

            It was moved by K. Fedderson and seconded by P. Wakewich that Council approve the establishment of SS&H at Orillia Task Force with the following mandate:

 

            .           to review undergraduate initiatives elsewhere where relevant

 

            .           to review the BA and HBA in Social Sciences and

                        Humanities proposals with a view to explore the possibility of

                        creating an interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary program

                        and recommend any required changes to Senate by April 30,

                        2006.

 

                        Proposed composition:  two faculty members in Humanities;

                        two faculty in Social Sciences; one faculty in Science; the Dean

                        [ex officio]; one faculty in an interdisciplinary program and two

                         students.

 

                                                           Carried Unanimously.                       

           

ii)         Committee Report on the Conceptual Framework for the University's Research Plan.

 

            S. Pound spoke on behalf of the report on the conceptual framework for the University's Research plan.  Discussion followed.

 

            It was moved by K. Fedderson and seconded by P. Jasen that the Faculty formally accept this report with the following amendments:

 

            Item 2. paragraph 1.                 ."Finances" should replace "economics"                                                                                                           

                                                            "financial" should replace "economic".

 

                        paragraph 3. line 1.       "a crucial factor" should replace "the

                                                             crucial factor."

                                             last line.  eliminate "(e.g. through data reported in

                                                           citation indices)."

 

                                                                                    Carried.

            Council formally acknowledged the work of this committee.

 

 

i)          Calendar Changes

            Department of Sociology:

 

            It was moved by T. Dunk and seconded by H. Smith that the Sociology calendar changes be approved.

                                                                                    Carried.

 

i)          SSHRC Consultation on Open Access - C. Southcott

 

            C, Southcott provided Council with handouts on SSHRC's open

access consultation.  SSHRC has requested responses to a series of policy and  operations questions from stakeholders.  He noted that the deadline for comments is October 31^st.

 

ii)         Canadian Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences - D. West

 

            D. West, the current CFHSS representative, updated Council.  The federation website provides access to publishing debates, copyrights and equity issues (women's issues).  He felt it should have a formalized place in the faculty with a council representative. The federation is important both across the country and to the university.  Many people work on committees within the federation and two major interactive accomplishments are:

             1) Congress meetings (formerly the learneds - which are      

                  becoming larger)

             2) National dialogue for higher education

 

            D. West will work with the webmaster to provide a CFHSS link on the Faculty web page.  He asked that a formal process be put into place for the next person chosen as a CFHSS Council representative.

 

iii)         Faculty Recruitment Committee

 

            H. Smith reported that the Recruitment Committee met on Wednesday.  A future meeting of chairs and coordinators will deal with options on how to      present ourselves.

 

i)          Academic Plan

 

            The Senate Academic Committee has brought forward an Academic Plan proposal to Senate.  The current Academic Plan has not been revised for two years. The Strategic Plan identifies the absence of an Academic Plan in units and needs to be addressed. 

 

            A process has been set in motion to develop a plan for 2006-10.  Department goals will   be collected and brought together to form a new Academic Plan.  The deadline for this process is December 15^th. 

 

ii)         Resource Allocation

 

            There has been no agreement this year at Deans' Council with regard to the budget process. The AEC has not identified new positions for next year.  In  reality, three positions are pending at the moment:  engineering, psychology and visual arts.  The Vice-President (Academic) has also recognized the current inadequacy of faculty supplies consumables.  

 

iii)         Enrolment Summary

            The November enrolment summary is on the faculty council web site.  This year, the enrolment more accurately reflects Social Sciences and Humanities  numbers within the concurrent education program.  Social Sciences and Humanities enrolment is stable and represents 33% of the university's    enrolment.  It is up by 2% this year.  Business, Professional Schools and Science & Environmental Studies are down slightly.   

      

 

            The meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m.

 

                                                               

 

D. Jean-Bevan

A. Carastathis

G. Colton

R, Davis

A. den Otter

L. Di Matteo

T. Dunk

R. Farrell

K. Fedderson

M. Flegel

P. Jasen

S. Islam

D. Ivison

J. Leggatt

M. MacLean

G. Munro

A. Nabarra

C. Parkes

S. Pound

S. Rowe

M. Shaw

G. Siddall

H. Smith

B. Strang

P. Wakewich

D. West

 

J. Smith

 

E. Epp

B. Stolar

 

John D. Smith - I have recently moved from Steinbach, MB where I was the site manager for one of the rural centres for Red River College. Prior to this I have had work experiences in Residence Life, the Registrar's Office, Admissions, Advising, and Career Services. I have a B.A. in Sociology from the College of the Ozarks in Missouri, and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

 

As the new Coordinator of the Office of Academic Advising, I have been on campus for four months. During this time I have observed some trends that have given me some reason for concern. I am in need of some direction from the Deans and the department Chairs as to how to handle certain situations and possibly gain some institutional history and background. The Faculty I have talked with one on one are very student focused and to them student success is paramount, thus I am seeking some direction from this body.

 

During my short tenure I have noticed the following:

 

 

This model is ideal in theory, using professional advisors to smooth the transition of students to the campus and having Faculty advise students entrenched in their major departments.

 

In keeping with this model, the Office of Academic Advising has the mandate to service all incoming undergraduate students and also students transitioning from one program to another. The problem is that I estimate 40% of students serviced by my office do not fall under my mandate. This means that 40% of my human and financial resources are used to service students that fall outside the mandate of my office. This also means that this 40% are not getting the benefit of being advised by their Faculty.

 

·         How do we move the students from my office to the offices of the Faculty members?

·         What can my office do to aid the Chairs and the departmental advisors in their task of advising students?

·         Many Chairs feel confident in their role as advisor, but many send students back to my office to "double check" what they have been told.

·         Do we have a systemic access problem? Are the chairs or Faculty as available as they need to be considering our advising model?

·         Are the Chairs the right choice to represent the departments as advisors?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My overall feeling is that Lakehead University is truly an institution that is student centered. With your help, perhaps we can make some systemic adjustments to have our operational processes better follow suit.

 

I am always available to the Deans or the Chairs for any purpose that aids the success of the student. Anything my office can do to aid the Faculty in their advising role; we are ready, able, and willing.

 

Please contact me at your convenience:

 

John D. Smith

Coordinator of Academic Advising

UC 1002

(807) 346-7916