Acadia University Senate
Agenda


SENATE AGENDA FOR 10 NOVEMBER 2003

29 October 2003

Dear Member of Senate:

I advise you that a meeting of the Senate of Acadia University will occur at 4:00 p.m., Monday,
10 November 2003 in Room 132 of the Beveridge Arts Centre.  The AGENDA follows:

1)  Minutes of the Meeting of 14 October 2003

2) Announcements and  Communications

3) Business Arising from the Minutes
 a) University Teaching Complement Committee - Report/Recommendation on the Request of appeal from Department of Languages and Literatures (034-16-ART)*
 b) By-Laws Committee - Terms of Reference for By-Laws Committee Members as per minutes of  14 Oct 03 (034-17-LAW)

4) New Business
 a) 2002-2003 Annual Report from Scholarships, Prizes, and Awards Committee
  (034-18-REP) *
 b)   2003-2003 Annual Report from Honours Committee (034-19-REP) *

5) Other Business

Yours sincerely,
 

Rosemary Jotcham
Acting Registrar and Secretary of Acadia University Senate

* Material Attached

Items Carried Over
- Faculty Development Committee - Review of Duties and Structure as per 14 Oct 03 Minutes

Attachment 3)a)
Senate Agenda/10Nov03
(034-16-ART)
 Not available electronically.
Page 1/Attachment 4)a)
Senate Agenda/10Nov03
(034-18-ART)
ACADIA UNIVERSITY

2002-2003
Report of the SCHOLARSHIPS, PRIZES AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (SPAC) to SENATE

REPORT DATE: October 21, 2003

SPAC COMMITTEE MEMBERS

July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003

Faculty of Arts:
  Christoph Both
  Bernard Delpeche
  Stephen Sansonetti (student rep)

Faculty of Professional Studies:
  Paul Heintzman
  Walter Isenor (Committee Chairperson)
  Jeff Britton (student rep)

Faculty of Pure and Applied Science:
  Andrew Mitchell
  Paul Cabilio
  Michael Marin (student rep)

  Paula Cook - Provost
  Pamela D'Entremont – Financial Aid (Committee Secretary)

July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004

Committee members will be the same as those indicated above with the following exceptions:
Rodger Evans will be replacing Paul Cabilio
Janna Wentzell will be replacing Paul Heintzman
Devika Gibbons will be replacing Jeff Britton
Duncan MacDonald will be replacing Michael Marin

PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEE

1. To determine how winners of scholarships, prizes and awards are to be selected and to gather all information it considers necessary for the selection;
2. To select the winners of all undergraduate scholarships, prizes and awards;
3. To periodically investigate the scholarships, prizes and awards program and to recommend improvements (increased funds, new scholarships, more prizes, etc.) to those involved in the program;
4. To promote interest in the scholarship program by posters, letters and other means;
5. To consider such other matters as the Senate may from time to time entrust to the Committee.
 

Page 2/Attachment 4)a)
Senate Agenda/10Nov03
(034-18-ART)
MEETINGS DATES

November 1, 2002
November 29, 2002
April 7, 2003

AGENDAS, DISCUSSIONS and CONCLUSIONS

The following represents the main agenda topics:

1. Entrance Scholarship Acceptance Results
The acceptance results of the scholarship packages offered to 2002 entrance students were reviewed.

2. Discussion of ASU Document on Acadia’s Financial Aid Program
The Committee agreed with the general thrust of the ASU document and agreed that the scholarship program at Acadia is under-funded.  This was passed on to the Chair of the Financial Aid Committee.

3. Monies Available for Scholarships
The amount of funds available for scholarships was reviewed.  Two recommendations were made to the Financial Aid Committee - the need for 50 renewable tuition scholarships and the need to look at a different mechanism for in-course scholarships that included tangible benchmarks of achievement.

4. Review of Entrance Scholarship Selection Process
The process used by the Committee to select students being considered for entrance scholarships was reviewed but no changes were made. The top 150 applications were individually reviewed and scored by the Committee.

5. Review of Scholarship Ceilings
The scholarship ceilings were reviewed.  No change was made to the ceiling for returning students as it is tied to tuition.  The scholarship ceiling for entering students was increased from $7500 to $10,000.

6.  Awarding of 2003 Entrance Scholarships
Approximately $671,040 (consisting of $263,000 renewable monies and $408,040 non-renewable monies) in entrance scholarships were offered to 126 students based upon selection procedures agreed upon by the Committee. This figure represents first year value. The total program value would be $1,460,040. The Committee assumed an acceptance rate of approximately 50% based on prior years’ experience. An additional 75 offers totaling $235,075 (consisting of $34,500 renewable monies and $200,575 non-renewable monies) in entrance departmental scholarships, scholar-bursaries, and awards were also made. This figure represents first year value. The total program value would be $338,575.

Respectfully submitted,
 

Pamela D'Entremont
Secretary
 

Attachment 4)b)
Senate Agenda/10Nov03
(034-19-ART)
Honours Committee of Senate
Annual Report for 2002-2003
Membership:
Chair:   Maurice Tugwell
Secretary:  Don Stewart
Members:  Paul Callaghan, Shanthi Johnson, Richard Karsten, Ralph Stewart
Ex officio:  Rosemary Jotcham (Registrar)
  Dean of Research and Graduate Studies or Delegate: Robert Perrins,
Members of the Honours Committee are nominated and elected within each faculty. Members must come from Departments/Schools offering Honours Programmes. The registrar (or delegate) and Dean of Research and Graduate Studies (or delegate) are ex-officio members. Membership from the Faculties is distributed according to the following formula: Arts (2), Pure and Applied Science (3), and Professional Studies (1).
Meetings: The Honours Committee met on the following dates 30 October 2002 and 24 March 2003.
 The committee reviewed the “Guidelines for the preparation of Honours theses” but made no new changes. The committee also discussed important dates relating to thesis submission and the process of thesis review and approval. The committee discussed the possibility of requiring students to submit copies of their theses in PDF format. Theses could then be archived and made available via the web. No decision was made regarding this change as the library and the USER Support Centres will need to be consulted about the feasibility of this plan.
 The committee oversaw distribution of Honours theses to individual faculty members for examination. An attempt is made to ensure that the faculty member chosen is an appropriate reviewer and will be able to render judgement on the thesis.
 The Committee thanks the faculty members who reviewed Honours theses this year. We also thank the staff of the Registrar’s office who receive, check, and process the theses. The Committee processed well-over 100 theses this year. The breakdown of theses by Programme and Department was as follows.
Biology -    22
Business -    3
Computer Science -   8
Chemistry -    8
Classics -    1
Economics -    3
English -    10
Environmental Science -   4
German -    1
Geology -    5
History -    11
Kinesiology -    8
Mathematics -    9
Nutrition -    3
Philosophy -    1
Physics -    2
Political Science -   10
Psychology -    16
Recreation -    2
Sociology -    7
     Total=134

Respectfully Submitted,
Don Stewart