Senate discusses the direction of non-academic misconduct

A new Student Code of Conduct is projected to be ready for May 2016 and motions creating modifications to programs were passed

Image supplied by: Graphic by Ashley Quan

At the last Senate meeting of 2015, discussion ranged from the continuing review of non-academic discipline to a policy on sexual misconduct.

Woolf started off the meeting by somberly acknowledging the terrorist attacks in Paris and around the world, and said he’s grateful that everyone from the Queen’s community is safe.

(See the agenda here)

Discussion on the Principal’s Advisory Committee for non-academic discipline

Principal Woolf announced that the Advisory Committee on Non-Academic Misconduct is aiming to delivering a new Student Code of Conduct to the Board of Trustee for early May 2016.

Woolf asked the Senate the following questions:

·         What role, if any, should Senate have in the new non-academic misconduct system?

·         Is there a role for Senate with respect to oversight/governance for the new system?

·         What connection, if any, is there between academic matters and non-academic misconduct? If there is a connection, how should the revised system best address this connection?

Senator Morelli said the Senate should have a central role in the non-academic misconduct system and should lessen the AMS’s role in the system.

Senator Woodhouse, meanwhile, said the new system must address both non-academic misconduct and academic matters, as they’re generally symptomatic of one another.

In response to Woodhouse, Senator MacDonald stated that drinking is an example of non-academic misconduct that may be unrelated to academic matters, adding that the new system shouldn’t create disciplinary measures with the assumption that all non-academic misconduct has roots in academic matters.

The review is a consequence of a report conducted by Harriet Lewis, university secretary at York University, which recommended that the University make improvements in several areas to ensure student safety in the non-academic misconduct system.

Provost announces that draft sexual misconduct policy is in the works

Provost Harrison announced that an implementation team is working on the revision of the draft policy and recommendations.

Harrison also said the position of Sexual Violence Prevention Strategies Education Coordinator is currently being established. The position will be a full-time position similar to established sexual violence prevention positions at other universities.

Strategic Framework

Provost Harrison presented the initial findings of the 2014 Strategic Framework — a strategy designed to guide the university through financial uncertainties and other challenges.

The framework is made up of four “strategic drivers”: the student learning experience, research prominence, financial sustainability and internationalization. The drivers are the key performance indicators – quantitative measures used to measure progress –that determine the success of the framework.

The Strategic Framework report presented the initial findings in areas like student engagement and faculty revenue growth in relation to increased cost of operations and the number of international students at Queen’s on exchange. The findings will then be used as the basis for its implementation and goal planning. The report sets targets for the interim in 2017 and final targets in 2019 for its outlined strategic drivers.

All 6 motions were passed

The Senate:

·         Approved the establishment of Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences

·         Approved a proposal to create a combined BScH/Msc in biology, biomedical and molecular sciences

·         Approved an industrial internship in the Master of Engineering program

·         Approved the “Specialization in Political Thought” collaborative program be renamed to “Specialization in Political and Legal Thought”

·         Approved the Certificate in Academic Writing

·         Approved nominations of Senator Rose to the Senate Committee on Academic Development and Senator MacDonald to the Senate Committee on Non-Academic Discipline as recommended by the Senate Governance and Nominating Committee

A proposal to establish an undergraduate academic writing certificate had been brought to Senate in March 2015, but was voted down. The newest proposal for the Certificate in Academic Writing, which passed, was proposed to Senate as a modified version of the previous proposal.

All the motions were passed with one abstention from Senator Morelli.

Tags

NAD, non-academic discipline, Senate, Senate recap

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content