The UBC Senate meets monthly to discuss and vote on academic matters pertaining to the university. What goes on in the Senate chambers can often feel very overwhelming or dull to the average student, and the dockets posted before every Senate meeting can be long and tedious to read. Here’s what to expect this Wednesday at the September 2017 Senate meeting:
Dawn of a New Triennium
At this first meeting of Senate’s triennium — three year cycle — a considerable amount of time will be spent on administrative housekeeping, particularly filling Senate’s committees that include Academic Policy, Curriculum, Academic Building Needs and Library, among others. Much of Senate’s work is completed at the committee level, and so the Nominating Committee has invested time in assigning senators to committees that best fit their experience within the university. Senate also will be naming its representative to external organizations, such as UBC’s affiliated institutions like the Carey Theological College.
Summer Curriculum Changes
As the supreme academic governance body of the university, Senate will be considering ratification of a number of curriculum proposals passed by its Curriculum Committee in July. Highlights include a new minor in Entrepreneurship for applied science students, a new minor in Urban Studies for arts students and an Undergraduate Certificate in Adult Learning and Education for education students.
Student Awards
Senate frequently receives requests for the approval of new awards for both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as updates to existing awards. At this meeting, Senate will be considering proposals for more than 40 new awards, in areas ranging from law to forestry, and updates to approximately 10 existing awards.
Jakob Gattinger, a fourth year applied science student, is currently the interim VP Academic for the AMS, as well as a student member of the UBC Vancouver Senate.