New Arts programs approved


KARL JAROSIEWICZ | At the December 3 meeting of Senate, Professor Sam Noumoff posed a question about the systematic program review of degree offerings in the Quebec university system by the government.

"Which university programs have been reviewed so far by the Ministry of Education?" he asked.

Professor Nicholas de Takacsy replied that Noumoff was probably referring to the Commission des universités sur les programmes (CUP), which was the creation of the Conférence des recteurs et principaux des universités du Québec (CREPUQ) not of the Ministry of Education. Composed mostly of academics, students and administrators from the province's universities, CUP will be scrutinizing the various programs offered in Quebec.

De Takacsy noted that music, theology and religious instruction, and communications had been reviewed to date. He stated that nursing and biochemistry were among the next programs to be reviewed. Each review includes a set of recommendations to be considered by the various faculties at universities across Quebec.

"Are these recommendations made mandatory?" asked Noumoff.

"No," replied Principal Bernard Shapiro. "Universities can respond however they see fit." He noted that "McGill is on all of these commissions, with representatives from the specific fields under examination." He remarked that Vice-Principal (Academic) Bill Chan has had trouble getting volunteers to sit on these commissions and asked senators to encourage their colleagues to take part so that McGill will continue to be represented.

Teaching aids

Senate members approved the adoption of Guidelines for Developing a Teaching Portfolio. The guidelines include instructions on the length, substance, format and supporting materials to be included by professors in their portfolios.

The document states that teaching portfolios are "useful in focussing professors' reflection on the quality of good teaching; providing a framework for documenting teaching effectiveness; expanding the ways in which good teaching and the complexity of teaching can be documented; fostering ongoing dialogue about teaching and teaching improvement; emphasizing McGill's commitment to teaching as a highly regarded, valued and rewarded scholarly activity that is an integral part of the reappointment, tenure and promotion process and one that receives its due weight compared to research in the tenure and promotion process."

Multiple multi-tracks

Professor de Takacsy, speaking for Vice-Principal Chan, who was absent, presented the first 33 multi-track program proposals from the Faculty of Arts. He noted that the multi-track programs were part of a curriculum renewal within the faculty and provided a clear alternative to the existing honours programs which are intended to lead to graduate studies and are very intensive.

He said that the multi-track programs represented "a liberal arts component within the Faculty8 of Arts." Each program includes a wide range of courses that broaden undergraduate students' experiences and knowledge beyond the confines of a single, strict discipline.

He noted that the entire list included hundreds of program options, but that the faculty was anxious to get as many approved as possible, and that these were just the first wave.

"Time is of the essence. The calendar has to be ready by March, but the structure and approval of the programs must be finished by January. The faculty is trying to meet these deadlines."

In preparing the way for the new curriculum, the faculty had to deal with a number of issues. De Takacsy said the faculty was "keen to make sure that only available resources were used, since no more resources can be allocated at this time." He called this "truth in advertising."

Other concerns included "looking at programs and asking if they made sense within the Faculty of Arts context." Furthermore, because the multi-track programs are by nature multi-disciplinary, special attention was paid to ensuring that they didn't become "just a collection of courses, but had a real disciplinary focus."

Professor Leon Glass said that students from a first-year seminar he teaches reported that they were "shocked at the number of courses which were listed in the calendar but weren't being taught." He used the example of the Department of English, stating that his own research had revealed that 15% of courses listed weren't being given.

"I wonder what wisdom there is in approving new programs when large numbers of courses aren't available."

De Takacsy said that APPC was "satisfied about the viability of the programs." He repeated that "truth in advertising" was a major consideration in the creation of these programs.

Professor Gary Wihl explained that "the course calendar gives a list of every possible course from the course table. Some of these courses haven't been taught in seven years. This year we'll simply delete the ones that haven't been given in several years."

The programs were approved by Senate.

Wrong numbers

Commenting on the Quarterly Reports on Full-Time Academic Staffing Changes, Vice-Principal (Research) Pierre Bélanger stated that the number of departures again exceeded the number of new hires. The rest of the report was pretty clear, he said.

"I beg to differ," said Professor Patrick Farrell. He pointed to an apparent discrepancy between two charts within the same document. The first, a tabular chart, listed the total full-time academic staff at 987 for 1996-1997. The other, a graph, showed over 65 fewer individuals for the same period.

Because Bélanger was unable to explain the difference, de Takacsy ventured an answer.

"I seem to recall asking a similar question about a previous report. I believe that the answer then was that library staff aren't included in the second chart."

A plausible explanation, acknowledged Farrell, but not a logical one. "But why is that?" he asked.

No further answers were offered. Senate then moved into confidential session.