Download AGENDA ITEM NO: 10.3 UNIVERSITY COUNCIL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

AGENDA ITEM NO: 10.3
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
Trever Crowe, Chair, Academic Programs Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
May 15, 2008
SUBJECT:
Item for Information:
College of Arts & Science: approval of revisions to the
Anthropology programs.
COUNCIL ACTION: For information only
Under the authority delegated from Council to approve options in programs, new program names, minor
program changes and other curricular changes, the Academic Programs Committee reports approval of
the following:
College of Arts & Science: approval of revisions to the Anthropology programs
At the January 27, 2005 Council Meeting, the Academic Programs Committee reported that it had
approved revisions to the Anthropology program for a limited time, with the condition that the College of
Arts and Science review the resources for this program and submit additional program revisions to the
Academic Programs Committee of Council by May, 2007. The revisions were expected to show 1) how
the program could be made sustainable and viable; 2) how teaching loads of faculty can be reduced to a
level conducive to permitting increased research activity of the faculty; and 3) how increased involvement
of other anthropologists in the college and in STM (and elsewhere on campus) in designing the program
and teaching in its core areas can be achieved.
On September 27, 2007, it was brought to the attention of the College of Arts and Science that the
proposal for the program revisions had not been received. Shortly afterward, the Academic Programs
Committee of University Council (APC) received a report from Associate Dean Stoicheff, outlining the
College’s intentions. The Head of the Department of Religious Studies and Anthropology, Dr. B. Sinha,
also submitted a report, describing the current state of the Anthropology program from his and the
department’s perspective. In order to ensure that the APC had a clear understanding of all the information
provided, both Drs. Stoicheff and Sinha were invited to address the committee and to respond to
questions, on February 29, 2008.
After careful consideration of the available information, the following motion was approved:
That the current Anthropology program lacks viability, and none of the requisite
expectations associated with the current program's limited approval is being met. The
College of Arts and Science is instructed to, before May 01, 2008, submit a collegeapproved proposal for a revised and vibrant undergraduate Anthropology program that
will satisfy the conditions identified in the University Council motion from January 10,
2005. The program proposal must demonstrate that the necessary resources will be
available to allow effective delivery of the program. Failure to meet this deadline will
prompt the Academic Programs Committee to consider termination of the current
Anthropology program.
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Carried unanimously
1 abstention
The Academic Programs Committee is convinced that high-quality programs and scholarship within the
field of anthropology are absolutely essential for the University of Saskatchewan to achieve its goals.
The Academic Programs Committee agrees that the revised program submitted by the College of Arts &
Science is responsive to the Committee’s concerns.
At its meeting on May 1, 2008, APC approved these revisions by passing the following motion:
The Academic Programs Committee recognizes the additional resources the College of Arts and
Science has mobilized for this program and removes the conditions imposed in 2005. The APC
also approves the minor revisions to the Anthropology program effective July 1, 2008.
Carried unanimously
1 abstention
Attached is the documentation received from the College regarding the program changes and memos from
anthropologists across campus who are supportive of this program direction.\
ATTACHED:
Proposal documentation; letters from anthropologists.
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