S-01-26 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, January 8, 2002 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-01-23, S-01-25 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA Prof. Mucci moved, seconded by Prof. Sieber that the Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF DECEMBER 4, 2001 S-01-23 Mr. Kapeluto moved, seconded by Mr. Farrell that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES 503.1 There was no business arising from the Minutes of December 4, 2001. - Minutes of November 12, 2001 (S-01-20) - Minute 304.9, Nomenclature in Arts Programs 503.2 Associate Dean Mendelson said that after a very close vote, Senate had denied the Faculty of Arts' proposal to drop the term "Concentration" from its programs. - Minutes 304.2 to 304.6, CGPA Calculation After Inter- Faculty Transfer (AC-01-8[Rev2]) 503.3 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the new policy adopted by Faculty would be implemented in September 2003, not in September 2002, because of difficulty implementing the policy earlier with the new student information system. (4) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Committee on Student Standing (CSS) S-01-24 504.1 Due to lack of business, there was no CSS report. b) Academic Committee S-01-25 SECTION A: NEW PROGRAMS None SECTION B: MAJOR PROGRAM CHANGES Physiology - Faculty Program in Physiology AC-01-55 - Major Program in Physiology AC-01-56 - Honours Program in Physiology AC-01-57 Prof. Sieber moved, seconded by Mr. Misra, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. SECTION C: NEW COURSES None SECTION D: MAJOR COURSE CHANGES None SECTION E: MINOR PROGRAM CHANGES Mathematics & Statistics - Honours Program in Applied Mathematics AC-01-51 - Honours Program in Mathematics AC-01-52 Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Prof. Schmidt, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. SECTION F: Other (1) McGill School Of Environment - Ability of MSE Students to Take Minors & Electives on the Macdonald Campus AC-01-46/46A/46B 504.2 Associate Dean Mendelson explained that the Faculty of Science had a policy that Science students were not allowed to take more than 18 credits outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science. The only exception to this had been students taking the Minor in Management, who were permitted to take the 21 Management credits required to complete the Minor. When the MSE was implemented, a further exception was created for MSE students, who were permitted to take as many credits at the Macdonald Campus as were required to fulfil their MSE program; if this number of credits exceeded 18, these students were not permitted to take any more credits outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science. The Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences had proposed that the 18-credit limit should be waived for MSE students. The Academic Committee had approved the compromise that Macdonald credits required for completion of MSE programs would not count towards the 18-credit limit. 504.3 After several questions, Prof. Sieber moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that MSE students be permitted to take up to 18 credits of approved courses at Macdonald Campus beyond the requirements of their MSE programs. The motion carried. (2) Reassessment/Reread Policy AC-01-9(Rev3) - Guidelines: Departmental Reassessment Policies AC-01-41(Rev1) 504.4 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the reassessment/reread policy had to be revised, because the current version contained restrictions that were not in the Charter of Student Rights. 504.5 After some questions concerning "..the appropriateness of the grading scheme.." (AC-01-41[Rev1]) and the definition of "grading scheme," it was agreed to table the item to a future Faculty meeting. (3) Including Term-Offered Information in Calendar AC-01-59 (For Information) 504.6 Associate Dean Mendelson said that in order to provide additional information to students, in the Faculty of Science section of the Calendar the terms in which courses are offered would be included with the course information, as outlined in Option #1 of Document AC-01- 59. The exact placement of the terms would be decided at a later date. 504.7 It was agreed that term information should be presented as unambiguously as possible. A member mentioned that for the sake of international students, it would be better to use "Autumn" than "Fall." Another member pointed out that beginning students sometimes confuse term nomenclature, e.g., believing that the September term is "Winter." SECTION G: Other (For Information Only) Mathematics & Statistics B.A. Program Changes: - Honours Program in Applied Mathematics AC-01-53 - Honours Program in Mathematics AC-01-54 c) Other Reports or Academic Business - LETTER GRADES IN BANNER: 504.8 Prof. Baines moved, seconded by Prof. ThÇrien, that the Faculty of Science pass a resolution recommending that the University adopt a grade of A+ with both A+ and A grades having a GPA value of 4.0, and with the range of A+ being from 93% to 100%. 504.9 Prof. Baines said that with the introduction of Banner, numerical grades would no longer appear on student transcripts. Under the GPA system, a grade of 85% would appear to be exactly the same as a grade of 100%. Prof. Baines said that the current time was probably the last opportunity to redress this fundamental flaw in the GPA system. 504.10 Prof. Lennox moved, seconded by Prof. Mucci, an amendment that the range of A+ be from 90% to 100%. 504.11 After some discussion, members voted on the above amendment. 12 For 13 Against The amendment was defeated. 504.12 Following some further discussion, Associate Dean Mendelson called for a quorum. 504.13 Insufficient members were present to comprise a quorum. Consequently, Dean Shaver adjourned the meeting, saying that the remaining business would be dealt with at a future meeting. The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.