The Senate meets monthly to discuss and vote on UBC academic matters. But, Senate can often be hard to understand for the average student and the agenda docket can be super long and dull to read.
Senate Recentred is written by members of the Student Senate Caucus to demystify Senate by giving students a snapshot of what Senate is doing this month.
Here’s what to expect at the November 15 Senate meeting.
The upcoming meeting will be the first under the leadership of UBC’s new President, Benoit-Antoine Bacon, who began his role on November 1.
Student Priorities
Earlier this year, student Senators worked together to create a document detailing student priorities for the next 3-year cycle of Senate. If approved, goals will be distributed to committees for their consideration, including:
- Investing in undergraduate research
- Expanding co-op and experiential learning opportunities, especially for international students
- Implementing 24/7 library access
- Considering ways to facilitate hybrid education
The full document can be found here.
New Academic Offerings and Research Chair Position
The Senate will vote to approve 13 new courses, including courses on the Hong Kong diaspora in Canada, Indigenous food systems in Canada, and Intensive Beginner’s French. A new non-credit program certificate in Artificial Intelligence in Digital Media is also up for approval.
With wildfires on the rise in BC, the Senate will also vote on the creation of a new position called the Koerner Chair for Wildfire Coexistence at UBC. If approved, the chairholder will lead work on adapting forestry practices to the changing climate and building community resilience.
The granting of degrees and diplomas to students graduating next week will also be formally approved.
Next month’s Senate meeting will be on December 13th.
If you have questions for the Student Senate Caucus, you can email co-chairs Kareem Hassib at kareem.hassib@ubc.ca and Kamil Kanji at vpacademic@ams.ubc.ca.