AGENDA ___
PROVOST’S REPORT TO COUNCIL
June 2011
INTEGRATED PLANNING
Provost’s Committee on Integrated Planning (PCIP)
On 16 May and 6 June, PCIP finalized its consideration of proposals from commitment leaders
related to Academic Innovation, completing our investment in priority area 1 from the second
planning cycle – improving the undergraduate and graduate student experience, both inside and
outside the classroom, accomplished, in part, by increasing access to research and scholarship
and linking learning with discovery.
Reflecting the importance of this priority, PCIP has committed more than $2 million in
permanent funding and more than $1 million in term funding from the Academic Priorities Fund
to support these initiatives as part of a co-ordinated strategy of support for innovation in
academic programs and community engagement. In particular, support for colleges undertaking
curriculum renewal and redesign will be solidified and augmented, as well as co-ordinated
through the University Learning Centre and the office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and
Learning. University-community engagement, particularly with Aboriginal communities, will be
strengthened through additional and related investments. Services for Aboriginal students will be
supported through investment in the Aboriginal Student Centre in Student Enrolment Services
Division. A new model of student advising will also promote student success and retention,
notably in the College of Arts and Science. Support for student involvement in university
research is also part of the package. Further details will be available in coming weeks.
Reporting on Progress of the Second Integrated Plan
The office of Institutional Planning and Assessment released the third Report on Progress (20102011) for the Second Integrated Plan. The report was informed by the planning parameters
meetings with the colleges and composed in consultation with the Planning and Priorities
Committee.
In addition to the report, I recently completed a series of meetings with commitment leaders to
hear about key accomplishments and challenges over the second planning cycle. I now have a
better understanding of the work that has been completed and the progress made in each
commitment. These meetings also allowed me an opportunity to provide feedback in order to aid
the commitment leaders in the final year of their mandates. I continue to be pleased to see the
level of progress across these commitments improved with the thoughtfulness, quality and
creativity of the campus community.
A workshop for commitment leaders is scheduled for 22 June to discuss the strengths and
challenges of the commitment leader implementation model we used for this planning cycle. A
similar discussion will take place with deans and unit leaders in the fall.
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Development of the Third Integrated Plan
The final two Areas of Focus workshops were held on 12 and 25 May. These workshops were
designed to facilitate the sharing of ideas between colleges, schools and units in each of the four
areas. The four workshops were well attended by faculty, staff and students from across campus
(about 200 in total). The conversations revealed a large number of initiatives with the four areas
of focus that are planned or already underway.
To obtain a list of the ideas generated at these workshops, please contact Kyla Shea, Strategic
Planning and Projects Officer at kyla.shea@usask.ca.
Faculty Complement Foundational Document
I thank Jim Germida, Vice-Provost Faculty Relations, and the steering committee for their work
in bringing forward to University Council for input the last of our foundational documents: the
Faculty Complement Foundational Document. Attached later in this package with a brief
discussion guide, this document is now ready for feedback from the academic community.
Comments can be directed directly to the steering committee by emailing kyla.shea@usask.ca or
by completing the online feedback form at www.usask.ca/ip/inst_planning/foundational_docs.
U15
I am pleased to announce that the University of Saskatchewan has joined with other researchintensive Canadian universities as a member of U15 – the group formerly known as the G13.
Our membership in this group gives further substance to our aspirations for ‘an honourable place
among the best’ as our founding president, Walter Murray, envisioned.
In tandem with this membership, we have also secured membership in the U15 Data Exchange –
a body that facilitates the exchange of datasets and information among its members. This will
give us access to highly-valuable, previously unattainable, peer-benchmarking data, which we
can use to inform our planning activities and performance monitoring. We are still in the early
stages of membership and more information about the U15 Data Exchange will be forthcoming
shortly.
Survey Co-ordination
The Framework for Assessment: Beyond Systematic Program Review charges the IPA to coordinate surveys on campus and to administer a number of institution-wide surveys. Over the
past academic year the IPA conducted a handful of major institutional surveys (most included in
previous reports to council). The IPA also assisted a number of committees, colleges and units in
various aspects of coordination, development and administration of their own surveys. The
following table illustrates a summary of the surveys that the IPA has been involved with over the
past academic year.
Survey Name
Survey Description
Administration
Date
Results
IPA Surveys
Canadian University
Survey Consortium
(CUSC)
Provides information on undergraduate student experiences
and concerns. Survey runs on a 3-year cycle, with different
student populations targeted each year: first-year,
undergraduate, and graduating students.
January
IPA website
National Survey of
Student Engagement
(NSSE)
Assesses first-year and senior student levels of engagement
in educationally effective activities.
February / March
IPA website
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Globe & Mail Canadian
University Report (CUR)
Student Evaluation of
Educational Quality
(SEEQ)
Student Indebtedness
Survey
Provides student feedback about a variety of areas
including academics, buildings and services.
Campus-wide Planning
Survey
To gather key ideas leading to the development of the third
integrated plan.
March
IPA website
Provides feedback on teaching quality and effectiveness,
and evaluation of courses completed.
December and
April
Colleges/
Departments
have results
Survey to all students on student debt and related factors,
concerns over debt and perceived value of PSE.
November /
December
In Progress
October
Released at
Community
Planning
Event
Committee/College/Unit Surveys where IPA Provided Assistance
First-year experience and transition, and how courses and
Arts and Science Firstmajors are chosen.
Year Experience Survey
Survey to all students, faculty, and staff on the need for
Childcare Survey
childcare access on campus.
Health Sciences
Understanding the career mobility of health sciences
Recruitment and
students.
Retention Survey
To determine student health behaviours and needs of
National College Health
students.
Assessment (NCHA)
To understand the experience of OCDL students and
Off-campus Distributed
Learning (OCDL) Survey potential areas for improvement.
To determine the effectiveness of information technology
TechQUAL Survey
services for students and employees.
November
January
October
March
November
February/March
Committee
has results
Committee
has results
College/Unit
has results
College/Unit
has results
College/Unit
has results
College/Unit
has results
As part of our ongoing co-ordination efforts, IPA met with a number of colleges and units to
discuss survey co-ordination. We discussed major survey plans at the college and unit level for
the 2011/12 academic year. IPA also shared its experiences conducting and administering
surveys and provided an update on their plans. A list of the various surveys planned for 2011/12
and will be posted online by September: www.usask.ca/ip.
Reviews
Since the adoption of A Framework for Assessment, several academic and administrative units
have completed the review process. This September, I will update you on reviews planned for
the forthcoming year. For this report, I will remind you that we completed a review of
Information Technology Services and the College of Dentistry this past year. Earlier in the year,
the reviews of undergraduate student advising also wrapped up. More information on these
reviews and others can be found at www.usask.ca/ip/assessment/reviews.
The academic review of graduate programs is one of the priorities for assessment at the
University of Saskatchewan. Several graduate programs are in the final stages of the first year of
the graduate program review process. More information will be presented by Dean Martz in the
fall. In the meantime, details on the GPR process can be found at www.usask.ca/gpr.
Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ)
The administration of Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) instructor/course
evaluations for term two was completed in April. Over 700 courses in 33
departments/colleges/schools were evaluated using the online version of SEEQ. The overall
response rate was approximately 35%. All students submitting their evaluations were
automatically entered into a draw for gift cards for the Campus Computer Store or Bookstore.
Seventeen prize winners have been selected and informed. In our continued efforts to improve
the administration of SEEQ on campus, IPA is in the process of holding discussion sessions with
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deans, department heads and department administrators to learn what is working well and areas
where improvements are needed. IPA will also discuss ways to increase response rates from
students. Members of council are encouraged to view the documentation provided on this topic
at the IPA website: www.usask.ca/ip/assessment/seeq.
UNIVERSITY REVIEW COMMITTEE’S (URC) REVIEW OF STANDARDS FOR
PROMOTION AND TENURE
Recent changes in the collective agreement allow faculty to go forward for promotion at any
time (2007-2009) and created a new academic appointment category known as academic
programming (AP) appointments (2010-2013). The 2007-2009 agreement also provided for a
review of standards in the College of Medicine for clinical faculty assessed under category 5practice of professional skills. The nature of academic programming (AP) appointments
required development of standards for promotion and tenure.
Over the past 24 months the University Review Committee (URC) has reviewed proposed
changes to college standards and proposed standards for academic programming (AP)
appointments. Many colleges submitted proposed revisions to their standards and the School of
Environment & Sustainability (SENS) and the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public
Policy (SGSPP) have proposed their first set of standards for promotion and tenure. Proposed
standards for academic programming (AP) appointments were submitted by the colleges of
agriculture and bioresources, kinesiology, engineering, medicine, nursing and the ESB. The
URC expects to have completed its review and approval of proposed revisions and new standards
by 1 July 2011.
WIRELESS ACCESS CHANGE
In order to provide greater protection for our faculty, staff and students who use wireless services
on campus, the unencrypted service offered through the SSID “uofs” is no longer available. Use
of the encrypted SSID "uofs-secure" is recommended for all members of the campus community.
Some equipment may not be able to use the "uofs-secure" wireless network because of
technological limitations. These users can use the SSID “guest”, bearing in mind that “guest”
provides an unencrypted connection that may be subject to inherent security issues.
Instructions for configuring a wireless device to use the "uofs-secure" service can be found at
http://www.usask.ca/its/services/networks/setup_guides/. Further information about this service
change or assistance in dealing with it can be obtained from college or unit IT support staff or
from the ITS Help Desk in Arts 70 or the Murray Learning Commons.
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