Senate Agenda - EXHIBIT III - March 15, 2002

REPORT OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNIVERSITY PLANNING (SCUP)

FOR APPROVAL

1. First-Entry Undergraduate Enrolment for 2002-2003

A. Recommended:

1. a) That the first-entry undergraduate enrolment objective for 2002-2003 be set at 4,500 students and that the approximate program-specific objectives be as described in Appendix 1.

b) That the 4,500 first-year student target be developed with an objective that 80% of the class be 'first-time' OAC students.

c) That the Provost be granted permission to alter this enrolment objective, following consultation and approval from SUEPP, as might be appropriate given the particulars of a government funding announcement.

d) That the entrance requirements be set by the Provost to achieve these objectives as a function of final admission numbers, qualifications of applicants, and estimates of the rate of offer confirmations in each program.

e) That no program-specific entrance requirement be set below 78% except where performance is a major element of the selection process. Confirmed admission to any program will be contingent upon a final average of no less than 74%.

2. That enrolment projections (Attachment 1-6) be used for purposes of tuition revenue estimates in the 2002-2003 University Budget.

Implementation:

Given the experience of recent years and current application figures, there is a possibility that minimum entrance requirements will be higher than 78% in 2002-2003.

The timing of the new application and offer process for OAC students (implemented in 1999-00) is such that early offers are made in March / April when less information is available regarding applicants than was the case prior to 1999-00.

The same framework will be applied to making early offers to OAC students in March / April, 2002, as was the case in the last year. Grade values (highlighted below in bold and italics) will be set as a function of final information regarding applicant qualifications in each program.

Offer will be made if:

The details of this matrix may vary slightly from program to program (e.g., in Music where auditions are an essential part of the admissions process).

Every effort will be made to maintain a single minimum standard of admission across all programs. However, a higher standard may be necessary in Nursing, BACS and Media, Information and Technoculture to meet enrolment targets. Our goal will be to set the same standard for Engineering as for Science, but given the special funding opportunities of the ATOP program, consideration will be given to setting the minimum entrance requirement in Engineering at 78% even if other programs have a marginally higher entrance requirement in 2002-2003.

Our objective is that a minimum of 80% of the first-year class be new OAC students. However, since the ultimate decision to register at Western resides with the student, the 80% figure must be viewed as an objective rather than an imperative.

As indicated in the Senate resolution of Spring of past years, consideration may be given in the admissions process to factors such as performance in program-relevant courses (e.g., mathematics and sciences in Science and Engineering), relevant extra curricular activities, and the academic record of the secondary school.

As was the case in 1999, 2000 and 2001, the period between the availability of initial application information (still not including final year, winter semester applicant grades) and the offer date does not permit an admissions proposal that includes detailed program-specific admissions criteria to be brought to Senate for consideration before initial offers were made.

An additional round of offers will be made in May 2002. Criteria used for those offers will be set as a function of additional information on applicant qualifications and program-specific patterns of acceptance of early offers, but will observe the general entrance requirements established in this recommendation.

B. Affiliated Colleges

Recommended: The Senate approve the following entrance requirements and processes for the Affiliated Colleges for 2002-2003:

Brescia College. Brescia College is targeting a first year class of 275 students in 2002-2003. As is the case at the Constituent University, Brescia College will not set general entrance requirements until more complete information on applicant qualifications is available. On the basis of current information, however, the College tentatively is considering an entrance requirement of 74% for early offers in March- April 2002, and 72% for offers made in May 2002. Irrespective of final applicant qualification information, however, Brescia will set no program entrance requirement lower than 70%. The College will consider individual students with lower grades on the basis of supplementary information forms. No student will be admitted with a final OAC average of less than 68%.

Huron University College. Huron is targeting a first year class of 340 students in 2002-2003. As is the case at the Constituent University, Huron University College will not set general entrance requirements until more complete information on applicant qualifications is available. On the basis of currently available information, however, Huron is anticipating a minimum entrance requirement of 78% for early offers in March / April 2002. No student will be admitted with a final OAC average of less than 75%.

King's College. King's College is targeting a first year class of 895 students in 2002-2003. Timing of offers will follow the process set out by the Constituent University. On the basis of currently available information, and depending on the quality of the applicant pool, King's anticipates a minimum entrance average of 75% for Arts and Social Science and 80% for Childhood and Family Relations. No student will be admitted with a final OAC average of less than 70%.

All Affiliated Colleges will be bound to the entrance requirements established by the Constituent University for limited enrolment programs, including BACS, Media, Information and Technoculture, BHSc, and Kinesiology.

2. Designated Chairs, Professorships, Fellowships

Recommended: That the Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors, through the Vice-Chancellor, that the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) associated Director/Fellow and post-doctoral fellowship be renamed as follows:

That the Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Economic Policy Research Institute be renamed the RBC Financial Group Economic Policy Research Institute (commonly known as the Economic Policy Research Institute or EPRI).

That the Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Fellow & Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) be known as the RBC Financial Group Fellow & Institute Director

The Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Economy be known as the RBC Financial Group Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Economy

Background:

The Royal Bank re-branded in the Fall of 2000 and has asked that their new name, RBC Financial Group, be reflected in the naming opportunities associated with the EPRI, faculty fellowship and post-doctoral fellowship funded by the bank.

FOR INFORMATION

1. Siting and Design - Weldon Expansion Project

The siting and design process for the proposed Weldon Library expansion project continues to develop. This project will be included in the 2002-03 Operating and Capital Plan budget. The two-storey facility will be joined at the south-facing side of the existing Library. A three-dimensional model and large drawing of the building addition are available for viewing at the University Secretariat, Room 290 Stevenson-Lawson Building.

Attached as Appendix 2 is the project rationale provided by Ms. J. Garnett, University Librarian. Shown on Appendix 3 and Appendix 4, are design drawings of the proposed Library addition.


Senate Agenda, March 15, 2002 - EXHIBIT III, Appendix 2

Western Libraries - Storage Facility

Problem: Space for Research Collections vs Space for Students

Western Libraries have created strong collections of research materials over the past 100 years, now numbering 7.5 million items in various formats. Preservation of this rich heritage for future generations of scholars is a priority for the Libraries. Unfortunately, space to house the collections is at a premium. Four of the six libraries in the system (including the largest, The D.B. Weldon Library) are now well beyond their operational shelving capacity, forced to "borrow" space from consultation and study areas to install additional shelving to accommodate the collections. The collections continue to grow, with 40,000 volume equivalents of new materials added each year. Other space requirements have arisen for the Libraries with the recent creation of a University Archives and the urgent need to create student spaces due to forthcoming enrolment pressures from the "increased cohort".

Solution: Storage Facility to House Research Collections and Create Student Spaces

The proposed solution to these space pressures is the construction of a building linked to the Weldon Library to house a high density storage facility for low use library materials and an archives centre for university records, rare books and manuscripts. The storage facility will allow the six libraries to move out materials, thus liberating space for use by students and faculty. The archives centre will accommodate the University Archives, the Benson Special Collections and the Talman Regional Collection. The latter two are now housed in the Weldon Library; moving them to the new structure will free 7500 square feet of space for conversion to student study spaces. With a capacity of over 1.6 million volumes, the new addition will accommodate the storage needs of the Libraries until at least 2025.

Conclusion

The construction of a storage facility will provide an environment for the preservation of research collections and liberate space in the existing libraries for student spaces.

Joyce Garnett
4 March 2002