Carleton University Senate Academic Emergency Response Committee

 
November 12, 2010

To: Senate
From: Brian Mortimer, Associate Vice-President (Academic)

Re: Report of the Senate Academic Emergency Response Committee

The Senate Academic Emergency Response Committee (SAERC) met on November 13, 2010 to
discuss academic responses to potential labour disruptions.

A. Academic Response to Labour Disruption

The circumstances surrounding a strike are complex. The key factors are: (i) the union or unions
involved, (ii) the length of the strike and (iii) the placement of the strike in the term. The particular
academic response will depend fundamentally on all those factors. With three bargaining units
involved, there are at least 63 different scenarios that may arise.

In addition, the response will have to be specified using the available resources. For example, there
is a limit to the number of simultaneous classes imposed by the number and size of classrooms.

SAERC decided that it was essential to agree on the high-level principles that would be used to
guide the planning. The particular response would respect these principles and also attend to the
specific circumstances.

B. Principles Informing an Academic Response Plan

In making the academic response to such a situation the following principles are critical:

1. The quality and requirements of each program and degree must be maintained.
2. The reputation and quality of our graduates must be preserved.
3. The intended number of terms to graduation shall be respected though the date of
graduation may be adjusted.
4. In parallel to any special response plan, students will continue to have accesses to
established processes for petitions, appeals and exceptions with prioritization on an urgency
basis.
5. The academic terms will maintain their sequential integrity:
a. One term will end with all evaluations complete before starting the next;
b. The prerequisite requirements leading from term to term must be preserved;
c. The integrity of the course registration process shall be maintained while allowing for
adaptation of important deadlines.
6. Courses will be completed with the following requirements:
a. There shall be no change in the quality of work required for each grade;
b. The specific elements used for academic assessment may change but must be
reasonable and appropriate. An approval process in each faculty will be required for
such changes;
c. Students shall receive their allowed academic accommodations such as for disability;
d. Graduate thesis, research essay and research project examinations shall be
completed with established standards;
e. Undergraduate honours thesis, essay and project examinations shall be completed
with established standards.
7. It is essential to communicate to the university community, clearly and quickly, both status
and modifications of the academic response plan.