Undergraduate Academic Programs Committee

The Committee consists of:

• the Associate Dean – Academic (Chair);
• the undergraduate program chair or equivalent of each engineering program as appointed by a department head;
• the chair of the General Engineering courses committee, as appointed by the Associate Dean Academic
• one representative from each undergraduate academic option that is not specific to one program as appointed by the Associate – Dean Academic ;
• one full-time undergraduate student as designated by the Associate Dean Academic; and
• a staff member providing administrative leadership to the undergraduate program as designated by the Director, Engineering Student Centre (ex-officio and non-voting).

In accordance with Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board criteria and procedures, the majority of committee members are expected to be engineers licensed in Canada, preferably in Saskatchewan. The Chair of UAPC must be an engineer licensed in Canada.

Administrative support for the Committee will be provided by the Engineering Student Centre.

It is essential to the Committee’s work that each program be represented at each discussion. The representative shall send a delegate to the meeting if he or she cannot attend. Delegates shall have voting rights, but shall not count towards quorum.

Consistent with the University of Saskatchewan Learning Charter and College of Engineering planning documents, the principles that govern the committee work include:

• ensuring programs prepare students for professional and academic careers, graduate studies and leadership roles;
• ensuring that course content is current, accurate, relevant to course objectives, representative of the body of knowledge covered in the course, and appropriate to the position of the course within the program of studies in which it is embedded;
• developing and grounding programs and curricula in ways that are socially relevant, adaptive, and responsive, and that will facilitate engagement with the relevant community; and
• evaluating programs and curricula against the Learning Vision and Learning Goals identified in the Learning Charter, and reviewing and adapting these on an ongoing basis.

The Committee, under the direction of the Chair, is responsible for fulfilling its mandate by undertaking activities including but not limited to:

• ensuring courses and programs meet accreditation standards and other measures of program quality;
• overseeing curriculum planning and curriculum design initiatives in undergraduate programs;
• supporting the continuous improvement of the quality of engineering education;
• reviewing and evaluating curricula to ensure alignment with College goals and priorities;
• overseeing the development and maintenance of accurate course descriptions; and
• providing advice to the Associate Dean – Academic regarding transfer articulation and block transfer agreements.

Chair:

The Chair of UAPC is responsible for:

• ensuring the Committee operates in accordance with its Terms of Reference, other Faculty Council and University Council bylaws and within University policy;
• requesting the presence of non-committee members as needed;
• representing the UAPC at Faculty Council meetings; and
• coordinating work with the Student Academic Affairs Committee, as necessary.

Program Chair or Option Representatives:

In addition to the Committee responsibilities, each member is responsible for:

• representing the program/option in UAPC discussions;
• facilitating discussion and engagement in the UAPC’s work with faculty delivering the program or option.

Student Representative:

In addition to the Committee responsibilities, the student representative is responsible for providing an undergraduate student perspective into the committee’s discussion.

The UAPC is responsible for approving and submitting to University Council’s Academic Programs Committee the College’s recommendations on:

• special topic courses;
• course and program catalogue;
• new courses;
• courses deletions; and
• minor program revisions.

The UAPC is responsible for making recommendation to Faculty Council regarding major program revision and the creation or deletion of programs.

The Faculty Council Chair and the UAPC Chair shall jointly determine whether a program revision is major or minor.

The UAPC shall consult with Faculty Council as the Committee Chair deems necessary. The UAPC shall report all committee decisions at the next Faculty Council meeting.