University Council met again today for the second time this year. On top of the motions passed at today’s meeting (which I will get to later), two important issues were brought up during Council’s meeting: the absence of Vice President (Research) Dennis Fitzpatrick and the university’s ethics regarding international student recruitment.
Early in the meeting, President Timmons was questioned as to whether or not Fitzpatrick had been fired or not. Timmons said, “I’m not able to about personnel issues at this time because I’m in discussion with Dennis … that’s not appropriate for me as president to do,” but Rod Kelln has been confirmed as filling in the role of VP Research for the time being. “We have senior administrators who move all the time, or who leave the office for a short period of time and come back, so I’m not going to talk at this point about personnel issues that are normal operations of the university,” said Timmons. However, the timing of Fitzpatrick’s absence should be noted in relation to the numerous scandals the University of Regina has been involved in lately.
Then towards the end of the meeting, a point of information regarding the university’s ethics in international student recruitment was brought up by Faculty of Arts Associate Dean Cameron Louis. Even though Timmons said that “our admissions criteria [are] very clear” and that the university “meet[s] national standards for admissions on language”, the item calls for establishing a policy on international recruitment that reexamines the linguistic requirements of international students because charging a student out the ass and then failing them not because of their intellectual abilities but because they lack the linguistic skills necessary to succeed here is kind of a shitty thing to do.
“We put resources and support in for international students, and we will be reassessing whether we need to put more,” said Timmons.
Furthermore, the item calls for more of the revenue generated but international students’ tuition be used in aiding the linguistic development of international students who are currently enrolled and may need the aid to academically succeed.
In terms of boring meeting things that happened today, the motions that were passed include allowing the recording of University Council meetings, establishing the Special Committee of Council, creating terms of reference for the Budget Committee of Council, creating the Academic Committee of Council, establishing regular meetings of University Council (at least once per fall and winter semester), and basically clarifying who calls the shots between University Council and Executive of Council. The two committees created at today’s meeting, the Special Committee of Council and Academic Committee of Council, will review the rules and regulations of University Council and help to protect the university’s academic mission, i.e. make sure this place doesn’t functionally turn into a technical school.
The next meeting of University Council is currently undecided but will take place during the next fall semester.
“The item calls for establishing a policy on international recruitment that reexamines the linguistic requirements of international students because charging a student out the ass and then failing them not because of their intellectual abilities but because they lack the linguistic skills necessary to succeed here is kind of a shitty thing to do.”
BOOM! Game, set, match.