The Senate met fully in person on February 28, 2025, for the first time in exactly five years. Over 60 voting members and 15 observers attended.
Here are the highlights:
Over 1,300 Carleton Degrees Approved
Senate has approved the graduation of 794 undergraduate students and 575 graduate students for Winter 2025 graduation. The university congratulates all successful graduates and outstanding students and looks forward to celebrating their achievements at this year’s Spring Convocation.
Update on University Funding
Pauline Rankin, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), presented an overview of government funding to the Senate. It was emphasized that Ontario currently provides the lowest provincial funding per domestic full-time student, with Carleton receiving only $8,000 per student on average. The presentation also detailed the budget model for distributing funds within the university, including allocations to Faculties, academic departments, and university-wide shared services.
Senate Approves the Faculty Board Constitution of FPGA
Following a Senate motion on June 2, 2023 and subsequent restructuring of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGPA), all disciplinary Faculties were instructed to revise their Faculty Board Constitutions and processes to facilitate their assumption of authority for graduate curriculum.
Using a standardized template to ensure consistency, the Faculty of Public and Global Affairs (FPGA) Faculty Board Constitution was revised, reviewed by the Senate Academic Governance Committee (SAGC), and approved by the FPGA Faculty Board, before being approved at Senate.
Quality Assurance & Cyclical Reviews
Senate approved the Final Assessment Reports and Executive Summaries from the Cyclical Reviews of the undergraduate and graduate programs in Business and Journalism.
Undergraduate and Graduate Major Modifications
The Senate approved the deletion of seven undergraduate programs in Canadian Studies due to a significant decline in enrollment and a shortage of faculty to teach the required courses. Moving forward, resources will be focused on the Master’s program and the Heritage and Conservation Minor, where interest remains relatively strong.
Fourteen other major modifications to undergraduate and graduate programs were also approved in an omnibus motion, effective Fall 2025, including:
- The introduction of undergraduate Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities
- The Introduction of Collaborative Specialization in Climate Change to the MPPA program
- The change in graduate diploma name to European, Russian and Eurasian Studies
- The deletion of BEng: Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering Streams A & B
- The deletion of Graduate Diploma in Economic Policy
Senate Approves Revised Co-op Policy
The Senate approved the revised Co-operative Education Option Policy, following a recommendation from the Senate Quality Assurance and Planning Committee (SQAPC).
Key changes to the policy include:
- Academic departments, units, and schools must notify Co-operative Education in writing about new or existing co-op options 15 months before the intended start date.
- The Office of the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Academic) will assist in guiding faculties through the necessary elements of Carleton University’s Institutional Quality Assurance Process.
Senate Approves Disestablishment of Senate Library Committee
Based on the recommendation of the Senate Academic Governance Committee (SAGC), Senate has approved the disestablishment of the Senate Library Committee. As a result, the Senate Review Committee’s Terms of Reference will be amended to include an annual review of the University Library Report before it is presented to the Senate.
Senator Spotlight: Edward Cyr
Dr. Edward Cyr joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as an Instructor in 2021. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Waterloo, where he worked in the Computational Mechanics Research Lab under Dr. Kaan Inal. After completing his PhD., Edward became the inaugural McCain Postdoctoral Fellow in Innovation at the University of New Brunswick. There, he collaborated with Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi at the Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence to develop computational models for the thermo-mechanical behavior of additively manufactured metals, focusing on applications in the marine and aerospace industries. Outside of his professional work, Edward is an avid curler and has won silver and gold medals at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships while at the University of Waterloo. Learn more about Edward.