January 30, 2026
The Carleton University Senate met in person on January 30, 2026. Here are some highlights from the meeting:
Fall 2025 Enrolment Report
Suzanne Blanchard, Vice-President (Students & Enrolment) and University Registrar, provided an update on Fall 2025 enrolment numbers and admission statistics. Overall domestic undergraduate enrolment remains stable with modest increases between 2024 and 2025. Domestic enrolment for Masters students has increased, and PhD enrolment remains stable. Carleton is implementing a number of initiatives to respond to continuing declines in international enrolment, including early offers, a 12-month four-year housing guarantee for international students and a new international tuition structure which would ensure predictability and stability from 2026 to 2029.
New Engineering Program Approved
Senate approved the introduction of a new undergraduate program in Systems Security Engineering, to begin in Fall of 2027. This four-year Bachelor of Engineering program (five-years with COOP) focuses on the analysis, evaluation and design of secure computer communications and distributed systems.
Major Modifications
Senate approved a total of 34 major modifications including the following:
- Closure of the Certificate in Multidisciplinary Studies in Mental Health & Well-Being
- Closure of the type 3 Graduate Diploma in Work and Labour
- Closure of the Graduate Diploma and Concentration in Indigenous Policy & Administration
- Deletion of the Minor and Concentration in Drama Studies
- Major modifications to PhD programs in Computer Science, Mathematic & Statistics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Engineering, and Physics
- Addition of the collaborative specialization in Data Science to the MASc programs in Mechanical, Aerospace and Materials Engineering
- Introduction of the stream in Financial Planning to the B. Com. program
Suspension of Program Admissions
Senate was informed of the upcoming suspension of admissions (in Fall 2026) for the MBA weekday in-person program and for the Graduate Diploma (Type 2 & 3) in Architectural Conservation. Admissions to these programs are to be suspended for two admission cycles; any subsequent modifications related to program reinstatement or closure will be brought to Senate for approval.
Senate Approves new Engineering Faculty Board Constitution
In 2023, Senate passed a motion requiring all disciplinary Faculties to revise their constitutions to support the transfer of authority for graduate curriculum approvals from the former FGPA to the Faculties. Using a standardized template to ensure consistency, a new Engineering Faculty Board Constitution was created in accordance with this directive, and was approved by Senate with support from the Engineering Faculty Board and the Senate Academic Governance Committee.
Senator Spotlight: Gabriel Wainer
Gabriel Wainer is a Professor in the Department of Systems & Computer Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering & Design at Carleton. He is also Director of the Advanced Real-Time Simulation Lab, a cutting-edge Modeling and Simulation Research lab at Carleton. His research interests include DEVS formalism, Real-Time modelling, Cellular models, Modelling and simulation methodologies and tools. Professor Wainer is an expert in forest fire modeling and simulation, cyber-physical systems, modeling wireless networks, high performance computing, and geospatial modeling and simulation.
Professor Wainer is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Enabling the Modeling and Simulation Discipline and 2022 McLeod Founder Award for distinguished service to the profession from the Society for Modelling and Simulation International (SCS). He is a Fellow of SCS and received an IEEE Outstanding Engineering Award (Ottawa Section) in 2019, for contributions to the field of discrete-event modeling and simulation.
Professor Wainer has served on Senate since 2023 and is currently the Chair of the Senate Review Committee.