Vice-President Academic & Provost Rhonda Lenton and Vice-President Finance & Administration Gary Brewer have issued the following update on the Academic & Administrative Program Review:
York’s Academic & Administrative Program Review (AAPR) is a key component of the University’s strategy to identify opportunities that will assist us in closing what has become an unsustainable financial gap between our revenues and expenditures. It also supports our ongoing efforts to transition to a new budget model that is built on transparency around revenue and costs for programs and services. AAPR is a timely intervention in the context of the government’s discussions with universities and colleges regarding their Strategic Mandate Agreements, and in particular, the institutional metrics that are being discussed to assess progress towards priorities.
In keeping with our plans to develop an approach made for York, input continues to be sought on AAPR through Senate and its committees, through regular community information sessions, and through the website. Several subgroups have been established to support the Steering Committee that has responsibility for the administration of AAPR. These include a Nomination Review Group, a data management group, and two groups who are working on the program information forms. They are described below.
Academic sub-group to AAPR Steering Committee
This eight member group includes four members of the AAPR Steering Committee, two APPRC (Senate’s Academic Policy, Planning and Research Committee) members, and two members of Senate. This group is working on the Academic Program Information Form (PIF).
The creation of this sub-group reflects the important role of Senate in academic policy and planning. Senators are uniquely positioned to contribute to the discussion of academic issues, especially those that impact on the University as a whole. Community feedback to date has been incorporated into the Academic Program Information Form. Discussions are ongoing with the Division of the Vice-President Research & Innovation; a final version will include all research related feedback as well as new input from the community and feedback from the Academic sub-group. The revised Academic PIF will also come to Senate in February for discussion before it is distributed to academic programs.
Administrative sub-group to AAPR Steering
This seven member group includes four members of AAPR Steering, and three members of York’s administration. The administrative sub-group continues to work on the Administrative PIF, incorporating feedback from the community and ensuring that questions and criteria will capture valuable information to be considered by the Task Force. Efforts are also being made to ensure alignment with the Academic PIF.
Detailed membership lists of both sub-groups can be found on YU Link. The original draft Academic and Administrative Program Information Forms (PIF) remain on YU Link with revised versions expected to be posted at least one week before the Feb. 27 Senate meeting. Final versions of both Program Information Forms are targeted for release to authors and on YU Link March 3.
Authors and program lists
Divisional leaders and deans are in the process of appointing authors. Authors will complete Program Information Forms for each program identified on the program lists. A final list of appointed authors will be made available on YU Link. Training is being developed to support authors in PIF completion; and will be delivered in early March 2014.
We are pleased to announce the release of the draft program lists with combined input from the community, now available on YU Link. There are two lists, one for academic programs, the other for administrative programs. Feedback continues to be collected on these lists, which are expected to be finalized by mid-February 2014.
Task Force Nominations
The Call for Task Force nominations has been extended to Feb. 14, to allow for clarification of summer vacation accommodation. Nominations to participate on either the Academic or Administrative Task Force can be submitted on YU Link. The expected time commitment is four days per week, from June to August 2014, however to accommodate summer vacations and/or conference commitments, we ask that all task force members be prepared to carry their work into September 2014.
Academic participants will be provided with a 1.0 FCE release, and students will receive an honorarium. Staff support is available to facilitate the participation of non-academic employees. Please visit YU Link to find additional details on support available to employees participating on the Academic or Administrative Task Forces. We encourage all eligible employees to nominate either themselves or their colleagues, and to support the University in this critical process. The nomination form is available now on YU Link.
The Administrative Task Force has 14 positions available: four tenured faculty members, eight full-time non-academic staff, two students (one full-time graduate, one full-time undergraduate). Nominations of associate deans and former deans are welcome for the Administrative Task Force; however other senior administrative positions (VP, AVP, Dean, and Board of Governors) are not eligible for membership.
The Academic Task Force has 14 positions available: 12 tenured faculty members, two students (one full-time graduate, one full-time undergraduate). Those that hold senior administrative positions (VP, AVP, Dean, Associate Dean, and Board of Governors) are not eligible for membership.
Community information sessions
Updates and new information on the Academic and Administrative Program Review are posted in YU Link. We encourage all community members to visit regularly and to connect with us at an upcoming community information session. Questions and responses will be posted to YU Link after each session.
- Feb. 28, from 12 to 1:30pm in the Winters Dining Hall, Winters College, Keele Campus
- March 21, from 12 to 1:30pm in the BMO Conference Centre, Glendon Hall, Glendon College