Committee on Undergraduate Studies (CUGS)

Terms of Reference

Purpose:

The purpose of the Committee on Undergraduate Studies is to provide a forum for the discussion and debate of issues related to the undergraduate programmes of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, to formulate, review and provide operational oversight of policies and Calendar regulations concerning the content and administration of the undergraduate programmes and, on behalf of Faculty Council, to grant or deny requests for waivers of regulations governing the undergraduate programmes in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Scope of Responsibility:

On behalf of the Faculty Council, the Committee on Undergraduate Studies shall have responsibility for proposing:

  1. policies and procedures for admission / readmission to all undergraduate programmes.
  2. Calendar changes and other regulations governing undergraduate programmes, including the addition, modification or deletion of courses, options and programmes.
  3. policies affecting the operation of any undergraduate programme.

The Committee on Undergraduate Studies, either directly or through authority delegated to a subcommittee, shall have responsibility for:

  1. deciding admission and readmission to all undergraduate programmes.
  2. granting or denying requests for waivers of regulations governing undergraduate programmes (as specified in the University Calendar, General Regulation entitled “Waiver of Regulations”), including requests for exemptions from or deferrals of courses or work terms in undergraduate programmes.

Committee Membership

The voting members of the Committee on Undergraduate Studies are:

Ex-officio members:

  • Dean
  • Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies)
  • Associate Dean (Graduate Studies)
  • Director of First Year Engineering
  • Department Heads
  • Director of Engineering Cooperative Education
  • University Registrar
  • Representative of the Council of PEG-NL
  • Chairs of Subcommittees of CUGS (unless otherwise voting members)

and:

  • 1 faculty member elected by each department
  • 1 elected Engineering Academic Staff Member in Cooperative Education
  • 5 academic staff members elected at large by academic staff members
  • 1 student selected by the Undergraduate Engineering Student Society A
  • 1 student selected by the Undergraduate Engineering Student Society B
  • such other members as Faculty Council may, from time to time, decide.

An ex-officio member may be represented by a voting delegate.

The quorum for a meeting of the Committee is six voting members.

Subcommittee Structure

The Committee on Undergraduate Studies (CUGS) shall, at its first meeting in September of each year, elect a Chair and Vice Chair and establish the following subcommittees with the purposes, responsibilities and membership as shown:

1. Executive

The Executive of the CUGS may act on behalf of the CUGS in between meetings of the CUGS, but only with the consent of at least two thirds of the members present. Any decision taken by e-mail poll requires the consent of at least two thirds of all members. It shall report all decisions to the CUGS at the next regular meeting of the CUGS.

The Executive of the CUGS has delegated authority to grant or deny requests for waivers of regulations and/or for exemptions from work terms and/or courses, but only with the consent of at least two thirds of the members present. It shall report a summary of all decisions to the CUGS at the next regular meeting of the CUGS. It shall refer to the CUGS any requests where the agreement of at least two thirds of the members present was not obtained, for a decision by the CUGS.

The Executive of the CUGS may also take action on any issue for which the CUGS has delegated its authority by resolution to the Executive.

The Executive of the CUGS may make recommendations to the CUGS on any issue within the terms of reference of the CUGS. The Executive of the CUGS shall make promotion decisions of undergraduate students and submit recommendations to the Dean on the approval of grades on behalf of Faculty Council and shall report its decisions in summary form back to Faculty Council. [Resolution of Faculty Council, 29-09-2010].

The voting members of the Executive are:

  • Chair of the CUGS (who shall be the Chair of the Executive)
  • Vice Chair of the CUGS (who shall be the Vice Chair of the Executive)
  • Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies)
  • Director of First Year Engineering
  • Department Heads
  • Director of Engineering Cooperative Education
  • University Registrar
  • 1 student selected by the Undergraduate Engineering Student Society

Each voting member may be represented by a voting delegate.

The quorum for a meeting of the Executive is four voting members.

2. Admissions Subcommittee

The Admissions Subcommittee of the CUGS has the delegated authority to decide on the admission or readmission of individual students to undergraduate programmes and for promotion into Academic Term 3, by simple majority vote. It shall report a summary of its decisions to the CUGS at the next regular meeting of the CUGS.

When considering applications for admission or readmission, the Admissions Subcommittee should keep accreditation requirements in mind. For students entering the programme beyond Term 3, evidence of acceptable past work experience is also desirable.

The Admissions Subcommittee of the CUGS shall propose, for consideration by the CUGS, new policies or modifications to existing policies governing the admission and readmission of students to undergraduate programmes.

The voting members of the Admissions Subcommittee are:

  • Chair of the Subcommittee (who shall be elected annually by the CUGS)
  • Chair of the CUGS
  • Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies)
  • Director of First Year Engineering One
  • 1 faculty member from each department
  • Director of Engineering Cooperative Education
  • University Registrar
  • 1 student selected by the Undergraduate Engineering Student Society

Each voting member may be represented by a voting delegate.

Note: the practice has been for many members to choose a delegate to attend meetings of this subcommittee throughout a year.

The quorum for a meeting of the Subcommittee is four voting members.

The Admissions Subcommittee may delegate routine decisions to a smaller group, consisting of the Chair of the Subcommittee, the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and University Registrar (or delegate in each case). 

3. Subcommittee on Academic Integrity (SAI)

The Subcommittee on Academic Integrity shall investigate and recommend strategies to encourage academic integrity.

The voting members of the Subcommittee on Academic Integrity are:

  • Chair of the Subcommittee (faculty member who shall be elected annually by the CUGS)
  • 1 faculty member elected by faculty members
  • 2 students selected by the Undergraduate Engineering Student Society 'A'
  • 2 students selected by the Undergraduate Engineering Student Society 'B'
  • Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies)

The Subcommittee may invite others to attend its meetings.

The Subcommittee may co-opt other individuals to serve on the Subcommittee.

Each voting member may be represented by a voting delegate, (including, for students on work terms, a member of the current student society).

The quorum for a meeting of the Subcommittee is four voting members.

4. Subcommittee for Engineering One, Complementary Studies and Core Courses (Core Committee)

The Subcommittee for Engineering One, Complementary Studies and Core Courses shall

  • provide oversight to the academic issues related to the first year core courses (which includes making changes to courses and submitting recommendations to CUGS);
  • review grades (provide recommendations to the CUGS Executive) and coordinate testing for first year courses;
  • review student progress in the semesters prior to successful transition to Term 3 and make recommendations where appropriate;
  • ensure academic integration with Help Centre and other retention related activities (first year);
  • provide oversight for the academic issues related to the complementary studies stream of courses; and
  • provide oversight for the academic issues related to any other courses deemed to be “common core” by the Committee on Undergraduate Studies.

The voting members of the Subcommittee for Engineering One, Complementary Studies and Core Courses are:

  • Director of First Year Engineering, who shall be the Chair
  • Chair of the CUGS
  • Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies)
  • 1 faculty member from each department (ideally with related experience/interest) Instructors – by invitation each semester but this would normally include the current instructors of first year, complementary studies and common core courses.

5. Other Subcommittees

The Committee on Undergraduate Studies may, by resolution, establish ad hoc subcommittees or working groups as the need arises, with a membership, duration and terms of reference to be specified in that resolution.

Meetings and Reporting

The Committee on Undergraduate Studies shall normally meet monthly (except in April, August and December) and shall provide regular reports to Faculty Council. The Committee may also hold open meetings on any issue when necessary.

This revision approved by Faculty Council on 30-10-2019

Amendments approved by Faculty Council on 30-09-2009, 29-09-2010, 27-20-2010, 26-09-2012, 30-10-2013, 26-03-2014, 28-05-2014, 25-02-2015, 26-10-2016, 25-01-2017, and 28-06-2017

Original Terms of Reference Approved by Faculty Council on 22-02-2006

 

Notes on elections of members of CUGS

Procedures

A single set of ballot papers for each department shall list all candidates across the Faculty in one column and a subset of that list, containing the names of only those candidates who are in that department, in a separate column. Every candidate for a departmental seat is also a candidate for an at-large seat automatically (except where a department has only one candidate). Electors vote for one person in the departmental column and up to five people in the at-large column. In the count, departmental members shall be elected first, then the five other candidates with the highest numbers of faculty-wide votes shall be elected at large. This procedure avoids the nuisance of two separate election processes. If there is no more than one candidate in a department, then only the at-large list shall appear on the ballot for that department. In the event that there is at least one candidate from each department but no more than ten candidates in total, then there shall be no ballot and all candidates shall be elected by acclamation.

 

Terms of Reference approved by Faculty Council on 30-10-2019