Important messages, dates and news from the Faculty office.
Important Dates and Deadlines

Monday September 11, 2017

Fall Term classes begin   

 

Thursday September 14, 2017 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm
Science Graduate Council Meeting 

 

Friday September 22, 2017 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm 

Arts Graduate Council Meeting    

 

Tuesday September 26, 2017 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm  

Wednesday September 27, 2017 from 10:30am to 12:00pm

Undergraduate Chair Meeting  

  
staffingannouncementsProvost Announcement regarding the Vice-Provost and Dean of School of Graduate Studies
 
On behalf of Provost Bacon, please see the attached announcement regarding the Vice-Provost and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies for broad distribution within your unit.   
 
Vice-Provost Announcement regarding the Interim Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning 
 
On behalf of Jill Scott, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning), please see the attached announcement regarding the Interim Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
 
collectiveagreementCompliance with Important Timelines in the Collective Agreement for Graduate TA's and TF's
 
As the Fall Academic Term draws closer, we take this opportunity to reiterate the importance of compliance with various timelines detailed in the Collective Agreement between Queen's and PSAC (Local 901, Unit 1) with respect to Graduate Students employed as Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Teaching Fellows (TFs) ("Collective Agreement").  The timelines relate to the critical administrative responsibilities of completing E-Contracts, letters of appointment for Teaching Fellows, Teaching Assistant Forms ("TAFs"), Teaching Fellow Forms ("TFFs"), and meeting payroll deadlines. These attachments reference  the posting of TA and TF opportunities, completion of the Teaching Assistant Form (TAF) and the Teaching Fellow Form (TFF), completion of the E-Contract, and the payroll deadline of the 15th of the first month of the applicable Academic Term.  As noted, the days referenced refer to the "very last day" or the "no later than" deadline.
 
Also, in accordance with Article 16.07(f) of the Collective Agreement, an Employment Supervisor is required to meet (or must otherwise communicate) with their TA no later than the second week of the Academic Term to review Section B of the TAF.  By the end of the second week of the Academic Term, the completed TAF shall be signed and a copy provided to the TA.
 
In accordance with Article 16.10(g), an Employment Supervisor must meet (or otherwise communicate) with their TF no later than the week prior to the Academic Term to discuss and sign the TFF.  The TF is to be provided with a copy of the signed TFF.
 
Thank you for your attention to these important matters.  Kindly stay tuned for updates from Faculty Relations regarding collective bargaining.  The University and PSAC are currently engaged in negotiating a renewal of this Collective Agreement.
 
 
onlineexamsExam Online Accommodation System for Midterms
 
The Exams Office has asked our Office to share with you that, in Fall 2017, they will be launching a test version of their new online accommodation system for computer assisted midterms (tests, quizzes), and they will require your assistance in testing the system to work out any problems before the completed system is launched in Winter 2018.
 
As a result, after October 1, for any computer assisted midterms in Fall 2017 you will be requested to submit both the paper Instructor Information Form, as well as completing duplicate information using the new online accommodation system. The Exams Office recognizes that duplicating work is not ideal, but it should take only a couple of minutes per request, and is for one term only. Submitting this information both ways is essential to assure the process is working correctly and that all documentation necessary to implement the accommodation is received in Fall.
 
Your assistance in this pilot testing exercise is crucial. We thank you in advance for your patience and participation as it will lead to a more efficient and direct means to support both you and students with accommodations. Please watch for documentation on the process that will be sent to you by the Exams Office in September.
amssyllabusAMS Syllabus Bank for Teaching Faculty
 
I am writing to you in my position of Chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Procedures (SCAP) to update you regarding the development of an Alma Mater Society (AMS) Syllabus Bank.  The Syllabus Bank policy was last amended through SCAP at its April 20, 2009 meeting, and applies to instructors teaching direct-entry undergraduate courses in the following Faculties and Schools: Applied Science and Engineering, Arts and Science, and Nursing.
 
Be it resolved that, before the end of the second week of the term in which a class starts, instructors of direct-entry undergraduate courses will provide a written outline of the basic features of the course to students and will provide an electronic copy of the outline to the AMS for future publication, with the exception of Commerce, which already has a publication process in place.  The AMS will publish the outlines with a disclaimer stating that course descriptions are subject to change from year to year.
 
It has come to the attention of SCAP that in recent years, the policy has not been adhered to.  As a result, the AMS has been unable to offer the AMS Syllabus Bank as a reference source to assist undergraduate students with course selection.
I would like to request that, as of the Fall Term 2017, instructors begin to comply with the Syllabus Bank policy as approved by SCAP.
 
Please send your submissions in a pdf file to [email protected].  A confirmation email will be sent on receipt of an email submission.
 
The syllabus bank is managed through the University Library.  AMS will provide submissions to the University Library.  The University Library will add the files to a Queen's secure portal, so as to ensure the protection of intellectual property rights. 
 
Please feel free to contact the Academic Affairs Commissioner of the Alma Mater Society, Victoria Lewarne, at [email protected] for questions relating to the process for syllabus submissions.
 
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Jordan Morelli
Chair, Senate Committee on Academic Procedures
syllabusUpdates to the Syllabus Template
 
The syllabus is an important instrument for communicating essential information to students about the course content and structure, and the methods by which learning outcomes will be assessed. The order in which the various elements appear is at the discretion of the instructor, and some elements may or may not be relevant to the particular course. However, while every course is different, some information should be included in order to comply with University and Faculty policy.  
 
accommodationsDeveloping a Protocol for Academic Consideration for Arts and Science Students
 
The Faculty of Arts and Science is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Caroline Teske as the newest staff member of the Student Services team.  Caroline is the Academic Accommodation Counsellor, and joins our team of academic counsellors who provide academic advising for undergraduate students on all Faculty programs, regulations and policies.  
 
Caroline's particular focus is to implement and administer the policies and procedures related to student requests for academic accommodation and/or academic consideration within the Faculty of Arts and Science.  This new position was created in response to the recently-approved Senate Policy on Academic Consideration for Students in Extenuating Circumstances, recognizing the need to provide a central resource for Arts and Science students facing difficult or challenging personal circumstances that are impacting their ability to meet academic requirements.  In this role, Caroline will liaise with students, instructors, and various units on campus, including Student Wellness Services, to facilitate the implementation of academic accommodations and/or academic considerations for students in these situations.
 
Caroline is especially well-suited for this role because of her background in social work and coordination of programs aimed at preventing bullying and peer victimization.  She has worked at Queen's for 9 years, holding a variety of administrative and research positions in the Department of Psychology, the Faculty of Arts and Science, the School of Nursing and most recently at Queen's Student Accessibility Services.  Caroline holds a BA (Honours) in Psychology from Queen's and a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto.
 
Over the summer Caroline has been working closely with the Associate Deans (Studies) and the Executive Director, Student Wellness Services, to develop a Protocol for Short-Term Academic Consideration that will be implemented during the upcoming Fall Term.  This protocol will guide students, instructors, Undergraduate Chairs and academic counsellors in situations where extenuating circumstances are interfering with a student's ability to complete academic requirements related to a course(s) for a short period of time, not to exceed three months.  A webpage is also being developed that will provide an online portal for students to submit requests for academic consideration and to securely upload supporting documentation.  When the protocol, webpage and portal are ready to be launched, the details will be widely distributed and presented, first to Undergraduate Chairs and then to all faculty members.
 
For further information or to welcome Caroline to the Faculty, please contact her at  [email protected].
climateexpertSeeking Expert in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management for a 6-month assignment in Fiji, Lao and Mongolia.
 
The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) is currently exploring the possibility to submit an Expression of Interest for a project financed by the Asian Development Bank, for which we are looking for an expert in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. We are aware of the great work that Queen's University does in Environment, and we thought that this opportunity might be interesting for one of your experts.
 
The project is expected to take place from January 2018 to October 2020 with intermittent assignments and field trips to Fiji, Lao and Mongolia. At the Call for EoI, they estimated this expert's level of effort at 6 months in total.  
   
The International Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (CCDRM) Specialist will work closely together with a Gender Specialist and will:
  1. produce a gender analysis of national CCDRM policies and one sector in each selected developing member country (DMC);
  2. produce a regional report on national CCDRM policies and three sectors in 3 selected DMCs with suggestions and recommendations for making national and sector policies more gender-responsive;
  3. facilitate and organize with the national TA coordinator and national gender consultants the national workshops in selected DMCs on policies, green jobs in the labor market and green finance;
  4. produce a toolkit on gender-inclusive green finance;
  5. support the preparation of the stand-alone financing proposal for scaling up of a demonstration sub-project;
  6. support and facilitate the two-day regional workshop to share the findings of the three national studies, and the demonstration green jobs subprojects; and
  7. support national consultants and organizations with their advocacy for the adoption of gender inclusive CCDRM policies and law by providing appropriate technical advice and assist with policy reforms as may be required.
Applications should be submitted ASAP as they would like to select the expert within the week.  
 
CINTHIA   HEANNA
Manager, International Partnerships/Gestionnaire, partenariats internationaux. t: 613-237-4820 #204  |  [email protected]  |  cbie-bcei.ca  
curriculum2017-18 Curriculum Cycle Reminder   
T
he online Curriculum Submission Portal is now open. Early bird curriculum submissions welcome! Curriculum Submissions are due on or before October 16th, 2017.
 
All submissions must be delivered via the Online Curriculum Tracking System (OCTS) and are processed on a first-come first-serve basis.

Please review the   Curriculum Submission Handbook.