BILL 34 – 2008
UNIVERSITY AMENDMENT ACT, 2008

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the University Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 468, is amended

(a) by repealing the definition of "faculty" and substituting the following:

"faculty" means,

(a) in the case of a university named in section 3 (1), an academic administrative division of a university constituted by the board as a faculty under section 39, or the dean and faculty members of a faculty, as the context requires, or

(b) in the case of a special purpose, teaching university, an educational administrative division of a university constituted by the board as a faculty under section 39, or the dean and faculty members of a faculty, as the context requires; ,

(b) by adding the following definition:

"special purpose, teaching university" means a university referred to in section 3 (1.1) and designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under section 71 (3) (a); , and

(c) by repealing the definition of "university" and substituting the following:

"university" means

(a) each of the universities named in section 3 (1), and

(b) a special purpose, teaching university; .

2 Section 3 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) An institution that is designated as a special purpose, teaching university by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under section 71 (3) (a) is continued as a university in British Columbia.

3 Section 4 is repealed and the following substituted:

Convocation required

4 Each university must have a convocation.

4 Section 6 (a) is repealed.

5 Section 11 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) There must be a chancellor of each university, who is to be appointed by the board on nomination by the alumni association and after consultation with the senate or, in the case of the University of British Columbia, after consultation with the council.

(1.1) The chancellor holds office for 3 years and after that until a successor is appointed. ,

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "re-election" and substituting "reappointment", and

(c) in subsection (3) by striking out "elected" and substituting "appointed".

6 Section 12 is repealed and the following substituted:

Vacancy in office of chancellor

12  (1) If the office of chancellor becomes vacant for any reason before the expiration of the chancellor's term of office, the vacancy must be filled as soon as practicable as described in section 11 (1).

(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) holds office for the unexpired term of the predecessor in office.

7 Section 14 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (1), and

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "to each person nominated as a candidate for the office of chancellor and".

8 Section 15 is repealed and the following substituted:

Acclamation

15  If only as many candidates are nominated for the senate as are required to be elected, the candidates are declared to have been elected.

9 Section 35 (1) and (2) is amended by adding "or a special purpose, teaching university" after "other than the University of British Columbia".

10 The following section is added:

Senate of a special purpose, teaching university

35.2  (1) A special purpose, teaching university must have a senate.

(2) The senate of a special purpose, teaching university is composed of the following:

(a) the chancellor;

(b) the president, who is its chair;

(c) the academic vice president or equivalent;

(d) the deans of faculties;

(e) the chief librarian;

(f) the registrar;

(g) two faculty members for each faculty, elected by faculty members of the faculty;

(h) four students elected by the students;

(i) one alumni member who is not a faculty member, appointed by the president on nomination by the alumni association;

(j) two support staff elected by the support staff;

(k) one non-voting member of the senate, if appointed to the senate by the board to serve for one year.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) (j), "support staff" means employees of the special purpose, teaching university who are not

(a) officers of the special purpose, teaching university, or

(b) deans or faculty members.

(4) The senate of a special purpose, teaching university must make bylaws for the conduct of the business of the senate, including bylaws specifying the duties of members of the senate in conflict of interest situations.

(5) The senate of a special purpose, teaching university has the power and duty to do all of the following:

(a) regulate how its meetings and proceedings are conducted, including determining

(i) the quorum necessary for the transaction of its business, and

(ii) how a vice chair, who is to chair meetings in the absence of the president, is annually elected;

(b) set criteria for awarding certificates, diplomas and degrees, including honorary degrees;

(c) set curriculum content for courses leading to certificates, diplomas and degrees;

(d) set qualifications for admission;

(e) set policies concerning examinations and evaluation of student performance;

(f) set residency requirements for awarding credentials for courses and programs;

(g) set policies concerning student withdrawal from courses, programs or the special purpose, teaching university;

(h) set criteria for academic standing, academic standards and the grading system;

(i) set criteria for awards recognizing academic excellence;

(j) set policies and procedures for appeals by students on academic matters and establish a final appeal tribunal for these appeals;

(k) set policies on curriculum evaluation for determining whether

(i) courses or programs, or course credit, from another university or body are equivalent to courses or programs, or course credit, at the special purpose, teaching university, or

(ii) courses or programs, or course credit, from one part of the special purpose, teaching university are equivalent to courses or programs, or course credit, in another part of the special purpose, teaching university.

(6) The senate of a special purpose, teaching university must advise the board, and the board must seek advice from the senate, on the development of educational policy for the following matters:

(a) the mission statement and the educational goals, objectives, strategies and priorities of the special purpose, teaching university;

(b) the establishment, revision or discontinuance of courses and programs at the special purpose, teaching university;

(c) the preparation and presentation of reports after implementation by the special purpose, teaching university without prior review by the senate of

(i) new non-credit programs, or

(ii) programs offered under service contract;

(d) the priorities for implementation of new programs and courses leading to certificates, diplomas or degrees;

(e) the establishment or discontinuance of faculties at the special purpose, teaching university;

(f) the evaluation of programs and educational services;

(g) the library and resource centres;

(h) the setting of the academic schedule;

(i) the qualifications for faculty members;

(j) the adjudication procedure for appealable matters of student discipline;

(k) the terms for affiliation with other post-secondary bodies;

(l) the consultation with community and program advisory groups concerning the special purpose, teaching university's educational programs;

(m) other matters specified by the board.

11 Section 36 is amended

(a) in subsections (1) and (2) by striking out "section 35 (2) (h) or 35.1 (2) (h) or (3) (h)" and substituting "section 35 (2) (h), 35.1 (2) (h) or (3) (h) or 35.2 (2) (h) or appointed under section 35.2 (2) (k)", and

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "section 35 or 35.1" in both places and substituting "section 35, 35.1 or 35.2".

12 Section 37 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(4) In this section, "university" means a university named in section 3 (1).

13 Section 47 is amended

(a) by renumbering the section as section 47 (2), and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(1) In this section, "university" means a university named in section 3 (1).

14 The following section is added:

Functions and duties of special purpose, teaching university

47.1  A special purpose, teaching university must do all of the following:

(a) in the case of a special purpose, teaching university that serves a geographic area or region of the province, provide adult basic education, career, technical, trade and academic programs leading to certificates, diplomas and baccalaureate and masters degrees, subject to and in accordance with regulations under section 71 (3) (c) (i);

(b) in the case of a special purpose, teaching university that serves the whole province, provide applied and professional programs leading to baccalaureate and masters degrees, subject to and in accordance with regulations under section 71 (3) (c) (ii);

(c) provide, in addition to post-secondary programs referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), post-secondary programs specified in regulations under section 71 (3) (c) (iii);

(d) so far as and to the extent that its resources from time to time permit, undertake and maintain applied research and scholarly activities to support the programs of the special purpose, teaching university.

15 Section 71 is amended by adding the following subsections:

(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) designating as a special purpose, teaching university an institution that is designated under section 5 of the College and Institute Act, and specifying a name for the special purpose, teaching university;

(b) specifying the geographic area or region that a special purpose, teaching university designated under paragraph (a) serves;

(c) specifying the following;

(i) in the case of a special purpose, teaching university that serves a geographic area or region of the province, the adult basic education, career, technical, trade or academic programs that the special purpose, teaching university must provide;

(ii) in the case of a special purpose, teaching university that serves the whole province, the applied or professional programs that the special purpose, teaching university must provide;

(iii) other post-secondary programs that the special purpose, teaching university must provide.

(4) On the designation of a special purpose, teaching university under subsection (3) (a), the special purpose, teaching university is continued as a corporation composed of a chancellor, a convocation, a board, a senate and faculties with the name given it by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Consequential and Related Amendments

Accountants (Chartered) Act

16 Section 13 (2) of the Accountants (Chartered) Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 3, is amended by striking out "university college," in both places.

College and Institute Act

17 Section 1 of the College and Institute Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 52, is amended

(a) in the definition of "institution" by striking out "university college or",

(b) in the definition of "university" by striking out "or" at the end of paragraph (e), by adding ", or" at the end of paragraph (f) and by adding the following paragraph:

(g) a special purpose, teaching university that is designated under section 71 (3) (a) of the University Act. , and

(c) by repealing the definitions of "university college" and "university college region".

18 The heading to Part 3 is repealed and the following substituted:

Part 3 — Colleges and Provincial Institutes .

19 Sections 5 (1) (c) and (d) and 7 are repealed.

20 Section 5.1 is amended

(a) by repealing paragraph (b), and

(b) in paragraphs (d) and (e) by striking out "university college or".

Degree Authorization Act

21 Section 2 (1) of the Degree Authorization Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 24, is amended by striking out "or" at the end of paragraph (h), by adding ", or" at the end of paragraph (i) and by adding the following paragraph:

(j) a special purpose, teaching university as defined in the University Act.

Public Sector Employers Act

22 Section 1 of the Public Sector Employers Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 384, is amended in the definition of "public sector employer" by repealing paragraphs (d) and (e) and substituting the following:

(d) a university as defined in paragraph (a) of the definition of "university" in section 1 of the University Act,

(e) an institution as defined in the College and Institute Act and a special purpose, teaching university as defined in the University Act, .

Thompson Rivers University Act

23 The Thompson Rivers University Act, S.B.C. 2005, c. 17, is amended in the definition of "faculty member" in section 1 and in sections 5 (1), 7 (1), 8 (2), 9 (1) and (2), 10, 11 (d) and (i) and 12 (3) by striking out "university council" wherever it appears and substituting "senate".

24 Section 1 is amended by repealing the definition of "university council" and substituting the following:

"senate" means the university council continued as the senate under section 8;

"university council" means the university council continued as the senate under section 8.

25 Section 4 is amended by repealing subsections (2) to (4) and substituting the following:

(3) A reference in section 36 of the University Act to

(a) "senate" is to be read as a reference to "senate or Planning Council for Open Learning", and

(b) "section 35 (2) (h)" is to be read as a reference to "section 8 (2) (h) or 11 (h) of the Thompson Rivers University Act".

(4) A reference in section 38 of the University Act to "section 37 (1) (i), (p) and (u)" is to be read as a reference to "section 10 (e) and (k) of the Thompson Rivers University Act".

26 Section 7 (3) is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a reference in the University Act to the "senate" is to be read as a reference to the "senate" referred to in this Act.

27 Section 8 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) The university council is continued as the senate.

Transitional Provisions

Transition — power to make regulations

28  (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purposes of implementing this Act, including, without limiting this, to remedy any transitional difficulties encountered in doing so.

(2) A regulation made under this section may be made retroactive to a date not earlier than the date this section comes into force, and if made retroactive

(a) is deemed to come into force on the date specified in the regulation, and

(b) is retroactive to the extent necessary to give it force and effect on the date specified in the regulation.

(3) This section is repealed 2 years after the date it comes into force and on its repeal any regulations made under it are also repealed.

Transition — University Act

29 (1) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the board of an institution that is designated under section 5 of the College and Institute Act, as the board is constituted immediately before the date on which the institution is designated as a special purpose, teaching university under section 71 (3) (a) of the University Act as enacted by this Act, continues as the board of the special purpose, teaching university until the members of the board are elected and appointed as provided in the University Act.

(2) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the education council of an institution that is designated under section 5 of the College and Institute Act, as the education council is constituted immediately before the date on which the institution is designated as a special purpose, teaching university under section 71 (3) (a) of the University Act as enacted by this Act, is the senate of the special purpose, teaching university until the members of the senate are elected and appointed as provided in the University Act.

(3) Despite section 11 (1) of the University Act as enacted by this Act, the first chancellor of a special purpose, teaching university that is designated under section 71 (3) (a) of the University Act as enacted by this Act is appointed by the board without nomination or consultation.

(4) After the appointment of the first chancellor of a special purpose, teaching university, the chancellor is a member of

(a) the board referred to in subsection (1), and

(b) the senate referred to in subsection (2).

Commencement

30  This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.