Effective July 1, the UTM Campus Council replaced the Erindale College Council, which has been the governance model at UTM since 1965.
The ECC was the highest advisory body at UTM and made recommendations on matters such as academic planning and finances. It did not have the authority to make decisions on UTM issues; its mandate was strictly to advise. The Governing Council, the highest decision-making body at U of T, based at St. George, had the final vote on all matters at UTM.
Under the new UTMCC model, elected members vote on campus-specific matters that then go directly to Governing Council for approval. They are responsible for overseeing academic, business, and student affairs at UTM.
Described as “comparable to a board of the Governing Council”, the UTMCC comprises representatives of the five estates—administrative staff, alumni, government appointees, students, and teaching staff—to see to matters affecting campus priorities and objectives. Some of these matters include academic plans, capital projects, co-curricular plans, and incidental fees.
One of the most drastic changes in the governance structure is the size of the new model; the total membership of the UTMCC is 28 members, of which four seats are available to students. The ECC had 75 seats available to students—50 to full-time undergraduates and 25 to part-time undergraduates.
Previously, the UTM Students’ Union was guaranteed representation on the ECC; while the rest of the 75 student representatives were required to run in elections for a seat on the ECC, the UTMSU executives had reserved seating. Now that there are only four seats available to students, UTMSU executives may find themselves without a voice at the discussion table.
There are no UTMSU executives on the UTMCC this year. Serving on the UTMCC for 2013/14 are Alice Li (a commerce student and peer academic leader with UTM Residence), Muhammed Mahmood (a UTMSU board director in 2012/13 , this year a Division 2 board director), Ron Racioppo (a part-time undergraduate who works at the Office of the Registrar as an academic advisor), and Masood Samim (a PhD candidate in physics).
There are three standing committees of the UTMCC: the Academic Affairs Committee, the Campus Affairs Committee and the Campus Council Agenda Committee.
The Campus Council Academic Affairs Committee is concerned with the teaching and learning function of campus and amends academic policies. It comprises of 63 members, 9 of whom are students.
The Campus Council Campus Affairs Committee is responsible for overseeing matters directly involved with campus and student life. There are 34 members on this committee, seven of whom are students.
The Campus Council Agenda Committee is responsible for directing the flow of business for the UTMCC and serves as an advisory board for the vice-president and principal at UTM. There are 13 members on this committee, one of whom is a student.
Since the inception of the university-wide Towards 2030 planning initiative, the Governing Council established the Task Force on Governance, which produced a Governance Report that recommended the restructuring of governing bodies at the satellite campuses.
In January 2012, the Governance Review Committee presented recommendations, including that UTM and UTSC each have their own Campus Councils with separate committees to review academic and campus affairs. This would effectively tailor decision-making procedures to the needs of the satellite campuses. In April 2012, the structure and mandate of the proposed governance model for UTM’s new Campus Council was presented. The Governing Council approved the new governance structure at UTM (and at UTSC) on June 25. On April 4 of this year, the Erindale College Council met for the last time. The UTM Campus Council model came into effect on July 1.
