Non-Degree Studies (NDS) Sub-Committee

The Sub-Committee on Non-Degree Studies (NDS) ensures compliance with School and Senate policies, promotes consultation and liaison, and provides advice on matters relating to non-degree studies activities in Lassonde. It is mandated on behalf of Senate to ensure that high quality courses and programs offered outside of the “for credit” approval structures to enhance the School and University’s reputation and provide real benefits in terms of student success, whether through an access lens, or as a professional development, or life-long learning opportunity. The School must respond quickly to non-degree opportunities in an evolving educational and labour market landscape to remain current and competitive. It is acknowledged that the expertise for program development and the responsibility for approving programs reside with the offering School/Unit. The purpose of this sub-committee is to ensure that non-degree activities are of high quality, enhance Lassonde and York’s standing and profile, and maintain rigorous standards within the legislative framework.
The committee carries out its mandate with the following specific responsibilities:
• Creates processes, receives proposals and provides proposal approvals, as well as provides input on guidelines and any relevant regulations that may inform best practices for governing and delivering nondegree activities at the School.
• Prepares and provides the annual report of the School’s non-degree activities and communicates it to the Vice-Provost Academic

Procedures for Approval Processes
2.1 The committee will have in place processes for approving new programs, certificates, micro-credentials, assuring quality, closing activities/programs, and work with the offering unit to inform decisions about the frequency of offerings.
2.2 The NDS committee will coordinate the processes for the review and approval of non-degree activities, including obtaining the approval of new activities with the Dean. It will report activities into the Learning, Curriculum & Students (LCS) and Graduate Learning, Curriculum & Students (GLCS) committees each term, and annually to Faculty Council.
2.3 New activities will be subject to approval processes by the committee, and take into account the following:
• Identification of participants in approval process
• Identification of audience and evidence of demand
• Purpose of the course, program or workshop
• Identify how activities can ladder and integrate
• Process undertaken prior to program development (consultation with partners, accrediting bodies, etc.) including market need and demand analysis.
• Qualifications of the program development team
• Qualifications of instructor/s
• Consultation process followed to demonstrate adherence to principles identified above, including consultation with other relevant Faculties / degree-offering units
• Program description, delivery mode, delivery location, number of hours of instruction, program structure, expected enrolment
• Criteria and procedures for assessing quality
• Terms for initial offering on pilot basis Advertising and marketing information

Records and Record Retention
2.4 The School will have in place a process for keeping participation records for reporting purposes for program evaluation. Permanent student records must be maintained as per the Common Records Schedule of York University. https://crs.apps06.yorku.ca/record/147

Financial and Operational Viability
2.5 The committee will give consideration to general operating and logistical matters (e.g. space, staff, information technology requirements) when reviewing new non-degree activities.

Compliance with University Policies
2.6 The committee will oversee that the non-degree studies activities and instructors are in compliance with standard Lassonde, York and/or provincially legislated policies regarding employee relations, financial operations, human
rights and accommodations for persons with disabilities, conflict of interest, etc. All current University academic and non-academic policies are posted online at http://secretariat-policies.info.yorku.ca/
2.7 The committee will ensure that the NDS Unit providing non-degree activities will have a process for resolving complaints or disputes that arise between students and instructors or between students and staff, for dealing with breaches of academic integrity and for accommodating students with disabilities.

Limitation on Activity
2.8 From time to time, the Provost & Vice-President Academic may declare a limitation on activity in a particular area to protect degree programs under development. Such limitation will be reviewed with the Advisory Committee on Non-Degree Studies on a regular basis.

The Lassonde School of Engineering is committed to creating a community where students, faculty and staff feel welcome and valued, and a place and space for people to thrive in their various endeavours. This means creating policies, procedures, programs, events, and other interventions that work to eliminate barriers, and to establish and sustain the conditions that enable everyone to fully participate in our community. To reach this goal, the committee will support Lassonde’s learning journey to:
• Create a diverse, inclusive integrated teaching, learning and research environment.
• Empower diverse internal and external communities to organically grow by optimizing existing spaces and creating new ones with a culturally inclusive lens.
• Prioritize equitable outcomes by adopting a values-driven integrated approach to research, teaching & learning and operations.
• Cultivate an inclusive interdisciplinary community that brings the diverse perspectives required to envision and devise engineering and science solutions that address environmental, economic and social problems.

5.1 Meetings and Protocols
• Committee meetings may be held completely virtually via videoconference (Zoom) or in a hybrid/Hyflex (in-person + simultaneous videoconference) format.
• Meetings are open to members of the Lassonde community, subject to the availability of space
• When the committee considers matters relating to specific individuals or to other matters where confidentiality must be observed, the committee may, in the notice for a meeting, declare part of a meeting to be closed or in camera.
• When the committee meets in camera, only committee members may be present.
• The Lassonde Faculty Council has adopted “York University Rules of Senate” to guide and inform its governance structure and operations.
• This committee shall make its decisions based on a simple majority of those members present and voting at a duly constituted meeting
• Committee members will notify the Chair/Secretary if they will be absent from a meeting.

5.2 Chair
• The Chair of Non-Degree Studies Subcommittee is responsible for providing leadership to the committee in pursuit of its mandate. The Chair presides at all committee meetings, acts as the official spokesperson for the committee, and ensures that the committee operates in conformity with the rules enacted by Faculty Council and Senate.
• In the case of the absence or illness of the Chair and the Vice-Chair, the committee may appoint one of the members of the committee to act as Chair pro tempore and for such period the member so appointed shall act as, and have all the powers of, the Chair.

5.3 Quorum
• Per Senate rules, the quorum shall consist of a majority of voting members

5.4 Timing and Frequency of Meetings
• Meetings will typically be scheduled quarterly, with the proviso that additional meetings may be called on an ad hoc basis as new business arises.

5.5 Agenda, Administration, and Minutes
• Non-Degree Studies Committee shall be supported by the Secretary to the Committee. All records of the meetings, including the minutes, shall be retained in accordance with the Common Records Schedule (CRS) for Faculty Councils (ADG15) and Faculty Council Committees (ADG17) under York University’s Information, Privacy and Copyright Office.
• The Committee Administrator shall be responsible for ensuring correspondence and decisions made by the Committee are available to relevant people or bodies, including the membership of sub-committees and secretaries of relevant Faculty Councils.
• The Lassonde Faculty Council has adopted “York University Rules of Senate” to guide and inform its governance structure and operations.

5.6 Voting
• All members of the committee are voting members unless specifically indicated otherwise. Ex officio and elected/appointed members have the same voting rights.
• Votes may be cast in person or by e-vote
o Pursuant to the discretion of the Chair, members may be permitted to vote by means of an electronic communication (e-vote) which enables the votes to be gathered in a manner that permits their subsequent verification

Reporting and Approval Processes
6.1 Approved process documents will be submitted to the Office of the Vice-Provost Academic for review and retention by the Advisory Committee on Non-Degree Studies. All changes in process must be submitted to the Office of the Vice-Provost Academic.

Administration of the Procedures
6.2 The Office of the Provost & Vice-President Academic is responsible for the implementation of the Procedures governing the approval process of non-degree studies.
6.3 Accordingly, the Vice-Provost Academic has been delegated responsibility for the following:
a. Maintaining an up-to-date directory of all non-degree units offering programs, courses, and activities at York University.
b. Reporting annually to Senate through its Academic Policy, Planning & Research (APPRC) and Academic Standards, Curriculum & Pedagogy (ASCP) committees on all non-degree activities. Deans of Faculties, the Principal of Glendon, the Assistant Vice-President of Continuing Studies, the Vice-President Research and Innovation and heads of non-academic units offering non-degree studies activities will provide the Office of the Vice-Provost Academic with all the necessary information to update the directory and compile the annual report.
c. Administering a dispute resolution process in the event of disagreement between two (or more) units on an offering of a non-degree program, course or activity where mutual agreement on the matter has not been reached internally by the parties.

Version Number: Non-Degree Studies Sub-Committee V.2.0

Approved by: Faculty Council

Date: October 2022