Universities are built on a foundation of strong collegial governance. Today graduate studies are a dynamic growth area which requires cohesive and flexible decision-making procedures which can be in tension with the traditional practices of collegial governance and the balance of responsibilities for programs between a central oversight body such as CGPS and the disciplinary units where programs delivered.  Regular review of governance structures is a healthy exercise to ensure the mandates, composition and delegated authorities meet the ever evolving and complex needs of a growing institution.  

Goal 10 of the CGPS Strategic Plan 2025 is to “Revise the CGPS Governance Structure” including creation of fresh college bylaws and empowerment of disciplinary colleges and schools in the management of programs, courses, and the student experience. The College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies derives authority from University Council and the 1995 University Act of Saskatchewan. 

The governing structure has evolved over many years and a variety of committees established with delegated authorities.  The array of governance structures includes Graduate Faculty [Council], CGPS Council, Council Executive and 10 standing committees.

Working Group Composition

CGPS Dean	Chair
CGPS Associate Dean
5 Faculty Members	Includes a Co-Chair
Graduate Student	Nominated by the GSA
Postdoctoral Fellow	Nominated by the SPS
Project Support	Lori Lisitza (Executive Assistant to the Dean, CGPS)
Resources	Office of the University Secretary and Chief Governance Officer CGPS staff supporting committees

 

Project Goal

The goal of this review is to reconsider our decision-making framework and redefine it through the lens of representative and participative procedures which we need to avoid insularity in graduate governance and to create better coordination.  Once we have affirmed confidence in our governing bodies, we can begin to address the relationships with colleges and schools delivering graduate programs and the balancing of responsibilities for graduate programs – (Strategic Plan 2025 - Goal 11).

 

Fall 2020

A project plan was presented at the CGPS Council meeting in October 2020.  To begin the process, we engaged members of our committees in preliminary consultations over the fall and winter 2021/22 where terms of reference of the committees were considered. In winter 2021, the dean commissioned a comparative analysis of Graduate Academic Governance across the U15.  The research was performed by Oxana Pimenova, a doctoral student in JSGS.