• To make recommendations to University Council, President, Vice-President (Academic), Vice-President (Research), or other parties regarding the maintenance of academic and research standards in the requirements in graduate studies for admissions, programs of study, conditions for graduation, and the nature of degrees to be conferred;
• To establish academic policies for the advancement and graduation of graduate students and their suspension for neglect of studies, or defective scholarship;
• To have jurisdiction over scholarship and discipline in the graduate area;
• To recommend candidates for graduate degrees and diplomas, including the Earned D.Litt. and D.Sc.;
• To establish procedures to investigate any cases of alleged graduate student misconduct or complaints by graduate students of misconduct of which they may be victims, and to report to Council any cases which subsequently call for investigation by that or other bodies;
• To create standing and ad hoc committees; to name members to these committees; to delegate to committees, where appropriate, study and action on matters under its jurisdiction; to receive and take appropriate action on reports of committees;
• To initiate or consider and approve proposals on new or changed CGPS policies;
• To receive reports from the CGPS Awards Committee; to advise the Dean and Associate Dean on procedures and criteria for the distribution and allocation of existing graduate student awards, as well as for the enhancement of these awards, and to approve changes in policies for awards and honours proposed by the Awards Committee;
• To establish criteria for membership in the Faculty of the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies;
• To establish criteria for the appointment of Graduate Faculty, Medical Graduate Faculty, Adjunct Professors and Professional Affiliates;
• To recommend to the Graduate Academic Affairs initiatives to improve the graduate student experience;
• To recommend to the Graduate Programs Committee initiatives to strengthen the quality of graduate programs;
• To delegate to the Graduate Programs Committee the authority to approve new and revised graduate programs and courses and inform Council;
• To regularly review and amend these bylaws.

• Council will meet at least typically monthly from October to May.
• Council meetings are chaired by CGPS Dean; in the event of a conflict, (e.g., motion to which the Dean has an active role), the Dean as chair will remove themselves and the Associate Dean will act as chair for the duration of that business. The Associate Dean will be appointed as Chair in the absence of the Dean.
• Attendance shall be taken and any member missing two consecutive meetings may be asked by the Council Chair to resign their position if elected or for the unit to name another designate.
• The quorum shall be 50% + 1 of the voting membership.
• The meetings are open to anyone wishing to attend, but only members and invited guests will be recognized to speak.
• Any member of the CGPS Faculty may request in writing to be heard by CGPS Faculty Council and may suggest motions or other documents for the consideration of the CGPS Faculty Council.
• Minutes shall be recorded and accessible through the CGPS website.
• Any member may request to be named in the minutes.
• Meetings will be held virtually or in person with provisions to attend virtually.
• Voting will be done through an electronic poll or show of hands for virtual attendees and by raised hands for those attending in-person meetings.
• Votes are recorded in the minutes as carried.
• Motions are carried by a simple majority of voting members present.
• Motions for substantive policy changes should be brought initially for discussion and/or as notice of motion.
• Motions from the floor require a 2/3 majority of the voting members present.

• The roles identified on each committee are constructed to provide inclusion across disciplinary areas where appropriate is sensitive to rank and experience in the administration of graduate programs.
• The nominations committee is charged with providing a slate of nominees that aligns with the university's values for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).
• The slate of committee members is put forward by the nomination committee.
• Unless stipulated in the respective CGPS Committee(s) Terms of Reference, Committee Chairs will be appointed by the nominations committee to three-year terms.
• Committee meetings shall be monthly and fall on a regular schedule to be published in the spring of the following year; those accepting committee membership appointments must be available for the majority of the meetings.

• Will typically meet monthly from September to May.
• Quorum shall be 50% + 1 of the voting membership of the committee or any subcommittee thereof.
• The meetings are open to anyone wishing to attend, but only members and invited guests will be recognized to speak.
• Minutes will be taken and are accessible to CGPS stakeholders through USask’s intranet (CGPS PAWS Channel).
• Any member may request to be named in the minutes.
• Meetings may be held virtually or in person with a provision to attend virtually.
• Voting will be done by a show of hands by calling for abstentions, objections, and in favour in that order including those who are attending virtually.
• Votes are recorded as carried or not carried.
• Motions of substantive policy changes should be brought as initially as notice of motion for discussion and input.
• Unless otherwise stated in the terms of reference for the committee, all committee meetings are open to observers who can attend but will not be recognized by the Chair unless they are invited guests to speak to an agenda item.
• A committee may meet in camera when items warrant such as when private information regarding a student is involved.

Membership

Voting

• Four (4) nominated/volunteer faculty members of CGPS Faculty Council or members at large.
• One (1) appointed by the Dean with expertise in EDI to serve as an EDI steward.
• The chair shall be selected from the faculty membership of the committee at the final meeting of the academic year and reported to the Executive and Coordinating Committee;
• Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies;
• Associate Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Non-voting

• CGPS Executive Officer (committee support)
• College EDI Resource appointed by the Dean
• College Decolonization Resource appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To ensure committee membership aligns with USask's values of equity, diversity and inclusion and decolonization;
• To meet each spring to prepare a slate of nominees for the positions of Members at Large on CGPS Faculty Council;
• To nominate eligible candidates for positions on CGPS Faculty Council Committees except the Nominations Committee;
• To nominate the Chairs of CGPS Faculty Council Committees;
• The nominations committee may be called upon to provide nominations for ad hoc Committees and standing Sub-Committees of the CGPS Faculty Council that are not ex-officio or otherwise named by a participating unit of that sub-committee;
• To call in a timely way for nominations/volunteers to facilitate filling memberships as required;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• The committee meets in-camera.
• The voting and procedures follow the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations.

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

Membership

Ex Officio Voting:

• Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Chair);
• Associate Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Vice-Chair);
• Chairs of Awards, Programs, Graduate Academic Affairs, Interdisciplinary Studies, Postdoctoral Studies, and the Nominations Committees;
• The President of the Graduate Student Association or designate;
• The Graduate Student Association Vice President Indigenous Engagement or designate;
• The Executive Director of the Society for Postdoctoral Scholars.

 Non-voting:

• Executive Officer of CGPS (committee support)
• EDI Steward appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To regularly receive reports from all standing committees and report to CGPS Faculty Council;  
• To coordinate the activities of the standing committees and the CGPS Faculty Council;
• To provide advice to Committee Chairs on policy items and work undertaken in committees;
• To regularly receive reports from the Graduate Student's Association (GSA) and the Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SPS);
• To review agendas for the CGPS Faculty Council;
• To provide advice to the Dean and the Associate Dean on strategic areas for the college including meeting institutional priorities in EDI and Indigenization and Decolonization;
• To establish and disband sub-committees and ad hoc committees and revise their terms of reference as necessary;
• To recommend the criteria for appointment of Adjunct Professors and Professional Affiliates to the CGPS Faculty Council and to resolve appointments in dispute;
• To act on behalf of the CGPS Faculty Council during the summer months and to report to CGPS Faculty Council all actions taken in that capacity at the first meeting of the CGPS Faculty Council;
• To nominate members for the Nominations Committee;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• The voting and procedures follow the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations.

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

The Awards Committee is a Standing Committee of the CGPS Faculty Council. New members will be nominated annually by the Nominations Committee and shall be widely representative of the College and experienced in the supervision of students, and administration of graduate programs. The term of appointment shall be three years.

Membership

Voting

• Four (4) faculty members of the CGPS Faculty Council;
• Six (6) members of the Graduate Faculty of which at least three (3) will represent NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR disciplines;
• The chair shall be selected from the faculty membership of the committee upon the committee’s advice to the nominations committee;
• One (1) GSA representative appointed annually;
• Dean, CGPS or designate.

 Non-voting:

• Director of Awards and Scholarships

 Resource:

• Senior/Awards Officer(s) (committee support)
• College EDI Resource appointed by the Dean
• College Decolonization Resource appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To propose policy for scholarships, awards and honours, subject to review by the CGPS Faculty Council;
• To ensure policy for scholarships, awards and honours aligns with the values of equity, diversity and inclusion and decolonization;
• To establish procedures for awards and honours aligned with the values of equity, diversity and inclusion and decolonization;
• To establish standing adjudication committees for various scholarships and awards including Tri-AGency and Deans scholarships competitions.
• To establish standing adjudication committees as necessary for awards of bursaries, scholarships and prizes of CGPS;
• To accept applications and nominations for external scholarships and internal major awards allocate available awards;
• To identify to the Dean areas for enhancement of graduate student funding;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• Meetings are conducted in accordance with the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to the CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

The Graduate Programs Committee is a Standing Committee of the CGPS Faculty Council. New members will be nominated annually by the Nominations Committee and shall be widely representative of the College and experienced in the supervision of students, and administration of graduate programs and receive training in EDI, Indigenization, and Decolonization.

Membership

Voting

• Five (5) faculty members of the CGPS Faculty Council who are Graduate chairs and should represent a balance of disciplinary expertise represented at the University of Saskatchewan including professional programs; the Chair of the committee shall be selected from the membership of the committee for a three-year
• Three (3) faculty members of CGPS who are not members of CGPS Faculty Council;
• The chair shall be selected from the faculty membership of the committee upon the committee’s advice to the nominations committee;
• One (1) GSA representative appointed annually;
• Associate Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies or designate;

Non-voting:

• Academic Affairs Specialist, CGPS (Committee Support)
• College EDI Resource appointed by the Dean
• College Decolonization Resource appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To recommend to CGPS Faculty Council any policy changes for the improvement of graduate programs;
• To support the development of tools to facilitate the development of high-quality proposals for new or improved programs;
• To ensure new and revised programs and courses have considered equity, diversity and inclusion and consulted appropriately for Indigenization of the curriculum including recruitment and progression through the program;
• To review and approve program deletions, significant changes in program requirements, and proposals for new programs;
• To review and, where appropriate, approve changes to a program’s list of restricted electives, residency requirements, and selection criteria for admission;
• To review and, if appropriate, recommend approval of new courses, substantive modifications to existing courses, and deletions of existing courses;
• To act on matters referred to it by the CGPS Faculty Council or the Dean;
• To prepare an Annual General Report to the CGPS Faculty Council;
• To delegate to the Dean, who may delegate to the Associate Dean, matters of urgency which the Graduate Programs Committee meeting schedule cannot accommodate, providing that actions of the Dean or Associate Dean on such issues be brought to the first subsequent meeting of the Graduate Programs Committee;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by the CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• Meetings are conducted in accordance with the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations.

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to the CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

The Graduate Academic Affairs Committee is a standing committee of the CGPS Faculty Council. New members will be nominated annually for 3-year terms by the Nominations Committee and shall be widely representative of the College and experienced in the supervision of students, and administration of graduate programs, and include those with training in EDI and expertise in Indigenization and Decolonization.

Membership

Voting:

• Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies or designate (Co-Chair);
• Associate Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies or designate
• EDI Specialist Faculty Member appointed by the Dean (Co-Chair);
• Five (5) faculty members from CGPS Faculty Council* representing a balance of disciplinary expertise;
• One (1) GSA representative appointed annually;
• GSA Vice President Indigenous Engagement or designate; appointed annually.

*Should the member finish their term on Council, they may remain on the committee.

 Resource:

• Academic Affairs Specialist, CGPS (committee support)
• College EDI Resource appointed by the Dean
• College Decolonization Resource appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To regularly review all academic policies of the college and recommend to the CGPS Faculty Council any policy changes relevant to graduate academic affairs as listed in the University Catalogue and the Policies and Procedures of the college;
• Promote and provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas regarding the development of a diverse student body in graduate education among faculty, students, administrators, and staff;
• Support the goals of the institution and the CGPS of achieving a more diverse graduate student population by providing information and advice on new initiatives and policy development;
• To review and approve, if appropriate, all recommendations for the admission of, and programmatic requirements for, Special Case Master’s and Special Case Doctoral Programs;
• To review and approve, if appropriate, any programmatic changes involving special case students;
• To act on admission appeals by individual students or by academic units in accordance with CGPS admission and appeal policy and procedures;
• To act on appeals and grievances that affect graduate students and to establish appropriate procedures to do so;
• To act on matters referred to it by the CGPS Faculty Council or the Dean;
• To name members to ad hoc sub-committees or hearing boards as may be required from time to time to handle academic matters relevant to individual graduate student programs;
• To prepare an Annual General Report to the CGPS Faculty Council;
• To delegate to the Dean, who may delegate to the Associate Dean, matters of urgency which the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee meeting schedule cannot accommodate, providing that actions of the Dean or Associate Dean on such issues be brought to the first subsequent meeting of the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• Meetings are conducted in accordance with the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations with in-camera discussions as appropriate.

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to the CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

The Postdoctoral Studies Advisory Committee is a Standing Committee of the CGPS Faculty Council. New members will be nominated annually for a three-year term by the Nominations Committee and shall be widely representative of the College and experienced in the supervision of students, and administration of graduate programs. Members should represent a balance of disciplinary expertise represented at the University of Saskatchewan.

Membership

Voting

• Two (2) faculty members of CGPS Faculty Council one of whom shall serve as chair;
• Three (3) faculty members of CGPS;
• The chair shall be selected from the faculty membership of the committee upon the committee’s advice to the nominations committee;
• Two (2) Postdoctoral Fellows; appointed annually by the Society of Postdoctoral Fellows;
• Vice-President Research or designate;
• Dean, College of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (or designate).

Non-voting:

• Postdoctoral Fellow Coordinator (committee support)
• College EDI Resource appointed by the Dean
• College Decolonization Resource appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To participate in strategic planning and recommend policy and procedures for Postdoctoral Fellows with regards to recruitment, status, research conduct, and terms of appointment;
• To provide oversight for the monitoring of career progress, career development, and conflict resolution;
• To assist in advocating the enhancement of funding opportunities for Postdoctoral Fellows;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• Meetings are conducted in accordance with the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations.

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

The Interdisciplinary Committee is a Standing Committee of CGPS Faculty Council.

New members will be nominated annually by the Nominations Committee and shall be widely representative of the College and experienced in the supervision of students engaged in interdisciplinary research, scholarly and artistic work, and administration of graduate programs.

Membership

Voting

• Director of Interdisciplinary Studies (Chair) (Ex Officio) who serves as the designate of the dean;
• Six (6) CGPS faculty members; 
• A vice-chair shall be selected annually by the committee from the faculty membership of the committee;
• One (1) student from the Interdisciplinary Studies program elected annually

 Non-voting:

• Interdisciplinary Studies Program Coordinator
• College EDI Resource appointed by the Dean
• College Decolonization Resource appointed by the Dean

Responsibilities

• To develop and maintain the Interdisciplinary Studies graduate program, which facilitates individualized interdisciplinary studies for graduate students at the MA, MSc, and PhD levels. This role includes developing admissions criteria, reviewing applications to the program, forming student advisory committees, recommending students for scholarships and other funding, monitoring student progress, and organizing activities that enrich and enhance the experiences of students in the program;
• To foster liaison and cooperation among academic and administrative units involved in graduate interdisciplinary activity;
• To promote interdisciplinary research, scholarly, and artistic work at the University, which includes hosting lectures, workshops, symposia, panel sessions, and other events that facilitate and increase recognition for interdisciplinarity;
• To review its own terms of reference as necessary and recommend changes to be approved by CGPS Faculty Council.

Meetings

• Meetings are conducted in accordance with the CGPS Faculty Council Standing Committee Regulations.

Reporting

• The committee will provide an annual general report to CGPS Faculty Council with respect to its activities and decisions.

The Earned D.Litt. and Earned D.Sc. Committees are standing sub-committees of the Executive and Coordinating Committee. New members will be nominated annually by the Nominations Committee and shall be widely representative of the College and experienced in the supervision of students, and administration of graduate programs. The term of appointment shall be three years.

Membership

• Three (3) members of the Faculty, from three different departments in which an Earned D.Sc. and/or D.Litt. could appropriately be offered. Committee members will be elected on staggered terms for three years by Faculty.
• Vice-President Research  (or designate)
• The Dean, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, who will Chair the Committee
• A graduate student in an appropriate program chosen by the Graduate Students’ Association.

Responsibilities

• To recommend to the Executive policy regarding the earned degree and/or changes in published procedures and criteria for the award.
• To receive or solicit applications/nominations for earned degrees.
• To obtain all necessary information on each candidate.
• To recommend to the Executive Committee where appropriate, that the earned degree be awarded.
• To advise the Dean, Associate Dean, and University Secretary on appropriate procedures for the award ceremony at the time of Convocation.