New admissions to the 17 programs at Laurentian University will remain suspended for the time being, said the university’s senate sub-committee.
The subcommittee released the decision in a news release following a meeting on Friday.
On Sept. 15, Laurentian’s senate said it received legal advice that the university’s administration did not have the statutory authority to suspend admissions to 17 programs in July. Faculty attempted to have the decision to suspend admission, which was announced Aug. 12, reversed at a university senate meeting.
However, the subcommittee said suspension on new admissions will continue until it receives and considers responses from the affected units or departments on how to ensure the quality of those programs.
The subcommittee has received and considered the supporting information from the senate regarding suspension of admissions to the programs, and approved a motion that the provost and vice-president, Academic, send a message to the units where there are major modifications to their programs.
The subcommittee is requesting further context on how each unit or department can better meet the current and future needs of students before moving forward.
The academic planning subcommittee said it made a similar decision with respect to ongoing suspension of admission to those other programs where major modifications were not an issue, but rather where there were no or very few students who had accepted Laurentian’s offers of admission into a particular program for 2020.
“This collegial governance process to which Laurentian is committed, is one which provides the highest quality of programming for all Laurentian University students,” said the university in a news release. “We commend the academic planning subcommittee in its mandate to provide students with an exceptional academic experience.”
