Next Steps on Academic Restructuring

Since the release of the Interim Report of the Academic Restructuring Group on September 21, we have engaged in an extensive and constructive phase of consultation, including more than 37 hours of governance and committee meetings, roundtables, and town halls. More than 6,200 people attended these discussions; we have heard questions and received valuable feedback from a wide diversity of faculty, staff, students, and alumni and shared our learnings with the other members of the ARWG and with the broader community through regular posts and reports on the UAT website. Thank you to our entire community for your deep engagement in this very important discussion.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Revised Proposals of the Academic Restructuring Working Group will be posted on the UAT website, immediately following its distribution to the members of the Academic Planning Committee and General Faculties Council. The report will include three revised proposals for faculty structures that reflect the advice and feedback received throughout our consultations. Your contributions to this process have been instrumental to the revision of the preliminary three scenarios.

With the release of these three proposals, we will then launch the final phase of governance consultation and decision-making. The following are the key dates as we approach the final decision:

• November 16: APC—review and discussion of revised proposals
• November 19: UAT Town Hall on revised proposals
• November 23: GFC—review and discussion of revised proposals
• November 25: APC—motion for recommendation to GFC of final proposal
• December 7: GFC—motion for recommendation to BOG of final proposal
• December 11: Board of Governors—motion for approval of final proposal

This phase of consultation will move quickly and will focus on discussions and deliberations of the key decision-making governance bodies. However, it is also important that APC, GFC, and BOG continue to hear feedback from the community on the three revised proposals.

We invite you to join us for the town hall on November 19 at 11 am at ualberta.ca. 

Given the short timelines and our desire to engage as many members as possible of the university community, we will also be using digital tools, such as Thought Exchange and online surveys, to gather input from the broader community. We will collect your thoughts and perspectives and post summary reports to help inform the deliberations of governance bodies.

Please watch for the release of the Revised Proposals of the Academic Restructuring Working Group tomorrow at the UAT website.

Thank you in advance for your continued engagement in this critical process.

Bill Flanagan
President and Vice-Chancellor

Steven Dew
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)