Subcommittee on Quantitative Courses

Background

The Subcommittee on Quantitative Courses (SQC) is a subcommittee of the Senate Standing Committee on Curriculum (SSCC). SQC is the body which has the subject expertise to recommend approval of quantitative (QUAN) designation to courses in accordance with the criteria set out by Senate.

Mandate

The Subcommittee on Quantitative Courses (SQC) is a SSCC subcommittee with a mandate to:

1. Make recommendations for criteria for quantitative (QUAN) courses.
2. Make recommendations for amendments to the AC11 General Education in Degree Programs policy and procedures as they pertain to QUAN courses.
3. Review course outlines for QUAN designation and recommend approval in accordance with the criteria as established by the committee.
4. Oversee the review of the criteria for QUAN courses as necessary and recommend approval of any revisions to Senate.
5. Report to SSCC of any courses the committee deems to have satisfied the established criteria, for recommendation to Senate.
6. Report to the course developers of any courses that the committee deems to have not satisfied the established criteria.
7. Review regularly the Mathematics Alternatives Table (MAT), and make recommendations to SSCC.
8. Review periodically the mandate, composition, and processes of the SQC, and make recommendations to SSCC concerning these matters as appropriate.
9. Perform other duties as assigned by Senate.

Timelines

SQC will provide recommendations to SSCC for QUAN courses for inclusion in the University Calendar after all necessary committee approvals are in place.

Reporting Mechanism

The committee will report to SSCC with courses that satisfy established criteria and SSCC will recommend these courses to Senate for approval. The reports will include an inventory of courses reviewed and a list of those recommended for QUAN designation. The report may also include recommendations regarding policy or procedure.

Workflow for the Approval of QUAN Courses

1. Courses seeking QUAN designation are submitted on the CIM-Courses software. When the appropriate box is selected, the Quantitative request template will appear and will trigger a workflow that will include the SQC.  All relevant Quantitative information should be included in the request imbedded in the CIM-Courses software.  The course must be approved by the relevant Faculty curriculum committee (and Faculty council, as may be required) and signed off by the dean and faculty committee chair(s) prior to senate-level approvals.  The Deans office or proponent must then notify the senate office of the QUAN request by sending a cover sheet to senate@kpu.ca 
2. The Senate Office notifies the SQC of the QUAN request.
3. SQC assesses the course outlines and recommends approval in accordance with the senate-approved criteria below.
4. The Chair of SQC informs the Senate Office of the committee’s recommendation to Senate for approval. If SSCC has queries about the recommendation for approval, the committee may invite the Chair of SQC to attend the next SSCC meeting before recommending approval of the course to Senate.
5. The approval of new courses and QUAN designation for these new courses may be sought in parallel.

(Version approved by Senate, November 2021)

To be designated as a QUAN course for programs as may be required, courses must have quantitative reasoning (e.g., numerical, geometric, statistical, or probabilistic), or formal reasoning (e.g., mathematical or logically deductive) as a primary component of their subject matter. These courses may vary widely in the skills that are emphasized, but they usually include at least two of the following:

Some of the text above is taken directly from Brandeis University

1. Developing quantitative measures of physical, behavioural, social, or economical phenomena.
2. Using forecasting models to express causal relationships and to explore the implications of changed assumptions or proposed solutions to problems.
3. Using numerical data from archives, surveys, lab experiments, or other sources; and summarizing and interpreting them in meaningful and descriptive ways to reach conclusions and/or draw inferences.
4. Testing hypotheses through statistical analysis.
5. E. Developing equations or mathematical expressions to model a given situation, and using mathematical operations to manipulate them.

Chair: Elected by the committee for a three-year term.

The membership of the Subcommittee on Quantitative Courses is constituted by representative faculty members from across KPU who have expertise in quantitative courses. The faculty members are nominated by their respective Faculty councils and approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Curriculum.

Voting Members

• Four faculty members with experience in quantitative disciplines representing at least three Faculties, including one from the Mathematics Department.

Non-Voting

• One academic advisor, approved by the Academic Advising Council
• Vice-Chair of Senate

Vacant positions do not count towards quorum.

Terms of Office

• Faculty members: three-year term
• Academic advisor: three-year term

The Chair will inform the committee if a member’s absences exceed three meetings. The committee will discuss the situation and the chair, in conjunction with the committee, may declare the position vacant.