| The Senate procedures for approving new programs have a daunting appearance in their flow-chart form shown here (left). Yet, in the last 10 years the average time for this process to yield BOG approval of a graduate program (excluding the one program that was not approved initially, but was approved 4 years later) has been 5 months. In the last 2 years the average has been a little over 2 months.
Note that proposals for new programs that fall under FGS's aegis are required to have been reviewed by FGS and they therefore enter the process shown here with FGS's approval. No doubt this approval allays many concerns that might otherwise arise in Senate. It has been suggested that Dalhousie (and its FGS) are opposed to new, innovative and interdisciplinary programs. The chart below shows the number of graduate programs that were sent to, and approved by, Senate in each year from 1991 to 2000. Only one of these proposed programs (in the 2000 column) has not yet been approved. It is noteworthy that this one arrived at Senate without first having been reviewed by FGS. Of the newly approved programs less than 1/2 are offered solely by one Faculty. Several involve multiple Dalhousie Faculties and several involve off-campus entities. |
