The name of the Business and Finance Policy committee was shortened in 1972 to the Finance Policy committee. The predecessor of both committees was the Academic Planning Committee (1966-1969). The terms of reference for the Finance Policy committee were to formulate policies regarding the development, implementation, revision and evaluation of operating and capital budgets. Membership on the committee consisted of 2 lay members of the Board of Governors, 6 members of the General Faculties Coucnil, 2 students, the Vice-President of Business and Finance who was the Committee's Executive Officer, the President, Chairman of the Board and Academic Secretary. The Committee was not a General Faculties Council or Board of Governors committee, but reported to the GFC in order to make recommendations, and to the BOG for information. The final meeting of the Finance Policy committee took place in June, 1974. The committee's successor was the Policy and Planning Committee, April, 1975.
The General Faculties Council was provided for in The Universities Act. Originally called General Faculty Council; in 1970, the name was changed to General Faculties Council. The Post-Secondary Learning Act (PSLA), proclaimed on March 17, 2004, stipulates that GFC is responsible for the academic affairs of the University, subject to the authority of the Board of Governors.
The GFC is faculty-dominated and provides institutional leadership on the issues of institutional policy and priorities, and has responsibility for the academic affairs of the University. Areas of responsibility include: courses of study; time-tabling; appointment of examiners; examinations; conferring of degrees; University Calendar; Library; establishment of faculties, schools, departments, chairs, and courses of study; academic awards; and admission standards. The GFC makes recommendations to the Board of Governors with respect to affiliation of other institutions; academic planning; campus planning; building program; budget; regulation of residences and dining halls; and procedures with respect to appointments, promotions, tenure anddismissal.
The President connects the two governing bodies, as Chair of GFC and as a voting member of the Board. Recommendations from GFC to the Board are transmitted through the President.
GFC consists of 113 voting members who meet eight times per year to perform their duties, according to the Post-Secondary Learning Act (2004) and the needs of the university. The 113 voting members comprise: the President, as Chair; the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), as Vice-Chair; members by virtue of office, including the Deans, Vice-Presidents, Registrar, and Directors of Information Resources and Continuing Education; members elected from Faculties; student members; appointed members.
The standing committees of the GFC are: GFC Executive Committee, Academic Planning and Priorities Committee, Research and Scholarship Committee, Student Academic Appeals Committee, and Teaching and Learning Committee. The President is an ex officio member of all GFC Standing Committees.
Note: A number of former GFC Standing Committees were dissolved on June 30, 2012: Academic Awards Committee; Academic Program Committee; Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee; Committee to Hear and Determine Student Academic Appeals; Continuous Learning Committee; GFC Steering Committee; Learning and Instructional Development Subcommittee; Libraries and Cultural Resources Committee; Program Coordination Committee; Program Coordination Committee; Research Development and Policy Committe; University International Grants Committee; University Planning Committee; University Research Grants Committee; University Teaching and Learning Funding Committee.
Other GFC Standing Committees dissolved in recent years include: the Facilities and Information Technologies Committee, dissolved October 16, 2014; the Ad Hoc Review Committee for Non-Academic Misconduct, dissolved February 4, 2010; the Facilities and Services Planning Committee, dissolved January 31, 2008; and the Calendar Submissions Committee and the Committee on Admissions and Transferability, both dissolved July 1, 2006.
The Institutional Policy and Priorities Committee (IPPC) was formed in August, 1981 to replace the Policy and Planning Committee. The IPPC was an advisory committee reporting to the President and through him, to the Board of Governors and the General Faculties Council. The IPPC was responsible for making recommendations concerning policy and action respecting: priorities for academic development and the development of physical facilities; framework for financial policies within which The University Budget Committee (TUBC) could make further recommendations; the development of new academic programs; the development of new units (faculties, chairs, departments, centres or institutes); enrollment quotas; academic and support staffing; space management.
Membership in the IPPC consisted of the President (Chairman), Senior VP (Vice-Chair), the VPs of Academic, Finance, Research and Services, the President of the Students' Union, 4 faculty members appointed by the President and the Director of the Office of Institutional Research to act as a resource person. In 1986, membership was changed slightly with the addition of the Chairs of The University Budget Committee (TUBC), Curriculum and Academic Review Committee (CARC) and the University Research Policy Committee. The last meeting was held in June, 1989 when the IPPC was succeeded by the University Planning Committee (UPC).
The Olympic Planning Office provided the day-to-day coordination of Olympic activities for the University. Specific roles included liaison with OCO'88, CODA, the Canada Olympic Office and the Alberta Olympic Secretariat with respect to the coordination of Olympic projects on Campus, providing regular progress reports to the Olympic partners, planning for the University's involvment during the Olympics and providing technical and related information to the media, the public and the University community regarding the University's participation with the 1988 Winter Olympics.
The Planning Office comprised three main committees: (1) Olympic Planning Committee of the Board of Governors which monitored developments and recommended action; (2) Olympic Program PLanning Committee, an advisory committee to the VP (Academic) which was concerned with the impact of the Olympics on University programmes, schedules and operations; (3) Olympic Facilities Planning Committee, an advisory committee to the VP (Services) which advised on overall planning related to Olympic facilities and services. The Chief University Olympic Program Coordinator, who was responsible for communication among the committees, the Board and all external bodies, was Dr. Fred Terentiuk, appointed by the President in May, 1982.
The first meeting of the Political Science Club was held in January, 1958. The Club's first President was Archie Stone. The main objective of the Club was the discussion of current political problems, whether domestic or foreign, with or without the aid of the speakers. According to the Club's Constitution, all members of the University of Alberta at Calgary were members of the Club. The Club was non-partisan and examined the views expressed by the various political parties in their discussions. Aside from their weekly meetings, the Club invited elected members of the political parties to speak at seminars and Forums.
In 1961, the Political Science Club hosted a seminar for prominent speakers from the four major political parties. Speakers included Premier T. Douglas of Saskatchewan, Premier E.C. Manning of Alberta, Mr. Jim Coutts of the Young Liberal Association, Dr. Michael Oliver of the New Democratic Party and the Hon. Douglas Harkness, Minister of National Defense. The event was run by the Political Science Club with the aid of the UAC Liberal Club and the UAC Conservative Club.
In September of 1969, the Board of Governors and the General Faculty Council approved a recommendation of the President in his "Report of the President on Administrative Review" to create an Presidential Executive Advisory Committee (PEAC). The President recommended the Committee be established in order to answer the need for cohesion and interaction in the execution of academic, capital, financial and student policies. The Committee would consist of the three Vice-Presidents and the Academic Secretary, and would consider matters falling within the President's and Vice-Presidents' executive functions. The members of the PEAC are now the Director, University Secretariat; Executive Director, External Relations; and Director of Information Services.
In 1971 the responsibilities of the VP (Business and Finance) included supervising the annual operating and capital resources policy through PEAC. By 1982 the now VP(Finance) was responsible for integrating financial policy with academic and services policy through PEAC. In 1974, VP (Academic) integrated academic plans with fiscal and space requirements through PEAC.
In 2001/2002, President Harvey P. Weingarten made the decision to disband the President's Executive Advisory Committee.
The University Registrar's Office is led by the Registrar who reports to the Vice-President (Academic). The Registrar directs and supervises the Office which is responsible for admissions, registration, class scheduling, room allocation, transcripts and records, and exams. The Registrar forms and executes the Office's budget and implements and administers the University admissions policy as established by the General Faculties Council. He or she is responsible for the academic aspects of convocations, for the preparation and publication of the official University Calendar, and is a member of Deans' Council, an ex officio member of the Committee on Admissions and Transferrability, and Executive Secretary of the Curriculum and Academic Review Committee.
In The University of Calgary's early years, the Registrar reported to the President. The Registrar, which was provided for by statute, was Secretary of the GFC and its Executive Committee, a responsibility later taken over by the Secretary of the GFC. The Registrar was responsible for admitting students to undergraduate faculties and schools; composing instruction brochures for new applicants; coordinating and editing the calendar text submitted by faculties; designing and implementing a registration and class sectioning system; assessing fees and adjustments of fees; maintaining permanent student records and issuing transcripts; scheduling, providing space for and invigilating exams; reproducing and distributing exam papers; collecting and retaining papers after grading; issuing official marks; and collecting and maintaining current information on admissions, curriculum, and degrees to assist policy development.
In 1970 or 1971 the title of the Registrar was changed to Registrar and Academic Secretary to reflect an addition of responsibility as Secretary to the Policy Committees, Joint Policy Committee, President's Executive Advisory Committee, GFC, Executive Committee of GFC, Deans' Council, and the Senate. This involved preparing, circulating and maintaining minutes and other records, and conducting correspondence. The functions as Registrar remained the same. The reporting relationship of the Registrar and Academic Secretary was transferred from the President to the VP (Academic) in 1973 or 1974, apparently because the office of Academic Secretary was not identified by statute and the secretaries for the various Policy Committees could be provided by the VP's offices. By 1978 the title of the Registrar and Academic Secretary had been changed simply to Registrar. The functions of the Registrar's Office have remained essentially the same since that time.
Incumbents have been: John Nicol (1963-1964), Donald Black (1967-1968), W.F.M. Stewart (1969-1974), Gary Krivy (1987-2002), David Johnston (2002-2014), Angelique Saweczko (2014-).
By 1977, the Safety Office was part of the Department of Physical Plant. In 1981 it moved to Buildings and Grounds. The following year, the Safety Office became its own entity under the auspices of Buildings and Grounds/Department of Physical Plant. In 1994, the Safety Office moved to the Department of Risk Management, Insurance, Safety and Security and was renamed Safety Services in 1996. Safety Services had on-campus responsibility for hazardous wastes, chemical recycling, indoor air quality, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's), WHIMIS, lab manuals, transportation of dangerous goods, first aid kits and supplies, safety bulletins, safety related equipment and supplies, policies and procedures, and the following safeties: radiation, biological, chemical, fire, occupational, and laboratory safety audits.
Sometime after 2004, Safety Services was renamed the Department of Environment, Health and Safety with the Director reporting directly to the Vice-President (Finance and Services). As of 2015, the department's team included an Environmental Compliance Consultant, Radiation Safety Officer, Bio-Safety Officer, and specialists in other areas such as Fire Prevention, Hazardous Materials, Indoor Air Quality, and contractor and construction safety. The Director serves as co-chair of the University's central health and safety committee (University Health, Safety and Security Committee), which reports to the VP, Finance and Services. The UHSS Committee is composed of AUPE, Faculty Association, MaPs and Management appointed representative.
Managers of Safety Services: Ken C. Fay, c1977-1979 (Safety Officer); Ken C. Fay, 1979-1982 (Coordinator), Ken C. Fay, 1982-1993 (Manager); Dr. Parminder S. Surdhar, 1994; Vacant, 1995; Dr. Martin Kirk, 1996-2002; Shelley R. Kayfish, 2002-2004; Lanny Fritz, 2004-ca. 2008. Directors of the Department of Environment, Health and Safety: Marshall Denhoff, ca. 2008-2011; Rae Ann Aldridge, ca. 2011-2014; Vacant, 2015.
The initial predecessor of the Services Policy Committee was the Academic Planning Committee which was split in 1969 into three separate committees: Capital Resources, Business & Finance and Academic Policy. The name of the Capital Resources Committee was changed in August 1972 to the Services Policy Committee.
The responsibilities of the Services Policy Committee remained the same as that of the Capital Resources Committee: the initial formulation, re-evaluation and revision of policy respecting the implementation of the capital budget over continuous 5-year periods; the formulation of policies on resource allocation, the maintenance of current space inventories and the allocation of existing and newly-created University space.
Membership on the Committee included 2 lay members of the Board of Governors, 6 members of the General Faculties Council, 2 students, the VP of Services Policy who was the Executive Officer, the President, the Chairman of the Board the Academic Secretary. The Committee was not a GFC or BoG committee but reported to both in order to make recommendations and for information.
The final meeting of the Services Policy Committee was held in June, 1974. In April, 1975 the Policy and Planning committee was formed which effectively combined the Services Policy, Academic Policy and Finance Policy Committees into one structure again.
As early as 1969, a Director, Student Awards and High School Relations reported to the Chief Academic Officer for Student Affairs and the GFC Committee on Academic Awards and was responsible for the initial processing and assessment of applications for student assistance; made recommendations to the Student Assistance Board; made short-term repayable loans through an emergency loan fund; provided financial counselling and advised students and high school groups as to availability of money sources; assisted in establishing terms of reference for new scholarships which the Committee considered for approval; and developed programs to improve on-campus high school relations. By 1970, the Director's title had been changed to Chief Officer, Student Awards and Financial Aid and now reported to the Chief Academic Officer for Student Affairs through a Director, Student Affairs. This occurred after a review of student services in late 1969.
A re-organization also occurred in 1973 when the Student Affairs Office, of which the Chief Officer, Student Awards and Financial Aid was a part, was renamed the Division of Student Personnel Services and was now led by a Director of Student Personnel Services reporting to the President.
In 1981, the title of the Chief Officer, Student Awards and Financial Aid was changed to Director, Student Awards and Financial Aid. In addition, because the position of Director of Student Personnel Services had been discontinued in that year, the Director, Student Awards and Financial Aid now reported to the Associate Vice-President (Academic) and Chief Academic Officer, Student Affairs who was now responsible for the general administration of student services. This reporting relationship continued until 1988 or 1989 when the Director, Student Awards and Financial Aid began reporting to the newly-created Associate Vice-President (Student Affairs) which had assumed responsibility for matters related to student affairs. In addition to other duties, the Director served as the Executive Secretary of the Academic Awards Committee of the General Faculties Council.
As of 2015, Student Awards and Student Financial Aid had become part of Student and Enrolment Services reporting to the Vice-Provost (Student Experience).