Name Change Application for a Private Organization Seeking Ministerial Consent under the Post-Secondary Choice and Excellence Act, 2000

The Secretariat Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board 900 Bay Street 23rd Floor, Mowat Block Toronto, ON M7A 1L2

Submitted: Friday, September 20, 2019

1 | P a g e Contents: Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………….3 Section 1: Nomenclature and Changing Environment…………………………………………….3 Section 2: Criteria to use “University” ………………………………………………………...…4 Appendix A: Classroom Capacity Report……………………………..………………………….9 Appendix B: Academic Standards Committee Mandate……………...…………………………10

2 | P a g e Application to Replace “University College” with “University” by Redeemer University College

Executive Summary Redeemer University College is a member in good standing of Universities Canada. Redeemer University College, as an attendant part of entering the Organizational Review process with PEQAB, is seeking to change its name from Redeemer University College to Redeemer University. Over the previous 10 years or so nomenclature has shifted toward a more binary understanding of college/university such that “university college” nomenclature for independent institutions presents challenges, especially around market and brand. Redeemer substantially meets the criteria set out in Section 10.1 University of the 2018 Manual for Private Organizations.

1. Nomenclature and the Changing Environment Over the past decade a shift has been underway in terms of the use of the word “university college” for institutions with a “narrower range of programs or specific mission” as defined in Section 10.4 of the Manual. As part of its constituting legislation PEQAB is to ensure ongoing alignment with changes in nomenclature and practice in other jurisdictions and in the sector. The shift in usage of “university college nomenclature” has occurred with institutions in the United States, in other Canadian provinces, and in Ontario. In Ontario and elsewhere today, there is a clear popularly understood binary between independent colleges and universities, whether publicly assisted or privately funded. Some universities have subsidiary bodies known as university colleges, but those are affiliated institutions under the umbrella of the university and those university colleges grant their degrees under the university name. The degree programs and 39 major programs of study Redeemer offers are not offered in Ontario colleges but are typically university degrees. The shift toward a more binary popular understanding of terms is reflected in changes throughout higher education. In jurisdictions in Canada, other institutions with narrow or specific missions, or without any or only very few graduate programs have moved from “college” or “university college” to “university” when granting undergraduate degrees typical of a university. Relevant cases from Ontario include Algoma University and the Ontario College of Art and Design University. Especially in Alberta and British Columbia, there has been significant nomenclature shifts with some examples as follows: Caribou College (1970)  University College of the Caribou (1991)  Thomson Rivers University (2005) Fraser Valley College (1974) University College of the Fraser Valley (1988)  University of the Fraser Valley (2008)

3 | P a g e Malispina College (1969)  Malispina University College (1988)  Vancouver Island University (2008) The King's College (1979) The King's University College (1993)  The King's University (2015) Mount Royal Junior College (1931)  Mount Royal College Mount Royal University (2009) Ambrose University College (2007; amalgamation of a number of institutions)  Ambrose University (2014) Concordia College (1921)  Concordia University College (1995)  Concordia University of Edmonton (2015)

The most relevant of the above cases to Redeemer’s situation is The King’s University, which like Redeemer emerged out of the Reformed Christian tradition and which has no graduate programs and offers a similar range of programs to Redeemer.

Finally, instances in the United States are presenting Redeemer with competitive challenges in Ontario. Two examples include Reformed Christian institutions of higher learning. This past year, Dordt College in Iowa became in a nomenclature shift that reflected the education it offered. Similarly, Calvin College, another Reformed Christian university in Grand Rapids, , is undergoing a nomenclature change this Fall and will now be known as Calvin University. In part, both of these institutions recognize that their efforts to recruit in Ontario will be enhanced by these changes as “college” in Ontario typically is understood to mean an institution offering technical and applied credentials and degrees rather than university degrees.

The shift in popular nomenclature understanding is reflected in Redeemer encountering increasing confusion in the market about whether the school offers Bible College degrees, which is does not; applied arts and technology diplomas or degrees, which it does not; or whether it does indeed offer 4-year Bachelor’s degrees as one would find in Ontario’s publicly assisted universities, which Redeemer indeed does do. There is confusion experienced by employers and student prospects, and a change in nomenclature would benefit Redeemer’s prospective and current students.

2. Section 10.1: Criteria to use “University” 2.1 Legal Authorization in Ontario Redeemer is legally entitled to offer Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees at the undergraduate level and to offer the post graduate degree, Bachelor of Education. These rights are granted by various Acts of the Ontario Legislature. Redeemer University College was officially founded on December 12, 1980, when the Ontario Legislature passed private member’s Bill 48, “An Act to Incorporate Redeemer Reformed Christian College.” On June 25, 1998, the Ontario Government passed Bill Pr17, which granted Redeemer College the authority to offer Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. Prior to that time, the college conferred a

4 | P a g e Bachelor of Christian Studies degree which was recognized by Universities Canada (formerly the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada) as comparable to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. In view of its status as an undergraduate university, the Ontario Legislature approved a change in institutional name from Redeemer College to Redeemer University College on June 22, 2000 (Bill Pr19). On June 26, 2003, the Ontario Government passed Bill Pr14, granting Redeemer the authority to offer a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree. On December 10, 2003, the new teacher education (B.Ed.) program was granted initial accreditation by the Ontario College of Teachers and on April 4, 2008, the program was granted general accreditation by the Ontario College of Teachers. Currently, Redeemer offers 39 different majors and streams that lead to either a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Education degree. For the Acts constituting Redeemer’s Charter, please see Appendix 2.1 of the Organization Review Application. 2.2 Institutional Charter including “University” Nomenclature The Acts, or charter, constituting Redeemer include the Act (Bill Pr19) of 2000 changing the institution’s name to Redeemer University College, thereby granting Redeemer the right to include “university” in its name. Please see Appendix 2.1 of the Organization Review Application. 2.3 Mission of University Teaching and Scholarship The mission statement of Redeemer, approved by the Board of Governors in 1988 is “first, to offer a university level liberal arts and science education which is Scripturally-directed and explores the relation of faith, learning, and living from a Reformed Christian perspective; and, second, to support research and creative endeavour in this context.” To help execute this mission, Redeemer faculty are hired and promoted through a rigorous interview process and expected to maintain the highest standing in their respective fields. Tenure and promotion are dependent on research and creative endeavour and the dissemination of those endeavours in the form of teaching, publication, practice, and presentation. The Mission Statement can be found on page 5 of the Board Policy Manual – see Appendix 1.1 of the Organization Review Application. 2.4 Degree and Program Range Redeemer currently offers a Bachelor of Education degree beyond its Bachelor of Science andBachelor of Arts degrees. Redeemer has programs in Kinesiology, Health Sciences and Business that at most other Ontario institutions would result in BHsc, BKin and BBA degrees being awarded. Due to Redeemer’s quality assurance in the province, especially the exclusion from the Council of Ontario Universities in 2010, and its limited act, to date Redeemer has not awarded these degrees. Moving forward, once Redeemer has clarified its ongoing status in the province, which it is currently seeking to do through PEQAB, and to clarify its position as an Ontario university, Redeemer will work to develop new degree programs. 2.5 Degree Level and Curriculum Design Redeemer offers a post-graduate degree in the B.Ed. and while it is the intention to add graduate degree programs in the coming years, Redeemer does not currently do so. The criteria indicate

5 | P a g e that it is “normally” the case, that those using “university” have degree programs. As noted in Section 1 above concerning nomenclature, other institutions now using “university” without college also have few or no graduate programs. In terms of curriculum design, Redeemer meets its educational goals by ensuring that each program maintains program learning outcomes that map onto and fulfill the institutional Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations and that each course has course learning outcomes that help ensure the program learning outcomes are indeed satisfied. For more information on programs see the Academic Calendar in Appendix 4.2 of the Organization Review Application and the UDLEs in Appendix 1.2 of the Organization Review Application. 2.6 Admission, Promotion, and Graduation of Students Redeemer’s policies on Admission, Promotion, and Graduation of students mirror the structure and intent of those at Ontario’s publicly assisted universities. More information about academic standards and the approval of graduands is contained in Section 2.10 below. More information about Admission, Promotion and Graduation of students can be found on pages 9-16 and 43-66 of the Academic Calendar, found in Appendix 4.2 of the Organization Review Application. 2.7 Quality Assurance and Systematic Review Redeemer is a self-critical, cohesive academic community with a long time commitment to quality assurance. Redeemer conducts regular audits of its undergraduate programs, carried out in a Quality Assurance process (IQAP) paralleling that of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). Redeemer’s governance structure, including an academic Senate – which includes both internal faculty and external faculty from other universities - overseeing programs, and the curriculum and academic policies ensure a rigorous program development and review process that, as mentioned, parallels the COU’s QAF. The IQAP processes are overseen and implemented by Academic Quality Assurance Committee (AQAC) which reports through faculty council to the university’s Senate. The AQAC is compromised of the Provost/VPA and three faculty members from across Redeemer academic divisions. For more information, see the IQAP for New Programs in Appendix 2.12 of the Organization Review Application and the IQAP for the Cyclical Review of Programs in Appendix 2.15 of the Organization Review Application. 2.8 Faculty Qualifications Redeemer has systematic policies and procedures with respect to ensuring rigorous faculty hiring, reappointment, tenure, promotion, and tenure renewal process, appropriate to the disciplinary areas of research and teaching. This process involves both administrative oversight and faculty peer evaluation and recommendation. Policies on hiring, tenure, and promotion etc. can be found the Faculty Handbook Sections 1-9, pages 5-34 of the Faculty Handbook in Appendix 2.2 of the Organization Review Package. 2.9 Facilities Redeemer has modern facilities suited to the needs of university learning and scholarship. This includes the appropriate health science and science laboratory and research spaces, creative lab and studio spaces, and classroom and teaching resource spaces. A comprehensive list of these

6 | P a g e spaces and their respective capacities can be found in Appendix A below. Redeemer also maintains a sizable library, with resources allocated systematically across all disciplines in which programs are offered. Resource procurement and adjustment is made in consultation between the librarian, the library staff, and faculty. As of April 2019, holdings were as follow:

Print books & music scores: 83,658

Music & Audiobook CDs : 1,977

Videos (DVDs) : 909

Print Journals (current subscriptions) : 81

Total print & AV holdings : 86,625

Approximate total # of e-resources:

E-books in databases : 196,046

E-journals in databases : 17,393

Total e-resources: 213,439

2.10 Academic Standards Governance and Academic Freedom and Integrity Redeemer has a governance system in which Academic Standards are overseen and applied with both faculty and student participation. In addition, Redeemer maintains high standards on academic freedom and academic integrity, as appropriate to its membership in Universities Canada. In terms of Academic Standards, the Academic Standards Committee is comprised of faculty from across the academic areas of Redeemer and includes student and Registrar participation. The mandate of the Academic Standards Committee is to review and propose revisions to existing student-focused academic policies, including those relating to student admissions, transfer credits, scholarship-development and awarding, grading standards, academic integrity, and academic dismissals. The committee also is mandated to apply standards, including in the assessment of new scholarships, bursaries, and other academic and needs-based awards, as well as in the assessment of graduands approval. The committee also awards scholarships in accordance with relevant scholarship descriptions and directions. Faculty and students are also represented and comprise the majority of membership on Redeemer’s Senate, which is the final oversight body of all academic standards, including Admission standards, the awarding of degrees and all other matters pertaining to academic program and policies. For more information on the Academic Standards Committee please see the Academic Standards Committee Mandate in Appendix B.

7 | P a g e In terms of academic freedom and academic integrity, as a member of Universities Canada, Redeemer subscribes to UC’s Statement on Academic Freedom (see Appendix 4.1 of the Organization Review Application), which was last updated in 2011. Redeemer also has a Policy on Academic Freedom that outlines the rights and responsibilities of faculty members concerning how and possibly what to research and teach on. This policy comprises the majority of Section 10 of the Faculty Handbook, which can be found in Appendix 2.2 of the Organization Review Application. The aforementioned Policy on Academic Freedom has implications for faculty’s academic honesty in teaching. For example, the prologue notes that “Instructors are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce teaching material which has no relation to the subject” and the policy goes on to quote from the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools: “Academic freedom has to do with a method of inquiry rather than with the personal view of the inquirer. It gives one the right and implies the obligation as a scholar to examine all data and to question every assumption. It debars one from preconceived conclusions. It obliges a teacher to present all information fairly, because it asserts the students’ right to know the facts.” Students must abide by the Policy on Academic Integrity, which outlines the expectations relating to academic honesty and lays out the procedures that are followed when a student is suspected of violating those expectations. The Policy is printed in the Academic Calendar (see Academic Calendar pages 47 – 49 found in Appendix 4.2 of the Organization Review Application) and every course syllabus is required to include a statement reminding students of the Policy.

8 | P a g e Appendix A Summary of Classroom (lecture hall, seminar rooms, laboratory and practice/performance/studio space for Redeemer University College)

Room Description Type Capacity 108 MAC Teaching Lab LAB 21 109 Computer Teaching Lab LAB 34 110D Teacher Education Resource Centre - TERC Resource room 30 125G Music Classroom MUS 65 125H Music Classroom KEY 15 130 Auditorium AUD 971 144 Theatre Studio SD 45 155 Gym GYM 55 210 Classroom SE 60 211 Classroom SE 36 212A Classroom LEC 50 212B Classroom LEC 50 212C Classroom SE 50 212D Classroom SE 50 213 Large Lecture Hall LEC 120 214 Large Lecture Hall LEC 90 218 Classroom SE 30 220 Classroom SE 42 223 Computer Science Lab LAB 34 224 Classroom SE 42 225 Classroom LEC 50 226 Biology Lab LAB 24 228 Biology Lab II LAB 20 231 Lab LAB 24 235 Kinesiology and Lab LAB 25 235A Physics Lab/Science Classroom LAB 25 235B Kinesiology/Science Lab LAB 25 238 Music Practice Rooms (7) MUS 7 240 Small Art Studio SD 10 241 Large Art Studio SD 25 241C Graphics Studio SD 6 241D Discussion Seminar Room DIS 16 242 Classroom SE 25 243 Classroom SE 20 301 Greenhouse Roof

9 Appendix B

Academic Standards Committee

Type of Committee: Primarily Analysis; some Standards-application

Reports to: VPA

Mandate: 1. Analysis: To review and propose revisions to existing student-focused academic policies, including those relating to  student admissions  transfer credits  scholarship-development and -awarding  grading standards  academic integrity  academic dismissals To address any issues concerning student-focused academic policies and procedures, as directed by the VPA. 2. Standards-application: To assess proposals for new scholarships, bursaries, and other academic and needs-based awards. To assess proposals for graduands approval. To award scholarships in accordance with relevant scholarship descriptions and directions. To assess final examination re-scheduling request appeals.

Composition:  Three faculty members, preferably from different divisions, one of whom is the chair.  One student (appointed by the Dean of Students in consultation with the President of Student Senate)  Registrar or Associate Registrar  Director, Learning Services

Resources: 

Frequency of Meetings: As needed.

Note: The Chair of Academic Standards also trains and supervises the work of the Faculty Adjudicators, in accordance with the Academic Integrity Policy.

Committee Weight: 8 (for chair); 4 for other members

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