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 Linda Kay Peters (right) shows off her custom-designed jacket to Yvonne Brant (left) at a Holiday Craft Fair hosted by the Trent Central Student Association in the Wenjack Foyer on November 23. Classes end Dec. 11 and exams begin Dec. 13. The university will be closed for the holiday break beginning on Thursday, Dec. 23. It re-opens Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000. The process is underway to determine whether Trent will offer a PhD program in Canadian Studies in conjunction with Carleton University. Paul Healy, Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, says the first visit by an external reviewer for the proposed new program has taken place. Creation of every new graduate program in the province is overseen by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS). OCGS requires reports from three visiting consultants, experts in the field under review, for a doctoral program. "For several years we've had discussions about the creation of a new Canadian Studies PhD program," Healy says. "We decided some time ago we would mount this in conjunction with Carleton, which also has a great deal of depth in this field, as a joint program." The proposal has been discussed (and approved) by Trent's Committee on Graduate Studies (CGS), Faculty Board and the university Senate. The external review is the next step. The three consultant reports are sent to ocgs and the university, which then prepares a reply. The reports, the reply, and the initial submission, three volumes in length, will be reviewed by the appraisals committee of OCGS, which decides whether or not the program will commence. OCGS, a branch of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), provides advice to the Ontario government on post-secondary education. The appraisals committee of OCGS is made up of senior faculty with experience in graduate education, nominated from all Ontario universities. Members have expertise in a range of disciplines. "Typically, they are highly regarded academics and researchers." The council itself is composed of the deans of graduate studies of all Ontario universities. Healy is Trent's representative, and chair of OCGS, in 1999-2000. "It is a long process, but very thorough. It looks at faculty, library resources, labs and equipment if it is a science program, space available, structure and curriculum." An OCGS decision will likely be made next spring or summer, Healy says. |
