The UTSC Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) and the UTSC Campus Affairs Committee (CAC) met on February 8 and 9, respectively. The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) proposed increasing its fees to up to $527 per semester, while the UTSC Office of Student Experience and Wellbeing (OSEW) proposed to increase its fees to up to $432.25 per semester.

UTSC Vice-Dean Teaching, Learning and Undergraduate Programs Katherine Larson also announced that UTSC will offer 21 new courses for the 2023–2024 academic year, in addition to the 17 courses proposed to the AAC in January. 

Incidental fee increases

At the CAC, UTSC Dean of Student Experience and Wellbeing Neel Joshi presented the SCSU’s proposal to increase undergraduate students’ union fees for the 2023–2024 academic year. 

The SCSU plans to increase its fees for full-time students by 6.9 per cent, from $493.07 up to $527 per semester, and for part-time students by 4.5 per cent, from $53.62 up to $56.05. These fee increases reflect increases in the UTSC Sports and Recreation Complex levy, health and dental plan, and Student Centre portions of the SCSU’s fees, among other components.

At the meeting, Joshi also presented the OSEW’s proposal to increase its fees for all students by 2.74 per cent in the 2023–2024 academic year. This means that the OSEW will charge full-time students up to $432.25 per semester and part-time students up to $86.45. These fee increases will go toward Health and Wellness services, Athletics and Recreation, Career Services, and Academic Support, among others.

Amrith David, the SCSU’s vice-president academics and university affairs and interim president, gave a speech of approval for the OSEW fee increases. “The new increased budgets would benefit the overall student body here at UTSC,” said David.

The CAC voted to recommend these two proposals, with one abstention each. These fee increases are subject to approval by the UTSC Campus Council in March.

New courses at UTSC

At the AAC, Larson announced that UTSC will introduce 21 new courses next year.

The Department of English will add an online option for seven courses, including the program requirement course ENGA01H3 — What is Literature? These changes aim to make courses more accessible for students and “are based on experience the department had during the pandemic.”.

The online options will also allow some courses to accommodate more students. Larson clarified that in-person versions of each of the courses will continue to run and that she projects there will be “plenty of students” continuing to take the in-person classes.

The Department of Language Studies will offer 13 of the new courses to enrich the existing major and minor in English and Chinese Translation. New course offerings include ECTC64H3 — Translating Cultures in a Polarizing World, a course designed to teach students theoretical knowledge in analyzing contemporary issues concerning cultural translation. Another highlight is ECTC65H3 — Translation and Religion, which will cover a variety of religions including Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam in the context of translation. 

The AAC and CAC will meet again on March 22 and 23, respectively.