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               A M A L G A M A T I O N   B U L L E T I N
                        No. 12 - Feb. 25, 1997

To:    All members of the Technical University of Nova Scotia
       and Dalhousie University

From:  Presidents Ted Rhodes and Tom Traves

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This Bulletin will bring you up to date on recent developments in the
amalgamation process.

In the realm of governance, several processes are under way. At the board
level, the names of those who will represent the new college on the
university's board of governors -- as well as of those who will serve on
the college board on behalf of the university board -- are expected to be
announced shortly.

At its Feb. 10 meeting, the Dalhousie Senate passed motions to expand its
membership from approximately 60 to approximately 70 and to distribute
these seats among the 10 multi-disciplinary and professional Faculties and
other constituencies in accordance with the formula set out in the Senate
constitution, effective April 1. The number of elected Senators for each
Faculty and other constituencies will be as follows:

   *    Architecture - 1
   *    Arts & Social Sciences - 7
   *    Computer Science - 1
   *    Dentistry - 1
   *    Engineering - 4
   *    Health Professions - 6
   *    Law - 2
   *    Management - 4
   *    Medicine - 9
   *    Science - 11
   *    Henson - 1
   *    Libraries - 1
   *    Students - 5

These are in addition to the 16 ex-officio members (the President,
Vice-President (Academic and Research), Principal, Deans and the University
Librarian) and the representatives of the University of King's College and
the Nova Scotia Agricultural College.

Elections for the Senate will be held in March.

Turning to academic governance at the College level: the terms of reference
of the Academic Council are almost resolved. The Steering Committees of the
universities' Senates agreed in January on almost all of the proposed terms
of reference for the Academic Council. The points of agreement, subject to
Senate approval, are reproduced below (see Proposed Terms of Reference of
College Academic Council).

The aspect of the relationship between the Senate and the Academic Council
that requires further study pertains to academic appeals and student
discipline. The Steering Committees have established a small ad hoc
committee to review existing academic appeal and student discipline
procedures and to report back to the Steering Committees with a
recommendation. The Academic Council's terms of reference were approved by
the TUNS Senate on Jan. 15 and will also be submitted to the Dalhousie
Senate for approval.

The future organization of the libraries has been decided and is described
below, in the section "The Amalgamated Libraries."

A question of particular interest to staff in central administrative units
-- as well as to those who receive services from these units -- concerns
the status of the operational plans. As you may recall, the managers
appointed to head up merging administrative units were assigned late in
November to propose plans for the organization and operation of the units
in the year following amalgamation. We have now received all the plans. We
have already approved several in principle. We fully expect that all the
plans will be approved by the end of the month.

Employee groups have already been advised informally that, based on the
draft business plans, it is anticipated that the integration of staff will
result in minimal job loss and that redeployment opportunities will offset
this where possible.

University officials are seeking to reach agreement with the Nova Scotia
Government Employees' Union (NSGEU) on bargaining unit structure, since the
NSGEU represents the broadest range of jobs, including trades and custodial
job classes at TUNS (which are represented at Dalhousie by the
International Union of Operating Engineers and the Canadian Union of Public
Employees). Assuming agreement is reached with the NSGEU, these other staff
bargaining units will join the discussions. If agreement cannot be reached,
the bargaining unit structure will be determined by the Labour Relations
Board. The university has also proposed contract bridging provisions to the
NSGEU on the assignment of employees to new work locations; redeployment;
job vacancies; technological change; and seniority. Agreement on these
matters after further discussion would allow the merger to proceed
efficiently, fairly and without delay. Should agreement not be achieved,
the arrangements would be determined by the Labour Relations Board.

As unit operational plans are approved, staff members will be advised of
any changes that will affect them personally, as soon as possible in
accordance with the provisions of any applicable agreements with employee
groups.

Once the units have further refined their plans, there will be a program of
communications to faculty, staff and students at TUNS, in particular, about
the nature and timing of changes in services resulting from the merger of
central administrative units. The services received by faculty, staff and
students now at TUNS will, of necessity, change, given that one of the
objectives of amalgamation was, and is, to streamline and combine
administrative services and save money. At the same time, we are committed
to minimizing the disruption involved for individuals, to the extent
possible. Changes in policies, procedures and services will be phased in.
We will make every effort to ensure that clients are advised in advance of
the nature and timing of changes that will affect them in significant ways.

If there's one thing we know from the experience of other organizations,
it's that amalgamation is extremely complicated and complex. Although
central administrative managers and staff want very much to provide a
smooth transition to central university services for members of the new
college, some surprises are unavoidable. Please be assured of our
commitment to minimizing disruption for you as clients. If you do encounter
problems in accessing central administrative services and do not know whom
to approach with your question or concern, please get in touch with Julia
Eastman, Executive Co-ordinator of Amalgamation (494-2591 or 420-2676;
e-mail: julia.eastman@dal.ca). She will ensure that you get a response and
your information will help central administrative units in the transition
period.

We hope that this update is helpful. A lot of amalgamation-related activity
is happening on many fronts and we will be back in touch with you soon. In
the meantime, please accept our best wishes for the remainder of the term.

President Ted Rhodes                    President Tom Traves
Technical University of                 Dalhousie University
Nova Scotia


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Proposed Terms of Reference of College Academic Council
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The terms of reference of the Academic Council of the College shall
include, but not be limited to, provision for enquiry into all academic and
research matters at the College for the purpose of developing College
regulations and making recommendations to the College Board and the
University Senate as needed.

Responsibility for setting policy on academic matters rests with the
Dalhousie University Senate. The College Academic Council is responsible
and accountable to Senate. Subject to the policies of the University and
authority of Senate, the College Academic Council has the responsibility to:

1.    co-ordinate, plan and approve recommendations on academic and
research activities (including research centres primarily based in the
College) of the College;

2.    conduct quality assurance activities pertaining to academic programs;

3.    provide liaison with relevant professional accreditation bodies;

4.    establish academic priorities to assist in the allocation by the
College Board of the College budget;

5.    participate in the planning process for the physical development of
the College campus to meet the needs of the academic programs and research
centres;

6.    conduct relations with other universities and external agencies that
relate to the academic programs and research activities of the College;

7.    establish and promote international programs related to the academic
programs and research activities of the College;

8.    make recommendations to the Principal on the administration of
Cooperative Education across the College;

9.    recommend admission standards;

10.   make confidential recommendations on the awarding of honorary degrees
and election of honorary fellows;

11.   provide guidelines and approval for credit-bearing Continuing
Education courses and programs;

12.   provide advice and recommendations for the College library;

13.   recommend the establishment of College scholarships;

14.   provide advice and recommendations on the establishment, elimination
or reorganization of academic programs and departments.

NOTE: A 15th item pertaining to the role of the Academic Council in student
discipline and academic appeals is under consideration by a joint ad hoc
committee established by the Steering Committees.


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The Amalgamated Libraries
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A long-standing co-operative relationship will become even closer with the
amalgamation of the TUNS and Dalhousie library operations, says University
Librarian Bill Birdsall.

"Students and researchers at Dal and TUNS have, of course, had access to
each other's collections for years through the Novanet system," Birdsall
says. "So, in some ways, we're well ahead of the game."

Nevertheless, there are some challenges to meet in terms of circulation of
materials. There are also new opportunities for the sharing of resources,
such as on-line databases, and for the development of new collections
required by academic programs and research activities that evolve as a
result of amalgamation. There will also be some administrative changes.

The TUNS College Library will join the Kellogg Health Sciences Library and
the Killam Library, as part of the overall Dalhousie university library
system. The College Library will adopt the name of the new College, which
will be announced in March.

As outlined in its terms of reference, the College Library will have a head
librarian who will be appointed as an Associate University Librarian. The
College Library will occupy a distinct part of the University Libraries
budget and will be subject to university budgetary policy. It will
establish priorities for its budget expenditures in consultation with the
College's Academic Council. College Library representatives will be
eligible for election to Senate, for independent representation on Novanet
committees and other pertinent bodies. College Library department heads
will continue to report to the College's head librarian.

Donna Richardson, who will continue as the head librarian at the TUNS
College Library, says the amalgamation of the library collections will be
beneficial to both institutions because there is little duplication.

"There is very little overlap with Dalhousie, except in Computer Science,"
Richardson says. "Many of the disciplines at TUNS require current, applied
information. We therefore make heavy use of electronic information --
indexes and full text -- which is networked and available throughout the
campus. Dalhousie has a similar, although much larger, library network.
With this infrastructure in place, we should be able to provide more
information to students and faculty at both campuses. Our students would
certainly be interested in Dalhousie's business, chemistry, fine arts,
medicine, and mathematics resources."

Although there are close on-line ties between the two library systems, one
of the challenges that amalgamation will bring centres on the ease of
accessibility to materials stored in separate locations. It's a challenge
that Birdsall says they are committed to solving.

"We're looking at ways to make the collections at all of the Dalhousie
libraries easily accessible to students, regardless of where they are or
what course they are taking."

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Questions and Answers
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Q.    I am currently employed in a research capacity (non-union,
non-faculty) at TUNS. Will there be any changes to benefit packages and
deductions (health, dental, life, etc.)? If any, what will they be and when
will they come into play? I am assuming that Dalhousie, rather than the
College, will be issuing pay cheques after amalgamation. If this is true,
then it seems likely that there would be changes.

A.    Employees of grant holders at TUNS who take part in the TUNS benefits
program will continue to do so after April 1, 1997, and until the Dalhousie
and TUNS benefits programs are merged into a uniform program. This may not
happen until after new collective agreements are negotiated, which would be
sometime after Nov. 1, 1997. Our analysis, so far, indicates that the
programs are similar in terms of coverage, but that the Dalhousie program
is somewhat less expensive for both employer and employee. A number of
programs are rated on claims experience each year. Our rates are adjusted
each March, so some further assessment will be made then. Details of any
changes will be provided once the new program is agreed to.

Q.    I am a student at TUNS who will graduate this spring. Will I graduate
at a TUNS Convocation? A Dal Convocation? Where will it be?

A.    Spring Convocation for graduating TUNS students will be held at the
Metro Centre, as it has in recent years. It will take place on Friday, May
16 at 2 p.m.

Beginning next fall, Convocations for graduands of TUNS and of the new
College are expected to be held at the Cohn Auditorium of the Dalhousie
Arts Centre, as part of the University Convocations.