York’s Senate met on October 22 to discuss several agenda items relevant to the university’s long-term plans. These include a large donation to the Markham campus, and the approval of the Policy on York University Grading Schemes, which will transition York’s grading scale from a nine-point scale to the standard four-point scale starting in 2023.
“I am very pleased that the new Policy on Grading Schemes was approved at the meeting,” says Dr. Chloë Brushwood Rose, chair of the Senate’s Academic Standards, Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee.
The new policy will not impact the majority of students currently studying at York, as it goes into effect for the 2023/2024 year. Moreover, students who remain enrolled at that time will not have any of their past grades converted on their transcripts — only their grades from 2023-24 onwards will have the new grading policy applied.
For future students, the change will pave the way when applying to other post-secondary institutions or professional school options, such as law school or medical school. Both the Ontario Law School Application Service (OLSAS) and the Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS) use a four-point scale. The new grading policy will save future York students from having to estimate the conversions from the nine-point scale to the four-point GPA using a complicated conversion table.
“I believe the new policy will enhance student success, both while students are at York, but also when they seek to move to other institutions,” says Brushwood Rose.
In honour of this contribution, York will be naming the new atrium at the campus after the Bratty family. The campus is set to open in 2023, and will be the first public university campus in York Region.
The Senate discussed a few other agenda items related to long-term planning. Another notable approval made at the meeting established the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change Faculty Council, an essential component of York’s newest faculty.
At the meeting, President Rhonda L. Lenton also acknowledged a significant contribution made to the Markham Centre Campus (MCC). The R. P. Bratty Family Foundation’s donation of $10M will be integral to the campus’s construction.
“The university is incredibly grateful to the Bratty family and the R.P. Bratty Family Foundation for their generous gift toward the future Markham Centre Campus, and their visionary leadership as supporters of higher education,” Lenton stated to YFile.
In honour of this contribution, York will be naming the new atrium at the campus after the Bratty family. The campus is set to open in 2023, and will be the first public university campus in York Region.
Like many of the other items discussed at this meeting, this agenda item may not impact York students this year, but will definitely shape the lives of students to come, and York’s overall mission.
“This contribution will not only support the MCC’s ability to provide a high-quality student learning experience in newly emerging and high demand programs, but facilitate the research, innovation, and creative activities contributing to York’s larger mission to build inclusive and resilient communities in one of the fastest-growing regions in Canada,” concluded Lenton.
