CIGI doesn’t compromise academic integrity of Laurier

RE: WLU and UW must stand up for academic integrity, Nov. 10

I am pleased that the Editorial Board is concerned about academic integrity. This is an important issue for the whole university community. However, I would like to comment on the issues raised in your editorial of November 10, 2010.

Graduate programs are offered at Laurier only after they receive rigorous review by a number of academic bodies.

Proposals for the Master’s of International Public Policy (MIPP) and the PhD in Global Governance were reviewed and approved by the university’s Graduate Faculty Council, a subcommittee of Senate which includes faculty and student representation.

The proposals were reviewed again by the Senate Academic Planning Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and finally by Senate. After this, they were submitted to the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies for consideration.

That review was focused on the quality of the program.

At no point was any nonacademic group or person permitted to influence the review or the decision to mount the program. Currently, the Laurier programs are overseen by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.

No curriculum changes are permitted without the approval of Graduate Faculty Council and Senate. Laurier is fortunate that both the MIPP and Global Governance students receive scholarship funding from a donor, as well as the opportunity to participate in an international think tank which deals with issues of critical importance our country and the world.

However, neither CIGI, nor any other external body or donor is permitted to determine the curriculum or academic standards of our graduate programs at Laurier.

—Joan E. Norris