“I believe the task force report will help transform the student experience at York,” said Shoukri.  “I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone who worked on and contributed to this report.”

Among the recommendations accepted by the president are the creation of a Standing Committee on Campus Dialogue to promote open discussion and debate on timely issues of global significance; the creation of more and better student study and social space on campus; expanding the existing Student Code of Conduct to include certain fundamental student rights; and better enforcement of University policies relating to the use of space on campus.

The University has already acted on several of the recommendations in the report. Initiatives currently underway include:

• Immediate implementation of 24 hour student access to the Scott Library  five days a week as of October 4, 2009 for the remainder of the fall term, and from January 31, 2010 through to the end of April.
• Creation of the Standing Committee on Campus Dialogue and appointment of Professor David Leyton-Brown as the co-chair of the standing committee. The mandate of the standing committee will be to foster greater debate and dialogue on the campus, in accordance with the recommendations of the task force. Leyton-Brown will develop an inclusive process for nominations and applications for membership on the standing committee. 
• Initiating a review of student space on campus with a view to making better use of existing space for student study and social use, and making it a priority to add additional student space in the future.
• Streamlining the process of booking space through an online booking procedure (to be in place by October 31, 2009), coupled with better enforcement of Temporary Use of University Space policies.
• Reviewing and renaming the Student Code of Conduct, adding student rights to the code, and providing a streamlined process for enforcement.
• Improving communications with students, including the installation of 25 LCD message boards on the Keele campus by the end of October 2009.
• The Respect and Inclusivity Awareness Tutorial to be launched on October 5 to coincide with the Inclusion Day conference.

“The President has accepted and begun implementation of virtually all the recommendations put forward by the task force”, said Vice-President Academic and Provost Patrick Monahan, who chaired the 13-member task force of students, faculty and administrators. “I am extremely pleased with the president’s immediate and positive response, and grateful to my fellow task force members for their constructive efforts in developing these changes that have already begun to improve the student experience on our campus.”

The president’s full response to the task force report is available here.

To view responses to each recommendation, click here.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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Media contact:

Alex Bilyk, Director, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 5603, bilyk@yorku.ca