Senate approves two new graduate programs
New master’s program in Supply Chain Management
At its March 14 meeting, Senate approved a new Master of/Magesteriate in Supply Chain Management, proposed by the Supply Chain and Business Technology Management Department in the John Molson School of Business (JMSB).
Supply chain management (SCM) is defined in the new program’s executive summary as an “interdisciplinary, integrated approach to the management of material, information and cash flows along supply chains.”
The field includes supply chain operations management (SCOM), marketing, finance, management, information technology management, business intelligence and industrial engineering.
Students in the new 45-credit program will be required to undertake an industry-based applied research project worth 15 credits, designed to expose them to the “trans-disciplinary nature of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) field.”
New graduate diploma in Visual Journalism
Senate also approved a new graduate diploma in Visual Journalism, proposed by Concordia’s Department of Journalism.
The 33-credit program is aimed at students seeking a career in either photojournalism or video journalism, and working journalists who want to supplement their existing professional skills to be able to develop stories across different news platforms.
As explained in the program summary, much of the demand in today’s journalism job market is for polyvalent professionals capable of producing stories for text, video, audio and online media.
New courses include: digital imaging, visual storytelling, news and feature photography, lighting, photo editing, and computer-assisted reporting. “The department believes this program will be an attractive addition to our current journalism offerings and importantly fills a void in university-level journalism education in Canada,” said Brian Gabrial, chair of the Department of Journalism.
CPA program approved
Senate approved revisions to the curriculum of the current Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accountancy (CA) Program in the JMSB, and renamed it the Graduate Diploma in Chartered Professional Accountancy (CPA). Before the three professional orders for accountants were united under the CPA designation, accounting students followed one of three separate educational paths: chartered accountant (CA), certified management accountant (CMA) and certified general accountant (CGA).
Academic Plan update
In his regular update on Concordia’s Academic Plan, Benoit-Antoine Bacon, provost and vice-president of academic affairs, announced that the university’s Research Committee is finalizing the review process for the current round of strategic faculty hires. The final decision on the six positions, funded by a specific envelope under the Academic Plan, will be announced at Senate’s next meeting on April 25.
The provost encouraged faculty members who have not yet done so to participate in the new Explore Concordia web tool (previously research@concordia), which showcases the university’s teaching and learning expertise, facilitates interdisciplinary connections and helps graduate students locate potential supervisors.
The second annual e.SCAPE conference, held from March 5 to 7, was well attended and well received, Bacon told Senate. He pointed out that visiting expert and author Tony Bates, who headlined the event, was very impressed with what he saw happening in eLearning at Concordia. The provost thanked the team of faculty and staff who organized the conference.
Finally, Bacon told Senate that current enrolment figures at Concordia are in line with the five-year average, and that the graduate student ratio has increased, in line with an objective laid out in the current Academic Plan. Bacon pointed out that some recruitment markets, including the rest of Canada and China, are becoming increasingly competitive.