S.99-39
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC
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MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate
From:
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D. Gagan, Chair
Senate Committee on Academic Planning
Subject: ?
External Review/Academic Plan - School of Kinesiology
(SCAP Reference: SCAP 99- 15)
Date: ?
April 19, 1999
For Information
Attached are:
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Three-Year Plan for the School of Kinesiology
and the summary of the External Review
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MEMORANDUM
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SCAt'
99-15
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
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a
DATE:
March 26, 1999
TO: ?
Alison Watt, Secretary, SCAP
FROM:
Ron Marteniuk, Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences
RE: ?
School of Kinesiology External Review - SCAP Approval
Enclosed please find the relevant documents in regard to the School of Kinesiology external review.
I now wish to put forward the motion which follows:
Amended motion approved by SCAP April 14, 1999:
That SCAP approve the Academic Plan for the School of Kinesiology and forward i t to
Senate for information.
Ron Marteniuk, Dean
Faculty of Applied Sciences
RlvIJlc
Enclosures
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REVIEW OF SCHOOL OF KINESIOLOGY
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FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
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SIMON ERASER UNIVERSITY
June 16, 17, 18, 1997
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Members
of
External
Review Committee
Dr. P. Wainwright, Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, ON.
(Chair)
Dr. Z. Hasan,
School
ofKinesiology and Department of Physical Therapy,
University of Illinois
at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Dr. M. Smith, Department of Biology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
Dr. S. Wallace, Department of }cinesiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
I. ABSTRACT
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During the years since the previous review in 1990 the School
of Kinesiology, under the
Directorship of Dr.
J. A. Hoffer, has been active in planning for a future that takes into account
role to be played by Simon Fraser University in the face of the rapidly evolving context of post-
secondary education in British Columbia. In the 1996 report of the President's Committee on
University Planning, interdisciplinary-related subject areas, including health-related programs,
have been identified as areas with potential for growth. It is clear that the diversity of scholarly
interests of the faculty, and hence the scope of the programs offered by the School of Kinesiology,
places it in a unique position to contribute to the development, integration and dissemination of
knowledge across a range of disciplines as it relates to human health and performance. The
current mission statement of the School reads as follows:
"Our mission is to study human structure and function and their relation to health and
movement. We seek to advance, supply and disseminate relevant knowledge and
expertise"
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In
the interests of defining research and teaching emphases, the basic areas of study have been
defined as i) movement and its control, ii) regulation and adaptation of physiological systems and
ill)
growth, development and aging, with applications identified in i) health promotion, ii)
prevention of injury and disease, iii) functional evaluation and rehabilitation,
iv)
ergonomics/human factors, and v) environmental, exercise and work physiology. This is currently
being operationalised in the undergraduate program through the development of core
requirements which are accompanied by a choice of specialising in one of four streams, namely
human movement, human factors, active health and physiological sciences. The graduate program
offers students opportunities for
specialised advanced
research training and education in the areas
that reflect faculty expertise, and where the diversity represents exciting possibilities for
collaboration in research, and in teaching. In addition to its commitment to undergraduate and
graduate education, including co-operative education at the undergraduate level, the School has
expanded its activities with respect to community outreach and education, examples of this being
the Mobile laboratory, and the Geraldine and Tong Louie Performance Centre, as well as the
Distance and Continuing Education programs.
The strength of any academic unit depends on the strength of its individual members, faculty, staff
and students, as well as their dedication to serving the interests of the larger whole, in this case,
the School. We were impressed by the accomplishments of the school in all areas, teaching
research and service. The Undergraduate program is seen as generally strong and highly relevant
to the needs of society with respect to preventive and rehabilitative health. However, the
increasing demand for this program, as evidenced by the continued increase in enrollment, is
putting considerable strains on the available resources with respect to both space and personnel.
Although the implementation of the streams in the Undergraduate curriculum is seen as a positive
development in terms of defining teaching emphases for the School, these have not been
developed as well as they might, and presently are not regarded as functional. Further
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development of the undergraduate curriculum stands to benefit from increased involvement of the
tenure-track faculty in the administration of the Undergraduate program, as well as increased
consideration of the needs of the curriculum in making hiring decisions. With respect to their
research endeavours, the faculty are regarded as very strong scholars who are making
contributions to their respective research areas. This strength in research provides a firm
underpinning for establishing, an effective environment for very successful graduate education,
although this could be improved by more interaction among faculty members in terms of graduate
teaching and setting up collaborative research initiatives at the graduate level. One further area
that needs to be addressed with respect to the graduate program is the establishment of consistent
expectations of what constitutes a Masters or Ph.D. thesis, as well as mechanisms for ensuring
that students complete the program in a reasonable time frame. The School provides valuable
service to the community through its distance and continuing education initiatives, as well as
through its outreach programs. Moreover, its continuing ties with alumni through the close
association with the B.C. Association of Kinesiologists is to be commended.
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Given the perceived strengths and achievements of the faculty and staff, as well as their expressed
enthusiasm for the mission of the School, we were concerned about the level of divisiveness
among some of the faculty, which appears to present significant obstacles to their effective
collaboration with respect to both graduate and undergraduate teaching, as well as in research.
The negative impact of this interpersonal conflict on the overall working environment appears to
be considerable, particularly, but not exclusively, for staff members, as well as graduate students.
The report of the 1990 external review saw the divisions as arising from a lack of focus in the
School's mission, whereas we relate them as well to deficits with respect to collegiality and
mutual respect among the faculty. The divisiveness within the School is clearly of long standing,
and it has been endured during the tenure of the previous Director (who is also the Director-elect)
as well as the present Director. We suggest therefore that the attempt to resolve these issues be a
top priority of the new Director, and that he should discourage the development of cliques by
adopting a decision-making process that is open to the participation of and input from all faculty.
In conclusion, we see the School of Kinesiology as a unit that is vital to the mission of Simon
Fraser University in offering University-based education in health related areas. Despite the
problems that we have identified, we deem it strong and well worthy of support in realising its
considerable potential. We trust, therefore, that our recommendations will be seen as useful in
helping it to achieve these objectives.
H. SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Undergraduate
Program
i.
The School and Administration should initiate a process to determine whether additional
resources should be allocated to Kinesiology to meet the demands of their increasing
enrollment.
ii.
We recommend that servicing a common undergraduate core become a priority for the
School. In view of the increased enrollment more tenure-track faculty may have to become
involved in the teaching the core courses, which will require reassessment of the
specialised courses currently being offered at the upper level. It is also important that new
hires be able to teach the courses required by the core curriculum.
iii.
This core is seen as lacking two courses, the one being a course in the Social-
Psychological aspects of Kinesiology, and the second a course in Scientific Methods and
Research Design. Should the appropriate resources be assigned, the School may wish to
consider hiring a faculty member with the appropriate expertise. Failing this, the School
might consider the possibility of adding these courses in collaboration with other academic
units on campus, e.g. Psychology.
iv.
The School should re-assess the role of the streams in the Undergraduate program. These
have the potential to augment the focus of the curriculum. However, unless they are
supported by the appropriate courses being available in the appropriate sequences, they
are unlikely to be successful.
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V. ?
Incentives and other measures should be instituted to elevate the importance of both
teaching and the involvement of the tenure track faculty in the undergraduate program.
Graduate Program
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i. ?
The School should take measures to actively promote cohesiveness and mutual awareness
and respect among the different areas of study. Such measure might include:
- regularly scheduled seminars with
attendance by all members of the School, with
speakers drawn from amongst the faculty (including faculty from other
departments on campus), graduate students, and invited scientists
- involvement of students in laboratory rotations
- a requirement for a common graduate course in research design and
methodology
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H. ?
In the interests of breadth, as well as of ensuring consistency of standards and
expectations, the School should actively promote diversity in the membership of
supervisory committees. At the Ph. D. level this is seen as particularly important for Part
2 of the comprehensive; exams.
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iii. ?
Supervisory committees should take a more active role in the guidance of students,
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especially at the Masters level, where timely completion of the degree requirements
appears to be a problem.
Faculty
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It is important that the School make it a top priority to re-establish collegial relations
among the faculty. This may be facilitated by initiatives such as a retreat, possibly with the
services of a professional mediator.
ii.
The procedures currently in place for faculty evaluation should be reviewed at both the
level of Dean of the Faculty and the Director of the School.
iii.
The School should be encouraged to review its procedures whereby hiring decisions are
made in order to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the requirements of
research (necessity to hire scientists with strong potential for generating and supporting
research activity") and teaching (necessity to support the established directions of the
undergraduate, and, to a lesser extent, graduate curricula,).
iv.
Before any decisions can be made with respect to the hiring of the Environmental
Physiologist, as well as the replacement for Dr. Richardson, the School needs to establish
clear priorities with respect to the allocation of resource to the Environmental Unit.
Administration and Resources
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We recommend that a desk audit be considered to determine whether the secretaries are
understaffed, and whether the Departmental Assistant
is
in a position to assume the
demands generated by the additional students in terms of advising, etc.
ii.
As discussed above under Faculty (i), staff members should be included in initiatives to
improve the working environment.
iii.
In view of the increased enrollment, the space needs of the administrative staff should be
re-assessed.
iv.
Graduate students should be provided with a common area.
V. ?
A common seminar room should be found, of sufficient capacity to hold seminars
involving all members o the School.
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Internal and External Connections
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The School's excellent outreach programs should continue to be supported.
ii. ?
The School may consider raising its profile on campus in various ways, for example, by
participation in campus wide general interest lectures or colloquia.
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6
3-YEAR PLAN
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OF THE?
SCHOOL
OF KINEsI0LOGY
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November, 1997
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
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3-YEAR PLAN
1. ASSUMPTIONS
This plan has been prepared on the basis of an assumption that there will be no
extra resources provided to the School of Kinesiology in terms of faculty, staff or
operating budget for the 3-year period. Should it be the case that this assumption
is violated, then other measures would have to be taken in order to cope with
changed circumstances. However, given the assumption that the School of
Kinesiology will remain with its current complement of faculty, staff and
operating budget, we view the 3-Year Plan as outlined in this document as
reasonable and feasible.
2. REPLACEMENT PosiTioNs
During the next three years, the School of Kinesiology will have one retirement.
This position will be vacant from September 1998. An application for
authorization to replace this position has been made to the Dean of the Faculty of
Applied Sciences. It is essential to the School to replace this position to help
meet current demand for courses. Specifically, the School has requirements in
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terms of the teaching of neuroscience, nutrition and active rehabilitation. A
decision with respect to the advertisement will be made when authorization is
received. Applicants will be sought who have excellent research potential and
who can contribute to the School in terms of the delivery of specific courses.
While our assumption is that no new faculty will be provided to the School of
Kinesiology by the University, it is possible that external funds may be available.
The Development Office has identified a major potential donation which may be
directed in part to the School of Kinesiology. This possibility will be pursued.
3. UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
The following plan has evolved from discussions and decisions made by the
Kinesiology Undergraduate Program Committee (UPC) over the last 18 months,
from the Self Study document prepared by the School for the External Review
Committee in Summer 1997, from the subsequent report of the External Review
Committee, and from School responses to a position paper prepared by the Chair
of the UPC on October 24, 1997.
A number of current practices will be maintained in terms of our offerings in the
Undergraduate program. In particular, we intend to continue to provide the best
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possible program to our undergraduate students. Priority in this delivery will
remain with our majors. Increased demand for our courses necessitates that
over the next 3 years a study be undertaken to ensure that we make the best
predictions that we can concerning enrollments. This study will use the services
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
of Analytical Studies as well as in-house analysis. Each semester the
Departmental Assistant will prepare a table indicating the number of newly
approved majors, the number of current majors, the number of spaces offered in
each course, and the number of spaces filled in each course, the unfilled demand
for each course, and the number of students graduating with each of the
credentials. These data will be used in order to facilitate scheduling.
Intake
An increase of 40% in FTE's experienced between 1992 and 1997 has resulted in
increasing difficulties for our majors in securing courses they need in a timely
fashion. It is necessary that we reduce our intake of majors. We aim to reduce
the number of majors to 120 per year from the current 150. This will be
accomplished by manipulating the required CGPA for approval as a major. In
the first instance, a CGPA of 2.5 in required 100 and 200 level courses will be
used. Following the comprehensive study and evaluation of the effects of the
new regulations, subsequent adjustments will be made (probably on an annual
basis). We will increase the proportion of majors who are admitted directly from
high school, maintain the proportion of majors who transfer from other
programs at SFU, and decrease the proportion of majors admitted as transfers
from colleges.
Total FTE's will be maintained by increased enrollment in 100 and 200 level
service courses, but only when this can be achieved without increased resources
(in particular, without increased teaching assistant resources). This may be
achieved by elimination of tutorials, tutorials occurring every other week, use of
open laboratories, or electronically provided laboratory experience (all decisions
subject to the Collective Agreement with TSSU).
Scheduling
Following the results of the comprehensive study and on the basis of each
semester's data provided by the Departmental Assistant, scheduling decisions
will be made. It is anticipated that it will be required that core Kinesiology
courses will be offered at least 2 semesters every years. The demand, however,
will be monitored on the basis of the result of our studies. After some experience
with this process, it should be possible to provide a 3-year schedule of course
offerings which will be publicized to students so that they may plan ahead. The
result of our study and data collection may also require the offering of increased
numbers of courses in the Summer semester. We also intend to carry out a pilot
project in which we "overbook" classes to match an anticipated drop rate.
Effectiveness of this strategy will be monitored on a semester basis. As a result of
oversubscription to classes, we have felt it necessary to institute a new system of
managing the waiting list or demand lists for courses. Our new plan is to hire a
person
temporary
will
clerical
collect
person
data regarding
for the second
students
week
attempting
of classes
to
each
gain entry
semester.
into
Thiscourses
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and will meet with faculty members teaching in that semester to decide the
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
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priority for admission, enter the adds into the computer registration system and
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notify the students that they have been added.
Class Size/format
The size of KIN 200 level courses will be reviewed and where possible extended
to accommodate demand. It is hoped that courses in the upper levels can be
maintained at their current size. If enrollment is low, i.e., less than 15 students,
these courses will be reviewed in order to identify the reasons that so few
students are registering and consider whether the same rate of offering is
appropriate.
Curriculum
The Undergraduate Program Committee will review the current program with
the aim of reducing overlap among courses, which may result in reducing the
total number of Kinesiology courses. it is anticipated that this may be in part
counterbalanced by the establishment of new courses in areas of specialization of
recently hired faculty members. Consolidation of course offerings at the 3rd and
4th year may enable us to offer the remaining courses more frequently.
A recent survey of students who graduated in 1993 reports that 100% of the
Kinesiology graduates surveyed said that the instruction they received in
Kinesiology was good or very good. Occasionally, negative reports about courses
are received. If a particular course receives complaints or poor evaluations on a
consistent basis, these courses will be reviewed and attempts made to address the
problems.
A review will also be made of the role of KIN 203 and STAT 301 in our program.
STAT 301 has been criticized as not meeting the requirements of the Kinesiology
student. If this problem cannot be resolved, we will mount a new lower division
course in measurement and evaluation. This will be accomplished with
expertise of the existing faculty and may be a replacement for or a revision of
KIN 203. It was recommended in the External Review that Kinesiology should
offer a course in the psychology of physical activity. A modification to the
existing course, KIN 320, so that it better covers such issues as motivation
towards and adherence to physical activity will be made. This course might be
re-titled, "The Social Psychology of Physical Activity." We will then consider
whether this course should remain a specialty course or become a part of the core
program.
Streams
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The issues of streams remains somewhat contentious. Nevertheless, there seem
to be compelling reasons to leave them as they are for now while we collect more
objective data.
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
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We shall reconsider streams once we have better student data and student access
to courses improves by (a) a reduction in number of majors (see "intake"), (b) a
reduction in total number of KIN courses in the Calendar (see "curriculum") and
(c) increased frequency of offering each course (see "scheduling").
It is possible that external forces will have an impact on the streams. For
example, the Human Factors Association of Canada has recently announced the
requirements for programs to be accredited as providing appropriate training in
Human Factors/Ergonomics. Our streams in this area will need to respond to
this initiative.
Distance Education
Over the next three years it is anticipated that distance education will continue to
form a significant part of our FTE's. Development of new courses will depend
on demand and resources. Developments currently underway include our
recently approved nutrition courses. By the end of the 3-year plan all courses for
the Certificate in Nutrition should be available in the distance mode.
We will transfer responsibility for setting assignments to the person who will be
the Course Supervisor (currently, assignments for the subsequent semester are
set by the CS in the current semester). We will appoint Course Supervisor much
earlier each semester, before the Centre for Distance Education deadlines for
assignments and other changes to the course materials.
We also intend to improve return rate on evaluations of Tutor/Markers by
students from current 18% to rates comparable to KIN courses taught on campus.
We may accomplish this by (a) sending the evaluation form for Distance
Education (DE) students who write exams out of town to their proctor rather
than to the student him/herself and (b) administering the course evaluation for
the DE students who write the exam on campus after the final exam.
We also plan to schedule revision of course materials (e.g., study guide,
assignments, exams), rather than the current practice of revisions occuring on an
ad hoc basis. This schedule will be publicized to the School.
Co-Operative Education Program in Kinesiologij
In response to the positive comments regarding the Kinesiology Co-op Program
noted in both the recent Kinesiology External Review and the Survey of 1995
Graduates, the Kinesiology Co-op Program remains committed to growth. This
is reflected both in terms of the breadth of scope and number of workplace
opportunities available to students. Our commitment to quality remains
unwavering. As an example, current revisions of the overall co-op curriculum
at SFU and provincially have been championed by the SFU Kinesiology Co-op
Program, and as a consequence Kinesiology students have been the first
recipients of this enhanced curriculum.
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
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SThe goals are to continue to provide quality learning opportunities in
workplaces relevant to Kinesiology, to facilitate and support the students in this
learning, and to contribute to the enhanced education (and resultant
employability) of the graduates of the Kinesiology program at SFU. We see the
role of Co-op as complementary to the traditional academic programs at the
University.
Currently we develop work term opportunities consistent with each stream as
well as areas not directly focused on by the School but reflective of the
marketplace into which our graduates enter (e.g. professional school, active
rehabilitation). We hope to continue to respond to new employment related
directions that faculty may bring through their research and teaching. As well,
we will attempt to anticipate new markets and market trends. Wherever
possible we strive to ensure SFU Kinesiology Co-op students are competitive in
their chosen endeavours after graduation.
We are aiming to continue our 10-year growth pattern, anticipating
approximately 8-10% growth per annum over the next three years which would
see approximately 150 work term placements by the year 2000.
We also hope to explore the potential of Graduate Co-op, particularly in
conjunction with the proposed Post-Graduate Diploma. As well, we hope to
continue growth in rehabilitation and ergonomics and seek support for this by
way of regular course offerings (existing and new) reflecting these areas.
4. GRADUATE PROGRAM
The Graduate Program Committee is currently considering the possibility of
expanding graduate offerings. We see a demand for either a course-work masters
degree or postgraduate diploma program. A recommendation concerning the
nature of this expansion will be forthcoming from the GPC early in the new year.
The GPC also recommends some changes to the existing graduate program. The
proposed changes to the Graduate Program are intended to address problems of
course scheduling, breadth of knowledge and uniformity of standards in
different sub-disciplines. Courses which have not been recently offered and
which have little prospect of being offered in the future will be removed from
the Calendar. Courses will be implemented with a broad appeal to students in
different disciplines. These will include:
• a course on research methods and design, which will include a component
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on statistical methods, appropriate to the research being conducted in the
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various laboratories of the School of Kinesiology. Instruction will also be
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provided in the use of available statistics software packages. This course
may become a required course for every graduate student unless the
student has previously passed an equivalent course or can demonstrate
competency by a course challenge.
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
• a seminar course in which students will be required to present a seminar
related to the activities of the laboratory in which they are conducting their
research. It is anticipated that this will be a one credit required course
which all graduate students will attend.
• a course dealing with scientific communication. Although this course will
not be a required course, it is anticipated that it will have broad appeal and
will serve to educate students about the research taking place in different
laboratories.
• two survey courses which cover a spectrum of topics of interest to students
studying physiological systems or motor control. These courses will be
team-taught.
It is also intended that these courses become core courses for the new post-
graduate diploma program or course-work masters. The introduction of courses
with broad appeal and the increase in student numbers from a new program will
make enrollments more predictable and should allow course schedules to be
drawn up at least one year in advance. The regular offering and broad appeal of
the new courses should also encourage greater participation by graduate students,
as well as ensuring more exposure to the activities being carried out in different
laboratories.
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Measures are being undertaken to promote more involvement of supervisory
committees in guiding the students' education and research. Recommendations
for changes may include students being required to provide justification for the
choice of each committee member before approval by the Graduate Program
Committee. A process will be instituted whereby the student will be required to
meet with each member of the supervisory committee at regular intervals at
least twice each year to report on his/her progress. Supervisory committee
members will be encouraged to advise the students in these meetings and will
have the opportunity to express any concerns about the student's progress. The
reports will be passed on to the Graduate Program Committee. The Graduate
Program Committee will also take a more active role in ensuring that Ph.D.
comprehensive examinations are broadly based and not simply tailored to the
area of specialization.
INFRASTRUCTURE
A. Staff
A reorganization in the
technical staff
of the School has recently been made. The
engineer in the School has moved to a half-time position with Kinesiology and a
full-time technician has been hired. This move was made in order to satisfy
demand within the School of Kinesiology. It was found that the high technical
skills of the engineer were being under used in the day-to-day technical services
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
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required by the School. Thus is was felt expedient to share his time with the
Department of Psychology and to hire a technician to handle the routine
maintenance and trouble-shooting of computer and equipment needs. It is
anticipated that the new format of technical service will continue throughout
the duration of the 3-Year Plan.
The other technical position within the department is that of Research Engineer
in the Environmental Physiology Unit (EPU). This position will become vacant
on January 1, 1999 as a result of the retirement of the incumbent. In order for the
EPU to continue operations, it is advisable that this position be replaced by a
chamber operator. It is to be hoped that an appointment will be made in which
chamber operation can be combined with engineering and technical service
which will be of benefit to other members of the EPU and the School of
Kinesiology as a whole. It is also possible that part of the salary assigned to this
position may also be used to fund a "soft money" position which could attract
the services of a physician or other environmental physiologist who might work
within the EPU. These proposals will be discussed by the Committee of the
Whole at subsequent meetings.
A review of the functioning of the
central office
of the School of Kinesiology will
be conducted. Specifically, it will be ascertained whether the current staffing
within the unit is appropriate for the volume of work. In particular, a work
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audit will be carried out in order to determine whether adjustments should be
made in the job descriptions of the Departmental Assistant and half-time
Financial Clerk. Greater faculty involvement in the advising process will also be
a priority.
The
Geraldine and Tong Louie Centre is
an important part of the outreach
service and downtown presence of the School of Kinesiology. The current
Executive Director has recently resigned, his resignation being effective
December 19, 1997. Currently, 33% of this salary is provided by the School of
Kinesiology. And ad hoc committee has been established to bring forward to the
School recommendations concerning the replacement of that position and for
the terms and conditions of the new position.
2. Equipment
The School of Kinesiology is dependent upon allocations of equipment money
from the University for its teaching function, although faculty have frequently
made available equipment bought from research grants for teaching purposes.
While every attempt will be made to keep the equipment in the School of
Kinesiology current so that our students may have access and learn from the
latest developments in technology, it cannot be guaranteed that we will be able to
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replace equipment and to make updates on a regular basis. However, it is our
continued intention that when equipment requests are reviewed computing and
laboratory equipment for teaching purposes will have the highest priority.
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
3. Research
The School of Kinesiology maintains its commitment over the next three years
towards achieving excellence in research. This will be partially achieved by
providing a climate of encouragement and acceptance of faculty member's
research. It is understood that the reputation of the School of Kinesiology
beyond the local area is determined by the quality of the research and
publications that this unit produces. Tangible support for research within the
School of Kinesiology will be provided by the use of available funds. In
particular, any fallout from sabbaticals, buyouts, or unfilled positions will be used
in part to support faculty in their research endeavours. This may in part be by
the use of such funds for providing leverage for applications for equipment and
research support by faculty members. We will also continue the incentive
recently introduced within the School of Kinesiology with respect to overhead
recoveries from contract
research. 50% of recoveries accruing to the School will
be returned to the initiating laboratory. The School will continue to support
applications for grants and contracts initiated by faculty members. In addition,
the School will continue to provide funds from its resources for conduct of
conferences and symposia organized by members of the School.
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ATTACHED MATERIAL WAS AVAILABLE TO SENATORS ON REQUEST
FILED FOR INFORMATION
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3-YEAR PLAN?
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SCHOOL OF KINEsI0L0GY
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November, 1997
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3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
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3-YEAR PLAN
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1. ASSUMPTIONS
This plan has been prepared on the basis of an assumption that there will be no
extra resources provided to the School of Kinesiology in terms of faculty, staff or
operating budget for the 3-year period. Should it be the case that this assumption
is violated, then other measures would have to be taken in order to cope with
changed circumstances. However, given the assumption that the School of
Kinesiology will remain with its current complement of faculty, staff and
operating budget, we view the 3-Year Plan as outlined in this document as
reasonable and feasible.
2.
REPLACEMENT POSITIONS
During the next three years, the School of Kinesiology will have one retirement.
This position will be vacant from September 1998. An application for
authorization to replace this position has been made to the Dean of the Faculty of
Applied Sciences. It is essential to the School to replace this position to help
meet current demand for courses. Specifically, the School has requirements in
terms of the teaching of neuroscience, nutrition and active rehabilitation. A
decision with respect to the advertisement will be made when authorization is
received. Applicants will be sought who have excellent research potential and
who can contribute to the School in terms of the delivery of specific courses.
While our assumption is that no new faculty will be provided to the School of
Kinesiology by the University, it is possible that external funds may be available.
The Development Office has identified a major potential donation which may be
directed in part to the School of Kinesiology. This possibility will be pursued.
3. UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
The following plan has evolved from discussions and decisions made by the
Kinesiology Undergraduate Program Committee (UPC) over the last 18 months,
from the Self Study document prepared by the School for the External Review
Committee in Summer 1997, from the subsequent report of the External Review
Committee, and from School responses to a position paper prepared by the Chair
of the UPC on October 24, 1997.
A number of current practices will be maintained in terms of our offerings in the
Undergraduate program. In particular, we intend to continue to provide the best
possible program to our undergraduate students. Priority in this delivery will
remain with our majors. Increased demand for our courses necessitates that
over the next 3 years a study be undertaken to ensure that we make the best
predictions that we can concerning enrollments. This study will use the services
2
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
of Analytical Studies as well as in-house analysis. Each semester the
Departmental Assistant will prepare a table indicating the number of newly
approved majors, the number of current majors, the number of spaces offered in
each course, and the number of spaces filled in each course, the unfilled demand
for each course, and the number of students graduating with each of the
credentials. These data will be used in order to facilitate scheduling.
Intake
An increase of 40% in FTE's experienced between 1992 and 1997 has resulted in
increasing difficulties for our majors in securing courses they need in a timely
fashion. It is necessary that we reduce our intake of majors. We aim to reduce
the number of majors to 120 per year from the current 150. This will be
accomplished by manipulating the required CGPA for approval as a major. In
the first instance, a CGPA of 2.5 in required 100 and 200 level courses will be
used. Following the comprehensive study and evaluation of the effects of the
new regulations, subsequent adjustments will be made (probably on an annual
basis). We will increase the proportion of majors who are admitted directly from
high school, maintain the proportion of majors who transfer from other
programs at SFU, and decrease the proportion of majors admitted as transfers
from colleges.
Total FTE's will be maintained by increased enrollment in 100 and 200 level
service courses, but only when this can be achieved without increased resources
(in particular, without increased teaching assistant resources). This may be
achieved by elimination of tutorials, tutorials occurring every other week, use of
open laboratories, or electronically provided laboratory experience (all decisions
subject to the Collective Agreement with TSSU).
Scheduling
Following the results of the comprehensive study and on the basis of each
semester's data provided by the Departmental Assistant, scheduling decisions
will be made. It is anticipated that it will be required that core Kinesiology
courses will be offered at least 2 semesters every years. The demand, however,
will be monitored on the basis of the result of our studies. After some experience
with this process, it should be possible to provide a 3-year schedule of course
offerings which will be publicized to students so that they may plan ahead. The
result of our study and data collection may also require the offering of increased
numbers of courses in the Summer semester. We also intend to carry out a pilot
project in which we "overbook" classes to match an anticipated drop rate.
Effectiveness of this strategy will be monitored on a semester basis. As a result of
oversubscription to classes, we have felt it necessary to institute a new system of
managing the waiting list or demand lists for courses. Our new plan is to hire a
temporary clerical person for the second week of classes each semester. This
person will collect data regarding students attempting to gain entry into courses
and will meet with faculty members teaching in that semester to decide the
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
priority for admission, enter the adds into the computer registration system and
notify the students that they have been added. ?
0
Class Size/format
The size of KIN 200 level courses will be reviewed and where possible extended
to accommodate demand. It is hoped that courses in the upper levels can be
maintained at their current size. If enrollment is low, i.e., less than 15 students,
these courses will be reviewed in order to identify the reasons that so few
students are registering and consider whether the same rate of offering is
appropriate.
Curriculum
The Undergraduate Program Committee will review the current program with
the aim of reducing overlap among courses, which may result in reducing the
total number of Kinesiology courses. It is anticipated that this may be in part
counterbalanced by the establishment of new courses in areas of specialization of
recently hired faculty members. Consolidation of course offerings at the 3rd and
4th year may enable us to offer the remaining courses more frequently.
A recent survey of students who graduated in 1993 reports that 100% of the
Kinesiology graduates surveyed said that the instruction they received in
Kinesiology was good or very good. Occasionally, negative reports about courses
are received. If a particular course receives complaints or poor evaluations on a
consistent basis, these courses will be reviewed and attempts made to address the
problems.
A review will also be made of the role of KIN 203 and STAT 301 in our program.
STAT 301 has been criticized as not meeting the requirements of the Kinesiology
student. If this problem cannot be resolved, we will mount a new lower division
course in measurement and evaluation. This will be accomplished with
expertise of the existing faculty and may be a replacement for or a revision of
KIN 203. It was recommended in the External Review that Kinesiology should
offer a course in the psychology of physical activity. A modification to the
existing course, KIN 320, so that it better covers such issues as motivation
towards and adherence to physical activity will be made. This course might be
re-titled, "The Social Psychology of Physical Activity." We will then consider
whether this course should remain a specialty course or become a part of the core
program.
Streams
The issues of streams remains somewhat contentious. Nevertheless, there seem
to be compelling reasons to leave them as they are for now while we collect more
objective data.
?
0
4
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
We shall reconsider streams once we have better student data and student access
40 ?
to courses improves by (a) a reduction in number of majors (see "intake"), (b) a
reduction in total number of KIN courses in the Calendar (see "curriculum") and
(c) increased frequency of offering each course (see "scheduling").
It is possible that external forces will have an impact on the streams. For
example, the Human Factors Association of Canada has recently announced the
requirements for programs to be accredited as providing appropriate training in
Human Factors/ Ergonomics. Our streams in this area will need to respond to
this initiative.
Distance Education
Over the next three years it is anticipated that distance education will continue to
form a significant part of our FTE's. Development of new courses will depend
on demand and resources. Developments currently underway include our
recently approved nutrition courses. By the end of the 3-year plan all courses for
the Certificate in Nutrition should be available in the distance mode.
We will transfer responsibility for setting assignments to the person who will be
the Course Supervisor (currently, assignments for the subsequent semester are
set by the CS in the current semester). We will appoint Course Supervisor much
earlier each semester, before the Centre for Distance Education deadlines for
assignments and other changes to the course materials.
We also intend to improve return rate on evaluations of Tutor/Markers by
students from current 18% to rates comparable to KIN courses taught on campus.
We may accomplish this by (a) sending the evaluation form for Distance
Education (DE) students who write exams out of town to their proctor rather
than to the student him/herself and (b) administering the course evaluation for
the DE students who write the exam on campus after the final exam.
We also plan to schedule revision of course materials (e.g., study guide,
assignments, exams), rather than the current practice of revisions occuring on an
ad hoc basis. This schedule will be publicized to the School.
Co-Operative Education Program in Kinesio logy
In response to the positive comments regarding the Kinesiology Co-op Program
noted in both the recent Kinesiology External Review and the Survey of 1995
Graduates, the Kinesiology Co-op Program remains committed to growth. This
is reflected both in terms of the breadth of scope and number of workplace
opportunities available to students. Our commitment to quality remains
unwavering. As an example, current revisions of the overall co-op curriculum
• ?
at SFU and provincially have been championed by the SFU Kinesiology Co-op
Program, and as a consequence Kinesiology students have been the first
recipients of this enhanced curriculum.
5
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
The
workplaces
goals are
relevant
to continue
to Kinesiology,
to provide
to
quality
facilitate
learning
and support
opportunities
the students
in
?
in this
40
learning, and to contribute to the enhanced education (and resultant
employability) of the graduates of the Kinesiology program at SFU. We see the
role of Co-op as complementary to the traditional academic programs at the
University.
Currently we develop work term opportunities consistent with each stream as
well as areas not directly focused on by the School but reflective of the
marketplace into which our graduates enter (e.g. professional school, active
rehabilitation). We hope to continue to respond to new employment related
directions that faculty may bring through their research and teaching. As well,
we will attempt to anticipate new markets and market trends. Wherever
possible we strive to ensure SPU Kinesiology Co-op students are competitive in
their chosen endeavours after graduation.
We are aiming to continue our 10-year growth pattern, anticipating
approximately 8-10% growth per annum over the next three years which would
see approximately 150 work term placements by the year 2000.
We also hope to explore the potential of Graduate Co-op, particularly in
conjunction with the proposed Post-Graduate Diploma. As well, we hope to
continue growth in rehabilitation and ergonomics and seek support for this by
way of regular course offerings (existing and new) reflecting these areas.
4. GRADUATE PROGRAM
The Graduate Program Committee is currently considering the possibility of
expanding graduate offerings. We see a demand for either a course-work masters
degree or postgraduate diploma program. A recommendation concerning the
nature of this expansion will be forthcoming from the GPC early in the new year.
The GPC also recommends some changes to the existing graduate program. The
proposed changes to the Graduate Program are intended to address problems of
course scheduling, breadth of knowledge and uniformity of standards in
different sub-disciplines. Courses which have not been recently offered and
which have little prospect of being offered in the future will be removed from
the Calendar. Courses will be implemented with a broad appeal to students in
different disciplines. These will include:
a course on research methods and design, which will include a component
on statistical methods, appropriate to the research being conducted in the
various laboratories of the School of Kinesiology. Instruction will also be
provided in the use of available statistics software packages. This course
may become a required course for every graduate student unless the
student has previously passed an equivalent course or can demonstrate
competency by a course challenge.
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
• a seminar course in which students will be required to present a seminar
related to the activities of the laboratory in which they are conducting their
research. It is anticipated that this will be a one credit required course
which all graduate students will attend.
• a course dealing with scientific communication. Although this course will
not be a required course, it is anticipated that it will have broad appeal and
will serve to educate students about the research taking place in different
laboratories.
• two survey courses which cover a spectrum of topics of interest to students
studying physiological systems or motor control. These courses will be
team-taught.
It is also intended that these courses become core courses for the new post-
graduate diploma program or course-work masters. The introduction of courses
with broad appeal and the increase in student numbers from a new program will
make enrollments more predictable and should allow course schedules to be
drawn up at least one year in advance. The regular offering and broad appeal of
the new courses should also encourage greater participation by graduate students,
as well as ensuring more exposure to the activities being carried out in different
laboratories.
Measures are being undertaken to promote more involvement of supervisory•
committees in guiding the students' education and research. Recommendations
for changes may include students being required to provide justification for the
choice of each committee member before approval by the Graduate Program
Committee. A process will be instituted whereby the student will be required to
meet with each member of the supervisory committee at regular intervals at
least twice each year to report on his/her progress. Supervisory committee
members will be encouraged to advise the students in these meetings and will
have the opportunity to express any concerns about the student's progress. The
reports will be passed on to the Graduate Program Committee. The Graduate
Program Committee will also take a more active role in ensuring that Ph.D.
comprehensive examinations are broadly based and not simply tailored to the
area of specialization.
5. INFRASTRUCTURE
A. Staff
A reorganization
in the technical staff of the
School has recently been made. The
engineer in the School has moved to a half-time position with Kinesiology and a
•
?
full-time technician has been hired. This move was made in order to satisfy
demand within the School of Kinesiology. It was found that the high technical
skills of the engineer were being under used in the day-to-day technical services
7
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
required by the School. Thus is was felt expedient to share his time with the
Department of Psychology and to hire a technician to handle the routine
maintenance and trouble-shooting of computer and equipment needs. It is
anticipated that the new format of technical service will continue throughout
the duration of the 3-Year Plan.
The other technical position within the department is that of Research Engineer
in the Environmental Physiology Unit (EPU). This position will become vacant
on January 1, 1999 as a result of the retirement of the incumbent. In order for the
EPU to continue operations, it is advisable that this position be replaced by a
chamber operator. It is to be hoped that an appointment will be made in which
chamber operation can be combined with engineering and technical service
which will be of benefit to other members of the EPU and the School of
Kinesiology as a whole. It is also possible that part of the salary assigned to this
position may also be used to fund a "soft money" position which could attract
the services of a physician or other environmental physiologist who might work
within the EPU. These proposals will be discussed by the Committee of the
Whole at subsequent meetings.
A review of the functioning of the
central office
of the School of Kinesiology will
be conducted. Specifically, it will be ascertained whether the current staffing
within the unit is appropriate for the volume of work. In particular, a work
audit will be carried out in order to determine whether adjustments should be
made in the job descriptions of the Departmental Assistant and half-time
Financial Clerk. Greater faculty involvement in the advising process will also be
a priority.
The
Geraldine and Tong Louie Centre
is an important part of the outreach
service and downtown presence of the School of Kinesiology. The current
Executive Director has recently resigned, his resignation being effective
December 19, 1997. Currently, 33% of this salary is provided by the School of
Kinesiology. And ad hoc committee has been established to bring forward to the
School recommendations concerning the replacement of that position and for
the terms and conditions of the new position.
2. Equipment
The School of Kinesiology is dependent upon allocations of equipment money
from the University for its teaching function, although faculty have frequently
made available equipment bought from research grants for teaching purposes.
While every attempt will be made to keep the equipment in the School of
Kinesiology current so that our students may have access and learn from the
latest developments in technology, it cannot be guaranteed that we will be able to
replace equipment and to make updates on a regular basis. However, it is our
continued intention that when equipment requests are reviewed computing and
laboratory equipment for teaching purposes will have the highest priority.
8
3-YEAR PLAN: School of Kinesiology
November, 1997
•
?
3. Research
The School of Kinesiology maintains its commitment over the next three years
towards achieving excellence in research. This will be partially achieved by
providing
.
a climate of encouragement and acceptance of faculty member's
research. It is understood that the reputation of the School of Kinesiology
beyond the local area is determined by the quality of the research and
publications that this unit produces. Tangible support for research within the
School of Kinesiology will be provided by the use of available funds. In
particular, any fallout from sabbaticals, buyouts, or unfilled positions will be used
in part to support faculty in their research endeavours. This may in part be by
the use of such funds for providing leverage for applications for equipment and
research support by faculty members. We will also continue the incentive
recently introduced within the School of Kinesiology with respect to overhead
recoveries from contract research. 50% of recoveries accruing to the School will
be returned to the initiating laboratory. The School will continue to support
applications for grants and contracts initiated by faculty members. In addition,
the School will continue to provide funds from its resources for conduct of
conferences and symposia organized by members of the School.
fl
Approved 19 March 1998
RESPONSE TO THE ExTERNAL
Riwww
SCHOOL OF K1NESIOLOGY
S
December, 1997
0
* ?
Response to External Review: School of Kinesiology
Approved 19 March 1998
S
This is a response from the School of Kinesiology to the External Review submitted by
the Review Committee and presented to the School of Kinesiology on August 26th, 1997.
PREAMBLE
The School of Kinesiology was pleased to receive the External Review. It showed that in
general terms the External Reviewers were favourably disposed to the program that is
being offered at Simon Fraser University. Particularly, the review was complimentary
with respect to the training that we provide our undergraduate and graduate students and
the quality of the faculty and staff. The review did, however, make a number of
suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of the program and operation of
the School of Kinesiology. This response to the review is a reaction to those
recommendations. It should be noted that the School of Kinesiology has just produced a
ratified 3-Year Plan. This document is attached to this response and many of the
recommendations of the External Review have had an impact on that document. In this
response, therefore, I have referred to the 3-Year Plan where it is appropriate.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
The External Review reported that the Bachelor of Science degree offered in Kinesiology
S ?
is popular amongst the undergraduates of Simon Fraser University. This is shown in the
fact that the major program has grown by 43% since 1990. The demand for the program
has, however resulted in a number of problems for the School because of pressure on
existing resources. These resources have not grown at the same rate as the demand for the
programs offered within the School.
The first specific recommendation by the External Review was that the administration of
SFU and the School should initiate a process to determine whether additional resources
should be allocated to meet the demand of the increasing enrolment in Kinesiology. In
constructing the 3-Year Plan, our specific instructions were not to assume that there
would be any increased resources. This response to the External Review is therefore
predicated on the fact that the administration will not consider increasing the resources in
terms of faculty, or operating budget, to the School of Kinesiology in the near future.
In the 3-Year Plan we detail the steps to be taken with respect to reducing the number of
majors and rationalizing our course offerings. Our intention is to ensure that with current
resources we can serve our majors appropriately, allowing them the opportunity to
proceed to their degrees smoothly and in a timely fashion. This can be done while still
meeting the target FTE set by the Dean. The second specific recommendation was that
we ensure that teaching by tenure-track faculty in the undergraduate core become a
priority for the School. While we accept that this should be a priority, it is our
Response to External Review: School of Kinesiology
Approved 19 March 1998
contention that this has always been a priority for the School of Kinesiology. It is our
. ?
contention that the External Review Committee did not understand that many of our
lower level courses are in fact optional or service courses and that there is a significant
contribution of tenure-track faculty to the core courses within the School of Kinesiology
already. Below you will find a list of the core courses in Kinesiology with instructors
involved for the last 3 years:
KIN 142 ?
Asmundson (Lab Instructor)
201
?
Chapman (Faculty), Leyland (Lab Instructor)
203 ?
Ward (Lab Instructor)
205
?
Parkhouse, Tibbits, Blaber (Faculty)
207 -
?
Goodman, MacKenzie (Faculty)
305 ?
Parkhouse, Tibbits, Savage (Faculty)
306 ?
Richardson, Bawa, Hoffer, Milner, Accili (Faculty)
326 ?
Anthony (Lab Instructor)
407 ?
Asmundson (Lab Instructor), Accili (Faculty)
In this context, the External Review Committee also recommended that any new position
in the School of Kinesiology be hired with the specific understanding that they would
contribute to the teaching of core courses. Note that Drs. Blaber and Accili are
appointments made during this academic year and they are already contributing to the
core program. One further appointment is planned during the coming year. A
replacement for the retirement occurring in August, 1998 has been authorized and a search
committee has been established. The School is in the process of deciding the area of
search. An advertisement has been drafted and will shortly be circulated. The
advertisement will be quite explicit about what the teaching requirements of the
applicants will include. We are convinced that the new faculty members appointed will
be able to serve the undergraduate program.
The third specific recommendation from the External Review was that two new courses
should be developed. They suggested that a course in the social psychological aspects of
kinesiology and a course in scientific methods and research design should be required.
Discussions since the report was provided have resulted in an agreement that a revision
should be made to KIN 320 which is currently titled "Cultural Aspects of Human
Movement." This revision will result in the inclusion of those aspects of social
psychology which the External Review Committee suggested were lacking in the current
curriculum.
As a response to the External Review Committee, the Undergraduate Program Committee
has reviewed the content of our current statistical and computer offerings (STAT 301 and
KIN 207) in order to assess whether these meet the requirements of knowledge in
computing and statistics and research design. As a result of this review, a faculty member
3
Response to External Review: School of Kinesiology
Approved 19 March 1998
has designed a new course concentrating on statistics and research design. This proposal
is currently before the Undergraduate Program Committee.
The fourth specific recommendation from the External Review Committee was that we
should re-assess the role of the streams in the undergraduate program. The streams have
not been particularly successful because demand for courses has resulted in students being
unable to follow the streams in the sequence recommended in the handbook. We are
taking measures to reduce the number of majors within the program and we will re-assess
whether the steps we have taken enable students to gain entry to courses in a timely
fashion. This is outlined clearly in our 3-Year Plan. There are additional considerations in
this regard. Notably, the Human Factors Association of Canada has recently published a
list of conditions upon which accreditation to an institution for human factors/ergonomics
training will occur. The stream in human factors/ergonomics in Kinesiology must
therefore be considered in the light of this accreditation process. A review of the extent to
which we currently meet accreditation requirements is underway. Discussion has already
begun with other post-secondary institutions to establish whether agreements can be
made which will enable our students to find additional training required for accreditation.
The fifth recommendation of the Review Committee was that incentives and other
measures should be instituted to elevate the importance of both teaching and the
involvement of tenure-track faculty in the undergraduate program. Steps have been taken
already within the School of Kinesiology in terms of participation in the Undergraduate
Program Committee by providing alternates for faculty members on the committee. It
should be noted that in a recent survey by Analytical Studies, students in Kinesiology
who graduated in 1993, reported in a follow-up, that 100% of respondents were either
very satisfied or satisfied with the instruction they received in Kinesiology. This
suggests that the teaching at the undergraduate level by tenure-track faculty as well as
instructors is of high quality. The student evaluations received in every semester support
this contention.
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM
The External Review Committee made a number of recommendations with respect to the
Graduate Program. Their first suggestion was that the School should take measures to
promote cohesiveness and mutual awareness and respect among the different areas of
study.
The first suggestion to achieve this was that regularly scheduled seminars should occur.
This was instituted during the 1997-3 semester. It appears to be operating successfully.
There has been good attendance by graduate students.
The second suggestion was that there should be greater involvement of students in
laboratory rotation. After consideration, we have decided that a more appropriate
4
Response to External Review: School of Kinesiology
Approved 19 March 1998
method of achieving this end would be to involve students in a compulsory graduate
course in which presentations are made by students concerning the research in their own
laboratory. A pilot course in 1997-3, with an enrolment of 12, in academic
communication was mounted successfully and may serve this purpose. The Chair of the
GPC has also instituted an orientation for new graduate students which involves
familiarizing them with other laboratories.
A third recommendation was that there should be a common graduate course in research
design and methodology. This is currently under consideration and a recommendation for
such a course is likely to occur this year. Another recommendation with respect to the
Graduate Program was that the School should actively promote diversity in the
membership of supervisory committees-and consider seriously the nature of the
comprehensive exams at the Ph.D. level. This has been addressed by the Graduate
Program Committee and a recommendation has been made to the School that justification
of the Ph.D. supervisory committees should be made in terms of the areas represented by
the faculty members involved. The Chair of the Graduate Program Committee has also
instituted a new system in which graduate students will be interviewed by all members of
the supervisory committee twice per year and a report on progress be submitted to the
Graduate Program Committee. This regulation also satisfies the recommendation from the
External Review Committee that supervisory committees should take a more active role in
the guidance. of students. It is hoped that, along with measures already in place, this will
also enhance degree completion time. Similarly, the Graduate Program Committee will
now take greater responsibility for ensuring that the components of the comprehensive
exam do not only represent tests in areas specific to the area of research.
FACULTY
The External Review Committee suggested that it is important that the School give high
priority to the re-establishment of collegial relations among the faculty. They suggested
that initiatives such as a retreat would serve this purpose. The School agreed that
establishing collegial relations amongst the faculty members is a high priority. It does not
consider that a retreat would serve this purpose. Social interaction and an encouragement
of mutual respect for both areas and orientations in the study of human structure and
function are thought to be a more appropriate means of encouraging the establishment of
these collegial relationships. Initiatives such as the increased frequency of departmental
seminars and the broadening of the committee structure and comprehensive examination
for the Graduate Program were thought to be ways that may help to solve this problem.
In addition, the School is in the process of preparing a Constitution (currently a second
draft is under review). Many of the disputes between faculty in the past arose over
issues of procedures. It is felt that a written Constitution may help to eliminate such
sources of friction. Since the review was received, an increase in collegiality has been
achieved.
Response to External Review: School of Kinesiology
Approved 19 March 1998
The second recommendation concerned the procedures currently used for faculty
evaluation. This is obviously outside the scope of the School of Kinesiology. The School
will continue to use faculty research, teaching and service as the criteria for evaluation as
mandated by University policy.
With respect to faculty, the committee recommended that before hiring an environmental
physiologist and a replacement for the School physician, the School needs to establish
priorities with respect to the allocation of resources to the Environmental Physiology
Unit (EPU). This has occurred. Dr. Andrew Blaber was appointed as the environmental
physiologist. A committee to oversee the EPU was established, a new accounting
procedure was developed and an arrangement has been made whereby renovations to the
EPU can be made. An appointment has been made to replace the School physician. Dr.
Charles Krieger will commence his appointment on July 1st, 1998. The School of
Kinesiology has already sponsored his training in hyperbaric medicine.
ADMINISTRATION AND RESOURCES
The External Review recommended a desk audit be conducted in order to determine
whether the secretaries and Departmental Assistant are able to cope with the current
volume of Work. The External Review suggested that staff members should be included in
initiatives to improve the working environment. As a result of this suggestion the
• ?
Departmental Assistant has organized a one-hour weekly staff meeting at which
information can be shared, problems resolved and recommendations made to the Director.
They also suggested that space needs of the administrative staff should be assessed. Our
assumption is that no new space will be available for Kinesiology. We have, therefore,
examined ways in which existing space may be better used. Renovations to the main
office have been ordered and are scheduled to take place this semester (98-1). Similarly,
they suggested that graduate students should be provided with a common area. While we
agree with the External Review Committee that this would be optimum, it does not seem
to us that giving up space from any of the other functions for this purpose would be
appropriate. Unless additional space therefore is granted to the School of Kinesiology, we
cannot see any way to provide graduate students with such a facility. Similarly, they
recommended that a common seminar room should be found in which to hold seminars.
Obviously, the External Review Committee did not understand the central scheduling of
rooms which occurs at Simon Fraser University. We will continue to use the current
system of scheduling of rooms and not seek a seminar room specific to our School.
INTERNAL
AND Ex1mNAI
CONNECTIONS
The External Review Committee had two recommendations with respect to internal and
external connections. Firstly, that the School's outreach program should continue to be
supported. This indeed will be the case both in terms of the initiatives at Harbour Centre
Response to External Review: School of Kinesiology
Approved 19 March 1998
and in terms of our Mobile Laboratory and Co-op Program. The School has just
S ?
published a request for proposals for expansion of the activities at the Tong Louie Human
Performance Centre. The Mobile Laboratory continues to visit schools. The Co-op
program is expanding and the School has agreed to underwrite two co-op positions at the
Tong Louie Centre and two research assistant positions in the summer semester on
campus. The second recommendation was that the School should consider raising its
profile on campus by participation in campus-wide general interest lectures or colloquia.
Since the report was received, the new seminar series has been initiated and participation
has already occurred with other departments from SFU. One of the Kinesiology faculty
was also the first speaker in this year's President's Lecture Series. Three faculty
members were speakers in the Faculty in Residences program in 1997-3.
The Director has initiated a monthly newsletter which reports on the activities of faculty,
students and staff. Apart from circulation in Kinesiology, it is also sent to SFU's Media
and Public Relations and other directors in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. We are
convinced that the profile of the School of Kinesiology on this campus will be improved.
.
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REVIEW OF SCHOOL OF KINESIOLOGY?
FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
June 16, 17,
18,
1997
Members
of
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External Review committee
Dr. P.
Wainwright, Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, ON.
(Chair)
Dr. Z. Hasan,
School of Kinesiology and Department of Physical' Therapy,
University of Illinois
at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Dr. M. Smith, Department of Biology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
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Dr. S. Wallace, Department of Kinesiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
I. ABSTRACT
During the years since the previous review in 1990 the School of Kinesiology, under the
Directorship of Dr.
J.
A. Hoffer, has been active in planning for a future that takes into account
role to be played by Simon Fraser University in the face of the rapidly evolving context of post-
secondary education in British Columbia. In the 1996 report of the President's Committee on
University Planning, interdisciplinary-related subject areas, including health-related programs,
have been identified as areas with potential for growth. It is clear that the diversity of scholarly
interests of the faculty, and hence the scope of the programs offered by the School of Kinesiology,
places it in a unique position to contribute to the development, integration and dissemination of
knowledge across a range of disciplines as it relates to human health and performance. The
current mission statement of the School reads as follows:
"Our mission is to study human structure and function and their relation to health and
movement. We seek to advance, supply and disseminate relevant knowledge and
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expertise"
In the interests of defining research and teaching emphases, the basic areas of study have been
defined as i) movement and its control, ii) regulation and adaptation of physiological systems and
iii) growth, development and aging, with applications identified in i) health promotion, ii)
prevention of injury and disease, iii) functional evaluation and rehabilitation, iv)
ergonomics/human factors, and v) environmental, exercise and work physiology. This is currently
being operationalised in the undergraduate program through the development of core
requirements which are accompanied by a choice of specialising in one of four streams, namely
human movement, human factors, active health and physiological sciences. The graduate program
offers students opportunities for specialised advanced research training and education in the areas
that reflect faculty expertise, and where the diversity represents exciting possibilities for
collaboration in research, and in teaching. In addition to its commitment to undergraduate and
graduate education, including co-operative education at the undergraduate level, the School has
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expanded its activities with respect to community outreach and education, examples of this being
the Mobile laboratory, and the Geraldine and Tong Louie Performance Centre, as well as the
Distance and Continuing Education programs.
The strength of any academic unit depends on the strength of its individual members, faculty, staff
and students, as well as their dedication to serving the interests of the larger whole, in this case,
the School. We were impressed by the accomplishments of the school in all areas, teaching
research and service. The Undergraduate program is seen as generally strong and highly relevant
to the needs of society with respect to preventive and rehabilitative health. However, the
increasing demand for this program, as evidenced by the continued increase in enrollment, is
putting considerable strains on the available resources with respect to both space and personnel.
Although the implementation of the streams in the Undergraduate curriculum is seen as a positive
development in terms of defining teaching emphases for the School, these have not been
developed as well as they might, and presently are not regarded as functional. Further
development of the undergraduate curriculum stands to benefit from increased involvement of the
tenure-track faculty in the administration of the Undergraduate program, as well as increased
consideration of the needs of the curriculum in making hiring decisions. With respect to their
research endeavours, the faculty are regarded as very strong scholars who are making
contributions to their respective research areas. This strength in research provides a firm
underpinning for establishing an effective environment for very successful graduate education,
although this could be improved by more interaction among faculty members in terms of graduate
teaching and setting up collaborative research initiatives at the graduate level. One further area
that needs to be addressed with respect to the graduate program is the establishment of consistent
expectations of what constitutes a Masters or Ph.D. thesis, as well as mechanisms for ensuring
that students complete the program in a reasonable time frame. The School provides valuable
service to the community through its distance and continuing education initiatives, as well as
through its outreach programs. Moreover, its continuing ties with alumni through the close
association with the B.C. Association of Kinesiologists is to be commended.
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Given the perceived strengths and achievements of the faculty and staff, as well as their expressed
enthusiasm for the mission of the School, we were concerned about the level of divisiveness
among some of the faculty, which appears to present significant obstacles to their effective
collaboration with respect to both graduate and undergraduate teaching, as well as in research.
The negative impact of this interpersonal conflict on the overall working environment appears to
be considerable, particularly, but not exclusively, for staff members, as well as graduate students.
The report of the 1990 external review saw the divisions as arising from a lack of focus in the
School's mission, whereas we relate them as well to deficits with respect to collegiality and
mutual respect among the faculty. The divisiveness within the School is clearly of long standing,
and it has been endured during the tenure of the previous Director (who is also the Director-elect)
as well as the present Director. We suggest therefore that the attempt to resolve these issues be a
top priority of the new Director, and that he should discourage the development of cliques by
adopting a decision-making process that is open to the participation of and input from all faculty.
In conclusion, we see the School of Kinesiology as a unit that is vital to the mission of Simon
Fraser University in offering University-based education in health related areas. Despite the
problems that we have identified, we deem it strong and well worthy of support in realising its
considerable potential. We trust, therefore, that our recommendations will be seen as useful in
helping it to achieve these objectives.
II.
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Undergraduate Program
i.
The School and Administration should initiate a process to determine whether additional
resources should be allocated to Kinesiology to meet the demands of their increasing
enrollment.
ii.
We recommend that servicing a common undergraduate core become a priority for the
School. In view of the increased enrollment more tenure-track faculty may have to become
involved in the teaching the core courses, which will require reassessment of the
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specialised courses currently being offered at the upper level. It is also important that new
hires be able to teach the courses required by the core curriculum.
iii.
This core is seen as lacking two courses, the one being a course in the Social-
Psychological aspects of Kinesiology, and the second a course in Scientific Methods and
Research Design. Should the appropriate resources be assigned, the School may wish to
consider hiring a faculty member with the appropriate expertise. Failing this, the School
might consider the possibility of adding these courses in collaboration with other academic
units on campus, e.g. Psychology.
iv.
The School should re-assess the role of the streams in the Undergraduate program. These
have the potential to augment the focus of the curriculum. However, unless they are
supported by the appropriate courses being available in the appropriate sequences, they
are unlikely to be successful.
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Incentives and other measures should be instituted to elevate the importance of both
teaching and the involvement of the tenure track faculty in the undergraduate program.
Graduate Program
i.
The School should take measures to actively promote cohesiveness and mutual awareness
and respect among the different areas of study. Such measure might include:
- regularly scheduled seminars with attendance by all members of the School, with
speakers drawn from amongst the faculty (including faculty from other
departments on campus), graduate students, and invited scientists
- involvement of students in laboratory rotations
- a requirement for a common graduate course in research design and
methodology
ii.
In the interests of breadth, as well as of ensuring consistency of standards and
expectations, the School should actively promote diversity in the membership of
supervisory committees. At the Ph. D. level this is seen as particularly important for Part
2 of the comprehensive exams.
iii.
Supervisory committees should take a more active role in the guidance of students,
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especially at the Masters level, where timely completion of the degree requirements
appears to be a problem.
Faculty
It is important that the School make it a top priority to re-establish collegial relations
among the faculty. This may be facilitated by initiatives such as a retreat, possibly with the
services of a professional mediator.
ii.
The procedures currently in place for faculty evaluation should be reviewed at both the
level of Dean of the Faculty and the Director of the School.
iii.
The School should be encouraged to review its procedures whereby hiring decisions are
made in order to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the requirements of
research (necessity to hire scientists with strong potential for generating and supporting
research activity") and teaching (necessity to support the established directions of the
undergraduate, and, to a lesser extent, graduate curricula,).
iv.
Before any decisions can be made with respect to the hiring of the Environmental
Physiologist, as well as the replacement for Dr. Richardson, the School needs to establish
clear priorities with respect to the allocation of resource to the Environmental Unit.
Administration and Resources
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We recommend that a desk audit be considered to determine whether the secretaries are
understaffed, and whether the Departmental Assistant is in a position to assume the
demands generated by the additional students in terms of advising, etc.
ii.
As discussed above under Faculty (i), staff members should be included in initiatives to
improve the working environment.
iii.
In view of the increased enrollment, the space needs of the administrative staff should be
re-assessed.
iv.
Graduate students should be provided with a common area.
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A common seminar room should be found, of sufficient capacity to hold seminars
involving all members of the School.
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Internal and External Connections
The School's excellent outreach programs should continue to be supported.
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The School may consider raising its profile on campus in various ways, for example, by
participation in campus wide general interest lectures or colloquia.
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REVIEW PROCESS
Members of
External Review Committee
Dr. P. Wainwright, Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, ON.
(Chair)
Dr.
Z. Hasan,
School of Kinesiology and Department of Physical Therapy,
University of Illinois
at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Dr. M. Smith, Department of Biology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
Dr. S. Wallace, Department of Kinesiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Process
In preparation for the review, the School prepared a comprehensive self-study, which was
provided to the reviewers before the visit, together with the other documents listed in Appendix 1.
Further documents (also listed in the appendix) were provided during the course of visit, some at
the specific request of the committee e.g. copy of the previous review. The schedule of the three
day site visit is provided in Appendix 2.
The self-study was clearly written and constituted a thorough and comprehensive presentation of
the School's activities with respect to research, teaching and service, together with the resources
available to support the attainment of its objectives in these areas. Faculty, staff and students had
been solicited for input during the preparation of the document, and had the opportunity to meet
the committee to provide additional information if they wished. These meetings were particularly
useful in providing the committee with an appreciation of some of the personal issues that were
clearly important factors contributing to the context within which the business of the School was
being conducted.
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Mandate
of the Committee
The following report is structured according to the mandate of the committee to review the
School of Kinesiology in terms of four specific areas:
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Undergraduate and graduate programs
ii.
Faculty complement and teaching, research and service contributions of faculty members
iii.
Administration in terms of size, effectiveness and adequacy of resources
iv.
Interaction with other units in the University, and relationships with the community and
alumni.
1V. REPORT
1. Programs
Undergraduate Program
Brief Introduction
The undergraduate degree program in the School of Kinesiology is one of the more popular
undergraduate programs on the Simon Fraser University of campus. As indicated by the School's
Self-Study Report and the Simon Fraser University Fact Book (16th edition), the undergraduate
program is the 9th most popular major and currently consists of over 400 students. Enrollment in
the major has grown by 43% since 1990, which has affected both the size of the classes and
course offerings. To meet this challenge, the School has increased the size of the degree
program's core classes from 60 to 90 students and has increased the offerings of these classes
from two to three semesters a year. By all accounts, the quality of the classes has been
maintained, but continued and expected increases in the number of majors will pose a significant
challenge to these efforts.
In addition to the written materials provided to us by the University and the School regarding the
undergraduate program, the External Review Team interviewed many of the tenure track faculty,
instructors, staff, Undergraduate Program Committee (the three tenure track faculty members
who serve on this committee were either unavailable or chose not to attend our interview
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session), undergraduate student representatives, Co-op Coordinators, the B.C. Association of
Kinesiologists, and the Dean to learn more about the status of the undergraduate program and
views about its future development. As a result, we have divided this section of our report into
the strengths of the undergraduate program, its weaknesses and a list of recommendations to help
the school further develop its program into the next century.
Strengths
One of the strengths of the undergraduate Kinesiology degree program is its popularity. The
rapid growth in undergraduate majors over this last decade is indicative of this popularity which,
in some sense, is to be expected given the growing interest in health, wellness and rehabilitation
sweeping Canada, the United States and other countries around the world. We see Kinesiology
to be among the leaders in providing the basic science necessary to advance knowledge in these
areas and in providing the training of future professionals to meet the growing demands for
adequate health care and health promotion in our societies. The Department should be
commended for recognizing its role in this regard and for initiating new and exciting programs to
meet these challenges (such as their community outreach and co-operative education programs)
and for hiring quality instructors and tenure track faculty that support its undergraduate and
graduate programs.
With few exceptions, the quality of the teaching at the undergraduate level is very good as
indicated by our interviews with undergraduate students and evident from the student evaluations.
In addition, there seems to be unanimity among the instructors and the tenure track faculty that
the undergraduate program is vital to the overall mission of the School.
The External Review Team's impressions of the School's outreach programs were highly
favourable. The SFU Kinesiology Mobile Lab, the Geraldine and Tong Louie Human
Performance Centre located at the Harbour Centre Campus, and the Co-op program in
K.inesiology were seen by us as significantly contributing to the School's visibility in the
community and in enhancing the undergraduate experience. We strongly support the continuation
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of these programs.
Weaknesses
In spite of these strengths, there are majors issues within the undergraduate program that need to
be addressed. These issues are: increasing enrollment demands, tenure track faculty involvement,
the undergraduate streams, and curricular issues.
The increasing popularity of the Kinesiology undergraduate degree has placed considerable stress
on course availability and the continued maintenance of instruction quality due to the size of the
classes. The number one issue raised by the undergraduate students was the availability of the
core classes. Even though the School has attempted to address this issue by increasing the
offerings of these courses, apparently their availability to students during the fall, spring and
summer sessions is far short of what is required. There are a number of possible solutions to this
problem. One strategy would be to prioritize the offerings of classes such that the core classes
would receive the highest priority and the elective classes the lowest priority. Thus instead of
offering so many elective courses, more resources would be put in increasing the availability of
the core classes. This would probably mean much more teaching of the core classes by the tenure
track faculty (see below tenure track faculty involvement issue). Multiple sections of each core
class need to be offered to meet the demands of increased enrollment. We also believe the
Administration needs to carefully assess the needs for additional faculty hires to meet these
demands. Of course, another strategy is to place some cap on enrollments in the School.
However, we are not certain whether this is a strategy widely practised on the Simon Fraser
campus. We are also not convinced this is the preferred strategy because it limits the students'
legitimate rights to pursue any degree they wish to attain. The actual size of the core classes is
also a major concern of the students and the faculty within the School. Increasing class offerings
is certainly one strategy to help reduce class sizes. Another strategy is to allow the lecture
portion of the class to grow but to increase the availability of the tutorial and laboratory sections.
This strategy would possibly require an increase in teaching assistant support. We recommend
that the School evaluate the current responsibilities of the teaching assistants to determine
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whether an increase in tutorial and laboratory sections could be possible.
In general, it seems to us that the demands being put on the School by increasing enrollment is a
major issue that should be addressed by the School and the campus administration. The
popularity of certain degree programs has always waxed and waned throughout the history of
universities, and a responsible Administration should allow for budgetary flexibility to put
additional resources in those programs vital to the University (as we believe Kinesiology is). We
recommend that a process be initiated by the School and the Administration to determine whether
additional resources be allocated to Kinesiology to meet the demands of their increasing
enrollment.
Although all the tenure track faculty regularly teach undergraduate classes, a much fewer number
teach the 200 level core classes, with the bulk of the teaching at this level being done by
instructors, who, by all accounts, do an excellent job. We believe this practice must be addressed
because we feel it vital that beginning Kinesiology students be exposed to and interact with the
tenure track faculty. There are other indications that the involvement of the tenure track faculty in
the undergraduate program may be less than optimal. The Undergraduate Program Committee
(UPC), for example, is headed by an Instructor and not a tenure track faculty member. Again,
while we were impressed with the dedication of the Instructors to the undergraduate program, we
were surprised that a tenure track faculty member is not chairing the UPC. There are also
indications that the faculty on the Committee do not attend the meetings on a regular basis. In
addition, we believe that, together with the current student evaluations, there should be instituted
a faculty peer evaluation program, as is common in many departments. Although it is our
understanding that new course proposals are ultimately approved by the School, there appears to
be little regulation of the development of new course proposals by the tenure track faculty,
particularly in terms of the overall direction of the curriculum. Finally, there seems to be little
communication among the faculty about the content of courses and issues related to potential
course overlap. In summary, while the efforts of the Co-op coordinators and the instructors on
behalf of the curriculum must be commended, we found the imbalance between their degree of
influence on the direction of the undergraduate curriculum compared with that of the tenure-track
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faculty somewhat troubling. By no means are we implying the Co-op coordinators and instructors
should not have input to curricular changes. Rather, we are recommending that the tenure track
faculty play a much greater role than currently appears to be the case.
We believe that the perceived lack of involvement of the tenure track faculty in the undergraduate
program is partly due to the lack of incentives to do so. We heard from several faculty members
that good teaching is not greatly rewarded and poor teaching results in no punitive measures, and
there appears to be a general belief that research is more highly scrutinized than teaching in the
School. A related issue is that of tenure-track faculty being unwilling to assume administrative
responsibility in the form of Chair of the Undergraduate Committee. Again this may be because
there are no incentives available to offset the heavy demands on time made by this position; such
incentives might include a large reduction in teaching, or increased resources to support additional
research personnel. We recommend that incentives and other measures should be instituted to
elevate the importance of both teaching and the involvement of the tenure track faculty in the
undergraduate program.
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In 1993, the School created four concentrations or 'streams' in the undergraduate program:
active health, health and physiological sciences, human factors/ergonomics and human movement
studies. Acknowledged by the School in the their Self-Study Report and by several interviews we
had during our visit, the stream concept is not working well. A lack of faculty involvement and
inconsistent attendance at meetings of the stream chairs and other committee members has not
benefited the viability of the streams concept.
Conceptually, we find the four streams to be a reasonable breakdown of the major areas within
Kinesiology, but practically we question their effectiveness. One of the problems appears to be
that the lack of availability of the core courses means that students are often unable to attain the
necessary prerequisites in the appropriate sequence. We also believe that the further development
of the streams may require resources to be put in elective class offerings that compete with the
core classes. In addition, unless the tenure track faculty are more involved in the undergraduate
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program, the streams concept will never be effective. Thus, we recommend the School seriously
re-consider the necessity for streams in the undergraduate program.
We also find that there are certain legitimate areas within Kinesiology that are not represented in
the undergraduate core curriculum. One apparent weakness is the lack of a psychological or
social-psychological Kinesiology core class. We believe that all Kinesiology majors should be
exposed to this area. The current core is heavy on the 'biological' side of Kinesiology and light
on the 'behavioural' side, providing the students with a rather biased and narrow view of
Kinesiology. We believe this class would provide all Kinesiology majors with background
information on the motivations related to adherence to exercise and rehabilitation programs,
motivations for participation in physical activity and exploration of
why
people chose or do not
chose to be physically active. Thus, we recommend a psychological or social-psychological
Kinesiology course be added to the undergraduate core and appropriate resources be assigned.
In addition, Kinesiology students are not required to take a class in research design and scientific
methods. We believe this area is critical for students in Kinesiology. One way to address this
issue is to insure that research methods specific to each major area of Kinesiology are taught in
the other core classes. But since there are many commonalties of research and scientific methods
across all areas of Kinesiology, we believe this content would be best served in a single class as a
prerequisite to the other core classes. We recommend that a course in research and scientific
methods be added to the undergraduate core and appropriate resources be assigned.
Graduate Program
The courses offered in the graduate program, reflecting the expertise of the faculty, cover a broad
and diverse range of topics. The diversity represents a strength of the program, and it is
recognized as such by faculty as well as graduate students. The students come to the graduate
program in Kinesiology with a variety of interests, and the School is able to offer them a range of
choices for specialization. As for the depth of the course offerings, we found nothing that would
indicate an inadequacy. Course scheduling does present some problems because of small
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enrollments; these problems are not peculiar to this School, but they could perhaps be alleviated
by attracting students from other departments into some of the courses, and by other changes
affecting the structure of the program, discussed later.
One unfortunate byproduct of the diversity of specializations is that graduate students tend to
become identified early on with one or another faction within the School. They tend to take all
their courses within their factional area, and thus have little exposure to the basic concepts, much
less the current issues or techniques, pertaining to other areas of research within Kinesiology.
Even the comprehensive examination is a misnomer because it is often tailored to the area of
specialization.
It was pointed out to us by some graduate students that once the requisite courses have been
taken, the fear of a decrease in the grade point average acts as a disincentive to taking courses in
other areas of Kinesiology. This fear could be obviated by the simple mechanism of allowing a
pass/fail option for courses beyond what are deemed requisite for the student. Broader
participation by graduate students in the varied course offerings of the School would help lower
the factional barriers, apart from increasing enrollments in the graduate courses. Despite the
barriers between different groups of faculty, it is salutary that the graduate students enjoy a high
level of communication amongst themselves, and form, to all appearances, a cohesive group.
They have, therefore, the potential to promote better communication among the faculty.
It is part of the School's philosophy not to require a core of courses for all graduate students. We
recognize that it is desirable to promote diversity of academic pursuits within the School, and
therefore we do not recommend that an onerous set of core courses be mandated. We do believe,
however, that the School, and Kinesiology in general, will be served well by promoting
communication amongst the different areas. Possible ways of achieving this, in addition to
encouraging students to take courses beyond their areas of specialization, include: (1) Regularly
scheduled seminars, with speakers drawn from amongst the faculty, graduate students, and invited
scientists. (2) Laboratory rotations, in which a graduate student spends part of a semester in a
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laboratory other than that of his/her mentor. (3) A graduate course in research design and
methodology. (4) Diversity in membership of supervisory committees for Part 2 of the
comprehensive examination, to ensure breadth of knowledge. We are confident that the faculty
can enlarge upon this list of options, and choose those best suited to the School.
Graduate progress and support.
The graduate students have displayed an impressive level of scholarship through their publications
in diverse, well-respected journals. The record of Kinesiology graduate students garnering
awards at the University and Faculty levels is also outstanding. Clearly, they are making excellent
progress, for which they and the faculty of the School are to be congratulated.
Graduate student support, in the form of teaching and research assistantships, is in general well
managed and readily available; the students themselves recognize this fact. There is some
disaffection, however, over the exclusive role of the supervisor in deciding whether the student's
progress is satisfactory, and thus whether a Research Assistantship should continue. Perhaps
greater involvement by the student's supervisory committee would help alleviate this concern. It
appears that students find the involvement of the School in their progress to be minimal, which is
also brought out in the Exit Questionnaire data. This may be related to the feeling of being part
of a faction rather than the School, a matter that needs to be investigated. Another matter that
needs to be investigated by the School's faculty is the rather long time, comparable to that for a
Ph.D., that is spent in obtaining a Master's degree. The expectations a student has to fulfill in
order to produce a satisfactory thesis/dissertation seem to vary among laboratories. To some
extent this disparity is the inevitable price of the diversity of research areas; but insofar as it leads
to a feeling of unfairness among some students, the School and the Graduate Program Committee
should attempt to redress the problem by actively promoting diversity in the membership of
supervisory committees, instead of taking a hands-off approach. There is also concern about the
consistency of participation in the students' guidance by some supervisory committees.
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2. Faculty
Size offaculty complement in relation to workload.
The faculty complement is that of 22 & 1/4 tenure track positions, with three positions currently
vacant and being actively recruited. In addition to the tenure track faculty, the School employs
five laboratory instructors who undertake the teaching of a large number of courses in the
undergraduate program, including the distance-education courses. These numbers (tenure-track
faculty and instructors) represent an increase since 1990 that reflects in part a response to the
increase in undergraduate enrollment. We suggest that the Administration consider either setting a
limit to the enrollment, or increasing faculty complement; failing this, the curriculum and mode of
delivery may have to be modified accordingly.
Hiring
We recognise that faculty hiring decisions are an important factor both in maintaining the overall
quality of academic units, as well as determining their overall emphases in terms of research and
teaching. In times of increasing competition for diminishing research funds, it is imperative that
people hired as new faculty have strong records supporting their ability to generate financial
support for themselves and their graduate students. The School has had considerable success
over the past years in attracting such high quality scholars, as well as in providing them with the
necessary resources to set up their laboratories. In the face of budgetary restraints, it is
recommended that efforts be maintained to continue to provide adequate funds to recruit new
faculty of this calibre and enable them to set up their research.
Nevertheless we see two issues that need to be addressed in connection with hiring, these being
the ways in which hiring priorities are set and in which the hiring process is implemented.
In
common with other programs in Canada at this time, the challenge faced by this School is that of
being sensitive to the realities of the economic environment, which often requires specific skills of
graduates, without compromising the development of the critical and analytical abilities that are
fostered most effectively in a strong academic environment. Therefore we recognise that in
making hiring decisions there is a fine line to be walked between i) hiring the best scholar and ii)
considering the needs of the curriculum, particularly at the level of undergraduate education (and
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also at the graduate level, should a professional degree be implemented). Although it is
recognised that a healthy curriculum will be evolving continually to reflect the strengths and
interests of its faculty, there will always be some constraints imposed by the need for graduates to
fill a particular societal niche. Currently the areas for further new hires have been identified as a i)
a Health Scientist, ii) an Environmental Physiologist and iii) a position left vacant by the untimely
death of Dr. Tom Richardson, with the question being of whether the replacement should also be
a physician.
From the point of view of the directions being taken by the undergraduate curriculum, there is
clearly a need for a Health Scientist with interests in Nutrition and Health Promotion. The ad for
this position is broadly written, as is sensible in the interests of casting a wide net and thereby
attracting a strong pool of candidates. There is, however, no reference to what the expected
teaching contributions of the successful candidate might be. This seems to have created problems
previously, where the teaching needs of the program have not been emphasised, or accepted as
part of the defined responsibilities. In fact, it was surprising to see the emphasis being put on
developing initiatives in the areas of Nutrition and Health Promotion, given the almost total
reliance at present on sessional instructors to develop and teach these courses. Thus there were
concerns expressed about the hiring process, particularly with respect to the perception that a
policy to hire the best scientist, without due consideration of the curriculum, might not always be
optimal in terms of the overall interests of the School. There was also a concern that an approach
to hiring the best scientist based on criteria such as number of publications etc., might fail to take
into account the fact that norms will vary according to the discipline, and that often "apples and
oranges" comparisons are being made. It was suggested that collective wisdom would more
likely ensue from broad representation of faculty from different areas on hiring committees, as
well as incorporating into the process the opportunity for broad consultation within the School
with respect to the merits of particular candidates. It is therefore recommended that the
department review its procedures whereby hiring decisions are made to ensure a balance between
the requirements of scholarship and teaching. The present practice, whereby the search
committee submits only one candidate for the faculty to vote up or down is also not conducive to
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the promotion of collegiality among the different areas of Kinesiology. The decision of whom to
hire should include an assessment by all the faculty of which candidate among those qualified by
research and teaching is most likely to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and collaboration
among the different areas.
The fact that the position for the Environmental Physiologist is being advertised at the assistant
professor level may prove problematic in view of the intent that the individual hired will be able to
continue teaching and research activities related to the use of the facilities of the Environmental
Physiology Unit. The maintenance of this unit is very resource intensive, and the continued
funding necessary for generating the appropriate resources for its ongoing maintenance and
operation may necessitate hiring someone with an established track-record in this area. Decisions
about the future of this unit also have implications for whether or not the replacement position for
the third faculty position should be a physician with the required expertise, or whether the services
of a physician with the appropriate training, might be provided on an "ad hoc" basis as needed.
Thus the position of the School in terms of committing resources to this unit needs to be resolved
40
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before the latter two hires are made.
Faculty Background and Collegiality
Although the background of the Kinesiology faculty places them collectively in a strong position
to support the development of collaborative initiatives in teaching and research, this potential
might be better exploited than is currently the case. Currently there does not appear to be much
collaborative interaction among the tenure-track faculty with respect to either research activities
or graduate teaching. This may reflect, in part, the relatively specialised nature of the graduate
education offered (discussed under graduate program above). Thus it may be that it is in the
undergraduate program that this potential for cohesion among the faculty will be most easily
realised. But the success of this initiative will depend on the extent to which the tenure track
faculty are involved in taking an active role in the continuing development of the undergraduate
curriculum (discussed in detail under undergraduate program above).
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There appear to be serious divisions among the faculty which are proving extremely corrosive to
departmental morale, including that of staff and students. Although this may be related partly to
differences in style and personality, the larger issue underlying these differences may be one that is
unique to multidisciplinary departments, particularly those with an applied emphasis. For such
groups to function effectively requires an appreciation of, as well as respect for, the contribution
to be made by the different research approaches. One way of classifying the background of these
faculty is according to their areas of research interests, which are described in the self-report as
follows: exercise physiology/biochemistry (2), neurophysiology (3), environmental physiology (2),
cardiac physiology (1), motor behaviour (5), biomechanics (2), biochemistry/toxicology (2),
endocrinology/diabetes (1). Another way of doing this, which may prove helpful in this instance,
is according to the level of analyses applied to the research problem. This latter approach leads to
the identification of two alternative ways in which the research interests of the Kinesiology faculty
might be stratified, the first "horizontal" stratification being represented by either a behavioural or
a physiological approach, and the second "vertical" stratification representing operationalisation
of a problem at either a systems or a molecular level. These approaches are not mutually
exclusive; the mechanistic understanding of a phenomenon described at the systems level, either
behaviourally or physiologically, may well require the deployment of modern technology in the
form of cellular or molecular tools. Thus, while it is true that human health and performance are
measured ultimately at the systems level, in many instances genuine understanding, as well as
application of solutions to problems in these areas will result only from the integration of
knowledge gained from all levels of analysis. However, it appears to us, that in some instances,
boundaries, either horizontal or vertical, have been established between groups of faculty, and
these are unfortunately accompanied by not inconsequential feelings of not being respected, and,
in fact, of being threatened by "the other side". There also appears to be some frustration with
the perceived unfairness of an evaluation system that does not have "teeth" to redress problems
that had been identified with respect to the performance of individual faculty.
We view these problems, if left unaddressed, as having the potential for an exceedingly
destructive impact on the morale of the School. We therefore recommend that the School make it
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a top priority to work towards resolution of these issues. One way of accomplishing this might be
to hold a School retreat that includes the contribution of a professional mediator. Other
initiatives, such as regular departmental seminars, accompanied by some opportunity for social
interactions, may prove useful in fostering better understanding of diverse research areas, and
hence better personal relationships. We also recommend a review of the procedures in place for
faculty evaluation, at the level of both the Dean of the Faculty and Director of the School.
Research, Teaching and Service Contributions
of
Faculty
Overall we see the individual faculty as very strong scholars, with active research interests, and, in
some instances, they have fruitful collaborative interactions with other institutions. The research
is being published in respected refereed journals, and the faculty have been successful in obtaining
research funding, with a total (all sources) of $977,389 in the 1995/96 fiscal year.
With respect to teaching, whereas the University norm is described as four courses per year, in
recognition of the involvement of most of the tenure-track faculty in research and graduate
supervision, as well as involvement in undergraduate projects, the normal teaching load is
described as three courses, two undergraduate and one graduate. Notwithstanding, many faculty
perceive an increase in workload due to increased class size, and the necessity in some courses for
faculty to conduct labs/tutorials. While the summer has traditionally been identified as a research
term for many faculty, the three trimester system with increased demand by students for core
courses during the summer may require a restructuring of teaching and research terms.
Moreover, in the absence of additional faculty positions, continuing increases in enrollment may
erode the ability of faculty to offer students individualised instruction in the form of small courses
with projects; it may also require faculty to be more involved in teaching the core courses and to
optimise the offerings of the more specialised upper-year courses.
As instructors are not required to be engaged in research and graduate supervision, they have
correspondingly higher teaching loads, which include the distance and education courses. The
instructors also make important contributions to the undergraduates in terms of academic advising
.
20
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and counselling, as well as other service contributions. Tenure-track faculty contribute at all
levels of service within the University, as well as to their scholarly communities. Faculty members
did not complain of excessive service responsibilities.
3. ADMINISTRATION
Size and Effectiveness
In this section, we provide an assessment of the size of the School's administrative and support
staff and the effectiveness of the administration of the School.
The general administrative structure of the School appears to be quite sound. The Director
receives support for a Secretary and a Department Assistant. There is a Chair of the
Undergraduate Program Committee and a Chair of the Graduate Program Committee who each
have Secretaries. In addition, the school has a Co-op and Financial Secretary. There are other
Directors and representatives who attend to matters of the Library, the Environmental Physiology
Unit, the Geraldine and Tong Louie Human Performance Centre and other duties. Thus, the
structure of the School does not appear to us to have any apparent flaws. However, the
effectiveness of the administration of the School is of concern.
The secretarial staff expressed their views that they were understaffed. Their explanation was that
there has been a rapid increase in undergraduate student growth which has not been accompanied
by increased resources. We are not in a position to evaluate the validity of the secretaries'
concerns. But we recommend that a desk audit be considered to determine whether the
secretaries are understaffed, and whether the Departmental Assistant is in a position to assume the
demands generated by the additional students in terms of advising, etc.
The secretaries also expressed a need for more courtesy, confidence and credibility in their work.
They believed that some faculty, and to some extent the Director, could be more supportive of
their efforts. Once again, it is difficult for us to evaluate these concerns but we received several
comments from faculty, students, and staff that the working environment within the School was
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21
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far from optimal. Part of the problem is divisiveness among the faculty that permeates through
the School. We heard reports of unruly faculty meetings, rude and unkind remarks among
faculty, student and staff and a general disrespect for others' work. Another part of the problem
is that the Director attempted to make certain changes that he felt were in the best interests of the
School which were not supported by some faculty. As a result, the general effectiveness of the
School administration did not appear to us to be acceptable, given the high quality of faculty,
students and staff. A new Director will be taking over in the fall 1997 and there is optimism by
some that improvements will be made in the working environment of the School. This optimism
is not shared by all. It is our view that real constructive interaction among the various divisions of
the School will not improve until communication, respect and understanding is restored. This will
not be an easy task for the Director. It is our belief that the new Director must address this
problem head on and take specific measure to improve the working environment of the School.
For example, as discussed above, there appear to be divisions within the School along the lines of
both areas (physiological and behavioural) as well as research emphasis (whole body/systemic and
0
reductionistic. In addition, there are personality conflicts among the faculty that perhaps are more
difficult to address. Regarding the area and research emphasis divisions, it is our recommendation
that the new Director open the lines of communication among these divisions, so that faculty, staff
and students (to some degree) can begin to speak with one another in a mutually respectful
manner. One suggestion may be to start by getting representatives of these divisions together to
talk about common problems and ways these problems may be solved. Another suggestion is to
hire the services of on outside facilitator to be present at faculty and other important meetings. In
addition, the School's colloquium series could be planned and coordinated by representatives of
the various divisions. Finally, the School might consider adopting a laboratory rotation
requirement that would require graduate students to spend time in laboratories outside their area
of specialization. Establishing a nurturing, trusting and healthy working environment in the
shortest possible time is critical for the School's further development as it moves closer to the
21st century. We see it as a vitally important task for the new Director to set the tone for
tolerance and understanding within the School which it desperately needs at the present time.
22
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Adequacy
of
resources
The space needs of the research personnel have been met to some extent by the renovations and
additions of recent years, though crowding continues. As well, a common area has been provided
for undergraduate students, but is lacking for the graduate students. Provision of such an area,
and of a seminar room, would be helpful in alleviating the space shortage in the research
laboratories. It would also serve to promote communication among the different laboratories, by
acknowledging that the graduate students are citizens of the School, in addition to being members
of their laboratory groups. High on the priority list, however, should be the space needs of the
administrative staff. Despite the large increase in undergraduate enrollment in recent years, the
increased demands on the administrative personnel, and their needs for space, have not been
addressed.
The computer facilities, and the equipment available in the School for teaching and research
purposes, are excellent. The newly hired engineer is widely recognized as doing an excellent job
5 ?
of supporting the computer systems. His skills, however, would be more productively utilized in
the design of new equipment, in teaching a course in instrumentation, and in other pursuits
appropriate for a Ph.D. engineer. Once the computer network system is in a sufficiently stable
state, it could be supported by lower-level technicians or work-study students. The environmental
chamber is a unique piece of equipment for research activities, assuming that external support can
be generated for such research. This may entail advertising the availability of this equipment more
widely than has been done. The high cost of maintenance of this equipment, together with the
cost of making a certified physician available, is not justified by the use made of it in teaching
alone, unless there is a sufficient market for the skills that can be taught using this equipment.
The animal facility at Simon Fraser is outstanding. The library resources appear adequate. The
list of the journals charged to the Kinesiology budget, however, lacks any reasoned basis, and is
merely historical. Many journals of importance to Kinesiology are presumably being charged to
other departments, and vice versa.
r
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4. Connection of School within and outside the University
Interaction and integration with other units.
The School has taken important and effective steps to increase its visibility, particularly off the
Simon Fraser campus. Our general conclusion is that the School's various out-reach programs
are excellent. The Co-op program in Kinesiology provides excellent opportunities for the
undergraduate students to expand and apply their practical knowledge gained through the
Kinesiology curriculum. In addition, the Co-op coordinators are dedicated and hardworking
individuals who take considerable pride in their accomplishments and interactions with the
undergraduate students. The Distance and Continuing Education programs appear to us to be
working effectively. We found the activities engaged in by the Kinesiology Mobile Lab and the
Geraldine and Tong Louie Human Performance Centre at the Harbour Centre to be creative, very
visible and well received by the community. We strongly endorse their continued operation.
Finally, the interaction of the School with the Alumni and particularly the B.C. Kinesiology
Association is good. Our only concern is that the Co-op program and the B.C. Kinesiology
Association to some degree seem to be 'driving' the undergraduate curriculum perhaps to a
degree greater than necessary. This is not to suggest that the undergraduate curriculum should be
operated without sensitivity to the changing career and professional opportunities for Kinesiology
graduates. The undergraduate program should be thought of a dynamic entity with some
flexibility necessary to meet the needs and interests of the undergraduate student. But the
adoption of new elective courses influenced by the Co-op program and by the B.C. Kinesiology
Association should not be done hastily. The creation of new Kinesiology elective classes to better
prepare Kinesiology students for a specific career should involve considerable planning. The
consequences of adopting new courses should be understood in relation to such factors as course
availability, involvement of tenure track faculty and instructors and necessary instructional
resources. Other than this concern, we believe the School has done exceptionally well in making
itself visible off the campus.
The visibility of the School and its faculty on the Simon Fraser University campus was somewhat
24
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more difficult for us to assess since we did not interview faculty in other departments. Our
impression was that the visibility of the faculty and of the School's mission could be increased
across the campus. For example, the Vice President for Research and the Dean of Graduate
Studies told us that the overall mission of the School was not clear. We see the mission of
Kinesiology at the University as vital to advancing knowledge on the structure and function of the
human body and to human health and wellness. If this mission is not well perceived on campus as
well as it is off the campus, it is very important for the School and its Director, and to some
extent the Dean, to take the necessary steps to improve the School's visibility. It was also not
clear to us whether the School's various colloquia are well advertised on campus, how regularly
the faculty interact or collaborate with faculty in other Departments and whether the senior faculty
within the School participate on the campus-wide committees. All of these efforts could improve
the School's visibility on the Simon Fraser University campus.
.
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25
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V. APPENDICES
?
APPENDIX 1
Documents
Provided
Terms of Reference for the Review Committee
Senate Guidelines for External Reviews of Academic Units
University Calendar
Administrative Organization Chart
University Fact Book
Graduate Studies Fact Book
Graduate Studies Data
Report of
ad hoc
Committee on Planning Priorities
Self Study (two books)
Further documents provided during visit
?
is ?
Report of 1990 External Review Committee
Graduate Student Exit Survey
Research Grants and Contracts to Academic Departments at Simon Fraser University
Kinesiology Teaching Schedule by Instructor from 96-1 to 98-3
Kinesiology Course Schedule 1996/1997
Kinesiology Core Course Offerings 1993/94- 1997/98
Kinesiology Core Course and Instructor Evaluations, 1994-3 through 1997-1
Kinesiology Student Association Report to External Review Committee
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APPENDIX
2
is
Schedule for External Review Committee
SCHOOL OF KINESIOLOGY ?
June 16, 17
&
18, 1997 ?
SCHEDULE FOR EXTERNAL REVIEW COMMITTEE
Monday, June 16
8:00 -
8:45
Continental Breakfast meeting with Dr. David Gagan, VP
DUC
Academic, Dr. Ron Marteniuk, Dean, Faculty of Applied
Sciences, Dr. Bruce Clayman, VP Research & Dean of Graduate
Studies, Dr. Katherine Heinrich, Special Assistant to Dr. Gagan
on Academic Planning & Ms. Alison Watt, Director, Secretariat
Services
8:45 -
9:00
Meeting of Committee Members (Dr. Hoffer will escort to
DUC
School)
9:00 - 11:00
Meeting with Dr. Andy Hoffer, Director of the School
K9624
9:00 - 9:30 - Current status of School and future directions
9:30 - 11:00 - Tour of School and Laboratories
11:00-11:15
Break
K9624
11:15 - 12:15
Meeting with Undergraduate Program Committee
K9624
S
(Chair: Mr. Stephen Brown)
12:15 - 1:30
Open Lunch with Faculty, Staff, Student Representatives in
K9635
Coffee Room
1:30 - 2:30
Meeting with Undergraduate Students in KSA Common Room
K8504
2:30-3:00
Break
K9624
3:00-5:00
Individual
I
group meetings with Faculty Members
K9624
Tuesday, June
17
8:15 -9:00
Meeting with Dr. Bruce Clayman
SH 3200
9:00 -
9:45
Meeting with Dr. Ron Marteniuk
K9624
9:45 - 10:00
Break
K9624
10:00 - 12:00
Individual / group meetings with Faculty Members
K9624
12:00 - 1:00
Sandwich Lunch meeting with Graduate Program Committee
K9624
(Chair: Dr. John Dickinson)
1:15 - 2:15
Meeting with Graduate Students
K9624
2:15-2:30
Break
K9624
2:30-4:00
Animal Care Facility visit and Mobile Lab visit
ACF+ML
(escorted by Dr. Hoffer)
4:15 - 5:00
Meeting with Co-op Coordinators and representatives from the
K9624
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B.C. Association of Kinesiologists
5:15 -
6:30
General Reception (Faculty, Staff, Student reps & BCAK reps)
DUC
p
Wednesday,
June 18
S ?
8:30 - 9:00
Visit Geraldine & Tong Louie Human Performance Centre
Harbour
Centre
9:15 -
10:00
Travel to SFU Burnaby
HC 2910
10:10 - 10:30
Meeting with Department Assistant, Ms. Sophie Dunbar
K9624
10:30 - 10:50
Meeting with Administrative Support Staff
K9624
10:50-11:00
Break
K9624
11:00- 11:20
Meeting with Technical Support Staff
K9624
11:30- 12:15
Meeting with Ms. Sharon Thomas, Library Collections
K9624
12:30-3:00
Committee Lunch (no guests) / spare meeting time
I
initial drafting DUC
time (At the committee's invitation, there was a meeting during
this time with Dr. John Dickinson, Director-elect of the School)
3:00 -
3:45
Meeting with Dr. Hoffer
DUC
4:00 - 4:45
Meeting with Drs. David Gagan, Ron Marteniuk, Bruce
PCR
Clayman, Kathy Heinrich and Alison Watt
ASB =
Applied Sciences Building
ACF =
Animal Care Facility
DUC =
Diamond University Club
ML =
Mobile Lab
PCR =
President's Conference Room, Third Floor, Strand Hall
SH=
Strand Hall
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Office of the Vice-President, Academic
?
Memorandum
To: Senate Committee on Academic
?
From:
David Gagan
44vvd
Planning
?
Vice-President, Academic 1'
Re:
External Review of the School of
?
Date: ?
August 26, 1997
Kinesiology
I attach, for your consideration, the report of the external review committee for the
School of Kinesiology.
I read this report with great interest because our School of Kinesiology is constructed
around the academic collaboration of a diverse group of sub-disciplines which
continues to be augmented by additional sub-disciplines as the School's definition of
"Kinesiology" expands and evolves. In short, for good reason the School
historically has very much been a unique work in progress.
However, as the review committee's report makes clear, Kinesiology appears to
have reached a point where consolidating its strengths may now have to be
considered a higher priority than expanding the scope and diversity of its activities.
This is the result, in part, of the success of its current programs as measured by
undergraduate enrollments. It is also the result of on-going fiscal retrenchment
which has altered the balance of workload relative to resource entitlements
everywhere in the University. Finally, it is partly the result of a culture, within the
School, that appears to have stressed individual laissez-faire to the point where
diversity has compromised the School's ability to prioritize its activities in order to
meet its instructional obligations.
For all of these reasons, the review committee has recommended that the School:
identify a revised core undergraduate curriculum; make the teaching of these core
courses a higher priority for tenured faculty than teaching senior level
undergraduate electives; make competence to teach aspects of the core curriculum a
condition of appointment for newly-hired faculty; make accessibility to core courses
for undergraduates the cornerstone of workload policies; and re-examine the
balance of teaching and research priorities among tenured faculty in relation to the
demands of the core curriculum.
The reviewers address other consequential matters, including collegiality within the
School, overspecialization in graduate programs, and the adequacy of supporting
resources. Without underestimating the seriousness of these matters, it would
appear, in my view at least, that developing the collective will required to resolve
I.
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Office of the Vice-President, Academic
?
Memorandum
To: Dr. John Dickinson
?
From: David Gagan 1444,014
Director, School of Kinesiology
?
Vice-President, Academic
And: Dr. Ron Marteruuk
Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences
Re: External Review Report and School Response Date: May 25, 1998
Thank you for sending me the Response to the External Review of the School of
Kinesiology on April 8. I apologize for the delay in outlining the next step in the
process.
In the time since my memo to you of September 3, 1997 conveying a copy of the report
to you and the School,
all
units within the University have developed three years plans..
I want to integrate the planning and external review cycle and I propose to proceed in
O ?
the following manner.
"Departments which have already been through External Reviews
recently, but whose external review reports have not yet gone to SCAP or
Senate will be encouraged to attach their 3 year plans as part of their
?
C ?
response to the external review. These should be discussed with the
Faculty Dean with a view to preparing a final draft of the plan for the
Department which has the support of both the department and the Dean.
The Dean will be responsible for presenting the plan including the
external review to SCAP."
In your case - because of the timing of the review report and the development of the 3
year plan - you presumably have already incorporated recommendations from the
External Review into the 3 year plan. It is therefore now up to Dean Marteniuk to
indicate whether the plan for the School is acceptable to him, and for him to bring this
forward to SCAP for approval.
I am therefore asking Dean Marteniuk to review the response of the School to the
External Review Report along with the 3 year plan, work out with the School any
adjustments which are required and bring this forward to SCAP for approval in the
near future.
S
cc: ?
A .
J
.
Watt
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the larger problem described above is an important first step in addressing the other
issues confronting the School.
The successful resolution of these matters should keep the School on its historical
track as a national model for the discipline.
Attachment
/pjs
scap/kirtes/2206
0
A
O ?
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Office of the Vice-President, Academic
MEMORANDUM
September 3, 1997
To: ?
Dr. John Dickinson, Director, School of Kinesiology
From: ?
David Gagan, Vice-President, Academic 4tVt1W%____
Subject: ?
External Review Report
Attached is a copy of the report of the External Review Committee which I received recently.
We will be implementing the new procedures for dealing with external review reports (see sections
11-15 of the attached guidelines approved by Senate). You should arrange for the report to be
made available to faculty, staff and students in the School. I am sending copies to the President,
Deans Marteniuk and Clayman, and Dr. Kathy Heinrich, and we will be distributing copies of the
External Review report to members of the Senate Committee on Academic Planning together with
my own comments on the report contained in the attached memorandum dated August 26, 1997.
I would like to invite you to attend SCAP on 8 October to receive any comments which SCAP
members may have about the report. In order for SCAP members to have the opportunity to be
fully prepared for this meeting, a copy of the School's Self Study will be available in Secretariat
Services (Registrar's Office) for consultation by members.
Following this initial consultation, the Department is expected to prepare an academic plan as
outlined in section 12 in consultation with the Dean, and the academic plan will then be forwarded
to SCAP for approval. A copy of the approved plan will be sent to Senate for information. I
suggest that you should aim to get this process accomplished in the Fall so that we can get this to
SCAP in the Spring of 1998. Dr. Kathy Heinrich is available to assist you and the Department in
the preparation of the plan for the Department.
Please let me or Alison know if you have any questions about this, and please advise Alison of
your availability for SCAP.
Enclosures
cc: ?
J.O. Stubbs
R.G. Marteniuk
B.P. Clayman
K. Heinrich
A.J. Watt
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