SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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MEMORANDUM

SENATE .. ..... ..... ..... ?

..... ...

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. .... .......................... ..... ....... .From.

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SENATE GRADUATE STuDIES COMMITTEE

Subject .... ....

.CHANGES ... .IN .......ERA]. REGULATIONS.

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Date.

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NOVEMBER 14,-1.974,

':FOR GRADUAT

E.

STUDIES AND NEW COURSES

S.AR 895-3, 896-5, 897-5

MOTION 1 ?

"That paragraph 3.3 a (iii) be amended to read "at

least two semesters in a Master's Program at this

University with a Cumulative Grade Point Average

of at least 3.5 in nine or more semester hours of

graduate course work. All graduate courses for the

Master's degree, whether taken at this University

or another, shall be considered in the evaluation of

the application."

-1s-appove-

IIOTION 2

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"That a new section be added to the General Regulations

as follows

3.7 Admission as an Exchange Student. Bona fide graduate

students at other Canadian universities who wish to take

courses at Simon Fraser University, not leading to a

Simon Fraser University degree, will be admitted on the

recommendation of the Chairman of the Department (or

equivalent officer) and the Dean of Graduate Studies at

the other university, and the permission of the appropriate

Graduate Program Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies

at this University."

MOTION 3 ?

"a) That the following sentence be added to section

3.6 at the end of the paragraph: "Transcripts of

previous university work (or proof of obtaining a

degree) will be required at the time of application,

but letters of reference will not necessarily be

required."

b)

That the last sentence of the first paragraph of

section 3.7 (present numbering) be struck.

c)

That the last paragraph of section 3.7 (present

numbering) be struck and that the following two

paragraphs be inserted in its place:

"Admission for Masters or Doctoral students

is by resolution of the Senate Graduate Studies

Committee on the recommendation of the Graduate

Program Committee or, for students entering under

. Special Arrangements, on the recommendation of

the Executive Committee of the Senate Graduate

Studies Committee.

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Decisions on admission made by the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee shall be final.

Final approval of admissions for Special

Students or Exchange Graduate Students is by

the Dean of Graduate Studies provided all the

conditions of such admission have been met.

..&- 3 isTproVa

Motion 4

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"That the second sentence in 6.3 be changed to read

as follows:

"This appointment shall normally be made no later than

the beginning of the third semester after the student's

admission, although in certain circumstances, and with

the permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies, the

appointment can be made later."

That the second sentence in 6.4 be changed to read as

follows:

"This recommendation shall be made during the same

semester in which the Senior Supervisor is appointed."

W ?

Motion 5 ?

"That the last sentence in 7.1 be changed to read as

follows:

"While doing work off campus under these provisions,

the student shall maintain normal registration at this

University, not registration on leave."

That the last sentence on 7.2 be changed to read as

follows:

"While taking a course or courses at another university

under these provisions, the student shall maintain normal

registration at this University, not registration on

leave."

Motion 6

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"That the present paragraph 8.2 be struck and the

following new 8.2 be inserted:

"If a student's progress appears to be unsatisfactory,

the Supervisory Committee or the Chairman of the Graduate

Program Committee shall make a written report to the

Graduate Program Committee. That Committee shall consider

whether or not the student's progress has been satisfactory.

Should the student's progress be found to be unsatisfactory,

the Committee, on consultation with the Supervisory

Committee, if one has been appointed, can

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a)

require the student to withdraw, or

b) inform the student that his progress Is unsatisfactory

and require him to improve his work in specific ways

in a specific amount of time.

The student concerned has the right to appear before that

Graduate Program Committee when his case is considered

and he may submit any materials relevant to his case. If

the student is required to withdraw, he shall be informed

in writing with copies to the Dean of Graduate Studies

and the Assistant Registrar for Graduate Studies. If

he is required to improve his work within a specific

amount of time, he shall be informed in writing as to

what precisely is required of him with copies to the

Dean of Graduate Studies and the Assistant Registrar for

Graduate Studies.

Any decision of the Graduate Program Committee under the

provision of this section may be appealed to the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee through the Dean of Graduate

Studies Office. The student has the right to appear

before the Senate Graduate Studies Committee when his case

is heard. The decision of that Committee shall be final."

Motion 7

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"That a final sentence be added to the last paragraph

of section 10.1 as follows: "The Dean of Graduate

Studies or his designate shall have the right to

attend all phases of the examination."

Motion 8

?

"a) That the present paragraph 10.6 have an extra

sentence inserted at the beginning, as follows:

"For degrees designated 'professional degrees'

by Senate (presently NA - Teaching of French, MBA,

MPM) the project will be examined in ways designated

by the appropriate Graduate Program Committee and

approved by the appropriate Faculty Graduate Studies

Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies."

b) That the existing paragraph be amended by inserting

the words "for all other graduate programs" after the

work "project". (This has the effect of making the

first sentence read "The examination of projects for

all other graduate programs shall be as for the

examination of theses...")"

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Motion 9 ?

"That three new courses be introduced as follows:

S.Ar 895-3 Special Topics 1

S.Ar 896-5 Special Topics 2

S.Ar 897-5 Special Topics 3"

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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5,7L/ .-/"

To: Members of Senate

Subject:: Changes in the General Regulations

for Graduate Studies

Fràm: Office of the

Dean of Graduate

Studies

Date: November 6, 1974

MOTION: ?

That Senate approve the following:

Motion 1: That paragraph 3.3 a (iii) be amended to read "at

least two semesters in a Master's Program at this

University with a Cumulative Grade Point Average

of at least 3.5 in nine or more semester hours of

graduate course work. All graduate courses for

the Master's degree, whether taken at this University

or another, shall be considered in the evaluation of

the application."

Motion 2: That a new section be added to the General Regulations

as follows

3.7 Admission as an Exchange Student. Bona fide graduate

•

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students at other Canadian universities who wish to take

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courses at Simon Fraser University, not leading to a

Simon Fraser University degree, will be admitted on the

recommendation of the Chairman of the Department (or

equivalent officer) and the Dean of Graduate Studies at

the other university, and the permission of the appropriate

Graduate Program Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies

at this University.

Motion 3: a) That the following sentence be added to section

3.6 at the end of the paragraph: "Transcripts of

previous university work (or proof of obtaining

a degree) will be required at the time of application,

but letters of reference will not necessarily be

required."

b)

That the last sentence of the first paragraph of

section 3.7 (present numbering) be struck.

c)

That the last paragraph of section 3.7 (present

numbering) be struck and that the following two

paragraphs be inserted in its place:

"Admission for Masters or Doctoral students

is by resolution of the Senate Graduate Studies

Committee on the recommendation of the Graduate

Program Committee or, for students entering under

Special Arrangements, on the recommendation of

S

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the Executive Committee of the Senate Graduate ?

Studies Committee.

Decisions on admission made by the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee shall be final.

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Final approval of admission for Special Students

or Exchange Graduate Students is by the Dean

of Graduate Studies provided all the conditions

of such admission have been met."

Motion 4: That the second sentence in 6.3 be changed to read

as follows:

"This appointment shall normally be made no later than

the beginning of the third semester after the student's

admission, although in certain circumstances, and with

the permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies, the

appointment can be made later."

That the second sentence in 6.4 be changed to read as

follows:

"This recommendation shall be made during the same

semester in which the Senior Supervisor is appointed."

Motion 5: That the last sentence in 7.1 be changed to read

as follows:

"While doing work off campus under these provisions,

the student shall maintain normal registration at this

University, not registration on leave."

That the last sentence on 7.2 be changed to read

as follows:

"While taking a course or courses at another university

under these provisions, the student shall maintain normal

registration at this University, not registration on

leave."

Motion 6: ?

That the present paragraph 8.2 be struck and the

following new 8.2 be inserted:

"If a student's progress appears to be unsatisfactory,

the Supervisory Committee or the Chairman of the Graduate

Program Committee shall make a written report to the

Graduate Program Committee.

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That Committee shall consider

whether or not the student's progress has been satisfactory.

Should the student's progress be found to be unsatisfactory,

the Committee, on

consultation

with the Supervisory

Committee, if one has been appointed, can

a) ?

require the student to withdraw, or

b) ?

inform the student that his progress is unsatisfactory

and require him to improve his work in specific

'

ways

in a specific amount of time.

The

,

student concerned has the right

?

to appear before that

Graduate Program Committee when his case is considered

and he may submit any materials relevant to his case.

If the student is required to withdraw, he shall be

informed in writing with copies to the Dean of Graduate

Studies and the Assistant Registrar for Graduate Studies.

If he

is required

to improve his work within a specific

amout of time, he shall be informed in writing as to

what precisely is required of him with copies to the

Dean of Graduate Studies and the Assistant Registrar for

Graduate Studies.

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Any decision of the Graduate Program Committee under the

provision of this section may be appealed to the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee through the Dean of Graduate

Studies Office. The student has the right to appear

before the Senate Graduate Studies Committee when his case

is heard. The decision of that Committee shall be final."

Motion 7: That a final sentence be added to the last paragraph

of section 10.1 as follows: "The Dean of Graduate

Studies or his designate shall have the right to

attend all phases of the examination."

Motion 8: a) That the present paragraph 10.6 have an extra

sentence inserted at the beginning, as follows:

"For degrees designated 'professional degrees'

by Senate (presently MA - Teaching of French, MBA,

MPM) the project will be examined in ways designated

by the appropriate Graduate Program Committee and

approved by the appropriate Faculty Graduate Studies

Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies."

b) That the existing paragraph be amended by inserting

the words "for all other graduate programs" after

the word "project". (This has the effect of making

the first sentence read "The examination of projects

for all other graduate programs shall be as for the

examination of theses..

Motion 9: That three new courses be introduced as follows:

S.Ar. 895-3 Special Topics 1

S.Ar. 896-5 Special Topics 2

S.Ar. 897-5 Special Topics 3

These motiona were approved by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee

on November 4, 1974.

Jon Wheat

Dean of Graduate Studies.

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MOTION 1 That paragraph 3.3 a (iii) be amended to read "at

least two semesters in a Master's Program at this

University with a Cumulative Grade Point Average

of at least 3.5 in nine or more semester hours of

graduate course work. All graduate courses for

the Master's degree, whether taken at this University

or another, shall be considered in the evaluation of

the application."

Rationale: This is merely a slight tightening of

the existing regulations to meet cases which come

up fairly regularly. Such action seems desirable

in the light of the rationale offered on tightened

entrance requirements for the Ph.D. endorsed by

Senate in its meeting of January 8, 1974. In addition,

it will result in equitable treatment of both students

who have taken all their course work at Simon Fraser

University and students who have obtained transfer

credit from other universities for part of their

course requirements.

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is

MOTION 2

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That a new section be added to the General Regulations

as follows

3.7 Admission as an Exchange Student. Bona fide graduate

students at other Canadian universities who wish to take

courses at Simon Fraser University, not leading to a

Simon Fraser University degree, will be admitted on the

recommendation of the Chairman of the Department (or

equivalent officer) and the Dean of Graduate Studies at

the other university, and the permission of the appropriate

Graduate Program Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies

at this University.

Note: Passage of this motion will require the editorial

renumbering of paragraphs 2.7 and 3.8 and an editorial

change in the index.

Rationale: The Western Deans of Graduate Studies decided

by unanimous vote that, in the interests of both real

and apparent cooperation between western graduate schools,

each dean should seek passage of such a motion at his

own university. Almost all other Western Universities

have in fact passed such a motion.

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MOTION 3

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a) That the following sentence be added to section

3.6 at the end of the paragraph: "Transcripts of

previous university work (or proof of obtaining

a degree) will be required at the time of application,

but letters of reference will not necessarily be

required."

b) That the last sentence of the first paragraph of

section 3.7 (present numbering) be struck.

c) That the last paragraph of section 3.7 (present

numbering) be struck and that the following two

paragraphs be inserted in its place:

"Admission for Masters or Doctoral students

is by resolution of the Senate Graduate Studies

Committee on the recommendation of the Graduate

Program Committee or, for students entering under

Special Arrangements, on the recommendation of

the Executive Committee of the Senate Graduate

Studies Committee.

• ?

Decisions on admission made by the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee shall be final.

Final approval of admission for Special Students

or Exchange Graduate Students is by the Dean

of Graduate Studies provided all' the conditions

of such admission have been met."

Rationale: Both these motions are intended to

a)

maintain high standards of admission for students

in degree programs and

b)

facilitate the entrance of properly qualified

students to take courses (but not a degree) at

this University where it is a reasonable

supposition that the students will bnef it from

taking such courses.

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MOTION 4 ?

That the second sentence in 6.3 be changed to read

0 ?

as follows:

"This appointment shall normally be made no later than

the beginning of the third semester after the student's

admission, although in certain circumstances, and with

the permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies, the

appointment can be made later."

That the second sentence in 6.4 be changed to read

as follows:

"This recommendation shall be made during the same

semester in which the Senior Supervisor is appointed."

Rationale: In certain professional programs, notably

the MBA, it is impractical to appoint a Senior Supervisor

or a Supervisory Committee until the fourth semester

because it is only then that the students start their

research projects. Also, for students entering in

September, it is often hard to appoint supervisors

during the summer semester when many faculty are off

campus.

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MOTION 5 ?

That the last sentence in 7.1 be changed to read

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as follows:

"While doing work off campus under these provisions,

the student shall maintain normal registration at this

University, not registration on leave."

That the last sentence on 7.2 be changed to read

as follows:

"While taking a course or courses at another university

under these provisons, the student shall maintain normal

registration at this University, not registration on

leave."

Rationale: Taking work off campus for residence or

course credit at this University is not considered

an interruption of work towards the degree and therefore

not a reason to go on leave under the provisions of 8.4.

Passing thiè resolution will also solve certain problems

about the assessment of fees.

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MOTION 6 ?

That the present paragraph 8.2 be struck and the

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following new 8.2 be inserted:

"If a student's progress appears to be unsatisfactory,

the Supervisory Committee or the Chairman of the Graduate

Program Committee shall make a written report to the

Graduate Program Committee. That Committee shall consider

whether or not the student's progress has been satisfactory.

Should the student's progress be found to be unsatisfactory,

the Committee, on consultation with the Supervisory

Committee, if one has been appointed, can

a)

require the student to withdraw, or

b)

Inform the student that his progress Is unsatisfactory

and require him to improve his work in specific ways

In a specific amount of time.

The student concerned has the right to appear before that

Graduate Program Committee when his case is considered

and he may submit any materials relevant to his case.

If the student is required to withdraw, he shall be

. ?

informed In writing with copies to the Dean of Graduate

Studies and the Assistant-Registrar for Graduate Studies.

If he is required to improve his-work within a specific

amount of time, he shall be informed in riting as to

what precisely is required of him with copies to the

Dean of Graduate Studies and the Assistant Registrar for

Graduate Studies.

Any decision of the Graduate Program Committee under the

provision of this section may be appealed to the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee through the Dean of Graduate

Studies Office. The student has the right to appear

before the Senate Graduate Studies Committee when his case

is heard. The decision of that Committee shall be final".

Rationale: This amendment has the effect of providing an

appeal's procedure, which seems to be desirable. In fact,

the appeal's procedure already exists de facto because

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students dismissed under this procedure to appeal to me

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and, because Senate has supreme academic authority, I

place it before the Executive Committee of the Senate

Graduate Studies Committee. It should be added that this

appeal's procedure may turn out to be an interim measure

until Senate under article 37(s) establishes "a committee

of final appeal for students in matters of academic

discipline". At that time Senate will have to decide

whether decisions under section 8.2 of-the regulations

are properly matters of academic discipline.

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MOTION 7 ?

That a final sentence be added to the last paragraph

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of section 10.1 as follows: "The Dean of Graduate

Studies or his designate shall have the right to

attend all phases of the examination.'

Rationale: At present either the Dean or the Associate

Dean attends most oral examinations. However, it is

only by courtesy that he can remain for the deliberations

of the Examining Committee after the student has left

the room. In fact, no Dean or representative of the

Dean has been denied this courtesy. However, it seems

preferable that this sould be a matter of statute, not

merely of courtesy if for no other reason than that it

is part of the Dean's job, as defined by the Board of

Governors, to see to the maintenance of academic standards.

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MOTION 8

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a) That the present paragraph 10.6 have an extra

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sentence inserted at the beginning, as follows:

"For degrees designated 'professional degrees'

by Senate (presently MA - Teaching of French, MBA,

MPM) the project will be examined in says designated

by the appropriate Graduate Program Committee and

approved by the appropriate Faculty Graduate Studies

Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies."

b) That the existing paragraph be amended by inserting

the words "for all other graduate programs" after

the word "project". (This has the effect of making

the first sentence read "The examination of projects

for all other graduate programs shall be as for the

examination of theses...") ?

I

Explanation: The effect of this motion, if it passes,

will be to a) designate MA - Teaching of French, MBA,

MPM as professional programs and b) allow the examination

• ?

of research projects in these programs to be less formal,

and involve fewer faculty members, than in the academic

program.

Rationale: The rationale for a) is partly that honesty

is served (these are professional programs and we should

not hide the fact) and partly to make b) possible. The

rationale for b) Is as follows: In the MBA program 50

to 60 students have to be examined each year and the

other professional programs are growing. To run full

scale orals with the limited number of faculty members

in those programs, poses crushing logistic problems: It

is also all but impossible to recruit the necessary faculty

from outside the program for so many orals. The inevitable

result will be examinations which are only formalities and,

again, in the interests of honesty, we should not tolerate

that. This does not mean any diminution of standards.

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In the first place, the professional programs are in any

case course oriented rather than research oriented. In

the second place, running examinations which are only formalities

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does nothing for standards; indeed, it breeds a

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contempt for standards.

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MOTION 9

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That three new courses be introduced as follows:

• S.Ar. 895-3 Special Topics 1

S.Ar. 896-5 Special Topics 2

S.Ar. 897-5 Special Topics 3

Rationale: In the description of their proposed course

of study Special Arrangements students often propose,

and have accepted, special supervised reading courses

(often supervised by more than one faculty member)

which cannot honestly be taught under existing reading

or special topics course in the University calendar.

Rather than do it dishonestly, we should have special

designation for the purpose of the transcript.

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