MEMORANDUM ?
To.........................enate
?
From......
......M ?
Munro
..........................................................
ice-Presiden......
?
c3emic ....................
?
"Planning Directions for
Subject..
?
.
SjIFL9fl
Fraser ?
siti"
?
Date.... .. ....
9Q
.
62
.
5 ?
................................
Action taken at the June 24th, 1980 meeting of the Senate?
Committee on Academic Planning gives rise to the following motion:
"That Senate accept the paper "Planning
Directions for Simon Fraser University"
and direct the Senate Committee on
Academic Planning to implement academic
planning based on the planning principles
outlined in the paper."
This paper was prepared by a sub-committee of SCAP consisting
of J.M. Munro, (Chairman), A.S. Arrott, B.A. Hoiweg, J.W.G. Ivany,
K. Okuda, and J. Chase (Secretary). The sub-committee, which was
appointed at the January 16, 1980 SCAP meeting, was charged with
developing an academic planning document to:
1.
Provide an assessment of the state of SFU today, i.e. strengths,
weaknesses, other characteristics;
2.
Develop a set of institutional goals for the next 4 - 5 years;
3.
Suggest a set of guidelines by which academic planning will be
undertaken."
In addressing these three issues, the paper does not constitute,
nor was it intended to be, an academic plan. Rather, by summarizing
important characteristics of the University and its environment, by
suggesting future directions for University development, and by
specifying planning principles, "Planning Directions for Simon Fraser
University" is designed to be a resource in the development of a
full academic planning document. In particular, Senate should be
assured that the examples of proposals presented in the paper are
meant to stimulate interest and discussion and do not reflect the
views of SCAP on these particular issues.
Senate approval of the notion proposed above would enable the
University to re-vitalize its academic planning process and to
address-issues in the future development of the University that are
of vital concern to all of us.
J.M. Munro
Ik
0
June 13, 1980
PLANNING DIRECTIONS FOR SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
An academically elite student body and a
faculty with a pre-eminent international reputation
characterize the world's most prestigious universities.
Many universities aspire to this dual recognition.
None can achieve it quickly. Pursuit of this recogni-
tion requires a university to develop and maintain a set
of conditions in which teaching, research and scholarship
can flourish. Creativity and flexibility in response to
changing demands and opportunities and to fluctuations in
resources support this pursuit.
Planning for the future should be a continuous
process. An assessment of the current state of Simon
Fraser University and the provincial and national
environment within which it operates is helpful in
identifying realistic future directions and providing
benchmarks for measuring progress.
This document suggests a set of future directions
for Simon Fraser University and a process for their
achievement. It is presented only in bare outline;
discussion and debate will help to give it structure
and, in the process, lead to a common understanding of
our problems and a consensus on our future directions.
.
A CURRENT ASSESSMENT
?
S
Migration to British Columbia from within and beyond
Canada has produced a public receptive to new initiatives
and motivated to achieve. This can be a major strength for
our university; it influences both the level of public
support for what we do and the quality of our students.
The present student body ranges from adequate,
,
be-
cause of admission screening, to excellent, because of
chance, to truly outstanding, partially because of
deliberate scholarship programs. It is not an academi-
cally elite student body, but the best students could
compete anywhere.
The Simon Fraser student body is unlike that of most
other Canadian universities On average the students are
older. Many transfer from a regional college or enter
after a number of years spent in the work force or raising
a family.
?
Sixteen percent enter directly from high
school. Many come from Burnaby, the Fraser Valley and the
North Shore but few live in areas closer to the other two
universities or in the interior of the Province. Fifteen
percent enroll from other parts of Canada and 8 percent are
from outside the country. Most of the students commute up
and down Burnaby Mountain.
The trimester system allows students either to accelerate
their program and complete it in a shorter period of time,
or to interrupt for a semester without the penalty of waiting
a full year to re-enter the program. The Co-operative
Education Program enables students to apply their academic
training in actual work situations. The tutorial system
gives students close association with members of the instruc-
tional staff in small groups. Through late afternoon and
evening courses, students can enroll for degree completion
programs while meeting their employment or family respon-
sibilities during the daytime. The Mature Student Entry
category admits those who are twenty-three years of age or
more, and not eligible for admission under any other category,
providing they have sufficiently clear objectives in mind
and are judged likely to benefit from university studies.
The Distance Education Program provides correspondence
courses for individuals throughout the Province who do not
have access to either the Burnaby Mountain campus or any of
the centres throughout the Province. S.F.U. minimizes
program constraints and requirements in the first two years
and students can pursue a broad program of study and delay
specialization until they have determined their educational
goals.
?
0
- ? 3.
The core of this University lies in the strength of
its Arts and Science programs. The undergraduate programs
in Kinesiology, Criminology, Communication and Fine Arts
are unique in British Columbia. The Faculty of Education
provides a teacher education program that is recognized
as a model of how to combine theory and practice. Most
departments offer graduate level education leading to
masters and doctoral degrees. Graduate profesiona1
degrees are offered in Business Administration, Pest
Management, Resource Management, Clinical Psychology,
and Education. Students can develop their own special
graduate programs encompassing two or more disciplines.
Simon Fraser is much more than a teaching institution.
It contributes to local communities, the Province, Canada
and the world through scholarship. Often termed "research"
this contribution can be more effectively defined as the
creation and re-creation of knowledge and criticism. The
University, from its beginning, has aspired to prominence
as a research institution and provides facilities and
resources to make this possible. The best faculty are pre-
eminent in their disciplines and the entire faculty is a
major provincial resource. Their achievements have been
more substantial than is recognized by the general public.
During the 1960
1
s, when all new universities were in
competition to hire the best, the geographical advantages
and newness of Simon Fraser University helped attract many
outstanding faculty. The present faculty is mostly tenured
and has a mean age around 41; this mean is increasing by
about 0.5 years annually. We are not hiring as many faculty
now as in earlier years, but the geographical advantages of
our location continue to be helpful in recruiting faculty.
While the University is no longer new, many of our programs
are and we generally are able to offer prospective faculty
opportunities that are equal to those available at any
Canadian university.
Simon Fraser University has developed effective
academic services to support its teaching and research
programs. Our Library collection is a vital contributor
to the University's academic quality. Many departments
benefit from the excellent Computing Center for assistance
in their teaching and research.
0
4.
4.
Through its Library, Athletics program, events in
the Performing Arts and Continuing Studies programs,
Simon Fraser University maintains strong ties with the
surrounding community. The Library's collection is
accessible to the general public and, via inter-library
loan arrangements, to students and staff at other univer-
sities, colleges and institutes throughout the Province.
The public is encouraged to attend inter-collegiate foot-
ball, basketball, soccer, swimming, track and field and
many otherathletic events. The Centre for the Arts
offers a series of public concerts, plays and guest
appearances throughout the year by international and
Canadian artists. ?
Continuing Studies
offers distinctive community education programs dealing
with important public and social policy questions.
Financial support for individual students and for
organized student activities is extensive. Simon Fraser's
direct support for scholarships is the highest, proportional
to size, of the three ?
B.C. universities. The counselling
and medical services are comprehensive. Student organiza-
tions and student participation in the governance of the
University are encouraged.
Opening in 1965 with an enrollment of 2,500 students,
the University grew
'
to 6,300 students by 1970. With
slower growth in the 1970's, enrollment totalled 8,300
by 1976 and has remained relatively stable since. To many,
the current size of Simon Fraser is one of its most at-
tractive features. It is large enough to offer a variety
of well-developed academic program opportunities at the
undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. At the
same time, its relatively small size encourages a degree
of flexibility, informality and personal interaction
among students, faculty and staff throughout the University.
Simon Fraser University has a record of receptivity
to new program ideas. The decision-making structure
enables the University to re-allocate resources promptly
to new and growing programs.
A balanced assessment must note that there are a
number of areas in which the University could do better.
Student housing is both insufficient and in a state of
disrepair. Campus amenities are clearly lacking. The
commuter orientation of the institution erodes efforts
to build a sense of community and cohesion. Assistance
to students in terms of career planning and job placement
is deficient. The University's academic expectations of
its students are not sufficiently defined; curriculum and
program planning often reflect this.
5.
The general perceptions of the University held by the
public are a source of concern. In large segments of the
population, Simon Fraser University is viewed as a radical
institution frequently beset by labour unrest. Some share
the bias that undergraduate programs offered at this
University are not as good as those of older Canadian
universities. Despite many outstanding
contributions
made
by faculty members, the general public does not fully
realize that this is a major research institution.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The preceding section sought to provide a frank assess-
ment of Simon Fraser University. While the accomplishments
have been significant, much remains to be done. The fol-
lowing statements identify some directions for the years
immediately ahead:
1. Continuing the quest for excellence in all
activities - teaching, learning and research
- remains the overall goal. This includes:
a.
Enhancing the research capacity of the University;
b.
Building an even more challenging academic en-
vironment so that highly qualified students will
wish to attend Simon Fraser University;
c.
Furthering development of the intellectual
and social community on Burnaby Mountain; and
d.
Maximizing the effectiveness of present faculty.
2. Maintaining standards that justify confidence in
the general public that graduates are:
- skilled in inductive and deductive reasoning;
- proficient in both written and verbal communi-
cation; and
- capable of identifying, formulating and answering
questions concerning present knowledge and its
antecedents.
3. Enhancing the national and international role of
the University through attracting the best students
we can from other regions of Canada and the rest of
the world, facilitating faculty exchanges, and
encouraging collaborative research.
4. Ensuring that Simon Fraser University's academic
programs are reasonably accessible to people through-
out British Columbia.
6.
5. Expanding opportunities for lifelong learning
in specific disciplines.
While the acceptance of these directions should be
tested within the University, it is likely that debate
will center more on ways and means. Some specific proposals
for action that might be the subject for discussion in
academic planning are:
- Limiting undergraduate enrollment in some dis-
ciplines, encouraging entry into others, and achiev-
ing what may be judged as optimum size for the whole
University. Some have suggested a maximum of 11,000
students.
- Maintaining the proportion of full-time to part-
time students near its present level. It has been
suggested that the ratio of on-campus FTE students
to on-campus head-count students, presently .75,
not fall below .65.
- Increasing the ratio of graduate to undergraduate
students. It has been suggested that the ratio
should be greater than or equal to .20; presently
it is .l3.
- Modifying student/faculty ratios to permit increased
emphasis on research.
Hiring the best of currently available young
faculty at a rate sufficient to compensate for the
anticipated shortage of highly qualified teachers
that will result from the retirement in the 1990's
of many of those hired in the 1960's.
- Increasing the proportion of students from across
Canada and beyond Lower Mainland regions within
B.C. by providing sufficient student housing to
guarantee on-campus residence for new students for
at least one year.
- Setting standards for admission from high school
at a level that would encourage students to be
well-prepared for university entrance.
- Encouraging international undergraduate student
enrollment with broader and more balanced re-
presentation. A possible goal is 10 percent of
undergraduate headcount enrollment.
.
0
7.
-
?
Increasing efforts in job counselling and
career placement services for students.
- Encouraging more faculty to seek research
funding from sources outside the University
in order to increase the effectiveness of
individual research efforts.
Continuing and expanding degree completion,
certificate and diploma program and non-credit
opportunities in British Columbia locations
away from the Lower Mainland.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
The translation of the preceding set of future directions
into concrete proposals for consideration and subsequent
implementation requires co-ordination. That role rests
with the Senate Committee on Academib Planning. The planning
principles under which it should operate and the criteria
for assessment of academic programs are set forth below.
PLANNING PRINCIPLES
1. ?
Planning should be guided by a clear assessment of the
S ?
present environment. Reliable, comprehensive informa-
tion about the University, its students, and its
community is essential. Anticipating the University's
probable future environment is also an important part
of academic planning.
20
Planning should concentrate on new academic programs
emerging research areas, and building and maintaining
academic and administrative facilities and support
services. This planning must be linked to available
financial resources.
3. Plans should be co-ordinated with those of other post-
secondary institutions in British Columbia.
4. The planning process should encourage initiatives
from all levels in the University and assure that
they receive due consideration. Task forces should
be established to deal with particular plans.
0
8.
CRITERIA FOR PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
It is expected that the identification of the purposes
to which Simon Fraser will direct its efforts and energies
will encourage and facilitate the development of a number
of new and innovative programs. Assigning priorities to
various proposals will be a difficult task Ranking should
be based partly on how a proposal is measured against the
following characteristics.
1.
The program has intrinsic academic excellence and
is something this University can expect to do well.
2.
The program substantially enriches the existing
teaching programs of the University.
3.
The program builds upon existing programs and
resources in the University.
4.
The program anticipates provincial or national
needs.
5.
The program does not unnecessarily duplicate
existing programs at other universities in the
Province.
6.
The excellence of the program attracts students
to the University.
Existing programs should also be subject to periodic
review. Such reviews provide an opportunity to assess
individual programs and to provide a basis for recommending
their expansion, curtailment or discontinuance.
S
.
C
C ?
I -, ?
- ?
a
•
?
9.
.
?
CONCLUSIONS
The generally stated purposes of the modern university
are familiar - the preservation and transmission of knowledge,
the development of new knowledge, the education of highly
qualified men and women and service to society. It is
important, however, that universities continually assess
their programs and activities to ensure that they respond
to the challenges of the present and the future.
Universities with established strengths and recognized
reputations need to debate their future directions internally
and then decide on the mix of activities which reflects their
historical circumstances, anticipated resources, and the
scale appropriate for planning their own development.
40
