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S.03-36

-1

TO:

FROM:

SUBJECT:

DATE:

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

Senate

J. H. Waterhouse, Chair,

Senate Committee on Enrollment Mpgement and

Admission of Associate Degree

Colleges

February 13, 2003

from BC Colleges and University

In 1991, Senate approved a policy whereby students who had completed the

requirements for an Associate Degree from a BC College or University College and who had an

admission GPA of 2.00 or more would be granted admission to SFU.

Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Enrollment Management and Planning

(SCEMP) at its meeting of February 5, 2003 gives rise to the following motion.

Motion 1:

"That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors that

commencing in 2004-3, the minimum admission average for Associate

Degree students will be allowed to float above 2.00 and will be established

each semester at 0.25 GPA points less than that required for regular

transfer students.

At the time the current Senate policy was approved, it was envisioned that the number of Associate

degree students seeking admission would be small in relation to the number of regular transfer

students. This is no longer the case. In 2002/03, 490 students transferred to SFU with an Associate

Degree, nearly 30% of all transfer students.

Analysis of the incoming transfer students shows that the average admission GPA of Associate

Degree students is about 2.64 and for regular transfer students about

3.19.

Roughly 15% of the

Associate Degree students are admitted with a GPA of 3.00 or more while about 70% of the regular

transfer students have a GPA of 3.00 or more.

The disparity in admission grades has the natural consequence that regular transfer students

outperform associate degree students academically at each stage of their progress through SFU and

graduate with higher grades.

It should be recognized that the academic performance of associate degree students is in fact better

than that the regular transfer students, if one controls for admission GPA. Also, it can be argued that

the set of college courses taken by associate degree students is harder, more likely to meet W, Q and

B criteria, and supply a better grounding for degree completion than those courses taken by regular

transfer students. This is manifested in the respectable degree completion rates for Associate

degree students. For these reasons we should encourage college students to take associate

• ?

degrees by allowing for a lower admission GPA than for regular transfer students. A careful

analysis of the performance data for both groups was carried out and indicated that a differential of

0.25 was warranted and would result in similar post-transfer performance at SFU.

Analysis of Academic Performance

. ?

B.C. College Transfer Students

Associate Degree vs non-Associate Degree Students

Currently at SFU, transfer students from

B.C. 

colleges with an associate degree

(BCASD) 

are

admitted with a

GPA

of 2.00 or higher. For those without an associate degree

(BCCOL), 

specific

minimum averages are set depending on intake quotas. The issue is whether this admission policy

still makes sense in light of the fact that the number of students admitted as

BCASDs is 

growing at a

rapid rate.

1999/00,

BCASDs 

made up 10% of all

B.C. 

college transfers. In 2002/03, this proportion has grown

to 28%. In raw numbers, the number admitted as

BCASD 

has grown from 145 in 1999/00 to 490 in

2002103. This is a 240% increase.

The purpose of this report is to compare the

academic

performance of

BCASD 

and

BCCOL 

students

after admission to SFU.

This report splits

BCCOLs 

by those who are admitted with fewer than 30 transfer hours and those

who have completed 30 or more transfer hours. Those admitted with fewer than 30 hours are quite

small and while the data will be reported separately for this group in the enclosed tables, the analysis

will deal mainly with

BCCOLs 

who complete 30 or more transfer hours before coming to SFU.

Table I summarizes the admission of

BCASDs 

and

BCCOLs 

over the last 4 years and shows the

rapid growth in the admission of

BCASDs. 

Table 2 provides information on the average number of transfer credits these students come to SFU

with. On average,

BCASDs 

are admitted to SFU with approximately 60 transfer credits from a post-

secondary

institution.

BCCOLs 

are admitted with just under 50 transfer credits.

Table 3 shows that 10-16% of

BCASDs 

are admitted to SFU with an admission

GPA

of 3.00 or higher

each year. For

BCCOLs, 

61-77% are admitted with a

GPA

of 3.00 or higher. The average

GPA

BCASD5 

admitted is 2.64 over the last 4 years. For

BCCOLs, 

the average is 3.19.

At graduation from SFU, the

CGPA 

BCASDs 

continues to be lower than the

CGPA 

achieved by

BCCOLs. 

On average, the

CGPA 

BCASDs 

at time of graduation is 2.88. For

BCCOLs, 

the average

CGPAis 

3.06.

Table 3 shows that a higher proportion of

BCASDs 

graduate from SFU. 53% of the 1999/00

BCASD 

cohort has graduated vs 42% of

BCCOLs. 

For the 2000/01 cohort, the graduation rate is 22% vs

15%, respectively. The fact that

BCASDs 

have more credits at time of admission (see Table 2)

explains much of this

discrepancy.

-2-

Tables 4 and 5 provide information on the

academic

performance of

BCASDs 

and

BCCOLs 

as they

progress through SFU. The average

CGPA 

for these students is shown by number of credit hours

completed. This table shows that

BCCOLs 

outperform

BCASDs 

at each stage of their progress

through SFU. In this analysis, the graduation

CGPA is 

based on the semester a degree is completed if

a student completes both a degree and another credential, such as a certificate or diploma. If a

S ?

student is pursuing both a degree and a

certificate/diploma

and the student is awarded the

certificate/diploma,

the graduation

CGPA is 

based on completion of the certificate or diploma.

Table 6 provides information on students who have not graduated from SFU as of January 11, 2003.

An average of 58% of BCASDs who have not yet graduated are in good academic standing at SFU.

For BCCOLs, 75% are still in good academic standing.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

NEW BCASD AND BCCOL STUDENTS ADMITTED AND REGISTERED AT SRi

1999-2 TO 2003-1

source: bcasdqts

Table I

Summary b y

Year of Admission and Basis of Admission CateQory

Year

BCASD

B=L(40)

BOCOL(>-30)

Total %BCASD

1999/00

1,727

14%

2001102

333

1,118

1,464

1257

28%

Table

Averaie

Transfer Credit Hours b

Basis of Admission Cateaorv

Boa

Cohort

ThHrs

Arage

Tfr Hours

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BCASD

1999/00

>40

61.1

145

2000/01

>z30

61.4

245

1,118

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'fCt S .

300

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200648 2.936262 300.3.46

Nuamri

53%

2D08l

NoW

lOS

108

22%

NoW

10%

521

24%

001

44%

54%

74%

46%

2X9l

3,14

15%

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408

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268

2.84

2000M

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263

2.72

278

2.80

268

2.92

329

0003

>.30

200

BCOCS. 16200 c30

264

2.70

2.91

2.82

2.83

268

3.31

2001102

308

3.03

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..30

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3.05

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102

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217

647

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