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S.O1-62

For Information ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

Senate

From: ?

John D'Auria, Chair

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships,

Awards and Bursaries

Re:

Annual Report (SPCSAB reference 01-12

Date:

October 16, 2001

14M

I am pleased to submit the Annual Report of the Senate Policy Committee on

Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries (SPCSAB) for the fiscal year 2000-2001.

Overview

• ?

The Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries is the committee

charged by Senate with setting policy for the administration of student scholarships,

bursaries, and other forms of financial aid at SFU. It should be noted that this is primarily

for internal awards. Two other Senate committees, SUAAC (undergraduate awards) and

SGAAC (graduate awards) adjudicate financial awards to students where adjudication is

needed.

The number of applications for financial aid climbs each year; in fiscal 2000-2001, SFU

received approximately 2900 applications for bursaries, each applicant requesting

consideration for 10 or more awards, and approximately 900 applications were received

for endowed and annual undergraduate scholarships. Applications are reviewed and

vetted by staff in Student Services. In the case of scholarships and other awards, the

adjudication committees then make final decisions in meetings held each semester.

Although the University continues to benefit from a growing number of privately funded

scholarships, awards and bursaries, the majority of its awards are funded by the

University as a percentage of fees and tuition revenues. When revenues increase as a

result of increases in tuition, enrollments, or course loads, so does the budget for financial

aid. It should be noted that with the continuing tuition freeze, the funds available for

scholarships and, in particular, bursaries, have not increased significantly, despite

increases in enrollments.

• ?

Nevertheless, there is a small increasing trend in the awarding of entrance scholarship

over the last few years and of special interest, is the increase in acceptances of

international Entrance scholarships.

One effect of the freeze has been the inability to increase the amounts available for

bursaries In fact the bursary awards have been fixed for seven years. For example, the

average, individual bursary award for undergraduates has decreased to $460 from

$560

since 1994. Given that such awards go to those who most need financial support, this is a

situation that should be revisited soon for additional support.

As pointed out in previous reports, there has been increased recognition about the

growing debt load that students incur during their university years. It is currently

estimated that undergraduate students receiving BC Student Assistance graduate with a

median government loan debt of $20,000. Related to this, in 2000, Simon Fraser

University has moved from being the third largest user of assistance programs to second.

The committee would also like to point out that proposed changes by the Government in

the delivery of student loans and grants will further penalize students, i.e., changing from

lump sum payments at the beginning of a semester to incremental disbursements.

Universities have lobbied against incremental disbursements, but to no avail.

In the area of graduate scholarships there has been an effort to attract outstanding

graduate students by an increase in the amount of top-up funds available to fellowship

winners. All recipients of NSERC or SSHRC graduate awards may be nominated by

their departments for Special Graduate Entrance Scholarships without the need to show

that they have competing offers from other universities.

In the regular business of the committee, a number of motions were passed. I would like

to draw your attention to some items of note:

• the internal procedures of the committee were changed to introduce the position of

Vice-Chair;

• a cap was placed on the total annual funds that a graduate student can earn from all

sources from $27,000 to

$35,000

within a limit of 130 extra work hours;

• budget carry forward was used to maintain a minimum 3.70 gpa for award of Open

Scholarships;

• approved terms of reference changes in certain athletic awards reflecting entry of

SFU into CIAU;

tHt

Office of the Registrar

Burnaby, BC Canada V5A 1S6

% Simon Fraser University

Telephone (604) 291-3397

Student Recruitment

Facsimile (604) 291-4969

Report to the Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

2000-01 Entrance Scholarship Program

Entrance scholarships are available to new applicants to Simon Fraser who, at the time of

admission to the University, demonstrate academic excellence or a combination of

extraordinary personal achievement and academic excellence.

In an effort to remain competitive with other universities in British Columbia and across

Canada, Student Recruitment extended more offers of scholarship this Fall -9% more than

in 2000 - for a total of 619 offers. This strategy, combined with increased recruiting activity

and resulting success on both the national and international fronts, has seen a 6% increase in

our overall yield of highly qualified students. Our registration rate on offers - the final

measure of the number of students who accept our awards - was 40% this Fall.

Acceptance rates of the Kenneth Strand National Entrance Scholarship have seen an increase

of 9 award winners over last year - up from 3 registrants to 12. We are also pleased to

report 11 new International Summit Entrance Scholarship students from our United World

College target market - targeted publications and recruiting efforts have helped to bring more

of these excellent international students to Simon Fraser.

Acceptance rates after registration have remained consistent for most provincial awards. The

Senate Undergraduate Adjudication Committee authorized 22 offers of the Gordon M.

•

Shrum award - consistent with 2000 - with a final yield of 15 registrants, also consistent

with last year's yield. The BC Summit Entrance Scholarship has, over the past four years,

seen a steady increase in our number of registrants. The Shrum award winners all had

admission averages of 95% or higher, and our 137 Summit registrants all had interim grades

of 93% or higher. Recruitment also managed to make offers of Summit Scholarship to those

students who, on final grades, managed to improve significantly their admission average

from below 93% on interim grades to 94% and above on finals.

Retention rates for the majority of our entrance scholarships have also remained consistent

with, typically, high rates of retention for these top students. Retention in this context means

students have been academically qualified to receive their second scholarship disbursement.

The Gordon Shrum Awards have seen a three-year average retention rate of 98%. The

Summit scholarship (awarded solely on grades) has seen an average retention rate of 77%

over three years.

Lastly, it must be noted that Admission's self-reported grade initiative allowed SFU to make

early and comprehensive offers of admission, scholarship and residence to highly qualified

applicants as early as February 22 this year. Offering Entrance Scholarships on self-reported

grades (verified by the secondary schools) was a pilot project for Student Recruitment in

2001 which we plan to pursue again in 2002 as part of a three-year study.

Total expenditures on all

3. ?

Submitted by Paul Godman, October, 2001

ctl

0>.

000

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

DEAN OF STUDENT SERVICES

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards & Bursaries

From: ?

Peg Johnsen, Acting Assistant to the Dean of Student Services

Re: ?

Open Undergraduate Scholarship for Fiscal 2000 - 2001

Date:

October 9, 2001

In follow up to the attached March 12, 2001 memo, the final totals for the Open Undergraduate

Scholarship awarded for fiscal 2000 - 2001 are:

Semester

# of

Opens

Total

Avg

Schol.

CGPA

Cost/Credit

00101

00-2

235

$173,789

$740

3.7

$77

00-3

355

$333,256

$939

3.7

$77

01-1

345

$318,087

$922

3.7

$77

TOTAL

935

$825,132

822

Please note, that although the Open Undergraduate Scholarship is assessed automatically each

semester, manual disbursements of the scholarships are required to be done due to one of the

following reasons:

• changes to late deferred grades that increase the students various grade points;

• students who took graded courses during Co-op work terms, dropping them below the

required 24 credits/3 semesters;

• student returned from foreign exchanges.

The Open Undergraduate Scholarship continued to be awarded at a CGPA level of 3.70, which

was consistent with practice since 1996-2.

Total disbursements over the three-semester period amounted to $825,132: as the budgeted

amount for the scholarship was

$817,138.

We were within .97% of our target.

The number of scholarships disbursed in the year increased by 2, while the average scholarship

increased by $4. Overall, the cost to the University of this scholarship increased again over the

previous fiscal year by .74% (or $6,083).

Open Scholarship Totals

Fiscl

Awards

Avg Awatd

credit 

95196

9.5.2     

172

$118,260    

$688  

37

$73

953

233

$220,605    

$947  

:3.7    

$77

961

276

$246,708    

$894 

3 65   

$77

Total 95/96       

681

$585,573   

$860 

96/97        

962

184

$135,058    

$734  

3.7

$77

963

280

$267,545    

$956  

3.7

$77

971

260

$239,199    

$920  

3.7

$77

Total: 

96197

724

. $641,802    

$886 

97/98  

.

972

216

$167,167    

$774  

37

..

?

$77

973

323

$302,918    

$939  

3.7

$77

981

318

$295,911    

$933  

3.7

$77

Total: 

97/98      

857

$765,996   

$894 

98/99        

982

226

$169,323    

$749  

3.7

$77

983

337

$315,854    

$937  

3.7

$77

991

335

$313,852    

$937  

3.7

$77

Total: 98/99       

898

$799,029   

$890 

99/00        

992

241

$176,176    

$731  

3.7..    

$77

993

334

$313,159    

$938  

3 7

$77

2000-1       

358

$329,714    

$921  

3.7

$77

Total 

99/00      

933

$819,049   

$878 

00/01 

.... 

00-2        

235

$173,789    

$740  

3.7.    

$77

00-3        

355

$333,256    

$939  

3.7

.

?

$77

01-1         

345

$318,087    

$882  

31

.

Total 00/01       

935

$825,132   

$882 

2001-2002 

?

2001-2      

295

$218,372    

$740  

3.7

$73.15 

2001-3      

455

$375,000    

$824  

3.7

$73.15 

2002-1 

Total: 

01/02      

750

$593,372   

$791 

a

.

SPCAB October

2001 ? 

C4 ?

Cl)

Cl)

CI)

-I I

lu)

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards, and Bursaries

Athletic and Recreation Awards 2000-01

Athletic Awards

Athletic awards are available to students who are members of varsity teams at Simon Fraser University and are

awarded primarily on the basis of Athletic merit, though some awards have an academic achievement component.

Athletic awards are funded through endowed and annual donor donations as well as university operating funds.

Awards included in the table under the title 'Athletic Tuition Awards' are funded by money raised by the individual

teams to support their own athletes.

The table below shows a very small decrease in the total number and value of Endowed/Annual Awards, SFU funded

awards and Athletic Tuition awards disbursed to students this year. This is a change in the trend of previous years of

continuous increases. In September of 2000 two of the varsity teams, Men's and Women's Basketball, moved from

competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletics

Union (CIAU). With the change came a new set of regulations governing financial assistance for student athletes,

most notably an annual cap on total awards a student-athlete may receive in Endowed/Annual awards and SFU

Funded awards equal in value to assessed tuition and fees (maximum approximately $2672) from a maximum of

tuition, fees and allowable living expenses ($8800 annually). This change reduced the number and value of awards

that could be given to members of the two Basketball teams. The value of awards a student-athlete on a CIAU team

may receive from the B.C. Athletic Assistance Program (BCAAP) are restricted by the BCAAP regulations

(maximum $3500 annually) but not by the athletic organization. These awards may be given in addition to the

Endowed/Annual and SFU funded awards.

The notable increase in the total dollars disbursed through donor based Endowed/Annual Athletic awards between

1996-97 and 1999-2000 is due in part to the transfer of funds from the Athletic Operating Endowment to the newly

created Athletic Award Endowment. In 1996 a change was made in the procedures for administration of the

provincial BC Athletic Assistance Program. The bulk of funds were taken away from the educational institutions

and given to the amateur sports associations to administer. This meant that some students who had previously

received provincial assistance would no longer receive funding. In order to maintain expected levels of assistance for

these students, Recreation Services and Athletics moved funds from their operating endowment to an award

endowment. This re-allocation of funds has been approved on a continuing basis.

In addition four new donor funded athletic awards were available to student athletes this year. Two of these awards

are endowed or multi-year donations and the other two are one time gifts.

Recreation Awards

Simon Fraser University supports a number of awards for students who actively support the University's Recreation

Program. The awards are given in recognition of individual participation, leadership and volunteerism in various

aspects of Recreation Services. University funding for Recreation Awards has remained unchanged for over eight

years and is budgeted at $19,200.

/0.

-2-

ATHLETIC AND RECREATION AWARDS*

Endowed/Annual Athletics

SFU Funded Athletics

Athletic Tuition Awards

SFU Funded Recreation

B.C. Athletic Assistance Program

The B.C. Athletic Assistance Program (BCAAP) is a provincial government program to support top athletes in

pursuing their education while maintaining their sport training. Beginning in the 1996-97 award year, external

. ?

support from the BC Athletes Assistance Program was also disbursed through Financial Assistance in order to meet

regulations of the Government and sporting organizations. The amount of funding available to student-athletes

through this program has decreased notably over the years. In 1996-97, Simon Fraser student athletes received 212

disbursements totaling $136,156 from this program. In this past year, 2000-01, SFU athletes received 90

disbursements totaling $66,916, a

51%

decrease in funds over three years.

BC ATHLETIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM*

*Note: all statistics are for the academic year starting May 1 and ending April 30.

submitted by C. French, July 2001

II.

Report to the ?

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

Bursary Program 2000-01

Bursaries are awarded on the basis of financial need and satisfactory academic performance to full-time undergraduate

and graduate

students*.

Bursaries are funded through endowments and annual gifts from donors as well as through

university operating funds. To be considered for a bursary, students apply to Financial Assistance by the end of the

second week of classes each semester. Bursaries are adjudicated by Financial Assistance on behalf of the Senate

Undergraduate Awards Adjudication Committee. Information about the bursary programs is published in the

University Calendar and listed in a searchable, web accessed database.

In the 2000-01 reporting year (May 2000 - April 2001), Financial Assistance received 2870 bursary applications

with a total calculated financial need of $2,013,725. Last year, 1999-2000, the change in calculated financial need

was 12% over 1998-99. This year, 2000-01, there has been an additional increased financial need for students of

$261,891 or 15% over last year. In comparison, like last year, there has been only a 4% overall increase in the

funding available to students through bursaries. SFU is falling far behind the needs of our students.

The following three tables compare changes in the Bursary program over time. The first two tables compare

disbursements for all Simon Fraser University bursary programs from 1993-94 to 2000-01. The SFU Open

Bursaries and the SFU Daycare Bursaries are all funded by University operating funds and are disbursed from one

umbrella allocation of funds. The Annual and Endowed Bursaries are funded through annual or long-term gifts of

donor individuals or organizations. In the 2000-01 year, seven new donor funded bursaries were established. Of

particular note are two bursaries for graduate students that added $3300 to graduate bursary funding. Growth in the

undergraduate Annual and Endowed bursary programs is primarily due to increases in existing endowments such as

the Campus Community Bursary fund, the Alumni Bursary fund, and the general SFU Bursary Endowment.

Included in the SFU Open Graduate Bursary figures reported below is the TSSU Child Care Bursary. This is the

second year of this bursary program that is included in the TSSU labour contract with the University. This year

five bursaries totaling $4,375 were disbursed. Two bursaries were awarded to domestic students

($1,560)

and three

were awarded to international students

($2,815).

Included in the SFU Open Undergraduate (domestic) data reported below is funding to a World University Services

of Canada (WUSC) refugee student for two semesters at a value of $4894. Simon Fraser University has an

agreement with the Simon Fraser Student Society to assist in the support of one student a year identified and

immigrated to Canada by WUSC. Support is one year (twelve months) in duration while the student establishes

landed immigrant status and becomes eligible for other funding. The University pays for tuition up to 12 credit

hours each semester, the $30 athletic and recreation fee, the $18 student services fee, residence fees (dorms only), and

a $500 start-up bursary. The Simon Fraser Student Society is meant to pay the

$55.81

student society fee, a

$250

text allowance each semester, a $225 living allowance each month, and a bus pass. Unfortunately, the SFSS did

not fulfill their full commitment this year, although they did waive the student society fee for the student.

The third table below records the bursary dollars awarded to international students as work-study funds. A small

program was established to assist international students in financial need who have difficulty accepting grant

funding. These students must meet the same financial need requirements as the other bursary recipients and work on

projects organized through the Centre for International and Exchange Student Services. The Program was not used

in 2000-01.

*Undergraduate students are considered full-time if they are registered in 9 or more semester hours of normally graded

courses. Graduate students must be registered in an approved full-time program.

-2-

BURSARIES

Undergraduate Bursaries

SFU Open (domestic)

SFU Open (international)

SFU Open (international)

6,155

SFU Funded Work Study (International)** - Undergraduate/Graduate

**Program is restricted to limited use for international students.

submitted by C. French, July 2001

Report to the

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

External Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries 2000-01

Each year Simon Fraser University students receive scholarships, awards and bursaries that are

administered and adjudicated by organizations and corporations external to the University. Tracking of

these awards began in 1997-98 when new procedures to capture information about these awards was

developed. Scholarships, awards and bursaries in this category include: Canadian Merit Scholarship

Foundation Awards, Canadian Millennium Merit Awards, Royal Canadian Legion Bursaries, Terry Fox

Humanitarian Awards, Canada Trust Scholarships, awards administered by the Association of Universities

and Colleges of Canada, and many others.

Reported below are the number and value of the scholarships, awards and bursaries that Simon Fraser

University disburses to our students on behalf of other organizations. The awards have been categorized by

the definitions used for our internal programs: scholarships are based primarily on academic performance;

bursaries are based primarily on financial need; and awards are based on community service, excellence in

a specific endeavour or a combination of criteria. In the 2000-2001 year, Simon Fraser undergraduates

received 267 external scholarships, awards and bursaries totaling $274,831, an increase of 18% over the

1999-2000 year.

Included in the numbers reported below are recipients of the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation

awards. These scholarships are awarded to graduating high school students on the basis of academic

excellence, community service and leadership. Simon Fraser University is one of a consortium of

Canadian universities that work with the Foundation to select and support recipients. National winners

receive a four year award consisting of $4,000 from the Foundation and a tuition waiver of a maximum of

$4,000 from the consortium university attended annually. In 2000-01, Simon Fraser had 3 National

Scholarship winners (2 in second year and 1 in first year), 1 Regional winner ($1500 one time), and 1

Provincial winner

($500

one time). Included in the table below are the funds received by students from the

Foundation. Simon Fraser's disbursements for tuition are reported with the Scholarships for In-Course

Undergraduate Students.

Also included in the numbers below are recipients of the Canada Millennium Foundation Merit Awards.

These scholarships were established two years ago when the Federal government established the Canada

Millennium Scholarship Foundation. In 2000-01 there were 11 Canada Millennium Merit Award recipients

attending Simon Fraser: 1 National Award winner ($4,800 renewable for 4 years), 3 Provincial/Territorial

Award winners ($4,000 renewable for 4 years), and 7 Local Award winners ($4,000 one time). This is an

increase from the 1999-2000 year when 2 National Award recipients and 1 Regional Award recipient were

in attendance.

Financial Assistance also actively promotes the availability of and assists students with the application

process for numerous other external awards that are not reported in the table below. These awards support

students' educational goals during and after studies at Simon Fraser University but are not disbursed

through the University. These awards programs include the Rhodes Scholarship, the Queen Elizabeth

BC Centennial Scholarship, NRC Women in Engineering and Science Scholarship, and many others.

-2-

UNDERGRADUATE EXTERNAL

External Scholarships

External Scholarships

Note: all statistics are for the academic year May 1 t April 30.

Submitted by Charlotte French, July 2001

'Is.

Report to the ?

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

Government Student Assistance 2000-01

Domestic Canadian students, graduate and undergraduate, may apply through their home province to receive

funding assistance from the federal, provincial and territorial governments. Government assistance is a

primary source of funding for 30% of Canadian post-secondary students. The goal of these programs is to

promote accessibility of post-secondary education among academically qualified students who do not have

the personal or family resources to meet the costs of education.

At Simon Fraser University approximately 8% of our full-time graduate students and 22% of all

undergraduate students received their primary funding through government student assistance in the Fall

2000 semester. Without this funding they would not be able to attend the University.

The tables below report the number of government assistance awards and the total dollars of assistance

received by SF0 students during the 2000-01 award year. The first two tables report numbers for students

who are considered residents of British Columbia and are receiving funding through the BC government.

Simon Fraser students received $2.4 million more dollars in government student assistance through BC in

2000-01 compared to 1999-2000. According to the governments statistics Simon Fraser has moved from

being the third largest user of the assistance programs to the second. This is a reflection of the growing

financial challenges that our students are facing.

The second set of tables report students who are receiving funding through other Canadian provinces or

territories and from the United States. Although there is a noticeable decrease in the number of awards and

total value of assistance being received by students from other provinces and territories there is a large

increase for undergraduate students from the United States. The decrease for students from other parts of

Canada may reflect increased financial barriers to attending Simon Fraser and therefore the choice to stay in

the home province or territory. For U.S. students the lower cost of attending Simon Fraser compared to

staying in the U.S. may be an enticement to attendance. Our U.S. students are taking advantage of their

U.S. government assistance and requesting maximum values on all government loan programs available to

them.

From province to province, government funding for student assistance varies with regard to the mix of

student loan versus grant and the value of disbursements. Over the last ten years governments increased the

proportion of assistance given as loan and decreased or eliminated grant aid. The outcome was a dramatic

increase in the total debt with which students graduated from their post-secondary programs. The average

debt of students in their fourth year of studies receiving BC Student Assistance in 1996-97 was $19,000.

Estimates for 1998-99 were quoted as high as

$25,000.

Concerns regarding the increasing debt load of new

graduates prompted new programs to re-introduce grants and to assist repayment of loans for students after

degree completion.

The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation awards were introduced in 1999-2000. There are two

components to the Millennium Scholarship program, Bursary Awards and Merit Awards. In accordance

with the legislation that created the Foundation, 95% of the funds available are directed to grants for

students with financial need and

are directed to scholarships for students on the basis of leadership,

17-1

1Cc'

S ?

-2-

community service, innovation and academic achievement. Simon Fraser students who have received Merit

Awards are included in the External Awards report. Students who have received Bursary Awards are included

in the tables following under the heading of BC/Federal Grant and Provincial/Federal Grant.

The Millennium Foundation Bursary Awards are administered in conjunction with the provincial

authorities assessing Canada and provincial student assistance programs. The Millennium Bursary awards

are available to students in the second, third and fourth year of their first undergraduate degree. All Bursary

awards are disbursed in January of each year to qualified students who applied for two semesters of

government student assistance the previous August. SFU students prefer to apply for student loans one

semester at a time in order to consider participation in Co-operative Education semesters, exchange

programs, and other special semesters. This disqualifies them from Millennium Foundation Bursary

awards. Simon Fraser University pointed out from the beginning that this requirement disadvantaged our

students. The BC government also anticipated this problem among semesterized institutions and

attempted to mitigate the situation by revamping the BC Grant program. BC chose to maintain their first

year grant program and reinvest displaced second year grant funds by extending eligibility to third and

fourth year students in order to fill some of the holes that the Canada Millennium Bursary Awards created.

During 1999-2000, the federal and provincial governments attempted to re-negotiate the student loan risk

sharing agreements with the lending agencies. A number of banks had been threatening to withdraw from

the government student loan programs and in the end all of the participating lenders did withdraw. In order

to keep the student loan programs operating, the BC government signed an agreement with a service

provider to administer the loans on their behalf with the government providing the capital rather than the

banks. The federal government eventually came to the same arrangement. The banks maintained

involvement with the BC Loan program until November 2000 and the Canada Student Loan program until

February2001. As of December 2000 for B.C. Loans and February 2001 for Canada Student Loans,

students have had to take their loan documents to designated Canada Post outlets in order to have them

submitted for processing. The documents are then forwarded to loan agencies that work on behalf of the

governments to administer the loans. There was concern that the change of process part way through the

year would be confusing for students and would not be implemented well given the problems that had

occurred with previous process changes (see the Emergency Loan report). The change went relatively

smoothly for Simon Fraser students with most students receiving their funds in a timely fashion and with

minimal difficulty or confusion.

The B.C. government is considering introducing another change to student loan and grant delivery for the

2002-03 academic year. Originally planned for 2001-02, the idea has been delayed pending resolution of

numerous concerns regarding financial hardship to students as well as workload and debt impacts to post-

secondary institutions. The Government would like to change the disbursements of B.C. loans and grants

from lump sum payments at the beginning of a semester to incremental disbursements throughout a

semester. The problem for students is that the bulk of their semester costs occur at the start of the

semester, specifically tuition, book and supply costs. Incremental disbursements would mean that the post-

secondary institutions would have to carry outstanding tuition debt until the students received additional

payments. Demand on the Emergency Loan program would increase to pay for books and supplies. The

Government believed they would save money with this change in administration. However, the post-

secondary institutions and students demonstrated sufficient problems with the plan that implementation was

delayed for one year. Simon Fraser will need to consider how to manage the change when it is

implemented.

I-

BC Residence - Federal and Provincial Assistance

Undergraduate

Canada Student Loan

British Columbia Loan

British Columbia Loan

Totals4

*Grant program did not include graduate students prior to 1997/98.

-4-

Out of Province and U.S. Students

Undergraduate

Federal Student Loan

Provincial Loan

Provincial/Federal Grant

Provincial/Federal Grant

submitted by C. French,

July

2001

It?

Report to the

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards, and Bursaries

Scholarship for In-Course Undergraduate Students

And ?

Academic and Service Awards for the University Community 2000-01

Scholarships for In-Course Undergraduate Students

Scholarships funded through endowments and annual gifts from donors are available to continuing, full-time

undergraduate students who meet specified criteria and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of

3.50.

be considered, students must submit applications to Financial Assistance by the end of the second week of classes of

the semester the scholarship is offered. Endowed and Annual Scholarships are adjudicated directly by the Senate

Undergraduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SUAAC). A few of these scholarships are selected by nomination

of the academic department and confirmed by the SUAAC. Information about these scholarships is published in the

University Calendar and listed on the web site in a search capable format.

In 1999-2000 an increase of approximately 32%, or $47,015, occurred in the Endowed/Annual Scholarships for

undergraduate students primarily because of a one-time donation from the Kaiser Foundation that funded 16

scholarships valued at $2,000 each for students in Engineering Science. The Kaiser Foundation did not renew the

scholarship this year and the number and total dollars disbursed to students in this category reflects the decrease. It

should be noted that the Kaiser Foundation did make a $40,000 contribution to the Engineering Science Project

Award endowment in lieu of this donation. The Project Award is discussed below.

Nine new donor funded scholarships, 6 annual donations and 3 endowments, were established this year.

Academic and Service Awards for the University Community

Academic and Service Awards are given to students, faculty or staff for outstanding performance in an academic

area or outstanding service to the University or the community at large. These awards include the Terry Fox Gold

Medal, the BC Sugar Achievement Award, the C.D. Nelson Award, Contemporary Arts Awards, History Book

prizes and many others. Academic and Service Awards reported in the table below are funded through donor based

endowments and annual gifts or by University operating dollars.

The Annual/Endowed Awards have increased by 20% in number and value since 1998-99. This change is due in

large part to the Engineering Science Undergraduate Project Awards. The Engineering Science Undergraduate

Student Society established an award to assist project teams with the cost of building their designs. The awards are

not large in value but are awarded each semester to many teams. The endowment is well supported by the students

and external donors. In addition 2 new endowed awards were established this year.

There has been no increase to the University funded awards budget for over eight years. The fluctuations year to

year in the number of SFU funded awards disbursed primarily reflects decisions by the School for Contemporary

Arts regarding the number and value of awards given to their students from the annual budget. This year some

additional items are included in the SFU Funded Awards category. Simon Fraser University had three Canadian

Merit Scholarship Foundation National Scholars in attendance during 2000-01. Each of these students receive

funding of tuition costs for two, fifteen credit hour semesters a year for four years. A consortium of selected

Canadian universities works with the Foundation and provides tuition for their National Scholars who receive the

remainder of their funding from the Foundation (see the External Awards report for more information). These three

scholars received a total of $7,469 in tuition awards.

-2-

MERIT BASED AWARDS

Endowed/Annual Scholarships

Endowed/Annual Awards.

Submitted by C. French, July 2001

17j

Report to the

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards, and Bursaries

Government Part-time Student Assistance and Canada Study Grants 2000-01

Government Part-time Student Assistance

To be eligible for the federal governments Part-time Student Loans and Grants, students must be registered

in less than nine credit hours and have a demonstrated financial need. In order to be eligible for grant

funding, students must also meet specific criteria for not studying full-time. The list of acceptable

conditions for maintaining part-time studies includes: permanent disability; single parent; caring for an

elderly dependent; and requiring less than nine credit hours to fulfill graduation requirements. In August of

1996, the federal government implemented the grant program to supplement the already existing federal

student loan program for part-time students. Prior to 1996-97, the British Columbia government

administered a part-time grant program that was discontinued when the federal program was implemented

Students receiving a Part-time Loan they must start making payments on the interest immediately, while

they are still in studies. Most students who are in search of additional support cannot afford to make the

payments. As a result, the loan program is not well used by Simon Fraser students. Most applicants do not

cash the loans even when they are awarded. In 2000-01, 39 of the 76 students who applied for Part-time

Student Loan and Grant (one application covers both programs), having a total assessed financial need of

$75,321,

qualified for the Part-time Loan and Grant or Loan only. Of the 39 eligible students, 13 asked to

have the loan issued and only 8 actually cashed the loan document. This is an increase from last year when

6 students asked for the loan to be issued and only 2 of those students cashed their loan. The table below

appears to show a very large decline in the number of students who receive Part-time Student Loans.

However, government procedures for processing Part-time Loans have changed such that students do not

have to be considered for Part-time Loan when they are applying for the Part-time Grant. Subsequently

students who are not interested in the Loan option are no longer assessed and awarded funding under the

Loan program.

The Part-time Grant program has a maximum award value of $1200 a year and is well used by Simon

Fraser students. In 2000-01, 76 students applied for the Part-time Loan/Grant. Of these applicants,

students having a total calculated need of $63,708 received $51,014 in grant funding.

PART-TIME CANADA STUDENT LOAN

PART-TIME CANADA STUDY GRANT

indicates years funded by BC Part-time Student Assistance Program

Canada Study Grant for Female Doctoral Students

Six years ago, the federal government introduced a grant program to support female doctoral students in

specific programs. The goal of the program is to encourage female students with financial need to continue

studies to the doctoral level in fields that have an under representation of females based on national

statistics.

In 1998-99, three students received $8,876 in total funding. The program has doubled in size in two years.

This year, 2000-01, 9 students applied for the program and 6 students received 7 awards totaling $17,781.

Note: Statistics are reported for the academic year May 1 to April 30.

0 ?

Submitted by Charlotte French July 2001

Report to the?

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

Emergency Loan Program 2000/01

Short term (60 day), interest-free loans are available to students who require interim emergency funding while

awaiting funds from other sources. To receive an emergency loan a student must demonstrate a guaranteed source of

repayment, for example an assessed government student loan awaiting documents or confirmation of part-time

employment. Emergency loan values are usually no more than $500 but individual award values depend on the

specific circumstances of the student. Some students may receive more than one Emergency Loan during a semester.

Students must meet with a Financial Assistance Advisor as part of the assessment process.

Making the first rent payment for a new semester is the most common reason for students funded by government

assistance to access the Emergency Loan Program. Lenders are not allowed to disburse government assistance funds

until the first day of classes, which usually falls after rents are due. Students who hold part-time jobs are most

likely to access the Program in mid-semester to cover rent or food if scheduled work hours have been lower than

expected.

In the 1998-99 reporting year there was a significant increase in Emergency Loan disbursements and the total dollars

disbursed to students due to difficulties arising from both the implementation of an electronic confirmation of

enrollment process for BC Government Assistance and the centralization of government student loan processing by

two of the participating banks. In 1999-2000 problems in timelines of disbursements of loans by the banks

continued and resulted in continued difficulty for some students tying to access their student loan funds in time to

meet their expenses. The decline in Emergency Loan disbursements in 2000-01 reflects a relatively smooth year in

the administration of the government assistance programs. Although significant administrative changes did occur

(see Government Student Loan report) they resulted in much fewer problems than expected and sufficiently fewer

delays for students to allow return of the Emergency Loan Program to previous levels of usage.

The adjudication criteria for this program were tightened significantly six years ago to deal with the increasing

number and value of loans that were being sent to collection. In the 1999-2000 year 7 students with a total of

$4,650 in out standing Emergency Loans were sent to collections. So far for the 2000-01 year one student with an

out standing Emergency Loan total of $1,200 has been sent to collection.

EMERGENCY LOANS

(Undergraduate/Graduate)

submitted by C. French, July 2001

A q-

Report to the ?

Senate Policy Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries

Work-Study Program 2000-01

Work-Study

The Work-Study program is part of the provincial governments BC Student Assistance Program. Work-

Study is targeted to those graduate and undergraduate students who are B.C. residents and have an assessed

financial need above the maximum funding allowance through Canada Student Loan, Canada Millennium

grant, BC Student Loan and BC Grant. The purpose of the Work-Study program is to supplement the

assistance these students are already receiving. Work-Study funding is the only supplemental funding that

will not affect a student's government loan and grant disbursement. Only BC residents are eligible for the

Program.

Over the past five years Simon Fraser University's allotment of funds from the BC Government for the

Work-Study program has been decreasing due to an increase in the number of participating post-secondary

institutions. In the 1995-96 program year Simon Fraser University was allotted $460,000. The budget for

2000-2001 program year was $359,370 and in 2001-02 it will be $344,995 despite an increase in the

number of students at Simon Fraser who are applying for and receiving B.C. Student Assistance.

Simon Fraser University is among the very few post-secondary institutions in British Columbia that does

not supplement the government funding for the Work-Study program. Other institutions supplement the

fundsby budgeting institutional money to increase the number of awards, to allow inclusion of students

from other provinces, or to increase the hourly pay rate. The maximum fundable pay rate through the

Government is

$8.75

per hour.

At Simon Fraser, individuals interested in submitting projects for Work-Study students are invited to

complete and submit a request form to Financial Assistance through the web by the deadline, usually one

month prior to the start of each semester. When approved, projects automatically appear on the posting

search website which is available only to approved Work-Study students. Students are notified of their

eligibility to participate in the program beginning two weeks prior to each semester. Despite the decrease

in funding, the number of requests for Work-Study students has not changed and is now significantly higher

than funding allows.

The BC Work-Study budget year is September to August of the following year. The numbers in the chart

below are based on a reporting period of May to April. Because of the difference between reporting periods,

the numbers can be very inconsistent year over year in this report. Included in the 1997/98 reported year

were higher than normal summer expenditures for 97-2 and a one time addition to the budget for 98-1.

Students Aiding Students

Until August 2000, a portion of the Work-Study funding from the government, approximately ten percent,

was allocated for a program called Students Aiding Students. This program provides funding for full-time

students who wish to assist students with permanent disabilities. The majority of students hired through

this program take class notes on behalf of the student they are aiding. Others assist students to access

materials and services in the library. The Government agreed to change the Students Aiding Students

program for the 2000-01 academic year to be administered directly by the Centre for Students with

Disabilities and adjust regulations accordingly. The table below includes Students Aiding Students

participants until August 2000. For the 2000-01 reporting year the table includes only 2 students who

received a total of $476 through Students Aiding Students.

-2-

GOVERNMENT FUNDED WORK-STUDY— Undergraduate

Note: these numbers include expenditures for the Students Aiding Students program until August 2000.

GOVERNMENT FUNDED WORK-STUDY - Graduate

7,503

submitted by Charlotte French, July 2001

IV]

•

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Memorandum

TO: ?

Dr. John D'Auria, Chair

FROM: Jonathan C. Driver

Senate Policy Committee on

Dean

Scholarships, Awards & Bursaries

SUBJECT: Annual Report: SPCSAB

DATE:

October 1, 2001

I am pleased to enclose a summary of the graduate award disbursements in

fiscal

year 2000-2001

in tabular form, for inclusion in the SPCSAB report to Senate.

Disbursement Totals by Award:

Graduate Fellowship

President's Ph.D. Research Stipend

$2,236,855

moctOl-Olspcsab.doc 10101/01

GRADUATE AWARDS IN FY 2000-2001

AWARD NAME

NUMBER

VALUE

TOTAL

00-2

Semester

Semester

00-3

Semester

00-1

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

$2,236,855

Base Budget FY 2000-2001

FY 99-00 NEGATIVE CARRYOVER

BALANCE AVAILABLE FOR AWARDS

BALANCE AT MARCH 31, 2001

(Surplus Carryover

for fy 2001-02)

$2,518,455

($168,103)

$2,350,352

$113,497

01/10/2001

awa0001.xIs ?

c:28'