S.O1-63

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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Memorandum

To: ?

Senate

From: ?

Allan MacKinnon

Chair, Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies

Date: ?

October 18, 2001

Subject: ?

Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue Undergraduate Semester Proposal

(SCUS reference 01-16)

Action undertaken at the September 11, 2001 meeting of the Senate Committee on

Undergraduate Studies gives rise to the following motion:

"That Senate approve the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue Undergraduate Semester

program on a pilot basis for a two-year period."

The interdisciplinary program is described in the attached proposal. The program consists

of three new courses to be offered at the Centre for Dialogue. SCUS reviewed earlier

drafts of the proposal and provided feedback to Dr. Mark Winston, which was

incorporated into the attached proposal. A copy of this proposal was sent for information

to a September, 2001, meeting of the Senate Committee on University Priorities.

At the end of the two-year pilot a modified proposal will be brought forward for

discussion and approval.

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Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

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Program Proposal: Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies

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September 11, 2001

Mark L. Winston

Department of Biological Sciences

phone: 291-4459

e-mail: winston@sfu.ca

I propose that the university initiate an Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J.

Wosk Centre for Dialogue. This concept is desirable and timely for two reasons. First, the

Centre for Dialogue should become a resource for all levels of the university, and there is

no more appropriate role for the Centre than to host courses that teach and encourage

dialogue with students. Second, there is a growing interest in developing interdisciplinary

and innovative coursework throughout the university, and the Centre for Dialogue

provides a unique opportunity to explore curriculum that crosses our current restricted

disciplinary boundaries.

The proposed first two years of the program will:

. ?

. Establish course numberings, prerequisites, and other curricular standards

• Develop administrative structure

• Teach two semesters

• Actively seek funding for endowments and operating expenses

• Bring forward a modified proposal for a permanent program at the end of the first two

years

Why Should the University Implement this program?

The Centre for Dialogue provides a unique opportunity to affirm the major role of

a university to educate students into productive, creative, well-balanced, thoughtful, and

reflective members of society. The intensive, one-semester experience proposed here,

populated by bright students and taught by our best faculty, will provide an

unprecedented opportunity for students to achieve at their highest potential, and to obtain

the broad and flexible skill set required in today's multi-tasking environment. The

program will provide intensive mentoring, strong emphasis on communication skills, an

ability to think critically and evaluate effectively, a perspective that encourages

discipline-bridging, and an opportunity to learn from and network with stimulating and

accomplished individuals from off-campus. The process of participating in the

Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue (USCD) will transform and mature

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our brightest students into leaders in their future government, business, education, or

research careers.

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This program also will reflect and defme our university's recently announced

values statement. Through this program we can unite teaching and research aspects of

scholarship, celebrate discovery and dialogue, and provide an environment where risks

can be taken and bold initiatives embraced. More tangibly, the USCD will promote

research experience in the undergraduate curriculum, cross interdisciplinary boundaries,

and interact strongly and deeply with the community around us, all goals expressed by

our vision statement.

The USCD will provide a challenging education for the brightest students.

However, I expect it to stimulate, inspire, and blend with other teaching initiatives that

encourage interdisciplinary, project-based courses with a strong mentoring component.

For example, the program eventually might sponsor individual, one-semester, 3-credit

courses of a similar although less intense nature, or by example and experience become

part of the growing movement at SFU to develop a core curriculum for incoming

students. It also may become part of a College proposal, or merge with other

recommendations forthcoming from the newly-formed committee on undergraduate

studies.

A third benefit of implementing this program will be to energize faculty who have

become jaded with teaching large lecture courses, and provide a more creative outlet for

faculty who have become discouraged with limited opportunities for innovative teaching.

Also, these courses will encourage faculty to cross disciplines and co-teach with

colleagues from varied backgrounds, which will help to build university community and

likely lead to the interesting and novel interdisciplinary research opportunities that come

through diverse dialogue.

The Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue has the potential to

develop into a signature program for the university. It will transform the students who

take it, spin-off into related courses that will broaden our impact on students, inspire

faculty to bridge disciplines, and affirm the university's values. This program is poised to

become an increasingly important part of Simon Fraser University's profile, and provide

a tangible example of the innovative mind-set we believe underlies our fundamental

identity.

Courses

The one-semester, 15 credit curriculum will consist of two components, a core

Dialogue section and individual topics that will vary for each course (New Course

Proposal Forms attached). Underlying each course will be a subject that encourages

broad approaches and provocative issues. The first set of courses will be offered in

September 2002.

The courses will consist of seminar discussions led by faculty, frequent guest

visits from relevant off-campus experts, a heavy reading load, and a number of individual

and group student projects. Learning will be active rather than passive, stimulating

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students to research, explore, and discuss rather than following a lecture format. A typical

week might involve morning seminars led by faculty or guest speakers and field trips to

relevant businesses, government agencies, and non-government organizations. Students

would conduct research and interviews for their projects in the afternoons, and meet

singly or in small groups with their faculty supervisors.

The core Dialogue section will focus on teaching students to speak, write,

research, and interact. Dialogue itself as a discipline will be examined, and

communication skills stressed. Students will develop skills in consultation, decision-

making, collaborative learning, and bridging gaps between stakeholder communities,

using examples and approaches specific to that semester's topic.

Each semester's focus topic will consider a broad question, approached from

many perspectives. The first course will be:

Nature, Environment, and Society,

which will encompass analyses of environmental

issues, history of our human relationship with nature, philosophical approaches to the

identity of nature, practical aspects of environmental protection, examination of the

environmental movement, the impact of industry and new technologies on environmental

and human health, the role of government as a regulatory authority balancing benefits and

risks, and the interaction between job creation and environmental protection.

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Subsequent courses will depend on the interests of faculty. Applications to teach

in the program and proposed course descriptions will be solicited a year prior to each

offering, and faculty whose proposed courses are accepted will receive teaching relief for

their participation. Another example of a possible submission to the program would be an

offering titled "Religion and Politics," including historical perspectives, topical issues in

religion and government, constitutional questions, examination of governments based on

fundamentalist religious movements, and discussions on ethical aspects of political and

government decision-making. Another potential semester might cover

"Biotechnology

and the Human Experience,"

examining wide issues in biotechnology from scientific,

medical, ethical, legal, business, trade, regulatory, environmental, philosophical, fiction,

media, and other perspectives.

Grading will be broken down into three courses, one for the core Dialogue

curriculum

(5

credits), a second for short-term projects and class participation

(5

credits)

and the third for a final assignment

(5

credits). For their final project, each student would

produce a manuscript for submission to a major magazine (The New Yorker, Atlantic

Monthly, Harper's, Saturday Night, etc.) on a topic relevant to the course focus for that

semester.

Students also will take part in other programs and conferences offered at the

Centre for Dialogue during their semester "in residence."

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Choosing Faculty and Students

I expect considerable interest in this program. The students selected should

represent the academic elite at the university, and faculty should be our finest teachers

and scholars. Students will be chosen through annual competitive applications,

adjudicated by the Director and an Advisory Board, and will include balanced

representation from all faculties, although there will not be a formal "quota" system. I

will direct and teach the first two courses, with another faculty member seconded to each

course to co-teach it.

Students will apply for the program six-nine months prior to its offering, with

decisions on their applications completed four months prior to the course. Qualifications

considered will include high scholastic standing, other academic and non-academic

accomplishments, motivation, collegiality and ability to work with others, verbal and

written skills, a personal statement, strong references, and an interview. Competition is

expected to be stiff; students with whom I have talked view the USCD as an exceptional

educational opportunity.

Location

The program will be located at the Harbour Centre campus. Office space,

classrooms, student computer access, and a small lounge/meeting area for students are

available.

Administration

Secretarial assistance will be provided through the Centre for Dialogue

(approximately one day a week). An Advisory Board will be appointed by January 2002

to oversee the program, including four faculty members and two undergraduate or

recently graduated students. Their primary responsibilities will be 1) promoting the

courses and encouraging students to apply, 2) selecting the faculty to co-teach each

course, 3) choosing the students who participate through an application process, 4) setting

policies, overseeing the academic content and performance of courses, and

5)

revising the

program at the end of the first two years.

Funding

Funding for the first two years has been approved by the VP-Academic, but

subsequently will move in part or full to a donor base, including local friends of the

university, corporate donors, and foundations that support innovative teaching initiatives

(Rockefeller, Templeton, Vancouver, and others). A considerable part of my time during

the first two years will be devoted to fund raising, with the involvement of the University

Development Office.

CFD1: CFD SCUS.doc

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Calendar Entry

Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre,

515

West Hastings Street, Vancouver V613

o

Undergraduate Courses

Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

DIAL 390-Undergraduate Semester: Dialogue

The Dialogue component of the Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue will

immerse students in the art and practice of thinking and communicating. The focus will

be on strategies and methods to use in understanding diverse perspectives. Students will

have an opportunity to expand their verbal and written communication skills as well as

explore Dialogue as a developing academic field. The specific focus of the course and the

assignments will be linked and interwoven with the current semester's offering of DIAL

391 and 392, which must be taken simultaneously with DIAL 390.

DIAL 391-Undergraduate Semester: Seminar

Topics covered each semester will vary, but generally each course will examine a subject

that encourages broad approaches and probes provocative issues. The course will consist

of discussions led by faculty, frequent visits from relevant off-campus experts, a heavy

reading load, and a number of individual and group student projects. Learning will be

active rather than passive, stimulating students to research, explore, and discuss rather

than following a lecture format. This course must be taken simultaneously with DIAL

390 and DIAL 392.

DIAL 392-Undergraduate Semester: Final Project

For their final project, each student will produce a manuscript suitable for submission to a

major current affairs magazine (The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Saturday

Night, etc.) on a topic relevant to the course focus for that semester. This course must be

taken simultaneously with DIAL 390 and 391.

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'1

. ?

Simon Fraser University

New Course Proposal

Course Number:

?

DIAL 390 ?

Credit Hours:

Vector: ?

01510

Title of Course:

Undergraduate Semester: Dialogue

Calendar Description

The Dialogue component of the Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue will

immerse students in the art and practice of thinking and communicating. The focus will

be on strategies and methods to use in understanding diverse perspectives. Students will

have an opportunity to expand their verbal and written communication skills as well as

explore Dialogue as a developing academic field. The specific focus of the course and the

assignments will be linked and interwoven with the current semester's offering of DIAL

391 and 392, which must be taken simultaneously with DIAL 390.

Prerequisites/Special Instructions

S

?

?

50 credit hours prior to beginning the Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue.

Students should apply two semesters before the semester in which they wish to enroll.

This course must be taken simultaneously with DIAL 391 and 392.

Courses Dropped:

None

Rationale

The Centre for Dialogue provides a unique opportunity to affirm the major role of a

university to educate students into productive, creative, well-balanced, thoughtful, and

reflective members of society. The one-semester course proposed here, populated by

bright students and taught by our best faculty, will provide an unprecedented opportunity

for students to achieve at their highest potential, and to obtain the broad and flexible skill

set required in today's multi-tasking environment. The course will provide intensive

mentoring, strong emphasis on communication skills, an ability to think critically and

evaluate effectively, a perspective that encourages discipline-bridging, and an

opportunity to learn from and network with stimulating and accomplished individuals

from off-campus.

Enrollment:

20 students

Audience:

Third and fourth year undergraduate students, Post Baccalaureate Diploma

Program.

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8

Scheduling:

Spring semesters

Present Faculty:

Mark Winston (Biological Sciences and Fellow, Morris J. Wosk Centre

for Dialogue) will direct the program and teach in the first two semesters the USCD is

offered. Additional faculty will be appointed for each course as well from any

Department in the university.

Student Fees:

Standard SFU tuition rate.

Duplicate Current Course:

No

Resources

Library:

No additional resources are necessary.

Space or Equipment:

Office space, a student lounge, and classroom space are available

at the Harbour Centre campus.

Computing Resources:

No additional resources.

Faculty:

Variable.

Approvals

Director and Fellow, Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Date

VP-Academic

Date

Chair, SCUS

Date

---

S

Simon Fraser University

New Course Proposal

Course Number:

?

DIAL 391 ?

Credit Hours: ?

5

Vector:

?

0/5/0

Title of Course:

Undergraduate Semester: Seminar

Calendar Description

Topics covered each semester will vary, but generally each course will examine a subject

that encourages broad approaches and probes provocative issues. The course will consist

of discussions led by faculty, frequent visits from relevant off-campus experts, a heavy

reading load, and a number of individual and group student projects. Learning will be

active rather than passive, stimulating students to research, explore, and discuss rather

than following a lecture format. This course must be taken simultaneously with DIAL

390 and DIAL 392.

Prerequisites/Special Instructions

5

?

50

credit hours prior to beginning the Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue.

Students should apply two semesters before the semester in which they wish to enroll.

This course must be taken simultaneously with DIAL 390 and 392.

Courses Dropped:

None

Rationale

The Centre for Dialogue provides a unique opportunity to affirm the major role of a

university to educate students into productive, creative, well-balanced, thoughtful, and

reflective members of society. The one-semester course proposed here, populated by

bright students and taught by our best faculty, will provide an unprecedented opportunity

for students to achieve at their highest potential, and to obtain the broad and flexible skill

set required in today's multi-tasking environment. The course will provide intensive

mentoring, strong emphasis on communication skills, an ability to think critically and

evaluate effectively, a perspective that encourages discipline-bridging, and an

opportunity to learn from and network with stimulating and accomplished individuals

from off-campus.

Enrollment:

20 students

. ?

Audience:

Third and fourth year undergraduate students, Post Baccalaureate Diploma

Program.

---

Scheduling:

Spring semesters

Present Faculty:

Mark Winston (Biological Sciences and Fellow, Morris J. Wosk Centre

for Dialogue) will direct the program and teach in the first two semesters the USCD is

offered. Additional faculty will be appointed for each course as well from any

Department in the university.

Student Fees:

Standard SFU tuition rate.

Duplicate Current Course:

No

Resources

Library:

Depending on topic and holdings at Harbour Centre, some assistance with

interlibrary access may be necessary (see attached memo from Lynn Copeland, 17 July)

Space or Equipment:

Office space, a student lounge, and classroom space are available

at the Harbour Centre campus.

Computing Resources:

No additional resources.

Faculty: Variable.

?

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Approvals

S

Director and Fellow, Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Date

VP-Academic

Date

Chair, SCUS

Date

---

I

I

Simon Fraser University

New Course Proposal

Course Number: ?

DIAL 392 ?

Credit Hours:

Vector: ?

0/5/0

Title of Course:

Undergraduate Semester: Final Project

Calendar Description

For their final project, each student will produce a manuscript suitable for submission to a

major current affairs magazine (The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Saturday

Night, etc.) on a topic relevant to the course focus for that semester. This course must be

taken simultaneously with DIAL 390 and 391.

Prerequisites/Special Instructions

50 credit hours prior to beginning the Undergraduate Semester at the Centre for Dialogue.

Students should apply two semesters before the semester in which they wish to enroll.

This course must be taken simultaneously with DIAL 390 and 391.

Courses Dropped:

None

Rationale

The Centre for Dialogue provides a unique opportunity to affirm the major role of a

university to educate students into productive, creative, well-balanced, thoughtful, and

reflective members of society. The one-semester course proposed here, populated by

bright students and taught by our best faculty, will provide an unprecedented opportunity

for students to achieve at their highest potential, and to obtain the broad and flexible skill

set required in today's multi-tasking environment. The course will provide intensive

mentoring, strong emphasis on communication skills, an ability to think critically and

evaluate effectively, a perspective that encourages discipline-bridging, and an

opportunity to learn from and network with stimulating and accomplished individuals

from off-campus.

Enrollment:

20 students

Audience:

Third and fourth year undergraduate students, Post Baccalaureate Diploma

Program.

0

?

Scheduling:

Spring semesters

---

12

Present Faculty:

Mark Winston (Biological Sciences and Fellow, Morris J. Wosk Centre

for Dialogue) will direct the program and teach in the first two semesters the USCD is

offered. Additional faculty will be appointed for each course as well from any

Department in the university.

Student Fees:

Standard SFU tuition rate.

Duplicate Current Course:

No

Resources

Library:

No additional resources are necessary.

Space or Equipment:

Office space, a student lounge, and classroom space are available

at the Harbour Centre campus.

Computing Resources:

No additional resources.

Faculty:

Variable.

Approvals

Director and Fellow, Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Date

VP-Academic

Date

Chair, SCUS

Date

CFD1:CFD SCUS.doc

S

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Draft Course Outline: Fall 2002

Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

?

DIAL 390,391, 392: Nature, Environment, and Society

This is a full-time, one-semester suite of courses that must be taken simultaneously.

Prospective students should apply no later than 1 March 2002, and admission decisions

will be made no later than

30

April 2002. For application information, contact (to be

determined). Students should consult with their Department prior to their Dialogue

semester to determine the application of DIAL credits to fulfill major, minor, or elective

course requirements.

Topic:

The Fall 2002 courses will focus broadly on nature, environment, and society,

including analyses of environmental issues, history of our human relationship with

nature, philosophical approaches to the identity of nature, practical aspects of

environmental protection, examination of the environmental movement, the impact of

industry and new technologies on environmental and human health, the role of

government as a regulatory authority balancing benefits and risks, and the interaction

• ?

between job creation and environmental protection.

Format:

The three courses will be presented together, in a format including discussions

led by faculty, frequent visits from relevant off-campus experts, and a heavy reading

load. Students will conduct individual and group projects presented to the class on a

regular basis, prepare a number of written assignments, and organize a mini, dialogue-

style conference towards the end of the semester. Learning will be active rather than

passive, stimulating students to research, explore, and discuss rather than following a

lecture style. Typically, morning class sessions will be used for seminars led by faculty or

guest speakers, field trips to relevant businesses, government agencies, and non-

government organizations, and project presentations. Students will conduct research and

interviews for their projects in the afternoons, and meet singly or in small groups with

their faculty supervisors.

The Dialogue component will immerse students in the art and practice of thinking and

communicating. The focus will be on strategies and methods to use in understanding

diverse perspectives. Students will have an opportunity to expand their verbal and written

communication skills as well as explore Dialogue as a developing academic field.

Assignments will be linked and interwoven with the course focus on nature, environment,

and society.

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To p ics and Sam p

le of Sources for Assi

gned

Readings

Week 1

?

Dialogue and Communication

William Isaacs,

Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together

Robert Grudin,

On Dialogue

Week 2

?

Man, Nature, and Wilderness

Gary Snyder,

Earth House Hold

Henry Thoreau,

On Walden Pond

Max Oelschlager,

The Idea of Wilderness

Bill McKibben,

The End of Nature

Week 3

?

Philosophy and the Identity of Nature

William Shore,

The Nature ofNature

Hugh Brody,

The Other Side of Eden

Daniel Halpern,

On Nature

Week 4

?

The Environmental Movement: History, Strategy, and Impact

Bjorn Lomborg,

The Skeptical Environmentalist

Week 5

?

Business, New Technologies, and Environmental Protection

Maurice Strong,

Where on Earth Are We Going?

Gretchen Daily,

Nature's Services

Week 6

?

Endangered Species

Charles Mann and Mark Plummer,

Noah's Choice

Week 7 ?

Biotechnology and Genetically Modified Crops

Mark Winston,

Travels in the Genetically Modified Zone

U.S. National Research Council,

Genetically Modified Plants

Week 8 ?

Government, Environmental Protection, and Law

Percival and Alevizatos (ed.),

Law and the Environment

Sandra Steingraber,

Living Downstream

Week 9

?

Water and Canadian Policy

Marq de Villers,

Water

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SWeek 10 ?

Case Studies ?

--

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Week 11 ?

Case Studies

?

Week 12 ?

Student-Organized Mini-Conference (Dialogue-based,

Topic to be chosen by students)

?

Week 13 ?

Final Student Project Presentations

Grading

Dial 390

Class Participation ?

20%

Mini-Conference ?

20%

Group Projects ?

40%

Individual Projects

?

20%.

Dial 391

S ?

Class Participation ?

20%

Individual Projects

?

60%

Group Projects ?

20%

Dial 392

For their final project, each student will produce a manuscript suitable for submission to a

major current affairs magazine (The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Saturday

Night, etc.) on a topic relevant to the course focus.

CFD1:CFD SCUS.doc

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16

W.A.C. BENNETT LIBRARY ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

BURNABY, B.C., V5A 1S6

To:

?

Mark Winston

?

From: ?

Lynn Copeland

University Librarian

Phone: 291-3265 FAX: 291-3023

e-mail: copeland@sfu.ca

cc:

?

Bruce Clayman, Warren Gill, Todd Mundle, Karen Marotz

Re:

?

Proposed Undergraduate Semester at the Morris J

.

Wosk ?

Date: ?

July 17, 2001

Centre for Dialogue

We welcome the opportunity to comment on your proposed Undergraduate Semester at the

Morris J

.

Wosk Centre for Dialogue (USCD,draft June 27, 2001). What follows is a synthesis of the

discussion which Todd Mundle, Karen Marotz, and I had regarding the support which the

Library should provide for this programme, and the resource requirements. We are eager to

provide the requisite library instruction, reference, and access to collections to support the USCD.

Because of the location and nature of the programme, both collection and staffing resources need

to be considered.

Instruction and reference:

SFU librarians provide general and course-related subject-specific instruction in locating,

evaluating, and using information (on the Web and in paper sources) for Harbour Centre and

Burnaby programmes. The experience with other cohorts such as the EMBA are indications of the

success of this type of organized programming, which requires about one hour of class time per

course. Belzberg librarians, together with the appropriate liaison librarians (likely Natalie Gick

(Biology) and Sylvia Roberts (Communications)) would provide classes appropriate to the USCD

programme. Reference services would be provided through the Belzberg Library. The availability

of online guides, email reference support and other Web pages will greatly facilitate this process.

No additional resources will be required for this support to these courses. Just as we work

successfully with the Centre for Distance Education during their course development to ensure

that the students gain access to the best available resources, we believe that such a collaboration

would be beneficial for USCD both in identifying appropriate print and online resources as well

as in developing a library instructional component to the courses. Since research is one of the

identified key elements of the program it would be particularly useful to include Library

instruction in these courses and we would welcome the opportunity to work with you.

Collections and access to collections:

In the Library's recently published Three Year Plan, we note that "Harbour Centre programming has

expanded since Library service and space requirements were identified in its early years. With the possible

move of the School for Contemporary Arts downtown, and the potential for increased undergraduate

programming, it is urgent that Library space, collection, and service requirements be reviewed and

supported to appropriate levels for envisioned downtown programming." As we proceed with this process,

the USCD collection and access requirements would also be considered and might be supported.

In the meantime, there are two pressing concerns about the USCD programme vis a vis the Library's

collection and access to the collections. First, the nature of this programme suggests that to be most

successful, students will want to make heavier than normal use of the Library's collections, and we of

course wish to encourage that. On the other hand, the collection at Belzberg has been developed to support

the core programs offered out of Harbour Centre: Publishing, Liberal Studies, Gerontology and the MBA

programs. Traditionally there have been few if any science based courses and consequently the availability

of science related materials at Belzberg is limited. While no decision has been made yet as to the content of

the three proposed courses (DIAL 390, 391 and 392) the emphasis will likely be interdisciplinary with a

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17

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science-based focus (Biotechnology and the Human Experience or Nature, Environment and Society).

Currently only around 6% of Belzberg's titles have a science focus; for example, there are about 100

biology titles. There are other social science and humanities titles that may play a part in the information

needs of the USCD students but again the majority of materials will reside at Bennett. Because the Library

generally purchases only single copies, to transfer a significant amount of material to Belzberg for the

purposes of the USCD courses would render the material unavailable to people on the Burnaby campus

who also will use it for their courses, and require that materials also located at the already full Belzberg

Library be relocated. Thus we recommend, at a minimum, that second copies of the material for which

there is anticipated heavy use (including course reading material) should be purchased and put on reserve at

the Belzberg Library. Beyond that, course assessments will be prepared as the courses are developed.

Although typically a course assessment does not consider the location of materials already held by the SFU

Library, in this case it will be, given the multidisciplinary nature of the programme.

The Library provides delivery on request between the two campus libraries. The funding of 1 FTE at the

Bennett Library and use of existing staff at Belzberg has been sufficient to support this service in the past,

largely because most students in broadly based programmes are on both campuses and can use the Bennett

Library in person. In other instances, access to full-text online has been sufficient to relieve the potential

library workload. Because the nature of the USCD suggests that students will be located only at Harbour

Centre during their tenure in the programme, we believe that a relatively few students, to make the most

effective use of their experience, will disproportionately increase the number of materials requested. As the

individual assigned to the Bennett Library is fully occupied with the current requesting load, either

additional staff resources need to be provided or the .USCD programme will be supported at the expense of

services to Bennett Library users. Again, this staffing issue will need to be considred in the context of

other new Harbour Centre programmes.

. ?

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this interesting proposal at this early stage of

development. The Library welcomes the opportunity to work with you and the course

developers to determine what resources are required and what the Library can do to support the

USCD program. Please feel free to call me to discuss this further.

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