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S.90-6

Sed bq

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

From:

Subject:

Date:

Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Academic Planning/Senate Committee on

Undergraduate Studies gives rise to the following motion:

Motion:

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

as set forth in S. 90-6 , the proposed changes to the graduate regulations

1.12.1; 1.12.2; 1.6.3 and new regulation 1.4.5 - Part-time Study."

S ?

Note: A suggestion to include in the proposal a stipulation that programs 

choosing to opt for part-time study report once a year to Senate was 

accepted as a friendly amendment. 

.

SIMON F R A S E R UNIVERSITY 

?

MEMORANDUM ? 

DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES 

TO:

Senate           

FROM: 

B.P. Clayman 

SUBJECT: 

Graduate Regulations    

DATE: 

October 17, 1989 

The Senate Graduate Studies Committee and Senate Committee on 

Academic Planning have approved changes to the graduate 

regulations related to part-time study. 

At present, there is no explicit recognition of part-time 

graduate study in our regulations. All graduate students are 

considered either to be studying full-time or to be "on-leave"; 

regulations related to their progress, time in program and fee 

calculation all assume full-time status. 

In order to make our graduate programs more accessible and more 

responsive to the needs of part-time students, I recommended to 

the S.G.S.C. changes in the regulations. These were considered 

S, ?

and refined by an ad hoc subcommittee whose recommendations were 

further refined and then approved by the S.G.S.C. They were 

approved by S.C.A.P. on October 11, 1989. They are given below 

accompanied by brief rationales. You will note that formal 

part-time status is available only to part-time students who are 

taking one graduate course and are not working on thesis, 

extended essay or project. 

The S.F.U. Board of Governors approved a recommendation to 

institute an interim part-time tuition fee for the 1989/90 

academic year only. This recommendation was developed, after 

extensive consultation, as a means addressing some of the 

difficulties experienced by part-time students. As you will note 

from the text of the fee schedule (reproduced in Appendix A), the 

criteria for part-time enrolment are similar to those in proposed 

Regulation 1.4.5 (below). 

Another important reason for moving from our present anecdotal 

reporting system for reporting student status to a more precise 

definition of part-time status is the prospect of increasing use 

of "formula funding" in determining the university's provincial 

operating grant. The present system is not rigorous and would be 

difficult to justify. Our experience with the interim definition 

of part-time status in 1989-3 indicates that our FTE enrolment 

figures will not decrease through the use of the new criteria for 

part-time status. 

Senate 

10/17/1989 

Page 2 of 4 

In addition to the approval of this "enabling legislation", two 

other events would have to occur for full implementation of this 

change: i) Individual departmental Graduate Program Committees 

would decide whether their programs would be available for 

part-time study. ii) The Board of Governors will be asked to 

approve a change in the basis for graduate fee assessment. This 

latter proposal is described in Appendix B to this memorandum. 

PROPOSED NEW GRADUATE REGULATION (1.4.5.) 

Part-time Study 

A number of graduate programs have been approved, by the relevant 

Graduate Program Committee, for part-time study. These are 

listed below: 

Executive Master of Business Administration ? 

(M.B.A.) 

Master of Engineering ? 

(M.Eng.) 

Master of Natural Resource Management ? 

(M.R.M.) 

The list of approved programs is subject to change. 

A student in a graduate program may apply to enrol part-time in a 

particular semester if all the following requirements are 

satisfied: 

a)

that program has been approved for part-time study, and 

b)

the student wishes to enrol in only one course, and 

C) ?

the student will not be working on his or her thesis, 

project or extended essays, 

ricL 

d) ? 

The student will be spending no more than 50% of his or her 

productive time on his or her graduate studies. 

The application to enrol part-time is subject to the approval of 

the student's Supervisory Committee and Graduate Program 

Committee. 

A part-time enrolment is considered to be the equivalent of 

one-half a full-time equivalent (FTE) enrolment. The time limit 

for degree completion may reflect part-time status; see 

Regulation 1.12. 

.

.

Senate 

10/17/1989 

Page 3 of 4 

Rationale 

Part-time status is intended primarily to address the needs of 

students whose primary activity is not graduate studies and who 

wish only to enrol in one course during the early phase of their 

programs, prior to commencement of work associated with thesis, 

project or extended essays. At present such students are 

required to pay the full registration fee 

($626 

per semester in 

year 1) and that semester counts fully toward to the time limit 

for degree completion and supervisory committee formation. The 

proposed change would permit registration in one course for 

one-half the full-time fee; a part-time semester would count as 

one-half a full-time semester toward the time limits. 

CHANGED REGULATION (1.12.1) 

From: ? 

A student shall complete all of the requirements for a 

Master's degree within five calendar years of enrolment 

as a Master's student. 

A Student shall complete all of the requirements for a 

Master's degree within twelve semesters of full-time 

equivalent (FTE) enrolment. In addition, all 

requirements of the Master's degree must be completed 

within six calendar years of initial enrolment as a 

Master's student. 

Rationale 

The time limit for degree completion is changed to recognize the 

explicitly the possibility of part-time study. The present limit 

is five years only because the present regulations do not 

recognize this possibility. Even four years of full-time study 

for a Master's was seen by many to be excessive, but was passed 

in recognition of the imperfection of the definition of part-time 

study. 

CHANGED REGULATION (1.12.2) 

From: 

?

A student shall complete all the requirements for a 

Doctoral degree within eight calendar years of 

enrolment as a Doctoral student. 

Senate 

10/17/1989 

Page 4of4 

A student shall complete all the requirements for a 

Doctoral degree within eight calendar years of initial 

enrolment as a Doctoral student or, in the case of a 

student who has transferred from a Master's program 

into the Doctoral program without completing the 

Master's degree, within eight calendar years of initial 

enrolment as a Master's student. 

Rationale 

The only change is clarification of the status of a student who 

Master's.transfers 

from Master's to Doctoral program without completion of 

CHANGED REGULATION (1.6.3) 

From: ? 

In consultation with the graduate student, the Graduate 

Program Committee will appoint a Senior Supervisor as 

soon as possible after admission to the graduate 

program. Normally, this appointment shall be made no 

later than the beginning of the third semester after 

the student's admission, although in certain 

circumstances, and with the permission of the Dean of 

Graduate Studies, the appointment can be made later. 

The Senior Supervisor is the person principally 

responsible for supervising the student throughout the 

degree program. A Senior Supervisor must hold the rank 

of Assistant Professor or above. 

In consultation with the student, the Graduate Program 

Committee will appoint a Senior Supervisor as soon as 

possible after admission to the graduate program. 

Normally, this appointment shall be made no later than 

the beginning of the third semester of full-time 

e q

uivalent enrolment after the student's admission, 

although .....etc. 

Rationale 

The time limit for establishment of the supervisory committee is 

changed to recognize explicitly the possibility of part-time 

study. 

< ?

BPC : vb 

End. Appendices A and B 

MOC17SEN 

17I

APPENDIX A 

.

SEMESTER TUITION FEE SCHEDULE 1989-90 

Part-time Registration 

A special, interim part-time registration fee of $313 per 

semester is effective in the 1989/90 academic year. It is 

available to students who are pursuing their graduate programs on 

a part-time basis and are not: 

-

?

enrolled in more than one course, or 

- ?

working on a thesis, project or extended essay, or 

- ?

recipients of graduate financial awards, or 

- ?

enrolled in the M.Eng. or Executive M.B.A. program. 

Prior approval at the time of registration of the Supervisory 

Committee and Graduate Program Committee are required. Two 

part-time semesters will count as one normal semester in future 

tuition fee calculations. This includes the possible obligation 

to pay a minimum fee for the degree, under consideration for 

implementation in September 1990. 

.

MSE27SCAP Enclosure 

MOC17SEN Enclosure 

\FEEB9-90 

.

APPENDIX B 

PROPOSED 1990/91 FEE SCHEDULE 

Semester Tuition Fees 1990-1991 

1. ? 

a) ? 

Full Time Fee Unit:'' 

Master's 

*Exception:. 

and Doctoral Programs* 

?

$ 554 

1) Executive M.B.A. Program 

?

$ 1,650 

b) ? 

Part-time Fee is equal to one-half of the Full Time Fee 

Unit. 

C) ?

Minimum Fee for the Master's Degree: 

i)

If the degree is completed in no more than twelve 

consecutive months of Full Time study: Three Full 

Time Fee Units. 

ii)

If the degree is completed in no more than sixteen 

consecutive months of Full Time study: Four Full 

Time Fee Units. 

All other cases: Six Full Time Fee Units. 

d)

Minimum Fee for the Doctoral Degree is eight Full Time 

Fee Units. 

e)

Students who transfer to another degree program, 

without completing the first, retain credit for Fee 

Units already paid. 

f)

Registration in specific semesters in programs 

designated as discontinuous does not require payment of 

a fee. Programs designated as discontinuous and 

affected semesters are: 

Program 

Executive M.B.A. 

M.Eng. 

M.R.M. 

2. ? 

Continuing Fee: 

Semesters 

First and Second Summers 

Every Summer 

First and Second Summers, 

only for students who have 

registered part-time 

exclusively. 

The Continuing Fee, equal to one-half of the Full Time Fee Unit, 

is payable by students who have met the minimum fee requirement 

in 1 

or 1 d) above. 

3. ? 

On-Leave Fee: 

The On-leave Fee, equal to one-quarter of the Full Time Fee Unit, 

is payable by students who register "on-leave" as described under 

Regulation 1.8.4. This fee does not count toward the minimum fee 

requirement in a 

or 1 d) above. 

. ?

Appendix B 

Page 2 of 2 

4.

Time Extension Fee 

Students registered on a time extension beyond the maxima given 

in Regulation 1.12 pay a registration fee equal to one Full Time 

Unit for each such registration. 

5. Readmission Fee 

Students registered for one semester to complete degree 

requirements as described in Regulation 1.12.3 pay a registration 

fee equal to one and a half Full Time Fee Unit. 

6.

Qualifying Students and Special Graduate Students are 

assessed fees on the same basis as undergraduate students: $54 

per semester hour. These fees do not count toward the minimum 

fee requirement in 1 c) or 1 d) above. 

7.

Exchange Students, registered under the terms of Regulation 

1.3.8 pay no tuition fee at Simon Fraser University but pay the 

Student Activity Fee and the Athletic-Recreation Fee. 

MOC17SEN Enclosure 

\FEESCHED 

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