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FOR INFORMATION
?
S.90-23
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
?
Senate Graduate Studies Committee
?
REPORT TO SENATE
The Dean of Graduate Studies is responsible for the general super-
vision of graduate work at the University and Chairs of the
Senate Graduate Studies Committee. This report outlines the posi-
tion of graduate studies at Simon Fraser University, describes
some changes made
in
the 1989/90 year and makes recommendations
for future directions.
I..
?
Enrolments and Degrees
Table I shows the recent history of graduate enrolments and de-
grees granted. It is taken from the 1989 S.F.U. Fact Book which
will contain more detailed breakdowns by department and Faculty.
The FTE enrolment figures must be treated with caution. The pro-
cess for determining them is subject to considerable variation
•
?
?
among departments and is often based on incomplete information on
?
a student's activities. A more consistent and logical scheme for
determining FTE enrolments was approved by Senate in 1989. These
provisions, and changes to the graduate fee structure, approved
by the Board of Governors, improve the accessibility of our
programs.
II.
Degree Completion
Table II is a survey of the times required by S.F.U. students to
earn their graduate degrees.
?
The data are from the Graduate
Studies Database system. I am very pleased to note a small but
significant decrease in average Master's degree completion times
compared with last year's data. It should be noted that these
data do not take into account the possibility that a student may
have been enrolled part-time for all or part of the program and
thus may overstate completion times, especially for programs with
large numbers of part-time students. Data on enrolment status
may be found in the S.F.U. Fact Book. I remain concerned by what
appear in many cases to be excessive times for degree completion.
When resources are limited, it is especially important that they
be used effectively.
I am actively encouraging departments to ensure both that their
degree requirements are realistic and that their students make
. satisfactory progress, as required by Senate regulations, toward
meeting those requirements. I am also considering more rigorous
enforcement of the regulati
ons
requiring annual progress reports.
 
Report to Senate
02/09/1990
Page 2 of 3
I am also pressing for timely appointments of supervisory
committees. In establishing the Graduate Studies Database, I
encountered many students who had been here for several years,
yet apparently had no supervisory committees. This situation has
largely been remedied; each semester, reminders about
'delinquent' students are sent to departments by my office; a
minor flood of committee recommendations follows.
III.
Grades
Table III gives information on the S.F.U. graduate grades of all
students enrolled in the Fall 88 semester;- it includes courses
taken in that semester up to the end of 89-3 and excludes stu-
dents who had not yet taken an S.F.U. graduate course. Data were
taken from the Registrar's data files and incorporated into and
processed within the Graduate Studies Database system.
For each department, a number of measures of the grade distribu-
tion are presented. The weighted CGPA ("Wted.") weights each
student's CGPA by the number of semester hours completed. The
average CGPA ("Aver.") does no weighting, but counts all students
equivalently.
?
The median ("Med.") CGPA and the N% CGPA give the
?
CGPA at the median of the distribution and at the Nth
percentile. For example, in the third entry of Table III -
Business, the top 10% of the students have a CGPA of 3.83 or
higher, the top 20% have a CGPA of 3.67 or higher and so on.
The tremendous range in the nature of the grade distributions
among departments may stem from two causes: (1) differences in
grading practices and (2) differences in the abilities of
students. I believe that, most likely, it is a mixture of these
with the former a larger contributor than the latter. This range
is one of the reasons that I have moved away from interdepart-
mental comparisons of CGPA in the ranking of applicants for
S.F.U. graduate scholarships.
IV.
Special Arrangements
The Senate Graduate Studies Committee serves as the Graduate Pro-
gram Committee of students enrolled under Special Arrangements.
I have given special attention to these students. With the goal
of ensuring their satisfactory progress, I have brought all their
supervisory committees into compliance with Senate's regulations
and require up-to-date progress reports as a condition of
registration.
?
To date, the response of students and supervisors
has been excellent.
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0
I
is
 
Report to Senate
S
?
02/09/1990
Page 3 of 3
I am pleased to report that the defences of theses completed
under Special Arrangements, which I chair, have all been quite
successful. Table IV provides some data on degree completion.
These data are subject to the same caveat about part-time study
as the data in Table II.
Historically, Special Arrangements have been a high risk area;
students either succeed or fail spectacularly. The number of stu-
dents enrolled have remained roughly constant around 25. Degree
completion has been highly variable: 3 in 1989, 4 in 1988, 7 in
1987, 6 in 1986, 2 in 1985, 6 in 1984, 1 in 1983, 2 in 1982, and
4: in 1981. Other students have dropped out. By the steps out-
lined above and by rigorous enforcement of the criteria for en-
trance into Special Arrangements, I hope to improve the success
rate.
V.
S.G.S.C. Motions
A summary, prepared by the Office of the Registrar, of the mo-
tions passed by the S.G.S.C. is presented in Appendix A.
.
VI.
The Future
I remain optimistic about the future of graduate studies at SFU.
Exciting new program initiatives are presently under consider-
ation by the S.G.S.C. and its Assessment Committee. These will
likely be before Senate in the next few months.
The quality of most of the thesis defences which I have attended
has been high. With rare exception, applicants recommended by de-
partments for entry into
Ph.D.
programs have been very strong.
Through more aggressive recruiting of excellent applicants with
the aid of entrance scholarships, more rigorous enforcement of
the present requirements for satisfactory progress, and more care-
ful monitoring of student supervision, it should be possible to
improve the quality of graduate programs and decrease times for
degree completion, thus making more effective use of our limited
resources.
_V.
B.P. Clayman
Dean of Graduate Studies
5
Attachments
\90-SENATE
 
TABLE I
S
SUMMARY DATA
?
84/85
?
85/86 ?
86/87
?
87/88 ?
88/89
Annualized Graduate Enrolments
Head Count
?
1419 ?
1377 ?
1366 ?
1426 ?
1444
FTE ?
1153 ?
1125 ?
1084 ?
1147 ?
1169
Degrees Awarded
Master's ?
218 ?
279
?
214 ?
213
?
253
Doctoral ?
37 ?
39
?
42 ?
50
?
45
.
?
TOTAL ?
255 ?
318
?
256 ?
263 ?
298
0
 
TABLE II
Times for Degree Completion
for Graduands Completing
Degree Requirements
in 85-3 through
89-3 ?
as of
February 2,
1990
.
Number of
Ave. Semesters
Median Semesters
Department ?
Program Graduands
in Program
in Program
Archaeology
MA
13
13.62
14
Archaeology
PHD
8
21.00
22
Biological Sciences
MPM
49
10.43
10
Biological Sciences
MSC
42
10.67
10
Biological Sciences
PHD
39
16.23
16
Business Administration
MBA
45
7.80
6
10
Business Administration
MBE
133
10.64
Chemistry
MSC
24
9.04
8
Chemistry
PHD
18
16.06
16
Communications
MCM
27
11.00
10
12
Communications
PHD
4
13.75
Computing Science
MSC
66
9.06
8
15
Computing Science
PHD
7
12.43
criminology
NCR
34
12.44
12
-
Criminology
PHD
0
-
•
Languages & Linguistics
MA
4
7
10.00
16.43
9
15
Languages
Languages
&
& LinguisticsLinguistics
MAT
PHD
2
26.00
24
Economics
MA
61
7.31
6
18
Economics
PHD
24
19.21
Education
MAE
99
11.88
12
10
Education
MED
152
10.84
13
Education
MSE
4
12.50
Education
PHD
6
12.17
11
English
MA
39
13.23
12
19
English
PHD
7
18.86
Engineering Science
MAP
6
8.33
7
-
Engineering Science
MEN
0
-
-
Engineering Science
PHD
0
-
Geography
MA
12
11.92
11
9
Geography
MSC
12
8.67
17
Geography
PHD
10
21.40
History
MA
18
11.61
11
15
History
PHD
4
19.00
.
Kinesiology
MSK
28
10.04
10
15
Kinesiology
PHD
6
17.17
Mathematics & Statistics
MSC
40
8.30
8
13
Mathematics & Statistics
PHD
12
14.25
Nat'l Resource Management
MRN
47
11.09
9
 
Times for Degree Completion for Graduands Completing Degree Requirements
in 85-3 through 89-3 as of February 2,, l990
Philosophy.
MA
1
19.00
19
Physics
MSC
24
9.33
13.36
9
13
Physics
PHD
14
political Science
MA
9
10.22
8
Psychology
MA
36
26
7.94
17.46
7
17
Psychology
PHD
Sociology & Anthropology
MA
10
11.80
21.50
11
23
Sociology & Anthropology
PHD
4
Special Arrangements
MAS
7
10.14
15.00
8
16
Special Arrangements
MSS
3
10
17.20
17
Special Arrangements
PHS
Women's Studies
MA
1
7.00
7
Totals: 1053 Master's GraduandS and 201 Ph.D. Graduands
10.38 = Average Semesters in the Master's Program Overall
10 = Median Semesters in the Master's Program Overall
16-98 = Average Semesters in the PhD Program Overall
16 = Median Semesters in the PhD Program Overall
Note: These data are based on the total elapsed time in program and do not
take into account part-time or on-leave status.
I*
0
 
TABLE III
. ?
SUMMARY DATA ON SFU GRADUATE GRADE POINT AVERAGES OF SFU STUDENTS
WHO HAVE TAKEN SFU GRADUATE COURSES AS OF THE END OF SEMESTER 89-3
All Students February 6, 1990
# of
CGPA
CGPA
CGPA
CGPA
CGPA
CGPA
Dept
Stu.
25%
20%
10%
Aver.
Med.
Wted.
ARCH 32
4.00
4.00
4.00
3.77
3.81
3.74
BISC 141
3.94
4.00
4.00
3.71 3.78
3.69
BUS 149
3.67
3.67
3.83
3.45
3.46
3.43
CHEM 46
3.71
3.83
4.00
3.57
3.67 3.55
CMNS 49
4.00
4.00
4.00
3.75
3.78
3.76
CMPT
56
3.83
3.94
4.00
3.60
3.67
3.61
CRIM 62
4.00
4.00
4.00
3.76
3.82
3.74
DLLL 21
3.94
4.00
4.00
3.68
3.67 3.76
ECON
64
3.62
3.66
3.74
3.39
3.44
3.43
EDUC
305
3.89
3.91
4.00
3.68
3.72
3.68
ENGL 48
4.00
4.00
4.00
3.69
3.75
3.73
ENSC
38
3.73
3.75
3.83
3.48
3.50
3.54
GEOG 32
. 3.89
4.00
4.00
3.59
3.56
3.53
HIST 29
3.92
3.92
4.00
3.72
3.80
3.72
KIN
39
3.87
3.92
4.00
3.67
3.75
3.66
MAST 59
3.95
3.96
4.00
3.65
3.78
3.72
MRN
56
3.77
3.79
3.85
3.55
3.56
3.59
PHIL 5
3.58
3.58
4.00
3.28
3.50
3.48
PHYS
45
3.91
4.00
4.00
3.56
3.67
3.58
. ?
POL
25
3.83
3.83
3.83
3.60 3.58
3.60
PSYC
91
3.94
4.00
4.00
3.76 3.81
3.74
SA
18
4.00
4.00
4.00
3.84
3.83
3.84
SAR
26
4.00
4.00
4.00
3.78
3.87
3.74
WS 11
3.75
3.75
3.80
3.66
3.67
3.67
Total
1447
3.89
3.93
4.00
3.64
3.67
3.63
 
Dept Pgm
?
Name
SAR
MAS
SAR
HAS
SAR
MAS
SAR
HAS
SAR
HAS
SAR
MAS
SAR HAS
TABLE IV
S
Times for Degree Completion for Graduands Completing Degree Requirements
in 85-3 through 89-3 as of February 6, 1990
Semester Semester Semesters
Completed Started in Program
?
86-1 ?
83-3 ?
8
?
85-3 ?
82-3 ?
10
?
88-1 ?
85-3 ?
8
?
86-3
?
84-3
?
7
?
88-3 ?
83-3 ?
16
?
89-2 ?
87-3 ?
6
?
88-3 ?
83-3 ?
16
SAR MAS ?
7 Graduands; 10.14 = Average Semesters in Program
8 = Median Semesters in Program
Note: These data are based on the total elapsed time in program and do not
take into account part-time or on-leave status.
.
SAR MSS
85-3 ?
78-3 22
SAR MSS
85-3 ?
80-3
16
SAR MSS
87-3 ?
85-3
7
SAR MSS 3 Graduands; ?
15.00 =
Average Semesters in
Program
16 =
Median Semesters in Program
Note: These
data are based on the
total elapsed time in
program and do not
take into account part-time
or on-leave status.
SAR
PHS
88-1 ?
83-1
16
SAR
PHS
88-1 ?
85-3
8
SAR
PHS
86-2
?
80-1
20
SAR
PHS
87-1 ?
81-2
18
SAR
PHS
86-2 ?
81-1
17
SAR
PHS
86-3 ?
82-3
13
SAR
PHS
86-3 ?
79-3 22
SAR
PHS
86-2 ?
78-2
25
SAR PHS
88-3 ?
82-3
19
SAR
PHS
87-1 ?
82-3
14
SAR PHS 10 Graduands; 17.20 = Average Semesters in Program
17 = Median Semesters in Program
Note: These data are based on the total elapsed time in program and do not
take into account part-time or on-leave status.
0
 
APPENDIX A
eport to Senate of the Activities of the Senate Graduate Studies Committee from January 1989 to
December 1989.
Number of Meetings - 7
The Senate Graduate Studies Committee with delegated power from Senate to:-
1.
Recommendations for Admission under Special Arrangements. Seven recommendations were con-
sidered. Four recommendations were considered once and approved. One recommendation was
considered at three meetings and was not approved. Two recommendations
.
were rejected.
The procedure for evaluating Applications for Admission under Special Arrangements was re-
vised in that these admissions will be evaluated by the Dean of Graduate Studies and an ad
hoc subcommittee of the Senate Graduate Studies Committee composed of the Graduate Program
Committee Chair(s) and at least one student SGSC member, all in the subject areas relevant
to the proposed graduate work. The SGSC delegates to the Dean of Graduate Studies the
authority to approve or reject an application, excep in cases where any member of the sub-
committee or the proposed senior supervisor disagrees with the decision, in which case the
application will be considered by the SGSC.
2.
Approved the following changes in the General Regulations - Graduate Studies:
a) Part-time Study: The graduate programs approved for part-time study are the EMBA, M.Eng
. ?
and MRM. Any program maybe amenable to part-time study if approved by the relevant
Graduate Program Committee.
The following addition to the criteria for part-time enrollment was approved:
The student will be spending no more than 50% of his or her productive time on his or
her graduate studies.
Graduate Studies Regulation 1.12.1 was changed
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,
TO: ?
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 re-
quirements of the Master's degree must be completed within six calendar years
of initial enrolment as a Master's student.
Graduate Studies Regulation 1.12.1 was changed
FROM: A student shall complete all the requirements for a Doctoral degree within
eight calendar years of enrolment as a Doctoral student.
TO: ?
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.
 
-2 -
Graduate Studies Regulation 1.6.3 was changed
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 circum-
stances, 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. Senior Supervisor
must hold the rank of Assistant Professor or above.
TO:
?
?
In consultation with the student, the Graduate Program Committee shall 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 equivalent enrolment after the student's admission, although
....etc.
Graduate Curriculum Changes in the Departments of Political Science, Chemistry, Physics,
School of Computing Science, School of Engineering Science, Natural Resources Mangement,
the Day and Executive MBA program.
Approval of new graduate courses in the Departments of Natural Resources Management,
Biological Sciences, Economics, Languages, Literature and Linguistics, Mathematics and
Statistics, the Day and Executive MBA program and the Faculty of Education.
Course revisions in the Department of Geography and Archaeology.
The notation "GN", meaning "Grade Not Submitted" was approved and added to the Graduate
Grading System for the 1990 Fall Semester.
7. ?
Two new programs were approved: Master of Aquaculture and Master of Fine Arts.
S
S

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