FOR INFORMATION
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SIMON .FRASER UNIVERSITY
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Senate
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FROM:
Wiliiam G. Saywell
President
RE:
President's Statement of Direction
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DATE:
April 20, 1988
and Intent
At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Advanced Education and Job
Training gave notice to the three public universities that they were required to
submit institutional ten year plans by 15 April 1988. Following discussion, it was
agreed that the Ministry's request could be satisfied by each president preparing
an informal statement of planning direction and intent. The statement which I
submitted is attached.
Opportunities for feedback and comment were given to the vice presidents,
deans, department chairs and academic directors.. The final document was then
presented to SOAP for information. Please appreciate that the process imposed on
the University carried its own imperative and necessarily had an effect on the
substance of my response. I expect you will agree with me that long-term planning
properly must begin within individual programs and that it demands a far more
considered and consultative approach than the present exercise allowed.
Nevertheless, I wish to table this document with Senate for information.
William
Enclosure
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Simon Fraser University
"TEN YEARS INTO THE FUTURE"
The President's Statement of Direction and Intent
1.
PREAMBLE
Simon Fraser University shares with all research-intensive educational
institutions the fundamental mission to discover, transmit and preserve
knowledge. This mission depends for its success on an active spirit of free
enquiry supported by the companion principles of university autonomy and
public accountability.
Over the coming decade, the vitality of the core liberal arts and sciences will be
preserved. The University also will continue its tradition of innovative
programmes by demonstrating flexibility when responding to emerging social,
economic and cultural needs. While a course for the future must be set, no
institution can predict all of the demands and opportunities that will come its way
over a ten year horizon. Nevertheless, as Simon Fraser University enters its next
decade of development, it will be guided by the planning objectives set out
below. Realizing them will require both determination and adequate
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government funding.
2.
RESEARCH
The University has a fundamental commitment to the expansion of knowledge
and to basic research in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences
and the applied sciences. A belief in the value to society of basic research and
graduate teaching underlies the very existence Simon Fraser University and
complements the belief that social and economic development are shaped and
determined by the new knowledge our universities create.
As the University continues to develop and grow in stature, graduate teaching
and research will assume an even more important role than in the past. The
demand for Doctoral and Masters graduates in British Columbia and Canada is
predicted to increase dramatically. Simon Fraser University will be at the
forefront in responding to this demand. The ratio of graduate to undergraduate
students wUl increase significantly over the coming decade and enrolments in
the M.Sc., M.A. and Ph.D. programmes at Simon Fraser University will approach
20% of the total student population.
There will be an increasing emphasis on attracting the finest post-graduate
scholars to Simon Fraser University through improved scholarship and
fellowship programmes and through other avenues of graduate student support.
The infrastructure resources so essential to graduate teaching and research will
be strengthened and enhanced both in human and physical terms.
A key to the maintenance and development of world class research programmes
lies in the quality of the faculty. Over the next ten years, Simon Fraser University
will seize the unique opportunity provided by its unusual faculty age-profile to
further strengthen and renew its faculty complement, thereby positioning the
University to enter the 2000's with an exceptionally strong base of outstanding
research faculty.
The boundaries between the traditional disciplines in the natural sciences and in
the applied sciences are being eroded. At the same time, the traditional gaps
between the sciences, the humanities and the social sciences are fast being
closed. The newly developing research areas and technologies are often very
interdisciplinary in nature. Simon Fraser University is again in a unique position
to seize the initiative because of the strong interdisciplinary collaborations that
have been established at the University.
Existing centres of research excellence and new centres -- such as those in the
Institute of the Humanities, the Centre for Pest Management, the Institute for
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, the Institute for Agriculture Research, the
Research Centre of Gerontology and the programmes in Engineering Science
and Systems Science -- will be enthusiastically cultivated. Joint research
initiatives with other universities and centres within B.C. and across Canada,
such as those at TRIUMF and the Bamfield Marine Station, will continue to be
important. International collaboration will be supported and encouraged, both
through basic research programmes and through agencies such as IDRC and
CIDA.
The University will vigorously pursue all National and Provincial sources of
research funding and, where appropriate, international sources. The University
will be an active participant in the recently announced competition for national
Centres of Excellence and will continue to support and be actively involved with
the proposal to establish a KAON facility at TRIUMF.
The University will target an increase of 10% per annum in external research
grants and contracts over the next 10 years.
The University will place research results and technological discoveries in a
commercial or social setting by promoting technological transfer; through
consulting activities; and by providing research services to government, the
private sector, and the community. In this way Simon Fraser University in
partnership with its sister institutions and acting alone will discharge its
responsibility to the social and economic development of British Columbia and
Canada.
3.
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INSTRUCTION
Simon Fraser will deliver quality, instruction in the core subjects of the sciences,
the humanities and the social sciences and will develop in its students the
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capacity for critical thinking, innovation and sound judgement needed to place
vocationally relevant skills in a broader context.
The University will encourage innovative and emerging fields of study where
they fill a demonstrable provincial or national need and where they build on the
institution's existing academic strengths.
The unique and distinguishing interdisciplinary focus of the University's teaching
programmes will be emphasized.
Professional and applied studies at Simon Fraser University will continue to be
characterized by non-traditional and innovative approaches to educational
programming.
Simon Fraser University historically has had astrong commitment to accessibility
and lifelong learning. But it cannot continue to respond to the pressures for
growth in enrolment with resources inadequate for the maintenance of high
levels of quality. Accessibility is a public policy issue and can only be
determined by government when setting budgetary priorities. Given its
geographic location and its growing reputation for excellence, Simon Fraser
University will continue to be under greater pressure to grow than almost any
other Canadian university. Although it is prepared to respond positively to these
pressures, Simon Fraser University can only do so if its operating and capital
budgets are sufficient to maintain academic quality and to bring student-faculty
ratios and space entitlements into harmony with its sister institutions in British
Columbia. Budget information also must be available well enough in advance to
allow rational planning to take place.
Simon Fraser University hopes that resources to continue the trimester system
will be forthcoming in order to permit students flexible entry to study programmes
at three points throughout the academic year; offer opportunities for the
completion of a four-year degree programme in less than three years; provide
access to students who wish to schedule study while maintaining their place in
the workforce or the family; and allow the University to deploy effectively its
resources on a cost/efficient, year-round basis. Inadequate resources will force
the University to reconsider and possibly revise or discontinue the trimester
system.
Current program innovations in Cooperative Education and Employment
Internships for students will be encouraged to grow.
For students leaving high school or transferring from community colleges,
special attention will be directed at recruiting scholars who show exceptional
academic promise.
Opportunities for participation by mature and part-time students, especially those
seeking educational upgrading and professional re-training, will be promoted.
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Simon Fraser University believes that the total educational experience of its
students is enhanced by the opportunity of living in residence on campus. Its
current residential facilities accommodate a smaller percentage of its students
than any other major Canadian university. The University will attempt to double
the residential population of its student body over the next decade.
Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre -- the University's satelite campus in
Vancouver's downtown core -- will evolve as a key resource in extending
community access to both credit and non-credit instruction. Within the current
ten year planning horizon, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre will be
nationally recognized for excellence in the delivery of advanced recurrent
education.
The development and delivery of Distance Education programmes, will receive
ongoing support. Distance Education services will remain an important
component of Simon Frasers commitment to accessibility. Instruction will
continue to target those individuals who find difficulty in gaining physical access
to campus-based learning. In cooperation with other institutions, educational
telecommunications technology will be employed in Distance Education
delivery.
As a combined function of its belief in lifelong learning and its commitment to
accessibility, the University will further develop its reputation for excellence in
mounting specially designed programmes of Continuing Studies that serve
community needs and aspirations.
Through other outreach activities such as its Interior Programs and similar
special initiatives, the University will continue to make face-to-face instructional
opportunities available at locations within the province that otherwise would be
denied immediate educational access.
Recognizing that the world has entered a new era in which the command of high
technology and information provides the competitive edge, high priority will be
given to the development and use of "information age" technology in research
and teaching. Within the ten year planning horizon, Simon Fraser will be
distinguished for its innovations in computer-based instruction and for the
breadth of student and faculty access to on-campus computing resources.
4. COMMUNITY SERVICE
The University will deliver community services that can be seen to benefit local,
regional, provincial and national interests.
Initiatives will be encouraged which support new job creation and community
economic development such as the SFU Enterprise Centre, the University!
Industry Liaison Office and the Centre for Tourism Policy, Planning and
Research.
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Specially tailored short courses for community groups and small business will be
highlighted as a centerpiece in the University's. outreach service.
The relationship between the University and the community is mutually
supportive. While the University makes many contributions to the community-at-
large, the community also has been called upon to support the institution through
a national capital drive known as the "Bridge to the Future Campaign" -- a
funding venture which seeks to raise $32 million from individual and corporate
donations. It is a key objective of University planning to achieve the following
goals which have been established for the Bridge to the Future Campaign:
The University will target special support to young programs
that possess particular contemporary significance. Examples
include computer and engineering science, international
business, gerontology, aquatic and biotechnology research,
forensic psychology and Canada's relations with the
Developing World and the Pacific Rim.
The Bridge to the Future Campaign will assist in the
development of Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre to
create a university/community enterprise which will address
the particular educational needs of the Lower Mainland's
urban core.
• Funds from the campaign will be used to sponsor excellence
in faculty performance by creating endowed professorships,
and in student performance by enhancing our scholarship
programmes.
5. ?
International Education
Within ten years, Simon Fraser University will be nationally recognized as the
Canadian centre of excellence for international education.
The University will continue its active part in the public policy initiative to expand
trade and other relations with the Asia Pacific region by promoting:
Academic linkages with educational institutions in the region.
Asia Pacific content in the University's curricula and the
creation of endowed professorships such as the Chair of
International Business.
Research and instruction in development studies through new
centres such as the Institute for the Study of Canada and the
Developing World.
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Asia Pacific advisory services to government and the private
sector through community-based activities such as the new
Centre for International Communication.
The delivery of Official Development Assistance projects
funded by national and multilateral aid agencies.
Foreign student access to the University's research and
teaching programmes.
6.
COOPERATION
Simon Fraser University will maintain its tradition of cooperating fully with other
post-secondary institutions in. British Columbia in an effort to ensure the most
efficient use of public resources and to guarantee the most comprehensive and
complementary spectrum of educational programmes.
Efforts to support the instructional objectives of provincial colleges and institutes
will be extended and Simon Fraser's special relationships such as those with
Douglas College, the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, and the British
Columbia Institute of Technology , will be encouraged.
Efforts to support the research objectives of the province's three public
universities will be extended by an even firmer resolve to seek new areas of
collaboration. It is a univerity's commitment to research that distinguishes it from
other post-secondary institutions. All good universities are research intensive.
All good university systems establish mutual respect and a commitment to
collaboration.
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