SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
S.88-54
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MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate ?
From:
J.W.G. Ivany
Chair, SCAP
Subject: ?
Faculty of Arts - Change of
?
Date:
?
November 17, 1988
Requirements
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.88-54 the following changes
a)
in general program requirements in the Faculty of Arts
b)
in honours program requirements in the Faculty of Arts
I.
SIMON FBASER UNIVERSITY
.
?
Office of the Dean
?
&
Faculty of Arts
?
/4fC
MEMORANDUM
To: ?
W.R. Heath, Secretary
?
From: ?
Sheila Roberts
Senate Committee on
?
Faculty of Arts
Undergraduate Studies
?
Curriculum Committee
Subject: Curriculum Revision
?
Date: ?
November
17, 1988
The Faculty of Arts Curriculum Committee at its meeting of October 6, 1988
approved changes to the Faculty Requirements reducing the required number of
hours taken in the Faculty, and specifying that half of the hours required to be
taken outside of the major department must be taken within Arts.
This change was sent out to the faculty for referendum and was overwhelmingly
approved.
C.E-2
4
SIMON FRASER UNLVESITY
?
Office of the Dean
?
Faculty of Arts
MEMORANDUM
To: Ross Saunders?
Chair, SCUS
Re: Changes in Faculty of
Arts Degree Requirement
From: Ellen Gee
Associate Dean of Arts
Date: October 11, 1988
At the October 6 meeting of FACC, the following change in degree
requirements was approved. Could you please place it on the next agenda of
SCUS.
GENERAL PROGRAM - REQUIREMENTS
FROM:
a)
At least 70 semester hours in Arts subjects.
b)
At least 45 semester hours in upper division courses which must include at
least 30 semester hours
in upper division courses in an
Arts major program.*
c)
Lower division prerequisites for at least one Arts major program.
d)
Satisfaction of the
Faculty of Arts breadth requirements (see below).
e)
At least 30 semester hours taken outside the major department.
TO:
a)
At least 65 semester hours in Arts subjects.
b)
At least 45 semester hours in upper division courses which must include at
least 30 semester hours in upper division courses in an Arts major program.*
c)
Lower division prerequisites for at least one Arts major program.
d)
Satisfaction of the Faculty of Arts breadth requirements (see below).
e)
At least 30 semester ho rs taken outside the major department, which
mi*st includ
5rripUbieCtS.
HONOURS PROGRAM - REQUIREMENTS
FROM:
a) At least 82 semester hours in Arts subjects.
.
?
b) At least
60
semester hours in upper division courses which must include at
least
50
semester hours in upper division courses in an Arts honors
program.*
c)
Lower division prerequisites for at least one Arts honors program.
d)
Satisfaction of the Faculty of Arts breadth requirements (see below).
e)
At least 30 semester hours taken outside the honors department.
TO:
a)
At least
65
semester hours in Arts subjects.
b)
At least
60
semester hours in upper division courses which must include at
least
50
semester hours in upper division courses in an Arts honors
program.*
c)
Lower division prerequisites for at least one Arts honors program.
d)
Satisfaction of the Faculty of Arts breadth requirements (see below).
e)
At
least 30 semester hours taken outside the honors department, which
muct includcat
ieast-f5-semesLer-hours-in AisuIjeds
ckM1-a by 5eia1-e.'
Is.
?
RATIONALE:
a) Change from 70 to
65
hours in Arts Subjects
1)
For honors students, there
is
never a problem in students meeting
minimum hours in Arts subjects; indeed, most far exceed the minimum.
Also, for major students, the vast majority fulfill the
70
hours as presently
stipulated. However, students who add a major late in their programs, or
change faculties late in their programs have difficulty fulfilling this
requirement. These students usually are required to complete extra hours to
fulfill the requirement and the rigorous application of the
70
hour
requirement presents considerable hardship to a few of them.
2)
When the requirements were instituted in
1975,
the committee had no
particular reason for choosing 70/82 but said
that the requirement could be
revised when it had been tested after a few years. This review has never
taken place, and this requirement is waived more often than any other.
Advisors have not been given clear guidelines regarding the
70
hours - thus,
at graduation requests for waivers are granted.
3. By reducing the
70
hours to
65
and stating that
the committee will
waive this requirement, advisors will be able to give students clear and
strong directives.
b)
Addition of "which must include at least 15 hours in Arts subjects"
• ?
The imposing of an Arts breadth requirement is in the spirit of the
committee's belief in
breadth for Arts students transferring into Arts to take
courses in Arts from other than their major/minor department.
Memorandum
?
C ?
-21
Office
Faculty
of the
of ArtsDean
?
?
70 14r'
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
TO: ELLEN GEE
?
FROM: EVAN ALDERSON
INCO1G CHAnFACC ?
OUTGOING CHAiR, FACC
RE: ?
DATE: AUGUST 19, 1988
One of the issues that has frequently arisen in the FACC during my chairmanship is requests for
waivers of the Faculty of Arts degree requirement that 70 hours of credit should be completed
within the Faculty of Arts. The Committee, tomy knowledge, has never developed a very clear
rationale for this specific requirement. Several individual cases have come before the Committee
that have made it appear unreasonable to some members of the Committee to enforece the require-
ment strictly. On the other hand, several committee members have felt that whatever the reasons
for the requirement, it is not there to be waived upon request.
The last time this issue arose, at the beginning of the summer semester, I promised to have one of
the subcommittees look at the issue. I have not done so, but I have a proposal to make that could
form the basis for subcommittee deliberations under your chairmanship.
I propose that the requirement for "At ]east 70 hours in Arts subjects" be dropped, and that the
requirement for "At least 30 semester hours taken outside the major department" be amended to
rea± "At least 30 hours taken outside the major department, which must include at ]east 15 hours
in Arts subjects."
My reasons for proposing this change are as follows:
1.
It seems to me that the best rationale for the present 70 hours requirement is that for
an Arts degree, a student should take over half of his or her work in this Faculty.
I agree with this principle, and my proposal would maintain it, in as much as all
majors in the Faculty require at ]east
45
hours of work in the major subject.
2.
In addition, however, I think the requirement is intended as a kind of disguised
breadth requirement, which we would do better tostate more directly. For
example, in the case of a ansfer student with a science background who takes
60 hours of Psychology and then requests a B.A. with a major in Psychology:
would it not make more sense to insist that such a student should do 15 hours in
Arts but outside Psychology, than to insist that he or she do 10 more hours in Arts
which could include Psychology? I think this principle of breadth is more defen-
sible, and quite appropriate for this Faculty to insist upon.
Please note that if the subcommittee decides this idea bears further discussion, it will have to decide
whether and how to modify the requirements for an Honors Program.
1
0.
EA/nm
cc: S. Roberts
?
.
