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S iI2
SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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(as at Oct. 1/81)
MEMORANDUM
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To ..... SENAT.
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FroTE COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC PLANNING!
SEAt Cb YtE
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AUAE
STUDIES
ENROLMENT LIMITATIONS - DEPARTMENT OF
Su6Iectug.INE5s. •ADMINI•ST•RAT•ION ......................DatOOCTOBER. .1
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.1981.................................
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MOTION: ?
That Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors, as set forth in S.81-126, the following changes
to the present regulations on enrolment limitations for the
Department of Business Administration:
Prior to the publication of the pre-registration booklet for
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each Fall semester the Department of Business Administration
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will establish the minimum CUM. C.P.A. level required for
acceptance into its minor, major, honors or other programs
or into the Department's Upper Division courses for the
academic year - Fall, Spring, Summer. This criterion will
he that CUM. G.P.A. between 2.25 and 2.60 which is predicted
to result in a total of between 400 to 500 new students accep-
ted annually into the Department's programs. (Students having
a CUM. G.P.A. of 2.6 or higher will be accepted into the
Department's programs regardless of total number of applications;
S
students below 2.25 will not be accepted under any circumstances.)
* To remain in a program in Business Administration, a student
will be expected to maintain at least the minimum level of CUM
G.P.A. which was required for his/her initial acceptance into
the program.
Students who wish to take courses in the Department but who are
not in designated programs will be governed by the GUM. G.P.A. in
effect at the time of their course registration.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. The proposal to vary the regulations approved by Senate a year ago pertaining
to enrolment limitations in Business Administration has been reviewed at SCAP
and SCUS and is now recommended to Senate.
* 2. The third paragraph of the above motion was discussed by both bodies but
final wording was not then established. It is incomplete in its present form;
a rewording will be provided at Senate.
3. There was concurrence at the Committees that the "Note .. ." at the end of
the motion on the orignal paper is not part of the present submission. It,
with related matters, will receive early attention at SCAP and/or SCUS as
appropriate.
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4.
It is intended that the proposed regulations apply to those entering upper
division courses and programs In Business Administration for the Fall semester
82-3 and thereafter.
Decision is required at this time in order that students will have as much
advance warning as possible of the possibility of change.
5.
At the Committee meetings some members indicated preference for a fixed quota
system, others supported the present recommendations with decision of those
bodies as indicated in the motion above.
6.
There was indication of some concern that the procedures could lead to grade
inflation but there was conclusion that this could be reasonably controlled.
Some additional information on statistics will be available at the meeting
of Senate.
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SiMON FRASER
MEMORANDUM
UNIVERSITY
J ir
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To ...... ....... ...
.
.
.M.Evans ..
.
ecretar.
S .C.0 .S.
Subjed..r.
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.......
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i.i.i.cp.s................
Business Administration
dministrative
Assistant to the Dean of Arts
Date..
1981
7
0908
CHANGES TO PRESENT REGULATIONS
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The Faculty of Arts Curriculum Committee at its meeting of
July 9, 1981 approved the proposed changes to the Enrolment
Limitations in the Department of Business Administration. Would
you please place the attached changes on the agenda of the next
SCUS meeting.
Thank you.
S. Roberts
cc. C. Hoyt
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Registrar's Note: In the attachments there is a copy of the regulations as
approved by Senate in 1980 under Paper S.80-117. It is intended that
various clauses of those regulations will continue other than as varied
by the present paper.
(There were modifications in wording for the present proposal approved
by the Faculty of Arts Curriculum Committee in August/September.)
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FIR
iiViUi' r nArn urn v iiwi ii
MEMORANDUM
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ToX.)!.
P.r.
Subj.d..
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9L•tn•t•
Quota
From..a...Ho
y t , Chairman
Mi.sc.Mt.cn
In September 1980,
Senate approved a motion granting authority to the Department
of Business Administration to
limit enrolment in all Upper Division courses in
the
Department to those students who have a Cumulative Grade Point Average of
2.25. The attached
Senate document S80-117 gives the details of the motion
passed at that time.
When
this action was taken, it was recognized that the 2.25 minimum Grade Point
might be insufficient to attain
a relationship between teaching faculty and
undergraduate
students necessary to maintain the quality of the
program. Since
enrolment in.Departmental courses, and
number of students choosing to major
in
Business Administratioü has been growing at a rate of
some 22-24% per year, it
was felt at that
time that that growth trend was due to level off.
However, subsequent
experience
has shown this not to be the case.
In
fact, the
following intervening events
have exacerbated the situation to the point where
it is clear
that the 2.25 criterion will not be sufficient;
1.
Faculty
Resources. The critical shortage of Business Administration
faculty in
Canada continues to worsen. This, coupled with the inflated
level of
housing prices in the Vancouver area, make the prospect of
solving
the problem through merely
, adding faculty quite unrealistic.
2.
Student Enrolment. Enrolment pressures continue to mount. Enrolments
during
812 were up 46%over 80-2. Undergraduate enrolments in Business
have been running at about
17% of the University total; at the close of
pre-registration for the Fall 81-3 term, Business enrolments have riser,
to over
20% of the
University total even
after the imposition of the
2.25
C.P.A. requirement.
Also,
UBC has recently raised their entry
requirements to
the Faculty of Commerce to admit only 350-375 per year.
The impact of this diversion of students into our program is yet to he
felt.
3.
Alternatives. To arbitrarily limit class
sizes
at the upper level,
or to further tighten grading standards to a punitive J.eve]., is totally
unfair to students.
Rather than attempt to constantly adjust, each time with Senate approval, the
minimum Grade Point Average, and to minimize uncertainty to the preparing
student, the Department is making the following request for a flexible
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C.P.A. through the mechanism of the attached Motion. Essentia].ly, the Motion
permits the Department to strive to achieve an undergraduate student population
of 400-500 admissions per year - which will result in a total number of majors
in the third and fourth year at any one time of approximately 1,250 students.
continued
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Lc.u.s.
August 21, 1981
Page two
This is to be achieved by varying the Grade Point requirement for third year
entry from 2.25 to 2.6. That is, no student, whether, a Business Administration
major or otherwise, will be admitted to Upper Levels courses
at any time
unless the Cumulative Grade Point Average is 2.25 or higher. On the other
hand, any student with a 2.6 C.G.P.A. or above will be admitted without respec-
to
the quota being sought. While this poses some
uncertainty on
those students
whose Grade Points are between the two boundaries, those students with a 2.6
or above will be assured of admission upon attaining 60 credit hours at the
University. ?
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The Notion is attached.
Attachments.
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MOTION
Prior to
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the publication of the pre-registration booklet for each Fall
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semester the Department of Business Administration will establish the minimum
CUM. G ; .P.A. level required
for
acceptance into its minor, major, honors or
other programs or into the department's Upper Division courses for the academic
year - FaU,. Spring., Summer. This criterion will be that CUM. GP.A. between
2.25 and 2.60 which is predicted to result in a total of between 400 to 500
new students accepted annually into the department's programs. (Students
having a
CUM.. G.P.A. of
2.6 or higher will be accepted into the department's
programs regardless of totali numbers ofapplications; students below 2.25
wil.l not, be accepted under any circumstances.)
To remain in a program in ,
Business Administration, a student will be
expected to maintain, at least the minimum level of CUM. C.P.A. which was
required
for his/her initial acceptance into the program.
Students who wish to take courses in the department but who are not in
designated
programs will be governed by the CUM. C.P.A. in effect at the
time. of their course registration:.
NOTE:
ft
is proposed that students in Extended Studies programs and Special
Students will be given a.lower registration priority than regular
students, and will be held to the same entry requirements as regular
students in the program.
S.
SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY ?
S-04
/7
MEMORANDUM
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As amended and approved
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by Senate at its meeting
of October 6, 1980.
To .............. SENATE ........................................................................From...SENATE COMMITTEE..ON...UNDERGRADUATE................
STUDIES (SENATE COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC
. PLANNING).......................................................................................
REGULATIONS - RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRY TO
Subject .... AND. ..CONTLNUAT.LON...IN..MINOR,...MMOR..AND.......
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Date ... SEPTEMBER ... 19.,....19.80
. ............................ ................ ..............
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HONORS PROGRAMS AND TO UPPER DIVISION
TO RELATED JOINT PROGRAMS OR COURSES
Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate
Studies at its meetings of August 5, September 9, September 16, and
following discussions by the Senate Committee on Academic Planning at
its meeting of September 10, 1980, gives rise to the following motion:
"That Senate approve and recommend approval to the
Board of Governors, as set forth in S.80-117_,
regulations as follow:
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SCUS 80-43B, as approved by
SCUS September 16, 1980
REGULATIONS - RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRY TO AND CONTINUATION
IN MINOR, MAJOR
AND HONORS PROGRAMS AND TO UPPER DIVISION COURSES IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRA-
TION, OR TO RELATED JOINT PROGRAMS OR COURSES
(These regulations are in addition to the general University and Faculty
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of Arts regulations covering such matters as admission to the University,
acceptance into and continuance in minor, major, honors programs, require-
ments for graduation. Except as described herein they do not apply to
BUEC courses.)
1.
A student desiring to take a minor, or a major, or an honors program
in Business Administration, or a combined major or honors program in
Business Administration and Economics, may continue to Indicate on
registration forms the intended program as under current regulations
and practice.
2.
For formal declaration and formal acceptance into any one of these
programs involving Business Administration a student must be regis-
tering for a semester in which the 61st or higher credit hour Is to
be taken and normally will be expected to have completed or be
registered in a semester completing the 57th credit hour. Other
cases will be reviewed and determined by the Department.
3.
To be formally accepted into a minor or major program the student
will be required to have a cumulative grade point average of 2.25
or higher at the time of acceptance. The usual higher avexage for
honors entry will continue to be applied.
4.
To remain In a minor-or major program the student will be required
to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.25 or higher. The
usual higher average required to continue in an honors program will
continue to be applied. (Students undertaking a minor program in
Business Administration by use of BUEC courses are required to fulfil
this regulation of a cumulating grade point average of 2.25 or
higher.)
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5..
Ent-ry.
to and registration in any upper division Business-Administration
course requires
(a)
That the student be or have been formally accepted into one of
these minor or major or honors programs involving Business
Administration, and be eligible to continue in the program, or
(b)
That the student have completed or be registered in a semester
completing the 57th or higher credit-hour and have a cumulative
grade point average of 2.25 or higher. Other cases may be reviewed
and determined by the Department.
For entry and registration in subsequent Business Administration upper
division courses the student will be required
to
maintain a cumulative
grade point average of 2.25 or higher.
6. If during a semester (fór example during preregistration), Departmental
assessment is made on the basis of student record then available, and
decision is to formally accept the student into one of these programs,
Or
to
permit the student to register for one or more upper division courses
in Business Administration, that decision shall stand for the immediately
approaching (or just commenced) semester. It will not be cancelled'because
"of
results known at the end of term, other than for failure to complete
Prerequisites, or action under general University regulations resulting
in Required to Withdraw or Permanent Withdrawal status, or other general
regulations. it will not automatically stand for later semesters; updated
data would apply.
If the academic record at the time of review was too low for a student to
be authorized for acceptance to a program or to take upper division courses
but the end of term record for the semester just completed is adequate, the
student then may seek adjustment through the Department and following general
regulations either
(a) proceed through In-Person registration if not already registered, or
(b) proceed through adjustment through the Course-Change period, if
already registered.
7.
For
students entering Simon Fraser University on the basis of work elsewhere
the cumulative grade point average will be taken to be.that determined
Under admissions regulations, normally on courses which can be considered
for transfer. After transfer the cumulative grade point average is based
on Simon Fraser University courses. Exceptional cases may be considered
by the Department.
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Where the average of astudent accepted into a program drops below that
required the earlier formal acceptance is no longer valid unless reviewed
by the Department and waiver granted for continuance.
90
Prerequisites for any course may be waived for individual students by the
School. In order for a course to be accepted as fulfilling a prerequiste
a student must have a grade of C- or higher.
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10.
The effective date for commencement of these regulations will be to affect
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40
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registrations for and after the Fall semester 1981. They will apply
generally to all students for then and thereafter granted or being
granted formal acceptance into these programs or, if not in a Business
Administration program, to students desiring to undertake one or more
upper division courses in Business Administration (unless waiver is
granted by the Department).
As it is not desired to impose hardship on students who already are
well advanced in their Business Administration programs, the following
provisions '
will apply to such students whose records would'indicate as
at September 1, 1981, that they would require not more than sixty credit
hours to complete the degree:
(a)
A student who lacks 'thirty or fewer credit hours needed to complete
degree requirements will have one year to complete without impact
from these new-regulations - (to August 1982).
complete
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two years to complete
(b)
The Department may consider further these or other exceptional cases
to lessen hardship.'
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GENERAL INFORMATION
For some years enrolment in Business Administration undergraduate
courses has reflected an annual increase of greater than 20%. The continual
growth and pressure on these programs has led to some difficulties in ade-
quately maintaining faculty strength and appropriate protection of program
quality. The Vice-President, Academic in. the Spring of 1980 requested D.
Birch, as Chairman of SCIJS, to establish and chair an ad hoc committee to
recommend measures to relieve the enrolment in Business Administration
specifically and to address the need for enrolment limitation more generally.
The committee was established and held several meetings during the Summer.
Members were D. R. Birch, Chairman; B. Schoner, Director of the School of
Business Administration and Economics; A. G. Sherwood, Chemistry; S. N.
Verdun-Jones, Criminology; H. M. Evans, Secretary. Some details will be
found in the attached paper entitled.SCUS 80-43.
The committee gaveconsideration to a number of approaches, as
described in that paper, and following discussion it made recommendations
to the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies for consideration at a
meeting of that body on August 5. SCUS held general discussion and indicated
there should be referral to the Department of Economics and the School of
Business Administration and Economics generally. There was also referral
for 'general comment purposes to the various Faculty curriculum committees.
The School of Business Administration and Economics responded
with some proposed changes to the document prepared by the committee and
there was full discussion of the various proposal by SCUS on September 9.
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At the same time the document was transmitted for general
cpmment and consideration by the Senate Committee on Academic Planning
on September 10. At the SCUS meeting of September 9 there was intensive
discussion and general approval of the proposals. The proposals had
been approved by the School and also by the Faculty.of Arts curriculum
committee.
Some questions wer& raised at SCAP, particularly with relation
to the grandfather clauses set forth in Item 10. The primary concern
was whether or not the original proposals would have sufficient impact
on enrolment limitations to achieve the desired and indeed necessary
results. On further consideration SCUS made adjustments to the latter
clauses in order to speed up and Intensify the effects of the regulations.
Throughout the course of the discussions there had been clear
attempts to try to find appropriate reconciliation of responsibility to
students who are already in courses and programs whilst at the same time
recognizing the difficulties and dangers that arise if growth were to
remain unchecked. It has been the desire of the committee to have this
material move forward to Senate as quickly as possible in the Fall term
in order that ?
any decisions made to change regulations can be
announced as early as possible to give students opportunity to measure
up to new regulations. The regulations currently proposed are designed
to affect those registering for Business Administration programs and
courses as at September 1981 and later.
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The proposal submitted by the committee and approved by SCUS
with some modifications utilizes a requirement of a cumulative grade
point average of 2.25 for students to be automatically permitted to
undertake upper division courses in Business Administration toward minors,
majors, honors or for other purposes in Business Administration. The
various committees have looked at the option of establishing a fixed quota
such as is done for certain aspects of the PDP program versus the present
proposals which utilize a cumulative average but allow for some flexibility
in terms of what the final quota number would actually be. This latter
system is deemed to be the more appropriate method for these particular
courses and programs. Students, advisors and others can know whether or
not an individual will he qualified and permitted to proceed. A fixed
number quota system invariably means that there is a time delay whilst
various individuals are ranked and selections made down to whatever the
predetermined number of persons is to be.
In making its decision to utilize this method it was emphasized
that liE these regulations are approved they are not to be taken as a
precedent by other departments as a means to change requirements for
cumulative averages; if the topic of cumulative grade point average is to
be addressed by any specific departments or programs in order to raise
academic requirements then focus should be on that topic directly.
It was observed that the proposal technically does not change
the average required by a student to qualify for graduation. If, for
example, a student maintains his average and proceeds into the last
semester but in that semester receives less than 2.25 but nevertheless
qualifies with the appropriate cumulative average of at least 2.0 and
with the appropriate courses, then requirements for graduation would have
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been fulfilled. A student, however, may have difficulty in proceeding this
•farinto the final semester because of insufficiently high grade point averages
in earlier work.
The Department noted that although the anticipated increase in
course enrolments for.Fall 80-3 was expected to be in the 20% range, it
actually hffncmased..significantly to be in the general 30% range. The
concerns of the School and Department had arisen over a number of semesters
because of impact of heavy potential enrolments on quality of programs and
courses, difficulty of obtaining well qualified faculty and instructional
staff, and some question as to whether any one program. in the University
proportionate to others should be so heavily weighted.
The Dean of Arts indicated that it may be necessary to come forward
with further proposals relative to this topic but that any such proposals,
if-required wouidnot beinop ittt ?
rovlfthe
tions which are required as a minimum. It was noted further that there are
significant administration costs which will occur through application of
the proposed regulations but a similar nature of costs would arise even if
a fixed quota system were utilized. The present system is deemed more
responsive to the overall needs of the University and the students.
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iiviui' r nrit ui'ii v rni .i. i
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MEMORANDUM
To .............
..............................................................................................From.........Senat.Committcnc
Senate
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Subject
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.............................................................................
ate
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hpt!mb1980
SUBJECT: Proposed Regulations - Restrictions on Entry to
and Continuation in Minor, Major and Honours
Programs in Business Administration, or to Related
Joint Programs or Courses
At its meeting on 10 September 1980, the Senate Committee on Academic
Planning reviewed the proposed recommendations. Because they have
broad implications for the entire university, materials were presented
to members of the Committee on Academic Planning for their information
and comments.
Discussion of S.C.A.P. focussed on two major issues. The first was
the extent to which the regulations as written would have the effect
of limiting enrolments in upper division Business Administration
courses by approximately one-third. It was noted that the grandfather
clauses (providing that a student who has thirty or less credit hours
required to complete degree requirements would have two years to
complete without impact from the new regulations, and the student who
has more than thirty and less than sixty hours required to complete
the degree requirements would have four years to complete without
impact from the regulations) would have the effect of substantially
deferring impact of the new regulations until late 1983 or early 1984.
The full impact of the basic regulation would, with the grandfather
clauses as written, not come into play until the fall semester 1985.
It was further noted that the basic problem is not one of space
limitations. Rather, the fundamental problem is the inability of the
Department of Business Administration to find and employ faculty in
sufficient numbers to both fill the currently authorized positions as
well as those that might be authorized should student numbers continue
to increase. The inability of the Department to obtain the faculty
resources required to staff for the current and anticipated enrolment
means that both students and current faculty suffer from a diminishment
in the quality of the present program.
The second major issue addressed the appropriateness of the regulations
being proposed. A concern expressed is that the introduction of a
2.25 cumulative grade point average for students seeking admission to
or continuation in upper division Business Administration courses
could be perceived by other academic departments as an attempt to
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raise academic standards. Such a perception could, in turn,
lead other departments to pursue a similar course of action.
It was made clear that the intent of the recommendations is to
address a program quality issue rather than one of student
academic standards. An option offered for consideration was
that of establishing a quota system for admission to the program.
While this approach has certain obvious advantages, the full-time/
part-time mix of students, the absence of a structured curriculum,
the trimester operation, :and the uncertainties posed for students
of not knowing the grade point average necessary for admission to
the program, detract from its initial attractiveness.
The Senate Committee onAcademic Planning urged that the proposed
regulations be returned to the School of Business Administration
and Edóñcmics for reconsideration of the issues described above.
If substantial revision was forthcoming, S.C.A.P. recommended that
the proposed regulations be re-considered by the Senate Committee
on Undergraduate Studies.
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