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DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES 

Subiect SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR GRADUATE

MAY 18, 1972

MOTION: ?

"That Senate approve the Special Arrangements 

for Graduate Students, as set forth in Paper 

S.72-73."

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY 

To: Senate 

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From: J. Wheatley 

Dean 

Graduate Studies 

Subject: Special Arrangements for 

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Date: May 18, 1972 

Graduate Students 

MOTION: ? 

"That Senate approve the paper on Special 

Arrangements for Graduate Students" 

is

The paper on Special Arrangements for Graduate Students 

was approved by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee on 

May 15, 1972. 

(I.

Wheatl 

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bean 

Graduate Studies. 

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 

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This document lays out the conditions' under which special arrangements 

can be made for an incoming graduate student who wishes to work outside 

or between established programs of the University. 

I. General Principles 

1. Special Arrangements will be made only when it is clear that: 

(a)

The student concerned is exceptionally able; 

(b)

The student's proposed course of studies cannot be pursued 

in any existing program; 

(c)

There is little need for additional expenditure of University 

funds in connection with the Arrangements; e.g. provision of 

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new library resources, laboratory equipment, etc. 

2. The Special Arrangements made for each individual student must: 

(a)

Be approved by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee; 

(b)

Be periodically reviewed by the Executive Committee of the 

Senate Graduate Studies Committee; 

(c)

Have a final report prepared on them by the Executive Committee 

regarding the value of the training .the University has been able to 

provide. 

3. The Special Arrangements must provide for the inclusion of at 

least one External Examiner at both the masters and doctoral level. 

The Executive Committee, in making its final report to the SGSC, 

will seek the opinion of the external examiner as to the value of 

the training the University has been able to provide for each student. 

4. The Special Arrangements made for an individual student do not 

constitute a new program, or set a precedent for other graduate 

students with s1milar interests. 

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If

many students in the same area come before the Senate Graduate 

Studies Committee, it can require the relevant Department or Departments 

to. submit to the procedures for the establishment of a new program as 

a condition of considering further students in that area. 

If. Documentation and Procedures for Special Arrangements 

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1.

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Initiation of requests: 

(a)

Students wanting Special Arrangements should apply to the Dean 

of Graduate Studies. 

(b)

In accordance with General Principle I. 1., the Dean may require 

the student to apply to an existing department. 

(c)

Where Special Arrangements seem to be needed, the Dean will endeavour 

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to find at least two full-time members of faculty who would be willing 

to supervise the student in his area of study and to sponsor Special 

Arrangements on his behalf. Faculty members should have the approval 

of their Departmental Chairmen to undertake this responsibility. 

If no sponsors can be found, the request will be automatically denied. 

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2.

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A specific proposal for Special Arrangements shall be submitted by the 

sponsors to the Senate Graduate Studies Committee through the Office of the 

Dean of Graduate Studies by the end of the second month of the semester 

before the student wishes to enter. 

3.

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All proposals should contain the following: 

(a)

The names and curricula vitae of all sponsors and persons who wish 

to be associated with the Arrangements, together with statements of their 

current areas of interest and research. 

(b)

A statement of the field of study and its core areas to be covered 

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by the proposed Arrangements explaining why Special Arrangements are 

required. For Interdisciplinary Arrangements, such a statement should 

show its internal coherence, discreteness and academic merit. The 

departments concerned should be' named. 

(c) A statement giving the relationship between the qualifications of the 

persons associated with the Arrangements and the core areas. 

(d)

A statement Indicating which of the currently awarded degrees, except 

the M.B.A., (i.e. M.A., M.Sc., M.A. (Education), M.Sc. (Education), 

M.Sc. (Kinesiology), Ph.D.) the student would be seeking, and indicating 

which Faculty or Faculties would exercise the statutory power of 

faculties in his case. 

(e)

The academic requirements for the degree: theses, examinations, 

practica, field experience; courses which the student would take 

and how they would relate to the core areas. The expected number 

of semesters of work needed for the degree should be indicated. 

(f)

A statement as to what University facilities will be needed, such 

as laboratories, with approval for their use by the appropriate 

authorities; a statement as to the adequacy of the library holdings 

in the proposed area of work. 

(g)

Should some small additonal expenditure be necessary for the Special 

Arrangements, the Senate Graduate Studies Committee should be assured 

in writing by the department chairman or chairmen or from the dean 

or deans involved that the cost will be met out of existing budgets. 

Statements about library acquisitions must be countersigned by the 

University Librarian. 

(h)

A statement giving sources of support, if any, for the student. 

4.

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The Senate Graduate Studies Committee may, at its discretion, require 

further information from the sponsors and may seek other assessments of the 

proposal from outside or inside the University. 

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5. ? 

The functions of a Departmental Graduate Studies Committee for a 

student whose Special Arrangements fall under one department shall be 

carried out by the actual Departmental Grduate Studies Committee of 

that Department. The functions of a Departmental Graduate Studies Committee 

for a student whose Special Arrangements fall between existing departments 

shall be the Executive Committee of the Senate Graduate Studies Committee. 

6.

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Other than the exceptions stated in this document, the current Graduate 

Regulations approved by Senate apply to students for whom Special 

Arrangements are made. 

III. Implementation and Review 

1.

The provisions of this document will come into effect immediately upon 

passage by Senate. 

2.

The provisions of this document shall remain in force until revoked 

by Senate. At the end of three years an ad hoc committee shall be appointed 

by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee to assess the principles and 

procedures of this document and review the individual Arrangements made. 

It shall then make a recommendation to the Senate Graduate Studies Committee 

for transmission to Senate as to whether the provisions of this document 

should be continued, discontinued or amended. 

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PROPOSED NEW CALENDAR ENTRY 

Simon Fraser University permits well qualified and highly motivated 

students to explore areas of graduate work where it has qualified faculty 

but no established programs. Prospective students wishing to avail them- 

selves of this opportunity should write to the Dean of Graduate Studies 

six months in advance enclosing a detailed outline of the proposed area of 

work. 

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RATIONALE FOR THE PAPER ON SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 

Flexibility is, in general, a positive virtue at a university. 

The provisions of this paper allow for a greater flexibility in graduate 

work at Simon Fraser while maintaining proper control of all students. 

In the past, a graduate student at S.F.U. has been required 

to pursue his studies and research interests within an existing program. 

Whenever the interests and qualifications of a student do not fall 

under what is offered in some program, there is no proper way to accomodate 

him. Yet sometimes the qualifications and interests of individual faculty 

members are such that it would be academically entirely proper that students 

who do not fit into existing programs should be accepted under some sort 

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of special arrangement. This paper gives control mechanisms for such 

arrangements. 

The provisions of this paper allow new growing points, new 

areas of specialization and new approaches to multifaceted problems at 

Simon Fraser. In particular they allow multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary 

work within the university without encouraging the proliferation of new 

programs. In an age when many of society's problems will not yield to a 

single-discipline approach, having these sorts of provisions is clearly 

desirable. 

HISTORY OF THE PAPER ON SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS 

This paper was drafted by a specially elected ad hoc 

drafting committee drawn from the various graduate studies committees 

of Simon Fraser. It was placed before the Senate Graduate Studies 

Committee on May 15th where it passed unanimously. 