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S.07-61

OFFICE OF THE

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC AND ASSOCIATE PROVOST

MEMO

ATTENTION Senate

TEL

FROM Bill Krane. Chair

Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies ? I-.

RE Revisions to Admissions Requirements

ISCUS reference 07-141

DATE March 13. 2007

TIME 10:02:56 AM

Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies at a meeting held March

6, 2007 gives rise to the following recommendations:

•

That Senate approve changes to the undergraduate admissions requirements as follows:

• SFU's requirements for admission of students from high school will be changed from

five to four courses:

o English 12 and three (3) additional examinable courses (see Appendix A for list

of examinable courses).

• SFU will harmonize the English Language Requirement and the Literacy Requirement

as the 'English Language and Literacy Requirement'.

• These changes would be effective for admission of students in Fall, 2007.

Rationale

At the SCEMP meeting held on November 22, a discussion took place regarding the

complexity of our current admissions requirements. There was general agreement that

simplification of the requirements is necessary, in conjunction with the work currently underway

to streamline the enrollment business processes in Student Services.

It is important to note that the harmonization of the English Language Requirement with the

Literacy Admissions requirement does not lower the standard of the Literacy requirement.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

THINKING OF THE WORLD

Proposed Chan

ges

to SFU Admission Requirements

Summary

• SFU's requirements for admission of students from high school will be reduced from

five to four courses:

o English 12 and three (3) additional examinable courses (see Appendix A for

list of examinable courses).

• SFU will harmonize the English Language Requirement and the Literacy

Requirement as the "English Language and Literacy Requirement" (see Appendix B

for revised wording).

• Changes would be effective for admission of students in Fall, 2007.

Rationale

In BC and across Western Canada the competition for new students entering post-

secondary education had increased significantly, for a number of reasons:

• A declining population of 17-24 year olds

• An increase in the number of post-secondary seats (gov't access targets)

• An increase in the number of degree granting institutions

• ?

• A booming economy resulting in higher employment

• The differential costs of post-secondary education

A recent review of SFU's admissions requirements has determined that, over the past 10

years, the requirements have evolved to a daunting level of complexity. In addition to

some general university requirements, many Faculties and departments have further

requirements, creating a multiplicity of lists and a discouraging maze for prospective

students to navigate. If SFU is to be competitive in facing emerging enrollment

challenges, the structure of admissions requirements must be streamlined as much as

possible, while at the same time retaining core academic preparation.

Four Course Admission Model

Currently, SFU admissions are based on a five-course model; prospective students choose

five courses drawn from a number of lists and groupings appropriate to the discipline to

which they seek admission. Common to these requirements is English 12, and

Mathematics at the level of either Grade 11 or 12 (see Appendix Q.

• Prior to 2000, SFU required four provincially examinable courses for admission. The

move to a five-course model was intended to be supportive of breadth and accessibility in

that it removed the requirement that courses be provincially examinable, and the addition

of the fifth course was hoped to support the principles of flexibility and diverse

• ?

admissions to which SFU had always been committed. However, the unintended

consequence of adoption of the five-course model was to create the perception that SFU

had a more stringent admissions requirement than UBC's admission, which is based on a

four-course (provincially examinable) model. Admissions at UVic are also based on a

four-course model, comprised of 3 examinable courses and a fourth course that is

"academic" but not necessarily provincially examinable and chosen by the applicant.

The distinction between provincially examinable high school courses and non-

examinable courses became obscured for many prospective students and their decision

influencers (e.g., parents and teachers) when reviewing admissions criteria.

Unfortunately, comparisons to UBC are inevitable. The Office of Analytical Studies has

determined in the past that a significant number of SF0 high school applicants also apply

to UBC. Trends of the past 10 years have shown that the top performing high school

students are more likely to accept an offer of admission to UBC than to SF0 when

applying to both institutions. Consequently, the perception that SFU's admission

requirements are more stringent than UBC's compounds the challenge of finding a

competitive edge against a marketing adept institution.

UBC presents admissions requirements that are streamlined and simple to understand.

Students can easily identify what is required to enter the university, UBC is able to

respond to applicants in a timely manner, and although some UBC Faculties have

additional requirements, the fundamental message that admission will be based on

English 12 and three additional provincially examinable Grade 12 courses is consistent.

From this simple platform, applicants are then led to program specific requirements

appropriate to their intended areas of study, rather than being presented with a surplus of

information about all Faculty or program specific requirements. To be sure, much of the

difference between SF0 and UBC admissions can be attributed to careful marketing, but

the perceptions of high school students formed during the process of reviewing admission

information are strong and biased in favour of UBC. This bias is reinforced when SFU

appears to require additional courses for admission.

English Language Requirements and Literacy Requirements

Further complicating SF0' s admissions requirements was the separate presentation of the

English Language Requirement (applicable to students for whom English is an additional

language) and the Literacy Requirement, which serves as both an English admissions

screen and a pre-requisite for Writing Intensive courses. Given the overlap in the two

sets of requirements, incoming students have found the parallel requirements confusing.

In proposing streamlined Admissions Requirements, it seemed useful to harmonize the

English Language and Literacy requirements and clarify the minimum level of

competency in English required for study at SF0. The proposed combination of the ELR

and Literacy Requirements is detailed in Appendix B.

Appendix A

Admission Requirements for BC and Yukon Secondar

Schools

Note: Grade 11 requirements remain unchanged.

• English 12 and three (3) of the following examinable Grade 12 courses:

Applications of Math

History

Science Courses

BC First Nations Studies

French or Francais Langue

Faculty requirements are as follows:

FAS

One examinable course must be Principles of Math (except for admission to

One examinable course must be Principles of Math

FOE

None

FHS

One examinable course must be Principles of Math

FSc

One examinable course must be Principles of Math

Two other examinable courses must be chosen from the Science courses above

• Additional program-specific requirements are as specified in the Calendar entries for

Programs, Departments, Schools and Faculties.

Appendix B

Harmonizing En

lish Language Requirement?

With Literacy Admission Requirement

New Calendar title: English Language and Literacy Admission Requirement

English is the language of instruction at SF0. All applicants, regardless of country of

origin or citizenship status, will be required to demonstrate competence and literacy in

the English language prior to admission. Competence is expected in all four of the

following skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

Applicants to undergraduate programs must demonstrate English language competence

and literacy in ONE of the following ways:

• Obtain a grade of 60% or better in English 12 or English Literature 12 (BC or

Canadian high school); or

• Obtain a grade of 60% or better in an equivalent to English 12 or English

Literature 12 (BC or Canadian high school) at an eligible international secondary

school that uses English as the language of instruction but operates in a country

where the primary language is not English; or,

Note: Students admitted with a grade of

75%

and above in either of English 12 or English

Literature 12 (or international secondary school equivalent) are exempt from the following as

a pre-requisite to entering certified W (writing intensive) courses:

o Achieve 4 or better on the essay section of the Language Proficiency Index (LPI) and

50%

or higher on all other parts, or

Complete Foundations of Academic Literacy (FAL X99-4) with a C grade or better.

• Obtain a grade of C- or better in a course (three credits or more) that transfers to

SF0 as English (ENGL) transfer credit from another post-secondary institution in

which the language of instruction and examination is English; or,

• Obtain a grade of C- or better in a certified W (writing intensive) course that is

transferable to SFU from another post-secondary institution in which the language

of instruction and examination is English; or,

• Graduate from a bachelor's or higher degree program at a recognized university in

which the language of instruction and examination is English, and with a C- or

better grade in a course that transfers to SF0 as English (ENGL) or W transfer

credit; or,

Note: Students achieving a grade of C- or better in a post-secondary English or W course are

exempt from the LPI and FAL X99 and qualify for registration in W courses.

Obtain a satisfactory score on a test of English as an additional language for

academic purposes (IELTS is preferred):

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum

score of 6.5 on the Academic Modules; or

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum

score of

5.5

and satisfactory completion of the SFU English Bridge

Program; or

TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language internet based test)

with an overall score of 88 or better with a minimum score of 20 in each

of the four components (listening, speaking, writing, reading); or

TOEFL CBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language computer based test)

with a minimum of 230 including a minimum essay score of

4.5;

TOEFL CBT with a minimum score of

250;

TOEFL iBT with a minimum score of 76 (no minimum in any sub-test)

and satisfactory completion of the SF0 English Bridge Program; or

TOEFL CBT with a minimum score of 207 and completion of the SF0

English Bridge Program

Note: Students admitted to SFU with a TOEFL score must satisfy one of the following as

a pre-requisite to entering certified W (writing intensive) courses:

o Complete Foundations of Academic Literacy (FAL X99-4) with a C grade or better,

• ?

o Achieve 4 or better on the essay section of the Language Proficiency Index (LPI) and

50%

or higher on all other parts.

Appendix C ?

Current Admission Requirements for BC and Yukon Secondar

Schools

Please see pages 20-21 of the 2006/2007 Calendar.