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For
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do
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If
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SFU International
MBC 1200
8888 University Drive
Burnaby BC V5A IS6
Canada
Tel: +1.778.782.4232
Fax: +1.778.782.5880
www.sfu.ca/international
FRASER UNIVERSITV
•.
SFU
SIMON FRASER L'NIVERSITY
SFU INTERNATIONAL
SCUS 10-25
ATTENTION
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies ISCUS)
FROM Kate Jennings. SFU International
RE
ProDosed Changes to Eligibility
C~lteria
for UnderQraduale ExchanQes • For Approval
DATE
April 28. 2010
I
TIME
10:55:00 AM
Dear Colleagues,
Under
the delegated authority of the Senate Committee on International
Activities
(SCIA) SFU International is responsible for the administration of
SFU's undergraduate and graduate exchange programs, in consultation with
the appropriate
SFU authorities and exchange partner institutions.
Attached for approval by
SCUS are proposed changes to the eligibility
criteria for undergraduate exchanges and proposed changes to the
SFU
Calendar
text related to undergraduate exchanges.
If approved, the changes to the eligibility criteria would be implemented for
applicants to the January
15,2011 deadline. Changes to the SFU Calendar
text would take effect as soon as possible.
Best regards,
Kate Jennings
Coordinator, International Mobility - Exchanges
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SFU Exchange Program
Undergraduate
Eligibility
Requirements
Proposed
Changes
April 26, 2010
SFU International proposes changes to the eligibility requirements for undergraduate students to
participate
in
the exchange program at SFU. If approved, we plan for the proposed changes to take
effect for the January 15,2011 exchange application deadline.
As outlined in the SFU Calendar, the current undergraduate exchange eligibility criteria are:
Participants on all exchanges must meet certain academic and residency requirements. All
domestic and international exchange participants must
• have completed 36 units (prior to application) with a minimum of 12 units completed at
Simon Fraser University prior to application
• have been approved in a program specialization (for example, a major or minor)
• have achieved a minimum 2.67 grade point average in the last two terms (minimum 24
units) or higher as required by partner institutions
• be registered as a Simon Fraser University student at the time of application
The residency requirement
for completing a credential at Simon Fraser University may
include up to 15 exchange units.
The proposed changes include:
1) Undergraduate OP A Requirements
2) Undergraduate Second Degree Student Requirements
3) RegistrationlEnrolment Status
4) Visiting, Non-degree, Diploma, Certificate Students
5) Residency requirements
6) Edits to Text to Clarify Criteria
1) Undergraduate GPA requirements
At present, the OP A eligibility criterion is
"have achieved a minimum
2.67
grade point average in the last two terms (minimum
24
units) or
higher as required
by partner institutions".
This OP A calculation is referred to as the Exchange OP A or EGP A.
The proposed change to this eligibility criterion is
"have achieved a minimum
2.67
cumulative grade point average (CGP A) or higher as required by
partner
institutions"
The change is proposed for the following reasons:
-the
EOP A calculation is not equitable for all applicants. Those undertaking 24 or more units in 2
tenns have
the EOP A calculated based on the total OP A for the 2 tenns, whether it is 24 units or
more. Those spreading the 24 units over more than 2 terms have the EOP A calculated by pulling the
highest course OPAs from the previous tenn(s) until the minimwn of24 units is reached. There is
also no limit on the number oftenns over which the credit can be taken. There is also the possibility
that the course
OP A may have to be taken from the grades received at another institution, if they
have not yet completed 24 units at
SFU;
-some partners have a minimum COP A requirement. This is posted as an additional requirement for
those particular institutions. For those partners that do not have a published minimum
COP A
requirement, most nonnally
expect
a minimum equivalent COP A standing to a B-. As a specific
CGP A
is not currently an eligibility criterion for SFU students this can lead to significant difficulty
in
finding placements for students who may meet our EOP A requirement but have a low COP A
(below 2.67);
-for exchange placements with institutions that are competitive, the
EOPA can disadvantage students
with strong COPAs. With the current criterion, except where a partner requires a particular COP A,
we would select a stronger EOP A above a stronger COP A;
-Students, and some advisors, are confused about the
EGP A
criterion and how it is calculated; and
finally
-the manual calculation required to detennine the
EOPA is a significant inefficiency, which is not
sustainable with growing numbers
of outbound exchange applicants.
2) Undergraduate Second Degree Student Requirements
At present, there are no published criteria with respect to second/subsequent degree students
participating in
SFU exchange programs.
SFU International is starting to see an increase in the number of exchange applicants who are
second/subsequent degree students at SFU. At present, such applicants are reviewed on an ad-hoc
basis.
We propose that the following note be added to the total unit requirement, for second/subsequent
degree students:
*Undergraduate
students
undertaking
second/subsequent
undergraduate
degrees
must
have
completed a minimum total of
12
units at SFU at the time of application.
In
addition, we request clarification on the following undergraduate residency requirement:
The residency requirement for completing a credential at Simon Fraser University may include up to
15 exchange units.
Does this apply to second/subsequent degree students?
3) RegistrationlEnrolment Status; and
4) Visiting, Non-degree, Diploma, Certificate Students
At present, the registration criterion is
II
be registered as a Simon Fraser University student at the time of application"
In addition, at present, there are no published eligibility criteria with respect to visiting, non-degree,
diploma or certificate students participating
in
SFU exchange programs.
The proposed change to the relevant eligibility criterion is
be enrolled as a Simon Fraser University undergraduate degree student**
With the additional note of
**undergraduate visiting, non-degree, diploma, and certificate students are not normally eligible for
the SFU Exchange Program.
We have run into a few critical incidents involving applicants in recent years, as well as
requirements of many of our partner institutions, that have led to the proposed changes. The desire
is to clarify that a student must be
enrolled
at SFU at the time of application, as opposed to
registered, as well as to clarify that undergraduate students must normally be enrolled
in
an
undergraduate degree program
in order to be eligible.
5)
Residency
Requirements
Currently, the text that references Residency Requirements for
exchanges indicates:
Participants
on all exchanges must meet certain academic and residency requirements ....
The residency requirement
for completing a credential at Simon Fraser University may
include up to 15 exchange units.
The proposed change to the text is to both move the text into one paragraph, following the eligibility
criteria,
and for it to read as follows:
Participants
in the SFU Exchange Program must meet certain academic and residency
requirements.
SFU Exchange participants may apply for a maximum equivalent of 30
exchange units toward their SFU degree.
In
some cases a maximum of 15 exchange units may
apply to the residency requirements for completing a credential at Simon Fraser University.
The edits are suggested
for a number of reasons, including:
• the current placement of the fIrst line above the eligibility criteria may not be appropriate
as the criteria is for applicants, the policies are for participants.
• the only policy referenced in the current text is the residency requirement, which could
suggest that is the only policy of note, which is of course not the case.
• students do not understand what is meant by "residency requirement" and have indicated
that
they thought it meant that they could only apply for 15 exchange units, which is not
accurate. Participants can apply
for the maximum of 30 exchange units.
• the limit to the 15 units, is only relevant to those students who already have a significant
number of transfer credit.
• finally, in practice not all Faculties limit the number of exchange units that can be used
toward the residence requirements.
