SFU
S.12-7
OFFICE OF Tin-: VICK-PRKSIDKNT, ACADHMIC AND PROVOS'I
University Drive, Burnaby, BC
TEL: 778.782.3925
vpacad@sfu.ca
Canada V5A1S6
www.sfu.ca/vpacademic
MEMORANDUM
ATTENTION
Senate
DATE
December 14,2011
FROM
Bill Krane, Acting Vice-President, Academic
PAGES 1/1
and Provost, and Acting Chair, SCUP
"E:
Faculty of Science: External Review Report of the Department of Biomedical Physiolog)' and
Kinesiology (SCUP 11-52)
At its November 23, 2011 meeting SCUP reviewed and approved the Action Plan for the Department of
Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology that resulted from its External Review.
Motion:
That Senate approve the Action Plan for the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology that
resulted from its External Review.
Encl.
c: G. Tibbits
C. Cupples
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
thinking of the world
SCUP 11-52
SFU
OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC AND ASSOCIATE PROVOST
8888 University Drive, Burnaby,BC
TEL: 778.782.4636
avpcio@sfu.ca
Canada V5A 1S6
www.sru.ca/vpacademic
MEMORANDUM
ATTENTION
Jon Driver, Chair, SCUP
DATE
November 10, 2011
FROM
Bill Krane, Associate Vice-President, Academic
PAGES
1/1
and Associate Provost
RE:
External Review of the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
/*'
£./£
Attached are the External Review Report on the External Review ofthe Department of Biomedical
Physiology and Kinesiology and the Action Plan endorsed by the Department and the Dean.
Motion:
That SCUP approve and recommend to Senate the Action Plan for the Department
of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology that resulted from its External Review.
Following the site visit, the Report of the External Review Team* for the Department of Biomedical
Physiology and Kinesiology was submitted in April 2011.
After the Report was received, a meeting was held with the Dean, Faculty of Science, Department
Chair, and the Director of Academic Planning and Budgeting (VPA) to consider the
recommendations. The Department then prepared an Action Plan based on the Report and these
discussions. The Action plan was then submitted to the Dean and the Dean endorsed this Action
Plan.
The Reviewers stated that;
'itis notable that the general sense of the environment that was conveyed, integrating across all of
our interactions, is that BPK enjoys a harmonious, efficient, happy, and engaged atmosphere in
which academic and scholarly productivity is very high, and morale is very good.'
SCUP recommends to Senate that Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology be advised
to pursue the Action Plan.
Attachments:
1. External Review Report - April, 2011
2. Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology - Action Plan
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
THINKING OF THE WORLD
* External Review Team:
Dr. James Rush (Chair), University of Waterloo
Dr. Heather Durham, McGill University
Dr. Tessa Gordon, University of Alberta
Dr. Tony Williams (Internal), Simon Fraser University
CC
Claire Cupples, Dean, Faculty of Science
Glen Tibbits, Chair, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
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Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
Simon Fraser University
External Review Committee Report
March 30-April 1,2011
Preamble/Overview
The site visit associated with external review of the Department of Biomedical
Physiology and Kinesiology (BPK) at Simon Fraser University (SFU) occurred over
the period March 30-April 1,2010. The external review team (Drs. Rush, Durham,
and Gordon) was joined for most of its meetings bythe internal reviewer, Dr. Tony
Williams of SFU. The review team was given the opportunity to meet individually
and in groups with senior administrators, with all major sectors/stakeholders in the
Department (Faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students) as well as
with individuals from service units that interact with the Department. In addition,
we were given extensive tours ofthe main Departmental physical plant on the
Burnaby campus, as well as the Department'sHarbour Centre and Surrey campus
facilities. Discussions were frank and open, and the reviewers are satisfied that we
were provided with high quality objective information as well as opinion necessary
to perform the taskwith which we were charged. In addition, it is notable that the
general sense of the environment that was conveyed, integrating across all ofour
interactions, is that BPK enjoys a harmonious, efficient, happy, and engaged
atmosphere in which academic and scholarly productivity is very high, and morale
is very good.
The external review team has authored this report. We firstly and especiallywould
like to thank Dr. Tony Williams who was an invaluable source of insight and
perspective with respect to the SFU and Faculty of Science culture and norms. His
wisdom, candor, and professionalism are all appreciated. He was an enormous asset
to the review team, as he is undoubtedlyan enormous asset to the Faculty of Science
and SFU in general.
J^
H
Executive summary
For convenience, we have itemized a number of important issues thatwere
identified in the review under the categories of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and related challenges. These issues have been highlighted
because they involve or impact on multiple factors; they are expanded on in
the body of this report, along with other findings.
Strengths
1. Undergraduate program: strategies employed to optimize teaching demands
in light of resource limitations (teaching/research faculty balance, distance
education)
2. Quality and quantity ofresearch
3. Cohesivenessoftheunit
4. Enthusiastic and committed faculty at all ranks
5. Engagement at all three SFUcampuses;
6. Central
role of the Department in the ongoing strategic mission of SFU
7. Excellent alignment ofdepartmental and institutional priorities
Weaknesses
1. Number ofcourses taught by research faculty
2. Ability to attract a sufficient number of high quality and quantity of graduate
students
3. Relationship/bridge between undergraduate and graduate/research
programs
4. Limited level of exercise and nutrition expertise/research and teaching
activity among research faculty
5. Limited level of faculty complement compared to program offerings and
activities compared to other Science units
Opportunities
1. Implementing the exercise, nutrition and chronic disease initiative
2. Balancing the expertise in BPKfor delivery ofundergraduate and
graduate/research programs, including expansion into that new initiative
3. Taking leadership in SFU'sintegrative health initiative with respect
particularly to biomedical aspects of health research and program
development
Related challenges
1. Articulating BPK'sideas and abilities to and through the Faculty of Science to
have impact at other planning/decision levels of SFU
2. Obtaining support for BPKinitiatives in light of competition for limited
resources
3. Aligning of BPKideas/initiatives with those of the Faculty of Health Sciences in
achieving SFU's strategic initiatives in health sciences
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Structure of the report
Three sets of guidelines were provided to the review committee regarding the
issues to be covered in the review:
1. The Senate guidelines for the review, asking for assurances under four categories
(A-D)
2. Alist of six identified issues by the University and/or the Department for the
review team to consider
3. Alist of five additional areas of the Department to be considered bythe review
team
No rigid guidelines were provided concerning the structure of our committee's
report. We have opted to structure our written report using the Senate guideline
categories (A-D) as the main organizational guideline. Using this format, most of the
issues raised in the other two lists are also covered under the various categories.
As articulated in the Senate guidelines, the purpose of the external review
process is to provide the University with assurances that:
A) The quality of the Unif s teaching programs is high and there are measures
in place to ensure their evaluation and revision
B) The quality of faculty research is high and faculty collaboration and
interaction provides a stimulating academic environment and to identify new
or emerging areas that should be pursued
C) The Department members participate in the administration of the unit and
take an active role in the dissemination of knowledge
D) The environment is conducive to the attainment of the objectives of the
Department
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A) Addressing the Senate guideline related to assurance that
The quality of the
Units teaching programs is high and there are measures in place to ensure
their evaluation and revision
Course/Instructor evaluations and the feedback received from undergraduate and
graduate students suggest a generally high level of satisfaction with the courses and
programs that the Department offers. Responses for undergraduate and graduate
programs are provided under separate sections. We have highlighted the main
strengths, weaknesses and opportunities identified during the review, and have
made specific recommendations.
Undergraduate Program:
The design of the undergraduate program provides a number of choices for students
with a variety of interests: Kinesiology and Biomedical Physiology majors as well as
a
number of specializations. Information that we received indicated that there is an
appropriate and ongoing process of review of programs and courses to ensure
adequate attention to revision and ongoing evaluation ofthe undergraduate
program. The undergraduate program committee is well constituted with teaching
and research faculty, staff, and students. This committee is very enthusiastic,
engaged, and responsive to student concerns. There is a palpable sense ofconcern
for providing a very high quality of 'student experience'. The openness of the
undergraduate program committee and of the entire department to suggestion for
improvement at all levels suggests a very positive environment, appropriately
focused on providing the best quality experience to its students within the resource
constraints ofthe Department and Institution.
The fact that the Department provides opportunities for new faculty to develop
specialty undergraduate courses is a strong positive ofthe BPK undergraduate
program, as this provides one ofthe highest quality student-engagement
experiences, and is critical in making links for the undergraduate students between
theoretical material relevant to their program of study, and its application in 'real-
life'situations. These links are extremely important to BPKundergraduate students
with respect to career planning, research exposure, etc. The review team believes
that it is very important to preserve the capacityfor research faculty to teach this
type of course. This is one specific example of a vehicle through which the links
between the undergraduate program and the graduate program/research interests
of the faculty can be strengthened, and through which the scholarly development of
the undergraduate students can be enhanced to epitomize the symbiosis of the
teaching-centered and research-driven guiding principles of SFU.
ST
Balance between resources available and teaching demands of the
undergraduate program
BPKexemplifies the general SFUethos to be teaching centered, research driven and
community engaged. One profound way that the BPKunit demonstrates this
commitment is via delivering programming at all ofthe campuses (Burnaby,
Harbour Centre, Surrey). At the undergraduate program level, this multi-centre
approach puts a large burden on the teaching resources of the Department, which
BPKhas accommodated by making a strategic decision to invest in a number of
permanent teaching faculty. The distance education system is another component
of the current mechanism of undergraduate program delivery that helps offset the
burden of the multi-centre delivery. Distance education provides flexibility to both
the students and to the Department'sfaculty and staffinvolved in offering courses.
Indeed, this is the
raison d'etre
of distance education programs. Student satisfaction
with BPKofferings is high, and many positive assessments ofthe role of distance
education were articulated by students and faculty. Within BPK, there is a good
level ofinvolvement in distance education, and the support framework for offering
courses through this system is well established.
Thus, the review team recommends that the BPKundergraduate program continue to
utilize the distance education system
at current or expanded levels in order to continue
to effectively and resource-efficiently deliver the undergraduate programs through
available resources.
Indeed, the current level of utilization ofdistance education
opportunities is probably one of the main reasons why BPKhas been able to
maintain its high level ofstudent service within the counterbalancing constraints of
its total undergraduate student enrollment compared to its current faculty
complement and resources.
Additional sources ofstress on the teaching resources of BPKoriginate from both
the number of teaching 'buyout'arrangements associated with major research
awards obtained by research faculty, and the assumption of senior University
administrative roles by two senior members of the research faculty (Parkhouse and
Ruben). These factors are, of course, extremely positive, reflecting both the
excellent research success ofthe BPK research faculty, and the willingness ofthe
research faculty to contribute to governance of the Faculty of Science and SFU.
However,
taking on these responsibilities creates a collateral situation of reduced
involvement ofthe research faculty in delivering the teaching undergraduate
programs. These factors should place BPKin a favourable position within the
Faculty of Science and SFU with respect to priority for hiring ofresearch faculty.
Otherwise, important elements of program delivery and student experience will be
compromised.
Opportunities to hire up to the regularfaculty complement and to
create additional positions in support ofBPK's contribution to SFU's initiatives in the
health sciences should be vigorously pursued at the Department and Faculty levels
With
respect to the latter point, many similar Departments/Universities employ a
model for bridging loss of teaching resources by creating additional faculty positions
using the resources provided by the source of the teaching buyout (i.e., CRCs and
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2
other major salary awards). BPK would be a very appropriate target for allocation
of such bridging resources. It should be recognized
that the SFU institutional
reputation benefits greatly from the research success and profile of the BPK
research faculty and that in order to continue to provide quality teaching and
student experience at the same time as enjoying the benefits of exponential growth
in high quality research, an investment in research faculty positions should be made
by the University/Faculty. It also requires on the part of the research faculty a
continued commitment to excellence in research productivity and to enhancing the
trainingof students (and other high quality personnel HB.
Currently the ratio of teaching faculty to research faculty is higher in BPK than it is
in other units within the Faculty of Science. However, it is the understanding of the
review team that the ratios of research dollars-to-research faculty members, the
percentage of research faculty with substantial salary awards, and the teaching load
per faculty member are all higher within BPK than in other units in the Faculty of
Science. The Department, Faculty and University have obviously collectively
endorsed the model of pushing and rewarding research excellence in BPKas the
success of these individual researchers has been endorsed at all levels by consenting
to the teaching buyout arrangements that contributed to the opportunity to hire the
current complement of teaching faculty in order to help meet the teaching demands
on the Department'sacademic programs.
Teaching faculty
The teaching faculty conveyed that collectively they are very happy with their roles
in BPK. They have extensive involvement in the undergraduate program committee,
are treated equitably to research faculty with respect to full participation in the
Department, and are very much respected by other members of the Department.
They
were universally positive about the distribution of teaching assignments and
other tasks.
It is notable that the teaching faculty in BPK,unlike in other Science units, have
minimal technical support (i.e. the teaching faculty themselves do a lot of
equipment/apparatus set-up and maintenance). The teaching faculty indicated that
the positive aspect that it allows them to control quality and consistency of the
apparatus providing the students with the best possible experiences in the
laboratories.
Students appreciate the quality of the teaching by the teaching professors, as is
evident in the formal evaluations and in the comments provided by students during
our interviews. The model of utilising teaching faculty is sufficient to help meet the
teaching demands of the core and early components of the program, as well as some
ofthe upper year elective courses. With the unique demands ofthe SFU trimester
system, three campuses and teaching relieffor a number ofthe research faculty, it
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1
would be impossible to deliver the BPKacademic programs without the number of
teaching faculty currently in the Department.
The model of balance between teaching and research faculty is not without some
drawbacks, however. Limited exposure to Research Faculty in the undergraduate
curriculum was articulated as a concern by undergraduate students. Research
faculty members on reduced teaching loads teach at least one course per year. In
many cases this is a senior undergraduate course or a split undergraduate/graduate
course. The quality of these offerings is regarded as high and well-aligned with both
faculty and student interests, as indicated by enrollments and course ratings.
However, undergraduate students, graduate students, and teaching and research
professors all expressed the opinion that more interaction of research faculty with
senior undergraduate students is desirable and important (1) to provide the highest
quality undergraduate student experience; (2) to expose students to the full
spectrum of departmental activities, research and career opportunities, and (3) to
aid in recruitment of the most talented students to the research laboratories,
thereby helping to address the perceived limitation in both the quantity and quality
of available students for graduate studies (see below-graduate studies section).
The review team recommends that a systematic attempt be made to address the issue
of exposure of undergraduate students to teaching and interaction with research
faculty, while also respecting the demands on research faculty and the various
arrangementsfor teaching relief
This might include modifying delivery to include
more split courses, team-taught courses, and seminars. For instance, if research
faculty
were to distribute their teaching hours over multiple courses, rather than in
one course, there would be increased exposure of research faculty to undergraduate
students without increasing the overall teaching workload drastically (although
some courses might notbe amenable to this style of delivery). Another strategy is to
offer topics/issues courses, whose content and faculty participation could be flexible
according to
interest of students and availability of faculty.
It is further suggested that
existing courses incorporate more information on
research, knowledge translation, and career opportunities
to give the students the
perspective to develop skills with an appreciation for the spectrum of career and
professional goals available to them. For instance, some similar programs at other
universities use a first year required course to give an overview of the program and
include introductions to a variety of applications and career paths related to the
program of study (these might require some customization to students in the
Kinesiology vs Biomedical Sciences Majors).
The upper year program requirements need to be optimally aligned with both the
educational goals of the program and the practical ability to deliver the program
with available teaching resources. It is recognized that one factor that can impact
the quality of delivery of courses at the senior undergraduate level is the class size
(the number of students that can be enrolled in any one section of a course).
However, a common complaint from undergraduate students was limited
(O
availability and ease of enrolment in certain upper level courses, both the terms in
which the courses are offered and long wait lists for those that are. Recognizing that
a finite number of courses can be offered by a finite number of faculty, perhaps
other
underlyingfactors need to be seriously considered in order to find solutions to mitigate
these complaints and to improve the undergraduate student experience.
This could
involve changing the format etc. of the courses themselves in order to facilitate
increasing
the upper limit of enrollment, within the constraints of room size and
availability/scheduling conflicts, lecture vs laboratory course, and other
physical/financial resources required for effective course delivery. Perhaps
expanded distance education offerings may contribute to solving this problem.
The problems with delivery of the undergraduate program are in part symptomatic
of the larger issues being faced by BMK and their mitigation should be part of an
overall plan
(teaching/research faculty ratio, lack of undergraduate student contact
with research faculty, bridging the undergraduate to the graduate program, new
program implementation), in a manner respecting the totality of the SFUvision
regarding teaching, research and community engagement.
Comments on other specific aspects of the undergraduate program
Ergonomics
The ergonomics specialization is under-enrolled (12 students) as a
program of study
perse,
whereas a number of courses in ergonomics are offered
because these courses intersect with the core and elective components ofother
program paths within BPK. Notably, no current permanent faculty members
identify with the ergonomics area, and thus delivery of the necessary ergonomics
courses relies on a sessional instructor. Thus, the area of ergonomics presents a
dichotomyfor the Department in being a valued part of the overall program for
breadth, but without any real commitment to maintaining research expertise or
depth in this area.
The Review Team recommends that the Departmentmake a
strategic decision regarding the extent to which they wish to support the ergonomics
component of the undergraduate program as part of their overall medium-term
resource planning.
Elimination of the formal stream/specialization as it currently
exists (as a conduit toward preparing students to meet professional standards) was
articulated by BMKstaff during our visit and seems inevitable without a major
commitment of resources. Incorporation of a limited number of ergonomics courses
focused on occupational and rehabilitation into the active health and rehabilitation
area ofconcentration is a reasonable approach given the current availability of
resources and the waning level ofcommitment of the Department to the area of
ergonomics. The Department should systematically determine what direction it
wishes to take with respect to ergonomics and adjust resources accordingly. The
ultimate decision will have to be balanced against the ability to pursue other
initiatives that require resource investments, so there should be a clear plan ofhow
to balance current programming versus new and emerging areas of opportunity.
Nutrition
The review team is also under the impression that the offerings in the
area of nutrition and the Certificate in Applied Human Nutrition are mostly
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II
dependent on sessional instructors and distance education offerings with little
leadership in this area by permanent research faculty. This has been brought to our
attention as being problematic when courses (such as 111, 212) come up for
revision and evaluation. It seems
critical that the Department utilize its hiring
priority to recruit research faculty in the area of nutrition who also fit the overall
mission of the Department and aspirations for development
The difference from
problems with the ergonomics stream is that a long term investment in nutrition
will not only support the excellence of the current program, but will be required for
offering the pending exercise nutrition and chronic diseases program.
The Co-op program
in BPKis strong with respect to the variety and quantity of
placements made available
and the interest level amongst BPKstudents in utilizing
co-op opportunities at some point during their undergraduate degree program.
This program provides opportunities for students to see other views of professional
development, gain experience in workplace, and help make career decisions.
Participation in co-op by BPKstudents is high compared to other science units and a
large fraction of BPK students gain at least some coop experience, even if they do
not complete the specialization in co-op. The co-op program exemplifies knowledge
translation in action. Thus, even for students who do not complete the required
number ofwork terms to receive the co-op degree designation, any co-op
experience gained contributes to development of practical knowledge translation
skills. Thus, the high participation rate in co-op in the BPK Department represents a
tangible way in which BPK undergraduate students are enjoying the benefits of a
value-added program compared to peers in other units at SFU and at other
universities. Notably, co-op opportunities for research exposure, honours thesis
and research projects reinforce contact with research professors.
The BPKco-op program director is enthusiastic, dynamic and proactive. Her office
is a major point of contact with the undergraduate student population. This turns
out to be a fortuitous arrangement because one of the undergraduate students'
complaints is that there is no designated student lounge or dedicated centralized
space for them to get information, announcements, etc. and to interact. The review
team has no specific recommendation regarding this issue, other than to bring it to
the attention ofthe Department as a source of frustration on the part of the
undergraduate students.
For these reasons, the review team believes that it is a distinct advantage that the
co-op officer has a presence right in the Department (not the central co-op office).
Not only is this a valuable venue for conveying information, but her interactions
with the students provide a 'home1 within the unit for students to bring their
questions and concerns.
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Link between the undergraduate and graduate/research programs
A'disconnect' between the undergraduate program and the graduate program/
research faculty was articulated at several times and in several contexts during the
site visit. Oneway to help rectify this would be to hire more research faculty with
disciplinary expertise in exercise and nutrition (which are traditional areas of
emphasis in Kinesiology programs) to fill out the current program. Ideally, these
faculty members would also have cross-over interests in one of the traditional areas
of strength in the BPKDepartment (cardiovascular physiology,
neuromechanics/neuroscience, chronic disease), thereby increasing opportunities
for research collaboration, while adding breadth at the graduate and research levels
in
areas of interest that would clearly bridge with the instructional needs of the
undergraduate program.
Thereview team does not wish to be prescriptive about this
issue, but it seems to make imminent objective sense to proceed in this direction not
only to improve delivery of undergraduate and graduate programs and their
confluence, but also to provide a foundation from which the Department could
implement the exercise, nutrition, and chronic diseases program when the full
resourcing becomes available.
Graduate Program:
Information that we received indicated that there is an appropriate and ongoing
process of review ofprograms and courses to ensure adequate attention to revision
and evaluation ofthe graduate program. The graduate program committee is well
constituted with teaching and research faculty, staff, and students with broad
representation across interest areas. The graduate program committee and its chair
are enthusiastic and actively engaged in both the administrative and the planning
aspects of the graduate program. The committee has recently been active in
revising the format ofthe PhD comprehensive examination to reduce its complexity,
emphasizing milestones to meet degree requirements, and in revising course
requirements to bring these into line with other similar units. These issues had
previously been raised in feedback received from students and others as sources of
dissatisfaction and recruitment difficulties. Thus, the current graduate program
committee has taken some very positive steps to improve the graduate program.
The graduate program director is enthusiastic and has already initiated action on a
number of issues that need improvement.
The revision of graduate student support materials, websites, graduate handbook,
etc is recognized as an ongoing process.
Thereview committee encourages the
Department to arrange for the appropriate resources to be channeled to these efforts
and the graduate program committee to continue to evaluate and update these
resources on both a regular basis and when changes are implemented.
The website
needs to be attractive to prospective students, informative about policies,
procedures and activities, and to reflect the high quality of the programs and the
research. It is particularly important to have a detailed and up-to-date student
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handbook to serve as a resource for both students and faculty supervisors regarding
policies, procedures and resource commitments, etc. related to graduate studies.
Compared to the many other indices of research and teaching quality and quantity
in which BPKexcels, there is an enigmatically low average level of graduate student
supervision or graduate student/research faculty ratio. It should be noted that
there is wide variability among the faculty with respect to this parameter, however,
and that there are very high quality graduate students in the program. Research
faculty interviewed suggest that there is collectively both a willingness and a desire
to take in more graduate students, but that there are problems recruiting additional
high quality individuals.
The remainder of the comments in this section on the
graduate program are meant to provide recommendations both for improving the
experience of current graduate students and their supervisors, and to improving
recruitment of graduate students to BPKin the future.
The review team became aware of some confusion/differing opinions regarding
funding guarantees, funds available and funding obligations among supervisors,
graduate students, and administrators.
It is imperative that a clear and consistent
departmental policy on studentfunding should be implemented and conveyedfrom the
chair and graduate program committee to supervisors and students.
Letters of offer to
applicants should be of a standard format and must be clear about guarantees of
funding from the Department and the supervisor. These should include the total
funding for the year and length of program (time limitations, full-time/part-time
status), when the funding will be provided in terms of anticipated study duration
and from what source(s), and what contingencies are in place for events that alter
funding availability/need (such as external scholarships obtained, and the
possibility that a supervisor fails to obtain grant funds on application for renewal).
The understanding of the review team is that other units in the Faculty of Science
provide such explicit funding information with their offer letters. These templates
should be consulted to construct a BPK version.
Thus, the review team recommends
that a standard offer letter, with a clearguarantee of funding including the above
listed information should be implemented.
The review team became aware that some faculty believe that the course load
demands for the MSc degree are a disincentive to supervisors to take on MSc
students; i.e., they are remunerating students to take either too many or too time-
consuming courses.
Thegraduate program committee should determine how
widespread this sentiment is, how requirements compare to other similar programs,
and how balance could be achieved on this issue.
Resolving this issue could remove
one of the perceived barriers to expanding graduate student enrollment.
/V
Othersuggestions to improve recruitment and retention of graduate students include:
1. Diverting some Departmental funding designated for graduate student
support to recruitment-related scholarships in order to capture good
students that are deserving, but not yet in receipt of external award.
2. Allowing direct entry into the PhDprogram for highly qualified students with
high GPA and research experience.
3. Producing and including in the graduate handbook clear guidelines and
procedures for fast-tracking from MSc to PhD
4. Integrating the path to graduate studies with the undergraduate curriculum
by, for example: making strategic use of split courses
(undergraduate/graduate), optimizing contact of research faculty with
undergraduates, developing a combined BSc/MSc degree program, providing
incentives to faculty to utilize
the co-op system as a potential source of
undergraduate research assistants.
5. Organizing an event well before the autumn of every year to showcase
research and graduate studies as a career option, and to identify extramural
scholarship and award opportunities that have deadlines in autumn. This
could
be combined with an expanded career opportunities session in which it
could be made clear to students that graduate studies is not just for those
with an interest in careers in academia.
The review team was made aware that there has been a notable retention problem
with later stage PhD students in certain cohorts over the past several years (16
withdrawals in the period 2006-2010; 12 ofwhom were PhD students). It is
suggested that a
systematic way to track students through their program milestones
would be a positive step toward improving retention, and identifying students who are
not succeeding as early as possible.
Such a system would either provide assistance to
struggling
students sufficiently early to help them succeed, or to precipitate
withdrawal from the program at an earlystage. This is in the best interests of all
parties involved: student, supervisor, and Department.
A need for 'softskills'training of graduate students was articulated. Specifically, a
need was expressed for training/professional development opportunities for
graduate students related to writing, presentation skills, communicating science,
etc. that would be beneficial for those graduate students considering any of the
career paths open to them.
Investigation of whether these programs exist or could be
possible with central
graduate studies office support and/or support through the
library learning commons should be explored by the
graduate program committee.
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Coursework masters program
This program is unsustainable in its present form. The program is not regarded by
the review committee as a Departmental priority, especially considering other
pressing Departmental priorities that could impact the graduate program. It should
not be engaged in without a clear market analysis and business plan.
The review team encourages the Department and the graduate program committee to
consider not only the proposed undergraduate program in exercise, nutrition and
chronic disease, but to develop a complementary opportunity at the graduate studies
level.
The review team believes that this initiative has excellent possibilities for
expanding BPK'spresence in the health care sector and that there is a window of
opportunity given the expansion at the Surrey site. The current resources of BPK
are not sufficient to launch the undergraduate program.
Thus, a visionfor hiring
research faculty with relevant research interests would serve multiple purposes:
delivery ofthe proposed undergraduate program, extending opportunities to recruit
highly qualified graduate students, and maximizing the opportunities for interaction
with the Health Authority at the Surreycampus. It is recognized that there is an
existing 'chronicdisease stream1 in the graduate program and that could serve as
the immediate interface between this new undergraduate program and the graduate
program, but that the streams within the graduate program would evolve to
optimize program options and delivery.
Theaddition of research faculty with
exercise and nutrition disciplinary expertise and with cross-over expertise in existing
areas of departmental strength is quite possibly the critical strategic step for BPK to
take in order to:
1. Balance the scholarly expertise in BPKto enable the Department to better
offer its current program using permanent/continuing resources
2. Provide better linkages between the already existing undergraduate and
graduate/research programs in BPK
3. Facilitate
program expansion and provide the resources and expertise to
offer the proposed exercise, nutrition and chronic disease undergraduate
program and a complementary graduate level program
4. Increase awareness of how BPKis an integral and leading element in the
future of health-centered programmatic activities at SFU
Further energization of BPKas a Department, and of BPKteaching and research
faculty, and an enhanced appreciation oftheir value will all result from this
initiative.
13r
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B) Addressing Senate guideline related to assurance that
The quality of faculty
research is high and faculty collaboration and interaction provides a
stimulating academic environment and to identify new or emerging areas that
should be pursued
The opinion ofthe review team is that the quality of the faculty research is very
high. There is excellent tangible evidence of very healthy grant funding and
publication records across most of the research faculty. This places the research
strength of the unit overall as extremely strong in and of itself. In addition,
compared to similar Departments at other North American universities, BPKsurely
ranks among the best on this metric. Compared to other units in the Facultyof
Science at SFU, BPKis extremely strong based on traditional metrics of scholarship
and research intensity.
Direct interactions with the faculty revealed their enthusiasm and excitement for
their work and for their collaborative efforts locally and abroad. There was a sense
ofengagement within the Department at the level of research. Importantly, there
were many examples of junior-senior faculty collaboration/mentorship
arrangements, and many examples of community-based research and
collaborations.
No concerns were heard related to any perceived limitations in the stimulatory
nature ofthe academic environment in BPK.
Since community-centered research and teaching initiatives are one way in which
BPK exemplifies the SFU mission,
the review committee suggests that perhaps a
common clinical infrastructure with Departmental support could facilitate best use
of
the Harbour centre and Surrey campuses for research subject evaluations.
For
example, Dr. Lear has successfully established a very functional and efficient
operation at the Harbour Centre campus. It would be ideal ifthis sort of approach
could be used as a model for the Faculty/Department to invest in the infrastructure
necessary to establish a similar facility in a portion ofthe BPK space at the Surrey
location in order to engage community participants/research subjects at that site as
well in an efficient manner. This facility could be a shared facility among any faculty
members who have community-based research in the Surrey area. Ideally, some
regular/permanent research faculty presence at the Surrey site would help to seed
the potentially comprehensive initiatives at this site with respect to
research/graduate studies, delivery of the current BPKprograms, and to build
toward the potential initiative in exercise, nutrition and chronic disease.
Regarding new and emerging areas of opportunity.
Adding researchfaculty with
expertise in exercise and nutrition is an important strategic step for the Department
This will allow BPKto balance the expertise of the Department in terms of its
current mission and undergraduate program. Furthermore, it will allow for the
development of graduate and research programs that will balance the Departments
J^T
(7
offerings and create better bridges between undergraduate and graduate programs
(which is identified as one of the major programmatic weaknesses). It will also
provide some of the expertise necessary to implement the proposed undergraduate
program in exercise, nutrition and chronic disease.
Taking advantage of the potential opportunity at the Surrey campus is vital to this
initiative and will allow BPK to be ready to better collaborate with partners in the
Faculty of Health Sciences and in other health related units on campus in order to
strategize the best plan for implementation of the Health -related programming at
the Surrey campus. When positions become available this is clearly the highest
priority
area for the Department'sdevelopment and growth. Ideally systems
researchers associated with exercise nutrition and chronic disease areas will
provide the needed expertise to advance the Department'scurrent mission and
proposed initiatives. Care should be taken in selecting the new faculty such that
they also integrate well with existing research strengths in the Department
(cardiovascular, neuromechanics/neuroscience, chronic disease).
Exercise, Nutrition, and Chronic Disease Program proposal.
Given the uncertainty regarding government funding, even with full support of the
University, it is important for the Department to build a clear and dynamic vision of
what the exercise, nutrition and chronic diseases program could become and to
champion BPKas the natural core of the program, but with an integrated vision that
includes input from the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Health Sciences in order to
improve the chances of making real progress on this initiative and making it a
University-level priority. Doubtless
this will require a Department-based champion
for the program (perhaps the next Chair of BPK, or Dr. Ruben in his new role as
Associate Dean),
but that will not be enough. The vision and the advocacy must
extend to the level of the higher administration, including the Dean of Science and
the relevant Vice-Presidents.
Theinitiatives and goals of BPKneed to be presented in
the context of an overall University initiative.
BPKis in a unique position to
contribute by making initial programmatic investments and by having a clear
Departmental plan for undergraduate and graduate programming as well as
postdoctoral and faculty research, and by defining the complement ofnew hires that
are necessary to achieve the objective as well as improve the quality ofcurrent
programs.
Thoughts regarding this program, its importance to the Department, and
possible synergies with other Department initiatives:
•the program needs to be comprehensive (including undergraduate and
graduate programming as well as research activity)
1ST
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•the program will help balance expertise and interests among research
faculty that a BPKDepartment should have and thus help build better links
between undergraduate and graduate programs
•is it possible to realize synergies between this program and the proposed
Burnaby Mountain Sports Medicine initiative ?
•Is there a possible synergy with the Environmental chamber facilities and
the environmental physiology group? During the review we were made
aware of the initiatives to make the Environmental chamber for outside uses
via links to community and industry. One of these potential uses was
identified as as a potential site for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for diabetic
wound healing. This would certainly suggest a potential opportunity to fit
with the chronic disease program. This could be attractive/useful for
instance in recruiting a chronic diseases researcher with interests in diabetes
and diabetic therapies.
The collateral benefit of course is enhanced
utilization and increased collaborative opportunities in the environmental
chamber facilities. The profile of such an individual would fit very well with
that necessary to support the exercise, nutrition and chronic diseases
program.
>6r
Gi
C) Addressing Senate guideline related to assurance that
The Department
members participate in the administration of the unit and take an active role in
the dissemination of knowledge
Dissemination of knowledge in many formats is apparent in the publications,
presentations, patents, regular local, national, and international media attention to
research results, etc. for many projects and laboratories in BPK. Community
engagement is strong through research links utilizing members of the local
population as study subjects. There are many examples of knowledge translation
emanating from BPK.
There was general expression of harmonious administration of the unit, leadership,
and committee participation across faculty of all ranks, staff, and students.
Next Chair of BPK.
The recruitment of Dr. Ruben to another senior administrative
role in the Facultycreated a void that had to be filled at a most inopportune time. At
the time of our review, this was a major concern. We have been made aware that
this situation has been resolved through the appointment of Dr. Glen Tibbits as the
Chair. The review committee commends Dr. Tibbits for accepting this role, in
keeping with the history of senior BPKfaculty of stepping up to take on senior
administrative positions. Given the extensive involvement of senior research
faculty (including Dr. Tibbits) in diverse leadership and service activities including
large-scale collaborative research programs, clinical duties, and leadership roles in
other professional organizations it is certainly understandable that there was some
difficulty identifying an internal candidate that was willing and able to take on this
responsibility. In fact, during the site visit, the clear preference expressed by all
faculty interviewed (almost everyone) was to search for an external candidate for
this position.
During our interviews, the Dean of Science gave a clear message that the ability to
nominate an internal candidate for Chair would provide additional opportunities for
hiring ofnew research professors in BPK.Given the new situation, in which Dr.
Tibbits has taken on the responsibility,
the review committee therefore recommends
that BPKbe given priority
for resources necessary tofulfill their current mandate and
to take advantage
of the new opportunities to develop SFU'spresence in training and
research in healthcarefields.
BPK as it is currently staffed, and considering the
programs it delivers, the number of students it serves, etc., compares very favorably
with other Science units with respect to a need to expand its faculty complement. It
is
assuring therefore that the Dean supports this expansion and that a new chair is
in placeto proceed on this as soon as possible.
20
D) Addressing Senate guideline related to assurance that
The environment is
conducive to the attainment of the objectives of the Department
The mission of the Department is to improve human health by advancing the
understanding of physiology, movement, and human health through fundamental
and applied research, education, and service, by providing opportunities for
outstanding learning, world-class research, and active engagement with the
community. This is completely consistent with the academic mission and vision of
SFU, with the strategic research plan of the Institution, and with the President's
agenda: Building on Success—Looking to the Future. Particularly forward-looking
is the BPK program proposal in exercise, nutrition, and chronic disease.
There is a
needfor the senior administration to provide a framework to guide and coordinate the
development of the health sciences mission of the University so that individual
initiatives such as the proposalfor this program are recognized and coordinated to
increase opportunities and align thefuture direction with the strategic plan.
We see the possibility of an important role for Prof. Ruben, as the new Associate
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research for the Faculty of Science, to take a
leadership role in this coordination by continuing to promote the goals and
aspirations of BPK,working to integrate their initiatives with those ofother units in
the Faculty of Science, promoting integration with the activities of the Faculty of
Health Science, and playing a role in coordination of the health science mission
across the university. During our visit, the review committee was rather perplexed
about how this mission was being coordinated and advocated, and the level of
responsibility being placed upon BPKfor that initiative. During our visit to the
Surrey campus, we met Joanne Curry, the executive director for SFUSurrey who is
actively engaged in community and government outreach. However, others need to
be engaged and the University needs to devote the resources to take advantage of a
significant opportunity. In support of BPK,this includes continued lobbying of
government to champion funding ofthe new undergraduate program in exercise,
nutrition and chronic disease.
7~(
Other issues:
Departmental Handbook.
The Review Committee recommends assembling a
Department handbookfor faculty,
so that all new faculty are oriented to policies and
procedures as well as resources of the Department. Aformal mentoring program
might be helpful to new faculty for their transition to their roles and responsibilities.
This handbook might also help new faculty identify resources and opportunities
available to them, and help them to understand University policies and procedures
related to their career development. There was some concern expressed on related
issues by some, although not all, new faculty members
Support Staff.
The review committee interviewed and interacted with members of
BMK's support staff throughout the visit. Overall, the support staff is extremely
competent and enthusiastic, and sufficient for support of academic activities of the
Department, although the level of technical support for laboratories falls behind that
of other units (see above). The staffhave high morale and are happy, although
frustrated with certain systems—financial, student management, etc, that are not
'user-friendly'(consistent with experience at our institutions).
Library Services.
The review committee met with the Director of Libraries and was
impressed by the adaptation to new expectations of the research community in
services provided by Libraries to research and teaching, including electronic
resources. Inquiries to research faculty did not reveal significant concerns, nor did
the Director indicate that she had received complaints.
Animal Care Facility.
The review committee toured the animal care facility during
the visit. This is a new and impressive state-of-the-art facility, maintaining a clean
environment for animal housing and conducting surgical and other
experimentation. Maintaining a clean facility has costs in terms of inconvenience to
certain research faculty who must take their animal subjects out ofthe facility for
procedures at other institutions, and therefore are not able to return them to the
clean area ofthe facility. The group conducting research on pigs stated they had
come to terms with their situation, but another investigator working with
transgenic mice expressed concerns.
TheFacility is encouraged to make adequate
housing available for animals involved in such studies such that their experiments are
not compromised.
Environmental Chamber.
The review committee toured the Environmental
Physiology unit hosting the hyperbaric chamber and environmental chamber. The
existence and sustainability ofthese chambers relies on Faculty of Science funding
and income from contracts for clinical and industrial research activities. The facility
is unique and certified by Underwriters laboratories. The research faculty involved
are connected with their national peers, including the Defence Research
Establishment Toronto (formerly DCIEM). The climatic chamber is central to Dr.
White'sresearch. Plans for reconstruction ofthe chamber, and its value to
industrial partners were explained to the review committee. A main challenge is to
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revitalize the graduate stream for this Environmental Physiology Group. Support
for the environmental chamber was stated as being the initial reason for bringing a
medical doctor into the Department.
The multitude of potential uses of this facility
and the possible overlap of this resource with other Department initiatives should be
considered as the Department plans to pursue new and emerging areas and initiatives
in order to identify synergies.
Electronic Course Calendar:
There appear to be issues regarding implementation
ofthe electronic course calendar at SFU,including listing of courses that are not
offered. These could be typical growing pains related to moving to an electronic
format, but care should be taken not to present students with opportunities that do
not exist.
2QT
23
Future Direction
There seems to be a reasonable amount of recognition by senior administration that
BPKis a major strength in the biomedical health research portfolio of SFU.
Furthermore, it was clearly articulated that the Faculty of Health Sciences does not
control or embody the spectrum ofthe health research profile of SFU and should not
be a barrier to recognizing BPK'simportance in health initiatives at SFU.
The senior
administration is encouraged to foster communication of BPK, other units in the
Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health Science and find a way to integrate their
activities and the way they are presented by SFU.
The plans of BPKare appropriate and consistent with the strategic plan of SFU. The
support of senior management will be required to fulfill their aspirations,
particularly development of new programs to be delivered at the SFU campus, and
maximizing the opportunity for leadership in the health sector.
Ifthe appropriate resource commitments are made to BPK, the demonstrated
excellence of this Department will continue. The Department has a forward looking
plan for new and emerging areas in which it can thrive and continue to increase the
profile of SFUas a teaching centered, research driven and community engaged
university.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. James Rush, University of Waterloo
Dr. Heather Durham, McGill University
Dr. Tessa Gordon, University of Alberta
-2T
EXTERNAL REVIEW - ACTION PLAN
Section 1 -To be completed by the Responsible Unit Person e.g. Chair or Director
Unit under review
Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
Date of Review Site visit
March 30/April 12011
Responsible Unit person,
GlenTibbits
Faculty Dean
Claire Cupples
Note: Itis
not
expected that every recommendation made by the Review Team be covered by this Action Plan. The
major thrusts of the Report should be identified and some consolidation of the recommendations may be possible while
other recommendations of lesser importance may be excluded.
Should an additional response be warranted it should be
attached as a separate document.
1. PROGRAMMING
a. Action/s (description what is going to be done):
1.1.1
Undergraduate:
• Increase number of research faculty involved in UG core courses (ER)
We have already begun an implementation of team teaching in our core courses. This semester we introduced it into Kin205 and it is part
of a revamping of our entire core curriculum. A committee has been struck which is being led by Mr. Craig Asmundson to re-examine our
core offering in terms of content, instructors (sessionals vs. instructors vs. research faculty), continuity, integration and development of
ideas. This committee isvery active, has their own website and very enthusiastic and broad participation from the faculty. We are also
evaluating the role of research faculty in core courses (Mr. Stephen Brown has been asked to analyze this on a semester basis) and are
setting targets for the involvement of research faculty in core cores. In addition, we are investigating our role in the Biomedical
Engineering program which uses several of our research faculty, limiting their capacity to teach within our own unit and how to better
integrate it into our own curriculum.
• Better match between UG program and research faculty interests (ER)
This is a real challenge to resolve and is deeply rooted in the politics and history of our department. However, the undergraduate program
committee (UPC) has been asked to earmark undersubscribed courses and programs for possible elimination. The ER suggested that we
hire faculty in nutrition to help resolve this issue but this has already been done with limited success. We are currently entertaining the
possibility of this being part of the expertise of the next faculty recruit. The Ergonomics stream has now been reduced to a certificate
program allowing us to reduce our course offerings in this area by three courses.
• More expertise in exercise, nutrition (Surrey Initiative)
This has not been a goal of our program in Burnaby. However, it isa major focus ofthe Surrey Initiative. Unfortunately, the ENHD
program is highly dependent on provincial funding for which there are no guarantees. If the plan is implemented as articulated then this
will more than adequately address this concern. However, in the interim we are forging ahead with a scaled down Surrey initiative. Ihave
asked Dr. Diane Finegood to head up the Surrey Initiative. The Dean of Science has been asked for a faculty replacement in this area that is
zs
based on our limited faculty roster relative to our FTEs. This new faculty member will be recruited under the umbrella of Chronic Diseases
(one of 3 major research thrusts of BPK) and we believe that this individual will become an integral member of the Surrey Initiative. Drs.
Lear
and Finegood are also proposing to develop an Institute (which will be before Senate shortly) which will partially allay this concern.
•
Limited number of faculty relative to load (reduced faculty complement) (ER)
The Dean is well aware that we are "understaffed" relative to other departments within the Faculty of Science (including Biosciences and
MBB) and the number of FTEs that we teach. We hope that this willbe rectified bygrowth of the department over the next few years.
1.1.2
Graduate:
• Increase quality and quantity of graduate applicants to our program (ER).
1.
The top graduate students in BPK are excellent; we have 2 Vanier award recipients. Furthermore, the BPK Graduate Program has grown since the
external review, from 47 students in 2009/10 academic year to 57 (60 including qualifying students) in Sept. 2011. This may in part reflect the
departmental name change and the faculty association which was one of the intentions of these recent changes. There isstill a need, however, to
increase
the average quality of the applicants so that BPK faculty can be more selective about which students they accept. To accomplish this, we plan
the following actions:
a. The BPK website is currently being redesigned and updated to attract more HQstudents [grad students in particular but also HQ
undergraduates
(UGs)]. Features under consideration include the use of videos of labs, faculty and graduate students to convey the high
quality and innovative research done in BPK and the learning opportunities here.
b. The number of courses for the M.Sc. has been reduced from 6 to 4 (now approved bySenate) to facilitate progress through the
course component of this degree program and allow the student to spend more time on their thesis research.
c. Forthe Fall of 2012, the department has agreed to provide three 'Chair'sResearch Assistantships'valued at $3,000 each to attract new HQ
grad students who are not yet in receipt of an external award. Future allocations will depend on availability of funds.
d. The GPCwill review and discuss direct entry into the PhD program for highly qualified students with high GPA and research
experience
e. The GPC willclarify, and provide within the graduate handbook clearer guidelines and procedures for fast-tracking from MScto PhD.
f. The GPC willsystematically track student progress through the graduate program. In 2011 the GPChas improved the graduate
student annual report form, which now contains all information necessary to check graduate student progress. In 2012, we will
convert this to a more user-friendly online format so that data can be uploaded and databased for efficient review by GPC members.
g. Recently, the requirements for the PhD including changes to the comprehensive exam, have been streamlined and are now more in
line with those in Biosciences and MBB facilitating progress through the degree while maintaining stringent criteria for the program.
2. Bridge
more effectively between the UG and grad programs by increasing exposure to and interactions with research faculty for undergraduates.
We have recently made progress by requiring UG participation in BPK's 3rd Annual Research Day. Students in KIN 305 (a physiology course required for
KIN majors) and KIN 304 were asked to attend Research Dayinstead of their class that day, and to vote for and make a group choice of the best poster.
In consultation with the UPC, we will explore operationalizing the following ER Team suggestions:
a. Incorporate more guest lectures by research faculty into undergraduate courses
b. Consider more split courses, team-taught courses and seminars; spreading the teaching hours of research faculty over multiple courses
c. Offer flexible' topics and issues' courses reflecting research faculty strengths
d. Incorporate more research, knowledge translation and career pathways information into UG courses, highlighting that a graduate degree
can lead to many different career paths within and outside of academia. Consider a first year 'overview' course that encompasses thismaterial.
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Diversify BPK Careers Day, an existing yearly event for UG students, to represent more non-academic careers.
e. Increase upper level UG class sizes where needed (eliminating wait lists) to maximize the pool of high level UGsin BPK
f. Increase interaction of high level UGswith Grad students by seeking a venue and event in which they can mix.
•
Several
perceived problems with the course based Master's Degree (ER).
This program has been abolished. There is a committee of two led by Ms. AK Arnold which is looking into the possibility of a highly
focused, profession-oriented course based Master's in Rehabilitation Medicine. A presentation has been made to the Graduate Program
Committee which has asked for further information and
subsequent presentations will be made to the GPC and the department as a
whole.
h.
Resource implications ((if any):
Increased number of research faculty. We have also asked for IT support for at least one year to facilitate the processing of admissions,
recruitment and general administrative functions.
i. Expected completion date/s:
June 2013.
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