I

SFU

To

:

Senate

S

I

MON FKASER UNIVER

S

I

T

Y

INS

T

I

TUT

IONAL

R

E

SEAR

C

H AND P

L

AN

N

IN(

;

F

r

om

:

S.12-137

Jacy

Lee, Director

~

Institutional Research

and

Planning

[IRP)

Subj

e

ct:

IRP

Reports

for Information

Date

:

August 22, 2012

At a

meeting

of

Senate held

on

March

7, 2011, Senator Paul

Perc

i

val

r

e

quested

that

relevant IRP

reports, such as,

the

annual

Grades Report be

brought

to

Senate for

information.

Attached are

two reports for information:

•

2011/12

Grades Report: This report is

pr

e

pared

once a year and

it summarizes

student

course

grades

at

the

University over a ten

year

period.

The

2011/12

Grades

Report

covers

the period from 2002/03 to

2011/12. Attached

is

t

he Summary Report.

The

full

report

is located

at

I

RP's website

at:

http:ljwww.s

f

u.ca/content/dam/sfu/irp/students/grades

repo

rt/grades.re

p

ort.

pdf

•

2011 Undergraduate Student

Survey

(UGSS) Report

:

Th

e

UGSS surv

e

y is conduc

te

d

every

fall

term. The attached Highlights

report

presents a summary of key f

i

ndings

from

th

e

Fall

2011 survey

.

Topics

covered

are selected in consultation

with

Faculties,

Student Services and

other

administrative

units

of

the Univer

s

ity. Th

e

topics

included

:

course availability, teaching

and curriculum, student engagem

e

nt and selected

s

ervice

s

,

s

u

c

h

as

F

a

cilitie

s

,

use

o

f campus

e

s and

the

Library and Student Learning

Commons

.

The

full

repor

t

is

located at

:

http

:ljwww.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/

irp/surv

eys/ugss/ugss201

1report.

pdf

Enclosure

h

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---

SIMON

FRASER

UNIVERSITY

I

N

STIT

U

TI

ONA

L RE

SE

AR

C

H A

N

D PL

AN

NI

NG

2011/12 Grades

Report:

Summary

Historical Distribution of

Undergraduate and Graduate

Course

Grades

2002/03 to

2011/12

Prepared

by

Janice

Wiebe,

Program

A

ss

i

stant

Jessica

T

illey, Analyst

Institutional Research and Planning

Summer

2012

---

.2012-08-.2.2

2011/1.2 SFU GRADES REPORT: SUMMARY

Page 3

Table of Contents

I.

Introduction...............................................................................................................................................................

4

II.

Definitions and Notes...............................................................................................................................................

4

Ill.

Analysis.....................................................................................................................................................................

5

Undergraduate

Course Grades...........................................................................................................................

5

Lower Division...................................................................................................................................................

5

Upper Division...................................................................................................................................................

9

Undergraduate

Course Grades by Student Faculty.......................................................................................... 13

Graduate Course Grades..................................................................................................................................... 15

lll,tttutlniJ.tl ltc,,.,,:.,.h .md l'i.tn!llllg. \iiiH'''I r.t•c: t.:ll\..r'll\', Ssss l '111\

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1

,

---

2012-0H-22

2011

/

12

Sf'U GRADES

REPORT:

SUMMARY

I - Introduction

This report

s

ummariz

es student

course

grades at Simon

Fra

ser University o

v

er

t

he

ten

year

period

from 2002/03 to 2011/12

1•

Th

e full

report,

which presents

t

h

e

f

u

ll grade distributions

in both tabular and graphical

for

mats

,

is

ava

il

ab

l

e on

lin

e, here:

http

s

:Uwww

.

s

fu

.ca/

content/dam/s fu/i rp/

s

tud

e

n

ts/gra des

re port

/

gra

des

.

report. pdf

.

II- Definitions and Notes

To

ca

l

cu

la

te the ave

rag

e course grades, each grade

i

s assigned

a numeric

va

lu

e

,

defined

in Table

1.

T

hese values are weighted

by the

number of students who received

each par

tic

u

l

ar

grade, to prod

uce

an

overall

average.

Table 1

:

Simon

Fraser University

's

Grade Scale

A+= 4

.

33

A

=

4.

00

A-= 3.67

B+

=

3.33

B

=

3

.

00

B- =

2.67

C+ =

2.33

c

=

2.00

C-

=1.

67

D

=

1.00

F

=

0.00

FD

=

0.00

N =

0

.0

0

N

otes: At the g

r

ad

u

ate

level,

A+

grades have

o

n

ly

been in use

since

Fa

ll

2002.

FD is defined

as a

fail (academic discipline]

and has only been

i

n use since

Summer 2009.

Table 2

li

sts

the grades that

h

ave

no numerical

equiva

l

e

n

t, a

n

d a

r

e the

r

efore omitt

e

d

from the

calculat

i

on of ave

r

age grade. A

l

tho

u

gh they are

not

inclu

ded

in th

e average

,

cred

it

is

g

r

an

t

ed for

th

e

following

g

r

ades:

"AE..,

"CC'

,

..cw,

and

"P".

Tabl

e

2: Grades with

No Numeric

a

l Equiv

a

lent

Grade

AE

AU

cc

CF

CN

CR

DE

FX

GN

IP

p

w

WD

WE

De

fi

nition

aegrotat standing

,

compassionate pass

a

udit

course challenge

course

cha

llenge

failed

did not complete

challenge

cred

i

t without grade

deferred grade

forma

l

exchange

grade

not

reported

in

progre

ss

pass,

un

graded

wit

h

drawn

withdrawa

l

wit

hdr

awa

l un

der

exte

nuating

c

i

r

c

um

stances

'Effec

tiv

e

April

1

, 2

00

9,

SFU

int

roduced

two

new Fac

ult

ies:

t

he Facul

t

y of

Communication, Art and

Technology

.

a

n

d

t

h

e

Fac

u

lty of Environment.

Also,

effective April

1,

20

11, th

e

Department of

Arch

eo

lo

g

y mov

ed

from

t

he Fac

u

lty

of

Ar

t

s and

Social Sciences

to th

e Fa

cult

y

of Environment. This

new Faculty str

u

c

tu

re has ini

t

iate

d t

he move

of certain

co

u

rses

t

o

d

ifferent Fac

ulti

es

.

All data

in

this

repor

t

reflects

the

curren

t

Fac

u

l

t

y struc

ture

.

I

I

I

ll (

---

:w

I

~-1 IX-~~

~011

I

I~

SFU GRADES R

.

EI'ORT: SUMMARY

Among undergraduate courses,

"

lower

division

..

courses are those numbered from

001

to

299 inclusive

.

"Upper

division

"

courses are numbered 300 to 499

inclusive.

Data reported on a yearly basis refers to fiscal

year.

For

example,

2010/11 grades are

the grades accumulated over the

2010 Summer term [SFU term code:

11041.

the 2010 Fall term

[SFU term code: 11071. and the 2011 Spring term

[SFU

term code: 1111).

To

protect student privacy, grade distributions

bas

ed

on five grades or fewer are not

reported.

Co-op courses, work-terms, and practicums

are

excluded from this report. Where

they could

be

identified,

courses graded as Pass/Fail

are

also

excluded.

Ill- Analysis

I

II.A

-

Undergraduate Course Grades

11/

.

A

.

T- Lower Division Course Grades {Courses Numbered 001-299/nclusive/

FAC

UL

TY C

O

M

P

A

RISI

ON

S

:

•

The

Faculty of

Education (EDUCl has

awa

rded

the highest average

low

e

r

division

course

grades in seven of the

last

ten

years, with

an average awarded grade of 3.04 over the past

decade

.

•

In

2006/07, the Faculty of Health Sciences

(HSCil

began offering

undergraduate

courses.

In

its first

three

years, courses in

Health

Sciences awarded the highest

average

lower

division grades, and have since remained among the top three

Facult

ies

for awarding the

highest average

lower division course grades [6-year average of 3

.

06).

•

The

average grades awarded

in

lower

division in

the Faculty

of Communication

,

Art and

Technology

[CAT]

courses

hav

e

been increasing over

the

past decade. This Faculty

awarded

the

second highest

lower division grades for the last two years.

•

All the other

Faculties

have consistently

awarded lower

average grades in their lower

division courses. In

general. lo

wer

division

cou

r

ses

in the Faculty of Environment (ENV]

have

awarded higher

grades

than

those

in

Arts and Social Sciences

(ARTS]

and Applied

Sciences

[APSCI.

while

lower division courses in the

Beedie

School of Business

[BUS]

and the

Faculty

of Science

(SCI

]

have awarded the lowest average grades

.

II

I'

I I

l

I

' (

---

~0

I

~-08-~~

~011/1~

SFU

GRADES REPORT:

SUMMARY

Table

3: Average

Undergraduate Course Grades

Aw

arded and

Percentage

of

"

A" Grade

s

Awarded

,

by

Co

u

rse

F

acult

y-

L

ower Division

Average

Course

Grades

%

"A

"

G

r

ad

es

Awa

r

ded

Course

F

aculty

2011/12

10-Year Ave

r

age

20

11

/12

1

0-Year Average

A

ppli

ed Sc

i

e

n

ces

2.55

2

.

59

23.

5

%

25

.

4%

Arts a

nd

Socia

l

Sc

i

ences

2.63

2.63

17.9%

1

7.8%

Business

2.51

2.52

13

.

8%

13.5%

Commun

i

catio

n,

Art and

T

ech

n

ology

3.00

2.93

30

.

3%

26.3

%

Education

3.02

3.04

31

.

9%

34

.

6%

E

nv

ironment

2.69

2.69

21.2%

2

1.0

%

H

ea

lth

Sciences

2.97

3.

0

6

30.1%

36

.

1

%*

Sc

ien

ce

2.51

2.50

20.5%

20

.3

%

University

T

o

t

a

l

2.64

2.64

20.7%

20.3%

*T

h

e

Faculty

of

H

ea

lth

Sciences

began

o

ff

e

ring undergradu

ate

classes

i

n the

Fall

2006 te

rm

.

LONG

-

TERM COMPARISONS WITHIN

FACULTIES

2

:

Comp

arin

g t

h

e average

low

e

r

division grades awarded ove

r

the

last ten ye

ars

:

•

Appl

i

ed Sc

i

ences

[AP

SC

]

:

o

Courses

in

E

ng

ineer

ing

Scie

n

ce

[EN

SC

l ha

ve

awarded the

h

i

g

h

est average

l

ower

d

i

visio

n

co

ur

se

g

r

ades

.

o

Math

e

matics

& Computing Sci

e

nc

e

[M

AC

Ml

co

u

rses have

awarded

grad

es

co

n

s

id

e

r

ably

b

elow

th

e A

P

SC ave

r

age

.

•

Arts a

n

d Socia

l

Sc

i

ences

[ARTS]:

o

Courses

i

n

C

hi

nese [CH

IN

]

hav

e awa

rded

the highest average

grad

es

.

o

P

hi

losophy

[

P

H

I

Ll.

Economics

[

ECON]

and

Busin

ess Adm

i

n

i

st

rat

io

n

&

Eco

n

om

i

cs

[BUEC] cou

r

ses

ha

ve

awarded the

lo

west ave

r

age lower divis

i

o

n

grades

.

•

Busine

ss

[BUS]

:

o

Over

th

e

l

as

t

ten

yea

r

s

,

l

ower

division

courses

in

Business

A

dm

i

n

ist

r

a

ti

o

n

&

Eco

n

omics

[BU

EC

l

a

n

d

Business

Adm

ini

stra

ti

on

[

BUS

] h

ave

a

wa

r

ded the

same

average g

r

ades.

•

Commun

i

cat

i

on

,

Art

a

nd

Techno

l

ogy

[

CAT]:

o

Co

n

temporary Arts [F

P

A

]

a

nd I

nteractive Ar

t

s

and

Tech

nol

ogy

[IAT

]

cour

ses

have

awa

rd

ed t

h

e h

i

g

h

es

t lower division

co

ur

se

g

r

ades

over

t

h

e

l

ast ten

years.

o

Commun

i

cations

[CMNS] co

u

rses

have

awar

d

ed the lowest

ave

ra

ge grad

es.

•

Edu

cat

ion

[EDUC

]

:

o

On

average

,

Ed

u

cat

ion

[EDUC]

co

urs

es

hav

e awa

rd

ed s

l

ightly

h

igh

er lower

d

i

vision

grades t

h

an Foundations

of Academic

Lit

eracy

[FALl

courses

.

2

Facu

ltie

s

with only

one

s

ub

jec

t

are not disc

u

sse

d in th

is

section

since

t

here is no

compa

rison to make

.

6

---

~01~-0H-~2

2011

I~

SfU

CllADES REPORT

SUMP.IARY

l'.tg<"

7

Average Lower Division Course Grades Awarded by

Faculty

APSC

-

-

ARTS

-

-

BUS

-e-

CAT

--

EDUC

ENV

-e

-

HSCI

--

SCI

- -

SFU Total

3.6

.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------~

LOWER DIVISION GRADES

3.5

3.4

-

C(

3.3

Q.

.._,

~

3.2

{/)

QJ

,

3.1

"'

a..

~

QJ

{/)

3.0

a..

:I

0

2.9

u

QJ

en

2

.

8

"'

a..

QJ

C(

>

2.7

.

2.6

2.5

2.4

02/03

0

3/

04

04/05

05/06

06/07

07/0

8

08/09

09/10

10/11

11/12

Year

---

2012-0H-22

20 II

I

12

Sf-U CR.ADES

RE

P

OR.T:

SUMMAR.

Y

•

Environment

(EN

V]:

o

Th

e

highest average

lo

we

r

div

i

s

i

on

grades have been awarded

i

n Sustainable

Commu

ni

ty

Development

(

SCD] co

u

rses.

o

A

rcheology

(ARCH]

a

n

d

Geography

(

GEOG] co

ur

ses have

awarded the lowest

average grades.

•

Science

(SCI]

:

o

The

highest

average

l

ower

division grades

h

ave

be

en

awarded

i

n

Management

and Systems Science

(MS

SC

]

and Kinesiology (KIN]

co

urs

es.

No

te t

ha

t very

few

grades were award

ed

in

Management and

Systems

Science.

o

Actuarial

Math

emat

i

cs

(A

CMA

I. Math

ema

t

ics

&

Co

m

p

uti

ng

Sci

ence

[

MACM] and

Mathematics

[MATH]

co

ur

ses

have awarded the

l

owest

average

grades

.

CURRENT

COMPAR

ISONS

AND TRENDS WITHIN

F

ACULT

IES

2

:

2011/12

Average Lower Division Course Grades

:

•

Applied Sc

i

ences

[APSC]:

o

The

highest average lower

di

v

i

sio

n

grades awarded in 2011

/

12 were

i

n

Engineering

Science (ENSCI.

o

Th

e

lowest

average

grades

we

r

e

awarded

i

n

Mathematics

& Compu

t

i

ng

Science

(M

ACM

]

courses.

•

Ar

t

s

and Social

Sc

i

e

nc

es

(

A

RT

S]:

o

The

high

est ave

r

age

grades

awar

d

ed

in

201

1

/

1

2 we

r

e

i

n

Persian (PERSI.

o

The

l

owest ave

r

age

grades

were awa

rd

ed

in

P

h

i

loso

p

hy (PH

I

Ll,

Economics

(ECON] and Business

Ad

mini

st

ration

&

E

co

nomi

cs

(B

U

E

C

].

•

B

us

i

n

ess (BUS

]:

o

Bu

s

in

ess Adm

ini

st

r

ation & Eco

n

om

i

cs

(BUEC]

co

u

r

ses awarded

slightly

high

er average grades t

h

a

n Bu

s

in

ess Adm

ini

s

t

r

at

i

on

(

BUS] courses

in

2011/12

.

•

Commun

i

cation

,

A

rt

and

T

ec

hn

o

l

ogy

(CAT]:

o

The

highest

average g

r

ades awarded

in

2011

/

1

2 were in Cont

e

mpo

r

ar

y

Arts

(

FPA

l

co

ur

s

e

s.

o

Th

e

lowest

average grades were awa

rd

ed

in

Comm

u

n

ic

ations (CMNS

].

•

Ed

u

ca

ti

o

n (E

D

U

C

]

:

o

In

201

1

/12,

Education

(EDUC]

co

ur

ses awarded

h

igh

e

r l

ower

d

i

v

i

s

i

on grades

th

a

n F

o

undat

ions of Academ

i

c

Li

te

r

acy

(F

A

Ll

co

ur

ses

.

•

Environment [ENV]:

o

Th

e

highest

average grades awa

rd

ed

i

n 2011

/

12

we

r

e

i

n

Sustaina

b

l

e

Commun

i

ty

D

eve

l

opment

[

SCD

]

co

ur

ses.

o

The low

es

t average grad

e

s were awarded

in

Arc

h

eo

l

og

y

[ARCH

].

H

'

\

\

8

---

~o

II

I~

sru GRADES REI'ORT: SUMMARY

•

Science

(SC

I

]:

o

The high

es

t

average grades

i

n

2011/12 we

re

awarded in

Man

ageme

nt

&

S

ys

tems

Sc

i

e

n

ce (MSSC;

note

that

very

few

grade

s we

r

e

awarded

in MS

SC

this

yea

rl

o

Th

e

l

owest average

grad

es

were

awarded in

Actuarial

Math

e

matic

s

(ACMAI.

Large Changes in

2010/11

to

2

011

/

12

Average

Lower Division Grades

:

Page: 9

•

The following

subjects

ha

ve see

n

large changes

(of

at

lea

s

t

0

.

25

1in the

average

lower

di

v

ision grad

e

awarded

from

last

year

to th

is yea

r:

o

Increa

ses:

En

v

ir

onmenta

l

Science [

EV

SC: 2.64

to 2.921 and Management

&

Systems

Science

[MSSC:

3.94 to 4.24;

note that

very few

grades

were

awarded in MSSC this

yea

rl.

o

Decrea

ses:

F

o

undat

ions of

Academic

Lite

rac

y

[FAL:

2.93

to

2.63

]

and Labour

Stud

ies

[LBST

:

2.99

to

2.68

1.

///.A.2- Upper Division Course Grades /Courses Numbered

300-499

Inclusive/

FACU

L

TY C

O

M

P

A

RISI

ONS

:

•

With the exception of

2006/07,

th

e

Faculty of Education

(EDU

C

I

awarded

the highe

st

ave

r

age

upper

division

cou

r

se g

r

ades

in

eac

h

of

t

he last

ten years

[

ave

r

age

grade

awarded:

3.471.

•

After

Education,

t

h

e

Faculties

of Communication

,

Ar

t

and Technology

[CATI

and

H

ea

lth

Sciences

[HSCII ha

ve awarded t

h

e

high

est

upp

er

division

average

grades

over t

h

e

past

ten

years

(1 0-year

ave

r

a

ge

of 3.21

and

3.22

,

respect

i

ve

l

y.]

It

sho

u

ld be

noted that HSCI

has only

bee

n

offering

und

ergrad

u

a

te

co

ur

ses for

th

e

pa

st six

years, and

th

e

averag

es fo

r

its fi

rst t

wo

yea

r

s

were based

on

relatively

s

m

all sa

mpl

e s

i

zes.

•

Th

e

remaining Fa

cu

lti

es

ha

ve

co

n

sistent

l

y awarde

d low

er

average

u

pper

division

gr

a

d

es

,

averaging in the

range

of

2.92 to 3.04.

Ho

wever

,

upper division

grad

es

awarded

in th

e

Faculty

of

Environm

en

t [ENVI

have been

incr

easing

over the past two years, and are

no

w

n

ear

ly as high

as those

in

Comm

u

nicat

ion,

Art

a

nd T

ec

hnolog

y

(CATI and

H

ea

lth

Sc

i

e

n

ces

[H

SC

II.

,•

---

2012-0H-22

20

I I

I

12

SFU G

l

tADES IUPOR

T:

SUMMARY

Table

4:

Average Undergrad

u

ate

Cou

r

se G

r

ades

Awarded

and

Percentage of "A" Grades

Awarded,

by

Course

F

aculty

-

Upper Division

Average Co

u

rse Grades

% "A" Grades

Awarded

Course

Facult:t

2011/12

10-Year Average

2011

/

12

1

0

-

Y

ear

Average

Applied

Sciences

2.87

2.93

31.0

%

32.7%

Arts

and

Social Sciences

2.89

2.92

26.8

%

28.1%

Busin

ess

2.99

2.96

29.7

%

26.4%

Communication,

Art and

Technology

3.19

3.21

38.6

%

40.8

%

Educat

ion

3.51

3.47

62.7%

58.1

%

En

viro

nment

3.14

3.04

36.8%

32.8

%

Health

Sciences

3.18

3.22*

38.0

%

41.9%*

Science

2.93

2.93

32.4%

32.7

%

Univers

i

ty Total

3.01

3.01

33.0%

32

.

7%

*

The

Faculty of Health Sciences

beg

an

offering

undergraduate classes

in

the

Fall

2006 term.

LONG-TERM

COMPARISONS AND TRENDS W

I

TH

I

N FACULTIES

3

:

Comparing

th

e

average

upper

division

grades

awarded over

t

h

e

l

as

t

te

n

years:

•

Applied

Sciences:

o

On average,

Engineer

i

ng

Science

[ENSC)

courses

have

awarded

h

i

gher upper

division grades than Computing

Science [CMPT)

courses.

•

Arts

and

Social Sciences [ARTS):

o

Th

e

highest

average

upper

di

v

ision grades

were awarded

in

German

[

GERM; note

that there are only two years of data for this subject) and General Stud

ies

[GS

)

courses.

o

Business

Adm

in

istr

at

ion

&

Economics [BUEC) cou

rses

have

a

w

arded average

grades considerably below the

Facult

y

average.

•

Communication, Art and

Te

c

hn

o

l

ogy:

o

Contemporary

Arts [FPA) courses

have

awarded

t

he

h

ighes

t

average upper

division

grad

es

.

o

Publi

s

hing

[PUB) courses

have

awarded

the lo

wes

t

u

p

pe

r

division grades.

N

o

te

that this

is

based off of only two years of

data.

•

Environm

e

nt

[ENV):

o

En

v

ironment

Science

[EVSC

)

courses

have

awarded

th

e

highest average upper

division grades.

Note

that

very

few grades

have

been awarded

i

n En

vi

r

o

nme

n

t

Science.

o

Deve

l

opment

&

Sustainability

[DEVS) courses ha

ve

awarded

the

lo

west

average

upp

e

r

division

grades [not

e

that very

few

grades were awarded

in

t

h

is

subject

this

year and

there is

only

one year

of data for this

s

ubject).

3

Faculties with only one

s

ubj

ect

are

not

di

sc

u

ssed

in

this

section

since there is

no comparison

to

make.

I

I

,,

[0

---

2012-0H-22

21l

II

1

2

\

I

.U CRADES REI'ORT. SUMMARY

1'.1~,.

II

Average Upper Division Course Grades Awarded by

Faculty

APSC

_..

ARTS

_..

BUS

_..

CAT

-+-

EDUC

o

ENV

_...

HSCI

_..

SCI

_...

SFU Total

3.6

UPPER DIVISION GRADES

3.5

-

3.4

-

c(

3.3

Q.

~

-

3

.

2

Ill

~

0

-

"C

3.1

.--

IU

loo

~

~

3.0

Ill

loo

:I

u

0

2.9

~

en

2.8

IU

loo

~

>

2.7

c(

2

.

6

2.5

2.4

02/03

03/04

04/05

05/06

06/07

07/08

08/09

09/10

10/11

11

/

12

Year

"

---

2012-08-22

20

11

I

1

2 SFU G

i

lADES

l

lE

P

O

l

l T: SUM MA

l

lY

•

Science

(SCI!

:

o

The highest

average grades have been awarded in

U

ndergraduate

Semester

in

Dialogue

(DIAL) and

Marine

Science

(MASCI.

Note that MASC usually awards

fewer

than

40

upper

division grades each

yea

r

.

o

Science (SCI). Mathematics

&

Computing Science

(M

AC

MI. Mathematics

(MATH

).

and

Nuclear

Science (NUSC] courses

have

awarded

th

e

lowest average upper

division grades.

CURRENT COMPARISONS AND

TRENDS

WITHIN FACULTIES

3

:

2011/12

Average Upper Division

Course

Grades:

•

Applied Sciences

(APSC]:

o

In

2011/12,

Engin

eer

ing

Scie

n

ce

(ENSC]

courses

awarded

h

igh

er uppe

r

division

grades than Computing Science

(CMPT]

courses.

•

Arts and Social Sciences

(ARTS]

:

o

The highest average grades awarded

in

2011/12 were

i

n

Latin

Ame

rican

Studies (LAS] and German (GERM). Note that

very few

grades

we

r

e awarded

in these

s

ubj

ects.

o

Business Administration & Economics (BUEC] and

E

conomics

(ECON

]

courses awarded the

l

owest

average upper division grades in 2011/12.

•

Communication, Art and

Technolog

y

(CAT]:

o

The highest average grades awarded in

2011/12 were

in

Contempo

ra

ry Arts

(FPA).

o

The

lowest average grades awarded in 2011/12

were

in Publishing (PUB).

•

Environment (ENV]:

o

The highest

average

grades

awarded

in

2011/12 were

in

Environmental

Science (EVSC). Note that very few grades

we

r

e awarded in this subject.

o

The

lo

west

average grades

were

awarded

in

Development

&

Sustainability

(DEVS; note that DEVS

awarded fewer

than 30 grades

in

2011/12.1

•

Faculty of Science

(SCI]

:

o

The

subjects awarding

th

e

highest

average

grades

in

2011/12 were

Mar

i

ne

Sc

ien

ce

(MASCI and

Und

ergraduate Semester in

Dialogue

[DIAL).

Note that

MASC awarded fewer

t

h

a

n

30 grades in

2011/12

.

o

The

lo

wes

t

average grades were awarded

in Nu

clear Science

[NUSC]

and

Mathematics

& Comput

in

g

Science (MACMI.

Large

Changes in 2010/11 to 2011/12 Average

Upper Division

Course

Grades:

•

The following

subjects

have

seen

large

changes

[of at

l

east

0.25] this

y

ear over

last

year"s average

upp

er

division grade

awarded:

o

Increases:

Statistics

[STAT:

2.84

to 3.121.

Science [SCI: 2.37 to 2.63

1.

and

Spanish

(SPAN:

3.16

to

3.411.

1\<

(

\

...

[

2-

---

:!012-0S-:!2

:!Oil

I

1:! SFU CRADES Rll'OR.T. SUMMARY

o

Decreases:

Nuclear

Science (NUSC:

2. 74 to

2.371,

Environmental

Sc

i

ence

(EVSC:

4.33

to

4.00;

note that

very few

grades

were awarded in

EVSC].

and

Publi

shing

Program (PUB:

3.09

to 2.79].

11/.A

.J-

General Observations

(All

Undergraduate Courses/

•

In

2011/12

,

t

h

e

average

undergraduate grade awa

r

ded was 2.79.

•

The

ave

rag

e

undergraduate

grade awarded over the past ten

ye

ars

is

2.79.

!'age: 1.>

•

Over

the

pas

t

te

n

years,

upper

d

i

vision

courses

have consistentl

y

awarded higher grades

than

l

ower

di

vis

ion

courses in all

F

aculties.

1

11.8- Undergraduate

Course Grades by Student

Faculty

Thi

s

sect

ion

summarizes the 2011/12 undergraduate course g

r

ade distributions

wi

thi

n

eac

h F

ac

ult

y, contro

lling

for the Faculty

of

undergraduate

students en

r

o

ll

ed

i

n the co

u

rses.

Table 5:

2

01

1

/12 A

v

erage Undergraduate

Course

Grades Awarded and

Percentage of

"A"

Grades

Awar

d

ed, by

F

acult

y

of Student

Ave

rage

Course

%

"A" Grades

Faculty of Student

Grades

Awarded

Applied Sciences

2.61

23

.1

%

Arts and

Socia

l

Sciences

2.69

21.2

%

Business

2.93

28.5

%

Communication,

Art

and

Technolo

g

y

2.90

29.7

%

Education

3.37

56.7

%

En

v

ironment

2.96

31.3

%

Health

Sciences

2.81

25.5

%

Science

2.84

28.5%

All Unde

rg

rad

u

a

t

e Students

2.79

25.7

%

By Faculty ofStudents

:

•

Stude

n

ts

fr

om the

F

aculty of Education

(

EDUC) were awarded the highest grades

overall in 2011/12,

with an average course grade of

3.37.

•

Students from the Faculty of

Communication

,

Art and

Technology (CAT]. the Beedie

School of Business

(BU

S]. and

the Faculty of Environment (ENV)

were

awarded

average course grades between

2.90

to

2.96.

•

S

tud

ents from the Faculties

of

H

eal

th

Sc

i

ences (

H

SCI) and Science

(SC

I

)

were

awarded average grades of

2.81 and 2.84

respec

t

ive

l

y

.

t I

p I

I

\

3

---

20

12

-0~-22

4.33

4.00

3

.

67

3

.

33

-

<

c.

3.00

~

-

II)

2.67

CIJ

'tl

ru

1..

2.33

~

CIJ

II)

2.00

1..

:::J

0

1.67

u

CIJ

Cl

1.33

ru

1..

CIJ

>

<

1.00

0.67

0.33

0.00

20

1

1

/

12

Sf'

U

GRAI)ES

l

tEI'OR

T

: SU

MMARY

Figure

Simon Fraser University: Undergraduate Course Grades, 2011/12

Faculty of Course vs. Faculty of Student

3.37

APSC

ARTS

BUS

CA

T

SCI

All

n=19,474

n=79,044

n=26,430

n=19,085

EDU

C

n=4

,796

ENV

n=4,744

H

SCI

n=9,555

n=27

,61

4

n=190,829

Faculty

of Student

Notes

:

Only averages based on 6 or

mor

e

grades are graphed.

'All'

category inc

lu

des students who are not

associated

w

ith

a

Fa

c

ulty.

Only

includes

grades awarded to

undergradu

ate s

tudents

.

l'ag~

I

.J

•

APSC

Cour

ses

DARTS

Courses

m

BUS

Courses

DCAT

Courses

o

EDUC

Courses

•

ENV

Courses

•

HSCI

Courses

o

SCI

Cour

ses

-

Average Grade

---

2012-0H-22

20 I

I

I

12 SFU CRADES

I

{.E

i'

OR.T: SUMMARY

•

St

u

de

n

ts from the

F

aculties of

Arts and

Social Sc

i

ences [AR

T

S

]

a

n

d Applie

d

Scie

n

ces

[A

P

SC] we

r

e awa

r

ded the lowest

average

grades

in

2011/12

,

with

an ave

r

age cou

r

se

g

r

ade of 2.69 and 2.6

1

respect

i

vely.

•

Students f

r

om all Fac

u

lties most commonly took co

u

rses

from t

h

e

ir

own Fac

ul

t

i

es.

B

y

Fa

c

ul

t

y of Courses:

•

In

cou

r

ses offe

r

ed by the

F

ac

u

lty o

f E

d

u

cation

[EDU

C], s

tud

e

n

ts

fr

o

m

t

h

e

F

ac

ult

y of

E

duc

ati

o

n [EDU

C]

r

ece

i

ved t

h

e

h

ig

h

es

t

ave

r

age grades

in

2011/

1

2.

•

I

n c

o

u

r

ses

o

ffe

r

ed by t

h

e

F

ac

u

lty of

En

v

i

ro

n

me

nt [EN

VI.

s

tu

de

n

ts

fr

o

m t

h

e F

ac

ult

y of

En

vi

r

o

nm

e

nt

[

E

NV] received the h

i

ghes

t

average

g

ra

d

es

i

n 201

1

/

1

2

.

•

In

c

o

u

rses o

ff

e

r

ed by all other Facu

l

ties,

students

f

r

om th

e B

ee

di

e Sc

h

oo

l

of

B

u

si

n

ess

[B

US] rece

i

ved

t

h

e

h

ig

h

est

ave

r

age

g

r

ades

i

n 20

1

1/

1

2.

•

Apa

r

t f

r

om the

F

ac

ul

ty of Environment

[EN

VI.

courses

i

n all

F

acu

l

ties were most

freque

n

tly ta

k

en by students

from wit

h

in those Facu

l

t

i

es. Faculty o

f E

nv

i

ro

n

me

n

t

[ENV]

c

o

u

rses

were

most of

t

en take

n

by

s

t

udents

f

r

om the Fa

cu

lty of Arts a

n

d Social

Sc

i

ences [A

R

TS].

I

I

I.C

-

Graduate Course Grades

FACULTY COMPAR

I

S

ION

S

:

•

T

h

e

F

ac

u

lty of Env

i

ro

n

ment [E

N

V] has awarded the h

i

g

h

es

t a

verage grad

u

a

t

e

l

eve

l

cou

r

se

g

r

ades

i

n nin

e

of t

h

e

l

as

t

te

n

years, w

i

th an average awarded grade of 3

.

91.

•

T

h

e

Fac

u

lty of

Edu

ca

ti

on

[E

DUC

] h

as been one

of

the top two

F

ac

ul

t

i

es

in

e

i

g

ht

of t

h

e

l

ast

ten years,

i

n

t

erms of average graduate grades

awar

d

ed [10-year ave

r

a

g

e

i

s 3.88

.]

•

T

he Fac

u

lties of Co

m

municatio

n

,

A

r

t

a

n

d

T

ec

h

no

l

ogy

[

CA

T

],

H

ea

l

th Sc

i

e

n

ces [

H

SCII.

and

Sc

i

e

n

ce

[

SC

I] h

ave

awar

d

ed

similar average

grades over the past deca

d

e,

w

i

th

10-year

ave

r

ages of 3

.

83,

3

.

81

and 3.80,

r

espectively.

•

T

he Faculties of App

li

ed

Sciences [APSC

]

a

n

d

Arts and Social Sciences

[ARTS] have

genera

ll

y

awa

r

ded

l

ower average graduate grades than

all other

Fac

u

lt

i

es except

Busi

n

ess

[10-yea

r

averages

of 3.73 and 3.70,

respectively

.

]

•

The Beedie School

of

B

u

siness

[B

U

S

]

has awa

r

ded

the lowest average grades in

each

of

the last ten yea

r

s

,

w

i

t

h

an

average grade awarded of

3.46.

I'

I

~

---

2012-0H-22

20

II

I

12

Sr:U GRADES

ll..E

I'

Oil..

.

T: SUM MAll..

Y

Page 16

Table

6:

Average Graduate

Course Grades Awarded and

Per

cen

tage

of

"

A

"

Grades Awarded,

b

y Cou

r

se

Faculty

Average Cou

r

se

Grades

%

"A" Grades

Awarded

Course Facult:t

2011/12

10-

Ye

ar

Average

2011/12

10-Year Average

Applie

d

Scie

n

ces

3.74

3.73

79.6%

76.8%

Arts and

Soci

al

Sciences

3.73

3.7

0

77.9%

76.4%

Business

3.42

3.46

45.2

%

48.3%

Communication, Art

and Technology

3.9

0

3

.

83

91.2%

84

.

9

%

Education

3.91

3.88

91.1%

89.6%

En

vironment

3.91

3.91

94.3%

94.1%

H

ealt

h

Science

s

3.80

3.81*

85

.

5

%

85.1%*

Science

3.85

3.80

83.7%

82.2%

Uni

ve

rsity

T

ota

l

3.70

3.69

72.7

%

72.3%

*T

h

e

Fa

cul

t

y

of Health Sciences began offering graduate

cl

asses

in

th

e

Fall

2

00

5

term.

LONG-TERM COMPARISONS AND TRENDS WITHIN

FACULTIES

4

:

Comparing

the ave

r

age

graduate

course

g

rad

es

awarded

o

v

er

the

last

ten

ye

ars

:

•

Applied Sciences [APSCI:

o

On average,

Comput

ing

Science

[CMPTI courses have a

wa

rded

s

lightly higher

grades

than

Engineering

Science

[ENSCI courses

.

•

Arts and

Soci

al

Sc

ienc

es

[

ARTS]:

o

Ps

ycho

log

y

[PS

YCI.

Criminology

[CRIMI.

and

Linguistics

(LING] have awarded the

highest average grade

s

over the past decade. Note

that Linguisti

cs

[LING]

awarded fewer than 50 graduate cours

e

grades in

each year

.

o

Ap

plied Legal

St

udies

(ALSI.

In

ternational Studies [lSI

a

nd Economics

(ECONI

have awarded

r

ela

ti

ve

l

y

l

ow

average grades

.

•

Communication,

A

rt

and

Technolog

y

[CAT]:

o

C

ommunications

[CMNSI has awarded the

highe

st

average grades

.

o

All other subjects have awarded very similar average

course

grade

s

.

•

Environm

e

nt IENVI:

o

Resource & Environmental Management [REM] has

awarded

the highest

average

grades

.

o

Development & Sustainabil

i

t

y

[DEV

S

]

has awarded the

lo

west

average graduate

course grades. Note that the

avera

g

e grades

for

this

subject are based on a

sma

ll

samp

l

e

s

i

ze,

and that this is only

on

th

e

second

yea

r

that

DEVS

courses

have been offered.

•

Science

(SCI]

:

o

Cour

ses

in Mol

ec

ular Biology

&

Biochemistry [MBBI

a

nd

Biological Sciences

[BI

SCI

have

awa

rded

th

e

h

ighest average graduate

course grades.

4

Faculties wi

t

h

only

one s

ub

ject are no

t di

sc

uss

ed

in

t

his section since

t

he

r

e

is

no comparison

t

o make.

'

l<

\

\

---

:201.2-0H-2.2

.2011 1.2 SFU G

R

ADES RLI'ORT SUM:vlAR Y

l'.tg<'

17

Average Graduate Course Grades Awarded by Faculty

APSC

-

ARTS

-

sus

-

CAT

-

EDUC

ENV

-

HSCI

-

sci

-

sFU

Total

4.00

.......

ct

0.

3.90

......,

~

cu

U)

3.80

"C

~

...

ra

cu

3.70

...

::J

U)

u

0

3

cu

.

60

ra

cu

c::n

...

3.50

ct

>

3.40

'

02/03

03/04

04/05

05/06

06

/

07

07/08

08

/

09

09/10

10/11

11

/12

Year

\

1

---

2012-0H-22

20

II

I

12

SFU CllA])ES

I

U.

:

POR.T:

SUMMARY

o

Physics (PHYS] courses have awa

r

ded the lowest average grades.

CURRENT COMPARISONS AND TRENDS WITH

I

N FACU

L

TIES

4

:

2011

/

1

2

Average Course Gr

a

de

s:

•

A

pp

l

i

ed Sc

i

ences (A

P

SC

]

:

o

I

n 2011/12, Eng

i

nee

ring

Sc

i

ence

(

E

N

SC

]

awa

rd

ed h

i

gher average grad

u

a

t

e

course g

r

ades than Comput

i

ng

Scie

n

ce

(

CM

PT].

•

Arts

and Socia

l

Sc

i

ences (ARTS]:

o

T

he highest ave

r

age grades i

n

2011/12

were awa

r

ded in Psychology (PSYC]

courses.

o

Applied

L

egal Studies

[A

L

SI.

I

nternational Stud

i

es [IS]. and Economics

(

E

CON] courses awarded the

l

owest

ave

r

age graduate course grades

i

n

2011/12.

•

Communication, Art and Technology [CAT]

:

o

T

he highest

average

grades in

2011/12 were

awarded in Communications

[CMNS

]

courses.

o

Co

u

rses in Publishing

[

P

U

B]

awa

r

ded the lowest ave

r

age g

r

ades

.

•

E

n

vi

r

onmen

t

[ENV

]

:

o

I

n 2011/12,

courses

in Geography [GEOG

]

awarded the h

i

ghest average

grades.

o

Arc

h

aeology (ARCH]

awarded

the lowest

average

grades in 2011/12.

•

Science [SCI]:

l'.lgl' IH

o

The highest average

grades in 2011/12 were awarded in

Biological

Sciences

[BISC].

o

The

l

owest

average

course

grades

were

awarded in Physics [PHYS]

and

Applied &

Computational Mathematics [APMAI.

Large

c

hanges in

2

010

/11 to 2

011

/12

Ave

r

a

ge Course Grade

s:

•

I

nterna

t

io

n

al St

u

d

i

es [IS

]

had an increase

of

0.29 i

n

the average grad

u

ate

grade

awar

d

ed

fr

o

m last year

t

o

thi

s

year

[

3.22 to 3.50]

GENERAL

OBSERVATIONS:

•

I

n

2011/12

,

the

average

graduate grade awarded

was 3.70,

a

slight

increa

se

from last

year"s.

The average graduate grade

awarded at

the un

i

ve

rsity has been fa

i

rly

sta

b

l

e over

the

last 8

years.

•

T

h

e average

graduate grade

awarded over

the pas

t

ten

years is 3.69.

I'

'

I

'

II

I

I•

l

' I \

'\ ...

,

I

I

---

2012-06-29

Fall 2011 Undergraduate

Swdem S

ur

\'ey:

Hi

ghligh

t

\

HIGHLIGHTS

FALL 201

I

SFU UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SURVEY

The Undergraduate Student Survey has been conducted at Simon Fraser University every Fall semester

since

1992

1

(e

xcep

t

in 2002.]

Thi

s

annual survey provides essential

feedback

on the academic

exper

i

ences

and concerns of

our undergraduate students. Every

year

,

students are asked about their

experiences with course availability at SFU, as

we

ll as

a range of other topics that

c

h

a

nge from

year to

year. The

new

to

pics

for this

yea

r

's s

urve

y we

re teaching

/

curriculum,

services, and student engagement.

A

total of 6,953

undergraduate

st

udents

participated

in

this year's survey.

Thi

s

repre

se

nt

s a

response

rate

of 28.5%, which

is

very

similar to last

year's

response

rate

of 28.6

%

. Assuming that the sample

is

representati

ve,

proportions

calculated on all respondents are

accurate

within

±

1.2%,

19

time

s

out of 20

2

•

The full report is

available on the

Institutional Research

and Planning web-site:

ht

t

p

:1/

w

ww.sf

u

.

ca/

irp

/s

u

r

ve

y

s/

u

g

ss/i

n

dex.

h

t

m

l

General

E

x

perience

•

89% of

respondents

are very/somewhat satisfied

wit

h

their general SFU experience.

•

When students

we

re

asked what single thing SFU

co

uld

do to improve

th

ei

r

experience

here,

the

most common responses were:

o

improve

facilit

ies,

o

improve course availability,

va

riet

y,

and scheduling, and

o

im

pro

ve

student

life.

If SFU Could Do One

Thing

to

Improve

Your Experience Here,

What

Would

it Be? (Top 10 Suggestions)

Fa

cilities

jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil

l

Course Availability,

Var

ie

ty

and Scheduling

Student

Life

Services/Advising

Transportation

Universit

y

Administration/Policy

Decisions

Tuition/Fees and

Financial Aid

Course

Co

ntent,

Format, and Workload

Instructors and

TAs

1

-f

Food

~~~~~

~

~--------~----------~--------__j

0%

5%

10

%

15%

20%

1

It

s

hould

be

not

e

d that

a

change

in

methodology

,

from

in-class paper

s

urvey to

onl

in

e

s

urve

y

,

was

in

s

tituted in

2006. The

pap

er

s

u

rveys, ad

mini

s

ter

e

d to

a

random

sam

ple

ofc

l

asses,

re

s

ulted in a

"

captive aud

i

ence

"

and

high re

s

pon

se

rate

s.

In

contrast,

the

onli

n

e s

urve

ys

,

u

s

uall

y

adm

ini

s

t

e

red to th

e

entire SFU undergraduate

s

tudent

population

,

re

su

lt

in

larger

sa

mple

s

b

ut

lower

r

es

pon

se

ra

t

es

,

which

could make the

r

esults

le

ss

gene

r

al

i

zab

l

e.

Measure

s

were

taken

t

o

reduc

e

potentia

l

bia

ses

re

s

ulting

f

r

om a

lower

re

s

pon

se

rate.

2

This margin

oferror app

l

ies to estimates based on the entire

sam

ple

,

as

s

uming

th

at

the

sa

mple i

s

rep

r

esentative.

---

2012-06-29

rail

20

II

Under~radu.ttc

Student

S

ur

vey:

Highlight

s

•

When

asked to

compare their

expe

ri

e

nc

e

at SFU to their

e

x

pectat

i

ons

w

h

en

they first

a

rr

ive

d:

o

14%

of

r

es

pondents

sa

id

that

S

FU ha

s exceeded

their

expectat

ion

s

,

o

67% said SFU

h

as

met their

expecta

tion

s

,

and

o

19%

indicated

that SFU has

f

a

il

ed

t

o

meet

th

e

ir

expecta

t

io

ns.

Course Availab

il

ity

•

I

n

general, this

year's c

ours

e availab

i

lity

results represent a

step

backwards

from

the Fall2010

r

es

ult

s.

•

NUMBER of Courses

: 77%

of respondents

were a

bl

e

to r

eg

ist

e

r

in t

h

e

n

um

be

r

of

co

u

rses they

wa

nted

this

fall, a

s

tati

s

ticall

y

significant

decrease

from

l

as

t

year's

rat

e of 81%.

•

SPECIF

I

C Cou

r

ses:

54%

were able

to

r

e

gi

s

t

er

in

a

ll

of

the

specific co

u

rses

t

hey wanted to take

this term. This i

s

on

par

w

i

th t

h

e 2009

r

ate,

and is

a s

ta

t

i

st

icall

y sign

i

f

i

ca

n

t decrease

from last

year's

rat

e

of 57%.

•

REQUIR

E

D Courses:

64%

we

r

e ab

l

e

t

o

regi

ster i

n

all

of

th

e

REQ

U

I

RED

co

u

rses they wanted

this

term

(v

s

.

67%

l

as

t

fall,

a

statistically

s

ignifi

cant

decrease.] Registration

dif

fi

c

u

l

t

y was most often

due

t

o:

Ill

41

Ill

..

::J

u

0

c

en

B

41

(!)

0

~

o

full classes,

o

scheduli

n

g co

nfli

cts

,

o

co

ur

ses not be

in

g

offered

thi

s term,

o

in

s

uffici

e

nt

travel

tim

e

to get between

cou

r

ses o

ff

ered a

t

d

i

ffe

r

ent campuses, and

o

inco

nven

ient

sched

ulin

g.

o

Respondents

in t

h

e

Faculty

of

Education

were most successful

i

n reg

i

ste

r

ing for all of the

r

eq

uir

ed

courses they

wan

t

ed

t

o

take,

while those

in

Hea

l

th Sc

i

ences and

i

n Arts and

Social Sciences

were

least

s

u

ccessful. Th

i

s

i

s

the

same pattern as

i

n

F

all 2010.

10

0%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

APSC

Fall 2011

Registration

Success, by Faculty

•

NUMBE

R of Courses

•

REQUIRED

Courses

D

SPECIFIC Courses

AR

T

S

BUS

CAT

EDUC

ENV

HSCI

SCI

S

F

U

Overall

•

Delayed Crede

n

tial

Completion:

57% of

respondents reported

th

a

t

they

are taking

l

onger

t

han

expected to complete

their

credentia

l (th

e same as

l

ast yea

r

's

rate.]

o

85%

of st

u

dents felt

th

at

it

was

important to finish

with

i

n

t

h

eir expected t

i

meframe.

o

Commo

nl

y c

it

ed reaso

n

s

for delay include:

•

co

ur

se ava

ilabilit

y

i

ss

u

es

(e.g.

f

ull

co

ur

ses

,

sche

dule

co

nfli

cts, cou

r

ses not

offered,

etc

.

; 66%

of delay

e

d r

es

pondents].

•

taking a

red

u

ced course

l

oa

d (50

%

1.

a

n

d

•

emp

lo

yment

(

40%

1.

I I

11

'-tl

I

~

II

jl

1\

I 11

\

I

H

( I I

\ "\ '\1

.,

'

I

Zo

---

o

Rates of delayed

completion are highest in the

Facu

lty

of

Hea

lth

Sciences (64%1 and

lowest

in the

Faculty

of

Education

(

40%1.

•

Trends

: Course

availability

has

become generally

more

problematic

over the

past

fif

t

een years

.

Trends in Course

Availability

and Delayed Degree Completion

-

got

N

UMB

ER

of

cours

es

-

got

SPECIFIC

courses

~

got

REQUIRED

courses

o

t

ak

in

g

LONGER

70%

~

o---a----D--a

60

%

•

•

•

~

~

~.--()

~

0

0

0

0

50%

0

40%

'97

'98

'

99

'00

'0

1

'0

2

'03

'04

'O

S

'06

'0

7

'08

'09

'

10

'1

1

Note: Survey not administered in

Fall

2002

•

Satisfaction

with

Course

Availability

:

o

Satisfaction

w

i

th cou

r

se ava

i

lability dec

r

eases as cou

r

se

l

evel

i

ncreases.

•

Satisfaction

with the availabi

li

ty

of

400-level courses

i

s similar across

F

acu

l

ties,

wit

h

the exception of being substantially

higher

among

r

espondents in

E

ducation

l

EDUC]

and

Bu

siness

(BUS].

and

lower

among those in

Health

Sciences

(HSCI]

o

Satisfaction

with

var

ious

aspects of

co

urse

availability

(

scheduling of

classes,

available

registration

spots, etc.! is quite simila

r

to last

yea

r,

with the following

exceptions:

•

satisfaction

with course scheduling

has increased

by

4%,

and

•

satisfaction

w

ith

course frequency (how often each course is offered] has

decreased

b

y

9

%.

Satisfaction with Course Availability

L

ocation

of courses

offered

jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiii·

----~

Scheduling

of

classes

•••••••••••••111111111

Available

reg

istration

spots

i

n courses

Va

r

iety

of distance/online courses

How

ofte

n

each

cou

rse

is

offered

•••••••••••••

100-Level

Cou

r

ses

200-Le

vel

Courses

300

-L

evel Cou

r

ses

Ji••••••••••••••

400-Level Courses

~

=============r======~------~----

~

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

%

Very

/Somewhat

Satisfied

I

I

I'

---

20

1

2-06

-

29

f'a

ll

20 II U

n

dergraduate

S

tu

dent Survey:

Hi

g

hli

g

h

ts

I

~

Teach

i

ng/Curr

i

culum

•

Q

u

a

li

ty of

T

eaching:

86% of

r

espo

nd

e

nts are

satisfied

w

ith

the overall

qual

i

ty

of

t

eac

hing

at

S

FU.

•

W/Q/8 Courses: Just

over

half

of

r

es

pond

en

ts

agree that

the

se co

urses

s

u

cceed

in producing

the

benefits

for

which they were designed

(59

%

agreement

for

"

w.

courses, 57%

for ..s.

courses,

and

56

%

for

"

a..

courses].

T

his is

a

sta

tisticall

y

significant improvement over

last fall.s re

s

ult

s.

QJ

80%

..

01

~

70%

-

c,

>

c

60%

....

0

50

Ill

%

.....

QJ

40

%

..

01

~

30%

0

~

20%

P

e

rcentage of Respondents who Agree that

"W

/

Q/B

"

Courses are Beneficial

2006

2007

200

8

2009

201

0

2011

-

w:

Writ

ing-

Int

ensive

-

Q:

Quantitati

ve

A

B: Breadth

•

Use of Pe

r

so

n

al

T

ec

h

nology i

n

C

l

ass:

o

33% of

respondents

said the

u

se

of personal

t

ec

hnolog

y

by other students

ha

s

a

po

si

ti

ve

more

more

effect

on

their in

-class

le

arni

n

g exper

i

ence

,

o

30% sa

id the

a

d

van

t

ages a

nd

d

i

sadvantages a

r

e

r

o

ugh

l

y eq

u

a

l

,

o

20% sai

d th

e

effect

i

s

n

e

ga

tive, a

nd

o

17%

indi

cated

th

at

it ha

s

no

e

ff

ec

t

on

t

he

ir i

n-class

l

ear

nin

g

experience.

What Effect does the Use of Personal

Technology

by Other

Students Have on your In-Class Learning Experience?

mainl

y

beneficial

I

beneficial than h

arm

ful

/

di

s

tracting

neutra

l

_I_

I

di

st

racting

/

harmf

u

l tha

n

b

e

n

eficia

l

mainly

di

strac

ting

/

harmf

ul

no effect

I

0%

10

%

20%

30%

40%

•

Resea

r

ch w

i

th Facu

l

ty Members

:

15% of

g

r

a

du

a

tin

g

r

espo

nd

e

nt

s

reported

that

they have

wo

r

ked w

i

t

h

i

n

a

fac

ul

ty

m

em

ber"

s

research team, outside

of co

ur

sewo

rk

.

50

%

•

Eng

li

sh

L

anguage

Skills

and Gro

u

p

Wo

r

k

: Among respo

nd

ents who

have

do

n

e

group

work at

SF

U

, 93

%

report

e

d

that there

are st

u

dents

in their

g

r

oups who

h

ave

difficulty

with t

h

ei

r

English

language

comm

unic

a

ti

on s

kill

s.

Of these:

o

10

%

sa

id

the

ef

f

ect on thei

r

gro

up

wo

rk

e

xper

i

ence

i

s ma

i

n

l

y be

n

eficial,

o

27

%

said

it

s advantage

s

and disadvantages are ro

ugh

ly equal,

o

51

%

sa

i

d i

t

is

mainly harmful,

a

nd

o

12

%

said it has

n

o effect on their g

r

ou

p

wo

r

k experie

nc

e.

'I•

---

20

1

2-06-2')

Fall

20

II

Undcr~r.Hiuat<:

Student Survey:

H1~hh~lm

•

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students

we

r

e asked wha

t

qualities/skills

the

y

thought an SFU

graduate

should

ha

ve

.

Respond

e

n

ts

indicated

tha

t

critical

t

h

i

nking

sk

ill

s

are

t

he

most important.

Important

Qua

li

should

Have by the

T

ime

they

Graduate (top 5)

Critica

l

thinking

Ability

t

o

app

l

y

knowledge/methods

Oral

co

mmuni

c

ation

Team-work

Solid

foundation

in their

field

Services

0%

10%

20%

I

I

I

30

%

40%

SO

%

60

%

70

%

•

Facilities

:

74%

of

r

es

pondent

s a

r

e sa

ti

sfied wit

h

the

q

ua

li

ty of on-camp

u

s

buildings

a

nd

fac

i

lit

i

e

s

(vs.

77

%

last

yea

r

, a stat

i

stica

ll

y s

ig

nif

ic

ant cha

n

ge.

)

o

When

asked

wh

i

c

h build

i

n

g

has the greatest need

of

updating,

th

e

top

ch

o

ices we

r

e:

•

Aca

d

emic

Quadrangle (AQ,

se

lected b

y

48%

of

res

pond

e

nts!.

•

Rob

ert

C. Brown Hall/Images

Theat

re

(RCB

/IMAG

TH,

11%

1.

and

•

West Mall Centre (WMC,

11

%

1.

AQ: Most Urgently Needed Update/Maintenance

Washrooms

jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil

--l

Aesthetics/Decor

Lighting

Furni

t

ur

e

(

Desks, Chairs)

St

ud

y/Seat

ing

A

r

eas

+----

-r

---~--

--.----~

---

4

0

%

10

%

20%

30

%

40%

5

0

%

•

Library

a

nd

Student

Learning

Commons

:

When asked

w

hat

the

Library could

d

o

to make

it

eas

i

e

r

for

st

ud

e

nts t

o

bring their

l

aptops to

c

ampus

,

the

mos

t

popular

replies were:

o

mor

e e

l

ect

r

ical outlets

(

r

e

qu

este

d

by

68

%

of ap

p

licable

respondents!.

o

more/improved carrells,

seat

in

g a

nd

stud

y

spaces

(

65

%

1.

a

n

d

o

provid

e

chargi

n

g

stations

(58%

1.

•

Use

of Campuses:

Stude

n

ts

we

r

e aske

d

wh

i

c

h

campus

th

ey

regularl

y

use to

ta

ke

classes

,

us

e

t

h

e

Library, access

Student

Ser

v

ices, use

computer labs,

a

nd

use study space.

o

The

vas

t

majorit

y of

respon

de

nts

indicated that they

do these

activities at

the

Burnab

y

campus

[

-80-87

%

,

depending

on the

activit

y

!.

followed by th

e

Su

rr

ey cam

pus

(

17-26

%

1.

then the Va

n

couver

campus

[7-15

%

1.

o

Some students

regularly

use mult

i

ple campuses for these acti

v

ities

:

•

24

%

of

r

espondents

r

egularl

y

take classes at mu

ltipl

e campuse

s,

•

9% access

Student Services

at multiple campuses,

and

•

17%

use the

Libr

ary, com

puter l

abs,

and

st

ud

y s

p

ace

at more

t

ha

n

one

campus

.

---

:WI2-06-29

F3ll

2011 Underg

r

aduate

Studem

Sur\'l'y:

Hig

hl

i

ghts

I

~

General

•

Engagement at SFU: Graduating

students were

asked

about

their participation

in

va

rious

activities

at

SFU, over

the

course of their

studies here.

Among respondents:

o

19

%

had participated in

co-op, and an additional62% said

that they

would

have lik

e

d

to.

o

7-11

%

had particip

a

ted in

field schools,

international

exchange/study abroad, and

wo

rk

-

study.

An

additional55-67

%

said

they

would

ha

ve

lik

ed

to

participate in

these programs.

o

13%

indicated

that they

we

re una

wa

re

of events

in their department,

program or

Fa

c

ulty

in

w

hi

ch

they could have participated.

•

Engagement in the Community

:

In th

e

last

yea

r:

o

40%

of respondents

e

ngaged in

civic activities

in th

e

ir

local community,

o

33%

e

ngag

e

d

in

hum

a

nitarian

e

fforts

to help

the n

eedy

,

a

nd

o

15-20

%

engaged

in

environmental advocacy,

socia

l ju

st

ice

activ

ities,

and community

service

wo

rk that mad

e

u

se

of their SFU

education

.

o

Among those who

did

engage

in these

activities,

21%

d

id

so

in

an

international

sett

ing.

o

34-55%

indic

ate

d that

they are

not planning on

engaging

in these types

of acti

v

iti

es.

•

Employment: 53

%

of respondents are currently employed

or

se

lf

-e

mployed

.

Among

the

se:

o

1

0

%

work more than 30

hour

s

per

week

in

a paid

j

ob

,

o

31%

wo

rk

16-

30

hour

s

p

e

r

week

,

and

o

58%

wo

rk

1

5

hours

or less p

e

r

week.

•

Tuition for International

Students:

Internation

a

l

st

ud

e

n

ts

were

asked w

hether the

y wou

ld

sti

ll

have come

to

SFU

if

t

h

e

tuition had been high

er.

o

At

an increase

in

tuition

o

f

$1,000 per year,

47%

of

international re

spo

nd

e

nts indi

ca

t

e

d

that th

ey

d

ef

init

e

l

y wo

uld ha

ve

come, 22% said

th

a

t

they

wo

uld

not

have

co

m

e, a

nd

3

1

%

were

un

s

ur

e.

o

At

an in

crease

of

$5,

000

per year, 14% said

th

a

t

they definitely would

h

ave

come, while

71% definitely

wo

uld

not have

co

me to

SFU,

a

nd 15

%

were

un

s

ur

e

.

•

Student Goals

: S

tud

e

nt

s

were asked to

indicate

what they were

h

o

ping to

get out of their

SFU

e

du

cat

ion

.

Respond

e

nt

s

indi

cat

e

d that

getting a good

jo

b

had bee

n

their

t

op

priority.

When Students Decided

to

come to SFU,

They

were Hoping to ... (Top 5)

fulfill

their

desire

for

knowledge

meet new friend

s

and

hav

e

a

good

time

-l

I

I

I

train

for

a

spec

ific

career

•••••••••••••••

i

J

I

learn new

ways of

looking

at

the

world

0%

10

%

20%

30

%

40%

50

%

60

%

I

II

I I

I' I

'I I

I

II

()I

Ill I

I

I\

'\ '

'

I

70

%

---

2Cl

12-ll(•-2')

F.tll 201

I

Undt.rgr.tdu;H<.'Swd<.'nt Sun.n.:

Htghhglm

Recommendations

•

Facilities:

While overall satisfaction

with

facilities

is

relatively

high

[74

%

1. in the student

comments,

facilities were

t

he

most

f

requentl

y

cited

improvement requested.

Based

on

comments received,

student

satisfaction

with facilities

could

be further impro

v

ed

by:

o

Continuing

to

make improvements to

o

n-campus

washrooms,

as

well

as keeping the

was

hroom

s clean throughout the

day, and in a good state of

repair.

Washrooms

in

the

AQ were

most frequently

cited

as

being

in need

of

upda

ting or

maintenanc

e.

o

Increase lighting

in

l

ecture

hall

s.

o

Continu

ing

to add, expand, and make

improvements to

study areas.

•

Course Availability and Scheduling:

Student responses suggest the need

for

continued effort to:

o

Increase

the frequency of required uppe

r

division

courses

.

o

Incre

ase the seat capacity of courses that

ha

v

e been

historically

popular.

o

Schedule

co

u

rses

likel

y to

be taken together at

non-o

ver

lapp

ing times

[and

at

sufficiently

spaced

tim

es, when

they

are offered on d

i

fferent campuses.]

o

Check that exam times

for courses

commonly

taken

toget

h

er

do not overlap,

before

r

eleas

ing

the exam schedule.

•

Student

Life

/

Campus Community:

Students

continue to

request

i

mpro

vements

to student life

and the campus community, such

as

holding

more student events on campus.

•

WQB Courses:

Whi

l

e students' perception of

the

value

of WQB courses

has

been

r

isi

ng

for

several years

,

the

rigidity

of

the requirement

s seems

to cause issues for some students.

Respondents

suggest that the requirements would

be less

cumbersome

if

t

here

were more

designated

WQ

B

courses, especiall

y

at

the

upper

division level.

•

Policies and Services:

Some

additional student suggestions over the

last

few

years

for

improving their experience at SFU include:

o

Reducing wait times to see academic advisors.

o

Improving the

registration

priority system, and communicating the a

l

gorithm

to

students.

o

Increasing

the English-language

communication standards for

incoming students.

o

Lower

in

g

tuition and fees

,

and/or

impro

vi

ng

financial

aid.