Student Services: A Student's Eye View

Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2005. A relatively new university, it has nevertheless seen tremendous changes over the past four decades. As admissions officers, registrars and other student services professionals know, the rate of change is continuing to increase dramatically. But, fortunately, the focus is returning to the student; it wasn't always clear that was the case. Let's look at what the world of admissions officers and registrars has looked like from the point of view of a Simon Fraser University (SFU) student who started school in 1965, 1975, and so on. The Sixties Jane applied to SFU in the spring of 1965 and was accepted for the fall semester. As the University opened its doors for the first time in September 1965, she was deemed a Charter Student and received a commemorative certificate. Although Jane didn't think much about it, it was a tremendous feat for SFU to admit and enroll 2,500 undergraduates in 1965. A January 1963 report to the BC Minister of Education recommended the creation of a new provincial university. A chancellor was appointed in May 1963, and the firm of Erickson and Massey won the campus design competition. Construction began in spring 1964 and the University's physical structure was essentially completed in the summer of 1965. It was built to allow for a future enrollment of 18,000 students. The new university was designed academically to complement the other universities in the province without unnecessary duplication of programming. It was planned to operate all year round, using a trimester system with intake possible in September, January, or May. ADMISSION As a grade 12 graduate of the BC secondary school system, Jane needed an average of 60 percent for basic regular admission. The admission requirements were comparatively simple and consequently easy to understand! She was required to submit two passport-type photographs with her application form. Upon acceptance, she had to have a medical examination and provide evidence of smallpox immunization before completing registration. Those of Jane's friends who didn't qualify for regular admission could apply under the Special Entry category. They had to submit references, write entrance exams, and appear before the Admissions Committee. REGISTRATION What were Jane's program choices as an undergraduate 40 years ago? She could choose from 27 100- and 200-level courses in the Faculty of Arts, 17 courses in the Faculty of Science, and two courses in the Faculty of Education. How did she register? With keypunched cards, of course (remember those?). She lined up at a table to get her registration cards from staff and lined up again at the cashier's office to pay. She paid a total of CAN $214 for tuition for the semester, plus a $5 student activity fee. Certified check, bank, or postal money orders were acceptable forms of payment. As a young woman active in the Girl Guide movement, Jane obtained a scholarship of $100 from the Vancouver Girl Guides Council. With the scholarship, she accepted her stated moral obligation to maintain her ties with the Guide movement. A TIME OF CHANCE As a female student in 1965, Jane did not worry too much about the fact that documents like the University Academic Calendar/Catalog used the third person masculine to refer to students. And she did not worry too much about gender imbalances in programs. She was a good, practical student who handed in her assignments on time, progressed through her program, and graduated with a respectable B.A. in English. However, over the course of her studies she became rapidly aware of social changes going on both inside and outside of the University. Eight years after graduating, she came back for a couple of years as a Special Student, to take women's studies courses in the new program administered by the Women's Studies Coordinating Committee. …

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