B.A. and B.Sc. General Admission - Faculty of Applied Sciences

Abstract

Two new admission categories are proposed for the Faculty of Applied Sciences: general admission to the B.A. program, and general admission to the B.Sc. program. As in the corresponding categories of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science, general admission signifies standing within the Faculty without commitment to any particular major. In the Faculty of Applied Sciences, these new categories will complement the existing categories of direct admission to Schools, bringing in additional students that can help in meeting Faculty admission targets. Based on these new categories, an overall redesign of the admission structure is proposed that both simplifies the existing regulations and completes the integration of the School of Interactive Arts and Technology and the TechOne program within Faculty admission requirements.

I. Introduction

Since the inception of direct admission by faculty and credential, admission to the B.A. program in Applied Sciences has been coupled with approval as a Communication major, while admission to the B.Sc. program has been associated with approval as a Computing Science major. Indeed, the degree codes for these credentials are "CMNS" and "CMPT", respectively, in comparison to the "BA" of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the "BSc" of the Faculty of Sciences. Correspondingly, admission to the B.A.Sc. program is associated with approval Engineering Science and admission to the B.Sc. (Kinesiology) with approval for that School. Each School within the Faculty had its own credential; a cute coincidence equating admission by faculty and credential to admission by school.

In general, direct entry routes for Applied Sciences programs have seen admission averages significantly higher than other categories for general university admission. While direct entry has had recruitment advantages for excellent applicants, the high admission averages have meant that the Faculty has turned away many potentially successful students. To compensate for the lack of general admission, some complexities in the admission structure have been introduced in the form of the Computing Science Guaranteed Placement program and the Applied Sciences One program for B.G.S. (Applied Sciences) applicants. Even so, the general tendency has been for substantial numbers of Applied Sciences applicants to be made general admission offers to the B.A. and B.Sc. programs of the other faculties. Neither the applicants nor the other faculties are necessarily well-served by this.

The recent incorporation of new programs into the Faculty has created additional complexities with respect to degree designations and admission models. The new School of Interactive Arts and Technology has now been established with a commitment to both B.A. and B.Sc. options. Also new for September 2004 is the Geographic Information Science program leading to the B.Sc. degree. These new programs alone mean that the coupling of credential codes to unique majors is problematic.

Introduced into the Faculty for September 2003, the TechOne program presents perhaps the most compelling case for a general admission categories associated with the B.A. and B.Sc. degrees. TechOne is designed to allow students to complete an integrated year of studies that keep options open for a range of follow-on options. At present, follow-on options in business, computing science and interactive arts and technology are defined, while options in communication and engineering science are under consideration. So far, however, TechOne applicants have generally been offered admission to an unspecified Bachelor's degree program without commitment to a well-known credential such as the B.A. or the B.Sc. This lack of specificity was partly due to the unknown nature of the follow-on degrees for interactive arts and technology, which issue has now been resolved as indicated above. Unfortunately, the unknown nature of the credential represented a significant recruitment challenge for the program. Offering general admission to a B.A. or a B.Sc. program would not only resolve this issue, but would also provide some discrimination of student interest without premature commitment to a particular major.

This document proposes general admission categories for the B.A. and B.Sc. degrees within Applied Sciences. In concert with these new categories, revised admission procedures are proposed to simplify and streamline the evaluation of applicants. The principal notion underlying this is the fast initial cut: immediately upon completion of application requirements, a decision as to admissibility within the Faculty can be made. If an admissible applicant then also meets automated admission criteria for a particular school or program, that decision can also be made immediately. However, if direct entry to a school or program requires further evaluation, recruitment based on general admission can still begin while direct entry deliberation takes place.

II. Proposed BC12 Requirements for Applied Sciences/TechOne General Admission

The existing BC12 requirements for TechOne general admission defines a single admission model for all students entering the program. This model may be seen as somewhat of a compromise between models appropriate for arts-oriented and science-oriented students. In fact, the Senate-approved model emphasizes breadth, requiring English, math, science and arts subjects at the grade 12 level. Although exposure to both grade 12 arts and science courses is ideal, there are simply too few applicants with such a combined background. Indeed, the actual model used for 2004 admission had to be simplified to drop the specific requirement for an arts 12 course, while still allowing such a course to be used in the admission average. Given the realities of our potential applicant pools, the introduction of B.A. and B.Sc. general admission categories offers an opportunity to restructure admission requirements to be better matched to the needs of the two student groups, while still encouraging, but not requiring, breadth.

II.1. Design Variables and Reference Models

In considering the design problem for B.A. and B.Sc. general admission requirements to Applied Sciences/TechOne, there are a number of relevant data points among existing admission models to be considered. These are introduced and briefly described below, each with their SIMS code which will be used for reference throughout this document.

• BACH - the 2004 requirements for TechOne admission.
• BA - the general requirements for admission to B.A. in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, also considered the university general admission requirements and the requirements for the School of Communication.
• BSC - the general requirements for admission to B.Sc. in the Faculty of Science.

Note that these first three models might well be considered to be delineate the design space: with arts-oriented admission models to be positioned with respect to the BA and BACH data points and science-oriented models positioned with respect to the the BACH and BSC data points.

• BUS - the requirements for admission to the B.B.A. in the Faculty of Business Administration, relevant as an important follow-on option to TechOne.
• CMPT - the requirements for admission to the B.Sc. program in Computing Science and also Geographic Information Science.
• ENSC - the requirements for admission to the B.A.Sc. program in Engineering Science.
• KIN - the requirements for admission to the B.Sc. (Kinesiology) program.

Each of these represents requirements relevant to important follow-on programs for students given general admission to Applied Sciences/TechOne.

• ApBA - the proposed new requirements for admission to B.A. in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, along with a proposed SIMS code.
• ApBSC - the proposed new requirements for admission to B.Sc. in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, along with a proposed SIMS code.

The design problem can thus be considered to solve for the variables ApBA and ApBSC in terms of constraints associated with the related reference models. The following two subsections address each of these as separate subproblems.

II.2. Design of ApBA Criteria for B.A. General Admission in Applied Sciences

Table I below provides comparative BC12 admission models for the three reference points arguably most relevant to the design of the ApBA criteria, namely those of BA, BACH and BUS. The BUS criteria are considered relevant due to the role of Business Administration as a follow-on option to TechOne and the normal practice of considering B.B.A. applications for B.A. admission if they do not qualify for direct entry to Business. The BA model is relevant in each of its roles as the university standard for general admission, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences standard for B.A. admission and as the School of Communication admission model. The BACH model applies both for its present role in TechOne admission and for direct admission into the School of Interactive Arts and Technology. The models refer to BC12 and AP/IB courses selected from lists 1, 2 and 3 of SFU overall admission requirements for BC and Yukon applicants (see the Admission section of the SFU calendar). The five rows of the table represent the five courses to be used in the admission calculation: one from list 1, two from list 2 and two more from either list 2 or list 3. The models presented are simplified slightly to focus on essential characteristics, eliminating details related to rarely used courses.

As can be seen from this table, the design variations relevant to the ApBA requirements focus on the two required courses that must be chosen from list 2 of the overall SFU requirements. List 2 is divided into 4 groups: math, science, humanities and social sciences. The BA model provides completely free choice among these courses. The BUS model requires math, but allows the second course to be chosen from either science or arts courses. The BACH model requires math and science courses (although the 2003 version required only math).

In light of these models, Table II provides three proposed design alternatives for ApBA requirements.

The first of these alternatives is simply the BUS model, requiring Math 12. The second alternative is a somewhat more flexible model allowing applicants to substitute a science course for math. Some studies of performance of 2003 TechOne students showed that good performance in TechOne MATH courses was more closely correlated with strong performance in science 12 courses than in math 12. The flexibility of this model also permits a wider pool of applicants to be considered. This flexibility may also useful in reconciling ApBA admission with the needs of the School of Communication: over 90% of qualified applicants to Communication under the BA model do indeed have at least one math or science 12, but a significant percentage have a science 12 without math 12.

The third model in this table adds an arts-oriented requirement among the list 2 courses. Applicants with only math and science courses from list 2 might be quite reasonably be expected to apply and qualify under B.Sc. requirements.

Additional variations on each of these models would be to add some specificity to list 2/3 requirements. For example, adding a requirement for at least one science or social science course may have merit.

II.3. Design of ApBSC Criteria for B.Sc. General Admission in Applied Sciences

Table III below provides comparative BC12 admission models for consideration in the design of ApBSC, namely those of BACH, BSC, CMPT, ENSC and KIN. The table has been organized for comparative purposes, although there are a number of fine details dependent on different groupings of math and science courses. Nevertheless, the differences are not too hard to bring out if tackled row by row.

As shown in row 2 of the table, each model requires a course from the math subgroup of list 2. This subgroup consists of Principles of Math 12 and some AP/IB math courses. The BSC model requires Principles of Math 12 or an AP/IB course considered to be equivalent. The other models allow a better mark in a more advanced AP/IB course to be substituted instead; this encourages students to take such courses and benefits a small number of applicants who do well. (Note: the 2004 calendar still shows only Principles of Math 12 for the Applied Sciences programs, but the broader requirement has been approved by Senate). However, the vast majority of applicants in all categories satisfy this requirement with Principles of Math 12.

Rows 3 and 4 of the table deal with the science requirements of each model. Row 3 is structured to correspond with the science subgroup of list 2, while row 4 represents a more general slot for a required or allowed second science course from either list 2 or 3. As shown in row 3, all models do require at least one course from the science subgroup of list 2. The BACH and CMPT models allow the full range of courses within this subgroup, including the AP/IB courses in computing science or environmental studies. The other models are more restrictive, as shown. There is even more variation with respect to the second science slot in row 4. While the BACH model permits a science course, there is no specific requirement. The BSC model allows Geography 12, a course from the social sciences subgroup of list 2 in the second science slot. The CMPT model allows any science or math course from either list 2 or 3, while the KIN and ENSC models are much more specific.

As shown in row 4, the final course used for admission is relatively unconstrained in all models except CMPT. That model has a specific requirement for an arts 12 course in order to ensure breadth among incoming students. However, with most other admission models encouraging streaming amongst high school students (particularly amongst science students), this requirement has had the unfortunate effect of reducing the applicant pool.

Table IV provides three proposed design alternatives for ApBSc requirements.

The first of these models is patterned after the existing BSC model, except that broader lists of science courses are allowed. For example, AP Computer Science may be allowed, which ought to aid in the recruitment of highly motivated students interested in computing science or related information technology programs. The second model is similar, but introduces two refinements. The first is that at least one of Biology 12, Chemistry 12 or Physics 12 must be included. This would exclude applicants who fail to have at least one of these key science courses. The second refinement is that the Geography 12 alternative is broadened to allow other social science 12 courses. This would encourage courses such as Law 12, Economics 12 or Psychology 12. This would also be consistent with the historic use of social science 12 as a computing science admission requirement, without mandating it. Finally, the third admission model provides two additional refinements. The first is that students would be encouraged to supplement English 12 with Technical and Professional Communication 12. This will assist many Applied Sciences applicants with writing skills in general and technical writing skills, in particular. The second refinement is that alternative math courses may be used to fulfill the second science course. This would be to the advantage of the many applicants who take advanced AP or IB calculus courses. Indeed, it seems perverse to allow calculus 12, a list 3 course, but not the more advanced AP/IB calculus courses of list 2.

II.4. Recommended Models

Based on the analysis in the previous sections, it is proposed that B.A. and B.Sc. general admission categories for the Faculty of Applied Sciences be established using the ApBA₃ and ApBSc₃ models. These models would apply directly to BC12 and BCIB applicants. They would also apply to CAN12, US12 and F1213 applicants using standard course equivalencies.

III. Applied Sciences Admission Rules

The addition of B.A. and B.Sc. general admission categories will allow the Faculty of Applied Sciences greater flexibility in responding to applicants. In particular, this will introduce new options for those applicants who specifically apply to TechOne or to General Studies within the faculty. However, it will also provide an important complement to the direct admission to Schools. Overall, the goal is to ensure that all qualified applicants receive an offer to their first-choice faculty even if not directly admissible to a particular program within the faculty. Indeed, faculty-based offers without admission to a particular program are the norm for the other departmentalized faculties; the present proposal brings this capability for Applied Sciences.

The following table outlines how Applied Sciences applicants are to be considered considered.

Every Applied Science applicant is first evaluated according to the direct admission model associated with the subject and credential of interest. If the applicant has an admission rating according to this model and this rating meets the minimum admission average for the subject/credential combination, a direct admission offer is made with the program/plan coding as shown. If the applicant is not directly admissible, then an admission rating according to the general evaluation model is determined. If the applicant has an admission rating according to this model and this rating meets the minimum admission average for Applied Sciences general admission with this credential, the corresponding general admission offer is made, as shown.