<strong>By <a href=”http://159.203.128.194/tag/Erika-Zell”>Erika Zell</a></strong>
Despite UBC’s decision to cut its equivalent program, SFU has no plans to eliminate academics-based entrance awards
Prospective SFU students may be relieved to learn that UBC’s decision to axe their President’s Entrance Scholarship (PES) program will not be replicated at SFU in the near future, but some experts are praising the decision as a better allocation of university funds.
The PES was a series of minor entrance scholarships granted automatically based on academic merit to incoming students, with a maximum value of $4,000 awarded for a grade 12 average of greater than 95 per cent. The program was discontinued as of January 1, 2012, after an internal study concluded that the scholarship was not a factor in most students’ decision to attend UBC.
Tim Rahilly, associate vice-president, students and international, confirmed that there is no plan to modify SFU’s entrance scholarship program at present. SFU currently runs several similar entrance scholarships to UBC’s former PES: the Academic Excellence scholarship is a $5,000 award automatically received by incoming high school students with grade 12 averages greater then 95 per cent, while the Summit and Kenneth Strand scholarships are $3,500 prizes awarded to incoming students with at least a 90 per cent average.
“I think a scholarship can be motivating or reaffirming of a student’s decision,” said Rahilly. “I think many schools want to know if offering the scholarship changes a student’s decision to attend the institution (i.e., they would not have attended if they had not received the award), but I suspect the perspective of the student applying is slightly different, [because] usually students evaluate a number of factors [such as] program choice, location, cost, and financial support [when picking a school].”
SFU’s entrance scholarship program is currently worth $1.7 million per year, on top of over several more million allocated for major multi-year awards. While the administration does not plan to change SFU’s scholarship policy at present, Rahilly said that the program would likely be revaluated within the next two years to ensure that it continues to work towards the goals set out in the university’s three-year academic plan.
