The international studies student association is advocating for one more faculty member to alleviate problems in the school
By Alison Roach
The International Studies Student Association (ISSA) has launched a campaign this semester advocating for more funding to the international studies program, specifically in the form of one new faculty member.
A newer program at only seven years old, the school of international studies has run into funding issues that are inhibiting its ability to grow, according to ISSA president Erin Wyllie.
“The problem is that international studies as a program can’t grow enough to accommodate the students who want to go into it,” she explained. “So students come to SFU particularly for the international studies program, and then they find that they’re not actually able to get into the program.”
This program has become even more inaccessible recently. The school raised the minimum GPA level to declare into the program to a 3.0. Currently there are approximately 200 students declared in the program, and another 260-odd students on the waitlist.
Besides the limited number of seats within the program, there are also issues of resources for students who have been accepted. Wyllie pointed to the fact that there is only room for eight students to do an honours thesis per semester, due to the lack of faculty thesis advisors, and a bottleneck that forms in the upper division courses of the program, delaying graduation times for some students. Specifically because of two mandatory upper level courses that are in constant high demand.
The Peak spoke with faculty of arts and social sciences dean Dr. John Craig, who expressed concern over the predicament facing the international studies program. “I’m very, very concerned,” said Craig. “Students that are not able to complete programs because there aren’t sufficient resources… that’s a great concern for me.” The ISSA’s campaign has been putting pressure on both Dr. Craig and VP academic Dr. Jon Driver to approve the appointment of a new faculty member to the school, largely in the form of an email campaign.
“I know that one more professor is not a huge thing to ask for, but it’s a step in the right direction,” said Wyllie.
The process for appointing a new faculty member is a lengthy one: new appointments are recommended by the director of each school within the faculty to Craig, who then selects from amongst those which he will recommend to the VP academic.
“Jon Driver has largely delegated the responsibility to deans, but he has maintained control over the authorization of positions,” said Craig. From there, Driver brings all faculty positions he has approved to SFU’s Board of Governors for ultimate approval. Craig explained that he only goes to Driver with these recommendations once a year, in October, and then only makes a handful of endorsements: four or five for the entire faculty.
This is due in part to the fact that resources are tight across the university, according to Craig. “Unfortunately, we started something once upon a time when the university had more money, and now as a result of a variety of factors including the wider credit crunch and provincial funding — so provincial funding’s flat, there’s a cap on tuition fees set at two per cent, there’s no new money coming to the university whatsoever — these are lean days.”
This past October, Craig decided against recommending the school of international studies for a new position, in light of
a new faculty appointment in September.
Craig suggested that restructuring in the school may be an option to look into. “There are particular requirements in the fourth year, and that strikes me as a little odd,” he stated, referring to those two mandatory upper-division courses.
Wyllie proposed that the structural issue is not with the school, but with the entire university’s funding model. “In the actual breakdown of funding for the school, lower division business students and science students are allotted two times as much funding as arts students. I know that ours is a smaller problem, but I think it feeds into a larger problem of how funding is being distributed.”
Wyllie went on to say that when she voiced her concerns to Craig over this funding model, he admitted that it was a very outdated one, and that it’s something that newly appointed associate VP academic, Dr. Gordon Myers, should be looking into next year.
“It’s just such a rigid model, and of course those classes are going to need more funding, but at the same time it’s just not fair,” said Wyllie.
In the meantime, the ISSA is continuing to advocate for their cause, speaking to various campus groups about the issue including forum, the student senate, the SFSS, and SASS. They also held a town hall meeting last month, which was attended by Craig and school director Dr. Alec Dawson, who supports the student-led campaign, according to Wyllie. When contacted by The Peak, Dawson declined to be interviewed.
“We’ve gotten response from it, and I do feel like it’s moving forward,” said Wyllie. “Having this conversation all the time is important.”
