By: Marco Ovies, Staff Writer
Maclean’s magazine recently announced that SFU is once again Canada’s Top Comprehensive University for 2020. While this sounds like something that is pretty cool and exciting, when I read the reasons our school had been awarded the honour I was a bit confused. SFU does have some great things going for it, don’t get me wrong, but is it really the best school in all of Canada?
What the heck does it even mean to be a comprehensive university? To be considered for this title, universities need to demonstrate diversity in program offerings and an outpouring of research. While SFU does boast an impressive number of programs, it might be worth considering quality as well as quantity for the comprehensive category.
As an English major, I already have some issues with SFU receiving this award. This semester is the fourth time in two years I’ve had a class in the bottom corner of the Robert C. Brown Hall (RCB). There are no windows, no ventilation, and a total of one single outlet that my professor this semester spent a solid 30 minutes looking for. As a student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences I feel somewhat neglected. Students studying math got a new wing, and other classes get to use those fancy-looking classrooms on the third floor of the Academic Quadrangle. If Maclean’s is claiming that we are the best university in Canada for all our different parts, then why are some faculties being so overlooked?
Maclean’s also talks about the “philosophy of sustainability” at SFU, which I do agree is something SFU is trying to do well. The only issue is that they conveniently gloss over the accessibility concerns that the “Re-use for Good” initiative has brought to light. If SFU is supposed to be the best at having everything, then why has it disregarded major accessibility issues for some of its students?
Then there’s the issue of our physical buildings. Maclean’s mentions the UniverCity portion of the campus community as if it is a new bit of consumer infrastructure that has yet to be built. However, UniverCity and the Cornerstone plaza that bridges it to the school have been around for years. While it’s possible that an expanded UniverCity is in the queue of construction projects at SFU, that’s not much to write home about. It’s a nice thing to have on campus, but I don’t think it should be included with our “comprehensive” aspects.
The final issue I have with SFU’s comprehensive university designation is in the praise it gives to the My Student Support Program (My SSP) — an app that connects students to counsellors. First of all, I didn’t even know this app existed. Secondly, the whole app is flawed in many ways. Reviews from the Apple App Store suggest that it’s riddled with bugs, and students have a difficult time connecting with an actual counsellor for their mental health issues. For an app that claims that you can connect to a counsellor 24/7, it seems a bit problematic that students are having a difficult time getting basic functionality — especially for students who are seeking much needed help.
All in all, the praise we are given as Canada’s most comprehensive university makes it seem as if the people at Maclean’s haven’t been to SFU in a while. Was this information just recycled from previous years, or was this the result of actual research done to determine if we really are the most comprehensive university in Canada?
But instead of feeling bummed out that we don’t actually deserve this honour, this is perhaps an opportunity for SFU to make some much needed changes. We should be giving equal value to all departments, be concerned with the needs of all students, and give people a mental health app that actually works. The most comprehensive university award should go to the university that is the most well-rounded and balanced in all its aspects. If we keep giving most of the resources to only a few groups of people on campus, do we really deserve this award?
