ESS Market Modifier Student Feedback Survey Hi engineers, I am emailing you today to follow up regarding a proposal for the implementation of a market modifier at the Schulich School of Engineering. Below you will find a link to a survey where you can succinctly express your feedback on the market modifier proposal emailed out by Dean Rosehart yesterday. The survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete and is crucial in developing ESS stance and future action regarding market modifiers. Further feedback can be emailed directly to me at [email protected]. https://surveymonkey/s/EnggMarketModifier Also included in this email, you will find a brief overview of what a market modifier is, an attached fact sheet where you can find more information, an overview of the specifics of the SSE market modifier proposal, and further details of a plan and timeline for student consultation. ESS is here to advocate for your best interests during the process of the submission of this market modifier proposal. Please take the time to relay your opinion to us so we can make sure we are best representing the student voice, as the outcome of this process can greatly affect student experience and education at the Schulich School of Engineering. OVERVIEW OF MARKET MODIFIERS A market modifier is a fee increase, usually in a professional program or specialty area, to bring tuition in those areas in line with programs offered by other Canadian universities with which we compete for students. Students in undergraduate engineering take roughly 30% of their courses outside the Schulich School, and these courses would not be affected by market modifiers. A proposal for a market modifier in the Schulich School of Engineering was submitted in 2009/2010 but rejected. Another proposal will be submitted by SSE to the government on October 15 of this year. This fee increase to tuition would not affect any student currently enrolled in the Schulich School of Engineering, but would be applied to all future enrollments. For more information about what a market modifier is, please see the attached Market Modifier Fact Sheet from the Students Union. SPECIFICS ABOUT THE PROPOSED SSE MARKET MODIFIER Schulich intends to propose a market modifier of $170 per engineering course. Since the market modifier would only apply to engineering courses, and each of our programs has a mix of engineering and non-engineering courses, the percentage increase in tuition fees over an entire engineering degree program would range from 21% to 24% depending on the specific program. If approved, this would mean that the tuition for engineering courses at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta would be the same. A market modifier of $170 per engineering course, when fully implemented, would yield $3.85 million annually. Of the total $170 per course fee, 30% is allocated to central university administration and university-wide costs (i.e. library, IT, wireless, classroom upgrades etc.), and 20% is allocated to new scholarships and bursaries specifically for SSE students. The remaining 50% will be allocated as follows: 1) Faculty (32.5%) - This fund would be used to hire new faculty members at the Instructor rank, with an undergraduate program focus, to enrich the quality of the undergraduate student experience. These faculty members will be required to have at least three years of professional experience outside of a university environment, to support an environment rich in experiential learning and increased practical engineering context. 2) Student Academic Success (7.5%) - This would be used for increased funding for the Engineering Student Centre, increased participation in the PASS program, increased use of undergraduate learning assistants and hiring students to work in the machine shop to support student design projects. 3) Innovation in Engineering Education (7.5%) - An Innovation in Engineering Education Fund would be used to fund projects that will support the school in adopting innovative approaches to enrich our learning environment. 4) Engineering Teaching and Learning Development Fund (2.5%) - This fund would support training and development of faculty and staff to enhance student’s learning experiences. STUDENT CONSULTATION One of the components of a market modifier proposal is evidence of student consultation. ESS has been working hard in conjunction with our Dean, Dr. Rosehart, since the official announcement of market modifier proposals on September 9 to create a plan for adequate student consultation on this issue. The student consultation you can expect to see is as follows: September 24-29: ESS Student Survey - This will aim to gather student feedback on quality of education at SSE and a baseline about student opinion on market modifiers to shape ESS representation going forward. September 26 (10AM & 2PM, Devon Centre): Town Hall - Ask questions directly to Dr. Rosehart regarding the specifics of the proposal and give feedback in person. September 30: ESS will evaluate student consultation to this point and send an email to all students regarding remaining action based on response to the previous two items, which will likely include another Town Hall for students to express feedback to ESS alone. October 3: Market Modifier Proposal submitted from SSE to the University of Calgary administration for review. October 15: Market Modifier Proposal submitted to the Provincial Government for review. November 17: Decision on Market Modifier implementation released to the public. Throughout this consultation process, please feel free to email me directly with any questions or comments you may have at [email protected]. ESS is here to represent you, the students, so we want as much feedback as possible over the next two weeks to shape our strategy. Please contribute to this consultation process as much as you can as this student feedback can shape the experience of all future Schulich School of Engineering students. ESS will continue to strive for the best-cased scenario for students in this process. Thank you! Christine Ochitwa President Engineering Students Society Schulich School of Engineering University of Calgary w 403.220.5737 c 403.808.2231 ess.ucalgary.ca
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:29:23 +0000