5.1 Conclusions
5.2 Recommendations for UBC


Section Five: Conclusions and Recommendations for UBC

5.1 Conclusions

The main points from each of the sections, as they relate to UBC, have been pulled out and grouped below. They are organized for each report section under the headings pros, cons, and neutral to reflect the general implication they hold for our program.

UBC School Profile

Pros

UBC is accredited by both the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Planning Accreditation Board. It is one of only two schools in the study to be accredited by both national organizations (the other being Montreal).

UBC charges the third lowest tuition fee of all the universities (based on 1994 data), increasing the financial accessibility of its program to a greater number of students.

Presently, UBC charges the same tuition fees for in and out of country students. These lower fees keep the planning program accessible to a greater number of students in comparison to the other schools. In 1997, however, the fees will increase for international students.

American schools are two to fourteen times more expensive than UBC (except North Carolina).

The financial aid package offered by UBC includes scholarships, fellowships, assistantships (both teaching and research) and a work study program.

Approximately 50 per cent of the student body at UBC is made up of women which is comparable to other planning programs.

Based on the number of applications received by the school, UBC is the second most popular university, receiving approximately 140 applications in 1994.

Cons

UBC does not offer financial aid in the form of either paid co-op work terms or internships. Students can independently arrange to receive funding for their internship. However, such financial arrangements are not the responsibility of the School or its program.

UBC suffers from an extreme gender imbalance in its faculty. The school reports the second lowest ratio of female to male professors (10 per cent or 1 out of 10).

UBC offers admission to approximately double the number of students it feels would be an appropriate number for the program. This is comparable to most other schools in the study. It is important to note that schools can be more confident of acceptance if they are able to offer financial support. Generally, UBC is weak in this area.

Neutral

Information is not collected with respect to the number of minorities or international students attending UBCs planning program.

UBC enrolls approximately 30 students per year or 25 per cent of the number of applicants to the program. This is typical of the schools included in this study.

UBC sets a slightly higher grade point average (3.4) than other planning programs (between 2.8 and 3.5)

UBC, like all other schools, requires that entering students hold an undergraduate degree from a recognized institution.

UBC, unlike some schools, does not explicitly favour applicants with work experience.

UBC, unlike some schools, does not require or recommend that students receive credit for certain courses before entry into the program.

UBC, as with other Canadian planning schools, does not require that its students complete the Graduate Record Examination.

Philosophy and Approach: Missions Statements

Pros

UBC, in contrast to most schools, has a clear, concise mission statement which is beneficial to comprehending the schools philosophy. This has obvious benefits for students who are trying to select a graduate school of planning as well as for those persons attempting to give direction to the schools curriculum.

UBC is the only school of planning with a mission statement that addresses five out of six of the socio-spatial processes which Friedmann states are pertinent to planning education.

UBC is similar to the other schools across North America in incorporating urbanization, environmental, political, economic and empowerment processes into its mission statement. As such, the current direction of academics at UBC seems to reflect those of other large planning schools.

Cons

UBC does not include any reference to cultural processes, one of Friedmanns six socio-spatial processes, in its mission statement. While only two of eighteen schools in the survey did mention this process, Friedmann asserts that the process is key to a complete graduate education.

Philosophy and Approach: The Role of the Planner

Pros

UBC refers to four of the five emerging planning roles (including entrepreneurial planning, mobilizing community action, mediation/negotiation, and creating situations for learning to learn), which included all three roles containing the crux of where planning is heading. Only one, UCLA covered all five.

Cons

Like most other schools, UBC alludes to the role of the planner in discussions of what planning is, the types of jobs that planners work in and the kind of work they do, the challenges facing planners, or the various fields of study related to planning; however, there is no explicit discussion of the unique role of the planner in comparison to other professions.

UBC does not discuss the politicization of planning which Friedmann and Kuester, and Forester identify as a key determinant of emerging planning roles. According to Forester, this may be hindering the type of learning and understanding planners need to work effectively in these roles.

Philosophy and Approach: Values and Attitudes

Pros

UBC makes direct reference to values and attitudes of importance to its planning program.

UBC is the only school which clearly makes reference to all five categories of values and attitudes identified by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) as important to the planning profession.

Cons

UBC does not explicitly discuss values and attitudes of importance to the planning professional as a whole.

Although UBC did cover all five categories of values and attitudes identified by the PAB, two categories were weak: the role of government and public participation in a democratic society and the ethic of professional practice. UBC does not engage in any discussion of democracy or the planners relationship to clients and the public.

Neutral

UBC is unique in identifying ecologically sustainable social and economic development as the primary challenge facing planners, and is the only school that refers to the natural environment in terms of ecology.

Philosophy and Approach: Applied Planning Practice

Pros

UBC, like most schools, involves outside professionals in lectures and student projects. Short courses are often taught by outside planning professionals.

UBC is one of only two schools offering a mentorship program to its students.

UBC, like all schools, offers studio and workshop courses.

UBC, like most schools, offers an internship providing students an opportunity to work with a practicing professional in a planning office or other related agency.

UBC has a number of research centres/programs with opportunities for student participation, including the Centre for Human Settlements, the Disaster Preparedness Resource Centre, the Ecological Risk Management Project, and Professional Programs.

UBC is the only school offering opportunities for students to gain exposure to applied planning practice in each of the four categories that were considered.

Neutral

A number of schools, not including UBC, have students working as consultants for real clients, or involve community groups or planning agencies in the identification of the planning project.

A number of schools have unique programs or initiatives which may be of interest to UBC. These include: Chapel Hills Planners Forum Manitobas Partners Program; Marylands Technical Advisory Committee; TUNS special planning module; and Waterloos Planners in Residence Program.

Curriculum

Pros

The proportion of the degree made up of required courses was 20 per cent at UBC, allowing for substantial flexibility in individual program design. However, UBC is at the low end in comparison to other planning schools, with most schools falling around the average of 43 percent.

UBC has one of the highest degrees of program flexibility in two of its streams (International Development and Community Planning), offering students a program consisting of 60 per cent electives which is approximately twice the flexibility offered by most other schools. The other streams offered at UBC provide a higher degree of structure compared to the average.

UBC is explicit in both its mission statement and course descriptions about four of Friedmans socio-spatial processes: urbanization; political; environmental; and empowerment.

UBC is one of four schools explicit about five out of six of Friedmans socio-spatial processes in its courses. The sixth process is implied by the School.

UBC explicitly covers all of the courses listed on Friedmans list of concentration subject areas. However, it is clear from the analysis that it is not possible to get exposure to all of these areas at every school, even though they are all key areas in the field of planning.

UBC is among the 44 per cent of programs offering a full course in negotiation and mediation, addressing an area that many planning programs lack.

Cons

Although apparent in its course coverage, UBC fails to mention the socio-spatial process describing cultural differentiation in its mission statement.

The most glaring discrepancy in terms of a frequent core course that does not appear in the analysis is economics. When three economic categories are combined (socio-spatial processes, area of concentration and economic analysis), only 18 per cent of the schools encompass economics as a core course. This general trend is reflected in UBCs curriculum.

UBCs program is inadequate in its coverage of GIS and Spatial Analysis in comparison to 78 per cent of the schools in this study offering each of these subjects as a full course.

UBC only addresses nine of the sixteen quantitative methods selected as topics with the greatest combined current and future demand. Furthermore, most of the topics in the top half of the range (reflecting greater importance) are not addressed by the School.

Neutral

UBC falls in with a small group of schools offering a standard academic thesis for a fixed amount of credits. Presently at UBC, the thesis requirement as a portion of the total degree requirement is 20 per cent. The School ranks seventh highest in the proportion of the program taken up by the thesis.

UBC was one of 10 schools that does not uniformly require that a specific proportion of credits be taken in the area of concentration. At UBC, the proportion as well as the content of elective courses that relate to the concentration is individually determined by the student in discussion with advisors.

The four broad categories of core curriculum covered by a majority of planning programs include: History and theory; studios; legal context; and quantitative methods. History and theory, studios, and legal context form the heart of the core curriculum at UBC, excluding quantitative methods.

5.2 Recommendations for UBC

Below are the recommendations we make in response to the con and neutral conclusions.

Profile

The School should make a concerted effort to hire female full-time and part-time faculty members in order to address the present gender imbalance within the program. The school reports the second lowest ratio of female to male professors (10 per cent or 1 out of 10).

The School should review its financial aid package and assess its relationship to the loss of strong applicants to the program. Furthermore, the School may be more confident of acceptance by students if they are able to offer better financial support. For example, they may not need to offer 60 students a spot within the program in order to be assured that 30 students will enter the program.

The School should review the merits of offering a paid internship and/or a co-operative education program as a means to improving the financial aid package of the school.

The School should report collecting information on the number of minorities or international students attending the planning program (as do several American schools).

Mission Statement

The school should include reference to cultural processes in its mission (reflecting course coverage). While only two of eighteen schools in the survey did mention these processes, Friedmans assertion that the processes are key to a complete graduate education in planning is valid.

The Role of Planner in the 21st Century

The School should be explicit about the role of the planner instead of only alluding to this role in discussions of what planning is, the types of jobs that planners work in and the kind of work they do, the challenges facing planners, and the various fields of study related to planning.

The School should make explicit how it addresses the increasing politicization of planning. According to Forester, by ignoring this trend, planning schools hinder the type of learning and understanding planners need to work effectively in roles relating to the politicization of planning.

Values and Attitudes

The School should be explicit about the values and attitudes of importance to the planning professional in addition to those of importance to the planning program.

The School should discuss democracy directly when describing the values and attitudes of the school in regards to the role of government and public participation in a democratic society.

When describing the values and attitudes relating to the ethics of professional practice, the School should engage in a discussion that specifically addresses the planners relationship to clients and the public, and the role of the citizens in democratic participation.

Applied planning practice

The School should me explicitly how it provides opportunities for students to work as consultants for real clients and directly involves community groups and planning agencies in the identification of planning projects.

The School should review the following programs or initiatives offered by other planning programs: Chapel Hills Planners Forum Manitobas Partners Program; Marylands Technical Advisory Committee; TUNS special planning module; and Waterloos Planners in Residence Program.

Curriculum

UBC should consider the merits of changing its definition of the thesis requirement to include a thesis, a comparable independent work or some combination of the two. UBC is one of a small group of schools requiring a standard academic thesis for a fixed amount of credits (20 per cent at UBC).

UBC should explicitly discuss the socio-spatial process of regional economic growth in the course descriptions.

UBC should assess the extent to which economics is and should be covered in its core curriculum. The most glaring discrepancy in terms of a frequent core course that does not appear in the analysis is economics (only 18 per cent of the schools encompass economics as a core course).

UBC should provide adequate coverage of GIS and Spatial Analysis in order to maintain its competitiveness with 78 per cent of the schools in this study offering each of these subjects as a full course.

UBC should review its quantitative methods courses to ensure it offers adequate coverage of what most schools consider an important element of core curriculum. UBC only addresses nine of the sixteen quantitative methods topics selected as topics with the greatest combined current and future demand. Further, most of the topics in the top half of the range (reflecting greater importance) are not addressed by the School.