Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science Three Year Academic Plan 2004-2006 Approved by Department on 27 June 2006
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Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science Three Year Academic Plan 2004-2006 Approved by Department on 27 June 2006 Chronology of Department Planning A. Achievement of Previous and Evaluation: Objectives and Recommendations: • May 2001: Formation of Department • Nov 2003: First Three-Year Plan (2003-6) The Department has achieved most of the • Mar 2005: External Review of Department objectives set out in its previous three-year • Mar 2006: Senate Approval of Recommen- plan, and has made a solid start at dations implementing the recommendations stemming • Jun 2006: Second Three-Year Plan (2007- from the 2005 external review. 9) Full, point-by-point assessments are Since its inception, the Department has provided in Appendices A and B. Of particular grown from 9 faculty positions to 20. Of these note, are the following: positions, 7 come with external or endowed New positions: The three-year plan called for funding. All faculty members are active in several academic appointments. As planned, research, and their collective record of we were able to hire two additional actuaries, external awards and funding is very strong. but the other target areas (a theoretician and a Over the last few years, the Department has lecturer) were not addressed. Instead, we took emerged as a leading Canadian center for advantage of our recognizable strengths to statistical teaching and research. A recruit very strong applicants for externally comparative analysis of NSERC grant funded and endowed positions. funding conducted for the recent external The plan also called for further half-positions in review ranked the Department very close to the general office and in the Statistical the best in the country. Consulting Service. The half-position in the The rapid growth has also allowed the general office has been authorized and filled, Department to reduce its dependence on and we have just completed negotiations for sessional teaching appointments to an hiring a part time (one-sixth) position in the acceptable level. We now have an Consulting Service. appropriate mix of research faculty, Undergraduate Education: We are permanent lecturers, visiting faculty, external progressing on recruiting higher-quality professionals, and senior graduate students students to our undergraduate program in teaching undergraduate courses at all levels. statistics, developing our potential at SFU At the graduate level, all courses are taught Surrey, contributing more fully to the general by permanent and visiting faculty. Important undergraduate curriculum reforms, and recent initiatives include the expansion in obtaining formal national accreditation for our actuarial science, the development of close undergraduate major in statistics. We have ties to the Faculty of Health Sciences, and made a good start, but need to continue to the hiring of our first faculty member at SFU focus on these areas. Surrey. Graduate Education: We have succeeded both in expanding our graduate enrolment, 1 particularly at the Ph. D. level, and in announcement of the Statistical Society of beginning to develop an M. Sc. program in Canada’s program for accrediting Actuarial Science. We are particularly undergraduate education for their professional pleased with the quality of the students in our certification system. We envisage a joint effort graduate programs. We have met involving department faculty, John Simms and recommendations for expanded course other support staff, and current undergraduate offerings in key areas with the notable students. We would also like to pursue the exception of probability. In addition, we aim to School of Computing Science’s strategy of have a proposal for a new stream in hiring co-op education students to interact with biostatistics ready for academic assessment high school students, and to collaborate, where by the end of the summer of 2006. This will appropriate, with the Department of be coordinated with new graduate Mathematics in their events for high school programming in the Faculty of Health students. Sciences. 2. Surrey Campus (1.2 & 1.3): We are Research: We have achieved our goals for committed to working with our newly hired expansion of cross-disciplinary research Surrey coordinator, Tom Loughin to develop activities. Of particular note, are our heavy our role at the Surrey Campus. Top initial involvements in the Faculty of Health priorities will be to focus on Sciences, IRMACS, and the National a. The Management and Systems Science Program for Complex Data Structures. and Operations Research programs, and Computing Support: The Dean of Science b. Providing a top-quality learning has funded a systems support position experiences for the students taking our (shared with Mathematics) for two years. A courses there. joint committee with Mathematics is developing a longer-term plan for computing This will require the hiring of at least one junior support. person as soon as possible to work with Tom Loughin. We envision that this would be either B. Objectives for 2007-2009: a lecturer or an assistant professor. Although a The following objectives are strongly related lecturer could handle more of the teaching, we to the March, 2006 Senate recommendations would not want to dismiss other possibilities, associated with the 2005 external review. including, e.g., remarkably strong persons with References to specific recommendations highly relevant research expertise (who might appear in parentheses at the end of each also be eligible for an externally funded heading. position). They have also been prepared with careful The department is also interested in pursuing attention to the SFU Statement of Purpose. other opportunities for collaboration in further Contributions of our proposed objectives to Science and Health Science programming at this statement are outlined at the end of this Surrey. section. 3. Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth 1. Undergraduate Recruiting (1.1): In Requirements (1.4): The inaugural offering of response to the external review, the our upper-level designated writing course will department has implemented a modest be in the fall of 2006. Since English is not the program to encourage appropriately skilled native language of many of our statistics students already at Simon Fraser University majors, we anticipate that it will take to major in statistics. Our next step will be to considerable time to hone this course. This will develop a high-school recruitment strategy. be a priority over the coming three years. The We are currently awaiting imminent department also currently offers one 2 designated breadth course (STAT 100), and student workstations, and for a place for its Rick Routledge has been teaching a second, undergraduate students to congregate. EVSC 200. We would like to develop a 9. Computing Support (3.3): The Department further designated breadth course, focused will work with Mathematics to develop a long- on a major theme of widespread interest term plan for computing support. We concur (e.g., how humans handle uncertainty and with the recommendation in the recent external risk). We see this as an important way to review report for the Department of begin to “highlight the value of a general Mathematics that this will require a substantial education in statistical literacy for all increase in support personnel. undergraduates” as recommended by the University Senate. Relation to Simon Fraser University 4. Courses in Probability and Graduate Statement of Purpose: The Department Statistical Theory (2.1): The Department will already contributes solidly to the university’s review available undergraduate and graduate Statement of Purpose. For example, we course offerings in probability. In consultation collectively generate considerable external with Mathematics, we shall develop recognition and support, maintain active and improvements with the goal of optimizing successful undergraduate and graduate co-op student learning opportunities. The education programmes, develop critical and department will also assess the long-term analytical thinking skills in our students, and role of a new graduate statistical theory are committed to collaborative research. We course being piloted this fall. also maintain a strong tradition of recognizing and supporting the achievements of our 5. M. Sc. Option in Biostatistics (2.3): The employees, students, and alumni. department will develop an M. Sc. option in biostatistics. This will be closely coordinated The objectives in this plan will enhance these with new graduate programming in the contributions. Of particular note are the Faculty of Health Sciences. We anticipate contribution of (i) the proposed new breadth that these new programs will require the course to a well-informed citizenry and (ii) the equivalent of at least one additional new graduate programming to the breadth of appointment in each of these units. graduate programmes, opportunities for workplace experiences, and interdisciplinary 6. M. Sc. in Actuarial Science (2.4): The experiences. A more complete, itemized department is also moving towards an M. Sc. assessment is provided in Appendix C. program in actuarial science. We intend to work toward the goal set by the University C. Teaching Programmes: Senate of full implementation within three to The Department offers a full suite of teaching four years. This will require further academic programmes from introductory service courses appointments. A proposal for a post- through to the Ph. D. level. Thanks to very baccalaureate program in actuarial science is