FGS, we have been told, requires not only enhanced space but also enhanced human and financial resources. To explore how poorly under-resourced our FGS might be, I picked 3 comparator universities whose overall graduate programs are similar in size to Dalhousie's: Memorial, McMaster and Calgary. Aside from access to the information I needed via the internet, the choices were based on the following considerations:
  • MUN is similar in size to us and in a similarly poor province
  • McMaster is often compared to us (Even back when Dean Leffek was appointed, McMaster's former decentralized structure was held up as a possible model. In this regard, it is interesting to note that now McMaster's structure is much more like ours!)
  • Calgary is the Killam University whose graduate program is closest (though still somewhat larger) in size to our own .

On the left I have plotted two variables that create a demand for resources in the FGS Office: the number of graduate students and the number of graduate programs. On the right I have plotted two variables that are reasonably related to satisfying this demand: the number of staff and the number of associate Deans. All data were gathered from current University web pages. As can be seen Dalhousie has an average student-based demand (this is by design as selection of the other programs was restricted to those of a similar size) and a higher than average program-driven demand. On the other side of the equation, we have the fewest resources supplied to meet the demand.

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