Meetings with
Statewide administrators
Past-Chair, Tim Hinterberger,
and I had an opportunity to meet with the President and several Statewide administrators in early August for updates on
issues of concern. We gained perspective
on upcoming budgetary challenges and learned of efforts to have academic
program planning play a larger role in the budget development process. We were told that academic program reviews
are an integral part of a newly initiated analysis of funding distribution
within the System. We learned that funds
from BP/Conoco Phillips are available for Sharing Scholarship and Excellence in
Research & Teaching and will make those opportunities more widely known to
faculty. Interim VP Saichi Oba told us
about studies of needs-based financial aid, elasticity in tuition charged at
the community campus level, and drop-off in retention in the junior year. There
was news of cooperative efforts among Provosts in academic program planning as
well as news of more restrictive university policies on transferability of GERs
and admissions.
Tim and I discussed with
President Hamilton the failed search for a Vice President of Academic Affairs, appointment
of Interim VPRAA Craig Dorman and reiterated the need for faculty participation
in conducting a second nationwide search for a VPAA next year. We were informed of Provost Ted Kassier’s
appointment to the new position of Senior Associate Vice President of
Academic Affairs. This renewed our
concerns that SW administration continues to expand without support for a
Faculty Liaison or similar position, in which faculty get release time from teaching
or research commitments to concentrate on numerous SW issues and present a
faculty point-of-view in SW planning efforts.
Interim VPRAA and
SAVPAA
In a meeting with Interim
VPRAA Craig Dorman and Ted Kassier, I sought clarification of Ted’s role as
Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and ways in which he could
liaise with Faculty Alliance and provide more opportunities for dialogue. We discussed the need for faculty
representatives to participate in academic program planning efforts at initial
stages instead of being informed of progress when substantive decisions and
resource allocations have already been made.
Since appointment of another Faculty Liaison has been denied, efforts
are underway on a trial basis to have representatives of Faculty Alliance
participate in meetings of seven SW Councils and serve on their work groups when
appropriate. In Spring
2006, Faculty Alliance will evaluate the extent to which representatives’
participation has been meaningful and whether the time needed to sustain these
efforts is feasible given other job responsibilities. Representatives will review
documents provided by Council Chairs, voice faculty points-of-view and
contribute an academic perspective in Council meetings, and then report to
Faculty Alliance on significant issues.
Distance Education
A recent HDEP report from the
Educational Technology Team underscores the need to provide faculty with initial
and ongoing support in order to assist them in successfully transforming courses
taught in the classroom to those taught at a distance. The report will be useful in discussions with
the ETT and Distance Education Steering Board about timeframes for developing
courses, course quality, and allocation of resources. Faculty Senates are reviewing ETT’s draft
document on Supporting Students at a Distance, and the
Transcription of
certificates
A SW task force undertook a
study of certificate programs in order to recommend better ways of capturing the numbers of students who complete those programs and
having data about those ‘completers’ show up in accountability measures. Community campuses provide many students with
opportunities to complete certificate programs, but Banner data may or may not
capture their successes in terms of workforce development or graduation
rates. Faculty