Minutes of the Educational Policy Committee September 13, 2006

Approved 9-27-06

Educational Policy Committee

September 13, 2006 (Meeting #1)

Present: Katie Best, Ashley Brown, Mary Caprioli, Robert Carlson, Lissa Crombie, Richard Davis, Bill Fleischman, Steve Hedman, John Hiller, Jill Jenson, Rod Lievano, Vince Magnuson, Mary Ann Marchel, Robert McFarland, Elizabeth Nelson, Arlen Severson, Terrie Shannon

Excused: Gloria Brush, Mary Jean Menzel.

Guests: Eve Browning, Beth Esselstrom

The minutes of the 4-26-06 meeting were approved.

Subcommittee liaisons

Previous subcommittee liaisons were asked to continue in their role for the coming year: International Education: Rod Lievano; Admissions: Mary Jean Menzel; Information Technology & Library: Bill Fleischman. The role of the liaison is to call the first meeting, have the committee select a chair and report committee business back to EPC. EPC liaisons are still needed for the Academic Integrity, Instructional Development Service, and Liberal Education subcommittees.

Honors program update

Eve Browning, Director of the UMD Honors program, gave a brief update on the program, now in its 4th year. The Honors program will graduate its first cohort of students this spring. The program advisory committee meets regularly and has representation from each collegiate unit. This year offers to participate were linked to Best of Class scholarships and the entering freshmen in the program are the highest number yet. There is now an Honors course in almost every lib ed category. Honors courses in categories 3, 6 and 10 are currently under development. Last year was the first year of Advanced Composition for honors students and it was very successful. Social and cultural opportunities are also available to Honors students – the Pizza with the Prof series gives students an opportunity to talk informally with faculty about their research interests. The Honors program offers workshops on applying for major scholarships and graduate programs. There is a designated section of housing reserved for Honors students. Field trips and cultural events are organized each semester. Last year the students initiated an Honors Club which was very active. The club organized movie nights, service projects, and hosted a spring banquet. The goal of the Honors program is to cement the student’s connection with the institution. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Strategic planning update

President Bruininks initiated a system-wide strategic planning process to help position the University of Minnesota as one of the top three public research universities in the world. Each coordinate campus was charged with developing an individual strategic plan.  Over the past year a number of subcommittees were developed at UMD and met regularly to develop long range goals on a variety of issues. The next stage is to take this information to departments for feedback. A question about the proposed Institute on the Environment was raised. Vice Chancellor Magnuson responded that UMD is actively pursuing a role in this institution.

SSP 1000 follow-up

Last year the Admissions, Retention, Graduation subcommittee was charged with the task of reviewing SSP 1000, Intro to College Learning. A thorough review of syllabi and evaluation data was conducted and a final report was drafted with a number of recommendations for consideration. At the end of spring 06 semester it was requested that the SSP coordinator report back to EPC next fall as to any changes to SSP 1000 based on the report of the ARG subcommittee. To that end, a detailed response was provided and distributed to the committee for review. The SSP planning committee took the recommendations very seriously and made strong improvements to the course, particularly regarding consistency of content across sections. Thanks go to ARG and to Jill Strand for all their work on this issue. It was suggested that a more systematic follow-up be implemented and that a report from SSP come back to this committee for review annually.

Accreditation update

Steve Hedman provided an update on this issue. Every ten years the campus undergoes an accreditation visit. The accreditation visit for UMD is scheduled for October 29-31, 2007. A self-study report is due the first of September, 07. In preparation for drafting this document, broad input from all parts of the campus will be solicited. A steering committee has been identified to assist in data collection and writing. An accreditation website will be established to help keep the campus up to date and involved in the process. In addition there will also be a fall 06 visit to discuss accreditation for UMD to offer doctoral education and the delivery of courses through distance education. 

Prep requirements in social science

UMD’s high school prep requirements currently call for two years of social science. It was recently brought to our attention that the rest of the system (plus all MNSCU schools) require three years of social science. Implementing this change would have very little impact on new admits, as over 95% already have three years of social science, but formally putting this into place by fall 07 would be difficult as materials have already been printed and sent.  Fall 08 would be a more feasible timeline for implementation. This requirement may be outlined in Board of Regents policy, and if so, we are bound to comply. If not, this is an issue that EPC should consider. Steve will follow-up on this issue at the next EPC meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.