Minutes – Undergraduate Education, Oct 16, 2017
Undergraduate Education
Intro by Jeff Cox
- Intro on teaching and reaching visioning
- Laying out of fall work
- Role of Committee and Report
Comment: At times, the campus seems to be at odds with the departments when it comes to retention of students. Departments view it as a win/lose situation when a student transfers to a different department, but as long as the student graduates from CU, it should be seen as a win/win for the student and for CU. We need to keep the focus on student success, not the department’s success at keeping a student in the department if it is not in that student’s best interest.
Q. We hear concerns and complaints about accountability and concrete direction to make things happen. What is the time line to move AF into the “nuts and bolts” to inform operations?
A. For now, we are just looking at “what” we want to do, and “why” we want to do it. Phase 2 will focus on the “how”. We will be able to at least provide a preview of the “what” and “why” in the spring.
Comment: The Foundations of Excellence report from the Provost is currently scheduled for April 1st, so it may be prudent to separate the timing.
Q. What is the role of the AF committee? After sifting through the input, how will they make decisions on what is high or low priority?
A. We are hearing recurring themes from the campus and are holding the targeted focus meetings on those themes. The committee will flesh out those ideas as best they can and then bring that back to the campus for review.
Q. Are you concerned about getting either too few or too many white papers? Should we encourage our colleagues to submit white papers?
A. Yes, we definitely want to encourage people to submit white papers that include not just what you would like to see, but also what it looks like, how it would work, etc. Come one, come all.
Q. What will happen to recommendations that do not align with the current power structures?
A. The Provost is willing to have conversations about any idea. Everything is on the table. Once the report is given to the Provost and decisions are made on where our focus should be, we will move to Phase 2 and determine what barriers need to be resolved to implement the ideas.
Comment: When talking about tuition, we need to use the language “keeping it affordable” rather than “lowering tuition”, and then keep an open mind on how we get there. There are many ways to solve for affordability.
Q. We have seen some unintended consequences affecting the image of CU – CU is now seen as a “Science and Engineering” campus. Gender-based trends relating to this is disturbing, and it affects every department and class. What are we trying to portray/project as CU?
A. It is unclear if we have consensus on that and if we can solve it. We need specific ideas on what to solve and how to solve it.