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June 12, 2023

2023 Academic Year Wrap-Up

Colleagues,

As we close this academic year, I want to express my gratitude to all faculty and staff for your continued dedication to our students and the success of PSU. In the face of many challenges, your efforts to support our students remain exemplary. The outcomes of this work show in the increased rates of persistence and retention for our students.

Our discussions about our financial challenges have occupied much of our attention this year. While these conversations have been difficult, I am grateful for the increasing engagement with faculty and staff across the campus as we came together to address these challenges. I am particularly grateful for the leadership of the Faculty Senate in affirming our commitments to shared governance as we develop pathways for the future.

We completed the final phase of the Program Review and Reduction Process (PRRP). Although the work was challenging, the faculty and staff involved developed important models that can have an impact across the institution in supporting student success. Outcomes include streamlined degree pathways, new degrees, and increasing interdisciplinary opportunities. Looking ahead, we intend to apply the valuable insights gained from this process to the ongoing program review we undertake as part of our accreditation. The goal is to establish a practical process that will enable us to adapt to student needs and foster innovative collaborations across various fields of study.

This final edition of the Academic Affairs newsletter for the 2022-23 academic year includes our report on the PRRP process, information about an upcoming requirement to track student attendance in classes, a look ahead at a budget discussion for ALT, and a listing of colleagues who received promotion and tenure this spring.

Soon we will celebrate the achievements of the 5,570 students who will graduate with a Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate degree from PSU. These graduates achieved their goals thanks to the support and dedication of the exceptional faculty and staff here at Portland State. Congratulations on a successful academic year, and look forward to 2023-24. Have a wonderful summer.

— Susan Jeffords, Provost

Fariborz Maseeh Hall and Smith Memorial building

Final Program Review and Reduction Report Available

This academic year, the Program Review and Reduction process came to a conclusion. We felt it important to document the process and review lessons learned. A link to the final report from the APRCA committee can be found in the report. The PRRP report can be found on the Program Review / Reduction Process webpage, and a link can be found below.

Attendance Tracking Required by the Department of Education Starting Fall Term

The Department of Education recently completed a compliance audit of Financial Aid and is requiring PSU to have both a policy and procedural mechanism in place to initiate attendance in each PSU course. Currently, PSU has no compliance practice in place and has been given a short timeline to develop and implement one. The practice will require some form of attendance tracking at the beginning of the term to document that students initiated attendance. Over the summer, we will work with stakeholders, including faculty unions, to design a process that will give faculty some flexibility with how they choose to capture attendance and develop guidance for faculty about what they should consider when choosing a method to collect attendance data.

Current Dean Searches and Interin Dean Appointments

Recently we hosted on-campus interviews for the Dean of the OHSU/PSU School of Public Health, and the search committee provided their recommendations to the Provosts. Searches for the Dean of the Library and the Dean of the School of Business are scheduled to begin in the fall. Tina Peterman will be the new Interim Dean of the College of Education starting July 1, and the Provost will meet with the Executive Council of the College of Urban and Public Affairs to discuss the next steps after the current Acting Dean, Laura Hickman, steps down later this month.

Optimized Administrative Service

Work continues with Huron on a conceptual design of a future operational service delivery model for Academic Affairs. Following this design phase, we will enter into a decided and implementation phase to determine the timeline and process for implementing any recommended changes. Finalized Huron recommendations will be available on the Optimizing Administrative Services webpage linked below.

Budget Discussion at Summer ALT Retreat

Each summer, the Academic Leadership Team holds a retreat just before the start of fall term to discuss major initiatives for the next academic year. Although the Academic Affairs budget is always on the agenda, this year, there will be a more detailed discussion of tools that PSU has available for reducing expenditures and increasing revenue. At the suggestion of the Faculty Senate Budget Committee, Academic Affairs will host a quarterly budget meeting for Chairs and Academic Associate Deans to discuss the budget and interdisciplinary opportunities across campus. Their first meeting will be on June 20, and information from that meeting, along with the Faculty Senate Budget Committee IPEB Summary Report for FY24 will be provided to ALT members for their budget retreat. We look forward to discussing these options with the Faculty Senate Budget Committee and the campus community in the fall and throughout the FY24 academic year.

Promotion and Tenure Actions

We offer our heartfelt congratulations to the many faculty who received promotion and tenure for 2023/2024. We are celebrating 22 faculty members who were promoted to Associate Professor with indefinite tenure,16 faculty who were promoted to Professor, and 58 faculty who were promoted into other ranks, including 14 to emeritus. Please follow the link below to review the complete list and join me in offering well-deserved kudos to our colleagues.

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