General Education (GE) 5 – Continued Need for Courses
As all but perhaps our newest faculty are no doubt aware, much has been achieved in a relatively short timeframe to reshape and redevelop New Paltz’s portfolio of General Education (GE) courses to meet the new SUNY GE Framework requirements. I note below areas of commendable progress but underscore continued need for courses.
Recertification of existing courses already meeting the new Framework objectives: This process is largely complete with 138 courses now recertified for GE 5. We look forward to approving the 13 courses that are outstanding. Kudos to all on that front!
Major course revisions to align current GE 4 SLOs with new GE 5 SLOs: A total of 76 major course proposals have been fully approved for GE 5, including 4 existing courses that are new to GE.
New course proposals designed to include SLOs meeting Framework objectives: The Curriculum Committee has fully approved 3 brand new GE courses.
Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice: A total of 17 Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ) courses have been fully approved for GE 5. This includes 14 current GE3 DIVR and/or Diversity courses, 2 new-to-GE DEISJ courses, and 1 new DEISJ course.
Other: Several course revisions and new course proposals are slated for resubmission to the Curriculum following incorporation of feedback.
Continued Need and Opportunity to Contribute: Finally, I must note that there are departments from whom few major course revision proposals or new GE course proposals have been received. Several are heavy contributors to the General Education program, and we look forward to their continued significant contributions under GE 5. Thus, I will be asking the GE 5 Implementation Task Force and GE Board to redouble efforts to provide needed support so that these departments fully engage in the implementation of GE 5. However, I will also stress that the transition to GE 5 represents a fresh opportunity for departments and schools which have contributed relatively fewer GE offerings to consider developing major course revisions or new course proposals aligned with GE 5 SLOs.
In sum, while substantial progress has been made, we do still need additional GE 5 offerings. Much appreciation goes to those departments and programs that have actively contributed already and to those with plans to do so. For any information you may need in moving forward, please see the General Education website at https://www.newpaltz.edu/ge/. You may address any questions directly to the GE Implementation Task Force at GEimplementation@newpaltz.edu.
The Evolving Academic Program Portfolio – Streamlining Development Processes
As President Wheeler’s current report to the faculty notes, our online degree programs have more than tripled in the past five years. We appreciate and celebrate this evolution of our academic program portfolio. Nevertheless, with change seemingly the only constant, it remains necessary to continually strategize how best to meet our educational mission and to address accelerating enrollment challenges through the programs we offer.
Strategic action, of course, includes careful attention to the health of existing programs. Indeed, the move of existing graduate professional programs to online modalities has been, in part, a concerted effort to maintain and enhance their health and responsiveness to the needs of working professionals. Further, delivery format changes are not the only efforts being pursued to reach program capacity. For instance, we recently had the CIP – Classification of Instructional Programs – code changed for our MS Psychological Science to make it eligible for the STEM OPT (Optional Practical Training) extension for international students, which allows longer stays and work in the U.S. following degree completion.
New Paltz – Re-envisioning Academic Program Internal Development, Design, & Delivery: New Paltz has been looking ahead to the development of an academic master plan, that is, a program portfolio-based academic strategic plan. To better position ourselves for such planning, last academic year, I recommended the formation of a team called RAPID^3 (Re-envisioning Academic Program Internal Development, Design, & Delivery). The President’s Cabinet then charged and the Strategic Planning and Assessment Council convened the RAPID^3 Subcommittee. The idea was to better understand how well our academic program development processes were working and to make recommendations for improving those processes to better support faculty in proposing new programs. This work was seen as an important prelude to work on an academic master plan. Such a plan once developed would guide diversification of New Paltz’s academic program portfolio.
After an inclusive and engaging process of gathering input, RAPID^3 issued its report and recommendations to Cabinet in May. The RAPID^3 Subcommittee recommended the following five areas for improvement in our internal processes for the proposal of new academic programs:
- the initiation process
- communication and sharing of information
- paperwork support and management
- the review process
- the launch process
Since the report’s issuance and Cabinet’s review of findings, recommendations have begun to be addressed and changes are being implemented. In spring 2023 reports to the faculty, I look forward to highlighting progress that has already been made in these areas, notably in paperwork support and management as well as in the review process. In addition, a new comprehensive program-development website is being prepared for launch, addressing the need to improve communication and information sharing. Because of the depth and breadth of the Subcommittee’s assessment and its conclusions, the RAPID^3 Report & Recommendations will continue to serve the institution well during campus conversations devoted to academic strategic planning.
SUNY - Recent Program Development Streamlining: New Paltz’s ongoing efforts to foster more effective and efficient academic program development processes have coincided with recent SUNY changes intended to streamline certain aspects of the new program proposal review process. In late October, SUNY issued planning guidance intended to have program proposals enter the SUNY review stage more quickly while assuring program quality and maintaining public accountability. As one example, SUNY’s procedural changes will typically reduce from 30 to 10 days the time for movement from an institution’s proposed program announcement to SUNY approval to proceed to full proposal.
The convergence between our efforts at streamlining with those of SUNY bodes well for more flexible and adaptable program development processes. These adaptations will allow New Paltz to compete more effectively for new enrollments through academic offerings reaching and attracting new educational audiences and markets that would benefit from the relevant, high quality programs we can and will continue to deliver.
Building on Ongoing Academic Program Development: Ahead of the implementation of streamlining changes noted above, both at New Paltz and at SUNY, faculty have been active and productive in developing new programs. For example, in 2020-2021, new academic programs receiving final approval include undergraduate degrees:
- BS: Entrepreneurship
- BA: Environmental Studies
- BA: General Studies (all-online degree completion program)
and at the graduate level:
- MS: Behavior Analysis & Interdisciplinary Autism Studies
- MA: Digital Design & Fabrication
We have currently at or on the verge of the SUNY review stage:
- MS: Accounting (all-online)
- MS: Business Analytics (all-online)
- MA: Strategic Communication
I look forward to sharing more in future reports on the groundwork that continues to be laid to make our processes for academic program development more efficient and impactful, leading to further strategic development of high-demand, leading-edge academic programs.
New Year’s Resolutions – Support via the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity
Support for those upcoming New Year’s resolutions can be found via participation in the offerings of National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). The upcoming winter intersession would be a good time to explore (further) the wealth of faculty resources available through our institutional membership in NCFDD. The core curriculum covers personal strategic planning, time-management, relationship-building, conflict management, and work/life balance. The 14-Day Writing Challenge offered by NCFDD has also been popular with faculty in that it provides structure, coaching, and accountability to accelerate writing productivity. We continue to be very pleased to have these activities and materials available to support all our faculty, and most of all, pre-tenure and PRODiG faculty. To get started simply go to https://www.facultydiversity.org/join.
Library Dean Search
The Library Dean search has reached its latter stages now that campus interviews with finalist candidates have been completed. Further information will be issued to the campus once culminating steps of the process conclude.
Recent Recognitions
Recent recognitions of faculty and staff accomplishments can always be found at the following link: https://sites.newpaltz.edu/news/category/research/. Do submit news of your external awards and honors, publications/creative works, or other recognitions of your accomplishments to the Office of Communication & Marketing. News of faculty accomplishments also often appears in the Daily Digest.
Closing
I wish everyone moments of restorative calm and quiet during the holiday season ahead.
With best regards,
Barbara
Barbara Lyman
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
