A
Note from the Provost
Diversify and Increase Our Funding
Sources
Develop and Expand Community Partnerships
Process Improvements
What Lies Ahead
The Academic Affairs Planning Committee (AAPC) was formed in Spring 2004 to bring together faculty, staff, and administrators from Information Services, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Outreach and Extension, Professional and Graduate Studies, Student Services, and the Provost's Office. AAPC's charge is to develop and use an integrated planning process to 1) guide decision-making, 2) allocate resources, and 3) act in a coordinated fashion.
We agreed that if we are to seize control of our future,
we must do three things:
— Confront the emerging challenges that
face higher education today.
— Control key issues so we can have greater
influence over our own future.
— Create innovative solutions to our issues.
AAPC has met three times since our last "Update"
was issued in October. During those meetings, we have heard tentative
plans from all of the budget divisions represented on our committee, and
we've considered a number of emerging challenges, opportunities and recommendations.
Each division is actively confronting challenges, controlling issues,
and creating solutions within its own area of operation. Soon we will
begin identifying the priorities that span across our respective divisions
and the steps we will take together to promote the well-being of our students
and our institution.
As noted in the last "Update," we want to
create an organization that encourages people to be creative and empowers
them to thrive during change. To be empowered, we need resources, we need
freedom, and we need connections to the community. Earlier this fall,
AAPC had decided that the three most pressing issues for 2004-05 are:
1) Diversify and increase our funding sources.
2) Develop and expand community partnerships.
3) Eliminate outcome inhibiting processes —
the ones that frustrate people, don't make sense,
hinder achievement, and result in
untimely decisions.
We decided to begin addressing these issues immediately,
even as we plan for the future. In this newsletter, we will fill you in
on the progress we've made thus far and give you a preview of the next
steps. In addition, each of our budget divisions has identified its own
goals and actions for the coming year. These will be discussed in future
"Updates."
As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.
Thank you for your interest.
Sue K. Hammersmith, Provost
Diversify and Increase Our Funding Sources
Several creative initiatives are underway already. The following, for example, are currently being pursued or explored by our respective divisions.
Faculty and staff on the AAPC also have spoken to how community partnerships have benefited their academic programs and student learning opportunities. A number of new partnerships are being developed or explored. A subcommittee has drafted a set of principles and criteria that could be used to evaluate and prioritize such opportunities in the future. We'll consider partnerships further in the coming months.
"Diversifying revenue sources, developing partnerships, and
eliminating outcome-inhibiting processes are not three separate activities.
They're all ways of approaching your work, and they're interrelated.
They affect all my decisions, how I prioritize, and how I look for creative
solutions in my own area."
— Fergus Hughes, Interim
Dean, Liberal Arts and Sciences
Develop and Expand Community Partnerships
In
October, AAPC discussed fifteen broad areas of concern for which we thought
campus processes were frustrating, ineffective, or counterproductive.
We decided to identify which processes to tackle first, using these criteria:
Of the fifteen areas of concern we had identified, AAPC ranked three general areas as most pressing. One of these — the curriculum approval process — was referred to the University Committee. The other two areas of concern were subsequently narrowed down to specific processes that we could focus on. Selected AAPC members began discussions with others on campus to further clarify desired outcomes, processes, and creative solutions. In addition, the lead program assistants in academic affairs identified one area to look for efficiencies in during the coming year: forms.
| Process | Desired Outcomes |
What's
the Problem? |
Discussion Partners |
Creative
Solutions to Consider |
| Academic Program Review | Continuous improvement in student learning and academic programs | Backlog in the Academic Affairs Council. Questions as to whether it makes a difference. Unclear, what's the "value-added" contribution of this process. | Academic Affairs Council, unit chairs, deans, provost, and University Committee | Clarify the purpose of academic program review. Review APR recommendations each fall and consider them in the annual planning cycle. Explore alternative process for approval of new courses (to relieve workload of council.) |
| Conflict Resolution | Successful conflict resolution as near as possible to the source of the conflict | People should be able to get help resolving conflicts "in house," before they reach the point of invoking formal governance conflict-resolution processes. | Committee on Rights and Responsibilities, Secretary of the Faculty and Academic Staff, Academic Staff Committee, deans, and a trained mediator | Outline steps to be taken before lodging a formal complaint heard by governance committees. Encourage supervisors to use mediation when appropriate. Train some UWGB employees in mediation skills, to assist others as needed. |
| Forms | Lead program assistants are taking the lead to improve forms that affect their work |
The
planning landscape is never static. New challenges and opportunities arise
throughout the year and need to be dealt with. The AAPC will be instrumental
in setting priorities, allocating resources, and making decisions about
actions to be taken. At the present time, the AAPC is considering broad
planning issues that cut across the divisions, priorities for the Provost
to attend to in the coming year, divisional goals submitted to SBC, and
how to develop a coherent strategic plan for the whole Academic Affairs
area. These will be reported on in future "Updates," as the discussions
progress.
AAPC materials and related information can be accessed
at www.uwgb.edu/provost/aapc.htm.
Future "Updates" will consider some of the planning priorities that have been identified in our respective budget divisions, progress with respect to our three critical issues (increasing/diversifying revenue sources, building community partnerships, and improving processes), and continuing preparation for our budget submission for the coming year.
