Draft -- Annual Review of the Education Committee (2009-2010)

The committee completed its usual meeting schedule of eight monthly meetings, in addition to a joint meeting with the IT and Libraries Committees.

While much of the work of the committee involves reviews of new program proposals and surveys of recently approved programs, the committee also informed itself on the progress in the conversion of CourseWorks to the Sakai platform and the planned introduction of the new CourseWorks Packit service, which will allow the students to assemble course materials of completed courses into a downloadable package that can be kept for future use.

Finally, a substantial amount of committee time and effort was spent on the cyclical problem of the academic calendar in years with a late Labor Day and a shortened Fall semester.

Reviews of proposals for new educational programs

Among the regular duties of the committee is the review of proposals for new programs that are received from the Provost’s office. Each proposal is assigned to a subcommittee for review and a recommendation to the full committee. The Education Committee approved the following proposals and presented resolutions for their approval by the Senate:

• Four dual master’s degrees (SIPA and Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo {Fundacao Getulio Vargas})          (11/13/2009)
• MPA (SIPA) and Professional Master’s Degree International Management (Sao Paulo)
• MPA (SIPA) and Professional Master’s Degree Management and Public Policy (SP)
• MIA (SIPA) and Professional Master’s Degree International Management (Sao Paulo)
• MIA (SIPA) and Professional Master’s Degree Management and Public Policy (SP)
• Master of Science Degree in Sustainability Management (SCE)   (11/13/2009)
• Master of Science Degree in Bioethics (SCE)  (12/4/2009)
• Master of Science Degree in Leadership (GSB)  (1/29/2010)
• Master of Science Degree in Accounting and Fundamental Analysis (GSB)  (1/29/2010)
• Master of Science Degree in Financial Economics (GSB)  (1/29/2010)
• Master of Science Degree in Marketing (GSB)  (1/29/2010)Dual Master of Science Degrees in Journalism and Computer Science (4/2/2010)

Action was deferred on one program proposal, which was subsequently withdrawn.
Action is pending on a program proposal, which is under subcommittee review (Joint JD/MBA).

Proposals for Departmental name change

Two requests for Departmental name changes were received during this academic year. A subcommittee reviewed both proposals, which were reviewed subsequently the entire committee. Both Department Chairs were invited to provide additional information in support of their proposals.

The following name changes were submitted to the Senate and approved (2/26/2010):

• Department of Spanish and Portuguese to Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures
• Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) to Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies (MESAAS)

Center to Institute

A proposal to change the Center for Human Rights to the Institute for Human Rights was reviewed and approved by the Senate (12/4/2009).

Invited guests

The Education Committee invited several guests to provide additional insight and background information on the following:

1. Senior Vice Dean Christopher Mayer and Professor John Donaldson from the Graduate School of Business on the four proposals for M.S. degree programs;
2. Professors Carlos Alonso and Sudipta Kaviraj, Chairs of the Departments of Spanish and Portuguese and MEALAC respectively, on the departmental name change requests;
3. Robert Klitzman, M.D., on the proposal for the M.S. degree in Bioethics;
4. Professors Julia Hirschberg, William Grueskin, and Duy Linh Tu on the proposal for the Joint M.S. degree in Journalism and Computer Science;
5. Robert Lieberman and Tan Nguyen for an overview of SIPA’s experiences with the international dual degree programs;
6. David Etherton and Maneesha Aggarwal on the CourseWorks Packit proposal.

Five-Year reviews

The committee, with the cooperation of the Senior Vice Provost’s office, surveys new programs five years after their approval by the Senate. The survey is intended to assist the committee in determining whether a program has been implemented as originally proposed, whether it has met its purpose, and how many students have applied and matriculated. When applicable, the number and placement of graduates is considered as well. The survey is analyzed by a subcommittee composed of three education committee members

• Three programs, which were reviewed previously and carried over to the current year,  received delayed approval;
• One program (Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering) continued under review until requested data have been received to complete the review and approval process.
• Currently under review are two M.A. programs, four M.S. programs, one Ph.D. program and one joint degree program. Surveys are being collected and a report is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2010.

Academic Calendar 
(To come)

Finally, the Committee wishes to acknowledge with appreciation the continued interest and wholehearted participation of Anna Longobardo, Trustee Emerita, in the work of the Committee.

Respectfully submitted
James H. Applegate
Letty Moss-Salentijn
Co-chairs