Fulfilling the Senate's Commitment to Provide a Response to the Erickson Report

Dear Colleagues,

This is to provide a quick update on the status of the Senate response to John Erickson's Report in connection with the review of academic governance, commissioned and overseen by President Schutte.

At its meeting of Tuesday, April 14, the Senate resolved to have the statement, addressed to the Board and the President, finalized by May 5, 2009. Pasted below is the full text of the Senate resolution on this matter.

On behalf of faculty, I want to, again, thank President Schutte for undertaking the important review of academic governance and for his attempt to involve the faculty and the Senate. This process, in my view, has been very constructive for the Senate, which has come together in ways that I have not before experienced. Our exchanges, generally, as well as discussion and actions at our last four meetings have been thoughtful and productive.

As such, I see the review as a catalyst for change and reiterate the Senate's pledge to support the effort.

Sincerely,

Jenny Lee, Professor of Fine Arts
President, Academic Senate

Minutes of the February 24 2009 Senate meeting
Resolution on Senate Statement on the Review of Academic Governance

WHEREAS, the Senate and President Schutte, on February 24, 2009, mutually agreed that the Senate will issue a formal statement in response to the report on, and outcomes of, the review of academic governance at Pratt; it is therefore

RESOLVED, That the Senate develop a formal response following and expanding on the information and framework of the “Formation of the Academic Senate” presentation at the April 7, 2009 Senate Report; and it is further

RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Academic Programs and Policies Committee (APPC) to develop, for Senate consideration, a report on the history related to the committee’s role and actions, and invite the APPC’s past chair and long-term Senator, Dimitri Hazzikostas, to assist in such discussions; and it is further

RESOLVED, That the the Senate direct its executive committee to prepare advance drafts of such statement for Senate review and input; and it is further

RESOLVED. That the Senate resolve the statement at a special meeting on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, from 12:30 to 1:50 pm, in the small faculty dining room; and it is further

RESOLVED, That the Senate’s adopted statement in response to the report on, and outcomes of, the review of academic governance at Pratt be addressed to the Board of Trustees and President Schutte.

Academic Programs & Policies

Dear Colleagues,

The Report from the Senate's Academic Programs and Policies Committee (APPC), delivered at the April 7th all-Institute Senate Report, is available online.

Archives of APPC meeting deliberations in consultation with chairs, deans and administrators and actions, where applicable, are current and also available.

In light of the apparent misinformation about the role of the APPC generated by the ongoing review of academic governance, I offer (pasted below) for your consideration, a summary history of the committee's purview and actions.

Note that the APPC works within established Institute academic policies and procedures. This is particularly true in the case of Pratt's Syllabus Guidelines and related course and program review procedures. Although the Senate was instrumental in their development in connection with re-accreditation in 2003-04, their promulgation (connoting enforcement) is an administrative function.

On behalf of the faculty, I want to thank the members of the APPC for their sustained diligence. Many thanks also to our collaborators - faculty, Chairs, Deans and administrators. Special thanks to the Provost's Office for the administrative support.

Please contact Professor Sean Sullivan, APPC Chair, with questions about the APPC.

Sincerely,

Jenny Lee, Professor of Fine Arts
President, Academic Senate

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NOTE
The email below, posted last week on the academic-forum discussion list, has been reposted and forwarded. Please write me an email if you would like to be svbscribed to the academic-forum listserv.
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From: Sean Sullivan
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:06:21 -0400
To: academic-forum@list.pratt.edu
Subject: [forum] Senate APPC (Academic Program and Policies Committee)

Dear Colleagues,

For those of you who are following the discussions related to the Erickson Report, I would like to share some information regarding the role and actions of the Senate's APPC (Academic Program and Policies Committee) which is charged with Program, Policy and Curricular review and approval. Actions of the committee are forwarded to the Senate for ratification.

For a description of the committee and its charge use this link .

I have been on the APPC for seven years. I have served as APPC chair for the past two years and previously served five years on the committee under Dimitri Hazzikostas.

Points of Information:

The committee has four actions that it my take upon review of a Program, Policy or Course: Approved, Conditionally Approved, Pending and Not Approved. For a full description of these actions and the approval process use this link.

Since I have chaired the committee the APPC has not assigned the status of "NOT APPROVED" to any program, policy or course.

Under Dimitri it was very rare for the committee to NOT APPROVE a program, policy or course.

In the past year the APPC has reviewed 126 courses. It has approved 105, conditionally approved 8, and 13 are pending. It is standard practice for all courses that are conditionally approved or pending to be resubmitted with changes or modifications. So far 83% of the courses submitted have been approved.

In the past two years the APPC has worked closely with 3 departments that have updated a substantial portion of their curriculums: (These are the only departments that have undertaken such an effort in the past two years.)

Construction Management / Facilities Management (17 courses)
UG Communications Design (30 courses)
Fine Arts (36 courses)

In each case the committee worked with the Chair and/or the Assistant Chair to facilitate the proper completion of application materials. The committee worked with UG Com D over the summer, and met with FIne Arts over the summer to ensure that pending deadlines were met. Solid working relationships were developed.

If you would like to see the committee's minutes and review notes for courses please use this link.

As the committees review notes reflect, the committee does not dictate or interfere with the content of the courses provided. Most of our efforts have been directed to writing sound syllabi. This is valuable to the students, department and institute as well as essential for accreditation. The standards applied by the committee are designed to align with Pratt Institute's Course Syllabus and Guidelines promulgated by the Provost.

To view the syllabus guidelines under poliicies & forms on the
Provost's website use this link.

In addition to course approval the APPC has reviewed the following Programs and Policies in the past year:

The APPC Approved the following Programs:
+ SLIS/DDA dual degree program
+ Minor in Construction Management

The APPC Approved the following policies with modification based on input from: the Registrar, Admissions, Departments with existing Minors, Faculty and Chairs:
+ Minor Policy Review: “Guidelines for Establishing Minor Programs”
+ Policy: “Administrative Non-Content Based Course Change”

The APPC conditionally approved:
+ Proposed name change from the Department of English and Humanities to the Department of Humanities and Media Studies.

To see a full report presented at the last Senate Report use this link.

The APPC's function and scope have not changed in the 7 years that I have served as member of the committee.

If you would like to see how the committees actions align themselves with the inception of the senate and past practice, please use this link.

Sean Sullivan

In addition to the information presented, I respectfully submit for your consideration a statement that a Pratt Board of Trustee's Member made regarding the role of the faculty within the institute: The curriculum belongs to the faculty.

Secretary's Report

Dear Colleagues,

The Secretary's Report, delivered at the April 7th all-Institute Senate Report, is available online. Archives of meeting minutes and Senate actions are being updated and available at the following links:

Minutes
Actions

Senate meetings in Spring 2009 include the following:

+ Under the provision to call special meetings, a Senate Retreat to discuss governance was held on Friday, March 27, from 4 to 7 pm at the Manhattan campus.

+ Pursuant to e-mail notification of April 6 and confirmation of April 12, an emergency special meeting of the Senate was convened on April 14. The primary purpose of the meeting was to conduct time-sensitive Senate business in consideration of the Board's Nomination Committee schedule.

+ In deference to the Provost's scheduling of Art and Design Dean candidates' presentations, the Senate cancelled its regularly scheduled meeting of April 21 and will, instead, meet on Tuesday, May 5, from 12:30 to 1:50 pm in the small faculty dining room.

If you have questions about Senate records, please contact the Senate Secretary, Ellen Loughran, Professor of Information and Library Science.
ellen.loughran@gmail.com

On behalf of the Senate, I want to thank Ellen for her diligence and accuracy in maintaining Senate records.

Sincerely,

Jenny Lee, Professor of Fine Arts
President, Academic Senate

Formation of the Senate

Dear Faculty and Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that the Formation of the Senate presented at the April 7 Senate Report is now available online in Quicktime movie, PowerPoint and text formats.

The Senate resolved to have an informational presentation on the formation of the Senate based on facts. Quoting primarily from official institute planning and accreditation documents, institute policy documents, Senate Bylaws and the Pratt Faculty Handbook and the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, it is presented without subjective narrative.

We hope that you find this educational, as did members of the Senate.

Please feel free to contact your Senators if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Jenny Lee, Professor of Fine Arts
President, Academic Senate
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FORMATION OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE, PRATT INSTITUTE
An informational presentation made at the April 7 Senate Report

Excerpts from the presentation; emphasis provided:

Pratt Institute's Academic Senate was formed in 1991 to remedy deficiencies in governance noted during accreditation. The Senate thanks President Schutte for his pivotal role in the formation of the Senate.

FACULTY GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

*... The Board, the president, and the administration recognize the important role of the faculty in developing, implementing, and monitoring the content and quality of Institute programs, curricula, and courses. To this end the Institute has established an academic senate composed of faculty and chair representatives elected directly by the faculty and chairs of the Institute.


THE FACULTY'S ROLE IN CURRICULUM
Since its inception in 1991, the Senate has reviewed and approved courses, programs and curricula. As noted in the Institute’s 2002 self-study:

* The Senate reviews and approves all academic offerings at the Institute in conjunction with the Office of the Provost. *


SENATE BYLAWS, approved by the Board of Trustees in 1991, 1993, 2003, 2004 and 2005, specify, in part, as follows:

* Nature of organization:

Nature of Organization:
A faculty/administration governance body that will relate directly to the President and Provost without review by any other group*

Purpose of the Senate:
... to give faculty and chairs responsibilities including, but not limited to,
(a) Approving academic policies and procedures;
(b) Reviewing structures of programs, curricula, and schools;
(c) Providing for appropriate review of course additions and changes

Academic Initiatives Committee

Dear Colleagues,

I am proud to announce that the Senate, at its meeting of Tuesday, March 31 2009, adopted guidelines for the Academic Initiatives Committee.

Many thanks to Professor Jeffrey Hogrefe for drafting the guidelines, which are now available online.

Sincerely,

Jenny Lee, Professor of Fine Arts
President, Academic Senate
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SENATE RESOLUTION ON AIC GUIDELINES

Senate Academic Initiatives Committee Guidelines

WHEREAS, the Senate on January 22, 2008, resolved to develop and publish a process to select on a yearly basis, the program and Chair for the Academic Initiatives Committee;

WHEREAS, in fulfillment of the Resolution, Senator Jeffrey Hogrefe drafted a proposal and further developed it based on meeting discussion and Senator input; it is therefore

RESOLVED, That the Senate approve, with gratitude, the latest draft presented by Hogrefe.
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CHARGE TO THE ACADEMIC INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
The Academic Initiatives Committee will serve to identify academic imperatives, develop and/or review proposals for corresponding program initiatives, and assist in the approval and implementation process of those initiatives. Faculty and Chairs are encouraged to play an active role in the identification and examination of current academic imperatives, and to offer relevant proposals for committee consideration.