Proposal to Eliminate Academic Programs in the Department of Education

Transcription

1 November 19, 2010 TO: Academic Affairs Committee From: Pedro Hernández-Ramos, Chair, Department of Education RE: Proposal to Eliminate Academic Programs in the Department of Education Executive Summary. The tenured faculty in the Department of Education met on October 12, 2010 to consider a series of proposals developed based on feedback to the department from both internal and external sources (see Revised Action Plan dated November 2, 2010). The tenured faculty (Ruth Cook, Sara García, Carol Gittens, Lisa Goldstein, Pedro Hernández-Ramos) voted on ten proposals presented as motions and approved all with unanimous support. The motions included the elimination of three academic programs (in Special Education 1, Reading 2, and Higher Education Administration 3 ), eliminating the Intern pathway in the California Preliminary Multiple 4 and Single 5 Subject Teacher Preparation programs, focusing on Catholic school teachers in the California Clear 6 Credential program, and consolidating options in the MA in Interdisciplinary Education from five to three. The proposed changes will benefit the department in multiple ways, including a sharper focus on our core programs, simplified course scheduling, and a reduced reliance on adjunct faculty to teach courses across all our programs. Course plans are being crafted that will ensure that all 1 Education Specialist [commonly referred to as Special Education ]: Credential that authorizes teaching in a variety of disability areas. Source: California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2 Reading and Reading Language Arts Specialist credential: The Reading and Language Arts Specialist Credential authorizes the holder to provide the services as a reading specialist in any grade level K-12, or in classes organized for adults. Source: 3 MA in Education Administration: Higher Education: designed to prepare students for entry and mid-level positions in higher education as administrators and policy analysts or in preparation for future doctoral work. Source: 4 California Preliminary Multiple Subjects credential: Credential that authorizes teaching in a selfcontained setting in grades K-12 including preschool and adult. Source: California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 5 California Preliminary Single Subject credential: Credential that authorizes teaching in a departmentalized setting in grades K-12 including preschool and adults. Source: California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 6 California Clear Credential program: a program of course work consisting of a minimum of 30 semester units beyond the bachelor s degree or a master s degree completed at a regionally- accredited college or university. The course work or degree is to be in a field of study designed to improve the teacher s competence and skills and may be in the field of education as well as other related areas. Source: 1

2 students currently enrolled in the programs slated for elimination will be able to finish by the end of the academic year. The department will focus on its core programs preparing K-12 teachers and administrators for service in elementary and secondary public and Catholic schools, complemented by MA degrees that offer meaningful professional and academic development opportunities to practicing educators. Rationale for Elimination. The Department of Education had developed too many degree, credential, and certificate programs. There are currently 20 programs being offered (see Figure 1), and this multiplicity of offerings has led to distortions of academic purpose, poor coordination among programs, and an overall lack of departmental focus. The CTC visiting team and the external reviewers who were part of the Program Review process during the academic year both remarked on the need to reduce the number of programs and focus on those that are central to the university s mission. Figure 2 shows the department s structure after proposed elimination of programs. The external reviewers specifically mentioned single faculty programs as among those that should be considered for elimination. Special Education, Higher Education Administration, and Reading are all single faculty programs, meaning that only one Education faculty member is centrally involved in the program, with little or no involvement by other Education faculty in teaching courses within the program or advising students. Eliminating the Intern pathway in the California Preliminary Multiple and Single Subject Teacher Preparation programs will allow us to not offer course sections specific to the needs of this small audience (less than 10 students a year, on average) with typically low enrollments. Focusing the Clear Credential program on Catholic schoolteachers means that the department is able to deepen its relationship with the Diocese of San Jose; the number of Private school teachers attracted to this program annually was also quite small on average (less than 10). Impact on Stakeholders. The following table presents information on Active (students who have started programs) and Enrolled students (those currently taking courses) in the three academic programs and 2 credential pathways slated for elimination: Program Active Enrolled Special Education Higher Education Administration Reading (Non-Catholic) Private school teachers in the Catholic/Private School pathway 4 4 In Special Education s Level II sequence, there are currently 19 Mild/Moderate and 10 Early Childhood students. The department knows which courses each student still needs to complete their program and will work with the Center for Professional Development to ensure that these courses are offered as needed to allow all students to finish by December (Level II courses are offered through CPD because the number of students involved could not support academic credit offerings.) SCU graduates of the Level I credential who need to complete their Level II after Fall 2012 have access to programs offered by multiple other institutions in the area to meet this need. 2

3 Financial Analysis. If the recommendations are approved, we would expect that will see at least a 20% decrease in revenue for Education. We further expect the transition period to be marked by decreases in revenue for approximately three years as we reform the curriculum, redeploy resources, and re-establish our market niche in the region. Our goal is to continue to make improvements to the K-12 teacher preparation and educational administration areas, to redesign the MA options, and to focus our recruiting and marketing efforts in these core areas. While we expect growth in our core programs as we deploy our renovated curriculum we cannot predict that growth rate at this time. On the expense side, we believe that the department should not lose faculty and staff resources during this transition and redeployment period. Currently, 78% of Education courses are taught by academic year lecturers on term contracts or by quarterly faculty. In , the department will have 6.5 tenure stream faculty and 10 senior lecturers or lecturers. Thus the department is pleased with the commitment from the Interim Provost and Interim Dean to retain our vacant tenure-stream lines in order to meet the specific demands made by the CTC in a written report to the President. Redeployment Plan. The course load of Dr. Priscilla Myers, director of the Reading program, will be assimilated into the California Preliminary Multiple and Single Subject Teaching Credential programs and the MA in Interdisciplinary Education. Dr. Les Goodchild, director of the MA in Higher Education Administration, is on sabbatical during the academic year and will retire from Santa Clara University at the end of the sabbatical; the department chair has assumed his duties as program director during the teach-out phase. Dr. Ruth Cook, director of Special Education programs, will be on sabbatical during the academic year. Dr Cook has stated her support for the department s efforts to teach out current students in these programs by the end of the Consultation. Per the guidelines outlined by the Provost for program changes, the following units have been consulted about the program changes proposed in this document. All of the representatives contacted have confirmed their understanding of the program changes and the minimal (and manageable) impact the changes pose for their units: Liberal Studies (Eleanor Willemsen) Counseling Psychology (Jeffrey Baerwald, SJ) Facilities (Joe Sugg) Information Technology (Carl Fussell) Library (Liz Salzer) Media Services (Nancy Cutler) Registrar (Monica Augustin) University Budget Office (Dennis Roberts) University Finance Office (Harry Fong) Timetable. Admissions to the affected programs have been suspended for Winter The redesign of the new MA emphasis combining the existing Teaching and Learning and Curriculum and Instruction options has started and will be in place for the academic year. No students will be admitted to the California Preliminary Multiple and Single 3

4 Subject Teaching Credential/Intern Pathway option nor to the Catholic/Private School pathway from Winter 2011 onward. A more detailed timetable is presented below: November 2010 Academic Affairs, Dean, Provost, President sign off their approval of Education s Revised Action Plan November 2010 No new applications for admission to the following programs are accepted: MA in Special Education; Education Specialist Mild-Moderate Disabilities Level I and Level II teaching credentials 7 ; Education Specialist Early Childhood Special Education Level I and Level II teaching credentials; Education Specialist Early Childhood certificate; MA in Educational Administration, Higher Education emphasis; MA in Interdisciplinary Education, Reading emphasis; Reading and Language Arts Specialist credential; Reading certificate; Multiple and Single Subject Internship credentials. No students start any of these programs in Winter November 2010 Only applications from teachers employed in Catholic Schools who meet admissions criteria are accepted for Winter 2011 forward for the re-named Catholic School Pathway (no teachers from Private schools accepted). November / All students currently enrolled in programs to be closed are notified, and advised December 2010 to consult with their academic/program advisors. November/December The department notifies CTC of the SCU-approved changes and requests formal 2010 approval to design its new unit-wide assessment system based only on continuing programs, excluding the Education Specialist credentials and certificate programs, the Reading and Language Arts Specialist and certificate programs, and Teacher Intern Pathway to the Multiple and Single Subject teaching credentials. December 2010 Education faculty continue to work with the Interim Dean s office staff and Interim Provost s office staff to prepare SCU s response to the CTC report in anticipation of the CTC visit in March December 2010 / Education faculty review the structure of the MA-Interdisciplinary Education January 2011 program and consolidate emphasis offerings. December 2010 / Education faculty meet to prioritize tenure-track faculty hirings according to January 2011 identified program needs. Winter 2011 Department-wide focus on preparing for CTC re-visit scheduled for March 28 th - 29 th, Winter 2011 Full audit of all students enrolled in programs to be closed completed with help from GSO. Course calendars for Spring 2011 and AY are set to allow all students to complete their program by the end of AY New students are admitted to the new single entry point Preliminary Multiple and Single Subject teaching credential programs; the programs begin in June Spring 2011 Education faculty craft job description and form search committee for first tenure-track faculty position to be advertised. New faculty member would start in Fall Qualified Catholic schoolteachers are admitted to the Clear Multiple and Single Subject teaching credential cohort that begins in Fall Education Specialist Level I and Level II: A five-year Level I Education Specialist Instruction Credential is the first document issued after an individual has met basic credential requirements. The Level II credential is issued once all credential requirements have been completed. Source: SCU s Department of Education has two areas of focus: Mild/Moderate Disabilities and Early Childhood. 4

5 Figure 1. Current structure of the Department of Education 5

6 Figure 2. Structure of the Department of Education after programs are eliminated and streamlined NE W STRUC TURE For Teacher Pr epar ation Adm inis trator Prepara tion CA Preliminary Multiple & Single Subject Teacher Preparation Educ ational Administration Pr eser vice Pr ogr am Pr eliminary CA Administrative Cr eden tial, K- 12 (Tier 1) Cat holi c S chool Pat hway CA Clear Cred en tial Pr ogr am Clear CA Administrative S ervices Cr eden tial ( Tier 2) Catholi c School Teacher s Depar tment of Educ ation Cer tificat e Pr ogr am i n Cat holi c School Lead MA in Educational Administration ershi p MA Interdisciplinary Education "C& I + T& L" R e-de sign STEEM Catholic Educ ation Academ ic/professional Dev elopmen t 6