White Paper: Need for Joint Senate Administrative Task Force For Recommendations About General Studies Program at Rowan University

Transcription

1 White Paper: Need for Joint Senate Administrative Task Force For Recommendations About General Studies Program at Rowan University Several years ago, Rowan University recognized the need to provide an avenue for degree completion for students who were unwilling or unable to complete a traditional major. During the academic year, the University Senate approved a curriculum proposal for Liberal Studies: Humanities / Social Science as a degree completion option. This program has grown in both curricular options and enrollment since then, but its academic requirements have remained the same: credits of Program Sequence A courses (with a minimum of 3 credits at introductory level, 9 credits of advanced level, and 3 credits of senior level capstone course), credits of Program Sequence B courses (with a minimum of 3 credits at introductory level, 8 credits of advanced level, and 3 credits of senior level course or capstone experience), 60 credits of general education courses, and credits of free electives. While the Liberal Studies: Humanities / Social Science program has provided a partial solution to the demand for degree completion options, its structure and its method of delivery do not provide the level of flexibility that today s market demands. Changing economic circumstances nationally and regionally, along with increased concern about the level of student debt, have made it more compelling than ever to consider designing a degree completion program that will enable students to fulfill academic requirements in a short time frame, as much as possible on their terms rather than ours, in order to meet their career and personal needs. Added to our own recognition of this need is the call from both President Obama and Governor Christie to expand access to higher education and to increase the number of college graduates in order to aid in economic recovery, social stability, and global standing. Accordingly, at a January 2012 meeting, the Interim Provost shared with chairs the need for Rowan to respond to its responsibilities as a state institution by creating and offering a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies. Interim President Houshmand has pledged his support to this initiative. The information that follows is intended to provide a framework to initiate a discussion about a General Studies program at Rowan University. We respectfully request the formation of a joint University Senate Administrative task force to consider this issue in more detail and to make recommendations to the campus community. Roberta Harvey, Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Jill Perry, Provost s Fellow Cindy Vitto, Special Assistant to the President 1

2 What is a General Studies degree? A General Studies degree is a college degree that, as its name implies, allows a student to gain breadth but not depth in selected areas of study. What would a Rowan University General Studies degree comprise? At Rowan University, it is necessary to complete General Education and Rowan Experience requirements and to fulfill 120 semester credit hours. A task force appointed jointly by the University Senate and Administration will be asked to fill in the details beyond this broad outline. Is there a recognized need for a General Studies degree? On the national and regional level, the need has already been recognized by at least two nonprofit organizations set up to serve the population of those who have some college, no degree. In addition, the Rohrer College of Business has set up its own pilot program, Project Graduation, which seeks out students for degree completion. Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization established in 2009 to call attention to a system of higher education that needs attention. According to spokesman Stan Jones, the attitude toward college dropouts that "it's your fault" is not valid. When about half the people who begin a college education fail to reach their goal, he contends that something larger than personal failure is to blame. Graduate! Philadelphia is a regional nonprofit program set up in 2003 specifically to reach out to students who had not finished a college degree, with the goal of increasing the number of college graduates who would then contribute to the city s economic development. Rowan is requesting to join fifteen other local colleges and universities already affiliated with Graduate! Philadelphia. Project Graduation Quest is a Rowan University pilot program recently set up within the Rohrer College of Business to identify students who have stopped out with a minimum 2.0 GPA and 45 credits or fewer to complete a degree. Spearheaded by Karen Siefring and Roberta Harvey with the support of Interim President Houshmand, Project Graduation Quest offers incentives (such as streamlined admission) to facilitate degree completion for this population of students. We anticipate that the success of this pilot will lead to a permanent, full scale initiative. Is there a need for a General Studies degree at Rowan? There are at least three reasons for a General Studies degree offered by Rowan University: 1. For our students who invest much time and money here, but leave without a diploma, this would provide an alternate path to degree completion and its associated benefits. Statistics indicate a definite need for General Studies as an avenue to degree completion. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau data, 22.2% of adults aged fall into the category of some college, no degree. 46% of New Jersey residents aged have a college degree, but within the next 10 years, it is estimated that at least 60% of employees will need a degree. Only 24.19% of adults in southern New Jersey have earned a bachelor s degree; 37.14% of adults in northern New Jersey have earned one, and the national average is 27.5%. Degree completion opens the door for increased employment opportunities. Researchers at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce calculate that the share of jobs requiring postsecondary education has increased from about half in the 1970s to more than three quarters today with more than 52 percent of those jobs requiring a B.A. or higher. 2

3 According to Education Pays 2010, a College Board report, a bachelor s degree pays off. A comparison of median cumulative earnings of high school and college graduates indicates that after 11 years of work, at about the age of 33, the higher earnings of those with college degrees compensate not only for four years out of the work force but also for average tuition and fee payments at a public four year university funded solely by student loans. Although the unemployment rate for college graduates rose from 2.6% to 4.6% between 2008 and 2009, the unemployment rate for high school graduates was much higher, rising from 5.7% to 9.7%. The benefits of degree completion extend beyond the financial. Numerous economic analyses indicate that students whose demographic characteristics and academic experiences make them likely to hesitate to go to college stand to benefit the most from a postsecondary degree. (Education Pays 2010) Higher education has a direct impact on students attitudes and behavior, making them more likely to take responsibility for their health, to engage in the social contract as a responsible citizen, and to parent in ways that improve their children s prospects for a better future. (Education Pays 2010) 2. We can expand access, without diluting the reputation of our current programs, by offering a General Studies degree, since the name itself indicates that this is not a traditional baccalaureate program. Ramapo, Kean, Stockton, William Paterson, and Thomas Edison are our sister institutions that offer a comparable degree. (Kean offers a master s in Liberal Studies.) Rutgers Camden has a University College division that offers a comparable degree in six off campus locations (36 credits of core courses, two courses in Mastering the Liberal Arts, 18 credits from courses in Humanities or Social Sciences) New York University, Boston University, Drexel University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, and University of Massachusetts Amherst are just a few of the well respected institutions of higher education that offer General Studies programs. According to a New York Times article (Jan. 22, 2012) entitled From the Margins to the Mainstream, many universities now rely on General Studies programs as an avenue for giving a leg up to high school graduates who have shown some academic success but fallen short of their peers, particularly in test scores. 3. General Studies would offer students a flexible program that could be designed to suit individual interests or needs. Many institutions offer a learner designed option in General Studies so that students can choose courses that best fit their needs. A significant portion of the General Studies population will be less interested in obtaining a degree for employment opportunities than for personal learning. At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the coordinator for BDIC (Bachelor s Degree with Individual Concentration) characterized the program in the following way, which could well apply to a General Studies program: "We work with the square pegs who wouldn't fit into the round holes.... We offer the spirit, not the letter of the law, in a structure that encourages weaker students to shape up, and frees the best students to fly ( Note that for forty years the University of Massachusetts Amherst has operated a University Without Walls degree completion program for adult students at both the B.A. and B.S. level and currently offers a successful Bachelor of General Studies with Individual Concentration through its Continuing and Professional Education division. 3

4 How does General Studies fit within the mission of Rowan University? The current mission statement reads as follows: A leading public institution, Rowan University combines liberal education with professional preparation from the baccalaureate through the doctorate. Rowan provides a collaborative, learning centered environment in which highly qualified and diverse faculty, staff, and students integrate teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, and community service. Through intellectual, social and cultural contributions, the University enriches the lives of those in the campus community and surrounding region. A General Studies program will align with our mission, especially in its potential to combine liberal education with professional preparation and to enrich the lives of those in the campus community and surrounding region. With a General Studies program, Rowan will have three varieties of degrees to offer its undergraduate students: 1. Traditional majors Rowan offers 80 majors. A major program of study typically requires at least 30 credits within the discipline, following a sequential path from foundation to capstone course. Students also have the option of adding a second major, one or more minors, and/or one or more concentrations. 2. Liberal Studies program Rowan offers three tracks within its Liberal Studies degree: Liberal Studies: Math / Science; Liberal Studies: Humanities / Social Science; and Liberal Studies: Literacy Studies. All three Liberal Studies options require an interdisciplinary approach, blending at least two areas of study, with a capstone course requirement. However, the Liberal Studies programs do not require as much disciplinary depth as a traditional major. 3. General Studies program Students who have already made substantial progress toward a bachelor s degree, and who have a solid foundation of general education and Rowan Experience courses, can complete their education by engaging in study that meets their career and/or personal needs. What will be the consequences if we do NOT offer a General Studies program at Rowan? Most faculty and staff are familiar with the traditional model of college education, one designed for full time, residential students applying to Rowan directly from high school or from a community or other four year college or university. Concentrating only on this population can lead us to overlook the needs of nontraditional, often part time students who are seeking to complete a college degree, with courses delivered in a flexible way that better suits their needs and schedule. These students can turn to much less reputable educational providers who will saddle them with debt and give them little of substance in return. According to disruptive innovation theory, higher education is ripe for disruption : Traditional models of undergraduate education provide overvalued extras (i.e., courses for which students perceive no value, despite the fact that they are required) and are increasingly associated with high costs and inflexibility, requiring students to meet in a centralized location on a predetermined schedule (Ron Bleed, A Disruptive Innovation Arrives, Educause Jan. Feb.2007). Competitors who can disrupt the traditional model find a market eager for their services. As a State institution set up to meet the needs of New Jersey residents, Rowan has the responsibility to provide, at a higher level of quality, educational services for students who otherwise will be forced to pay more for much 4

5 less. By controlling the quality of our individual courses and assessing their effectiveness, we ensure that our General Studies population will receive genuine value for their money and effort. Is the General Studies degree further evidence of the devaluing of a bachelor s degree? It is up to us to determine the parameters of General Studies and to assure its quality. If the bachelor s degree has been devalued, this has happened at a national level. However, it may be more accurate to state that entry level job requirements have escalated. With more applicants than openings, one of the first steps in cutting down the pool is to eliminate those without a college degree. General Studies will enable more of our students to be competitive in the marketplace and, for those with the appropriate academic background, can provide a foundation for an advanced degree as well. What will the General Studies Task Force be expected to do? The General Studies Task Force will be expected to deliver, by the end of the Spring 2012 semester, recommendations for the following: 1. Goals of the Rowan General Studies program 2. Curricular options 3. Parameters for eligibility / admissions requirements 4. Parameters for completing General Studies / exit requirements 5. Academic and administrative home (or homes ) for the General Studies program 6. Delivery where and how? 7. Advising 8. Assessment 9. Resource needs What is the projected timeline? If the General Studies Task Force can complete its work by May 31, 2012, we anticipate launching the General Studies program by September 2013 or, if the process is somewhat delayed, by January or September Recommendations submitted by the General Studies Task Force by May 7 (end of year Senate meeting) if possible, or no later than May 31. White paper presented to Academic Affairs Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees at the May 24 meeting if possible, or at the August 16 meeting. Curriculum proposal submitted to the University Senate during the Fall 2012 cycle. Program announcement concurrently drafted by the program sponsor following the format described in the Degree Approval Process document. The announcement is provided to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, who arranges for it to be sent to every member of the state system for possible objection. Other institutions receive the program announcement and have 30 days to object to the proposed new program based on cost, duplication, or mission. The college hires an external consultant to evaluate the proposed new program. Criteria for selecting the consultant are provided in the Degree Approval Process document. The external consultant provides a report about the proposed new program. The college may include a formal response to the consultant s report. The Senate completes its deliberation on the new program and sends the ratified proposal to the Provost. The Provost signs the proposal and creates a Board of Trustees resolution to be presented at the next meeting of the Academic Affairs Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees. 5