Accelerated Bachelor s to Master s (ABM) Program and Draft Policy Department Chair/Program Director Meeting Minutes (10/18/2010 & 12/9/2010):

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1 Accelerated Bachelor s to Master s (ABM) Program and Draft Policy Department Chair/Program Director Meeting Minutes (10/18/2010 & 12/9/2010): The purpose of these meetings was to review a draft policy for the ABM program and provide an opportunity for departments to explore issues related to the feasibility of developing ABM programs. Drs. Podemski and Koppes Bryan convened the meetings. In the first meeting the members assembled were asked to introduce themselves. Dr. Podemski gave an overview of the ABM program in Florida institutions and nationally. Dr. Koppes Bryan lead a group discussion to identify SWOT items related to the ABM program as well as specific UWF questions. In the second meeting Dr. Koppes Bryan went over the responses to the comments and asked for additional feedback. Below are the major comments as well as responses from Drs. Podemski and Koppes Bryan. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: Weaknesses: Retention of high-performing students Use as a recruitment tool Continued student research, which can also help faculty Acceleration may be desirable to students/comparable to dual enrollment Students may have a stronger sense of commitment to UWF and increased morale, which can also help alumni relations and giving/sense of belongingness Enhances program efficiency Provides motivated learners a competitive edge; distinguish from state colleges Master s curriculum is intact. Time frame may affect part-time students, military students, etc. Timeframe does not accommodate for students in a thesis-track; could hurt thesis programs. The 18 month completion may prevent some programs from participating, seems inflexible. Response: Policy modified removed time limit from policy. Some believe the requirement is too restrictive whereas others think we need to define a time limit since the basic intent of an accelerated bachelor s to master s program is for students to complete both degrees in a shorter period of time ( accelerated should not solely be based on sharing 12 semester hours). Possibly extending the time limit to 18 months for non-thesis and 24 months for thesis students would be more appropriate.

2 Some programs share students at the elective level. A student in the ABM program will take a graduate course instead of the undergraduate elective, which may mean that enrollment in some courses may decrease. What would be the impact? Response: We foresee a minimal impact on course enrollment because the number of students enrolled in the ABM program is small in comparison to the number of students enrolled in the regular bachelors/masters programs Will the students still obtain all of the undergraduate SLO s in the graduate course substitutions? What are they not taking and how does this affect the SLO s? Response: Policy modified to address this issue (see section 2.1) Some programs stagger electives. If the student drops out of the ABM before receiving their bachelor s degree, and does not want to use the completed graduate courses, he or she will need to take the undergraduate courses, which may not be offered for a year or so. Some graduate programs with a very structured curriculum do not offer electives. If the student drops out of the ABM once the bachelor s degree is awarded, and wants to be readmitted to the same graduate program in the future, the graduate program may not have additional courses for the student to take beyond those that he or she already completed and are included in the undergraduate program. No clarification in the policy about courses that are completed, but then student drops ABM enrollment; what happens if the student pursues the master s program later? Response: Departments that develop ABM programs must take into account that both the bachelor s and master s programs must be robust enough to accommodate these issues related to electives. Opportunities: Threats: Differentiation from four-year colleges May be attractive to company recruiters who are looking to hire UWF students. May help to identify and target high-performers Remain competitive with institutions that already offer an ABM program SACS denying use of ABM programs

3 Questions regarding the proposed policy: Question: Can the express admission application be used to apply to the graduate program for students in the ABM program? Can the application processing fee be waived as it is for the express admission application? Response: Yes, students who have submitted and are approved to pursue an ABM program may use the express admission application to apply to the graduate program. However, students in the ABM program cannot be provisionally/conditionally admitted into the graduate program, so students must submit all required university admission documents (ex., graduate admission test) along with the express admission application. Question: How does this affect students who have previously enrolled in a dual-listed course? Impact on dual-listed courses? Response: Good advising with a very detailed course plan and a highly-structured ABM program are key. Students who are interested or eligible to pursue an ABM program should be advised to register for the graduate level section of a dual-listed course instead of completing the undergraduate level course. If a student has previously completed the undergraduate level section of a dual-listed course, the course cannot be included in the 12 semester hours of graduate coursework that are applied to both the bachelor s and master s degrees. Question: Can exceptions be made for the 18 month time limit? Response: The policy has been modified to exclude a time limit. Some believe the requirement is too restrictive whereas others think we need to define a time limit since the basic intent of an accelerated bachelor s to master s program is for students to complete both degrees in a shorter period of time ( accelerated should not solely be based on sharing 12 semester hours). Possibly extending the time limit to 18 months for non-thesis and 24 for thesis students would be more appropriate. Question: How does this affect TA s coded as instructor of record? Students must have earned 18 graduate semester hours or more to be the instructor of record - will the 12 graduate semester hours earned while classified as an undergraduate student count towards the 18 s.h. rule? Response: The graduate program/courses remain unchanged, so as long as the student is classified as a graduate student and has completed 18 semester hours of graduate coursework, they are eligible for TA positions.

4 Question: How will this affect the honors program and the undergraduate honors thesis? Response: Many universities have integrated ABM programs with honors programs. The UWF honors program should explore how best to accommodate for the ABM program. Question: Can both degrees be clarified in items 5.3, 5.5, 6.2, and 6.4? Response: Yes, additional language is included in 5.3, 6.2, and 6.4 to clarify. 5.5 has been eliminated. Question: Is degree plan in 3.1 the same as Approved Plan of Graduate Work used in 6.3? Response: Yes, degree plan and approved plan of graduate work are the same. The policy has been modified to be consistent in the language. Question: Can be combined with 4.1.1? Need clarification about 75 credits and 90 credits, as stated in the policy. Response: stating, Students must have completed at least ninety (90) credit hours in their undergraduate programs, including credits earned from advanced placement, prior to formal admission to an accelerated program may not be necessary. The policy has been modified to exclude this language; however, this needs to be discussed in further detail. Question: How many students would be eligible? Response: The Graduate School and ITS are in the process of collecting this data. Comments regarding the proposed policy: Instead of deleting the timeframe for completion, we may want to consider lengthening the timeframe for extended programs (programs with a thesis and/or over 36 hours long). We need to make sure that Financial Aid will cover the graduate level courses that are included in the undergraduate program. Potential issues related to SACS/COC requirements, there are three major concerns: o Program length: SACS requires 120 sh minimum for a bachelor's degree and 30 sh minimum for a master's degree. SACS requires a substantive change notification to be filed if there is a significance change in program length. In

5 the case of accelerated bachelor's to master's programs the total number of credits required drops from 150 to 138. o Student learning outcomes: SACS requires that we identify expected outcomes, assess the extent to which the outcomes are achieved, and provide evidence that improvements are based on analysis of assessment results. Even if the bachelor's and master's programs overlap, as in the case of ABM programs, we would be expected to show that students completing such programs have attained the student learning outcomes for both the bachelor's and master's programs. o Distance education: If any of the ABM programs involve distance learning (i.e., online coursework) or offering at a location different than Pensacola (e.g., Fort Walton Beach), we may need to provide notification to SACS depending upon the percentage of credit hours in the program offered online or at a different location.