2/16/07 Draft Minutes of the

Academic Task Force Meeting

15 February 2007

1. Participation: The VPAA noted that some departments and programs were more fully represented in the comments that have been sent in than others. He invited all unrepresented departments to send in their visions.

2. Discussion: The committee discussed items that have appeared in the homework assignments of the first two meetings. Items brought up were:

• The quandary of whether or not ET and Engineering departments should split, with separate Schools for ET and Engineering
• The effect of growth on our campus culture of individual attention and relatively small classes
• The question of how big we want to become
• Industrial connections and research, including student-faculty research
• Traditional vs. non-traditional students as our primary focus
• The need for fundraising in the future
• The balance between practical planning and idealistic planning

3. The BIG ISSUES: From the discussions of the past month, the VPAA identified the following as the biggest issues, all connected to our envisioned university profile:

• Size (How big do we want to become?)
• Teaching Methodology (Class size? Online vs. classroom instruction?)
• Outside Connections (How do we build them with business, industry, and the community?

4. Homework Assignment: If these BIG ISSUES aren’t the ones that should be identified, members should send in their ideas to the VPAA by Thursday, Feb. 22.