NOTE: At times, issues of confidentiality may require that some items discussed in meetings be excluded from these minutes.

MEMBERS: Bill Barnes, Charles Bachman, Dave Caudill, Tom Currin, Alan Gabrielli, Steve Hamrick, Joyce Mills, Nikki Palamiotis, Jeffrey Ray, Han Reichgelt, Michele Shauf, and Zvi Szafran

MEMBERS ABSENT: Steve Hamrick

Item 1. Updates

Dr. Szafran spoke briefly about new programs approved since the last meeting. The Psychology proposal went downtown over the summer. The Board of Regents wanted clarification on three issues which the SIS department will address. The hope is it will be approved by the end of the semester.
Preliminary meetings have begun regarding science education. Dr. Szafran met with Jane Kettlewell and Frank Butler, who supported a joint program between SPSU and Kennesaw State University. If such a program were approved, SPSU would provide the coursework and KSU would provide the state certification. The goal is to have a proposal to the BoR by December for and if approved by the Board of Regents, hiring of faculty could begin immediately with classes beginning Fall 2008. SPSU is also working on grants to help support this initiative.

Item 2. Academic Plan

Dr. Szafran discussed topics from the Deans Retreat on August 9, specifically the academic plan. The Steering Committee agreed to complete a Draft Academic Plan by the end of the Fall semester. Dr. Szafran asked the Committee to identify Academic Strategic Goals to be included in the academic plan. Following are suggestions from the Committee:

emphasize “quality instruction”
develop programs to serve the population that we are not currently serving
identify target students and create degrees for them
have procedures in place to assure quality programs
continuing education should be part of the academic plan
serve the needs and aspirations of the students
develop full engineering programs
on-line learning
grow regional partnerships for greater achievement of statewide mission
integrate assessment into the academic fabric
use technology in assessment
support structures for professional development and innovative technology in the classroom
develop campus-wide coordination of technological resources
set technological standards when hiring new faculty; i.e. require knowledge of web CT, Microsoft Suite, etc. Review if these skills should be a requirement, and if not, decide if training should be available.
develop budgets to assure departments have sufficient funding to support maintenance of technology in their classrooms
raise external funding
provide more support to faculty for funded research and grants
need space allocation plan and resource allocation plan
find ways to share resources such as smart classrooms
work on retention

Dr. Szafran will share this list of goals for distribution to the planning committee, so that they can be prioritized.

Item 3. Agenda for the Semester

A committee member asked Dr. Szafran to define what the committee’s goals are for the semester. Szafran responded that it is the Committee’s responsibility to define what the academic plan will look like and to set goals and strategies down on paper, and then establish tactics for achieving them. The Committee agreed to:

Determine what the Draft Academic Plan document should look like
Take prioritized recommendations from the academic planning taskforce and work on implementation schemes.

Dr. Szafran reminded the Committee to review the Deans Retreat (August 9) minutes and to attend the next Academic Planning Committee meeting on Monday, September 17. He also asked for volunteers for a sub-committee to write the academic plan.

Meeting adjourned at 3:11 PM.