The Academic Planning Committee (APC) will create a strategic plan that analyzes the current status of our academic programs, academic calendar, and instructional modalities, and proposes changes to all of these in a coordinated way that increases enrollment in our degree and certification programs, with special attention to access and timeliness of degree/certificate completion. There should be no lowering of our academic standards or program quality with regard to student success or career preparation. New degree and certification programs should be proposed, and existing ones may be removed from our catalogue. While our academic year is semester-based and synchronized across the UM system, there are few restrictions on academic calendar planning in the summer or winter breaks. Course-based learning needs to occur year-round, without the current lulls in summer and winter. All digital and in-person instructional modes (and combinations of them) should be considered and proposed on a course, discipline, or program basis so to promote these objectives.
Committee members will be responsible for plans that affect their respective sub-committees, but will be encouraged to contribute to the broader programmatic planning effort.
What graduate programs (degrees and certificates) should we offer (based on market demand and potential for enrollment and revenue), and how do we best deliver them?
What modalities are available to deliver our academic programs and how do we employ these modalities (singly or in combination) to expand access to students who may not prefer or be able to experience on-campus learning? (Consider online, distance, asynchronous, synchronous, hybrid, flipped, and other methods)
Does our current undergraduate portfolio (degrees and certificates) provide the best and broadest opportunities for the success of our students, or are there other programs that should be considered?
Committee members include: