TO:          Mike

FROM:    Roger

RE:          A Timeline on Program Review Activities

DATE:     April 3, 2000

 

You asked for a timeline, or list of activities, that were undertaken by my office in an effort to involve the campus community in the program review process. Hopefully, the following information will help:

--October 5, 1999: I discussed the program review process for the first time with the chairs/deans, following the September Board of Regents meeting in Great Falls. At that time, I distributed the tentative process for program review that was handed out by Joyce Scott in Great Falls; I also discussed a possible time-line for the review process, and the tentative plan to have the UM and MSU systems reviewed at different times. I also discussed the "completion rate" criteria established by the Board of Regents, and told the chairs/deans that that data was due in the Commissioner's Office by October 20. I urged the chairs/deans to begin discussing and sharing information with faculty as soon as possible.

--October 19, 1999: I distributed the "completion rate" report to the chairs/deans; that report was due in the Commissioner's Office the next day. I urged the chairs/deans to share it with their faculty. The information was subsequently posted on my web site.

--October 26, 1999: I described the program review process at a full faculty meeting for the first time. I answered questions, based on the process as I understood it at that time, and I urged faculty to discuss the matter with their chairs/deans who would have the most current information.

--November 2, 1999: I discussed program review again with the chairs/deans, especially in light of the academic programs that would be reviewed using the completion criteria. A detailed summary of this conversation, and others involving the chairs/deans, can be reviewed in the minutes of those meetings. All minutes of the chairs/deans' meetings are posted on the Provost's web site as soon as they are approved and official.

--November 23, 1999: I again discussed program review at a full faculty meeting, this time sharing the most recent developments as a result of the Board of Regents meeting in Bozeman.

--November 30, 1999: I again discussed program review with the chairs/deans, as a result of the Board of Regents' meeting in Bozeman in late November. An extensive summary of that conversation is included in the meeting minutes.

--December 6, 1999: An e-mail was distributed across the campus with additional information about program review, and especially the process as it applies to the MSU system. The new information was the result of the November Board of Regents' meeting in Bozeman. Additional information was posted on my website.

--December 7, 1999: Program review was again discussed with the chairs/dean, particularly in light of the short timeline for the initial recommendations in early January.

--December 21, 1999: Almost the entire meeting of the chairs/deans was devoted to program review. The minutes reflect that the chairs/deans have spent the last three weeks discussing program review with their faculty. The minutes show that the recommendations of the chairs/deans

of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education were shared with the faculty in those areas. The chair/dean of the College of Technical Sciences had not distributed recommendations on his programs to the faculty in his College, but the minutes indicate that he met with me several times during the month of December to discuss what he was doing.

--January 10, 2000: I met with the Electronics faculty about their continued recommendation to eliminate the four-year electronics degree and replace it with a four-year degree in Computer Engineering Technology. I told them again that the process for doing that required that we "eliminate" the existing program and submit the new degree proposal to the Board of Regents. They advocated for some kind of continuation of the current degree until the new degree program was in place.

--January 13, 2000: An e-mail was distributed across the campus concerning the institution's initial recommendations on program review, with additional information on the process as it was then anticipated.

--January 18, 2000: I briefly described the status of program review to the chairs/deans at our weekly meeting, particularly in light of the anticipated Board of Regents meeting in Helena the next day. The conversation was basically just an update, and a summary statement to "stay tuned."

--January 19, 2000: I met with the Chief Academic Officers as part of the January Board of Regents meeting. I was told by Joyce Scott that my initial recommendations would not "fly."

--January 25, 2000: I met with the chairs/deans to discuss program review, especially in light of the Board of Regents' meeting the previous week in Helena. Almost the entire meeting was devoted to the topic, because of the reaction to MSU-Northern's initial round of recommendations.

--January 25, 2000: I again discussed program review at a full faculty meeting, this time in light of the conversations and developments at the Board of Regents meeting in Helena.

--January 26, 2000: I met with Cameron Worstell, faculty member in metals technology, about the program review recommendation on metals.

--January 28, 2000: I met with English faculty about program review.

--January 28, 2000: I met with Darryll Thackeray, chair/dean of the College of Technical Sciences; and Lloyd Stallkamp and Virgil Hawkinson, faculty in the College of Technical Sciences, about the manufacturing program and the possible new degree in Industrial Technology.

--January 31, 2000: I met with the Water Quality Technology faculty.

--February 1, 2000: I asked for an update on program review from the chairs/deans at our weekly meeting; I stressed the need for as much quantitative data as possible to support programs that might be retained.

--February 1, 2000: I met with the History and Social Science faculty.

--February 1, 2000: I met with the Communications faculty.

--February 2, 2000: I met with the Biology faculty.

--February 7, 2000: I met with "Spike" Magnesson, a member of the student senate and a reporter for the student newspaper, about program review. An article subsequently appeared in the next issue of the student newspaper about the subject.

--February 8, 2000: I met with the Art faculty.

--February 9, 2000: I met with the Mathematics faculty.

--February 15, 2000: The conversation continued at the chairs/deans' meeting.

--February 16, 2000: I met with Darryll Thackery about program review.

--February 22, 2000: The chairs/deans have one last conversation on program review. Again, a good summary of all these discussions is available in the minutes of those meetings, which are posted on the Provost's web site.

--February 22, 2000: One more time, I discussed the most recent developments concerning program review at a full faculty meeting.

--March 6, 2000: An e-mail was distributed across the campus with the second round of program review recommendations from the institution; these recommendations were eventually sent to the Board of Regents.

--March 21, 2000: I met with Rob Everingham, editor of the student newspaper, about program review.