On Course Archives
On Course, April 1999
- A New Communications Vehicle
- SMART-NY Initiative
- General Education Task Force Receives Charge
- Mission Review Well Underway
- SLN Continues to See Enrollment Growth
A New Communications Vehicle
A message from the Provost
This is an exciting time for the State University of New York as we close the 1998-99 academic year and move forward with an aggressive agenda
for the ongoing betterment of the University. From substantial progress in our system-wide Mission Review process to a new effort to increase
funding support for faculty research with SMART-NY, we have much to be proud of and much still to do.
In accomplishing the goals set forth
by the Board of Trustees and in being responsive to our students, faculty, administration and the taxpayers of New York state, the focus, clearly,
needs to be on cooperation. We must bring to new heights the collective collaboration of the many entities under the SUNY umbrella.
In keeping with this emphasis on collaboration, I am pleased to introduce On Course; a new communications vehicle designed to update you on
developments within the Office of the Provost. On Course will provide you with information on the progress of ongoing initiatives and will include
news about success stories on our campuses and best practices in the ever-changing academic environment.
As you read through the following,
don't hesitate to contact my office with any questions or for additional information. Together, we will continue to build a stronger, more vibrant
State University.
SMART-NY Initiative Attracts Attention of Industry and Legislature
The SUNY/Cornell Multiplier to Advance Research and Technology (SMART-NY) is a dedicated effort to strengthen the critical link between academic research and the economic future of New York State. This exciting initiative is the collaborative effort of University Provost Peter D. Salins, the Provosts and Research Officers of both the SUNY Doctoral Campuses and Cornell University and the SUNY Engineering Deans. Their collective goal is to highlight the need for legislative and industry support of University research today, in an effort to yield results for New York state well into the 21st century.
Details of the effort were recently presented to more than 200 legislative and industry leaders at an afternoon conference held at the New York State Museum. The SMART-NY team was honored to have Senator Joseph L. Bruno address the meeting. Senator Bruno emphasized both a commitment to SUNY and Cornell and a confidence in their ability, through cutting-edge research, to foster economic growth in New York state.
Senator Bruno also announced his Jobs 2000 initiative, a proposed plan for investing in technology research and for helping to create jobs; a program that shares many common elements with the SMART-NY effort. Senator Bruno's presentation was followed by remarks from Raymond Damadian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of FONAR, a Melville, New York employer of 600 individuals in the manufacture of MRI scanners. Dr. Damadian invented the MRI while on the faculty at the SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn. His story was a powerful example of the impact of academic research. The conference concluded with presentations on dynamic research activity at both the State University and Cornell. Each presentation panel featured a member of the business community who spoke about the impact of academic research on their business, further underscoring the value of the SMART-NY initiative.
According to Provost Salins, "SMART-NY is committed, within the next five years, to doubling sponsored research activity in those areas where SUNY and Cornell have existing strengths and where federal research budgets are expected to increase: biomedical sciences, advanced materials, information technology, and the environment. We will also address the growing concern over New York's shortage of well-trained engineers and applied scientists."
Citing the positive impact of state investment on University research, Dr. Salins highlighted the relationship between Stanford and Silicon Valley
and between MIT and Route 128 in Boston. He added that research in New York, without significant state investment, has not risen to its potential.
"New York's share of National Institute of Health funding, for example, has decreased from 15% to 10% in the last decade, resulting in a market share
decrease of $350 million."
Don M. Randel, Provost of Cornell University spoke of the need to correct this pattern of lost funding, "The state
of New York and its institutions of higher education must be able to compete effectively for important new initiatives in terms of funding from the
Federal Government for these area of science. It's good for the state of New York and its good for the nation."
SMART-NY, by securing additional funding, will strive to meet state needs by:
- Building key centers of knowledge for the growth of the New York economy;
- Increasing the competitiveness of the SUNY/Cornell research enterprise;
- Providing New York with needed engineers and technologists;
- Taking advantage of increased federal funding; and
- Attracting and supporting high-tech enterprise.
In each of the four target areas of research, the SMART-NY effort plans investment in:
- Top-Quality Faculty - A focus on both retention of top faculty and recruitment of the best available new talent. SMART-NY will also work to increase the number of engineering faculty in an effort to double graduates in that field.
- Top - Quality Students - Increasing the competitiveness of stipends and creating fellowships that are competitive with those in other states.
- Research Infrastructure - Upgrading equipment, facilities and support staff by creating a pool of working capital to rapidly match federal awards.
SMART-NY was included as part of the multi-year investment plan recently submitted by the State University Board of Trustees. Going forward, the SMART-NY team will work to generate further legislative and industry awareness of current research success and its vital link to the fiscal health of New York state. By demonstrating the potential of the SMART-NY effort, the group hopes to gain ongoing support.
General Education Task
Force Receives Charge
In its recently passed resolution on General Education, the State University's Board of Trustees has called for a system-wide minimum of 30 credit hours in the following 10 academic subject areas: mathematics, natural science, social science, American history, western civilization, other world civilizations, humanities and the arts, foreign languages, basic communication, reasoning and information management. In carrying out the Board mandate, both the Chancellor and the Provost have called for a collaborative response.
"It is vital that representatives from campus and System Administration, faculty and students participate in discussions concerning how best to meet the spirit and letter of the Board requirements," said Provost Salins. "It is equally important that all sectors: university centers, comprehensive colleges, the university colleges of technology and community colleges participate in these discussions."
Dr. Salins has established the Provost's Advisory Task Force on General Education to assist in this effort. The charge of the Task Force is primarily focused in four areas:
- consult with campuses to identify their concerns regarding the implementation of the Trustees' Resolution;
- interpret both the letter and spirit of the Trustees' resolution;
- develop guidelines to assist campuses to adapt their general education program to the Trustee's resolution, consistent with campus and program missions;
- and identify ways in which the resources needed to implement the Trustees' resolution may be developed and allocated.
The Task Force, now beginning the process of collecting feedback from campuses, is co-chaired by Provost Salins and President Muriel Moore (College at Buffalo) and also includes:
- President Shirley Strum Kenny, State University at Stony Brook;
- President Paul Yu, State University College at Brockport;
- President Kenneth Wing, State University College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill;
- President George Hamada, Rockland Community College;
- Dr. Mary Ann Swain, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Binghamton State University;
- Dr. Barbara Dixon, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, State University College at Geneseo;
- Dr. Gary Waller, Vice President for Academic Affairs, State University College at Purchase;
- Dr. Charles Blaas, Vice President for Academic Affairs, State University College of Agriculture and Technology at Morrisville;
- Dr. Jonathan Gibralter, Dean of Academic Affairs, Corning Community College;
- Dr. Norman Goodman, Distinguished Service and Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Sociology, State University at Stony Brook;
- Dr. Marvin LaHood, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of English, State University College at Buffalo;
- Dr. Miles Wolpin, Department of Political Science, State University College at Potsdam;
- Dr. Michael Murphy, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Natural Sciences, State University College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill;
- Dr. George H. Higginbottom, Dean of Liberal Arts and Related Careers at Broome Community College;
- Joanne Freeman, Student Assembly Executive Board Secretary, Fulton-Montgomery Community College; and
- Naomi Long, Student Assembly Executive Board Member, State University College of Agriculture and Technology at Delhi.
At a recent presentation to the State University Board of Trustees, Provost Salins reported that significant progress has been made on the system-wide Mission Review initiative. "Campuses have done excellent and thoughtful work as part of this initiative," Salins said. "It is clear that Mission Review has significant potential for helping campuses fulfill their academic objectives, for increasing inter-campus cooperation and, together with System Administration, for enhancing the University's reputation and stature."
The first phase of this project began in earnest in the spring of 1998 when each campus received a customized set of questions designed to facilitate a thorough review of campus activities and mission, as they relate to the strength of the individual institution and to the strength of the University as a whole. From information on current and aspirational peers, to program development, faculty research and student services, each campus was asked to respond in the form of a Mission Summary.
At the same time, System Administration worked to identify staff that would serve on campus-specific Mission Review Teams. Each team would be responsible for studying their assigned campus, reviewing the Mission Summary document submitted by that institution and then creating dialogue or discussion points -- based on the campus defined mission -- to be used in the next phase of the process.
To date, most campus Mission Summaries have been received by the Office of the Provost and are being reviewed by their respective Mission Review Teams.
"Reviewing Mission Summaries has given System Administration staff a unique opportunity to deepen their knowledge of each campus, offering an up-to-the minute look at their strengths, existing needs and long-term goals," said Senior Associate Provost Steven Poskanzer. "While still in its initial phases, this process has already positioned System Administration to be able to better respond to campus needs."
Once the Mission Summary for a given campus has been reviewed and appropriate dialogue points have been developed, Phase II of the process begins; the campus visit. Select members of the System Administration review team will visit their designated campuses to address any outstanding issues and/or questions generated by the Mission Review Summary. Several campus visits have already taken place (see table at left).
Following the completion of campus visits, System Administration Mission Review teams will draft a Memorandum of Understanding for each campus, summarizing institutional goals, milestones of progress, and planned changes brought about by Mission Review.
Prior to completion, both regional and sector-wide meetings will be held to discuss area and sector-specific questions and concerns (e.g., regional competition for students, complementarity of programs) and to identify and promote additional opportunities for inter-campus collaboration. Dialogue from these meetings and continued revision by both System Administration and campuses will result in the completion of Memoranda of Understanding for all 64 campuses.
The Mission Review initiative is an example of broad collaboration toward a better State University; look for additional information on its progress in an upcoming issue of On Course.
Mission Review Campus Visit Schedule To Date
- Adirondack................2/28/98
- Old Westbury.............1/28/99
- Jefferson.....................2/16/99
- Farmingdale................2/18/99
- Nassau.......................2/26/99
- Maritime.....................3/05/99
- Stony Brook...............3/11/99
- Utica/Rome.................3/29/99
- Fredonia.....................4/09/99
- Suffolk........................4/14/99
- ESF............................4/15/99
- Schenectady...............4/16/99
- Cortland.....................4/16/99
- Herkimer....................4/19/99
- Mohawk Valley..........4/22/99
- Ulster..........................4/26/99
- Fulton-Montgomery....4/28/99
- Tompkins Cortland.....4/30/99
- Buffalo State...............4/30/99
SLN Continues to See
Enrollment Growth
Reaching out to an increasingly diverse student population, on-line education through The SUNY Learning Network (SLN) has made important strides toward fulfillment of the Rethinking SUNY commitment to accessible education. Thanks to SLN, the State University experience is available to that pool of students previously precluded from taking classes due to geographic barriers and/or busy personal and professional schedules. Likewise, SLN gives individual campuses the ability to expand their program offerings without having to make the resource investment of on-site instruction.
According to Eric Fredericksen, Assistant Provost for Advanced Learning Technology, "Enrollment for the 1998-99 academic year will exceed 6,000 students, more than tripling the number of students enrolled last year." Currently, 37 State University campuses offer over 450 courses through SLN and, according to Fredericksen, these numbers continue to rise as SLN strives to provide the most comprehensive on-line offerings available today.
SLN represents an overall framework for supporting distance-learning efforts within the University. On-line education through SLN operates over what is known as an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) that uses computers and the Internet as an educational vehicle, allowing for an ongoing dialogue among students and faculty.
Just as if they were on campus, students participating in the on-line instruction read course materials, write papers, do research and communicate with their instructors and fellow students. A recent student survey generated the following feedback, "I think this was the best graduate course I have ever taken. It not only enabled me to work at the hours that were good for me, but the satisfaction from the course was second to none." Another student wrote, "Thanks to my experience with this first endeavor of on-line courses, not only am I taking more classes in the future, but I have also encouraged my coworkers to do the same."
In building the largest and most comprehensive multi-campus ALN existing today, SLN has expanded with a focus on serving as a resource for the State University. "Scalability and efficiency are at the foundation of our program design and are a major focus as we continue to experience growth," said Fredericksen. "From implementation of the technical infrastructure to training and technical support, SLN offers campuses an existing framework for on-line education." SLN's experience and coordinated approach to service translates into a jump-start on implementation for State University campuses; saving significant time and expense.
In an effort to build on its success to date, Provost Salins has recently commissioned an SLN Advisory Board. With a focus on long-term planning, a major charge of the Advisory panel is the development of a new grant proposal for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Recognizing the leadership of the State University in this area, the Sloan Foundation was an initial supporter of the SLN and has been an ongoing contributor to its development.
SLN is part of the Center for Advanced Learning and Information Services (ALIS) in the Office of the Provost. Christine E. Haile, Associate Provost, ALIS, expressed her excitement about the future of SLN, "The SUNY Learning Network will attract new students to SUNY, from New York state and beyond. The State University is the national leader in high quality on-line course delivery and the continued growth in enrollment proves that we are addressing the needs of traditional and non-traditional students alike."
Haile added that under the broader umbrella of distance learning, the SUNY Learning Network will continue to assess which technologies best support State University students. "As we keep pace with technology and developments in distance learning, our focus will continue to be on how best to meet the needs of our students and the University as a whole."