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How are courses treated when they fall between conversion and transformation?
The administration encourages holistic transformation but in cases where a portion of the curriculum is transformed and a portion is converted, the budget will be prorated appropriately. The Curriculum Transformation MOU will describe the curriculum changes to be accomplished and the associated budget for such a transformation.
Is there funding for programs that don't fall under a certain department? i.e. Liberal Studies
Yes. Every degree program is funded and the backup documentation is part of the packet, showing the department to which the funds were allocated. Funds for "unincorporated" degree programs and concentrations/emphases were allocated to the deans for further distribution.
If a Department submits a curriculum proposal can the Dean override it?
Intraschool curriculum changes go through the normal steps for approval: department, curriculum committee, and dean. Cross-school interdisciplinary programs will require further review by the University Curriculum Committee. We are looking at a document management system to keep track of all of the proposals, approvals, and changes.
How do we handle programs with requirements outside of the department?
Early and frequent conversation is required between the departments offering the courses and the departments requiring the courses. In the case of course conversion, the assumption would be that all courses are converted from 5-quarter units to 3-semester units (or, as is typical in science, one year-long sequence with another year-long sequence). Anything that would cause a change in requirements would require a conversation with the affected department.
Can we still continue with a Tues, Thurs, Sat. schedule?
Time blocks have not been finalized but it is assumed that unusual meeting patterns involving Friday, Saturday, and Sunday meeting times will continue to be accommodated.
After the conversion will my workload increase?
Workload is defined in Article 20 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The current practice of determining the instructional and professional responsibilities in consultation with each individual faculty member or department will continue. The academic year will consist of approximately the same number of workdays, but divided into two terms (semesters) rather than three (quarters). As such, there will be some reduction in workload such as posting grades, syllabus preparation, adding and dropping students, etc. The number of course preparations will depend on the specific department scheduling. Since the deployment of workload will change, it would be impossible to guarantee that future workload will be exactly the same as present, however, it will not be "excessive" as defined in the CBA and it will be in line with other CSU campuses.
What is the meaning of the word "staff" in #8 in the Principles resolution?
Staff means all non-faculty employees that will be working on the conversion i.e. admissions & records, financial aid, student financial services, etc..
How will conversion affect Summer School in 2016?
We will have a "robust" stateside Summer in 2016. This may be the last opportunity for students to finish up coursework before the switch to the semester system. Much remains to be determined regarding financial aid eligibility.
How are Labs and Activities affected by the conversion?
The closest semester equivalent for one or two quarter units of laboratory/activity is to convert to one semester unit of laboratory. This involves moving from 10 or 20 sessions to 15 sessions.
How does this affect Graduate Programs?
Graduate programs will also have to decide between Course Conversion and Curriculum Transformation. Graduate Programs should be aware that the typical (and minimum) unit requirement for a Master's degree is 30 semester units.
How much time will faculty spend teaching GE and how much time teaching majors?
Currently work is underway on transforming our General Education program. Further details on the structure and process for building the curriculum will be forthcoming.
When will the GE model have a skeletal framework?
Which comes first, a student roadmap or a teaching schedule?
A draft roadmap for major courses should be in mind when creating the teaching schedule. This will be refined and updated when the GE course structure becomes available.
Has there been consideration in regards to SB 1440?
All degrees with a SB-1440 TMC (Transfer Model Curriculum) should keep in mind, as they design their new curriculum, that these transfer students must be able to complete their degree within 60 semester units.
In our Masters Program 30 units is the minimum, is there a maximum?
There is no statutory maximum but the faculty should consider the disciplinary norm (especially within the CSU) and also the increasing attention on time-to-degree and graduation rates. The nominal length of a Masters degree program is two years or 30 semester units.
What are we doing with cooperative education courses that are listed in the catalog?
It is assumed that courses that are initiated by the student can be retained in the catalog regardless of the last time the course was offered. Examples include 489 (Experiential Prior Learning), 496 (Internship), and 497 (Cooperative Education). Similarly, X77 Special Topics courses can be retained.
Are on-line courses considered high impact courses?
No, but many of the key elements found to be at the heart of these high-impact practices can be incorporated into this mode of instruction. Please see the excerpt on pages 11-12 in the template PDF.
High-Impact Practices: 8 Key Elements
- Performance expectations set at appropriately high levels
- Significant investment of time and effort by students over an extended period of time
- Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters
- Experiences with diversity, wherein students are exposed to and must contend with people and circumstances that differ from those with which students are familiar
- Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback
- Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning
- Opportunities to discover relevance of learning through real-world applications
- Public demonstration of competence
From "Ensuring Quality & Taking High-Impact Practices to Scale" by Kuh and O'Donnell (AAC&U 2013).
Is it possible to not start the semesters with a Monday schedule?
Will class sizes change?
Class sizes are dependent upon a wide range of factors including pedagogy, department FTES targets, availability of instructors, number of students needing the course to make progress, etc. Those same factors will be at play in the semester system.
Will we get rid of a minor requirement?
The Academic Senate will make a recommendation to the President about the disposition of the minor requirement. Minors will be available to students but it is hoped that additional flexibility will be afforded those students who are trying to complete all requirements prior to the transition and those students who are hoping to complete the degree shortly after transition.
Is there any chance we won't start semesters fall of 2016?
We do not anticipate that there will be any change in the semester start date.
Can we change the date the initial paperwork is due because it falls on the last day of classes?
The deadline was established to give the maximum amount of time to faculty while they are required to be on campus. You can always submit prior to the deadline but since these documents should be based on full faculty participation within the department any extension by a dean would need to ensure that all faculty could continue to participate in the decision-making process.
Which GE model did the campus decide on?
The Academic Senate endorsed the recommendation to "develop Model 3, while paying careful attention to the most valuable features of Model 2." Model 3 is a thematic model so you should anticipate responding to questions from the implementation committee about which themes the department would be excited about teaching.
If a department has 3 majors would that warrant extra funding?
Each degree is funded separately, as thoroughly documented in the PDF packet. The documentation indicates which department is assigned the funds for each degree. See question #2 for additional information about interdisciplinary programs and concentrations.
How are courses treated when they fall between conversion and transformation?
The administration encourages holistic transformation but in cases where a portion of the curriculum is transformed and a portion is converted, the budget will be prorated appropriately. The Curriculum Transformation MOU will describe the curriculum changes to be accomplished and the associated budget for such a transformation.
Is there funding for programs that don't fall under a certain department? i.e. Liberal Studies
Yes. Every degree program is funded and the backup documentation is part of the packet, showing the department to which the funds were allocated. Funds for "unincorporated" degree programs and concentrations/emphases were allocated to the deans for further distribution.
If a Department submits a curriculum proposal can the Dean override it?
Intraschool curriculum changes go through the normal steps for approval: department, curriculum committee, and dean. Cross-school interdisciplinary programs will require further review by the University Curriculum Committee. We are looking at a document management system to keep track of all of the proposals, approvals, and changes.
How do we handle programs with requirements outside of the department?
Early and frequent conversation is required between the departments offering the courses and the departments requiring the courses. In the case of course conversion, the assumption would be that all courses are converted from 5-quarter units to 3-semester units (or, as is typical in science, one year-long sequence with another year-long sequence). Anything that would cause a change in requirements would require a conversation with the affected department.
Can we still continue with a Tues, Thurs, Sat. schedule?
Time blocks have not been finalized but it is assumed that unusual meeting patterns involving Friday, Saturday, and Sunday meeting times will continue to be accommodated.
After the conversion will my workload increase?
Workload is defined in Article 20 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The current practice of determining the instructional and professional responsibilities in consultation with each individual faculty member or department will continue. The academic year will consist of approximately the same number of workdays, but divided into two terms (semesters) rather than three (quarters). As such, there will be some reduction in workload such as posting grades, syllabus preparation, adding and dropping students, etc. The number of course preparations will depend on the specific department scheduling. Since the deployment of workload will change, it would be impossible to guarantee that future workload will be exactly the same as present, however, it will not be "excessive" as defined in the CBA and it will be in line with other CSU campuses.
Who says that we should have 15-week semesters? Who says we should have 3-unit courses as the norm?
Typically, across the CSU system, 15 week semesters and 3 unit courses are the norm. And after consulting with the Department Chair Leadership Council, the Chairs, the Deans, the Provost, and the President concur that we should have 15 weeks of instruction for each semester and that 3-unit courses should be the norm. Labs or other separate class components that are added on to the lecture/discussion format may add a unit for that mode of instruction.
Will the calendar accommodate an intersession?
The department chairs suggested that intersession courses would be permitted in special cases where the shorter, intensive experience is appropriate for the methods and intended learning outcomes of the course. The start date for spring semester should be in line with other relevant schools, colleges, and universities.
How is the budget distributed within the department and school?
The funds are to be used for specific tasks and deliverables, as decided by the department with approval by the dean. Faculty will not necessarily have equal responsibilities and, consequently, will not necessarily receive an equal portion of the department allocation.
While focusing on student needs, we want each department to design the best way to assign the work and to fairly compensate those who do the work. The procedures we have developed are intended to facilitate that process. We encourage open dialog about the process. If the guidelines need to be reinterpreted or revised to better facilitate the process, please let your chair or your dean know. We are confident that by working together, we can better meet the needs of our students while also addressing the needs of our faculty.
