University College

1. University College Recommendations UC Task Force Indiana State University October 2012

2. Table of Contents • UC Task Force Membership (slide 3) • UC Task Force Charge (slide 4) • Vision Statement (slide 5) • Purpose (slide 6) • Direct Reports (slide 7) • UC Responsibilities (slides 8-11) • FSC Authority (slides 12) • Admission into the UC (slide 13) • UC Advisors (slides 14-17) • Assessment (slides 18-19)

3. UC Task Force Membership Linda S. Maule, Dean University College, Chairperson—UC Task Force Nancy Cobb-Lippens, Chairperson, Department of Music, CAS John Murray, Academic Dean, CAS Christopher Olsen, Chairperson, Department of History, CAS—Faculty Senate Rep. Cindy Crowder, Chairperson, Department of Human Resource Development, COT Robert English, Associate Dean, COT Kevin Bolinger, Faculty Member, Department of Elementary, Early, and Special Education, BCOE—Faculty Senate Rep. Judy Sheese, Education Student Services Coord., BCOE Don Rogers, Faculty Member, Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport, NHHS Tom Sawyer, Faculty Member, Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport, NHHS—Faculty Senate Officer Susan Johnson, Student Services Director, SCOB Art Sherwood, Faculty Member, Department of Management Information Systems and Business Education, SCOB Christopher Fischer, Chairperson, Foundational Studies Council, Faculty Member, Department of History, CAS, Faculty Senate Rep. David Wright, Director, Student Academic Services Center Joshua Powers, Associate Vice President, Student Success Greg Bierly, Director, University Honors Program, Faculty Member, Department of Earth, and Environmental Systems, CAS

4. UC Task Force Charge from the Provost and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (Summer 2012) • The University College will be responsible for working in partnership with our existing colleges, enrollment management, and others to improve the success of our first-year students.  • ISU’s Board of Trustees has approved the establishment of the University College and agreed that a Task Force would study and make recommendations on a number of operational issues.  • The Task Force is charged to study the issues and make recommendations to the Senate by no later than November 1, 2012.  To allow for the Senate and campus to study the Task Force recommendations thoroughly, an earlier report would be welcomed. • The Senate is charged to present recommendations to President Bradley and Provost Maynard by no later than December 1, 2012. 

5. Vision Statement The University College (UC) will improve student success by providing a high-quality, responsive and developmentally appropriate network of academic assistance to first-year students by integrating and collaborating with the efforts of academic entities and programs with all other campus divisions and resources, and by promoting campus dialogue and analysis of student success issues.

6. Purpose The purpose of the UC is to help first-year students to succeed by • Instilling in first-year students a sense of personal responsibility for and commitment to their academic success • Promoting professional excellence and accountability on the part of staff, faculty and administrators • Providing first-year students with access to high-quality and transitional academic advising • Partnering with the Foundational Studies Council, as well as Academic Colleges, to provide high quality instruction of first-year students, centered on student learning, developmental scaffolding, and the challenge and rigor appropriate for the first year of college • Assisting students to make well-informed choices about their majors, based on sound academic preparation that enhances commitment to and success in their fields of study

7. Direct Reports: Year 1 and 2

8. UC Responsibilities: Years 1 and 2 (Fall 2013- Spring 2015) • Pre-Enrollment Programs • Coordinate with the Academic Colleges to provide the academic components of New Student Orientation • Assist the AVP of Student Success and the Director of Bridging Programs in the coordination of LEAP • Enrollment Preparation Programs • Coordinate with the director of Transition Programs to provide the academic components of Fall Welcome • Work collaboratively with Academic Colleges to connect first year students to their academic units • Work collaboratively with OIT and CIRT to provide Blackboard, clicker, and software training to first year students • Work collaboratively with OIT, Assessment and Accreditation, the Office of Institutional Research, and the Testing Office to assess the base line knowledge and academic skills of first-year students

9. Responsibilities cont. • Post-Enrollment Programs • Coordinate the academic advising of first-year students • Facilitate Freshman Learning Communities and Freshman Transition courses, including UNIV 101 • Assist the Fall Read committee in providing programming related to the Fall Read • Work collaboratively with the AVP of Student Success and the Associate Director of Residence Life to enhance academic programming for first-year students in the first year residence halls • Map Works • Academic Peer Advocate training

10. Responsibilities cont. • Programming forAcademic Advisors and Faculty • The UC Dean will collaborate with Center for Information and Technology, the AVP for Student Success, the Student Success Coordinator in SASC, the Library, the Director of the African-American Cultural Center, and the Academic Colleges to offer programming on how to teach and advise first-year students.

11. Responsibilities cont. • Administer the Foundational Studies Program • Work in partnership with the Foundational Studies Council, as well as academic deans, chairpersons, directors, and instructors to ensure the integrity of Foundational Studies courses • Provide data, and other forms of evidence-based information to chairpersons as they schedule and assign instructors to Foundational Studies courses

12. FSC Authority • The Foundational Studies Council will: • Develop guidelines for the syllabi of all Foundational Studies courses, including those Foundational Studies courses taken primarily by first-year students (100 and 200 level courses) • Develop and enforce the policies for the Foundational Studies curriculum, including those policies which relate to Foundational Studies courses taken primarily by first-year students • Evaluate whether the category learning objectives and program outcomes are being met, as well as the policies for the Foundational Studies curriculum, including those policies which relate to Foundational Studies courses taken primarily by first-year students • Determine the composition of all Foundational Studies arrays, including the removal of courses from those arrays as a result of course evaluation data, category learning objective and program assessment data, and annual review of whether departments are in compliance with Foundation Studies curricular policies and syllabi guidelines, including those which relate to Foundational Studies courses taken primarily by first-year students • Develop the learning objectives for a required freshman transition course selected from the Foundational Studies array (100 or 200 level courses), which will emphasize first-year transition issues, as well as developing and honing reading comprehension skills • Facilitate the participation of departments offering 100-200 level FS courses, with large enrollments, in course redesign or course transformation

13. UC Advisory Board • The UC Dean will be advised by a UC Advisory Board. • The Advisory Board will include but not be limited to faculty representation from each of the Academic Colleges, a representative selected from the Library, a representative selected from the Foundational Studies Council, a faculty representative and a chairperson selected by the Faculty Senate, a faculty member who teaches a learning community or a freshman transition course, the Associate Deans of the Academic Colleges, the Director of Transition Programs, the Director of the African-American Cultural Center, the Associate Director of Residential Life, the UC Advising Coordinator, the Student Success Coordinator, a representative from Financial Aid, a representative from the Office of Registration, a representative from University Honors, and a representative from Student Affairs.

14. Who is admitted into the UC? • All first-year students • A student in academic good standing who has been accepted into a major will be transitioned from the UC after the completion of a minimum of two semesters of full-time enrollment. • Any first-year student on academic probation will continue in the UC until attaining academic good standing. • Any student who is placed on academic probation will be assigned to the UC and be assigned to a probationary advisor until attaining academic good standing. • Any student who is re-admitted after being academically dismissed will be assigned to the UC until attaining academic good standing.

15. UC Advisors • All entering first-year students will be assigned to a UC advisor housed in the University College. • Academic departments with complex majors may nominate an individual to serve as a UC advisor. • A faculty member nominated and certified to serveas a UC advisor must participate in the same training and evaluation process as UC advisors housed in the University College. • Students who are eligible to enter into their major will be assigned both a UC advisor and a faculty liaison in that major, unless the department has selected an individual to serve as a UC advisor then the student will be assigned only to the UC advisor. • The faculty liaison will be listed below the UC advisor on the degree audit reporting system.

16. UC Advisors cont. • The UC advisors, except for those nominated by a department and certified, will be • Experts in a specific, albeit broad, academic area (e.g., the arts, nursing, allied health fields, business, education, technology, etc.) • Cross-trained, with expertise in Foundational Studies, as well as academic and non-academic issues specific to first-year students • Assigned academic opportunity students, typical students and high achieving students • Afforded annual opportunities for professional development and to learn how to practice high quality developmental advising • Expected to work closely with liaisons in the major to ensure first-year students a seamless transition from the University College to the Academic Colleges and departments • Evaluated annually

17. UC Advisors cont. • In Spring 2013, the UC Dean will: • Hire a UC Advising Coordinator and five UC advisors • Work with the Provost and the Deans of the Academic Colleges to reassign existing professional advisor positions to the University College • Re-assign six advisor positions from the Student Academic Service Center to the UC College • Work with academic departments to identify faculty members who will serve as UC advisors.

18. UC Advisors cont. • It is estimated that it will take at least $300,000.00 in start up costs to cover the salary and benefits for the UC Advising Coordinator and the new (not re-assigned) UC advisors. • This estimation does not include the start up cost associated with the UC or the annual budget for the UC. • This estimation does not include an effort to “equalize” the salary of reassigned UC advisors.

19. Assessment • The UC Dean will provide a “State of the College” address each fall semester. • All programming implemented by the University College will be evaluated. Successful programs will be continued. Unsuccessful programs will be modified and re-evaluated or discontinued. • The UC Dean will provide data on first-year students and UC programs to interested parties in a timely manner.

20. Assessment cont. • Student Success Benchmarks for the UC in Years 1 and 2 • Improve the persistence of first time, first semester, freshmen from Fall #1 to Fall #2 • Increase the number of first-year students maintaining academic good standing • Decreasethe number of first-year students who drop a course or courses or withdraw from the university in their first year • Increasethe number of first-year students who demonstrate behaviors correlated with academic success, such as: • Attending class • Submitting assignments • Engaging in the course and materials, etc.