For the last several months, the Academic Strategic Planning committee has taken a close look at both internal and external influences on the academic environment at UM. We explored questions related to the broad categories of the UM student body, access and affordability, the UM work force related to Academic Affairs, academic programs offered, technological capabilities, and funding trends. We also looked at demographic trends, technology, trends in K-12 that reach into higher education, the economic environment, political and regulatory environments, defining our competitors, natural resource issues, and international factors. After extensive review of the information collected, the Committee identified a suite of issues that we believe require attention in the coming years.
At this point in the planning process, we need the campus community to deliberate and weigh in on the list that follows. Some of the issues listed are fairly straight forward, while others are more complex and, therefore, more challenging to capture in few phrases. Accordingly, the purpose of this list is to stimulate deliberation and conversation, and to provide students, staff, faculty, and administrators with opportunities to weigh in with comments and recommendations about which issues deserve further discussion and should be prioritized for action.
So please take a look at the following list. If you were a member of the committee, what direction would you take from this point forward? If we proceed with the following list, in 3 years what do you think we would find surprising (e.g., where might we wish we had spent more of our time and resources)?
We hope you will take a minute to leave your comments on this blog. Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you soon,
Carol Brewer
Chair, ASP Steering Committee
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STRATEGIC ISSUES TO ADDRESS IN THE COMING FEW YEARS (not ranked in any particular order)
a. The Undergraduate Experience (creating a world class curriculum; mindfully connecting teaching and learning to best deliver this curriculum) – who are we preparing, what are we preparing them to do, and how best to retain them and prepare them to be successful?
b. Development of COT/Community Colleges in Montana – better articulation and synergy.
c. Articulation Between K-12 and Higher Education in Montana– including dual enrollment, teacher certification and in-service professional development, addressing deficiencies in preparation, and consistent outreach from UM to K-12 schools in Montana.
d. Enabling Technology for Teaching and Scholarship – how technology is funded and managed, looking toward the future of devices and web 2.0; paying attention to training, nimbleness.
e. Perceptions and Reality of the Cost of Education versus the Value of Education at UM – who has access, addressing affordability; better branding and communication with stakeholders (in MT and beyond) of our scholarship and community service.
f. A Coherent Vision for Research, Creativity, and Scholarship – where and how do we want to cultivate distinction for discovery, innovation and leadership; a climate for interdisciplinarity; connection to the Montana economy.
g. Strengthening Communication and Transparency – in line with our value and tradition of shared governance; better communication with stakeholders.
h. The Workplace Conditions – allow staff and faculty to meet their potentials, and that allow them to collaborate more effectively in service of teaching, scholarship and service.
i. Cultivate Graduate Programs – attract excellent students and prepare them to make scholarly and creative contributions in their field – Curriculum and research opportunities matched to our current reputation, student demand, capitalizing on our location; stipends and in-state status.
j. Diversity – cultivating a climate and curriculum to values diversity and recognizes the value of a diverse student body, faculty, and staff.
k. The Changing World Around Us – international programs and exchanges, research, key languages sustainability, interdisciplinarity, demographics, globalization, economies, and so on.
l. Achieving Optimal Enrollment – what is optimal for UM and for the educational experience we value.
our conversation about grad education today made me look at my use of grad student support in a more concrete way -
At UM (this is my 8th year) I have mentored 6 graduate students for a total of 27 semesters, but only 8 semesters were TA supported (3 as out of state, 5 as in state). The rest (19) were supported by my grants (10 as out of state, 9 as in state).
1. If I had been able to pay in state tuition rates I would be have been able to support another PhD student or two MS students (10 semesters) without TA assistance.
2. Any formula for grad student TA allocation should include (among many other factors) an assessment of whether the TAship can be used as a springboard toward independent support, whether it is through grant funding to the PI or a fellowship to the student, or another mechanism.
1. With respect to technology issues, I would encourage this committee to get some students on the committee.
2. With respect to upgrading classroom technology, I encourage this committee to think “lecture capture,” i.e. podcasting, Mediasite Recorders, Echo360 — GOOGLE any of these. New students have the expectation of anytime-anywhere computing. We need to focus more on “learning” and less on “teaching”, and what better way to facilitate learning than to post lectures online?
3. With respect to computing labs and technology classrooms, think outside the four walls and ceiling. Think outside the box. What if a student wants to access proprietary lab software from her apartment or dorm room? Can she do it? What if she wishes to access lab software outside normal “lab hours?” Can she do it? The unequivocal answer is “yes,” and the solution is using “terminal services.” In fact, using a terminal services solution students with a Mac laptop can run Microsoft software installed on a lab server in a window on their Mac. The old holy wars (Mac vs PC) are mostly passe under this model.
4. Think “virtualization.” Many universities offer faculty “virtual labs” wherein they can install non-Microsoft software because that’s the best tool that works. Yep, this would be a solution to Jackie Mohr’s conundrum in SOBA.
5. Change and deploy a new communications model so that we (faculty and staff) can learn from each others’ successes and failures. A wiki with commenting capability would have been a better communications mechanism for this academic strategic planning process since it could hold documents (Word, PDFs), Video, Audio, photo slideshows, and links to relevant websites. GOOGLE “confluence wiki” (no quotes) to see collaboration features of an enterprise wiki software package. One feature would be “nested commenting” or the ability to reply to a posted comment thereby continuing a conversational thread.
6. Think wireless. Deploying a “tiered wireless access” model would give open access to wireless for parents visiting UM with their children. In effect, I.T. could create an isolated zone, say the University Center, that would offer both open wireless while still disallowing access into UM’s internal network. Now, if I were a parent spending $2,000 to travel to UM with my kid to evaluate the university, I’d be annoyed that I couldn’t check my corporate e-mail while on campus (without trudging over to I.T. Central requesting VPN software and a temporary NetID.) Talk about the stone age.
Robert Logan
E-mail: robert.logan@umontana.edu
Phone: 243-2457
I agree with Michele. I have been here almost four years and in that time have supported six graduate students off of grants, with no out-of-state waivers or similar support from the University. I think I could have doubled my research output and supported at least three more graduate students with a little support. Until there is a more rational means to allocate TAships RAhips and waivers that more directly links to research outcomes (e.g., funded grants, training of independent researchers) UM will not realize its Second Initiative.