Minutes of the Committee on Academic Planning
September 29, 2003

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 3:38 PM by Prof David Holmes, Chair. Present in addition were Profs Norm Cloutier, Walter Feldt, Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, and Scott Thomson, Ms Doris Nice, and Assoc Provost Jerry Greenfield, members; and Provost Rebecca Martin.

Business

Letter to Tier 1 Departments
The Committee reviewed a draft of a letter to "Tier 1" departments prepared by Prof Holmes. In the report from the CAP retreat held in June 2003, these departments were identified as needing further attention in the near term for various reasons. The retreat report can be found at: http://uwp.edu/staff/gov/faccom/cap/0203/retreatreport03.pdf.

Program Appraisal Framework
The Committee reviewed a draft provided by Provost Martin which revised the Program Appraisal Framework (PAF) document used in 2002-03.

It was hoped that the revised PAF would be sent to the departments in October with a response requested by the end of the semester.

Prof Holmes presented the Committee with his version of a possible completion of the then-current PAF for the Department of Art and Assoc Provost Greenfield presented a version for a mythical department.

Neither submission included the section responding to numerical data. Prof Holmes thought a complete submission from Art could be done in five pages.

Most of the discussion centered about the "Quality of Teaching and Learning Program" section. It was agreed that departmental submissions should focus on learning outcomes and not simply reiterate current departmental policies and practices.

Discussion ensued as to whether the numbers (e.g. student credit hours generated, number of graduates) were all that really mattered in making programmatic decisions. It was agreed that students served would continue to be an important factor and perhaps decisive when comparing otherwise comparable programs.

As a result of discussion, several changes were suggested and Provost Martin agreed to provide the Committee with a new draft.

It was agreed to further review the latest PAF draft at the next meeting.

Position Authorization Requests from 2002-03
Several Position Authorization Requests (PARs) submitted in the spring of 2003 were sent back to the departments. These were requests from the departments of Communication, Psychology and Sociology-Anthropology. These need to be resubmitted if the departments wish further consideration.

Provost Martin said that Dean Cress was discussing these PARs with the affected departments.

Program Reviews
Prof Greenfield agreed to supply the Committee with the status of program reviews, including those from prior years that have yet to be completed and those scheduled for this academic year. He also agreed to supply a template of the letter to be sent to
the departments/programs under review this year. The Committee discussed its role in the review of areas closely related to academic programs. Faculty policy does not directly address this (CAP Charge). It was agreed that the Committee would like to be informed of such reviews. Examples include the Library and the Advising Center.

Next Meeting
It was agreed to meet next on Wednesday, October 8, at 3 PM.

Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:45 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Walter T Feldt
Secretary