UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
ACADEMIC PLANNING COUNCIL

Bulletin #14


May 5, 1995


1. Long-Range Enrollment Planning: Discussion of the Enrollment Planning Background Paper for the May Board of Regents Meeting.

Assistant Vice President Smith reported that, as the APC advised in April, the Regents' item will put enrollment planning in the larger context of planning for the University's future and will recognize explicitly the uncertainty of projections and the need for ongoing review.

APC members, after considerable discussion, recommended separating the presentation of planning principles from the analysis of enrollment, making it clear that, though the principles emerged in the course of discussions about enrollment, they have much broader application. They also asked for an executive summary at the beginning of the enrollment document, and some members suggested greater emphasis in the list of future tasks on aggressive outreach and work with K-12.

The draft on which the Regents' background paper was based is being well received by most campus administrations and Senate committees, and has been discussed with the staffs of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the State Department of Finance, and other groups in Sacramento. Provost Massey and AVP Smith also conferred on the draft with President Emeritus Clark Kerr who, in addition to supporting the planning direction described in the draft, made some very useful suggestions for further analysis.

2. Briefing by Council of UC Staff Assemblies

Chair Cheryl F. Hagen and Vice Chair Fawzi Hermes of the Council of UC Staff Assemblies briefed the APC on its analysis of issues that their Council considers important. Budget cuts, faculty and staff reductions, and fee increases raise questions about the University's mission, accessibility, and affordability. The fundamental premises -- free or low-cost education -- on which the University was established are being challenged with the decline in State and Federal priorities and support. This evolution calls for the exploration of alternatives that will be responsive to the needs of the State and its citizens. Educational leadership via shared governance must take a visionary role, not simply react to or manage responses to the changes.

Chair Hagen also expressed the Council's concerns about the University's proposed Human Resource Management Initiatives which would transform its staff culture by increasing decentralization and increasing reliance on transient staff. Vice Chair Hermes reported on the adverse impact of the budget cuts that have resulted in substantial growth in undergraduate class size, and increases in student/TA ratios.

3. Report of the Advisory Committee on Agricultural Experiment Station Realignment

Vice President Farrell reported that he is near agreement with the Chancellors of the Berkeley, Davis, and the Riverside campuses on Ticho Committee recommendations to reallocate some Agricultural Experiment Station resources from Berkeley to Davis and Riverside. This includes transferring organized research funds equivalent to 10.4 vacant FTE and offering the choice of transfer to 18 faculty in core agricultural disciplines. The long-range disposition of the currently filled 18 FTE slots will be based on DANR's strategic plan to be completed in 1996. The draft strategic plan will be sent to the campuses for review and comment prior to implementation.

Continuing Activities

A. Intercampus Programs and Instructional Technology

The Intercampus Academic Program Incentive Fund Advisory Review Committee has just recommended allocations ranging from under $1,000 to $16,000 for 20 projects ranging from seminars to joint degree programs. A third round of allocations will be made in October 1995.

Vice Provost King briefed the APC on progress of the new Committee on Informational Networking and Instructional Technology for Academic Purposes (CINITAP); and circulated the Committee's first project, a draft vision statement. The Committee advises UC on activities such as distance learning, academic networking, and the digital library initiative. APC members urged the creation of a monthly bulletin on e-mail showcasing UC's innovative applications of instructional technology and distance learning. In addition, an All-University Conference on distance learning and educational technology will be scheduled.

Based on an e-mail survey currently in progress, AVP Smith and Coordinator Julie Gordon are preparing an overview of good examples of faculty uses of educational technology and distance learning. Responses to date indicate that a number of faculty are using e-mail for management of their classes including:

o class lists, course assignments, and syllabi; and

o on-going communication with their students.

In addition, medical school faculties make use of a variety of instructional technology tools; and
World Wide Web on the Internet is also becoming a popular tool.

The Regents will also be briefed on this topic next fall.

B. Senate/COC/APC Joint Policy Meeting-- October 20-22, 1994: Follow-up Activities Through April 1995

Provost Massey expanded on accomplishments to date flowing from the ten action recommendations and assignments of responsibility issued by the Retreat participants. In particular, he called attention to the Council of Vice Chancellors' work on ways to enhance intercampus cooperation, to explore regional degrees in some fields, to bring together weak and strong programs, and to share program resources that are unique. The Report to the APC on follow-up activities will be sent to the Academic Council and the Council of Chancellors.

C. Campus Visits

Provost Massey reported that The Regents and senior administrators are visiting some of the University's sister institutions to learn about their experiences in facing the current challenges. Most recently four Regents and a group of UC administrators met with senior administrators and Board members of the University of Michigan to discuss governance, "privatization" as it relates to student fees, and Medical Center issues. The UC group has also visited Stanford University and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and visits with several UC campuses are planned.

D. June APC Presentation by Library Council

Provost King previewed for the APC the presentation scheduled for June on the Digital Library Initiative, a planning project organized by the UC Library Council. Oversight for the project will be provided jointly by the Council and CINITAP. An Executive Working Group has been appointed to manage the project under the general direction of the two oversight groups. The Working Group consists of a University Librarian (Chair), three faculty, a campus librarian, a campus technology official, and the Director of Library Automation.

E. Update on Affirmative Action

Faculty Assistant to the Provost Elliot Brownlee reported that the Academic Council, assisted by the Office of the President, will present a one-day faculty forum on affirmative action on May 24. The forum will be held at the Los Angeles campus. Scholars from UC campuses and other institutions will discuss various aspects of affirmative action policies: their historical setting, economic effects, constitutional setting, social and political setting, and effects on higher education. At the conclusion of the forum, a panel will discuss possible alternatives to affirmative action.

Provost Massey noted that there would be a presentation on affirmative action at the May Regents' meeting that will address implications of the removal of consideration of race and ethnicity from admission processes.

The APC questioned how the University could serve the State without taking into consideration the demographics and racial composition of the State in which minority groups in the population are evolving into the majority.