Provost King opened the Academic Planning Council meeting by welcoming new
member Christopher Martin of the Santa Barbara campus, the graduate student representative.
1. Enrollment Planning
The APC discussed several issues related to the University's long-range enrollment planning, including various
options for expanding the capacity of our existing campuses, progress toward enrolling more transfer students,
the status of a graduate advocacy document, and enrollment- related topics that will require attention in the coming
year.
Assistant Vice President Sandra Smith described the status of long-range enrollment planning, noting that recent
projections of undergraduate enrollment demand now outstrip campuses' ability to accommodate them, within the planning
parameters of their Long Range Development Plans (LRDPs). A number of options for increasing capacity at existing
campuses will be presented to The Regents in February, 1999. Two of the most significant include a recommendation
that in the coming year (a) campuses re-evaluate the enrollment assumptions on which their LRDPs are based, and
(b) that the University conduct an in-depth analysis of ways in which the summer months might be used to increase
capacity.
Associate Vice President Dennis Galligani described intersegmental efforts to improve transfer rates. The Community
Colleges will be held accountable for increasing the number of transfer-ready students. The Intersegmental Committee
of the Academic Senates (ICAS) is exploring ways of helping potential transfer students become better prepared
for their major, addressing issues related to lower-division courses leading to engineering, math and chemistry
majors. Their work is intended to serve as a model for other disciplines, as well. Finally, there are administrative
efforts to improve financial aid planning information for transfers and potential transfers, which will help remove
the obstacle of cost for many students who have been reluctant to consider transferring to UC.
The APC discussed enrollment-related topics that should be considered after the current planning efforts and analyses
have been reported to The Regents. Members advised that there should continue to be a focus on graduate education,
including its relationship to undergraduate education, to research and to changing circumstances of the 21st century.
They suggested that planning issues will be different at each campus, as well as for each level of graduate student
(masters, professional and doctoral). Another planning focus might be on how to meet the academic needs of a population
that may be different from today's students.
2. Veterinary Medicine
Vice President Con Hopper summarized the results of a recent UC report on veterinary education and workforce issues
in California. The report was prepared by a subcommittee of the APC's Health Sciences Committee and issued by the
Office of Health Affairs in January 1999. The study reviews veterinary student enrollment levels at UC Davis, describes
reductions made in the early 1990s, and summarizes current plans for increasing both DVM student enrollments (from
122 to 131 students per year by 2004), and DVM graduate enrollments (from 60 residents to a total of 90). The report
includes a profile of the State's professional veterinary workforce which
indicates that California ranks well below the national average in terms of licensed providers per capita.
Dr. Hopper reported that efforts are underway by Western University of the Health Sciences to establish a new School
of Veterinary Medicine, possibly in conjunction with Cal Poly–Pomona. Given current workforce needs and the uncertain
future role of Western University, the report concluded by recommending that UC Davis anticipate the need for future
growth up to150 DVM students per year, with further planning required if future workforce analyses demonstrate
such a need.
In addition, Vice President Hopper described a Memorandum of Understanding between the UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine and the UC San Diego School of Medicine to develop new collaborative clinical and research programs. These
will include several new programs based in specialized animal settings such as Marine World and the San Diego Zoo.
3. Teacher Credentialing
Karl Pister, Senior Associate to the President on Outreach Programs, discussed with the APC the challenge for UC
to increase its production of teaching credentials. UC's share has dropped from ten percent to four percent of
all credentials awarded in California. The Governor has made the improvement of K-12 education his top priority;
several items in his proposed budget for UC and CSU are directed to credential programs and teacher improvement
initiatives.
Senior Associate Pister described some of the programs already underway or about to be implemented at various UC
campuses, including expansion of summer credentialing programs, proposed joint Ed.D. programs with CSU campuses,
and the Summer Reading Institute for employed K-3 teachers. He noted that while improving current teachers' skills
is a very high priority for the State, the top priority is to increase the number of credentialed teachers. There
appears to be strong student demand, according to the Deans of Education, so the challenge is to develop programs
to accommodate additional students and move them quickly into the workforce.
APC members offered a number of suggestions related to this challenge. For example, they advised considering again
the use of the Clinical Faculty series in Education. Another suggestion, to address the high rate of turnover in
K-12 teachers, was to create programs that would encourage students to become teachers for the years between receiving
their baccalaureate and starting graduate school. It was also noted that the pool of early retirements that has
resulted from industry restructuring may also include individuals who could be encouraged to become teachers, particularly
if UC can remove perceived institutional obstacles that prevent people from enrolling in a credential program.
Finally, it was noted that one of the benefits for the University of having a credential program in place is that
faculty are more easily able to gain access to public schools for their research.