1. Enrollment Planning and Year-Round Operation
Vice President Larry Hershman described for the Academic Planning Council the current status of legislation and
budget talks related to the University's enrollment planning. There is widespread concern in both the Legislature
and Governor's Office that the projected increases in public higher education enrollment in California will exceed
the availability of capital resources. UC's capital needs alone are estimated to be $500 million a year. Both proposed
legislation (AB 126) and supplemental budget language are intended to promote some form of year-round operation
that would reduce the need to build new classrooms. There are differing perspectives in Sacramento on how quickly
such changes should or could take place, with some advocating beginning in summer 2000, and others arguing for
another year of planning and analysis of the potential costs and benefits. The University continues to promote
its principles that quality must be preserved, that new facilities will be required for a growing faculty, and
that we should continue to work for an improved student-faculty ratio.
By June 1, campuses will be providing the Office of the President with possible options for expanding their enrollments
to accommodate an estimated additional 60,000 FTE undergraduate and graduate students by 2010. These responses
will form the basis for more detailed analyses and discussions over the next year.
2. Issues Identified at the Academic Planning Retreat
The APC discussed several follow-up activities to the February 28-March 1 Academic Planning Retreat of the Council
of Chancellors and the Academic Council and agreed that the APC should take responsibility for several of them.
These include addressing some of the challenges that humanities scholars face in higher education today, proceeding
with plans to consider broadly the role of University-industry relations (see APC Bulletin #40), identifying any
remaining financial, procedural and cultural obstacles that prevent full intercampus collaboration, particularly
with respect to concurrent enrollment, and considering various models for deploying faculty to meet the responsibilities
for undergraduate education.
The APC also asked that various background and informational reports be prepared by OP staff, in order to prepare
to address issues about the types of academic appointments that will be involved in carrying out teaching and research
responsibilities as enrollments grow, issues related to support for and success of graduate education, and issues
related to the nature of an undergraduate education in a research university context.
3. Teaching Postdocs
The APC discussed a draft proposal for a "Faculty Fellow," a two-to-three year position available to
UC Ph.D.s upon graduation. The proposal was first discussed at the Academic Planning Retreat and has since undergone
considerable revision. APC members applauded its dual intention of assisting new Ph.D.s to become more expert in
teaching, while also providing an opportunity for them to begin a scholarly career in research. There was agreement
that such an appointment could be an incentive for students to complete their degree, and could enhance their competitiveness
in the job market. APC members noted the confusion that such a proposal could create with other academic titles,
and discussed ways in which it could be funded. The proposal continues to be reviewed by academic and administrative
committees.
4. California Virtual University
Vice Provost Carol Tomlinson-Keasey described how the lack of sufficient financial support led to the dissolution
of the CVU Foundation. UC will continue to provide a static server, but each of the four segments of higher education
will be responsible for maintaining their own homepages leading to their own on-line courses. She noted that "UC
Online" could be the public face for the University, leading to on-line courses (currently offered through
UNEX) as well as links to museum collections, parts of the Digital Library, to admissions websites, and to University
news. With input from several senate committees, she will be creating an advisory group that can address both the
public information issues as well as the design issues.
5. UC Merced
Vice Provost Tomlinson-Keasey also updated the APC on UC Merced planning. The California Postsecondary Education
Commission (CPEC) has reviewed the University's Need Study for the new campus and will likely approve it at the
June meeting. CPEC approval will allow the University to proceed with developing a Long Range Development Plan
(to be completed November 2000) and is necessary before the Legislature can fund capital projects. The planning
staff are developing estimates for capital construction and are considering different options for funding.
Working with the UC Merced planners, the Academic Senate UC Merced Task Force has several programs under discussion.
These include a proposed Sierra Nevada Research Institute which would address serious problems of national interest,
such as the availability and distribution of water, an Engineering alliance with Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
intended to be unique enough to attract high quality faculty without competing with other UC Engineering programs,
an agricultural biotechnology program, and a humanities focus on the world cultures represented in the Central
Valley. UCM has already attracted its first endowed chair, in English.
6. Compendium Review
The APC noted that the proposed large and small changes to the "Compendium of Universitywide Review Processes
for Academic Programs, Academic Units, and Research Units" had received wide support from both administrative
and Senate reviewers on the campuses and systemwide. APC members agreed that the Compendium revision was complete.
Members applauded APC Vice Chair Aimee Dorr's efforts to coordinate so successfully such a complex task. They recommended
that another review be scheduled for 2004, noting that it did not necessarily need to be a full-blown review. Revisions
to the "Administrative Policies for ORUs and MRUs" have also been under way, paralleling the revisions
to the Compendium, and are in their final stages of review.