The September meeting minutes were edited to note that Yousra Bensouda was incorrectly marked absent from the September meeting. The minutes were approved with 20 in favor, 5 abstentions.
Academic Planning Proposals
School of Education to modify the Reading Education M.Ed. to be offered fully online
The goal of the modified program proposal is to broaden the reach of their program and increase enrollment. The School proposes revising their Reading Specialist Certification and M.Ed. program to be offered fully online, with the goal of expanding their recruitment area to the entire state of Pennsylvania and nationwide, as well as to offer students flexibility in course modality, which will attract current teaching professionals as well as those new to the field.
Presenter Michelle Sobolak noted that the certificate and related M.Ed program is currently on an enrollment hiatus; Council requests that the proposal be updated to reflect that the 2024-2025 enrollment is 0, not 10. Projected enrollment for the first fully online cohort is 10.
Discussion among members raised questions about how the program will stand out in a crowded market; School response was that their internship is unique and they would seek more rural districts to recruit new online students as well as work on marketing strategies.
A motion was made and seconded to recommend to the Provost that the proposal be approved as amended. Members present voted in favor of recommending approval (21 in favor and 8 abstentions).
School of Education to modify the Reading Specialist Certificate of Advanced Study (PK-12) to be offered fully online
Presenter Michelle Sobolak indicated that the two proposals are connected, in that students complete the Certificate as part of the M.Ed. program, which required XX additional credits in addition to those required by the Certificate The Council discussion addressed both proposals in tandem, however they were voted on separately.
A motion was made and seconded to recommend to the Provost that the proposal be approved as amended to reflect current enrollment numbers. Members present voted in favor of recommending approval (22 in favor, 8 abstain)
School of Education to modify the Infant Mental Health Certificate to reduce the number of required credits from 18 to 12 and create a pathway for retroactive credit for students who meet specific requirements.
The Infant Mental Health Certificate is aligned with the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health set of core theoretical principles of infant and early childhood development and mental health practice.
The IMH Certificate proposal includes a reduction from 18 to 12 credits. Additionally, students who complete an online non-credit bearing course may be rewarded 3 academic credits for that course by credit by examination. The IMH Certificate is stackable with Applied Developmental Psychology core coursework (24 credits) toward the MS in ADP in the SOE.
Discussion asked for the proposal to provide additional clarity about the process for ‘credit by examination’ for Pitt Professional non-credit courses, and for the School to review the budget impact of this change on the existing MA program, as students in the MA program will likely opt to take the online non-credit course rather than more costly 3-credit course equivalent that they currently take.
A motion was made and seconded to recommend to the Provost that the proposal be approved as amended. Members present voted in favor of recommending approval (22 in favor, 8 abstain) .
VP Godley suggested that once these program changes are complete and launched that we invite IMH back to present their progress. This program could be a model for other programs who want to explore creating pathways through non-credit online courses and stackable credentials VP Godley called on other program representatives who have explored innovation to share their experiences with Council and the Graduate Studies team.
Announcements
VP Godley announced that the student enrollment census would soon be available and that next month UCGS would hear reports on admissions, enrollments and yield rates for fall 2024.
VP Godley reminded the committee that The Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring is now accepting nominations. Please encourage people in your school to nominate someone.
Attendance
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - Grad Student - Abdulmohsen Alroumi
- Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences - Grad Faculty - Chris Nygren
- Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences - Grad Faculty - Peng Liu
- Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences - Grad Faculty - Jonathan Woon
- School of Public and International Affairs - Grad Faculty - Luke Condra
- School of Public and International Affairs - Grad Student - Michaela Cushing Daniels
- School of Public and International Affairs - Grad Student - Zena Kesselman
- Katz Graduate School of Business - Grad Student - Denise Bergdolt
- Katz Graduate School of Business - Grad Faculty - Sara Moeller
- Office of the Provost - Chair - Amanda Godley
- Office of the Provost - Staff - Courtney Syskowski
- Office of the Registrar, Observer - Staff - Jonathan Helm
- School of Computing and Information - Grad Student - Sai Vivek Chava
- School of Dental Medicine - Grad Faculty - Dobrawa Napierala
- School of Education - Grad Faculty - Michael Gunzenhauser
- School of Education - Grad Faculty - Linda DeAngelo
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - Grad Faculty - Mark DeRuiter
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - Grad Faculty - Michael Dickey
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - Grad Faculty - Ketki Raina
- School of Law - Grad Faculty - Joshua Ash
- School of Medicine - Grad Student - Brooke Dresden
- School of Medicine - Grad Faculty - Arjumand Ghazi (sub Patrick Pagano)
- School of Nursing - Grad Student - Myeong-ga Cho
- School of Nursing - Grad Faculty - Elizabeth Schlenk
- School of Pharmacy - Grad Student - Christina Kazarov
- School of Pharmacy - Faculty - Kerry Empey
- School of Public Health - Grad Faculty - Ying Ding
- School of Social Work - Grad Faculty - Sara Goodkind
- School of Social Work - Grad Student - Bianca DeBellis
- SEPC - Grad Faculty - Michelle Schein
- Swanson School of Engineering - Grad Student - Yousra Bensouda
- Swanson School of Engineering - Grad Faculty - Bryan Brown
- Swanson School of Engineering - Grad Faculty - Bob Parker
Presenters: School of Education: Michelle Sobolak and Richard Gallan