Ithaca College

Submitted by Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson (Associate Provost for Academic Programs), on behalf of the members of the Task Force.          

As your representatives, those of us on the Provost’s Task Force on ICC Revisions are proceeding our work. Here, we would like to offer reminders of our Task Force charge, explain the steps that will precede any curricular changes being forwarded to APC, describe the work we’re doing right now, and point all members of our community toward places for offering feedback and/or submitting questions. 

Reminders: Charge and Process

First, as mentioned in an earlier Intercom post, and in the document available online, the Task Force has been charged as follows:

(1)   review the findings of the 2019 Integrative Core Curriculum Program Review and the College community’s subsequent responses to the review, prioritize recommendations to explore as program revisions, and—if appropriate—suggest any additional policy amendments that should be considered;
(2)   develop—in consultation with campus stakeholders—proposals for the highest priority revisions, with an expectation that the Task Force and subcommittee members will
·       gather information about the fiscal or staffing implications of any proposals; 
·       examine the fit of proposals with the Strategic Plan;
·       evaluate the ability for these revisions to be appropriately assessed;
·       consider/address the match between the current expectations of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and any proposals;
·       review any pending proposals for review that have already been submitted to CCR;
·       consult broadly and transparently with representative bodies of the campus to solicit feedback on draft proposals; and
(3)   submit Amendment Proposals to CCR for consideration and further action (on a rolling basis) to be completed no later than December 2020. 

Consistent with College Policy, all proposals forwarded to CCR (The Committee on College-wide Requirements) will be available to the IC community electronically after they are forwarded by the Task Force. Once in receipt of a proposal from the Task Force, CCR
·       Will review the amendment;
·       Will seek input from the Schools’ curriculum committees;
·       Will determine if the change is “significant” or “major” and merits an all-College faculty vote or if it can be voted upon in committee; and
·       Will forward any approved proposals to APC for further curriculum processing.

The Task Force’s work has been designed to build upon, rather than to redo, the work of the ICC Program Review Committee. However, it is not assumed that the Task Force will simply implement every recommendation from that Program Review.

What’s Happening Now?

The Task Force members have been analyzing the repository of information gifted to us from earlier work, including ICC Program Review and related data sets, the H&S Senate’s Spring 2019 survey, and archives from the former Vice Provost (i.e., surveys, emails, other feedback), as well as our most recent Middle States Review. As indicated in the charge, we are also collecting/reviewing additional information as needed.

The group has made a first sweep to prioritize topics into categories of issues to be considered. Based on the first-round prioritizing, the following issues are currently in dialogue within four interdependent workgroups:

·       Themes and Integration
·       E-portfolio, Reflection, and Assessment
·       Ithaca Seminar
·       Perspectives Courses in Majors and Intentionality

Other matters and related issues will be picked up in the next round of work or in association with some of the topics above. 

Workgroups are collaboratively:
·       initiating conversations about the scope of the work we want to do with this topic,
·       reviewing the topic in light of the materials we have received to guide the work (or requesting any new data needed), 
·       (if appropriate) convening a subcommittee or bringing in consultants on the topic from the volunteers identified in the survey, 
·       considering any proposals we believe might make sense related to this topic/issue, and
·       returning to the Task Force with a set of ideas [or even a proposal] we are interested in vetting with our campus community.

At this point, the Task Force is engaging in within-workgroup and between-workgroup dialogue about the feasibility of various options to further vet with the campus. In addition, the Task Force is collaborating with the Faculty Council Executive Committee to seek co-chairs to lead our group. 

Moving Forward: Please Engage With Us!

Starting in November, the Task Force will begin hosting open meetings to engage the community in face-to-face dialogue about some of the ideas being generated and to gather faculty, staff, and student feedback. We will be holding at least three open sessions for any interested faculty, staff, and students the week of November 11th, and we anticipate holding open sessions on:

Monday, November 11th from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Taughannock Falls Conference Room;
Tuesday, November 12th, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. in Emerson Suites A; and
Wednesday, November 13th, from 9:00 to 9:50 a.m. in the Clark Lounge.

In addition, as possible ideas begin to emerge as more promising possibilities through dialogue with our community, we will be welcoming feedback to the Task Force. The Task Force can be messaged anytime at:  iccrevisiontaskforce@ithaca.edu

Given that the charge is to consult broadly and transparently, we truly need and value your input and will be proceeding cautiously before submitting proposals to CCR for the additional layers of vetting that will occur through the traditional curriculum committee structures (in schools, CCR, and APC).

Thank you to all the volunteers who offered to share time or experience/expertise with the members of the Task Force. We may be calling upon you, so thank you in advance for your time. Please stay tuned for opportunities to engage directly with your Task Force representatives the week of November 11th.