There’s a lot of “cool stuff happening” in the UCCS Academic Affairs Division, Provost Peg Bacon said at a Feb. 7 campus forum.
While the status report on general education reforms during the past few years was the most extensive topic, campus leaders discussed the Biofrontiers Institute and campus sports initiatives along with developments in online offerings and Weekend University. Bacon briefly listed the topics before introducing the speakers to an audience of about 40 staff and faculty.
Tom Christensen, dean, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences provided a brief overview of general education goals and a history of activity since general education requirements became a campus priority and a task force was formed in 2009. Christina Jimenez, associate professor, Department of History, followed him, presenting ideas discussed at a Nov. 2011 faculty retreat. She shared some of the subsequent feedback and described directions toward implementation the reforms will be taking through 2012.
The General Education core goals may be seen online at http://www.uccs.edu/~provost/general-education/core-goals-for-general-education.html. An article about the Nov. retreat is at https://communique.uccs.edu/?p=5433.
Next to address the group was Bob Camley, professor, Department of Physics, discussing a Biofrontiers Institute to be established at UCCS. Working with the Biofrontiers Institute at CU-Boulder, the UCCS center will profoundly advance science and research initiatives through an interdisciplinary approach, Camley said. Research in the areas of microwaves, nanoparticles and liquid crystals are already underway. Building upon this research can offer interdisciplinary educational opportunities as well as advance science in such a coordinated program.
The CU-Boulder institute’s web site is at http://cimb.colorado.edu/.
Eric Olson, director, Sports Management Program, College of Business, and Andrew Subudhi, assistant professor, Department of Biology, talked about the future of sports initiatives at UCCS. Olson explained that in addition to the U.S. Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs is home to 22 national sports governing bodies which makes UCCS uniquely positioned to create partnerships and develop innovative programs involving sports. Sports medicine courses are offered at the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences and singular sports management majors are a hallmark of the College of Business program, he said. According to Olson and Subudhi, the committee investigating sports initiatives envisions sports-oriented programs offered by other UCCS colleges and a center for excellence in sports education and research. Subudhi said the committee has created a mission statement for the center pledging to advance the science of the practice and business of sport through education and research.
David Moon, senior associate vice chancellor, Academic Affairs, addressed the group with information about the campus’ online offerings and Weekend University. Both of these course delivery programs are successful and poised for expansion. Traditional students attending most classes in person are also making use of online courses so online distance capabilities are not realized. Between expanding, tweaking and troubleshooting, he described the process of delivering online classes as an effort to build a plane as it’s taking off. He envisions a bigger picture, though, with a greater number of students being served by online programs.
Moon noted that non-traditional students once defined UCCS but the drive to make UCCS a residential campus left many of them behind. Weekend University is accommodating students who have full-time jobs and other responsibilities. He presented graphs that showed enrollment growth closely followed increases in Weekend University offerings. As well as expansion, coordinating Weekend University with online and evening classes is the next step.
“As you can see, there’s a lot of cool stuff happening,” Bacon said before urging audience members to play a part in shaping campus’ future by providing input to the Strategic Planning initiative.
– Photos by Ron Fitz, University Advancement
Leave a Reply