2016-2021 AMP Implementation Updates (February 2018)
Dear Colleagues,
With the implementation of the six Academic Master Plan initiatives underway, I am very pleased to share updates on the ongoing work. Our master plan is a dynamic document shaped by our past, present, and anticipated future. It is comprehensive, grounded in our mission, vision, and values. We have implemented the plan with a sense of urgency and in this document, we hold ourselves accountable.
The Academic Affairs division has been on a journey for the last three and a half years. Our pathway reflects the changing environment in higher education – in the world. It is a pathway marked by milestones and measured against benchmarks. Responding to dynamic change and being held accountable are paradigm shifts that define a new normal. Accountability measures are defined internally as well as by many oversight and funding agencies.
The restructuring of the Academic Affairs Division, which was implemented July 1, 2014, occurred at a time when the College was responding to challenges at the local, state, and national levels. The College was moving forward under new leadership after a tenure marked by disruption and progress postponed; the College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 mandated changes in academic programming; the Middle States Commission on Higher Education cited concerns with our General Studies program; and the enrollment decline that typically accompanies a recovering economy was underway. At the same time, globalization, rapid growth in transformative educational technology, and societal doubts about the quality and value of higher education, created a confluence of events and influences that resulted in a period of disruption for the division.
It was from this vantage point that an inspired team of faculty, staff, and administrators assessed where we were and what we needed to do to provide an academic environment of excellence, rigor, and success – student success. The Academic Master Plan 2016-2021 brought together people from across the College, as committee members, focus group members, feedback providers, and reviewers to define the focus and direction of our academic practices and programs for the next five years, and the stage for the following five years. This division milestone balances prescription and flexibility to meet students’ needs today and in the future.
Work on the six initiatives (embed classroom support, offer alternative scheduling and delivery, implement alternative and customized assessment and placement, design alternative and customized credentials and guided pathways, enhance student pathways from MCPS and to USG, and expand global partnerships and international opportunities) is well underway. We have taken seriously the mandate to increase student success.
The progress we have made, highlighted in this update, is the story of your accomplishments that have made possible the accomplishments of our students. Embedded in this update is my gratitude to each and every member of the Academic Affairs Division for their commitment to our students and to each other.
Sanjay Rai, PhD
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs