Higher Education Updates

There were a few local higher education governance stories in the last couple weeks. The first involves making life a little easier and possibly cheaper for Parkland Students hoping to transfer credits. From the News-Gazette last week:

Parkland board OKs gen-ed program to make transferring easier
...
On Wednesday night, the Parkland College Board voted 7-0 to approve adoption of a 38-hour General Education Core Curriculum Certificate, which will be offered starting with the 2019-20 academic year.

Parkland's new certificate incorporates the state's basic course requirements for college freshmen and sophomores. The point of it is to ease the headache of transferring from one Illinois college to another.

Each fall, thousands of students transfer between schools. But sometimes, basic classes at one institution don't fulfill curriculum requirements at another, so students find themselves spending more on tuition in order to take classes that meet the minimum standards at their new college.

In an effort to help these students, a movement was launched to develop the "general education core curriculum" — one that would transfer without issue to many other Illinois institutions.

Full article here, with a bit more on the history of the concept coming to fruition after 15 years.

The University of Illinois has a couple governing issues at the State level that will involve and affect our campus here. Next week the UI Board of Trustees will be meeting next week, but so far with vacancies and unconfirmed appointments from the previous governor:

No word yet from Pritzker on picks for UI board of trustees
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been busy making administrative appointments since his Jan. 14 inauguration, but so far, there's no word on who he might pick for the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

The board is set to meet Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago, with three vacant seats and two trustees appointed under Gov. Bruce Rauner but never confirmed by the state Senate.

The terms for former board Chairman Tim Koritz, James Montgomery and Patrick Fitzgerald expired Sunday. Trustees will choose a new chairman and other officers Thursday.

Unlike other state boards, UI trustees do not continue serving until their replacements are named, said Jennifer Creasey, the UI's director of state relations.

Creasey said Friday she hadn't heard any news from the governor's staff.

"I've just been assured that they're on top of it," Creasey said earlier in the week.

Full article with more details here. A committee to recommend new sexual misconduct rules for the University campus will also be getting started at the end of next week:

UI creates 12-member faculty panel to review sexual-misconduct policies
After weeks of planning, a 12-member committee has been created to review policies on sexual misconduct by faculty at the University of Illinois — but it doesn't include any students.

The committee, which will meet for the first time on Feb. 1, is chaired by UI law Professor Rob Kar, who took the lead on the issue for the campus Academic Senate following disclosures about the sexual-harassment investigation of another law professor, Jay Kesan, last fall.

The panel is being asked to recommend changes in policies governing how the campus handles complaints of sexual harassment against faculty, including remedies and sanctions, and how far confidentiality requirements should go, said Kar, who is also vice chairman of the Senate Executive Committee.

In a letter to committee members, Provost Andreas Cangellaris asked the group to meet throughout the spring semester, and into the fall if needed, and provide him with periodic updates as well as a preliminary report on its findings and any recommendations by May 15.

Kar said at a law school forum Thursday that he will push to develop concrete recommendations by the end of the semester, though implementation could take more time. Revisions to the UI Statutes governing sanctions against faculty, for example, must be approved by the senate and UI trustees, he said.

More details, including faculty and administrators in the membership (which does not include students) here. An earlier News-Gazette article laid out more information for the campus panel and the issues they'll be tackling, but also pointed out a University of Illinois system level task force is also working on the issue and will be coordinating with the campus committee:

Meanwhile, a similar task force at the UI system level has met once, according to its chair, Executive Vice President Barbara Wilson. The panel is taking a "high-level look" at education, prevention and responses to sexual misconduct at all three campuses, to ensure they are consistent with best practices in higher education, Wilson said.

It also retained an outside law firm, Franzcyk Radelet, to review UI policies in light of changing laws and federal guidelines, she said.

Members will be in regular communication with the campus policy group to ensure their efforts are aligned, Wilson and Bernhard said.

The system task force doesn't have a deadline, but Wilson said it will culminate in a leadership retreat with chancellors, provosts, deans and athletic officials to discuss whatever recommendations emerge. The goal isn't a quick fix but a broader effort to ensure the UI is a leader in this area, she said.

Full article here.