(E. Sander for the University Committee, 25 Jan 2005)
Background
The Faculty Senate approved the support of a pilot intersession as part of the 1998-99 academic year (UWM Faculty Document #2123, 18 Dec 1997). Further, the Senate expected that the Provost submit a preliminary report on the January 1999 intersession to the Senate by May 1999, with a full report by the October 1999 Senate meeting. The May 1999 report was presented in April 1999.
The Intersession Working Group (several DES staff, Associate Vice Chancellor Ruth Williams, Associate Dean Tom O’Bryan, APC rep Prof Jane Bowers) provided a preliminary report in March 1998 by way of preparation for implementing UWinteriM in January 1999.
On 2 Dec 2002, APC Chair professor Andy Martin indicated that the “Provost’s Office did not conduct any studies of UWinteriM and that no reports were submitted to the Faculty Senate.” According to the recently received APC report, two reports were submitted by the Provost’s Office pertaining to UWinteriM of 1999 and 2000.
Current Academic Policy Committee Report Items
The report indicates the APC reviewed all UWinteriM reports and correspondence. The APC concluded that UWinteriM has “been evaluated on several occasions.” The report does not address the Senate’s expectations for seeing the reports.
The APC reviewed and discussed UWinteriM compensation, which has essentially stabilized in the past years. Expectations comport with Overload Policies.
The report also includes one action item for the Senate, which involves credit limits for students, specifically:
For the UWinteriM session, the enrollment of each student shall be limited to three credit hours; and each course offering shall be limited to three credit hours.
The APC reviewed concerns about the three-week UWinteriM and the Senate concerns with regard to the short timeline being inappropriate for courses requiring depth of exposure. To that end, the report suggested that decisions about what courses to offer during UWinteriM should be at the department level. Additionally, UWinteriM was thought to facilitate matriculating students in a more timely manner, while also accommodating non-traditional and part-time students.
The final issue raised by the report pertained to UWinteriM shifting the spring semester schedule closer to summer session. This shift might impact on students’ summer employment opportunities.
The University Committee believes the Faculty Senate should decide what they want to see by way of reports on UWinteriM, including expected reports above. Further, the Senate should consider if any additional policies may be required at this time for UWinteriM, apart from the action item regarding credit limits.