The Reporter, August 2013

The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Materials” field to access recent issues.SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 6, 2013 Email This Post Print This Post Share | TOP STORIES Academic program prioritization decisions announced Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher announced Thursday, July 18, that the university will proceed with the phased discontinuation of 10 of the 13 academic programs previously recommended by a campus task force for closure. Belcher also announced that programs in motion picture and television production, Spanish and Spanish education, which had been recommended for discontinuation, will be retained, with program directors responsible for developing action plans to address weaknesses and take steps toward improvement. Programs that will begin the process of phased discontinuation are a bachelor’s degree program in German; master’s degree programs in health and physical education, mathematics, mathematics education, music, music education and two master’s programs related to teaching English to speakers of other languages; and a minor in women’s studies. In addition, several programs have agreed to voluntarily discontinue operations because of low enrollment or similarity to other programs available at WCU. Those programs are undergraduate minors in American studies, Appalachian studies, broadcast sales, broadcast telecommunications engineering technology, digital communications engineering technology, earth sciences and multimedia; an undergraduate program in business designed as a second major for non-business students; and master’s degree programs in chemistry education and teaching music. Belcher has used much of the summer to review recommendations issued in May by the Academic Program Prioritization Task Force, paying particular attention to performance indicators such as program enrollments and enrollment trends; program cohort sizes; individual course section sizes; average class sizes; and retention and graduation trends. “I have explored quality indicators. I have considered the degree to which programs and their owners – faculty, coordinators, department heads – have been thoughtfully proactive, before the advent of program prioritization, in recruitment and retention efforts, and the degree to which they have been successful,” he said. “I have explored the differences between need in the region and actual demand for Western Carolina’s programs. And I have wrestled with potential impact of program loss.” Belcher said he decided against discontinuing the program in motion picture and television production in spite of acknowledged high costs because of the quality of its students, successful placement of its graduates in graduate schools and degree-related jobs, and other “impressive quality indicators,” including a gift of a professional-grade camera made by Sony Corp. after the task force issued its recommendations. The Spanish and Spanish education programs were spared, he said, because of the burgeoning Latino population in the region and state and the potential for those programs to be responsive to applied needs in the region. Those programs slated for discontinuation will not be closed immediately. They will be placed on inactive status and will not enroll any additional students. The university is developing program-specific plans to “teach out” students currently enrolled in those programs, or to help them transition into a similar program at WCU or to another institution, as it follows best practices for the discontinuation of academic programs. The Academic Program Prioritization Task Force spent the 2012-13 academic year conducting a comprehensive study of the university’s academic programs to assess their quality, productivity and connections to the university’s mission and strategic directions. The faculty-led task force examined all undergraduate and graduate programs as part of an effort designed to give WCU leaders the information they need in order to make decisions regarding the best allocation of limited resources and to ensure that the university remains focused on strong academic programs aligned to its mission. Program prioritization is part of an overarching university initiative to closely examine all of its operations to ensure that they are functioning as effectively and efficiently as possible during a period of reduced resources from the state. The university has absorbed more than $32 million in cuts to state funding since the 2008-09 fiscal year, and additional reductions are expected this year. “Western Carolina University cannot be all things to all people. It never could, but the economic climate of the last five years and the resulting budget reductions have made this fact, too often ignored, a blatant reality,” Belcher said. “Our university must focus, ensuring that it does not diffuse its efforts and resources, both fiscal and human, in so many directions that the institution jeopardizes the quality of all of its programs.” Program prioritization, which is occurring at other campuses of the University of North Carolina system, comes as state funding for UNC institutions is being more closely tied to enrollment and to performance-based measures such as retention rates and graduation rates. “A decision to discontinue a program does not imply a lack of value for the discipline. It is, rather, a statement about current program reality,” Belcher said. Decisions to eliminate academic programs are subject to the approval of the University of North Carolina system. Western Carolina also must follow specific guidelines required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, WCU’s official regional accrediting agency. Belcher accepted all other recommendations as presented by the task force. In addition to programs recommended for discontinuation, CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT the task force recommended that the majority of the 130 programs it studied be retained at current resource levels. Those 96 programs have been categorized as functioning at appropriate levels. The task force assessed eight programs as “truly exceptional and high-performing,” and designated for potential enhancement as additional resources become available. Those eight are bachelor’s degree programs in emergency medical care, environmental science, natural resource conservation and management, nursing, parks and recreation management, and recreational therapy; and master’s degree programs in communication sciences and disorders, and social work. The task force also identified five programs as needing to develop action plans to address weaknesses and take steps toward improvement. Those programs are an undergraduate minor in residential environments; bachelor’s programs in middle grades education, and stage and screen; and master’s programs in chemistry, and elementary and middle grades education. Belcher’s announcement regarding his final decisions does not represent the last chapter in program prioritization at WCU. The university will integrate ongoing program prioritization into its regular cycle of program review, which will draw upon additional recommendations made by the task force related to improvements in the process and the data used for assessment. Detailed information about program prioritization at WCU, including task force recommendations and final decision reports from the chancellor, can be found online at the website programprioritization.wcu.edu. By Bill Studenc © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 6, 2013 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Anantatmula presents paper in Netherlands Vittal Anantatmula, director of the master’s degree program in project management, presented a paper titled “Linkages Among Project Management Maturity, PMO and Project Success” in June at the 2013 IEEE International Technology Management Conference and 19th ICE Conference in the Netherlands. Anantatmula’s research results suggest that customer satisfaction and customer needs are considered more important success indicators than traditional success factors, such as completing a project within time and cost. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 6, 2013 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Campus master planners to seek community input Aug. 13 in Sylva Representatives of the rms assisting Western Carolina University in drafting a comprehensive master plan that will guide campus development and improvements in the years ahead will return to Sylva on Tuesday, Aug. 13, to seek additional community input. The drop-in session is scheduled for 5:30 until 7 p.m. in the atrium of Jackson County Public Library. Refreshments will be served, and community members can arrive at any point during the event to offer feedback. The public session is a follow-up to a previous forum held in Sylva in May. It will be led by Ron G. Smith, a Sylva native who has worked on the renovation project for the Jackson County Public Library and on WCU’s Hunter Library master plan. Smith is among the principal consultants with the architecture rm McMillan, Pazdan and Smith, which is working on the WCU project with Hanbury, Evans, Wright and Vlattas, a rm specializing in campus design and planning. “Now that we have gathered some feedback about Western Carolina’s campus, we want to give our friends and neighbors in Jackson County an opportunity to oer their input on some initial ideas about land use and future development at WCU,” said Sam Miller, vice chancellor for student aairs and co-chair of WCU’s master planning steering committee. A direct outgrowth of the university’s strategic plan, titled “2020 Vision: Focusing Our Future,” the campus master planning process will address issues related to new building needs, utilization of existing space, parking and transportation, technology infrastructure, sustainability, safety and security, preservation of campus heritage and integration of the campus with the surrounding community. Launched last year, the 17-month master planning process has included public forums held on and o campus last fall to help the steering committee set directions, with a community meeting at Cullowhee Valley School. Consultants were on campus in April soliciting feedback, gathering information and conducting impromptu focus groups with students, faculty, staff and members of the community. A preliminary report and plan by the consultants are expected to be completed by early September, followed by a series of campus and community presentations for reaction in October and November. After revisions based on that feedback, the nal master plan should be ready for consideration by the WCU Board of Trustees at its meeting in December. In addition to Miller, members of the campus master planning steering committee are co-chair Melissa Wargo, chief of sta; Peg Connolly, associate professor, recreational therapy; Robert Edwards, vice chancellor for administration and nance; Craig Fowler, chief information ocer; Gerald Green, Jackson County director of planning; Larry Hammer, university registrar; Roger Hartley, associate professor of political science and public aairs; Ryan Hermance, president, Student Government Association; Mark Lord, professor of geology; Darrell Parker, dean, College of Business; Kim Ruebel, associate dean, College of Education and Allied Professions; Joe Walker, associate vice chancellor for facilities management; Benjamin Ward, Graduate Student Association representative; and Shawna Young, director of student affairs outreach and assessment. For more information about the master planning effort, visit the website masterplanning.wcu.edu, where there is a “share your feedback” link. By Bill Studenc CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 15, 2013 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Chancellor David O. Belcher Douglas Keskula, new dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, was named among other new leaders at WCU in the chancellor’s address at the Opening Assembly. TOP STORIES Chancellor discusses graduation and retention rates, budget, strategic plan at Opening Assembly Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher declared the upcoming academic year 2013-14 a “year of opportunity and possibility,” one in which the university will plunge headlong into the task of tackling the ambitious initiatives outlined in the “2020 Vision” strategic plan approved last year. Much of the work of the year ahead will focus on continuing to improve WCU’s learning and living environments for students, a strategic plan priority that has become more important than ever because of changes in the funding model for University of North Carolina campuses, Belcher said in his Opening Assembly address Wednesday, Aug. 14. The UNC system is moving toward performance-based funding, with graduation and retention rates among the factors that will determine how much money WCU and other universities will receive from the state. But funding alone is not the only reason WCU will focus on improving graduation and retention rates, Belcher said. “A focus on retention and graduation rates is grounded in our most deeply held values. WCU’s fundamental purpose is to educate the students who attend this institution. In choosing to pursue careers in higher education and in choosing to work at this institution, we have committed ourselves rst and foremost to our students’ education – and by and large, they are coming to us to get an education and the degree which certifies it,” he said. “We conduct research, and research is critical to the future of our university. We are committed to public service, and public service is critical to the future of our university. And, thoughtfully pursued, WCU’s research and public service eorts should be integrated and interwoven into our teaching and learning agenda,” he said. “But students and their education are the reasons we exist.” Belcher reminded the packed house gathered in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center that everyone has a part to play in improving graduation and retention rates, regardless of their specic job duties. “I always love the start of the new academic year. It’s a time of renewed commitment to our individual roles in creating the learning environments that our students need in order to thrive and to prepare them for their futures,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what roles we play – we are every one of us in this enterprise together, dedicated rst and foremost to the educational needs of our students,” Belcher said. Much of his address focused on ongoing budget constraints facing the university. Although WCU’s state appropriations for 2013- 14 have been cut by 4 percent – or $3.25 million – the cuts could have been worse, Belcher said. The impact was lessened by the fact that the university received funding credit in the areas of degree eciency (that is, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded per 100 full-time equivalent undergraduate students); relatively low spending per degree; and percent of undergraduate students receiving Pell Grants. WCU also received enrollment growth funding for 2013-14 because the university reached its enrollment targets, an achievement made possible in part by a jump in the retention rate of freshmen students from 72 percent in 2011-12 to 73.6 percent in 2012-13, Belcher said. “The bottom line is this: We are in a stronger scal position than we were a year ago, and we are in a position to allocate funding toward a handful of priorities,” he said. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Anquell McCollum (right), assistant basketball coach, speaks with Herb Bailey, director of gift planning, at the Opening Assembly reception. Beth Tyson Lofquist has returned to WCU as interim provost. The search for a new provost is under way with a goal of hiring someone to start in the position on Jan. 1. Other budget priorities for the year ahead include funding for adequate liberal studies and gateway courses to accommodate enrollment growth; hiring new faculty members for high-demand academic programs; additional tutoring and academic support; strategic renovations to alleviate a lack of classrooms that can accommodate larger class sections; and new positions and infrastructure for data and data analysis. Campus safety also will be a priority at WCU, Belcher said. High-prole cases of crime on campuses have resulted in increased attention to the federal Clery Act, which requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal nancial aid programs to keep and disclose information about campus crime. The university will look to hire a Clery coordinator who will be responsible for the extensive reporting and training required by the law, Belcher said. WCU also will ensure funding for the regular maintenance and replacement of emergency phones that are placed as strategic locations on the campus. “The year ahead will certainly continue to be one of constrained resources, but, with the blessing of new funding that we are receiving because of enrollment growth, we are in a position to invest in areas of critical and strategic need that will enable progress on our charted course,” Belcher said. “This is real progress.” Belcher also announced that 2014 will mark the 125th anniversary of WCU, with a yearlong celebration in the works. “While we will certainly spend time next year celebrating this university’s legacy, next year will be primarily focused on its future trajectory and where we together can take WCU,” he said. Other activities for the 2013-14 academic year in fulllment of the “2020 Vision” plan include: The launching of the Western Carolina University Leadership Academy and Summer Regional Tour, an effort for WCU to “grow its own leaders” from current staff and faculty. Increased attention on compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, with an initial focus on campus safety, and sexual harassment and assault. A university-wide continuous effort to improve campus business processes toward increased efficiency. Increasing the number of camps and conferences hosted at WCU, which could provide a significant source of revenue for the university. Increasing the percentage of alumni who give to the university. “Whereas I’d love to accept a seven-figure gift from every single alumnus or alumna, this target is not about the amount but rather about tangible buy-in of Western Carolina, whatever the size of the gift,” Belcher said. “I’ll take $1 million, and I’ll take $5.” Continuing to increase the number of endowed scholarships, which will enable WCU to recruit and retain top students. Initiating a long-range planning process for the university’s new Biltmore Park instructional site to better meet the needs of the people of the Asheville-Hendersonville area while also growing enrollment for WCU. Belcher reminded faculty and sta that although the university is in a period of growth, it is thoughtful and strategic, and not “growth for growth’s sake.” “We are not lowering our standards and, frankly, I insist that we not lower our standards. Rigor in education is a very good thing, and we only harm our students if we hold them to anything less than high standards. But as we grow, we must not let go of what is an institutional value – the intense focus on the individual student,” he said. “As committed faculty and sta, we must demonstrate and pass on that legacy of concern about the individual student. It is our job, it is our responsibility and it is the commitment we made when we chose this career path,” Belcher said. “We have challenges; we always will. We don’t have enough money; we never will. But we will persevere nonetheless in what is nothing less than a calling. We are in the business of changing lives – those of our students and those of the people of Western North Carolina whom we are charged to serve.” By Bill Studenc Audio from the event is available on YouTube. Chancellor David Belcher’s full remarks as delivered vary slightly from the written address shared below Introduction Good morning and welcome to another year of o