Phase II Program and Curricular Initiatives

During Phase II of the Program Review and Reduction Process, 18 units that fell more frequently below the medians on the Driver Metrics were asked to provide additional information that included program and curricular initiative plans that might impact future enrollment, persistence, and graduation outcomes. Listed below are the initiatives provided for some of these units. More information by unit will be added as it becomes available. Information for some of the units asked to write Phase III Unit Reports is included below. However, most will be added after Phase III reports are submitted.

Click on the unit in the table below to move down the page to the unit program and curricular initiatives

Unit
Applied Linguistics
Architecture
Educational Leadership and Policy
Engineering Technology Management
Film (School of)
History
International and Global Studies
Political Science
Public Administration
Special Education
Supply Chain Management
Urban Studies and Planning

Applied Linguistics

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
Adding expertise in natural language processing	The department is working with Computer Science (CS) to design a joint BS degree in Computational Linguistics. Requirements for the new degree have a preliminary agreement between both departments. Applied Linguistics approved the new degree and CS has yet to vote on it. The plan is to submit a new degree proposal by the end of the academic year 2022-23. The degree will require investment in CS to bring on another person in computational linguistics/natural language processing. Institutional barriers (differential tuition, and admission to CS upper division courses) will also need to be worked out.
Collaboration on degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level	Applied Linguistics and World Languages and Literatures held meetings with faculty from both departments in Fall 2023 to explore possible collaborations and reorganization. Faculty in both departments saw great potential for working together and are interested in pursuing this idea further. Discussions with Speech & Hearing Sciences, English, and the College of Education (COE) highlighted potential areas for collaboration, especially within the Bilingual/Bicultural education program in COE, but little room for shared curricular resources.
Beginning campus-wide work on linguistic diversity and discrimination	The Linguistic Diversity and Discrimination Awareness project is underway. Public events and instructional materials will be developed in 2023. The entire campus has been surveyed, and data from surveys will be analyzed during Winter 2023. Interviews with individuals are being organized. Public panels/discussion groups will be held in Winter/Spring 2023. Linguistics Roadshow highlighting linguistic diversity issues was held in Spring 2022, and elements were used at the Party in the Park and the Bridges session for high school students. The Roadshow will be highlighted at the American Association for Applied Linguistics annual convention held in Portland in March 2023.
Continuing important interdisciplinary work on the importance of discipline-specific language for student success	Work is continuing in this area, and faculty are pursuing grants.
Revisions made to undergraduate degrees/certificates: TESL certificate, Applied Linguistics BA, and Applied Linguistics minor	Revisions significantly reduced the number of prerequisites, reduced the number of credits required for the certificate and the BA, and made the degrees more flexible in terms of requirements. All revisions have been passed by Faculty Senate and took place in Fall 2021 or Fall 2022. We have seen an increase in the number of minors and TESL certificate students since 2020 revisions, despite overall declining enrollments
We strongly encourage the unit to consider possibilities for reorganization with another department(s) (e.g., WLL, Comm, SPHR, ANTH) in ways that could provide increased opportunities for cross-disciplinary curricula and shared support systems.	See information in Collaboration on degrees.

Architecture

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
Recognizing that Architecture is a predominantly white profession, the school is undertaking efforts to increase diversity among faculty and students. One effort will be launched during summer 2022—a free summer immersion program exclusively for BIPOC high school students.	Our faculty has gender diversity. It is currently composed of four full-time female and seven full-time male faculty changing the ratio from 5/8 to 4/8. Since we are seeking to fill the vacant position, the search committee is making all efforts to restore that balance. Moreover, since that faculty member was an ethnic minority, the school also intends to increase the ratio of BIPOC faculty. Out of 12 faculty members, three are Hispanic, and one of them, the new director, is BIPOC. As the first ethnic minority director of the School of Architecture, I am committed to carrying forward and expanding the equity, diversity, and racial justice initiatives started by the previous director. One of these initiatives was successfully launching the free summer immersion program for BIPOC high school students, which is planned to be a recurrent yearly program.
To increase enrollments, the school is exploring adding an Interior Design Program to increase undergraduate SCH. With the loss of interior design programs offered by other institutions (such as Marylhurst), there are currently no accredited programs in the Metro area, in spite of the fact that PCC offers an AA degree that graduates dozens of students annually.	The school is in conversations with the leadership of the Interior Design program at PCC, and is working towards creating an Interior Design Program that would receive PCC students with an Associate's Interior Design degree, and offer them two years of instruction towards a Masters in Fine Arts (or similar) degree in Interior Design from PSU. So far, the main challenge has been to work around the fact that vocational courses don’t transfer to PSU. But with the help of Academic Affairs, and other university units we are working to surmount that and other obstacles that were not fully considered in the first proposal for the program.
Are there options within Architecture or COTA to create an alternate pathway for students who began the program but were not admitted into the upper division to complete a degree at PSU?	The undergraduate architecture degree admits the great majority of students applying to the professional track (the 3rd year), so there is practically no urgent or obvious need to create such an alternate pathway. The new ID program, however, could potentially offer such a pathway in the case that the program grows to increase SCH. This has been a decade old request from the school that carries with it the need for more physical space. With the construction of the new Art Building, it is hoped that the School of Architecture could gain control of some, if not all of the remaining spaces at Shattuck Hall, something that would be beneficial for the school and the university as a whole.

Educational Leadership and Policy

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The department is currently working to pare back the number of non-instructional course releases that are allotted to the coordination of five program certificates (from 22 credit hours down to 4).	The department chair made the appropriate changes to non-instructional course releases decreasing department and unit expenditures. This is a model that the college is evaluating to determine its effectiveness across all units in COE. ELP also eliminated courses with low enrollment unless needed for graduation and student success.
The department is sunsetting the use of adjunct instructors as dissertation chairs and committee members.	This has become difficult due to the low number of FTE faculty; however, ELP has decreased its dependency on part-time faculty. The department had three full professors take advantage of early retirements in 2021-2022, which were not filled. This has generated significant cost savings in ELP.
The department plans to monitor low-enrollment courses.	This was addressed.
The department is working to increase marketing and philanthropic support.
The department should work to align its limited faculty resources with student enrollments. We ask specifically that the department looks at the sustainability and applicability of the Leadership for Sustainability Education (LSE) pathway in light of the interim dean's decision to no longer provide university funds to support the operations of the Learning Garden and declining enrollment.	ELP no longer funds the Learning Garden manager but continues to invest in student workers (student success). Leadership for Sustainability Education (LSE) has been able to sustain its enrollment in the major to previous year enrollment trends with existing two FTE. We have seen a decrease in non-LSE students taking courses (outside major) working with CLAS, CUPA, and SSW to promote LSE courses.
Due to its size, LSE should consider reorganization with other units at PSU that share similar curricula and scholarly practices.	This is an ongoing discussion led by faculty in the unit.

Engineering Technology Management

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
As a result of new collaborations with the School of Business, the unit proposes changes to the ETM program.	The unit proposed leveraging existing relationships with the School of Business to make curricular improvements. They are currently being put in place (see below).
ETM plans to revise the ETM Masters and certificate programs to increase the program profile, provide more attractive course options, and increase marketability.	Course and program changes are sequenced: currently, revisions to courses are being made that will be effective in Fall 2023. They serve as preparation for the major change to the Master’s program with a start date in Fall 2024. Changes to the Graduate Certificate programs will become effective in Fall 2023 and Fall 2024.
The department requests resources for marketing its programs to potential students and funding for a Professor of Practice position.	This request is ongoing during the budget planning process.
ETM requests an opportunity to put forward a strategic hiring plan for connecting industry/community problems to methods expertise in ETM. Changes to the capstone program have begun to put this into place.	This request is ongoing during the budget planning process.
Develop more online programs	The unit analyzed enrollment, student survey data, and student feedback: There is a need to balance the needs of international students (a sizable share of the enrollment with in-person visa requirements), local, full-time employed students who wish to connect to their peers in local industry in person, and students with a preference for online education. The department is working to develop an attractive mix of fully online and hybrid courses that allow students to obtain a degree in either mode or a mix of modalities.
Collaborate more closely with the School of Business	ETM worked with the School of Business on updates to the Graduate Certificate in Business Intelligence and Analytics to better support student needs. This included offering an online class in Winter 2023 based on graduate certificate student requests and making significant changes to the class based on student needs and certificate needs.
Reorganize to consolidate with another unit/college	Discussions are ongoing. Currently, the focus is not on consolidation but on increasing collaborations with the departments in MCECS.
Increase differential tuition to help cover the increased costs of the program	This is something that we are investigating for impacts on students. For example, having a different differential could be problematic for students from other MCECS departments wanting to take ETM classes.

Film (School of)

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The unit requests: funding for a consultant to develop a strategic plan for new courses in stop-motion animation, soundproofing the production studio, and a full-time production technician to oversee equipment management.	An IPEB Resource Plan initiative identifying the benefits of hiring a consultant to develop a strategic plan for new courses in stop-motion animation was funded. The contractor was hired in Fall 2022, with work ongoing through Winter 2023 that will result in a set of recommendations for meeting the goal of offering stop-motion classes beginning in Winter 2024. No resources are available for soundproofing the production studio, and no plans currently to pursue workarounds. There are no plans to create a new full-time production technician staff position to oversee equipment management. To address, at least in part, the issues related to this need, monies from the unit will be applied to hiring a contractor to redesign the equipment office to increase the functionality of the space and promote efficiencies in inventory handling. Additionally, the unit will use existing fee funds to increase student worker hours to promote better customer service outcomes.
The Provost and Dean ask that Film begin a conversation about charging differential tuition to enable the unit to more effectively cover the costs of these more intensive program features.	The unit currently charges differential tuition.
The Provost and Dean encourage Film to explore partnerships with regional and state organizations that benefit from the school’s graduates and to explore opportunities to increase external support for these contributions.	After a successful bid for an $87,000 grant from Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission to make purchases supporting a year-long project resulting in broadcast-ready content, the unit is clear about the significant resources required to mount successful fundraising efforts. Still, the unit is motivated to pursue opportunities moving forward, given our capacity.

Initiative or Recommendation

Response and/or Update

The unit requests: funding for a consultant to develop a strategic plan for new courses in stop-motion animation, soundproofing the production studio, and a full-time production technician to oversee equipment management.

An IPEB Resource Plan initiative identifying the benefits of hiring a consultant to develop a strategic plan for new courses in stop-motion animation was funded. The contractor was hired in Fall 2022, with work ongoing through Winter 2023 that will result in a set of recommendations for meeting the goal of offering stop-motion classes beginning in Winter 2024.

No resources are available for soundproofing the production studio, and no plans currently to pursue workarounds.

There are no plans to create a new full-time production technician staff position to oversee equipment management. To address, at least in part, the issues related to this need, monies from the unit will be applied to hiring a contractor to redesign the equipment office to increase the functionality of the space and promote efficiencies in inventory handling. Additionally, the unit will use existing fee funds to increase student worker hours to promote better customer service outcomes.

The Provost and Dean ask that Film begin a conversation about charging differential tuition to enable the unit to more effectively cover the costs of these more intensive program features.

The unit currently charges differential tuition.

The Provost and Dean encourage Film to explore partnerships with regional and state organizations that benefit from the school’s graduates and to explore opportunities to increase external support for these contributions.

After a successful bid for an $87,000 grant from Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission to make purchases supporting a year-long project resulting in broadcast-ready content, the unit is clear about the significant resources required to mount successful fundraising efforts. Still, the unit is motivated to pursue opportunities moving forward, given our capacity.

History

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The department shows strong evidence of working to accommodate the declining numbers of students—locally and nationally—taking courses in History. We encourage ongoing work to reduce the number of electives offered in the curriculum.	In Fall 2022, we offered 32 discreet classes (41 sections), down from 36 (45) in Fall 2021, 39 (48) in Fall 2020, and 34 (43) in Fall 2019. Despite this, enrollments in History were up +6.7% in Fall 2022, dramatically outpacing enrollment performances elsewhere in CLAS and at the University. Enrollments for Winter 2023 are, as of this writing (12/22/22), up +5.5% over Winter 2022 and +4% over Winter 2021, reversing the downward trend of past years. We are offering more LD electives in AY 2022-23 (16) than in AY 2021-22 (13), AY 2020-21 (9), AY 2019-20 (10), and AY 2018-19 (12), and fewer 400-level electives, as detailed in the PRRP report. This is also positively affecting overall enrollments. Careful balancing of course modalities – online, hybrid, face-to-face – has undoubtedly also contributed to our success. We are currently moving in the direction of having a fully online degree pathway in place for AY 2023-2024, in which at least one section of each of our required courses for the Major is offered online per academic year. Some faculty are already working or in dialogue with OAI about converting existing F2F courses to online sections for this purpose.
The Provost and Dean encourage continued exploration of how History Department faculty can be involved in instruction in other units.	History faculty, including TT, NTT, and adjunct faculty, teach cross-listed courses in WGSS, CHLA, and BST. Faculty from INTL, BST, and JST teach cross-listed courses in History. This has been, and will continue to be, an operational priority for the department.
As enrollments in History graduate degrees decline, opportunities to maximize faculty resources may come from exploring ways to creatively engage with other units to broaden enrollment and training opportunities and external support for the History graduate degree program.	Our MA program registered a larger number of applications and new MA students in AY 2022-23 than in each of the previous two years (AY 2019-21). We conferred a total of 14 MA degrees last year. We are currently negotiating with an external partner to partially fund a GTA position beginning AY 2024-2025, and consciously and deliberately use our own resources to recruit and retain students (although these cannot come close to matching fully funded GTAships). We continue the proven practice of distributing our single existing GTA position among multiple graduate students each year rather than assigning it to a single student for the duration of the year. We have implemented and streamlined holistic, ‘wraparound’ advising for all grad students, which includes twice-yearly audits, followed by reports/letters to students advising them of their degree progress.
The Provost and Dean encourage you to continue your efforts to strategically redistribute teaching assignments and explore opportunities to reduce adjunct and NTTF teaching faculty to better align overall faculty resources with student demand.	Our NTTF colleagues (3 of them) are all long-term employees who hold the rank of Assistant Professor (NTTF) or Professor (NTTF). Each has contractual obligations to teach a load of 3/3/3. One of these faculty currently holds a shared line in UNST, which is 100% budgeted in UNST and comprises 30/36 credit hours of teaching/year. The History Department makes limited use of adjuncts each term. For example, in Fall 2022, we employed five; one filled in for a NTTF faculty member on course release (Kerns, for AAUP bargaining); another taught a key course cross-listed with CHLA and offered in fulfillment of the RES requirement; two others offered LD and UD courses that could not otherwise be taught by TT faculty (both fully online); the fifth is a recently retired NTTF who taught a popular LD course. They generated a combined 568 SCH and were on average at 83% course capacity. Three courses were fully online, one was hybrid, and one was in-person. If these adjuncts were not hired, we simply would not have offered these courses at all. Moreover, History had 3 sabbatical leaves approved (a total of 18 course sections, of which 7 were replaced with adjunct funding by CLAS). Although the lost positions were not fully covered by replacement funding, we have been able to strategically use adjuncts to cover growth areas of our curriculum that our TT faculty cannot cover due to retirements and departures. For Winter 2023, we are retaining five adjunct sections as well. Three are fully online; these sections are all full as of 12/22/22 (100%). The remaining two are at 35% (14 students) and 70% (28 students), respectively, and climbing; combined, they have enrolled 468 SCH to date (on track to match Fall term). These positive results are indicative of our targeted and highly successful use of adjuncts who help deliver our curriculum in light of the loss of 6.0 FTE in TT/NTT positions since 2019. With the return of faculty on sabbatical, we should continue, nevertheless, to trim our reliance on adjuncts slightly. A better approach would be to commence targeted TT hiring in growth areas of our curriculum, but we have been unable to do so for reasons pertaining to the University’s overall budgetary picture.

International and Global Studies

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The unit is surveying CC courses to create a list of equivalencies between those courses and the IGS major.	This task is complete.
The Faculty Senate approved reducing the overall credits required for two tracks.	The paperwork for the two tracks is complete. The ongoing paperwork requires placing those tracks on a moratorium. The paperwork is in the curriculum pipeline for that task.
The unit made the minor and certificates more accessible to majors in other areas.	We have pared down the requirements for our minor and the certificates to make them more accessible to students. Our certificates have been mobilized for a vote in Political Science in January 2023, or they will be placed in moratorium
IGS put forward a vision for a School for Global Interdisciplinary Studies that would include IGS and some departments in CLAS.	The unit withdrew this request after IGS was asked to write a Phase III Unit Narrative Report. The financial situation of the university does not allow this. We have been asked not to ask for additional resources.
The unit requests funding for an outreach coordinator to increase the visibility of the degree among prospective students.	The unit withdrew this request after IGS was asked to write a Phase III Unit Narrative Report. The financial situation of the university does not allow this. We have been asked not to ask for additional resources.
The Provost and Dean noted that the IGS report indicated an interest in possibly combining or reorganizing with other unit(s) and asked that these be considered in the Phase III Unit Narrative Report.	Several discussions with units in CLAS and CUPA have occurred. While CLAS leaders have indicated an interest in a School of Global Studies, meetings to pursue that alternative haven’t yet occurred. A conversation about IGS moving to Political Science as a Division is solidifying as there are majors and curricular interests in common.
While offering classes that cover valuable areas of study, IGS enrollments, particularly majors, are declining. The Provost and Dean ask the unit to develop a plan for continuing or altering offering courses with the current faculty resources.	Unit efforts since the Summer of 2022 have been to refine and revisit our curriculum. A curriculum committee was created in the summer to complete this task using Reimagine funds. The faculty have reached an agreement on a streamlined version of the major that will very likely increase interest in it and have begun to move it through the Faculty Senate.

Political Science

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
Political Science has made impressive efforts to streamline the curriculum; the Provost and Dean encourage you to continue this work.	The faculty recently revised the PS MS and have begun seeing positive results. The revised program received more applications than in the previous four years combined. The department can accommodate students who are looking for the most intensive political science education and can also accommodate those students who are not as academically inclined and instead want a career in politics. The degree was designed to be flexible because PS students seem to have a more diverse set of career plans than ever before and does so without offering specialized courses for each path.
Examine the purpose and sustainability of the Master's degree.	Regarding sustainability, the PS MS was reformed last year such that only three credits in the entire degree are from courses that only include PS MS students. Fortynine of the degree credits come from courses that include students from other grad degree programs. Regarding purpose, the department offers a degree it considers unique in a cost-effective way, is committed to its success, and has been working hard to market it. In addition, the department will increase its promotion of the accelerated pathway program linking undergrad and graduate degrees.

Initiative or Recommendation

Response and/or Update

Political Science has made impressive efforts to streamline the curriculum; the Provost and Dean encourage you to continue this work.

The faculty recently revised the PS MS and have begun seeing positive results. The revised program received more applications than in the previous four years combined. The department can accommodate students who are looking for the most intensive political science education and can also accommodate those students who are not as academically inclined and instead want a career in politics. The degree was designed to be flexible because PS students seem to have a more diverse set of career plans than ever before and does so without offering specialized courses for each path.

Examine the purpose and sustainability of the Master's degree.

Regarding sustainability, the PS MS was reformed last year such that only three credits in the entire degree are from courses that only include PS MS students. Fortynine of the degree credits come from courses that include students from other grad degree programs.

Regarding purpose, the department offers a degree it considers unique in a cost-effective way, is committed to its success, and has been working hard to market it. In addition, the department will increase its promotion of the accelerated pathway program linking undergrad and graduate degrees.

Public Administration

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The unit placed one of the MPA program specializations on hiatus due to its small size and will be requesting a moratorium for the MPA: HA.	Specialization in Human Resource Management Put on hiatus Information on Human Resource Management Specialization has been taken down from the website Currently, we have two active students who are finishing up the MPA degree with the Human Resource Management Specialization, and the faculty advisor assigned to these students is guiding them on an individual basis. MPA:HA A request for a moratorium was submitted to the Dean The Graduate Council recently reviewed the moratorium request Applicants for MPA:HA have been individually followed up with and have been notified of the department’s intent to put the program on moratorium Currently, there are 23 active MPA:HA students, and the faculty advisor assigned to these students is guiding them on an individual basis
The unit is considering offering certain electives every other year, eliminating redundant courses, and exploring combining course content into fewer courses.	Fewer course sections Stop offering two sections (one in-person, and another online) every term. Instead offer one section each term but provide options for in-person and online for different terms. (Civic Leadership Minor) Eliminate redundant courses Eliminate PA520 (Introduction to Nonprofit Management) from MPA-Nonprofit specialization. Instead use PA528 (Leadership in nonprofit sector) as a requirement. PA528 is also a requirement for MNL.(MNL / MPA nonprofit) Eliminate PAP512 (Introduction to policy advocacy and leadership) from requirement and replace it with PA538 (Advocacy and political participation by nonprofit), which is a required course for MNL (MPP/MNL/MPA nonprofit) Change to every other year offerings PA595 Public sector labor relations (MPA elective) PA598 Value Based Management (MPA/MNL elective) Not offering PAH570 (Health Administration) (MPA:HA) PAP508 (Professional development plan) (MPP)
Three new degrees are under development: a BUPA+MPA accelerated pathway, a graduate certificate in Advanced Nonprofit and Public Management, and a graduate certificate in Cybersecurity	BUPA+MPA accelerated pathway: Proposal complete. Adding “degree map” in response to Courtney Hansen’s response. Graduate Certificate in Advanced Nonprofit and Public Management: PA Curriculum committee drafting a new program proposal. Soon to be submitted. Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity: We have been awaiting the approval of the Cybersecurity Center. Birol Yesilada is leading the charge. PA may be a participating department.
The unit plans to develop a strategic plan during Spring 2022 to clarify the department’s priority areas	The Department completed the futures/strategic planning discussion and identified these priority areas PA Department AY22-23 Priorities
PA participated in several ReImagine proposals, the outcomes of which informed a number of the steps outlined above.	The Hatfield School of Government (HSOG) interim director followed up on the HSOG Reimage proposals and came up with a new proposal to integrate HSOG with PA. At the November 7, 2022 Faculty Senate meeting, PA faculty voted to support the new proposal to integrate HSOG with PA.
PA requests a dedicated staff with expertise in recruitment and outreach.	We have not made a request yet, partially due to the ongoing discussion on HSOG/PA integration. However, the EMPA program manager has taken on duties to organize outreach efforts not only for EMPA but all other PA graduate programs. Four joint information sessions have been conducted thus far since Spring 2022.
Enrollments in the Master of Nonprofit Leadership are low; given limited resources. The Provost and Dean suggest pausing this degree program while considering whether there is a viable path to sustaining the degree.	The Department doesn’t want to pause the degree program at this point because the MNL curriculum overlaps with MPA Nonprofit Specialization; it does not require any additional resources. The Department is in the process of developing an action plan for targeted outreach for MNL. Faculty members attending ARNOVA in November 2022 will do some outreach at the conference.
The Provost and Dean ask that the department proceed with the proposal to revise PA graduate courses from 3-credit to 4-credit courses while sustaining the same number of credits needed to complete the degree. This is a positive direction that we encourage the faculty to consider, working with all appropriate faculty committees in proposing curricular change	PA faculty discussed the options, but decided not to take on the 3-credit to 4 credit conversion this academic year. Revising the PA curriculum from 3-credit to 4-credit courses while sustaining the same number of credits needed to complete the degree is a major undertaking, and there isn’t bandwidth to make these major changes this year. Reducing the overall credit requirement from 60 to 54 is being considered, which would make the degree program more affordable and accessible, and might attract more professionals to apply to the MPA program.
While offering students coursework in an important area, the undergraduate minor in Civic Leadership does not show significant enrollments. Is this the best use of limited faculty resources?	The Department wants to continue supporting the Civic Leadership Minor as one of its priority focus areas, arguing that CLM SCH is about 33% of the total SCH of the Department. We think it is still worth our effort to grow the program. The Department stopped offering two sections (one in-person, and another online) for the CLM course every term. Instead, one section is offered each term, but options for in-person and online are available in different terms

Special Education

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The department plans to add a second cohort of students to respond to the growing need for early childhood interventionists throughout the state.	We’re now admitting students to EISE on an annual basis and also plan to complete a request to add a graduate certificate this academic year. A brief description of a recent personnel prep grant award follows: Hollie Hix Small (Department of Special Education/PI) and Amy Donaldson (Speech and Hearing Sciences/Co-PI) were awarded an OSEP Personnel Prep grant this past fall. This $812,500.00 grant will prepare 34 additional bilingual/bicultural providers (14 SLPs and 20 ECI) over two cohorts to support infants and young children with high-intensity needs and their families, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those from high poverty, rural and urban areas.
The department made revisions to make pathways to licensure more accessible for students working in the field.	This academic year, we are planning to submit proposals for graduate certificates for our vision program (VIL), early intervention program (EISE), and SPED K-12 added endorsement program (AddSPED). The department successfully added two graduate certificates in recent years for the Orientation and Mobility program (O&M) and Applied Behavior Analysis program (ABA)
The unit began to offer hybrid courses to accommodate practicing teachers.	The “AddSPED” program is offered to licensed teachers interested in adding the SPED K-12 endorsement to their license. The program is cohort-based and is offered on Saturdays using an “online with scheduled meetings” format. Students are recruited annually from throughout the state for this 6-term program. Students also have the option to complete the MA/MS in SPED degree.
The SPED K-12 program recently voted to place its full-time graduate program option on hiatus, allowing the unit to focus faculty resources on the 2-year program.	Completed
The Provost and Dean recommend that with the increasing needs across the state for teachers with Special Education training, the unit should increase its online presence so that programs can be made available to broader populations of students, particularly in rural areas.	SPED is excited about this opportunity and is working with faculty and the dean’s office to establish a working plan that includes budget, course development buyout, and course designer support

Supply Chain Management

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
The Provost and Dean believe that the unit needs to work to balance the distribution of in-person and online classes to maximize student enrollment. They appreciate that the unit has been working to be more responsive to student enrollment trends during the pandemic and recommend that you continue to monitor these enrollment trends as part of your planning.	See results of the survey below.
A recent survey of students will be used to inform improvements to the program.	One of the main takeaways from the surveys is that there is a preference for online offerings, but this is not overwhelming, and some students really prefer in-person instruction. We conclude that we need to offer a combination of modes for all classes if possible.
Hearing that course material costs remain a pain point for students, the program is pursuing a low-cost/no-cost program.	This is almost complete, with just a couple of courses left to go.
The unit is committed to improving connections to community colleges and community organizations, particularly BIPOC community organizations.	Community college partnerships in 2+2 and co-marketing are in process.

Urban Studies and Planning

Initiative or Recommendation	Response and/or Update
Work in progress includes designing 100- and 200-level courses to introduce students to the major and minor.	USP Undergraduate Executive Committee (UEC) is preparing new 100- and 200-level course proposals for submission in this academic year's curriculum review cycle.
The unit is developing proposals for combined bachelors+masters degrees.	USP MURP and Undergraduate Executive Committees are developing a proposal for a B+M for the CD and MURP programs to be submitted this academic year. Proposals for B+M with other graduate programs remain under discussion
Because enrollments have declined, The Provost and Dean ask that you develop means to offer courses to a broader range of students through online formats. This would enable this strategic strength to become more visible to a broader community and to increase enrollments in ways that align unit resources with revenues.	To increase flexibility, the school is exploring online courses. The feasibility of ensuring that all required courses for the CD major are available in an online/remote format by the next academic year is being explored, and the School is engaging with OAI about the potential for a fully online major.
The school seeks to increase synergies with other units on campus.	There are no specific new initiatives on this at the moment.
Other efforts in progress include increasing course offerings that speak to contemporary issues, contributing to the RESR requirement, renaming and restructuring courses, revising prerequisites, and aligning 300-level courses with clusters.	UEC is currently working on all of these issues. For example, the committee has recommended the creation of a 400/500 level topics course on Arts and Community Change in this AY that is anticipated to draw significant enrollment. It is also coordinating USP faculty submissions for the RESR requirement.
The School seeks to increase enrollment in graduate certificates.	USP is updating marketing materials for existing certificate programs, including the newly created Affordable Housing certificate. Efforts are currently underway to revise the Applied Social Demography certificate to better serve student needs and increase enrollment.
The Provost and Dean encourage you to continue your plans underway that articulate pathways for redesigning curricula and reassigning faculty resources to higher-enrollment areas.	The School received a ReImagine grant to assess the Ph.D. and Masters in Urban Studies. As a result, the unit will be: optimizing course offerings and increasing course enrollments, improving communication with students, marketing, connecting the program to School priorities, and shifting faculty resources to support these efforts. Assessment of opportunities to optimize graduate course offerings, especially for low-enrollment elective courses, is ongoing.
The Provost and Dean encourage you to continue to pursue certificates and short-term courses in areas that can attract new enrollments and generate new revenues.	The School plans to explore short courses and certificates in areas of faculty expertise. A USP faculty member developed an initial assessment of opportunities for non-degree short courses for faculty discussion leading toward the development of a pilot by the end of the 22/23 academic year.
The school requests resources to hire a staff person or contractor to develop marketing materials to raise the profile of USP.	USP hired a graduate student with extensive professional experience in communications to help develop a School-wide communications strategy by early 2023.
The Provost and Dean ask that USP pursue your stated plans to consolidate graduate courses by collaborating with doctoral programs across the university	USP is working with Sociology to utilize their qualitative methods course for the Urban Studies core and examining other methods courses where offerings can be consolidated
The Provost and Dean ask that USP pursue ongoing conversations to reconfigure doctoral programs within CUPA.	Dialogue with PAP program leadership about the alignment of course offerings is ongoing.