AAS working group proposes a Statewide Curriculum
and Educational Initiatives Committee

The AAS Working Group established by the WTCS state board in response to union criticisms of their lack of voice in the AAS degree reconfiguration met for the fourth and final time on Tuesday, April 26th. It developed the details surrounding the Curriculum and Educational Initiatives Committee which is being established to ensure that WTCS faculty have an institutional voice on matters of educational policy. The AAS Working Group recommended the creation of this new committee at its last meeting and agreed to convene once more to flesh out the idea.

The working group spent the bulk of its time discussing the committee's charge. There was some disagreement over the charge, with some working group members arguing that the committee should report to either the WTCS presidents or the Instructional Services Administrators. However, after a lengthy discussion, consensus was reached on the following:

Charge:

"The Committee will make recommendations to the WTCS President on systemwide issues related to curriculum and educational initiatives. The Committee will also make recommendations regarding the process by which information regarding these initiatives is collected from and communicated to constituent groups within the WTCS."

The working group also discussed committee membership, arriving at the following structure which is based on a shared governance model that recognises the importance of faculty involvement in determining educational and curriculum policy:

Membership (12 voting, 1 non-voting):

* 3 faculty representatives appointed by WEAC
* 3 faculty representatives appointed by AFT-WI
* 1 Instructional Services Administrator representative
* 1 college president representative
* 1 student services administrator
* 3 deans/associate deans

The group will be facilitated by the WTCS President or his/her designee. The facilitator is a non-voting member of the group.

The recommendations related to the committee will be discussed at the May 24th meeting of the WTCS State Board. If the Board supports the creation of the committee, it will be formed and begin meeting soon thereafter. It was agreed that the committee would be reviewed one year from its creation.

Once established, the committee will immediately begin to conduct some of the work necessary to expand the list of systemwide general education courses (under the new AAS plan, only courses on the systemwide gen. ed. list will count toward the satisfaction of the gen. ed. requirement which has been increased to a minimum of 21 credits in the new configuration). Currently, there are 36 courses on the list. The AAS group felt strongly that the list of approved courses needed to be expanded so as to provide students and programs with additional options. Many of you have already submitted additional courses that need to be added to the list

Generally speaking, those involved in the AAS working group were very pleased with the end work product. The Curriculum and Educational Practices Committee is an important mechanism that will allow faculty to provide meaningful input on statewide issues. Issues will be reviewed by the new committee early on in their lifecycle. Faculty, along with the other constituent groups, will have an opportunity discuss potential concerns and provide recommendations well before the implementation stage, thereby avoiding the messiness associated with the AAS. This is a very important step forward and an example of shared governance in action.

Please join me in thanking both Lonnie Benning (benningl@gtc.edu) and Michael Rosen (rosenm@matc.edu) for the time they have devoted to the AAS working group. They have served as exemplary representatives and have been wholly committed to increasing the input you and your colleagues have in curriculum and other educational issues.

Andy Lyons, WEAC staff