ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

 

The Academic Affairs Committee has the authority to recommend to the Faculty Senate policies pertaining to academic affairs, and to determine such policies subject to review by the Senate, in such matters as the following:

  • The Mission of the University: The committee shall regularly review the mission and the long-range goals of the university and may recommend changes in both.

  •  Outreach programs:� The committee shall recommend policies pertaining to the organization, curriculum, and staffing of such programs as continuing education, summer and interim sessions, and international programs.

  •  Learning Resources:� The committee shall recommend policies pertaining to learning resources and to related facilities and services.

  •  Academic Standards:  he committee shall recommend such policies as those pertaining to preadmission counseling, admission, grade review, academic probation and dismissal, readmission of students, graduation requirements, general degree requirements, assessment of students, and the individually planned major.

  • Inter-organizational Collaborations:� The committee shall review, prior to formal signing, all academic agreements with other universities or organizations which will lead to inter-institutional affiliation.


The Academic Affairs Committee includes the following subcommittees.

The Assessment Subcommittee recommends policy pertaining to the assessment of students.� The Subcommittee:

  •  Reviews the methods and instruments to be used to test and assess general education;

  •  Reviews and recommends to the vice chancellor/provost the approval of department's proposed methods and instruments to be used in discipline-specific assessment;

  •  Informs departments of changes in assessment requirements imposed by the UW System and accrediting agencies;

  •  Serves as a resource to departments regarding assessment issues (e.g., new testing instruments, changing perceptions of assessment, assessment efforts of peer institutions);

  •  Reviews the annual institutional report on assessment prepared by the vice chancellor/provost's office for the UW System;

  •  Determines whether the assessment process is improving teaching and learning at UWSP; and

  •  Performs other related duties assigned to it by the Senate, the Executive Committee and the Academic Affairs Committee.

The Grade Review Subcommittee reviews grade appeals and assures continuity and consistency in the screening of grade appeals.

The Individually Planned Major Subcommittee collaborates with students who wish to design their own major using unique combinations of existing offerings.

The International Affairs Subcommittee encourages all programs with an international emphasis.� The Subcommittee:

  •  Reviews and recommends policies and standards for international programs, including recruitment, admission, and retention of students, as well as policies and standards for participating faculty.

  •  Reviews and recommends policies and standards for the Foreign Student Programs;

  •  Reviews and recommends policies and standards for English as a Second Language Program.

  •  Makes policy recommendations on the allocation of budgetary resources with an international emphasis.

  •  Makes recommendations designed to contribute to the internationalization of the curriculum.

The Program Review Subcommittee is responsible for conducting all local program reviews.� The goal is to complete three such reviews each year according to an eight-year schedule.