The Daily Bulletin Archive

At its May 10, 2013, meeting, the College Senate voted to forward the following four resolutions regarding Open SUNY as recommendations to the president:

Resolution 1: On Oversight

WHEREAS, face-to-face instruction, small class size, and hands-on involvement are distinctive features of SUNY Buffalo State and offer a unique educational experience and special value to students; and

WHEREAS, SUNY Buffalo State does not intend to become an online campus but recognizes that combinations of online and face-to-face instruction may provide students the most flexible, cost-effective, and affordable educational options; and

WHEREAS, this resolution focuses on SUNY Buffalo State’s oversight in SUNY Board of Trustees Open SUNY and other online initiatives; and

WHEREAS, this resolution can also have some application to the 2014–2017 Strategic Plan that is still being written; and

WHEREAS, “online” education is used in this resolution as a shorthand for any and all asynchronous, distance, nontraditional educational offerings; and

WHEREAS, SUNY has a specific online goal for a number of new programs and 100,000 students enrolled in online courses within the next three years, which means the chancellor has made Open SUNY a major focus, leveraging SUNY’s unique configuration of 64 distinct campuses; and

WHEREAS, online instruction is a major, albeit not exclusive, focus for Open SUNY, and this campus must determine how to respond because any movement toward greater systematization of programs and courses requires a plan for implementation and oversight; and

WHEREAS, this also means that faculty governance should be involved in every phase of discussions on identifying and assessing expanded online courses and programs, as well as any initiatives in nontraditional, time-shortened degree programs; and

WHEREAS, at present online education at SUNY Buffalo State is scattered between offices and individuals,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that SUNY Buffalo State identify leadership at an administrative level that will be responsible for effective and comprehensive decision-making and oversight related to online education.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a committee of faculty and staff work with this leadership to oversee all development, implementation, and assessment of online courses and programs at SUNY Buffalo State.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the administrative leader and committee focus on the following issues:

1. Determining how to maintain academic rigor and an excellent academic reputation in light of these changes in type and timing of course and program offerings.
2. Creating a policy on residency requirements and how they pertain to degrees.
3. Avoiding a two-tiered system of students in online and/or time-shortened programs vs. traditional degree programs.
4. Determining where and how to add nontraditional degree programs and/or certificates in response to any changes in financial aid programs.
5. Making sure all students have equal, uniform access to academic materials and resources that support our courses; all courses should be evaluated for accessibility according to the strategies developed by instructional design, especially as Open SUNY will extend our student population to a wider, diverse audience of students.
6. Learning what works with online education and implementing those strategies whenever possible.
7. Considering all alternatives to implement Open SUNY at Buffalo State that will maintain our distinctiveness and rigor while recognizing that student costs and competition for courses and programs will become increasingly important. These alternatives may include hands-on courses that support other SUNY programs, flipped classroom strategies to take advantage of open education resources and MOOCs, and incorporating alternative providers for portions of some programs.
8. Identifying areas where SUNY Buffalo State is especially strong (e.g., art conservation, Great Lakes research, communication courses) and developing a niche in which we are one of a small number of go-to institutions for these topics.
9. Being creative and responsive to how students will be using online education.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that every department and program start developing an online strategy or strategy for offering nontraditional programs or certificates.

Resolution 2: Faculty

WHEREAS, this resolution focuses on SUNY Buffalo State’s commitment to academic rigor in SUNY Board of Trustees Open SUNY and other online initiatives; and

WHEREAS, this resolution can also have some application to the 2014–2017 Strategic Plan that is still being written; and

WHEREAS, “online” education is used in this resolution as a shorthand for any and all asynchronous, distance, nontraditional educational offerings; and

WHEREAS, SUNY has a specific online goal for a number of new programs and 100,000 students enrolled in online courses within the next three years, which means the chancellor has made Open SUNY a major focus, leveraging SUNY’s unique configuration of 64 distinct campuses; and

WHEREAS, online instruction is a major, albeit not exclusive, focus for Open SUNY, and this campus must determine how to respond because any movement toward greater systematization of programs and courses requires a plan for implementation and oversight; and

WHEREAS, we are committed to providing a high-quality education to all of our students; and

WHEREAS, we know that nontraditional education can be done very well and with high quality; and

WHEREAS, Open SUNY may explore three-year degree or certificate programs; and

WHEREAS, any such programs should not be devised or implemented at the cost of academic rigor; and

WHEREAS, that rigor is best guaranteed by faculty experts in the appropriate discipline(s); and

WHEREAS, a student’s academic competence is most accurately judged by faculty experts in the appropriate academic discipline(s),

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that SUNY Buffalo State establish specific standards, to be addressed at the department level, for online courses and programs as well as nontraditional degree and certificate programs.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the faculty maintain control of the curriculum, even while working collaboratively with instructional support personnel. At no time should either group be subject to nonspecialist committees.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, since SUNY Buffalo State has had faculty attend the Quality Matter Rubric training sessions, that a cadre of interested faculty be set up to review online courses and programs in a regular rotation as yet to be determined using the QM rubric or another adopted by SUNY Buffalo State.

Resolution 3: Engagement

WHEREAS, this resolution focuses on SUNY Buffalo State’s distinctiveness in SUNY Board of Trustees Open SUNY and other online initiatives; and

WHEREAS, this resolution can also have some application to the 2014–2017 Strategic Plan that is still being written; and

WHEREAS, “online” education is used in this resolution as a shorthand for any and all asynchronous, distance, nontraditional educational offerings; and

WHEREAS, SUNY has a specific online goal for a number of new programs and 100,000 students enrolled in online courses within the next three years, which means the chancellor has made Open SUNY a major focus, leveraging SUNY’s unique configuration of 64 distinct campuses; and

WHEREAS, online instruction is a major, albeit not exclusive, focus for Open SUNY, and this campus must determine how to respond because any movement toward greater systematization of programs and courses requires a plan for implementation and oversight; and

WHEREAS, distinctiveness matters and will continue to matter even in light of an increased emphasis on SUNY “systemness”; and

WHEREAS, a strategic response to distance learning and other disruptors will require a unifying institutional theme; and

WHEREAS, a commitment to engaged education focused on experiential learning and deep interaction with faculty will make the identity of Buffalo State clear and distinct; and

WHEREAS, NSSE has been a focus of the previous (current) Strategic Plan, and work remains to be done in pursuit of enriching educational experiences and expanding meaningful faculty-student interactions,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the College Senate endorse keeping NSSE as a focus of the Strategic Plan and purposefully pursuing enriching educational experiences, expanding (and making more meaningful) faculty-student interaction, and defining academic expectations for students at all levels.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the College Senate call for expanding the campus Strategic Plan definition of engagement to include engagement with the community, in the spirit of the Carnegie definition of “Community Engagement.” **

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the College Senate call for the articulation and adoption of Buffalo State–wide learning outcomes for all students and clarification of the role both general education requirements and major requirements play in the achievement of those outcomes.

** “Community engagement describes collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

“The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching, and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.”

Resolution 4: Finances

WHEREAS, this resolution focuses on SUNY Buffalo State’s financial ability to undertake the SUNY Board of Trustees Open SUNY and other online initiatives; and

WHEREAS, this resolution can also have some application to the 2014–2017 Strategic Plan that is still being written; and

WHEREAS, “online” education is used in this resolution as a shorthand for any and all asynchronous, distance, nontraditional educational offerings; and

WHEREAS, SUNY has a specific online goal for a number of new programs and 100,000 students enrolled in online courses within the next three years, which means the chancellor has made Open SUNY a major focus, leveraging SUNY’s unique configuration of 64 distinct campuses; and

WHEREAS, online instruction is a major, albeit not exclusive, focus for Open SUNY, and this campus must determine how to respond because any movement toward greater systematization of programs and courses entails changes to the budget as enrollment increases; and

WHEREAS, that also means personnel issues will be paramount as the need arises to hire and train more staff and faculty; and

WHEREAS, this also means that faculty governance and the various unions on campus will be involved in any and all fiscal negotiations,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that SUNY Buffalo State identify and implement funding sources for the anticipated growth in online courses and programs and the subsequent need for more personnel.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we strengthen our support for such courses and programs on campus and also take advantage of the technology and support offered by the Office of Academic Technology and Instructional Support within the SUNY provost’s office. If SUNY Buffalo State wants to further develop more online offerings, then the faculty will need support for continuous training and time for course development. That means the college will need funding to support more instructional and course design experts.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that there also be discussions on financial aid and other issues. Realizing that online and time-shortened programs can reduce costs, the SUNY system and SUNY Buffalo State need to share resources.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SUNY respond creatively and nontraditionally to identifying funding sources if the determining factors to getting state and federal financial aid shifts to also include the potential employability of aid recipients.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Open SUNY may explore three-year degree or certificate programs; therefore, SUNY Buffalo State should begin discussions on whether such nontraditional offerings reflect our Strategic Plan and be devised and implemented. If so, then such programs should not be devised or implemented at the cost of academic rigor.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, when applicable, SUNY pay for additional teaching assistantships to facilitate the grading of massive open online courses, if they become part of Open SUNY.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SUNY Buffalo State faculty who design online courses retain intellectual property rights for the content of the courses they created and that protections be put in place to prevent the contracting of courses without the original faculty member’s consent.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SUNY Buffalo State students who take online courses at another SUNY campus pay tuition to Buffalo State and not the online SUNY university or college. Also, students should be able to have fees at other campuses waived if they do not apply to SUNY Buffalo State.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SUNY Buffalo State invest on a program of dedicated, campus-specific computer support for technology issues and even software that is used for distance learning for home computers. This would be beyond the ANGEL/Blackboard help services we currently receive.

I accept the recommendations of the College Senate and thank the Academic Plan Committee for the comprehensive review and assessment outlined in these resolutions. I charge the provost with the responsibility for leadership on the Open SUNY Initiative for Buffalo State. I further charge him with assembling the appropriate groups of individuals to carefully review and evaluate each of the recommendations and making the determination on the strategies and timeline for implementation.