Ad Hoc Committee on Potential Academic Calendar Conversion Report to the Academic Senate AH February 9, 2011

Fulfilling our charge: Part I Prepare surveys for faculty, staff and students that can be administered in the Fall Quarter. Survey administered through Ballot Box Announced by , available Nov % overall response: TT faculty 30%, lecturers 12%, administrators 24%, staff 11%, students 11% Full results at

Fulfilling our charge: Part I Plan a series of town hall meetings to be held during Fall Quarter Four meetings held Nov 8-Nov 18 Variety of locations and times Written transcripts at calendar convert website

Calendar Conversion website

Part II: recommendation “produce a report with a recommendation to the Academic Senate” concerning whether the campus ought to convert to a semester-based calendar Main report contains recommendation of majority of AHCPACC voting members Minority report also included

Preamble: 10 shared assumptions 180 quarter degree units —> 120 semester degree units Program curricular modification under conversion follows existing practices 30 week academic year, faculty working days Conversion brings fewer 4 unit courses, increase in 3 unit courses Regular faculty load of 12 WTUs/term No change in campus FTEs target Many indices to measure faculty workload (courses per term, per year, students taught, etc.) No effect on state funding or student fees 1 student unit = 1 faculty WTUConversion costs covered by allocation from CSU chancellor

Part II: recommendation Cal Poly Pomona should convert to a semester system in Fall of 2014 or This recommendation is contingent upon a commitment from President Ortiz that : – The cost of conversion will NOT be from our operating budget; – Faculty will be provided sufficient assigned time; – Students will receive appropriate advising & other resources. To oversee the process, the committee recommends the formation of a Campus Conversion Committee including faculty, staff, students and administrators. The Conversion Committee should have : – Composition determined in consultation with the Senate E. C. – Adequate financial and staff resources; The Conversion Committee should develop a timeline and budget and oversee the conversion process.

Common advantages of semesters: Teaching and learning More human pace of teaching and learning Deeper, more multidimensional learning, more learn-by-doing Increased opportunity to improve pedagogy during term

Common advantages of semesters: Scheduling and logistics More consistent schedules with fewer changes through the academic year Later add/drop dates Earlier summer = better opportunities for student jobs or internships, faculty teaching or scholarly activities Easier to deal with class cancellations, guest speakers, etc. Better alignment with K-12 schedules

Faculty-specific benefits of semesters Longer full-pay sabbaticals End to the 23-week January to June “megaterm”, 2 balanced teaching segments of equal duration with more course prep time ½-time FERP possible in one term (16 weeks) Lecturers: More advance notice of teaching assignments, more course prep time

Student-specific benefits More ability to ID special needs students More time to establish mentoring relationships Better transition and transcript articulation for students coming from feeder CC’s Better opportunities for study abroad, co- curricular activities, student athletes

Institutional benefits Lower processes losses (fewer ramp-ups, draw-downs per year) Opportunity to refresh and update curricula Possibility of winter intersession

A caveat: costs Majority report recommends conversion only on the condition that its costs be provided by CSU Chancellor, not diverted from university operating funds Cost estimates vary, but CSULA fall 2010 task force report offers detailed budget breakdown $7.5 M

Concluding remarks Little systematic research about many key issues, numerous considerations on each side. Definitely not a ‘no brainer’! Quarter system is part of our historical institutional identity. But academic calendar shouldn’t be identity defining. A difficult change, not a panacea for challenges Cal Poly Pomona faces — but on balance, a change worth making.