CUNY Master Plan 2012-2016

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THE CUNY MASTER PLAN 2012-2016 plines that will eliminate obstacles for transparent and successful transfer of equivalent coursework from one institution to another.” The Pathways reform of general education and transfer at CUNY, established by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees on June 27, 2011, removes roadblocks to student progress and ensures that courses meet high standards. Once fully implemented, Pathways will help students transfer their general education, major, and elective credits seamlessly among CUNY’s colleges, smoothing the transfer process and producing better-prepared students by setting high standards—as determined by faculty across the University. The centerpiece of the Pathways initiative is a new, systemwide framework for general education that leaves course-specific decisions to college faculty and governance bodies. When it is complete, Pathways will: • Raise the quality of content in general education courses at both community and senior colleges, by aligning curricula to rigorous, agreed-upon learning objectives; • Give students more opportunities to explore and take chances and to study in more upper-division classes than most can now; • Better enable students to do minors or to double major; • Put CUNY more in line with regard to the number of credits required by most U.S. universities for general education; • Remove uncertainty from the process of transferring among CUNY colleges. The process of developing the Pathways framework engaged all constituents of the University community. The Chancellor, after seeking nominations from the colleges and the University Faculty Senate, established a task force, composed primarily of faculty and chaired by the Dean of the CUNY School of Law, to develop recommendations for a general education, common core framework defined by learning outcomes. The task force comprised two committees: a 16-member steering committee and a 39-member working committee to advise it and serve as a communication channel with the colleges. The task force sent draft recommendations to the entire CUNY community, revised those recommendations based on feedback received, and submitted final recommendations to the Chancellor, who accepted those recommendations in December 2011. The task force’s general education recommendations build on the excellent general education curricula already developed by CUNY’s campuses. In recognition of the distinct characteristics of the various CUNY colleges, flexibility for individual campuses has been maintained. From the beginning, the process of defining the framework’s content areas and outcomes has been faculty-driven; every committee has been and will continue to be predominantly or entirely faculty. The recommended structure puts students at the center of the University’s academic enterprise, with clearly articulated, challenging outcomes and defined pathways. It is the result of an inclusive, consultative process that engaged the entire University and reflects suggestions and concerns offered by every CUNY campus. The 30 credits of the Common Core of general education will develop a broad range of knowledge and skills and build a solid intellectual foundation upon which students can engage in study and analysis at 50
MISSION PART TWO successively higher levels as they progress in their studies. The required portion of the Common Core consists of: English Composition (six credits), Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (three credits), and Life and Physical Sciences (three credits). The other portion of the Common Core, the Flexible Core, consists of 18 credits: six three-credit liberal arts and sciences courses with at least one course from each of the following five areas and no more than two courses in any discipline or interdisciplinary field: World Cultures and Global Issues, U.S. Experience in its Diversity, Creative Expression, Individual and Society, and the Scientific World. To ensure the quality of the Common Core across the University, the Pathways resolution passed by the Board of Trustees in June 2011 specified that the University Office of Academic Affairs, working with the colleges, “will facilitate the expeditious review and approval of all courses proposed for the Common Core with the assistance of a CUNY-wide committee, appointed by the Chancellor.” To that end, in early March 2012, Chancellor Goldstein announced the establishment of the CUNY Common Core Course Review Committee. This committee was charged with the task of reviewing courses submitted by the colleges to ensure that they meet the designated learning outcomes for the corresponding Common Core curricular areas. The committee consists entirely of tenured faculty and is divided into eight subcommittees, one for each area of the Common Core. Baccalaureate-granting colleges will add six to twelve “College Option” general education credits in disciplinary or interdisciplinary areas of their own choosing so that graduates with a baccalaureate degree will complete a total of 36 to 42 credits in general education. In addition, disciplinary committees have been established, again based on a nominating procedure including the colleges and the University Faculty Senate, to determine the first three to six courses that lead into the largest transfer majors. Members of these committees are tenured faculty, very knowledgeable about curriculum in their areas, and highly regarded within their disciplines and communities. The President of the Graduate Center is chairing this phase of the initiative. The Pathways courses will be first offered in fall 2013. By 2016, the first associate-degree holders who have taken the entire Pathways Common Core will be transferring to CUNY senior colleges. As a result, by 2016, CUNY’s undergraduate retention and graduation rates should start to increase significantly. Community Colleges Community colleges are the fastest-growing sector of higher education; they currently enroll close to half of all U.S. undergraduates. Much of the enrollment surge at CUNY has been at the community college level, driven in part by the recession, and by the need to update skills and find lower-cost, high-value college alternatives. Community colleges are a critical pathway for many students seeking baccalaureate and advanced degrees. Graduation rates at community colleges throughout the nation, though, have long been disappointing—overall, approximately 22 percent earn degrees within three years and just 16 percent at large urban schools. President Obama has challenged community colleges to educate an additional five million students with degrees, certificates, or other credentials by 2020. A report by the Center for an Urban Future notes that, “[l]ow graduation rates exact steep costs to 51
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Investing In Our Future The City Un
Page 5 and 6:
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: The
Page 7 and 8: TABLE OF CONTENTS Responding to Bas
Page 9 and 10: INTRODUCTION: The CUNY Context, Mis
Page 11 and 12: INTRODUCTION The CUNY Context Overv
Page 13 and 14: INTRODUCTION University Funding per
Page 15 and 16: INTRODUCTION launch of “Invest in
Page 17 and 18: INTRODUCTION Projections suggest gr
Page 19 and 20: INTRODUCTION 2011, enrollment excee
Page 21 and 22: INTRODUCTION munity colleges, 83 pe
Page 23 and 24: THE MISSION PART ONE: The Universit
Page 25 and 26: MISSION PART ONE Student: Full-Time
Page 27 and 28: MISSION PART ONE Diversity Percenta
Page 29 and 30: MISSION PART ONE The University has
Page 31 and 32: MISSION PART ONE and Learning, and
Page 33 and 34: MISSION PART ONE one of the most im
Page 35 and 36: MISSION PART ONE them to make conne
Page 37 and 38: MISSION PART ONE The task force als
Page 39 and 40: MISSION PART ONE In general, as sta
Page 41 and 42: MISSION PART ONE Professional Scien
Page 43 and 44: MISSION PART ONE explore judiciousl
Page 45 and 46: MISSION PART ONE Enhancing Student
Page 47 and 48: MISSION PART ONE Finally, in the co
Page 49 and 50: MISSION PART ONE room space. This i
Page 51 and 52: MISSION PART ONE institutions prior
Page 53 and 54: MISSION PART ONE Strengthening the
Page 55 and 56: MISSION PART ONE grams, campuses mu
Page 57: THE MISSION PART TWO: Maintain the
Page 61 and 62: MISSION PART TWO ASAP Three-Year As
Page 63 and 64: MISSION PART TWO policy have been d
Page 65 and 66: MISSION PART TWO arts with Baruch
Page 67 and 68: THE MISSION PART THREE: Expanding A
Page 69 and 70: MISSION PART THREE health insurance
Page 71 and 72: MISSION PART THREE • Develop and
Page 73 and 74: MISSION PART THREE Developmental Ed
Page 75 and 76: MISSION PART THREE Results to date
Page 77 and 78: MISSION PART THREE SEEK and CD SEEK
Page 79 and 80: THE MISSION PART FOUR: The Universi
Page 81 and 82: MISSION PART FOUR • Written and o
Page 83 and 84: MISSION PART FOUR In New York State
Page 85 and 86: MISSION PART FOUR Associate (CDA) c
Page 87 and 88: MISSION PART FOUR at Hunter College
Page 89 and 90: MISSION PART FOUR SPH shares this b
Page 91 and 92: MISSION PART FOUR office space and
Page 93 and 94: MISSION PART FOUR CUNY TV has recei
Page 95 and 96: MISSION PART FOUR In June 2011 Sust
Page 97 and 98: MISSION PART FOUR database. CUNYfir
Page 99 and 100: MISSION PART FOUR equipped with cur
Page 101 and 102: MISSION PART FOUR • CUNY Law Scho
Page 103 and 104: MISSION PART FOUR Unlike the 1972 s
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Page 107 and 108: MISSION PART FOUR computer-based mo
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CONCLUSION: CUNY— A Dynamic Unive
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CUNY Master Plan 2012-2016

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