Wright State’s Academic Reorganization Committee (ARC) has recently submitted a report to Provost Thomas Sudkamp, providing a “first best fit” proposal for reorganization, primarily focused on health and human services.
Now that the ARC has submitted its report, an implementation committee has been formed for the purpose of collecting data and determining whether or not the proposals outlined in the report make sense, based on logistical factors.
The ARC was a committee charged by Sudkamp to consider the most suitable reorganization model for a new college focused on health professions and health sciences, according to Faculty Senate President Travis Doom. The committee consisted of one administrator such as a dean, and one elected member of the faculty senate from each college and unit on campus.
The initial committee was “perfect for getting things started,” according to Doom. “But when you talk about putting together a final implementation plan, you need people who are experts in the area for the programs that are most impacted.”
Representation of the recently-formed Implementation Committee consists of representatives from only the programs or colleges that could be potentially affected by the proposed academic reorganization model. Membership includes program chairs, a dean and chief business officer from colleges – in other words, people who understand the costs of the programs, the number of students, and accreditation, according to Doom.
The report lists the following units as participants in the drafting of an implementation plan: the College of Nursing and Health, the School of Professional Psychology, the Department of Social Work, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Kinesiology and Health.
“The intent of reorganization is to enhance student pathways for success and improve student outcomes, as well as to support development of new educational programs, research areas and partnerships,” reads the report. “Reorganization should be implemented with an intended goal of lifting all impacted programs. All reorganized units should be placed in a college with an academically sound or complementary fit.”
The reorganization process is a largely student-centered objective, according to Sudkamp. “We have over 40 programs across campus dedicated to health and human services, but they’re all over the place. Lots of students and other people didn’t know we had such an expansive set of offerings because it’s hard to find them,” he said.
A key factor of consideration in the process is identifying “shared college experiences that allow students to find the right program” and reducing barriers between programs, making it easier for students to move between them if they so choose, according to Doom.
Sudkamp has met with deans and chairs of the potentially affected units. The Implementation Committee will continue its work over the next few months. Although there is no definitive timeline for completion, the goal is that a final plan is completed by this summer, according to Sudkamp.
“If you look at all of the good things that can happen and I think will happen within a year or two of the process, the students will be key beneficiaries,” said Sudkamp.
