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Meeting of the Board of Regents | May 2007

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 - 11:00pm

sed seal                                                                                                 



 



 



THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

/ THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 


TO:


FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

 

 


SUBJECT:

Master Plan Amendment: State University of New York, College at Plattsburgh - Interinstitutional Program at Adirondack Community College

 


DATE:

May 1, 2007


STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 2 and 4


AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 


SUMMARY


 


Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)


 

Should the Board of Regents approve an amendment to the master plan of the State University of New York to authorize the State University College at Plattsburgh to establish an interinstitutional program at Adirondack Community College (ACC), where Plattsburgh would offer upper-division baccalaureate programs in Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, Management, and Psychology and master’s degree programs in Adolescence Education, Childhood Education, and Curriculum and Instruction?  (An interinstitutional program is a branch campus on the campus of another degree-granting institution.)   

 


Reason(s) for Consideration

             

              Required by State regulation.

             
Proposed Handling


 

This question will come before the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee at its May 2007 meeting where it will be voted on and action taken.  It then will come before the full Board at its May 2007 meeting for final action.

 

 

 

 


Procedural History


 

On November 28, 2006, the State University of New York Board of Trustees adopted the following resolution:

 



Resolved

that the State University of New York Master Plan be, and hereby is, amended to authorize the State University College at Plattsburgh to offer an interinstitutional program on the campus of Adirondack Community College; and be it further



Resolved

that the Chancellor be, and hereby is, authorized to transmit this amendment to the Board of Regents and the Governor for incorporation in the State University Master Plan.

 

 

The Department received this proposal on November 30, 2006.  In February, staff visited the proposed interinstitutional program, meeting with Plattsburgh faculty and staff as well as ACC staff and reviewing facilities, equipment, and services.  Between March 31 and April 23, all institutions of higher education located in the Northeast region were canvassed.  The Department has determined that the programs to be offered would meet reregistration standards. 

 


Background Information


 

The interinstitutional program would respond to three of the Regents priorities in the Statewide Plan:  C8, “Strong Graduate Programs to Meet the State’s Needs”; D11, “An Adequate Supply of Qualified Teachers, School Leaders, and Other School Professionals”; and A2, “Articulation.”     


 

At the State University College at Plattsburgh, the Trustees are authorized to award Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S. in Ed.), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.), Master of Science for Teachers (M.S.T.), Master of Science in Education (M.S. in Ed.), and Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) degrees.  The College offers programs in the Biological Sciences, Business, Education, the Fine Arts, the Health Professions, the Humanities, the Physical Sciences, and the Social Sciences.  There were 6,217 students enrolled in the fall of 2006.  ACC is 110 miles from Plattsburgh.  Plattsburgh has offered courses there since 1986.  It has had an approved interinstitutional center there since 2002, where it offers undergraduate childhood education, criminal justice, management, and psychology courses, and graduate education, educational leadership, and liberal studies courses.

 


Recommendation


 

It is recommend that the Board of Regents approve the amendment of the State University of New York master plan authorizing the State University College at Plattsburgh to establish an interinstitutional program at Adirondack Community College, and to offer there upper-division baccalaureate programs in Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, Management, and Psychology and master’s degree programs in Adolescence Education, Childhood Education, and Curriculum and Instruction.  This amendment will be effective until May 31, 2008, unless the Department registers the programs prior to that date, in which case master plan amendment shall be without term.  

 


Timetable for Implementation


 

If the Board of Regents approves the master plan amendment, the Department will forward it to the Governor for approval.  Upon gubernatorial approval, the Department will register the programs to be offered at the interinstitutional program and the College may recruit and enroll students. 





Information in Support of the Recommendation



 

The State University of New York seeks approval of a master plan amendment to authorize the State University College at Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, Clinton County, to operate an interinstitutional program at Adirondack Community College, Queensbury, Warren County, where it would offer upper-division baccalaureate programs in Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, Management, and Psychology and master’s degree programs in Adolescence Education, Childhood Education, and Curriculum and Instruction.  The proposed master’s degree and baccalaureate curricula are identical to the master’s degree programs and the upper-division portion of the baccalaureate degree programs registered at Plattsburgh’s campus.

 

Students.  Plattsburgh seeks to expand its existing interinstitutional center to an interinstitutional program in order to better address the higher education needs of place-bound adults in the Glens Falls area.  According to the College, in the fall of 2005, 85 percent of the students at its interinstitutional center were from Warren, Washington, or Saratoga counties.  Therefore, it expects students to come primarily from Warren and Washington counties (ACC’s sponsors), as well as from Saratoga, Essex, and Hamilton counties.  Since the branch would not provide on-campus housing, the College anticipates that enrollments from outside that area would be minimal. 

 

In the fall of 2005, 72 percent of the interinstitutional center’s students were taking graduate courses.  Plattsburgh estimates that most students would continue to be enrolled in graduate programs, although it expects undergraduate enrollment to grow more rapidly than graduate enrollment.  Graduate students would be 63.3 percent of enrollment in the interinstitutional program’s first year of operation and 54.8 percent in the fifth, with enrollments growing by 19.7 percent over the first five years, from 38 full-time and 195 part-time students in the first year to 47 full-time and 232 part-time students in the fifth year. The College projects upper-division undergraduate enrollment to grow by 70.4 percent, from 110 full-time and 25 part-time students in the first year to 160 full-time and 70 part-time students in the fifth. 

 

Resources. The interinstitutional program would continue to use ACC’s classrooms, library, and other facilities and resources, including the exclusive use, full time, of one dedicated classroom.  In addition to ACC’s library facilities, Plattsburgh students would continue to have electronic access to the main campus library’s physical and on-line holdings and services; the main campus library would deliver requested materials within 72 hours.  For education students, the interinstitutional program would have a small curriculum library to supplement materials available at partner school districts.  By agreement between the two institutions, ACC would continue to make computer access, food service, and its bookstore, recreational and other facilities available to Plattsburgh students. 


 

Need.  The proposed interinstitutional program would meet the needs of society and support the College’s mission.

 

1. Needs of Society.  Plattsburgh selected the programs to be offered on the basis of its 20-year experience in offering courses there and analysis of ACC enrollment patterns; population, education, and employment data for the Queensbury area; and the opportunities for higher education in the area.  It believes that the interinstitutional program would serve ACC’s students and alumni seeking to complete baccalaureate and master’s degree programs without traveling outside the area.

 

The 2000 Census found 325,000 people lived in Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties.  The Census Bureau estimated that their population grew by 4.6 percent by 2004, to 340,000.  In 2005-06, between 60 and 67 percent of the interinstitutional center’s undergraduates were 25 or older.  Of the population in 2000, 22 percent (71,480) were between the ages of 25 and 39.  The proportion of the population between the ages of 25 and 34 who had attained baccalaureate degrees was lower than in the State as a whole, as was the proportion enrolled in baccalaureate or graduate study.  Plattsburgh believes that the interinstitutional program will lead to a growing number of residents of the three counties with baccalaureate or higher degrees.     

 

Plattsburgh also believes that the programs it proposes to offer at the interinstitutional program will meet the interests of the three counties’ residents.  It surveyed ACC students in the fall of 2004 about interest in continuing their education at the baccalaureate level in the Queensbury area.  Of 402 respondents, 96 percent expressed an interest in enrolling in such programs.  Criminal Justice was the first or second choice of 35 percent, followed by psychology, childhood education, and adolescence education. 

 

2. Institutional Need.  Plattsburgh’s mission includes preparing “a diverse student population for a wide range of professional careers by providing undergraduates with a strong foundation in the commitment to academic excellence, ethical values, lifelong learning, and responsible citizenship within a global community.”  The most popular baccalaureate programs for students transferring with associate degrees from ACC have been childhood education, business, criminal justice, and psychology.

 

Effect on Other Institutions.  In the Northeast region, 13 institutions offer baccalaureate degree programs in Business Management and Administration, Elementary Education, Psychology, or Police, Law Enforcement, and Corrections; or master’s degree programs in Elementary Education, Secondary Education, or Curriculum and Instruction, leading to certification, at 14 campuses:

 

Seven of the 13 institutions offer baccalaureate programs in Business Management and Administration, three offer Elementary Education leading to initial certification, 12 offer Psychology (at 13 campuses), and six offer Police, Law Enforcement, and Corrections programs (at seven campuses).  Three institutions offer master’s degree programs in Elementary Education, and five in Secondary Education, leading to initial/professional certification.  Plattsburgh is the only institution in the Northeast region offering a master’s degree program in Curriculum and Instruction leading to professional certification.

 

Distances of the 14 campuses from ACC range from 22 miles, for the three in Saratoga County, to over 100 miles for the three in Oneida County.

 

 No responses were received to the canvass of all colleges and universities in the Northeast region.