Meeting of the Board of Regents | May 2009

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)

Should the Board of Regents approve a master plan amendment authorizing Long Island University (LIU) at Riverhead to offer its first Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree program in Childhood Education?

Reason for Consideration

              Required by State regulation.

Proposed Handling

The question will come before the Board of Regents at its May 2009 meeting where it will be voted on and action taken. 

Procedural History

In November 2007, LIU submitted a proposal to offer a Childhood Education program leading to a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. The Department has determined that the proposed program, if approved, meets registration and teacher certification standards set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.  This would be LIU Riverhead’s first Bachelor of Science degree program in Childhood Education.  LIU Riverhead’s graduate teacher preparation programs were accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) in January 2009.  LIU’s registered teacher education programs, on all seven campuses, are TEAC accredited.  

Background Information

The proposed Bachelor of Science (B.S.) program was developed as an upper-division program designed to complement the associate degree programs in liberal arts and sciences offered at Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead, with which the College has a signed Memorandum of Understanding.  Regents authorization is required because this will be the University’s first Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree program at the Riverhead Campus. 

Admission to the B.S. program is contingent upon academic performance at the associate degree program level, a letter of recommendation from a professional in the field of education or a former professor, and a satisfactory interview with the Director of Education. 

Entering students must have completed 69 credits in the liberal arts and sciences,  including a General Education Core of at least 30 credits in the arts, foreign language, English/writing, social sciences, mathematics, and natural science; a major in a liberal arts or science area; and a 2.75 cumulative average for admission into the proposed program.  Transfer students will be required to make up academic deficiencies prior to admission, as determined by program faculty.  The College proposes a 63-66 credit curriculum that meets degree and teacher certification requirements in Childhood 1-6. 

The University anticipates that graduates of the B.S. program would continue on to the master’s degree program at the Riverhead Campus. An entering class of 15 full-time and 5 part-time students is anticipated with a cap of 25 entering students in year 5, for a total of approximately 80 students in any given year, thereafter.   

The University has dedicated five classrooms and a student lounge/computer room to education faculty and teacher candidates, including instructional software, as well as presentation hardware. The University’s library resources include 60 current print journals, and nearly 1,200 online subscriptions that support the program.  The facility accommodates approximately 3,000 relevant print volumes in the subject area, consisting of reference sources in education and programs currently being offered.  Qualified librarians are assigned to provide essential professional services to the LIU – Riverhead campus teacher candidates.  Cross-campus Interlibrary Loan service is also available to all students.  In addition, students have access to online full-text books from its library databases, ebrary, consisting of a collection of 25,000 online full-text books available to all LIU students.  Through this linked network, LIU students are able to gain online bibliographic access to the University’s collections (LIUCAT).  With the library network linkage, the library services provided are convenient, efficient, and comprehensive.

Projected expenditures for the proposed program include $211,257 in the first year increasing to $319,176 in the fifth year of the program.  Projected revenues total $238,015 in the first year, increasing to $906,083 in the fifth year. 

In January 2009, the Department conducted a canvass of the Long Island region colleges followed by a second canvass in February.  Responses were received from 16 out of 24 institutions, indicating no objections to the proposed program.  One institution, St. Joseph’s College, objected and later rescinded its objection. The Department has determined that the proposed program, if approved, would meet the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, including adequate full-time qualified faculty, appropriate curriculum, and sufficient resources.

Recommendation

 It is recommended that the Board of Regents approve a master plan amendment authorizing the University to offer the B.S. degree program in Childhood Education.  This amendment will be effective until May 30, 2010, unless the program is registered by the Department 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 register the program and the University will proceed to recruit and enroll students.