ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN DURING 2002-2003Directory of Policy Statements (DOPS) Expanded to Include SoT&L On February 26, 2003, President Moore endorsed the Statement on Scholarship passed at the December 14, 2002 meeting of the College Senate of Buffalo State College. This policy provides parity among the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoT&L) and other forms of scholarship during promotion and tenure review. This change represents the culmination of two years of work by three major groups on campus. On December 7, 2000 the Academic Affairs Council requested a presentation on CASTL. At that meeting the council, which consists of the provost, deans and center directors, requested that the advisory committee draft a set of guidelines for evaluating SoT&L. A subcommittee of the advisory committee for SoT&L met several times to decide how to approach this task. They first wrote to several institutions asking them to share the guidelines they were using at their institutions. These materials were distributed and read by the committee in preparation for designing guidelines for our campus. The subcommittee made a presentation to the total advisory committee. It was determined at that time that the first stage should be the inclusion of a statement under the Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity section of the Directory of Policy Statements (DOPS). A memo to this effect was submitted to the provost in May 2001. In response to this memo the Provost requested that the college senate begin work on the policy revision. The task was on the 2001-2002 agenda of the Instruction and Research (I&R) committee. This group decided to review the status of the statement on applied research in conjunction with Sot&L. During the year, representatives of the CASTL advisory committee compiled background materials for, and met with members of the I & R committee. In September of 2002 two draft statements were submitted by the CASTL advisory committee for the consideration of both the I & R committee and the Academic Council of Academic Affairs. One statement created a policy for SoT&L that paralleled the one already approved for Applied Research, the other created one statement for both forms of scholarship. Both groups preferred the combined statement. The I&R committee proceeded to circulate the draft and seek comments from the college community. The statement was posted on the college senate website and a discussion board was dedicated to dialogue about the proposal. E-mail was distributed to alert the college community to the discussion and list ways other than the discussion board that reactions could be shared. In recognition of the implications for departments chairs were sent a special mailing. At the same time the Academic Council was drafting their reactions to the statement. The CASTL advisory committee contacted college senators and department chairs to assist with points of clarification. At the November college senate meeting the proposal was introduced for discussion. The chair of the I&R committee summarized comments that were received through e-mail, the discussion board, and direct contact. She explained how the statement was revised in accordance with the reactions of the college community. Senators were given the opportunity to request clarification or changes during the ensuing month and in preparation for a vote at the December meeting. The results of this meeting were considered by the I&R committee in completing the final revision and distribution of the form of the draft to be voted on at the December meeting. The CASTL advisory committee provided the impetus for this change, but it required the efforts and determination of the college senate and the Academic Council to bring it into reality. These groups will continue to collaborate on the implementation of this policy during the spring of 2003. The Coordinator of CASTL Campus Programs has attended Department Chair meetings in all three faculties to review the new policy and provide chairs with the names of faculty members who have agreed to consult with departments as they revise their policies on scholarship. In addition, examples of scholarship in teaching and learning in the disciplines are being distributed to departments. Plans are already underway to conduct information meetings for department representatives. In addition, members of the CASTL advisory committee and members of the I&R committee will be available to assist departments with creating discipline based guidelines for enacting the policy. BSC RECEIVES DESIGNATION AS A CASTL CORE CAMPUS In March 2003, the American Association of Higher Education and the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of teaching and Learning (CASTL) announced the designation of Buffalo State College as a Core Member of the academy. This designation was made in recognition of campus commitment and progress in promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning. We will be working with a cluster of institutions across the country that are interested in "Organizing to Foster the Scholarship of teaching and Learning" Illinois State University will provide leadership for this cluster. Representatives from campuses in this cluster meet in Utah in August 2003 to coordinate their efforts. TWO CASTL FACULTY FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED FOR 2003-2004 Kathleen O'Brien , a Lecturer in Hospitality Administration is the Applied Learning Fellow Gloria Eastman, Assistant Professor of English is the SOTL Assessment Fellow |