THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK PROGRAM/CURRICULUM PROPOSAL DIRECTIONS: Provide one form with original a proval signatures in lines I - 4 for each proposed action. Keep this form to one-page in length. Forms and appropriate attachments should be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs, who will assign a Log Number to each proposal. Also submit an electronic version of as much of the proposal as is possible. PCC LOG NO. 04015 DATE SUBMITTED October 19, 2004 COLLEGE/SCHOOL Graduate School/Office of Continuing and Extended Education DEPARTMENT/PROGRAM _ PROPOSED ACTION (A separate farm for each) ADD _X_ DELETE __ CHANGE __ DESCRIPTION (Provide a succinct account of the proposed action. Details should be provided in an attachment. Provide old and new sample programs for curriculum changes.) Establish a new flexible graduate program leading new Post Baccalaureate Certificate Program in Professional Studies JUSTIFICATION/REASONS/RESOURCES (Briefly explain the reason for the proposed action. Identify the source of new resources that may be required. Details should be provided in an attachment.) See Attached APPROVAL SIGNATURES DATE 1. Department Committee Chair 2. Department Chair 3. College/School FCC Chair 4. Dean 5. Dean of the Graduate School(f required) 11-12-04 6. Chair, Senate PCC 11/12/04 7. Chair of Senate 12/7/04 8. Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost 3/1/05 VPAAP Rev. 3/1/04 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND OFFICE OF THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND PROVOST 1119 Main Administration Building College Park, Maryland 20741-5031 301.405.5252 TEL 301.405.8195 FAX March 1, 2005 MEMORANDUM TO: Judith K. Broida Dean, Office of Professional Studies Ann Wylie Dean, Graduate School FROM: Victor Korenman Associate Provost for Academic Planning and Programs SUBJECT: Proposal to Establish a Master of Professional Studies and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Professional Studies (FCC Log Number 04015) Our proposal to establish a new Master of Professional Studies and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Professional Studies was approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) on February 22, 2005 and by the Board of Regents on February 18, 2005. These offerings are effective immediately. Enclosed i8 a copy of the approved proposal and a copy of the letter from MHEC. The Office of Professional Studies and the Graduate School should ensure that this change is appropriately reflected in all university documentation. Enclosures Cc: Dr. Sylvester J. Gates, .1r., Chair, SenatePCC Ms. Sarah Bauder, Student Financial Aid Dr. Mary Giles, University Senate Ms. Barbara Hope, Data Administration Ms. Trudy Lindsey, Graduate Studies Dr. Phyllis Peres, Undergraduate Studie Ms. Anne Turlcos, Archives Dr. Linda Yokoi, Records & Registrations MHEC Creating a state of achievement Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Governor Michael S. Steele Ly. Governor John J. Oliver, Jr. Chairman February 22, 2005 Dr. Clayton D. Mote, Jr., President University of Maryland College Park 1101 Main Administration Building College Park, Maryland 20742-5025 Dear Dr. Mote: The Maryland Higher Education Commission has reviewed a request received from the University of Maryland, College Park to offer a aster of Professional Studies and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Professional Studies. I am pleased to inform you that both programs have been approved. This decision was based on an analysis of the proposals in conjunction with the Maryland Higher Education Commission's Policies and Procedures for Academic Program Proposals and the Maryland State Plan for Postsecondary Education. The programs demonstrate potential for success, an essential factor in making this decision. For purposes of providing enrollment and degree data to the Commission, please use the HEGIS code of 4999-02 and a CIP code of 30.9999 for the Master of Professional Studies degree and certificate programs. Should the programs require any substantial changes, please keep the Commission apprised. I wish you continued success. Sincerely, Calvin W. Burnett Secretary of Higher Education CWB:des:bg cc: Dr. Gertrude Eaton, USM Dr. Victor Korenman, UMCP MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION 839 Bestgate Rd, • Suite 400 • Annapolis, MD 21401-3013 T 410.260.4500 • 800.474.0203 • F 410.260,3200 • TTY for the Deaf 800_735,2258 • www.rnhec.state.md.us PROPOSAL FOR MASTER OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES and GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN PROFESSIONAL STUDIES GRADUATE SCHOOL ANN WYLIE, INTERIM DEAN MASTER’S DEGREE GRADUATE CERTIFICATE FALL ‘05 1. OVERVIEW AND RATIONALE A. Briefly describe the nature of the proposed program and explain why the institution should offer it. Professional master degrees and certificate programs are flourishing nationwide. They not only provide a natural link for universities to important industry groups, but they also support and fuel economic development. Professional master’s degrees and certificate programs from prestigious institutions are excellent mechanisms to connect to external constituencies and build relationships that lead to student mentoring, career recruitment, internships, development, and faculty research opportunities. In addition, if appropriately structured, they can serve as a revenue source for academic units. As the university increases its emphases on external partnerships, the currently available discipline-specific graduate degrees do not always match the changing needs of professional audiences in businesses, government, and non-profit organizations. Increasingly these audiences want to create degrees/certificates that match the needs of their organizations - to create programs that allow the organizations to aggregate available graduate courses in a customized approach to address timely needs. The competitive issues these organizations face require continuous upgrading of employee development. The Master of Professional Studies and the Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies are designed to provide the flexibility needed to address the specific needs of organizations in a timely, responsive manner while maintaining the integrity of our current discipline-based graduate programs. Housed in the Graduate School and administered by the Office of Continuing and Extended Education, the proposed degree and certificate would allow the university to respond in a timely manner to the many requests from external organizations for customized programming. The university will accomplish this without modifying its existing degrees and will administer the programs in a manner that will maintain the integrity of its highly ranked graduate degrees. Once a generic template has been approved on campus, by the Board of Regents, and by MHEC for the Master of Professional Studies and the Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies, subsequent iterations offered would be approved by the Graduate Council, the Senate PCC Committee, and the Office of the Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. B. How big is the program expected to be? From what other programs serving current students, or from what new populations of potential students, onsite or offsite, are you expecting to draw? The primary populations for this degree/certificate are organizations who want a customized degree/certificate for their employees. In these circumstances the program is offered offsite at the organization, making it convenient for employees and beneficial to the organization. In addition, the organization usually requests a program for a cohort of employees to encourage interdepartmental communication and team building. This is a new audience for the university and will draw few if any students from existing graduate programs. It is expected that initially, 2 or 3 of these programs would be offered during any academic year. II. CURRICULUM The 30 credit Master in Professional Studies degree would be constructed as follows: a core of at least four courses (normally would be drawn from a current master’s degree), with concentrations and electives aggregated from multiple colleges and courses to create a multidisciplinary degree. The Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies would require completion of a subset of the Masters program, and would require four or more courses (at least 12 credits) structured to provide a coherent program. The certificate program would include at least two courses from the Master’s core supplemented by additional courses as required. Both the degree and certificate would meet all University of Maryland requirements for the non thesis master’s degree and graduate certificate including the requirement that at least 18 credits be at the 600 level, that the program include at least one written scholarly paper, that students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in all courses, and that all work be completed in within five years. The admissions policy will reflect the current standards for other master’s programs including the prerequisite bachelor’s degree and a 3.0 GPA in all undergraduate courses. Official undergraduate transcripts from all colleges attended must be provided. As is currently the case, professional experience may be substituted for an entrance exam and the students must have the completed the prerequisites for courses in the program. Currently four government agencies have expressed interest in this program for their employees. One example is a rather large unit in FDA that has requested a professional master’s degree from us that includes public health and public health policy (HHP), genetics and biostatistics (LFSC), nanotechnology (ENGR, CMPS) and communication (ARHU). In this case, the College of Health and Human Performance would provide the core in public health while the other units would contribute courses according to the needs of the requesting organization. The Department of Navy (and the Naval Academy) has also requested a professional master’s degree ( full time for one year and part time for the remainder) for military stationed in this area with a core in Government and Politics, additional courses in information resources, leadership, and public policy. III. FACULTY AND ORGANIZATION A. Who will provide academic direction and oversight for the program? The degree itself will be housed in the Graduate School, which will be responsible for its oversight. In most cases, the request for a master’s or certificate program would come from a government agency, corporation, or not-for-profit and would be made directly to OCEE through their business development efforts, their portal, or by their current clients or made directly to the graduate school. A request might also be made directly to a particular department or a college. In this case, management through OCEE is recommended but not required. In response to a request from an outside agency, corporation, or organization to OCEE or to the Graduate School directly, OCEE (or dean’s office), with the guidance of the Graduate School, will assemble a committee. The committee will include a member of the Graduate School, the administrative project manager, a faculty member who is a Regular Member of the Graduate Faculty from the area determined as the “core” who will serve as the Graduate Director, and a second member of the graduate faculty from another representative area in the program. Both the Graduate Director and the second faculty member must have the approval of their respective department chairs. This committee will provide academic and administrative oversight for the duration of the degree/certificate. The Graduate Director will be the lead academic member of the committee and its chair, and the administrative program manager will coordinate the oversight group, manage the program relations with the external organization as well as the administrative, marketing, student support, and fiscal management services for the program. All courses included in the certificate or degree offered to the external organization must be approved graduate courses. Offering a course in a program requires approval from the Department Chair under whose auspices the course is offered. The Department Chair must assign the faculty who will teach the courses. All faculty must be members of the Graduate Faculty. Once the core has been established and the additional courses identified, the proposal is forwarded to the Graduate School with the endorsement of the dean of the college housing the core and the chairs of the departments and deans whose courses are being used in the program for review and approval by the PCC committee of the Graduate Council and the Dean of the Graduate School. If the program is approved, the Dean of the Graduate School will forward the proposal to the PCC committee of the Senate. If approved by the Senate PCC, the proposal will be forwarded to the Provost for approval. The design of any program track must include a specific provision for both academic and administrative advising for participating students. Program tracks that rely on online learning must show how students can access student support and administrative services (SPOC). B. If the program is not to be housed and administered within a single academic unit, provide details of its administrative structure. Participating units: The Graduate School, the College from which the core is taught, other participating colleges, and the OCEE (or equivalent). Academic home and reporting relationship: Composition and authority of the faculty oversight committee: The academic home of the Master of Professional Studies and the Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies will be the Graduate School. A regular faculty member from the college providing the core will serve as Graduate Director and provide the academic leadership for the team while OCEE will manage and coordinate the oversight group as well as the project. Process for assigning faculty to needed courses: The Graduate Director will work with the Chairs of the academic departments offering courses to identify appropriate faculty to teach in the program. Arrangements for student advisement: The Graduate Director will be responsible for the academic advising for the program. Student advisement will be handled via on-site visits, email, or campus meetings. Process for recommending and proposing program changes and program review: Each version of the Master of Professional Studies will follow a template requiring the following: a core set of courses (at least 4) normally from a current graduate degree, a minimum of 30 credits, and adherence to all guidelines as established by the graduate school for professional master’s degrees. Each proposal for a new version would require the approval of the PCC committee of the Graduate Council, the Dean of the Graduate School, the PCC Committee of the Senate and the Senior VP for Academic Affairs and Provost. IV OFF CAMPUS PROGRAMS A. If the program is to be offered to students at an off-campus location with instructors in classrooms and/or via distance education modalities, indicate how student access to the full range of services and facilities will be assured. As is currently done with all OCEE online studies programs and all off-campus degrees/certificates administered by OCEE, SPOC (single point of contact services) will be used to support these programs. SPOC is an electronic access system managed by OCEE and developed in collaboration with the bursar, registrar, libraries, admissions, financial aid, disabilities office and others to provide a full range of student and administrative services to complement the academic services offered either through online studies or in F2F off-campus locations. V OTHER ISSUES A. Describe any cooperative arrangements with other institutions or organizations that will be important for the success of this program. The purpose of this generic professional master’s degree and generic graduate certificate program is to develop an adaptable graduate program to meet the changing professional needs of strategically identified target audiences, to strengthen relationships with external constituencies, to increase visibility in key areas for the campus while maintaining the integrity of our current discipline based degrees and providing additional revenue sources to colleges and academic units. To implement this program requires cooperative relations with colleges on campus, the Graduate School, OCEE and the external organization that is requesting the degree. A committee that includes regular faculty will provide academic oversight for the degree/certificate. B. No specific accreditation is required. The degree, once approved, will be subject to the same Middle States requirements as other degrees. VI COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY The audiences for these programs will be, for the most part, employees from federal agencies and corporations and therefore represent the employee base from which they draw. They will usually complete the program as a cohort group. VII REQUIRED PHYSICAL RESOURCES A. Additional library resources Since this program will draw from existing courses, the students can use the resources currently available to support the courses in the program. SPOC allows online access to many of these library materials. B. Additional facilities These programs will normally be offered at the client’s location. Courses that are offered on campus will be scheduled based on room availability particularly during winter break, May, and summer. C. Impact on existing facilities There will be no impact on existing facilities since it is anticipated that most of the courses will be offered off site at the client’s location. VII RESOURCE NEEDS AND SERVICES Graduate faculty (on overload) will teach the needed courses. Normally, OCEE will handle the external client relations, marketing, contracting, administrative, student services, and fiscal management responsibilities. All costs of the program will be covered by tuition. State funds will not be used to support the program. Faculty currently employed by UM who participate in the program will be paid on overload. Programs delivered through OCEE are allowed to establish a market rate that reflects the additional development time needed to customize the program as well as additional expenses for personalized and specialized customer service. In addition, terms may differ from traditional semesters depending on the requirements of the organization. Most of the programs will be tailored to a cohort drawn from an organization. The pricing for the entire program may reflect one fixed price paid by the organization or a price per individual paid through the organization’s tuition benefit plan. As a professional development/continuing education program, OCEE establishes a contractual relationship with the organization where terms and dates of payment are established. After salaries are paid to faculty who teach and related program expenses and overhead are deducted, the net will be distributed as follows: a proportional distribution to the departments according to the number of courses provided, a percentage paid to the Graduate School and a percentage to OCEE for managing the program. The arrangements must be clearly stated in an MOU signed by all the partners prior to the beginning of the program.