StepsSpr09

=Steps, Spring 09= CCT administrative matters & meeting agenda items priority/agenda items in red ; items changed since last meeting in blue (See also previous wiki summary from Fall 08 and associated links.)

0. After check-in (about news & goods) at each meeting, decide whether to bring some items up the agenda and push some down.

Preamble from PT: There's a lot on my plate this year, so: • I'll use email (with attachments or links to wikipages) to convey information and background for any matters needing consultation and deliberation, so we can focus meeting time on those matters. I ask you to do the same and to read the material in advance of the meetings. • I'll leave it to you to keep up with CCT-related tasks you have volunteered for or to volunteer to do something more -- see checklist, http://www.cct.umb.edu/AdminChecklist.html, adjusted 2/1/09 to reflect what is actually being done by whom. • I'll call on the three Grad. Assistants we have, Jeremy S & Jeremy P & Tara, for help when I need to fill in or provide backup on these tasks. Monthly CCT Community (alum network) Open Houses -- attending & encouraging students to attend
 * This said, **I welcome core faculty volunteering to be involved in **

Writing support initiatives

Shepherding applicants thru to matriculation, esp. in summer

Regular check-in with your synthesis advisees and Marathon day May 16th to get them thru to completion

Mid-program interviews at end of May

Learning how to do overrides & permissions for registration ||

We have 13 M.A. matriculants for the 08-09 year. Need to keep matriculation for 09-10 at at least 13/year, if not 18, to flow through to above the minimum enrollment in required courses and electives. Email status reports now being provided by Peter. As before, Arthur & Nina review applicants (with Tara alerting them of new material to review);Peter & Tara keep tab of status of applicants in database and on google docs spreadsheet; Peter & Nina handles inquiries from prospective applicants. CCT (alum) network events build in a recruitment component and follow-up: Tara, Jeremy & Peter. Follow-up on interest shown at past events: Tara w/ Peter, except Graduate Showcase Nov 19 -- Nina following up? 2/18: Plans to. (Next summer coverage after Tara graduates: Jeremy P? .)
 * 1. Admissions and matriculations.**

We have 15 students who have finished all course work, but not their syntheses. Half of them are more than 2 years ABD. This is as many as we have had finish. In the short-term: Contact & "contract" needed for all students -- but this request mostly failed in the fall. In the long-term: Sequence of measures about how to address this problem in the long term: at http://www.cct.umb.edu/StepsToCompletion.html, including Marathon day and Entrance interviews. (Suggestions for fine-tuning?)
 * 2. Synthesis completion.**

The only funds CCT gets are from CCDE (for courses & indep. studies offered through CCDE and to pay $4240 for an assistant under the CCDE-CCT certificate partnership [from June onwards increased to 50% assistant] & to get China partnership going). Checking needed to see if new funds are transfered in. 4/14/09 Has now taken place. The new proposal about admin. support through CCT-CCDE partnership has been approved & Jeremy S. will start as 50% assistant coordinator in June (now subject to receiving waiver of hiring freeze). Because Jeremy will be the 50% assistant, this releases the funds saved to keep paying him under the old system for 13 months after he graduates. Over and above the assistantship pay we got c. $1700 in October to budget and $340 for supervising 1 credit indep. studies most of which is already earmarked or spent for the Exeter visitors' dinner and student lunch, honoraria for guest speakers and synthesis readers who are not on regular faculty, wiki subs, writing coaches, Leor Alcaly pay for 602 work
 * 3. Funds**

Jeremy S's commitment to working for CCT after he graduates stems in part from his interest in adult education and lifelong learning. This plus Tara's enthusiasm/efficiency/efforts have made it possible to launch (relaunch) the CCT (alum) network, at http://cct.wikispaces.com/CCTNetwork. (I also see this as a way to widen the range of influences/models/mentors CCT can offer its students.) Faculty interest and attendance at the CCT Network events will help support this initiative. Students can get credit for attending the events, as part of a 1 credit special topics course that I run, [|http://www.faculty.umb.edu/pjt/697-09.html], and is moving through governance approval as a 1-3 credit course -- now at Faculty Council level.
 * 4. CCT (alum) network**

My 1 CLR/year has been continued for 08-09 (update: continuation likely for 09-10, but now under review ) and CCT held onto the 2 AAs (a legacy of Emily McDermott's reign that are vulnerable -- indeed, for a while in September we had lost them for 08-09 and had to lobby to get them back.) Securing Jeremy's support as the CCDE assistant beyond his time as a student makes it worth my while to train and transmit admin. knowledge to him (and Tara). But is is also the case that the CCT Network has been creating more new work for me so far than Jeremy and Tara are taking off my plate. And we have to do more work with CCDE this year to make CCDE publicity really happen. Bookmarks have been made for Creative Thinking at Work. The idea that aligning requirements and students with Track A might lead to more resources (e.g., C&I faculty input, a possible new hire, admin. help) is, so far, working in the other direction – I've been roped into co-leading Track A this year! (New C&I Chair -- Jack Levy . GCoE proposing to change its name to College of Education & Counseling. Moving toward Accreditation with TEAC. CCT is not part of the accreditation unit, but emphasis on learning outcomes will spread to CCT--how can we show our students know what we claim we are teaching? "Focus on 4-7 big themes." "Pay attention to 'effectiveness indicators.'" Any other update on developments in C&I arrangements to be provided at the meeting or as they emerge.)  In the meantime, one of the "not to mention" things from the preamble is the CCT admin. load, which goes beyond a CLR's worth (http://www.cct.umb.edu/AdminChecklist.html). Please keep that in mind as I raise the concerns (as CCT faculty member & CCT coordinator) about any new initiatives, which I stated last spring, namely "that: a) we are able to do what we've already committed to, which includes serving the students we have and doing so without adding unagreed-on burdens on each other as colleagues; and b) any initiative is based on a plan with clear goals/objectives that addresses a) and includes a chance to take-stock afterwards to learn from how well we met the goals."
 * 5. Admin. load**
 * 5a. Program operation priorities**

See the priorities for myself as coordinator I presented to Eunny and to you before taking on the role for another year.

As I also stated last spring: "We may need to revise or reaffirm the following, but my sense of what we are already committed to includes (with order of priority approximate & negotiable): 1. Teaching existing classes; advising our students; sharing the advising/reading of syntheses. 2. Improving the ways we serve the students who need help writing and thinking, including those who have finished all course work but have not completed their syntheses during the synthesis semester [writing support initiative this spring, PT &TT + http://www.cct.umb.edu/StepsToCompletion.html, including Marathon day and Entrance interviews]; 2a. Extra care for students of color who have difficulty; 3. Admin, see http://www.cct.umb.edu/AdminChecklist.html; 3b. Must keep everything well-documented & transparent & consistent in case CCT is ever sued by a litigious student (as learned by American Studies) 4. Recruitment advising and admissions processing through to matriculation. 5. Cross-listing/hosting and Promotion of courses to students beyond CCT to get the numbers up. 6. Reviewing CCT's shortcomings to improve as well as to reduce strain on Peter. 6a. Continuation of efforts (started last January) re: curriculum integration across our courses [including require Reflective Practice Portfolio?]. 7. Outreach events tied into recruitment. 8. Science in a Changing World emphasis to support PT's aspirations and CCT strengths [track proposal working thru governance -- passed 4/14 at Graduate Studies level]. 9. Timely attention to possibilities about a new line [no developments since Eunny's request was rejected last spring] 9a. Case for continuation of Nina's appointment or another arrangement.(see discussion below under #7.) 10. Certificate/MA partnership with CCDE (promotion of courses so that they run; needs of part-timers; China initiative [starting with 601 & 602 taught face2face in Shanghai in August]; needs approval of M.A. online ) 10a. G&T certificate development? 11. CCT Network 12. Non-network open houses 13. Collaboration with the non-licensure MEd track to get students in CCT classes (or joint MEd/CCT classes) [<span style="color: rgb(38, 18, 243);">track A students seem to be taking more CCT courses ], share advising of capstones, ... 13a. Alignment with GCE efforts towards new accreditation and continuous improvement thru assessment of learning outcomes. 14. Infusing CCT into other MEd programs. 14b. Collaboration with new C&I faculty member, Donna DeGennaro, re: offerings for Ed Tech & Instr. Des. 15. CCT workshops for UMB groups. 16. Kodaly?" Also: 17. Exeter partnership 18. Arts initiative <span style="color: rgb(9, 21, 241);">19. CCT on the Cape ...


 * 6. Description of CCT specialties** (completed; see details; needs to be inserted into material on website etc.)

Nina is looking for a continuation of her current contract and will write a description of the responsibilities she wants to take on (teaching 2 & 2; student recruitment; outreach for CCT recognition). Assoc. Dean: subject to program & course enrollments; could be as late as Aug. 15. Discussion indicated that Nina's interest is contingent on CCT having a "vision" that continues the creativity area, which is her primary interest (even tho' others did say creativity enters most other courses as well). Peter described some of his vision, which is more or less covered in Program operation priorities above plus not wanting to spend time fighting a system for resources. When the CCT-CCDE partnership increases the assistant to 50%, Peter can see himself having more room to support new initiatives, starting with Reflective Practice, Sci in a Changing World, and, to pay the piper, the China partnership. Peter has assembled info on student course plans/needs and continues to make/preserve arrangements him to teach some of his Sci & Soc courses outside CCT, etc. [grants] (freeing up slots in CCT) Recruitment numbers for the spring* => 3 face2face state-funded electives in 09-10, each of them cross-listed or cross-promoted. This = one CCT course for NLG in fall [602]; one in the spring [630 with syllabus prepared that meets needs of Teacher Ed for multicultural literature] Similar situation for subsequent semesters.
 * 7. Continuation of Nina's appointment beyond 08-09**

> A student starting in Sp 05 to Sp 07 would have 7-8 face2face electives over the following 2 years, while a student starting in Fall 07 onwards would/will have 9-11 electives (provided none get canceled for lack of numbers, e.g. summer '09 Metacognition).
 * The schedule maximizes the range of face2face electives a student can take over the 2 year cycle, with the recognition that offering more would lead to cancellations and offering some electives more frequently would reduce that range.

Updates on Exeter partnership; Ran out of time for discussion in Dec.meeting, but <span style="color: rgb(9, 33, 236);">Nina is moving ahead with 3 CCT students at the level of email. <span style="color: rgb(25, 8, 231);">Arts in Teacher Ed initiative ; Ran out of time for discussion in Dec.meeting, but <span style="color: rgb(17, 13, 231);">Nina & David Martin are moving ahead. Inter-college arrangements to be decided at next meeting. Conversations with Pat Paugh to explore interest at UMB.
 * 8. Other**

Draft of new rule for online courses? "Matriculated CCT Masters students must apply for permission from the Program Coordinator before registering for an online CCT section. Permission will be granted only after the face-to-face sections have sufficient enrollment for the semester. Preference will be given first to students living outside Boston, then to those who have not yet taken an online course."
 * 9. Online policy**

Carol & Nina suggest that we make it longer than 20-40 pages and/or make it subject to agreement with the advisor.
 * 10. Synthesis length**

<span style="color: rgb(9, 0, 255);">Nina exploring locations, then developing marketing plan, possibly for fall courses.
 * 11. CCT on the Cape**