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1 UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Online Degrees WHEREAS, the strategic plan of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Pathways to Greatness, approved by the Board of Trustees in June 2012 with input from faculty, staff and students required the institution to develop and offer online degrees; and WHEREAS, the Presidential Goals for 2016-2017 and 2017-208 required the President to ensure that the University develop and implement online degrees; and WHEREAS, the Provost has provided the faculty with numerous opportunities to be trained in the development and delivery of online courses; and WHEREAS, the faculty has developed distance education policies providing guidance for the offering of and quality control of distance education courses; and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees approved an agreement between the University and Level Playing Field (LPF) for the development, support and consultation in regards to UVI’s online degrees initiative; and WHEREAS, the Middle States Commission for Higher Education approved UVI’s request to offer online degrees; and WHEREAS, the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements has admitted UVI as a member, thus entitling the University to offer online degrees in all 50 States; and WHEREAS, various Schools and Colleges of UVI have approved the following list of online degrees (See Attachment A for list of courses for each degree); BS Electronic Engineering Technology BS Applied Computing BS Cybersecurity BS Computer Engineering Technology BS Electronic Engineering Management Technology AS Computer and Electronic Engineering Technology AS Applied Computing AA Engineering Management Technology Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a Concentration in Management Master of Business Administration Degree Bachelor of Arts in Accounting Bachelor of Arts in Financial Planning Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice 2 Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication Master of Science in Leadership and WHEREAS, the faculty at a meeting on December 14, 2017 approved a list of general education requirement courses for the above online BA degrees and others that will approved in the future (See Attachment B).; and WHEREAS, the existing UVI general education requirements will be used for the online AA, AS and BS degrees NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD: That the Board of Trustees of the University of the Virgin Islands hereby approves and authorizes the above listed degrees and the general education requirements, and authorizes the administration to grant approval for other online programs that that are approved by UVI’s Colleges and Schools as outlined in the resolution adopted by faculty on November 2, 2017. CERTIFICATION The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and exact copy of a resolution approved by the Board of Trustees of the University of the Virgin Islands at a meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2017, as recorded in the minutes of that meeting. December 13, 2017 Secretary of the Board Date 3 Attachment B TO: UVI Faculty VIA: UVI Curriculum Committee FROM: UVI General Education Committee Dr. Sharon Honore--Chair DATE: December 8, 2017 REQUEST: In support of the UVIOnline initiative, the General Education Committee proposes a set of courses and requirements to fulfill the general education requirements for Bachelor of Arts degrees offered by UVIOnline. These requirements are needed in support of degrees that are currently being proposed by various colleges and schools for UVIOnline. Approval is needed in order to be considered at a special meeting of UVI’s Board of Trustees scheduled for December 19, 2017. JUSTIFICATION (RATIONALE): The University of the Virgin Islands, through its UVI Online initiative, will offer degrees that students can complete entirely online. In support of this initiative, and recognizing that UVI does not currently offer all its General Education courses in an online format, the General Education Committee proposes a cadre of courses that are 4 suitable for the online environment, and will achieve most of the outcomes of UVI’s current general education requirements for on-the-ground BA degrees. The attached document outlines the courses and descriptions. Once the general education requirements for the BA are approved, this will provide sufficient online courses to fulfill current general education requirements for the BS degrees, which are as follows; A. Student Success Seminar B. Humanities 18 elective credits in Humanities C. Mathematics and Science Two courses in Mathematics at the College Level Two courses in a laboratory science D. Social Sciences Three courses in the Social Sciences APPROVALS: The General Education Committee approved the general education group of courses at its meeting of October 30, 2017 by a unanimous vote. The Curriculum Committee approved the general education group of courses, with some clarification added and some relaxation of requirements, at its meeting of November 30, 2017 by a unanimous vote, and a revised version (see yellow highlighting) on December 14, 2017, by a vote of 6-0. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION: A cross section of faculty worked during the summer 2017 to evaluate courses that would be suitable for fulfilling general education requirements for any Bachelor of Arts degrees that were part of UVIOnline. i.e. UVI programs that can be fulfilled 100% online. The group had representatives from the School of Business, the College of Science and Mathematics, and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Additionally, representatives from the UVI General Education Committee and the Deans of UVI’s Colleges and Schools participated. The group started with UVI’s current BA requirements, and sought courses that were part of the Level Playing Field (LPF, with whom UVI has a signed agreement) cadre of courses that were similar to or the same as current UVI courses. LPF courses were either adopted, or adapted, There are a few changes from the current BA requirements to the requirements proposed for UVIOnline. 5 Foreign Language Requirement: It was determined that rather than requiring completion of three semesters of a foreign language, this would be relaxed to three semesters of courses that dealt with culture, and could be from social sciences or humanities (including foreign language). The Research Writing course currently required would be replaced by a Technical Writing course. General Education Capstone: This multidisciplinary course would enhance the students overall understanding of the purpose of the general education and also give the university enhanced ability to assess student learning outcomes of the general education curriculum. This would not add credits to the current numbers as this would, in essence, replace the 3-credit Humanities 115 requirements. This course would have oversight by the Center for Student Success, along with the Development Seminar for first year students. SCI 100 and SSC 100 are current Freshman Year requirements at UVI, and is only required of students matriculating with fewer than 24 credits. These were not included, or replaced, in the current UVIOnline requirements. REQUIRED RESOURCES: Some courses are existing UVI courses which are being re- engineered for an 8-week online format. Other courses are being adopted from Level Playing Field. 6 SECTION 2: Proposal for UVI Online General Education Curriculum List of Courses A. SSS 1000 Student Success Seminar (1 credit) [Note that this is similar to the Freshman Development Seminar, but more geared to the needs of an online student.] B. Humanities 24 cr COM 1190 Communications and Leadership Skills (3 credits) [This is similar to COM 119] COM 1200 Public Speaking (3 credits) [This is similar to COM 120] ENG 1200 English Composition (3 credits) [This is similar to ENG 120] ENG2610 World Literature I (3 credits) ENG2620 World Literature II (3 credits) PHI2000 Critical Thinking (3 credits) GE2990 General Education Capstone (3 credits) Working with their advisor, student will choose three additional courses that explore language or culture through humanities or social science. This may include a modern foreign language, anthropology courses, study of religion, music, art, etc. ENG 2010 Research and Applied Writing (This is listed tentatively as an approved ENG course) Or ENG2020 Technical Writing (3 credits) C. Mathematics Two College Level Mathematics Courses 8 cr D. Natural Sciences Two laboratory courses in the Natural Sciences 8 credits E. Social Sciences Two additional courses in Social Sciences. 6 cr Total Credits 55-57 7 CATALOG CHANGES: There will be a UVI Online Catalog which will include these courses. Course Descriptions for new courses SSS 1000 Student Success Seminar (1 credit) This course provides introduction and orientation to the nature of University education, functions and resources. Topics assist students obtain the necessary skills to attain their educational objectives. Emphasis is on Group process. ENG2020 Technical Writing (3 credits) This course develops written communication skills with emphasis on understanding the writing process. Students will analyze readings and practice writing for personal and professional applications. This course satisfies the General Education requirement. Prerequisite: ENG1200 GE2990 General Education Capstone (3 credits) This is the capstone coursework for the University of the Virgin Islands general education program, and it serves a dual purpose. First, this course helps students bridge the gap between broad based learning and discipline-specific education. Second, the course highlights and incorporates specific skills and knowledge attained through general studies and may assist students achieve a greater awareness of how knowledge is intertwined. Furthermore, students may better comprehend how to draw and apply information from an experience no thus lead them to become more actively engaged, socially aware citizens of the various communities. 8 Temporary Approval Process adopted by faculty on November 2, 2017 Temporary Emergency Approval Process Steps: 1. Approval by Academic Program: Any full-time faculty member in a Program could submit a proposal for a new UVI Online Degree Program. Then the Chair of that UVI Program would initiate a discussion among the full-time UVI faculty members of that Program concerning whether to approve that proposal. The Program Chair would be responsible for recording the vote count and any changes made to the proposal, which could be conducted in either a synchronous meeting vote or by electronic asynchronous vote. If a given new UVI Online degree program were to be approved by a majority vote of all of the full-time faculty of that UVI Academic Program, the Program Chair would transmit written notification of the approval including the vote count and any changes to the proposal to the appropriate Dean, the Provost, the Chair of the University Curriculum Committee, and the Faculty Chair, who would inform the members of the faculty. For example, if a Program faculty consisted of seven full-time faculty members, approval of the proposal by the Program would require at least four of those faculty members to vote to approve. 2. Approval by the School/College: The Dean would transmit the proposal to all full-time faculty members of the School/College and initiate a discussion of the proposal. The Dean would be responsible for recording the vote count and any changes made to the proposal. If a majority of all of the full-time faculty of the relevant School/College were to vote to approve the new degree program, then the Dean would transmit written notification of approval including the vote count and any changes to the Provost, the Chair of the University Curriculum Committee, and the Faculty Chair, who would inform the members of the faculty. 3. Provost: If the Provost were to approve, the Provost would transmit the proposal to the President. 4. President: If the President were to approve, the President would transmit the proposal to the UVI Board of Trustees.