Approves  Establishment of Semester Terms  (attached to the resolution)

Academic Senate Ad Hoc Semester Conversion Committee,

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Adopted: May 17, 2022ACADEMIC SENATEofCALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITYSan Luis Obispo, CA AS-942-22RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH SEMESTER TERMS12345678910111213141516171819202122232425WHEREAS,WHEREAS,WHEREAS,WHEREAS,WHEREAS,RESOLVED:the California State University Chancellor’s Office has directed Cal Poly toconvert from quarters to semesters beginning in fall 2026; and,a rationale given by the Chancellor’s Office for converting from quarters tosemesters is to align Cal Poly’s academic calendar with the other campuses inthe Cal State University System; and,the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) states that “[t]he work year of anacademic year employee shall not exceed one hundred eighty (180) workdays or days in lieu thereof. This provision shall not preclude the establishment of anacademic year calendar equaling less than one hundred eighty (180) days. Thecampus academic calendar shall establish workdays of academic yearemployees” (20.4); and,Cal Poly’s Campus Administrative Policies (CAP) states that “[t]he typicalacademic year shall consist of 147 instructional days. From year-to-year a variation of plus or minus two days is permissible. There shall be a minimum of170 academic workdays in the academic year. There shall be a maximum of 180academic workdays in the academic year” (CAP 211.1); and13 of the 23 California State University campuses offer a winter and/or Mayintersession period for student to maintain progress to degree; therefore be it that the Academic Senate approve the attached “Establishment of SemesterTerms.”Proposed by: Academic Senate Ad Hoc SemesterConversion CommitteeDate: April 19, 2022   Academic Senate Ad Hoc Quarter to Semester Committee Establishment of Semester Terms  Executive Summary  The university shall establish an academic calendar that includes: • 16-week (instruction + finals) fall and spring semesters • summer term that offers variable length sessions • winter intersession period for instruction • two 7.5-week modules in both the fall and spring semesters   The Academic Senate  • shall designate appropriate collaborative committees to establish additional guidelines regarding the winter intersession period and modules • strongly recommends that winter intersession courses and summer sessions be offered through state-side support to ensure equitable access for all students  Part 1: Semester Term Lengths  Background The quarter-to-semester conversion process requires the alteration of the academic term length at Cal Poly beginning in fall 2026. Academic terms are governed by existing policies regarding the number of instructional days during the academic year and the number of workdays required by faculty members during the academic year. According to the 2022-24 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), “The work year of an academic year employee shall not exceed one hundred eighty (180) workdays or days in lieu thereof. This provision shall not preclude the establishment of an academic year calendar equaling less than one hundred eighty (180) days. The campus academic calendar shall establish workdays of academic year employees” (20.4). According to the Campus Administrative Policies (CAP), “The typical academic year shall consist of 147 instructional days. From year-to-year a variation of plus or minus two days is permissible. There shall be a minimum of 170 academic workdays in the academic year. There shall be a maximum of 180 academic workdays in the academic year” (CAP 211.1). Currently, the academic year is divided into three quarters (Fall, Winter, Spring). The summer session is not considered part of the academic year. Every year, the academic calendar proposals are reviewed by various stakeholders across campus, including department chairs and heads, deans, members of Student Affairs, the Academic Senate Instruction Committee, and the Academic Senate Executive Committee, and the President determines the academic calendar. Across the California State System, each campus establishes its own start and end date for academic terms, including the length of the final examination period (see Table 1).   1                                                                                                                                                                                                            Table 1: California State University Campus Calendar, 2021-2022(modified from https://csuip.calstate.edu/_customtags/ct_FileRetrieve.cfm?File_ID=90133) Establishment of Semester Term LengthTo comply with the Chancellor’s Office requirement that Cal Poly convert from quarters tosemesters beginning in 2026, the university shall establish an academic calendar that includes a 16-week fall semester (15 weeks of instruction and a 1-week final examination period) and a 16-week spring semester (15 weeks of instruction and a 1-week final examination period).The total number of instructional days and total academic workdays shall follow therequirements of the CBA and CAP.To increase student access to classes and maintain progress to degree, the summer term shall continue to offer variable length sessions. Because of calendar limitations, a sixteen-week term is not possible in the summer. The Academic Senate strongly recommends that thesummer session be offered through state-side support to ensure equitable access for allstudents. The Academic Senate shall designate an appropriate committee (or committees) tocollaborate with the Office of the Registrar and other campus stakeholders across the universityto establish additional guidelines regarding summer session.Part 2: Intersession TermsBackgroundAs part of the Graduate Initiative 2025 (GI 2025), the California State University has prioritizedstudent access to classes, graduation rates, and student success.1 Cal Poly has consistentlymade progress toward the GI 2025 targets for 4- and 6- year First-Time Student and 2- and 4-year Transfer Student graduation rates and in eliminating graduate gaps (see Tables 2 and 3).1 See Graduation Initiative Advisory Committee Report, available at https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/why-the-csu-matters/graduation-initiative-2025/Documents/csu-gi2025-advisory-committee-report.pdf. 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            To provide increased student access to classes and maintain student progress to degree, 13 ofthe 23 California State University campuses offer a winter and/or May intersession periods.Table 2: Cal Poly Graduation Rates 2018-2021First-Time Student 4-yearFirst-Time Student 6-yearTransfer Student 2-yearTransfer Student 4-year201852.5%81.7%35.3%90.1%201957%82%36.1%85.1%202059.6%83.1%37%87.3%202160.7%85.2%37.4%84.8%CSU ESTABLISHED 2025 TARGET71%92%45%93%Table 3: Cal Poly Gap Data 2018-2021Underrepresented Minority 6-year GapPell Grant Recipient 6-year Gap20189.4%7.7%20197.9%5.7%20207.4%6.4%20215.6%5.0%CSU ESTABLISHED TARGETNo GapNo GapEstablishment of an Intersession PeriodTo increase student access to classes, maintain student progress to degree, and facilitate CalPoly’s progress toward the CSU’s GI 2025 targets, the university shall establish an academiccalendar that includes a winter intersession period for instruction that maintains a reasonable alignment with the spring semester start and end dates of other campuses in the California State University system. Intersession courses shall follow the credit hourrequirements established by the WASC Senior College and University Commission’s “Credit Hour Policy” and the Academic Senate “Resolution on Review of Courses with Condensed TimeSchedules” (AS-838-17) (see Background Information).The Academic Senate shall designate an appropriate committee (or committees) to collaboratewith the Office of the Registrar and other campus stakeholders across the university toestablish additional guidelines regarding the winter intersession period. The Academic Senatestrongly recommends that winter intersession courses be offered through state-side support toensure equitable access for all students.Part 3: Establishment of ModulesBackgroundSeveral polytechnic universities on the semester system offer modules during within thesemester terms to achieve their academic goals. Rochester Institute of Technology offers 7-week online sessions every semester (see https://www.rit.edu/calendar). WorcesterPolytechnic Institute offers 7-week sessions across 5 different terms (https://go2.wpi.edu/wpi-3                                                                                                                              online-term-start-dates). A prominent non-polytechnic university, Arizona State University, offers two 7.5-week sessions, both online and in-person, every semester(https://students.asu.edu/academic-calendar). As Cal Poly converts from quarters to semester,modules within the semester provide the opportunity to advance the university’s mission as a comprehensive polytechnic university.Establishment of Modules within Semester TermsThe university shall establish an academic calendar that includes two 7.5-week modules inthe fall semester and two 7.5-week modules in the spring semester. Courses offered throughmodules shall follow the credit hour requirements established by the WASC Senior College andUniversity Commission’s “Credit Hour Policy” and the Academic Senate “Resolution on Reviewof Courses with Condensed Time Schedules” (AS-838-17) (see Background Information).The Academic Senate shall designate an appropriate committee (or committees) to collaboratewith the Office of the Registrar and other campus stakeholders across the university toestablish additional guidelines regarding modules.4  Part 4: Background Information   Credit Hour Policy Academic credit has provided the basis to measure the amount of engaged learning time expected of a student enrolled in traditional classroom settings, laboratories, studios, internships, independent studies, and distance education programs. Credit hours are a commonly accepted means of measuring student engagement for multiple purposes, including the transfer of students from one institution to another and the award of financial aid. While this credit hour policy is intended to provide guidance to institutions and peer reviewers with expectations for compliance, the Commission is open to innovative ways to measure student learning and academic engagement. Definition of Credit Hour The Commission defines credit hour as an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that  1. Approximates not less than: a. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or 10 to 12 weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or b. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph 1.a. of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours; and  2. Permits an institution, in determining the amount of work associated with a credit hour, to take into account a variety of delivery methods, measurements of student work, academic calendars, disciplines and degree levels. Institutions have the flexibility to award a greater number of credits for courses that they can show require more student work. Review of an Institution's Credit Hour Policy and Procedures Commission peer review teams will evaluate, as part of all seeking accreditation and comprehensive reviews for reaffirmation of accreditation, the extent to which institutions meet the Commission’s definition of a credit hour, by examining:  5                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1. The adoption of a policy on credit hour for all courses and programs at the institution.2. The processes the institution employs to review periodically the application of itspolicy on credit hour across the institution to assure that credit hour assignmentsare accurate, reliable, and consistently applied.3. Any variations in the assignment of credit hours to assure that they conformto commonly accepted practices in higher education.In implementing this policy, teams will use the Credit Hour and Program Length Formto review institutional documentation:• The institution’s policy on credit hour including expectations at each degree level;• An explanation of the institution’s process for periodic review of the application of thispolicy;• Evidence of the implementation of institutional review processes to assure thereliability and accuracy of credit hour assignments in all courses and programs; forexample, as part of program review, process for new course approval, or periodicaudits; and• Evidence that the institution’s assignment of credit hours conforms to commonlyaccepted practice in higher education, through sampling a variety of course syllabibased on degree level, academic discipline, delivery modes, and types ofacademic activities.In addition, the substantive change committee process includes a review of credit hourassignments and validation of an institution’s credit hour policy. Additional protocols forimplementation of this policy may be developed to assist institutions and teams inconducting reviews under this policy.Approved by the Commission, November2011 Revised, November 20206        7    8         OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT  CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY   SAN LUIS OBISPO   CA   93407-1000  805.756.6000    WWW.CALPOLY.EDU MEMORANDUM To:       Thomas Gutierrez              Chair, Academic Senate From:  Jeffrey D. Armstrong              President           Subject: Response to AS-942-22 Resolution to Establish Semester Terms   By way of this memo, I accept the 15-week semester proposed by the above-entitled Academic Senate resolution with the following caveat: As we move toward our first few years on semesters, it is important that we leave open the possibility of year-round operations, consistent with CAP 211. Consequently, we may need to make adjustments to our semester calendar in the ensuing years to accommodate year-round operations. In addition, implementing terms of varied length, within a standard semester term, is something that should be done strategically and intentionally. Furthermore, should Cal Poly institute varied-length terms in a semester framework, it is something that would need to be phased in over time, after careful consideration of the impact of such on graduation rates and on the availability of corresponding resources to ensure student success. I am confident that, in the spirit of shared governance, we will continue to work together to ensure a successful conversion to a semester calendar. I am also confident that we have the collective creativity necessary to ultimately work toward year-round operations.    Date:  August 24, 2022 Copies: Rachel Fernflores Amy Fleischer    Damon Fleming    Bruno Giberti    Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore    Aaron Keen    Dustin Stegner    Cem Sunata    Christine Theodoropoulos    Andy Thulin Dean Wendt    Philip Williams                

AS-942-22 Resolution to Establish Semester Terms

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AS-942-22 Resolution to Establish Semester Terms

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