Plan for the Commonwealth update

Brighton outlines
principles for CES change

As Penn State plans for eventual implementation of the plan to redesign its campuses, a number of important questions have been raised about the structure of the University in the coming years.

In a recent meeting with the Steering Committee for the Transition -- Commonwealth Educational System, John A. Brighton, executive vice president and provost, outlined the overarching guiding principles for the changes in the structure and processes of CES.

There are five major components to the principles for change, including:

Overall University structure

Penn State is one university with several colleges. We have one governing board, one president, one faculty and one central administration. All college deans report to one University provost. Academic programs and courses are approved by one Faculty Senate. Degrees offered by all colleges are Penn State degrees.

Penn State must retain its character as one university while providing reasonable flexibility where differences and special needs and opportunities warrant.

Curriculum and courses

Every effort should be made for curricular consistency among the campuses.

The first two years of the baccalaureate programs should be compatible to allow easy flow among campuses during this period. Upper division courses also should be consistent, with some allowances for course differences in special areas where local needs and opportunities call for distinction. The principles apply to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and Penn State Harrisburg as well.

All new courses and changes in courses and programs will go through the Faculty Senate for review for consistency, compatibility and appropriateness. A common University course numbering system will be followed. Cooperative efforts should be put in place for consultation, revision and review as needed. Central leadership will be provided by John Cahir and Rodney Erickson.

Faculty appointments

Faculty appointments will be made in each college including the new colleges (Abington, Altoona, Berks/Lehigh Valley and the Commonwealth College) with the responsibility for personnel residing with the college dean.

Appointments made after July 1, 1997, will be made to the college where the faculty resides. Faculty appointed before July 1, 1997, will have a choice as to the locus of their tenure and promotion. Those faculty at the current CES campuses who choose to keep their tenure home in a University Park college also will be considered full-fledged members of the campus at which they are located.

All faculty, regardless of college home, will be considered a part of the University faculty in their discipline (e.g. English faculty at Penn State). Each campus should expect faculty at that location to work together for University-wide and student needs and interests. Central leadership will be provided by Robert Secor.

Recruitment and admissions of students

Student recruiting and admissions will continue to be overseen through the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean for Enrollment Management and Administration. This also will be a shared responsibility and a collaborative effort among all campuses and colleges. Central leadership will be provided by John Romano.

Budget

In the transition from the current CES structure to the new college structure, certain guiding principles must be established with respect to the budget.

First, the budgets for the four new colleges will be established from within the current overall budget for the CES. (Great Valley, which has been separated from CES and now has administrative reporting lines to the Graduate School, will have its budget modified separately.) Additional money will not be allocated to support the new college structure in the 1997-98 budget, except that which may come due to enrollment increases.

It is expected that the four new colleges, as well as Penn State Erie and Penn State Harrisburg, will be on a budget model that is related principally to enrollments. It is also expected that colleges and departments at University Park will continue to have certain responsibilities to support the campuses or be prepared to return existing support dollars to central administration for reallocation to the new colleges. Central leadership on this issue will be provided by Gary Schultz, P. Richard Althouse and Stephen Curley.

"This information is provided as general overall guidance for the transition," Brighton said. "There are obviously several issues that remain to be worked out as we go through the transition."

For more information

Groups and individuals who have additional questions are encouraged to contact the following:

Curriculum and programs
John Cahir, vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Education
(814) 863-1864

Rodney Erickson, dean of the Graduate School
(814) 865-2516

Student recruitment and admissions
John Romano, vice provost and dean for Enrollment Management and Administration
(814) 863-4774

Faculty Issues
Robert Secor, vice provost for Academic Affairs and Personnel
(814) 863-7494

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This page was created by Annemarie Mountz.
Last updated at 11:42AM on October 23, 1996.