Associate In Arts – Direct Transfer Degree (AA – DTA)
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SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE TAB 1
DISTRICT NUMBER SEVEN
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 22 2009
ACTION
Subject: Associate In Arts – Direct Transfer Degree (AA – DTA)
Background
In Fall 2008, the Faculty Senate Council (FSC) undertook to review the College’s Arts and Sciences Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) degree, known as Associate in Arts and Sciences (AAS)—Option A. This degree requires students to complete a minimum of 95 credits at Shoreline Community College (SCC), more credits than at any other CTC in the state. Requiring 95 credits for the AAS transfer degree puts SCC at a disadvantage when competing for students in the crowded Puget Sound region. This concern and several other factors indicated to FSC that reducing the number of required credits in the DTA from 95 to 90 would better serve our students.
Reducing the number of required credits to 90 would:
· better meet the requirements of state-negotiated Major-Related Program (MRP) Direct Transfer Agreements (DTA’s);
· increase opportunities for transfer students to be major-ready when they arrive at four-year universities;
· not require students to earn more CTC credits than they are permitted to transfer to baccalaureate institutions;
· compare favorably with degrees offered by competing institutions;
· match the number of credits required in SCC’s Associate of Science degrees;
· cost students less in time and money.
In addition, we anticipate that reducing the number of required credits will increase degree completion rates, which the state is now measuring and awarding funds for.
After a lengthy process of gathering information, holding discussions, and weighing alternatives, on February 25, 2009, FSC sent forward for consideration by the VPAA three options for reducing the number of credits in Shoreline’s AA-DTA:
1. remove IASTU as a degree requirement and keep electives at 22 credits
2. remove PE as a degree requirement and reduce electives to 20 credits
3. remove both IASTU and PE as degree requirements and increase electives to 25 credits
Faculty Senate Council forwarded these three options because:
· Removing requirements from the degree gives students the most flexibility to complete degree and pre-major requirements in a timely manner.
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· A number of MRPs developed and planned by SBCTC and transfer institutions require that students have 25 credits of electives available above the 60 general-education and distribution-area credits mandated by ICRC for a 90-credit degree, making proposals to reduce the number of elective credits below 22 less viable.
· Faculty members strongly support retaining the 5-credit Multicultural Core Course Requirement in Shoreline’s degree, which leaves IASTU and PE as likely requirements to cut.
Process:
· During fall quarter 2008, FSC established a task force to gather information about the AAS-Option A degree, focusing on how to fit the state’s new Major-Related Program-DTA’s into Shoreline’s 95-credit degree.
· On December 16, the faculty MRP-DTA task force reported to FSC that the number and configuration of credits in the Option A degree meant that several existing and proposed Shoreline MRP-DTA’s would require more than 95 credits to complete, thus making them uncompetitive with 90-credit degrees offered by surrounding colleges.
· During January 2009, FSC met with VPAA Backes and agreed to submit to him proposals for reducing the number of credits required in the AAS-Option A degree from 95 to 90.
· In early February, FSC circulated a list of 14 possible options for revising the AAS-Option A degree and solicited comments from faculty, primarily through FSC representatives.
· Based on these comments, FSC narrowed the list of options to the three listed above and solicited further feedback from faculty across campus via email and listserv discussions, and through an online Zoomerang survey.
· Materials related to these discussions were posted to the Faculty Senate website and an information meeting for faculty was held on February 19.
· On February 25, FSC voted to forward the three remaining options, along with all the information and comments gathered in its process, to VPAA Backes for his consideration.
· At its March 11 meeting and by memo, VPAA Backes informed FSC of his selection of option three from that list.
· In early April, the FSC conducted a poll of all faculty members on the proposed degree change. Faculty who returned ballots voted 93-22 in favor of the proposed change.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board approve the proposed 90 credit Associate In Arts – Direct Transfer Degree (AA – DTA) to replace the 95 credit Option A transfer degree for implementation Fall Quarter 2009.
Prepared by: Amy Kinsel
Faculty Senate Chair
Shoreline Community College
April 16, 2009