2001-02 Annual Report
December, 2002
Purpose and Introduction
This document
outlines the activities of the Joint Boards Articulation Commission (JBAC) for
the period September 2001 to June 2002. First, in this section of the report, background
information regarding the JBAC is briefly presented. In the following section,
specific JBAC issues and activities for the year are described.
The JBAC was created
by the State Board of Education and State Board of Higher Education in July
1992 and completed its tenth year of operation in June 2002. The Commission is
comprised of representatives from the community college, university system,
K-12, and independent college sectors and was established to encourage active
cooperation and collaboration among sectors in order to achieve the most
effective and efficient articulation possible. Commission members are appointed
by the Oregon University System (OUS) Chancellor, the Commissioner of Community
Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD), the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, and the Executive Director of the Oregon Independent Colleges
Association (OICA).
Specifically, the
JBAC is charged with:
- Advising the Joint Boards on
intersector policy issues regarding: student access and transfer; course
and program articulation; and implications of data pertaining to transfer
students and the transfer function.
- Monitoring the implementation of
the Associate of Arts/Oregon Transfer Degree (AA/OT) and other transfer
degrees (if and when adopted); and making recommendations for revisions to
these degrees, when appropriate.
- Monitoring policies and practices
that affect, or have the potential to affect, the flow of students between
the postsecondary sectors; and making reports and recommendations to the
appropriate bodies that are responsible for these policies and practices.
- Acting as a problem solving and
referral forum for articulation- and transfer-related issues.
- Addressing other articulation- and
transfer-related issues as assigned/delegated to them by the OUS
Chancellor, CCWD Commissioner, or the Joint Boards of Education.
The JBAC meets
regularly throughout the academic year to address the issues arising from its
charge. In order to maximize the number of topics and issues to be addressed, a
variety of concerns are typically considered by the standing and/or ad hoc
committees of the Commission.
JBAC Issues
and Activities
During this past
year, the JBAC initiated, discussed, completed, and/or made significant
progress in the following areas:
1. Revisions to the
Guidelines for the Associate of Arts/Oregon Transfer Degree
Largely due to work
pursued by the JBAC and the Student Transfer Committee (STC) during the
previous academic year (2000-01), a proposal for minor modifications to the
general guidelines for the Associate of Arts/Oregon Transfer (AA/OT) degree was
forwarded to the Joint Boards of Education on January 18, 2002. The proposal
was motivated by recent changes in the curricular offerings of some OUS
institutions, primarily the migration of courses from 3 credits to 4/5 credits.
Hence, the writing requirement in the AA/OT was changed from 9 credits to “a
minimum of 8 credits…” and the Arts and Letters requirement was changed from 12
credits to “a minimum of 10 credits…”.
The proposal to
modify the degree was undertaken only after thorough consultation with the
Oregon English and Writing Advisory Committee (OWEAC), the Council of
Instruction Administrators (CIA) of the community colleges, and the OUS
Academic Council.
The proposal was
accepted by the Joint Boards and the revised set of guidelines are available at
the JBAC website (http://www.ous.edu/aca/transferdeg.html).
2. Follow-up Review
of the Associate of Arts/Oregon Transfer Degree
As part of the ongoing charge to the JBAC to monitor the implementation of the AA/OT, a comprehensive review of the degrees offered by the seventeen community colleges was undertaken.
The review resulted in a comparison chart, for academic year 2001-2002, that presented a college-by-college, side-by-side look at the total credits required for the degree; an analysis of the adequacy of the writing, math, and speech requirements; a breakout of the distribution requirements (by credits required in the various disciplinary areas and total number of credits); and any additional requirements the college imposes for the degree (e.g., in health/wellness or cultural diversity). Also included was a college-by-college description of any anticipated changes for academic year 2002-2003. Finally, there were comments/questions about courses used in the distribution requirements in order to guide further analysis.
Based on the review, the JBAC suggested further development of the “notes and clarifications” section of the general degree guidelines that could be relied upon by colleges when contemplating modifications to their local AA/OT degrees. The JBAC will continue this phase of the AA/OT analysis during the 2002-03 academic year.
3. Associate of
Science/Oregon Transfer Degree Proposals
During the past year, two different proposals were considered for Associate of Science transfer degrees.
Associate of Science/Oregon Transfer Degree in Business
(AS/OT-Bus)
As reported last
year, the STC and the JBAC developed a proposal for an AS/OT-Bus that was
presented to the community college Council of Instructional Administrators, the
OUS Academic Council, and the senior student services officers of both sectors.
Further, the Oregon State Board of Education (June 2001) was consulted and
responded positively to the concept of discipline-specific associate-of-science
block-transfer degrees. The business degree proposal was subsequently discussed
at the annual joint meeting of the community college senior academic officers
and the university provosts (November 2001), and finally forwarded to the chairs
of the business departments and the university’s business school deans for
their consideration. The business chairs and deans group convened two day-long
work sessions on the degree proposal during 2002 (in February and May) and
delegated a small task group to address remaining issues during a summer (July
2002) meeting.
The task group took back a revised proposal to the full chairs and deans group in October 2002, which now seeks acceptance from the other constituencies that have been involved in this process along the way. If state-wide consensus is reached, a proposal will ultimately be brought to the Joint Boards for approval.
Associate of Science/Oregon Transfer Degree (“Generic”)
As the discussion of discipline-specific associate degrees continues, a parallel proposal has been developed for a “generic” associate of science degree that could be tailored, depending on student interest and need, to various science-oriented disciplines. Such a degree would presumably lead to enhanced flexibility in constructing degree programs, in much the same way that the AA/OT degree currently does. This concept and proposal is still in the development stages.
4. Synthesis and Analysis of Transfer-Student Data
Data-match Project
and Report. In November 2000, the
Joint Boards was presented with the first comprehensive report outlining the
data available from the joint Oregon University System-Department of Community
Colleges and Workforce Development “data-match” project. Although that report
reviewed four consecutive years of transfer student information from the state
of Oregon, the project was still considered in its infancy. Since that time,
two more years of data have been compiled and a follow-up report has been
produced. (A draft of that report was forwarded to the JBAC for review in
October 2002 and the final draft of “Transfer Activity in Oregon Postsecondary
Education, 1996-97 to 2000-01,” is near completion.)
Data Sharing with
OICA Institutions. As the data-match
project between OUS and CCWD becomes more standardized, the JBAC has
entertained questions about the possibility of similar data sharing efforts
between the community colleges and the independent colleges and universities.
Such a project would potentially yield even better insight into the behavior of
intra-state transfer students. Initial discussions have taken place, with more
work to be undertaken during the 2002-03 academic year.
5. Intersector Communication Efforts
The JBAC workplan
calls for continuing and improved communication between and among the
educational sectors in Oregon in order to benefit transfer students. This
section lists some of the efforts in this area supported by the JBAC.
JBAC Web Page and the Articulation Hotline List
The JBAC continues to
sponsor its own web page (http://www.ous.edu/aca/jbac.html), devoted to
transfer students and their issues. Important features of the site include: (1)
three main sections, depending on one's relationship to and interest in
transfer issues (student; counselor or advisor; administrator or policymaker);
(2) the most up-to-date version of the Articulation Hotline List (see below);
(3) information for transfer students who are encountering problems (names of
OUS and CCWD staff who may be contacted); (4) links to the OUS institutions'
home page sections and their course equivalency tables; (5) links to all the
Oregon community college home pages; (6) information about the Associate of
Arts Oregon Transfer (AA/OT) degree; and (7) important JBAC documents such as
the current version of the workplan, JBAC and STC membership lists, and meeting
minutes.
The Articulation Hotline List
(http://www.ous.edu/aca/articdoc.html) an essential feature of the website, is
refined and updated each fall. This document provides a list of names and phone
numbers of individuals at OUS institutions, community colleges, and independent
institutions who have responsibility for handling both policy questions and
day-to-day issues related to transfer and articulation.
JBAC Member Participation in the Articulation and Transfer
Conference
Every fall the Oregon
University System sponsors a statewide conference aimed at bringing campus
representatives together to discuss issues related to articulation and
transfer. In December 2001, this conference was held at Chemeketa Community
College with the theme of "Expanding the Dialog." This one-day event
included sessions that were both lecture and discussion oriented so that all
participants were able to voice their views on a wide range of articulation-
and transfer-related topics. Most members of the JBAC were in attendance.
6. Consultation with
Groups Working in Areas that Impact Articulation and Transfer
The JBAC is committed
to coordinating and consulting with other entities that have the potential to
impact articulation and transfer efforts in the state. Such groups include, but
are not limited to, the Oregon Writing and English Advisory Committee (OWEAC),
the OUS Proficiency-based Admission Standards System (PASS) project, the OUS
Academic Council, and the community colleges' Council of Instructional
Administrators (CIA). During the past year, the JBAC had the occasion to work
with all of these groups on a variety of issues.
7. Revision of JBAC’s
Operating Guidelines
Communications between the OUS Chancellor and the Commission of Community Colleges and Workforce Development led to a revision of the JBAC’s charge as well as the specified composition of the group. The revised charge appears on page 1 of this report. The full set of operating guidelines is available on the JBAC website at http://www.ous.edu/aca/guidelines02.htm. The major change with respect to group membership was reflected in the leadership positions; chief academic officers from the two sectors now chair the Commission in alternating years. During the negotiation between the Chancellor and the Commissioner, the JBAC had the opportunity to provide its perspective to the sector leaders at several points.
8. Work of the Student Transfer Committee (STC)
The Student Transfer Committee (STC) is an action-oriented standing committee of the JBAC, comprised of both JBAC members and other representatives from the community college, OUS, and independent college sectors. During the 2001-2002 academic year, the STC to consider a variety of topics, including proposals for Associate of Science/Oregon Transfer degrees and the review of the Associate of Arts/Oregon Transfer degree.
Summary
During the 2001-2002
academic year, the Joint Boards Articulation Commission successfully addressed
a wide range of issues that fell within its charge, including the completion of
revisions to the AA/OT General Guidelines; conducting a review of the degree as
implemented by the colleges; and producing a major report presenting the latest
data pertaining to the transfer process and flow of students between community
colleges and University System campuses. Additionally, a proposal for an
Associate of Science transfer degree in Business continued its momentum under
the guidance of the JBAC. And several JBAC members attended the Articulation
and Transfer conference and heard policy recommendations from participants in a
variety of areas. In sum, the Joint Boards Articulation Commission continues to
be a visible and viable force in Oregon, serving to keep the state at the
forefront of the national conversation in areas of articulation and transfer.
2001-02 Commission Members
Dave Phillips, Clatsop Community College (Chair)
Craig Bell, Portland Community College
Ron Dexter, Oregon Department of Education
Ken Gilson, Western Oregon University
Liz Goulard, Chemeketa Community College
Michele Sandlin, Oregon State University
Mary Kathryn Tetreault, Portland State University
Mark Wahlers, Concordia University
Staff to the Commission
Jim Arnold, Oregon University System
Elaine Yandle-Roth, Community Colleges and Workforce Development
Joint Boards Articulation Commission Page by Jim Arnold
Send mail to Jim Arnold, Director of Community College Articulation, Oregon University System
Send mail to Joint Boards Articulation Commission
Revised: December 3, 2002URL: http://www.ous.edu/aca/01-02annrpt.htm