Regents vs. Senate - Part 2

In a prior post last month, we noted that the Regents and the Academic Senate seem to have different views on the efficacy of online education.* This tension appears to be part of a larger tendency of the Regents to consult - but then ignore - the Senate, as occurred in the case of the use of the SAT for admissions.**

Inside Higher Ed now picks up the issue:

Early last year, the University of California Academic Senate changed the system’s policies to essentially ban students from earning a fully online bachelor’s degree from any of its 10 campuses. The decision drew both internal and external criticism that the university was ignoring the potential benefits of virtual learning—and troubled some UC administrators and regents who believe the governing board must have a say in changing the institution’s degree offerings.

Late in 2023, faculty leaders and administrators at the university hatched a compromise: a 20-member presidential task force to look into the efficacy of online degree programs and evaluate instructional modalities. University leaders characterized the committee as a way to “provide for high-quality in-person, hybrid and online offerings for students, including innovations that promote engagement and learning no matter where students are located.”

While at its core the tension at UC is over the quality of online education, it is also noteworthy for what it says about the balance of power and authority in shared governance at an institution that takes that value more seriously than most. In questioning the action of the Academic Senate to bar online degrees, regents clearly believe that decisions on which academic programs the university offers, and how they are delivered, falls under the regents’ authority...

The Senate was directed in November to find a way to address the regents’ concerns. Dr. Drake warned the Senate that the board could decide to revoke the Senate’s authority over online degrees. In a statement for this article, Dr. Drake played down the potential disagreement between entities, stating shared governance is an “essential pillar of the successful operation and management of the university.”

The task force, which had its first meeting in December, includes 10 faculty members and 10 members from the administrative side, with a focus on representing as many campuses as possible. The panel may bring in consultants with “specialized expertise” should the need arise, said Steven W. Cheung, vice chair of the UC Faculty Senate...

Full article at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/teaching-learning/2024/01/09/university-california-system-considers-online.

In short, folks are beginning to notice the Regents vs. Senate tensions.

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/12/regents-vs-senate.html. 

**The NY Times had a recent review of the general question of the use of the SAT which essentially mirrors the position taken by the Senate: "The Misguided War on the SAT: Colleges have fled standardized tests, on the theory that they hurt diversity. That’s not what the research shows," https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/briefing/the-misguided-war-on-the-sat.html.