Openness of the Accountability Process in the Graduate Professional Business Programs

AS-2938-10/AA (Rev)

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) assert its responsibility to be part of the accountability process of Executive Order 1042 (http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-1042.pdf); and be it further,

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU urge the Chancellor to invite the ASCSU to recommend faculty to serve on the group that will review the final reports from those campuses that have implemented the Category I Per Unit Fee in Graduate Professional Business Programs, starting with the 2011-12 fiscal year reports; and be it further,

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU urge the Board of Trustees and the Office of the Chancellor to direct presidents of campuses that have collected such fees to appoint a campus committee (including faculty from the Graduate Professional Business program and other faculty from outside the program) tasked with reviewing the Accountability Report that is to be sent to the Office of the Chancellor in
fulfillment of the Executive Order; and be it further,

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU urge that the Chancellor require such accountability reports as requested in EO-1042 be provided on an annual basis; and be it further,

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU urge the Board of Trustees and the Office of the Chancellor to direct that the actual budgets for the programs’ accountability actions be a part of the report; and be it further,

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU urge the Board of Trustees, the Office of the Chancellor, and campus presidents who implemented EO-1042, to make the accountability reports readily available.

DISTRIBUTION:

• Board of Trustees
• Chancellor Reed
• Campus Presidents
• Campus Senate Chairs
• Campus Business Deans

  RATIONALE: With the implementation of Executive Order-1042, a new precedent for systemwide program fees has been set. The ASCSU is therefore extremely interested in the Accountability process. The Executive Order-1042 accountability process requests that the collected fees be used for the following:

  a. Enrollment growth in professional master’s degree programs in business, consistent with campus strategic plans.
  b. Growth in enrollment diversity in such programs, including improved representation of persons of modest financial means, improved representation of persons from currently underrepresented groups, and a more balanced gender representation among students;
  c. Support for students through such means as providing internships and placement assistance at the completion of their graduate business programs; d. Improvements in faculty recruitment and retention rates; and e. For programs that seek accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, maintenance of accredited
  status.

  Given that the express purpose of the fee, where implemented, can be characterized as “helping the program(s),” the level of help provided should be able to be evaluated. One group with a clear interest is the graduate students of the program who are paying the extra fees. Additionally, both the faculty within the program and those in the larger academic community have a similar interest in the maintenance and development of the quality of these (and all other) academic program(s).
  
  Having an open process and an accessible accountability report are both in the best long-term interests of the institution and of the programs themselves.

  Approved– March 10-11, 2010