Senate
(Amended & Approved, 4/9/1984)
(Amended, 11/12/1990)
POLICIES REGARDING CONTINUING EDUCATION
A. Sponsorship, fees, and division of income for CE courses
1. The following existing policy is reaffirmed: “All continuing education activities shall be approved, each time they are offered, by an academic department (called the sponsor) with the concurrence of the appropriate Dean or Coordinator . . . Activities, sponsored by the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs, and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, that are directly related to their administrative functions will not need approval by an academic department (i.e., Registrar’s Conference, Dean of Student’s Conference, State Admissions Convention, University Relations, etc.).”
2. The director of CE shall see that each CE project is sponsored by one or more appropriate academic units. The project coordinator shall review course content of a potential project, determine which unit(s) can appropriately serve as academic sponsor, and make a recommendation to the director. The director shall review the recommendation and justifying material and reach a decision based on the following guidelines:
a. the project is appropriate for IPFW CE;
b. where the primary emphasis and the majority of course content fall within the purview of a single academic unit, that unit shall be selected as sponsor; and
c. where the majority of course content does not readily appear to clearly fall within one academic unit, multiple sponsorship is an available option. The chairs of prospective sponsoring units should meet with the director to determine percentages of involvement and revenue sharing.
3. In deciding whether to sponsor any given CE course, departments/schools shall consider the academic integrity and appropriateness of the course as well as the degree of community interest in it.
4. Except in unusual cases approved by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs after advice from the Continuing Education Advisory Subcommittee (CEAS):
a. no courses shall be offered by IPFW CE outside the region defined as IPFW’s by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education unless most of the students in such courses reside in the IPFW region.
b. no courses designed primarily to attract an audience from outside the region defined as IPFW’s by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education shall be offered by IPFW CE.
5. A group of academic computer users shall be formed to advise CE on sponsorship of CE programs in which computers are used.
6. Fee assessment for noncredit courses, whether in-house or general subscription, shall be computed as follows: a minimum of twice the instructor’s budgeted compensation plus the anticipated cost of learning materials, divided by the anticipated course enrollment.
7. Except in unusual cases approved by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, courses shall be canceled when offering them would knowingly increase a financial loss. The CEAS shall receive timely notice of such approvals.
8. Income from CE courses shall be divided between CE and the sponsoring academic unit (SAU) as follows:
a. Income will first be used to offset expenditures (including instructor’s compensation) incurred in producing the course.
b. The SAU shall be credited with incentive funds of:
1. fifty percent of the net income from those courses in which the SAU plays a substantial role. “Substantial” shall include but not be limited to the following: initiating and effecting course development; providing or identifying and certifying qualified instructors; and providing the major resources to publicize and support the course; or
2. twenty percent of the net income from those courses in which the SAU plays a moderate role. “Moderate” shall include but not be limited to the following: assisting in course institution and/or development; supplying full-time faculty from the SAU as principal instructor(s), or otherwise providing or identifying and certifying qualified instructors; and providing some departmental/divisional resources to publicize and support the course; or
3. five percent of the net income from those courses in which the SAU plays only a minimal role. “Minimal” shall include agreement to serve as the SAU and to review course content and instructor credentials.
The director of CE and the chair of the sponsoring unit shall decide at the time that the unit agrees to sponsor the course which of the above percentages applies to that course. If agreement cannot be reached, the CEAS will, before expenditures for the course are incurred, review the issue and make a recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, whose decision shall be final.
c. All remaining income from the course will revert to the CE operations account.
d. If a course incurs a financial loss, that loss shall be divided between CE and the sponsoring unit according to the formula set forth in sections a., b., and c. of this heading.
e. In each fiscal year, each sponsoring unit shall receive as incentive money the cumulative net remaining after its share of losses is deducted from its share of gains on all CE courses sponsored by that unit. If a unit’s losses exceed its gains, that unit shall receive no incentive money for the fiscal year. The unit’s cumulative net loss shall be written off, and shall not be applied to its account with CE in subsequent fiscal years.
B. The Continuing Education Advisory Subcommittee
1. Faculty on the Subcommittee should represent the particular interest of those who frequently teach Continuing Education courses, the general disinterestedness of those who do not teach such courses and the skills and/or experience of marketing and course/program development.
2. CE shall report to the CEAS after each academic session on the number of courses offered and students served by professional and avocational offerings.
C. Professional Ethics
Faculty members and the office of CE are expected to maintain an ethical relationship.
When a faculty member and/or academic unit develops a noncredit course or program cooperatively with CE, neither party shall subsequently offer that course or program unilaterally without prior consent of the other party.
Instances of a questionable nature shall be reviewed by the CEAS and then referred to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
D. Operational Recommendations
CE shall carry out, as expeditiously as possible, the operational recommendations included in Senate Reference No. 83-2, namely:
1. That CE continue and complete its efforts to develop memoranda of understanding for all CE offerings, specifying the responsibilities of CE, the instructor, and the sponsoring unit for each offering.
2. That CE systematically collect and classify internal data on such matters as courses and enrollments, and that it prepare a brief annual report in a format that is consistent from year to year.
3. That policies governing CE be compiled in a single policy document.
4. That CE devise ways to reduce, where possible, the paperwork involved in its offerings.
5. That CE, with the participation of the CEAS, undertake a self-study and develop a long-range plan.
6. That CE develop a market data-collection system and conduct continuing local market surveys to provide accurate information on local needs and marketing strategy on a continuing basis, and that marketing specialists on the faculty be recruited for this purpose.
7. That strong efforts be made to find housing on the IPFW campus for CE.