
Feinstein College of Continuing Education Academic Plan
Adopted November 2010
This ambitious five-year academic plan is the result of a four-month process engaging stakeholders at the Feinstein Providence campus. These include faculty, management, academic and support staff, and student leaders. We thoughtfully discussed the challenges the Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education (ASFCCE) faces and the promise that we hold for the future of Rhode Island. We have attempted to maintain the focus of this plan on student learning within or impacted by ASFCCE, but with the recognition that the success of our College is inextricably entwined with other programs on the Providence campus. We are responsible for admissions, advising, enrollment management, financial management, and support services -- from recruitment to graduation celebrations -- and lines often blur between college and campus, Special and Academic Programs offices, and faculty and staff responsibilities. This is necessarily reflected in our work.
The plan incorporates two unique aspects of the College: our urban setting and our richly diverse student body. Our urban mission is integrated throughout the plan, from curriculum development to celebrations of our unique urban surround. The multiple populations we serve and hope to serve appear in targeted recruitment strategies and supports, as well as flexible curricula. We are confident that the dedicated members of the URI Providence family can weave these separate strands together to form a strong, supportive network that can accomplish anything.
Specifically, the plan addresses four broad goals with strategies designed to:
- Grow and diversify the student body to attract talented, underserved students from surrounding areas who seek a four-year university education (regardless of age, background, or life circumstance.)
- Provide a valuable academic experience for our students with more opportunities for active learning, research, and service, particularly within the urban context.
- Engage all members of the community in strategies to improve communications, acknowledge and celebrate our diversity, find greater work-life balance, and develop a more effective and more positive workplace environment.
- Obtain the facilities, faculty and staff, and financial resources essential to the continued success of the College and the campus.
VISION
The University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence Campus and the Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education will play a major role in advancing the Mission of the University of Rhode Island, particularly in achieving the international standing as a leader in urban research and service opportunities in traditional and continuing education, community development, professional development and scholarship. Recognizing the world-wide trend towards urbanization, we will deepen our students’ education through engagement with the rich and diverse environment that a major city provides. Through the University’s Urban Grant designation, the Providence Campus and the Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education will benefit the State of Rhode Island and the world.
MISSION
As an educational force for positive change in an urban environment, through our community of scholars and our multi-disciplinary degree program, which involves our students in the tangible problems of our State, we will prepare students to be leaders in an ever-changing world through education, innovation, and collaboration.
VALUES
We respect the dignity of each individual, valuing the diversity among us. We demand from members of our community an uncompromising integrity and pride, which is evident in our commitment to serve citizens of the State of Rhode Island and the immediate region.
ABOUT ASFCCE
Since ASFCCE got its start in 1942 as an evening business program for returning veterans, students of all ages continue to pack into nearly every seat in the Shepard Building four nights a week. The flexible Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program has helped adults “get the rust out” and complete degrees since 1977, and today it is poised for a renewal as it continues to serve nontraditional students.
Although most of our students live or work within a 15-20 mile radius and are 26-45 years old, the “one university” transformation begun in the 1990s has increased the flow of students between Kingston and Providence, with traditional-aged students (who often look like nontraditional students in all ways except age) taking some or all of their courses in Providence, often out of convenience to their work or home. This decade has seen a new generation of returning war veterans.
Of approximately 220 ASFCCE academic courses offered in Providence each semester, about 30% are taught by URI faculty (tenure-track, lecturer, visiting) and 60% by per-course part-time instructors. Although compensation has changed very little in the past 10 years, we are fortunate to have maintained a highly talented cadré of instructors, some teaching with us for more than 20 years.
The College began offering courses online in the 1990s, and continues to manage approximately 40 different courses taught entirely online for the University. Of these 40% are taught by URI faculty, often as part of their normal load. No complete programs are offered online.
The Feinstein Providence Campus offers credit and noncredit courses, day and evening, in traditional and online formats, onsite and offsite. The Feinstein College of Continuing Education is primarily focused on academic coursework leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees offered on the Providence campus, including our own Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, with majors in Applied Communications, Business Institutions, Health Services Administration, and Human Studies.
Providence students can earn undergraduate degrees in Business, Communication Studies, English, History, Human Development & Family Studies, Psychology, as well as a number of minors and most of the credits towards several other majors, including Education, Film Studies, Sociology, and Women’s Studies. Masters degrees can be earned in Business, Clinical Laboratory Science, Communication Studies, and Public Administration, and courses towards Labor Studies, the regional Masters in Library Science and the URI/RIC Ph.D. in Education are offered.
ASFCCE is complemented by the Special Programs Office, which offers a variety of self-supporting programs, often in concert with private sector and educational organizations.
Unique Programs
- Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS), an interdisciplinary degree program designed specifically for older students, with majors in Applied Communications, Business Institutions, Health Services Administration, and Human Studies. BGS 100 also serves as a re-entry course for students for other programs.
- Performance-Based Admissions, which allows students without the usual preparation to prove themselves by successfully completing URI coursework.
- Learning Enhancement for Adults Program (LEAP), a free one-semester program for adult students who may not have considered college to be an option to build skills and confidence for successful university experience.
- Credit for prior learning experience through CLEP exams or the Prior Learning Assessment program in which portfolios are submitted for credit.
- An “inverted” undergraduate degree in Biotechnology which prepares students for the workforce after the first year and a masters in Clinical Laboratory Science.
- Distance education opportunities with online and hybrid course offerings.
- A fully accredited part-time MBA which draws primarily from individuals working in businesses in the Providence area.
- Credit-bearing certificate programs in Substance Abuse Counseling and Applied Behavioral Analysis, which are integrated with employment in the field and can be taken as part of the psychology major or as a minor.
- Non-credit certificate programs supporting workforce development in areas such as Training and Leadership Development and Coaching.
- Urban-focused internships and service learning in every major and through Feinstein Scholarships, with a focus on urban settings.
- A state-of-the-art Child Development Center managed under the auspices of the College of Human Science and Services, which serves student parents as well as community members. The Center has also taken the lead as a training site for preschool teachers throughout Rhode Island. Feinstein Scholarships fund joint parent-child tuition for our student parents.
Strengths
- Vibrant Urban Setting. Our location draws students from all walks of life, both Providence residents and individuals working in the Providence metropolitan area. The changing exhibits in our Gallery are part of the wider art community; the auditorium is well-placed for programs addressing urban issues offered by URI and by community organizations; and students gain important job skills and experience through internships and field placements in settings such as the Providence Journal, the State administration, the Central Falls school system, and Butler Hospital.
- Convenience. Since we offer small classes at convenient times, we also provide advising and enrollment services evenings and Saturdays, as well as the “usual” workday. As a small college within a large university, we offer “one stop shopping” to our busy students.
- Community. Students rave about our friendly, helpful staff across all the offices, and often tell us this is why they chose to come to our campus over other Providence area schools. In turn, we are constantly amazed by our students, who make education a priority while dealing with extraordinarily complex lives.
- Diversity. Our students are diverse on every demographic, and with a vast range of personal and professional experiences, from brand new citizenship to long-standing health challenges. This allows for a stimulating classroom experience and has a positive impact on pedagogy. Our advisors work with students individually to assess their needs and help them fulfill their own life goals.
- Innovation. We benefit from proximity to other Providence area schools and a well-connected pool of part-time instructors. We are able to develop and adapt to changing needs of the community, such as the Applied Behavior Analysis certificate, developed in concert with the Groden Center, which is integrated into the BA in Psychology. We are in the process of developing focus areas within the BIS program in sustainability, urban studies and diversity.
- Interdisciplinary education. In the BIS program, students take six-credit team-taught interdisciplinary general education courses (Humanities, Natural Science, and Social Science). Human Studies majors design their own interdisciplinary major, and Applied Communications and Health Services Administration majors are interdisciplinary in their design.
Urban Initiatives
In 2010, planning began for a revitalization of the University’s Urban Mission, which is at the heart of the Providence campus mission as well. We are moving forward with an ambitious plan to make the University proud of our Urban Grant designation. Participants in this process have focused on four areas of mutual interest: health and wellness; education; workforce development; and social justice. They are working with three broad goals:
- Enhance the role of URI in the urban setting, from recognition to real change
- Engage community members and URI faculty and staff in mutually beneficial collaborations
- Support activities with achievable, sustainable outcomes, without presumption of future funding.
Goals 2010-2015
- Establish an identifiable presence of URI in the urban setting, giving URI’s Urban Mission a more coherent and public face.
- Introduce an urban studies curriculum.
- Build collaborations between URI’s teaching, research and outreach missions and community and governmental agencies.
- Pursue research funds from national and local sources for applied research on topics of urban concern.
- Develop internship and service-based learning programs focused on urban concerns.
- Coordinate information resources for local and state government.
- Increase enrollment of underserved urban students in programs at the Feinstein Providence campus.
Achievements 2010-2011
- Built contact with more than 50 interested individuals from more than 25 agencies, including the City of Providence, the Economic Development Corporation, the Urban League, and the Providence Plan. Identified more than 30 URI faculty members and staff interested in urban issues. Held campus-community collaborative luncheons and a faculty-only retreat to network on mutual interests.
- Supported research and outreach projects on topics ranging from nutritional patterns in the homeless to urban engagement of URI Providence campus students to planning a “living roof.”
- Presented the 4th and 5th annual Marcia Marker Feld lectures on Social Justice and the City, featuring nationally recognized sustainable urban development experts.
- Developed new courses (e.g., urban history) and internships (history, international development); supported existing courses (e.g., urban waterfront field trips).
- Developed an initial plan for an Urban Issues area of emphasis within the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program.
- Invited community members to URI events, such as the Honors Colloquium.
Plans 2011-2012
- Create URB course code and propose an interdisciplinary Urban Studies minor and area of emphasis within the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program.
- Launch the website for the Urban Initiative.
- Plan a year-long theme for 2011-2012, The UrbanScape: Challenges and Celebrations, incorporating a Grand Challenges course, multimedia art exhibits, a spring mini-colloquium (in collaboration with the Honors Program), and other ongoing events engaging students, faculty and the community.
- Encourage new course development at all levels, to be offered at all URI campuses.
- Offer at least 2 community events, including the 6th annual Marcia Marker Feld lecture.
- Expand support of urban research and outreach to incorporate global urban issues.
- Encourage faculty to partner with community groups to write and submit funding proposals that would in turn bring in overhead or direct funding.
- Encourage instructors to incorporate urban-related service learning opportunities into courses.
- Increase recruitment and retention efforts with underserved urban populations, including better access to ESL, inter-institutional articulation (especially with CCRI), and increased scholarship opportunities.
Strategic Plan: Goals, Strategies and Action Steps |
Goal I. Enhance academic quality and value of programs on the Providence Campus through focused efforts in enrollment planning and strategic investments in teaching and scholarship.
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Increase enrollment and
retention of students from the greater Providence area,
with special attention to underrepresented groups.
- Coordinate recruitment and admissions materials and practices across the University, with an admissions liaison appointed on the Providence campus.
- Collaborate with CCRI and other local community colleges to maximize transferability, identify and advertise program “tracks” in the BIS degree and other majors offered in Providence, and develop new joint degree programs. Provide drop-in recruitment with advising onsite at CCRI in Providence.
- Evaluate the strengths and challenges of the Learning Enhancement for Adults Program in order to increase community outreach and recruitment, better assess student readiness, and obtain a wider range of resources. Secure more stable funding for program director and resource needs.
- Increase recruitment of veterans with greater outreach to active and veteran military groups, increased advising support, greater access to benefits counseling, and explore credit granted for military training and experience.
- Develop and market a “degree completion” program for individuals who dropped out of URI and other local colleges; work with colleges and departments to maximize retention of prior credits and utilize Prior Learning Assessment to jump-start students in the program.
- Increase the number of internships in the biotechnology field in to increase enrollments in the biotechnology program.
- Establish a regional tuition plan for students living in nearby out-of-state areas.
- Utilize proactive advising and monitoring to prevent dropout and increase timeliness of students’ progress toward their degrees.
- Provide skill enhancement through expanded tutoring services, in person and online.
- Attract and retain talented high school students who
might go to another Providence-area college or university.
- Increase enrollment and retention of academically qualified traditionally aged freshman through strategic planning, updating the campus image, and more effective recruitment efforts.
- Establish ongoing relationships with high school guidance counselors in the greater Providence area.
- Develop and offer career-oriented degree programs appealing to young adults, including work/study cooperatives, accelerated degrees, and similar opportunities.
- Create get-ahead programs after school and during summers for talented high school students, incorporating hybrid and other alternative formats.
- Expand concurrent-enrollment programs for high school students to study within their classrooms.
- Provide pre-college experiences such as the I-Cubed program, which brings high school students to the Providence campus to experience biotechnology research.
- Enrich academic programs and offer new opportunities
for student-faculty engagement.
- Provide more permanent faculty presence on the Providence campus by appointing tenure-track faculty / lecturers for majors offered on the Providence campus responsible for teaching, program coordination and student advising. Preference should be given to individuals with interests in urban studies / urban issues.
- Appoint one new tenure-track faculty / lecturer within the BGS/BIS program. Preference should be given to individuals in Health Services Administration.
- Improve the experience of per-course instructors and URI faculty teaching overload in Providence through better communication, increased work space and support services, and enhanced opportunities for faculty development.
- Establish an Academic Programs Advisory Committee with representation of per-course instructors and URI faculty teaching in Providence.
- Increase presence of tenure-track, research and clinical faculty on the Providence campus, preferably for terms of 2 years (with office space), through strategic per-course exchanges with departments.
- Increase opportunities for student-faculty research by providing space and resources; assist in obtaining external funding for Providence-based research projects.
- Increase advising staff to meet current and projected enrollment increases
Goal II. Implement a contemporary model of active and collaborative learning and achievement that prepares students for the rapidly changing world of the 21st century.
- Enhance existing and develop
new interdisciplinary programs.
- Increase enrollment and retention in the interdisciplinary Bachelor of General Studies Program through program changes, increased recruitment efforts in community colleges, and more attractive offerings. Rename the program Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies; articulate degree plans with local community colleges; and add interdisciplinary majors to meet workforce needs, such as organizational leadership and urban issues.
- Offer complete interdisciplinary minors on the Providence campus with additional courses, greater faculty presence, and on-site advising; e.g., Women’s Studies, African American Studies, Nonviolence and Peace Studies, International Development, Disability Studies (proposed), Urban Studies (proposed), Leadership, Latino/Hispanic studies, and Sustainability.
- Offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs addressing urban issues and community planning from environmental/ sustainability and global perspectives.
- Design and offer holistic 12-month sequenced curricular plans within existing majors to assist students in accelerating degree completion and to attract new students.
- Re-establish the interdisciplinary Center for Urban Studies and Research to engage students, faculty, industry partners, and the community in teaching, scholarship and outreach in biotechnology, community/global health, and other urban issues.
- Provide supportive structures for colleges to develop innovative and collaborative graduate and professional programs with industry/community partners through Special Programs and the Graduate and Professional Center.
- Develop and deliver courses and
programs to meet the needs of today’s
students in concert with the demands of today’s workforce utilizing
the flexibility of FCCE and the Office of Special Programs.
- Establish a reputation as a resource for green technology in the urban environment, partnering with businesses and industries in the surrounding area, e.g., urban green building; landscape architecture on the Shepard roof; urban windmills; and accelerated certificate/degree programs modeled on the biotechnology program.
- Develop stackable certificates within degree programs: paired certificates to verify broad skill development, starting with basic writing, oral communication, basic computer skills, and applied math and progressing to business/scientific writing, critical thinking, multicultural competence, ethics, and sophisticated computer use.
- Provide active military students online and alternative format coursework to meet their needs during deployments.
- Offer credit and noncredit programs to address needs of the workforce in the immediate area of the Shepard Building.
- Become a research/demonstration site for effective instruction for students across the life span including innovative pedagogy for distance technologies in collaboration with the Student Learning and Outcomes Assessment Office, College Student Personnel, Adult Education, and related departments.
- Increase student involvement in experiential
learning, especially opportunities leading to employment
in the urban setting.
- Work with industry and community partners in the greater Providence area to establish additional research opportunities, internships, externships, work/study cooperative programs, and other experiential opportunities.
- Integrate service learning with an urban focus into the courses of departments offering majors and minors in Providence.
- Develop community-based intensive experiential courses for the January term and spring break.
- Recognize and celebrate community service by students through service learning awards.
- Strengthen
connections to the global community.
- Increase and retain first- and second-generation immigrant students via LEAP, CCRI transfer, and Performance Based Admissions, and provide additional academic and social support for English as a Second Language learners.
- Invite visiting international faculty to work on the Providence campus.
- Increase study abroad opportunities through formal and informal relations with other universities (e.g., Cape Verde, Costa Rica).
- Offer online programs jointly with international universities (e.g., Santo Domingo).
- Develop a sequenced URI in Cuba program with the University of Havana with preparatory and follow-up coursework bracketing a 2-week onsite program in January.
- Provide Chinese language and culture courses (noncredit and credit) and events through partnership with the Confucius Institute.
Goal III. Develop a greater sense of community on the Providence Campus through increased opportunities for faculty, staff and student engagement.
- Increase opportunities for
interaction among faculty, staff, and students.
- Create comfortable gathering places throughout the building which include the waiting areas near classrooms and a Student Center in a central location close to the Student Services Office.
- Appoint an Events Committee of students, faculty, and staff who sponsor themed celebrations and monthly “meet and greet” gatherings.
- Provide support for student groups and offices offering free coffee early in the semester and during finals week.
- Provide support for faculty-student interactions outside of class; e.g., cookies and coffee provided for faculty to meet with their students in the Student Center.
- Increase student fees and engage in external fundraising to provide additional funding for student engagement on the Providence campus.
- Invite alumni to the Providence campus to participate in events such as the opening of the new Student Center and graduation.
- Engage faculty,
staff and students in a Healthy Building Initiative.
- Identify and furnish an area for wellness activities.
- Appoint a Wellness Committee of students, faculty and staff; develop and offer a program of health, fitness, and wellness activities.
- Undertake a healthy food campaign in conjunction with the existing food service and nutritional experts in Cooperative Extension.
- Increase student peer mentoring opportunities.
- Re-establish a Peer Mentoring program (formerly Peer Counseling) to provide ongoing peer-to-peer support for all students.
- Establish a stable structure and funding stream for the Peer Mentoring program and engage in external fundraising.
- Offer a yearly training course for peer mentors, funded through scholarships.
- Engage former peer mentors in fundraising opportunities and other support.
- Provide support for regular production of a student online newspaper.
- Engage students and alumni in campus leadership.
- Conduct annual formal campus-wide elections for Student Government Board (SGB) leadership positions.
- Establish a procedure for student clubs and organizations to form and receive support from SGB.
- Appoint faculty/staff advisors for all student and alumni organizations.
- Invite the President of SGB to sit on the Management Team as an ex officio member.
- Invite the Presidents of the Alpha Sigma Lambda honorary and the FCCE Alumni Association to meet with the Vice Provost and Associate Dean each semester.
- Acknowledge student leadership through an annual leadership award.
Goal IV. Ensure a campus climate that welcomes, creates, and celebrates a learning community built upon mutual respect, inclusion and understanding, informed by the rich diversity of the urban setting of the Providence Campus.
- Raise consciousness and understanding
throughout the URI Providence community about privilege,
bias, multiculturalism, diversity, and difference.
- Appoint a permanent representative Diversity Committee charged to make diversity, equity, and community a priority for the College and the Campus.
- Acknowledge and celebrate the global and local diversity already present on the Providence campus, to utilize in recruitment efforts.
- Provide inservice training on veterans’ issues throughout the campus.
- Offer and acknowledge diversity-related events in Providence, i.e., Diversity Week and cultural and religious holidays.
- Promote activities on and off campus related to diversity, peace and nonviolence, and urban issues, in coordination with campus and community agencies, such as Rhode Island for Community and Justice, Center for Study of Nonviolence and Peace Studies, Multicultural Center, and the Urban League.
- Coordinate semester- or year-long “themes” on the Providence campus, including a grand challenge course, a spring mini-colloquium, arts exhibits, and the like, in coordination with the Honors Program and community partners.
- Promote a positive climate and work-life
balance in the Shepard Building.
- Conduct a climate survey on the Providence campus; recommend and enact corrective strategies for problems.
- Provide inservice workshops and web-based information for faculty, staff and students on cultural competence, professionalism with diverse populations, dealing with difficult situations.
- Clarify and publicize procedures for dealing with incidents of discrimination or harassment.
- Assess work-life needs among students, faculty and staff; enact policies and offer workshops enhancing work-life balance.
- Enhance the curriculum in Providence to reflect multicultural,
urban and global perspectives.
- Increase course offerings related to diversity at the Providence campus.
- Offer faculty workshops and mentoring on strategies for integrating multiculturalism across the curriculum, managing difficult dialogues, and increasing tolerance and respect in the classroom. Develop online “modules” to provide ongoing and asynchronous training.
- Develop and offer a certificate/ minor in multicultural competence as a area of specialization for BGS/BIS and other programs.
- Increase academic support for nontraditional students through needs assessment and strategic provision of academic skills and other services.
- Provide support for a minor or a Center in Latino / Hispanic Studies.
- Support
the arts and humanities through urban campus-community
partnerships.
- Integrate URI-Providence Urban Arts and Culture (PUAC) and programs in the humanities (e.g., conversation hours with authors) into courses at all URI campuses.
- Partner with local artists’ and writers’ groups, provide space for and engage URI students in projects with local youth.
- Provide a stable funding stream for PUAC through increased personnel and external fund-raising
Goal V. Improve effectiveness, accountability and performance of the Feinstein College of Continuing Education and its supporting units.
- Expand the footprint
of the Providence campus and maximize utilization of
space in order to provide academic activities in an appropriate,
technologically sophisticated environment.
- Increase classroom availability by reallocating internal space and acquiring external space, such as the Earle Building or the abandoned Roger Williams space; reallocate space and services to non-URI agencies within the Shepard Building.
- Install and maintain appropriate seating and state-of-the-art technology in existing and new classrooms. Offer instructors training in utilization of technology for enhanced pedagogical effectiveness.
- Offer increased credit and certificate programs in Providence during daytime hours and on weekends and in Kingston during evening hours (including BGS/BIS and Prior Learning Assessment).
- Increase hybrid course offerings to increase classroom space availability during evening hours.
- Rent space in the Shepard building to community partners during non-peak hours (e.g., movies in the auditorium).
- Correct staffing shortages in key support areas, including Security and Facilities and Operations.
- Develop a stable funding stream for the Child Development Center, which provides a recruitment tool for parent/students, a site for training HDF students, and a model urban child development program.
- Increase
efficiency and transparency in office procedures, budgeting
and allocation of resources.
- Develop and post procedures manuals for each Feinstein Providence campus office.
- Engage in systematic reviews of academic programs to address productivity, cost effectiveness, and quality; follow the recommendations of the Learning Outcomes Oversight Committee and the Academic Program Review Committee.
- Establish better communication throughout the College and Campus, including posting minutes of meetings on a campus-wide Sakai site.
- Maintain open dialogue within the Shepard Building and across campuses.
- Improve the categorization of students to improve identification of Providence-based students and collection of institutional data; utilize data to inform recommendations and innovations.
- Improve coordination and interoffice relations with the URI Kingston
campus.
- Review and bring practices into conformity with University policies and procedures, while adapting to the unique needs of nontraditional students, particularly in admissions and advising.
- Clarify and improve reporting lines and status of bookstore, library, instructional technology, the Child Development Center, and other academic support programs offered in Providence.
- Expand engagement in university-wide committees and task forces by Providence students, instructors, and staff.
- Obtain voting representation in the Faculty Senate for the Feinstein College of Continuing Education.
- Obtain a more visible presence on the Kingston campus through a centrally located office for Providence programs.
- Engage in ongoing strategic planning.
- Conduct an annual assessment of progress and revise the Academic Plan as appropriate.
- Commit to an annual retreat of key stakeholders in the Feinstein College of Continuing Education.
