UI Provost Loh talks about task force reports

University of Iowa Provost Wallace Loh said it's premature to say if graduate programs among the 14 identified as "needing additional  review" will be eliminated. Other options are merging with other programs or reducing admissions, in line with available graduate student funding, he said today.

“Some programs might close, some programs might reorganize themselves and become even stronger,” Loh said. “Those are the conversations that need to occur.”

Loh charged six task forces last year with looking at various university priorities, with the goals of boosting quality and saving money. The task force final reports, including the task force on graduate education, were released Monday.

The recommendations of all the task forces brings the conversation to the starting line, not the finish line, Loh said. Salary-based incentives for all faculty, one ideas from the strategic budgeting task force, already happens in some colleges and would need review to see if it's appropriate for others, he said. And small class sizes are needed in some disciplines, such as art performance, but increasing sizes in some areas makes sense, Loh said. The budget task force recommended getting rid of some low-enrollment class sections.  It's expected that about 100 additional class sections will be needed next fall due to enrollment demand. But graduate teaching assistant positions are being reduced because of budget cuts. There is no one single solution to that problem, Loh said, and it will require a variety of solutions that likely will include larger class sizes on average.

“There are lots and lots of recommendations, and the first task is to choose those recommendations that produce the most bang for the buck,” Loh said. “What are the things we can do that will make a real impact immediately.”

Any program changes, such as mergers or eliminations of graduate programs, must go to state regents for approval. Loh said that likely would happen in September, after much campus conversation.

View the TF reports: http://provost.uiowa.edu/work/strategic-initiatives/

http://provost.uiowa.edu/work/strategic-initiatives/