Â鶹´«Ã½

Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s Board of Trustees on Friday approved updating two academic programs: one that consolidates foreign language fields of study for undergraduates, and another that replaces an existing graduate track for teacher candidates.

The board also passed a resolution acknowledging Kato Crews for his leadership and service on the board. Crews’ term ended in June when he was appointed a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court of Colorado in Denver.

As part of the revamped programs, the undergraduate programs in French and German will become part of the B.A. in European Languages and Cultures with an estimated start in spring of 2019. This recommendation from the provost is in response to shifting away from focusing on individual foreign languages to prepare students for "an increasingly international and multicultural job market."

For the master’s program, the existing secondary education post-baccalaureate will become the Secondary Pedagogy Master of Arts in Teaching. Students will earn an M.A.T. and secondary licensure in any core content area after finishing the one-year program.

The board also received updates on:

• President's Report: President Feinstein updated the board on the Governor's proposed budget for next year, which includes a 10-percent increase for higher education. Feinstein also made the board aware of his support for a recent Student Senate resolution on gender equity and inclusion, which the board discussed and supported. In addition to other updates, the president also shared developments from the Big Sky Conference as well as upcoming meetings with the State Capital Development Committee and the Joint Budget Committee.
  
  
• Brand Positioning: The board heard a presentation on the university’s work to discover and better articulate Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s distinctive experience and offerings to students. Assistant Vice President for Marketing, Jason Hughes, presented information on what Â鶹´«Ã½ research has shown and the discovery work that remains — including plans to survey students, faculty and staff, as well as alumni, in the coming months.
  
  Other data include information on the brand positions of in-state peers, Â鶹´«Ã½ enrollment information, institutional research findings, survey results, and the university’s heritage as a normal school. The branding and positioning work will inform marketing and branding work and was intentionally timed to President Feinstein’s arrival, Hughes said.
  
  
• Provost Task Forces: Interim Provost Theo Kalikow said the task forces are on track to complete their work by Dec. 3. She said recommendations will be posted to the website by Dec. 5. They will include: specific implementation strategies to improve student outcomes, reduce equity gaps, realign student affairs functions to better serve students, and identify programs and services that can be strengthened, expanded or phased out. The campus community will be able to provide feedback on a survey that will be available on the site.

  
  Also, an informational event for members of the campus has been scheduled for Jan. 8 and will provide opportunities to meet with the 170 task force committee members representing faculty, students and staff, learn more about the recommendations, and provide additional feedback. The recommendations and report on the collected feedback through the survey and at the event will be submitted to the President’s Leadership Council by Jan. 15.

• Presidential Leadership Council: President Feinstein offered an update on the discussions within, and the work of, his leadership council, which is comprised of his senior staff and faculty, staff and student representatives. Among their work is considering options brought forward to address a lingering structural budget deficit.

• Fall Enrollment Update: Admissions Director Sean Broghammer reviewed the fall census data. This fall, Â鶹´«Ã½ officially enrolled 12,862 students with 40 percent of undergraduate students identifying as first generation. For more fall enrollment figures, download the census report.

A new steering committee focused on Strategic Enrollment Management will have a kick-off meeting on Nov. 29. The committee will work with a consulting firm to, within a roughly three-month window, build a plan to guide Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s enrollment and retention activities for the coming five years.

The remaining board schedule for the 2018-19 academic year is: Jan. 25, March 7 (working session), March 8 and June 14.