University Planning and Policy Council chair’s report
on the Council’s Zoom meeting of April 26, 2023, 2:45PM–3:30:00PM
The Council convened and approved minutes for the meeting of March 29, 2023, by unanimous
consent.
The chair noted in his report that a task for the next UPPC cohort, in cooperation with GOV
council, may be to clear up some ambiguity about the abbreviated review procedures for newly
proposed graduate certificate programs. This issue had arisen in connection with last-minute
email exchanges on a proposed graduate certificate program from Africana Studies. (Current
Senate Chair Sydney Faught has already been assisting the chair and UPPC support
person/recorder Corinne Fauchon with this question substantially.)
New business consisted of a report on five-year academic calendar planning by guest presenter,
University Registrar Karen L. Chico Hurst. Ann Bruno, the director of General Studies and
Summer Session, joined for part of this discussion and the following Q&A. Discussion focused
on the technical innovations of recent years designed to insure year to year replication of the
distribution of suspended-classes days and the precise (and required) number of class meeting
days for various delivery formats, from weekly meetings to two- and three-meetings per week. A
subtopic was “deconfliction” or avoidance of conflict with major religious holidays and the
decision to cease favoring specific faiths of any sort in distributing days off. Brandon Behlendorf
reviewed some enticing new possibilities for integrating each year’s calendar data into
BrightSpace, EAB, and Outlook. Planning and brainstorming meetings between Registrar Chico
Hurst, Brandon Behlendorf (RAPC chair) and Jessica Lansing (UFC chair) are being arranged
for the near future (tentatively May 17).
Since the chair had ascertained prior to the meeting that separate reports from the
subcommittees, the Resource Analysis & Planning Committee, RAPC, and the University
Facilities Committee, UFC, would not be required on this day, the meeting of UPPC adjourned at
about 3:30 PM, upon conclusion of the Q&A following Registrar Chico Hurst’s report on the
five-year calendar planning cycle and related issues.
