Senate Bill No. 0910-08
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by:
Graduate Academic Council
University Planning & Policy Council
Date:
March 2010
PROPOSAL TO SUSPEND ADMISSIONS TO GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN
RUSSIAN & RUSSIAN TRANSLATION
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1.
That the University Senate approves the attached “Proposal to deactivate MA &
CAS programs in Russian & Russian Translation” as approved by the College of
Arts & Sciences, the Graduate Academic Council and the University Planning &
Policy Council.
2.
That this proposal be forwarded to the President for approval.
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University at Albany – State University of New York
College of Arts and Sciences
Course Action Form
Proposal No.
09-134
Please mark all that apply:
New Course
Revision of:
Number
Description
Cross-Listing
Title
Prerequisites
Shared-Resources Course
Credits
Deactivate / Activate Course (boldface & underline as appropriate)
x
Other (specify):
Deactivate Russian MA and
CAS (Certificate of Advanced
Study) programs
Department:
Languages, Literatures and Cultures
To be effective
(semester/year): Spring 2010
Course Number
Current:
New:
Credits:
Course Title:
Course Description to appear in Bulletin:
Prerequisites statement to be appended to description in Bulletin:
If S/U is to be designated as the only grading system in the course, check here:
This course is (will be) cross listed with (i.e., CAS ###):
This course is (will be) a shared-resources course with (i.e., CAS ###):
Explanation of proposal:
Please see attached.
Other departments or schools which offer similar or related courses and which have certified that this proposal does not
overlap their offering:
Chair of Proposing Department (TYPE NAME/SIGN)
Date
Jean-Francois Briere
December
8, 2009
Approved by Chair(s) of Departments having cross-listed
course(s) (PRINT NAME/SIGN)
Date
Dean of College (PRINT NAME/SIGN)
Date
Edelgard Wulfert
2/4/10
Chair of Academic Programs Committee (PRINT NAME/SIGN)
Date
Dean of Graduate (Undergraduate) Studies (PRINT NAME/SIGN)
Date
Janna Harton
2/3/10
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PROPOSAL TO DEACTIVATE THE MASTER OF ARTS IN RUSSIAN
The Slavic and Eurasian Studies Program, Department of Languages, Literatures and
Cultures, is hereby formally requesting that the Master of Arts program in Russian be
deactivated, and that admission to the degree program be suspended effective Spring 2010.
This request is prompted by a combination of three separate factors: 1) the University at
Albany minimum enrollment requirements; 2) the discontinuation of assistantship support for
M.A. programs; and 3) the drop in enrollments, which makes it difficult to meet the
minimum enrollment requirements on a consistent basis. As a result, the Slavic and Eurasian
Studies Program is currently unable to offer courses at the M.A. level in sufficient numbers
to ensure that students enrolling for the M.A. degree will be able to complete that degree in a
timely manner. The situation on this campus mirrors national trends.
There are currently three students actively pursuing their M.A. degrees in Russian. All have
completed their course work and are scheduled to take their field examinations in 2009-2010.
Submitted June 29, 2009
Professor Jean-François Brière
Chair
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Professor Charles Rougle
Dept. of Languages, Literatures and Cultures Summer Chair
Undergraduate Studies Director, Russian Program
Professor Henryk Baran
Graduate Studies Director, Russian Program
-
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PROPOSAL TO DEACTIVATE
CERTIFICATE OF ADVANCED STUDY IN RUSSIAN TRANSLATION PROGRAM
The Slavic and Eurasian Studies Program, Department of Languages, Literatures and
Cultures, is hereby formally requesting deactivation of the Certificate of Advanced Study in
Russian Translation Program and that admission to this certificate program be suspended
effective Spring 2010.
Owing to current low enrollments, the discontinuation of assistantship support, and UAlbany
minimum enrollment requirements, the Program is no longer able to offer courses at the
certificate level sufficient in number to ensure the timely completion of degree requirements.
The situation on this campus mirrors national trends.
Currently only one student is actively pursuing the Certificate. By September 2009 she will
have completed 23 of the 30 credits required for the Certificate. Faculty are committed to
providing her with the courses needed to finish her course of study.
Submitted June 29, 2009
Professor Jean-François Brière
Chair
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Professor Charles Rougle
Dept. of Languages, Literatures and Cultures Summer Chair
Undergraduate Studies Director, Russian Program
Professor Henryk Baran
Graduate Studies Director, Russian Program
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Supporting Documentation
Proposals to Deactivate the Russian MA and Certificate of Advanced Study programs
November 11, 2009
Decreasing enrollments which now fall below the number needed to meet minimum graduate
class sizes (5), along with a decrease in graduate assistantship support at the masters level
further exacerbating the enrollment situation, have brought about the request by the Russian
program faculty to deactivate both the MA and Certificate of Advanced Study in Russian
Translation effective Spring, 2010. Formal proposals from the Department to initiate this
action have been submitted to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Admissions to the programs have been temporarily suspended for the Fall 2009 semester.
Just prior to reaching this decision, 3 new students were admitted to the MA program and 1
new student was admitted to the Certificate of Advanced Study program. These 4 students
were contacted and informed that classes would not be held in Fall 2009. One student
notified the Office of Graduate Admissions that he was no longer interested in the program.
The remaining 3 students will be contacted with the news that a request to formally suspend
admissions to the program will be pursued through governance during the 2009-10 academic
year.
As noted in the proposal from the Department, 3 students are currently active in the MA
program and will be taking their field exams during the coming year. One of these students
is also active in the Certificate of Advanced Study program and the faculty will work with
this student to assure that her course needs for this program are met. Records also indicate
that an additional 7 students remain in the programs, but are not active. The last of these
students will reach his/her statute date in Fall 2013. A review of these students by the faculty
reveals that it is unlikely that any of these students will return to the programs, however if
they do, faculty are committed to working with these individuals on an independent study
basis to complete their degrees.
The College recognizes the contributions that the MA and Certificate of Advanced Study
programs have made over the years and is not requesting discontinuance of either program at
this time. The Department may explore other options such as the delivery of online programs
that might attract a broader audience and increase the feasibility of the programs.
Additionally, the 2004 program self study notes that trends in Russian enrollments are
influenced by political events, which cannot be accurately predicted. By deactivating rather
than discontinuing the MA and Certificate of Advanced Study we will leave open the
possibility of offering these degrees again in the future if demand warrants.
Attachments:
Historical Enrollments
List of current students (both active and inactive)
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Summary Enrollments
Russian Graduate Programs
1998-2008
Russian MA Program
Fall
NTP
Continuing
Total
1998
5
4
9
1999
5
4
9
2000
5
6
11
2001
2
5
7
2002
3
2
5
2003
4
2
6
2004
5
3
8
2005
4
2
6
2006
1
3
4
2007
1
1
2
2008
0
2
2
Russian Certificate of
Advanced Study Program
Fall
NTP
Continuing
Total
1998
0
0
0
1999
1
1
2
2000
0
0
0
2001
1
0
1
2002
1
1
2
2003
0
1
1
2004
0
1
1
2005
0
0
0
2006
1
0
1
2007
0
2
2
2008
0
0
0
Total Russian MA and Certificate of
Advanced Study Programs
Fall
NTP
Continuing
Total
1998
5
4
9
1999
6
5
11
2000
5
6
11
2001
3
5
8
2002
4
3
7
2003
4
3
7
2004
5
4
9
2005
4
2
6
2006
2
3
5
2007
1
3
4
2008
0
2
2
Source of Data:
Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness
