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| Faculty and staff learn about accessible technology at a workshop. |
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| Provost Marten denBoer leads a discussion on the Academic Planning Process during Fall Conference. |
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| A presentation familiarizes the campus with the WASC accreditation process. |
Faculty and staff members attended Fall Conference workshops Monday, Sept. 22 to learn more about current university initiatives and to join the dialog. The three workshops addressed the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), the WASC Capacity and Preparatory Review visit in October and the Academic Planning Process.
Accessible Technology Initiative
At the ATI workshop, instructors learned how various tools, techniques and technologies can be integrated into academic courses documents, making them available to students of different learning modes and to students with learning disabilities.
Faculty familiar with ATI presented case studies of how they integrated the tools in their work. In one presentation, music and history professor Sandra Yang explained how she engaged students' senses — audio, visual and tactile — to teach the concept of intervals in a music introduction class. In another presentation, reference librarian Julie Shen demonstrated the Adobe Connect software and how it can be a dynamic and accessible instructional companion.
Other displays at the workshop demonstrated how various software can test a website's accessibility, visualize ideas and outlines, convert speech into text and convert text into speech.
For more information about accessibility, contact Carol Heins Gonzales, accessible technology coordinator, at (909) 979-6457 or carolhg@cpp.edu.
WASC Capacity and Preparatory Review
During the afternoon workshop on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accreditation process, the discussion split into five topics, comprising a timeline of the WASC procedure. On Oct. 8-10, the university will host a Capacity and Preparatory Review visiting team that will examine whether Cal Poly Pomona operates with clear purposes, high levels of institutional integrity, fiscal responsibility and organizational structures to fulfill its purposes.
The workshop covered areas ranging from how to improve student/faculty relationships to how to resolve tension between research and teaching. After each presentation, participants were able to give feedback on the WASC process.
Following the WASC visit, the university will use the committee's recommendations to develop an action plan. The WASC committee consists of faculty from peer institutions who will validate the quality and effectiveness of the university's academic programs.
Academic Planning Process
Marten denBoer, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, led a discussion with faculty, staff and administrators on the university's future and its course over the next decade. The academic planning process will guide the university in building structures, classrooms and laboratory facilities.
“We have the opportunity to guide and shape the strategic plan for the university,” denBoer said. “We need the insights from everyone here in all academic areas.”
The discussion centered on four topics: careers and higher education paths of the future, how changing demographics and economy affect academic programs, physical space and location needs, and evaluation of resources for different academic programs.