Guidelines

The APR is required of all Arts & Science departments, programs, institutes, and centers each year unless an exception is made by the Dean's Office. It serves as both a progress report and an opportunity to provide strategic input in planning for the development of units over the next 3-5 year horizon by the Deans.

Preparation of the APR is a collaboration between the unit administrator and the chair or director of the unit.

For your reference, a Departmental Profile is available within the administrative section of ASIS.  Data are compiled from a variety of sources including ASIS, University systems, student surveys, and information provided by the department. Please contact the head of Institutional Research, David Vintinner, if you have any questions regarding the data.

The deadline for APR submission is Monday, April 22, 2013.  We are attempting to simplify the request so that data already captured in other processes (i.e. faculty awards are collected as part of the AMI process) or which could be handled separately (i.e. doctoral placement information) have been removed. An electronic copy (email attachment) should be sent to Randall Say in the Deans’ Office. Please use the following naming convention: 14APR[unitname].doc.

Additionally, we ask that you adhere to the following formatting guidelines:

• Title APR at the top left corner of the first page as such: Department Name Annual Planning Report 2013-2014
  
• Follow the numbering system provided in the guidelines
• Use Times New Roman, 12 point, black only
• Set 1" margins (left and right) and justify paragraphs

The timing of responses to the APR depends in part on when the FAS budget is finalized with the University Administration, but our intention is to have responses released by June 10, 2013.

1.0 Executive Summary

Provide a brief synopsis (no more than 500 words or one to two pages) highlighting the strategic plans for the department or program in achieving its academic goals [e.g. snapshot of where the department stands (research profile), areas of strength/weakness and recent relevant rankings (primary peer competitors), directions of where the department wants to go, etc.].

1.1 Rank and Priority of APR Requests

Provide a short bulleted summary of the department’s highest priority requests (including relevant cost information).  Please rank your requests in order of the highest importance first.

2.0 Faculty Staffing

2.1 Provide a brief commentary on the results of any faculty searches conducted in the previous year indicating reasons for success or failure and any changes in recruitment strategies that may be suggested by the prior year experience.

2.2 Request faculty lines for the next recruitment cycle indicating rank and sub-field for each line and whether positions are replacements/conversions or incremental. Provide a brief justification for each position as well as an explanation on how it contributes to the distinct excellence of a department, how it is synergistic with other schools and units throughout the GNU and how it contributes to the University achieving world class status. Please include any proposals for joint hires involving the Abu Dhabi and Shanghai portal campuses or the Global study away sites.

2.3 Provide information on potential departures and describe any significant impacts on the department's curriculum, administration, and research profile. As with all faculty hiring, replacements for faculty departures are not automatic and must be proposed and approved as part of the APR process.

3.0 Curriculum & Enrollment Planning

Course Enrollments

[Data entry in the ASIS Courses Module is required as the basis in supporting the adjunct budget request of a unit. FAS Fiscal Affairs will be in contact later in the Spring term with the deadlines to establish adjunct budgets. Information should be kept up to date as enrollment projections and course offerings change throughout the spring and summer terms.]

3.1 Provide relevant information related to proposed changes to the historically funded adjunct budget:

• Changes in course offerings (i.e., new courses being offered because of a new MA program)
• Changes in enrollment/student interest (i.e., increases in majors, fewer enrollments because of increased offerings at Global Study Away sites)
• Justification of instructor pay rates above the minimum

4.0 Operating Budget

The Operating Budget section provides the opportunity to request on-going increments or special allocations that will support the administrative and capital infrastructure priorities of the department. It is recommended that requests be reviewed in advance with the relevant administrative directors to determine the appropriateness of requests and how it will support the academic goals of the unit.  Funding is very limited, so requests should represent the most critical needs that would advance the mission of the department or program.

• Administrative Staffing (Robert White)
• Operating Support (Kristy MacPhail)
• Technology (Richard Israel)
• Communications Planning (Mark Hayden)
• Space, Furniture, and Small Capital Improvements (Lisa Huntington)

5.0 Global Network University

Please provide a brief commentary on the department or program's current participation or potential interest in developing proposals for new programs and related faculty and curricular synergies as part of the Global Network University (GNU).

In order to ensure a coordinated effort and communication among offices, please provide information on planned, proposed, or approved:

• Faculty circulation in the GNU
• Curricular initiatives/offerings that your department may be involved with in the integration with the GNU
• Graduate student circulation in the GNU

Be advised that all staffing and curricular changes must first be approved within FAS, including circulation to portal campuses in Abu Dhabi or Shanghai.

6.0 Summer and Special Sessions

6.1 Planning and Budgets for Summer and Special Sessions

Arts and Science summer offerings are comprised of individual courses at Washington Square, programs both in New York and away, and the pre-college program (NYC).

Please provide relevant information related to proposed changes to the historically funded activities for these programs:

• Changes in course offerings or scheduling
• Changes in enrollment/student interest
• Changes in instructor types/assignment
• Changes for any co-curricular programming activities

6.2 Proposals for New Washington Square Courses and Programs

If your department is planning to offer any new summer or special sessions courses or programs at Washington Square, please provide the following information:

• Proposed Course Number (this should be a distinct number that has never been used before)
• Proposed Course Description
• Justification for why you think this course will generate interest and minimum enrollments
• Anticipated Costs involved in running the course (include instructor's salary and information on faculty staffing for the course)

We encourage you to think about offering courses with a potential for high enrollment in the summer, May intensive and winter terms. Proposals for new courses on campus for 2013-2014 must be included in the APR in order to be considered.

6.3 Proposals for New Study Away Programs

Study away programs require more extensive planning and additional administrative responsibility on the part of the program or department.  In addition, the viability of any proposals for new study abroad summer programs will be evaluated in the context of University plans for the global study away sites.

If a faculty member in your department wishes to propose a new study away program, please contact Gwynneth Malin to discuss requirements for a program proposal that must be submitted along with the APR.