Agenda for Excellence 1995-2000

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No. 32, SUPPLEMENT: Agenda for Excellence 1995-2000 (~ 375 k; 32 pages)

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STRATEGIC GOAL 4

The University will support strategic investments in master's programs and other programs of continuing education in the arts and sciences and in the professions, when they are consistent with Penn's academic mission and capacities and the needs of society.

To achieve this goal, the University, working with the schools, will take the following steps, among others.

  • Encourage the creation and continuation of selected non-core master's and continuing education programs whose financial returns provide support for other strategic investments.

SAS--The School of Arts and Sciences has established six new degrees during the past five years and is coordinating the "Penn Programs for Working Professionals" marketing campaign for the University. All programs are at full capacity (except the M.Phil., which technically has unlimited capacity). The new programs are:

Program AY00 Enrollment
Master of Bioethics 67
Master of Biotechnology w/SEAS 39
Master of Chemistry Education 20
Master of Environmental Studies 48
Master of Medical Physics 5
Master of Philosophy 33

SEAS--Four non-core master's programs were created within the School of Engineering and Applied Science during the past five years:

  • Masters of Biotechnology (joint with SAS). A total of 39 students are currently enrolled in three tracks: Basic Biotechnology, Process Biotechnology, and Bioinformatics;
  • Masters of Science in Telecommunications, currently enrolling a total of 88 students;
  • Masters in Bioengineering, currently enrolling a total of 29 students; and
  • Masters in Computer Information Technology, scheduled to start in 2001.

GSE--In 1999, the Graduate School of Education established an Office of Executive Education and Professional Development to address the many aims of this strategic goal. GSE's programs lead to state certification and continuing education requirements for teachers, administrators, and supervisors.

The new Instructional Leadership Program for Aspiring Principals was created in response to the national and regional need for highly qualified principals.

A non-degree part-time teacher certification, which is independent of a teacher education master's degree program, is now offered to aspiring teachers who are currently working as provisional teachers or interns with emergency certification.

The Summer Professional Development Program provides local educators and alumni with professional development courses and opportunities. For example, the Principals' Institute is a five-day program that focuses on continuous instructional improvement.

Wharton--The Wharton School also doubled enrollment in the Wharton Management Program, an eight-course, four-semester certificate-granting program for working professionals, starting in the spring of 1998.

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  • Identify fields in which Penn has comparative advantages relative to the market, and target development of new or expanded continuing education programs to meet the needs in these fields.

SAS has revitalized existing master's programs in a variety of ways:

  • A joint Master of Arts/Science--Master of Science in Education was created with the Graduate School of Education in 1999 to provide discipline-specific training for secondary school teachers. Thirteen SAS programs are participating.
  • The Master of Governmental Administration program was transferred to SAS upon the Fels Center's move to the School in 1999. Aggressive new recruitment efforts are under way to bolster enrollments, which fell during the mid-1990s.
  • The Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics degree was formally refashioned as an SAS-based professional Master's degree in 1999. An external review of the degree was conducted in 2000.
  • The Master of Liberal Arts program has added several new concentrations.
  • English Language Programs (ELP) added a new program in Conversation and Culture in AY98 and has expanded its tailored programs, including a program for Goldman Sachs' international operation. Total ELP enrollment increased by 13.5% from FY96 to FY00.
  • College of General Studies has expanded or created several non-credit certificate programs:
  • Fundraising certificate expanded (new enrollees in AY00: 84)
  • Communications certificate established AY98 (new enrollees in AY00: 39)
  • Certificates in Executive Administration for Non-Profit Organizations and Program Management for Non-Profit Organizations established AY01.
  • IT@Penn, a new certificate program in information technology in which Penn partners with ExecuTrain, was launched in January 2001.

CGS also added a small post-baccalaureate program in Clinical Psychology in AY97; enrollment in AY00 was 7.

Wharton's Executive Education programs currently produces 17 percent of Wharton's overall budget revenue and reaches 10,000 executives each year. Because they now operate almost as many executive education courses as can be handled (209 programs) in their existing facility, future growth will come from continued innovation in the types of courses that we offer, dual venture relationships for international courses, and expansion of the Wharton Direct product line.

The School has also developed a new platform focusing on the lifelong learning needs of senior executives: the Wharton Fellows Program, a post-MBA experience providing in-depth preparation in critical emerging business topics.

The e-Business Program is the first offering within the new Wharton Fellows Program. The program was created and will be delivered by more than 75 Wharton faculty members, in addition to other industry experts.

In 1999, Wharton launched a new executive education product, Knowledge @Wharton. This free, interactive websource provides worldwide access to the work of Wharton faculty. Knowledge @Wharton allows users to research content in 14 areas, and includes analyses of business trends, interviews with industry leaders and Wharton faculty, articles on recent business research, book review, conference reports, and hyperlinks to related websites.

The Wharton West program, to be based in California, will include programs for working executives as well as a California-based executive MBA degree cohort.

In SEAS, the Executive Masters of Science in Engineering was expanded into a joint program with the Wharton School, and is now the Executive Masters of Technology Management (EMTM). The program is thriving and its enrollment has grown to 264 students.

GSE's Higher Education Division is piloting a new executive program leading to an Ed.D. in Higher Education Management. This new doctoral program is designed for higher education managers, and is modeled on executive MBA programs at leading business schools. Plans are also being pursued to house their leadership work in a new center for education leadership. With a grant from the Carnegie Corporation innovative continuing education programs are being offered for aspiring school principals, and for non-traditional teaching candidates. Partnerships are also being established with school districts, funders and national organizations to establish GSE as a major source of continuing professional education for aspiring and current educators nationwide.

The School of Nursing's annual Penn Macy Institute brings together academic practice resource teams from schools of nursing in research intensive environments to work with faculty and staff of the School of Nursing and its Penn Nursing Network, as well as other regional and national experts on issues related to academic practice. The Post-Masters Teacher Education Program utilizing adult learning techniques, has been developed to meet the needs of nurses and midwives who have not had the opportunity to participate in a formal program of teacher preparation.

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  • Support the efforts of the schools to develop continuing, life-long professional learning experiences for their graduates and others, particularly in areas where continuing education has been mandated by professional certification bodies.

The School of Dental Medicine has entered into an agreement with InteliHealth, an award-winning health information internet company, to develop a new dental web. A first-of-its-kind, full-service portal, this new online service will be accessible through the InteliHealth web. Penn Dental faculty will be the primary resource for content development, providing information for articles, answers to oral health questions, and material for online continuing education courses.

In 1997, the School of Dental Medicine began working with the Caliber Learning Network, Inc., and CEHP (Continuing Education for the Healthcare Professional), a subsidiary of Henry Schein, Inc., to deliver programs of continuing dental education. "PennDentaLink" is a collaboration that will leverage the knowledge resources of the School of Dental Medicine with the facilities of the Caliber Learning Network, which brings the live interaction of traditional class-rooms to the distance learner, and the marketing and distribution expertise of Henry Schein, Inc., a leading dental supplier.

GSE's teacher education and professional development programs meet, or are being designed to meet, new requirements for continuing licensure in Pennsylvania and New. GSE is now recognized by the American Psychological Association as an approved Continuing Education Provider. Our Psychology in Education Division and office of Executive Education and Professional Development are planning courses and continuing education opportunities for regional professionals.

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  • Building on the model of the Dental School, establish computer-based connections with alumni that will permit life-long learning at sites remote from the University.

Wharton has been involved in a number of distance learning activities over the past six years. These have included proprietary satellite systems of delivery of live content with two different companies, stand-alone CD-ROM and Internet-based products, and live Webcast programs.

Penn Advance is a distance learning program offered by the College of General Studies as an innovative part of its mission to extend educational opportunities to a diverse and talented group of students. PennAdvance courses include live, interactive online class meetings and office hours as well as on-demand multimedia, threaded discussions, self-quizzes, and other activities. Students from all over the world participate, including current Penn students, Penn alumni, academically talented high school students, and adult students.

Alumni Education courses for the Summer 2001 semester include:

  • Problems of Interpretation: Visual Art
  • Introductory Economics: Micro
  • Mechanics for the Health Sciences
  • Personality psychology
  • American Musical Theatre

Kelly Writers House links alumni and the parents of alumni with the academic ferment of the University with book discussions by e-mail. The discussions are a spin-off of Alumverse, a poetry discussion group conducted entirely via e-mail, which attracted more than 150 alumni. Alumverse operated from January to June 1996.

  • Establish a rigorous, normative, market-based protocol for review and assessment of each of these master's and continuing education programs every five to seven years.

While most of the programs mentioned above have been established during the last five years, and have therefore not yet been reviewed, all are under the direction of faculty bodies within the appropriate Schools.

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No. 32, SUPPLEMENT: Agenda for Excellence 1995-2000 (~ 375 k; 32 pages)

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Almanac, Vol. 47, No. 32, May 1, 2001

| FRONT PAGE | CONTENTS | JOB-OPS | CRIMESTATS | AGENDA FOR EXCELLENCE 1995-2001 | TEACHING AWARDS 2001: Dental; GSE; GSFA | TALK ABOUT TEACHING ARCHIVE | BETWEEN ISSUES | MAY at PENN |