Workgroup No. 8, Academic Visioning I, posted on the Vitalization Project website a 22-page summary of its discussion in order to solicit feedback from the campus community before its March 15 deadline, workgroup chair Jeff Stowell announced in an email Tuesday morning.

The draft report notes that the Academic Visioning workgroup is tasked with generating creative direction for Eastern “without regard to financial, personnel or administrative constraints.”

According to the report, the workgroup has discussed a variety of areas for potential growth at Eastern. These include establishing new programs in health-related fields, increasing the number of online degree programs, and adding a limited number of doctoral programs to improve Eastern’s prestige.

The committee briefly discussed implementing micro-degrees, or certificates of expertise in a specific subject matter that do not need to meet normal degree requirements.
The report also proposes the creation of a program to coordinate and fund undergraduate research, based on the successful model at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The report can be accessed by visiting www.eiu.edu/vitalizeproject/ and clicking on “Workgroup 8 Summary of FA16 Discussions (pdf).”

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