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Summer Quarter Report Appendices

Appendix 1
Provost's Appointment Letter and Mandate

Revised August 30, 1996

To: Summer Quarter Committee

Dean John Simpson, College of Arts and Sciences, Chair
Associate Professor George Bergantz, Department of Geological Sciences
Associate Professor Lawrence Bowen, Chair, Faculty Council on Faculty Affairs
Professor Ronald Butchart, Director, Education, UW Tacoma
Vice Provost Frederick Campbell, Undergraduate Education
Professor Jane Decker, Director, Liberal Studies, UW Bothell
Associate Vice Provost Louis Fox, Undergraduate Education
Mr. Eric Godfrey, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Associate Dean Dale Johnson, The Graduate School
Professor Richard Johnson, Chair, Department of History
Professor Stephen Kerr, Chair, Faculty Council on Educational Outreach/Continuing Education
Vice Provost Richard Lorenzen, Educational Outreach
Vice Provost Steven Olswang
Vice Provost Craig Purkey
Associate Dean Dorothy Reed, College of Engineering
(Two additional faculty and three students, including one K-12 teacher or other non-matriculated student who attends summer session, are being invited to serve and will be confirmed at a later date)

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for your willingness to serve on the Committee on Summer Quarter. The charge to the committee is to consider alternative uses of summer quarter, including the possibility of transforming summer quarter from a self-sustaining to a state-supported academic quarter just like Autumn, Winter, and Spring.

Let me provide some context for this charge. The University is facing the possibility of considerable growth in the number of students in the next 15 to 20 years. Projections are that the UW will enroll 52,500 FTE students by 2010. Originally the idea was that the Bothell and Tacoma campuses would accommodate most of that growth, but that now appears to be overly ambitious, given present levels of capital and academic program planning. As a result, the question arises of how Seattle might accommodate additional students.

Since Seattle is at or near maximum capacity during the regular academic year, the possibility of the development of summer quarter as a fourth academic quarter arises. There are other reasons to consider its use, for instance, the maximum use of University physical resources, especially its capital facilities.

Many questions must be answered before the transformation of the summer quarter would be advisable. The committee is asked to give serious consideration to such issues as faculty appointment and governance questions, curriculum integration and coordination, financial aid, progress toward degree, academic opportunities, effects on Bothell and Tacoma as well as other colleges in the area. Additionally, the committee will be asked to assess the costs of transformation both to the UW and to the state, paying attention to lost revenue, gains in efficient use of resources, and costs for changes in administrative systems.

I ask that you consult widely with faculty and students and with appropriate people from beyond the University community. The committee should make an effort to hold public forums and colloquia, to consider conducting focus groups, and to gather information from many sources. You may wish to consider summer programs at other universities. A report should be presented to the Provost's Office by April 18, 1997.

Thank you for your participation in this important effort.

Sincerely,

Lee Huntsman
Acting Provost

LLH/cm

cc: President's Council

Summer Quarter Report Appendices