Registrars play a central role in the curricular change process at institutions. Including registrars at the beginning of discussions regarding operational curricular changes can make the implementation of these changes smoother.
AACRAO spoke with Julia Pomerenk, University Registrar at Washington State University, and Rebecca Mathern, University Registrar at Oregon State University, about their session "Registrars and Curricular Change: Proven Practices for Facilitating Degree, Course, and Requirement Changes" at this year’s annual meeting. During their session they will discuss the registrar’s role and impact on curricular change.
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Julia Pomerenk
University Registrar
Washington State University
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Rebecca Mathern
University Registrar
Oregon State University
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Monday, April 13, 2015 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
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Tell us about your session:
Julia: Our session is about reinforcing how important the registrar role can be on their campuses as they look to make curriculum changes.
Rebecca: We had an interest doing a session regarding this topic because we want to share best practices with other colleagues and how to effectively work with faculty in a shared governance model.
What kind of roles do registrars play in curricular change? Conversely, how does curricular change affect the role of a registrar?
Julia: The role that the registrar can play varies across campuses, partly because of campus culture and the type of shared governance that they have. Department faculty may only change a curriculum once in a career or once every ten years. We are able to provide them with current process information about curriculum changes and implications of certain changes. Part of our presentation talks about how to establish a role for the registrar in that process.
Rebecca: Most registrars have seen the negative impact on students by curricular changes that were not fully thought through. The goal of our presentation is to discuss how you can find a seat at the table and engage folks in the conversation as they are making changes. We’re talking about the administrative portion of curriculum changes, such as the number of times you can repeat courses, changing a course designator or minimum grade requirements for certain programs.
What kind of problems can be the result of these types of changes?
Rebecca: If a department changes a course designator or course content, it could create a new course that is essentially an equivalent to a previous course. Without appropriately advising to current students, this can result in a number of students who lose credit for taking two equivalent courses in one term.
Julia: Registrars may also face additional work if they are not involved in the initial processes of curricular change. Registrars understand the student information system, so they are able to take the department’s intention and properly implement the change.
What do you hope attendees will learn from your session?
Rebecca: We would like attendees to walk out of this session feeling comfortable about how they can improve their involvement in the decision-making process. If they are already involved, we want them to walk out feeling more confident and having shared best practices with their colleagues about how to be involved in the conversation at their respective institution.
Julia: I hope attendees will learn some ways to connect with these conversations on their campus especially given the importance that their perspective and their team can contribute.
What are you looking forward to doing at the annual meeting?
Rebecca: I love bringing a list of current issues that are relevant to my own institution and reaching out to registrars at similar institutions. When I’m looking for improvements to our work processes, it’s easy to gather ideas when surveying so many registrars in one room.