The demand for proper review of the university’s centers and institutes led to an established evaluation criteria for these organizations by an academic affairs committee.
The Standing Council for Academic Planning, a committee that oversees the university’s academic decisions, established and approved the criteria for evaluating proposed centers and institutes, evaluating existing centers and institutes, and discontinuing existing centers and institutes at its Sept. 27 meeting.
A subcommittee led by Marcus Kondkar, associate sociology professor and former vice chairman of the committee, began developing the criteria last spring.
The criteria development began after the committee realized that Loyola’s centers and institutes that collaborate and complement with academic programs were not being properly reviewed.
The criteria were established to make sure that centers and institutes “meet the university mission,” said Edward Kvet, chairman of the committee and provost and vice president of the university.
Kondkar said he believes that criteria will ensure that centers and institutes can and will sustain themselves.
The review plan for proposals of centers and institutes states that new and existing centers and institutes will be evaluated on the demand for it, their compliance with the university mission and strategic plan, relationship to other existing centers and institutes, adequacy of current and additional resources, and an assessment plan that addresses issues of sustainability, accreditation, etc.
According to the plan, not all of the centers and institutes will satisfy all the criteria, but they must all be addressed in proposals for new centers and institutes, evaluation of existing centers and institutes, and discontinuance of centers and institutes.
The new criteria will push the centers and institutes that can no longer sustain themselves to be discontinued or changed, Kvet said.
Kondkar said the new criteria will be sent to the deans and department heads who will continue to review centers and institutes.
This new criteria will make sure that the Standing Council for Academic Planning would review centers and institutes that are not currently reviewed by a department or college.
An example of such an institute is the Institute of Politics. Peter Burns, political science professor and committee member, said the Institute of Politics is separate from the political science department and would need the committee’s review.
Now, the criteria must be passed in the University Senate to be included in the student and faculty handbooks, and then the process of evaluation will begin.
Jamie Futral can be reached at [email protected]
