Vancouver Plans Endorsed
The British Columbia Degree Quality Assessment Board expert review panels studying the University and its proposed programs to be offered in Vancouver, have strongly endorsed FDU’s bid to establish a campus.
The British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education will consider those recommendations at its January 16 meeting. Executive Vice President Carl Viola said, “We expect to receive formal approval of our applications from the ministry shortly thereafter.”
President J. Michael Adams said the recommendations reflect “the hard work and the outstanding efforts of many individuals at the University. We are very grateful to all those who have and will continue to make important contributions to this very promising initiative.”
The University is planning to open a branch campus in Vancouver to serve primarily international students. The initial offerings will include a BS in business management with a number of concentrations and a BS in information technology with a single concentration. Current plans call for the campus to open in November 2006, but Viola said that the administration is considering delaying the opening until January 2007 to provide a full year to recruit the initial class and to align the schedule with the traditional academic calendars in both the United States and Canada.
Following the submission of the University’s applications, the British Columbia Degree Quality Assessment Board formed two expert review panels to consider the specific degree programs proposed for British Columbia and the University’s organizational ability to successfully develop the campus. Adams; University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Willard Gingerich; Viola; Senior Vice President for Finance/Treasurer Sheldon Drucker; Metropolitan Campus Provost Joseph Kiernan; Christopher Capuano, director, psychology (Metro); and Alfredo Tan, director, computer sciences/engineering (Metro), traveled to Vancouver in November to meet with the panels. According to Capuano, who is overseeing the application process on the University’s behalf, “several panel members commented on the strength and comprehensive nature of our applications and were impressed by the University’s mission and preparation to undertake this initiative.”
As summarized in the Organization Review Panel’s final report, “FDU has presented a very credible application, supported by full documentation and by more than 60 years of successful operation in New Jersey and elsewhere. … The FDU senior administrators we met were well prepared and gave candid and complete answers, supported by published policies and references to external reviews. Their plan for Vancouver is well conceived and reflects the vision, professionalism and concern for educational quality the panel noted in discussions with FDU.”
The report recommending that Fairleigh Dickinson be allowed to use the word “university” in Vancouver concluded, “The panel is satisfied that FDU is a quality institution, with excellent management and well-qualified faculty who are fully engaged in leading and managing the academic affairs of the university. We are also satisfied that FDU has the financial and academic resources to develop and operate a Vancouver campus and that they have done appropriate due diligence relative to the business case and their target market.”
In addition to gaining the endorsement of the review panels, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Committee on Substantive Change approved the extension of the University’s accreditation to the branch campus in Vancouver. The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education also approved the offering of the academic programs in Vancouver.
On their recent visit to Vancouver, FDU officials also found a potential location for the campus in the downtown area. The site is currently occupied by another college that will soon relocate. Because of the location’s current academic use, it would require a minimum amount of renovation and thus reduce the cost of the site preparation. The process to obtain a lease on the facility is under way.
In the meantime, FDU academic and administrative steering committee members continue finalizing plans for the campus.
top of this page table of contents for this issue
December 2005/
January 2006
| · | Vancouver Plans Endorsed |
| · | University Poised for Last Phase of Middle States Re-accreditation Process |
| · | University to Open Academic Publishing Center |
| · | PublicMind Wrap Up |
| · | Winter Session Study Abroad |
| · | Consortium Offers State’s First Higher-ed Jobs Database |
| · | International/Global Journals in Library |
| · | Federal, State Grants Received; New Proposal Process Implemented |
| · | Faculty/Staff — Update, In Memoriam, Welcome |
| · | College Happenings |
| · | Spotlight — Alfano, Campbell, Cacchiola, Zwick |
| · | This & That |
| · | Photo Stories — New Dominican-American Program, Spirit of Giving, Employee Benefits Fair. |
View text only for this complete issue.
Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.
Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.
Information Deadlines
The deadline for the next issue of Inside FDU on the Web is January 21.
Copy received after deadline will be included in the following issue. Every effort will be made to deal with late-breaking stories. Send information to: Carol Black, Publications, at H-DH3-14, fax to 201-692-7039 or e-mail to black@fdu.edu.
Inside FDU on the Web is published by the Office of Communications and Marketing. Newsletter Staff: Carol Black, editor; Mary Ann Bautista, Bill Blanchard, Mariellen Brown, Angelo Carfagna, Howard Gilman, Joan Harvey, Rick Isquith, Gretchen Johnson, William Kennedy, Shelley Kusnetz, Lillian Lukac, Rebecca Maxon, Art Petrosemolo.