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Governance matters

For further information, contact the governance office at govern@ku.edu.
Online Courses: How should KU treat online courses offered for academic credit? This seemingly simple question raises a number of important issues that require close attention.

Like other courses offered for academic credit, all courses offered online must be approved by the academic unit, although they are offered through Continuing Education.

Last academic year, Continuing Education proposed to Faculty Senate a change in the definition of resident study that would include online courses approved by academic units for academic credit.

Traditionally, the university has imposed a residency requirement for students pursuing undergraduate degrees, including a requirement that the last 30 credit hours before award of the degree must be "resident." Online courses do not meet the current definition of resident study.

The ensuing discussion generated considerable debate over the meaning of residency in the age of cyberspace and the mechanisms for ensuring the academic quality of the courses offered. As a result of this discussion, University Senate has charged its standing committee on Academic Policies and Procedures to examine these issues this semester and report its findings and specific recommendations.

The governance process is designed to encourage input from the KU community on such issues. The committee's report will be posted on the governance Web site for comment before any recommendations are considered by the Senate.

NOTABLE ALUMS

Two KU graduates, business leaders Cynthia Carroll and Linda Zarda Cook, are among the world's 100 most powerful women, according to Forbes magazine. Carroll, a 1982 grad, is seventh on the list and the first woman to become chief executive at Anglo American, one of the world's largest independent mining companies. At 44th on the list is Linda Zarda Cook, a 1980 grad. Now the executive director of gas and power for Royal Dutch Shell, Cook is in the running to become CEO of the company in 2009.