Introduction
The year ahead brings significant shifts beyond our campus borders. Federally, the One Big Beautiful Bill places new limits on how much graduate students can borrow and links financial aid eligibility to post-graduation earnings. The Rescissions Act further reduces available research funding by cutting allocations to agencies like NIH and NSF and could roll back several student-support programs. Closer to home, the University’s FY26 Playbook identifies two forces that now shape every corner of our academic work: a fast-moving policy landscape and the rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence. Together, these dynamics demand that all of us—faculty, staff, and administration—strive to be nimble, collaborative, and clear-eyed as we plan for the year.
Academic units across the university have already taken meaningful steps to clarify academic pathways. At the center of this work is the Academic Portfolio Review, launched as a campus-wide initiative to strengthen how we evaluate and sustain our academic programs and now formalized in policy. Since Spring 2024, this process has led to faculty initiating twenty-one undergraduate and three master’s degree program consolidations to reduce unnecessary complexity, improve student outcomes, and ensure coherence and responsiveness across our offerings. Notable examples include revised programs in Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Environmental Science and Sustainability, Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training, Music, Philosophy, and Public Health. We also phased out programs with persistently low enrollment or limited completion. Others are being monitored for improvement.
A new Academic Unit Operating Policy was approved by the Cabinet and President to establish baseline expectations for workload, enrollment thresholds, and academic units. Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR) in Interfolio will serve as a key tool in operationalizing this policy, allowing departments, colleges, and the Office of the Provost to more effectively track and plan faculty contributions in teaching, research, and service. In response to feedback from the Faculty Senate, the academic officers will collaborate on a set of procedures under this policy that will help inform transparent, equitable, and adaptable operating procedures at the college level.
Our work this year will be grounded in a shared commitment to the following values:
- We will lead with a mission-first, people-alwaysmindset, articulating how projects help students thrive and support the work of faculty and staff.
- We will prioritize value to students and relevance to society, focusing on career-aligned, efficient curricula in response to growing federal accountability and shifting student demographics.
- We will remain data-informed and agile, using tools like Faculty Activity Reporting, Navigate analytics, and Tableau dashboards to guide timely, evidence-based decisions. And we will practice shared stewardship, recognizing that the infrastructure supporting our work connects all seven University objectives and requires close coordination across roles and units.