Dear Campus Community,

The purpose of this email is to provide an update on the College Restructure Taskforce. Meetings were held on April 11th, May 6th, and May 27th. During this time, the taskforce examined its charge (an overview is provided below), discussed the process and timeline for proposal completion, developed ground rules for the taskforce, started collecting data, formed working groups, and set a tentative agenda for the June 15th retreat. The Taskforce will address additional communications-related topics e.g., where to find information about the work, how to submit comments, and more in the near future. We appreciate your continued interest and will keep you apprised in the coming weeks.

Thank you,

College Restructure Taskforce

January 2022 overview of charge to College Restructure Taskforce

At present, our academic programs are organized into two colleges, a structure arising more from history than strategy. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has eight divisions spanning traditional liberal arts and sciences along with professional and pre- professional programs. The College of Education has three divisions that encompass far more than educator preparation programs. This structure served us well once. But over time, and through the evolution of programs and student interests, this structure may have created silos and workload inequities for academic program leaders, faculty and staff. As we consider developing new programs at new degree levels (e.g., professional doctorates), now is the time to re-examine, re-align and re-balance WOU’s academic programs so that our structures serve our current needs and position us to thrive in the future.