In response to interest on the part of some faculty and staff, I would like to explain a little more about the Pathways Restructuring Implementation Task Force. This task force was set up to tackle the incredible array of technical and logistical issues for moving Pathways forward. The task force was further divided into six different committees with over 40 campus individuals participating. For the most part the committees were working on technical matters that go on behind-the-scene. Technical matters that absolutely must be attended to if we are going to make a smooth transition and operate effectively. They are the kinds of things that go on in many of the staff and administrative offices dealing with the mechanics of students records, programming computer systems, how to track financial aid, financial affairs accounting processes, mechanics for tacking and accommodating adult and continuing education students in the new college settings, etc. There are literally hundreds of things to be done. Records and systems must match the new colleges, with information and data readily available in the proper format as we turn our new vision into reality.

Each of the specific committees is as follows: Communications/Marketing Committee, Systems Integration Committee, Financial Committee, Student Records Committee, Financial Aid Committee, and Institutional Effectiveness Committee. As I reported in my previous message these committees have done a fabulous job.

Now that the large job of identifying the areas and systems that need changes has been accomplished, the larger task force has been pared down to a continuing oversight committee chaired by Bret Jacobs. This oversight committee consists of several members from each of the committeees that were a part of the Pathways Restructuring Implementation Task Force.

As soon as faculty are back on campus in the Fall for a "normal" semester, we will begin deliberate, thoughtful discussions on a whole variety of issues that are more faculty oriented including committee restructuring, faculty handbook revision, mechanism by which suspended programs can seek reinstatement and much, much more. We look forward to having the faculty fully engaged in those discussions. It is truly an exciting time in the life of the university.

Walter Harris, Jr., Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs