April 15, 2020
Contact: Linda Fox  |   | More about Linda

COLLEGE ASSEMBY – MARK YOUR CALENDAR

We will have a virtual College Assembly this semester. You will be provided a Zoom link and are urged to join via audio connection.

Thursday, April 23, 3:30 pm

Agenda: Several updates will be provided as to UGA and FACS College operations in the context of COVID-19. The updates will include the important issues as we close out the spring semester, plans for UGA Commencement, and what lies ahead for summer sessions online. Importantly, I hope to provide more clarity on the FY20 4th Quarter Fiscal Year End budget and planning for FY21 budget. Other personnel updates and resources for employees will be presented. In addition, quick updates on the FACS Strategic Plan 2025 preparation which will be rolled out in August for further college conversation and feedback. And, lastly, we also have the Commendations and the Recommendations from the AAFCS Accreditation site visit Final Report, summarized below, and will touch upon the process of addressing those in the fall.

The College Assembly will be recorded and archived should you not be able to attend.

QUESTIONS you wish me to address via the College Assembly are sought in advance. Send Dean Fox lkfox@uga.edu an email with “COLLEGE ASSEMBLY” in the Subject Line of your email. I won’t identify who sent in the question. And, as you could imagine, I may not be able to answer, but having questions in advance I can do my homework to do my best to address your concerns. QUESTIONS need to be received by COB Monday.

UGA IS CLOSELY MONITORING THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

The campus’ senior leadership team will continue to meet regularly and monitor developments and will inform the campus community as the situation warrants.

We urge you to pay attention to direct communications that you receive from the University of Georgia via ArchNews and to ignore the many rumors or unsubstantiated information that you might receive from other sources.

Updates also will be posted to www.uga.edu and the University of Georgia coronavirus website, which we encourage you to check regularly. This website includes FAQ for students, employees, alumni, and the public. Recent updates on the FAQ page include:

*NEW* The University is asking for donations to support a student emergency fund. Why doesn’t UGA use their own money?

The well-being of our students is a top priority for UGA. However, state dollars cannot be used for student scholarship support. That is why the University recently committed $600,000 in private funds from the UGA Foundation to immediately support students facing hardships due to COVID-19. Record numbers of students are requesting emergency financial assistance, so every gift from our generous alumni helps! You can learn more about these funds in our news story about the emergency assistance.

*NEW* Why do students need emergency financial assistance?

The COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted the lives of many UGA students as it has so many. Some students have lost critical income from student jobs or from jobs at area employers that are temporarily closed. In other cases, students’ families are no longer able to financially support their education. By giving to student emergency funds, our donors can have a powerful, direct and immediate effect on these students’ lives—providing them the means to buy food, pay rent, receive medicine and medical care, and secure the technology they need to continue their education. Emergency funding is prioritized for students who demonstrate significant financial need and have exhausted available resources such as student loans.

OPTIONAL ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO FACULTY P&T REVIEW

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UGA faculty are experiencing exceptional challenges in all aspects of their work and normal progress toward promotion and tenure may be interrupted. Announced earlier this month, President Morehead has exercised his authority to give all tenure-track faculty, and non-tenure track faculty whose current rank has a time limit, an opportunity to extend their review period by one year. Faculty who are currently in their first or second year in rank who request this extension will undergo their third-year review (if applicable to their career track) in their fourth year, unless they specifically request a review in their third year.

Detailed procedures for requesting this extension will be distributed in the coming weeks. 

Use of this one-year extension will be at the faculty member’s discretion, and it will not count toward the two-year extension available for events that qualify under the Family Medical Leave Act. Any faculty member who wants to apply for promotion and tenure according to their standard eligibility schedule may still do so. Third year reviews and preliminary consideration reviews underway this spring may continue as expected because they are based largely on work completed before the COVID-19 crisis began.

This extension does not alter the University’s standards for promotion and tenure. Review procedures in the coming academic year will proceed according to the usual schedule. 

AAFCS ACCREDITATION SITE VISIT REPORT – SUMMARY

Writing the self-study and hosting the site-visit in late February informed all the faculty, students, alumni and leaders a lot about the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. There are definitely areas to be proud of including commitment by our faculty to teaching and research, the undergraduate students with majors and minors in our college, the individual courses our faculty have developed, and the support and respect we have from University of Georgia’s President, Provost, and Vice President of Instruction. 

The College of Family and Consumer Sciences administrators, faculty, and staff will, if accredited, act on the six recommendations made in the report during the ten year period of time.

The conclusion of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Accreditation Site Visit presents the most significant strengths and commendations as well as recommendations that were revealed during the site visit to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia. The commendations and recommendation are presented as measured by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Accreditation Standards for Undergraduate Programs in Family and Consumer Sciences.

COMMENDATIONS:

1.    The Dean of the College is highly respected by University Administration, faculty, alumni, and students. She is visible, approachable, and responsive. She is commended for her ability to stay abreast of future needs regionally and nationally related to individual, family, and community well-being, as well as University initiatives, mobilizing the faculty to take advantage of opportunities to advance the mission of the College. 

2.    Faculty members are dedicated to providing excellence in the field of family and consumer sciences as evidenced through their teaching, generation of new knowledge through research, securing external funding, and their outreach efforts.

3.    The faculty are student centered, serving as role models and mentors, and are committed to assisting students in reaching their career goals and objectives.

4.    The college is supported by alumni, industry, community, and regional professionals who assist in creating partnerships which provide experiential learning opportunities, equipment, and resources to advance the mission of the College.

5.    The students are enthusiastic about their programs, opportunities for experiential learning, and their preparation for post graduate internships, graduate and professional schools, and careers in the field.

6.    The Student Success and Advising Center provides a wide array of services, promoting student progress and, as noted by the Provost, is a model for the rest of the University.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A.         CURRICULUM

  1. Provide a mechanism for students to make the connection between content specific courses and the Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge throughout each curriculum. 
  2. Review the core courses (FACS 2000, HDFS 2100, FHCE 2100) to ensure that each course includes a component that specifically addresses the connection between the course content and the Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge and ensure student learning in FACS 2000 is comparable between the face-to-face and online courses. 
  3. Build on the current assessment of student learning outcomes to include at least one student learning outcome per academic program that specifically addresses an understanding of the Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge.
  4. Review each program’s policies on culminating experiences to ensure students have a capstone experience. 

B.         FACILITIES

  1. Develop and implement a plan to make all spaces ADA compliant (i.e. classroom/labs)
  2. Consider creating additional common space for students to gather and interact across program areas.

I thank Patti Hunt-Hurst, Associate Dean for Academic Programs for leading this effort, supported by the department and unit heads, and for all the staff support provided by Janet Fowler and Lynn Parham in the Dean’s Unit. Through the curriculum committee, facilities manager and college leadership, we will begin to address the six Recommendations above in the Fall and over the next several months.

SCHEDULE (Dean’s travel and purpose during the next two weeks):

  • Remote work contact: 706-224-6086 (cell call or FaceTime)
  • The next Dean’s Update will be the week of April 28, 2020, or earlier.

Sincerely,

Linda Kirk Fox

Dean

The College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia embraces a commitment to diversity by modeling for the state and nation a community of individuals and programs which seek to reduce prejudice, disparities, and discrimination and build a supportive environment for all.

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