Meeting of the Board of Regents | November 2009

Report of the

REGENTS EMSC/HIGHER EDUCATION JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING

to

The Board of Regents

November 17, 2009

              Your EMSC and Higher Education Committees held a joint meeting on November 16, 2009.  All members of the Committees were present, except Regent Cohen, who was excused.

Action Items

American Museum of Natural History Richard Gilder Graduate School

Your Committees recommend that the Board of Regents grant institutional accreditation to the American Museum of Natural History, Richard Gilder Graduate School for a period of five years ending on November 17, 2014.  [HE/EMSC (A) 1]

MOTION FOR ACTION BY FULL BOARD

              Madam Chancellor and Colleagues:  Your EMSC and Higher Education Committees recommend, and I move, that the Board of Regents act affirmatively upon each recommendation in the written report of the Committees’ deliberations at the meeting on November 16, 2009, copies of which have been distributed to each Regent.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

Recommendations for Transforming Teacher Preparation and Recruiting Skilled Teachers in High Need Schools – The Committees consented on the direction of a series of recommendations poised to transform the preparation and practice of teaching and to support the recruitment of quality teachers in high need subjects and schools.  The recommendations included:

• Authorizing colleges and universities, cultural institutions, research centers, non-profit organizations, and others - on the basis of an RFP process - to certify teachers for placement in high needs schools through clinically based pilot programs. The Board of Regents would award Master’s degrees to those students who complete registered pilot programs offered by non-collegiate institutions. 

• New incentives to recruit and retain teachers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) areas in high needs schools including:
• • An expedited pathway to encourage scientists, engineers, and mathematicians with doctoral degrees or Master’s degrees with higher education teaching experience to teach in our State’s high needs schools.
  • A new differential incentive to recruit and retain teachers to support the learning needs of students in STEM disciplines in the State’s high need schools. Effective teachers in high needs schools certified in a STEM discipline (or teachers of English language learners or students with disabilities supporting teachers in STEM disciplines) would be eligible to receive as much as a $30,000 total bonus over the course of five years.

• Creating transparent data profiles of teacher preparation institutions.

• Putting in place performance-based assessments for initial certification and again for professional certification in the careers of new teachers.

• Allowing secondary-level certification applicants to use alternative means to demonstrate content-knowledge with work experience and acceptable rigorous examinations in combination with undergraduate/graduate level coursework.

The recommendations shared this month will be modified consistent with feedback from members of the Committees and will inform the State’s Race to the Top proposal.  In addition, Department staff will reach out to educators, professional organizations, union leaders, and other partners in the field for input into the development of a detailed implementation plan for each of the proposed strategies.

Proposed Amendment to Conform Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Teachers’ Certificates and Teaching Practice to the New York State Patriot Act – The Committees discussed a proposed amendment to conform the Commissioner’s regulations to certain provisions of the Patriot Plan, which was enacted by the Legislature in Chapter 106 of the Laws of 2003.  The proposed amendment will be presented for adoption at the December 2009 meeting of the Board of Regents. 

That concludes our report.

                                                                                    Anthony Bottar and Merryl Tisch       

                                                                                    Co-Chairs, EMSC Committee

                                                                                    Milton Cofield and Harry Phillips

                                                                                    Co-Chairs, Higher Education Committee