04-08-94 Trustees: New ATI degree program ACTIONS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ON APRIL 8: ATI TO OFFER FIRST YEARS OF BACHELOR'S DEGREE, ATI RESTRUCTURING, GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN TOXICOLOGY, MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS ATI to Offer First Years of Bachelor's Degree COLUMBUS -- If the Ohio Board of Regents approves, students enrolling at The Ohio State University's Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster will have the option of completing two years of credit towards a bachelor's degree. The Ohio State Board of Trustees Friday (4/8) approved a two-year Associate of Science degree program that would allow students interested in agricultural careers to transfer prescribed courses to a four-year program to complete the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree. The new program will expand opportunities for students interested in careers in agriculture, according to William Anderson, associate dean and director of the institute. He noted that ATI was designed as a two-year school training students for careers in the technical fields of agriculture. Currently, students earn an Associate of Applied Science degree. However, some students have been interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree. "This is a shift in the mission of ATI," he said. "Our primary mission is still to provide that (two-year) terminal degree, but now we have the opportunity to provide a transfer program to students wanting a bachelor's degree." Pending Regents approval, students who enroll at ATI in autumn 1995 will choose between the two associate degree programs and generally will take separate liberal arts courses. Anderson expects demand for the technical program will continue, but that about 40 students a year will opt for the new program. About a dozen students annually transfer to the College of Agriculture on the Columbus campus, but lose some course credits in the process. Those who opt for the Associated of Applied Science degree and then decide to transfer will still have difficulties. However, faculty advisers will counsel future students to help them enroll in the degree program that best fits their needs. "As ATI has matured and the needs of the agricultural industry and the college have changed, we've provided an extra portal of entry to the college for students who love agriculture," said L.H. Newcomb, associate dean for academic affairs in the college. "It also will be advantageous for students in northeastern Ohio who want to attend two years of college close to home and for students who want a more hands-on approach to their education." Students will be able to complete some general education requirements and certain agricultural courses during their first two years at ATI, Newcomb said, taking the same courses offered on the Columbus campus. Examples include English composition, college algebra, chemistry, biology, history, music appreciation, and rural sociology. Instructors will be governed by their respective departments on the Columbus campus. "Many departments on the Columbus campus have approved ATI faculty to teach the courses," Newcomb said. "We are using the regional campus model for approval. The home department has the final say about who teaches the courses." The new program evolved out of a concern of many students who wished to go beyond the associate's degree to seek a four- year degree and found that some courses were not transferable. In addition, many agricultural organizations in the state did not understand why ATI did not offer a transfer program. Anderson said the program also addresses the desire of the Board of Regents for two-year technical schools to also offer their communities the first two years of a bachelor's degree. ATI offers the most comprehensive array of agricultural technical programs in the state. The College of Agriculture at Columbus offers Ohio's only public four-year program in agriculture. ATI Restructuring Approved The Board of Trustees also approved the Agricultural Technical Institute's proposal to restructure from five divisions to three. The realignment will improve internal efficiency, reduce duplication of administrative functions such as purchasing and accounting and reduce administrative costs, according to college officials. They added that the reorganization will enhance ATI's ability to meet student expectations while maintaining credibility with employers and the industries served by the institute. The restructuring plan is the first of several expected from colleges to come before the board in the coming year. Ohio State is undergoing a university-wide restructuring program. Some restructuring of academic support services has occurred in the past two years and will continue. Under the ATI realignment, the divisions of Agricultural Business Technologies, Animal Industries Technologies, Engineering Technologies, and General Studies will be reduced to two: the Division of Agricultural Technologies, and the Division of Arts and Science and Business Technologies. Agricultural Technologies will offer academic programs in construction, fluid power, power equipment, dairy production and management, horse production and management, beef production and management, swine production and management, crop management and services, and environmental resources management. Soils courses also will be offered. Arts and Science and Business Technologies will offer academic programs in agricultural commerce, food marketing, and laboratory science, and courses in business, computers, communications, mathematics, biology, chemistry, entomology, physics, and social science. The Division of Horticultural Industries Technologies will be renamed the Division of Horticultural Technologies. That program will maintain its programs in floral design and marketing, greenhouse production and management, landscape construction and contracting, nursery management, and turfgrass management. Faculty approved the reorganization last year by a vote of 20-14. Graduate Program in Toxicology Approved Trustees Friday also approved creation of an interdisciplinary graduate program leading to Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in toxicology. Faculty involved in teaching and conducting research on toxicology in the colleges of Agriculture, Biological Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine expressed an interest and commitment to establishing the program. They noted that several courses in toxicology are offered by several departments in the colleges, which will strengthen the new graduate program. The goal is to train scientists who are competent to address problems in establishing health and environmental risks associated with the use of chemicals and who will be prepared for careers in academia, industry, and public service. The program is to become effective Autumn Quarter 1995, pending approval by the Board of Regents. Health Services Named Changed Trustees changed the name of the Division of Hospital and Health Services Administration, part of the College of Medicine, to the Division of Health Services Management and Policy, effective immediately. The action was made to more accurately reflect its mission, research interests and teaching of the faculty and marketplace for graduates from the division. Faculty Rules Amended In another matter, trustees amended the Rules of the University Faculty to change the number of persons authorized to hold regular clinical faculty titles from one-third the number of persons holding regular faculty titles to 40 percent of the combined total of regular and regular clinical faculty in the division, department or college; and to change the terms of appointment of such faculty. # Contacts: William Anderson, (216) 264-3911; L.H. Newcomb, (614) 292-6891; Dennis Feller, chairperson, Ad Hoc Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies Committee in Toxicology, (614) 292-1614. Written by Tom Spring, (614) 292-8309. [Submitted by: GERSTNER (gerstner@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu) Fri, 08 Apr 1994 14:27:16 -0500 (EST)] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.