Open SUNY was first announced by Chancellor Zimpher in January, 2013 as part of her State of the University Address. Soon after, a Provost’s Open SUNY Advisory Committee (POSAC) was formed, of which I am a member. There are members from 16 campuses which serve on this committee including presidents, provosts, faculty (of which I am one), students, and other administrators.
So what is Open SUNY? It’s probably better to answer what it is NOT first. Open SUNY is NOT a single system “taking over” our online courses or programs. Faculty still have purview over their courses, departments and colleges still have purview over their programs. Open SUNY is NOT “canned courses.” We still have control over our individual curriculum.
Open SUNY is NOT MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). I am a member of the POSAC subcommittee investigating and making recommendation to the SUNY Provost regarding MOOCs. MOOCs are and will be a decision of individual campuses. No one is or will be required to create or offer MOOCs and/or offer college credit for students who take MOOCs. My subcommittee’s initial recommendation was that MOOCs can become an additional resource for students, not the main learning tool. It is true that SUNY has a contract with COURSERA. (COURSERA is one of the leading for-profit MOOC providers) If a faculty member or a college wishes to create a MOOC, COURSERA is one vehicle that can be used. No one is obligated to use COURSERA if they wish to create a MOOC.
So what is Open SUNY? When in full swing Open SUNY will offer students the ability to take an entire degree program online. Students will have “one stop shopping” when it comes to financial aid, tutoring, library and educational resources, and many other resources. Faculty will have access to professional development, course supports, research and innovation, collaboration with other online faculty instructors, and much more. Colleges and universities will be able to offer degree programs fully online that they have never been able to offer due to lack of enrollment or even lack of particular online courses which are required for the degree.
We are currently in phase I of Open SUNY. As many of you know Chancellor Zimpher announced at this year’s State of the University Address the eight programs that were selected to pilot phase I of Open SUNY this spring; two programs are AAS/AS, four programs are BS, and two programs are MBA. (See the attached Power Point Presentation for a list of campuses and programs included in phase I) Phase II of Open SUNY is set to launch in fall, 2014. (Programs for phase II have not been selected as of yet)
This is an exciting time to be a faculty member in SUNY! With electronic mobile devices taking over many aspects of our lives, so too have they woven their way into academics. Students are taking online courses at a growing rate! SUNY understands the demand for online learning will continue to increase and thus Open SUNY is our way to structure valuable support. If we as faculty, staff, and administrators continue to stay vigilant and maintain our high standards with our online courses and programs, Open SUNY can be a very successful and rewarding partnership for our students, MCC, and SUNY!
Please see the attached Power Point Presentation for additional information from the Faculty Council of Community College (FCCC) regarding Open SUNY. (Also, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns, I will be sure to bring them to the POSAC).
Christy Fogal
Mathematics
02/13/2014
Attachments:
 Open SUNY highlights.pdf
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