School of Hygiene and Public Health Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, October 17, 2000 / 3 p.m. / 839th Meeting

Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, Robert Black, and Jonathan Samet.

Guests: Dr. Sharon Krag and Ms Diane Glover.

Meeting Convened: Provost Knapp convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 839th meeting on September 19, 2000 were approved.

Remarks by the Dean

Dean Sommer reminded the Advisory Board that the discussion among 6 deans of schools of public health will be on October 18, and should provide interesting perspectives on diverse views of public health, from research to practice to education. A panel of one student, one faculty member and one member of the practice community will help to open the discussion.

Nominations for the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars are due by November 3, 2000, and nominations for honorary degrees bestowed by the University are also due shortly.

Remarks by the Provost

Provost Knapp commented on the many exciting activities surrounding the end of the fund-raising campaign celebration, including the convocation and dinner recognizing many of the donors. He then announced the intention of Dr. Harry Feinstone to endow and name the chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in honor of Dean and Mrs. Sommer.

The Board of Trustees meeting that followed the celebrations focussed on the effects and potential of technology for the University. Another fund-raising campaign is now being planned, with input from each division regarding their priorities. Dr. Knapp then reported that the University Faculty Budget Advisory Committee has compared JHU faculty salaries with salary data available from other universities or groups and found that many faculty salaries remain at or below the median compared to appropriate comparison groups. The University Faculty Budget Advisory Committee has also gained a better understanding and recognition of the lack of full cost recovery from sponsored research and other sponsored activities.

Distance Education Update

Dr. Lawrence reported that the Distance Education Division has developed a list of courses to offer over the internet, based on priorities of the department chairs, CEPH core requirements, MPH core requirements, and interest expressed by current iMPH students. Almost all MPH core requirements are now available on the internet, and a schedule to develop and offer new courses is now being organized. Dr. Lawrence intends for the Committee on Academic Standards to become more involved in academic oversight of the iMPH program, including assuring that each course planned for internet development is appropriately reviewed and approved. In response to a question, Dr. Lawrence commented that the Committee on Academic Standards has been involved in assuring internet course sequencing and availability for students. He commented that as of now, full-time students who prefer taking internet courses have not been an issue, other than possibly increasing some faculty effort. Since many internet courses are offered across rather than within terms, there has not been much overlap between full-time students and iMPH students.

OTHER ITEMS

Review of First Term Student Data Reports, 2000-01

Dean Sommer and Ms Fox reviewed student enrollment data from the first term of the 2000-01 academic year. Dr. Sommer noted that no new ScD students enrolled and asked that the Committee on Academic Standards discuss whether the School should continue to offer the ScD degree. He observed that a substantial portion of enrollments in internet-based courses are full-time students, currently 24%, and asked that the chairs take this trend into account during discussions of the off-site programs. A decline in MHS enrollments, and the implications of that decline, also will be addressed by the department chairs. Dr. Sommer commented that the increase in iMPH enrollments is simply compensating for the decline in departmentally-based MHS students and that the overall lack of increase in masters student enrollment will have implications for the planned growth in research. More immediately, the increase in internet students and decrease in off-site enrollments must be examined with respect to allocation of limited resources.

The Advisory Board then examined different models by which the off-site and distance education programs might be operated, including almost complete reliance on part-time faculty, creating separate faculties (full-time and/or part- time, with or without financial incentives) for non- traditional programs, and recruitment of disciplinary- trained non-tenure-track faculty or staff to interface between distance education staff and more senior faculty instructors. Dr. Knapp remarked that Dr. Candace Dalyrymple, director of the Educational Resource Center of the Eisenhower Library, can be used as a resource for assisting faculty with their distance education efforts. Dr. Rose commented that dual roles played by faculty as educators and scholars should not be separated by creating a distinct teaching faculty.

Dr. Lawrence commented that quality and availability of compressed courses to be offered in the winter intersession must be carefully monitored and coordinated for January, 2002. Dr. Sommer asked that Dr. Lawrence prepare a list of and rationale for the courses that iMPH students would find the most compelling for a compressed format. This list will form the basis of a followup discussion with the department chairs in the next month, and will also be reviewed in detail by the Committee on Academic Standards within the next 2 months. Dr. Steinwachs will survey MHS students in his department, and affiliated MPH students to assess their needs and interests for winter intersession courses. Some MPH students will begin their integrating experiences during the intersession. Dr. Sommer asked that Drs. Lawrence, Alexander and Kanchanaraksa, and the departmental and academic program coordinators convene to assess students' course interests during the winter intersession.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

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