Dear colleagues,

Thank you for all your work to serve CU Denver students and our community. As spring semester winds down, I want to update you on some ongoing efforts across our academic and student services areas. 

Graduate Education

In February, I wrote you about a campus visit by Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) consultants to assess how our current structure, policies, and resources serve graduate education at CU Denver. During their three-day March visit, CGS consultants heard perspectives from more than 130 graduate faculty, staff, and students, as well as academic, administrative, and shared governance leaders. 

Based on this review, and in alignment with peer best practices for graduate education, they have outlined recommendations for CU Denver in a report we introduce today. I invite you to send us feedback on the report by email.

One report theme is that we should build a reliable, cross-campus foundation of funding, policies, and services for graduate education, while respecting the unique needs of our graduate programs. This report suggests ways we can balance consistency and variety. Striking this balance will bolster both program competitiveness and student satisfaction. 

We will soon convene faculty and administrators to follow up on recommendations and other issues affecting graduate education. Stay tuned for more on this later this month and into fall 2025. We will also update this webpage with further information. Special thanks to AVC of Graduate Education Michael Kocet and all those across campus who have contributed to this effort.

Academic Program Check-Ins

In March, I wrote you about a new Program Check-In process that will use data and qualitative measures to annually gauge and support the success and sustainability of CU Denver's academic degree programs. Since then, 11 informational workshops on four topics have been held for administrative and program leaders to lay groundwork for the fall 2025 process rollout. 

You can find comprehensive project information on the Program Check-In webpage, including a process timeline, dashboard, templates, workshop videos, and presentations. I encourage academic leaders to attend the remaining spring workshop sessions later this week (RSVP here) and to become acquainted with this process.  

Academic Transformation

The Program Check-In process was recommended by the Program Viability and Curricular Innovation working group, one of four that studied aspects of CU Denver’s academic operations as part of the Academic Transformation initiative launched in fall 2023. We are working toward many recommendations published in December 2024 reports, on topics that include: 

• Core Curriculum: Guided by dialogue with the Core Curriculum Oversight Committee and Faculty Assembly, a group based on the Reimagining the Core Curriculum working group will design a new core curriculum based on initial recommendations. A goal is that a reimagined core may be presented for faculty vote by May 2026. 
• Faculty Workload, Practice, and Parity: Discussions have begun to clarify metrics for assessing faculty workload equity and to develop a roadmap for implementing its working group recommendations. 
• Time Use and Course Schedules: Teams will look at overlap between working group recommendations and other strategic activities to determine where to focus effort and impact. This summer, a group of faculty and staff will also study implications of adding eight-week course offerings and multiple program starts to increase flexibility and access. This semester, CU Denver updated its course modality definitions to increase affordability and fairness for fully remote students, and to better support international and military veteran students. 

This semester, we have primarily focused on initiating the Program Check-In process, while onboarding and recruiting new leadership. But we are prioritizing all four sets of Academic Transformation recommendations for implementation, so that CU Denver can improve our academic offerings and operations for the benefit of students. 

Removing Barriers to Student Success 

CU Denver has worked this year with the National Institute for Student Success (NISS) to identify and resolve barriers to college completion. They have made recommendations to help CU Denver improve first-year student support, align advising practices across campus, and to use data to proactively match financial and academic resources to student needs. 

Our NISS engagement is fueling broader dialogue and activity that you will hear more about later this week as we work to improve student retention—a major priority—at CU Denver. 

As these updates suggest, faculty and staff across CU Denver continue to drive important conversations on issues fundamental to our future—while delivering on our teaching, research, student services, and operational ambitions with skill and grace despite funding challenges and federal uncertainties. 

I’ve greatly enjoyed working with all of you this semester, as I’ve experienced this outstanding university through a new set of lenses as interim provost. As I return to my long-term role as College of Liberal Arts & Sciences dean next semester, I am eager to welcome and work with new academic and SESS leadership in the coming months, in support of Chancellor Kenneth Christensen’s vision.

Pamela Jansma, PhD
Interim Provost