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Members Present: Belser, Bradshaw, Burkey, Gay, Gonzales, Hanrahan, Harvey, Henson, Lindquist, Marron, Savaiano, Schneider, Sharif, Shrader, Smith
Members Absent: Heng-Moss, Kain, Nelson
Guests: AVC Goodburn
Note: These are not verbatim minutes. This is a summary of the discussions at the Academic Planning Committee meeting as corrected by those participating.
1.0 Call
Bradshaw called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m.
2.0 Approval of August 19, 2026 Minutes
Bradshaw asked if there were any revisions to the minutes. Hearing none, he asked for approval of the minutes. Motion was approved by the APC.
3.0 Role and Responsibilities of the APC
Bradshaw gave a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the role of the APC and its responsibilities.
Gay asked if financial exigency was declared last year. Bradshaw stated that financial exigency was not declared but UNL had to deal with a budget reduction. Shrader asked where the data for the APC to make decisions about the proposed budget reductions came from. Bradshaw noted that there were many questions about the data that the Committee received last year. He pointed out that he would like to work on a revision to the UNL Bylaws that makes it clearer about how the APC would be better informed about the budget, so it has more information that is provided in a timelier manner. He stated that a possibility would be to have a subcommittee that is actively engaged and which would work more closely with the Executive Leadership Team on the budget in order to have a better understanding of the current budget situation. He stated that he believes there is an opportunity for the APC to have more input and responsibility with the budget.
Gay stated that no useful information was given to the APC last year when the Procedures to be Invoked for Significant Budget Reallocations and Reductions were enacted and he is skeptical that the Committee would be provided with any useful information in the future.
4.0 Election of Vice Chair
Gay nominated Sharif for Vice Chair. Sharif accepted the nomination and the APC voted unanimously in support of her serving as Vice Chair.
5.0 Proposal for Undergraduate Curricular Review for Degree Programs That Utilize Courses Across UNL and UNMC (AVC Goodburn)
Goodburn reported that she was asked by Provost Jackson to co-chair an ad hoc committee that would draft a proposal to create a committee that would be responsible for reviewing programs that utilize courses across UNL and UNMC. She noted that initially the ad hoc committee recommended that the Academic Affairs office of each campus would appoint faculty members to serve on a committee and an administrator from the Academic Affairs Office would chair the committee with the chair switching off each year between the two campuses.
Goodburn reported that she met with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to discuss the proposal, but the Committee members provided feedback pointing out that the proposal violated shared governance at UNL. She stated that the Executive Committee initially suggested creating a subcommittee of the APC with the two UNL faculty members being members of the APC and that UNMC could appoint their faculty members to the subcommittee. However, she noted that Executive Committee member Gorman stated that a subcommittee cannot be composed of people from outside the committee. She noted that UNMC does not have a committee similar to the APC, nor do they want to have such a committee. She asked how a governance structure could be created that would allow expertise from both campuses to serve on the review committee.
Hanrahan noted that new programs have a curriculum and courses that are new, modified, or deleted must go through the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for approval. He asked if UNMC has something similar. Goodburn pointed out that UNL courses would still need to follow our processes for approval. She stated that UNMC has a much more streamlined approach and is bound by their accreditation body. Hanrahan asked why each campus can’t just approve a program separately. Goodburn noted that there needs to be a review to ensure that either campus has the necessary resources to accommodate the courses. Button pointed out that the HLC accreditors expect a review and approval process similar to what the university has with the graduate college. He stated that there is nothing similar at the undergraduate level.
Button suggested that the Faculty Senate could create a committee that would review proposed programs that utilize UNL and UNMC courses. Hanrahan asked if the committee would need to be codified in the UNL Bylaws. Button stated that each campus could define its own members of the committee. He pointed out that after the committee reviewed proposed programs; approval would still be needed by the APC.
Bradshaw asked Burkey how the vet program with Iowa State works. Burkey stated that the program is bound between Iowa State and UNL and the deans of the academic programs worked together to make sure that the curriculums were aligned. He noted that the only collaboration is in the first two years of the program.
Bradshaw asked whether the committee was in agreement to have a couple of APC members to serve on the committee. Those APC members could then report back to the APC with the recommendation to approve or not approve a program. Lindquist pointed out that the appropriate people need to serve on the committee and asked how to ensure this happens. Button suggested following the Senate’s procedures for getting people to serve. Burkey noted that first the curriculum committee must approve the courses, so faculty expertise has already reviewed the curriculum. Hanrahan agreed and noted that two APC members could review the program proposal. Shrader stated that nominations for serving on the committee should come from those with expertise in the field. Lindquist stated that faculty members involved in public health should be considered for serving on the committee.
Goodburn stated that she will share with the ad hoc committee the APC’s recommendations and then send the proposal to the Faculty Senate.
6.0 APC Representative Needed for School of Biological Sciences APR
Savaiano volunteered to serve as the APC representative.
7.0 Committee Members Needed:
7.1 Long Range Planning Committee
Sharif, Hanrahan, Schneider, Gonzales, Gay volunteered to serve. Heng-Moss was nominated and will be notified to see if she accepts serving on the committee.
7.2 Project Initiation Request Committee
Gonzales, Burkey, Sharif volunteered to serve.
7.3 University-Wide Aesthetics Review Committee
Gay volunteered to serve again.
7.4 University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Henson volunteered to serve again.
7.5 Subcommittee to Review APC Documents and UNL Bylaws
Button, Hanrahan, Bradshaw, Gay, Lindquist, Shrader and Gonzales volunteered to serve.
8.0 New Business
No new business was discussed.
The meeting adjourned at 4:13 p.m. The next meeting of the APC will be on Wednesday, September 23, 2025. The minutes are respectfully submitted by Karen Griffin, Coordinator.