UMass Flex
UMass Flex

Implementation Committee

The Flexible Learning Implementation Committee is charged with coordinating and guiding the implementation of recommendations from the 2021 Flexible Learning Task Force Final Report, with a goal to create a high-quality educational experience, broadly defined,  grounded in our identity as a residential campus, additively extending our campus’s  excellence in traditional face-to-face teaching to include students who are not  physically present on campus. 

The Chancellor's formal charge to the committee is available here. In part, the Chancellor charged the committee with:

1. Reviewing the approximately 60 recommendations in the Flexible Learning Strategic Plan and determining which of these recommendations can and should be implemented in the near term, the medium term, and in the longer term. Chancellor Subbaswamy suggested the following recommendations for immediate consideration:

  • (A1) developing a Flexible Learning Fellows program;  
  • (A4) developing a shared definition of what “Flexible Learning” is for instructors,  students, and staff;  
  • (A5) working with the appropriate campus units and governance bodies, where  applicable, on classroom technology and on a Learning Management System(s)  recommendation;  
  • (B1, B2, B3) creating supporting FL resources for staff;  
  • (B2, D4) examine financial structures to break down barriers between UWW and  university-session students;  
  • (B4, E1, E2) develop a FL communication and branding strategy aimed at campus  stakeholders and the general public; and 
  • (C*, D*) continue the work of last year’s FL Task Force Finances subgroup on  examining the many aspects of a long financial model, including workload  models and incentives, for flexible learning.  

2. Initiating (if not already underway), coordinating, and helping guide the implementation of first-year activities identified by the Committee, as well as considering appropriate metrics to track progress towards realizing the unique goals and desired outcomes of the activities undertaken. 

3. Reporting quarterly to the campus community on committee progress. 

 

Membership

  • Jim Kurose, Associate Chancellor, Partnerships and Innovation and Distinguished University Professor, College of Information and Computer Sciences (co-chair)
  • John Wells, Senior Vice Provost for Lifelong Learning and Professor, Operations and Information Management (co-chair)
  • Jenny Adams, Associate Professor, English
  • Carolyn Bassett, Associate Provost for Student Success
  • Jacqueline Castledine Chair, UWW
  • Michelle Goncalves, Deputy Chief of Staff, Chancellor’s Office (Administrative Liaison)
  • Deb Gould, Vice Provost for Administration and Finance
  • Claire Hamilton, Associate Provost and Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Sarah Hutton, Interim Dean, UMass Libraries
  • Ken Kleinman, Professor, Biostatistics and Epidemiology
  • Adam Lechowicz, Undergraduate Student, Computer Science
  • Mzamo Mangaliso, Associate Professor, Isenberg School of Management
  • Anne Massey, Dean and Thomas O'Brien Endowed Chair Operations & Information Management, Isenberg School of Management
  • Chris Misra, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology
  • Key Nuttall, Chief Marketing Officer, University Relations
  • Heather Sharpes-Smith, Executive Director, Online Education Technology, Instructional Design, Engagement and Support (IDEAS)
  • Mary Deane Sorcinelli, Senior Fellow, Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Xiaoyun Song, PhD Student, College of Education
  • Patrick Sullivan, Registrar
  • Susan Weldon, Senior Director for Employee Engagement, Human Resources
  • Tilman Wolf, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Contact

flexlearning@umass.edu