Flexible Learning Task Force Releases Interim Report, Schedules Community Forums

The university’s Flexible Learning Task Force has released an interim reportoutlining its progress and possible paths forward as it prepares to submit its final report to Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy by May 31.

The task force will also be holding several community forums later this month. Registration is now open for two virtual town hall forums scheduled for April 26from 11 a.m. to noon and April 28from 2 to 3 p.m. An overview of the report will be provided and task force members will be on hand to answer questions. Interested parties may also submit comments to FlexLearning@umass.edu.

The task force has been charged with developing a strategic plan that advances UMass Amherst’s ability to provide high-quality education to students anywhere and at any time, a key to both extending the mission of the university and meeting tomorrow’s challenges in the educational marketplace.

The task force is co-chaired by Jim Kurose, distinguished professor of computer science and associate chancellor for partnership and innovation, and Mzamo Mangaliso, associate professor of management.  “The task force and its five subgroups have made tremendous progress since we began our work six weeks ago,” Kurose says. “The interim report is a way for us to let the larger campus community know the topics that have been explored, to circulate initial findings, to identify areas for further discussion, and, of course, to solicit community feedback.”

The report offers 10 themes that have arisen from the work of the five task force subgroups: Instruction, Pedagogy and Technology; Student Experience and Equity; Workload and Support; Finances; and Academic Calendar, Registration and Facilities. The report also shares situational assessments from each of the five subgroups and possible steps forward.

Mangaliso notes that “Flexible learning augments traditional in-person, classroom-based teaching and learning with modalities that engage students who are not physically present in the classroom. It’s additive and extends the campus’ excellence in traditional face-to-face teaching.” Flexible Learning courses may mix both synchronous and asynchronous modes of teaching and learning, with students both on and off campus; some flexible learning courses may be completely online.

These considerations, Kurose noted,  speak to the different forms that flexible learning can take, and the need for a student-centered, bottom up, faculty and departmental driven approach to flexible learning. Decisions about which courses and programs are best suited to a flexible learning approach are key decisions to be made by a department and its faculty. Flexible learning at UMass will extend beyond individual courses to include the breadth of student activity (co-curricular activities and student services) that define the university’s immersive educational experience.