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 Collection
Identifier: RG 02/C2

Rutgers University Board of Governors Educational Planning and Policy Committee Records

Dates

  • 1951-1986

Scope and Content

The papers of the Educational Planning and Policy Committee demonstrate the large range of topics the committee was charged with considering. Plans for new programs, changes to programs, personnel matters, reviews of disciplines, budget issues, fraternity housing and residential issues, computing plans, affirmative action, and day care are just a few examples of the types of issues the committee has examined. Here is an example of the topics discussed in the meeting minutes for the April 7, 1972:
  1. Personnel actions involving academic tenure
  2. Planning for Cook College
  3. Status of ROTC
  4. New academic programs
  5. Proposed changes in tenure regulations and procedures for faculty evaluation
  6. Bachelor of science degree—Douglass College
  7. Role and composition of the cenate
  8. Open university program
  9. Public Interest Research Group
  10. University Senate actions

The papers themselves mostly consist of meeting minutes and supporting material. If the establishment of a new program at Rutgers was on the agenda, the papers for that month's meeting might be accompanied by the program proposal and numerous curricula vitae of candidates for the department.

Extent

12.6 Cubic Feet (31.5 manuscript boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Some material in this collection is restricted. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives for more information.

Additional Description

Abstract

The Board of Governors Educational Planning and Policy Committee was established in 1950 and was charged with examining Rutgers' "educational effectiveness." The papers in this collection comprise meeting minutes and agendas, and reports and studies on such subjects as program proposals and changes; diversity amongst students and staff; promotions, tenures, and retirements; and other matters.

Administrative History

The Educational Planning and Policy Committee was established as a standing (as opposed to special) committee in 1950 as the Rutgers Board of Trustees Committee on Planning and Policy. During the late 1940s and 1950s there was also a seemingly unrelated University Committee on Educational Policies, which consisted of Deans and Professors.(1) The Trustees Committee was inaugurated with the following charge:

The Committee on Planning and Policy shall conduct a continuing study of the University in terms of its organizational and educational effectiveness in order to develop sound long-term plans to promote its effectiveness in the service of state and nation, to anticipate contingencies which might hamper such service, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Trustees.(2)
By the end of 1956, the Board of Trustees had reorganized into the Board of Governors and the committee's name changed to the Committee on Planning, Policy, and Development. The materials of the committee at that time indicated that it concerned itself with the physical development of the university. In mid-1960 the committee name changed once more to the Educational Planning and Policy Committee (also seen as Committee on Educational Policy and Planning) and retained this name through the early 2000s. The bylaws of the Board of Governors as amended July 14, 2006 state that the committee's role is to "conduct a continuing study of the University's organizational and educational effectiveness..." and that it has "general oversight of the educational program of the University. It shall consider tenure appointments and promotions of academic personnel...shall anticipate contingencies which might hamper performance of the University's missions...shall advise the board on the need for public and private funds." (3) Although the committee was chaired by a member of the Board of Governors, the files in this collection were maintained by the Secretary of the University, who seems to have been charged with the dissemination of materials to the committee. At its origination, the Secretary was Albert E. Meder (who held the position from 1944 to 1950), who was followed by Karl Metzger (1950-1974), and Jean Sidar (1975-1989). Each had their own methods of organization which are reflected in these papers. Although the Educational Planning and Policy Committee has continued to meet since 1986, the records of their meetings are not included in this collection. It is possible that this reflects a change in the committee's record keeping practices. Following Sidar, the Secretaries of the University were Norman H. McNatt, Mildred R. Schildkamp, and Leslie A. Fehernbach.

Notes

(1) For information on the Committee on Educational Policies (and the Committee on Educational Policies for the New Jersey College for Women) see RG 04/A14. Papers of the Office of the President (Robert C. Clothier), Box 78 Folders 26-28, and RG 04/A16/02 Papers of the Office of the President (Mason W. Gross) Box 38, Folders 9-10. (2) Rutgers University Board of Trustee Minutes, October 13, 1950 (3) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Bylaws of the Board of Governors of the Corporation (Amended July 14, 2006), p. 6

Arrangement Note

The Papers of the Rutgers University Board of Governors Educational Planning and Policy Committee are arranged chronologically. The arrangement within individual folders varies. In the earlier years, the folders contained material spanning several months or even years. These are filed in reverse chronological order. Starting in 1971, the folders were organized around monthly meetings. These later folders are listed by the date of the meeting, although they may contain older material or even papers from after the meeting. For the "meeting centered" folders, the first item is the meeting minutes, which are followed by supporting materials (which often follow the order on the agenda) along with correspondence about the meeting. In later years, materials accompanying different agenda items (eg reports) have a colored sheet of paper with the name of the report on it. Most likely, the filing system changed with each new Secretary of the University.

General

Some materials restricted. Contact archivist for more information.

General

(1) For information on the Committee on Educational Policies (and the Committee on Educational Policies for the New Jersey College for Women) see RG 04/A14. Papers of the Office of the President (Robert C. Clothier), Box 78 Folders 26-28, and RG 04/A16/02 Papers of the Office of the President (Mason W. Gross) Box 38, Folders 9-10.

General

(2) Rutgers University Board of Trustee Minutes, October 13, 1950

General

(3) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Bylaws of the Board of Governors of the Corporation (Amended July 14, 2006), p. 6

General

(1) For information on the Committee on Educational Policies (and the Committee on Educational Policies for the New Jersey College for Women) see RG 04/A14. Papers of the Office of the President (Robert C. Clothier), Box 78 Folders 26-28, and RG 04/A16/02 Papers of the Office of the President (Mason W. Gross) Box 38, Folders 9-10.

General

(2) Rutgers University Board of Trustee Minutes, October 13, 1950

General

(3) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Bylaws of the Board of Governors of the Corporation (Amended July 14, 2006), p. 6

Processing Note

Some of the material in this collection was initially processed as part of a Manuscripts and Archives class offered by Rutgers School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies in the Spring 2007 semester. Other files of the Educational Planning and Policy Committee were then added to form the collection. Previously they had been separated according to the Secretary of the University who kept these materials as part of their duties.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Board of Governors Educational Planning and Policy Committee, 1951-1986 RG 02/C2
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Caryn Radick
Date
January 2008
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Rutgers University Archives Repository

https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/new-brunswick/visit-study/locations/special-collections-university-archives/divisions-collections/university-archives
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