Oct. 7 , 2002

Head of Rensselaer at Hartford To Take on Education for Working Professionals Programs

	Gary Gold

With the recent appointment of Alan Eckbreth as vice president and dean of Rensselaer at Hartford and the re-evaluation of that position's roles, President Jackson has given Eckbreth responsibility for the Education for Working Professionals (EWP) portfolio. This area of endeavor includes the distance-delivery functions for Hartford, Troy, and other sites that currently exist or will be developed in the future, and overall oversight of the part-time programs for all of Rensselaer.

"Rensselaer is committed to Education for Working Professionals as one of our core enterprises as outlined in the Rensselaer Plan, but we must redirect the focus of our EWP efforts to provide high-end programs in selected areas of strength," wrote Jackson in a memo distributed to campus. "[We must] institute a cost structure for these programs which is comparable to that of similar programs at other top-tier universities, and which facilitates the accomplishment of the overall institute goals as outlined in The Rensselaer Plan."

To accomplish those objectives, changes to the EWP structure have been made or are in progress. Administrators are consolidating distance-delivery functions and operation; the existing EWP organization and cost structures are being reviewed to identify redundancies; each of the five academic schools are developing EWP performance plans and long-term strategies; and discussion with key partners on the programs' goals has begun.

The position of vice provost for professional and distance education (PDE) along with the entire organizational structure of all of the programs related to Education for Working Professionals is being reassessed through the performance planning process. During this reassessment, Tom Apple, vice provost and dean of graduate education, will supervise the day-to-day activities of PDE, while Eckbreth will lead the development of the overall EWP strategy and direction.