Fall 2011Volume 1 Issue 1 Inside this issue
Articles
Try the iManage System
The new iManage system is fully deployed and functioning well on the iTransfer website. If you haven’t had the chance to try it, you will find lots of features in it including:
- New Course Review system where you can access panel voting, course review history, 5 year review information, and new course submissions.
- The Transfer Coordinators’ channel which allows access to the directory and the TC discussion board. It will allow transfer coordinators to email fellow transfer coordinators as they are identified in the system. This email system does not rely on people subscribing to a listserv but rather operates based on people listed as Transfer Coordinators in the directory, including additional contacts.
- Database history and IAI statistics.
- Panel vacancies list
- Account settings where you can change your password and other account information. As an important note, you cannot change your account email as this is a primary means of the system identifying you.
You can access the iManage system on the iTransfer.org website at: http://www.itransfer.org/iai/imanage/ . It is also a link on the top of any page in the tan/gray navigation bar beneath the colored banner.
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5 Year Review Information and Updates
The 5 year review requests for the fall 2011 semester were completed as of early June. Additional courses will be requested in late November and early December 2011 for spring 2012. Email communications will be sent to any IAI contact listed in our system including, IAI contacts, Transfer Coordinators, and Institutional Submitters. These emails include important data regarding the courses requested.
As institutions work toward making submissions for the review process, please have appropriate staff contact IAI staff to get questions answered and assist through the process. There is a great deal of information regarding panel expectations, course decision criteria, and forms needing completion on the panel related documents page at: http://www.itransfer.org/iai/container.aspx?section=faculty&subsection=panel&topic=panelRelatedDocs .
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New Team Members at IBHE and IAI!
New to the IBHE team is David Knopp. David joined the Illinois Board of Higher Education this past December as an Associate Director of Academic Affairs, reporting to Deputy Director, Dr. Bob Blankenberger. David has a B.S. and a MBA from Illinois State University, was a faculty member of Eureka College, and has administrative experience at community colleges in Indiana, Tennessee, and Kansas.
David will participate on the Steering Panel and the Implementation Advisory Council. He also hopes to attend as many panel meetings as possible.
New to the IAI team is Janice Leuchtenberg. Some of you may remember Janice from Fall 2010 Panel meetings. July 1, 2011, Janice officially became IAI’s Program Administrative Assistant.
Janice has been learning the iManage system, helping Krista with ending, adding and changing courses and membership. She is also helping to schedule Panel meetings and preparing agendas and minutes. You can reach Janice at janice@itransfer.org where she will be happy to help you with any of these tasks!
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The Ongoing Five Year Process
The IAI 5 year approved course review process is continuing. If you are a designated IAI Contact as either a transfer coordinator, a course submitter, or as a general IAI contact person for your institution, you will receive emails regarding any course that is called for review by any of the IAI GECC or Major panels. The email that contains the most information regarding requested courses is being sent to the IAI Course Submitter at your institution. Please note that new course submissions and review of existing courses cannot be acted upon without a designated IAI Course Submitter at your institution. If you have not yet designated a course submitter, or if you need to verify who the submitter is for your institution, please contact the IAI/iTransfer staff at iai@itransfer.org.
The process is expected to be ongoing as courses approved more than five years ago continue to roll up for review. The process is randomized so there may be semesters of heavy requests for courses for your institution and semesters of light requests. Information on what courses have been called can be found in the iManage system on the iTransfer.org website. This system displays information regarding courses, both new and review. The IAI Course Submitter will have the authority to not only view requested courses, but also submit appropriate documentation or end a course that has been called but is not being offered any longer. For training or information on the iManage System, contact the IAI/iTransfer team at iai@itransfer.org or by phone at 309-438-8640.
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Greater Importance of Maintaining the IAI Contacts Information
As you may have noticed, IAI staff have been making every effort to keep open communications with our participating institutions to keep you up to date and informed of all things IAI and iTransfer related. There are opportunities to use our listservs, email identified transfer coordinators in the IAI system (separate function from the listservs found in the Transfer Coordinator channel of iManage), and a forum for Transfer Coordinators to submit questions for discussion (see the previously mentioned Transfer Coordinator channel of iManage).
In addition to the above communication examples, we have recently established Transfer/Complaint and Question pages within the site to assist advisors, faculty, students, and parents in making inquiries to participating institutions as well as submitting complaints to institutions when our processes do not work as expected. You can find these at:http://www.itransfer.org/iai/articulationquestions.aspx for questions regarding transfer and http://www.itransfer.org/iai/articulationComplains.aspx for complaints regarding transfer. We are currently sending the questions and complaints that come in to the designated IAI contact people which include transfer coordinators. To ensure the correct people receive communications such as these, please verify your contact and IAI related information which can be found in the School Review section of the iTransfer site:http://www.itransfer.org/iai/faculty/school/schoolReview.aspx?section=faculty&subsection=school .
This contact information is also important when emails and information is being sent out for the five year review process. We will be glad to update any incorrect information you find within the contact lists. Please call or email us at 309-438-8640 or iai@itransfer.org.
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NEW IAI GECC HUMANITIES AND FINE ARTS DESCRIPTORS!
 
There are two new descriptors approved for the IAI GECC Humanities and Fine Arts panel in the spring semester. These descriptors are:
H2 909D : American Ethnic Histories (3 semester credits)
Description: A broad survey of the history and culture of a race or a people who has had a significant impact on the dominant culture. The course examines the interplay between the two and the cross-cultural influence of other marginalized groups.
And
H3918 : Introduction to Children's Literature (3 semester credits)
A study of formal and thematic elements of several different genres of children's literature (fables, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, picture books, novels, etc).
These descriptors are currently active and available for fall submissions. We welcome new courses and the panel hopes these descriptors assist institutions in offering new and varied classes for IAI approval.
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Check the Calendar!
There are lots of panel meetings scheduled for the months of October and November. Remember to check the IAI Calendar on the iTransfer site to see when all sorts of IAI related meetings are occurring. We have added training dates, Transfer Coordinator’s meetings, and other IAI related meetings to the calendar.
We are looking at expanding our calendar functions so watch for more functionality and the opportunity to add your transfer related activities to the calendar soon.
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Opportunities for Training!
We are trying to offer more training on IAI and the iTransfer site. You can find these opportunities listed on the calendar when training has been arranged. You can also contact IAI and iTransfer for your own customized online training session. Thanks to a conference call phone bridge and the webinar functionality added to iTransfer and IAI by our AnyMeeting.com provider, we can offer a variety of training at convenient times for interested staff and faculty.
Interested in setting something up? Contact Krista or Janice at iai@itransfer.org or janice@itranfer.org and we will work out a time and subject matter you will be able to offer to interested staff. We will allow for a conference call in conjunction to facilitate discussion. However, an in-webinar chat is available for comments and questions to be posed electronically. Our webinar functionality does not currently allow participant microphone use so the conference call allows us to have better meeting communication. It is important to note that the conference call function is a toll/distance call for most.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Ever Wonder?
The annual reports for iTransfer are published as a .pdf on the website. You can find them in the IAI Documents section of the iTransfer website. The reports provide website, site user, and transfer related information pertinent to the function of the website and IAI as a whole. You will find some interesting and perhaps surprising information in each annual report.
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New Look
Sometimes we all need a fresh new look. The iTransfer website is working at a bold and fresh look that we hope will be user friendly and interesting. We are in our final stages of development and will be rolling our new look out for testers in the near future. Watch your emails for information on the new design and check it out in upcoming months. We expect to have it fully deployed by the new year!
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Course Voting and Decision Rubrics
You may notice some changes in voting for courses if you serve on a panel or if you receive information on a course decision in your email. IAI panels have instituted decision rubrics which allow panel members to indicate if a course meets all criteria or specifically what part of the criteria is missing in the course information. Members can indicate a “yes’, “no”, or “not applicable” as needed as they review a course and then summarize their decision in casting an opinion in the iManage voting system.
At panel meetings, the member opinions are polled and a summary rubric is created and entered with any additional commentary provided by the full panel. This summary rubric with comments is stored in the system and emailed to the IAI contacts identified. The final decision is the verdict of the panel members present in the meeting and does not necessarily reflect the results of the initial recommendations by the panel members prior to this meeting.
As appropriate staff receive and review these decisions, please feel free to contact the decision submitter as specified in the email. The submitter can usually answer questions that arise. If they don’t know the answer, you will be referred to the appropriate person to provide additional details.
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Checklists Aren’t Just for Checking Anymore!
Ever really read those questions asked in the course submission form? It turns out the panels really would like the information included in those checked items. If a course is found to be lacking any of those items in the documentation submitted, the panels have determined that the review process ceases until such documentation can be provided. The course will be returned without approval.
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IBHE and ICCB Transfer Related Updates
 
IBHE and ICCB provide direct support for the Illinois Articulation Initiative and transfer initiatives in the State of Illinois. As a result, checking each board’s website as well the iTransfer website can provide important information for how transfer initiatives and legislation are progressing. Items you may find interesting to review:
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Psychology Major Ends Major Identifiers
The Psychology major panel has discussed clarifying its recommendations and core courses . In the fall 2010, it was decided to retire the major identifiers of PSY906 and 907 effective 12/31/2011. The only active major identifier will remain PSY 905, and any courses identified as being part of the core and also in the GECC Social and Behavioral Sciences panel . These courses will be ended in the IAI database as of 12/31/2011. To check if your institution has any courses that will be affected by this change in major recommendations, check the iTransfer site course searches within a major discipline or by identifier at:http://www.itransfer.org/iai/faculty/search/byDisciplineMj.aspx?section=faculty&subsection=course .
If you have questions or concerns regarding the retirement of these courses, please contact IAI staff at iai@itransfer.org. | 
