April 7, 2023 Structure to give students and faculty greater visibility, opportunities for research, and community partnerships
The College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University is reorganizing to better serve students and meet the needs of the East Valley community around ASU’s Polytechnic campus.
The new model, with three new schools, will reinforce the college’s identity as a distinctive arts and science college, strengthen affinity between students and faculty through applied learning, better align with the rest of the university, and increase efficiency, according to Dean Joanna Grabski boost of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts or CISA.
“CISA is a dynamic college and the three schools model is the result of an extensive and thorough collaborative process that creates an organizational structure to optimize our distinctive applied degrees and professional learning focus,” she said.
The move was critical to support the changing needs of ASU students and the communities that the college serves, said Nancy Gonzales, ASU Executive Vice President and University Provost.
“The restructuring will build the infrastructure and position CISA to pursue new strategic directions and applied degrees desired by today’s students and workers across the state and nation and particularly in the East Valley,” Gonzales said.
“Although CISA offers degrees and courses at three of ASU’s metro campuses, the Polytechnic campus in the heart of the dynamic and fast-growing East Valley offers untapped potential for new interdisciplinary programs that CISA will now lead.”
The water tower is a prominent part of the Polytechnic campus skyline. “Although CISA offers degrees and courses at three of ASU’s metro campuses, the Polytechnic campus in the heart of the dynamic and fast-growing East Valley offers untapped potential for new interdisciplinary programs that CISA will now lead,” said ASU Executive Vice President and University Provost Nancy Gonzales. Photo by ASU
The college’s courses are organized in the following three schools, with directors being sought:
The School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology, which will include undergraduate and graduate programs in Counseling and Counseling Psychology with multiple majors and faculty areas of expertise, such as: B. Athletic and Performance Counseling, K-12 School Counseling, Bilingual and Bicultural, LGBTQ, Military and Veterans, First Responders and De-escalation. The School of Applied Sciences and Arts, which will include applied science degrees with majors such as pre-dentistry, pre-veterinary medicine, natural resource ecology, secondary education in biology and sustainable horticulture, and liberal arts degrees such as English, communications and history. The School of Applied Professional Studies, which will include degrees in organizational leadership, project management and technical communication.
“Creating a hub on the ASU Polytechnic campus for (these schools) will provide opportunities for impact and will optimize our current assets to serve ASU students and the community,” Grabski said.
Currently, the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts has eight faculty groups serving major and general studies students at the Polytechnic, Tempe, and Downtown Phoenix campuses, as well as through ASU Online. Unlike most other ASU colleges, the college previously had no schools or departments.
The College of Integrative Sciences and Arts also offers degrees from several two-year colleges across the state. Coursework is provided at these locations, allowing exchange students to earn a bachelor’s degree close to where they live. The college also offers a general degree at ASU’s Lake Havasu location.
Under the new three-school structure, the Polytechnic campus will be the center of the college, and faculty and staff will plug into the schools from anywhere and continue to mentor students wherever they are.
With the reorganization, some programs will be expanded and others will be added.
The School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology will add majors in exercise and performance counseling and school counseling, and will offer some existing programs online for the first time, according to Laura Jimenez Arista, clinical assistant professor of counseling and applied psychology.
“Adding new programs that meet market needs can give students more options, allowing them to choose degrees that meet the workforce needs in our current economy and society,” she said.
The new model will help bring a stronger sense of identity to the college’s faculty and students, said Manuel Avilés-Santiago, associate dean for academic programs and curriculum innovation at the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.
“We were the only ones (Arts and Sciences College at ASU) that didn’t have a school structure, and that makes it a little difficult at ASU. It was hard to explain that CISA was a liberal arts college without having that structure,” he said.
This enhanced identity will make it easier to form community partnerships for the benefit of students, he said. For example, the School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology will be immediately recognizable to school districts looking for partnerships.
As part of the reorganization of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, some programs are expanding and others are being added to give students more options and meet the demands of the job market. Photo by ASU
The restructuring process took nearly two years and required extensive collaboration between faculty and staff, with many listening sessions conducted by Grabski’s team and the University Design Institute.
Igor Shovkovy, a professor of physics at the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, said the design process was rigorous.
In 2021, faculty were asked to complete a Design Challenge questionnaire detailing which degrees they believe are most impactful and how existing expertise can be optimized.
A year ago, a virtual meeting invited everyone to voice their ideas and hear input from others. The next phase was carried out in several working groups dealing with specific curriculum topics.
“Building on CISA’s existing strengths, Dean Grabski and her colleagues utilized a thoughtful process of inclusive design work with CISA faculty and several other stakeholders that also incorporated insights and emerging trends in higher education,” said Gonzales. “I’m excited to see how this forward-thinking approach will benefit CISA’s students, faculty and staff, and the communities they serve, in the years to come.”
Shovkovy said he believes the reorganization will create a greater sense of community among faculty and lead to new research collaborations for faculty and research opportunities for students.
“Schools with clear identities will increase the visibility of their faculty members. Hopefully it will help mobilize additional external funding, establish new collaborations with industry partners and create stronger links with local communities,” he said.
The Arizona Board of Regents voted to approve the new schools earlier this semester.
“ASU’s mission to evolve into a university that is responsive to the communities it serves continues, and our plans for the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts reflect that commitment,” said ASU President Michael M .Crow. “We appreciate the support of the Arizona Board of Regents as we move forward with the plans, and we look forward to the impact these new schools and their future graduates will have in Arizona and beyond.”
Photo above: Santa Catalina Hall on the Polytechnic campus. Photo by ASU
