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Commission on Colleges Evaluation Committee Report University of Nevada, Reno October 19-22, 1997 A Confidential Report Prepared for the |
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Evaluation Committee: Chair: Dr. Joan K. Wadlow, Chancellor Associate Chair: Dr. Donald E. Habbe, Senior Assistant to
the President Dr. J. Peter Bentley, Professor Emeritus Mr. Timothy A. Brown, University Librarian Dr. Betty Duvall, Professor of Education Dr. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Associate Provost of Academic
Affairs Dr. William C. Krueger Dr. Raymond C. Murray, Dean of the Graduate School,
Emeritus Dr. Peter Nicholls Dean, College of Arts &
Sciences Dr. Lyman W. Porter, Professor of Management Dr. Imogene A. Rigdon, Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs Mr. L. Robert Webb, Associate Academic Vice President Dr. Edward G. Whipple, Vice President for Student
Affairs Dr. Jan Widmayer, Professor of English Ex-Officio Member Dr. Larry Stevens, Associate Executive Director
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Standard V: Educational Program and
Its Effectiveness Policy 15: General Education and the Core Curriculum |
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Standard VI: Continuing Education
and Special Instructional Activities |
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Standard VII: Instructional Staff and
Faculty Evaluation, Policy 26 |
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Admissions |
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This Evaluation Committee Report is part of the regular, ten-year review for reaffirmation of accreditation of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The review included the preparation by the institution of a comprehensive self-study report and the subsequent visit to the campus by a 15-member committee appointed by the Commission on Colleges. The evaluation committee included representatives from two other regional accrediting associations as well as the Northwest Commission on Colleges. During the campus visitation, committee members held individual and group meetings with faculty, students, staff, administrators, and representatives from the Board of Regents. An open meeting that was publicized in the student newspaper, a WEB page, and among units was held. Institutional documents, such as program reviews, budgets, and minutes were also reviewed on site.
The committee benefited from the very helpful assistance of the Accreditation Self-Study Office, both before the visit and during it. The arrangements for the committee's work were convenient, functional and greatly appreciated. All requests were promptly met, thus greatly facilitating the committee's timetable.
This report is organized according to Commission standards with additional sections on the self-study report, General Recommendations and Commendations. Each member of the committee prepared portions of the report, resulting in different writing styles. This approach is designed to optimize the impact of each evaluator's observations.
The General Recommendations in the last section of the report, as well as several recommendations that appear in other sections, represent shortcomings connected to the 1994 Standards and Policy of the Commission and need to be corrected by UNR.
A comprehensive 374-page self-study document was presented to members of the evaluation committee in a timely fashion. The document was the product of a thorough and extended process undertaken by the UNR for the last two years. Overall, the evaluation committee found the document to be accurate, forthcoming and full of insightful analysis. As would be expected in an institution of the complexity of UNR there was some variability in the material from programs and schools. Also, in the presentation of material a choice was made not to highlight the University's responses to the last full-scale and interim reviews although it became clear during our visit that the University had indeed responded conscientiously to the previous reports. These relatively minor details should not obscure the fact that the self-study served as an invaluable tool for the work of the evaluation committee and, more importantly, will serve the University as a benchmark for institutional planning and improvement in the immediate future.
The strength of the self-study document is the direct consequence of process, involvement, and commitment. A 20-person steering committee, assisted by numerous subcommittees, led the effort. Faculty, staff, administration, and students were involved. Early drafts were reviewed at open forums and posted on a WEB page. The final document demonstrates a nice balance between cataloguing the University's impressive accomplishments in the last ten years, while also candidly discussing problems and issues that face the University in the future. The self-study lists 149 recommendations for action or consideration that arise out of the process and the President has already initiated steps to begin to address the most critical of those recommendations. Thus, the findings and recommendations of this evaluation committee can become a part of an already developing agenda for institutional improvement for the UNR.
STANDARD I - INSTITUTIONAL MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
The UNR's mission statement was approved in 1986 by the Board of Regents for the University and Community College System of Nevada and amended in 1993 when two provisions regarding diversity were added. The mission statement is published in appropriate places.
The committee heard different views regarding the currency of the mission statement and considerable internal discussion appears to evolve around the question of whether it needs to be formally re-examined. The self-study report calls for an official re-examination, yet others, including representatives of the BOR that the committee met, seem to look upon the 4-year planning cycle as sufficient. For example, when the BOR reviews the institutional plan, as it reviewed the current Academic Master Plan, it apparently accepts the directions that are proposed in it. Some may be confused when new funding does not follow acceptance of a plan, not an uncommon perception on campuses everywhere. The Board is moving now to an annual update and approval process; this may improve understanding.
There is evidence that the current mission and objectives in the Academic Master Plan guide institutional actions, though a faculty survey suggests that faculty in general are not especially knowledgeable about the mission. Nonetheless, one notable example of the mission driving institutional actions can be found in the commendable progress toward greater diversity, pursuant to the 1993 additions to the mission. UNR has aggressively pursued ambitious goals with significant success in the recruitment of women and ethnic minority faculty and staff and in the ethnic composition of its student population.
The progress of the institution in assessing student learning outcomes is discussed elsewhere in this report, especially under Standard V, Policy 25, and in General Recommendation 3. At the system level, indicators are being developed to assess progress toward system goals which are also goals UNR is expected to pursue.
The University is funded from the usual sources for a major public university with the most significant being state appropriations (39%), tuition/fees (13%), and federal grants and contracts (18%). Like many public universities, the portion of the state appropriations has dropped over the past decade to 39%. Though still a small percentage of the total revenue (8%), the institution has made great strides in increasing private gifts over the past decade.
With only one exception during the past decade, the institution has seen reasonable stability in funding. This is due primarily to the formula funding of the legislature and tuition/fees derived from steady growth in student enrollment, though this stability is accompanied by some tension as noted below. Aside from student enrollment, not all elements of the formula are fully funded. This is not to say there are no unmet needs at UNR; there are many, notably technical support for technological advancements and unit operating budgets. The committee heard much about both issues. A backlog of deferred maintenance has built up in spite of a dedicated tax which provides maintenance funds. An additional funding source is the estate tax which is available for centers of excellence and other purposes. For the current year, UNR received $6.8 from this source, some of it supporting technicians and distance delivery.
Since UNR funding is so closely tied to enrollment, there is understandably a great amount of attention directed toward enrollment issues. These are likely to cause growing tensions among the various relevant parties. Examples include actions by different majors to control enrollment levels by elevating admission requirements and institutional student recruiting strategies emphasizing quality. On the one hand, the committee heard many expressions about the need to ensure that appropriate expansion in UNR's infrastructure accompanies enrollment growth to maintain quality; it also heard from BOR representatives about the need to consider the relationship between undergraduate enrollment numbers and costly graduate programs. It is apparent that enrollment issues will be major ones for UNR in the years ahead, especially with the state's regional growth patterns and the growth in community college enrollments.
UNR has mechanisms to provide for campus participation in both the development of the budget request and, to a lesser extent, for the allocation of the funds. Though an Academic Master Plan exists (and must be revised every four years, according to the BOR), it is not seen as tied to the budget process, even though actions have been taken since the self-study report to expand the participatory opportunities. In sum, however, these processes are not perceived to be satisfactory for current times, according to the comments the committee heard. This matter is placed in a broader context in Standard VIII and is part of General Recommendation 2.
STANDARD III - PHYSICAL PLANT, MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
UNR's main campus near downtown Reno is attractively landscaped with a pond and a complementary mixture of new and historical buildings. Besides the 65 buildings on the main campus, UNR operates a nearby campus at Stead, facilities in Las Vegas, and 17 Cooperative Extension Offices throughout the state, Experiment Station field research facilities in various sites and a teaching ranch. UNR recently acquired property south of Reno as a gift which may become the home for distance delivery education along with use for other purposes.
UNR is fortunate to receive legislative funding to operate new buildings, including new ones built from gifts if they have been approved in advance. There is a problem with aging buildings (one fourth were built before 1950). The growing backlog of deferred maintenance that the administration is trying to address is only partly covered from revenue from a dedicated tax. Like older universities everywhere, this will continue to be an important matter for the campus to address. Complaints of leaky roofs that the committee heard, for example, do not contribute to the image of excellence the institution strives to convey.
A number of capital improvements have been made over the past decade, and many more are scheduled through 2002. The renovation of the chemistry building, listed as "under consideration" in the self-study report, is now underway.
One impressive addition is the new Honors Court, built with private contributions. It provides an attractive outdoor area for events, strolling and reading at the end of the quad. The names of campus and community honorees are etched on tall stones.
A 1989 Master Plan is scheduled for updating and integration with the Academic Master Plan by 1998. The intention is to give it more visibility. A Facilities Planning and Management Board, described as having "little real influence" in the self-study report, is being revitalized with actions designed to gain more campus-wide input. The WEB will be one vehicle for communication. Like the self-study finding, the committee also heard requests for more helpful signage on campus.
UNR, like other universities, has been engaged in energy-saving programs. It was encouraging to learn that a new law allows institutions to keep the savings derived from energy conservation.
The committee heard positive comments about improvements in parking, including the shuttle. An additional improvement, a new parking facility, is scheduled to begin in 1998.
As the self-study report indicates, the committee found evidence of responsiveness to academic needs by the facilities management. For example, an Automated Work Order System used effectively in many other institutions is being implemented. This enables prompt responses to regular maintenance needs soon after being reported as well as response to emergencies.
The continuing and growing need of equipment maintenance and upgrade, especially the acute technology needs that the committee heard, is addressed in various places throughout this report. Computer technology and support receive special attention in the section on Standard IV - Library and Information Resources. A General Recommendation is also made.
STANDARD IV - LIBRARY AND INFORMATION RESOURCES
The library and other information resources at UNR are, and have been since the interim accreditation visit of 1993, in the midst of intense self-self examination, reorganization and revitalization. For example, the University has deliberately decided to deploy resources to technology so that information can be acquired at the time of need rather than continuing to purchase as many materials as possible for possible future use. While evident deficiencies exist in information resources, staff, and facilities, there has been notable progress in service capacity.
Information Services
The self-study and faculty from several disciplines speak clearly to the University's awareness that library collections are inadequate to support some graduate programs and, especially, increased research aspirations. This view is echoed in accreditation evaluations dating back at least to 1988. The University has consistently increased the library's acquisitions budget (since 1994-95 funding for materials has increased by nearly 25%), but those funds have been insufficient to keep up with program development. A simple comparison with other doctoral granting institutions illustrates the degree to which the library appears to be falling behind in collection development. In 1996, with 929,950 volumes, the library held 102 volumes per FTE student. In 1992 the median library reported 101 per student (Academic Libraries: 1992, published by the National Center for Education Statistics). On the other hand, in recent years the UNR library has been adding about 18,000 volumes per year or 2 volumes per student. In 1992 the median library reported 2.9 volumes added per student-a rate that would call for 26,000 volumes per year if UNR were to keep up with the median library. It should be noted, however, that the University, including the faculty library committee does not believe that the volume count in relation to student numbers is not useful measure.
The library has begun to compensate for these perceived inadequacies through cooperative efforts with other libraries, on-campus document delivery, and an ambitious program of investment in electronic data bases. Observations were made that electronic access has not and may not benefit all disciplines in equal fashion. That contention is no doubt well founded because to date the library has obtained electronic access to full text resources only in limited areas. Faculty in two areas now served by full text services, business and English, were extremely complimentary of library information resources. As a matter of fact, comments made to the visiting team by faculty in many disciplines, from physical sciences to journalism, were rather more positive with respect to library resources than judgments found in various sections of the self-study.
Library acquisition activity is driven by approval plans, which are focused on program needs, and faculty recommendations. There is little discretionary money remaining to fill gaps in collections for various disciplines. A check of six subject areas from "Outstanding Academic Books of 1996," a list published by Choice in January, 1997 suggests that books basic to the support of undergraduate education may be missed under present budget constraints: only 50% of recommend titles in communication were found listed in the library's on-line catalog as of late September, 1997; 27% in anthropology; 25% in electronic media; 50% in science and technology; 41% in economics; and 70% in education.
Library service plans, policies and collection development guidelines are set forth in a variety of documents, from its Library Master Plan, 1994 to the Bibliographers Handbook, 1997. One clear lack at present is that systematic collection assessment has not been established. Without documentation born of analysis it is not possible to speak with confidence to the relative overall quality of existing collections in various subject areas. This lack of assessment was noted in the accreditation evaluations of 1978 and 1988. Library staff concede the need for assessment, are committed to pursue it, and are urged to do so in the immediate future.
Since 1990 UNR has been increasing its efforts to deliver degree programs through Electronic Distance Education (EDE). Although the self-study reports past efforts to support distance education as ad hoc, in fact the library has a basic structure in place: an improved on-line catalog of holdings, a state education network, delivery service for both electronic and paper documents, a new staff member to provide a variety of support services for EDE, and a planning role in developing EDE courses. The library has many WEB pages to guide EDE students to UNR resources; however, most electronic data bases are presently limited to campus use. To extend these services to distant students would greatly enhance information support although factors such as feasibility and cost effectiveness may force such expansion into the indeterminate future. See also section on Standard VI - Continuing Education and Special Instructional Activities.
In the arena of information services the evaluation team discovered general and serious concern over computer technology. There is general consensus that faculty and staff in most parts of the University were largely left on their own for years to acquire needed hardware and software and that instruction, research and other efforts have suffered. The parallel concern, noted in the self-study and mentioned to many of the visiting team, is the lack of technical support for computer technology.
The University has taken notable steps toward addressing the technology concerns, including the appointment of an Associate Vice President for Information Resources and Technology (IRT), the recent authorization of eight technical support positions, and recent allocations for computer hardware, with promise of more to come. Several departments voiced concern as to how the support positions will be deployed and questions about how the relatively new unit, IRT, with responsibility for meeting campus computer needs, will impact various constituencies. In face of the enormity of computer-related need, there is some reservation about the practicality of combining the position of Associate Vice President for IRT with that of Dean of Libraries, though the action to have the technology portion of the position report to the President is a sign of the administration's commitment to addressing this institutional need. To reassure the campus, a support plan must be worked out as soon as possible, with timely efforts to keep areas informed of progress.
Despite questions about many aspects of information services there was general praise of library services and library staff's service orientation, responsiveness and adaptability. Nearly every academic area testified to marked improvement of services in recent years.
Facilities and Equipment
Space limitations were noted ten years ago; they are now severe. Collection space is all but exhausted not only in the main library but also in most branches. Many staff office spaces are crowded and awkward. Student seats, as set by a state formula, should accommodate 20% of the student body but have fallen to less than 13% of FTE students; seating capacity will fall much more before expansion can take place. Recently, funds were allocated for the planning of an addition. Full funding of an addition must be pursued with vigor if a service crisis is to be avoided. A topic raised in the self-study report and mentioned in several earlier accreditation documents is the possibility of reducing the number of branch libraries. A new addition will provide an opportunity for UNR to reconsider consolidation, a choice that might help alleviate part of the strain on personnel resources.
Basic equipment needs are being met within library facilities. Indeed, a glance around the main library reveals a large investment in WEB-connected pc's. In addition, as noted above, recent allocations have begun to address faculty and staff need for computer equipment. However, there was recurrent comment about the lack of computer stations for students in many parts of the campus. In the past, equipment acquisition was reported as mostly a product of ad hoc infusion of money. Perhaps, the establishment of regular budget lines for all equipment would reassure campus departments that the continuing and growing need for equipment replacement and upgrades is being systematically addressed. Personnel and Management
The self-study report, the exhibits made available to the team, and a survey of activities in which staff are involved document a qualified, dedicated staff with a requisite management structure in place, including opportunities to participate in service reorganization, development and training. The overriding issue is the number of staff; it is too small. The self-study report cites no fewer than three well known staffing formulas that support this view. The greatest deficiency is in classified positions, a principal cause of serious over-dependence on student assistants. During 1996/97 student workers totaled 29 FTE, accounting for more than 25% of overall staffing. Service ramifications of staffing strength are rather stark, e.g., no regular staff at the reference desk after 9 p.m. and only student attendants in branch libraries after 5 p.m. on weekdays and for all weekend hours. Such staffing patterns are unsuited to a major university with sophisticated need for information support.
Another example from Academic Libraries: 1992 (cited above) may illustrate the anomalous situation the library is in. In the category of "total staff per 1,000 students" the median library among doctoral-granting institutions reported 9.5 FTE staff per 1,000 students. The UNR library presently has 8.2 staff, including 2 FTE on soft money, per 1,000 students. The library would need 12 additional positions to equal the staffing strength of the median library. On the other hand, in the category "circulation per FTE student" the median library reported 22.3 per FTE student. In 1995/96 UNR had 36.68 per student. The suggestion is that even staff equal in number to the median library would be inadequate for UNR and that increased staffing is probably the library's most pressing need.
Medical Library
The Medical Library is administratively and financially separate; it was not a formal part of the self-study report. It is small, seen as inadequate by all interviewed, and has been a continuing concern of accrediting bodies for over 10 years. In 1995 an evaluation committee concluded that the library is inadequate in information resources, staff and space. Although the self-study report indicates that a plan "to remedy the library's most chronic deficiencies would be in place by the time the Northwest... evaluation team arrives," the committee found no written plan. The President, however, stated that the library deficiency would be corrected on schedule, and the legislature appropriated planning money. See also Medical School under Standard V.
RECOMMENDATION
The committee recommends UNR act to ensure adequate space for the Medical Library and provide sufficient funds to bring staff and information resources to adequate levels.
Conclusion
The combined units of the University Libraries and Informational Resources and Technologies, in consultation with a wide representation from the campus, have set about with creativity and zest to reorganize and revamp information services at UNR. The University has noted this effort and the attendant improvements being made. The team heartily commends this effort as well as its support for a new organizational structure to attend to extensive and complex computing needs. With requisite improvement in resource support related to the requirements of the University's decisions about the library's strategic directions, the library and IRT have the potential to deliver truly exceptional information service to the UNR.
STANDARD V - EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM and ITS EFFECTIVENESS
POLICY 15 GENERAL EDUCATION/CORE CURRICULUM
Since the last reaccreditation visit in 1988, the University has developed and implemented a core curriculum which aims to integrate the usual components of a general education curriculum. The curriculum is horizontal, fostering quantitative skills, writing, and critical thinking across all content areas in the core, as well as vertical, with mathematics and sciences courses sequenced and English composition a prerequisite to sophomore-level Western Traditions courses. The core is completed with a diversity course that supports the 1993 additions to the University's mission statement to respect ethnic and cultural diversity and gender differences. In the senior year, students take two capstone courses, one outside their majors, designed to broaden their perspectives beyond their culture or discipline and to integrate their learning from previous courses in the core with their major.
The new core is the result of lively intellectual and pedagogical discussions among faculty from many disciplines. Even eight years after its implementation, the enthusiasm of faculty involved has not seemed to wane, and the core curriculum continues to be the focus of an exemplary discussion across disciplines about what the business of a University should be. Currently under way are proposals to develop a course in the sciences that integrates the material of several disciplines in a manner parallel to the Western Traditions courses which include material from the fine arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Several issues regarding the core curriculum face the University. The most significant is that assessment of student learning in the core is still largely anecdotal, though largely positive. Departmental self studies, interviews with individual faculty members, and exit interviews with a small number of students indicate a conviction that the core has made a significant difference in student writing and in student understanding of the interrelatedness of knowledge. Assessment tools need to be developed that can more clearly evaluate the extent to which the goals have been achieved. The tools can also help UNR evaluate pockets of negative student reactions, e.g., some professional programs, the committee heard.
While faculty who have participated in the core are generally enthusiastic about it, a 1996 survey of faculty revealed as many as 40% were negative or neutral. A more focused survey should be attempted to discover what reservations this group has and whether their issues can be addressed.
The rigor of the core, especially of the Western Traditions courses, is a matter of pride for faculty involved. On the other hand, some faculty who teach in the WT courses report as many as 25% of students unprepared to deal effectively with the material of the courses. Are these students able to complete the courses? Not only would an assessment tool linked to learning objectives clarify this issue, but retention and drop-out rates in the WT courses should be analyzed.
A final issue in the lower division component of the core is that only about 50% of instructors are regular faculty. The University's commitment to the core curriculum can in some part be measured by how it is staffed, and the high number of teaching assistants and part-time faculty suggests a low priority. A challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to endow three chairs is now being matched. Staffing of the core should be an issue for continued evaluation and discussion, with careful assessment of student outcomes one way to measure overall effectiveness and quality.
The senior level capstone courses have different issues. A large number of 400-level capstone courses are dual-listed as 600-level graduate courses in departments, even many capstone courses approved as meeting "general," out-of-major capstone requirements. In addition, while some capstone courses seem to have been carefully designed to integrate the goals of the core curriculum, others appear to be rather standard departmental offerings. The Core Curriculum Board may need to revisit the goals and objectives of capstone courses and be especially vigilant that course syllabi clearly reflect those objectives. If 600-level courses are attached to the 400-level capstones, the graduate-level, discipline-specific expectations should also be clearly stated.
Finally, the development of general capstone courses should be actively sought in many more disciplines. So far, the humanities and social sciences offer the bulk of capstone courses, and if the goals of the core are to be met across disciplines, more capstone courses need to be developed.
COMMENDATION
The University is to be commended for developing a rigorous, thoughtful core curriculum. It has clearly had an impact on the intellectual life of the campus, both the students who take the courses, and the faculty who participate in its development and implementation.
SUGGESTION
Continue to search for appropriate assessment measures of the extent to which the core meets its learning objectives.
EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT, POLICY 25
UNR has recognized the importance of assessment to the institution and has begun efforts to establish University-wide assessment. Initial efforts began in 1991 but have greatly accelerated in recent years. Efforts at present are fairly top-down in their initiation, but do demonstrate the necessary commitment top leaders have for the effort.
Currently, a director of assessment position, a half-time position, has been created. The faculty member assigned to this half-time position also had a .75 assistant, a doctoral student nearing completion of his degree. Both have backgrounds in psychology. In addition, the University recently brought in a consultant to meet with administrative leaders for a two-day workshop.
The University began with a significant data collection effort. Like many institutions, UNR found they were "data poor" and needed to begin building a data base to assist faculty and administrators in their assessment process. Currently, assessment takes the form of this data collection along with a series of surveys. Survey research began with collecting demographics information on incoming classes, surveying alumni two years after graduation, regional employer surveys, and some senior class (and later graduate school) exit interviews. Group and individual interviews were conducted. All surveys and interviews were aimed at determining client satisfaction and probably have been biased in a positive way to the University.
The Office of Assessment is sponsoring University participation in a national project with ACT (American College Testing) and eight other university in piloting a critical thinking exam. The exam is expected to be three hours in length, and no decision has yet been made regarding how the test will be administered. The Office of Assessment is also beginning collection of syllabi to examine areas of commonality such as student evaluation and grading policy. External evaluation of syllabi is under consideration. The purpose of these efforts is to develop comparable data university-wide and to look at achievement of goals related to the University's mission.
A Program Review process also exists. Data of the review is provided by the Planning and Budget Office. Steps in the review are:
Deans are asked to design a program review schedule for a seven-year cycle.
Department chairs are, in a meeting in the spring, given information regarding the review process, elements for review and data. (A Program Review Support Committee comprised of a representative from Planning and budgeting, the Assessment Director, the Associate Vice President for Academics, and the Associate Dean of the Graduate School is available to assist).
Department conducts a self-study in the fall.
An external reviewer is brought to campus in the spring.
Results of the review are presented to the Associate Vice President for Academics, the Vice President for Research, and the dean of the college in which the program is housed.
The Associate Vice President for Academics provided a report back to the department.
Faculty voice concern that program review may have negative impact on the department and feel the exercise burdensome, especially in areas who have professional accreditation. UNR deserves recognition for the efforts made to date in education assessment. Clearly, the strong support of assessment by the Board and top university administrators is a necessary component for success. Still lacking, however, is the faculty involvement necessary for success of educational assessment. Identification of educational assessment as a process for the improvement of teaching/learning and not as punitive has yet to be achieved. The expectation is that educational assessment will be integrated into the planning process and influence financial allocations. This has not yet happened. The University will benefit from departments' accepting educational assessment as a high priority, of faculty development of outcome measure and the faculty ownership and support that will follow. Additional resources in support of faculty participation may be needed (See General Recommendations at the end of report).
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND EXPERIMENT STATION EXTENSION SERVICE
The College of Agriculture has undergone substantial change in the last decade. The teaching program has been restructured and administrative reorganization has resulted in a consolidation of teaching and research programs into a School of Veterinary Medicine and three departments. There is an active effort to facilitate growth in majors but not substantial effort to recruit students. The total undergraduate majors in Fall 1997 was 523. In addition there were approximately 200 graduate students with the major professor in the College. The growth in the student body has paralleled a reduction of emphasis in traditional agricultural education and increased emphasis on environmental education.
The Agricultural Experiment Station has substantially increased research effort over the last decade. Scientist numbers have been fairly stable while funding in absolute dollars has doubled in most state and federal categories. Funding from grants has increased by 458% to 2.3 million dollars in 1996. This significant increase in grants reflects the high emphasis on research by the College during this time period. The goal of the College was to develop excellence in research and this has been largely achieved. Two of the departments (Veterinary Medicine and Applied Economics and Statistics) have been reviewed by CSREES in the last two years. Both reviews were highly complimentary of the efforts of the departments. The Veterinary School has distinguished itself in teaching and extension. The Applied Economics and Statistics Department has excelled in research and is defining a new approach in teaching away from traditional agricultural economics towards a degree emphasis in Environmental Policy Analysis. This complements the strong environmental sciences emphasis in the College.
CSREES reviews of Biochemistry and Environmental and Resource Sciences are planned for this year and next. The emphasis on external reviews of departmental programs by the College is commendable. When these reviews are completed the College will have complete a comprehensive educational assessment.
The undergraduate curriculum in the College has been carefully restructured in all teaching units. The integration of the University core curriculum has been positively accepted by the faculty. There is clearly a continued interest in quality teaching and advising. The quality of advising is commendable. The Masters degrees are managed within each department, except Biochemistry. These follow a fairly traditional approach of high flexibility and program definition by the graduate committee. The MS in Biochemistry and all Ph.D. programs are offered through newly developed interdisciplinary graduate degree programs. These programs are administered outside of the academic departments and have substantial, specific requirements that all students in the degree program must complete. This adds breadth and rigor on the one hand and decreases flexibility on the other. The interdisciplinary degree programs have allowed the smaller faculties in the College disciplines and faculty in other colleges to cooperate and offer good quality graduate degrees. The faculty believes the positive aspects greatly overshadow the limitations of this approach.
This relatively small College has found innovative ways to develop scholarly activities and avoid the criticism for large numbers of low enrollment majors. The attitude is good and the level of energy in the research labs and programs is high. It is an uplifting experience to see people moving ahead with such high energy.
The infrastructure is very good in general and significant investments have been made over time to maintain and upgrade facilities. Even with the long-term attention to facilities in the College each of the departments has specific needs for improvement of infrastructure to do the work expected of them.
The College has made minimal progress in addressing the University goals for improved diversity among the faculty. The College should give special attention to recruitment, and clearly articulate to the faculty the expectations for diversity.
The classified staff are satisfied with their positions. However, it has been some time since the position descriptions have been evaluated. It is possible that many staff are working at levels well above their classification. A careful review of classified positions is advisable.
Communication is an important issue within the College. Intradepartmental and interdepartmental communication is good. Communication between the dean's office and department chairs is also good. Communication between the dean's office and faculty is poor. The consequence of the latter communication problem has been strained relations and misunderstandings within the faculty. It has been years since an all College faculty meeting was held. As the College moves ahead with a new dean, the opportunity to engage the faculty is evident. They appear to be eager to be more involved and to help shape the College's future.
SUGGESTION
This Accreditation review, the recently completed CSREES reviews and those planned for the next two years are timely. The College has developed into a high quality teaching and research unit by any measures of achievement. The dean deserves commendation for that accomplishment. The Extension Service will apparently be removed from the College as determined by the Board of Regents. As the College reorganizes to adapt to the Extension Service changes and to move forward as an important western teaching and research College of Agriculture, they need to do an integrated job of strategic planning. The College will continue to be relatively small in terms of total support for their broad mission. The need to continue the interdisciplinary PhD programs is obvious as the expanded emphasis in research continues. There is a very real possibility that small changes in faculty interest, course changes or areas of scholarship can cause significant changes in educational needs of the doctoral students in these programs. For example, if a professor in ecology is replaced by a professor in hydrology and courses are dropped in ecology; students in several areas can be disadvantaged. Since curriculum decisions are made in departments and the degrees are administered in the interdisciplinary program areas a potential for disruption exists. A strong, formal, written review of each interdisciplinary degree program should be conducted at least every two years to insure the current high quality of the interdisciplinary programs is maintained.
The movement towards interdisciplinary programs in both undergraduate and graduate programs was far sighted and integrates the teaching and research aspects of the College. In fact, this move may define the new disciplines of the future. It has been a successful experiment and, carefully nurtured, should serve the long-term interests of Nevadans well. At the same time, the integration of agricultural production into these new efforts is less clear. As this is accomplished and communicated to industry the continuing production agriculture needs of Nevada can be met by the College and support of agriculture industries can be enhanced.
Cooperative Extension
In 1993 the Board of Regents decided that Cooperative Extension would be administratively separated from the College. Since then the College administration has been moving towards implementation of this decision. At this point, the logistical changes e.g. personnel management, budgets, etc. have been completed and the Cooperative Extension Service is able to function as a separate unit. The change will be fully implemented by July of 1998. The decision was made in order to facilitate an expansion of Extension programming focused on needs of urban clientele. The intention of Extension Administration is to increase urban work and to maintain current levels of educational services to agricultural clientele.
The planned major change in Extension administration and lack of knowledge of the expected impacts among the faculty overshadows the programming evaluation. However, the cooperative programs among the counties and state faculties are of high quality and valued by the clientele.
SUGGESTION
The College and Extension Administration needs to engage the faculty and clientele in constructive planning to develop acceptable ways to meet the needs of agriculture for extension programming as the mission of extension is expanded.
The Departments of English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, History, and Philosophy share many strengths and issues. Faculty quality and productivity have improved significantly, with all four departments hiring significant numbers of new faculty with substantial research agendas-nearly 50% of the faculties have been hired in the last ten years. All units offer Master of Arts degrees, with PhD degrees in History and English. The number of degrees granted has grown in all fields (in Spanish, graduates have quadrupled in ten years), except French and German, reflecting national trends.
Resources have not kept up with growth, in spite of some new faculty lines and an increase in graduate assistantships. Operating expenses have been frozen at the 1989 dollar amount, with no increase for inflation. Departments with growing enrollments and new faculty lines have received no additional operating budget, which stretches resources even thinner.
Even with new faculty lines, the demand for courses is having to be met with more and more non-tenure track faculty, including GTAs and LOAs (letter of appointment faculty) who teach for $500 per credit hour. While various faculty are pleased with the institution of a non-tenure track lecturer position with a good salary and benefits, these positions should be of concern to faculty, since they may be replacing tenure-track lines. In English, for example, one-third of the regular faculty positions are now non-tenure track lecturers. Besides creating a two-tier system of regular faculty, an increase in these numbers may signal a threat to the system of tenure, already under fire nationally.
The mentoring and evaluation of teaching assistants by these departments seems strong, with required pedagogy classes in History, English, and Foreign Languages, and an apprenticeship in Philosophy (which has only one GTA). All evaluation of GTAs includes classroom visitation. An issue regarding GTAs for some of these departments is expressed as an ethical one: should numbers of GTAs continue to increase to meet staffing needs of the University, when the academic job market is flooded with PhDs?
These departments also expressed concern that the LOA stipend is too low. At $500 per credit hour, LOA faculty, who hold at least the MA degree in these fields, make less than GTAs who have not completed that degree.
In spite of staffing and operating budget concerns, the programs in these departments are coherent, regularly evaluated, and appropriate. The intellectual energy of these departments is clearly demonstrated by their contribution to the development and implementation of the core curriculum. The enthusiasm for the core is particularly strong in faculty from these departments, and the benefits of interdisciplinary conversations most apparent. The commitment to core values extends to service as well; Spanish, for example, is meeting diversity goals by placing Spanish students in local elementary and high schools, to serve as mentors, translators, and models, while practicing their own language skills.
Assessment of programs is still at a very early stage. Philosophy has begun to conduct exit interviews with graduating students and Foreign Languages tracks student progress at least through the lower levels. English has been working on assessment of writing courses, although outcomes in literature courses do not appear to be assessed in a systematic way. The evaluation committee was told that syllabi did not exist in all courses in History; if this is the case evaluating how well objectives have been met is hampered by the lack of clearly enunciated objectives. The Dean of Arts and Science has mandated that departments have in place an outcomes assessment plan by the end of Fall semester, 1997. FINE ARTS
Most departments in this division have experienced less dramatic growth than Humanities Departments, though none has lost student numbers. In Speech Communication, however, students are being turned away from classes and understaffing is becoming a significant issue. Music, too, has grown by at least 25% in five years, while Theatre and Art have experienced gradual increases in numbers.
Any increases, however, are straining the Fine Arts budgets and facilities. One department chair said that Fine Arts' needs could be summed up as "Space, space, space." In Music, for instance, over 140 majors have only 8 practice rooms. A new Fine Arts building has been discussed, but the decision to seek outside funds for its construction makes it unlikely that the space problem will be resolved any time soon.
As with the Humanities division, the issue of operating budget looms large. Saying "Growth is the enemy," one department chair summed up the quandary of many departments. While the University encourages growth through recruitment and retention, a static operating budget means that each new student stretches the resources ever thinner. Departments are not rewarded for increased enrollments; instead, they feel penalized. Music has had to increase its fee for applied music lessons and now has the highest fee of any state university in the country, according to NASM figures. Understaffing is also an issue, with many sections of Speech Communication, Music History, Applied Music, and Art taught by LOAs. With no graduate program, Art currently has no graduate assistants, and the other two departments would like to be able to offer more GTAs.
New hires in Art and Music have been reflected in changes in curricula: in Music, Orchestral Studies has been added as an option to the Master of Arts (a program unique to the University); in Art, videography and digital media. Faculty in these departments are gaining national prominence.
The Department of Speech Communication and Theatre has been fraught with difficulties. The historic combination of Public Speaking and Theatre may no be longer a logical pairing, given the development of Speech Communication into conceptual approaches to interpersonal and organization communication. The department needs to decide if the disputes of recent years are personnel issues or problems of a poor disciplinary fit.
Assessment in Fine Arts is in reasonably good condition. Senior recitals, shows, projects, and performances have been a regular part of curricula and assessment plans may need only to keep systematic records of student achievement.
The programs in Fine Arts are all sound, regularly updated, and appropriate. With new facilities and an infusion of additional faculty, these excellent programs can become even better.
COMMENDATIONS
The quality of faculty and scholarship in the Humanities is excellent, with new hires adding considerably to the intellectual energy of the University.
Fine Arts Departments are making good use of existing resources to provide students with improving programs and new options.
SUGGESTIONS
Strategies need to be pursued at the College and University levels to increase operating budgets.
The percentage of courses taught by regular faculty should be monitored to make sure that Standard VII is met-that is, that there is a "core of full-time instructional faculty with major professional commitment to the institution and with appropriate professional qualifications."
RECOMMENDATIONS
The committee recommends assessment plans should be developed and implemented in all units, as soon as possible, with the results influencing the planning process.
The committee recommends departments should insure that syllabi are developed for all courses, with learning objectives and evaluation methods clearly stated. Departments should monitor the syllabi for dual 400/600 courses to ensure that graduate-level expectations are indicated.
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND GEOGRAPHY (Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics, and Physics)
The library holdings of books and serials are adequate for undergraduate student use, and in support of the graduate and research programs in the physical sciences at the University. The library will need to continue planning for an increase in electronic access as inflation of serial prices in the sciences forces a reduction in subscriptions. All faculty have computers with full ethernet connections and access to the WEB. Technical support for research scientific instrumentation is available in the departments, but technical support for computing equipment is severely limited. Institutional plans to hire eight new computer technicians will surely help, but support will still be very thin. The Institution has been able to provide competitive start-up packages for the relatively large number of recent hires in the physical sciences, and to provide adequate matching money for competitive grants. The departments are to be commended for their strong hiring practices which have resulted in a faculty body of exceptional talent. Evidence of this is the very substantial increase in extramural funding for their research programs. These activities have brought indirect costs to some of the units that have enabled them to further support research efforts of the faculty.
The fact that operating budgets have remained flat for ten years is a source of major concern in the physical sciences. One consequence of this has been the inability to modernize and maintain undergraduate instructional laboratories. This issue should be addressed before instructional quality is compromised. Also of concern is the lack of clerical support in some of these departments-in one case only one secretary for a faculty of twenty.
The physical science departments are all heavily involved in the core curriculum. They are supportive of this program, and have committed substantial resources to it. In the case of Mathematics in particular, the strain has been great, and has had an impact on their own major programs. There is a lot of enthusiasm for the core, and it appears to be a well thought out program of liberal education, but the evidence for its success to date seems to be mainly anecdotal. This is an area in which outcomes assessment will play a major role. GTAs play a large instructional role in the physical sciences, and even with stipends that are not competitive with peer institutions, significant numbers of domestic students have been attracted to the graduate programs. It appears that language difficulties with GTAs are not as great as at many similar Institutions.
Advising in these departments is typically carried out by a small number of regular faculty as part of their assigned responsibility, and appears to be effective. There is a continuing problem, noted in several units, of persuading students to seek academic advice.
In depth program reviews involving outside review teams are carried out every seven years in the College of Arts and Sciences. Mathematics and Physics are going through the process this academic year, Geography went through it last year, and Biology will be reviewed next year. Results of these reviews have been positive and helpful, and in Geography have strongly validated the Department's ability to mount the recently instituted Master's degree.
There is a widespread "dual enrollment" practice in which graduate and undergraduate students are enrolled in the same class, the former getting 600 level (graduate) credit, and the latter receiving 400 level (undergraduate) credit. In some instances the graduate students are given extra assignments and/or are graded on different scales, in other instances there seems to be little difference in expectations. It is suggested that, in such situations, detailed syllabi could be developed that would clearly delineate the differences in expectations and performance that are expected of the two types of student.
The physical science departments have uniformly high standards for faculty evaluation and for promotion and tenure. The processes are clearly spelled out in departmental bylaws, and the high quality (albeit informal) mentoring programs ensure that new faculty are informed and aware of expectations for tenure and promotion. Through in depth evaluations each year, and through a thorough mid-probationary review, junior faculty are made well aware of their progress.
The physical science departments through strong recruitment practices, through mentoring, and through rigorous standards for promotion and tenure have assembled a faculty body of exceptional strength. Their scholarly work is excellent, and is accompanied by degree programs and service coursework of high quality.
The programs reviewed in this section include the departments of Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and the program in Women's Studies.1 Anthropology, Political Science and Psychology offer work at the baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral level. Sociology currently offers baccalaureate and masters programs and participates in an interdisciplinary doctoral program in social psychology. Women's Studies was authorized to offer an undergraduate major in spring 1997; it is discussed at the end of the body of this section.
All of these programs are well anchored in the College of Arts and Sciences which is the logical academic setting. Interviews with the dean demonstrated a keen understanding of each of the programs and their current directions. These programs play a critical role in the complex mission of UNR.
Mission and Objectives As would be expected, these departments are carrying out multiple missions with numerous objectives. All have aligned their individual mission statements with that of the University which emphasizes teaching, research, and service in the land grant tradition. In general they are committed to a broad liberal arts undergraduate major (Psychology offers two tracks), masters degrees (Political Science places considerable focus on the professional MPA), and, with the exception of Sociology, a research-based doctoral program. All are involved in a significant manner in the core program, both at the lower level and capstone level, and in offering service courses to non-majors. Research is expected from all tenure-track faculty and there is significant funded research, particularly in Psychology. There is important service and outreach effort also being carried out.
Clearly, the Social Sciences are comfortable with their various missions within the University; there is considerable evidence that they are dedicated to achieving their goals at the highest possible level of quality.
Curriculum and Enrollments
Anthropology is in the process of a major curriculum review this year in preparation for a program review. Political Science revised the comparative politics and international relations components in 1996 and is on the verge of further curriculum review this year. Psychology undertook a major revision of the undergraduate major last year. Sociology overhauled its undergraduate major in 1993-94. Efforts to weed untaught courses from the curriculum and catalogue have been reasonably successful, although there are a few that linger on because of a reluctance to give up a course that might be taught in the future. Departments need to temper that desire with the obligation to present a catalogue that accurately represents the current curriculum.
Enrollments vary somewhat, but overall, enrollment levels in the Social Sciences are strong at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Data from the UNR Data Book show that Anthropology and Political Science have healthy but fairly stable FTE enrollments while Psychology has a larger and growing student FTE. Sociology, a smaller department, has shown a strong FTE increase in recent years.
All of the departments show an increase in undergraduate majors (in the case of Sociology a dramatic increase) in the last five years and a similar increase in undergraduate degrees produced. At the graduate level, Psychology has one of the largest programs in the University. Political Science and Anthropology have healthy enrollments at the masters and doctoral level and produce graduates regularly. Sociology has revived its masters program and aspires to reactivate a doctoral program.
Instructional loads as reflected by student-faculty ratios indicate that Psychology and Sociology are carrying fairly heavy burdens and that Anthropology and Political Science are closer to the University average. These ratios must be used cautiously because they do not reflect LOA faculty, teaching assistants, and soft money personnel. In any case, the Social Sciences are carrying an important part of the instructional burden of a formula-funded University.
Resources
Do the Social Sciences have the resources to carry out their multiple missions? The answer appears to be a qualified "yes" although there are some mixed signals. A highly qualified and motivated group of faculty has been attracted and retained at the University. A high priority has been attached to improving compensation levels for faculty. Current UNR faculty salaries are very competitive. In general, classroom and laboratory space is adequate although Psychology reports some crowding in laboratories. Faculty report that the library resources are usually adequate and that library staff is very responsive. There is some flexibility in budget administration which allows for adaptation and improvisation. A vigorous approach to seeking outside funds has allowed departments to remodel, acquire equipment, and enhance the resource base.
But there are some important problems as well. Departmental operating budgets have not had an increase for ten years (this may be an artifact of the appropriations process). Access to information technology is uneven; a number of faculty cannot access the Internet. There is a lack of maintenance money and technical support for information technology. Faculty appreciate the effort to create "smart classrooms" but are frustrated by their uncertain reliability.
For the present, the departments are getting by. In the long run, the lack of support funds may undermine a program, no matter how good the professional salaries. Departments may be forced to pick and choose. For example, Political Science indicates that it will reduce its doctoral enrollment somewhat. Sociology, a department avidly courting majors, wants to raise the GPA requirement for entry into the major and this may reduce enrollment. Resource constraints may lead departments to choices which may conflict with overall strategic objectives of the University. These examples are probably symptomatic of a need to address some of the resource issues or alternatively, a need to consider a more narrowly defined set of objectives.
Faculty
These departments present an impressive group of faculty. Their doctorates were earned at leading research universities. There is an impressive record of scholarship and publication. A significant number of Social Sciences faculty have won teaching awards and several faculty occupy named chairs in their discipline. The faculty evaluation and advancement system appears to be well understood and accepted within the Social Sciences.
Assessment
Policy Statement 25 requires each academic program to have an assessment scheme in place. While the Social Science departments are making some important beginnings in the assessment area they do not, at present, have overall programs in place. Psychology probably has made the most progress by undertaking the creation of a comprehensive assessment system built on an MIS approach to student records. The department has done student satisfaction surveys, exit interviews, and plans to evaluate non persisters. The Psychology department is clearly willing to make a major commitment to assessment. In Anthropology, assessment will be on the table as part of the department review; currently use of student evaluations of teaching is voluntary, not obligatory, in Anthropology. Political Science is involved in the assessment of writing across the curriculum. The department tries to do exit interviews and does use student evaluations. Sociology has implemented a major reform of its advisory system and is "trying its best" to move more systematically on assessment.
These departments appear to understand the need to progress on the assessment front. Each department feels some urgency on the matter of improving departmental advising. They need to exercise their own initiatives on assessment but they will need encouragement, support, and perhaps even some modest resources to build a system that works for each individual program.
Program review is an important component of assessment. By the end of the current academic year all four departments will have gone through the rigorous program review process within the last two years. That will represent a significant accomplishment for the Social Sciences, the College, and the University.
Women's Studies
An important new development in the Social Sciences is the elevation of Women's Studies to a recently authorized major at UNR. A minor had been in place for approximately ten years. The University has now hired a strongly credentialed full-time director and faculty member in the program. A few students have already declared a major in the program. The director hopes for seven to ten majors fairly soon. Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary major with contributed courses from many programs across campus. The willingness of many programs to cooperate augurs well for the future of this new undergraduate major.
The College of Business Administration (COBA) offers two undergraduate degrees (BS in Business Administration and BA in Economics) and three master's level degrees (Master of Business Administration, MS in Economics and MA in Economics). The vast majority of undergraduate students enroll in the BSBA program and the master's level students mostly enroll in the MBA program. The faculty currently numbers approximately 50 FTE members, spread fairly evenly across three departments: (1) Accounting and Computer Information Systems; (2) Economics; and (3) Managerial Sciences.
COBA is one of the larger academic units on the UNR campus, and has recently been developing into one of the University's stronger units overall. It has recently received (December, 1996) a highly positive site-visit accreditation report from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) that resulted in an official reaffirmation earlier this year (1997) of COBA's continuing accreditation by AACSB. It has also recently received separate accreditation for its Accounting program. For the past five years the School has enjoyed steady and highly effective leadership from its current dean, as acknowledged by various sources within the College and throughout other parts of the campus. This leadership has resulted in some excellent recent faculty hires, greater collegiality and consensus-building within the College, and, especially, highly improved relationships with the local and regional business community.
Students report that they are generally well satisfied with the quality of instruction they are receiving throughout almost all areas of the College. Although there are occasional complaints about a particular course or a particular instructor's teaching style, these are regarded by the students (both undergraduates and master's) as clear exceptions and not indicative of the overall high quality of teaching that is taking place within the College. Students also reported general satisfaction with the quality of advising within COBA, noting that for the most part advisers were extremely helpful (although occasionally it took a period of time before being able to obtain an appointment). Most students interviewed reported that they felt they were well prepared (in some cases, exceptionally well prepared) to enter the world of work after graduation from COBA. However, there were some concerns expressed about one area (marketing) where there were questions raised about how well the curriculum and instruction in this area is providing them with up-to-date knowledge regarding advanced techniques, approaches, and skills used in this field.
A substantial majority of those faculty who were interviewed reported a strong degree of satisfaction with the current state of affairs within COBA. They reported that the morale of themselves and their colleagues was generally (though not universally) quite high. They thought collegial relations within the College were currently very good, giving the dean a large share of the credit for this. They also viewed the faculty evaluation process within each of the three departments and the College as overall working quite well. They were generally positive about the quality of the undergraduate students in their classes, although they also agreed that there was a fairly high degree of variability in that quality. They noted with approval the relatively recent increase in the quality of their computer equipment resources and, especially, the $1,000 per year "development grants" provided to each faculty member. The one area of near-uniform dissatisfaction among faculty concerned the perceived lack of campus administration's attention to the problem of computer and technology support services. Although they acknowledged that the campus administration had taken some (what they considered to be) "small" steps in this direction recently, they felt that not nearly enough attention was being given to this major issue in the budgeting process. Beyond the specific issue of adequate budget resources for computer support services specifically, they also expressed some major reservations about the budgetary process in general at the campus level.
One area in which COBA has made recent major progress is in the area of community outreach. As the result of efforts by the dean and by various individual faculty members, there is a much more collaborative relationship with the business community than has ever been the case in the past. There are more visits by executives to classrooms and, especially, there is now a well developed set of internship opportunities for undergraduates to work for compensation in local business organizations. Nearly 100 students are currently working in such internship positions, and this program has been praised by both students and community business leaders.
In summary, the College appears to be on a course of steady, upward progress, and it has the potential to be an even stronger academic unit within the next decade. Not only is it receiving high marks from students about its instructional program, and from the business community about strengthened relations to the College and about the quality of recent graduates, but its scholarly research productivity has also improved in recent years. Clearly, the one specific issue that most concerns the faculty and dean of the school at this point in time is the above-mentioned need for greater support services for instructional-, faculty- and administrative-use of computers within the College. Given the rapidly increasing use of sophisticated computer software and hardware within competing schools of business throughout the country and within the world of business, campus attention to this issue would appear to be crucial. Without such support "infrastructure," COBA will by stymied in its attempts to build further on the already strong foundation established in recent years.
The College of Education is one of the largest units at UNR. COE programs serve both undergraduate and graduate students, and include three departments: Counseling and Educational Psychology, Curriculum and Instruction, and Research and Educational Planning. In addition, COE includes a Learning Resource Center funded and staffed cooperatively with Washoe County Schools that is available to local school teachers as well as faculty and students of the COE. Currently 3,000 users are registered.
COE just occupied a new building, a considerable improvement over the old facilities. The building is 110,000 square feet in four floors. The space includes the LRC, classrooms (all "smart" with video broadcast capability and computer podiums), a science lab classroom, individual faculty offices, a conference center, and space for expansion. The building was funded by state allocation with the exception of furniture which is being acquired through local fund raising.
COE has 47.5 hard money faculty lines for 1997-98 including chairs and clinical faculty. (Three clinical faculty, who each serve for three years, are contracted by the College from the local school district). In addition, another 20 positions are funded through soft money. One such example is the Addiction Technology Transition Center, a $1 million project expected to expand in following years to $4 million.
COE is in a time of significant transition. They have recently moved into a new facility, they are about to begin a search for a new dean (at present the College is headed by an acting dean), and they have recently undergone curriculum changes with a goal of enrollment management. Enrollment management is aimed at addressing an issue of over-enrolled classes (some methods classes have had enrollment of up to 50 students, for example). While this goal is certainly worthwhile, students currently in Education are very fearful that they may not be admitted to the College once they attain junior status. Faculty, however, feel the quality of instruction has suffered through these large numbers, and that the University has sought to keep FTE high through COE, which has enjoyed high enrollment.
Another issue of concern to both faculty and students is the lack of sufficient staff support in technology. This is especially crucial for education students who, as new teachers, will be expected to demonstrate skill in integrating technology into their teaching.
Faculty have made progress in the last few years in developing a strengthened governance process within COE (there is now a College Faculty Senate), and seem to have developed stronger collegial relationships, both areas that were problems recently.
Faculty are hopeful that a new dean will recognize the significant progress they have made in these areas and will be strong advocate for the college within the UNR community and the greater community.
Strengths
The College and University are to be commended for the development of a new building with high quality facilities aimed at enhancing the teaching/learning process. The College has developed an improved governance structure, and faculty feel more empowered in determining their future and in working cooperatively together.
Faculty and the acting dean have developed good working relationships with local schools. The College has been active and successful in developing resources to meet their needs.
SUGGESTIONS
COE should monitor their newly developed enrollment management policy carefully to ensure that student needs can be met and that FTE is not negatively impacted.
COE should continue to aggressively pursue technical support staff positions needed to provide the appropriate technology expertise expected of beginning teachers.
The programs in the College of Engineering (Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science) are integral components of the Land Grant mission of the University of Nevada, Reno. The College assesses its programs through national accreditation agencies, monitoring success rates on the national Fundamentals of Engineering exam (that is required of all graduating seniors), and feedback from the College of Engineering Advisory Board and employers of their graduates. The Engineering programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and the Computer Science program is assessed by external reviewers using criteria established by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board. The most recent accreditation review occurred in 1996 when all four programs were reviewed for curriculum coherence, individual course content, student success, facilities, resource considerations, and faculty qualifications. The major concerns raised by these accreditation bodies dealt with leadership, resource constraints and program redundancies.
The College of Engineering and three of the four departments in the College have suffered because of leadership transitions. The current dean was hired in the Spring of 1995, and the chairs of the departments of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science have been hired since then. The filling of four of the five major leadership positions in the College was necessary to establish credible, forward-looking leadership in the College. The Civil Engineering Department has benefited from stable leadership for several years, and has developed strong academic and research program areas of emphases. The process used by the Civil Engineering Department to achieve this level of productivity and recognition may be used as a model by the other departments. The College desires to be a full participant in the University's aspiration to be a Carnegie Research I institution. In order to accomplish this, the College has placed more emphasis on scholarly accomplishments than in the past. The new faculty that have been hired by the college have accepted this; however, some of the more senior faculty who have been primarily concerned with teaching feel threatened by this emphasis on scholarship.
The major resource constraints of the College involve meeting the increasing computational needs of its students, faculty and staff, and the need for additional operating funds. It appears that the institution as a whole has been slow, relative to peer institutions, to invest in its computing infrastructure to meet the needs of its educational mission. Individual departments have resorted to using student fees, external sources and redirection of departmental and college resources to meet their computational needs. The institution should develop a comprehensive plan to insure that the computing needs of all its constituents are met in the most effective and efficient manner. Although total budgets to the College and departments have increased over the past ten years, operating budgets have not. There appears to be confusion over why this has occurred and what flexibility units have in addressing this issue. This issue needs to be clarified for college administrators and faculty.
The undergraduate students (at least one from each department in the college) interviewed were pleased with their programs. They reported some variability in teaching quality in their majors and elective courses. They felt they were receiving a good education and were confident that they were being well prepared for their first job. They felt that their instructors were accessible and willing to help even outside of posted office hours. They felt that advising was not systematic, but felt that they were adequately advised. Like most students, they felt most well served by people in their major department and least served by central student service units, especially the Financial Aid office. Other concerns raised by the students were limited computer access, especially high-end computers needed by electrical engineering and computer science majors. Another concern raised by the students was the Western Traditions general core requirement, although others on the evaluation committee heard favorable comments from engineering students. Because engineering curricula are quite structured, engineering students have very few free electives. Some of the students would prefer more flexibility in course selection to round out their program. The Western Traditions series places a hardship on students transferring into UNR, since it appears that very few, if any, courses from other institutions are accepted to meet this requirement. This concern will only increase as the college begins to recruit more students from community colleges and other four-year institutions.
A meeting was held with about a dozen of the predominantly junior faculty of the College who appeared to be bright, energetic, and committed to their responsibilities. They were generally optimistic about the future of the college. Some were not sure of what was expected of them to achieve tenure and/or promotion. Although some informal mentoring occurs, the college may want to consider a more formalized mentoring program to assist junior faculty.
The College of Human and Community Sciences is new since the last accreditation visit. The College consists of dynamic and diverse faculty and programs of study sharing a common mission. Nearly 15% of the student body are enrolled in the College.
In the last five years, the faculty have totally revised the undergraduate curriculum to reflect community-based nursing practice and graduated the first family nurse practitioner students; they are ready to implement a Registered Nursing BS outreach program to Elko.
The director and other doctorally prepared faculty are meeting the scholarly and research expectations. In response to the expectation of increased research productivity, the School has recently hired a senior researcher and grant writer, established a research committee, and will form a statewide nursing network publication in collaboration with University of Nevada, Las Vegas on advanced practice and research issues.
The School has an established program of outcome assessment and could be helpful to other departments in the development of assessment plans.
The School of Social Work has engaged in self-study and external accreditation visits in 1995 and 1996 by the Council on Social Work Education. They evaluate recommendations and outcome data quickly. For example, recommendations received in February 1995 were completely implemented within ten months! The School not only has assessment plans implemented, but most importantly, uses the data for making ongoing improvements in curriculum, teaching, research, and service. This could be a model resource for programs to meet Standard V.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES
The organization of this department is marked by interdisciplinary connections, for example, with early childhood education, social psychology, the extension program, and the Nevada agricultural experiment station. The joint appointments of faculty enrich the University and the faculty member, and also create the dilemma of "double standards." For some, this is quite acceptable, and to others it is very disconcerting. It is suggested that ways to decrease the anxiety of these faculty be explored and implemented. The faculty's desire to receive approval for the proposed PhD program remains strong. They have been making concerted effort that need to be continued. The Child and Family Research Center has the potential to provide not only service, but research opportunities for the students and the faculty.
This is an interdisciplinary pre-professional degree that requires courses in the College and across the University. In Spring 1997, the program enrolled 21 students.
The Criminal Justice Program began in 1968 and was located in the College of Arts and Science. In 1996 it was relocated to the College of Human and Community Sciences. The present location is consistent with its mission and the wishes of the faculty and students. There are over 285 majors and graduates approximately 60 students per year. The program is one of high quality with limited enrollment and a very productive faculty. A masters program is in the process of approval but requires additional faculty to implement. There is considerable demand for both the General Option and the Community Policing and Problem solving (COPPS) Option. The latter is unique in the nation and addresses a rapidly increasing need. It would appear that expansion of the COPPS program with the necessary resources could result in a program that draws a national student body and has high visibility.
The five faculty in the Department of Nutrition are funded researchers and scholars whose works are widely published. Over the last five years the number of students pursuing the bachelor and master degrees have been relatively stable with a slight decrease in the number of graduate students, and stable in the declared undergraduate majors. The baccalaureate program is accredited by the American (Dietetic) Association. Equipment and lab space requirements are supported by the dean and will likely increase in the future.
Department of Health, Wellness and Exercise was formalized in July 1996 with the merger of the Departments of Health Sciences and Recreation, Physical Education, and Dance. A new chair began his work a year ago, and since then the faculty have achieved a monumental task-the creation of a new curriculum for the BS degree in health ecology. It has been sent for approval to the University Courses and Curriculum Committee to begin Fall 1998. The faculty have blended five previous majors into one with transition planning for the currently enrolled students. This faculty is experiencing personal and professional losses that accompany such a radical change. They are determined and united in the vision of transforming their graduates for the 21st century.
The Wellness Center focuses the faculty and multiple health promotion programs for faculty, staff, and students. The addition of six new faculty will exceed the current space available.
In the last five years the Senator Allen Bible Center for Applied Research has grown from primarily a statewide public survey center to an academic research center. The focus has enabled the Center to secure increased federal funding to study high-risk health behaviors in adolescents and adults. The Center is rich in computer capability and in an enthusiastic and knowledgeable director and staff. The Center provides research and grant writing assistance to faculty, primarily in the College. The capacity to do more is limited by the number of staff, hard money, and space. It would seem that additional resources to this Center would result in greater faculty development and increased funding for the research mission of the entire University.
This academic year began with the faculty appointment of a seasoned health care administrator and gerontology researcher to head the Sanford Center for Aging. The Center coordinates the gerontology certificate and minor in the College, using University-wide faculty resources. The Center provides the first service in the beginning health promotion center and offers faculty and students community service and research opportunities. The potential for community and national recognition of UNR through the Center is excellent.
COMMENDATIONS
The programs of the College exemplify UNR's stated mission.
The leadership of the first dean of the College is visionary, risk-taking and promotes team building.
The department chairs and Center directors demonstrate support and collaboration across their diverse disciplines within the College.
The faculty vita and interviews validate a strong dedication to teaching research/scholarship and service.
The addition of strong leadership faculty in the newly created Department of Health, Wellness and Exercise Sciences, and in the Center for Aging are the most recent examples of the outstanding progress this College since its inception.
Challenges facing the College of Human and Community Sciences are:
Funding limitations in the face of doubled enrollments.
Wise ongoing faculty recruitment and hiring.
The "spread out" physical location of the College across the campus decreases the critical faculty interaction among the Schools, departments, and Centers.
Realizing the potential for excellence in interdisciplinary health promotion and intervention programs to serve the citizens of Nevada and beyond.
Accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Reynolds School of Journalism has an excellent facility and up to date equipment, including the newest in digital media. But while the School develops students' professional and technological skills, it insists that the foundation of a successful career as a journalist or in a related field must be critical thinking and analytic skills. Its curriculum therefore de-emphasizes training for a specific career path and instead emphasizes life-long skills.
The faculty are an appropriate mix of those with theoretical and applied expertise. Since 1990, several new faculty have been hired, mostly PhD faculty with research credentials. The new hires have also increased the School's gender and ethnic diversity, a goal set in the School's diversity statement.
The School assesses student outcomes in a variety of ways, most significantly through senior projects that demonstrate students' ability to apply critical thinking and technical skills to a communication project.
The School is actively pursuing partnerships both on and off campus to give students a range of experiences: with art in digital imaging, with engineering in on-line information delivery, with the College of Business Administration in public relations and marketing, with the National Judicial College in issues of courts and media.
As with other units of UNR, the School of Journalism faces issues of technological upgrading and technical support for equipment. The School also faces the challenge of searching for a new dean who can continue building the balanced program that has developed during the last ten years.
COMMENDATION
The School is to be commended for stressing critical thinking and analytic skills and preparing students to function successfully in a changing environment.
The school has a set of objectives adopted April 1993. They are appropriate for the mission of the school which emphasizes primary care and generalist training.
1995-96 state appropriations were $13.9M with an additional $1.2M from the University. Research grants totaled about $7M with $4M generated by the Basic Science and $3M by (the much larger) Clinical Departments. Hospital, practice plan, and other revenues brought the total budget to $60.5M. State appropriations are not based on FTE enrollment which is a common situation for medical schools. The budget is not grossly inadequate but there are many concerns about the priorities used in its distribution by administration.
The school is located in a complex of buildings at the far north end of the campus. The buildings are relatively modern and mostly interconnected. There are two major lecture room sites, one for each of the two years. The first year room was viewed as quite inadequate three years ago but has been remodeled extensively and now is preferred by the medical students interviewed. The second year lecture room is large enough to accommodate many more than the 52 students enrolled. It is modern and well equipped.
The school has recently evolved a new curriculum which aims to de-emphasize lecture in favor of small group discussions. The physical plant is inadequate for this type of teaching there being far too few rooms available for small groups. There is no space for quiet study and students seek out spaces all over campus. The school received a $250,000 legislative appropriation this year for the purpose of planning the new "medical education" building which will include a library. Architectural drawings have been prepared, land is identified, and 65-80% of the funding has been raised, most in a large donation from a single individual. The building will be completed in two stages and will contain about 50,000 square feet when completed. Occupation is expected to be about two years away. All of this information is anecdotal and despite the statement on p.63 of the self-study document which states that "a plan to remedy the library space problem will be in place by the time of the site visit," no such WRITTEN plan was made available. See also section on Standard IV Library and Information Resources.
Medical students complete their first two years at the Reno campus and their two clinical years at a variety of clinical settings both in Reno and Las Vegas and other locations.
The school is in the process of instituting a new curriculum which de-emphasizes lecture in favor of small group discussion/problem solving exercises. This is more labor intensive, requires more faculty, and currently is generating a certain amount of faculty resistance among the basic scientists and uncertainty about the continued enthusiasm and participation of the (largely unpaid) clinical faculty. This initiative was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson foundation, but apparently the grant was terminated prior to its conclusion. It was not possible to determine the reason.
A new initiative to require a 20-week rotation with a primary care physician in the community is about to be implemented. Most students view this with trepidation because of the "required" nature, the uncertainty of exposure to varied types of practice and the potential for interpersonal conflict, and adverse reviews of performance. The Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs is aware of the potential problem and will take steps to ameliorate it.
Some basic science departments are involved in joint graduate training programs with other schools. These are administered through the graduate school. These are strong programs with excellent students who move on to post doctorate and faculty positions at very respectable universities. (Data was provided).
There are training programs in audiology and speech pathology at the graduate and baccalaureate level. These are viewed by the professional accrediting body as extremely effective and among the best in the country. The program is housed in a modern clinic/teaching building supported by funds raised by the program director from private donors.
Decision making is concentrated in the office of the dean and no evidence was found that "the organization should provide for responsible participation in decision making, execution and evaluation by the various constituent groups" as required by the standard.
The potential of the medical school is not being realized and there is widespread frustration among faculty with the leadership. There were many signs that this frustration may lead to faculty attrition if the situation is not changed.
The engineering programs in the Mackay School of Mines (Chemical Engineering, Geological Engineering, Mining Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering) meet their assessment requirements through accreditation by ABET, monitoring success rates in passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and feedback from the MSM Advisory Board and employers of their graduates. The most recent ABET accreditation visit occurred in Fall 1996. Outcomes assessments will be further emphasized as the MSM prepares for their 1999 ABET visit using ABET 2000 criteria.
The MSM has faced leadership transitions. The current dean of the School and the chair of the Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering department both began their appointments on July 1, 1997. Low enrollments in three of the programs (Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Engineering) are the major issues facing these programs. Although graduates from these programs do not appear to have trouble finding jobs, low enrollments raise concerns about the economic viability of these programs. This continues to be a concern as the institution continues to miss its enrollment projections. The MSM and impacted departments intend to mount an aggressive student recruitment campaign to increase their enrollments. It will be important for the UNR and MSM to define their competitive advantages and develop marketing strategies to promote these advantages. Research strengths, unique facilities and availability of scholarships are several competitive advantages that come to mind.
Another concern is the perceived redundancy of course offerings in the College of Engineering and the Mackay School of Mines. The current deans of the College of Engineering and MSM have agreed in principle to meet regularly to address this issue. It is important that both units work cooperatively to address this issue in order to offer the desired breadth and depth of engineering programs in the most effective and efficient manner. Administrators in the MSM have similar concerns about inadequate computing infrastructure and static operating budgets as those in the College of Engineering.
A meeting was held with about a dozen students representing the four engineering programs in the MSM, including a graduate student who graduated from one of the programs. The students were uniformly satisfied with their programs and commended the faculty for being very accessible and caring about their success. From the students' perspective, low enrollments were a distinct advantage because they receive a lot of individualized attention. The students were also appreciative of the amount of scholarships available to them. They acknowledged that there was some variation in the quality of instruction, but overall were satisfied with the education they received. They also indicated that they were well received by the instructors in the College of Engineering and did not feel that they were treated differently because they were MSM students. Some of the students were active in the engineering student organizations and many held leadership positions in those organizations. The MSM had similar concerns, but to a lesser degree than the College of Engineering students, about access to computers and the Western Traditions core requirement.
The University offers an Honors Program that is funded and administered centrally. This program is a high priority at the University, and is well thought out and valuable academic experience for good students. There is little doubt that this program has been responsible for the recruitment of many of the finest undergraduate students at the University.
The staff and the physical facilities associated with the Program are impressive, and its location in a fine building at the center of the campus speaks to its importance for the academic life of the Institution. Students were complimentary and expressed appreciation for the small classes, the quality of teaching, and the greater opportunity to interact with their instructors. The University has done a good job of developing support and promoting a first-rate honors program.
STANDARD VI - CONTINUING EDUCATION AND SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Introduction
It was needlessly difficult to obtain a copy of the self-study report for the Division of Continuing Education. When found, it showed that the activities of the Division of Continuing Education appear to have been treated with reasonable accuracy in the institutional self-study report. Both the institutional self-study report and conversations with division staff indicate that the Division of Continuing Education (hereafter often called "DCE" or the "Division") is a dynamic organization which is committed and contributing to the mission of the UNR. The Division's operation is remarkably well aligned with the academic goals of the UNR.
The Division is directed by an able dean and a competent staff. Staff members appear to be well qualified, energetic, resourceful, and imaginative. They are devoted to their work and seem to work well together in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. They seem not only to have a clear sense of the academic mission of the institution, but have shown initiative and good judgment in pursuit of that mission.
The size of the staff appears to be adequate to support the programs of Continuing Education, though perhaps only because most members of that staff are hired from retained earnings, and not from budgeted funds.
Continuing Education's efforts appear to be well mapped to the university mission and goals. Indeed, it is primarily through efforts of the Division that the institution reaches many of its students outside of Reno in fulfillment of the University's land-grant responsibilities to community, public service, and outreach. The Division takes seriously its responsibility to help UNR "provide an opportunity for adults to upgrade their educational and professional backgrounds through continuing education courses and programs" as is set out in the University goals shown in the institutional self-study report. Continuing Education is very responsive to the needs of the community. Its market orientation, coupled with strong academic values, makes the Division properly sensitive and responsive to the needs of students as educational consumers.
It is true that "...Continuing Education . . . ha[s] implemented systems for defining and measuring outcomes" as noted in the self-study report. However, DCE evaluation efforts presently are limited to measuring student satisfaction with courses and teachers, rather than with the extent of student and faculty competence in learning and teaching. There is work yet to be done to properly assess what effect the educational experience has on such things as student writing, thinking, knowledge, and progress toward degrees, and how this feedback can help to refine and improve those intellectual pursuits as well as the persistence of students. Nevertheless, the Division deserves praise for evaluating every single course it provides.
It is clear that the instructional programs managed by Continuing Education are an integral part of the institution's total educational commitment. Indeed, the Division has led the way in and deserves commendation for instigating programs that expand learning opportunities for both on-campus and off-campus students at the University. Examples include maintaining a strong Independent Study by Correspondence program; developing a new evening school; successfully transmitting electronic distance education courses to multiple sites; operating a successful Summer School; and developing a Program for Adult College Education (PACE) and Bachelor of General Studies programs for adult students who are frequently employed full time, require flexible course scheduling, and often need extra attention and encouragement.
Moreover, the Division does a great deal to make it possible for academic departments to add sections or courses beyond those that can be supported by regular academic institutional budgets. Deans and chairs generally see Continuing Education as an ally in providing strong courses and enhancing educational opportunities for students, even if some of their faculty are less familiar with or supportive of the activities of Continuing Education. According to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the dean [of Continuing Education] "moves freely in and out of colleges and works well with deans and chairs." Holding the PhD and professorial rank in an academic department gives the dean credibility with departments and faculty.
Not all faculty members agree with the practices of Continuing Education. Some object to the Summer School on the grounds that it diverts student credit hours and FTEs from the regular academic year and its supporting budget, although DCE maintains that without the Summer School these students would seek possible alternative courses away from UNR.
Some faculty are concerned about electronic distance education, fearing that it is of inferior quality. DCE maintains that distance education relies on the very same faculty and courses that academic departments provide on campus. There is also some debate about whether distance education will absorb resources that might better be used in other needy academic programs. Faculty critics of the PACE program believe that it is less rigorous than other courses and that it indulges students. DCE points out that PACE is a delivery system, not a degree program, and that its interdisciplinary offerings are not only attractive but rigorous and strong.
According to the DCE self-study, surplus earnings are used for "faculty development/enhancement grants, students scholarships, equipment for Student Services, support for the Student Services' bridge program, academic department operating funds, and support for academic department teaching assistants."
Outside organizations which are located on campus, such as the National Judicial College and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, collaborate with the University in offering a masters degree. The degree is awarded by the University and all courses offered by the two judicial entities are university-approved.
As has been mentioned, departments provide careful oversight for faculty assignments in continuing education courses. As a matter of general operating procedure, when teachers are requested from departments for continuing education classes, faculty are assigned to levels appropriate to their qualifications and experience.
All credit courses taught by UNR faculty are considered as part of their regular load with the exception of some off-campus credit courses taught by a variety of faculty from across campus. Regular faculty members may teach one course off campus for extra pay each year.
An examination of various promotional pieces and publicity materials distributed by DCE shows this literature to be free of excessive or misleading claims to prospective students. And Continuing Education is careful about lending the name of the University to outside agencies. There are no contract arrangements with off-campus entities that result in the granting of university credit. The Division appears to be following appropriate and conventional standards in granting credit. Continuing Education courses meet the standard accreditation requirement of fifteen 50-minute intervals of full-time study per credit hour. Out-of-class assignments must be completed for all credit courses. No time-shortened classes are offered through DCE. In the case of non-credit programs, such as the many certification, training, licensing programs, professional development, workshops, and conferences offered, courses must meet the standards for Continuing Education Units. Electronic distance education courses appear to conform to the "Policy on Distance Delivery of Courses, Certificates, and Degree Programs" in terms of consistency with institutional purpose, approval processes, pedagogy, oversight, and support. The expectation of assessment of student learning outcomes and applying those data to the improvement of program may not be fully realized, although considerable feedback on and improvement of courses is attained.
On-campus continuing education students and those in close proximity to the campus have the same access to the university library as other students. Those away from the campus who study at a distance, either through electronic distance education or through local instruction, are served by a system of interconnected libraries. Most state libraries are linked together electronically, whether their collections are public, community college, school, or university. Some full-text electronic service is available to students in remote locations from the UNR Library. Other printed material can be distributed by mail within three days.
The issue of the availability of laboratories, on the other hand, is somewhat more complex and one that requires decisions about what courses to offer and where to offer them. Generally, lower-division course work can be offered beyond the UNR campus in conjunction with local community college laboratories-computer or experimental-through cooperative agreements. Baccalaureate programs are offered off campus only when adequate laboratory facilities are available to support them.
A limited sampling of students indicates considerable satisfaction with the academic programs provided by Continuing Education. Although only a few students in the PACE program and in a distance education course were interviewed, students consistently expressed a high level of approval of their learning experiences in those programs. Studies Abroad
Studies Abroad is administered by director who reports to an Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs. It is operated through a multi-institution consortium with sites in Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and Thailand. About 100 UNR students participate in these programs each year. The Studies Abroad administration is apparently very much aware of and in seems to be in compliance with standards regarding institutional mission, academic integrity, and participant support and security. There is quite a lot done by way of "follow-up studies on the individual and institutional benefits derived from such programs."
STANDARD VII - INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF AND FACULTY EVALUATION, POLICY #26
There has been a major turnover in faculty since the last accreditation visit. In fact 55% of the present faculty have been here less than ten years. This new faculty has been recruited with the aim of enhancing the research programs of the institution, and at a time when the job market was particularly favorable for this endeavor. Thus, the University has seen a substantially enhanced research profile in almost all areas across the campus. As evidence of this, one should note the tremendous increase in extramural research funding, which has tripled in many areas. The University has been able to come up with the substantial start-up funds required for new research active faculty, especially in the technical fields.
The University has set very ambitious goals for the hiring of women and minorities (that by the year 2000 50% of all hires should be women, and 20% should belong to ethnic minorities). The indications are that these goals are well ahead of schedule.
COMMENDATION
The University is commended for its strong efforts, and for its success at increasing diversity among the academic and professional ranks.
Salaries for faculty are at or above the mean for peer institutions and, since the state funds merit raises in addition to cost of living increases, these salaries are likely to remain competitive. Some major strides have been made with instructor salaries, but for those on "LOA" stipends are often extremely low. The University is encouraged to study salary scales at similar institutions, and to consider appropriate raises for LOA faculty. Stipends for GTAs are subject to a University minimum of $8500 for the academic year, and in many areas this is not competitive. Several departments have cannibalized positions so as to raise stipends to a more competitive level. These difficulties notwithstanding, the proportion of domestic GTAs in the science areas is perhaps greater than at peer institutions, and language difficulty in lower division instruction does not appear to be a large problem.
Although the self-study reports a standard teaching load of nine hours per semester, this appears to be honored more in the breach than in the observance. Reductions from this level depend both upon the individual's participation in research, and on the amount of graduate, particularly doctoral, supervision undertaken. The handling of teaching loads appears to be fair and properly reflects the University's increased commitment to research.
The tenure and promotion process appears to be well understood by the faculty and is enunciated clearly in departmental and college bylaws. The standards of achievement to be attained are less well understood, and certainly less well documented. This is particularly the case regarding teaching accomplishments which are measured with a great deal of reliance on student evaluations. These evaluations are gathered with a wide variety of different instruments across the campus. It is noted that the University has in the past considered a uniform evaluation form, and the use of multiple evaluation indices to measure teaching performance. Consideration might be given to further efforts in this direction as a means of ensuring a more uniform measurement of teaching effectiveness across the campus.
The faculty are recruited by traditional search committee means and for the most part were trained in quality institutions outside the state. Nearly all basic science faculty are funded with extramural, peer reviewed research grants although this varies between departments. The standard requires that "provision should be made for adequate faculty participation in the development of institutional policies". This process has not been fully developed in every unit.
There are well developed "Evaluation Guidelines for Promotion Or Tenure" which define in detail evaluation of scholarly activity, teaching and service (revised 2/92). Annual reviews are conducted by the department chairs. Some departments have peer review committees others do not. In the basic science departments the process is seen to work well and no problems were noted. Student/course evaluations are conducted by the office of Medical Education and while some students were uncertain whether anyone paid attention to them, there were two specific instances of course or teacher changes occurring after negative student evaluations.
The site visit team finds the University in substantial compliance with the requirement of Policy Statement #26 on "Faculty Evaluation": "...Every faculty member...[should be] subject to some type of substantive performance evaluation and review at least every third year." As stated in the self-study report, "In merit evaluation, each faculty member is evaluated annually (UCCSN Code, sections 5.11.1 and 5.12.1, UNR By-Laws, section 57) in the areas of research/scholarship, teaching, and service...". In addition to the annual "merit evaluations," there are the normal tenure and promotion evaluations at appropriate intervals.
The policies and procedures concerning faculty evaluation were reviewed recently by the University Promotion and Tenure Committee (UPT) and an Ad Hoc Faculty Senate Committee for Personnel Policies and Procedures (PPP). Although the committees "identified several major problems and made a number of recommendations," leaders of the Faculty Senate, many faculty members, and relevant administrators interviewed by members of the site visit committee reported that the evaluation processes are working relatively well, if somewhat unevenly, throughout most units of the campus. In terms of the first three guidelines in Policy Statement #26: the plans and procedures that specify the process and criteria by which faculty members are evaluated have been developed, there is a reasonable degree of "collegial participation," in the evaluation process, and "multiple indices" of performance are used that include various measures (depending on individual department practices) of teaching, scholarly performance and service. The Committee was not able to obtain sufficient evidence regarding Guideline "D" concerning the adequacy of "development opportunities" for "remediating" any deficiencies in performance.
STANDARD VIII - ADMINISTRATION
The governing board for the UNR is the constitutionally established Board of Regents for change the University and Community College System of Nevada that consists of eleven members elected by districts for 6-year terms. A Chancellor, appointed by the BOR, is responsible for system-wide management and coordination among the two universities, four community colleges, and a research institute. Evaluation committee members met with three board representatives, the chair, a long term member who referred to the 1988 accreditation committee's general recommendations, and a new member who is also a UNR art faculty member. These discussions and a review of board minutes affirm the self-study comment about the board emphasis on policy rather than excessive involvement in internal operations, a concern in two previous evaluation reports. The members appear to be quite aware of campus issues that the committee also hearing. The political reality of the legislative appropriation process was also, acknowledged.
At the campus level, the administration is a combination of a long term president (19 years), representing one of the country's longest tenures for a land-grant institution, and four changes in the position of academic vice president since 1988. The committee heard many favorable references to the "faculty" backgrounds of chief administrators, yet also a yearning for continuity and assurances of the primacy of academic goals. The Academic Master Plan is seen, however, as an important element in consistence. Views about the effectiveness of administration at the deans level were mixed, as indicated elsewhere in this report.
There continues to be uncertainty, as expressed in the self-study, about the adequacy of the current arrangements for legal counsel. Although universities use different methods depending on local situations, it is clear that legal counsel must be readily available to a president and the institution in order to provide effective advice, including that of a preventative nature.
SUGGESTIONS
An effective evaluation process for the deans should be established and implemented.
The situation regarding adequate legal counsel should continue to be monitored carefully in view of growing litigious nature of universities everywhere.
In the General Recommendations of this report, the committee calls for an institutional initiative for the purpose of significant improvement in the communication of strategies and operational procedures that have been and are currently used to coordinate resources effectively toward achieving missions and objectives. The involvement of various university constituencies is recommended, especially the administration, the faculty and the Board of Regents. This recommendation results from the committee's findings throughout the visit and across the campus as it learned about the decision making process.
The committee found a number of mechanisms in place and being used to provide for responsible participation decision-making. It also appears that the senior administration makes regular adjustments to respond the real or perceived needs for improvements, such as the recent changes in the procedures of the Facilities Planning and Management Board resulting from the self-study report. At the same time, the committee heard repeatedly about specific misunderstandings about the budget process, both in the acquisition of resources, especially matters related to the formula, and to the internal allocations of funds, ranging from salary savings to new legislative appropriations. The comments were heard enough times and from a sufficiently broad range of faculty and staff to conclude that the lack of understanding about operational procedures is widespread and beyond individual or isolated complaints, for whatever reason. As the committee cross-checked comments, it also found evidence of a great deal of misinformation across a number of units. Lack of information, coupled with complaints about the formula funding, strains on operating budgets and demands on existing budgets to fund new priorities (assessment, for example), create a situation that needs attention and commitment from all parties if UNR is to continue the institutional improvements it has experienced over the past decade.
A part of the communication initiative should address the changing financial and political environment of UNR. The committee, for instance, did not find much indication that faculty, staff and students understand the need to rethink their ways of doing business in view of these changes. There should be understanding-even if not acceptance-of the reality that as customary federal and state funding sources drop, new ones must be found and opportunities seized, even if traditional academic processes are not always thoroughly employed.
This communication initiative can also provide an opportunity to describe internal allocation options that are available, and the corresponding tradeoffs. For example, if salary savings are centrally reallocated to specific needs, such as departmental operating budgets or unit educational assessment costs, what is the impact on other unit needs and the capacity of the dean and chair to address them. Participation by constituencies, especially the faculty, in devising the communication plan should contribute to its effectiveness inasmuch as it should encourage broader faculty participation.
