The University of Oregon in the 21st Century:
Reaching Higher--Reaching Out

May 12, 1998

Introduction

The achievements of the University of Oregon over the past decade are manifold. An indication of overall accomplishment is the naming of UO as a "rising star" among public research universities in the recent book The Rise of American Rese arch Universities (1), and its overall ranking of 15th nationally among all public research universities. In the new and critically important area of instructional technology, UO won the CAUSE award (2) for best p ractices in the use of technology on campus in 1996, and was ranked for the past two years in the top 10 among all universities in the country for its use of technology by YAHOO: Internet Life magazine (3). UO's College of Education last year ranked first nationally in the amount of its external funding for research, education and service. The Lundquist College of Business' MBA program won the 1997 National Model Award for its entrepreneurship program. Last year The Fiske Guide to Colleges (4), seeking to identify schools that "offer remarkable educational opportunities at a relatively modest cost," named the University of Oregon as one of only four such "Best Buys" in the western United States.

These are only a few representative examples of national recognition of the recent achievements of the University of Oregon. What makes these achievements even more notable is that they occurred during a period of substantial reductions in state support for higher education in Oregon. In fact, in its recent report (5) on the accreditation of the University, the accreditation team stated, "The UO is to commended for its creative and entrepreneurial response to the state budget reduc tions." The team went on to say, "For the University to be able to sustain or improve (as it has) its academic reputation, the state and the system must be prepared to support excellence more adequately."

The members of the University of Oregon community are justly proud of accomplishments such as these and are committed to "reaching higher" -- continuing to improve the quality of the university in all of its dimensions, and to "reaching out " -- increasing our efforts to make the benefits of University of Oregon programs and expertise available throughout the state.

In a just-released report, "Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America's Research Universities" (6), the Boyer Commission criticized research universities for "shortchanging undergraduates," and graduating students "lacking a coherent body of knowledge" who do not know "how to think logically, write clearly , or speak coherently." The problems discussed in some detail in this report have been understood and addressed at the University of Oregon for at least the last decade--indeed many of the specific suggestions of the Boyer commission report are the same steps we have already taken to improve undergraduate education. However, as we look toward the 21st Century, we recognize a new series of challenges which call the University to higher accomplishment, to renewed commitment to our core educational mi ssion and to service to the state, and to the continuous improvement of the University in all of its aspects. A set of proposals for the new initiatives needed to meet these challenges, taken from the excellent work of the over 200 faculty, staff and stu dents who have participated in the "Process for Change," is outlined here for campus discussion.

The University of Oregon is both a comprehensive research university and a supportive learning community whose members benefit from a nurturing, small college environment with access to the resources and opportunities of a major research university . The primary objective of the University of Oregon is to provide the quality of learning experiences for our students that will prepare them to be informed, productive and contributing citizens, career-ready with life-long learning capabilities and leade rship skills.

These are not new goals for the University of Oregon. Indeed, our Mission Statement (7) already states that the "University is a community of scholars dedicated to the highest standards of academic inquiry, learning and service.&quo t; It also describes our commitment to undergraduate education, with a "goal of helping the individual learn to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically," and our commitment to graduate educa tion to "develop creators and innovators who will generate new knowledge and shape experience for the benefit of humanity." The purpose of the process in which we are now engaged is to develop specific plans for improving our ability to meet th e needs of 21st Century students, as they work to attain these goals.

The possibility now exists for a recommitment by the state to the higher educational needs of its citizens and its economy. A Governor's Task Force on Higher Education and the Economy has recommended significant changes in both the governance and the fin ance of higher education, to make it better able to respond to the needs of students and the state. The Governor has strongly supported these recommendations, with the recognition that achieving them will require a reinvestment in higher education. The State Board of Higher Education is diligently at work implementing the recommendations of the Governor and the Task Force, and establishing performance measures to assess system institutions' progress in meeting the established goals. At the same time, n ational commissions, legislators, taxpayers, and employers nationwide are urging research institutions such as the University of Oregon to design new models of undergraduate and graduate education that will better provide more relevant and flexible opport unities for an increasingly diverse generation of life-long learners as well as traditional-age students.

The challenges of meeting the interlocking goals of high educational quality, needed access for students to programs which meet their career goals, and overall cost effectiveness have been severe in Oregon during the 1990's. At the University of Oregon w e have responded positively to these challenges, maintaining both the overall quality of the institution and of the education it offers. However, this has come at the expense of program closures, foregone opportunities to offer needed new programs, much higher tuition for students, and many personal sacrifices on the part of faculty and staff.

With reinvestment, we commit ourselves to an even more student-oriented focus of our efforts at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to the delivery of a University of Oregon education wherever it is needed across the state, to even higher achievem ent in research and scholarship, with increased attention to areas critical to the state's economy and quality of life, and to the full realization of the ideal of a true learning community for our students, faculty and staff. Our guiding principle shall be an emphasis on value -- a higher quality, accessible, cost-effective education. We intend to continue to be listed in the Fiske Guide as a "Best Buy" in higher education.

In preparation for the 21st century, we are transforming general education, expanding the flexibility and learning opportunities of our upper division, graduate and research programs, extending educational services to non-traditional populations and lifel ong learners, strengthening our common bonds as a learning community, and connecting more directly with our external constituencies.

The proposals developed through the "Process for Change" are outlined for campus discussion in this paper. Many of the details will need to be developed by Implementation Teams, beginning as soon as possible. Actual implementation, some of whi ch can begin this fall, will take several years to realize fully and will be dependent not only on the good ideas and commitment of our faculty and staff, but also on resources. This framework consists of eight major parts:

  1. Transformation of General Education -- From Teaching to Learning to Proficiency

  2. New Flexibility in the Upper Division and Majors -- From Proficiencies to Applications to Understanding

  3. Excellence in Graduate Studies and Research -- From Understanding to New Applications and New Knowledge

  4. Expansion of "Extended Studies" -- Lifelong Learning, Where and When it is Needed

  5. Achievement of a True Learning Community -- For Students, Faculty and Staff

  6. Outreach -- Maintaining Connections and Providing Service to All of Our Constituents

  7. Cross-Cutting Issues -- Critical to Our Core Mission


  8. "Instant" Opportunities -- Short Term, Immediate Impact Ideas

This report is an attempt to capture the major ideas and recommendations coming from the Solution Teams. It cannot specifically discuss all of the potentially useful suggestions made by the Solution Teams, nor can it refer in detail to all of the importa nt issues raised by the Issue Definition Groups. Therefore as we proceed toward implementation of the major ideas it will be important that those responsible for designing these implementation plans be familiar with the work of these teams, particularly as it informs or impacts the area of implementation in which they are working.

1. Transformation of General Education -- From Teaching to Learning to Proficiency

Programs of undergraduate education traditionally offer students in the lower division a set of prescribed educational experiences labeled as "general education." General education programs are rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, stress br eadth of knowledge, languages, and methodologies, and strive to develop the core skills or competencies needed for more advanced learning. Good general education leads to the mastery of linguistic, analytic and computational skills, personal development, a greater appreciation of one's heritage and of other cultures and the development of critical thinking skills. Along with this should come some coherence and integration of this knowledge. A number of solution team reports, as well as the University's recent accreditation self-study and evaluation, question whether our current approach to general education adequately meets these educational objectives, particularly as we look to the educational needs of the 21st Century.

True "education" occurs through experiences at increasingly complex levels. Typically, it begins with "teaching" -- students taking courses through which professors impart knowledge. The measure of the course is whether or not the st udents have "learned" the knowledge that has been taught. The operational definition of "learned" is to be able to recall the knowledge on an examination. The ability to recall knowledge, however important and useful that may be, is not the same as "proficiency" in the subject of that knowledge, let alone a true "understanding" of the subject. Proficiency and understanding are higher levels of education. Although many students achieve some level of understanding as a part of their general education, the primary focus of general education -- the basis for the more specialized education of the "majors" -- is development of critical core competencies through to a level of proficiency, learned through the perspectives of the liberal arts and sciences.

What are these "core competencies?" According to our Mission Statement and the Solution Teams, they include critical thinking, problem solving, basic analytical skills, writing and oral communication, creativity, and, some would say, a second l anguage. Economists Richard Murnane and Frank Levy (8) would add, as have many on our Solution Teams, the new competencies of the ability to work in teams and basic computer skills. These competencies are now essential to success in th e workplace.

We are expert at offering courses which introduce undergraduates to scientific, literary, cultural, aesthetic, philosophical, historical, social and multicultural perspectives. We are also expert in testing the knowledge gained through these courses for learning. We are not so good at measuring competencies for proficiency. In order to transform successfully general education so that our students, roughly by the end of their second year with us, can demonstrate proficiency in the core competencies list ed above, we must significantly change the way we deliver and assess general education. Furthermore, we must change it in such a way that more students succeed at this higher level of achievement, not fewer. And, we must be able to deliver this i mproved, student-centered, general education in a very cost-effective manner.

By accepting these challenges, we will achieve several important goals of the University. First, by helping our students to achieve true proficiency in the areas listed, we will have better prepared students pursuing the majors. Second, as the quality a nd success of this new general education becomes known, more and better students will seek out the University of Oregon. Third, more of the students who enter the University of Oregon will succeed. Fourth, our reputation as a "best value" prov ider of high quality undergraduate education will grow.

A Suggested Plan for the Transformation of General Education

The predominant idea that has emerged from the Solution Teams as a way to achieve the goals discussed above is the development of a more integrated, coherent, and purposeful lower division educational experience which some have labeled "University Co llege." Although there is not agreement on all of the details that would go into the establishment of such a "college", (and specifically, there is not agreement on how we should label this new approach to general education) there is a ge neral agreement about the primary characteristics of a transformed general education. These include:

The recent report from the Boyer Commission makes a strong case for beginning "inquiry-based" learning in the freshman year. The Boyer Commission makes the point that we should be providing "a new kind of undergraduate experience available only at research institutions", and that "undergraduates who enter research universities should understand the unique quality of the institutions and the concomitant opportunities to enter a world of discovery in which they are active participa nts, not passive receivers."

Clearly, much work remains to be completed in order to realize the improvements in general education envisioned here. An Implementation Team should be appointed immediately, with the expectation of phasing the most important concepts during the 1999-2001 biennium. The Undergraduate Council should review the recommendations of this Implementation Team, prior to its consideration through our institutional processes.

2. New Flexibility in the Upper Division and Majors -- From Proficiencies to Applications to Understanding

The University of Oregon is well known for the diversity and quality of its programs of undergraduate education. Surveys of prospective and enrolling undergraduate students indicate that the diversity and quality of our majors is one of the principal rea sons why these students select this university for baccalaureate study.

As students achieve and demonstrate a higher level of proficiency in core competencies, they will enter major programs better prepared to apply this developing knowledge, and to move from knowledge to understanding. Russell Edgerton, in his recent " Higher Education White Paper" (9), developed for the Pew Charitable Trust, offers a compelling discussion of the need for universities to move beyond an emphasis on learning, to a focus on understanding.

Remarkably, the problem of "knowing but not understanding" is not limited to students of average or poor ability. Recently, a reporter asked new Harvard graduates, still clad in caps and gowns, "Why is it colder in the winter and warmer in the summer?" The graduates revealed their knowledge of celestial mechanics, including such facts as the earth's elliptical orbit and the tilt of its north-south axis. But, not one of those questioned could use this knowledge to explain the seasons! (One hopes that none of these graduates were scientists!) The most popular answer was the assertion that the earth was further away from the sun during the winter than during the summer, a response that clearly demonstrates a lack of understand ing. This is not an apocryphal story -- it was captured on film.

In the paper by Edgerton, he references a forthcoming book, Assessing Excellence (10), in which Grant Wiggins argues:

Edgerton goes on to state, "What is at stake in the debate about standardized testing versus student portfolios and other methods of `authentic' or `performance' assessment is whether we care to evaluate students' understanding of what they study, or whether we will continue to be content to test simply what they know."

A Key Element of Upper Division Education: Participation

 It follows, then, that if we intend to educate our students to the level of true understanding, we must include a large portion of "learning by doing," or participation in learning. The educational strategies which Edgerton describes as "p edagogies of engagement", and the Boyer Commission calls "inquiry-based learning", are represented in the numerous solution team recommendations for more opportunities in upper division and major programs for undergraduates to participate i n research, internships, practica, portfolios, service learning, capstone projects, and other experiences which extend global awareness and sensitivity to cultures and languages. Our strengths as a research university should enable us to provide many opp ortunities, through these programs, for original work, inquiry-based learning, and service.

Other Important Elements of Upper Division Education:

 The Solution Teams have elaborated on these and other ideas, which should be taken into account by a second Implementation Team charged with a redesign of our upper division and majors to emphasize both flexibility and participation in learning. Again, t he Undergraduate Council should review the recommendations of this Implementation Team, prior to consideration through other institutional processes.

The successful implementation of the plans deriving from these initiatives at the undergraduate level will require strong leadership. In fact, it is likely that the University will need a senior administrator to play a role, with regard to undergraduate education, that is similar to that played by the Dean of the Graduate School for graduate education. It might be advisable to fill a position of "undergraduate dean" early in this process, so that the person with these responsibilities can be f ully involved with the Implementation Teams.

3. Excellence in Graduate Studies and Research -- From Understanding to New Applications and New Knowledge

 The University of Oregon is a research university, and a member of the Association of American Universities, with a transformative mission of creating and disseminating new knowledge. Consequently, research and graduate studies are activities that must b e cultivated, expanded and strengthened. In addition, the University must integrate research and graduate education in order to enrich the intellectual lives of all of our students, and we must take full advantage of the unique qualities of undergraduate education in a research university.

The achievements of UO faculty in scholarship are impressive. For Arts and Sciences faculty, these achievements are documented in The Rise of American Research Universities (1) in which, based on data that indicate both the productivity and quality of research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, UO ranked 15th among all public universities in the country. UO also excels in interdisciplinary research, an activity supported by 22 interdisciplinary institutes. It is essential to our educational mission that we continue to pursue excellence in research, and that we continue to create and nurture interdisciplinary connections among disciplines.

As described by the Solution Teams, pursuing excellence in research includes such things as:

We must always be searching for opportunities to develop research in areas in which we can be a true world leader. The current Integrated Information Sciences Initiative to establish a center for research in Brain, Biology and Machine is an example of th e kind of interdisciplinary innovation in research that can keep UO near the front ranks nationally in several fields.

Excellence in research must be accompanied and supported by excellence in graduate education. Students should enter graduate programs with a deep understanding of much of their undergraduate areas of study, and a well-developed ability to continue learni ng and developing new understanding, including the exploration of completely new areas. Based on these abilities, graduate students work with faculty and staff to develop new applications and new knowledge. Strong graduate programs and the students they attract play a crucial role in recruiting and retaining high quality faculty, in supporting research, and in providing outstanding undergraduate education.

We should also offer more programs at the masters level which lead directly to career opportunities. There are many areas where current faculty expertise can support applied and professional degrees at the masters level, and many of our peer institutions are offering such degrees.

According to our Solution Teams, excellence in graduate education includes:

An Implementation Team should be formed to develop a plan for accomplishing our goals in this area. This Implementation Team should work with both the Graduate Council and representatives of our active research faculty, who should review the recommendati ons of this team, prior to implementation.

4. Expansion of "Extended Studies" -- Lifelong Learning, When and Where it is Needed

 The University of Oregon's educational mission must be extended to many non-traditional learners, including those who seek our traditional degrees but not in the traditional format, and those who seek more specific "certificate" type programs, w hether or not they can come to our campus. Providing such high-quality non-traditional educational opportunities does not dilute our principal mission, but can enhance it. While we cannot be all things to all people, we should be a significant deliverer of education to the citizens of this state who desire degree completion while continuing regular employment, or desire educational experiences that will improve their job skills, enrich their lives, or provide them with needed information. We have the a bility and the program quality necessary to deliver educational opportunities that other institutions cannot provide. We have a responsibility to respond in new and different ways.

Ideally, in our society all citizens should be well educated and regularly engaged in advancing knowledge. According to the Education Resources Institute's Life After Forty (11), published in 1996, by the Institute for High er Education Policy, students over forty are the fastest-growing age group in post secondary education. The issues of juggling work and academic endeavors for this constituency are many. Their educational needs stem from requirements for employment, cha nging life circumstances, and personal growth. Service options include formal programs of study, employer-financed study provided by the employer or contracted to be provided on the work site, and innovative access via technology . This growing group of l earners needs advising and course support as well as other student service components that are designed for their particular needs.

These "non-traditional" learners seek education outside the current settings designed for the full-load, daytime, primarily resident undergraduate student. Adult learners go back to college to attain needed knowledge and a degree during the car eer years to meet employer objectives for a better-educated, more flexible work force. This group will look to their local college or university to supply the knowledge they seek. Many in this community are disappointed when they discover that the Unive rsity of Oregon is not yet ready to serve them. Off-hours, alternative sites, and convenient times are important accommodations. Some of these constituents are degree seeking, among them former community college students seeking a successful transition from community colleges to more advanced levels of learning. Others seek merely a specific skill or set of focussed educational experiences. For this group of potential students we need to examine what subject matter we offer, why we offer it, who it is designed to benefit, how it is taught and what the expected outcomes should be. We also need to consider new delivery strategies that replace the course as a unit of academic measure with more customized modules or units of instruction that reflect time preferences and constraints of the learners rather than of the faculty and the institution.

Solution Teams have made a number of recommendations relating to extending learning opportunities to these students. Among the suggestions are:

In order to implement these strategies, we must first decide whether to pursue these various proposals for extending education as a single initiative, or a series of separate initiatives. Depending on this initial decision, one or more implementation tas k forces will then need to be established.

5. Achievement of a True Learning Community -- For Students, Faculty and Staff

The University of Oregon can be described as a comprehensive research university with the characteristics of both excellent quality and relatively small size. Our program diversity and quality earn us national stature as an AAU institution, and our size allows for engaging, involving community experiences similar to ones offered at smaller liberal arts institutions. We take pride in our strong sense of community and our tradition of active involvement by faculty, students, staff and community residents.

In order for the transformational changes described in this document to succeed, we must approach change in the context of strengthening our traditions of being a strong, nurturing, connected community. The challenges of extending diversity while assurin g what some national observers are describing as "connectivity" mean that we must be very purposeful about community. We must assure that students, and all of us who interact with them, from staff and faculty to senior administrators, are engag ed as a vital learning community, in touch with what we hold in common. We must not allow technology, growth, or diversity to isolate or disengage us, but rather to nurture and unite us in our common goals of inquiry, discovery, and investigation.

The solution team recommendations contain numerous references to the importance of building and sustaining community, and of putting in place the mechanisms for communication, for involvement, for recognition, and for celebration that sustain and enhance connectivity. Some of the suggestions and recommendations frequently mentioned in solution team reports are listed below. These, and other recommendations, are often accompanied by strongly expressed sentiments that we as an institution can truly be &qu ot;student-centered" only if we are connected with each other through well-known, commonly held goals of working together to further the educational goals and personal development of all members of our community, as well as constituents linked to us through off-campus and distance services.

According to our solution teams, our success as a learning community can be enhanced if we strengthen relationships among our community by:

In addition, solution teams made numerous suggestions for clarifying our expectations of community by:

Several solution teams urged that we specifically address or transcend some community dynamics that make us feel competitive or divided when we need to be in touch with our common purposes. Suggestions included:

The transformational changes described in this document will best succeed if the University understands itself and operates as a learning community involving all its members -- students, faculty and staff. Every member of our community should be contribu ting to the university's core educational mission, and every contribution should be appreciated and appropriately rewarded. It may be desirable to form implementation task forces to develop strategies relating to the recommendations listed above as well as to implement some of the solution team suggestions that could be implemented immediately.

6. Outreach: Maintaining Connections and Providing Service to All of Our Constituents

A. The Challenge of Reaching Out

The University of Oregon as the state's flagship university is committed to reaching out in connections with our schools, communities, businesses, and governments. The research and learning of our faculty and students can create the knowledge and provide expert resources to support change and improvements in our society's educational, social, cultural and economic needs. Through outreach services, the University can:

In order for the University of Oregon faculty and students to reach out and connect with the state and its citizens, we must build greater organizational capability and capacity within our infrastructure. We need to:

The development of outreach partnerships with Oregon's schools, communities, businesses and government agencies assures the relevance of research and adds meaning and impact to research findings. Outreach services that serve and are informed by client re lationships hasten and support the direct, productive use of research knowledge in ways that continuously improve and shape the future of the state.

B. The Importance of Communications

The support of our university is directly connected to, and therefore highly dependent on a number of key public perceptions. It is vital that we regularly and consistently communicate our vision and our impact, which should include:

To accomplish a comprehensive program of outreach successfully, we must be committed to an aggressive and creative system of communications and marketing that involves all levels of our university. This system must fully communicate to all of our interna l audiences, as well as to our external constituents. It must include mechanisms to assure that we are all fully informed about, and invested in our common enterprise.

Some specific suggestions have been made by the Office of Public Affairs and Development as strategies to create this more aggressive and coordinated system of communications and marketing. The suggestions that follow can be used as a beginning point for discussions by an implementation team that will work with the Office of Public Affairs and Development on public perception strategies.

Clearly, the University of Oregon must tell -- and retell -- a persuasive, believable message not only to those who think they know us well, but also to those who are about to discover us. We must leave no room for doubt and no opportunity for misinterpr etation. We must all be committed to tell our story.

7. Cross-Cutting Issues -- Critical to Our Core Mission

 A number of issues came up repeatedly in the course of this process which cut across several of the preceding major areas of change, and which are particularly important to achieving our core mission. In some cases it may be best to consider one of these issues separately; in others it may be advisable to consider the issue within the context of one or more of the other areas. However, the importance of these issues, as indicated by the Solution Teams, is such that a separate discussion here seems impor tant.

· Advising

 No single issue received more attention from the Solution Teams than advising. In their report on the Solution Team recommendations, the Faculty Advisory Council states: "Revamp academic advising. Undergraduate students need more structured, more f requent, and more comprehensive mentoring and guidance by UO faculty." The Senate Executive Committee came to a similar conclusion: "Improve advising. Freshmen and sophomores should be advised by well-qualified full-time faculty."

Clearly, the success of our initiatives to improve undergraduate, graduate and extended education will depend heavily on improvements in advising. The Solution Teams made many specific suggestions that need to be considered. Given the centrality of advi sing to the success of our students, we should immediately appoint an Advising Task Force to take up this issue, coordinate with the Implementation Teams for the first four categories above, and recommend to the university community a plan for an integrat ed system of advising involving faculty and professional staff.

· Recruitment and Retention

 Recruitment of new students is critical to the achievement of many of our goals. First, our budget for educational services will be even more determined by our enrollment than has been the case in the past--this is a central element of "student-cent ered" budgeting. Second, we desire to keep more of Oregon's top high school graduates in the state. Third, recruitment is a key to our success in maintaining a diverse student body, in all of the important dimensions of diversity. Although our Adm issions Office is highly motivated and has an excellent long-term record in recruitment, enrollment over the past three years has been static.

Retention is equally important. Many of the improvements already suggested in undergraduate education should affect retention positively, but we should continue to monitor our progress in this area. Clearly, retention affects enrollment, but even more i mportant is the success of our students, and their ability to achieve their educational goals.

A committee of deans and Admissions staff has worked together to develop a set of recommendations directed toward improvement of both recruitment and retention. This committee should review these recommendations in the light of the anticipated overall im pact of the current process, and advise us on the most effective way to implement the needed improvements.

· Diversity

 The University of Oregon is committed to maintaining and supporting a diverse educational community. This diversity should exist in multiple dimensions, since our graduates will be expected to succeed in a very diverse global economy and society. Theref ore, it is critical for the educational experience of our students that they have the opportunity to learn from and about other cultures, beliefs, and life experiences.

Specifically, we endorse the statement, disseminated by the American Council on Education and endorsed by many of the major professional organizations, entitled "On the Importance of Diversity in Higher Education" (12). This d ocument emphasizes four major reasons for the importance of diversity:

The most important and difficult to achieve, of the many dimensions of diversity, is ethnic diversity. Ethnically, Oregon has a relatively homogeneous population, and, as a state university, our primary mission is to serve that population. However, as s tated above, it is important to the education of just that population that the University of Oregon achieves a sufficient level of ethnic diversity. Many of the programs that have assisted universities in maintaining diverse populations are now of questi onable legal status, complicating our efforts. It is therefore more important than ever that we redouble our efforts in appropriate ways to maintain and improve the ethnic diversity of the campus, among students, faculty and staff.

A review of past accomplishments in this area indicates that much that we have done has had a positive impact. For example, enrollment of students from ethnic minorities has more than doubled since 1984, and currently exceeds 12% of total enrollment. In addition to domestic ethnic minorities, international students contribute in important ways to the ethnic diversity of our campus. These students have increased by more than a third since 1984, and now comprise almost 10% of total enrollment. On the ot her hand, enrollment growth, in both of these areas, has slowed down and appears to have peaked within the past few years. In view of the negative external factors affecting our enrollment in both of these areas, we will have to be even more creative and committed than we have been in the recent past if we are to continue to improve the ethnic diversity of students on this campus.

It is equally important that we have an ethnically diverse faculty and staff. Overall, ethnic minorities comprise approximately 10% of all regular university employees (not counting visitors or students). Furthermore, the percentage of ethnic minorities has increased approximately 9% over just the past year. It is important that we work to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in our faculty and staff, and that we provide appropriate opportunities for growth and promotion for these members of our community.

The Solution Teams came forward with a number of good ideas that could positively impact our ethnic diversity. An Implementation Team should review these ideas, develop new ones, and present to the campus a plan for improving the overall diversity of the entire campus community. One possible group to form the core of this implementation team is the President's Council on Race.

· Internationalization

 The importance of the international mission of the University of Oregon should be clear throughout this paper. The relatively large numbers of our student body who come from other countries, the long history of successful international education programs , and the many international research interests of our faculty all speak to the importance of international issues at UO. Efforts are currently underway to better coordinate and organize our teaching and research missions in the international area, and s hould continue in coordination with implementation task force work at the undergraduate and graduate level, and in research. Recruitment of international students is also receiving new attention, and should be specifically considered by those recommendin g improvements in overall recruitment and retention.

Given the consideration of international issues through other working groups and task forces, we do not see the need for a special new task force to consider international issues. However, the Vice Provost for International Affairs should have the respon sibility for seeing that communication and coordination occurs between these various groups.

· Technology

 The University's outstanding record in the development and use of instructional technology has already been noted. In fact, the Accreditation Team stated that "UO continues to be on the leading edge of successfully implementing new technologies, inf ormation systems, and network connectivity." We have been fortunate to have outstanding leadership in University Computing and Network Services, to have a University Librarian who has provided leadership within the University and the State in both t raining and use of information systems, to have established the New Media Center to assist faculty in developing multimedia materials, and to have an Educational Technology Committee to assist us in planning and directing our overall activities in this area. However, the l egislature has not funded the university (or indeed, the Oregon University System) appropriately for our mission in this area. Furthermore, this is a field where a leader today can easily fall to a distant follower in a remarkably short period of time. We must redouble our efforts to make the best use of our current resources in this area, and to obtain additional resources. We must also attempt look to the future with vision as to the growing potential of this technology. We should consider the appoi ntment of a small group of "visionaries" in information technology to work with the entire campus, including specifically the activities mentioned above, to help us to maintain our leadership in the use of technology in instruction, information systems, and research.

· Financing Access

 Oregonians need access to affordable higher education that will provide them with opportunities to acquire education and skills for the future. UO must develop new financial strategies, including increasingly flexible tuition and fee levels, that will al low qualified Oregonians, as well as students from other states and countries, access to our educational opportunities. Many ideas related to financial access to higher education have come from our solution teams. Among these are:

Since financial access is closely related to recruitment and retention, perhaps this area should be considered through the same process as recruitment and retention.

· Professional Development

 The University of Oregon needs to review the ideals, policies, and practices used to evaluate, promote and reward its academic professionals. We must recognize that our faculty have dual loyalties and dual careers--to their discipline and its community o f scholars and to the more overarching educational goals of the institution. We need strategies that link and transcend this duality and develop our highly competent faculty as educators who interact with students and with each other as learners, teacher s, mentors, and researchers.

In addition, we need to recognize and reward the role and contributions of professional and classified staff and students to the academic mission of the institution.

Solution teams have recommended a number of strategies to meet these objectives. Some are listed below.

8. "Instant" Opportunities -- Short Term, Immediate Impact Ideas

The reports from Solution Teams include a multitude of recommendations for institutional change and improvement. While some of the ideas are quite complex or ambitious and far-reaching, requiring some time to review and implement; others are more straigh tforward, and can be more easily implemented. The suggestions range from ways to enhance our current activities and programs to suggestions for simple but effective changes that could bring us early success in new or ongoing endeavors.

We need to form an implementation task force charged with examining all the solution team reports, as well as the meeting notes from the numerous campus discussions, to identify and sort these many good ideas. This task force will be charged with extract ing from the materials the more quickly implementable suggestions that could bring about an immediate improvement in our learning community and its offerings in undergraduate education, extended educational services, graduate and research programs, and re lationships within our internal community and with our external constituencies. There will be other suggestions, not as closely allied to these particular areas of improvement, that will also greatly enhance our institution in its ongoing efforts to acco mplish its educational mission.

Listed below are just a few examples of the many good suggestions available in the solution team reports. Copies of all the reports are available on the UO's home page at

http://pythia.uoregon.edu/~llynch/solutions.html.

1. Improve General Education and Lower Division Undergraduate Education

2. Improve Upper Division and Major Programs

3. Promote Excellence in Graduate Studies and Research

4. Extend Education to Life Long Learners

5. Achieve a True Learning Community for Students, Faculty and Staff

6. Connect with our External Constituencies

These ideas are only intended to be representative of the many suggestions made by the solution teams.

Conclusion

It is clear from the ideas discussed here that the University of Oregon has given careful consideration and creative thought to the educational needs of students and of the State of Oregon, as we enter the 21st Century. Indeed we should, as a university community, express our sincere appreciation for the time, energy, and creative thought which over 200 members of our faculty, staff, students and administration have already contributed to this process. This broad participation in the "Process for Ch ange" is a strong indication of the commitment of the University of Oregon community to excellence in education and in service to Oregon. Although much work remains to be done to turn these ideas into new achievements for the University, we are comm itted as a community to succeed in these achievements. With our best and most creative efforts, and support from the State of Oregon, the end of the next decade will find the University of Oregon to be not just a "rising star" among public resea rch universities, but to be a university recognized as one of the very best in the world.

Sources

1. Graham, Hugh Davis and Diamond, Nancy. The Rise of American Research Universities: Elites and Challengers in the Postwar Era. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1997.

2. CAUSE 1996 Annual Excellence in Campus Networking Award, CAUSE 1996 Conference, December, 1996.

3. "America's 100 Most Wired Colleges," YAHOO! Internet Life, May 1997.

4. Fiske, Edward B. The Fiske Guide to Colleges. Times Books. 1997.

5. "Evaluation Committee Report: Full Scale Evaluation", University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. April 20-23, 1997. Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Colleges.

6. Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America's Research Universities. The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. Available through the web site for Stony Brook: State University of New York, Stony Bro ok Main Page. 1998.

7. "UO Mission Statement", from the 1997-1998 University of Oregon Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletin.

8. Murnane, Richard and Levy, Frank. Teaching the New Basic Skills, New York: The Free Press, 1996.

9. Edgerton, Russell. "Higher Education White Paper", developed for the Board of Directors of the Pew Charitable Trust, September, 1997.

10. Wiggins, Grant. Assessing Excellence. Forthcoming book from Jossey-Bass Publishers.

11. Education Resources Institute, Life After Forty. Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1996.

12. "On the Importance of Diversity in Higher Education", paper distributed by the American Council on Education, 1998.


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Please address comments, suggestions & requests to:
llynch@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Lucy E. Lynch