Elsewhere

Accountability: Looking good
Despite operating in an increasingly challenging funding environment, the UW System continues to provide an outstanding learning environment for its students, a new report indicates.

This year’s “Achieving Excellence” report highlights that the UW System met or exceeded 13 of 20 benchmarks in 2001. The results are mixed on four measures: graduation gap for students of color, study abroad participation, undergraduate research opportunities and student use of the Internet for assignments. Three other measures — improving academic advising, increasing students’ understanding of racial/ethnic differences and building maintenance — show room for improvement.

The report measures university performance compared to national standards in a number of areas, including but not limited to student access and retention, graduation rates, credits-to-degree, faculty workloads, research funding, and satisfaction ratings of students and alumni.

Measuring results on campus
UW System chancellors are working with the Board of Regents Education Committee on measures of effectiveness. Bruce Shepard, UW-Green Bay chancellor, says statistical measures such as credits to degree, graduation rates and retention rates are important tools, but they don’t tell the whole story.

“Program quality can’t just be measured by numbers,” he says. “Single numbers are smoke detectors, but they don’t tell you where the smoke is coming from.”

He says his campus used the UW System accountability measures as a jumping-off point, and took the opportunity to ask questions that would measure effectiveness of the campus, such as the level of collaboration with the Green Bay region and engagement with the community.

He also notes that once an accountability report is prepared and released, chancellors must make sure that the results feed back into continuous improvement on the campuses.

Sabbatical policy examined
UW System officials urge campuses to promote teaching and learning in granting sabbaticals, and to give consideration to projects that promote interdisciplinary activities, collaboration, international education, and the application of technology to instruction and distance education.

“Sabbaticals should serve the institution’s mission,” says Cora Marrett, senior vice president for academic affairs, who is in charge of refinements to UW System sabbatical policy for 2003-05. “Scholarship can do more than address the needs of the individual.”

She says she would be striking the theme of a community of scholars throughout the spring, highlighting academic programs that “interconnect on the campuses” and that involve different campuses “with a common thread.”

Seamless education sought
The PK-16 Council, established a year ago to foster a more seamless K-12/higher education system in the state, has looked in-depth at three critical areas of linkage among educational sectors: early childhood development, the senior year of high school and transition to post secondary options, and the professional development of educators.

During the next six months, the group intends to chart a specific course of action aimed at building collaboration and enhancing learning opportunities for the state’s citizens. The council is co-chaired by UW System President Katharine Lyall and Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster.