Self-Study, Volume I, Chapter VIII: Conclusion

This self-study has literally served as an educational experience for those involved in it, particularly the members of the Steering Committee. With the benefit of that experience, the Steering Committee can now offer its own observations about the issues, opportunities, and common themes that the self-study process has clarified. We do this in our own name: while we believe there are many on the campus who view these matters as we do, our process has not included an attempt to gain formal endorsement of these statements.

We begin with the most obvious questions raised in an accreditation review. We believe that the university is a fine institution that is doing what it purports to do and what society asks of it, and is making excellent progress toward its stated goals. We find the quality of the students, faculty, and staff to be excellent as well, and we deeply appreciate the improvements that have been made in recent years in the university's physical and financial resources. In short, CWRU appears to us to have earned continuing accreditation.

If this were an objective test, tabulating right and wrong answers, we might have limited our review to matters such as those. But a self-study is an opportunity to look broadly and deeply at the factors affecting the future of the institution. For this reason, we elected to give special emphasis in the self-study to four areas identified as critical (i.e., of strategic importance) for learning in the coming 10 to 20 years. Recognizing the centrality of the commitment to learning in our mission, we have emerged from this review with a new appreciation for the coherence of these four dimensions of the university's activities:

• Students' learning can be divided into learning by undergraduate students and advanced students. Since each of the professional schools must complete self-study in the review for accreditation of their programs by separate professional associations, it was concluded that undergraduate student learning was a special emphasis for this study. A subcommittee was formed to examine the nature and future challenges in undergraduate students' learning.
• Faculty learning occurs in many contexts. Since this is a research university, however, it was concluded that research is the central component in faculty learning. A subcommittee examined the nature and future challenges in faculty learning through research.
• Lifelong learning can be described as learning by educated people, including alumni of CWRU. Although a comprehensive examination of this topic would require the study of workplace learning, it was concluded that our concern was primarily the role CWRU plays in continuing education for persons who have already completed a formal education. A subcommittee was formed to examine this topic.
• Contemplating learning by these three stakeholder groups gives rise to the question of infrastructure. Can CWRU create and allocate resources in the future in a way that facilitates the learning of students, faculty, and alumni and other educated people? There are many dimensions to this question, from buildings, grounds, cafeterias, parking, and libraries to financial aid and administrative support services. At this point in CWRU's development and in appreciation of the larger context of the mid-1990s, it seems appropriate to focus on the institution's information resources, an area in which the university has already taken a significant lead. A subcommittee examined the nature and future challenges of the electronic learning environment at CWRU.

The recommendations of each of these subcommittees are summarized in Chapter VI, and the complete text of their reports are included as appendices. What follows are our own, highly impressionistic conclusions about steps that might be taken to address issues and challenges relating to these four dimensions of learning. While we suggest actions that could be taken, some of which are drawn directly from the reports of the subcommittees, we wish to note that the appearance of these recommendations in this report is their first as a group, and that there is much more to be done before they or other steps could be implemented.

Students' Learning: Undergraduate Education

There are three categories of major recommendations: core curricula, sense of community, and outcome assessment. There are several additional recommendations that are important but do not reflect major themes.

1. Core Curricula. The core curricula need to be revised, and probably simplified from the current three alternatives. The faculty of the Case School of Engineering expects to turn its attention shortly to the Case Core, but the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences is well along in its evaluation of the core curricula. Considerations in implementation include:
   1. Involvement of undergraduates in research would be facilitated by introducing an interdisciplinary, problem-solving graduation requirement into the core curriculum.
   2. The additional core courses required by each professional school should be revised. For example, the Engineering Core Curriculum, currently being reviewed by the CSE Curriculum Committee, might benefit from the integration of many of the core topics focusing on contemporary needs.
   3. There is a need for a formal arena for discussion of undergraduate interests common to these curricula. The University Undergraduate Faculty body has been created as the arena for this discussion.
2. Sense of Community. To develop a more supportive and explicit sense of community on campus, the following approaches seem useful:
   1. Continue to improve physical facilities to improve social, recreational and cultural programs;
   2. Centralize or restructure campus programming to promote broader student participation;
   3. Create opportunities and an environment to reduce academic stress; and
   4. Enhance support for special populations.
3. Outcome Assessment. A new committee on outcome assessment has been formed by the provost to follow-up on the recommendations and lead implementation of the program outlined in Chapter VII. Considerations include:
   1. Develop a more detailed schedule for implementation of the assessment plan described in Chapter VII, including specific assignments to committees and officers.
   2. In addition to the above outcome assessment activities, annual surveys of graduating seniors, freshmen, and those who leave the university without graduating should be updated, conducted, and analyzed.
   3. The University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education is a potential contributor to such activities. It should continue to receive full support from the administration and faculty.
   4. The university's traditional use of 'visiting committees' for external review could be transformed into a more robust mechanism for continuing external evaluation. A more systematic approach to external evaluation of departments, curricula, majors, and other programs would yield much value.
4. Additional Themes. Additional observations concerning undergraduate education include the following:
   1. Financial and other resources should be sought to make it possible for professional school faculty members to become more involved in undergraduate classroom teaching;
   2. A standing committee, perhaps at the provost's level, should consider new options for further integrating into the curricula the resources of neighboring organizations in University Circle; and c.The College of Arts and Sciences should broaden its profile to the public so as to recruit an undergraduate student body better balanced by disciplinary interests.

Faculty Learning: Research

There are three categories of major recommendations: research vitality, research in the undergraduate experience, and research support.

1. Research Vitality. Develop a strategic plan to maintain and strengthen the university's research vitality in this decade and beyond, recognizing that research is an endeavor of specialized departments or interdisciplinary centers which resist highly centralized regulation. Considerations include:
   1. The goal should be not merely to document activity but rather to assess the research vitality on campus, relevant trends in the environment, remedial action when problems are identified, and the impact and consequences of research.
   2. The Faculty Senate Research Committee should be asked to develop further measures of research productivity and contribution, possibly including a database for tracking.
   3. There is potential value in developing a plan to re-engage those faculty who are no longer involved in productive research and scholarship.
   4. The approach to strengthening research vitality should include continued discussion and promotion of research integrity and ethical behavior.
2. Research in the Undergraduate Experience. The university should encourage faculty to promote research opportunities as an important component of the undergraduate experience. In consultation with the Faculty Senate Research Committee, the University Undergraduate Faculty might consider the following suggestions:
   1. Faculty should be encouraged to accept undergraduates as junior partners in their research efforts.
   2. A new directory of undergraduate research opportunities and campus research activities should be available to all students and faculty and updated annually.
   3. The university should emphasize research opportunities in its undergraduate recruitment efforts.
3. Research Support. The following recommendations would support continued research vitality:
   1. Complete the state-of-the-art library building and information system (the Electronic Learning Environment);
   2. Improve grants management and accounting procedures to provide better financial information to investigators, including on-line information on university and funding agency policies and procedures;
   3. Improve graduate student support. A central source of model training grant proposals would be helpful as well;
   4. Regularly review compensation for research staff to see that it is competitive with that of other universities;
   5. Consider development of a contingency funding mechanism or other approach to 'bridging' faculty whose external research funding has temporarily lapsed; and
   6. Reinvest in and rebuild shops that are useful and responsive to the research enterprise.

Lifelong Learning: Continuing Education

There are three areas of activity addressed by the observations of the steering committee on this subject: faculty involvement, a market study, and coordination.

1. Faculty Involvement. Participation of full-time faculty in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of continuing education is essential to maintain quality and take advantage of the opportunities to serve educated learners. The following would help:
   1. A method for evaluating the instructors and programs;
   2. A plan to make faculty participation in continuing education part of evaluations for promotion and tenure, when appropriate;
   3. A proposal to address compensation and other logistical problems involved in teaching in these programs;
   4. University-wide policies governing expectations of faculty in continuing education, allowing for differences among disciplines;
   5. Planning for continuing education that is based on a realistic assessment of societal needs and interests;
   6. A means to provide access to university resources, such as the library, bookstore, and parking for participants in these programs; and
   7. New formats that offer more effective interaction between academics and practitioners.
2. A Market Study. We recommend a market study to determine the needs and interests of various market segments currently and for the coming decade, including a look at preferences for formats and timing.
3. Coordination. Although many of the tasks associated with continuing education might be more effectively conducted by each school or college, a joint faculty-administration committee to consider institutional issues and opportunities in continuing education would be valuable.

Learning Infrastructure: The Electronic Learning Environment

There are three categories of major recommendations: refining the ELE strategic plan, the use of technology to enhance learning activities, and needed support.

1. ELE Strategic Plan. Because of the ELE's early and impressive success in influencing learning and support activities in many quarters of the campus, it would be useful to update the strategic plan for its further development, including considerations such as the following:
   1. Define the ELE and its potential to enhance higher education, and adjust the learning process when appropriate to incorporate the ELE;
   2. Develop a university-wide priority-setting process, and annual plans for investment of CWRU resources; and
   3. Communicate widely the contents of the plan, the annual priorities, and progress toward goals.
2. Enhance Learning Activities with Technology. A plan to improve the use of ELE technology in learning activities (i.e., teaching, research, etc.) should include:
   1. Recognition for faculty who exercise leadership in using the ELE to improve learning;
   2. Systematic evaluation of courses and activities that use the ELE; and
   3. Improved off-campus access to CWRUnet.
3. Needed Support. Support for the ELE should include the following, some of which are already in place but are dependent on 'soft' money:
   1. Effective training for faculty, students, and staff, as appropriate, in the use of ELE technologies;
   2. Technical staff to maintain and develop the infrastructure;
   3. Educational support to help faculty implement and evaluate the use of ELE in their courses and other learning activities;
   4. Continued support for released time, equipment, and other resources needed for course development; and
   5. A program for regular maintenance and replacement of faculty computers.

The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools requires that candidate institutions meet an array of General Institutional Requirements, which are cited below along with responses commenting on CWRU's compliance.

Mission

1. It has a mission statement, formally adopted by the governing board and made public, declaring that it is an institution of higher education.

The mission statement of Case Western Reserve University was most recently updated and approved by the Board of Trustees on June 6, 1985. As noted in Chapter III of this self-study report, campus discussions surrounding planning for the period 1995-2000 have included consideration of a revised mission statement that would more accurately reflect the full scope of the institution's activities. Trustee consideration of this revised statement is expected in the coming year. The university's mission statement appears prominently in the General Bulletin, and is included in other publications as well.

2. It is a degree-granting institution.

CWRU's academic activities, the dominant focus of institutional resources and attention, are organized around degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. The education of degree-seeking students has been the institution's primary activity since its founding in 1826.

Authorization

3. It has legal authorization to grant its degrees, and it meets all the legal requirements to operate as an institution of higher education wherever it conducts its activities.

Case Western Reserve University operates under a certificate of authorization from the State of Ohio, administered by the Ohio Board of Regents. This certificate, subject to comprehensive review every 10 years on a schedule parallel to that of North Central, specifies degree programs offered by the university at its campus in Cleveland, Ohio. The certificate may be - and is periodically - amended in the intervening years to authorize new or changed degree programs.

CWRU offers a very limited array of courses for credit in locations other than its main campus in Cleveland.

4. It has legal documents to confirm its status: not-for-profit, for-profit, or public.

The university has been granted the status of a non-profit, charitable institution under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. A copy of the IRS letter to this effect is included in the resource materials provided for the visiting team.

Governance

5. It has a governing board that possesses and exercises necessary legal power to establish and review basic policies that govern the institution.

Chapter II of this self-study report includes a description of the role and membership of the university's Board of Trustees. The trustees constitute the corporation that controls the university's assets, appoints its chief executive, and approves all major commitments and changes in policy or program.

6. Its governing board includes public members and is sufficiently autonomous from the administration and ownership to assure the integrity of the institution.

The president, who serves ex officio as a member of the board, is the only employee of the university on the board. All other members are 'public' members, there being no other seats allocated to representatives or nominees of other organizations. The board is independent of any other control, and elects its own members at large. Among the board's operating policies is one governing conflict of interest on the part of trustees.

7. It has an executive officer designated by the governing board to provide administrative leadership for the institution.

The Board of Trustees appoints the President of the University, who is its chief executive officer. The president is responsible for all administrative duties, and is charged with bringing to the board issues and recommendations concerning policy matters.

8. Its governing board authorizes the institution's affiliation with the Commission.

The boards of the university's two predecessor institutions, Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, both acted several decades ago to authorize the institutions' affiliation with NCA. CWRU carries forward that commitment.

Faculty

9. It employs a faculty that has earned from accredited institutions the degrees appropriate to the level of instruction offered by the institution.

As noted in Chapter IV of this self-study report, approximately 95 percent of the more than 1,800 full-time members of the University Faculty have earned the doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree. Most part-time faculty members are affiliated with the three professional schools in the health sciences, and their qualifications are consistent with the specific, limited roles they play in those units.

The General Bulletin and other specialized bulletins published by the professional schools include earned degrees and the institutions where they were earned in their listings of members of the faculty.

10. A sufficient number of the faculty are full-time employees of the institution.

As noted above, the members of the University Faculty (limited to full-time faculty) number more than 1,800, an impressive corps of scholars given the university's total enrollment of about 9,500. An equal number of part-time faculty, primarily in the health sciences, supplement the full-time faculty's efforts.

In a situation not uncommon in universities with medical schools but which do not own their own hospitals, the payroll base for some of the 1,300 full-time members of the Faculty of Medicine is located outside the university - typically in professional practice corporations operated under university guidelines. Nonetheless, their terms of employment and their academic expectations are governed by the university under the terms of affiliation agreements with clinical sites.

11. Its faculty has a significant role in developing and evaluating all the institution's educational programs.

Chapter II provides a description of the role and structure of faculty governance. By the terms of its constitution, as approved by the Board of Trustees, the University Faculty has delegated responsibility for all academic programs and issues. In turn, the University Faculty's eight constituent faculties (arts and sciences, applied social sciences, dentistry, engineering, law, management, medicine, and nursing) supervise degree curricula in those fields. The University Faculty reserves certain powers to itself, and also has designated the elected Faculty Senate to act on its behalf in many matters, including advising the president and the provost on a range of academic and administrative topics.

Faculty members serve on a large number of committees, commissions, task forces, and other groups formed to evaluate, recommend, plan, and otherwise influence the directions of the institution. The president and the provost regularly discuss sensitive issues with the members of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, and several other Senate committees (e.g., research, budget, libraries, personnel, and fringe benefits) play defined roles in formulating institutional policy recommendations in these areas. Faculty members serve as members of search advisory committees for all deans and many other senior officers - in fact, faculty members must constitute the majority of members of dean search committees.

Educational Program

12. It confers degrees.

Case Western Reserve University has conferred more than 100,000 degrees during its history, dating to 1826.

13. It has degree programs in operation, with students enrolled in them.

The vast majority of the university's 9,500 students are enrolled in programs leading to degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional level. Non-degree students constitute a minor share of total enrollment.

14. Its degree programs are compatible with the institution's mission and are based on recognized fields of study at the higher education level.

The university's mission statement is completely congruous with its degree programs. While some of CWRU's degree programs are highly innovative (e.g., Doctor of Nursing, Master of Nonprofit Organizations), the institution's academic offerings are widely recognized as consistent with those of a leading U.S. institution.

15. Its degrees are appropriately named, following practices common to institutions of higher education in terms of both length and content of the programs.

Names of degrees are most frequently considered when the curricula leading to the degrees are proposed, with discussions taking place at all appropriate levels of review and approval within the university (department, school or college, provost, Faculty Senate, president, Board of Trustees), often with the Ohio Board of Regents, and occasionally with a professional accrediting organization if the program falls into that category. The university has responded to suggestions for modifications in the names of degree programs when they have been raised at any point in the review process.

In recent years the names for two new degree programs (Doctor of Nursing and Master of Nonprofit Organizations) were the subject of extensive discussion prior to their approval, both internally and externally. Currently the Weatherhead School of Management has developed a new, non-research, post-M.B.A. degree program with the proposed name of Executive Doctorate in Management. The E.D.M. proposal, as named, has cleared all internal faculty and administrative reviews and is awaiting consideration by the Ohio Board of Regents and the university's Board of Trustees.

16. Its undergraduate degree programs include a coherent general education requirement consistent with the institution's mission and designed to ensure breadth of knowledge and to promote intellectual inquiry.

The university's goal for undergraduate education for the period 1990-95 (see Chapter III of this self-study report) includes the following description of the aims of the baccalaureate program:

'Our goal is to bring together the modes of learning and selected content of the humanities, the social sciences, the physical sciences, and engineering in curricula that provide both historical and global perspectives, and are oriented to the problems, opportunities, and technologies of the future. Our undergraduate programs should ensure that students develop an understanding of the relationships between this and earlier civilizations, and among Western and other societies - their economies, their political systems, their cultures, and their languages. These programs must also employ and illuminate emerging technology - such as the ability to store, retrieve, and manipulate vast quantities of information electronically. In preparation for adult lives as leaders, professionals, and citizens, our students will be expected to bring these skills with them when they graduate.'

• The Western Reserve Core (for B.A. programs and, with modifications, for certain B.S. programs). Accounts for 30 semester hours of course work to address requirements in the following areas:
  • Skills requirements, including English composition and quantitative reasoning
  • Science
  • Literature and arts
  • History and culture
  • Social and behavioral sciences
• The Liberal Arts/Mathematics-Based Alternative Core (for selected B.A. programs). Emphasizes skills in analysis and an expanded comprehension of the foundations and methods of modern science, technology, and social inquiry. A total of 56 semester hours of courses address the following areas:
  • Skills requirements, including English composition and computer programming
  • Mathematics
  • Natural sciences
  • Natural philosophy
  • Literature and arts
  • History and culture
  • Social and behavioral sciences
  • Synthesis (senior thesis or project)
• The Case Core (for B.S. programs that require strong preparation in mathematics and the physical sciences). Includes 60 semester hours in the following areas:
  • English composition
  • Mathematics
  • Chemistry
  • Computing
  • Physics
  • Humanities and social sciences

Detailed information on these three core curricula is included in the General Bulletin. As noted in Chapter IV, refinements to all three of the core curricula are under consideration by the faculties responsible for them.

17. It has admission policies and practices that are consistent with the institution's mission and appropriate to its educational programs.

Standards for admission to the university's degree programs are within the purview of the constituent faculties responsible for those programs, with oversight provided by the Faculty Senate on behalf of the University Faculty when a new or modified degree program is presented for approval. The various admissions offices either report to or, as in the case of undergraduate admission, work closely with the deans of those constituent faculties. The university seeks to admit students who have the preparation and intellectual abilities to succeed in CWRU's demanding curricula.

CWRU is considered to be highly competitive, annually receiving more than 20,000 applications for some 2,500 entering places in the student body. Undergraduate admission is based on grades and rank in high school, performance on standardized tests (SAT or ACT), recommendations, and personal accomplishments. Criteria for admission to graduate and professional programs vary among the fields of study represented at the university, some of which feature profession-specific admission tests (e.g., GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc.).

18. It provides students access to those learning resources and support services requisite for its degree programs.

The university makes available an extensive array of learning resources and support services for use by students, as described in Chapters IV and V of this self-study report. Examples of these elements of the learning experience include:

• Academic advising (both departmental and centralized)
• Tutoring (including peer tutoring)
• Counseling (career, personal, and psychological)
• Libraries and library services
• The Electronic Learning Environment, including an all-fiber-optic computing network and related services (CWRUnet) linking all student residence hall rooms and most faculty and staff offices and laboratories
• Financial aid, including counseling
• Campus residence halls and food plan
• Support for special populations (e.g., minority students, students with disabilities, international students, etc.)
• Health service

Finances

19. It has an external financial audit by a certified public accountant or a public audit agency at least every two years.

The independent public accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand conducts an annual audit of the university's financial affairs, including a review of selected management and control functions. The audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1994 are included with the resource materials.

20. Its financial documents demonstrate the appropriate allocation and use of resources to support its educational programs.

The university annually updates a five-year financial plan in the process of developing each annual operating and capital budget. These plans are designed to pursue objectives consistent with the goals set for the period in which the budgets are to be applied.

Most revenues to the university are directed immediately to the various schools and colleges, and a similarly large share of spending decisions are made by the deans of those schools and colleges or their designees. Rules for allocating revenue and expense are discussed widely, and the resulting practices reflect consensus among the various deans and administrative officers.

21. Its financial practices, records, and reports demonstrate fiscal viability.

The university employs great care in managing its financial resources, and has received high marks from such rating agencies as Moody's and Standard & Poor's when it has entered the bond market. The institution's debt load is modest relative to its total assets and the scale of its operations, and the Board of Trustees and the administration regularly review any possible changes in this status.

Public Information

22. Its catalog or other official documents include its mission statement along with accurate descriptions of its educational programs and degree requirements; its learning resources; its admissions policies and practices; its academic and non-academic policies and procedures directly affecting students; its charges and refund policies; and the academic credentials of its faculty and administrators.

The university's primary overall descriptive document, the General Bulletin, includes each item of information specified in this requirement with one exception: the academic credentials of administrators are listed only if they also hold faculty appointments - non-academic administrators' academic credentials are generally not listed.

In addition to the General Bulletin, the individual schools and colleges issue specific bulletins describing their own programs in even more detail. Program developments during the academic year are announced in Campus News, a weekly newspaper for faculty and staff; through The Observer, the undergraduate student weekly newspaper; and by special communications to students in the graduate and professional schools.

23. It accurately discloses its standing with accrediting bodies with which it is affiliated.

The following information about institutional and program accreditation is displayed prominently on page 2 of the 1993-95 edition of the General Bulletin:

'Case Western Reserve University is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, several of its programs are accredited by nationally recognized professional accrediting associations: American Speech Language and Hearing Association (audiology and speech pathology); American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (business); American Chemical Society (chemistry); American Psychological Association (clinical psychology); American Dental Association (dentistry); Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (engineering); American Bar Association (law); Association of American Law Schools (law); American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges, Liaison Committee on Medical Education (medicine); American Medical Association, Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (medical technology); National Association of Schools of Music (music); National League for Nursing (nursing); Council on Social Work Education (applied social sciences); Ohio State Board of Education, Teacher Education and Certification Advisory Commission (art education and music education).'

24. It makes available upon request information that accurately describes its financial condition.

The university publishes an annual report that includes a summary of the audited financial statements and supplementary information describing financial and operational matters. In addition, the Institutional Profile, which is less expensive to produce than the annual report, is issued annually with extensive information about academic, financial, and operational matters. Both of these publications are available on request from the Office of Public Affairs. Similarly, a copy of the complete audited financial statements is available upon request.

The following items present the 'criteria for accreditation' as enumerated by the Association and offer outline responses with respect to CWRU.

1. The institution has clear and publicly stated purposes consistent with its mission and appropriate to an institution of higher education.

The university's mission statement identifies its place among the nation's institutions of higher education: independent, committed both to teaching and research, with offerings at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. Supporting statements on 'character' and 'priorities' in the draft revision of the mission statement add greater specificity with regard to the university's desired intellectual climate and overall program objectives.

The specific goals set for 1990-95, which will be carried forward with modifications for the following five-year period, describe commitments in the use of institutional resources that directly address CWRU's mission, character, and priorities: undergraduate education; research; graduate and professional education; superbly qualified students, faculty, and staff; global and international orientation in teaching, research, and scholarship; and leadership for the cultural and economic renaissance of Cleveland.

Blessed with a somewhat obscure name, a much-maligned home town, and a recent history of unusual institutional restructuring, Case Western Reserve University works hard to strengthen and clarify its distinctive role among the nation's leading universities. This is a conscious effort, involving faculty, administrative, and volunteer leadership in discussions of the appropriateness of current and proposed activities. The success of this effort is apparent to those who were involved both with the 1985 North Central Association visit to the university and with planning for the 1995 visit: the lingering self-doubts that spotted the institutional landscape ten years ago have been replaced with confident objectivity in assessing the current state of affairs.

2. The institution has effectively organized the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to accomplish its purposes.

Following a decade (the 1970s) in which the university devoted its energies to stabilizing and depoliticizing the campus and to establishing the concept of responsible planning as the preferred method for gaining control of its future, CWRU has made impressive strides forward on each of these counts.

Human Resources

The 1967 federation of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, while producing only incremental effects on graduate and professional programs and research, introduced turmoil into the organizational structure for undergraduate education. In 1993 the university announced the end of a quarter century of experimentation in faculty organization with the creation of the Case School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences, a solution so appropriate that it already feels as if it had been in place for a decade.

The deans of the schools and colleges, who play a very strong role in institutional leadership, are also now engaged in close, productive working relationships with the president and the provost following a period in which the central administration played an almost recessive role. This closer relationship has been crucial to the successful advancement of the importance of teaching, in addition to research, in evaluating faculty members for promotion and tenure. In addition, attention to staff performance has increased, along with an effort to strengthen the staff commitment to serving students. Staff organization, lean since the deficit reduction period of the early 1970s, remains such but with specific increases to address priorities, e.g., student services, electronic information, community service, institutional data collection and analysis, and internal and external communication.

At the trustee level, the 1986-87 changes in Board organization created for the first time trustee committees focused on academic affairs and finance, with provisions for the two groups to meet jointly to deliberate on the most effective financial strategies to support academic priorities.

Financial Resources

On the revenue side, few universities can assert that they have all the resources they need to support the level of quality they seek in all programs, and CWRU is no exception. In 1994, the university completed a five-year fund-raising campaign, with attainment reaching $416 million against a goal of $350 million. While CWRU's endowment remains somewhat smaller than those of its peer institutions, the momentum generated by this campaign has led to a considerable increase in annual contributions from alumni and other friends, and the future appears bright. Long-term debt is comparatively modest, and tuition rates for most programs are lower than those of competing institutions.

On the expense side, the university's budgeting machinery has reassumed its role in support of academic programs after a period in which budgets were perceived to influence academic decisions unduly. Information about expense allocation procedures is discussed extensively, and the institution clearly specifies which major academic units receive 'University support' (currently the College of Arts and Sciences and the Case School of Engineering). The introduction of a formal capital budgeting process has also rationalized an activity that earlier was shrouded in mystery and suspicion.

Physical Resources

In 1988 the university completed the first campus master plan in its history, and the results have been dramatic. In the ensuing six years, there has been more construction and renovation accomplished on the campus than in the preceding two decades:

• Enterprise Hall, the new home of the Weatherhead School of Management
• New home for the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
• Richard Celeste Biomedical Research Building at the School of Medicine
• Kent Hale Smith Engineering and Science Building
• George Dively Executive Education Center for the School of Management (near completion)
• Addition to George Gund Hall, home of the School of Law (nearing completion)
• Kelvin Smith Library (under construction)
• Major renovation of the Rockefeller Physics Building (in progress)
• Two large parking garages, which eliminate acres of surface lots
• Improvements in student recreational facilities
• Landscaping improvements, producing a campus environment recognized as unusually attractive
• CWRUnet, a remarkable all-fiber-optic computing and communications network linking virtually every campus building with local and remote users and data.

It is significant that the master plan was built around the university's program goals, and that project decisions have consistently been guided by the directions outlined in the plan. During 1994 the Office of Planning updated the master plan to reflect changes since its formulation, focusing greater attention now on the set of priorities initially described as being 'long-range' (more than five years into the future).

At the same time, there is considerable discussion of approaches to addressing the problem of deferred maintenance, a problem at virtually every research university in the nation. While no panacea is at hand, there is some progress toward ameliorating this matter.

3. The institution is accomplishing its educational and other purposes.

In Chapter III of this self-study report, the university's goals for the period 1990-95 are enumerated and progress toward them is described. A brief summary of this analysis would highlight the following:

• Undergraduate education. With a sensible organizational structure in place and faculty focused on strengthening these programs, undergraduate education here is thriving and growing. Applications have doubled in six years, and enrollment is at a 22-year high - and at capacity. Student retention and graduation rates have improved steadily. External recognition of CWRU undergraduate students is strong, and student attitudes are once again very positive.
• Research. In a period of growing competition among universities for talented researchers and external research support, CWRU has moved up a rank or two during the past decade. The university has made important investments in research facilities and infrastructure, and has solidified its position in such key fields as biomedical research and materials research.
• Graduate and professional education. The university continues to have great strength in its professional schools - including the School of Dentistry, which has survived a national flight from dental education through a demanding down-sizing of its faculty and enrollment and has emerged as a stable, successful program. Graduate programs in engineering and the arts and sciences face growing competition for well-prepared students domestically and internationally.
• Superbly qualified students, faculty, and staff. Student financial aid, a large and generally effective program, is receiving considerable attention to ensure that it helps recruit and retain an optimal student body. Minority enrollments have increased over the past decade, though competition from other institutions has eroded some of this progress. Compensation levels for faculty and staff are improved. Quality of student life has seen enormous improvements during the past decade.
• Global and international orientation. CWRU remains an immensely attractive institution for international students, although their presence on the campus has yet to be fully exploited. Language instruction has experienced a revival here after years of neglect. International content in core courses at all levels has increased, though unevenly, but there is impressive growth in extracurricular attention given to global issues. Formal cooperation with governments and institutions in other countries has continued to increase.
• Leadership for Cleveland's renaissance. By virtually any criterion, the university's presence in the life of the community has increased during the past decade. Major efforts focus on technology transfer and its link to economic development; partnerships with area health care and social service providers; assistance to local government and citizen groups working to improve the quality of life; and volunteer activities by students, faculty, and staff.

While the self-study Steering Committee and the larger campus community are comfortable with the above appraisal of the university's performance over the past decade, we recognize as well that more precise assessment tools are needed to ensure that we gain the full advantage of evaluations in years to come. Chapter VII of this report describes the plan we have formulated to develop such a mechanism.

4. The institution can continue to accomplish its purposes and strengthen its educational effectiveness.

Ten years ago the university's professional and graduate programs were at capacity and highly competitive, but its undergraduate programs were smaller and less competitive than desired and its research enterprise was losing share to other institutions. Today, following an aggressive planning initiative and successful restructuring and fund-raising activities, the institution's major program areas are all at or near capacity and well positioned among peers nationally.

CWRU's earlier planning approach focused almost entirely on general statements of long-term objectives, helpful but ultimately insufficient to drive the short-term decisions that actually determine the institution's trajectory and thus its eventual position. Beginning with the university plan for 1990-95, the overall statement of objectives is now accompanied by detailed descriptions of plans and priorities for the major academic areas, supported by a campus master plan, and now by a capital budgeting mechanism, that for the first time place facilities planning in the context of educational goals. These detailed plans - academic, capital, and financial - are updated annually and today provide the institution with a realistic and forward-looking foundation for decision-making.

5. The institution demonstrates integrity in its practices and relationships.

The statement on the university's 'Character' that is part of Chapter III of this report, covering Mission and Goals, brings forward a statement on Ethics that was formalized in 1988 by the provost in cooperation with the Faculty Senate, the Staff Advisory Council, and the Undergraduate Student Government. The statement on 'Character' reads, in part:

'The university's mission is sustained by intellectual vigor and honesty, open expression of ideas, independent judgment, a commitment to a just and humane campus community. . . .

'Integrity in all of the university's pursuits, both scholarly and administrative, is essential to the search for knowledge. This requires that we respect new ideas and encourage examination and discussion of differing opinions. It requires as well that we recognize the dignity of each individual, that we appreciate and enjoy the rich cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of our campus community, and that we respect the contributions of all disciplines to the advancement of knowledge.

'These characteristics make it possible for the larger society to place trust in the degrees we confer, in the instruction and research we conduct, in the new knowledge we disseminate, and in the judgments we make about academic and administrative matters. To strengthen and preserve these qualities, each member of the university community has a responsibility to serve as a mentor for other members.'

It is an established dictum of organizational theory that the most senior leaders must act as models for behavior that they wish to inculcate throughout the organization. In this respect it is useful to reflect on a series of steps taken by President Agnar Pytte since he came to CWRU in 1987. Together they help describe a pattern of encouraging and rewarding open communication and the free exchange of ideas:

• Open office hours for students. For more than seven years, the president has reserved time every Wednesday afternoon for unscheduled meetings with individual students. Topics include complaints, compliments, curious questions about the institution, requests for assistance on course work, and suggestions for new initiatives. The president frequently calls others to come in to these discussions to arrange for follow-up.
• Emphasis on effective teaching. Early in his tenure, President Pytte made it clear that he considers teaching to be the most fundamental function of the University Faculty as part of an overall commitment to learning, and that he would insist on evaluations of teaching performance as part of the assessment of faculty candidates for promotion and tenure. Most recently he has vigorously supported creation of the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education.
• Commitment to free discussion. Refusing to be fenced in on one side or another of the 'political correctness' debate, the president has spoken publicly about the issue and has positioned the university as committed both to free speech and to civility. As evidence of that commitment, the president regularly invites questions and comments at the end of presentations that his predecessors viewed solely as opportunities for one-way communication.
• Advocacy for academic values. In a society that questions whether academic activities are 'productive,' it would be easy for the president to equivocate in discussions with external audiences, particularly those who bring a measure of skepticism to the matter. On the contrary, he has been an assertive and eloquent spokesperson for the importance of the values that characterize a university community.

We end this report of our institutional self-study with objective as well as subjective admiration for the university's achievements and renewed confidence in its future. We recognize that American higher education will encounter increasingly difficult challenges - political, cultural, financial, and demographic - but we note with pride and cautious optimism that Case Western Reserve has already experienced in the past three decades more change than many institutions see in a century. We take heart from the rising tide of support and enthusiasm for the university among students and alumni, and even among those of its constituents most likely to be critical - its faculty and staff. This is a university in motion, and the direction in which it is moving has our full support and participation.

Steering Committee

Richard A. Zdanis, Committee Chair

Provost

Danielle N. Ripich, Vice Chair

Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; 1994-95 Chair, Faculty Senate

Michael Altschul

Professor of History, College of Arts and Sciences

John E. Bassett

Professor and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Liaison to the Subcommittee on Undergraduate Education

Richard E. Baznik

Vice President for Public Affairs

Richard E. Boyatzis

Professor of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Management

Patricia F. Brennan

Associate Professor of Nursing, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing; Liaison to the Subcommittee on the Electronic Learning Environment (1993-94)

Janie M. Fouke

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Case School of Engineering; Liaison to the Subcommittee on Research

Michael J. Ginzberg

Professor of Management Information and Decision Systems, Weatherhead School of Management; Liaison to the Subcommittee on the Electronic Learing Environment (1994-95)

Richard W. Hanson

Skeggs Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine

Thomas P. Kicher

Armington Professor and Dean, Case School of Engineering; Liaison to the Subcommittee on Continuing Education

Anthony E. O. King

Assistant Professor of Social Work, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Lawrence M. Krauss

Swasey Professor and Chair, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences

Joseph D. Santangelo

Student, CWRU School of Medicine; B.A., Philosophy, 1994

Staff

Lynne E. Ford, Self-Study Coordinator

Assistant to the Provost

Jean E. Gubbins

Program Manager, Office of Public Affairs

Subcommittee on Undergraduate Education

Alan J. Rocke, Subcommittee Chair

Professor of History

John E. Bassett, Liaison from Steering Committee

Professor and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Marc Blubaugh

CWRU '94; former President, Undergraduate Student Government

David R. Campbell

Professor and Chair, Accountancy

Joyce E. Jentoft

Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Assistant Provost

Jenifer Neils

Professor and Chair, Art History and Art

Glenn Nicholls

Vice President for Student Affairs

Ignacio J. Ocasio

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Joseph M. Prahl

Professor and Chair, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Norman B. Rushforth

Professor and Chair, Biology

Eugene S. Uyeki

Selah Chamberlain Professor of Sociology

Subcommittee on the Electronic Learning Environment

Sharon B. Scinicariello, Subcommittee Chair

Shera Assistant Professor of French

Patricia F. Brennan, Liaison from Steering Committee (1993-94)

Associate Professor of Nursing, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing

Robert W. Brown

Institute Professor of Physics

Jason Chao

Associate Professor of Family Medicine

Laura B. Chisolm

Professor of Law

Julian Chow

Assistant Director, MSASS Center for Urban Poverty and Social Change

William E. Deal

Severance Assistant Professor of Religion

Michael J. Ginzberg, Liaison from Steering Committee (1994-95)

Professor of Management Information and Decision Systems, Weatherhead School of Management

Francis L. Merat

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics

Quentin W. Quereau

Associate Professor of Music

Chaim N. Sukenik

Professor of Chemistry

Lee A. Thompson

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Subcommittee on Research

Robert F. Savinell, Subcommittee Chair

Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director, Ernest B. Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences

William T. Bogart

Assistant Professor of Economics

James W. Flanagan

Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies

Janie M. Fouke, Liaison from Steering Committee

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Case School of Engineering

Jill E. Korbin

Professor of Anthropology

Story C. Landis

Professor and Chair, Department of Neurosciences

Thomas H. Moss

Dean of Graduate Studies and Research

Anthony J. Pearson

Rense Professor of Chemistry

Beverly L. Roberts

Associate Professor of Nursing

James W. Simmelink

Associate Professor of Dentistry

Subcommittee on Continuing Education

Donald K. Freedheim, Subcommittee Chair

Associate Professor of Psychology

Ann M. Boyle

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Dentistry

Thomas P. Kicher, Liaison from Steering Committee

Armington Professor and Dean, Case School of Engineering

Lisa M. Kregel

Director, Continuing Medical Education

Marie-Pierre LeHir

Treuhaft Associate Professor of the Humanities

Kenneth A. Loparo

Professor of Systems Engineering

James W. McElhaney

Joseph C. Hostetler Professor of Law

Sharon E. Milligan

Associate Professor of Social Work

Mohan Reddy

Associate Professor of Marketing

M. Linda Workman

Associate Professor of Nursing

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