AAC&U News | October 02

The University of Cincinnati Launches Comprehensive Reorganization

Throughout its 100-year history, the University of Cincinnati (UC) has served a diverse population with a variety of programs. But the school's inclusiveness and range was often lost on students caught in the "UC shuffle," a phrase commonly heard around campus to describe the confusing paperwork and difficulty of transfer between colleges within the institution.

To use a phrases from the Association of American Colleges and Universities' (AAC&U) newly released report, "Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College," too few UC students had a "purposeful plan" for their undergraduate programs, and lacked the means to be an "intentional learner."

Negative responses on a student survey five years ago galvanized a movement within the university to improve undergraduate education. According to a report drafted by the "UC Collaboration for Students Success," an internal evaluation committee, UC had "a long history of multiple missions, many semi-autonomous units, the units' competing interests and cultures, and the units' lack of administrative cooperation." The committee also found that none of the colleges were prepared to handle students who had not decided on a major.

This semester UC will implement "Collegiate Structures," the most comprehensive reorganization in the university's history. This institution-wide restructuring effort is something organizers hope will significantly impact all students' learning at UC.

The major goal of Collegiate Structures is to ensure student-centered flexibility of programs; it will touch students along the full spectrum of the collegiate experience: those with different levels of preparedness and different time schedules. Students, according to a university press release, now need "around the clock learning" and need skills to sustain life-long learning. The new effort will eliminate duplicate offerings among the colleges, but will not eliminate any academic programs.

Vice Provost for Academic Planning Kristi Nelson says, "[We plan] to serve students better through focused missions in our colleges, improved and enhanced coordination of our academic programs, greater administrative efficiencies, and enhanced services for students."

The university community aspires to cater more to the undecided and underprepared students with a new Center for Exploratory Studies. Other features of the plan include a new adult learning center, "intense, intrusive advising," and freer exchange among the institution's many autonomous units. Planners also wish to provide more challenges for the well-prepared and honors students, and to ensure that there is a strong, liberal arts core in the curricula for all students, not just those who are traditional, "daytime" students.

UC's president, Joseph A. Steger, recently signed on to AAC&U's Campaign for Presidents' CALL which argues for precisely the kinds of changes UC is implementing-changes designed to ensure that all students receive a practical and engaged liberal education of lasting value.

"The greatest challenges [for Collegiate Structures]," Nelson says, "have to do with changing culture. One can restructure organizational units, but changing attitudes and culture is less easy." Even though the plan enjoys support throughout the university, Nelson admits that in some cases change is difficult. "At the end of the day the most unexpected challenges come in working out the small details. It is easy to grasp the big picture, but the devil is in the details."

During the summer an action plan was developed to implement Collegiate Structures. The faculty in the University College (which offers two-year degrees) is forming four committees devoted to 1) transition programs, 2) technical programs, 3) student services, and 4) underprepared students. These teams will troubleshoot in the four areas, and the next step is to talk to the baccalaureate colleges to ensure that the transition process between the University College and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences is successful.

When asked how the university community plans to measure the achievement of the program, Nelson believes that success will be measured by how well UC continues to recruit and retain students. Success, to her, also means being able to serve all levels of students with different career interests and enhance their learning.

Nelson says that having a good communication plan is essential to the success of the restructuring-they must communicate "often and broadly with all aspects of the institution. Putting our materials on the Web site has helped tremendously." They also formed a small communications team that was made up of participants from all sectors of the university. "Once you make up your mind to engage in a project like this-stick with the essentials of the plan," Nelson says. "We are working out the details as we go along, but are remaining true to the key components and overarching goals of the plan."

UC's rededication to liberal arts education and its dedication to enhance student advising and education for students of every level of preparedness exemplifies the goals of Greater Expectations: The Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College, AAC&U's multiyear initiative to articulate the aims of a 21st-century undergraduate education and identify comprehensive, innovative models that improve learning for all undergraduate students. For more information on Greater Expectations, and to view the new report, visit http://www.greaterexpectations.org.

For more information about UC's Collegiate Structures, visit http://www.uc.edu/provost/collegiate_structures.html.

For information about "UC Collaboration for Student Success," visit http://www.uc.edu/success/collab1d.html.

A 79-page report which details the plan is available at http://www.uc.edu/provost/CSCFINREPORT.pdf .

For information on AAC&U's Campaign for the Advancement of Liberal Learning, visit http://www.aacu.org/call/index.cfm.