Potential CommitteesPage 1

Howard University/Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Periodic Review Report

Potential Committees

All committees will focus on progress since last Self Study and Site Visit (to be guided by Site Visit Report and Findings/Recommendations of Commission), current state of affairs, and future plans (stressing how related the SFA II)

1.Governance and Mission

  • Historic purpose in times of social change
  • Policy changes: program mix graduate vs. undergraduate; admission standards
  • Administrative organization
  • Governing Board
  • Changes in governance structure
  • Update on merged units

2.Students

  • Applications, admissions, and enrollment
  • Retention, attrition, and graduation rates
  • Profile of students (status of males and international students)
  • Program mix: undergraduate versus graduate
  • Applications and institutionalization of BANNER
  • Enrollment management
  • Success in recruiting students with stronger qualified

3.Faculty

  • Faculty role emphases
  • Research and scholarly productivity
  • External funding
  • Counseling/advisement
  • Composition of faculty (women; state of home-institution faculty)
  • Faculty workload
  • Faculty performance assessment
  • Collaboration between administration and Faculty Senate
  • Use of technology in teaching
  • Faculty salaries and merit pay

4.Academic Programs and Curriculum

  • Progress in reducing number of degree programs ; system used to determine
  • Status of implementation of core curriculum
  • Status of implementation and coordination of “additional 4 credits”
  • Writing across the curriculum
  • Fund raising
  • External funded research proposals and awards
  • Variety of specific school/college based items

5.Institutional Effectiveness and Comprehensive Outcomes Assessment

  • Institutional research capability
  • Status of defining and implementing COA
  • Infrastructure and establishment of Assessment Office and appointing Coordinator of Assessment
  • Process for input into institutional decision making and documentation

6.Library and Learning Resources

  • Fiscal status of library
  • Status of collection
  • Status of staff positions
  • Facilities (old structures and two new libraries)
  • Organization and coordination of the “highly decentralized” system with emphasis on collection development and information technology.
  • Impact of i-Lab
  • Technological improvements and systems
  • Impact of technology on access and use of library
  • Circulation and library utilization by faculty and students

7.Technology

  • Status of progress in technology for academic and administrative computing
  • Infrastructure and wiring
  • Staffing in ISAS (frequent turnover of staff)
  • Technical support at school/college level
  • Computer availability, access, and uniformity
  • Continuous training of faculty, staff, and students

8.Planning, Resource Allocation, and Financial Allocation

  • Financial status and stability, and federal appropriations and proportional sources and targets
  • Tuition
  • Association of cost to strategic goals of SFA I and II
  • Progress with faculty salaries
  • Progress with private support
  • Status of Capital Campaign
  • 3-5 year financial forecasting of revenue, expenses, and net assets
  • Process for allocating budget surpluses
  • Currency of Capital Budget Five Year Plan and how implemented
  • Inclusiveness of capital budgeting (i.e., operating cost of new facilities)
  • Status of achievement of capital targets
  • Diversity of revenue

9.Facilities and Equipment

  • Progress with deferred maintenance and reducing accumulation of additional maintenance
  • Backlogs of equipment and research implementation in selected schools and colleges
  • Status of acquiring computer technician in each school, college, and major administrative unit
  • Status and currency of computer equipment
  • Other progress

Summary of major concerns

  1. Need to rethink broad mission
  2. Balance between undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs
  3. Comprehensive program to measure institutional effectiveness, inclusive of measuring student learning
  4. Balance between full deliberations on policy issues and adoption and implementation of policy
  5. Expanding and deepening its research programs, external administration, research administration, and documentation of scholarship
  6. Articulating major steps and forecasting practices to assure future financial security, relating budget to strategic goals, maintaining a current capital plan, and diversifying fiscal resources.