In light of information presented in the previous nine chapters of this report, this chapter begins by evaluating the University's compliance with the North Central Association's General Institutional Requirements and its fulfillment of the Criteria for Accreditation. The chapter concludes with a summary of significant themes that have emerged as a consequence of this self-study.
Review of the University's Compliance with NCA's General Institutional Requirements
Mission and Authorization
1.a. Eastern Michigan University has formally adopted and made public its statement of mission. A discussion of the recent history of the development of Eastern's mission is contained in Chapter II of this report. The University's current mission statement is also contained in that chapter and it is published in the University Catalog.1.b. The University's Institutional Mission Review Committee did extensive research into missions and goals of other institutions of higher education. The current mission statement is a product of that extensive research as well as the result of intensive examination of Eastern Michigan University's traditions and purposes. The current mission statement is fully appropriate to an institution of higher education.
1.c. Eastern Michigan University confers the degrees, certificates, and diplomas described in Chapter IV of this report and further detailed in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs of the University.
1.d. Article VIII, Section 6, of the Michigan Constitution, adopted by the people of the State of Michigan in 1963 to become effective January 1, 1964, granted constitutional autonomy to Eastern Michigan University. Each year in Section 403a(1) of the appropriation legislation for institutions of higher education the Michigan Legislature provides legal authorization for the degrees to be awarded by all State colleges and universities. At this writing, Eastern Michigan University operates under the provisions of Public Act 195 based on Enrolled House Bill 4338, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1990.
1.e. Eastern Michigan University operates principally within the State of Michigan under the constitutional and statutory provisions cited above. In cases where the University offers individual courses off-site, it meets the legal requirements to do so.
Educational Programs
2.a. The Educational programs described in this report and in the catalogues of the University are intended to serve the mission of the institution. They are fully compatible with that mission.2.b. The principal educational programs offered under the auspices of the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Health and Human Services, and Technology are based on recognized fields of study at the postsecondary level. Comparison of Eastern's educational programs to those offered by other colleges and universities is evidence of this assertion. Further evidence of the fully-recognized nature of the University's educational programs is the range of discipline-based accreditation held by the University (see the appendices to this report).
2.c. The typical undergraduate program offered by the University would require four full-time academic years of study for completion. The typical graduate program of the University would require at least two full-time academic years of study for completion. Further detail is available in the University's graduate and undergraduate catalogues.
2.d. General education at the postsecondary level is an essential element of the undergraduate degree programs of the University. A recent comprehensive study of the University's Basic Studies Program has resulted in significant strengthening of general educational requirements and provisions for continual review of this essential aspect of the undergraduate experience at the University. General education is a prerequisite to the graduate degree programs of the University in so far as entrance into such programs requires a bachelors degree from a regionally-accredited college or university.
2.e. The University does not offer vocational programs of an extent less than a bachelors degree. Nursing students who enter the University having achieved a Nursing Diploma and who seek the Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) must fulfill the same Basic Studies requirement as do all other undergraduates.
2.f. The certificates, diplomas, and degrees awarded upon successful completion of the University's educational programs are appropriate to the demonstrated attainments of graduates and follow practices that are typical throughout the United States in naming degrees.
Institutional Organization
3.a. The Constitution of the State of Michigan provides that Eastern Michigan University shall be governed by a board of control referred to as the Board of Regents which shall constitute a body corporate. The Board has general supervision of the institution and the control and direction of all expenditures and institutional funds. Among the appendices to this report are the By-Laws, Board of Regents, Eastern Michigan University.3.b. The eight-member body of the Board of Regents is appointed by the Governor of the State of Michigan with the advice and consent of the Michigan Senate to represent the public interest. A list of the current members of the Board and their professional affiliations is included among the appendices to this report.
3.c. The President of the University is designated by the Board of Regents as the executive officer to administer the institution.
3.d. Long history and past practices as well as the provisions of the agreement between the University and the Eastern Michigan University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors ensure that the faculty of the University have a pre-eminent role in the development and review of the educational programs of the University. That faculty is comprised of persons qualified by education and experience to fulfill their responsibilities. This report contains a profile of the faculty. Further detail regarding the characteristics and qualification of the faculty is available in the primary data file for this report held on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. That primary data file includes a complete collection of the professional credentials of all faculty currently appointed at the University.
3.e. Admissions policies of the University are consistent with the institution's mission and appropriate to its educational programs. Those policies are outlined earlier in this report and further detailed in the catalogues of the University. Those policies conform with practices that are typical of colleges and universities similar to Eastern Michigan University.
3.f. Admissions practices conform to the stated admissions policies of the University. Admissions practices are supervised by a Director of Admissions and informed by extensive published materials on appropriate practices that are employed by all authorized admissions officers of the University. Those published materials are available in the primary data file for this report.
Financial Resources
4.a. The University has financial resources sufficient to support its activities. Details of the University's financial position are presented earlier in this report and in the Basic Institutional Data forms.4.b. The University has its financial statements externally audited on a regular schedule by Arthur Anderson & Co., 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan, 48243.
Public Disclosure
5.a. The University publishes in its undergraduate and graduate catalogues accurate information that fairly describes: i) its educational programs; ii) its policies and procedures directly affecting students; iii) its charges and its refund policies; and iv) the academic credentials of its faculty members and administrators. Further information on these matters is provided through a wide variety of supplementary publications and notifications.5.b. Financial reporting and control is conducted at the University in accordance with the Michigan Manual for Uniform Financial Reporting. The Constitution of the State of Michigan relating to institutions of higher education states that "each [governing] board shall have general supervision of its institution and the control and direction of all expenditures from the institution's funds." The Constitution also requires that each institution provide an annual accounting of all income and expenditures. The Manual, which has been adopted by all State colleges and universities within Michigan, provides for uniformity and standardization in financial reporting. It is available in the primary data file for this report.
Review of the University's Fulfillment of NCA's Criteria for Accreditation
Criterion One
Eastern Michigan University has clear and publicly-stated
purposes, consistent with its mission and appropriate to a
postsecondary educational institution.
In the first two chapters of this report the evolution of the University's mission as well as the publicly-stated purposes of its major units are described and evaluated. The University is confident that its publicly-stated purposes are clear and that they are appropriate to a postsecondary educational institution. Further, the mission and purposes of the University as well as the goals of its principal units are highly responsive to the contemporary circumstances of the region the institution serves. While mission, purposes, and goals are responsive to current conditions, they still reflect the traditions of Eastern Michigan University and reflect the values of liberal education.
There is a unifying vision in the University's mission statement, yet there is an appropriate level of diversity in the specific purposes and goals of constituent units. Mission, purposes, and goals have been evaluated frequently and thoroughly as the University's role in the region it serves has continued to develop.
Criterion Two
Eastern Michigan University has effectively organized adequate
human, financial, and physical resources into educational and other
programs to accomplish its purposes.
In Chapter I as well as in Chapters III through VIII of this report the human, financial, and physical resources of the University are described and evaluated as are its principal programs. There are references to ongoing improvements and adjustments to resources and programs. The University is confident that it has organized adequate resources into appropriate programs to accomplish its purposes and that its current adjustments constitute realistic responses to contemporary circumstances.
Criterion Three
Eastern Michigan University is accomplishing its purposes.
In Chapters IV through VII as well as in Chapter IX a full range of evidence is presented that the University continues to accomplish its purposes. It is acknowledged that the University needs to improve the system it employs to collect, digest, and report for use information regarding the assessment of student academic achievement. In Chapter IX as well as in the final chapter of this report, provisions are described for making such improvements.
Criterion Four
Eastern Michigan University can continue to accomplish its
purposes.
During the self-study year the University has identified very clearly for itself its aims; the conditions of its human, financial, and physical resources; and the character of its programs&emdash;in short, where it stands at the moment. The University has also identified its previous direction. The direction has been influenced by a strong desire to respond to rapidly-emerging challenges in a variety of settings.
Also defined during the study year is the preferred direction in which the University shall move in the upcoming years. What remains is to resolve the "angle of deflection" between where the institution has been moving and where it prefers to move. As the final chapter of this report makes quite clear, the University has a clear set of strategies in mind to resolve that angle. It is consequently confident that it can continue to accomplish its purposes.
Among the central traditions of the University has been its contribution to the field of Education. The proposed Doctorate in Educational Leadership, presented in the next chapter of this report, extends that important tradition and represents a key aspect of the preferred direction chosen by the University for its future.
During this self-study and the strategic planning process that has accompanied it, the many strengths of the University and the several challenges it faces have been dealt with candidly. There are certain themes that have arisen from the self-study and planning processes. Before presenting the new directions anticipated for the University&emdash;its proposed doctorate (Chapter XI) and its larger set of institutional plans (Chapter XII)&emdash;a brief review of those themes will be helpful.
Themes Emerging from this Self-Study
The University is confident that it complies with the General Institutional Requirements and meets the Criteria for Accreditation. The University has many strengths and faces numerous challenges. Those strengths and challenges are both reflected in the description and evaluation presented throughout this self-study report. There are, however, certain distinct themes that have emerged repeatedly through the self-study process. Those themes deserve special attention in this overview evaluation because they will help to define the University's planning agenda. They can be grouped logically into three categories: Finances, Enrollment, and Academics.
These themes are not the only subjects of importance to the University. But they are fundamental, they reflect the contemporary circumstances at Eastern, and they should be kept well in mind. While each theme can be heard distinctly, ultimately each is related to the other. Consequently, examination of the themes necessarily contains some overlapping discussion.
Finances
During the 1980s funding for higher education in the State of Michigan was made problematic by a variety of social, political, and economic pressures. Certain of those State trends are reviewed in Chapter VIII of this report. One of the consequences has been that financial support provided by the State to Eastern Michigan University has not kept pace with the growth in demand for the University's services. Earlier chapters of this report document the contrast between funding and enrollment growth.
The University has made efforts to moderate enrollment growth while fulfilling its obligation to provide access to qualified students. Deadlines for admission as well as the
numbers of students admitted for various terms have been controlled. However, since the University has retained greater numbers of its students, upward pressure on enrollment has continued.
As economic circumstances have motivated students to elect fewer academic hours per term, the University has served an increasing part-time population. Such students require support in areas such as registration, records, student accounting, and other ancillary services just as full-time students do. These circumstances have intensified financial pressures on the University.
The combination of enrollment growth, upward cost pressures, and lagging State funding has precipitated a variety of developments. Operating budgets throughout the University (for supplies, services, materials, travel, and equipment) are strained. Staffing levels, particularly in selected student support and service areas, are at lower than ideal levels. Academic departments have employed non-tenure track faculty (lecturers) in substantial numbers partly because they bring distinctive expertise to the University. But, too often, departments have employed lecturers because such staffing is more economical than the creation of new tenure-track lines. Serious maintenance needs have been deferred and other facility needs have not been fully addressed. Necessary investment in both library facilities and acquisitions have been delayed.
Throughout the component self-studies upon which this report is based a theme recurs that the University's financial base needs to be broader to support the current extent of its operation. Another way of interpreting this theme is that the extent of the University's operation needs adjustment so that it rests more firmly on the available financial base. The challenges inherent in this and the following additional themes continue to define planning. The nature and scope of that planning is discussed in the concluding chapter of this report.
Enrollment
Enrollment has increased at Eastern very substantially. It has been driven to a great extent by improved retention of students who elect to come to Eastern and remain for their full course of study. Our State leadership in equity programs also has attracted additional new students. To an important extent this has been a reassuring trend. However, an important theme that emerges from this self-study is that the University needs to define more fully the preferred size of its enrollment in the various programs of the University and allow such definition to help shape its planning.
As reported in Chapter V of this report, Eastern serves a large part-time student population (approximately 33% of undergraduates and 82% of graduate students) with recent credit-hour loads averaging 11.31 for undergraduates and 4.65 for graduate students. To a large extent the full-time to part-time ratio has been a function of student preference without any particular effort on the part of the University to influence the ratio. Another theme that emerges with respect to enrollment at the University is the desirability of understanding better the course load patterns that would optimize the University's delivery of services and the prospect of giving students incentive to elect such course loads.
Academics
The University's curriculum has been diversified over recent years in response to the needs of the University's primary service area and in a manner that is consistent with sound educational practices. Yet, there is little evidence that elimination of curricular units has accompanied additions in a pattern that responds to the University's economic circumstances. One of the themes that has emerged from the self-study process is the importance of connecting academic program review more firmly to the budget allocation process. Such a connection is imperative if the University's curriculum is to remain healthy.
Two themes that emerged principally out of financial consideration have special implications for the University's academic character: There is a need to moderate the use of non-tenure track faculty and there is a pressing need to revitalize the University's Library. As the University defines its academic identity rather than having it defined by circumstances, these two challenges will require resolution.
Finally, Eastern must define more specifically what constitutes an appropriate calibre of learning at the University and put into place a method of assessing the extent to which such learning is occurring. This theme emerges from many sources. Responding to the need for outcome assessment is a central component of planning for Eastern's future.
This summary of themes emerging from the self-study process represents a candid acknowledgment of important challenges that face the University. Even in the context of challenging circumstances the University strives to continue its development and serve its mission. Consequently, the University is seeking approval for a modification in its Statement of Affiliation Status to include the doctorate (research curriculum). The following chapter presents the proposed doctoral program. The concluding chapter of this report states the University's larger planning agenda and associated processes.