Student research at a research university and information technology have surfaced as the two lenses through which UC Davis will judge its educational effectiveness.

UC Davis will propose to a regional accreditation group that it be assessed on how well both undergraduate and graduate students here are being educated using those two themes, said Patricia Turner, vice provost for undergraduate education, at the conclusion of an open forum on Monday to discuss possible self-assessment topics.

Working with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the campus seeks to compare itself with peer institutions to prove to potential students, as well as potential faculty and staff members, that it meets certain minimum standards. Also, accreditation is important because the federal government gives student financial aid only to accredited institutions.

At the May 1 forum in the Cabernet Room, members of the WASC Accreditation Steering Committee met with a handful of faculty and staff members to discuss the possible self-assessment topics. After broaching a number of topics with various groups on campus, Turner, a co-vice chair of the committee, said people have been most enthusiastic about looking at the student research experience and educational issues surrounding information technology.

Joe Kiskis, vice chair of the Academic Senate, a professor of physics and a co-vice chair of the steering committee, explained the possible questions these topics might cover:

Student research

1. Do UC Davis’ stated objectives for undergraduate education incorporate the research component of its mission?

2. Is UC Davis effective in meeting the objectives?

3. What is the undergraduate research participation?

4. How does faculty research participation affect curricular development and improvement and delivery of instruction?

5. How much access do undergraduate students have to the most eminent researchers?

6. How does that access impact their graduate education or careers?

7. Are these patterns consistent across the campus?

Information technology

1. Is UC Davis effective in giving students the understanding of computing systems and their applications that they need to succeed both here and after graduation?

• What are the needs?

• Are the resources to meet those needs in place?

• Is there adequate access to those resources?

• Does UC Davis’ methods of providing guidance and access work equally effectively for all the diverse groups of students on campus?

2. What has been the impact of advances in information technology on student learning at UC Davis and what will and should the future impact be?

• Have advances in information technology really given the campus a tool to improve student learning?

• Does more effective electronic communication and dissemination of information enhance real learning?

• What are the impacts on content and pedagogy?

• Is the campus providing adequate support to faculty members to use the technology and yet remain focused on student learning rather than on the complexity of using the technology?

3. Can an improved information-processing infrastructure contribute to mitigating some select impacts of enrollment growth?

Cristina Gonzalez, dean of graduate studies and a member of the steering committee, asked that graduate students not be treated separately but as members, along with undergraduates, of an educational research group. She said it would be useful to distinguish five levels of research here: lower division, upper division, master, doctoral and postdoctoral. Turner agreed the steering committee would suggest including graduate student research in the institutional proposal submitted to WASC on July 1.

Jim Shackelford, associate dean of undergraduate education in the College of Engineering, suggested the campus assess its educational effectiveness in terms of its land-grant tradition and its academic diversity. He also suggested that curricula in selected majors could be compared against competitive programs at a state university without doctoral programs, such as California State Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo.

The campus should be looking at the costs -- as well as the benefits -- of obtaining an education at a big research university like UC Davis, said John Vohs, senior lecturer in communication and director of the Teaching Resources Center. "We need to assess the weaknesses and open this up to a broader scope and not just find the reasons why we do so well," Vohs said.

UC Davis should consider topics that are important across the campus, said Celeste Hunziker of Student Affairs Research and Information and a member of a recent WASC accreditation team.

"Pick topics that are part of the ongoing conversation," she said, pointing out that the accreditation team will be asking a variety of groups on campus to what extent people understand and embrace these themes. She also urged the accreditation steering committee to make sure the issues being studied come from the academic core and are of high importance to the provost.

The self-study comprises roughly half of the reassessment process that UC Davis will undergo between now and 2003 to judge how well the campus educates its students.

The remainder of assessments deal with the campus’s capacity to effectively educate its student body: classroom space, a functional General Education program, governance and administration, and institutional integrity, for instance.

For questions, contact Patricia Turner at 752-6068 or paturner@ucdavis.edu.