2009 Self-Study Report A D EC ad E of PUR P OSE & P ROGRESS PRESENTED TO THE HIGHER LEARNING COMMISSION OF THE NORTH CENTRAL ASSOCIATION Preface 2009 Self-Study Objectives & Process PREFACE i ii DENISON UNIVERSTY = 2009 SELF-STUDY REPORT PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, AND ORGANIZATION Every ten years Denison University undergoes a process to maintain accredita- tion with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Information about the 1999 accreditation and Denison’s response to the evaluation is located in Appendix 1. The 2009 report offers readers an understanding of how Denison achieves its mission, and although written for the purpose of accreditation, it seeks to serve the Denison commu- nity as well. The report is intended to provide a fair representation of the insti- tution, to share feedback from responses to the self-study questions the campus considered (Appendix 5), and to give a breadth of understanding of the institu- tion. The organization of the report follows the five criteria for accreditation and the core components within each (Appendix 4), presenting evidence that Denison is fulfilling each criterion. Because of the breadth of information con- sidered in the criteria, the report also provides members of the Denison com- munity with a broader foundation for understanding Denison than their typical role at the college may routinely afford them. The self-study steering com- mittee realizes that this report cannot fully capture the experiences, opinions, and concerns of all members of the community. However, committee members anticipate that it will provide the Denison community a deeper understanding of the institution, and that it will help the college as it moves forward. The Denison experience for students is characterized by high intellectual expectations coupled with meaningful interactions among students, faculty, and staff. In responding to the criteria, the report reflects these high expec- tations. To maintain the human engagement that is at the core of Denison, the report also opens each chapter with a vignette that features a personal or institutional element about Denison—elements not necessarily evident in the detailed responses to the criteria, but nonetheless representative of the spirit of the criteria. These brief stories add depth to an understanding of Denison and are congruent with Denison’s mission as a liberal arts institution. DESCRIPTION OF THE SELF-STUDY PROCESS This accreditation report is the result of a two-year process that began when President Dale T. Knobel asked newly arrived Provost Bradley Bateman to form a steering committee for the self-study in the fall of 2007. By the end of the semester, an eight-member team was in place and met for an overview of the self-study timeline. The committee included the following members: Jessica Rettig – Committee Chair (Biology) Gary Baker (Modern Languages) Sohrab Behdad (Economics) Kim Coplin (Associate Provost) Todd Jamison (Institutional Research) Cynthia Turnbull (Theatre) Cathy Untied (Controller) Jennifer Grube Vestal (Academic Support & Enrichment) During the spring semester of 2008, the committee met every other week to review and discuss specific sections of the Handbook of Accreditation (minutes of all meetings are located in the Resource Room, R5.11). The committee’s early goal was to gain a better understanding of each criterion for accreditation in preparation for attending the NCA Higher Learning Commission annual conference in April of 2008. Denison invested fully in the accreditation pro- cess by sending the entire committee to this conference. Participation in the PREFACE iii conference helped the members form a common understanding of the expecta- tions and processes for accreditation. After the conference, the committee met weekly to create a plan and timeline for the self-study process and to distill the accreditation criteria and core components. President Knobel and senior administrators reviewed the timeline in late April 2008. During the last general faculty meeting of the spring semester, the committee chair introduced the steering committee, gave a general explanation of accreditation, and presented the self-study plan and timeline (see R5.2, General Faculty Meeting Minutes May 1, 2008). The committee began the formal self-study by creating a set of five questions linked to specific accreditation criteria. This initial set of questions was presented to the Division of Student Affairs during its annual retreat in the summer of 2008. At this meeting and in all subsequent meetings with various departments of the college, members of the steering committee gave a general explanation of accreditation (Appendix 4), described Denison’s self-study plan, and presented the self-study questions (Appendix 5) and the Denison mission statement, which was referenced in some of the questions. At the meeting with Student Affairs, the steering committee asked the division’s staff to discuss these questions and to send their responses to the committee. These early responses allowed the committee to determine whether or not the answers to the self-study questions produced useful information. The responses indeed gave the committee clearer insight to how Denison operates. The steering committee added two more items to the self-study questions and then asked all campus departments to discuss and respond to them by the end of October 2008. This request for consideration of the self-study questions occurred at a general faculty meeting, through meetings with individual senior administrators and supervisors, and at a meeting of academic department and program chairs. During the early fall, committee members answered questions about accreditation, clarified the meaning of the self-study questions, and fa- cilitated discussions about the questions for departments and programs. Weekly committee meetings reviewed and discussed the responses and identified con- stituencies not yet contacted. As the October deadline neared, the responses were divided among the committee for its members to read and distill, search- ing for common themes and concerns as well as important contrasting opinions or concerns. Late in 2008, the committee gathered the themes, concerns, and opinions it collected from all the responses in preparation for organizing the writing process. Early in the spring semester of 2009, the committee began writing the report even as they continued to clarify and augment the details from the responses to the self-study questions. Committee members worked in teams to provide a draft narrative for each criterion with the goal of circulating a completed draft by the end of the spring semester. Additional information for the study was captured by hosting focus groups with a variety of Denison constituents, such as students, supportive operative staff, physical plant staff, academic secretar- ies, and alumni. Discussions during the focus groups centered on the self-study questions. This process produced valuable feedback and allowed for broader representation within the self-study process. The committee continued its work during the summer of 2009, produc- ing a draft of each chapter (Criteria 1-5). These drafts were shared with the president and senior staff. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni were invited to participate in a June 16 “read-in” of the drafts. Approximately 60 members of the Denison community participated on campus, allowing each chapter to be iv DENISON UNIVERSTY = 2009 SELF-STUDY REPORT reviewed by about 12 people. Several people also participated in the read-in via email. A draft of the final chapter, “Achievements and Challenges,” was ready for review in July. It also was shared with the president and senior staff and with a subset of faculty, staff, and students who participated in the earlier read-in. The steering committee used the feedback from these reviews to make improvements to each chapter. To publicize the self-study report and the visit from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (HLC-NCA), Denison will con- duct the following before the November 2009 visit: • Place the final version of the self-study report on a website accessible to the public and members of the Denison community. This website will also inform viewers how to contact the HLC-NCA to submit third- party comments. • Send a copy of the self-study report to all members of the board of trustees and place the self-study on the agenda for discussion by the board at its October 2009 meeting. • Issue a press release through the University Communications Office an- nouncing the accreditation visit, describing its purposes, and inviting third party comment. • Send a copy of the self-study report to all academic departments and pro- grams, to major administrative units, and to the Denison Campus Gover- nance Association (i.e., student governance). • Place the following announcement in the summer 2009 issue of Denison Magazine: North Central Association Accreditation Visit Every ten years Denison University undergoes an accreditation re- view by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central As- sociation of Colleges and Schools (HLCNCA). Last accredited in 1999, the college is once again taking part in the process, which involves the writing of a detailed self-study report by Denison and a visit to cam- pus by a team of evaluators from HLCNCA, on Nov. 16-18, 2009. The Commission invites written comments from the public on Denison’s qualifications for accreditation. The comments must be written, signed, and sent by October 16 to the following address: Public Comment on Denison University The Higher Learning Commission 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400 Chicago, IL 60602-2504 Comments also may be filed electronically at:http://bit.ly/osZ N2 PREFACE v Table of Contents PREFACE . i Purpose, Audience, and Organization . iii Description of Self Study Process. iii RESOURCE ROOM OvERVIEW . viii INTRODUCTION . 1 The Wisdom of Community . 3 History of Denison . 4 Denison Today . 5 CRITERION 1: Mission and Integrity . 9 Reinvesting Ourselves in the Liberal Arts . 11 1A . 12 1B .