1 Oakland University Self-Study For Comprehensive Visit April 2009 Oakland University is accredited as a doctoral degree-granting institution by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (http://www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/; phone: (312) 263-0456) 2 Table of Contents Chapter One………………………………………………….…..4—18 Introduction and Institutional Context Chapter Two……………………………………….…………....19—21 Overview of the Self-Study Chapter Three……………………………………..…………….22—30 Recommendations of 1999 Comprehensive Visit and Measures to Address Them Chapter Four…………………………………………………….31—88 Criterion One: Mission and Integrity Chapter Five…………………………………………….……….89—139 Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future Chapter Six……………………………………………………..140—191 Criterion Three: Student Learning and Effective Teaching Chapter Seven…………………………………………………..192—232 Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge Chapter Eight……………………………………………………233—262 Criterion Five: Engagement and Service Chapter Nine…………………………………………………….263—273 Summary of Challenges/Opportunities and Request for Reaccreditation Chapter Ten…………………………………………………… 274—341 Requests for Change Online Degree Programs 274—318 Branch Campus 319—341 Appendices A-1 Federal Compliance…………………………………………342—352 A-2 Academic Unit Profiles……………………………………..353—374 A-3 Self-Study Steering Committee……………………………..378—380 3 List of Figures Figure Topic Page 1 Number of Oakland University Staff 91 2 Percent of Minority Employees 92 3 Headcount: Full and Part-Time Faculty 93 4 Ratio of FTE Faculty to FYES 94 5 Percent of Minority Full-Time Faculty 95 6 General Fund Revenue Sources 110 7 State Appropriation per FYES 111 8 Base State Appropriations 111 9 Budget Reductions 112 10 Change in Tuition 112 11 Staff/Faculty Comparison with Peer Institutions 116 12 Faculty at Michigan 4-Year Public Universities 116 13 10-Year Undergraduate Enrollment 117 14 Student to Faculty Ratio 118 15 Cost Savings 136 16 Workshop Participants 153 17 Learning Management Software 178 18 Workshops 179 19 OU Grant and Contract Activity 204 20 OU Online Courses 312 21 Number of e-LIS Workshops 312 22 Workshop Evaluations 313 23 Default Rates 345 24 Full-Time FTIACs Graduation Rates 349 List of Organizational Charts Chart Topic Page 1 President‘s Division 57 2 Academic Affairs 60 3 Student Affairs and Enrollment Management 63 4 Finance and Administration 65 5 University Relations 67 6 CSITS 182 7 e-LIS 184 8 Academic Skills Center 187 9 Kresge Library 188 4 Chapter One INTRODUCTION AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT History of Oakland University* Oakland University celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2007. At its inception John Hannah, the president of Michigan State University, said of the new campus that it was ―an unusual adventure in education‖ – today, Oakland University has become all that and more! OU was developed through a gift of Alfred and Matilda G. Wilson‘s life estate ($2 million and 1500 acres) to Michigan State University in 1957. Planning seminars were held at Meadow Brook Hall, the Wilson home, for creation of this new educational institution. The stated goal of the then Michigan State University – Oakland was to provide quality undergraduate education in the arts and sciences for high achieving students from the Midwest. To achieve this goal, the founders of the institution set about recruiting Ph.D. faculty from prestigious national and foreign universities. The founders believed that Michigan State University – Oakland would be distinct in that classes would be small and taught by professors, not graduate students, and that these professors would actively engage in research. The program involved a series of university courses in western literature, western institutions, science and mathematics, social studies, area studies, art and music. The new campus enrolled its first class of 570 students in 1959. The 1961-62 catalogue stated that ―every student, no matter what his interests, must take approximately half of his work in studies which the University conceives to be the basis of a liberal education…The concern of MSU—O has been maintaining an exciting and stimulating community of learning. All else is secondary.‖ The charter class graduated 125 students in 1963. Although the number of required core courses has changed, the emphasis on grounding in sciences, mathematics, arts and humanities remains one of the strengths of Oakland University‘s varied curricula. In 1963, the institution‘s name was changed to Oakland University and in 1970 the Michigan Legislature recognized the maturity and stature of the university by granting it autonomy. In 1964, responding to the need for the development of professional programs and student pressure for degrees in the professions, the University established Schools of Engineering and Education and created the College of Arts and Sciences. The seventies saw the University move into a period of rapid enrollment growth. Not only were recent high school graduates enrolling, but the pool also expanded to include students who were returning to the university after raising families or starting careers. The national trend toward university expansion and the need for degrees from professional schools led Oakland to establish the Schools of Business Administration, Nursing, and Performing Arts and to expand the School of Education to include Human Services. In the early eighties, the School of Health Sciences was created. The eighties later became a period of retrenchment. The university established the Committee on Academic Mission and Priorities (CAMP). Aware of the drain on * Adapted with thanks from emeritus professor Jane Eberwein’s history of OU. 5 resources in a period of little growth, CAMP recommended emphasis on programs based on ―Quality, Essentiality-Centrality to the University‘s Mission, Environmental Match – the ability of a program or unit to match its capabilities to the needs of the University‘s service area, and affordability.‖ CAMP recommended that some programs be phased out and others strengthened. One result was that the School of Performing Arts merged into the College of Arts and Sciences as the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance. In 1989 the university engaged in a full-scale self-study in preparation for the visit of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Oakland defined its strengths as: general education, the requirement for writing proficiency for every graduating senior, an intellectually vibrant and dedicated faculty actively engaged in scholarship, a commitment to students who would not ordinarily have access to ―this kind of educational opportunity,‖ intensive faculty-student contact, a curriculum that included an Honors College and International Studies, and cultural and public service. Following the 1989 visit of the NCA, former President Joseph Champagne charged the Academic Policy and Planning Committee (APPC) of the University Senate with creating strategic planning guidelines that would guide OU into the year 2000. In 1990 the guidelines were presented to the faculty and Board of Trustees. The Strategic Guidelines envisioned a university epitomized by three key terms: Excellence, Cultural Diversity, and Collaboration. In addition to maintaining and strengthening its undergraduate programs, the guidelines suggested that Oakland University should plan to expand its master‘s degree offerings and carefully selected doctoral programs to meet the needs of its constituencies. In 1993, former President Sandra Packard and then Vice President for Academic Affairs, Gary D. Russi, initiated the strategic planning process that resulted in the Oakland University Strategic Plan, 1995-2005 (Appendix 1: University Strategic Plan 1995-2005). Subsequently, because the strategic plan was primarily an internally developed document, President Gary Russi began an initiative to gather the perspective and buy-in of the external community. In 1998 the university published a report on this Creating the Future initiative. Creating the Future engaged business and industry leaders in dialogue about the future and potential of the University. The Creating the Future process involved over 500 participants including professional and corporate leaders and resulted in invaluable guidance for the institution. These two initiatives, the Strategic Plan 1995-2005 and Creating the Future laid the foundation for OU in 2010 -- a profile of the university that the campus and community are working together to create under President Russi‘s leadership. (Appendix 2: OU in 2010) With OU in 2010 Oakland University began its evolution into the research intensive institution that it has become today. In 2007 Oakland University celebrated its 50th anniversary – five decades of innovation and opportunity – educating tomorrow‘s leaders, advancing research and engaging with business, industry, and community partners. Accreditation History Oakland University achieved accreditation for its undergraduate programs from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) in 1966. Full accreditation at the master‘s level and preliminary at the doctoral level followed in 1971. The 1979 comprehensive review continued full accreditation at the doctoral level for the existing 6 doctoral programs and recommended a focused evaluation of the university‘s continued development at the doctoral level in five years. That review, in 1983, achieved mature status for Oakland University as a comprehensive institution. The 1989 comprehensive review

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