HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE Interim Fifth-Year Report to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education AUGUST 2015 Dartmouth College Interim Fifth-Year Report Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 2 AREAS IDENTIFIED FOR SPECIAL EMPHASIS .................................................................................... 3 1. Aligning the Anticipated Growth in Operating Expenses with the Projected Resources ..................... 3 2. Strategic Planning, Undergraduate Curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes ................................ 6 3. Learning Assessment within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences ............................................................ 6 4. Launching a Hybrid Program in Health Care Delivery with a Distance Learning Component ............ 6 STANDARDS............................................................................................................................................... 9 1: Mission and Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 9 2. Planning and Evaluation ..................................................................................................................... 10 3. Organization and Governance ............................................................................................................. 12 4. The Academic Program ...................................................................................................................... 14 5. Faculty ................................................................................................................................................ 20 6. Students ............................................................................................................................................... 23 7. Library and Information Resources .................................................................................................... 26 8. Physical and Technological Resources ............................................................................................... 29 9. Financial Resources ............................................................................................................................ 33 10. Public Disclosure .............................................................................................................................. 37 11. Integrity ............................................................................................................................................. 38 ASSESSMENT, RETENTION, AND STUDENT SUCCESS................................................................... 41 Special Emphasis Area #2: Strategic Planning, Undergraduate Curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Special Emphasis Area #3: Learning Assessment within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences ............. 44 Reflective Essay .................................................................................................................................. 47 INSTITUTIONAL PLANS ........................................................................................................................ 59 Dartmouth College Fifth-Year Interim Report i INTRODUCTION Dartmouth’s 2015 Interim Fifth-Year NEASC Report was prepared during an important period for the institution. Since the 2010 comprehensive evaluation, we have new members of the senior leadership and examined our institutional strengths, challenges, and opportunities at the broadest of levels. Our Interim Report reflects this introspection. This report addresses the four areas identified for special emphasis by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and the eleven CIHE Standards. Our examination of the special emphasis areas offers candid reflection, assessment, and data-driven projections for the future. In reviewing the eleven Standards, we discuss significant changes since the 2010 Self Study, and demonstrate how Dartmouth continues to meet the Standards. In late 2013, a steering committee was formed to oversee this report. The steering committee comprises Martin Wybourne, Senior Vice Provost for Research and former Interim Provost (Chair), Richard Mills, Executive Vice President, Jon Kull, Dean of Graduate Studies, Alicia Betsinger, Associate Provost for Institutional Research and Dartmouth’s NEASC liaison, and Martha Austin, Associate Provost and Executive Officer/Provost Division. Institutional leaders who have contributed to the report include: • Elizabeth Agosto, Associate Dean of the College • Alicia Betsinger, Associate Provost for Institutional Research and Dartmouth’s NEASC liaison • Carolyn Dever, Provost • Christiane Donahue, Director of the Institute of Writing and Rhetoric • Robert Donin, General Counsel • Philip J. Hanlon, President • Robert Hansen, Senior Associate Dean • Lynn Higgins, Associate Dean of the Faculty for International and Interdisciplinary Studies • Jeffrey Horrell, Dean of Libraries • Katy Milligan, Director of the Master of Health Care Delivery Science Program • Richard G. Mills, Executive Vice President • Adrian Randolph, Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Arts and Humanities • Roger Sloboda, Professor of Biology • Michael F. Wagner, Vice President for Finance The Office of Institutional Research collected information for the Interim Report and Success (S) Forms. Staff in the Office of the President and Office of the Provost provided valuable contributions and insight. Dartmouth College Interim/Fifth-Year Report 1 INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW Dartmouth College (“the College”) was founded in 1769 by Reverend Eleazar Wheelock for the “education and instruction of Youth and the Indian Tribes in this Land…and also of the English Youth and any others.” The Supreme Court decision in the famous "Dartmouth College Case" of 1819, argued by Daniel Webster (Class of 1801), is considered to be one of the most important and formative documents in United States constitutional history. The case strengthened the contract clause of the Constitution and thereby paved the way for all American private institutions to conduct their affairs in accordance with their charters and without interference from the state. Dartmouth’s stated mission is to “educate the most promising students and prepare them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.” Dartmouth is deeply committed to the teacher-scholar model, and has historically been one of the country’s top-ranked institutions for undergraduate teaching. In addition to its outstanding undergraduate liberal arts education, Dartmouth also has a long and distinguished history in graduate and professional education. Arts and Sciences conferred its first graduate degrees at Dartmouth in the early 1800s, and Graduate Studies currently offers 19 programs leading to the PhD, and 11 to the Master’s degree. Dartmouth’s medical school, the Geisel School of Medicine, is the fourth oldest in the country (founded in 1797), the Thayer School is the oldest professional engineering school in the country (founded in 1871), and the Tuck School is the oldest graduate school of business education in the country (established in 1900). While Dartmouth is proud of its history and traditions, we cannot become complacent, nor rest on our institutional laurels. President Philip Hanlon, in his inaugural address, explained his aspirations for our students: I want Dartmouth students to engage in the great debates of our time, and indeed to lead these debates; to communicate powerfully, and think critically; to engage the arts and humanities while also being adept at numeracy and quantitative reasoning; and have the confidence to innovate and take risks. The charge is bold, but so too is the institutional response. New leaders and initiatives, coupled with an increased focus on assessment, are positioning Dartmouth as a highly innovative and proactive institution: we strive to shape the future of higher education, rather than merely be shaped by it. By the 2019 NEASC Self Study, many of our ongoing efforts will have had ample time for internal and external evaluation. Although we cannot foresee all of our challenges, we will continue to assess our strategies, and adapt and adjust accordingly. We hope that this report emphasizes that our institutional ambitions are, in many ways, the same ambitions that President Hanlon voiced to our students: for Dartmouth to lead, engage in the great issues, think critically, and have the confidence to innovate. Dartmouth College Fifth-Year Interim Report 2 AREAS IDENTIFIED FOR SPECIAL EMPHASIS 1. Aligning the Anticipated Growth in Operating Expenses with the Projected Resources Since 2010, Dartmouth has successfully aligned increases in operating expense with growth in revenues, demonstrating that Dartmouth “preserves and enhances available financial resources sufficient to support its academic and other activities. It manages its financial resources and allocates them in a way that reflects its mission and purposes” (NEASC