Middle States Reaccreditation Self-Study and Decennial Review Table of Contents Executive Summary i Certification Statement x Introduction and Organizational Outline of Self-Study xi Part I: The Student Experience Chapter 1: University Mission: Educating Leaders for a Global Society (Standard 1) 1 Chapter 2: Student Admissions and Retention (Standard 8) 14 Chapter 3: Student Support Services: Cura Personalis (Standard 9) 22 Chapter 4: Educational Offerings and General Education: Education for Excellence (Standards 11 and 12); Assessment of Student Learning: Achieving the Educational Mission (Standard 14) 33 Chapter 5: Related Educational Activities: “Go and Set the World on Fire” (Standard 13) 57 Part II: Institutional Context Chapter 6: Planning and Institutional Resources: A Foundation for Excellence (Standards 2 and 3) 72 Chapter 7: Leadership, Governance, and Administration: Moving Forward Together (Standards 4 and 5) 85 Chapter 8: Integrity (Standard 6) 92 Chapter 9: Institutional Assessment/Effectiveness (Standard 7) 101 Chapter 10: Faculty: Scholar-Teachers and Community Members (Standard 10) 108 Self-Study Steering Committee Recommendations 121 Appendix 1: Index of Supporting Documents and Task Force Membership 123 Appendix 2: Institutional Template of Compliance with Federal Regulations 133 Appendix 3: Organizational Chart of Senior-Level Administration Offices 133 Appendix 4: Financial Statements 133 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Fordham University, founded in 1841, is an independent co-educational Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning. The University encompasses nine schools with residential campuses in the Bronx (Rose Hill) and Manhattan (Lincoln Center). It has an additional campus in Westchester County and administers the Louis Calder Biological Field Station in Armonk, New York, as well as the Fordham London Centre in the United Kingdom. Fordham’s faculty consists of 737 full-time and more than 800 part-time instructors in any given semester. Based on the number of doctoral degrees awarded, research expenditures, and numbers of research staff, Fordham University is one of 107 universities in the United States that holds the Carnegie classification of R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher Research Activity. The University currently enrolls 15,286 students. Of the 8,855 undergraduate students, 79% receive some form of financial aid, and the six-year graduation rate is 80%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 14 to 1, and the average class size is 23. Highlights of Major Institutional Changes The years since Fordham’s 2006 self-study have witnessed a number of major changes and developments at the University. In 2010, the President’s cabinet was reorganized, and the Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer assumed the newly created position of Provost. Over the past decade, the vice presidential areas of Administration, Mission Integration and Planning, Development and University Relations, and Finance welcomed new leaders, as did the Office of Legal Counsel. Nine new deans joined Fordham’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. During the ongoing reorganization of the Arts and Sciences (A&S), the Dean of Faculty took on the additional title of Associate Vice President for Arts and Sciences Education. The College of Business Administration was renamed the Gabelli School of Business in recognition of a very generous gift to the University. The undergraduate and graduate business divisions were subsequently unified under the same name. Another name change transformed the former Fordham College of Liberal Studies into the School of Professional and Continuing Studies. All four undergraduate colleges have revised or renewed their core curriculum, and several of the graduate schools have engaged in significant curricular reform. Fordham created and is expanding its undergraduate research program across all A&S and business disciplines, including a grants program, undergraduate research symposia, and two undergraduate research journals. Distinctive new programs were introduced to undergraduates via Integrated Learning Communities. The Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, the Graduate School of Social Service, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and the Graduate School of Education have all pursued online education and degree programs. Fordham partnered with The New York Botanical Garden, the Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo, Montefiore Medical Center, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University to create the Bronx Science Consortium – a new model for scientific research, education, and community engagement. International initiatives have been expanded with particular emphases on programs in London, South Africa, and China. Finally, a new University-wide Continuous University Strategic Planning (CUSP) process was launched in 2015. i Preparation for the 2016 Self-Study Fordham University’s Middle States Self-Study Advisory Committee was mindful of two milestones when planning began for the 2016 reaccreditation report. The current University strategic plan, Toward 2016, is approaching its end, and in June 2016 the University will begin a yearlong celebration of Fordham’s 175th anniversary. This self-study has given the committee an opportunity to collect, analyze, and integrate data across a complex institution, thus encouraging the careful assessment that leads to effective and efficient strategic planning. By highlighting Fordham’s unique mission as the Jesuit University of New York, the exercise also helps Fordham better articulate and deepen its commitment to its distinctive place in higher education and in its community. The committee chose the comprehensive self-study model with special emphasis on the topic “Fordham University in Service to and Engagement with Its Community.” This focus has helped Fordham evaluate how well it is fulfilling its mission as well as assess the continuous refinement of the University’s image and vision, work that is central to maintaining the vitality of its programs. Fordham’s mission, especially its commitment to service and engagement, directly or indirectly influences every aspect of the University. Nonetheless, its place in students’ experience and in the work of the faculty is the primary concern of the examinations underlying this self-study. To that end, Standards 1, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14 address the special emphasis topic most directly and thus make up the first part of this report. Standards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10, which detail the essential infrastructure of the University, do not directly address the special topic and thus form the second part of the report. PART I: THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Chapter 1: University Mission: Educating Leaders for a Global Society (Standard 1) Fordham’s mission statement – unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees in 2005 – guides and animates the University in all its activities. It informs the goals of strategic planning as Fordham strives to become the model urban Jesuit university of the 21st century. It also guides planning across the vice-presidential areas, schools and colleges, and research centers and institutes. Survey data demonstrate that the Fordham community knows and pursues the University mission in various ways. A linked Mission Integration Table provides detailed evidence of how academic units advance the University’s mission of service to and engagement with its local, regional, national, and international communities. Fordham effectively promotes its distinctive Catholic, Jesuit, and geographic characteristics to fulfill its stated mission and goals as an educational institution, which include “the intellectual, moral, and religious development of its students” and their preparation “for leadership in a global society.” Chapter 2: Student Admissions and Retention (Standard 8) The University’s most recent strategic plan, Toward 2016, called for freshman enrollment targets that emphasize size, quality, and diversity within the constraints of available aid resources. Incoming class profiles in recent years provide evidence of the strides the University has made in this regard. The Council on Undergraduate Enrollment (CUE) – chaired by the Vice President for Enrollment and comprising the President, the Provost, and the deans of the ii undergraduate colleges as well as faculty representatives and senior members of the University Enrollment Group – meets routinely throughout the academic year to review enrollment data, engage in marketing and program planning, and consider financial aid strategies and initiatives. Fordham employs a strategic, consultant-supported approach to the distribution of financial aid that allocates aid on the basis of merit and family financial need. Even with a substantial commitment of resources, issues of affordability loom large for prospective students and their families. Each of Fordham’s graduate and professional schools has dedicated admission staffs who report to their respective deans, and strategic decisions regarding recruitment and enrollment are largely made in the schools. Enrollment patterns across the schools have been uneven in recent cycles, with certain schools and programs realizing greater success than others. National trends associated specifically with declines in enrollment in the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Law have also been felt at Fordham despite these schools’ strong reputations. Fordham’s undergraduate retention