Memorandum

Principal  Academic Goals

• Public funds for higher education will remain scarce; indeed, as a proportion of total institutional support, they will continue to decline.

  The likelihood of an improved state economy will not change this long-run trend which is national in scope. The inadequacy of funds will create a continuing challenge for the University (and other public institutions) in discharging its historic role of providing accessible higher education for Rhode Islanders and others.

• Not only will the costs of the new technological infrastructure expand, but the costs associated with maintaining the aging physical infrastructure of the University will be a considerable challenge.
• The need to provide a sharper focus to University activities will continue and indeed increase.
• The assessment of the relationship between cost and quality of higher education will become an expected consumer index.
• Costs for financial aid will continue as one of the most expensive line items for universities, both public and private.

Pedagogy and Technology Infusion

• New applications for technology will continue and accelerate. The changes these new applications will bring to the face of higher education will be more profound than we have yet imagined.

  These developments will change the nature of pedagogy, but even more importantly, they will change the competitive environment in which the University functions. At the same time, the high cost will continue to challenge the institution, particularly in light of the aforementioned financial assumptions.

• Technology coupled with the increased mobility of family units will lead to a greater expectation of consistency in the vertical design of K-12 and higher education. There will also be greater demands for articulation agreements inter- and intra-state, if not throughout the nation.
• Changes in the student body, in our understanding of how people learn, and in our ideas about what students need to learn are driving changes not only in what our students need to learn but how they need to learn it as well. Colleges and students bear a shared responsibility for student learning.
• Learner-centered education will continue to be a driving pedagogical force in the development of curricula. Learner-centered education implies shifts in teaching pedagogies away from lecturing to an array of pedagogical approaches that are learner-centered and more active: collaborative and cooperative learning, learning communities, service-learning, and experiential learning. It also implies shifts in curricula to include a variety of delivery systems and time patterns for course and program offerings, and in developing flexible instructional modules and certificate programs to meet emerging student needs.
• Undergraduate students will seek out and expect engaging learning experiences that address all styles of learning. The research on learning from diverse fields all indicates that problem-based learning, case studies, simulations, small group activities, and other active learning strategies not only are more conducive to student learning in general but also more effective in addressing the needs of diverse learners.
• Faculty training will become even more important with the broader introduction of technology applications and learner-centered education. Such training will need to be continuous and widespread throughout the faculty to enable faculty to understand and use the growing body of knowledge about how people learn most effectively.
• Learner-centered education also requires that we incorporate the perspectives of assessment for continuous improvement, both on an aggregate basis and in classroom assessment. In all of our programs we need, as the Wingspread group notes, to "focus on establishing what graduates have learned, the knowledge and skill levels they have achieved and their potential for further independent learning." As we experiment with new teaching methodologies we also need the continuous feedback that classroom research and assessment provide.
• Instead of viewing a college education primarily as mastery of a body of knowledge or as a complete preparation for a lifetime career, we recognize that graduates also need to acquire a range of skills to serve as the foundation for lifelong learning. Active learning strategies within the classroom and experiential learning without are particularly effective in helping students develop such essential skills as effective communication, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, the ability to gather, synthesize, and apply information, and the capacity to work well with others.

Student Body

• The demographic profile of our students and the population from which they are drawn will change.

  While we can anticipate an increase in the number of high school graduates, this group will reflect the increasing racial/ethnic diversity of the State. In addition, the group will present a wider range of student preparedness and with this will come a host of new problems previously not encountered in higher education. Finally, students who are somewhat older will become more numerous.

• Many students will return to higher education at multiple points throughout their lives. Flexible models for delivery of the curriculum will become of paramount concern. Distance education, self-paced computer-aided instruction, certificate programs, two-term "semesters," and a January term are just a few of the ways in which we anticipate introducing such flexibility. Flexible structures such as the self-designed or individualized major will allow students to combine interdisciplinary interests with career goals. We anticipate that honors and returning students will be most inclined to select this option.

Structural Change

• More and deeper collaborations among the public institutions of higher education will be desirable and necessary.

  The financial pressures together with the greater variability of preparation, and the concomitant need for more remediation, will make cooperation imperative if we are to meet student demands for services and also contain costs.

• Higher education will have more direct involvement in K-12 education. The public will expect consistency in terms of overall curriculum, skill development, applications of technology and assessment of accomplishment.
• Fluidity of structure among traditional colleges, departments and units must be emphasized to allow a more rapid response to change.
• All members of the university community-students, faculty and staff-will have a more active role in shaping the future.
• Outreach will play a larger role as a crosscutting activity within the University's tripartite land-grant mission of teaching, research and service.

  As the State and its citizens grapple with increasing challenges for technical applications, for environmental concerns, for economic development and for the health and well-being of its populace, the expectation that the University will bring its expertise to bear on solving problems is increasing.

International Education

• All aspects of the University-teaching and learning as well as research and service-must address and reflect the increasingly interdependent nature of our world.

  Environmental and monetary crises know no national boundaries, and business operates within an increasingly integrated world economy. Despite these realities, however, the best argument for international education relates to its centrality to a liberal education. Understanding the larger world and its varied cultures, including one's own, and overcoming parochialism broaden one's perspective and deepen one's understanding of the forces that shape events.

• International education generally includes language study, study abroad, the education of foreign students, and the internationalization of the curriculum.

Back to Top