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The Current State of URI:
Sharing Information and Seeking Solutions Toward Creating Our "Brave New University"
The Current State of URI
Some Big Challenges Before Us
An Opportunity to Redirect Our University To Enhance Both Quality and Cost Effectiveness
To Do So: We must work together in a smart, strategic, and collaborative manner to reclaim our university
Budget
State Appropriation – Rapidly Declining, ~ 11% of total budget
Remaining 89% of the Budget --- ~ $270 million, mostly investments in people
The Human Resource is our Most Valuable and Critical Asset
Our Future Will be Defined by Smart and Strategic Management of the URI Human Resource and the Critical 89% of our Budget
Student to Faculty Ratio "a classic academic indicator" --- reflects financial investments and costs --- used as a marketing metric --- perceived by some as an indicator of quality --
high faculty-student interactions
URI Thought to Have a Student to Faculty Ratio of >19:1; higher than many public research universities
We Now Know That The Actual URI Student to Faculty Ratio Is 14:1 (Kingston Campus only, CCE is 13.5:1)
more like many privates; not affordable or sustainable for institution of our size, mission, & funding
are we capturing value-added of this low ratio?
Comparisons
UCONN – 17:1
PSU – 17:1
UMASS – 18:1
UIL – 17:1
UVM – 16:1
UFL – 22:1
UNH – 18:1
UTA – 18:1
URI Faculty FTE (07-08 AY)
Kingston CCE Tenured/tenure track FTE: 628.6 27.9b Full-time Lecturers FTE: 85.4 9.3 Per course FTEa: 102.9 48.0 _ Total 816.9 88.6 905.5
Cost of Lecturers and Per Course Instructors: $10.8 M per year
a: 8 sections = 1 fte
b: overload to Kingston faculty Comparative Changes Over Time (1999 – 2007) Institution
st:fac ratio enrollment growth incr # classes URI 18:1 to 14:1 17% 45% UNH 14:1 to 18:1 9% - 8% UCONN 15:1 to 17:1 32% 20% _
Aspirant-Peer Comparisons Institution FTE students # courses classes SCH/ # faculty 07 fall /1000 >50 fac FTE tt all_ URI 12516 1926 154 7.8% 420 628 817 UNH 12067 1357 112 15.2% 531 506 692 UCONN 16348 2030 124 15.4% 505 --- ---
FEW PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS CAN AFFORD THE PROGRAM OPERATING AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS DESCRIBED BY THESE DATA (INCLUDING US)
URI General Education Instruction Instructor type General Education Category Total FAL Letters Natl Sci Social Sci _ Tenure tk 29 37 40 51 157 Other 47 103 36 39 225 % tenure tk 38% 26% 53% 57% 41%
Where to From Here?
We can't continue to operate in this mode – it doesn't serve our students, our faculty, our scholarly work, or the university;
We need to preserve or enhance academic quality and re-envision program delivery and resource allocation decisions;
I have charged the deans, working with chairs and the faculty, to plan and implement constructive and strategic actions to address the existing imbalances toward creating the vibrant URI of the future;
they need your help and support
I have asked them, and now you as well, to do the following:
Charge to Deans
1. Reduce low enrollment graduate and undergraduate majors: -- eliminate or consolidate as concentrations
2. Reduce the number of courses offered – streamline offerings -- especially reduce low enrollment electives and redirect full-time faculty to teaching required courses
3. Strategically manage course sizes – ensure quality student experience and careful management of the faculty resource
4. Standardize the number of credits to graduate – 120 credits as the standard for most majors
5. Reorganize academic units to maximize potential and efficiency of programs – enhance faculty and student experience, gain efficiency, and better position programs
Overall Goal: Build Great Programs
Some Possible Approaches
Consider 4-credit General Education Courses or Overall 4-credit Curriculum or Hybrid 4/3 -Credit Curriculum
-- enhance student success, retention, and graduation rates
-- reduce faculty teaching loads
-- greater student depth in subject matter
-- opportunity for pedagogical diversity and enhanced learning
2. Core Curricula Within or Across Majors
-- greater instructional efficiency for faculty and students
-- opportunity for vertical integration of material Some Possible Approaches – cont.
3. Centralize administrative, fiscal, and student support services at the college level
-- increase efficiency, alternative plan for support of the faculty
-- opportunity for skilled technical support
4. Consider Umbrella Graduate Programs
-- greater critical mass of students, enhanced learning potential
-- greater critical mass of faculty, enhanced learning potential
-- broader learning and scholarly environment, interdisciplinary
-- greater appeal for many students
5. Additional Items
The Status Quo is Not Serving Us or Our University
We Must Work Together to Take Back Our University
“Unless Somebody Leads, Nobody Will, Why Not Us?” Ray Anderson, CEO Interface Corporation"