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Identifier
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1989-30_Re-Accreditation_Report_1998
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Title
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Accreditation Report of the Evaluation Committee (1998)
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Date
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21 October 1998
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Creator
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Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Colleges
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extracted text
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NORTHWEST ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
COMMISSION ON COLLEGES
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
FULL-SCALE EVALUATION
October 18-21, 1998
"A confidential report prepared for the Commission on Colleges that represents the views
of the Evaluation Committee."
Table of Contents
Evaluation Committee Report
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, Washington
October 18 - 21, 1998
Evaluation
Committee
,............
11
Introduction
.
Standard One - Institutional
Mission and Goals, Planning and Effectiveness.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
2
Standard Two - Educational Program and its Effectiveness;
Scientific Inquiry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
3
Standard Two - Educational
Program and its Effectiveness;
Cultural, Text and Language.
8
Standard Two - Educational
Program and its Effectiveness;
The Expressive
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
11
Standard Two - Educational Program and its Effectiveness; Environmental Studies
Planning Unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
14
Standard Two - Educational Program and its Effectiveness;
Special Learning Activities
17
Continuing
Arts ...
. . . . . . . . . . ..
Education
and
Standard Two - Educational Program and its Effectiveness
Policy 2.1 - General Education
Policy 2.2 - Policy on Educational
Assessment
19
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Policy 2.D - Graduate Program
22
24
Policy 2.E - Graduate Program; Graduate Faculty and Related Resources.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
25
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
25
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
28
I
Policy 2.F - Graduate Program; Graduate Records and Academic
Standard Three - Students.
Credit
Standard Four - Faculty
30
Standard Five - Library and Information
Standard Six - Governance
Standard Seven - Finance
Recommendations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
and Administration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Standard Eight - Physical Resources.
Standard Nine - Institutional
Resources.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Integrity
and Commendations
35
37
39
40
, 42
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
43
Roster of Evaluation Committee
Dr. Michael Malone, Chair
President
Montana State University
Bozeman, Montana
Ms. Noreen Alldredge
Library Director
California State University Hayward
Hayward, California
Dr. Marcia J. Belcher
Coordinator of Institutional Assessment
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho
Dr. K. Patricia Cross
Emeritus Professor
Graduate School of Education
University of California at Berkley
Berkley, California
Dr. Frederick 1. Crosson
Cavanaugh Professor of Humanities
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dr. Jane DeGidio
Director, Student Academic Progress
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Dr. Gerald A. Fetz
Professor of German and Chair
Foreign Languages and Literature
University of Montana
Missoula, Montana
Dr. Lee E. Golden
Associate Professor and
Director, Off-Campus Programs
University of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Dr. William 1. Keppler
Dean Emeritus
Chair, Department of Public Health
Florida International University
South Miami, Florida
Dr. James W. Lyons
Dean Emeritus, Student Affairs
Stanford University
Stanford, California
Dr. Donald Peting
Associate Dean
School of Architecture and Allied Arts
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Dr. Charles P. Ruch
President
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho
Dr. Alan M. Schwartz
Professor Environmental Studies
St. Lawrence University
Canton, New York
Mr. Carl B. Vance
Vice President for Finance and Administration
Linfield College
McMinnville, Oregon
Dr. Sandra E. Elman, Ex Officio
Executive Director
Commission on Colleges
INTRODUCTION
The Evergreen State College made elaborate, considerate, and very thorough preparations
for the visit of the evaluation committee, which consisted of 14 members and one staff
member. The committee is unanimous and enthusiastic in expressing its gratitude and
appreciation to the president, provost, administration, faculty and staff, students, and
especially to the team that prepared the self-study and planned and facilitated our visit of
review,
More than 80 people attended the exit interview session at which the committee presented
its general commendations and recommendations. As we did on this occasion, the
committee wishes to express its unanimous belief that the TESC self-study is among the
best that any member of this experienced team has seen. It is especially thorough and
insightful, well substantiated, and characterized by penetrating self-judgements. This
self-study summarized, of course, a much more voluminous compendium of data and
backup materials that were well provided in a working-conference facility well equipped
with computers, printers, and copying and other services.
The Evergreen Self-Study amply fulfills the major purpose of these reviews, namely, a
full-scale assessment of the institution's current status, achievements, problems and
directions. The committee is assured that the entire college community involved itself in
the self-study process, and the administrators, faculty, staff, students, and others to whom
we spoke seemed fully engaged in the process.
TESC's positive approach to the Self-Study reflects the vibrant personality of the campus
community itself, a personality seen also in its lovely forested setting and in the activist
commitment of its faculty, staff, students and alumni. All constituents of Evergreen that
we met readily indicated their attachment to the place and their dedication to the
collaborative, interdisciplinary, interactive educational philosophy it espouses. Similarly,
the campus's envelopment in verdant forests, its seclusion from the city, its beach front
and its myriad of gathering places for students and faculty all reflect its open and
inclusive philosophy.
This report is organized to Commission standards. Effort has been made to regularize the
sections, but this will of course vary somewhat in size and scope according to the
perspectives of the individuals who prepared them.
STANDARD ONE
INSTITUTIONAL
MISSION AND GOALS, PLANNING, AND EFFECTIVENESS
Since its creation 27 years ago, The Evergreen State College has been, as it describes
itself, "a square peg in a round hole" - "a nontraditional college operating in a state
system of public higher education." TESC is a liberal arts-undergraduate-teachingfocused state college, where faculty are primarily team teachers, not researchers, and
where students are expected to engage directly in the educational process. Its primary
focus is upon "undergraduate instruction and collaborative interdisciplinary teaching and
learning." As its mission statement clearly reveals, the primary expectation of faculty is
teaching, teaching that is interdisciplinary, participatory, and focused upon communitybased learning and research, the latter reinforced by community-based "public service
centers." Also defining TESC's mission are its community-oriented programs at Tacoma
and at Indian reservations in the area.
At the statewide level, planning is heavily bound up with the budgeting process. The
legislature itself, and particularly its Office of Financial Management, reviews and
approves budgets, and the legislatively-created Higher Education Coordinating Board not
only reviews budgets as well but also produces a statewide Master Plan for higher
education at five-year intervals, and mandates periodic academic program reviews. The
HEC Board, and the State of Washington in general, are highly focused upon
"accountability." But primary authority for oversight ofTESC lies in the hands of an
eight-member Board of Trustees. Five members of the team met with several of the
trustees, who evinced both a high level of commitment to and knowledge of the
institution.
At the campus level, goal-setting and planning are predictably and characteristically
decentralized and highly participatory. The president's "Senior Staff' and the Academic
Deans Group are joined by other typical administrative planning groups, such as an
Enrollment Coordinating Committee and a Part- Time St~dies Group. But the most
distinctive aspects ofTESC planning are the issue-specific "Disappearing Task Forces,"
which are ad-hoc faculty-staff-student groups that in 1997-98 tackled such diverse issues
as Benefits and Post-Retirement and the Accreditation Self-Study. The college's formal
"Long-Range Plan" or "Strategic Plan" is reviewed and revised on a five-to-seven-year
basis: the current rendition was done in 1994 and is due to be revised next year. Public
forums and alumni and board participation enliven the discussion and preparation of these
plans, and also the Long-Range Curriculum Report, which is similarly revised on sixeight-year cycles, the current version dating from 1996. An Office ofInstitutional
Research has functioned since 1979, and periodic short-term planning and administrative
review efforts draw upon its studies.
2
The accreditation team is much impressed by the grass-roots enthusiasm and participation
of the TESC campus community in governance and planning. However, we are also
concerned that this broadly participatory approach to planning seems not to render the
tight, concentrated focus that the institution clearly needs to deal with several serious
matters. Among these are the key questions of growth and establishing the correct
balance between student population and staff and facilities, the disturbing loss of students
during and after the freshman year, and off-campus programs that seem to be somewhat
disconnected from the central programs of the college. A tighter concentration upon
focused planning, and the cultivation of revenue sources to support its targets, seems
clearly in order.
Recommendation:
1.
The Committee recommends that The Evergreen State College insure that all of
its students acquire the competencies appropriate to general education, especially but not
exclusively in Mathematics. This is called for by the college's own goals as well as
Standard 2C. Whatever the means taken, given a situation in which there are no required
courses/programs, and in which student choices are largely unconstrained, there is
nonetheless an institutional responsibility to achieve its stated liberal and general
education goals.
STANDARD TWO
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS TO INCLUDE
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
(pHYSICAL AND NATURAL SCIENCES, COMPUTING, HEALTH AND
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; APPLICATION OF COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY
INSTITUTION WIDE
The Scientific Inquiry Unit. The Scientific Inquiry edu~ation unit plays a vital role in the
overall curriculum at Evergreen. This unique and innovative program puts emphasis on
Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in a laboratory setting along with Computer Science and
Mathematics. The focus of Scientific Inquiry is on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
knowledge with substantial content in each of the natural and physical sciences including
Mathematics and Computer Science. It shares with the Environmental Studies Unit the
important responsibility of offering to interested undergraduates both entry level and
advanced interdisciplinary programs in laboratory and field problems. Students are taught
to address real, substantial, and timely science issues and problems requiring inductive
logic, utilizing their creative and critical thinking skills for problem solving that cuts
across the traditional disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics under the careful
guidance of a dedicated and well trained faculty. Mathematics and Computer Sciences are
3
also integrated into the problem or topic that is addressed. Therefore, each undergraduate
at the college is provided a unique opportunity to see how important and necessary it is to
understand how each scientific discipline contributes to the overall solution of the
problem being investigated. Scientific Inquiry offers a basic two-year curriculum
consisting of three entry level programs offered every year and a variety of more
advanced, challenging, and innovative programs typically offered on a biennial basis.
The Scientific Inquiry Unit has a definite linkage to the Humanities, particularly to the
cultural history of technology and the philosophy of science. The overall goal is to solidly
ground students with a firm foundation in the sciences and how they overlap in addition
to a comprehension of the cultural, ethical, historical, and philosophical aspects of
scientific inquiry. The title, Scientific Inquiry, clearly states what this educational unit
offers a potentially interested undergraduate at Evergreen.
The Intensive Study portion offers a comprehensive two-year program of approximately
96 quarter hours providing a solid foundation in the scientific disciplines. The same group
of students is together for the entire year concentrating their educational efforts on the
same topic. This provides for continuity and interdisciplinary learning and training in the
sciences; so upon completion of one year of study students will have achieved a solid
knowledge base and will have applied their creative and critical thinking skills to real
scientific problem solving from an interdisciplinary perspective. It avoids the more
common rote memory learning found in more traditional introductory science courses at
other colleges where there is usually little overlap or relationship to other sciences.
Another vital component of the Scientific Inquiry Unit is the interdisciplinary nature of
the curriculum. For example, the relationship of computer algorithms to important topics
in discrete mathematics or comprehending essential metabolic pathways of carbohydrates
to biochemistry is noteworthy in the Scientific Inquiry Program. The emphasis is on
integration of different disciplines and the relevance to the cultural, ethical, and social
dimensions of science.
Active learning is accomplished in a laboratory setting where students spend many hours
per week working on a particular project. Many teaching techniques are utilized, but it
should be noted that learning is active and not passive in this type of environment. The
culmination results in student lectures, well researched oral and written reports, and even
poster presentations. Small group seminar discussions contribute significantly to active
learning in the Scientific Inquiry unit.
The theory and practice component offers a number of unique programs that marry theory
and practice such as the Undergraduate Research option, Student Oriented Software, and
the more cognitive Science of Mind module. '
The Scientific Inquiry curriculum has been well established for a number of years and
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been reworked and refined as much any other planning group at Evergreen. While there
has been some internal criticism within Evergreen College that there is too much
structure, by some faculty colleagues outside the Scientific Inquiry planning unit, the fact
remains that this large corpus of knowledge in the natural and physical sciences,
including Mathematics and Computer Science, mandates a necessary degree of
compartmentalization and structure for student comprehension and application to
complex scientific problem solving.
At the more advanced level, undergraduates in the Scientific Inquiry Unit have a choice
of selecting several unique and innovative programs. Students more interested in the
biological sciences may take the Molecule to Organism Program, which focuses on the
molecular aspects effectively combining, Biochemistry, Biophysics and modem
Molecular Genetics with applications of Computer Science for DNA sequencing. Another
interesting program is the Science of the Mind Unit, which stresses Neurobiology,
Biochemistry, Psychology, and even Philosophy. These are regularly repeating programs.
On occasion, too, other very timely and important units have been offered such as
Evolution, the most unifying principle in the Biological Sciences, and even a unit on the
Philosophy of Science.
From interviews with various faculty, it is noted that faculty in the Scientific Inquiry Unit
have actively participated in Core programs like, Society and the Computer, Reflections
on Nature, and Water, Environment, Land and People.
In summary, the Scientific Inquiry planning unit at Evergreen has an outstanding track
record of developing creative and critical thinking skills in interested undergraduates in
the natural and physical sciences, including Mathematics and Computer Science, in an
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary scientific setting. Students are taught to see
relationships between and among the sciences because solutions to most modem
technological problems and in the future are extremely complex and multifactorial
requiring experts to be cross-trained. Critical reasoning was the most important
component of the "vision statement" set forth by the faculty in the Scientific Inquiry
planning unit in the fall of 1997, and the faculty have doAe an outstanding job of
inculcating this addition in their various pedagogical methods in all the various
multidisciplinary modules examined during this evaluation.
Nevertheless, there is concern among some faculty regarding the demand to increase
enrollment in the Scientific Inquiry planning unit in addition to participation in other
significant assignments at Evergreen. To increase the student teacher ratio significantly
above what it is now would substantially impact on the high quality educational
experience undergraduates at Evergreen have enjoyed over the years. Additional faculty
would need to be hired to maintain the current quality of educational experience and
accomplish the mission and goals of this planning unit. Another challenge that should be
addressed is the constant need to infuse new technology into this unit that is both costly
5
and requires additional training and knowledge on the part of these dedicated and hard
working faculty in the Science Inquiry planning unit. It is apparent that for science faculty
to be current and knowledgeable in their respective disciplines, a detailed plan for faculty
development should be developed and implemented.
Student assessment of the content, teaching, independent and collaborative research
opportunities and development for creative and critical thinking skills provides both
qualitative and quantitative evidence that the Scientific Inquiry planning unit meets and
exceeds Standard Two-Educational Program and Its Effectiveness. The "five foci" of
Interdisciplinary Study, Personal Engagement in Learning, Linking Theoretical Principles
with Practice, Collaborative-Cooperative Learning, and Teaching Across Significant
Differences are all achieved in a statistically significant way. There is excellent goodness
of fit between theory and practice in the Scientific Inquiry planning unit. The faculty
deserve high marks for their conscientiousness, dedication, and hard work. The Scientific
Inquiry Self-Study document was extremely informative, insightful, and well constructed.
It carefully delineates how each educational program fits into the central matrix of the
Scientific Inquiry planning unit.
Health and Human Development. In Health and Human Development undergraduates at
Evergreen investigate the biological, cultural, spiritual, and social forces that. impact and
influence health and human development. This knowledge base is utilized to create strong
foundations for further work in Anthropology, Human Services, Health, and Education.
This year-long offering is based upon two strong principles. First, health and development
are mutually influenced by biological and social forces. Second, culture defines and
influences our understanding and facilitation of health.
There are 16 credits each quarter and this program is preparatory for careers and graduate
work in the health professions, human services, and in education. Emphasis in this
program is on cognitive and physical development, interpersonal and intercultural
communication, and mind-body interactions and the effects of nutrition, environment,
gender, culture, and world view on human health.
There is a strong commitment to integration of knowledge from the biological and social
sciences. The emphasis in this program is on health and human development in all stages
of life in a multicultural environmertt and educating undergraduates on disease prevention
and inculcating in each student a healthy life style. Faculty interviews have stressed the
necessity of teaching the philosophy of wellness, that wellness is not the absence of
illness, but rather a mind-body dimension that is holistic in nature.
The faculty in this important year-long program is dedicated, well trained and hard
working, committed to the mission and objectives delineated in the program syllabus.
Various pedagogical methods are utilized in this three quarter Health and Human
Development program. There is a fall-quarter retreat where students form a learning
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community. In addition, there are important lectures, professional guest presentations, and
individual and group projects. A most important constituent of this program is a spring
quarter project or internship in an area of interest.
In the areas of health, it is imperative that undergraduates at Evergreen be well grounded
in the qualitative and quantitative epidemiological parameters of holistic health care from
a global perspective. There are presently excellent computer databases in the areas of
health for applied, basic, and clinical research.
Student assessments of the Health and Human Development program give the faculty
high marks for the development and application of creative and critical thinking skills to
practical problem solving in the health and human development area. For students who
wish to pursue a career in the health professions, allied health, or in human services, it is
suggested that there be measurable parameters of quantitative performance in the
biological and social sciences. A computer competency based software program might be
informative and helpful to the undergraduates in this three-quarter Health and Human
Development program at Evergreen.
Computing and Technology. One of the most informative and insightful documents
about the nature and state of administrative and academic computing at Evergreen was
the Peer Review document compiled by three outside consultants on 24-26 February
1997. The observations made here since that time confirm and reinforce those
conclusions although progress has been made in several areas in the year and a half since
that study.
The bottom line is that computing, networking, and support infrastructure are essentially
sound at Evergreen. A multi-year plan should be developed for computer equipment
acquisition. Computing hardware and software are a fixed variable cost and the college
must budget accordingly each year if the institution is to keep abreast of the most recent
developments in administrative and academic computer technology. An architectural plan
needs to be developed by Computing and Communications and put forward to the greater
campus community at Evergreen for input, modifications, and approval. This plan would
then become a regular component of the annual budget request in this important and
expanding area. Without doubt e-mail is the most used and probably the most important
system provided by Computing and Communications at Evergreen. It should be expanded
and offered in areas where it does not presently exist.
At Evergreen computing technology has been integrated into the curriculum in
most of the academic offerings to a considerable degree although it varies somewhat
from unit-to-unit. The college administration has realized the need to continually
integrate advances in computer technology and has made a commitment to do so now
in and the future. For example, three laboratories are scheduled to be upgraded
with new computers and the most recent software programs relevant to the academic
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programs.
A technology plan exists for Evergreen, but like most colleges computer hardware is
expensive and software systems need to be continually upgraded every few years as
new options become available for faculty and students. While it was most essential in
the sciences to keep abreast with new software programs and academic databases,
that is now the case also for the humanities, social sciences, and graphic arts as well.
These academic areas are dependent more and more on computer technology in
teaching, creativity, and research for the faculty and undergraduates.
Within Computer Science there are three separate programs. The Data to Information
Unit offers an excellent liberal-arts-oriented computer concentration that is
academically challenging for students and places maximum demands upon the
present Computer Science faculty. Some constructive criticism of The Data to
Information Unit is that it is too intense and compact and the mission and content
should be re-examined.
Another challenge is that some undergraduates are only interested in the Computer
Science programs without a strong background in the liberal arts. Special seminars
have been helpful. The unit, Computability and Cognition has included a philosophy of
mind academic unit to address this challenge and need. The Concepts of Computing
program can give students an opportunity to test their interest. The permanent part-time
position filled this year which emphasizes computing applications and social issues of
technology should help.
In summary, Evergreen must continually examine its commitment to computer
technology and how that technology can best be integrated into the overall curriculum in
a cost-effective manner while staying at the forefront of new educational opportunities.
There should be an expectation that new faculty hires will be knowledgeable about
integrating computer technology into their teaching and research regardless of their
academic expertise. It may well be that a modest computer fee should be instituted for all
students in the future to accommodate the need of computer technology at Evergreen.
STANDARD TWO
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
CULTURE, TEXT AND LANGUAGE (CTL)
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This recently formed Planning Unit views itself in large part to be at the core of the
college. There appear to be some ample justifications for this self-perception: the Unit
seems to be involved in more Core programs than any of the other Planning Units; it also
appears to be involved in more "programs" than any of the other units. At least some
members of this faculty group see CTL in part as the keepers and guarantors of "the
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Evergreen Way," that is, the philosophy and ideals upon which the college was founded.
Some CTL faculty expressed the concern that faculty in other planning units were not (or
are no longer) as committed to the principle of cooperative/interdisciplinary education as
they are. This, they continue, is especially problematical at a time when Evergreen will
be hiring a considerable number of faculty to replace retirees. This issue, some claim,
needs to be discussed openly because it is in fact a question of what type of institution
Evergreen will be.
Whatever the merits of such self-perceptions (CTL is at the "core" and the "heart" of the
special nature of Evergreen), and there is bound to be some disagreement about them,
even within CTL, the faculty in the unit, in spite of their voiced differences of opinions
over matters such as the need for stable foundation courses or sequencing of certain kinds
of programs, modules, and courses, appear remarkably united in their commitment to
energetic and innovative teaching and to their commitment both to the interdisciplinary
and collaborative work as well as to working closely with and conscientious mentoring of
their students. What at first glance appears to be a rather unstable curriculum with no
evident design or plan other than that which resulted from the desires of the individual or
collaborating faculty members to offer programs and courses of their own making turns
out to have more of a design and plan, therefore even predictability, than is at first
discernible. The unit faculty offer and participate in more Core programs than any other
area, and even though some members have presented an "alternative Core" proposal, they
seem to take seriously their responsibility of dedicating some of their curriculum to
incoming, freshman students; regardless of the precise topic or set of topics and issues of
a given "program," they concentrate on "the interpretation of texts" (understood broadly);
they emphasize writing and intensive discussion in their seminar style formats; even
though the titles and precise content of the "programs" change, the general emphasis in
many cases is repeated, often on an alternate year basis. In certain areas, in fact,
especially in those involving language and culture (SpanishlLatin American Studies;
French and Francophone Culture; Japanese Language and Culture; Russian Language,
History, Culture) the faculty involved are committed to offering those programs on a
regular basis: in the case of SpanishlLatin American Studies each year; in the others every
other year. This method of planning and curriculum implementation seems to offer
sufficient continuity while at the same time allowing for dynamic innovation and
creativity in the development of exciting new collaborative, inter- and multidisciplinary
programs and courses. The presence of Part-time Studies courses/programs, that can be
developed and offered with a quicker timeline, and the extensive number of "individual"
or "group" contracts in Spring Quarter, do allow the students (as claimed) the real
possibility of engaging in educational experiences, even formal "courses/programs,"
which they initiate and/or suggest. Along with some faculty in other planning units,
numerous CTL faculty support the college's laudable efforts to enable students to benefit
from study, research, and internship opportunities aborad. These opportunities, often
tailor-fitted to individual students through intensive advising and mentoring, add a
significant educational component to the experiences open to Evergreen students, one that
9
is even necessary for students interested in languages, area study, and other fields.
Yet, some problems or challenges are still apparent in the curriculum area. The
Accreditation Visitor's Report from 1994 points to a "lingering dilemma between
curricular flexibility, which helps keep the instruction vibrant and current, and curricular
predictability, which helps students plan toward personal learning goals ..." and goes on to
suggest that this dilemma "probably can never be resolved; it may be enough simply to
avoid excesses in either direction." The observations about actual planning made above
indicate that the faculty in this unit (CTL) are aware of that tension and make a genuine
effort to address it and avoid "the excesses." Whether those planning efforts and the
resulting plans are communicated to students in a consistent and timely fashion, which
would afford them the chance to plan their "curricular pathways" in a coherent manner,
remains unclear. In any case, this is an issue that will continue to require considerable
attention, discussion, and willingness to balance the admirable desires of the faculty to
engage new material, new approaches and new teaching configurations with the need of
the students to have some curricular stability, predictability, and breadth.
In another section of this report, the recommendation is made that a solution be sought to
address a problem in the area of general education that arises from the fact that no
mechanisms exist to ensure that students engage in educational experiences that cover the
breadth of disciplinary areas including "the humanities and fine arts, the natural sciences,
mathematics, and the social sciences." From the evidence studied, it appears that students
whose main interest or concentration is in the programs of CTL (the humanities,
understood broadly) represent the group of students least likely to engage in those
experiences across the spectrum; namely, it appears many tend to avoid programs/courses
with significant mathematics and/or natural science components altogether.
Consequently, if the problem is to be addressed, for instance, by more effective advising,
then faculty in this unit have a significant responsibility here.
Faculty Specific Issues. Some issues, concerns, and commendations regarding the CTL
faculty are addressed above, but a few remain that deserve comment. First and most
importantly, the CTL faculty should be commended for the energy and imagination with
which they create programs and courses and teach them. Their commitment to
collaborative, team-teaching and to providing their students with exciting, challenging,
and vibrant learning experiences shows that the claim that students are the first priority at
Evergreen is not only rhetoric, but impressive reality.
Second: even though the faculty in CTL (and elsewhere in the college) remain genuinely
committed to what are very time-consuming course- and student-related activities, there
appears to be a good deal of frustration regarding the lack of time to devote to scholarly
and research activities that are more than affective and that are not related to teaching.
Frequent complaints are heard that without at least a minimum of time for such scholarly
activities, faculty run the risk of losing touch with their special fields of interest and with
10
professional peers elsewhere. This appears to be a growing concern among the newer,
younger faculty, who express fears about becoming professionally isolated and out-ofdate, even while they emphasize their commitment to the general teaching mission of the
college. This issue will most likely become more serious rather than less, as the turnover
of faculty accelerates in the near future, and it deserves some serious attention. Perhaps
those faculty members who have been successful in maintaining a scholarly agenda and
significant external professional contacts have a special responsibility toward helping
newer faculty develop strategies to do the same.
Thirdly: some faculty expressed concerns that the increase of numbers of students they
are required to admit to their programs and courses is jeopardizing their ability to give
their students the kind of attention which Evergreen's educational philosophy and
approach presume and require. Many students expressed concerns over the same
perception, and asserted further that the number of programs offered are not sufficient to
meet their needs. The entire institution will need to pay attention to these issues as the
student numbers continue to increase; otherwise that makes the educational experience at
Evergreen so special and unusual=the intensive faculty-student interaction=will be
compromised.
STANDARD TWO
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS
The Expressive Arts Planning Area was established at the beginning ofTES<;::,one of the
few remaining areas from that initial period. The current faculty of 23 persons are
diverse in education and experience, very committed to the arts and dedicated to offering
the unique educational objectives of the institution. They serve a student group of
undergraduates in excess of 240, down from the high of 450 in 1990-91, but more
consistent with the number of students the faculty can properly serve. Sally Cloninger,
currently serving as Coordinator, enjoys the respect and confidence of both her colleagues
and the students. She listens well, is sensitive to their needs, and clearly has their
interests in mind. She has been energetic in seeking new faculty hires to both increase
diversity and depth of subject matter taught.
The clear, concise educational objectives that are appropriate to a program of higher
education are affirmed in their covenant. This covenant, which additionally serves as
their program planning tool, is reviewed each fall when the total College faculty convenes
a three day planning retreat. That time is used to reaffirm the goals and establish clear,
accomplishable educational objectives in the yearly revised curriculum. The. faculty seem
to uniformly share in and support these goals.
Program offerings at the beginning levels are thoughtfully packaged in sets of team
11
taught programs with faculty from other curricular areas providing interdisciplinary
content to the coursework. The material is delivered through a variety of techniques of
lecture, seminar, and studio situations. The offerings provide the combination of theory
and practice that is carefully woven into the curriculum. The actual credit, along with the
suggested course equivalencies, is determined at the end of the year in the carefully
written student assessments. However, the generaleducation component as determined
by the Commission on Colleges is hard to identify but in theory is spread through the
milieu of educational experiences. Intermediate and advanced coursework can become
more specialized, particularly in the more advanced student generated SOS courses that
establish content using covenants agreed upon by both the participating faculty member
and the students before the start of the school year. The educational program appears to
be uniquely organized, with faculty fully engaged in teaching. However, the class sizes
are large for any arts based program (the norm described by the College Art Association
is 16 students while 25 students is the usual studio enrollment at TESC). In summation,
the educational programs, though large, are well structured, diverse and balanced,
providing a mix of theoretical and practical course work. The student work is quite
excellent and poised to meet the challenge of changing technology. The courses are built
on faculty strengths and packaged in ways to vary offerings to meet student demands of
availability.
The students are thoughtful, energetic and determined in the pursuit of their broad liberal
arts experience. There is a good range of younger and older students, providing a balance
of ideas and experiences that strengthen any interactive program. Most students are a
good mix of local, statewide and out of state students providing the important educational
diversity. Instructional effectiveness is very apparent in the response from students who
clearly understand the intent ofthe program and share in its mission to provide
exceptional liberal arts study. The most successful students appear to those that are
confident and self-motivated.
The physical facilities of the Expressive Arts Planning Area are very impressive for a
liberal arts program, with performance, studio and work spaces and technical equipment
one expects to see in only in a professional school. The facilities are spread through three
separate buildings and have the usual need for more teaching, practice and studio spaces.
There is a wonderful relationship between the faculty and the broad range of technical
support staff who often have the opportunity to teach short units of practical training.
The mission of the School is shared by these very gifted staff members. The increased
need for technical equipment is obvious, and especially difficult with electronic, media
and computer equipment. The facilities are well maintained and the generous shops
appear to be excellent facilities with good safety records.
The library, which contains the majority of the collection, is nearby and is heavily used
by the students. The arts are well represented in the collection of books and journals.
The internal slide collection of 80,000 is good and growing in size, providing a proper
12
coverage of many art topics. Plans are already underway for digitizing the collection for
computer use.
The faculty are appropriately educated with experience in both research and creative
practice. They constitute a good mix of mature and new faculty, with a high percentage
of minorities and women strongly represented. Teaching is done with seriousness of
purpose, with faculty seeking to stay on the leading edge of contemporary thought.
However, salaries for the faculty are below national norm, clearly less than is needed for
effective and competitive faculty recruitment in the future. The Expressive Arts Planning
Area has asked for and received support from the School for five new faculty hires which
may ease the often expressed faculty bum-out with little time for individual creative
work. The burden of faculty teaching, while enjoyed, was echoed throughout the faculty
as a difficult issue. Some limits are needed, particular for newer, younger faculty who
need to build careers on necessary research and practice.
The Expressive Arts Planning Area is healthy and the faculty is increasing in quality and
creative potential, though heavily overworked The curriculum is well integrated enjoying
a strong theoretical and technical base. Emerging issues related to multi-cultural
education have long been a part of the curriculum and new hires have added to their
strength in those areas. The student body is bright, excited about their education and
involved in their pursuit.
Commendations:
1)
The Expressive Arts Planning Areas commitment to providing a rich array of
performing arts, visual arts and media at a professional level quality is impressive.
2)
The facilities, equipment and technical staff support for the Expressive Arts
programs are remarkable for a liberal arts college.
Recommendations:
1)
Faculty support, in terms of increased salaries, must be addressed to maintain the
quality of educational mission and compete on a national level.
2)
The Expressive Arts Planning Area needs to have the institutional mechanism for
solutions to provide time for the creative endeavors, avoid faculty burn-out and
encourage the advancement of scholarly work.
3)
Continued commitment to technological support, in trained staff, equipment
purchase, and space, is needed to insure the educational quality of the expressive arts
area.
13
STANDARD TWO
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PLANNING UNIT
One of the key elements of the environmental planning unit is the integration of natural
sciences, social sciences, and humanities around environmental themes. This is not
especially unique, as many institutions view this integration as a critical part of
environmental studies. The results at many institutions however, are often the
presentation of both natural science and social science course content with very little true
integration. Evergreen, on the other hand, offers students opportunities for development
of environmental interests in each of these areas but in addition many of its programs
fulfill the promise of integration. Although the nature of curriculum planning at
Evergreen results in a somewhat eclectic array of programs, the Environmental Studies
Planning Unit makes an earnest attempt at coherent offerings. It succeeds in some areas
better than others. During the yearly all-faculty program planning retreats the core
programs are the first to be discussed and the resultant programs meet the goal of twenty
percent faculty participation. Many of these programs usually involve faculty with
expertise in both the natural sciences and the social sciences or the humanities.
Because of the obvious links with the Scientific Inquiry Planning Unit cross unit
programs are frequent. Both the planning of the programs and their delivery in the
classroom maintains the spirit of interdisciplinarity and the mission of the institution,
including collaborative shared learning, connected learning, and active learning in real
world situations. Some areas of expertise represented within both these planning units
are especially good at coordination leading to a rational progression of courses for
students who wish to pursue these areas. Geology and perhaps Chemistry are such
examples. Further discussion between faculty with expertise in other areas, especially
Biology, might be beneficial in creating a more logical sequence of courses for students.
Several students expressed their frustration about being ,unable to take modules which
would have provided needed supplements to their academic programs because programs
and modules frequently have time conflicts. Although time conflict problems can never
be eliminated, perhaps future discussion of ways to increase a student's option to enroll in
modules should be revisited by faculty in this planning unit. The number of students who
reported that they "missed" the opportunity to take calculus in their first years and
realized this deficiency in their third or forth year, and who could not find a way to make
this up was particularly striking.
Work in the classroom and the field appears to fulfill both high standards for teaching and
learning. Students interviewed were extremely impressive in recounting how they faired
injobs, internships, etc. even when measured against students from some of the most
prestigious institutions in the country. Faculty with teaching experience at other
14
institutions also provide testimony regarding the level of expectations and achievement at
Evergreen. A review of program portfolios reinforces the view that a great deal is being
asked of students and they respond with significant effort. The planning unit, and
perhaps the institution as a whole, would be well served to collect other data to document
what appear to be excellent outcomes of teaching. Evidence such as ORE scores of
recent graduates, acceptance rates to graduate schools, and other similar measures would
be useful.
Although Evergreen may be an institution where student work is non-graded, evaluation
is an intensive part of everything that happens here. The narrative evaluation of student
work is a cornerstone of the academic program, but one that takes great deal of time and
energy from faculty if it is to be done well. Although virtually every individual on
campus praised the methodology, some students expressed concern that due to heavy time
pressures some faculty were taking shortcuts with evaluations and relying too much on
"boilerplate" of formulaic evaluations. Review of a small sample of such evaluations
demonstrated substantial variation. All reviews surveyed did a good job at describing of
the work undertaken by the student, but there was much more variability in specific
analysis of student's strengths and weaknesses. Clearly, there is a trade-off being too
brief and writing an evaluation so detailed that the resultant student record becomes too
long for a graduate school to read. However, efforts on the part of faculty to maintain the
richness of these evaluations is essential to the Evergreen experience.
Because of the commitment of faculty to their students, advising succeeds well when the
student seeks it. It appears that about as many students use individual faculty with whom
they have had a relationship for advising as use the Academic Planning and Experiential
Learning Center. Students report very positive results when either method is utilized; a
receptive listener and a helpful advisor are always available for the asking. Perhaps the
biggest problem in every institution is the beginning student who really does not know
where he/she wishes to go. This problem is exacerbated at Evergreen because of its
integrated programs and its extremely high proportion of transfer students. Some
additional thought should be given about how to insure students, especially transfer
students, in their first few quarters at the institution do not fall through the slats of the
advising system. In the words of one student, "Advising should be more proactive".
While most in the planning unit felt that the laboratory and field equipment was adequate
for undergraduate teaching a recurring concern was expressed that much of the equipment
was aging. There is no long range capital plan in effect that leads to faculty confidence in
the timely replacement of equipment. While the realities of tight budgets will constrain
equipment replacement at a pace desired by faculty a plan should be developed where
priorities are set for whatever monies are available. This plan should also give serious
weight to the needs of new faculty hires. The only issue raised by students in regard to
facilities was the lack of accessible computers. Too many of the computers for student
use are housed in a room where classes frequently meet. Student work is continually
15
interrupted by the needs of classes. Perhaps more computers, housed in other locations
could be added over time.
Commendations:
The dedication and effort of the faculty resulting in these high standards is obvious to
even a casual observer. This institution clearly possesses one of the most imaginative,
innovative, and dedicated faculties in the country. Students praise their faculty in being
extremely unselfish with their time. Faculty who have worked to develop new programs
very frequently leave those programs after a few offerings, not because the programs are
not successful, but rather because most faculty highly value new interactions with new
colleagues over new program content. This creates a very exciting atmosphere of
continual curriculum renewal but it may also lead to increased uncertainty in planning for
students and a very tired faculty. The benefit of this institutional renewal appears to
significantly outweigh the potential problems of student planning their course of study
(although these will be discussed under advising).
Recommendations:
The continued ability to recruit and retain high quality faculty needs to be addressed. The
salary of faculty continues to be an issue and a source of demoralization. From
discussions with faculty in the Environmental Studies planning unit, there is evidence it
may also be affecting the ability to recruit new faculty. Faculty recounted numerous
recent searches where candidates on the "short list" withdrew after hearing about the
salary. It was noted that in one search the person hired was well down on the list of
preferred candidates and that other searches have been closed one year and reopened the
next all due to rejections of offers based on salary. At least one member of the planning
unit has left because of salary. While retention may also be a significant issue, it is the
difficulties associated with faculty recruitment that offers the best evidence of the
seriousness of this issue.
The faculty student teaching ratios appear to be relatively unchanged over the last ten
years. Despite this data, the faculty is virtually unanimous in their perceptions of heavier
workloads. The genesis of these perceptions remained somewhat unclear. It appears that
many of the faculty in the Environmental Studies planning unit, despite this heavy
workload, have found a way to be productive scholars, although this continues to be
viewed as very difficult to maintain. Some faculty in the unit have combined both
teaching and research by collaborating with students on significant research projects. This
effort is impressive and praiseworthy.
While the faculty review of performance of their colleagues might appear to outsiders to
be "overkill," the faculty were very convincing in their assessment of the value of such
reviews, especially the five-year review. The extent of the review, the degree of
16
participation of other faculty, and the numerous examples of positive outcomes from the
.
. .
.
review process IS impressive.
STANDARD TWO
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
CONTINUING EDUCATION AND SPECIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES
TESC offers three off-campus programs: a reservation based program, a large upper
division program in Tacoma, and a small upper division program at Grays Harbor
Community College. These off-site programs, which flow from the institution's mission
statement and goals, support Evergreen's commitment to community based learning
which focuses on issues and problems found within the students' communities. These
guiding principles as well as Evergreen's desire to serve diverse place bound populations
guide its community-based programs.
It is essential that off-campus program students receive the same level of support found
on the main campus. The continuity of off-campus programs is dependent on the students
having access to technology and library sources in order to maintain the integrity of the
academic programs.
The leadership and management ofTESC's off-campus programs are integral
organizational components of the institution. Programs are approved, administered and
evaluated under the same institutional procedures used for the main campus in Olympia.
Each program is discussed further below.
The Reservation Based Community Determined Tribal Program provides educational
opportunities to place bound students and is customized to meet the needs of the
individual tribes. Involving the Tribal Council in the planning and implementation of the
program honors the culture and traditions of Native Americans.
The institution has demonstrated its support for its Reservation Based Community
Determined Tribal Programs program by locating it within the Center for Native
American Studies and granting the faculty member who directs the program .5 FTE for
administrative duties. Student services support for the program is strong and all involved
are committed to the program's success.
The Reservation Based Community Determined Tribal Programs program is offered in
the evening at the five Reservation sites in order to accommodate working adults. An
innovative aspect of the program is that four times each term the five groups of students
meet together on the weekend in a magnet concept. Bringing students from the different
sites together enriches the curriculum, as students are able to compare the uniqueness of
their tribal issues with those of the other tribes participating in the program. The magnet
17
meetings are held both at the main campus and rotated among the sites. When the
students come to campus, they also have the opportunity to meet with Student Services
personnel and use the library.
Another innovative aspect of Reservation Based Community Determined Tribal Programs
is the formal partnership between Evergreen and the Northwest Indian College (NWIC) in
Bellingham, Washington. This agreement insures that credit that can be transferred and
allows these site bound students to fulfill their lower division degree requirements.
The Tacoma Program is theme based and focuses on meeting the needs of the
communities it serves. A distinctive feature of the Tacoma program is the assigned
faculty, which includes core faculty from Tacoma, a faculty member on rotation from the
main campus in Olympia, and a practitioner who normally is a leader in the community.
In addition, the Tacoma Program has a faculty rotation agreement with Tacoma
Community College (TCC). A Tacoma Program faculty member teaches in the Tacoma
Community College Bridge Program that provides the lower division core program. In
exchange, a TCC faculty member rotates to the Olympia campus for one year. These
unique faculty arrangements have resulted in significant professional development
opportunities for Tacoma Community College faculty. Also, the Bridge students become
accustomed to Evergreen faculty teaching strategies and this experience eases their
transition to the upper division program.
The Tacoma Program is commended for its service to the regions it serves. The students
are actively involved as change agents in their communities. The faculty have given their
students a passion for learning which has resulted in the students becoming lifelong
learners. The Tacoma Program initiatives of faculty and students truly have made a
positive difference in the communities it serves.
The Grays Harbor program is distinctive in its use of highly dedicated part time faculty to
provide place bound students in an economically distressed region the opportunity to
complete their baccalaureate degrees. The administrative support provided by the
Academic Dean responsible for Part Time Study, Suzan Fiksdal, is noteworthy and key to
the success of this program. The Dean has implemented faculty evaluations comparable
to those of the main campus.
Commendations:
1)
Evergreen is commended for its Reservation Based Community Determined
Tribal Program. Delivering educational programs to the Reservations, involving elders,
and customizing the program to meet individual tribal needs demonstrates the College's
sensitivity to the Native American culture and TESC service to the tribes is noteworthy.
2)
The Tacoma Program is commended for the outstanding service and its emphasis
18
on community leadership and service resulting in numerous student contributions to the
community. The Tacoma faculty and students live their motto "Enter to Learn, Depart to
Serve."
Recommendations:
1)
That methods be explored to expand access to information resources as well as
document delivery procedures so that off-campus students have comparable access to
library instruction and support services.
2)
That computer availability at each off-campus teaching site be reviewed to assure
comparable access for students.
STANDARD TWO
POLICY 2.1
GENERAL EDUCATION
The Evergreen State College is an "alternative" institution, but one whose educational
goals are consonant with those of the Commission on Colleges. Its goals are clearly
stated in its catalogue and official documents, and so are the alternative means it pursues.
It has established programs of assessment to determine its effectiveness, its faculty is
intensely involved in curriculum planning through planning units and frequent
"Disappearing Task Forces" that address such plans. The Evaluation Committee was
impressed by the dedication of faculty and students to the unique character of TESC, to
the faculty's giving clear priority to teaching over research, and to the sense of a common
enterprise of teaching and learning throughout students, faculty and administration.
The alternative nature of TESC as an institution of higher education is perhaps exhibited
most clearly in the structure and components of its undergraduate curriculum. There are
no distribution requirements, no required courses, in fact no "courses" at all. A student
chooses his or her own pathway through the curriculum by enrolling in a "program" that
typically (though not universally) extends over two or three quarters, has more than one
teacher (indeed up to five teachers), and has a subject-matter that is addressed through an
interdisciplinary approach. One such program may constitute the whole course of study
of a student over an academic year of three quarters. The program description indicates
the areas in which credit can be awarded (in "course equivalents"), e.g. "Credit awarded
in Biology, English, basic Math, Philosophy and futuristics." The only graduation
requirement is the accumulation of 180 quarter credit hours.
So, the educational goals at TESC are normally to be achieved through multi disciplinary,
19
team-taught courses that a student chooses to enroll in, and that aim (and largely succeed)
at involving the student in the learning process through discussion seminars, integrating
different perspectives, and projects that relate theory and practice. Intermediate and
Advanced level programs with prerequisites allow students to concentrate their studies in
something akin to traditional majors.
The programs of the curriculum aim at cultivating the basic skills and knowledges of the
liberally educated person, without requiring specific courses in subjects like Mathematics,
natural science, History, composition, etc. These subject matters are intended to be
encountered in the interdisciplinary programs. When all goes well, they succeed (in the
words of the Accreditation Handbook, Policy 2.1) in introducing "students to the content
and methodology of the major areas ofknowledge--the humanities, the fine arts, the
natural sciences, and the social sciences--and help them develop the skills that will make
them more effective learners." Although the curriculum is restructured annually with
many largely new offerings, there is little evidence that an ongoing program of
assessment makes an important contribution to that restructuring.
Standard 2C (Undergraduate Program) of the Accreditation Handbook stipulates that
undergraduate programs "include a substantial core of general education instruction with
identifiable outcomes and require competence in (a) written and oral communication, (b)
quantitative reasoning .." With respect to these goals, there are two critical components to
assess in the Evergreen course of studies.
One component is whether individual programs offer a "substantial core" that requires
competence in such areas of knowledge. The other component is whether the student
chooses to enroll in enough courses to acquire knowledge of the content and methodology
of these major areas of knowledge and competence in writing and Mathematics.
With respect to writing, there appears to be wide agreement among both teachers and
students that much is achieved. Although there is no cumulative assessment (e.g. through
portfolios, etc.), and there is some question about whether the development of writing
skills in the early years continues, our own evaluation revealed positive evidence that
competence in writing is successfully fostered at key points within the curriculum.
With respect to Mathematics, there is evidence that the goal is not being met as a part of
general education, i.e. for all students. Indeed it appears that there is weakness on both
sides: not enough programs that include mathematical requirements, and too many
students who do not elect programs that do.
The Core Self Study (1998) quotes an earlier Long Range Curriculum Disappearing Task
Force that all Core programs "should provide opportunity and support to develop facility
in writing, reading, seminaring, library use and accepting responsibility for one's own
academic decisions." It then adds, "These goals have not changed and indeed have been
20
augmented to include quantitative reasoning and technological skill." But in.fact in the
current catalogue, eight of the ten Core programs being offered have no mathematical
component (i.e. no mathematical course equivalents are listed), and in non-Core courses
only about 20 percent of the programs require Mathematics or offer Math credit.
With respect to student selection of programs, a study of the 1996 alumni done by the
Office of Institutional Research and Planning revealed that 53 percent of Evergreen
natives had no credits in Math at all.
One conclusion at least seems warranted: Evergreen is not succeeding in meeting either
its own goals, or those of the Commission on Colleges, for liberal education, at least with
respect to Mathematics. (The study mentioned shows that some, though many fewer,
Evergreen natives also took zero credits in the Arts and Natural Science -- 12 and 18
percent respectively.)
The College is not unaware of these problems (see the Core Self Study, pp. 7, 53, 55, 57).
Last summer, under a grant from the ACLS, there was two-week workshop in
integrating Mathematics into programs attended by 19 faculty members. Perhaps there is
another aspect of the problem that could be explored. The advising of students could help
to playa mediating role between the student and the selection of programs. Either the
program teacher who is assigned a student to evaluate and who typically has a one-on-one
meeting with that student at the end of the quarter/year, or the APEL adviser to whom a
student turns for counsel, could be in a better position to advise if he or she were
informed of the student's course selections thus far. It would not be difficult to print out
a transcript-in-progress which showed not only programs taken but course equivalences,
which help the adviser get a better sense of where the student has been.
a
Recommendation:
1)
The Committee recommends that The Evergreen State College insure that all of
its students acquire the competencies appropriate to general education, especially but not
exclusively in Mathematics. This is called for by the college's own goals as well as
Standard 2C. Whatever the means taken, given a situation in which there are no required
courses/programs, and in which student choices are largely unconstrained, there is
nonetheless an institutional responsibility to achieve its stated liberal and general
education goals.
21
STANDARD TWO
POLICY 2.2
POLICY ON EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT
Evergreen probably has more at stake in assessment than more traditional programs, both
because their mission calls for a clear focus on teaching and learning and because they
have deliberately chosen to pursue an experimental educational program. Therefore they
are under more pressure than most colleges to demonstrate the validity of their
educational program in terms of student learning outcomes. They have risen to this
challenge remarkably well.
Assessment programs today are complex undertakings, and a complete and
comprehensive program of assessment might be described and evaluated using the
following elements: 1) Timing, including data for entering students, students at
mid-program, graduates, and alumni. 2) Measures, including measures of cognitive
skills, attitudes and values, college experiences and satisfactions, and aggregated statistics
such as time to degree; 3) Leadership, 4) Involvement of faculty, administration, and
students. 5) Use of data to diagnose problems, assist in the planning process, implement
changes, and continually evaluate progress.
Overview:
It should be said at the outset that evergreen has established a True "program" of
assessment. There is an unusually high degree of faculty participation and an exceptional
concern about making use of the data collected. Since these are perhaps the most difficult
aspects of an assessment program to accomplish, Evergreen's performance in these areas
might serve as a model for other colleges.
1. Timing
I
The college has good information about the characteristics of entering freshmen, and they
have also made a good and conscientious effort to collect information from alumni and
compare the data with prospective employers. They have not made the same level of
effort to collect information about transfer students, nor do they have good information
about graduating seniors. Since transfers constitute the majority of Evergreen students, it
would appear desirable to know something about the characteristics of this "entering"
class. It is also important to know what graduating seniors have learned from their
experiences at Evergreen, both in terms of academic performance and attitudes about
education and lifelong learning.
2. Measures
22
The 1989 Accreditation team found that the college had not been as innovative in its
approach to assessment as it had been in curriculum design. The 1994 interim
accreditation review noted considerable progress, and we find that this progress
continues. Evergreen uses a wide variety of creative approaches to assessment. Not
content to leave assessment to "measurement professionals," they seek to create and use
measures that will reflect their distinctive educational mission and goals. Data from
measures such as the ACE Freshman Survey, CSEQ, and the College Student Survey
permit comparison with appropriate normative groups, and they are strongly
supportive of the values and emphases that undergird the Evergreen philosophy.
There is, however, greater emphasis on student self-report and student attitudes and
experiences than on cognitive measures of academic performance. This is probably due,
in part, to the lack of agreement nationwide on appropriate and reliable measures of
cognitive growth, and, in part, due to the nature of the Evergreen philosophy and mission.
But institution-wide cognitive measures such as writing ability and quantitative skills
would be helpful to "outsiders," as well as to staunch defenders of the Evergreen
pedagogy, who need to know the areas of weaknesses and strengths in their own
curriculum.
3. Leadership
The president of the institution has communicated that student assessment is an
institutional priority; that assessment should help shape the direction of the institution;
and that assessment must be included in the long-range planning process. In addition,
academic leadership has been provided in every aspect of the assessment program by the
provost, academic deans, and the faculty.
Although the institution has struggled with the state-wide mandates, the institution has
been proactive in using assessment to improve their educational programming.
4. Involvement
.
Since its inception Evergreen has been committed to a detailed evaluation of both
students and faculty in the form of narrative evaluations. Although this is not usually
thought of as "assessment," students and faculty at Evergreen are deeply involved in this
form of continuous self- and peer- evaluation.
With the national emphasis on assessment and state mandates regarding accountability,
Evergreen has sought to involve faculty in the assessment of the academic areas. For the
most part, the self-studies done by the academic areas are impressive. The Academic
Dean and Director of Institutional Research & Planning provided excellent guidelines and
offers of assistance in collecting data, but the faculty groups carried out their
self-studies in a self-reflective, self-critical, and constructive manner.
23
5. Use of Assessment Results
There is encouraging strong evidence that the college uses assessment information to
define problem areas, collect relevant data, and apply it for improving program areas and
services. Examples of the use of assessment results to improve education include
curricular revisions, freshman retention, and improving services in the Registrar's Office,
the Financial Aid Office, and the Academic Advising Office.
Evergreen should be encouraged to develop a more holistic use of Planing Unit
Coordination (PUC) assessment data that can be shared on a campus-wide basis.
Conclusion:
In general, the visiting committee found the assessment program at Evergreen to be
strong, multi-faceted and appropriate to its educational program and goals. They do,
however, need to give attention to the development of some measures of academic
performance, especially in writing and quantitative skills. While the broadly
decentralized program of assessment has the powerful advantage of involving faculty
extensively in assessment, it has the disadvantage of unevenness and lack of an overall
institutional perspective.
Evergreen is especially strong and is to be highly commended on 1) the extent to which
they involve faculty in assessment, 2) the leadership that makes assessment an important
and ongoing activity and 3) the uses made of assessment to diagnose, evaluate, and plan
programs.
STANDARD 2.D
GRADUATE PROGRAM
The Evergreen State College Offers three graduate program master's degrees: Master of
Environmental Sciences (MES), a Master of Teaching (MIT), and Master of Public
Administration (MP A). Each program is designed to provide advanced education for
current or future practitioners. A review of degree requirements, course outlines, student
projects, faculty portfolios and conversation with program directors, faculty, current
students and recent graduates supports the conclusion that all three graduate programs are
consistent with the mission and goals of TESC. Each has a well defined set of objectives
and learning outcomes appropriate to the degree level and area of study.
24
STANDARD 2.E
GRADUATE PROGRAM
GRADUATE FACULTY AND RELATED RESOURCES
The Evergreen State College makes no provision for a separate graduate faculty.
Consistent with the institution's curricular design, faculty teach in several areas and
across several levels (e.g., core, electives and graduate where appropriate).
A review of faculty portfolios currently teaching in the. graduate program supports the
contention that they provide an acceptable level of instruction for graduate students.
They are involved with the application of current knowledge through ongoing projects
with area practitioners or organizations.
A review of the applied computer laboratory, faculty offices and meeting spaces, the
library and computing facilities suggests that each program enjoys institutional support
appropriate to the program. Library and technology needs appear stressed and attention
does need to be given to the unique needs that graduate students place on such resources.
The graduate programs are organized and conducted in a manner consistent with the
overall institutional model. Central to this arrangement is the use of interdisciplinary
teams--giving these master's degree programs unique strength and coherence.
The limited amount of financial aid available to support graduate students is cited as a
limiting dimension in future graduate student recruitment.
STANDARD 2.F
GRADUATE PROGRAM
GRADUATE RECORDS AND ACADEMIC CREDIT
A review of graduate admission materials, handbooks, discussion with program
admission personnel and directors, as well as review of actual records supports the
conclusion that graduate admission and retention policies and practices support both
program and College goals and objectives. Evidence was presented in support of strong
faculty involvement in both establishing general and specific program admission criteria.
(2Fl; 2F2).
An area of concern for each program is the apparent "level of disconnect" between the
individual program offices and the college admission office. Absent is a clear
understanding of roles, responsibilities and expectations for each other. It is suggested
that TESC examine the current and desired relationship between the admission office and
25
each graduate program office; clarify mutual expectations in support of an effective
graduate recruitment, admission, retention and graduation process. (2F3)
A review of curricula and student materials, program policies and conversation with
faculty, staff and students demonstrates that each degree program requirement is
consistent with the applicable standard (2F4). Transcript credit is appropriately evaluated
in each program (2F5).
Master of Environmental Studies (MES): This program builds on the successful
environmental studies area of the undergraduate curricula. The graduate program is
designed for practitioners serving in the many agencies and organizations that focus on
environmental issues, both scientific and policy oriented.
Concern was expressed regarding the "disconnect" between the program's recruitment
and admissions efforts and the college admissions office as discussed above.
Attention to those items identified by the faculty through the self study (p 95) is
encouraged.
Master of Teaching (MIT): This program offers a unique curriculum for future teachers
designed and managed consistent with the "Evergreen model" yet consistent 'with the
demands of the Washington State Board of Education, thus assuring graduates will
receive state certification to practice in the public schools.
The organizational structure, a distinctive student teaching arrangement, and a student
project appropriate to both graduate work and public school teaching, give this program
several unique characteristics. Again, the "disconnect" between the program and the
admissions office is identified as an area of concern. Attention to the self study items
identified on page 98 is encouraged.
Master of Public Administration (MPA): The MPA program is a practitioner oriented
program designed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of current or future public
administrators. The program makes significant and appropriate use of area agencies in
support of program goals, through the use of adjunct faculty, internships and field
experiences. Many of the students are currently employed. As discussed before, the
"disconnect" between the admissions office and the program is an area of concern. The
faculty identified area~ for further study (p 96) appear appropriate.
Social Sciences: The social sciences area is the result of a recent merger (1997) of several
former specialty areas. Thus the area is in a period of rapid transition and unusual
opportunity. Conversations with faculty and examination of current materials argue that
the area is developing those knowledges and skills appropriate for an interdisciplinary
view of the social sciences. The very real tensions among general versus more
26
professional curriculum pathways, single versus diverse understanding of philosophies -both substantive and pedagogical -- and relations to appropriate graduate programs must
be addressed in future months if the area is to reach full potential. The faculty developed
list of needed actions appears a most logical and comprehensive agenda for immediate
attention.
Center for Native American and World Indigenous Populations Studies: This new Center
brings together the on-campus Native Americans Studies programs, the off-campus
programs as well as the outreach and cultural heritage activities of the Longhouse. The
Center builds on longstanding TESC commitment to Native American populations both
surrounding the institution and from beyond. Strong, constructive ties with the elders of
area tribes provide additional evidence of institutional commitment to build and maintain
programs that support the cultural heritage of area tribes.
The Evergreen State College should be commended for its sustained programs and
activities that enhance the collegiate experience for individuals of color. Of particular
merit is the development Center for Native American and World Indigenous Population
Studies, and the Longhouse Educational and Cultural Centers and their commitment to
both on-campus and outreach programming. The extensive involvement with tribal
elders and the tribal determined curricula is outstanding.
Commendations:
1)
The team wishes to recognize the exceptional quality of the self -study. The
report was not only carefully organized and well written, but it demonstrated the value of
sincere inquiry and reflection in the interest of self-improvement.
2)
The mission for which TESC was founded is fulfilled by an institution-wide
climate of engagement, involvement and intellectual curiosity. We find the degree to
which the attributes are met to be almost unparalleled in higher education.
3)
The Evergreen State College is commended for ds longstanding programs in
support of students of color. The success of minority students on the campus reflects the
creation and maintenance of a nurturing, caring supportive and academically responsive
environment. Of particular merit are the activities and programs that support Native
American students and communities. The Reservation Based Community Determined
Tribal Program, the Longhouse and its programs, and the Center for Native American and
World Indigenous Populations are fo significant importance.
4)
The committee commends Evergreen on its imaginative, dedicated and innovative
faculty. They have selflessly given to their time to students. We further commend
Evergreen on its system wide team teaching approach to classroom instruction. The high
degree of collaboration builds on individual strengths, provides multiple approaches to
27
meeting individual student learning preferences, and promotes the development of new
faculty.
STANDARD THREE
STUDENTS
Effective Services. The college and its students enjoy a quality set of student services.
The services and the ways they are organized and carried out fit the distinctive
educational ways of Evergreen. The staff are dedicated, student-centered, friendly,
professional, and animated by a clear sense of their educational roles.
Special Roles of Student Affairs. It is generally recognized that the nature of a student
affairs program must be shaped by the special character of the institution within which it
works. Evergreen is a very special distinctive institution and those in Student Affairs
Services serve well in that context; the special ways of the college really do shape how
student affairs are done.
Historically and nationally faculties used to do most of what student affairs professionals
do today. Evergreen, however, remains very much a "faculty" dominated college; the
faculty really do feel themselves responsible for teaching the whole student rather than
just some special discipline during some set class hours each day. Caring for the personal
development of students is not shunted off to the side for specialists to deal with. Rather,
these are matters of genuine concern to the faculty. The main student affairs 'practitioners
at Evergreen are the faculty; they are backed and supported by a professional staff who
are full members of the educational community. The usual non-permeable boundaries
between the academic and the non-academic student matters are almost absent. That is a
major strength of student affairs at Evergreen and we commend the college for that.
Many student services are typically organized at Evergreen: examples include admissions,
registration, counseling, health services, security, housing and placement. Student affairs
professionals assume leadership in student crises and serve as a resource to students and
faculty. The staff accept their share of the responsibilities to help govern and administer
the college.
Some functions, however, are atypical. We were reminded that Evergreen's model is less
that of one college than it is a collection of many small ones. Each of those "small ones"
is a program where students and their faculty do their scholarship together full time. This
paradigm challenges student affairs to foster a limited but real sense of community that
strengthens rather than weakens the independence and power of the program. This
presents daunting challenges in student activities, sports, recreation, and residential life.
Salaries. As is noted elsewhere in this report many of Evergreen's salaries are too low, so
much so that attracting and recruiting professional staff has become very vexing. This is
28
a problem in student affairs that needs fixing.
Student Government. It was not surprising to find that the idea of a college-wide student
self-governance has never gained lasting traction at Evergreen. Student government,
however, is important to the health of the college and its students. We commend the
students who are working so purposefully to create a student government. While students
have strong voices (perhaps as strong as they wish) on DTFs and other matters, the
students working to organize a student government recognize the importance of a
democratically activated collective voice in college-wide matters.
Evergreen Student Affairs Excels. We applaud the professionals working in student
affairs for their faith and investment in the very special missions of the college. The staff
are special because of that; they are teachers in their own right.
Accreditation Standard Three is comfortably met.
The Special Problem of Retention. Students do drop out at an uncomfortably high level
after their first taste of Evergreen: approximately 40% of the first year students fail to
return for their second year. This is defined as an issue in the Self-Study " ...(Improve)
our ability to identify and recruit students most capable of taking advantage of Evergreen
is also critical." (p. 134) This issue is also embedded in the Accreditation Standard 3.1,
the policy on Institutional Advertising, Student Recruitment, and Representation of
Accredited Status. "All post secondary institutions, or individuals acting on their behalf,
must exhibit integrity and responsibility in advertising (and) student
recruitment.. ...."(Standards p. 57) This applies to Evergreen in a very special way because
of the distinctive, uncommon, and powerful expectations it has about how students must
successfully engage the college and its curriculum. For Evergreen, however, the issue is
not of inaccurate explanation; rather a problem of}nadequate explanation.
We recommend that this nagging problem be confronted; students who fail to anticipate
well the curricular and personal demands of Evergreen ate at greater-than-usual risk of
dropping out.
Coming for the Right Reasons. Evergreen is not for everyone; good "fit" is essential.
How informed are students when choosing to apply and enroll at Evergreen? Do they
make wise choices about the learning responsibilities and freedoms of Evergreen? Does
the college help them to understand their readiness for Evergreen? Do they come for the
right reasons?
Importance of Informed Choices. The college ~ust constantly seek clear and imaginative
ways to explain itself. It must speak not only to potential applicants, but also to those
who advise them: parents, high school and college counselors, teachers, families, friends,
alumni, and current students. The need to explain itself better to the unitiated is a theme
29
of the self-study. Hence the college may be attracting drop-out prone students as well as
failing to attract students for whom Evergreen would be a good fit. At the moment, an
adequate job is not being done and that is probably an important factor in the attrition
after the first year. There has been much attention to what can be done to retain students
once they are here; there has been too little done to insure that prospective students make
good decisions in the first place.
The College Chooses Too. Does Evergreen have some responsibility to recognize
students who may be applying for the wrong reasons? For identifying applic.ants who
will be especially prone to difficulties when engaging the college? And, for responding
to such students in appropriate ways? Of course. But at the moment the college admits
virtually all who apply. There is little room to screen for students who may be more
prone to have difficulties at Evergreen.
The problem of high attrition will surely worsen as the college confronts higher
enrollment targets. There is a risk that numbers rather than "good fit" become the driving
motivation.
In short, Evergreen's admissions processes may be missing the target; it may not be
helping students make informed choices. Too many potential students may not
understand Evergreen well enough.
Recommendation:
1)
We recommend that the college begin to address its serious freshmen' attrition'
problem by insuring that prospective students come for the right reasons and that they
have a good chance to succeed. There has been much attention to what can be done to
support students once they are here; there has been too little done to insure that
prospective students make good decisions in the first place.
STANDARD FOUR
FACULTY
Faculty define the heart of the institution, and Evergreen is no exception. Because of the
non-traditional nature 'of Evergreen, faculty who come to Evergreen and stay for extended
periods must have a strong commitment to Evergreen and to the Evergreen way of doing
things. The committee was very impressed with the quality of the faculty and their
commitment to teaching and learning. All evidence, including interviews and portfolios,
pointed to a faculty who were dedicated to teaching and learning, innovative and
imaginative, and life-long learners themselves.
30
Faculty participate at all levels of the institution but are especially active in academic
planning and curriculum development and review. The curriculum is controlled by the
faculty and is developed and reviewed annually by them. As the self-study notes, "it is up
to the faculty members in each group to work out a suitable curriculum, according to their
evolving standards and understandings of what is best." (p. 212) The process begins
with individual faculty members and teams, then moves to reviews by the five subjectarea planning groups and ultimately the academic deans, who are considered faculty
members "on leave".
Faculty have the opportunity to advise through several venues. One venue open to all
faculty is to advise informally through the close on-going relationships with students in
the learning communities they form during the year. In addition, the Academic Planning
and Experiential Learning Center (APEL) includes one faculty member each year on
rotation from teaching. An additional 6-10 faculty keep regular hours at the Center.
Faculty are expected to devote 20% of their time to governance, and each year faculty
sign up for various governance activities. Much of the policy work of Evergreen is
developed through DTFs (Disappearing Task Forces) where faculty are major members
on those involving academic issues and participants in DTFs for other areas also. This is
a process that typically works quite well. When DTFs have completed their work and the
recommendations have been passed by the faculty as a whole, steps are taken to make
their recommendations the policy of the institution. There are numerous examples of
policies developed by DTFs throughout the self-study.
As a governance concept, the unique process of rotating deans from faculty into
administration and back to faculty also works well from the faculty point of view. Deans
expressed the belief that this keeps them in touch with faculty perspectives. Faculty who
were interviewed typically viewed deans as one of "us" rather than as one of "them."
Monthly faculty meetings appear not to be working as well as some other forms of
governance. Though not a new phenomenon, it has been; difficult to obtain quorums
(25% of all faculty) at the monthly meetings. It is further noted in the self-study that only
18% of faculty expressed satisfaction with faculty meetings while 42% were dissatisfied.
Faculty and administrators are encouraged to continue to find ways to improve this form
of faculty participation in governance.
The committee finds that the evaluation of faculty is consistent to Commission Policy
4.1. Indeed, the process is unusually public and based on first-hand information. Both
full- and part-time faculty are evaluated at Evergreen. As noted in the self study (p. 214)
and verified in interviews and documentation, "Frequent, direct evaluation of faculty
work by teaching colleagues and students is a cornerstone of Evergreen practice. At
Evergreen faculty evaluation is substantive, peer-based, and annual." All faculty are
required to maintain a portfolio. One component is an annual self-evaluation. A second
31
is an annual evaluation from each faculty team member who worked with the faculty
member (and most teaching is done in teams). A third is a set of student evaluations
which are narrative; students who receive faculty evaluations or who may be taught by the
faculty member in team programs are solicited for them.
In addition, every five years a thorough review also is conducted. This review consists of
a meeting of the reviewer with all of his/her teaching partners from the past five years and
an academic dean. Data provided for the meeting include a five-year retrospective selfevaluation, a prospective 3-5 year teaching and learning plan, and the reviewer's
portfolio. The focus is developmental and no formal report is produced. Interviews with
those who have been involved in the process indicate that the process has been very
successful in providing an opportunity for self-reflection and celebration of past
successes. In addition, in almost all cases where difficult issues needed to be addressed,
they typically were, often by the reviewer first.
The evaluation system relies upon the willingness of all parties to communicate honestly
about strengths and weaknesses observed during the teaching situation. To a large extent,
it appears that the climate of Evergreen has fostered an openness and willingness to
honestly critique one another in a variety of forums. In addition, to help students in this
process, students may choose to turn in their faculty evaluations after they receive their
narrative evaluations from faculty. Faculty evaluation of each other's teaching is actually
on-going throughout the program as they plan and interact. This culminates in an
evaluation of each team member at the end of the program or course. This evaluation is
carried forward to the end-of-term faculty conference and to the five-year reviews.
Continuous professional growth is encouraged in conjunction with faculty evaluation
process. Rather than having explicit faculty development programs, much of the faculty
development at Evergreen is expected to occur during the ongoing activity of teaching,
especially since Evergreen's model supports faculty learning simultaneous with student
learning. In addition, the faculty evaluation model is developmental in nature and
encourages faculty to address areas of interest or weakness. New faculty have their
portfolios reviewed annually by the process previously mentioned. In addition, the
orientation program is expanding and includes "buddies" for new faculty.
A professional leave policy outlines the accrual of professional leave according to length
of service. Unfortunately, however, the money allotted only allows for faculty to have
sabbaticals about every ten years. The professional travel budget allows up to $1500 per
faculty member. A sponsored research program supports summer release time, seed
grants, and grants-in-aid for well-developed professional agendas. Other developmental
activity has occurred during the summer through brief faculty development workshops
and institutes.
The college has identified faculty development as an issue, recommending that the
32
college find ways to expand current faculty development approaches and to clarify goals
and identify unmet needs. Since so many new faculty are currently being hired,
developmental activities for new faculty are an especially important area of needed
improvement.
While the committee agrees that faculty development is an important
area to address and urges the institution to continue to address needs in this area, the
committee finds that level of faculty development activity is already quite good.
Academic security provisions include academic freedom, competitive salaries, and
benefits. Academic freedom seems secure at Evergreen with alternatives to mainstream
views even encouraged. Compensation, however, is a statewide concern. In the selfstudy it is noted that Evergreen falls well below average salaries nationally. New faculty
indicate that they often must take pay-cuts to come to Evergreen and have to weigh the
low salary against the benefits of teaching in such an institution. Because salaries for
faculty are uniform across program areas, attracting faculty into some areas such as
computer science and public administration will be increasingly difficult. So far,
however, few faculty have left Evergreen because of salary and the institution continues
to attract new faculty, though an increasing number are refusing Evergreen because of
salary. Evergreen is at a critical point where it may lose its distinctive character because
faculty must sacrifice too much to be employed there.
Workload is another area where a critical point may soon be reached. The major work of
faculty at Evergreen is teaching-teaching that requires a high level of time, effort, and
imagination. Currently an average of 19.8 students per faculty enroll each quarter. While
this is only slightly larger than past ratios, there is a widespread perception among faculty
that workload has increased for a variety of reasons. While it is a firm practice not to
allow planning ratios above 25 to 1, there is no faculty-wide guideline on hours or types
of student contact, no mandated or contractual workload quotas. In addition, there is no
current formal system for recognizing extensive governance work. Faculty workloads are
considered equalized, however, and where they are not, it is due -to agreements made by
the individual faculty member. Faculty indicate that they can be their own worst
enemies, unable to say "no" to students, governance commitments, or planning new
courses and programs.
Nevertheless, faculty morale remains high. As a unique institution, Evergreen attracts
unique faculty who are unusually committed to teaching and students. Turnover is low.
Promotion, tenure and pay discrepancies are not issues because of the way the system is
set up. Most professional development is built into the instructional setting and in the
hands of individual faculty. Sabbatical leave policies appear to be uniformly
administered.
The committee was impressed with how Evergreen deals with its adjunct faculty
(currently 17.44 FTE of the total 139.76 FTE for 1996-97 committed teaching faculty).
The committee confirmed that adjunct faculty are qualified for their teaching
33
assignments, and are informed of the conditions of employment to include work
assignment, rights and responsibilities and compensation provisions. Recently (1997-98),
the college appointed the first regular part-time faculty, who will eventually be eligible
for continuing appointments of the same kind available to regular faculty. Adjunct
faculty can vote on college policy and sit on committees. They have yearly contracts and
participate in an evaluation process which includes a teaching portfolio, observation of
their teaching by the dean, a conversation with the dean about that teaching and portfolio,
and the dean's written evaluation. The portfolio includes the same information as the
regular faculty's portfolio. Half-time adjunct faculty receive an unusual amount of
support, including office, computer, telephone, support staff, travel funds, and access to
faculty development opportunities. Their conditions of reappointment are included in the
faculty reappointment document (exhibit 4-6).
All faculty engage in various forms of scholarship, research, and artistic creation. Much
of this is done through interdisciplinary work with other faculty. Many faculty also work
with their students on community projects and research.
Commendations:
1)
The committee commends Evergreen on its imaginative, dedicated, and
innovative faculty. They have selflessly given oftheir time to students. We further
commend Evergreen on its system-wide team-teaching approach to classroom instruction.
The high degree of collaboration builds on individual strengths, provides multiple
approaches to meeting individual student learning preferences, and fosters the
development of new faculty.
2)
The committee commends Evergreen in the development and implementation of
its five-year review of regular faculty. This process has brought the opportunity to
celebrate past achievements, develop a perspective that includes the past and the future,
provide needed developmental feedback, and form connections and obtain information
needed for proposed future work.
3)
The committee commends Evergreen in the collegial handling of its adjunct
faculty. Qualifications, employment practices, and evaluation policies are all exemplary.
Recommendations:
1)
The committee finds that the College's ability to recruit and retain high quality
faculty in the long term is an issue at Evergreen and urges the institution to continue to
seek ways to improve salaries for all faculty. ,
2)
The committee finds that the workload issue is a critical one given the intensive
nature of the faculty experience at Evergreen. It urges faculty and administrators to find
34
ways to decrease workloads and burn-out.
STANDARD FIVE
LIBRARY AND INFORMATION RESOURCES
Purpose and Scope: The Library, Media Services, and the Computing &
Communications units support TESC's mission and goals and these resources are
adequate to support the curriculum at the main campus. The faculty and staff from these
units are committed to instruction, providing current and prospective users with a variety
of resources. The self-study for this Standard is thorough and reflective.
Resources & Services: Materials are selected, acquired, organized and adequately
maintained, although audio and visual holdings are modest in relation to the focus of
some of the curriculum. The monographic and serial holdings are generally sufficient to
support the curricular offerings. Web based resources have been introduced and are
readily available on the home page. Equipment in the areas provided by both Media
Services and Computing & Communications is in heavy demand but is aging rapidly and
replacement funds do not exist. An issue suggested for study and resolution is planned
replacement of such equipment.
Policies, regulations, and procedures for systematic development and management of
information resources, in all formats, are documented, periodically updated, and available
on the home page. Both units offer training opportunities, so that students can utilize
information resources, software and equipment.
Faculty, staff and students can participate in the planning and development of Library
information resources and services. Computing & Communications has used advisory
committees and also has recently undergone a Peer Review. This latter process
identified some internal areas for further integration of operations as well as technical
enhancements that should be considered.
Facilities and Access: Resources are readily accessible to all students and faculty on the
main campus. Media Services provides training and proficiency testing so that
equipment can be used independently. Cooperative agreements are in place to tap some
of the other information resources in the region, and formal documented agreements for
these arrangements are in place. A twice a week courier service provides materials from
the collection of the Washington State Library. Students and faculty at the Tacoma
campus have access to a small regional center managed by U of Washington, to TESC's
home page and thus to some full text resources. as well as a document delivery service.
In addition, librarians provide regular instructional sessions at the Tacoma center.
The Library provides 85 hours per week of access to the collections, with slightly less
35
access to Media Services, though additional scheduled use of those facilities is available
upon reservation.
Computer labs are open a total 115 hpw and usage has increased by
50% in the past two years.
Some students and staff suggest that considerably more
workstations should be made available during the most heavily used daytime hours.
Space constraints are becoming evident throughout the Library as well as within
Computing & Communications.
Shelves are full and additional media and computer
facilities are needed. Both units have been engaged in planning for a possible
remodel/renovation project which would permit a refocus of service points as well as an
integration of services, where appropriate.
Personnel and Management: The number of staff available in these units, especially
Media Services and Computing & Communications, has remained constant though
enrollment has increased. Consequently their ability to immediately respond to requests
for instruction and assistance is somewhat constrained. Technical and support staff are
qualified and responsive but opportunities for professional development and growth
opportunities are limited by a scarcity of funds. In addition, compensation for technical
staff is often inadequate.
.
A strength of TESC is the collaboration whereby library faculty regularly teach in a fulltime program (at least one out of every nine academic quarters). In addition regular
teaching faculty also rotate into the Library. These practices, along with the traditional
liaison assignments, further enhance the ties between the curriculum and the growth of
library materials. Computing and Communications also utilizes liaisons to the academic
programs to enhance outreach activities with teaching faculty.
Computing and Communications services, while administered by another administrative
unit, are located nearby and cooperation and consultation routinely occurs between these
units.
Planning and Evaluation: Library leadership acknowledges the need to regularly and
systematically evaluate the quality, accessibility and use of librarians as well as
information repositories in order to determine the level of quality and effectiveness.
Use statistics are available for Library/Media, and Computing services and a detailed
analysis of the library collections has been made. However a careful assessment of the
learning outcomes has not been undertaken in order to determine what students are
actually learning from their experiences.
Commendations:
1)
The ongoing, informal commitment to collaboration between the Library and
Computing & Communications
2)
The innovative model of college wide faculty collaboration whereby regular
36
teaching faculty can join library faculty in providing library instructional services, and
VIce versa
3)
A thorough and reflective self study
Recommendations:
1)
Expansion and increase of audio and visual materials into the traditional library
collection so that selection focuses on content not format
2)
Renovation of the existing C wing to allow more space for the integration of
services, as appropriate, between Library & Media Services and Computing &
Communications
3)
Library undertake an assessment of what students are actually learning from their
experiences with information and library services
STANDARD SIX
GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
The governance structure of The Evergreen State College (TESC) is capped by a notunusual board structure, while on campus a very "loosely woven fabric of shared
responsibility and authority" prevails "in a constant state of flux, growth, and
development. "
The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board is a legislatively created body that
is empowered to review budgets and to approve programs and develop performance
standards, but it is not a governing body. Rather, like its sister state institutions, TESC
has its own Board of Trustees, whose eight members are gubernatorially appointed. Our
meeting with several members of the board found them to be highly committed, well
informed, and engaged closely in the governance of the campus. Its meetings are open,
and students and faculty regularly show up and make their views known. The board is
fully empowered and regularly reviews both its own performance and that of the
president. As part of this process, the board and the president collaborate in annual goal
setting. The board delegates heavily to the president and does not involve itself in routine
matters, even such important ones as salary reviews.
President Jane Jervis enjoys the strong support of this board and is well respected on
campus. Hired in 1992 following a period of intense turmoil, she is widely viewed as a
"healer" and a very competent administrator. The central administrative structure
consists of three vice presidents - for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Finance and
Administration - and an Executive Director of College Advancement that is being re-
37
upgraded to vice-presidential status. This group meets regularly and closely as the
president's "Senior Staff." The College Advancement Office is now once again in
transition, namely back to vice-presidential status, which seems a good idea. In charge of
College Relations, Alumni, and Development-Foundation, this office is intrinsically
important, naturally, and its modest levels of fund-raising success seem an obvious area
for turnaround and improvement.
Below this central level, the administrative structure at TESC is highly unusual and
distinctive. In particular, the academic administration of the college is handled by five
deans who rotate regularly out of and back into faculty ranks for fixed periods oftime.
The deans preside over "desks," not colleges or divisions, and there are no formally
constituted departments at TESC. Predictably, this system makes for close bonding
between faculty and administration, but it also seems to make for instability and a
diminishment of long-term vision and building. In addition to the deans, the directors of
four of the service centers, the Tacoma Campus, and the three graduate programs also
report directly to the Provost-Academic Vice President.
TESC's distinctive "DTF's" (Disappearing Task Forces) are most interesting. They bring
a collaborative dynamism to campus life and governance and make for lively and fruitful
interchanges, but they seem again less constructive in the perspective of long-term
planning and conceptualization.
Both faculty and students are heavily empowered in the governance of this very selfconsciously open and democratic campus. Twenty percent of regular faculty workload at
TESC is reserved for governance. A formal Faculty Agenda Committee arranges
monthly faculty meetings that are highly democratic. This participatory system of faculty
governance does not seem to be working very well. While it clearly meets accreditation
standards, the level of attendance at the meetings is low, and only 18 percent of faculty
polled last year expressed satisfaction with it. Given the institution's high level of
investment in faculty worktime for governance, it would seem that a revamping may be in
order.
Students' role in campus governance is anomalous, a study in contrasts. One of the
positive distinctions of TESC is the remarkable extent of student empowerment and the
successful cultivation of community involvement - community defined both as campus
and broader communities. The students truly are engaged and enthusiastically involved,
as even a brief stroll across campus will demonstrate; students are very visible at
meetings of all kinds, including the DTF's. Yet TESC is strikingly unusual in its absence
of any formal structure of student governance. Increasingly, this is causing problems, as
exemplified by the fact that the students recently could not, or at least did not, have any
mechanism to vote in or out a technology fee that is now in place on many of the other
four-year campuses in Washington. However, graduate students are now evolving a
governance structure of their own, and the broader student population is exploring
38
options. As Washington, like other states, seems headed toward more special fees, and
thus toward greater formal student participation in the process, events may speed up this
trend.
In sum, while the formal structures of administration are in some cases weak and in many
cases distinctive, there can be no doubt that the informal structures of mass commitment
and participation are strong and productive. This is a truly remarkable campus in its
lively culture of engagement.
STANDARD SEVEN
FINANCE
Financial planning at The Evergreen State College is a well refined process within the
state budgetary guidelines. Staff also understand the state political process and plan
accordingly. Strategic planning for future budgetary needs is a state requirement, and
Evergreen regularly submits a ten-year capital projects budget to the legislature. The
annual budget is developed by a budget committee that first develops the request sent to
the legislature, and then later allocates to divisions the funds provided by the state. Over
the years it appears that this committee has developed a level of trust within the college.
As a state institution Evergreen does not issue debt for academic or administrative capital
needs. The institution does carry a modest level of debt ($5,209,000 as of June 30, 1998)
for student housing. However, due to a $398,000 operating loss in-the housing program
the College met its debt service ration covenant by a minimal amount ($36,000 in FY
1998). Staff is aware of the problem and has identified plans to improve profitability.
In part a reflection of its unique mission, auxiliary services are not as integral to campus
life as they are on other campuses. Even if the culture does not want auxiliaries to be a
source of net revenue to fund other academic programs, Evergreen needs to be concerned
about operating deficits. For Fiscal 1998 the combination of housing, food service,
bookstore, parking, conferences, copy center and motor pool lost a total of $260,000.
In Washington, like many other states, the rising cost of public higher education is being
shifted. There is no funding for inflation and over time this erosion is being felt
throughout campus. Students now pay 35% of the cost of instruction compared to 25% a
few years ago, and the trend continues to increase. Evergreen's financial planning is
based on a state funding model that provides all funds. A few members of the college
community realize this model will have to change, but this concept needs to be more
widely understood throughout campus so the implications the changes will bring to
Evergreen can be fully considered. The college has relied on annual student enrollment
growth to fund rising costs, but dependence upon growth can be dangerous when it stops.
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Pressure will likely grow for college advancement to raise monies that can relieve state
reductions. At this point, The Evergreen State College Foundation is not particularly
successful in communicating the college's financial needs to their alumni or the public.
The level of cash given to the college is quite low. A search is underway to hire a new
vice president for this division, which offers an opportunity to give the effort new
priority. The foundation board's recent decision to fund some of the compensation
expense for professional development staff should be a helpful step.
Both state and independent audits take place annually, although there is no
comprehensive independent audit looking at the entire financial operation. Due to other
priorities the college discontinued its internal auditor position. Multiple improvements in
cash controls for satellite operations have been suggested in the most recent management
letter.
The college is currently evaluating new administrative software to replace its homegrown
student information system. Staff realize this decision will set a precedent for selecting
other administrative software, which will soon need to be updated. It is important to link
the administrative functions either through purchasing an integrated system or making
sure that the internal information or technology department has sufficient technical staff
to maintain the frequent upgrades.
Recommendation:
1)
As the percentage of the budget provided by state funding decreases, it is
recommended that the college consider various alternative sources of revenue. Without
additional contributions and support from auxiliary services, the college may be eroding
funding for core academic programs. There appears to be a lack of understanding of therole that auxiliary services play in campus financing.
STANDARD EIGHT
PHYSICAL RESOURCES
Even after 27 years the physical condition of the original buildings is impressive. The
original design for the campus anticipated a much larger student populations than the
current 3,700 or even the 5,000 enrollment forecast for year 2010. The planning for
campus growth provided a solid infrastructure which assists a limited physical plant staff.
This is even more noteworthy following the reduction-in-force that took place several
years ago. The appearance of the campus is remarkable considering the small number of
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custodians and grounds crew. According to comparative staffing levels at other public
institutions, Evergreen custodians clean around twice the average square footage and
grounds crew maintains triple the average acres per FTE. The college appears to have
succeeded in turning a negative situation into a positive by stressing the tradeoffs that
come with budget reductions.
In February 1996, Evergreen received a Facilities Management Evaluation Report
conducted by APP A: The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers. The report
was developed at the request of the previous vice president for finance and
administration. Now that there is a new chief financial officer and a new director of
facilities, it will be important to review the 77 separate recommendations and develop an
implementation strategy. One of the most critical may be staffing at the central utility
plant. Two and one half years after receiving the report the college continues to leave
chillers and high pressure boilers unattended at night.
Currently Evergreen is preplanning its first major new academic building since its
original formation. The study for the building to be called Seminar II suggests that the
college needs another 151,000 square feet to meet laboratory, classroom and office needs
to accommodate the anticipated enrollment growth previously identified. Planning
appears to be working its way through the required state process, but there is no guarantee
the state will be able and willing to fund the estimated $45 million cost in year 2001. The
college is also looking to replace its leased space used by the Tacoma campus beginning
fall semester 2000.
Attention to issues of disabled access and environmental health and safety seem well
under control. Deferred maintenance is an increasing concern both on campus and in the
legislature. Because the majority of buildings-were constructed in the early 1970s, all of
these structures will soon be requiring major capital improvements. Although future tenyear capital requests have been submitted to the legislature, the college previously has not
conducted annual physical plant audits that identify detailed preventative and deferred
maintenance needs. This task is expected to be implemented in the coming year.
Additional funding for equipment has not been a high priority for the college, but is still
beginning to become more important. Physical plant and other departments are still using
many items of original equipment purchased at the college's inception. The budget line
item for all college equipment has not increased for at least ten years. In fact, this annual
allocation of $423,000 has been used as a reserve account to absorb deficits in other
accounts. In recent years considerable investments in equipment have been made from
divisional reserves. Technology costs are quickly exceeding this annual state allocation
and the college is looking to identify new ways to be able to meet an ever increasing
demand. Student housing has added a $40 per month fee to be able to add data
connectivity, cable tv and local phone access to each housing unit.
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With its environmental emphasis, Evergreen is particularly concerned with the use of
hazardous chemicals. Absolutely minimal chemicals are used by facilities in the cleaning
of buildings and the care of grounds. The few chemicals that are permitted appear to be
used, stored and disposed in accordance with environmental health and safety regulations.
Evergreen faculty, students and staff are all protective of their thousand acre campus. At
this point only 221 acres have any type of development, and new construction is to be
limited to previously developed clusters. The original master plan has been updated three
times, most recently in the current year. The 1998 edition of the campus master plan is an
exemplary comprehensive model for campus planning. It is particularly sensitive to the
ecological aspects of maintaining undeveloped green space, but it also addresses in detail:
buildings, utilities, circulation, landscaping, services and activities. The creation of this
edition without outside planning assistance in indicative of the high quality work of
faculty, students and staff.
Commendations:
1)
Despite significant budget cuts over the years, the limited number of physical
plant staff are doing an exceptional job of addressing facilities needs on campus. Staff
have responsibility for cleaning buildings and maintaining grounds of significantly larger
areas at Evergreen than do their counterparts elsewhere.
2)
Evergreen's 1998 Campus Master Plan is a comprehensive document. that reflects
the best of the Evergreen community. Dedicated to the college's original mission, the
plan carefully considers the many conflicting issues awaiting the institution as it
continues to grow its student population. Its focus on environmental sustainability could
be a model for organizations throughout the country.
STANDARD NINE
INSTITUTIONAL INTEG1uTY
The Evergreen State College nicely elucidates its "expectations and aspirations" in a socalled "Social Contract," which is yearly circulated to all faculty, staff, and students, by
direction of the Board of Trustees. This is a commendable procedure which other
campuses could well emulate, and it underscores the institution's commitment to the
unimpeded pursuit of knowledge by all members of the campus community.
In truth, TESC's commitment to the "Free Pursuit of Knowledge" is considerably more
than merely rhetorical, as collaborative and interdisciplinary learning lies at the core of its
mission and at the core of the expectation of every faculty member. The Faculty
Handbook explicitly guarantees the First Amendment rights of all faculty and endorses
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the statement of principles regarding academic freedom by the American Association of
University Professors.
The State of Washington has far-reaching ethics laws, adopted in 1994, that include both
an executive and a legislative ethics panel and the requirement that all state institutions
and agencies produce their own sets of standards and educational programs for their
employees. TESC trustees, management personnel, and faculty have been provided with
ethics programs, and a formal ethics policy is in print.
The college and its faculty and students obviously take seriously their publications and
how accurately they portray reality as an ethical integrity issue. This is especially true of
the Faculty Handbook, the Policy and Procedures Manual, and the TESC website. Also,
the campus has well developed grievance procedures, sexual harassment policies,
affirmative action-equal opportunity policies, and standards regarding conflict of interest
as well as a campus mediation center. It reviews its standards and publications regularly.
In sum, it is obvious that The Evergreen State College takes matters of integrity and
communication seriously.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
The Committee recommends that The Evergreen State College insure that all of
its students acquire the competencies appropriate to general education, especially but not
exclusively in Mathematics. This is called for by the college's own goals as well as
Standard 2C. Whatever the means taken, given a situation in which there are no required
courses/programs, and in which student choices are largely unconstrained, there is
nonetheless an institutional responsibility to achieve its stated liberal and general
education goals and the goals for general education and related instruction set forth in
Standard 2.1.
2.
As the percentage of the budget provided by state;funding decreases, it is
recommended that the college consider various alternative sources of revenue. Without
additional contributions and support from auxiliary services, the college may' be eroding,
in violation of Standards 7.B.1 and 7.A.4, eroding financial funding for its core academic
programs. There appears to be a lack of understanding of the role of auxiliary services in
campus finances, as required in Standard 7.B.9.
3.
It is recommended that the institution, in order to manage effectively _future
growth and expansion, develop and implement a comprehensive enrollment management
strategy that conforms with Standards 1.A.5, 7.A.2, and 7.B.5. In light of the pressures to
increase enrollment, such a strategy is necessary to insure that the college will be able to
continue to fulfill its unique mission of close student-faculty collaboration and
educational interaction.
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4.
We recommend that the College expand its efforts to address its serious attrition
problem by insuring, in accordance with Standard 3.B.5, 3.B.6 and 3.1, that prospective
students come for the right reasons and that they have a good chance to succeed. There
has been much attention to what can be done to support students once they are here; there
has been too little done to insure that prospective students make the right choice in the
first place.
5.
Standards 4.A, 4.A.l, 4.A.4, 5.A.l, and 6.C.9 give clear guidance to the institution
regarding the absolute necessity that the College's ability to recruit and retain high quality
faculty, administrators, and instructional technology personnel be developed and
maintained. The Committee strongly recommends that the institution review all of the
components that impact its ability to meet these standards and to insure compliance into
the future.
COMMENDATIONS
1.
The accreditation team wishes to recognize the exceptional quality of the selfstudy. The report was not only carefully organized and well-written, but it demonstrated
the value of sincere inquiry and reflection in the interest of self-improvement.
2.
The mission for which The Evergreen State College was founded is fulfilled by an
institution-wide climate of engagement, improvement and intellectual curiosity. We find
these achievements to be almost unparalleled anywhere in higher education.
3.
The committee commends The Evergreen State College for its imaginative,
dedicated and innovative faculty. The faculty selflessly give of their time to students.
We further commend The Evergreen State College for its college-wide team-teaching
approach to classroom instruction. The high degree of collaboration builds on individual
strengths, provides multiple approaches to meeting individual student learning needs, and
promotes the development of new faculty.
4.
The Evergreen State College is commended for its programs of long-standing
support of students of color. The success of minority students on the campus reflects the
creation and maintenance of a nurturing, friendly, caring, supportive and academically
responsive environment. Of particular merit are the activities and programs that support
Native American students and their communities. The Reservations Based Community
Determined Tribal Program, the Longhouse and its programs, and the Center for Native
American World Indigenous Populations are of significant import.
5.
We commend The Evergreen State College for the beauty of the campus and the
care of its facilities. Despite significant budget cuts over the years, the limited number of
physical plant staff are doing an exceptional job of addressing facilities needs on campus.
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Staff have responsibility for cleaning buildings and maintaining grounds of significantly
larger areas at Evergreen than do their counterparts elsewhere.
6.
The Evergreen State College is commended for its service to its regions. Of
particular merit are the activities and programs that support Native American students and
their communities. This is evidenced by delivery of educational programs to the
reservations, establishment of the Center for Native American Studies, involvement of
elders, bringing different Native American artists together, and teaching them how to
market their crafts. Further examples are the use of the Longhouse to promote
understanding of Native American culture, and the Tacoma Program. The Tacoma
faculty and students live their motto, "Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve." They are change
agents and lifelong learners in their communities. These initiatives truly have made a
positive difference in the region.
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