1989-30_Re-Accreditation_Report_1989.pdf
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Part of Accreditation Report of the Evaluation Committee (1989)
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1
NORTHWEST ASSOCIATION OF
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
COMMISSION
ON COLLEGES
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
Olympia, Washington
October
23 - 25, 1989
A confidential report prepared for the Commission on Colleges
that represents the views of the Evaluation Committee
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Evaluation Committee...............................
Introduction.
......................................
ii
1
I.
Institutional Mission and Objectives
.
3
II.
Finance
.
5
III.
Physical Plant, Materials and Equipment ....•.......
6
IV.
Library and Learning Resources ..•••••..............
7
V.
Educationa!
VI.
continuing Education and Special
Instructional Activities ......•••
Program
.
.... . . . .... . . .....
11
26
VII.
Instructional Staff
.
27
VIII.
Administration
.
29
IX.
students
.
31
X.
Scholarship and Research .....•........•.•.....••...
34
XI.
Graduate Program
35
.
Summary, Commendations and Recommendations.........
i
37
EVALUATION
Dr. Beverly
Chairperson
Beeton
COMMITTEE
Provost and Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Dr. Jerry G. Gaff
Vice President for Planning
Hamline University (on leave)
Arden Hills, Minnesota 55112
Dr. Noe Lozano
Associate Dean of Student Affairs
and Director of Affirmative Action
School of Engineering
Stanford university
Stanford, California 94305-1642
Dr. Kenneth
P. Mortimer
President
Western Washington University
Bellingham, Washington 98225
Dr. Charles
Muscatine
Professor of English
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California 94720
Mr. Warren
S. Owens
Dean of Library Services,
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho 83843
Dr. Arnold
D. Pickar
Professor of Physics
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon 97207
Dr. Kathleen
A. Ross, SNJM
Dr. David W. Savage
.Dr. Virginia
smith
President
Heritage College
Toppenish, Washington
Emeritus
98948
Associate Professor of History
Lewis and Clark College
Portland, Oregon 97219
President, Emeritus
Vassar College
Walnut Creek, California
94595
Dr. Kay J. Andersen
Observer for Commission
on Colleges
Executive Director, Emeritus
Commission on Senior colleges and
Universities
Western Association of Schools and
Colleges
Danville, California 94526
Dr. Joseph A. Malik
Ex-Officio
Executive Director
Commission on Colleges
Seattle, washington 98105
ii
INTRODUCTION
Founded in 1967 with instruction beginning in 1971, The
Evergreen state College was initially accredited in 1974 and had
its accreditation affirmed in 1979. In 1984, a single evaluator
visited the campus and reported to the Commission on Colleges
regarding the general recommendations of the 1979 evaluation
committee.
A ten-person evaluation committee, plus one
observer, visited Evergreen on October 23-25, 1989; on the basis
of that visit, the committee submits this report.
As the "Constancy and Change" title of the 1989 self-study
report implies, there is a firm and enduring commitment to the
values and aspirations of the institution as existed at the time
of its founding; at the same time, there have been significant
changes at Evergreen.
Surviving efforts in the state
legislature to close the college in 1983, Evergreen has matured,
grown and received local and national recognition.
student
enrollment has increased from 2611 in academic year 1982-83 to
3000 students in 1989-90 with a significant increase in the
number of in-state students. The student body is younger and
retention has improved. During the same period, the faculty has
grown from 129 to 172. The state appropriated operating budget
has increased, and efforts have begun to bring in external
funding and to build an endowment. Additional facilities have
been built, and the most serious repairs and maintenance
problems noted by the 1979 evaluation committee have been
eliminated.
While still committed to interdisciplinary and collaborative
learning, Evergreen's role has been changed from being a
regional institution to being an alternative higher education
institution.
Recognizing that it is in a major phase of
transition as it approaches its twentieth anniversary, Evergreen
has undertaken strategic planning and program review processes.
A baccalaureate program in teacher education has been added, and
a proposal for a masters degree in teacher education is being
reviewed. A Masters in Public Administration was initiated in
1980, and the Masters in Environmental Studies was started in
1984. While the program in Vancouver is being closed, a program
in downtown Tacoma in cooperation with the Tacoma Community
College has been started.
Having embraced multiculturalism and diversity, the college has
made a concerted effort to increase the percentage of students,
faculty and staff who are persons of color and to increase the
number of women on the faculty. While there has been acceptance
of Evergreen as an alternative institution in the state of
Washington, the legislature remains concerned about the cost of
education at Evergreen. In 1985 a Higher Education Coordinating
1
Board for the state of Washington was created; this Board is
defining service regions for the state's institutions of higher
learning and is demanding assessment of educational outcomes.
In its short history, and particUlarly in the last decade,
Evergreen has moved from an experimental college often operating
on the defensive to a nationally recognized and robust
enterprise willing to continue experimentation in the context of
a more mature alternative college.
2
I.
INSTITUTIONAL
MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
The new mission statement meets the standard of being "clear,
concise, and realistic," and the change from being a regional to
state-wide
alternative
liberal
arts
college
is
a major
improvement
in the mission.
There is one exception to this
generalization,
and that seems to be some ambiguity about the
public service mission.
The team recommends that public service
grow organically out of the college's central educational values
and distinctive qualities and that the lessons of the public
service feed back into the undergraduate program.
The strategic plan highlights ten key foci for the future of
Evergreen.
It is a solid, substantive and useful document that
focuses attention on several forward looking directions.
A
great deal of participation
has informed the plan.
It is a
living document that is helping to guide the future-of --the
college.
The plan has already achieved several important results.
It has
helped define planned growth and assure the faculty and other
members of the community that orderly growth can occur while
continuing the basic values of the college.
It has elevated the
importance
of multicultural
diversity,
focused
concern
on
faculty development, stimulated fund-raising and stressed other
important initiatives.
A major problem is one endemic to good strategic planning: the
plan is subject to different interpretations.
A plan must be
precise enough to guide actions, and it must be flexible enough
to adapt to changing circumstances.
It is a constitution that
must be interpreted in light of particular cases.
The tension
between retaining central values and changing means to achieve
those values is natural, and differences should be worked out
through normal governance processes.
Thus tension is reflected
in the title of the self-study, "Constancy and Change."
Assessment
Assessment of student learning in various programs is extensive,
as is assessment of faculty performance.
Students and faculty
in
individual
programs
are
self-conscious
about
their
educational pursuits and self-critical of the consequences.
It
is ironic that the assessment of student outcomes of the college
as a whole is not as well developed.
The innovativeness of the
educational
program
is not
matched
by
similar
creative
approaches
and methods
to assess
student
outcomes
of ~he
college.
Indeed, many methods
used up to now are qu i t e
traditional
(e.g., student and alumnae surveys), although we
realize that some of these measures are imposed on the college.
3
Let's be clear.
Evergreen has done much more assessment of
learning outcomes than most traditional colleges. But it has
done less than it should have, especially considering its role
as a leading "experimental" college. Evergreen needs to know
the extent to which its own bold claims of learning are actually
realized in practice. And the college's role as an alternative
college makes it a natural laboratory for the study of pedagogy;
the state and entire field of higher education need to learn the
best ways to educate students for the twenty-first century. The
lessons learned from the alternative educational practices here,
both positive and negative, are important to know as other
institutions seek to advance intercultural education, student
engagement and other aspects of quality liberal education.
The recent state allocation for assessment provides a special
opportunity for Evergreen to develop methodologies appropriate
for examining outcomes of its own distinctive program.
The
request for proposals to work on this self-assessment seems to
reflect this emphasis, and we endorse it. We would urge further
that the studies that are conducted focus on key aspects of the
educational program and help understand, for instance, why there
is a retention problem with individual contracts or how well
students who would be given "remedial" instruction in other
colleges acquire the "basic" skills of writing, oral expression
and mathematics through coordinated studies.
Indeed, some
methodological and substantive work to assess outcomes may be so
important that the Assessment study Group might want to provide
college-wide leadership to assure that the work is undertaken,
even if specific ideas are not proposed as projects by members
of the campus community.
4
II.
FINANCE
The financial resources available to Evergreen appear to be
adequate. Increased operating funds have come with increased
student enrollment. Yet there is still some concern about the
cost per student due to the educational methodology employed by
the college. In recent years, efforts have been made to obtain
grants and contract funding and to build an endowment to help
address the financial strain at Evergreen. Currently, there is
a quarter of a million dollars in the foundation, and a major
endowment campaign is underway. The awareness of the financial
strain at Evergreen is noted, and continued effort to obtain
external funding is encouraged.
The town meeting approach to budget development has been
modified in recent years, but people seem to feel there are
adequate opportunities for involvement in the budget planning
process.
The development of a strategic plan should guide
budget planning so that the desired college of the future is
realized.
The state Auditor has audited the college books since it was
established in 1967. The most recent completed audit is for the
fiscal year 1987. The college is responding to the findings and
recommendations so that the same issues will not be repeated in
future audits.
Overall, the financial aspects of Evergreen seem to be well
managed. Recently, an accounting system was purChased, and the
contract with the Washington community College Computing
Consortium
for payroll and personnel processing works
effectively.
The college's indebtedness is limited to bonding indebtedness to
construct student housing and to add to the College Activities
Building.
In both cases, fees will service the debt.
The
college is aware that significant additional indebtedness is not
wise until the current bonding debt is reduced.
5
III.
PHYSICAL PLANT, MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
The physical facilities at The Evergreen State College,
including buildings, materials, equipment and campus, are
exceptionally well designed and maintained to serve the needs of
the college. As with most things at Evergreen, the facilities
have been designed to serve the educational functions, and
future planning is continuing in the same manner.
since the last evaluation visit a number of new additions have
been made to the campus. Additional student housing has been
constructed affording on-campus housing for one thousand
students, and childcare services have been relocated to an
improved site. The recreational facility has been enlarged with
a special concern for providing facilities for women students.
Extraordinarily functional and attractive art studios have been
built, and the third floor of the college activities building
will be remodeled to accommodate student organizati"ons.----Th-esenew facilities and the repairs which have been accomplished
result in an excellent campus. There are needs for, and plans
for, future expansion. A serious problem which needs immediate
attention is the removal of the asbestos from one phase of
student housing. Special effort is urged to have the asbestos
removed.
When Evergreen was established, it was equipped with state-ofthe-art equipment.
The rate of funding has not allowed the
repair and replacement of the equipment as desired. While the
college has adequate equipment and materials, the efforts for
replacement and repair are encouraged. The evaluation committee
is impressed with the effective use of equipment in the learning
process and therefore notes the special importance of
maintaining equipment.
The availability of computers for faculty and staff is notable;
however, there does not seem to be networks established to allow
communications via computer.
The plans to make these
connections are encouraged.
6
IV.
LIBRARY AND LEARNING
RESOURCES
Library
The
Evergreen
state
College
Library
is
competently
and
imaginatively administered.
Its staff is well-trained, serviceminded,
extraordinarily
hard-working,
excited to be at the
college and to a truly remarkable degree motivated by the desire
to be an essential part of the learning processes and techniques
which give the college its special character.
The innovative
active participation
of the library faculty in the Evergreen
educational process is very much in accord with the thrust of
the college's mission and thus is wholly commendable.
However,
implicit in that excitement, that dedication, that willingness
to break new ground, is the possibility of too few attempting to
accomplish too much with the consequent risk of burnout.
The
team therefore recommends that continuing attention be given by
all concerned to setting appropriate limits.
The library building is comfortable, inviting, well-furnished
and sensibly organized for ease of use.
Moreover, effort has
been devoted to devising ways of facilitating use of the library
in accordance with the overarching policy of integrating the
library into the academic process.
But one handicap to the use
of the library needs to be eliminated:
its somewhat restricted
hours of service.
The team commends the library staff for its
recognition of the need to expand service hours as an imperative
short-term
goal and encourages
all concerned
to make the
necessary budgetary provision to accomplish it.
As detailed
in the self-study,
the library
will
require
additional shelf space to accommodate its collection in three to
five years at the current rate of growth.
The team hopes that
the plans which have been made to provide
the necessary
expansion
space on the third floor of the library can be
effected in a timely fashion.
The library
is making
effective
use of automation
in its
ordering, cataloging and circulation functions.
Its membership
in a consortium along with the state Library and the Timberland
Regional Library is a distinct advantage as well as a laudatory
example of library cooperation.
Also, the careful planning of
the future direction of, and priorities in, the development of
automation
in
the
library
being
done
currently
by
the
Library/Computer
Services DTF (disappearing task force) should
result in highly useful recommendations which will merit serious
consideration.
We urge that the task force include in its
agenda planning for remote access to the library's bibliographic
data base (i.e., to its automated catalog, which is now some 90
percent in machine-readable
form) from faculty offices and dorm
7
rooms, as well as from other pertinent remote sites, e.g., the
college's Tacoma campus.
Were the college a conventional one, its library collections
could probably be deemed to be adequate, or even more than
adequate, for undergraduate curricula (except for periodicals,
as noted below).
However, the flexibility and range of the
college's programs impose extraordinary demands upon the
collection, as do also the relatively recent heavy emphasis upon
multi-cultural programs and the explicit involvement of the
students in independent library research. The combined effect
of these needs is to require a larger acquisitions budget than
might
otherwise
be
needed.
We
commend
the
college
administration for its recognition of this problem and for
addressing it, at least in part, by making year-end funds
available to the library as a supplement to its materials budget
in the amount of a total of $225,105 between 1985 and 1989.
Indeed, the team is impressed with the extent of the
understanding and support of the library displayed by the
administration as being so noteworthy as to justify being
singled out for mention here.
Welcome though these additional funds have been, because they
are "one-time" monies they do not address what in our opinion is
the major problem with the library's collections: the small and
static size of the current periodical SUbscription list. We
confirm the severity of the problem as it is described in the
self-study and consider it to be sufficient documentation simply
to record here the fact that currently a "drop/add" policy is in
effect, i.e., if a subscription is to be added, an existing
subscription of comparable cost must be canceled. We applaud
the visibility being given the problem and fully support the
budget requests which have been made to alleviate it.
Our
earnest hope is that new funding will soon be available.
As mentioned above, the range and flexibility of the curriculum,
together with the individual library research being done by
students, generate demands which the collection is neither broad
nor deep enough to satisfy. Hence, as indicated in the selfstudy, the borrowing of materials from other libraries via
interlibrary loan is a busy library activity. Apropos of this
fact, the team thinks it appropriate to call attention to these
words in the Northwest Association's STANDARD IV - LIBRARY AND
LEARNING RESOURCES: " ...It shall be capable of supporting basic
research to the level of degrees offered ....Materials shall have
the depth and breadth appropriate for the achievement of the
goals and objectives of the library and learning resources
program." We recommend that appropriate consideration be given
to the application of this standard to the Evergreen Library and
to the bUdgetary implications of it. Perhaps an updating of the
1978 Resource Selection Policy--if not an entirely new recasting
of it--would provide a useful approach.
8
This analysis
which we recommend
should
also address
the
question of how to define the extent to which the library's
collections should be expected to provide support for faculty
research.
As faculty development receives greater attention and
support college-wide, the precise delineation of the library's
role becomes even more urgent.
Learning
Resources
The team confirms the statement in the self-study that " ...The
role of library media services and media loan at Evergreen is
substantially different from the role of 'audio-visual' areas at
most colleges and universities."
The facilitating of access to,
as well as use and understanding of, the wide variety of media
tools, techniques and production methods give the students a
remarkable set of skills.
The physical facilities provided both in the media services
section
of the library building
and in the communication
building are indeed praiseworthy, as is the range of equipment
available for student use, e.g., camcorders, electronic music
devices and computer graphic facilities.
However, the team
notes with
concern
that this expansion
of facilities
and
equipment has not been accompanied by a commensurate increase in
staff, so that significant workload increases have essentially
been absorbed.
Obviously, there is a limit beyond which this
can no longer be done.
The team hopes that with the filling of
the vacant
position
of Coordinator
of Media
services,
the
process for which is currently under way, the staffing problem
in that service area will be addressed systematically.
Similarly, the staffing problems in the non-print service area
of the library--stemming from budget reductions in 1985--need to
be addressed.
As mentioned in the self-study, the inability to
catalog
sound
recordings
and related
non-print
materials
seriously handicaps the library users and does them a distinct
disservice.
We recommend that these staffing weaknesses
be
rectified in an appropriately timely fashion.
Commendations
and Recommendations
The
team
submits
recommendations:
*
the
following
commendations
and
The library staff for its enthusiasm,
energetic hard
work, willingness to take risks in breaking new ground,
collegiality
and patent dedication
to support of the
mission of the college.
9
*
*
The college administration for its understanding of the
fundamental importance of the library to the successful
realizing of the college mission and for demonstrating
that understanding with supplemental bUdgetary support.
Attention
be given by the appropriate
persons
to
establishing realistic staff workload expectations.
*
A high priority be given to expanding the library's hours
of service.
*
The plans to provide expansion space on the third floor
of the building for the library's collection be effected
in timely fashion.
*
The Library/Computer Services DTF include in its agenda
the matter of planning for remote access to the library's
automated bibliographic data base.
*
The effort to secure acquisitions budget increases in
order to expand the periodicals
SUbscription
list
continue unabated.
*
Appropriate consideration be given to the matching of the
library's
collection
in breadth
and depth
to the
curricular and research demands upon it with reference
to the Northwest Association's STANDARD IV - LIBRARY AND
LEARNING RESOURCES.
*
Staffing weaknesses
print service area
timely fashion.
in media services and in the nonbe rectified in an appropriately
10
v.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
We
regard
the
state's
designation
of
Evergreen
as
its
alternative liberal arts college with the utmost seriousness,
for from this designation flow very specific responsibilities.
"Alternative"
has at least two major consequences
for the
educational
character
of the college.
The first and most
obvious is that it provides an alternative--a
setting and a
haven--for those students who will be better educated outside
the embrace of the conventional
college and its conventional
curriculum.
The second consequence is that the college must regard itself
as having a large part of the state educational establishment's
continuing
responsibility
to experiment,
to
increase
its
educational power and to test the validity and relative merit
of its own settled arrangements.
From this
follow:
in
turn
at
least
three
further
responsibilities
*
An extraordinary responsibility for sophisticated assessment of the college's own procedures.
For instance, the
problem of the "match" between the curriculum and the
students is of the highest interest.
It is a matter of
capital importance for others whether a curriculum which
looks at the outset as if it were most suitable for the
out-of-the-ordinary
student turned out to "work" (or not
work) for the average student from high school--or for
the "disadvantaged"
student, or for the student whose
habits of learning do not by cultural training proceed
easily along the sophisticated verbal, dialectical and
logical paths that are normal here.
*
A responsibility
for communicating the results of such
assessments in the educational community.
The Washington
Center is a conspicuously
successful example of this
function.
*
A responsibility
never to regard itself as a fait accompli.
We would expect the college always to be in an
"alternative"
(e.g., experimental)
stance, as if that
stance--and not the practice of the past, nor even the
successes of the present--were the key to its identity
and integrity.
In this sense, "Constancy and Change" is
indeed the right motto for the college.
We would expect
the college in its new maturity--despite
its character
as a "protestant" community with a history of stubborn
steadfastness in the face of hostility and embattlement
--never to stop considering creative change.
11
We also feel that the mandate to be the alternative must have
deep and distinctive consequences for the college's role in
public service.
It would be a violation of the educational
character of the college--and in any case likely to be impossible--for you to undertake many public service programs of a
conventional sort. But as Evergreen needs in any case to do
public service, it must likewise be innovative. In our view,
the interdisciplinary base of the curriculum, and the democratic
style of the whole institution, are particularly conducive to
the study of complex public problems from which new approaches
may well flow. We would hardly expect you to take an adversary
stance in the face of current public and community institutions
and practices. But we expect the college to find a proper and
welcome discharge of your responsibilities to the public at
large in sophisticated analysis and creative thinking about a
wide range of practical public problems.
The academic "climate" is admittedly very subjective and an
insubstantial criterion for assessment. Yet we venture to judge
the climate here to be very good--indeed remarkable--equaled in
very few places we know. The commitment to community, to openness and free inquiry, penetrates the style of the classrooms
and spills out onto the stairways and plazas and play areas.
One of the team remarks that "if you sit down anywhere and ask
a student a question, you not only get an answer; you get an
articulate answer!" Even the bookstore reflects the style of
the whole place: what is offered on the shelves is eclectic and
exciting, and there is remarkably little trash.
Evergreen states that its general mission is to provide "high
quality education."
As the self-study points out, this
educational mission is not unlike that of hundreds of other
liberal arts colleges in the united states.
The Evergreen
education experience is, however, strongly distinguished from
that of other liberal arts colleges by two additional elements
in its mission statement: (1) Evergreen promises to deliver the
education through a "unique curriculum," and (2) Evergreen
asserts that its fundamental mission is to "assist students in
learning how to learn and how to continue developing their
skills in a world of increasing diversity, interdependence, and
moral complexity."
Interdisciplinary study
The self-study asks that the evaluation team devote particular
attention
to
five
foci.
Of
the
five,
the
first
(interdisciplinary study) is at the heart of Evergreen's own
approach to the organization of knowledge for instructional
purposes.
Clearly the promise of a unique curriculum is
achieved.
12
Reasons
why
Evergreen has
transformed
the
traditional
disciplines so that they can better serve the framework for a
learning community are set forth in some detail in the selfstudy. Perhaps the most persuasive of these is the belief that
interdisciplinarity reflects the way issues occur in the real
world and the way in which they must be analyzed if the analysis
is seen as a step toward responsible action. The importance as
well as the validity of this approach is accepted by many
colleges today and often forms the most exciting' educational
activities on campus for both faculty and students.
At most colleges, however, they comprise a relatively small part
of
the
curriculum.
On
many
campuses
growth
of
interdisciplinarity for undergraduate instruction is hindered by
two factors: the necessity of negotiating all such curricular
innovations through existing disciplinary departments and the
reluctance of faculty to teach outside their disciplines. At
Evergreen the absence of discipline based departments removes
this hindrance. In addition, in those cases where the subject
of the program requires greater expertise than that of one
faculty member there are opportunities for collaborative
teaching arrangements. The collaborative arrangements provide,
in the short run, a broader span of expertise in the classroom,
and, in the long run, they provide for a form of faculty
development that broadens each individual faculty member.
The interdisciplinary programs, built as they are around
problems, themes, or issues often tend to be less permanent in
the curriculum. Each coordinated study program is, according to
the self-study, a peculiar amalgam of intellectual interest,
friendships and institutional needs and constraints.
The
resulting collection of subjects for programs are less set in
concrete than much of a typical discipline based curriculum.
Thus there is greater and more immediate opportunity for
reflecting in the curriculum new concerns and new knowledge.
According to observations of some students, the fact that the
curriculum is always evolving and that it grows directly from
faculty interests, militates against stagnant classes, or
classes in which someone has to teach a course because it is
considered a permanent part of the curriculum.
Evergreen's Pedagogical Approach
The next three foci drawn to the attention of the evaluation
team (personal engagement in learning, linking theoretical
perspectives with practice and collaborative/cooperat~ve work)
constitute the special pedagogical approach des1gned by
Evergreen to serve the unique curriculum and to de~elop
independent life-long learners. While the framework of SUbJects
in the curriculum is largely faculty driven, it is the
development of student abilities that drives the pedagogical
13
approach. Many of the techniques used are designed to create a
learning community, a community in which the student is a full
and active participant.
The learning community in turn
reinforces the need for and the possibility of developing a wide
range of cognitive skills and intellectual abilities. No one
who visits Evergreen can question that real learning communities
have been created. Students participate fully in seminars, seem
well prepared and accept responsibility as discussion leaders.
Several direct observations by team members attest to the fact
that discussions
in these seminars are substantive and
constructive. The members of the seminar treat each other with
respect and courtesy and build on each other's contributions in
the discussion.
Often the dialogue is very stimulating--so
stimulating that it continues in various settings outside the
classroom.
The technique that seems most central to the creation of the
learning community is the immersion approach (one coordinated
study program which constitutes the full load for the student
and the teacher).
Joint projects and collaborative teaching
also make strong contributions to the creation of learning
communities. Narrative evaluations and self evaluations seem to
playa key role in the development of independent learning. The
level of these activities is impressive.
Although the team was not able to observe joint projects or
other activities specifically designed to enhance cooperative
learning while also linking practice to theory, it was possible
to observe the air of cooperation and collaboration which
pervaded the seminars and the faculty and staff discussions.
The only conclusion that one can reach is that, while not being
able to gauge the importance of anyone
element of the
curriculum or pedagogy to the total outcome, the fusion of all
elements results in a powerful learning experience. with more
creative and sophisticated assessment techniques it might be
possible to determine the relative importance of different
features thus making further refinement and experimentation
possible without destroying the effectiveness of what has
already been achieved.
Structural Tensions
Coordinated Study Programs and Advanced Studv.
Major
reliance on coordinated studies programs poses particular
problems for advanced studies.
It does seem clear that most
coordinated studies move toward more advanced study within the
later months of the program itself, but there is still some
concern that certain types of advance study cannot be
accommodated within the coordinated study structure. These seem
to be identified as the more specialized and more discipline14
based studies in fields such as science and specific advanced
skills in expressive arts.
The curriculum does afford some
program responses to this need through individual contracts and
courses.
There is also concern, however,
that individual
contracts have the usual problems of isolated study. Attention
is being given to ways of ameliorating this aspect.
It is possible that too much concern is devoted to the question
of advanced study.
Any small college, including those without
unique curricula,
are unable to offer, on a regular basis,
advanced specialized courses in many disciplines.
Even when
such advanced courses are offered at small institutions, they
tend to take the form of individual contracts because enrollment
is so small.
The continuing question is the extent to which
advanced specialized courses are consistent with the mission of
liberal arts education.
Flexibility and Predictability.
The nature of curricular
construction reduces its permanence.
While this has advantages,
as already noted, it also reduces that type of predictability
that makes student planning feasible.
Some Evergreen programs
have stayed in the curriculum
for several years, but others
shift focus or disappear.
The purposes of the curricular design
dictate the continuation of this tension.
It is hoped that the
administration will strive to maintain that particular balance
which continues to serve student needs for predictability while
preserving the advantages of the approach.
Student Choice and Educational Quality.
The basic mission
is to provide
each
student
a high
quality
liberal
arts
education.
Certainly
the range of programs,
courses
and
contracts and the manner in which those are taught gives every
student the opportunity to acquire a high quality liberal arts
education.
But opportunity is not always the same as result.
At Evergreen there are no requirements beyond the total credit
hours required.
Students are expected to start their Evergreen
experience
wi th a core program
and almost
all do.
Core
programs, however, differ in specialty areas included.
Not all
include science, nor do all include expressive arts.
We do not
have definitive
information on the pathways of all students
through the curriculum, but it is clearly possible for students
to complete a degree without exposure to one or more of the
specialty areas.
Should a part of the curricular design be
agreement on a principle that students would use pathways that
do expose them to all major divisions of knowledge?
A later
section of this report will discuss this problem with special
reference to mathematics and sciences.
It would be virtually
impossible
for a student
to move
through
the
Evergreen
curriculum without some exposure to humanities.
Theoretically,
however, the possibility of not being exposed to social sciences
and expressive arts exists.
15
We recognize and commend the desire to put responsibility for
educational choice on the students. As a corollary it must also
be recognized that the resulting freedom of choice puts a
greater burden on the institution to plan very well the general
content of the range of choices open to the students.
A
recommended first step would be analysis and discussion of
student pathways through the curriculum to serve as a basis for
further discussions, for advising and for curricular planning.
Effectiveness and Rigidity.
The large curricular unit
(e.g., the year long, full-time coordinated study program) seems
particularly effective in creating learning communities.
It
does, however, create a rigidity in the system that has
consequences for other needs; last minute cancellation of a
program could destroy several students' total education plan for
the year. Faculty development efforts that require some release
time or adjustment in workload cannot be easily negotiated
without disrupting the total teaching load of some faculty
members for the entire year.
Any adjustments in faculty
workload are difficult within a structure consisting of such
large blocks. It is possible that increased reliance on group
contracts, courses and individual contracts as noted in the mode
of study statistics given in the self-study will reduce the
problem, but there could be some faculty who are always
disproportionately affected by it. Perhaps thought has already
been given to encourage varying the mode of study for individual
faculty from year to year.
General Education
Nothing in our observation of the core programs would lead us
to disagree with the judgment in the self-study report that in
recent years "the quality of core programs and their status in
the college have risen significantly," and that students in the
core "gain a first-rate introduction to the liberal arts and
sciences, acquiring the academic skills and prerequisite
knowledge ...for intermediate and advanced work." Reflection on
the content of this year's core programs, however, leads us to
one very serious concern, which follows from the fact that core
is, de facto, the nearest thing in the curriculum to a
graduation requirement. While the aggregate core programs do
indeed provide a generous and sufficient range of liberal arts
and sciences, by the very nature of the case few individual
programs can do the same.
Furthermore, even by the most
generous interpretation such key areas as natural science and
fine arts are not represented at all in half or more of the
current programs. In the absence of supplementary requirements,
we cannot judge, nor do we believe that the college can show,
what proportion of the students graduate with no exposure to key
areas of the liberal arts and whether that proportion is trivial
16
enough
having
to justify the local claim for the "trade-off"
no requirements.
value
of
The institution has conducted some surveys which confirm a low
exposure to the natural sciences.
Additional
information on
this score would be a valuable basis for the design of advising
and for future design of the programs.
It would also resolve
for the informed public what is probably the gravest single
doubt
about
the
efficacy
of
Evergreen I s
undergraduate
curriculum.
Natural
Sciences
and Mathematics
The teaching of natural sciences, i.e., those areas which would
be interpreted
in traditional terms as biology and physical
sciences, is of special significance at Evergreen.
Among the
non-core specialty areas, science and science faculty are of
central importance in at least two of the largest (Environmental
Studies and Science, Technology and Health), accounting for 8789
credit hours (2L 4 percent of the total) in 1988.
Closely
linked with the teaching of much of science, and important in
its
own
right,
is the teaching
of what
in traditional
terminology
would be mathematics
and computer science.
The
particular
challenge
is that while all of these
subjects
inherently lend themselves to a fairly structured sequential
progression of topics, some aspects of the Evergreen experience
as embodied in the five foci of education encourage less than
fixed sequences both within programs and among programs.
That
the learning experiences
in the sciences and mathematics
at
Evergreen have been so successful and positive is a tribute to
the unique aspects of both the organizational
knowledge
for
delivery and the pedagogical methods embodied in the Evergreen
model.
In visiting classes, labs, conference rooms and offices in which
science
teaching
goes on at Evergreen,
the most
obvious
indication that the way knowledge is organized for delivery at
Evergreen has been successful is reflected in the enthusiasm of
both faculty and students.
The interdisciplinary mode provides
an everchanging,
intellectual landscape--one
which constantly
challenges
faculty and presents them with new and rewarding
insights.
Students
also appear to sense the feeling
of
discovery that accompanies learning which is hardly ever more
than once the same. As examples one can cite the meaningful use
of a physics experience in developing a calculus topic, or ~he
interjecting of a chemistry exercise in fleshing out a physlcs
laboratory
experience.
Connections
of this sort challenge
creativity of the faculty, and by transference, keep the student
experience alive.
17
On the other hand, a negative aspect of the way knowledge is
packaged for teaching at Evergreen is the very real possibility
that students may not be able to schedule in sufficient advanced
topics to complete what may be equivalent to some particular
"science maj or" in a traditional institution.
However, this
appears not to have impacted on the rate of acceptance of
graduates to quality graduate or professional schools.
At
worst, some students may require some post-baccalaureate work,
but this is probably more than compensated by the maturity of
approach to research and learning bred by the Evergreen
experience.
Another drawback to the interdisciplinary mold lies in the
possibility
for almost complete science and mathematics
avoidance in some students' college experience, which runs
contrary to the Commission's standards related to general
education.
Roughly half the core programs, which might be
expected to carry a large burden of general education, have
little or no science/mathematics content. Moreover, although
the freedom of choice in achieving personal educational goals
does not necessarily lead to a narrowness of experience, because
the choice of programs is usually such a major commitment, a
science/mathematic avoidance is easily engineered, whether by
conscious design or not. Current planning to at least inject a
meaningful
math-across-the-curriculum
component
into
the
Evergreen experience deserves strong encouragement and rapid
implementation.
The approach to pedagogy at Evergreen is to provide faculty with
a full palette with which to color the educational experience.
This is particularly significant in science.
Because of the
total commitment in most cases of both faculty and students to
single programs, it is possible to efficiently weave together
laboratories, lectures, seminars, recitations, field trips and
research projects.
Even humanistic or societal issues can be
interjected in a way which even if it is not powerfully germane
to the current science exercises, provides a needed component in
a student's background which can be explored in a social milieu
which is familiar and understood. One particular aspect of the
pedagogy, i.e., narrative evaluations, provides a flexibility
often missing in the traditional approach to grading.
For
example, in the event that students are performing in a less
than satisfactory way in some segment of a program, they can
nevertheless be allowed credit with a constructive yet critical
evaluation which leads the way to alternative paths that
maximize their educational experience, either inside or outside
the program.
Equipment and facilities available to carry out the pedagogical
functions, particularly for laboratory experiences and computing
are first rate and utilized in an intelligent and intensive way.
This is a tribute both to a well designed physical plant and a
18
faculty who have energetically pursued creative ways to obtain
support and to use the facilities obtained. A good example is
in the CALab, used in physical science applications where
students from the beginning employ the computer as a tool for
simulation, data taking and analysis.
An especially unique
resource which is creatively used for academic enrichment is the
38-foot sailboat Seawulff, originally built by students, faculty
and volunteers.
Just as faculty have shown leadership and creativity in
developing their pedagogical tools, so have they been
consciously creative for the most part
in maintaining
professional skills in science areas. This has come about in a
variety of contexts, in some cases involving off-campus
collaboration and external grants, but almost always in a way
that involves or impacts on the education and experience of
students. The great constraint in this area is faculty time.
Nonetheless , despite heavy teaching loads a large number of
science faculty have managed to find ways to keep in touch with
their fields.
Yet the danger remains, especially in very
rapidly moving areas, to become insular and decreasingly aware
of the academic and scholarly realities beyond the pleasant
environs of Evergreen.
In summary, science and mathematics education is a flourishing
and commendable enterprise at Evergreen. However, some danger
points, of which many faculty are aware, do exist; ways to guard
against these in a benign and consistent way should be explored.
These points of concern relate to science and mathematics
components of general education and faculty development.
Teacher Education
The teacher education program at Evergreen is unique in several
ways. First, it is one of the newer programs, having completed
only two cycles of students as of Fall, 1989. Secondly, it is
a collaborative program with another state institution, Western
Washington University.
Thirdly, it is the only program at
Evergreen which leads directly to a certificate or license
awarded by an outside agency, which therefore has significant
control over some characteristics of the program.
In light of these factors, it is gratifying to see the level of
success which the program is achieving in producing new teachers
who embody the intellectual ideals of Evergreen. A visitor is
immediately aware of the students' lively sense of inquiry and
thoughtful engagement in the philosophical issues underlying the
major theories of human development and learning. What most of
the national studies on teacher education are asking for-intellectual competence and excitement about learning--are
eminently present in Evergreen teacher education students.
19
The field experience component of the program is also very
strong. students are in K-12 classrooms one day a week for 20
weeks and three mornings a week for another 10 weeks during
their first year in the program. During the second year, they
complete two separate student teaching experiences, each of 10
weeks duration, separated by one quarter for reflection and
further study.
Graduates express appreciation for both the
breadth and duration of these experiences.
As with any new program, some areas need strengthening. Recent
graduates of the program expressed the need for additional help
with skills development in specific instructional strategies and
in classroom management techniques.
Since the quality of
teaching skills exhibited by the cooperating teachers at the
varied field experience sites apparently differed markedly, the
recent graduates believe they would have benefited from more
opportunities
to
see and personally
practice
exemplary
techniques. They feel highly knowledgeable about the theories,
but they do not feel as confident as they would like about reallife skills to apply these theories.
The field experience component of the program presents two
problematic issues.
The first is a logistic and staffing
question. Both recent graduates and faculty expressed concern
about the process by which field placements are arranged.
If
240 field placements must be arranged each year (120 for the
sixty student teachers and 120 or more for the first year
students), the current staff support in the program needs to be
increased, and the process for determining these placements
needs to be made more effective.
The second issue which is raised by the amount of field
experience, coupled with the fact that only 90 quarter hours
taken outside the teacher education field are required before
entry to the program, is a question of the appropriateness of
the B.A. degree. Perhaps the B.A. in Education degree would be
a more accurate reflection of the actual program as described in
the catalog. Even though more than half of the current students
apparently exceed by substantial amounts the minimum 90 credit
hours outside of the education program, the degree description
currently in the official documents does not require this.
Evergreen should consider either increasing the minimum hours
required outside of the teacher education sequence, or changing
the name of the degree. Of course, if the Masters in Teaching
degree is adopted as the only route to initial teacher
certification, this problem will also be solved.
The teaching specializations--called in the state of Washington
"endorsements"--are uniquely handled at Evergreen, primarily
through the sub-categories of "course equivalencies" indicated
in the syllabus for each of the programs of study a student may
have taken.
Each student negotiates individually with the
20
faculty member who has been assigned to advise
(or more
accurately, to sign off) for a given endorsement, in order to
determine how the course equivalencies will be met for a given
student.
When equivalencies
do not exist, students take
individualized studies or summer courses.
It is too early to
assess the effectiveness of this method in meeting the need for
subject matter competencies which are related to the curriculum
used in the K-12 system.
The teacher education program should
conduct regular reviews of this question with its graduates in
order to identify any subject areas in which the current
equivalencies are not meeting specific teaching needs.
Regarding faculty, Evergreen and Western Washington University
are to be commended for the model of cooperative planning and
implementation
which the Evergreen teacher education program
represents.
western's teacher education department expresses
high satisfaction with the program, and the addition of two
Western faculty members to Evergreen for this program, on a twoyear rotating basis, provides new insights and stimulus to the
programs at both institutions.
It is not surprising that some
communication problems accompany the cooperative program when
the two sites are located more than three hours distant from
each other.
Both institutions seem willing and capable of
handling these communication problems when they arise.
The
transition
to an independent,
authorized
Initial
Teacher
Certification
program for Evergreen,
separate from Western
beginning in 1991, is appropriate and appears to be headed for
a smooth implementation in the view of both institutions.
Whether
the new, independent
program
for Initial Teacher
Certification at Evergreen will be a Masters in Teaching degree
or continue only as a certificate program, remains to be seen.
It appears that the MIT degree would certainly be consistent
with the mission of Evergreen. However, two issues will need to
be addressed:
the enhancement of library resources to match a
master's level curriculum and the difficulties which students
may experience with a format which requires a total of six years
before one can get an initial teaching degree (four years of a
baccalaureate degree plus two years of an MIT degree).
Several
recent graduates complained about the hardship they experienced
in trying to maintain their jobs and income during the program.
The danger of limiting the program to those with independent
sources of income should not be overlooked, particularly
in
light of the college's interest in increasing the diversity of
its student body.
continuity of faculty in the program is a concern to both the
faculty leadership in the program and to recent graduates.
The
rules of faculty rotation, when applied to those teaching in the
teacher education program, may impinge on an essential aspect of
the program's curricular design: the same faculty staying with
each cohort of students throughout their two-year program.
21
Because this is an integral part of the program's design,
additional thought should be given to enhancing faculty
continuity, bending the rules if necessary for the one-year
period required to achieve the two-year continuity. It appears
that student needs should take precedence over faculty needs in
this instance.
Library resources for the teacher education program need
continual strengthening, since the program is relatively new and
acquisitions in this area were not a priority before 1984.
Although faculty expressed appreciation for the helpfulness and
concern of the librarians, additional resources for enhancing
this book collection is important.
The major shortcoming in the teacher education program, which
was identified in the complete study done earlier this year for
the National Council on Accrediting Teacher Education (NCATE)
visit to western, is the lack of minority enrollment in the
program.
Because of inherent problems for many potential
minority candidates with the current structural design of the
program (which makes many kinds of financial aid unavailable and
which
limits a student's ability to hold down outside
employment) I the teacher education program should give very
serious consideration to implementing a program at the Tacoma
campus of the college in the very near future. If the mission
of the college and this program is to serve the needs of the
state with an alternative and excellent liberal arts program,
the crying need throughout the state for minority teachers with
excellent liberal arts preparation cannot be ignored.
The
Tacoma campus would find an eager audience in the many minority
teacher aides who serve in the Tacoma school system, who could
attend afternoon and evening classes at the Tacoma campus and
who might well be sponsored by their school district(s).
Evergreen could exert real leadership in minority teacher
education by adapting its highly successful current program to
the Tacoma setting. This task should be undertaken jointly with
the faculty assigned regularly to the Tacoma campus, in order to
design a successful adaptation.
Commendations and Recommendations
*
The faculty of the teacher education program have
designed an innovative curriculum and structure which
addresses in exciting ways the maj or concerns of the
teacher education reform movement.
*
The dedication and enthusiasm of the faculty and students
for the teaching and learning process in children and
young adults is outstanding.
22
*
The prominence of field experience opportunities
in the
program is an excellent component of the program.
*
The continuity in leadership for the teacher education
program, in spite of the usual Evergreen
pattern of
cycling faculty out of programs every two years, has been
vital
to the smooth
implementation
of the teacher
education program.
*
The emphasis on a thorough grounding in the philosophical
and theoretical bases for the teaching profession
is
well-conceived
and well-executed
in the curriculum and
program structure.
*
A very high priority
of the program
should be the
development
of a program focused on minority
teacher
education candidates at the Tacoma campus.
without this
effort, it is unlikely that the program will attain its
important commitment to educating a cadre of culturally
diverse new teachers.
*
Some method of providing more continuity in the faculty
who are working with the teacher education program should
be devised.
*
The process of identifying and assigning
appropriate
field placements needs to be strengthened.
Improvements
are needed in the management of the process and in the
more careful choice of placement sites and/or appropriate
debriefing
for students
who are placed
with
less
effective teachers.
*
Curriculum refinements should concentrate on providing
time for students to practice various
instructional
strategies and classroom management techniques.
*
Some creative problem-solving
is needed to address the
concerns of students regarding their financial
needs
during a program which extends to five or six years, the
time before they become employable.
Tacoma
Program
The Evergreen State College runs an upper division program in
downtown
Tacoma which is articulated
with Tacoma Community
college.
While the Tacoma program enrolls only 120 FTE, its
unique student body makes it an important element in Evergreen's
programs.
Although the main campus has a strong commitment to
cultural diversity, this is primarily expressed in an enviable
ethnic
and gender
diversity
in the faculty
and a strong
intellectual
commitment
to inclusion
of culturally
diverse
23
viewpoints in all the academic programs. Unfortunately, success
in adding more cultural diversity to the student body on the
Olympia campus has been limited, particularly
regarding
underrepresented minorities.
In this light, the successful program in Tacoma is particularly
important. It is the locus for Evergreen's primary showcase for
successful inner-city and minority education.
The mix of
students, including many older students as well as a majority of
students of color, creates a student body with very high
motivation level and with tremendous appreciation for the
opportunity which the Evergreen Tacoma campus provides. Faculty
from both the Tacoma campus and the olympia campus agree that
student performance and commitment is high and that teaching in
this environment is very stimulating.
The new location for the center has a light, well-appointed,
welcoming environment, and the teaching areas have adequate
furniture and audio visual equipment. However, as the Bridge
program continues to grow, a need may arise for additional
space. Acquisition of the entire building would seem to be in
the best interests of Evergreen in the long run.
Additional
laboratory space and equipment will be necessary if more natural
science
classes
are
offered,
although
the
current
classroom/laboratory configuration is a useful and creative use
of space.
The availability of computers to students, and the requirement
for computer coursework, are commendable.
As inner-city
students strive to gain the tools to enter the economic
mainstream, computer literacy is vital.
More problematic is the availability of reference volumes and
library services.
New plans for computer access to the main
campus sound workable and are vital to the improvement of the
educational program opportunities. Even with the computer link,
serious consideration should be given to adding several hundred
basic reference volumes to the Tacoma site for immediate use of
students and faculty.
The Bridge program is especially important because of the
national statistics showing very poor transfer rates for
minority students from community colleges to four-year-degree
institutions. This model may well be significant on a national
level and should be fostered in every way possible.
continuing efforts are needed to assure that communications
between the main campus and the Tacoma campus are efficient and
regular. If either campus should feel that the Tacoma site is
isolated, or that its academic program is less rigorous or not
comparable, this miscommunication would be a disservice to the
entire Evergreen community.
Consideration might be given, in
24
the long run, to ways in which the minority students of both
campuses could become better acquainted and enrich the entire
student body with celebrations of diversity.
The faculty and leadership at the Tacoma campus deserve special
commendation
for the creative adaptations
which they have
developed in the Evergreen program in order to make it effective
with their unique student body. It is essential that this kind
of faculty skill and dedication continue to be available to this
program.
The interpersonal styles are a crucial component in
maintaining the success with this student body.
25
VI.
CONTINUING EDUCATION AND SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONAL
ACTIVITIES
Evergreen has an effective and efficient continuing education
program that offers a limited and focused group of programs.
The National Faculty, Washington Center, Labor Education and
Research Center and Washington state Institute for Public Policy
have created important networks of individuals connected with
the college.
These programs are driven by motivations to
.mprove important aspects of the region through educational
services, featuring face-to-face communities, for long-term
social benefits. They produce a big bang for the buck and are
appropriately derived from central parts of the Evergreen
program.
26
VIII.
INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF
The Evergreen state College has without question gathered on the
Olympia campus and its few satellites a well-trained, highly
motivated and dedicated teaching faculty. The faculty as the
creators of an evolving curriculum and the teachers who set the
tone for engaged learning are the heart of the place.
The
evaluation committee is fully satisfied by the materials
presented in the self-study report that Evergreen meets the
standards for adequate faculty participation in the development
of institutional policies and the standard for appropriate
preparation and training for the educational mission of the
college. But more than that, being present on campus, visiting
with faculty, students and administration leads us to admire the
spirit and vitality of the faculty and the care with which they
have been selected for the special role of the faculty at the
college. We do note the signs pointed out in the self-study
that the faculty currently feels overwhelmed by the number and
importance of decisions facing the institution and the sensible
response of coming to an agreement with the administration on a
manageable agenda.
Imbalances in the representation of various disciplinary areas
that were noted in 1979 have been corrected yielding a more
balanced and predictable curriculum.
Recruitment of new faculty is carried out in a manner
appropriate to the interdisciplinary nature of Evergreen
teaching obligations and in recognition of the five foci
identified in the 1986 internal strategic planning documents.
Evergreen is especially to be commended for its efforts and
significant results in recruiting and retaining women and people
of color on the faculty.
The need for special efforts and programs to encourage faculty
development stems from the intensive curricular planning and
teaching commitments inherent in the Evergreen mode of
education. This need was identified in the 1979 accreditation
report but was. not systematically addressed until quite
recently. It is now clearly a very high priority and is being
addressed
by pUblicizing a wide
range
of development
opportunities, by significantly increased funding for research
and travel and by leadership by example on the part of the
provost, deans and senior faculty.
A faculty, located in one place, engaged in a significant
teaching enterprise which makes important connections across
differences must maintain contact with peers outside the
institution not only for its own professional growth but also to
inform the teaching profession of what happens at the college.
Faculty development activities which put Evergreen faculty in
27
touch with
enriching.
other
professionals
can
and
should
be mutually
Research and publication, practice and performance are by no
means
the only way that Evergreen faculty may
retain
intellectual vitality and in turn enrich the whole scholarly
community, but the recent focus on the importance of these
activities is admirable and welcome news to the outsid~ world.
Research and publication which reflect the special insights that
stem from interdisciplinary study is recognized in the selfstudy as uniquely appropriate at Evergreen.
The evaluation
committee agrees and suggests the possibility of an Evergreen
Journal as a way of disseminating such scholarship.
The
evaluation committee recommends that equal attention be given
to research activity involving students as a fruitful way of
addressing the faculty's need for "ongoing time" in the daily
routine as well as a way of enhancing the upper division
curriculum.
While commitment to professional development as evidenced by
recent programmatic and budgetary advances is impressive, it is
clear that the need will continue and efforts will need to be
sustained. It will be important to find ways through budgetary
provision,
adjustment
of
teaching
arrangements,
better
integration of teaching and research and various creative
responses in order to provide the opportunity for faculty to
engage in sustained and continuous pursuit of a line of inquiry
or research.
The evaluation committee notes that while the criteria for
reappointment do not formally include research and scholarly
activity, increased faculty development in this area will, over
time, set an expectation which should be encouraged and
supported.
At the same time that expectation should be
realistic and tailored to the special needs and opportunities of
Evergreen.
In particular, it should be noted that increased
research activity involving both faculty and students will put
additional demands on laboratories and the library.
Evergreen does not grant tenure or promotion in rank. It does
formally adhere to AAUP principles of academic freedom and
provides for faculty security through a formally adopted policy
on faculty reappointment. The reappointment pattern of the last
several years indicates a high level of faculty stability.
28
VIII.
ADMINISTRATION
The third president of The Evergreen State College is focusing
on planning and external fund raising.
The seven-member Board
of Trustees, which is currently in a state of transition with
three new members to be appointed by the governor, has more
carefully defined its role as a policy setting body and has
added membership from around the state in keeping with the new
mission.
Administrative
procedures are being refined, and governance is
moving from a committee of the whole approach toward a more
representative
form.
While there is some concern about this
change, there seems to be confidence that extensive consultation
will remain a hallmark of policy development.
One area of
uncertainty
seems to center around the method and timing of
evaluation of major administrators.
It is recommended that the
Board and administration address this issue.
While there is some concern about a greater institutionalization
of processes which runs counter to Evergreen's
tradition
of
doing business through DTFs, disappearing
task forces, there
does seems to be a recognition that the time and energy devoted
to governance
needs to be limited if the faculty, staff and
students are to realize their educational objectives.
Observing
the open communications at the college and the determination to
find the appropriate
balance,
the evaluation
committee
is
confident
that this transition
will be accomplished.
For
example,
as the faculty Agenda committee moves from simply
establishing the agenda for faculty meetings to functioning more
like an executive committee to facilitate policy development and
decision
making,
the faculty
is watching
this transition
carefully.
Likewise, a new more
being implemented.
report, the student
direction of a more
affairs staff.
Both
to assure that basic
effective operations
formalized student governance structure is
As noted in the student section of this
services area has recently moved in the
organized, professional
oriented, student
of these moves are being monitored closely
Evergreen values are maintained while more
are instituted.
Generally, the academic deans rotate out of the faculty to serve
administrative
roles.
However, of the six current deans, two
have been recruited externally.
Two positions will be filled
next year, and a search will soon be underway and will have two
stages:
first, an internal search; second, an external search
if satisfactory candidates are not found -internally.
While the administrative
structure and operation is taking on
more traditional forms, and at the same time aiming to preserve
29
the democratic assumptions of Evergreen, there is some tension.
There is a keen awareness that change needs to occur, and there
i some uncertainty about the results. However, consistent with
t..
_ "Constancy and Change" motto, Evergreen is effectively
moving through this process.
Overall, Evergreen
is effectively administered,
and the
college I s mission, goals and priorities are well understood.
While open to experimentation, the faculty, staff, students,
administration and trustees are dedicated to Evergreen. Their
hard work and commitment promise a successful transition.
30
IX.
STUDENTS
At Evergreen students, faculty and staff are so integrated into
the educational enterprise it is difficult to isolate student
affairs and conduct a review solely of that set of activities.
For example, while a great deal of academic advising goes on in
the academic programs, some of it is done in the Academic
Advising Center, some in The First Peoples' Advising Service
office, etc. Many extracurricular activities are extensions of
academic programs. Evergreen has few intercollegiate sports and
prefers to concentrate on intramural and recreational activities
(e.g., wilderness trips).
The college is to be congratulated, therefore, in its scheduling
of reviewers to participate in programs during the first day.
A basic understanding of the centrality of programs is necessary
before one can understand the organization of student affairs at
Evergreen.
Administration
since the 1979 accreditation report was written, many changes in
Evergreen campus and organization have occurred.
The 1979
report noted that there was severe strain on student services
and urged the administration to take remedial action as soon as
funding problems eased.
By 1985 the college had reorganized student affairs under a vice
president, built a new health and recreation center and added
substantially to student housing.
There appears to be a full
range of student services reporting to the vice president and
she has organizational parity with other vice presidents.
since
1975, enrollment services (admissions, registration and records)
have reported through student affairs.
Admissions
and Financial Aid
Financial
aid services reports to the dean of enrollment
services.
The Admissions office conducts the standard set of
direct mailings,
high school night activities,
etc.
The
admissions brochures are well done and seem to stress the
college's commitment to diversity, creativity and individual
choice.
A new admissions policy was adopted in spring of 1989 to guide
the admissions process for Fall 1990. The criteria are complex
and include the admissions index established by The Higher
Education Coordinating Board as well as academic and diversity
factors.
31
Advising
In the 1989-90 academic year the deans appear to have given
advising a top priority by making advising assignments before
governance responsibilities became fixed.
This should serve
notice that the college values faculty participation in The
Academic Advising Office (AAO). The current plan is for each of
six or seven faculty members to spend two or three hours per
week in the AAO thereby reducing the time a student has to wait
for an appointment to a week or so. Apparently this year the
college will consider a reorganization or combining of academic
and staff units involved.
It is difficult to estimate how serious a problem student
dissatisfaction with advising is since much of the advising gets
done in the academic programs.
student and alumni surveys
continually point to academic advising as one of the least
satisfactory parts of the Evergreen experience.
The renewed attention being given to advising is encouraging and
bears constant evaluation.
For example, some faculty do not
advise well and have little interest in advising students in
areas outside of their interests.
On the other hand,
professional staff may have difficulty keeping up with the
substance of activities in the academic programs.
The balance of faculty-staff participation in advising is one of
the key items the college needs to debate this academic year.
It does seem that a community that cares as much about students
as does Evergreen will be able to develop an adequate response
to student concerns about advising.
Housing
With addition of approximately 400 beds since 1979, the college
housing system seems adequate. There are no plans for expansion
of the system since there appears to be adequate off-campus
housing in the area. The units are all apartments rather than
resident halls, but students can eat in campus facilities if
they wish.
The college has acknowledged and planned for an
asbestos removal program for the Phase I facilities. The set
aside space for minorities in one housing complex is an
appropriate manifestation of the college's commitment to
diversity.
Alumni
Evergreen has about 11,000 alums and in recent years has begun
to develop a program of alumni cultivation. The staff has been
augmented, and a survey asking alums how they want to be
32
involved is being prepared. The college is to be encouraged and
commended for its efforts to reinvolve alums.
It should be
noted that alumni surveys are one of the more important devices
for assessing the long range effects of academic programs.
Concluding statement
The Evergreen state College is an institution in transition. It
no longer has to worry about survival, but must assume the
obligation to redefine itself in the light of its new-found
national reputation as an alternative liberal arts college. To
accomplish this transition/redefinition certain
"nagging"
problems in student relations should be corrected.
*
Apparently there will be progress made on student
advising.
This is to be encouraged and its success
specifically assessed.
*
Evergreen may want to be more systematic in monitoring
the values, purposes and objectives of its incoming
students.
As competition for a place at the college
intensifies as its reputation grows, and if the trend to
more high-school-direct students continues, Evergreen
may become a place to be rather than a place to be
educated.
*
Changes in the admissions policy
regularly.
*
Finally, the college appears to be moving in the
direction of a more organized, professionally oriented,
student affairs staff. The long-range effectiveness of
greater professionalization in such a learning-intensive
situation is likely to depend on the extent to which
staff are able to earn and maintain the respect of
faculty and students.
33
should be
assessed
x.
SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH
Scholarship
and
research
at
Evergreen
are
interpreted
differently.
The faculty are encouraged and supported to
maintain a freedom of inquiry and exchange of ideas through
collaborative teaching in an interdisciplinary setting.
The
vi.talityof scholarship is derived from and embedded in the year
long and quarter term coordinated study programs.
These
coordinated study programs have faculty assignments that are
interdisciplinary and frequently rotated. Thus, faculty members
are consistently engaged in curriculum reform and construction.
This is an example of the dedication to teaching that has gained
Evergreen distinction in liberal arts and science education.
However, much of this scholarly experience is lost because most
of the ideas and pedagogy are not published. One consequence of
the high rate of contact hours (or of faculty emotional input)
is a possible high level of fatigue--eventually--of faculty and
a shortage of time for "one's own work." We should not look for
ordinary "academic" publishing from this kind of faculty,
perhaps no publishing at all, were it not that the style of
teaching and of program configuration at Evergreen manifest
issues in a high level of excitement in the faculty and a high
rate of what we can only call "discovery," or insight. There is
a lot of knowledge here that is fresh, new and worth publishing.
Perhaps not in the ordinary academic journals, but surely in the
"high-brow" quarterlies, or possibly an Evergreen Review. There
should be more faculty writing going on; both for writing's
accepted benefit of articulation and clarification and for
public enlightenment. Some visiting team members are strongly
recommending that Evergreen consider developing their own
journal.
For the faculty at Evergreen, scholarly activity in the pursuit
of teaching undergraduate students to learn for the sake of
learning is valued.
On the other hand, research activity for
the sake of research receives a mixed evaluation at best or no
evaluation. Although this may be the case, faculty surprisingly
continue to publish, and a few obtain research grants i.e. ,
$67,000 grant-in-aid (seed money), $70,000 in curriculum leaves,
$500,000 in federal grants, $400,000 in assessment funds, and
some private business and industry funds.
In the spirit of
attempting to understand the value placed on research by the
faculty at Evergreen, the visiting team is recommending that
more planning and development be carried out in this regard,
especially
as this
relates to
faculty performance
and
intellectual exchange.
For example, Evergreen may be in an
ideal position to continue highly valuing
teaching and
selectively and individually valuing research.
Currently,
higher education is bimodal in that it values research at all
cost or it devalues it in favor of teaching or service to the
community.
34
XI.
GRADUATE PROGRAM
Graduate study at The Evergreen state College is relatively new,
closely linked to interdisciplinary work, primarily aimed at
public service and explicitly planned as an outgrowth of the
teaching, scholarly and applied research approach of the
faculty. Two graduate programs exist at Evergreen, the Master
of Public Administration (MPA), which was initiated in 1980, and
the Master of Environmental Studies (MES), which started in
1984. A third program, the Master in Teacher Education (MIT),
is currently being reviewed by the state legislature. The two
existing programs enroll approximately 70 new students each
year. If authorized, the new MIT program is projected to add 60
new students each year by 1990. As modest as these figures may
seem, there are no indications that graduate programs at
Evergreen will increase in scope, size, or number in the near
future.
Even with these modest expectations in the area of
graduate studies, Evergreen should be applauded for its ability
to contribute toward the merging of the physical sciences,
biological sciences and social sciences. The MES program is an
excellent example of this interdisciplinary broadening across
natural and social sciences.
Given the steady state of graduate study at Evergreen, the
visiting team provides the following recommendations.
*
Although the transplant of the undergraduate core
curriculum structure to the graduate studies curriculum
is commendable and provides for close faculty to student
contact and collaborative learning, the involvement of
Evergreen undergraduate students in MPA and MES is not
well understood. For example, some visiting team members
felt a co-term BA/MA program for the best and brightest
Evergreen senior students and the systematic involvement
of advanced level seniors in the electives of the
graduate programs or in a particularly relevant quarter
would be good.
The institution reports that senior
students may enroll in MPA and MES courses, but
acknowledges the possibility could be made more obviously
available to senior-level students.
*
The rotation, about every two years, of faculty members
who teach in the MPA and MES could prove to be
problematic for those students who usually take more than
two years to complete a thesis or group project. It is
recommended that students and faculty members be
genuinely advised of this mentor-mentee dilemma.
*
The percentage of MES students who complete the Master's
degree is substantially less than 50 percent. This is
low.
Although steps to improve retention have been
35
•
taken, more could be done. For example, the MES could
look at such factors as the policy and practice of
advancement to candidacy, admissions and selection
criteria, especially as these relate to the statement of
purpose or the essay and sequencing of coursework and
final requirements.
*
students in MES come from across the nation, while those
in the MPA come from the local commute area; it is
generally agreed in the graduate study area that the
former is the preferred process. It is suggested that
the MPA revisit the policy and practice of enrolling
students from a very limited geographical area.
*
The MPA and MES have minimal financial aid resources
available for its students. The visiting team observed
that more fellowship, teaching assistantship and research
assistantship support would mutually enhance program and
student success. This could also increase the number of
minority students who would be able to apply for
admissions to MPA and MES.
While Evergreen is at an embryo stage of development in graduate
education, its existing masters degree programs directly address
the public service purpose of their mission statement.
The
second component of their public service mission statement
involves public education. In order to achieve this component
of their mission in higher education, the visiting team is
strongly recommending the authorization of the proposed master
of teacher education program. As an educational mandate, the
MIT is a quality example of a program that will emphasize the
learning of theory and then the application of theories in the
classroom and surrounding educational settings. The education
profession by design is interdisciplinary and therefore mirrors
the strengths of Evergreen. Moreover, the MIT plans to recruit
and enroll minority students, which will provide for ideal
interaction for learning across significant differences. Most
educational research supports Evergreen's teaching approach for
instructing minority students in that this group's learning is
accelerated by collaborative/cooperative cognitive styles as
compared to competitive/individualist styles. If the Evergreen
concept of learning to learn could be translated through teacher
training to the elementary and secondary levels, we would have
improved the education profession for all of us.
36
1
SUMMARY, COMMENDATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Since its inception nearly twenty years ago, Evergreen has
successfully moved through its infancy, childhood, adolescence
and has now grown into an established institution of higher
learning. It has moved from an experimental college to a truly
alternative institution which is nationally recognized as an
excellent liberal arts college. With its motto of "Constancy
and Change," Evergreen has moved purposefully to address the
major concerns noted by the 1979 visiting team. We applaud
these significant achievements and urge the college to continue
pursuing its pervading values as it continues its development
into its third decade.
The members of the 1989 evaluation committee express their
gratitude to The Evergreen State College for the warm
hospitality, care, consideration and openness which.marked the
reception of the evaluation team and offer the following
commendations and recommendations:
*
We commend the Evergreen faculty, staff, students,
administration and trustees for their dedication to the
founding principles and institutional challenges of the
college. Through their joint and complementary efforts
and extraordinary labors, they have implemented, refined
and sustained a curriculum and pedagogy that effectively
embodies those principles.
*
We observe clear evidence of effective response to the
Evergreen values and commitment to "Constancy and Change"
as the title of the self-study report indicates.
*
We congratulate Evergreen for fostering a spirit of
cultural diversity and note the extraordinary success in
recruiting and retaining people of color and women on the
faculty.
Few comparable colleges can measure up to
having one in five faculty members from a minority
background.
*
We celebrate the wide-spread self-scrutiny which is an
integral part of Evergreen.
*
We assess the self-study to be one of the best we have
seen. It is especially useful because it sets forth in
adequate detail the rationale for, as well as the working
of, an alternative college. It captures for us both the
theory and practice of Evergreen.
*
We admit the academic "climate" is a subjective and
insubstantial criterion for assessment. Yet we venture
to judge the climate at Evergreen to be very good--indeed
37