The Culture and Values Working Group and its subcommittees have met a number of times since the working group was first convened on April 10, 1999. The Culture and Values Working Group was charged with addressing the distinguishing features of the College as a place to live, learn and work, with identifying values or principles which ideally should provide guidance to the work of the College. To address that charge, we divided into a survey subcommittee and a definitions and documents subcommittee. The results of our work, in the form of two extensive subcommittee reports, are attached and are summarized below.

1. SURVEY SUBCOMMITTEE

   The survey subcommittee selected the Institutional Goals Inventory (IGI) survey instrument of the Educational Testing Service as an appropriate instrument to identify those goal statements and goal areas which represent the core culture and values of the institution. The definitions and documents subcommittee reviewed the documents of the College of Charleston to determine the institutional values reflected in those documents.

   The IGI instrument was previously administered to constituent groups of the College of Charleston in both 1977 and 1985. Hence, the IGI provides an opportunity to compare the views of the present constituencies of the College with those of similar College of Charleston constituencies over the past two decades. The survey was broadly administered across campus constituencies, including administrators, alumni, faculty, students and trustees. The results of the survey indicate that the most deeply held core values of the institution and the constituencies of the College of Charleston, as indicated by the results of the IGI, have been stable over the past twenty-three years. In particular, the four IGI goal areas identified as most important by the 1999 survey group were also the highest rated goal areas in 1977 and 1985. These goal areas, each represented in the survey by three or four goal statements, are as follows:

   Academic Development - This goal area has to do with the acquisition of general and specialized knowledge, preparation of students for advanced scholarly study, and maintenance of high intellectual standards on the campus. Support of the goals in this area indicates continued strong support for high academic standards, general education, and for the undergraduate major.

   Community - This goal area is defined as maintaining a climate in which there is faculty commitment to the general welfare of the institution, open and candid communication, open and amicable airing of differences, and mutual trust and respect among students, faculty, and administrators.

   Intellectual Orientation - This goal area relates to an attitude about learning and intellectual work. It is defined as teaching students research and problem solving, methods, the capacity and desire for self -directed learning, and the ability to synthesize knowledge from many sources.

   Intellectual/Aesthetic Environment - This goal area means providing a rich program of cultural events, a campus climate that facilitates student free-time involvement in intellectual and cultural activities, an environment in which students and faculty can easily interact informally, and a reputation as an intellectually exciting campus.
   Note: Ranked fourth among the IGI goal Statements, this goal area was ranked seventh overall.

   Three locally provided goal areas were added to the survey by the committee in 1999 and these three areas were ranked fourth, fifth and sixth overall. Those goal areas are as follows:

   Advising - This goal area addresses providing appropriate academic advising to all students.

   Computer Technology - This goal area is defined as the provision of an infrastructure and a climate in which computer and technological competency of students, faculty, and staff, and the use of such technology in the classroom is an accepted institutional expectation.

   Behavior - This goal area has to do with holding students accountable for their actions, both academic and personal, and maintaining a code of conduct which addresses behavior.

   The next highest rated goal area was not previously rated among the top third of the IGI goal areas. The increase from previous years in the perceived importance of this goal area, Vocational Preparation, is the most significant shift in the goals and values of the college's constituents. This goal area is described as:

   Vocational Preparation - This goal area means offering specific occupational curricula (such as accounting or nursing), programs geared to emerging career fields, opportunities for retraining or upgrading skills, and assistance to students in career planning. Within this goal area, the goal statements relating to preparing students for further education and to assisting students in evaluating career choices were highly ranked.

   Additional goal areas with above average ratings, in order of their ranking, are:

   Democratic Governance - providing decentralized decision-making arrangements by which students, faculty, administrators, and governing board members can all be significantly involved in campus governance; opportunity for individuals to participate in all decisions affecting them; and governance that is genuinely responsive to the concerns of everyone at the institution.

   Individual Achievement - identification by students of personal goals, the development of means for achieving them, and the enhancement of the sense of self-worth and self-confidence.

   Freedom - protecting the right of faculty to present controversial ideas in the classroom, not preventing students from hearing controversial points of view, placing no restrictions on off -campus political activities by faculty or students, and ensuring faculty and students the freedom to choose their own life styles.

   Advanced Training - providing graduate education on campus.

   Accountability/Efficiency - the use of cost criteria in deciding among program alternatives, concern for program efficiency, accountability to funding sources for program effectiveness, and regular submission of evidence that the institution is achieving stated goals.

   Three highly ranked goal statements were not reflected in the above goal areas. While these goal statements were either part of a goal area which was not highly ranked or were included in the miscellaneous category, these individual goal statements should be noted as possible core institutional values. They are:

   • to help students understand and respect people from diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and cultures;
   • to ensure that students who graduate have achieved some level of reading, writing, and mathematics competency; and
   • to maintain or work to achieve a reputable standing for the institution in the academic world

   The preceding goal areas and goal statements may be thought of as a description of the core values of the institution, with special emphasis on the initial four goal areas. The Culture and Values Working Group believes the goal area, Academic Development, which incorporates high intellectual standards, support of the major and of general education, and preparation of students for advanced scholarly study, is the most significant core value of the institution. As the highest ranked of all goal areas, the constituencies of the college have shown support for this position. The committee recommends that it be acknowledged as such through more pervasive inclusion in the documents and practices of the institution.

2. DEFINITIONS AND DOCUMENTS SUBCOMMITTEE

   The definitions and documents subcommittee began with a review of literature regarding academic culture and values and then proceeded with a careful review of the content analyses of selected College of Charleston documents. This review produced no evidence of a consistent attempt to represent certain "core values" throughout important College documents. Conclusions from this review are summarized as follows:

   • Although a number of values were identified that are important to our culture, there was no obvious way to rank order those values. There are consistent, though scattered, references across most of these documents to the values of a liberal arts and sciences education, general education, academic freedom/ freedom of inquiry, civility, internationalization, pride of place (the physical campus).

   • Certain documents (e.g., the Student Handbook, The Self Study) contain very strong and consistent representation of the values of civility, shared governance, personal relationships, diversity.

   • Presidential addresses can be very important in shaping the culture and values of the organization. Judge Sanders' Presidential address, for example, provides a clear vision of "global" campus that reflects a commitment to internationalization.

   • Other than the College's Undergraduate Bulletin and the Faculty-Administration Manual (which is not widely circulated beyond the faculty and academic administration), there aren't any major documents that reflect the values of the Faculty sub-culture in the way that Presidential addresses, e.g., reflect the administrative sub-culture.

   • The value of the physical campus (sense of place), despite the fact that the campus is widely recognized as beautiful, is not widely reflected in these documents. (It is reflected in Gems in the Crown, College annuals, and the College of Charleston Cookbook.)

   • The document that is most replete with representations of and references to what are probably our "core values" is the Student Handbook. The Faculty and Administration Manual might include more references to the College's values than it currently does. A revision of the Manual with the idea of including formal statements endorsed by the Board, the Administration, and the Faculty, might help to clarify the content of our culture.

   • The 1996 Focused Self Study, "Creating an International, Multicultural Liberal Arts Educational Community," also represents a very powerful statement of values and might well serve as the basis for further and sustained planning to promote core values.

   • Given the wide accessibility and increased use of the College's web site, considerable attention should be given to ensuring that the official web sites do reflect the College's core values.

   These findings suggest that the Long Range Planning Committee might wish to develop a plan for reinforcing the College's core values through the use of the College's various publications, web sites, etc. Additionally, the Long Range Planning Committee might wish to consider establishing processes which describe and support the culture of the College of Charleston. Whether thought of as a "vision" or not, such a description would be essential if careful attention is to be given to using documents, ceremonies, rituals, symbols, and physical settings to promote our core values. In developing this plan, the prime focus should be on the most significant core values of the institution: high intellectual standards, support of the major and of general education, and preparation of students for advanced scholarly study.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

   The following organizational features are recommended to support the culture or fundamental character of the College of Charleston:

   1. Personal relationships - Relationships among the faculty, students, and administration should be personal and give evidence of a genuine concern for the personal development of all members of the College community. Emphasis should be placed on face-to-face relationships, minimizing bureaucracy and maximizing individual attention. This commitment should be expressed through: (1) class size; (2) advising; (3) accessibility of faculty and administrators to students and to each other; (4) open and effective communication, both written and oral; (5) consultation with and involvement of faculty (and students where appropriate) in academic decision-making.

   2. Concern for academic excellence, general education and the "liberal arts and sciences" character of the institution's academic programs - Faculty and administrators should be committed to the central place that the general education requirements play in the liberal arts educational experience. Careful attention should be given to the development of the core curriculum and to upholding high academic standards. Faculty should be encouraged to look beyond the department (major) to hold a broader vision of the student's educational experience which incorporates the student's general education and preparation for future academic study or career. Each department should gain an appreciation for the contribution their program makes to the liberal education of students. Each department should be committed to supporting the general education requirements and to maintaining the vitality of that core curriculum.

   3. Primacy of teaching - In all evaluations and in the distribution of resources, the primary activity of teaching should be clearly distinguished and accorded the status it deserves. The academic advising of students should be seen as an important part of that teaching function. The quality of teaching and the promotion of high academic standards should be first priority of all departments. Renewed attention should be given to the ways in which high quality teaching can be achieved and ensured at all levels of instruction. Professional growth and development, particularly evidenced through active engagement in research, should be supported and encouraged because of its essential relationship to sound teaching.

   4. Teacher-Scholar model - The Teacher-Scholar model for faculty should be the goal to which faculty efforts are directed.

   5. Collegiality and civility - The governing norm of behavior should be that of civility among professional members of the academic community. Dr. Lightsey's letter on "Civility" should be often cited and quoted.

   6. Participation and shared governance - Faculty and administrators should participate fully in deliberations about the affairs of the College, using faculty committees, retreats, special committees, and informal groups. Faculty should participate in faculty meetings at the departmental and college levels. Administrators and faculty should actively build bridges and construct forums for communication to minimize the distance between them.

   7. Sense of place - Certain facilities (i.e., Alumni Hall, Faculty House, Blacklock House) should be utilized as often as possible for symbolic events that symbolize the core academic values of the institution. (e.g., the "In Praise of Teaching" spring semester reception held at the Blacklock House each January.)

   8. Global campus - We should sustain and broaden our efforts to bring the vision reflected in Judge Sanders' inaugural address into reality.

While this memorandum briefly summarizes the results of the work of the Culture and Values Working Group, the attached subcommittee reports provide detailed results of that work. On behalf of the C & V Working Group, we trust the Long Range Planning Committee will find our reports useful. Should you have any questions, we will be happy to address them.

In closing, I would like to recognize Andy Felts, Director of the Institute of Public Affairs and Policy Studies, and his staff. Without Professor Felts' expertise and the support of his staff, the IGI survey could not have been conducted or analyzed. Thanks to Michelle Smith for providing tables and graphs for the IGI survey report and to David Mann for his statistical analysis of the IGI results. Finally, my thanks to all participating members of the working group and to all members of the faculty and staff who provided assistance. Particular recognition is in order for Sam Hines, definitions subcommittee chair, Susan Morrison, recording secretary, and Debbie Vaughn, who researched information on the IGI survey.