Program, Enrollment & Human Resources Working Group
Executive Summary
Introduction
The College of Charleston is the largest member of COPLAC, the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Public liberal arts colleges provide access to a high quality liberal arts education for students who could not afford such an education at a private liberal arts institution. Our superior academic reputation is especially evident in our School of Science and Mathematics, as the undergraduate programs in this School have received more commendations for excellence when reviewed by the Commission of Higher Education than any other School in the state system. The College has been identified in such notable publications as US News and World Report and the Fiske Guide to College's as an exceptional bargain for an outstanding education. Although this publicity has had a positive impact on recruitment, it has also contributed to an identity crisis; who are we currently? Who do we want to be? And how can we get there? This committee was charged with addressing the following four areas:
The Process
We divided ourselves into four subcommittees to address each specific area. Existing data were gathered from appropriate offices and departments on campus, as well as relevant publications, and new surveys were disseminated to collect additional data. After reconvening as a large committee, we attempted to refine our current mission statement and continued brainstorming. In an attempt to categorize all of our data, we discussed three program models: Public liberal arts and sciences, a comprehensive university ("everything to everybody"), and a hybrid model that combines features of the liberal arts and sciences with the broader mission of a comprehensive university. The following matrix summarizes our findings:
| Issues | Public Liberal Arts and Sciences | Hybrid | Comprehensive |
| 1. Program Change | * Create an Honors College * Add national and international exchange programs * Evaluate and refine general education core curriculum * Expand student life services (more and improved on-campus housing, better planned and equipped student center) for the purpose of creating a close-knit learning environment * Evaluate ways to enhance intellectual climate * Support the integration of technology in the classroom in ways that improve instructional outcome (but NOT at the expense of face-to-fact student-faculty interactions) * Place priority on traditional liberal arts and sciences undergraduate programs * Establish CofC as THE public liberal arts college of S.C. * Emphasize scholarly research that involves student/faculty collaboration * Carefully evaluate the relevance of our current and potential Master's degree programs |
* Keep current limited graduate programs (Masters only) * If cost effective, add other masters programs and certificate programs to meet the demonstrated needs of the community * Preserve the traditional liberal arts mission at the downtown campus: * Create an Honors College * Add national and international exchange programs * Evaluate student life services (more and improved on-campus housing, better planned and equipped student center) for the purpose of creating a close-knit learning environment * Evaluate ways to enhance intellectual climate * Support the integration of technology in the classroom in ways that improve instructional outcome (but NOT at the expense of face-to-face student-faculty interactions) * Emphasize scholarly research that involves student/faculty collaboration * Create a separately funded second campus, which maintains the same academic standards as the downtown campus, although the curriculum might differ. |
* Add new Masters Degree programs in response to community needs and faculty interest * Pursue engineering Undergrad/Grad Program and other applied degrees * Develop MFA and other professional performing and visual arts graduate programs * Add certificate programs * Add Ph.D. programs in response to community needs and faculty interest (move toward Research I status) * Establish separate general education requirements for different schools and different student populations (e.g., adults vs. traditional) * Provide a wider variety of distance learning options * Hire graduate assistants to teach larger lower division classes * Develop a variety of off-campus programs to meet the needs of business, industry and the community * Increase enrollments of part-time non-degree students * Develop contract courses and specialized programs to the extent that resources/cost are effective * Develop specialized Honors programs within specific schools * Develop a full range student center which meets the needs of a larger student body (e.g. more meeting space, food, bookstore, copy facilities, mailroom, recreational activities) * Expand the School of Business |
| The second campus might: * Be driven by community needs * House existing or future graduate programs * Absorb overflow from the downtown campus * Offer greater collaboration wit business, industry and pre-K-12 education * Be more flexible in course and degree offerings (time, place, location, format) * Offer better access to support services for nontraditional and graduate students (advising, administrative offices, parking, libraries, computer services) * Consider nontraditional transfer credit and credit for experiential learning * Develop a student center oriented toward meeting basic student needs (e.g. food, bookstore, copy facilities, meeting rooms) |
* Explore the possibility of developing a Law School | ||
| 2. Pro. Strengths (current and projected) | * Honors program * Common general education curriculum for all students * A faculty committed to traditional liberal arts and sciences programs * A core of faculty committed to undergraduate teaching * Historical emphasis on liberal arts * One of very few selective liberal arts colleges in S.C. * Relatively small average class size |
* Honors program * Common general education curriculum for all students * A faculty committed to traditional liberal arts and sciences programs * A core of faculty committed to undergraduate teaching * Historical emphasis on liberal arts * One of very few selective liberal arts colleges in S.C. * Relatively small average class size |
* Honors program * Separate general education curriculum for different schools and different student populations (e.g., adults vs. traditional) * Some faculty are already committed to research and grant writing * Some faculty are already committed to graduate as well as undergraduate teaching * Stronger relationships in joint undergrad/graduate programs with Citadel, MUSC, USC, and Clemson * Stronger/greater research opportunities with the Citadel, MUSC, USC, and Clemson |
| 3. Enroll. Trends | * Decrease size of student body * Increase academic quality of student body * Increase diversity (racial and geographic) * Focus on full-time, traditional-age students * Decrease average class size * Server fewer local, first-generation, average S.C. students * Limit service to the adult community by ignoring pressure for flexible and applied programs, including certificate programs. |
* For the downtown liberal arts campus: * Increase academic quality of student body * Decrease number of students * Increase diversity * Decrease average class size * Serve fewer local, first-generation, average S.C. students * On the second more flexible campus: * Increase nontraditional student enrollment using nontraditional settings and methods * Increase diversity * Consider alternate criteria for enrollment and admissions * Increase service to the adult community |
* Increased enrollments at the undergraduate and graduate level limited only by space and resources * Different admissions standards for each school * School of General Studies for students who do not meet higher standards |
| 4. Resources | * Increase full-time roster faculty * Severely limit adjunct instruction * Increase full-time staff throughout the College * Provide laptop computers for all students * Enhance faculty/staff salary and benefits * Dramatically increase unrestricted scholarship money * Seek enhanced state funding * Increase out-of-state tuition * Increase racial diversity of faculty * Provide greater rewards for quality teaching * Hire faculty with commitment to high quality teaching in the liberal arts tradition * Increase academic use of off site properties (e.g. Dixie Plantation, Trujillo, Annot) * Increase the number of science laboratories and equipment, including exercise and social sciences, designed specifically to facilitate student research * Expand campus wellness services |
* Increase full-time roster faculty and limit adjunct faculty * Increase full-time staff throughout the College * Provide laptop computers for all students * Enhance faculty/staff salary and benefits * Dramatically increase unrestricted scholarship money * Seek enhanced state funding * Increase out-of-state tuition * Increase racial diversity of faculty * Provide greater rewards for quality reaching * Hire faculty with commitment to high quality teaching in the liberal arts tradition * Hire and evaluate faculty at the second campus using the same hiring and review process as faculty on the downtown campus * Increase academic use of off site properties (e. g. Dixie Plantation, Trujillo, Annot) * Expand campus recreational facilities, services and staff * Expand campus wellness services * Increase the number of science laboratories and equipment, including exercise and social sciences, designed specifically to facilitate student research * Establish Professional Development Schools in the tricounty area * Equip a Curriculum/Instructional Materials Center |
* Increase full-time roster faculty * Hire more graduate teaching and research assistants * Rely more heavily on adjunct instruction * Increase full-time staff throughout the College * Provide laptop computers for all students * Enhance faculty/staff salary and benefits * Build a state-of-the-art science complex for the physical, biological, behavioral, exercise and social sciences * Dramatically increase unrestricted scholarship money * Increase number and size of graduate student stipends * Develop a full scale Arts Center with community programming, professional resident companies and guest artists * Increase number and size of athletic scholarships * Develop a complete athletic complex * Expand campus recreational facilities, services and staff * Expand campus wellness services * Seek enhanced state funding * Increase out-of-state tuition * Increase racial diversity of faculty * Increase academic use of off site properties (e.g. Dixie Plantation, Trujillo, Annot) * Create an on-campus alumni center * Establish Professional Development Schools in the tricounty area * Equip a Curriculum/Instructional Materials Center |
Conclusions
Based on the data collected and analyzed, it is apparent that the College of Charleston has grown beyond the definition of a "pure" liberal arts institution. It is equally apparent that we do not have the physical space, resources, or legislative support to develop into a comprehensive university. Therefore, our current designation as a Carnegie Foundation Master's I institution appears appropriate. However, we need to reshape and prioritize our resources and programs. Current programs must be adequately funded, provided with full-time faculty, space and technology to remain competitive in the 21st century, and continually evaluated for cost effectiveness before new programs are added. The weakest office from which we attempted to collect data was the Office of Human Resources. It appears that the transition from a Personnel Department to an Office of Human Resources has not been accomplished. It must become proactive and progressive if we are going to support our programs with high caliber faculty, staff, and student workers.