March 12, 2001
Report cites value of UCSC college system, identifies weakness in academic role
By Jennifer McNulty
The success of the college system at UC Santa Cruz is evident in the sense of place
and identity that students enjoy through their college affiliations, but the academic
role of the colleges has eroded over time and needs to be clarified.
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| An advisory group has made recommendations to guide the development of UCSC's distinctive college system. College Eight is shown. Photo: Don Kenny |
The report, known formally as the "Report of the Advisory Group on the Colleges, Fall 2000," was compiled by members of an advisory group convened by Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor John Simpson to examine the state of the colleges and make recommendations to guide their development as the campus grows to 15,000 students.
"The college system is part of what makes UCSC a unique campus, and as we grow, they play a critical role in making the campus personal and supportive," said Lynda Goff, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. "Our colleges do an excellent job of creating a sense of community, particularly for undergraduates."
Indeed, the review concluded that among the greatest strengths of the college system is its ability to provide a "sense of place" and to deliver Student Affairs services, such as orientation, enrollment, and housing. An important and less-recognized service is the role they play in offering academic advising to students, particularly those who have not yet declared a major.
"Most undergraduate students identify themselves first as a member of a college, and then, as majoring in some discipline," the report said. "This college-centered identity persists throughout their lives as alumni/ae."
Anticipating campus growth, however, the group concluded that the colleges, too, must grow--to about 1,500 students each. Currently, only Crown and Porter rival that number, though each college now has more than 1,000 affiliated students.
"Despite the attractiveness of the smaller size, it is not realistic given the anticipated growth to plan to return to smaller colleges," the group wrote in its report, adding that the larger size will require the construction of only two additional colleges upon completion of Colleges Nine and Ten. College staffing will need to be examined, however, with an eye toward easing the workload for already overburdened staff members, the report noted.
The greatest weakness in the college system is the academic role of the colleges, which has steadily eroded since the 1979 campus reorganization. The planning of Colleges Nine and Ten ushered in one new model of academic affiliation for the colleges, and the anticipated need of Colleges Eleven and Twelve brings the question up anew.
Underlying the group's work was the realization that the need for housing shouldn't drive the vision for Colleges Eleven and Twelve. "We have to do something, because we have to build more housing for students on campus," said group member George Brown, vice provost for academic affairs and a physics professor. "So we have to make decisions about what form that housing will take.
Do we want just upper-division apartments in the north part of campus, or will
it be full-blown Colleges Eleven and Twelve? We have to make up our minds."
Colleges Nine and Ten are affiliated directly with the Social Sciences Division,
and the provost of College Nine reports to Dean Martin Chemers, who in turn has engaged
faculty in the planning of the college academic program.
Without prescribing that model for Colleges Eleven and Twelve, the advisory group urged the campus and the existing colleges to look for ways to increase faculty participation and to enhance collaboration with departments and divisions. To date, no division has expressed an interest in developing a strong affiliation with Colleges Eleven and Twelve, although this is likely to change as plans evolve, noted Brown.
While concluding that the colleges' original mission as academic units has been "greatly reduced," the authors of the report acknowledged faculty reluctance, particularly among recent hires and those in natural sciences and engineering, to increase their involvement with the colleges.
"We do not think that it is feasible or advisable for participation in college faculties to add onerously to faculty workload," wrote the authors. "We do encourage closer participation of the ladder faculty in developing the academic programs of the colleges."
The advisory group recognized, however, that if the colleges come up with innovative
ways to engage faculty, small groups of perhaps 25 active faculty members per college
could make all the difference, said Stevenson College Administrative Officer Alma
Sifuentes, a member of the group.
"It doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing thing," she said.
Brown also noted the potential benefits for faculty of such engagement. "We just don't have a sense of place on this campus for faculty," he said. "The colleges could help provide that."
Other areas ripe for improvement include the college core courses, which are currently "a species of writing course" that provides training in college-level writing. As such, many ladder faculty avoid teaching core courses, most of which are now taught by lecturers. A current review by the Committee on Educational Policy provides an opportunity for "reshaping" the core courses. One option might be for the colleges to use core-course funding to "buy" faculty time from departments to fund course offerings at the colleges, said Brown. "That would bring a sense of an academic theme back to the colleges," he said.
Also warranting further discussion are questions such as whether transfer students should be concentrated in one college (an option the advisory group opposes) and whether one college should be "home" to all graduate students. The job description of college provosts needs to be re-examined, and responsibility for the operation and maintenance of college houses needs to be revisited.
Overall, the report constitutes a strong endorsement of the colleges and has been well received by staff, said Sifuentes.
"The staff of the colleges were thrilled to have the top administration recognizing our work," she said. "Of course there are areas to be improved--there always are."
The other members of the advisory group were Cowell Provost William Ladusaw, Vice Chancellor Francisco Hernandez, Associate Vice Chancellor Jean Marie Scott, alumnus Loren Steck, Coordinator Ernie Hudson, Assistant Provost Beau Willis, and Special Assistant Galen Jarvinen.
The colleges report is on the web at:
www.ucsc.edu/planbudg/vpdue/colleges/CollegeRpt.htm
