Universities make their progress public

Adam F. Jarrold Arizona Daily Wildcat Regents Kurt Davis (left) and Hank Amos listen to discussion about the Arizona University System Report Card during the Arizona Board of Regents meeting yesterday in the Memorial Student Union. The regents approved the Report Card which will help show Arizona universities where improvement is needed.

"Overall, I believe this report card tells a good story. It also tells where we need to improve," said Regent Kurt Davis, who led the development of the report card.

The report card will be issued annually to rate the progress of the three state universities in meeting the strategic goals set by the regents.

Four main categories were established:

• Improving the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate education

• Demonstrating the quality of instruction

• Demonstrating excellence and innovation

• Improving the utilization of resources.

In each group, several factors are rated "superior," "satisfactory" or "needs improvement."

Only four areas were listed as "needs improvement." They are:

• The rates at which students stay in school and graduate - the current graduation rate is 47 percent

• Access to core faculty by undergraduate students

• Progress toward implementing online academic programs - data shows 7,000 students at the state's three universities registered for technology delivered courses

• Privatization of university functions when feasible and financially practical.

Only one rating was debated - the participation of faculty in instructional activities, which the committee rated as satisfactory.

Participation is measured by classroom contact between faculty and students.

The definition set for satisfactory performance states that progress has been made but remains short of goals.

However, Regent Judy Gignac said full-time faculty members did not increase student credit hours from 1994-95. Instead the number remained 220.7 credit hours per full-time faculty member.

Regent Hank Amos said the discrepancy could leave the public with less confidence in the rating system and harm the overall credibility of the report card.

A closer reading of the rating made it clear that while credit hours remained constant, the number of hours spent on instruction-related activities increased.

With that clarification, the board approved the report card for release.

The regents also voted unanimously to grant the University of Arizona's Committee on Women's Studies departmental status.

UA Provost Paul Sypherd spoke for the university in support of the program. He said the program has satisfied all the board's requirements for becoming a department and deserved recognition.

Gignac said that until society reaches a level where gender and ethnic distinctions are irrelevant, the department will be necessary.

The newly named department already offers bachelor's and master's degree programs and is ranked 15th out of 600 academic programs in the country, said former Regent Esther Capin, who also spoke in support of the program.

"There are only benefits to making Women's Studies a department," she said.

Although the regents agreed, Regents President John Munger said Women's Studies is really a program about gender studies, drawing on, and emphasizing, material from a wide range of disciplines.

An early criticism of the program was that it catered only to women and did not address legitimate academic pursuits.

However, the regents noted that one-third of the students enrolled in Women's Studies are men, and Sypherd said the university needs to be a place where intellectual boundaries are explored, not stifled.

In other business, the regents approved:

• A bachelor's of arts degree program in engineering at the UA

• A joint venture between University Medical Center and University Physicians Inc.
• A new name for the College of Law building in honor of alumnus James E. Rogers.

  The name was changed to The James E. Rogers Law Center.