TCAC
List of Appendices
Included on this page:
By 2010, total higher education enrollment in the State of Washington is expected to grow by nearly 40%, from 220,000 to 303,000. The Task Force on Enrollment Planning--a diverse group of administrators, deans, chairs, faculty, staff, and students--was charged by the President with helping to define the University of Washington's response to this trend.
One may quibble with the precise numbers, or debate the University of Washington's "fair share", but the inescapable fact is that enrollment at the University of Washington will grow, and grow significantly. Similarly, one may question the state's willingness to invest adequately in higher education, especially in times of prosperity, but another inescapable fact is that at least part of UW's enrollment increase will need to be accommodated through improvements in efficiency on our part.
The most important of the Task Force's conclusions is that enrollment pressure must be seized as an opportunity to consciously shape the University. As the leading research institution in an entire quadrant of the nature, UW has a unique and crucial role to play--not only in graduate education and research, but also in undergraduate education, leadership, and economic development. Choices must be made. We must grow in ways that take advantage of, and enhance, our special capabilities. For example, at the undergraduate level, a research institution such as the university of Washington is uniquely equipped to bring strong, will-prepared, and motivated students to the very forefront of their fields, seamlessly intertwining research with education. The fact that the University of Washington now consists of three campuses with complementary orientations must be used to our advantage to allow us to meet a broader demand than the foregoing would seem to imply. Similarly, the complementary nature of the thirty-eight units of the state's higher education structure--its two research institutions, four 4-year institutions, and thirty-two community and technical colleges--must be enhanced, to allow the enterprise as a whole to cost-effectively serve the broadest possible range of the state's citizens.
This is a most unusual Presidential Task Force report. We present no "Master Plan for Growth". Instead, we offer a starting point for planning. The ideas and recommendations in this report are meant to inspire broad discussion, and should undergo constant revision. Our goal is to move this discussion outside of the Task Force to the University community and beyond. We need your comments, advice, and ideas. Over the next year we will gather responses to this initial report and allow it to change and evolve, representing the best thinking of not a few, but many people.
We stand at a point of change. A new wave of students is coming to higher education. By 1020, total higher education enrollment in the state of Washington is expected to grow by nearly 40%, from 220,000 to 303,000. These students are more diverse, with more complex needs an aspirations than those who have come to use in the past. This is the next generation of students to be educated.
The University of Washington has been asked to provide access to an additional 20,691 students by 2010, to be distributed roughly equally across our three campuses. Total enrollment would rise from 32,919 Annual Average Full Time Equivalent student (AAFTEs) to 52,500; enrollment served by the Seattle campus would rise from 31,297 AAFTEs to 39,000.
Opportunity for the next generation of students and opportunity for the University are bound together. A research university is a very special institution--a place where knowledge is created, as well as transferred. As the leading research institution in an entire quadrant of the nation, the University of Washington has a unique role to play--not only in graduate education and research, but also in undergraduate education, leadership and economic development. Increasing numbers of student swell arrive, hoping for the chance that education promises. The way in which we respond will determine the University's future. Our challenge is to respond consciously and actively, seizing this effectively serves the needs of the state, the nation, and the world. To succeed, both for our students and four our University, will require no less than we have given in the past:
To guide planning, we have identified seven core principles that, take together, lead to strategies for adapting to a changing educational environment.
Adaptation to growth, which increases both quality and efficiency, requires multiple strategies. Our future depends on finding the right strategies and following them with determination. Guided by the above principles, we have made a first attempt. Some of our strategies reinforce current directions that maintain the best of what we are, others respond to changing conditions in the educational environment, and all are linked in complex ways. How each strategy should be played out requires thought and wide discussion. When we had ideas, we made recommendations for action, even though none of us agreed with everything.
The stature of a university is defined in terms of the quality of its faculty. To create access with excellence, it is essential that faculty be recruited who will contribute to our teaching needs and also enhance the quality of our academic programs though inquire. The problem is, under constrainted resources, we cannot expect to provide the highest level of excellence in all that we do. The strategy of selective investment attempts to both meet the instructional needs of a growing student population and retain national leadership in selected fields. This is a very difficult and even contentious strategy to implement. There will be no substitute for strong academic leadership, and wise faculty participation. We offer several beginning recommendations.
Recommendations:
The University of Washington plans to meet its access goal by distributing growth among its Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campus. Growth at the Seattle campus is limited by space and city agreements. Bothell and Tacoma are projected to grow from their current size of approximately 800 Annual Average Full Time Equivalent students (AAFTEs) to over 6000 by 2010. To accomplish this growth, our three campuses must evolve into a more integrated and complementary system.
The Bothell and Tacoma campuses were originally established to serve place-bound upper division and master level students. They were to focus on teaching, support scholarship sufficient to maintain faculty vitality, and develop programs closely tied to community needs. Initially, Bothell and Tacoma were considered relatively independent institutions. As a result, each campus has developed a special character which is cherished by faculty and students. Recently, however, through new program development, shared services and student need, the three campuses have drawn more closely together. A Provost's committee endorsed these changes and recommended new ways of strengthening ties among our campuses. Enrollment planning now requires continued evolution toward an integrated three campus system which maintains the individual identity of each campus while increasing the complementarity of programs and functions.
Recommendations:
