University reaccredited by NEASC

04/03/08 - After approximately a month of waiting, the University of Rhode Island received notice yesterday that it is reaccredited for the next 10 years through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Former provost M. Beverly Swan, who oversaw the two-year-long accreditation process, was excited when she learned the news.

"NEASC did a good job of praising students and faculty," Swan said. "They pointed out issues we needed to work on . they keep us on our toes."

Before releasing its decision, the NEASC visiting committee released a 41-page report that outlined the positive and negative aspects of URI. The main issues were faculty salaries, the student to faculty ratio and course evaluation.

The committee had some concern about pay for faculty and graduate assistants, claiming that their salaries are lower than those at peer institutions. URI's location is a draw for prospective faculty. However, the cost of housing in South County can be prohibitive.

"Housing costs are tumbling, but they are tumbling slower [in South County]," Swan said.

Swan also agreed that some sectors of faculty salaries are competitive, such as those in the College of Business.

Academic programs were received quite positively in terms of merit. However, class size, assessment of courses, and graduate admissions were areas of concern. The report said that plans to increase enrollment at URI must also include plans to hire more faculty. Swan said that nine new faculty lines were approved for fall 2008, but she is not sure how many of the searches that have started this year will continue.

In a response letter to NEASC, Carothers said, "new SET [student evaluations of teaching] forms will be piloted this spring semester 2008."

Swan said that she was not sure if the forms would actually be used this semester because of objections from faculty senators.

"The SET forms have been the same for 25 years or something like that," Swan said. "We needed to take a fresh look at them."

The report praised URI for its 81 percent freshman retention rate, but recommended that more be done to retain students until graduation. University College and its Dean Jayne Richmond were commended for efforts to keep students interested and help with the transition between high school and college.

However, it seems that more support is needed within URI's degree-granting colleges. NEASC cited the 57 percent 6-year graduation rate as something that must be increased, especially as the university plans to increase its undergraduate population by 10 percent.

Budgetary issues were a great concern among the accreditation group. NEASC warned that an unfunded gap of approximately $4,000 affects student retention.

The GLBT center, currently located in Adams Hall, was also a subject of criticism. NEASC suggested the center be in a more central location on campus.

Entertainment for students on weekends was also suggested after hearing complaints from students, faculty and staff about the lack of activities on campus during the weekend. Swan agreed with this conclusion.

"URI used to be called a 'suitcase campus,' where everyone would leave for the weekend," she said. "We need to increase scheduling weekend activities as the student body grows and becomes more diverse."

Rhody pride was also a topic in the report. NEASC recommended a $15 million plan to increase the URI community's involvement in athletics. Carothers responded that URI has just hired a new director of athletics who is planning to increase interest in athletics.

NEASC acknowledged the crisis with state funding to URI and commended URI for the Making a Difference Campaign, a plan to get $100 million in private funds for URI's endowment, which has raised approximately $50 million to date. However, the committee suggested that URI work harder at getting more funding to make up for the budget gap.

Swan said the budget problems were not only an institutional issue, but a state issue as well. She also praised URI alumni for staying loyal to their alma mater and contributing to Making a Difference.

Though the accreditation is secured for the next 10 years, the URI administration must continue making improvements in preparation for the next accreditation.