Educational-support services at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are generally considered satisfactory. A close scrutiny of Randall Library reveals much to compliment concerning its services, facilities, collections, staff, and institutional relationships. Students, faculty, and staff give high praise to the finding aids and bibliographic instruction available for locating and using print and non-print materials in the Library and stored at remote locations. An attractive physical facility houses these resources. The collection comfortably exceeds the minimum number of volumes required by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) for the size of the undergraduate programs at UNCW. The professional librarians received extremely high marks from the students, faculty, and staff members who completed the Self-Study Surveys.

However, improvements are needed in some areas. One-third of the faculty and one-fifth of the graduate students answering the Self-Study Surveys disagreed that the Library holdings adequately support the graduate programs. For both the graduate and undergraduate programs, additional CD-ROM workstations are needed to provide adequate access to the rapid proliferation of machine-readable index and reference-collection databases. Another unmet need is full Boolean-logic search capabilities for the Library's online public-access catalog. Two SPA support-staff positions lost during the past two fiscal years due to University budget cuts need to be replaced. Nine additional professional librarians are required to meet rapidly increasing needs for undergraduate and graduate instruction and to meet ACRL standards. To recruit and retain qualified librarians, the University needs to extend tenure-track faculty status to its professional librarians. Additional librarians would allow the Library to extend late-night, weekend, and vacation hours, as requested by many students and faculty.

In an effort to assess the quality and breadth of support given to instructors for their teaching initiatives, instructional support at UNCW was examined by considering input from a number of sources: responses of faculty to the Self-Study Survey, interviews with administrators and faculty from a variety of departments, written comments solicited from all department chairs, and recent reports of committees charged with considering teaching performance.

It was found that a variety of material-support services do exist for instructors at UNCW, but few programs designed to improve teaching effectiveness are currently available. This situation must be remedied if UNCW is to fulfill its mission of excellence in undergraduate teaching.

When distribution of educational resources was considered, it was found that a number of departments are unable to obtain certain types of equipment (such as computers and VCRs) that were needed to improve the learning environment. In some instances departments complained of insufficient funds for such basic needs as chalk or photocopying.

Two serious problems were also identified in the area of specialized facilities: UNCW is still without a functioning foreign-language laboratory or a centrally located media center and is experiencing cramped conditions in many of its science laboratories. This chapter suggests specific steps that can be taken to remedy these problems.

The unit report of the Office of Computing and Information Systems (OCIS) states that the current VAX cluster central computer facility provides sufficient processing power to meet all the University's needs. For this reason, neither policies nor priorities for the allocation of computing resources have been established, although priority is given to interactive processing over batch processing, because the latter can take up to several days to run.

Computer services are balanced among user groups by addressing needs as they occur, within the bounds of limited financing and staffing. When necessary, priorities are established consistent with the University's mission statement. Computer services support the primary educational goals of the institution, but additional personnel and equipment are necessary to fulfill those educational goals.

Some problems with computing at UNCW do exist. Prominent among them is the lack of adequate microcomputing equipment, especially for faculty and student use both in and outside of classrooms and laboratories. Faculty who are heavy users of campus computing facilities also perceive that OCIS does not provide adequate information about new hardware, software, and communications availability, or about computer-budget policies and use priorities. These faculty also perceive that OCIS is not receptive to input from faculty and non-OCIS staff about computer-budget allocations, resource-use priorities, and the planning and purchasing of hardware, software, and communication equipment.

The Division of Student Affairs is responsible for planning and implementing student-development services. Those services are essential to the educational, cultural, social, moral, and physical development of students. To ensure effectiveness, goals for the student-services program are consistent with students' needs and the purposes of UNCW. The policies and procedures by which student development services and programs are established and implemented are defined in a manual, annually reviewed and periodically updated.

The Division of Student Affairs is a major organizational unit of the University. Its services are staffed by qualified people who have appropriate training and experience. All student-development services and programs are regularly evaluated.

Suggestions to improve the quality of student-development services include an increase in staff for several of its units, some additional facilities and equipment, and increased coordination with other divisions and offices on campus.

In the area of student records and advising, the new "degree-audit" program installed in the Fall 1990 by the Registrar's Office has improved the faculty's ability to provide effective advising, but installation of a telephone registration system is recommended to provide a more efficient, quick, and convenient way for students to register for courses.

There is wide agreement in the University community that the intercollegiate athletics program's philosophy is in keeping with UNCW's mission. The program is in a significant period of transition. Both the Provost and the Chancellor have agreed in principle to address the faculty's concerns over the control of this program. in a significant period of transition. Both the Provost and the Chancellor have agreed in principle to address the faculty's concerns over the control of this program.

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INTRODUCTION (5.1)

Intercollegiate athletics at UNCW are administered by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, a unit in the Division of Academic Affairs. The Department is headed by the Director of Athletics, who manages its 16 sports programs and reports to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The University is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Colonial Athletic Association. The eight women's intercollegiate sports are basketball, cross country, golf, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and volleyball. The eight varsity intercollegiate sports for men are baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track.

LIBRARY (5.2)

The University ensures that all students and faculty have access to the primary and secondary materials needed to support its purposes and programs. A large majority of students, faculty, and staff agree that the six collections provided by the William Madison Randall Library (general, periodicals, reference, index, government documents, and audio-visual) are satisfactory in terms of breadth and accessibility. The Library's collections are considered very good considering the relatively young age of the Library and the size of the materials budget ($1,107,896). Allowing all components of the University community to participate in title selection has assured the appropriateness of collections. Access to materials in other libraries is provided through an efficient (and free) interlibrary borrowing service managed by the Reference Department. Two-thirds of the students surveyed and almost nine out of ten faculty were satisfied with the interlibrary borrowing service. However, no matter how efficient the interlibrary borrowing service is maintained, it cannot be viewed as a substitute for adequate locally-available holdings. Weaknesses in the collections are found in those disciplines for which new graduate programs are in progress, especially in the humanities, where there is a strong need for large retrospective monographic holdings and collections of primary materials. The serials subscription list is considered generally adequate in those areas; however, the Library's inability to add new serial titles, because subscription costs are outpacing budget increases, is detrimental to research and teaching in all programs, especially the sciences (including mathematics). This negative impact on teaching and research will be exacerbated if a serials-cancellation project becomes necessary (see the relevant statement in the Library Unit Report, section VII: "Collection Development"). Since 1965, the Library has been a partial depository for U.S. documents (receiving 62% of the categories available to partial depository libraries); since 1989, the Library has also been a full depository for North Carolina government documents. The Library's Curriculum Materials Center contains approximately 95% of current state-adopted textbooks for public schools.

These resources are available in a well-equipped, readily accessible facility of adequate size which encourages maximum use by the campus community. The Library is well equipped to accomplish its service goals. It is readily accessible, given its location on campus, and its size is currently adequate. Seating (primarily in individual study carrels) is available for approximately 950 users. It encourages maximum use by maintaining adequate hours and appropriate collections, by policies which are established to facilitate maximum usage by all members of the University community, and by friendly, courteous assistance, readily available at all service points.

To facilitate use of such resources, a competent staff is available to assist users. Of all of the Library's assets, the staff is perhaps the most important. Users give high ratings to their abilities, their consistent interest in providing excellent services, and their dedication to the Randall Library and the University. This view is shared by students, faculty, and staff: 86% of the students, 96% of the faculty, and 94% of the staff surveyed agreed that Library staff are competent and work cooperatively with them. The Library has benefited from an exceptional stability in staffing: 50% of the professional staff have over ten years' service in the Randall Library, and 48% of the supportive staff have over nine years' service. Staff skills might be enhanced further by planning and initiating more staff-development opportunities, such as attendance at regional and national conferences and workshops.

The collections of print and non-print materials are well organized. Each of the Library's collections is systematically organized through consistent use of a standard classification scheme -for example, the Library of Congress Classification Scheme and the Superintendent of Documents Classification Scheme. An ongoing effort is made by the Cataloging Department to maintain up-to-date subject-heading terminology based on current Library of Congress practice. Library policy is to base decisions about the organization of its collections on the needs of users, accessibility, and the productive use of all available informational resources.

Adequate hours are maintained to provide accessibility to most users. Sixty-six percent of students, 82% of staff, and 78% of faculty agreed that the current schedule is adequate. However, over four out of ten faculty and students agreed that "it would be better for me if the Library were open more hours during breaks." Also, over one out of seven students suggested that the Library "needs more late night . . . and weekend hours." One out of seven faculty agreed with the latter. The Library maintains a 98.5-hours-per-week schedule during the academic year and closes only two days during the fall semester and one day during the spring semester. During summer sessions the Library maintains an 86.15-hours-per-week schedule. During the 1989-90 fiscal year, the Library was open 333 days. Reference librarians are available for users at least 85.5 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters. To increase hours, the University needs to provide adequate funding for additional staff positions. However, in view of the schedule described above, it is more appropriate to dedicate any available funds to the materials budget.

Priorities for acquiring materials and establishing services are determined with the needs of users in mind. Because the Library is established as a service-providing support unit for the University, all policies - and consequently all service initiatives -are designed to further this goal. It is the responsibility of the total Library staff, under the leadership of the Director of Library Services, to ascertain that each policy is in the best interests of the users served. The Library staff should develop more formal instruments and strategies for needs assessment to enhance the dialogue between the Library and its many user groups.

The University has developed for its Library a mission statement consistent with the institutional purpose (see ."Statement of Mission, Goals, and Objectives/ Evaluation Criteria", Appendix A of the Library's unit report).

The Library is evaluated regularly and systematically to ensure that it is meeting the needs of its users and is supporting the programs and purpose of the University. This evaluation is a daily process for the Library staff, and the annual revision of the "Statement of Mission . . . " formalizes this process.

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Basic Library services include an orientation program designed to teach new users how to obtain individual assistance, access to bibliographic information, and access to materials. Over nine out of ten students report that they are aware of how to obtain assistance in the Library. Over three-quarters of the faculty agreed that "the Library provides adequate self-help materials so that faculty can find the sources of information in the Library that they need." The Reference Department regularly provides a variety of methods to introduce new users to the Randall Library and to instruct them concerning the use of informational resources. The Reference Department emphasizes this program of bibliographic instruction, especially the use of the online catalog system (LS2000) and CD-ROM applications. (For an example of one component of the bibliographic-instruction and orientation program, see "Spring Semester 1991 Workshops" in Appendix N of the Library Unit Report. This schedule was advertised widely in the University community, with direct mailing to all students.) The Reference Department has expressed the need for formal instruments for assessing the effectiveness of each bibliographic instruction workshop and class, and planning for this project is now in process. In addition to providing specialized bibliographies and guides, the Reference Department publishes each year an extensive guide to the use of the Library, entitled "Guide to Collections and Services." These publications are available for all users and have wide distribution among students.

The Library offers point-of-use instruction, personal assistance in conducting Library research, and traditional reference services. The Reference Department staff is available at least 85.5 hours per week, seven days per week, during the academic year. Personal assistance to users is the Reference Department's first priority. The entire Library staff understands that effective assistance to users is the Library's first priority.

Professional assistance is available at convenient locations when the Library is open. Eight out of ten students and nine out of ten faculty and staff agreed that "the University employs a competent staff available to assist library users." The center for obtaining professional assistance is the Reference Desk, which is centrally located on the first floor. Approximately nine out of ten students and faculty are satisfied with the assistance available at the Reference Desk. Professional assistance also is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Circulation Desk and the Periodicals Desk. When professional assistance is not readily available at a service point, well trained support staff are available to assist users or to locate a librarian for assistance.

The Library provides: adequate records of materials through catalogs, indexes, and bibliographies; access to information sources, regardless of location, through standard indexes and bibliographies; and, where appropriate, access to external bibliographic databases. Three-quarters of the students and 85% of faculty agreed that such access is adequate. The Library provides records of its holdings through the Online Public Access Catalog (OPEC). While an improvement over the old card catalog, OPAC does have one major shortcoming: it does not yet offer full Boolean logic search capabilities. Pressure needs to be brought on the developer of this system to add this feature. In the meantime, an ongoing effort is made by the Reference Department to add supplementary entries for particular resources based on expressed and perceived requirements of local users. Journal holdings are included in the online catalog and are published in hardcopy and microfiche (updated monthly); copies are made available throughout the Library. The Library provides access to published information sources by maintaining an extensive collection of indexes, both in hardcopy and in CD-ROM format. However, the number of workstations for CD-ROM use is not adequate to provide easy access to the proliferation of machine-readable databases now in the Library's index and reference collections. The Library provides online access to the catalogs of the other fifteen UNC campus libraries. Also provided is direct online access to catalogs of many other academic libraries and to the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) database. Approximately three-quarters of the students and faculty were satisfied with the remote online database-searching service provided by the Library. Commercial and governmental databases (over 400 available) are regularly accessed for users. Limited searching is provided free of charge for students. In addition, the University now provides INTERNET access to other academic and research libraries.

The Library has all of the following: adequate physical facilities to house, service, and make the Library collections easily available; up-to-date equipment in good condition for using print and non-print materials; provision for rapid access to any remotely stored materials; provision for interlibrary-loan agreements; and an efficient and appropriate circulation system. The building is now very adequate in size and logical arrangement for accomplishing service goals and housing the collections (see the Library unit report, section V: "Physical Facilities"). However, 13% of the students and 21% of the faculty disagreed that the Library provides adequate study and work space for them. The Director of Library Services will continue to inform the University administration of the need to begin formal planning for the next building expansion. Another concern is that 21 % of the students and 10% of the faculty stated that the atmosphere in the Library is not "conducive to thinking and study." A third concern relates to the need for additional instructional and directional signs in the Library; this problem is under study.

Equipment in other areas, such as OPAC terminals and printers, appears to be adequate. The Library has no remotely stored (out-of-building) materials. Interlibrary borrowing is a strong service provided by the Library (free of charge) for the University community through conventional procedures, primarily online through OCLC, Inc., mail requests, and telefacsimile transmission. The Library's circulation system is entirely automated using the LS2000 circulation subsystem. Over 80% of students and 90% of faculty expressed satisfaction with the circulation system.

The Library provides students with opportunities to learn how to access information in a variety of formats so that they can continue life-long learning. Two thirds of the students agreed with the statement that "the Library provides adequate self-help materials so that students can find the sources of information that they need." Through the bibliographic-instruction program and individual assistance (one-on-one reference interviews), the Library makes a continuous effort to teach students to locate informational resources in all formats and to use them effectively. The Library has made available all types of informational resources, such as CD-ROM and remote online databases. The Reference Department staff has established the goal of assisting users to become self-sufficient and knowledgeable in evaluating and using informational resources for research.

Librarians work cooperatively with the teaching faculty in assisting them to use resource materials effectively. Over 90% of the students, faculty, and staff reported that they were aware of how to obtain assistance in the Library. An ongoing effort is made to maintain a dialogue with faculty concerning research projects assigned to students. Through this effort, reference librarians, knowing the specific goals of the instructor, are able to contribute effectively in the learning process. The Reference Department considers this faculty-librarian teamwork to be one of its strengths. They also try to consult with faculty before each formal bibliographic-instruction session. Almost nine out of ten faculty were satisfied with the Library's instruction of students in library use.

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The Library collections and databases are sufficient to support the educational, research, and public-service programs of the University. The total number of volumes in the Library's six collections - 424,000 - exceeds the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) standard (2.2 - Formula A in "ACRL Standards for College Libraries, 1986") of 332,862 volumes applicable to this institution. It is the consensus of the staff that the Library has developed an excellent undergraduate, or basic, collection. This view is shared by undergraduate students; the reference collection received the highest approval rating (82%), and the audio/visual collection the lowest (69%). Faculty also generally agreed; a high of 73% were satisfied with the index collection, and a low of 49% with the audio/visual collection. For both students and faculty, the audio-visual collection is the least satisfactory of the six collections, and the reference and index collections are the most satisfactory. The Library's "Collection Development Policy" states:

Continuous communication and cooperation among all groups involved in the collection development program is the basic factor determining the level of success achieved; therefore, a strong effort will be made to support, encourage, and facilitate a continuing dialogue concerning the proper growth and maintenance of each component of the collection.

The Library has achieved a high level of cooperation and interaction with faculty in efforts to develop its collection; therefore, if adequate funds are made available (see the statement in the Library unit report, section VII: "Collection Development"), perceived weaknesses in the collection, such as in areas supporting graduate programs, will be corrected.

The University provides library resources substantially beyond those required for the bachelor's degree. The Library staff are working to develop those areas in which graduate work is offered. Faculty and graduate students both see a need for improvement in those areas (34% of faculty and 22% of graduate students disagreed that the Library's holdings are adequate to support the graduate program). In this regard, the Library has requested an appropriate infusion of funds for developing its collection as its first budget priority in the 1991-92 year.

Librarians, teaching faculty, and researchers share in the development of collections, and the University has established policies defining their involvement. (These criteria are discussed in the Library unit report, section VII: "Collection Development.") The Library's collection-development policy outlines the procedures followed to assure broad-based, University-wide participation in the collection development program. Over eight out of ten faculty agreed that "the Library acquires materials based on the needs of its users." Almost two-thirds agreed that library funds are distributed equitably among departments; over 80% agreed that library funds are distributed equitably within their own department.

The Library has a policy governing the principles of selection and weeding. The Library has established a collection-development policy delineating basic responsibilities for selecting materials for the collections. Very importantly, it includes an explicit statement of the Library's policy on censorship. Weeding procedures have not been formally established, largely because of the relative currentness of the collections. Weeding projects, however, have been undertaken in recent years, and some are ongoing; among these are the weeding of the nursing- and medical-literature holdings (R classification) with the assistance of the faculty in the School of Nursing, and the weeding of the federal-documents collection following the guidelines established by the Superintendent of Documents of the U.S. Government Printing Office. Efforts are also made to replace worn and damaged materials with new copies or to rebind copies when appropriate.

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The Library is staffed by professional librarians who hold professional degrees at the graduate level in library science or learning resources. Over nine out of ten faculty and staff as well as eight out of ten students agreed that "the Library employs a competent staff available to assist library users." Each of the Library's twelve EPA (faculty) librarians holds a degree from a graduate school accredited by the American Library Association. While the quality of the professional staff is high, their current number (twelve) is nine positions short of the twenty-one positions required to meet ACRL's applicable standard 4.3 - Formula B. Several areas of growing need are increasingly difficult for the presently-sized staff to service: the rapidly increasing number of bibliographic-instruction sessions, interlibrary loan requests, and online search appointments - all consequent from undergraduate enrollment increases - and the increased need for librarians with subject expertise in UNCW's new undergraduate programs.

The Library's support staff of 21.5 SPA positions has been well trained to fulfill assigned duties. This staff represents 65% of the total staff (33.5 positions). Collectively, their formal evaluations by their supervisors consistently describe a staff that is highly-motivated, cognizant of the Library's mission and service goals, and very skilled in the performance of day-to-day duties and responsibilities. However, its size is barely adequate to carry out technical responsibilities. Two SPA positions were lost during the past two fiscal years due to University budget cuts.

Skills needed for these support positions are defined by the University. Qualifications for support-staff positions are established by the Library working with the UNCW Office of Human Resources. Skills required are summarized by the appropriate department head before a vacant position is advertised. The Library also works with the Office of Human Resources to determine the appropriate classification level (Library Clerk III, Library Assistant, or Library Technical Assistant I or II) for the position..

The chief librarian is a well qualified professional whose administration of Library services contributes to the educational effectiveness of the University. The Director of Library Services holds appropriate academic credentials and has twenty-five years professional experience in a variety of academic libraries.

Organizational relationships, both external and internal to the Library, are clearly specified. (See "Organizational Chart," Appendix B of the Library unit report. Viewing the organization chart for Academic Affairs may also be helpful in this regard.)

University policies concerning faculty status, salaries, and contractual security for Library personnel are clearly defined and made known to all personnel at the time of employment. Since July 1977, the Library has employed librarians at the rank of lecturer (EPA) with twelve-month contracts renewable annually. The fact that this is not a tenure-track contract is carefully explained to potential employees during the interview process by the chair of the search committee for the position and by the Director of Library Services; the advertisement for the position also states that it is "non-tenure-track"; and the subsequent contract is explicit in this regard. Since 1982, the Library has requested a different employment status for professional staff, allowing all new professional employees (and those currently employed at the rank of Lecturer) the opportunity to have a tenure-track appointment. In November 1990 the Provost stated that an effort will be made in the near future to address this matter. A change will certainly benefit the Library; the current arrangement has had an adverse effect on staff morale and does not meet ACRL standard 4.2*. (The method used to administer salary increases for EPA staff is described in the Library unit report, section VIII: "Budget".)

*ACRL standard 4.2 states: "Librarians shall be organized as a separate academic unit such as a department or a school. They shall administer themselves in accord with ACRL `Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians' and institutional policies and guidelines." Two additional documents that are relevant to this matter are "Model Statement of Criteria and Procedures for Appointment, Promotion in Academic Rank, and Tenure for College and University Librarians," Association of College and Research Libraries, and Appendix 5-D ("Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians," Association of College and Research Libraries, The Association of American Colleges, and the American Association of University Professors).

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In order to increase the ability of the Library to provide the resources and services needed by its users, it seeks cooperative relationships with other libraries and agencies. Efforts are underway to establish a formal resource-sharing agreement with the libraries at UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina University, and UNC-Greensboro (see the Library unit report, section VII: "Collection Development").

Cooperative relationships are not used by the University to avoid responsibility for providing its own adequate and accessible library resources and services. In all cases of cooperative arrangements, formal agreements are established to safeguard the integrity and continuity of Library resources and services. The Library has one formal cooperative arrangement, the use of the UNC Cooperative Library Privilege Card, which is issued locally upon request to allow holders to receive borrowing privileges at the other libraries in the UNC system. This arrangement is governed by a written policy established by the University Library Advisory Council, an organization composed of the head librarians of the sixteen UNC campus libraries. The effectiveness of such cooperative arrangements is evaluated regularly. For example, the Privilege Card arrangement is evaluated by the University Library Advisory Council at least every two years.

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UNCW ensures adequate learning resources and services required to support the courses, programs, and degrees offered at off-campus locations. Competent library personnel at those sites are assigned duties in planning and providing library resources and services and in ascertaining their continued adequacy. Formal agreements to provide library resources and services ensure access to library resources that are pertinent to the programs offered by UNCW. These agreements provide for services and resources which support the University's specific programs, in the fields of study and at the degree level offered.

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Instructional-support services can be divided into two general areas: material support, such as educational equipment, laboratories, audio-visual centers, and secretarial and duplicating services; and professional support, in the form of workshops, seminars, and programs to improve teaching effectiveness. In the former category, UNCW fulfills the requirement that it "provide a variety of facilities and instructional support services" by providing instructors with secretarial and duplicating services and by providing laboratory facilities and learning-skills centers such as the Writing Place and the Math Lab. However, few programs of instructional support designed to improve teaching effectiveness are currently sponsored by the University. This lack of support may explain the perception by many students that the poor teaching practices of some instructors go uncorrected from year to year. Thus, in the student survey conducted for the Self-Study, a sizable majority of students indicated that they were "satisfied with the quality of instruction" (65% agreed, 8% disagreed), but a minority agreed that "the University acts to correct instances of poor instructional performance" (29% agreed, 32% disagreed).

Faculty indicated support for the creation of a "faculty development center" to help faculty to improve teaching effectiveness and to increase contact among faculty of different disciplines, even if the- funds for such a center came "from the existing UNCW budget" (49% agreed compared with 29% who disagreed). Such a center was also the first recommendation of the Task Force on Teaching Excellence established by UNCW's former Chancellor in 1989. In their December 1990 report to the present Chancellor, the Task Force emphasized the need for such a center "to foster a campus-wide climate where teaching is highly valued and excellence in teaching is the norm." The report also points out that "although faculty received extensive training in research and in the evaluation of the professional literature in their field; most will receive little formal training in most elements of teaching." Moreover, support centers currently exist on campus to aid faculty in research and development and in computer usage. That no tangible support network designed to improve teaching effectiveness currently exists is a problem that must be corrected.

In fact, these recommendations are being implemented, as indicated by three recent developments. First, the Chancellor has announced that $30,000 will be made available to fund such a center, and a Director has been appointed. Second, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences has indicated that she plans to institute a faculty-mentor program, whereby incoming faculty would be paired with individuals with acknowledged teaching expertise. This program is an excellent beginning, but the problem of ineffective teaching must be addressed in a more comprehensive and coordinated manner, especially since high-quality undergraduate teaching is prominent in the UNCW mission statement.

Third, the Chancellor has introduced a substantial change in UNCW's organizational structure which promises to impact upon several areas of the University, including teaching effectiveness. Specifically, the position of Enrollment Manager (EM) was implemented in July 1991. The responsibility of the EM, who reports to the Provost, is to bring a more coordinated measure of control over the size and character of UNCW's enrollment by creating and implementing programs devoted to two key objectives: recruiting better students and a higher percentage of minority students; and increasing the retention of students, especially through the critical first six weeks of their first semester.

To accomplish these objectives, several relevant University offices and functions have been reassigned to report to the EM. These include the Registrar and Admissions Offices, which formerly reported to the Provost; Financial Aid and the UNCW orientation program, which formerly reported to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; and the General College Advising Center, which formerly reported to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

It is relevant that in the Chancellor's conceptualization of the EM position, improvement of teaching effectiveness was viewed as an important step in improving student recruitment and retention. Accordingly, the EM has among his responsibilities that of providing assistance to a successful program of faculty development.

The distribution of educational-support resources also face certain problems. There appears to be general agreement among faculty that adequate educational equipment (45% agreed, 32% disagreed) and staff support (48% agreed, 29% disagreed) are available for the preparation of classroom materials. However, faculty from some departments complained of a severe shortage of funds needed to prepare their educational materials. This shortage appears particularly acute in the Department of English during the 1990-91 academic year, where instructors were asked to pay for duplicating supplies for their classes out of their own pockets. When asked about this situation, both the Dean and the department chair acknowledged that the departmental budget had not kept pace with either the number of faculty in the department or the number of students served by it. At a time when severe budget problems plague North Carolina, it is unlikely that a satisfactory solution to this problem will be found. in the short term. However, the Dean has pledged to provide additional funds to the department as soon as an expansion budget becomes available again.

Approximately half (48%) of the faculty polled disagreed with the statement that the "equipment and resources available to [them] were the most effective tools currently available in [their] discipline," while only one-third agreed. One finding which may explain this response was that educational equipment, such as computers, televisions, and video cassette recorders, is generally not available in sufficient numbers to provide faculty and students easy access to them. This was evident in survey-response distributions, where UNCW faculty consistently were more inclined to disagree, rather than agree, that for either classroom, laboratory, or general faculty and student use, there are enough or the appropriate kinds of microcomputers, enough computer terminals, or enough laboratory equipment, space, and supervision. This situation impedes the instructors' ability to make use of advances in learning technology. If UNCW is to fulfill its mission of providing high-quality undergraduate instruction into the twenty-first century, access to this equipment must be expanded. Since the needs of all departments of the University cannot be addressed at once, it is suggested that a revolving fund be made available to departments (or groups of departments) on a rotating, competitive basis. With this fund the recipients can make substantive improvements in the availability of equipment.

In order to ensure the prompt availability of frequently used instructional aids such as computers, overhead projectors, and slide projectors for both classroom use and course development, it is imperative that this equipment continue to be located in and controlled by individual departments. It is also critical that the control of more sophisticated hardware used in the design and implementation of specific courses within departments be left in their control. However, specialized equipment, which might be required by several departments on a limited basis, should be centrally located. The report of the Task Force on Teaching Excellence recommended that UNCW provide a media center to administer this equipment and provide equipment-maintenance services, as well as aid in the creation of high-quality instructional materials. Faculty are very supportive of the establishment of such a media center. By virtually the same margin (48% versus 29%) as was found for the creation of a faculty development center, UNCW faculty agreed that funding is warranted for a media center even if such funds must come from the existing UNCW budget. Therefore, it is recommended that a centrally located media center be implemented as the most effective way to use these types of resources wisely and efficiently. Because the equipment and services provided by such a center would be of direct benefit to high quality teaching, it is further recommended that the center be associated with the Center for Teaching and controlled by the Division of Academic Affairs.

Finally, the availability of specialized learning centers such as science laboratories and language laboratories must be addressed, especially given that UNCW faculty agreed by a wide margin (54% versus 23%) that "there is a significant role for learning aids such as language labs, writing centers, and math labs" in their own disciplines. A glaring deficiency in the University's undergraduate program is the lack of a complete, modern language laboratory. While this situation is in the process of being corrected, it remains a serious problem that should be promptly addressed. Funding should be considered separately from the general revolving fund suggested above, and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures should be encouraged to apply for those funds as needed to improve their program.

A related problem exists in many science laboratories, where effective learning is hampered by overcrowding. In some programs, laboratories are filled to capacity and are scheduled back-to-back with no intervening time for changing laboratory setups. Students are forced to share equipment and storage space and to work in larger than optimal groups. Laboratory space and design problems also prevent students in upper-level courses from having convenient access to advanced equipment required in these courses. It is partly in response to this situation that the construction of a new physical-science building warrants top priority at UNCW.

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According to the Office of Computing and Information Systems (OCIS) unit report, UNCW has sufficient central VAX cluster-facility processing capacity to accommodate all University needs; therefore, there is no need at this time for assignment of user priorities. The one exception to this is that higher VAX cluster priority is given to interactive processing than to batch processing because certain jobs (especially large research-oriented projects) can run for several days. Advice concerning the allocation of computing resources, hardware and software requests, and priorities for computing use is provided to OCIS primarily through the UNCW Faculty Senate's Computer Services Committee, for support to academic computing, and the Administrative Computing Services Committee, for support to administrative computing.

OCIS's Academic Computing Services (ACS) staffs and maintains five microcomputer/terminal clusters on campus, a training facility where special courses are offered for microcomputing and mainframe VAX cluster computing, and a Microcomputer Resource Center (MRC) which supplements equipment available in other general clusters, departments, and offices, for specific one-on-one assistance to faculty, staff, and graduate students. ACS employs relevant staff: two microcomputer specialists to provide microcomputer support such as system and software recommendations, configuration, installation, and training to both academic and administrative users; two VAX computing consultants to assist faculty and students with VAX processing; and a help-desk assistant to answer general questions and route other questions to appropriate staff. Counterpart OCIS Administrative Computing Services staff provide systems analysis, design, and programming services for administrative applications systems. Finally, OCIS staff in Operations and Systems Services are responsible for the operation of computer systems, software, and programs, and the servicing and repair of VAX cluster, microcomputer, peripheral, and data-communications and networking hardware.

UNCW also has additional computing capability extending within and beyond the campus in several ways. The University's campus-wide network enables users to communicate with Randall Library's LS2000 online catalog system. Computerization of library services, most notably online cataloging and remote online database searching, received favorable responses in surveys of faculty, students, and administrative personnel.

This network also enables user access to several other resources within North Carolina: (1) a statewide network connecting all 16 campuses in the UNC system; (2) other UNC campus libraries; (3) the State Information Processing Services (SIPS); (4) UNC Educational Computing Services (UNCECS) at Research Triangle Park; and (5) the Cray supercomputer located at the North Carolina Supercomputer Center (NCSC) also at Research Triangle Park. Finally, the UNCW campus computer network provides access to BITNET, a national/international data communications network providing message handling and file transfer to educational and research institutions, and to Internet (a network of networks, with the National Science Foundation's NSFnet as its backbone), which allows direct access to other campus and research-institution computers, and bridges across a multitude of networks in the U.S. and in many other countries.

When asked to rate the effectiveness of OCIS and its three specialized areas, faculty and staff who are frequent users of computer facilities provided favorable ratings from 2.7 to 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. Also, both faculty (54%) and staff (74%) agreed that they can rely on OCIS to answer computer questions promptly and correctly, and both groups were strongly inclined to express the opinion that "OCIS provides adequate training for the software I need and use." This level of positive response indicates that the quality of assistance provided by OCIS is considered good.

Frequent-user faculty and students were asked to evaluate UNCW's terminal clusters and microcomputer laboratories regarding each of several criteria. Both groups were substantially more likely to agree, rather than disagree, that these clusters and labs are available when needed, conveniently located, equipped with appropriate hardware, and supplied with appropriate software. Frequent-user faculty additionally were inclined to agree that the clusters and labs are available when needed for research and teaching purposes. Students were twice as likely to agree (50%) than disagree (26%) that these campus clusters and labs are "adequately staffed with knowledgeable consultants." The opposite response pattern was evident for this item among faculty (20% agreed; 39% disagreed), possibly because the consultants, some of whom are UNCW computer-science students, do not possess the training, knowledge, or experience to field the more advanced and specialized questions that faculty are likely to pose.

However, no guidelines are published for terminal-cluster or microcomputer lab usage or for the allocation of time among the various user groups. Also, the availability of microcomputers and terminals outside of campus clusters and labs presents a new dimension to the allocation problem, in that some departments have only a few microcomputers and terminals, and they are not conveniently located for routine use by faculty and students.

No written policy on the allocation of computing resources exists. Rather, department chairs typically have allocated the resources within their departments to faculty, staff, and students. This situation is indicated in the faculty and staff surveys. Specifically, although both groups were more inclined to agree than disagree that computer-resource allocation among user groups is equitable, only one-third (34%) of UNCW staff - and only one-fourth (23%) of the faculty - think that there is a clearly stated policy for allocation of computing resources and assignment of priorities for computer usage. The purposes of the computer-advisory committees of the Faculty Senate and the administration are to provide advice on the allocation of computing resources, to request new hardware and software or enhancements to existing resources, and to recommend priorities for computer usage. However, more faculty surveyed disagreed (36%) than agreed (27%) that the faculty's Computer Services Committee adequately represents the needs of the faculty.

Detailed records are kept for the microcomputer laboratories and for the VAX clusters regarding connect time, processing time, and number of interactive connections by user type. User types include academic users, academic-support- users, administrative users, administrative-support-services users, systems and-operations-services users, undergraduate and graduate students, student information-system users, and financial-records-system users.

Although the administration may in fact establish priorities for computer resource allocation and balance the services among the user groups on an ad hoc basis (no written priorities are available), most faculty and staff have little understanding of how priorities are determined or services are balanced. Although there are committees of the Faculty Senate and of the administration whose purpose is advisory, less than one-fourth of faculty and still fewer staff agreed that OCIS provides adequate opportunities for them to offer input into how the computer budget is prioritized, allocated, or spent, or into the planning process for computing facilities and services.

Computing for academics is provided not only by the central VAX cluster but also by the Cray Y-MP supercomputer at NCSC Sequent, various Sun and IRIS workstations, and microcomputers. Some faculty need specific hardware and software for microcomputers or graphics workstations. To consider only the VAX cluster when determining computer needs and usage is to miss the full picture. Academic computing has unique needs which require individual attention and should not compete with administrative computing for resources.

Uses of computers in the classroom vary widely from traditional programming in computer-science classes, to cybernetic application programs for word processing and data analysis, to study guides and exam reviews. Classroom computer use has grown at UNCW. Some Basic Studies classes such as English 101 and 102 and Political Science 101 use computers in some or all sections. However, there are not enough of these sections to accommodate all students. Across the University the majority of classroom exposure to computers is in junior- and senior-level courses.

Some classes in which students use computers require students to pay a computing fee ($17.50); however, some require the fee but do not use computers, and some use computers but do not require the fee. Clearly, an inequity exists which should be rectified. Among the faculty, 54% favored charging a computing fee to all students, versus 30% who were opposed. Students were more evenly divided on the same question, with 32% in favor of all paying a computing fee and 34% opposed.

Both students (78%) and faculty (68%) considered computer literacy and competency important aspects of the academic program and feel that they should be a required part of undergraduate education. However, only 37% of the students polled felt that they were getting adequate exposure to computers, and only 7% of the faculty polled felt that the Basic Studies program assures that students develop basic computer competency.

For all UNCW constituents to achieve greater computer competency, several things are required: more hardware, software, and communications equipment, as well as more information and access to such equipment; and additional staff to provide support and training to faculty, staff, and students. The OCIS unit report and several survey results underscore these requirements. Most of the OCIS recommendations concern the acquisition of new hardware or software resources (a fiber-optic data network, a multimedia center, a computer/voice telephone response system, and CONCERT network connection hardware). Both faculty and staff gave OCIS lower marks on its provision of adequate information about new hardware and software, and both faculty and staff strongly favor the idea of providing all registered students with individual computer accounts.

Funding limits are an obstacle to: acquiring new hardware, software, and communications equipment; increasing OCIS staffing to a level that provides them time to acquire and distribute information about new hardware, software, and communications equipment; and providing faculty, staff, and students with full access to state-of-the-art equipment and software - in offices, labs, and classrooms - and with the training that will enable full use of it. These constraints are caused far more by funding limitations than by any lack of interest or expertise at this University.

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The Division of Student Affairs is the organizational unit responsible for planning and implementing student-development services. Its mission is to encourage student use of personal, institutional, community, and other resources to achieve the goals of individual development, self-fulfillment, and responsible citizenship. Its programs and services are created to provide students with opportunities, resources, and guidance for achieving personal, academic, and career goals and to provide a secure intellectual, social, and physical environment. All of the services provided for these purposes are also available for students participating in off-campus programs.

The Division of Student Affairs is organized into seven departments (see the organizational chart in Figure 5.1, which identifies all areas of responsibility for the Division of Student Affairs). The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, acting with the directors within the Division, organizes, staffs, leads, and assesses programs on a continuing basis. The Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is responsible for student-life-studies and the student/parent-orientation programs.

The Division's planning process involves five components: standards for programs (also called functional work areas), mission and goal statements, key result areas (annual department goals), problem-solving objectives, and innovative goals (beyond one year). Three of the components are recorded on planning forms, and each reflects a unique part of the planning process.

For the past five years the Division has reviewed national standards established for functional work areas with department staff and faculty and student representatives. Departments in the Division have developed a statement of standards outlining the mission, program, organization and administration, human resources, funding, facilities, campus and community relations, ethical standards, and evaluation procedures for Division work areas. In doing this, a two-part process was completed: (1) review of national standards of practice and development of Division standards; and (2) recommendations to achieve these standards of practice. Eighteen program areas in the Division are now operating under standards statements that are reviewed annually.

Departments in the Division have developed a Policy and Procedures Manual outlining all policies and procedures. Policies and procedures are reviewed annually and updated for all departments. Overall Division policies are maintained within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and are formulated in consultation with appropriate University constituencies. All departments have developed records policies that have been approved by respective department directors, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the University Records Officer, the Chancellor, and the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.

Staffing Expectations

The Division has qualified professional staff. To be qualified, a professional staff member must have a graduate degree in a field of study relevant to the position's duties or must have an appropriate combination of education and experience. In all departments or units where there is a full-time director, the director possesses a level of education and professional experience beyond that of the staff that are supervised.

To ensure that professional staff members devote adequate time to professional duties, every effort is made to provide sufficient clerical and technicalsupport staff. The Division seeks to assemble a staff whose demographic characteristics represent those of the student body.

The Division has a standard procedure for staff selection and evaluation, and it attempts to provide professional-development opportunities for staff including inservice training programs, and for participation in professional conferences, workshops, and other continuing-education activities.

Evaluation and Assessment

In 1984, the Division instituted a formal research and evaluation program to improve student services and development programs, to expand its knowledge about student development and student services in general, and to assess the organizational effectiveness of the Division. The Director of Student Life Studies is an advocate for student-affairs research and collaborates with the Office of Institutional Research (see Appendix S-B for the "Statement on Working Relationship Between the Office of Institutional Research and the Division of Student Affairs").

Both programs and services are periodically assessed to determine the degree to which programs and services are necessary and successful in encouraging student growth and development. Evaluative research efforts include studies of students and their development and studies of the effectiveness of student-services programs. Completed studies are then disseminated throughout the institution. All research and evaluation projects in the Division are coordinated through the Office of the

Director of Student Life Studies, which has established four categories of policies and procedures relating to evaluation and assessment:

1. General research and evaluation policies and procedures comply with the stated goals of UNCW and the Division of Student Affairs.
2. Specific research and evaluation policies and procedures have been established for cooperative efforts between functional areas within the Division.
3. Interoffice-collaboration-of-research-and-evaluation policies and procedures have been established to coordinate joint research efforts between the Division and other UNCW organizational units.
4. Information management policies and procedures have been established to insure a continuous planning and evaluation process.
5. The Division's research, evaluation, and assessment program strives to set goals for student-services programs that are consistent with student needs and the purposes of UNCW, and to analyze the effectiveness of these programs. Activities of the Division's research, evaluation, and assessment program include:
6. Collecting and analyzing student data beginning with pre-enrollment characteristics of first-year students and continuing through follow-up studies with former students.
7. Conducting periodic studies of the characteristics of students and various student subgroups; students may be described in terms of their intellectual, social, moral, spiritual, and physical development and behavior.
8. Regularly assessing students' needs to guide program development.
9. Analyzing trends in students' behaviors, satisfaction, retention, and attitudes, and interpreting the implications of these trends for institutional policies and practices.
10. Collecting and analyzing data to be used for making decisions about the continuation, modification, or termination of student-services programs.
11. Systematically assessing the professional contributions of staff members and making recommendations for professional development.
12. Coordinating, conducting, or collaborating on cost-effectiveness studies of student-services/development programs.
13. Acting as a resource to Division staff regarding research and evaluation efforts.
14. Regularly disseminating information about research findings to concerned members of the campus community.
15. Where appropriate, guiding and evaluating research conducted by students.

Over two dozen evaluative research projects were conducted between January 1984 and August 1990. Results from these efforts have appeared both in research bulletins and in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Evaluation of the efficacy of research and evaluation in other departments in the Division is a primary function of the Office of Student Life Studies (evaluative research projects within the Division of Student Affairs are listed in Appendixes 5-B - 5-D.

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Resource allocation within the Division of Student Affairs is handled through the Office of the Vice Chancellor. Prioritized requests for human, physical, financial, and equipment resources are submitted annually by each department in the Division to the Vice Chancellor. Through discussions between individual directors and the Vice Chancellor, priorities are occasionally reordered. Once all departments within the Division have submitted agreed-upon budget requests, Division priorities are established and the Vice Chancellor allocates available resources accordingly.

Staff within the Division do not feel that current staff allocations are adequate to support the mission and goals of the departments within the Division. Several departments require additional staff to meet the needs of a growing and diverse student population. One department within the Division, the Student Development Center, lost one full-time position within the last year. The Center was already short-staffed prior to losing this position. Due to current state budget problems, the short-term future appears gloomy regarding staffing and other resources.

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Academic Advising All incoming freshmen are assigned to the General College Advising Center (GCAC), which reports to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. At the end of their freshman year, all students must declare a major. Students planning a major in the College of Arts and Sciences are transferred to the appropriate department for advising. Students planning a major in any of the professional schools receive pre-professional advising within their school. Academic advising in the General College Advising Center and in academic departments is supplemented by significant faculty involvement in student clubs and honor societies.

Students' impressions of UNCW's academic advising program, as indicated in the Self-Study Survey of Students, were generally favorable in that very substantially higher percentages agreed that their advisors are available (60%, versus 17% who disagreed) and provide them with satisfactory assistance (57% agreed; 21% disagreed). Faculty Self-Study Survey results, however, reveal some problems associated with academic advising. Specifically, although 57% agreed that UNCW places a high priority on academic advising - and an even larger percentage (88%) agreed with the item: "I place a high priority on academic advising" - three out of every five (59%) faculty responding disagreed that they are adequately rewarded for their advising responsibilities. Only 19% felt their rewards for advising were adequate. Slightly more than half (53%) felt they received adequate support for advising.

The new position of Enrollment Manager, briefly described on page 271, was introduced July 1991 to improve student recruitment and retention by grouping several relevant offices such as GCAC and functions such as the orientation program (discussed below). The new degree-audit program installed recently by the Registrar's Office should improve the faculty's ability to provide quality advising. However, until all faculty have ready access to VAX through terminals or microcomputer connections (see the suggestion on page 277), this program cannot be put to optimum use (the degree-audit program is described on page 298)

The College of Arts and Sciences is currently reviewing faculty-evaluation criteria and their relationship to merit salary increases and workload assignment. This review should address the problem of inadequate rewards for advising.

In the School of Education, all "pre-professional" and admitted students are assigned full-time tenure-track faculty as advisors. The Associate Dean of Student Services coordinates this advisement effort, maintains student records, monitors individual progress, and administers procedures required for program completion and professional certification (for additional information regarding the array of services available to students in teacher education, see pages 208-223 of NCATE Institutional Report, 1990).

The high priority placed on academic advising in the School of Nursing is evidenced by the requirement that all nursing faculty (with the exception of adjunct faculty) participate in advising. In addition to being available to their individual advisees, faculty set aside time to meet with UNCW students and community members who are considering careers in nursing, and with diploma and associate degree nurses in area hospitals and community colleges to acquaint them with the School of Nursing's Registered Nurse (RN) Access Track.

A systematic approach is in place to insure the effectiveness of the advising process within the School of Nursing. RN students are assigned to the Dean for advisement, while generic pre-nursing students may be assigned to other faculty members. Once admitted to the School of Nursing, junior students are advised by the Level I/II Coordinator, and senior students are advised by the Dean. The advising process for pre-nursing students is guided by the School of Nursing's advisement form. This form was developed and is revised regularly by the faculty.

Students who have attained sophomore standing and have indicated a desire to study in the Cameron School of Business are assigned to the School's Undergraduate Advising Center, where they are counseled on the School's degree programs and requirements. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor (all faculty and administrative personnel in the School are involved in advising students), who aids the student in selecting a course of study.

After students have met admission requirements for the School of Business, each is assigned an advisor in the chosen degree program. Students receive not only academic counseling but also advice on career goals and other opportunities.

All MBA students receive academic advising and counseling from the Associate Dean, who serves as MBA coordinator. A program plan is developed when the student first enrolls, indicating a schedule of courses over the period the student expects to remain in the program. Advising activities include career counseling as well as academic counseling.

An academic advisor is assigned to UNCW graduate students at the time of their acceptance; the advisor's name, supplied by the department, is noted in the acceptance letter. Advising thus is the prime responsibility of the department, and the Graduate School is not involved thereafter unless it receives complaints. Most departments have an organized group (such as the Biology Graduate Student Association) that provides a forum for the concerns of graduate students. The Dean of the Graduate School meets with these groups on request.

With the addition of a minority advisor, the effectiveness of the General College Advising Center has been greatly enhanced. However, because of the nature of the Office of Minority Affairs (OMA) and the reputation it has established, minority students often seek assistance from the OMA Director about class schedules and course selections. Student respondents to the Self-Study Survey were six times more likely to agree (37%) than to disagree (6%) that the OMA meets the needs of minority students at UNCW. If a specific problem is determined during advising, the Director refers the student to the appropriate resource person on campus. The Director monitors the academic progress of each African-American student, and each student with less than a 2.0 GPA is requested to visit the Office of Minority Affairs. During these visits, students are reminded of their present academic status and offered suggestions on strategies to achieve success. Students are reminded of the Tutorial Assistance Program sponsored by the Office of Minority Affairs, as well as other resources available throughout the campus. In addition, the academic-retention chart is reviewed, and students are given encouragement and strongly urged to use available resources.

Orientation The mission of the orientation program for new students is to assist them in their transition to the institution, expose them to its educational opportunities, orient new students into the academic and co-curricular life of the institution, improve the retention rate, and acquaint parents with the UNCW environment and services and with issues facing college students. The goals of the UNCW orientation program are divided into four categories: (1) institutional understanding; (2) academic understanding; (3) student transition; and (4) services and opportunities. The specific goals that are included in each of these categories are listed in the Student Development Services unit report.

UNCW's orientation program is made available to full- and part-time students. According to the Undergraduate Catalogue, orientation is required of all new students. Comprehensive orientation programs are held each summer for new freshmen; each fall for new freshmen, transfer, and unclassified students; and each spring for new freshmen, transfer, and unclassified students. Annually-updated "Division Orientation Standards and Guidelines," combined with program evaluations, provide evidence of the effectiveness of UNCW's orientation program. Certain aspects of orientation are hindered by the shortage of classroom space during the summer for small-group sessions. This is a problem for both the Division of Student Affairs and the Division for Public Service.

For an orientation program to have an impact on student retention, it must be seen as a process rather than as an event. Therefore, in order to provide an appropriate transition to college, orientation needs to extend well into the freshman year. Currently, a freshman seminar available to "special admission" students has significantly increased the retention rate of these students. Expansion of the seminar is a high priority.

Even though freshman orientation historically has been sponsored by the Student Affairs Division (and as of July 1991 by the Enrollment Manager's office), the Office of Minority Affairs also has been heavily involved in the process. In previous years, the Director of Minority Affairs was introduced to all new freshmen, and he was given the opportunity to conduct a special orientation session during the second day of each session. Plans are now underway for the OMA Director to conduct an orientation session during the evening of the first day of orientation. This meeting and a reception for new African-American students and their parents will not compete with other concurrent sessions (such as housing and financial aid). It is anticipated that this approach will be more feasible and will improve the orientation for African-American students.

Counseling and Career Development The mission of the Student Development Center (SDC) is to assist students to define and achieve personal, academic, and career goals. To this end, SDC provides counseling, crisis intervention, and developmental programs for students, and consulting services for faculty, administrators, and alumni.

Individual and group counseling is available for personal, career, or educational concerns. Developmental programs and workshops are offered regularly to help students benefit from the academic environment. The focus of these programs may include increasing learning skills, making satisfying occupational and academic choices, and developing positive self concepts and interpersonal skills. Special services for disabled students include tutoring, equipment, and advocacy. SDC also provides psychological testing and administers national admissions-testing programs for the region.

A library of psychological test materials, manuals, and report forms is maintained in a central location. Regular appointment times for testing are maintained by the receptionist. Tests that are selected must be reliable, valid, and appropriate. Counselors share test results and interpretations with their clients. Information about the range of error for such interpretations is also explained when such information is considered beneficial to the client. This information is expressed in language that the client can understand.

The counseling function is performed by professionals from disciplines such as counseling and clinical psychology, counseling and student personnel services, psychiatry, counselor education, and rehabilitation counseling; all of them have at least a master's degree. Services provided by paraprofessional staff are appropriately supervised by professional staff members. Professional staff have regular consultative assistance from a psychiatrist in the appropriate use of psychopharmacological substances and in case management. The Student Development Center has lost, as a result of recent budget cuts, a Counseling Psychologist/Coordinator of Testing Services position and is in dire need of having the position reinstated.

During the school year, tests are administered and scored by student paraprofessionals trained as psychometric technicians and under the supervision of the coordinator of testing. At other times, tests may be administered by support staff. Tests requiring individual administration are provided only by professionally qualified staff. The Self-Study Survey of Students indicated that by a 2-to-1 margin (45% to 23%) responding students agreed that UNCW provides adequate personal counseling.

SDC also administers national college and graduate-school admissions tests such as the GRE, MAT, NTE, and SAT, as well as licensing examinations for the North Carolina Real Estate and Insurance Commissions. Academic testing includes the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) test and the math placement test.

The coordinator of testing hires, trains, and supervises part-time staff from various University offices as proctors and supervisors. The coordinator of testing is responsible for all communication with testing organizations, responding to inquiries from test takers, scheduling staff, maintaining test security, receiving and checking test shipments, reserving facilities, and returning materials after test administration.

The Student Development Center and the Career Planning and Placement Center (CPPC) coordinate career development. This mission is accomplished through the "Career Development Continuum," a concept which specifies the ordering of a range of services between the two offices (see Table 5.1). These services parallel the career-development needs of students from the freshman year through graduation.

SDC views its assistance to students in making major and career choices as a crucial service which can alleviate much of the academic frustration of students, faculty, and staff. The SDC uses several tools to provide assessment and information to students making decisions about majors and careers: the Strong Interest Inventory (SII); the Self-Directed Search (SDS); the Major/Minor Finder (MMF); and the System of Interactive Guidance and Information-PLUS (SIGI-PLUS). Checklists and other aids are also provided. The current labor-market information was updated in the summer of 1990. This update capability is an obvious advantage over printed occupational handbooks. Career assistance is offered at the SDC through career exploration workshops, major-finder sessions, and vocational-interest counseling.

The Career Planning and Placement Center (CPPC) provides student and alumni clients with a wide variety of services in addressing their placement-related needs. These services include career counseling; full-time, part-time, and summer job placements; and referrals for experiential learning opportunities (co-op, internships, and work-study positions). Additionally, CPPC has an extensive Career-Resource Library which provides company literature, and information about choosing an occupation and a major. This library also contains video tapes provided by prospective employers, as well as individual tapes on various job-search skills.

Internally, the workshop program consists of more than 50 workshops annually through which students develop resume-writing skills, job-interviewing skills, and job search skills. A TV monitor, VCR, and camcorder are available to conduct role-play video interviews to enhance interview skills. Externally, seminars and workshops are provided by the Center staff to public and private schools, churches, and civic and community organizations upon request.

An expansion of services and information provided by CPPC is represented by a special agreement between UNCW and the Employment Security Commission (ESC). This 1983 agreement augments CPPC staff with a full-time Job Service Counselor from ESC, providing increased information about job vacancies to students. Placement files are set up for interested seniors; they contain professional references (credentials), transcripts, and other appropriate documents useful to the job search or to support applications to graduate and professional schools.

Two career days are held each school year, one in October and one in March. At these events prospective employers come to campus to inform students about career trends and practices. Conversations begun at the career days may lead to eventual hiring. Finally, recruiting visits are scheduled each semester which bring interested employers to campus to interview students for employment. During 1989-90, under this program and other services, 45 percent of seniors who registered with CPPC obtained jobs. The national placement rate was 42 percent.

CPPC has established specific policies regarding the use of career development services by students, alumni, and employers. Students (graduate and undergraduate) and alumni of UNCW are served with a view toward meeting their career needs. The clients who _ are served are undergraduates, alumni, graduates, reciprocals (students and alumni from other UNC-system campuses), walk-ins, and the general public.

Employers are separated into those who conduct regular campus visits, those who frequently list a job, and those who have a one-time problem or situation or who are merely seeking information. The following services are available to employers: (1) classroom visitations; (2) Lunch-with-a-Professor program; (3) advertisements of visits; (4) special nighttime meetings with students; (5) opportunities to conduct second interviews; (6) opportunities to test students with employers' tests; (7) display tables. in heavily traveled areas; (8) entrance and exit interviews with the CPPC Director during campus recruiting visits; (9) opportunities to evaluate the program; and (10) provision of student credentials.

The Self-Study Survey of Students indicated that respondents were substantially more likely to agree (44%) than to disagree (26%) that they are adequately informed about services provided by the Career Planning and Placement Center. Students were about evenly split (32% agreed; 30% disagreed) that CPPC actively helps in preparation for a post-graduation career. An almost equal split (31% agreed; 32% disagreed) occurred in responses to the survey question about CPPC's success in providing information about graduate-school and professional school opportunities.

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Student Government According to its constitution, the purpose of the UNCW Student Government Association )SGA) is:

• To further and uphold the best interests of the students and other members of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington community;
• To coordinate affairs concerning the student body;
• To receive the opinion of the student body and to investigate complaints brought forward by students or faculty;
• To voice the opinion of the general student body;
• To maintain the liberties of the individual student and the student body as a whole;
• To participate in activities pertaining to the students or the campus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington; and
• To appropriate student activity money and to finance activities which enrich and improve the quality of University life.

Article II of the SGA Constitution, approved May 1980, states:

1. All academic matters.
2. All matters affecting the health of the University community.
3. Housekeeping and/or maintenance.
4. Control of University property.
5. Discipline in special cases stated in the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life may best be handled beyond the student court. The administration guarantees that the judicial rights -of every student shall not be arbitrarily violated. In return, the Student Government Association and all members thereof shall insure that they conduct themselves in a mature and decorous fashion and shall insure student representation in the following two areas:
0. Academic committees composed of both students and faculty members.
1. Co-curricular committees to insure student opinion and input are included in an advisory capacity in the determination of University policy.

As constituents of the academic community, students are free, individually and collectively, to express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student body. This is accomplished by student representation on committees and task forces of the Faculty Senate, the Chancellor, the Division of Student Affairs, and other University agencies. The Student Handbook and Code of Student Life outlines means for student participation in the formulation. and application of institutional policy affecting student affairs.

Most of the student respondents to the Self-Study Survey agreed (58%, versus 13% who disagreed) that student-government activities are open to all UNCW students. More student respondents agreed (34%) than disagreed (20%) that the SGA is responsive to student needs.

Student Activities Student activities complement the academic component of a student's education and development. The Student Activities Office (SAO), located in the University Union, functions as a resource to all students and student organizations while helping to coordinate such diverse student interests and activities as fraternities and sororities, student publications, the Association for Campus Entertainment, sports clubs, and campus-wide organizations. SAO is responsible for the support, services, and communication among the 80-plus student organizations, the University, and the community.

SAO promotes maximum student involvement, rarely using staff to coordinate programs. Students are encouraged to take as much ownership and responsibility for campus activities as their abilities allow. One-on-one meetings, committee meetings, workshops, and retreats provide opportunities for students to share information and use staff as resources as they plan programs.

Services provided by SAO include contract review, officer training, leadership and organizational workshops or retreats, a monthly newsletter and calendar, mail boxes, poster materials and a publicity workroom, professional advisors for consultation, and resource materials relating to all areas (fundraising, issues, programming, leadership, training, service, and publicity). These services are available for all students and organizations. More students agreed (41%) than disagreed (28%) that they are adequately informed about extracurricular activities.

Direct advising is provided to the Association for Campus Entertainment, the Greek Presidents Council, the Panhellenic Council, the Interfraternity Council, and the Sports Club Council. In addition to these support services, professional staff work directly with the leadership of these organizations to ensure consistent leadership and organizational development while encouraging students to accomplish their own agendas. Staff serve as liaisons to the University and community when appropriate, and they prepare students to cooperate with members of these communities. Handbooks have been printed for all advisors, and networking occurs as needed.

Events emphasizing cultural and intellectual growth are promoted in conjunction with other departments and student organizations. Each student activities program is evaluated upon completion. In addition, overall student activities programming is evaluated annually.

Periodically, student-activity surveys are administered to determine students' needs and interests; however, most input regarding student interests comes through interaction during meetings of campus organizations where student opinions are voiced and suggestions are made. The Self-Study Survey of Students shows that 57% of student respondents agreed that there are student organizations to meet their needs; only 12%- disagreed.

Currently, SAO is now a member of the National Student Exchange (NSE). NSE will widen our students' educational horizons through a domestic exchange and hosting program. A wide range of these opportunities is available through a satellite network of 100 other colleges and universities.

The Association for Campus Entertainment (ACE) is the programming body of the campus, and its office is located in the student-activities suite. ACE is charged with bringing activities and entertainment to campus. Funding is received through the Student Government Association. ACE has complete control over all expenditures and programs offered as long as University and Student Government Association guidelines are followed. ACE has committees in Fine Arts and Lectures; Concerts; Film and Video; Cultural Arts; and Special Events.

Co-curricular involvement on campus enables students to develop their skills in decision making, communication, public relations, budgeting, programming, and organizational management. Classroom learning can be tested and applied through involvement in campus activities. The resource library located in the Student Activities Office is available to all student organizations, and current information on programming and student-leadership development can be accessed easily.

Students are encouraged by advisors and SAO to become leaders. SAO actively promotes dedication and the individual responsibility of students to their respective organizations.

SAO strongly supports involvement in community activities such as the Red Cross Blood Drive. Good citizenship is an indirect result of student involvement. Students are more likely to continue volunteer efforts and involvement with the outside community if their campus volunteer experiences have been positive and worthwhile.

The ACE Fine Arts and Lectures Committee, more so than any other student group, is responsible for exposing students to new ideas, cultures, art forms, and lifestyles, on the principle that the intellectual and cultural life of a campus must extend beyond the classroom.

UNCW encourages the formation of student organizations, and it assists all groups in constitution format, membership recruitment, officer training, and program planning or publicity. SAO has developed a student-organizations handbook and a sports-club handbook to help groups organize and develop. Students are responsible for formulating their own organizational procedures and manuals, but SAO staff are available to assist student organizations with this task. Monthly activities calendars are published by SAO primarily for campus use, although they are accessible to any visitors to campus. A self-service activities calendar (bulletin board) in the SAO is available to. all student organizations for planning and publicity purposes. An organizational directory is compiled each fall listing the names of all registered student organizations on campus, their presidents, and advisors.

UNCW endorses policies and implementation procedures which govern the supervisory role of the University over student activities programs. As documented in the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life, the Student Organizations Committee is a standing committee of the Chancellor and has review and recommending responsibility to the Chancellor for all student organizations, including their registration. The committee has 12 members: five students appointed by the Student Senate for one-year renewable terms and five faculty appointed by the Faculty Senate for three-year terms. The Assistant Director for Student Activities and the Dean of Students serve as ex-officio, non-voting members.

The committee's duties are to formulate policy with the approval of the Chancellor for registration of student organizations and to review, approve, and revoke registration of student organizations. It hears disputes within and between registered student organizations and has authority to lessen, but not increase, sanctions imposed or recommended by other bodies. The Student Organizations Committee may refer a case to the original hearing body for a rehearing. It also considers appeals that pertain to registration procedures. The committee is trained each year by the Dean of Students and the Assistant Director for Student Activities in registration, constitution, and hearing procedures and policies.

The Leadership Center was established in the spring of 1988 as a comprehensive program which promotes individual leadership development; organizational development; understanding of leadership theories and concepts; and awareness of global concerns through skills training and educational and developmental activities. These activities are varied, including workshops, retreats, publications, speakers, resources, seminars, consultations, and self-assessments.

Student Publications and Other Media The Student Media Board, which governs the Seahawk newspaper, Atlantis literary magazine, and WLOZ cable radio station, works within the "Statement of Authority and Operations," approved by the Student Government Association in January 1991. Copies of the statement are on file in the University Union Administration, SGA, and Student Affairs offices.

The Student Media Board's purpose is to ensure that effective service is being given to the student body and the University by the governed organizations, free of censorship and arbitrary removal from office for disapproval of editorial policies. It receives and allocates student media funds and oversees the media's adherence to canons of responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, unfounded attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo. The Student Media Board does not infringe on the freedom of media to establish editorial policies and news coverage. All student media are student-staffed and are provided space in the University Union.

The quality of student publications and other media would be improved by hiring a professional media advisor to assist all student media with production and financial operations. The advisor would be responsible for, among other things, increasing faculty involvement in student media, developing broader relationships between student media and regular academic programs, and providing support for improving the technical aspects of student media.

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Student Rights and Responsibilities The mission of UNCW is served, in part, through the establishment, communication, enforcement, and adjudication of regulations and policies. The Office of the Dean of Students publishes the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life annually and distributes it to all faculty, staff, and students. This document outlines the rights and responsibilities and expected levels of conduct of students in the University community. All components of the University judicial system, including delegation of authority for campus discipline, are clearly defined in the student handbook. Specifically, the delegation of authority for campus discipline is clearly stated in the Code of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina (page 18) and in the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life, section II-2: "Initiation of Disciplinary Proceedings" and section V: "Academic Honor Code." Civil rights are addressed in Appendix A, section V, paragraphs A-B of the student handbook. Policies regarding the retention and disposition of student disciplinary records are clearly stated in section II-5 of the handbook.

Students who responded to the Self-Study Survey indicated, by wide margins, that they were aware of student-behavior policies and disciplinary procedures (67% agreed; 9% disagreed) and that these policies and procedures are clearly stated (67% agreed; 9% disagreed). Faculty responding to the Self-Study Survey indicated that "student behavior policies and disciplinary procedures are clear to me" (54% agreed; 19% disagreed), but were evenly divided (31% agreed; 32% disagreed) concerning whether faculty have adequate input into the formulation of these policies and procedures.

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The Registrar's Office is a unit of Academic Affairs under the supervision of the Registrar, who reports to the Enrollment Manager (as of July 1991; prior to that time, the Registrar reported directly to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs). The Associate Registrar directs registration and record-keeping activities and supervises three records clerks. The Assistant Registrar coordinates all activities related to computer services with the assistance of a data-processing coordinator, a data-processing assistant, and an upper-level records clerk.

Responsibilities and activities of the Registrar's Office include registering students, certifying students' enrollment status to outside agencies, withdrawing students from classes, providing transcript services for students and alumni, maintaining student records, processing and mailing students' grades, processing student applications for graduation, maintaining student biographic/demographic data, and maintaining the University course-inventory file. The Registrar's Office is responsible for the integrity of the data on students' records as well as all other data needed to generate reports from the Student Information System (SIS) files.

The paramount goal of the Registrar's Office is to serve the students and to provide the essential administrative support to the faculty and staff. In addition, the Office seeks to serve alumni, graduates, and others in the community who have a need for their services. It is essential that records of the academic progress of UNCW students be accurate and up to date for both credit and noncredit courses, and that the confidentiality of all information be protected in accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA, also known as the Buckley Amendment), University policy, and recommended guidelines of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

All activities and responsibilities are executed through a comprehensive SIS. This complex, automated system, which includes data belonging to and shared by admissions, records, financial aid, and billing/receivables, provides limited access based on the "need to know." All data is current and live; that is, it is immediately accessible to those offices with approved data access.

Registration The Registrar's Office is responsible for planning and conducting all registration activities. Approximately 85% of the student population pre-registers for courses in the academic departments under the direction of the Registrar. The Registrar's Office processes an additional 2,000 students during a registration period and approximately 5,000 transactions during a drop/add period.

With the steady increase during the past several years in the student population and the lack of increase in staff support, it has become increasingly difficult to provide services in an efficient manner. Telephone registration is seen as the next step in providing higher quality service to students.

Transcript Service The Registrar's Office is responsible for processing all transcript requests. One staff member, with student worker assistance, processes an average of 75 transcripts per day. The Office's goal is a 24-hour turnaround from the time a transcript is requested until it is mailed. On many occasions transcripts are processed on demand, with no waiting. This turnaround time is excellent, especially when compared to other institutions. According to a survey conducted by the Carolina Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the majority of Carolina universities average three days to one week for processing transcript requests.

Processing and Mailing of Grades The Registrar's Office is able to mail grades at the end of the fall and spring semesters within 24 hours after the deadline for turning in grades. It is not possible to mail grades for Summer I before registration for Summer II because the University calendar does not allow sufficient time between sessions. Although guidelines used by the Calendar Committee recommend three working days between sessions, the calendar currently allows only two working days. Three working days is the minimum time in which student grades could be mailed and received before registration for the second session. Students enrolled for Summer I would then be aware of their grades and would know whether or not they need to register for Summer II before registration day.

Maintaining the Academic Record The academic record contains the complete and unabridged academic history of the student. The University endorses policies concerning the kind of information which will be made part of the permanent record of each student, as well as policies concerning the retention of such records. Student academic records are never destroyed. The basic purpose of the academic record is to provide a record of academic progress and achievement that can be easily interpreted by the faculty advisor, by other institutions, and by prospective employers. Included in the responsibility of maintaining accurate and up-to-date academic records is the security of these records in compliance with laws and regulations pertaining to maintenance, security, and retention. The Registrar's Office makes every effort to insure that the academic records are secure and that complete confidentiality is provided for all students. The results of the Self-Study Survey of Students show that 63% of respondents agreed that academic records are safe, secure, and confidential (8% disagreed). UNCW maintains and publishes information-release policies which respect the rights of individual privacy, the confidentiality of records, and the best interests of the student and the University. Some of the measures taken to insure security are:

1. Official transcripts are printed on transcript security paper.
2. Academic offices have limited-view access to SIS screens based on the "need to know."
3. Transcripts are honored by written request only.
4. Transcripts sent to advisors or others having an educational interest are not to be released to a third party without consent of the student.

Under the Buckley Amendment (FERPA) certain information on students is classified as "directory information." This listing of items is published each year in the undergraduate and graduate catalogues and can be released upon inquiry unless the student notifies the Office otherwise. All other information is considered confidential. Section III on Student Records in the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life contains information pertinent to educational records, directory information, inspection and review of records, and amendment of a student record. Information in this handbook is updated each year and issued to all students. . With these security and confidentiality measures in place, students still are much more likely to agree (51%) than to disagree (19%) that they have easy access to their own academic records.

Faculty and certain administrative offices deemed to have an educational interest in the student have access to student information. (The policy on information release is in section III: "Student Records," in the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life.) These data are available for advising, research, and other basic institutional needs. Every effort is made to keep all student data up-to-date by processing all changes upon receipt in the Registrar's Office. Authorized users are encouraged to use the system to enhance accuracy in the execution of their duties. A manual, Guidelines for Users with Access to SIS, is provided to all users to assist them in preventing unauthorized access to or use of the data available on SIS.

Prior to going on-line in the summer of 1985, all records were maintained manually on hard copy. These records are stored in a vault in the Registrar's Office for maximum protection in case of fire. All records prior to 1980 have been microfilmed in compliance with state archival guidelines. A second copy of the film is stored in a vault off campus. The microxing of records for Spring 1980 through Spring 1985 is currently in progress. Once this project is completed, another time period will be targeted for microxing. This is an ongoing process of converting records to microfiche that will reduce the need for file cabinets, thus providing more working space. Records also are stored on the University's VAX cluster computing system and are backed up both daily and weekly on backup tapes that are stored in a fireproof safe in the University Cashier's office every night.

Currently three projects are underway in the Registrar's Office: one nearing completion (the degree-audit advising system); one planned for implementation in the future (touch-tone registration); and an ongoing project of microfilming records of students for archival purposes.

Degree-Audit Advising System, The "automated degree-audit," called "On-Course," is a comprehensive and complex auditing and advising system that is a tool for students, staff, and faculty. It uses the current student-information system, plus degree-requirement information, to provide students and advisors with a comprehensive report on the precise progress a student is making toward graduation. The objective of the degree-audit system is to provide an accurate record to assist the student and the advisor in scheduling classes to meet the student's degree requirements.

"On-Course," recently implemented for use campus wide, is maintained by the Registrar's Office. By agreeing to serve as a beta-test site for this program, UNCW was offered the opportunity to provide faculty and students with an advanced advising tool at a nominal cost. A project team (consisting of a representative from the College of Arts and Sciences and from each of the Schools, the Registrar, and the Computer Systems Coordinator in the Registrar's Office, who served as the project leader) was set up to implement this system. The Cameron School of Business Administration was chosen as the area to build, test, and evaluate the system.

Success was immediate and provided the impetus to include all areas of the University in this project. Input from individual department chairs was required to build the department requirements for each degree option offered. After all programs had been built, tested, and determined ready to use, training sessions for faculty were conducted to familiarize them with the degree-audit printouts. The objective of having the system in operation for pre-registration in Fall 1991 was met. Over 100 degree programs and 1500 degree requirements are maintained in the system to provide the student with a comprehensive listing of the degree requirements completed and the requirements remaining. A recent survey conducted by the Registrar's Office indicated that over 87% of the faculty had a positive reaction to this program. In the Self-Study Survey of Faculty 83% agreed they have ready access to current records of advisees. The availability of the degree-audit program reinforces the recommendation on page 277 to provide computer-network access in every faculty office.

The goal set by the Registrar's Office is to have all faculty members become familiar with and use the degree audit to guide the student toward graduation. The advantage of seeing the courses needed to meet the requirements for a degree, with each option defined, provides an effective advising tool for both student and advisor. At present, a full week is required between the last exam and the date for graduation. With the degree audit in full operation it should be possible to decrease the number of days between the last exam and graduation.

Touch-Tone Telephone Registration A telephone registration system could provide a more efficient, less time-consuming, and more convenient way for students to register for courses. It is an interactive telephone data-entry and voice-response system that automates the registration functions. This system allows the student to communicate directly with the University computer from home or at work by using the touch-tone key pad to enter course requests. The University computer responds by giving instructions or by confirming the transaction with a digitized human voice.

The University's current online system, developed in 1985 to register students and revise schedules, is no longer adequate to meet the needs of the University and its changing student population because it is inconvenient for many students to come to the campus to register or to revise their schedules; it is also labor intensive, requiring the Registrar's Office and academic departments to neglect or postpone other duties in order to serve the students during the period of registration and pre-registration.

During pre-registration, departmental secretaries must allot four hours a day for 10 days to registering students. In June, an additional four hours a day for three days are set aside to register new freshmen. Transfers and new freshmen are also registered in the department in August. The Registrar's Office has six operators who devote eight hours a day for eight days at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters to registering and revising student schedules. Time that is spent working with the current method of registration is time that is not available to attend to other duties and responsibilities. Over 4,000 hours are spent working on registration activities during the academic year. The cost of staff hours, plus the cost of drop/add cards, could be used in the operation of a new and more efficient system.

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Goals The mission of the Residence Life program is to provide a community environment which encourages the total development of students. Specific goals are to:

1. Provide a safe, secure, clean and comfortable environment in each of the five residence halls, seven suite buildings, and 13 apartment buildings;
2. Create and maintain an environment in the residence halls, suites, and apartments that is conducive to academic achievement and the promotion of learning outside the classroom;
3. Provide students with self-governing opportunities to take responsibility for their environment and to respect the rights and needs of others within the community;
4. Recruit, select, and train skilled professional and paraprofessional staff to support and develop the residence life program;
5. Develop a theory-based student-development model and incorporate it into the residence life philosophy, programs, and procedures;
6. Provide an overall evaluation methodology for all facets of the residence-life program; and
7. Encourage the appreciation of cultural differences among residents by providing cultural programming opportunities in the residence halls.

Policies and Procedures Several manuals publish the policies and procedures for the operation of the UNCW Residence Life and Housing programs. The Housing and Residence Life Handbook, published each year, contains policies, procedures, and guidelines which students must follow while residing on campus. This handbook also provides information on leadership opportunities; professional and paraprofessional staff available for assistance, activities, and programs; residence-hall room sizes; residence-hall recreational facilities; and pertinent food-service costs and operational hours.

The Offices of Residence Life and Housing both have operational manuals which explain basic office procedures for daily activities, responses to emergencies, and administrative details. Residence Life and Housing publish various informational newsletters and brochures as well.

Students who were surveyed very strongly agreed (81%, versus 4% who disagreed) that they are aware of the official housing policies and procedures concerning the apartments or residence halls where they live. They also gave generally positive responses to several other survey items dealing with student housing, agreeing that their campus apartments/residence halls are places where: they can study (52% agreed; 27% disagreed); security is adequate (66% agreed; 11% disagreed), and buildings are secured at night by campus police (61% agreed; 16% disagreed); key control is well maintained (67% agreed; 14% disagreed); and the heating and air conditioning are adequate (44% agreed; 32% disagreed).

Staff Organization and Responsibility The Director of Residence Life supervises an Assistant Director of Residence Life, three residence coordinators, and one student director. The professional staff have master's degrees and full-time experience. The student director is an undergraduate hall director. Professional and student directors supervise resident assistants who are undergraduate students. In addition, there are one full-time and one half-time support-staff persons in the Office of Residence Life.

Each member of the Residence Life staff is selected through an interview process. They are evaluated on strengths, prior experiences, and perceived ability to learn new skills and techniques. Formal training on job responsibilities is conducted each spring semester. When the staff returns to campus prior to the fall opening of the residence halls, they are given more practical and theoretical training in working with college students, running a hall community, confronting problems, and responding to emergencies. Ongoing training is provided each month throughout the year. Staff members are required to attend training workshops, on-campus lectures and talks, and in-hall training as well. Surveyed students agreed (61%; 13% disagreed) that the staff of their campus apartments/residence halls are adequately trained and prepared to carry out the duties assigned to them.

Student Housing Facilities UNCW provides on-campus housing for approximately 1,980 students in five residence halls, seven suite buildings, and 13 apartment buildings. Galloway Hall, opened in 1971, provides housing for 400 students. Belk Hall, opened in 1976, and Hewlett Hall, opened in 1978, each accommodates 200 students. Graham Hall, first occupied in 1979, provides housing for 220 students. Schwartz Hall, UNCW's newest residence hall, was opened in 1985 and accommodates 160 students. Apartments and suites provide additional on-campus housing. Thirteen apartment buildings, completed in 1981, provide housing for 400 students. In 1989, seven suite buildings were opened for student occupancy, providing accommodations for 400 students. Students living on campus must participate in one of two meal plans.

Security for on-campus housing is provided by student and staff night receptionists and by walk-through rounds conducted by campus police. Sixty-six percent of the responding students who live on campus indicated that the security of their residence was adequate, and 67% indicated that key control for their residence was well maintained. While students generally feel secure in the residence halls, additional steps should be taken to maintain a high level of safety.

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Mission The UNCW Financial Aid Office (FAO), which formerly reported to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, as of July 1991 reports to the Enrollment Manager. FAO administers a program of financial assistance which seeks to meet the needs of all enrolled students. While the program provides for the recognition of talent and outstanding student achievement, its primary objective is to assist students with demonstrated need. In assisting students, the office analyzes and validates the financial need of applicants and their families through financial statements, related documents, and interviews. With this information, awards are constructed to enable a student to bridge the gap between student and family resources and the cost of attending UNCW. This assistance may be in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, work-study jobs, or a combination of these programs.

The Veterans Office addresses the needs of students receiving benefits under the new G.I. Bill and Vocational Rehabilitation Programs. The primary concern of this office is to provide certification for payment and to insure that recipients keep up with their prescribed curriculum and successfully complete their educational objective as outlined in the University's catalogues and as approved by the North Carolina State Approving Agency.

Program To insure access to resources by the most needy and worthy students, FAO uses the national standard of Congressional Methodology to establish eligibility and insure both horizontal and vertical equity among applicants. Horizontal equity means that families in like circumstances receive like treatment; vertical equity means that wealthier families should contribute proportionately more.

UNCW makes provisions for a University-wide coordination of all financial aid awards through FAO. The office administers and manages merit scholarships for academic departments, campus publications, student government, and athletics. In addition, the Office manages the student payroll for the University. These responsibilities require FAO to communicate with virtually all offices and departments of the University on a regular basis.

For purposes of certification, the monitoring of veteran's educational records also requires close contact with advisors and instructors on campus. Additionally, the FAO director works with the academic deans to process academic appeals for financial-aid applicants. A collaborative effort between Institutional Research and Accounting personnel is required to reconcile program expenditures and to complete state- and federally-mandated reports. Financial Aid personnel work with the Office of Student Affairs to assist with orientation of both regular and non-traditional students and with Parent's Weekend; with the Admissions Office, and the School of Education for regularly scheduled visitation/recruitment efforts; and with the University Advancement Division for the establishment of new scholarships. Because control of resources is delegated to the Financial Aid Office, the University can more easily adhere to federal requirements prohibiting funding of students in excess of their need while at the same time centralizing and coordinating resources.

Audit Evaluation of financial-aid operations is made annually by both internal auditors and state auditors. These audits follow prescribed guidelines and are made available at the institutional, state, and federal level. During 1988-89, the State Education Assistance Authority conducted a program review of records of the guaranteed-student-loan program. In 1985 and 1986, quality-control studies were performed by an independent federal contractor. During 1989-90, an internal audit was conducted to review the handling of scholarship endowments. State auditors reviewed the 1988-89 awards and began a review of the 1989-90 records. In-office evaluation is performed by system audits and special program runs. Evaluation of financial-aid services and personnel by students who use financial-aid services is done through the use of an optically-scannable form.

UNCW faculty expressed satisfaction (85%) with the performance of FAO. Surveyed students also tend to be satisfied with this office, indicated by the fact that more than twice as many agreed as disagreed that requirements for maintaining financial aid are clearly stated (43%, versus 19%) and that "the UNCW Financial Aid Office is helpful in identifying potential sources of funding" (43%, versus 21%). These sentiments are meaningful when one considers that more of the responding students agreed (44%) than disagreed (34%) that financial assistance through this office is essential to their continued enrollment. This fact also makes it more understandable that an overwhelming proportion of the students who responded agreed (72%) rather than disagreed (5%) with the desirability of the University offering an installment payment plan to students and parents.

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Mission The mission of the UNCW Student Health and Wellness Center (SHWC) is to deliver quality health care to students in an environment that is sensitive, caring, and understanding. The services include the diagnosis and treatment of general and acute medical problems and referrals to qualified specialists as needed. Practitioners include patient education as an integral part of their treatment. SHWC is committed to the development of health and wellness programs for students. The Office of Health Promotion promotes a healthier lifestyle through campus wellness events, community outreach programs, and the "LivWell/Alternatives" Center. Goals for SHWC are to improve preventive services and to develop motivational programs to stimulate behavioral change in students.

Program SHWC staff serve the University community on many levels. The Center is charged with addressing issues of health and safety in such diverse areas as physical education and sports, food services, and services to physically challenged students. Acute medical care and appropriate referrals are provided for students Educational and preventive programs are provided campus-wide. Staff members also act as resource persons for faculty and staff on health and medical issues. Illustrative categories of service include: diagnosis and treatment of many medical problems; certain contraceptive services; certain laboratory tests, free of charge if part of the treatment plan; information and counseling for such issues as AIDS, weight control and nutrition, and problem pregnancies; and provision of a cold center and sunburn center for student self-care.

SHWC is in its 20th year as a contracted service to the University. The current contractor (the Director) is a physician who practices as a sole proprietor, and is assisted by an Assistant Director for "Health Promotions/LivWell," one physician assistant, six full- and part-time nurses, and seven other support-staff members. The Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the academic year. Hours vary during summer sessions. For after-hours or emergency care, students may call a published emergency number, and they are put into contact with one of SHWC providers or with a physician from a local internal-medicine group.

All records at SHWC are confidential and are not released to anyone other than the student without express written consent of the student. Active charts are filed numerically at SHWC in an area which is accessible to the office staff during open hours and locked securely after hours. Inactive charts are stored off campus in a rented storage facility.

Surveyed students were considerably more likely to agree rather than disagree that "health services at UNCW are sufficient for my needs" (48%, versus 25%) and that UNCW's health services offer opportunities to students to learn about important health issues (49%, versus 20%). Faculty who responded to the Self-Study Survey were even more inclined to agree (76%; 24% disagreed) that the range of SHWC services is satisfactory.

One perennial problem that impacts upon SHWC and other elements of the University has been the existing policy of allowing students without immunization records to register for classes, but disallowing such students from attending classes until they present the required records. This policy is considered unreasonable by many students and faculty members - the former because they interpret the completion of the registration process to signify having met all criteria for class attendance, and the latter because they are put in the position of policing their classes for a reason unrelated to pedagogy.

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The Office of Recreation and Intramural Programs conducts a program of varied activities to allow students to participate in individual and team sports. The intramural program attempts to contribute to the student's overall educational experiences by providing an opportunity to participate individually or on a team.

The Director of Recreation and Intramural Programs holds a master's degree, and the Coordinator of Intramurals (a half-time position) holds a doctoral degree. Funds for the program are provided by student fees.

Students who responded to the Self-Study Survey were more inclined to agree (45%) than to disagree (21%) that participants in intramural sports have adequate equipment and facilities, although they were nearly evenly divided (35% agreed; 29% disagreed) about whether intramurals are adequately funded. They also were almost four times more likely to agree (59%) than to disagree (16%) that "intramural athletic programs at UNCW offer sufficient opportunities for me to participate in a variety of sports."

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The stated purpose of the intercollegiate athletic program at UNCW is in harmony with the University's mission. Faculty on the Self-Study Subcommittee on Athletics who interviewed the Chancellor, Provost, Athletic Director, and other administrators and coaches were convinced that the University is committed to making intercollegiate athletics an integral part of the collegiate experience at UNCW. The University is proud of its athletics history and dedicated to improving the administration and quality of its athletic programs.

There is general agreement in the University community that the program's philosophy is in keeping with UNCW's mission. Almost 47% of the faculty agreed with this assessment as reported in the Self-Study Survey. This is more than twice the percent who disagreed. The staff results are even more impressive, with 49% agreeing versus only 14% disagreeing. Although students were not directly asked about the University's mission, 65% did feel that athletics are an important dimension of the University.

The intercollegiate athletic program is in a significant period of transition with the June 1991 retirement of UNCW's first and only Director of Athletics since 1951 and his replacement with a new Director. The former Athletic Director set the general tone and policy of the program for the past four decades. The new Athletic Director will be asked to bring the program to a higher level of quality.

In general, the previous Chancellor did not exert a strong influence and did not personally oversee the program. The Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs was, in actual practice, given direct supervision over the programs. Although there was an Advisory Council comprised of faculty, administrators, and students, the faculty had the distinct impression that their input and review were quite minimal. This is corroborated in the faculty survey which revealed a strong disagreement (53%) that the faculty exercises "adequate control" over intercollegiate athletics. The reasons for this obvious dissatisfaction perhaps has less to do with concrete procedures than with the management style of the former Athletic Director, which tended to be centralized in his office with a minimum of communication about policy matters. The impression about lack of adequate control is also reinforced by the Faculty Senate's frustrated desire to create a Senate Athletic Committee that would represent the faculty's wishes for "appropriate control." At this point, however, perhaps these impressions belong to the University's past.

Both the Provost and the Chancellor have agreed in principle to address the faculty's concerns over the issue of control. In interviews with these administrators, both expressed a commitment to adequate control by the faculty. The Chancellor will now directly oversee the program in agreement with Knight Commission recommendations. Both also expressed agreement that the Faculty Senate should have greater input into the makeup of the Advisory Council. Perhaps some reasonable compromise can be agreed upon whereby both the Chancellor and the Senate appoint members to the Council. Obviously, student participation is also crucial since substantially more students disagreed (34%) than agreed (21%) that they were able to exercise adequate input concerning UNCW intercollegiate athletic policies. The students' lack of confidence in the present setup is not nearly as dramatic as the faculty's, perhaps because the faculty feels they have a special responsibility to exercise more control.

1. promoting an understanding of the goals and administrative policy of the intercollegiate athletic program among the University community and maintaining the program's high standards of integrity;
2. promoting strict adherence to all UNCW academic standards and those of the NCAA;
3. reviewing the policies of intercollegiate athletics at UNCW;
4. reviewing all budgetary and other financial matters (including donations and expenditures) with the Director of Athletics to give advice about faculty concerns; and
5. reviewing reports of all audits relating to intercollegiate athletics.

Another significant matter revealed on the staff and faculty surveys was the perceived inequality in the distribution of financial resources between men's and women's sports. Although 23% of both staff and faculty agreed that such resources are fairly distributed, more than one-third (35%) of the staff - and nearly one-half (48%) of the faculty - disagreed that men's and women's athletics programs receive equitable shares of these resources. Although students were more inclined to agree than to disagree that financial resources are fairly distributed between men's and women's programs, fully one-fourth expressed the latter opinion. There is, in fact, greater attention given to men's basketball since that is the one sport that can draw significant numbers of paying customers into Trask Coliseum, and funding is an ongoing problem. However, it is not clear what the staff, faculty, and students are referring to beyond this obvious disparity. In a series of interviews, both male and female coaches expressed little dissatisfaction on this score. The swimming coach, however, did specially cite the need for more scholarships for women. Actually, all the coaches felt the need for more funding across the board (especially the fledgling track and field program). The athletic program appears dedicated to correcting whatever inequities exist between men's and women's sports.

Students (59%), staff (69%), and faculty (72%) all indicated that the emphasis on intercollegiate athletics at UNCW is "about right:" Most of the remaining staff (25%) and students (35%) wanted more emphasis, but most remaining faculty (23%) felt there was too much emphasis. The larger percentages - indicating general satisfaction with the current level of emphasis - are corroborated by interviews with students, administrators, and faculty, who felt that UNCW had managed to keep its athletic program in the proper educational perspective.

The UNCW administration controls all fiscal matters pertaining to the intercollegiate athletic programs and assumes responsibility for regularly auditing the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' financial records to insure compliance with appropriate accounting and budgeting procedures. Procedures concerning monetary allocations and expenditures in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are the same as procedures in other departmental units at the University. Each athletic program operates within its own annual budget. A portion of the financial support for intercollegiate athletics at UNCW comes from the Student Aid Association (the "Seahawk Club"). All contributions to, and expenditures made from, this financial fund are accounted for by monthly statements that are monitored by the Office of Business Affairs.

Student-athletes are required to meet the same academic policies and regulations as other students. There are no exceptions granted to student-athletes, who are provided with the same opportunities as other students to earn higher educational degrees in accordance with the same University policies, requirements, and procedures. This fact also is the perception among the University's three constituencies. Respectively, higher percentages of students (39% versus 24%), staff (37% versus 29%), and - especially - faculty (48% versus 23%) agreed rather than disagreed that "the academic standards for athletes are the same as for other UNCW students." The finding for UNCW faculty seems especially important, since they are the individuals in the best position to notice or suspect any relaxation of standards for student-athletes.

Annual reports depicting academic progress and graduation rates are prepared for the Office of Academic Affairs, the UNC system's Board of Governors, and the NCAA. Student-athlete graduation rates at UNCW actually exceed graduation rates among other UNCW students.

Funding for athletic programs has not kept pace with the University's commitment to intercollegiate athletics. Consequently, its athletic training facilities, coaching staff, and athletic teams are all underfunded.

As UNCW experiences growth in its athletic programs, efforts also should be made to improve existing conditions that influence athletic instruction. Currently, most coaches are required to teach more credit hours than is normative at NCAA Division I universities. This situation prevails because part of the salaries paid to coaches comes from UNCW's academic budget.

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Recommendations

1. Additional staff-development opportunities should be provided to recruit and retain qualified librarians.
2. The University should provide adequate funding for additional Library staff so that Library hours can be extended to cover the late-night, weekend, and vacation needs expressed by many students and faculty.
3. Full Boolean-logic search capabilities should be added to the LS-2000 public access online catalog.
4. The Library should acquire CD-ROM workstations to provide adequate access to the rapid proliferation of machine-readable index and reference databases.
5. The Library should implement an improved system of instructional and directional signs to provide more efficient use of its services and collections.
6. The UNCW administration should enlarge the Library's materials budget to provide adequate informational resources, especially in those areas supporting graduate programs.
7. The Library should add nine librarians to adequately serve the needs of current users and to meet ACRL standard 4.3.
8. The two SPA library support-staff positions lost during the past two fiscal years should be replaced.

9. UNCW should offer tenure-track status to librarians in order to recruit and retain qualified librarians and to meet ACRL standard 4.2.

1. The Chancellor should create a Center for Teaching modeled after the center described in the report of the Task Force on Teaching Excellence.
2. A faculty mentor program, whereby incoming faculty would be paired with other faculty with acknowledged teaching expertise, should be implemented under the auspices of this center.

9. A UNCW media center should be created so that specialized equipment used on a limited basis by several departments can be centrally located, and so that high quality instructional materials such as slides and videotapes can be created. However, in order to ensure the prompt availability of frequently used instructional aids such as computers, overhead projectors and slide projectors for both classroom use and course development, it is imperative that this equipment continue to be located in and controlled by individual departments. It is also critical that the control of more sophisticated hardware used in the design and implementation of specific courses within departments be left in their control. The center should be associated with the Center for Teaching and controlled by the Division of Academic Affairs.
10. The Director of OCIS, in consultation with faculty, staff, and the administration, should develop and make readily available well-defined policies for allocating computing resources and assigning priorities to balance computer use among user groups.
11. To increase the faculty's role in the control - of the athletic program and contribute to its ultimate direction, the Chancellor, in consultation with the UNCW Faculty Senate, should establish a new Athletic Advisory Council to the Chancellor, a majority of whose members will be appointed by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee. Primary tasks should include:

1. promoting an understanding of the goals and administrative policy of the intercollegiate athletic program among the University community and maintaining the program's high standards of integrity;
2. promoting strict adherence to all UNCW academic standards and those of the NCAA;
3. reviewing the policies of intercollegiate athletics at UNCW;
4. reviewing all budgetary and other financial matters (including donations and expenditures) with the Director of Athletics to give advice about faculty concerns; and
5. reviewing reports of all audits relating to intercollegiate athletics.

Suggestions

1. The Library should increase the number of representative software packages available for review to increase the usefulness of the collection of the Curriculum Materials Center to education students.
2. Annual reports submitted by Library department heads to the Director of Library Services should include a section which discusses plans for improving the department's services for the following fiscal year.
3. The Library should implement the annual assessment process called for in the "Statement of Mission, Goals, and Objectives/Evaluation Criteria."
4. The Director of Library Services should work with the University Library Committee to establish periodic surveys of the University community concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the Library's services.
5. Weeding procedures should be established and included in the next revision of the Library's collection-development policy.
6. The Director of Library Services should continue efforts to enhance the salary levels of the professional staff.
7. The Library should continue to work toward increasing the number and extent of formal cooperative arrangements with other libraries for the sharing of resources.
8. The UNCW administration should make available to academic departments (or groups of departments) on a rotating, competitive basis, a revolving fund of $15,000 to $20,000 per year so that substantive improvements can be effected in the availability of computers, video cassette recorders, and other technical equipment needed for improved undergraduate instruction.
9. The UNCW administration should make every effort to provide the funds needed for completion of a UNCW foreign-language laboratory within the next one or two years.
10. The UNCW administration should continue, with even greater intensity, efforts to publicize the need for a new physical-science building.
11. The Associate Director of Academic Computing Services, in consultation with the Faculty Senate's Computer Services Committee, should develop minimal standards of expertise for consultants who staff the terminal clusters and microcomputing centers. When necessary, the ACS Associate Director should insure that consultants receive adequate training to meet these standards.
12. A terminal, microcomputer, or graphics workstation, as appropriate, should be placed in classrooms, laboratories, and the offices of all faculty members at the earliest possible date.
13. Computer-service committees of the Faculty Senate and of the administration should solicit advice from a wider range of users about planning, priorities, and budgeting matters.
14. The UNCW administration should require all students to pay a blanket computing fee, and the funds collected should be earmarked for exclusive use in academic computing, since all students should be encouraged to use the University's computing facilities.
15. The Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the faculty, should develop mechanisms and assessment procedures for insuring that computer literacy or competency is incorporated into Basic Studies requirements and should provide the equipment, faculty, staff, and training necessary for implementation.
16. Completion of the fiber-optic network as stated in the 1989-1994 Long Range Computing Plan, with connections to the network for every faculty office, classroom, and laboratory, should be given very high priority by the UNCW administration and OCIS.
17. OCIS staff and budget should be increased to support the existing use of computers and future growth.
18. OCIS should provide information on new software and hardware to faculty and staff.
19. The Division of Student Affairs should work with the Division for Public Service and the Division of Academic Affairs to arrange for 10 classrooms and a 300-seat auditorium in the same building to be available during summers for freshman orientation.
20. The University Curriculum Committee should investigate making the freshman seminar available to all new freshmen.
21. The administration should add a full-time professional staff member to coordinate orientation programs and other enrollment-management activities.
22. The University administration should reinstate the position of Counseling Psychologist/Coordinator of Testing Services.
23. The University administration should add a job developer/counselor to the professional staff in the Career Planning and Placement Center. This person would visit prospective employers to help them ascertain areas where UNCW graduates may be employed.
24. The Student Activities Office should increase its involvement with organizational advisors by providing handbooks, regular meetings, and a communication procedure to assist them with budgeting, training, fundraising, programming, and publicity.

25. The University administration should hire a professional media advisor to assist all student media with production, financial operations, and interactions with faculty and academic programs.
26. The University Calendar Committee should adjust the academic calendar to include three days between summer sessions, thereby allowing the time needed by the Registrar's Office to process and mail grades to students prior to registration for the second summer session.
27. The Registrar's Office should update the registration process by installing a telephone voice-response system that will allow students to register for classes with a touch-tone telephone.
28. The Divisions of Student Affairs and Business Affairs should initiate measures to improve security in the residence halls by installing additional lighting around the outside of the halls and by installing a card-reader access system for all halls.
29. The University administration should ensure that residence halls are regularly improved and that this improvement helps to integrate academics into the residence halls by providing within them classroom space, academic advising offices, and computer facilities.
30. The University administration should require that each newly admitted student have on file in the Student Health and Wellness Center, prior to class registration, an up-to-date "Report of Medical History/Physical Examination" and an immunization record required by the North Carolina Immunization Law (General Statutes 130A-152). It should also modify the University's catalogues to reflect this change.
31. The Athletic Advisory Council to the Chancellor should be required to include a subcommittee specifically dedicated to ensuring the equitable allocation of funds between men's and women's sports to the extent that this is feasible and in accordance with the University's long- and short-term goals.
32. The Athletic Director, in consultation with appropriate University committees, should seek additional external funding to improve athletic programs, construct additional training facilities for the growing number of athletic programs, and hire additional coaches as needs dictate. The Athletic Director should ensure that searches for coaching positions, as they come open, are conducted in accordance with the standards for position searches in other UNCW departments.
33. The Athletic Director should provide leadership in efforts to reduce the financial dependency of coaching salaries upon the University's academic budget and, consequently, the teaching loads of coaches.

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Appendix 5-A - Statement on the Working Relationship between the Office of Institutional Research and the Division of Student Affairs

Members of the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) staff and the Director of Student Life Studies are providing a variety of research services to the University community. In order to minimize research redundancy and effort and maximize the timeliness and usefulness of research findings, the OIR and the student affairs division enter into the following working agreement.

1. Proposals for research activities conducted by the OIR or within student affairs will be discussed by the Institutional Research Advisory Council. Information for these discussions will include a statement of purpose, data requirements, timetables and the dissemination of research results. The purpose of these discussions will be to:
1. Provide opportunities for project input from other University divisions,
2. Eliminate potential conflicts with other research activities being conducted,
3. Reduce the redundancy of data collection efforts on campus, and
4. Provide opportunities for the free flow of research results to all sectors of the University community.
2. Time and staff resources permitting, the OIR will provide technical support for research activities conducted within the student affairs. Support services may include:
1. Acquisition of basic student data from University SIS and historical databases utilizing standardized definitions for types of students, academic level, etc. Upon approval by the owner, data will be provided to the Director of Student Life Studies for use in division research activities.
2. Survey layout, administration (sampling, printing, distribution, etc.) and preparation of response data for analysis. All cost (excluding staff time) associated with these activities shall be absorbed by the student affairs division. All analysis and subsequent publication of research results shall be the responsibility of the Director of Student Life Studies.
3. Consultation services to the Director of Student Life Studies or others within the division. These services may include consulting on sampling frameworks, particular software packages or production of graphical presentation materials for inclusion in research reports.
3. The OIR will be given an opportunity to review relevant portions of research reports generated by the division. Relevant sections will include those areas where the office has had significant involvement. Discussions of sample design or data collection procedures are examples of areas that should be reviewed by the OIR.

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Last Updated: February 15, 2000