ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENT

In order to fully support the academic enterprise, administrative functions need to be enhanced. The areas to be improved are described briefly below.

Undergraduate Colleges, Faculty Bodies, and Student Support Systems

The university has a strong commitment to strengthening instructional programs, especially for undergraduates. This is evidenced by the development in the last two years of Learning Resource Centers and Teaching Excellence Centers on all three campuses, as well as university grants to encourage the development of innovations in curricula and instructional methods. Coordination among undergraduate colleges, faculty bodies, and student support systems will be improved. Oversight for the provision of instruction will remain at the campus level. Because the undergraduate colleges, faculty bodies, and student support systems make significant contributions to our students' educational experience, the university strongly supports their roles. Coordination among undergraduate colleges, faculty bodies, and student support systems will be improved.
    Mindful of precisely such concerns, a number of administrative changes recommended by the 1993 Coopers & Lybrand Management Audit have been undertaken in order to improve coordination to fulfill campus needs.1 Nevertheless, there remains continued room for improvement. While it is essential to maintain centralized functions, we must work continually to reinforce communication and joint planning with appropriate campus units.

Centers, Bureaus, and Institutes

Centers, bureaus, and institutes (CBIs) have played pivotal roles in promoting advanced research. Some of these units have achieved national and international distinction, some have generated important revenues for the university, and some have provided service to underserved sectors of the state's population. For example, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science is a National Science Foundation-supported science and technology consortium of Rutgers, Princeton, AT&T Bell Laboratories, and Bellcore. This center sponsors world-class basic research and also provides precollege enrichment programs which encourage high school students to consider careers in mathematics and science.
Strategic planning will focus attention on better interaction between the faculty and research programs of the CBIs and their allied academic departments    In order to bring the university community together more effectively and to maximize available resources, the centers, bureaus, and institutes will be evaluated to determine how well they are serving their constituents and whether they provide appropriate services to all who might benefit from them. A focus on accountability requires us to monitor the relationship between the missions of the CBIs and their accomplishments. A number of these units, such as the Center for Government Services, the Center for Management Development, the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education, and the Center for Advanced Food Technology serve faculty and students on more than one campus and sponsor outreach efforts throughout the state. Strategic planning for effective management of these units calls for efforts to bring the resources of more of the CBIs into active service on all three of our campuses. 
    Although the flexibility of their structure has encouraged useful entrepreneurial activity, the fundamental importance of CBIs at a comprehensive research university is their support for ongoing, discipline-based, and multidisciplinary academic activities. CBIs generate and support multidisciplinary research programs by bringing together interactive teams to provide the expertise that is usually beyond the capabilities of existing individual academic departments. Strategic planning will focus attention on better interaction between the faculty and research programs of the CBIs and their allied academic departments. Such interaction will be enhanced by faculty mobility, joint hirings, and cooperative working relationships. In order to maximize the research and instructional effectiveness of departments and CBIs, faculty and research specialist hirings will be coordinated and the teaching responsibilities of CBI members will be defined.

Accountability

Excellence in teaching, research, and service requires periodic self-assessment and well-established accountability measures to ensure that programs achieve their own academic objectives and are responsive to the diverse needs of the institution and the outside community. Rutgers has had a wide range of assessment and accountability measures in place for many years at the university level, for each campus, for every college/school and faculty body, for every department, for every center, and also for every faculty member. Assessment measures are planning tools that, used wisely, can enhance the institution's instruction, research, and service, and direct its development toward increased responsiveness to its diverse constituencies.
    National trends regarding accountability have affected all institutions of higher education. As economic difficulties place stress on colleges and universities, the need increases to assure the public regarding the quality of higher education. Efforts at Rutgers to monitor quality include assessments of operational efficiency sponsored by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO); the work of the Committee on Faculty Workload; programs to assess progress in general education and in the major, as sponsored by academic departments and colleges; unit self-studies on research and service programs; and a rigorous external review process conducted by academic peers in each discipline. Since assessment methods for evaluating academic disciplines that are institution-specific, designed by members of the faculty, and closely tied to educational objectives are far more useful in efforts to improve education and enhance learning than externally imposed methods, Rutgers will continue to perform self-assessments and to invite the opinion of expert peers for external reviews.
   Comparative data can be used effectively to show our own achievements to the public and for state and federal purposes of accountability. The practice of benchmarking-comparing institutions with the very best of their kind-has become widespread in higher education quality assessment. The results have strengthened institutions and encouraged a resurgence of cooperation and exchange of ideas among colleges and universities across the country. Rutgers' involvement in the Association of American Universities Data Exchange network has been useful in this regard, as have the surveys and reports generated by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.  Benchmarking has become widespread in higher education quality assessment.
    Accreditation is a critical element in the assessment of the university and many of its professional programs. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools evaluates the three campuses and the central administration every ten years. These reviews assess administrative process and structure, academic program offerings, resources, student outcomes, faculty outcomes, and management of the institution. Professional association accrediting bodies ensure that the education of our students is appropriate for the employment they will seek after graduation. Specialized accrediting organizations assess many of our professional programs and provide comprehensive evaluations of faculty and student accomplishments.
    Accountability measures are built into our annual budget allocations cycle and into financial management practices. All units are required to produce accountability reports each year, documenting productivity, resource expenditures, accomplishments, and future plans. These reports are used in the development of allocations for each unit. The university's annual budget request to the state encompasses a comprehensive accountability report. Past accomplishments and future plans play important roles in these budget requests. Annual financial audits and reports on compliance with existing federal regulations and statutes provide additional means for assessing the university's activities.
    The university's external peer review process is a key element in our assessment and accountability efforts. This rigorous program of peer review of our academic programs has been largely responsible for enhancing the faculty's commitment to quality undergraduate and graduate programs and research. The process, which is widely participatory, includes development of self-studies, on-site evaluations by external reviewers, and oversight by the President's Committee on Standards and Priorities in Academic Development, a group of distinguished faculty from all three campuses, representing diverse areas of expertise.
    Rutgers' large scale and complex structure require formal processes of monitoring and assessment. These efforts to strengthen accountability are critical for strategic planning and for effective management. In order to create a sense of community through a shared commitment to academic excellence, faculty, staff, and students need to know that poor performance will be remedied, and that strong performance will be appreciated.

Total Quality Management and Institutional Research

Institutions of all kinds have identified quality improvement as a critical need. The majority of American corporations now have active quality assurance programs to address the challenges of improving competitiveness, performance, operational efficiency, productivity, employee involvement, cost-effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. Quality initiatives in local and state government and in health care have also become very widespread. The establishment of the Federal Quality Institute and the publication of "The Gore Report on Reinventing Government" illustrate national visibility of such programs.
    In education, quality initiatives are being implemented at a growing number of colleges and universities. A recent survey indicates that 92% of colleges and universities are integrating quality assurance concepts, practices, and tools into the curriculum, 75% are applying these concepts to the administration, 92% are surveying the various publics they serve, and 83% plan to institute quality improvement programs as part of faculty development efforts.2
    The university's Quality and Communication Improvement (QCI) program, initiated in 1993, is designed to: (1) establish and administer a coordinated universitywide effort to improve responsiveness to our various constituent groups and to increase our communication internally and externally; and (2) become a resource center for evaluating, developing, and applying quality and communication improvement principles and practices for higher education.
QCI is developing assessment tools to gauge what we do and how we are perceived by both internal and external constituent groups. Its first projects include a Rutgers Service Satisfaction Database, which is generating baseline readings of the satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels of the publics we serve and will help in identification of areas in need of improvement; a Cook College project on the application of QCI to academic departments and programs; a newly designed Faculty Welcome Program, which supplements and extends campus and unit activities; and a program of corporate partnerships, which supports graduate students who design and implement quality improvement projects. Through our extensive involvement in the QCI program, the university will be well-positioned to play a leadership role in the state and on the national level in this rapidly growing field. QCI is a resource for evaluating, developing, and applying quality and communication improvement principles and practices.
    The Office of Institutional Research and Planning will play an increasingly critical role in generating and analyzing data for effective management. For example, surveys on admitted and enrolled students, attrition, academic support, seniors, alumni, faculty productivity, study abroad programs, staff/faculty transportation needs, and Rutgers' economic impact generate critical information about current programs and anticipated trends. Strategic planning will continue to depend on ongoing institutional assessments provided by QCI, and ongoing institutional data analysis provided by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

University Communications and Government Relations

Effectively communicating the university's message is critical in defining our mission and goals to the public at large and to specific constituencies. Programs sponsored by the Offices of University Communications and Government Relations have been designed to inform and persuade the state's political, corporate, and civic leadership, and the general public that a state university of the highest quality is a critical component of New Jersey's continued economic growth and social progress.
Providing the public with information on Rutgers' value to the state will continue to be a high priority. Providing the public with information on Rutgers' value to the state will continue to be a high priority. By disseminating timely and comprehensive materials to our constituencies, we enhance our ability to advance our institutional goals. The university also recognizes that many of its resources can help political, corporate, and civic leaders with issues of concern. The Offices of University Communications, Government Relations, and Institutional Research and Planning will work cooperatively in support of our public affairs efforts and will ensure that the university and the public understand each others' needs and develop mutually beneficial relationships. 
The recent establishment of university outreach offices in Trenton and Washington gives evidence of the university's strong commitment to public service. These units will continue to play important roles in Rutgers' service activities.

Interinstitutional Collaborations

Both faculty and students benefit from interinstitutional cooperative arrangements. Both faculty and students benefit directly from formal and informal interinstitutional cooperative arrangements. Ties to UMDNJ and NJIT have been of particular benefit to Rutgers students because joint programs provide students with enhanced access to resources, primarily in health sciences and applied science fields. Joint-degree programs have benefited students on all three campuses. For example, there are eight joint graduate programs in New Brunswick. On the Newark campus, cooperation has gone further, as a number of arts and sciences departments have created federated departments with NJIT faculty to promote more interaction and increased curricular options for students.
     Articulation agreements with all of the county colleges and our arrangements with state colleges for cooperation on specific programs, such as the agreements between the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and Rutgers-Newark in criminal justice, between Trenton State College and Rutgers-Newark in criminal justice, between NJIT and Rutgers-Newark for joint doctoral programs in applied physics and mathematical sciences, between UMDNJ and Rutgers-Camden in physical therapy, and between Stockton and Rutgers-Camden for public administration and graduate business education, increase students' access to our institution and allow for nonduplicative use of existing resources. These kinds of ties should be expanded and strengthened in the future.
    In the national and international arena, interinstitutional cooperation is also critical for our development. From study abroad programs for undergraduates to projects abroad on local issues (such as Democracy in Poland), to multimillion dollar international science programs (such as the Kellogg Foundation sponsored mid-Atlantic regional consortium on food, agriculture, and marine and environmental sciences), students and faculty benefit from ties with colleagues around the world. With rapid increases in electronic communications, the need for an international perspective on global issues increases dramatically. Interinstitutional collaborations contribute significantly to global understanding.

Continuing Education, Outreach Programs, and
Distance Learning

Continuing professional education is crucial for an increasing number of Americans. With its long and distinguished history of professional service, Rutgers will play a vital role in providing continuing education programs to prepare and maintain a work force for a competitive global marketplace. Through enhanced continuing education programs, developed in collaboration and partnership with business, industry, and labor unions, as well as education, health care, and government institutions and agencies, the university will become increasingly responsive to the educational needs of New Jersey adults.  Continuing professional education is crucial for an increasing number of Americans.
Rutgers already has a distinguished history of outreach in specialized areas, such as government service, management education, environ-mental sciences education, and agricultural education. Exemplary programs provided by such units as the Center for Government Services, the Graduate School of Education, Cook College Continuing Professional Education, the Center for Management Development, Nursing Continuing Education, and summer sessions offered by faculty at all three campuses are characterized by clear missions and excellent relationships with constituent audiences
    As external consultants have noted, the existing structure of continuing education at Rutgers, which meets very specific needs of constituent bodies, would be complemented and strengthened by an office that catalyzes more broadly based continuing education development. Moreover, with increased incentives, specialized units could be encouraged to define their continuing education missions more broadly and thus serve the university and the state more effectively. Therefore, the university plans to establish an overall coordinating unit with universitywide standard practices and uniform financial reporting oversight. The benefits of coordination include uniform measurement of performance and cost-effectiveness, consistent standards, and a unified vision of the mission and the resources required. A centrally directed continuing education effort would serve as a clearinghouse for existing programs and would encourage service to new audiences and nontraditional constituencies. Coordinated planning would be especially effective in providing universitywide marketing support for greater visibility and impact. At the same time, it would provide the flexibility required to serve the diverse needs of professional groups and individuals throughout the state. Appropriate incentives for individuals and academic units will be developed to encourage continuing education initiatives.
    A coordinated continuing education operation will allow for rapid response to new opportunities. For example, planned initiatives in the international arena, including instruction in critical foreign languages not currently taught at any of our campuses, can be supported by a continuing education structure that is not limited by affiliation with any single existing university unit.
Intercampus integration will be buttressed through the use of information technology and the development of new modes of distance learning. The development of the information network will have profound consequences. The ability to deal with information and an understanding of the increasingly complex system for its creation, analysis, organization, and dissemination are already essential prerequisites for any educated person. Emerging technologies offer us the opportunity to actualize the concept of one university. Intercampus integration will be buttressed significantly through the appropriate use of information technology, and especially through the development of new modes of distance learning. For example, information technologies, including desktop video-conferencing, could improve coordination between the law schools in Camden and Newark. With investments in technological infrastructure, law library resources could be shared. Sharing courses via electronic media would increase options for students on both campuses. 
    New technologies not only promise more effective use of resources among the three campuses, but offer the possibility for significantly enhanced outreach efforts throughout the state, and indeed potentially worldwide.

1. Coopers & Lybrand, "Rutgers University Management Audit, 1993."

2."Rise to the Challenge: Best Practices and Leadership," Report of the Proceedings of the Total Quality Forum V,
Schaumberg, IL, 1993.