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Chapter 4: Academic Affairs
Criterion Three: The institution is accomplishing its educational and other purposes.
ABSTRACT: This chapter describes how academic administration provides support for faculty development, teaching, and scholarship; has policies and practices that support student learning and scholarship; provides support and leadership in assessment of student achievement; maximizes educational quality through hiring and personnel practices; and makes academic resources readily available.
Faculty Development, Teaching, and Scholarship
Indiana University South Bend provides general support for new faculty in several ways. They participate in an orientation program that has recently been expanded to four days. The orientation week includes an introduction to the Indiana University South Bend culture and a choice of workshops on teaching issues, library use, use of technology, promotion and tenure policies, and related issues. Each receives a copy of McKeachie's Teaching Tips along with institutional documents and is assigned a senior faculty member as a faculty mentor for their first year at Indiana University South Bend.
The promotion, tenure, and reappointment process is explained to junior faculty through workshops and discussions with department chairs, deans, and mentors. Junior faculty receive regular feedback through annual reports and reappointment reviews. During their third year, they may submit a pretenure dossier to the senate personnel committee for confidential feedback. As they work on their tenure dossier, they may participate in a support group sponsored by the University Center for Excellence in Teaching (UCET).
Eligible faculty may seek a one or two semester sabbatical leave for activities that will enhance their capacity to contribute to the academic mission of Indiana University South Bend. These activities usually involve scholarly research or creative activity, but sabbaticals may also be awarded for teaching projects. In the 1999-2000 year, 13 faculty were on sabbatical leave, 2 for the full year. Since 1989, 120 faculty have been granted a sabbatical leave.
Several campuswide awards are made each year in recognition of outstanding faculty performance. The Eldon F. Lundquist Award is given to a tenured faculty member or librarian who has exhibited excellence in teaching, scholarly or creative activity, and service throughout the local region. The award includes a $5,000 honorarium. The IUSB Distinguished Teaching Award is accompanied by a $1,000 increase to the awardee's base pay. The Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (TERA) program, initiated by the university trustees in 1996, is designed to reward teaching excellence at all Indiana University campuses. All full- and part-time faculty and librarians are eligible for the award after their third year of service. It carries a stipend of $1,500 for full-time faculty and $1,000 for associate faculty. The number of awards is determined by the funds allocated to TERA, as directed by the trustees. To honor research, each spring a reception is held to recognize all faculty who published in the previous year. The IUSB Distinguished Research Award, established in 1998, carries an honorarium of $5,000.
Indiana University South Bend faculty are also eligible for several all-university awards: the W. George Pinnell Award for Outstanding Service, the John W. Ryan Award for contributions to international programs, the President's Award for teaching, and a number of named awards also for distinguished teaching. Each of these has been won by Indiana University South Bend faculty. The Teaching Excellence Report: Indiana University South Bend describes in detail the ways that teaching is assessed and supported. This report is available in the NCA Resource Room.
Faculty may receive funding for curriculum development expenses through Curriculum Development Grants, overseen by the Senate Research and Development Committee. In 1998-1999, $14,000 was awarded for these grants, which may include summer salary requests. Several teaching-related initiatives such as the Threshold Learning Community and the University Center for Excellence in Teaching were initially funded through the Indiana University Strategic Directions Initiative. These programs received $211,559 in 1995-1996, $391,344 in 1996-1997, and $300,000 in 1997-1998, and subsequently became campus-funded responsibilities.
University Center for Excellence in Teaching
Primary support for teaching comes from the University Center for Excellence in Teaching (UCET), which replaced the previous faculty development officer. UCET provides the New Faculty Orientation, mentioned above, for both tenure-track and associate faculty. UCET sponsors workshops, discussion groups, and one-on-one consultations on a wide range of pedagogical topics. Programs such as Teaching/Learning Partners encourage faculty collaboration on teaching. The center maintains a resource library of teaching materials in Northside Hall. Funding was secured to design an instructional training classroom, where faculty can receive instruction and support as they try new teaching strategies such as distance learning. UCET also handles the TERA-UCET grants program for travel to teaching conferences.
Faculty Colloquium for Excellence in Teaching
Teaching is also supported by the all-university Faculty Colloquium for Excellence in Teaching (FACET) program. Faculty from all Indiana University campuses are selected for membership through a campus and university-wide review. FACET, whose director is currently an Indiana University South Bend faculty member with office and support personnel located on the Indiana University South Bend campus, hosts a yearly retreat on teaching for FACET members, collaborates with UCET to provide support for campus teaching initiatives, and publishes Quick Hits I and Quick Hits II which are compilations of teaching tips from FACET members.
Support for Scholarly Activity
The Office of Research, Contracts and Grants, staffed by a full-time coordinator, provides information on both internal and external funding sources for faculty researchers. The InfoEd/SMARTS grant notification program helps faculty locate possible external grant sources. There are currently more than 70 faculty and staff signed up for this program. Workshops and one-on-one consultations help faculty write grants. Once grants have been awarded, the Office of Research assists in grant administration. This office also hosts the Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects, which has reviewed 251 research protocols since 1994.
During the 1998-1999 year, faculty received over $1.8 million in external funding. Faculty have been awarded $5.2 million in external funds since 1987. The Research Incentive Plan returns a percentage of the indirect costs to the faculty and academic unit.
Indiana University South Bend Funding
The Senate Research and Development Committee oversees internal IUSB Faculty Research grants, which may include summer salary requests. In 1998-1999, $106,000 was awarded for faculty research. Since 1987 over $656,000 has been used for internal awards to faculty.
There are a number of Indiana University grants that offer funding for specific purposes, such as inter-campus research collaborations. In 1998-1999, nearly $10,000 was awarded to Indiana University South Bend faculty through these programs.
Associate faculty are supported in many of the same ways as tenure eligible faculty, particularly in regard to teaching. All new associate faculty are invited to a half-day orientation session. They are welcome in all UCET workshops and programs. The Associate Faculty Advisory Committee meets regularly to discuss work issues. A fall conference at Indiana University South Bend promotes good teaching practice. Many also attend the Indiana University faculty conference in Indianapolis. These faculty are eligible for Associate Faculty Professional Grants which are often used for travel. In 1998-1999, $4,300 was awarded. Over $30,000 has been awarded for this purpose since 1992. The specific support for associate faculty is detailed in The Teaching Excellence Report: Indiana University South Bend.
Student Learning and Scholarship
Entry testing of all students is administered for proper placement in beginning courses. Students are tested by the Academic Resource Center (ARC) personnel in writing, mathematics, and reading. Those who do not test at a level indicating adequate preparation for taking college-level courses required by their curricula are advised into remedial noncredit courses: ENG W031 for writing; MATH M012, MATH M013, or MATH M014 for mathematics; EDUC X100 or EDUC X101 for reading.
In addition to tutoring provided through ARC and the Writing Center, the mathematics department employs and trains students to serve as tutors for mathematics courses. Workshops on use of computers for classroom work are scheduled regularly by the Office of Information Technology. The Schurz Library also offers formal as well as informal instruction on use of the library so as to assist student learning.
Indiana University South Bend enthusiastically supports undergraduate scholarship and research. In fact, faculty regularly recruit undergraduate students as research partners. Several organized activities constitute a comprehensive program, which is staffed by the contracts and grants coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs.
The Undergraduate Research Fund, initiated in 1989, was later renamed the Student/Mentor Academic Research Teams (SMART) program. Faculty are encouraged to work closely with undergraduates on research. A small grants program funds student research expenses and provides a stipend for faculty mentors. Students receive research expenses, usually around $200 per project, and faculty mentors receive $150 stipends for each project. More than 200 projects, spanning the curriculum, have been funded with a total of over $67,000 to students and more than $20,000 to their faculty mentors (as of December 1999). Applications include formal research proposals and are reviewed by the SMART Committee for funding. A Merit Award for Outstanding Research, accompanied by a prize of $100, is given to the best undergraduate research project of the year.
The summer student fellowships are an extension of the SMART program that allows selected students to work full time on a major research project, under faculty mentor guidance. Funded at $1,500 to $3,000, the fellowships support 5 to 10 full weeks of work for a student, who may apply in addition for expenses related to the project. In 1998-1999 Indiana University South Bend awarded a total of $18,083 to students for undergraduate research projects.
Indiana University South Bend faculty and administrators took the lead in establishing the Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference, an all-university program for the presentation of student research. Each year Indiana University South Bend students are prominent presenters. In addition, the campus sponsors the IUSB Undergraduate Research Conference. Held each spring on campus, this conference consists of presentations by students of their research or creative work and is open to students of all disciplines. A workshop prior to the conference gives presenters tips on presenting papers and posters as well as proper conference etiquette. The SMART committee and members of the Omega Student Research Club organize the conference.
Another significant activity of the student research club is the publication of the Undergraduate Research Journal. First published in 1998, the interdisciplinary journal is refereed, edited, and published by students. The papers were written for classes, SMART fellowships, and Honors projects. The journal is available in printed copy as well as through the club's Web page at http://www.iusb.edu/~omega. Student work is also showcased in New Views on Gender and in the award winning Analecta. Copies of these journals are available in the NCA Resource Room.
The Honors Program makes a significant contribution to both student learning and student scholarship. The program is administered by a faculty member who receives a three-course release from teaching for the year to serve as director. Selected students are enrolled each year in specially designed small classes, tutorials, and independent study opportunities. Students who have taken at least 18 credit hours in honors courses and have completed an honors-qualified project are granted an Honors Program certificate and receive special recognition at commencement. An advisory committee allocates a round of merit-based scholarships each year and provides advice to the director. A recently added enrichment feature is the Freshman Honors Colloquium which has two components: a series of lectures by distinguished faculty and a weekend symposium spearheaded by a noted national scholar. Enrollments in the colloquium (a 2 credit hour course) have ranged from 45-90. Other well-received innovations include the Freshman Research Seminar and the Senior Research Seminar, which provide a showcase for students to present their scholarly work to a diverse audience.
The Honors Program offered 26 course sections for the 1998-1999 academic year and enrolled 254 students in those sections. All students who receive honors scholarships must enroll in an honors course during the academic year, so the 254 students noted include all of those as well. A few of these students were nonhonors students authorized into the classes by the respective instructors. Honors scholarships were allocated to 109 students in 1998-1999. Five of these were full tuition for the freshman year only; the rest were $1,200 scholarships. The program has averaged about four seniors graduating with honors every year since 1995-1996, with a total of six in 1998-1999. This number should increase as the alumni/alumnae of the Freshman Honors Colloquium reach the senior year.
Assessment of Student Achievement
Indiana University South Bend has a standing administrative committee to monitor, support, and encourage the assessment of academic programs. The IUSB Campus Assessment Committee, whose membership includes faculty and staff who are directly involved in assessment, is appointed by the vice chancellor for academic affairs and is provided office space, a part-time employee, and funds for conference attendance and the administration of assessment tests. In addition, the Assessment Committee chair is granted one-quarter release time to oversee the activities of the committee and the assessment personnel. The committee's structure and bylaws are outlined in the IUSB Campus Assessment Committee Handbook. The handbook includes an annual calendar of activities and reporting deadlines.
The IUSB Assessment Plan was submitted to the North Central Association and approved in 1995. Details of the assessment plans for each academic program are available in the Office of Academic Affairs. In addition to the original assessment plan, the file for each degree-granting academic program includes a copy of its third year review, which is an in-depth review of the assessment activities of the program, the results of those activities, and changes made to the overall plan. At the third-year reviews, the Assessment Committee offers suggestions and assistance as appropriate. If the plan seems inadequate, the Assessment Committee requests that the program return after one year instead of the usual three. The Assessment Committee comments specifically on whether faculty and students are involved in each assessment plan, whether documentation is adequate, whether analysis of data is apparent, and whether the assessment activities have had an impact on programs. Brief annual reports on assessment activities by each program are also included in these files.
Students are expected to assist in the assessment process as defined by their academic departments and the campus Assessment Committee. Assessment processes may include activities as varied as opinion surveys and focus groups to portfolios and capstone courses. Students may also be required to participate in a pregraduation event designed to measure the cumulative effect of their collegiate experience. (Academic Regulations and Policies of the University, IUSB Bulletin 1998-2000, p. 16).
The Assessment Committee surveys students annually on their satisfaction with various campus programs, offices, and facilities; entering students, graduating students and alumni on the importance and success of general education at Indiana University South Bend; and faculty on their teaching styles and methods. Currently, a study of assessment at Indiana University South Bend is underway. These surveys and the results are available in the NCA Resource Room and in the Office of Academic Affairs.
General Education and Assessment
The Assessment Committee itself has taken responsibility for general education, and the 1998-2000 IUSB Bulletin (p. 16) states that:
- The goal of assessing student outcomes at Indiana University South Bend is to help the university realize its mission to the student body.
- The objective of the assessment process is to involve the faculty, the students, and the community in the effort to review student outcomes.
- The purpose of assessing student outcomes is to identify program strengths and elements in need of improvement.
The committee developed general education objectives that were included in the IUSB Assessment Plan. The Assessment Committee selected and used a nationally normed test of general education objectives, the ETS Academic Profile, for two years as a pilot testing program and has designed an additional writing test. During the 1998-1999 academic year, the Assessment Committee requested that the IUSB Academic Senate pass a resolution in support of requiring all undergraduates in bachelor’s degree programs to participate in a general education assessment activity for graduation. After discussions between the senate Curriculum Committee and the Assessment Committee, a resolution was presented to the IUSB Academic Senate that would require assessment before graduation. That resolution was defeated. At this same meeting, the IUSB Academic Senate passed a resolution that the Assessment Committee become a committee of the IUSB Academic Senate. The matter of mandatory general education testing will be referred to this Academic Senate Assessment Committee. Converting the Assessment Committee to an Academic Senate committee is on the agenda for 2000-2001. Discussions between the Assessment Committee chair and the senate president and parliamentarian have begun. The Academic Resource Center is prepared to work with the Assessment Committee to do the actual test administration when committee status and mandatory general education testing are resolved.
There are two areas of concerns with general education assessment that the Indiana University South Bend community is addressing. First, there is no campuswide general education requirement, although certain courses (ENG W131 Elementary Composition and SPCH S121 Public Speaking) are almost universally required. Currently each academic program defines its own general education requirements. To address a directive from Indiana University President Myles Brand that each campus develop a well-functioning general education curriculum, during 1998-1999 Acting Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs John Lewis appointed and convened a group of faculty and staff to review general education requirements on the Indiana University South Bend campus. This group's work was put on hold for 1999-2000 awaiting leadership from the new vice chancellor for academic affairs. Secondly, no one has responsibility for assessing individual general education courses. That is, each academic program is responsible for assessment of the program for its majors and the Assessment Committee is responsible for assessing the attainment of broad general education objectives, but the particular curricula of service courses not part of the programs for majors are not receiving assessment attention. This problem will be more easily addressed once campuswide requirements are established. The Assessment Committee will continue to consider whether additional general education assessment is possible and desirable, as the general education requirements for the campus are examined.
In December 1999 Vice Chancellor Guillaume presented to the faculty his views on general education and Indiana University South Bend’s approach to this vital area of undergraduate curricula. He has appointed a new head of the task force and has initiated a deliberate process to involve the entire academic community in a discussion of general education. His timetable for conclusion of discussions and for reaching consensus is the end of spring 2001. The academic year 2001-2002 will then be dedicated to course revisions and new curriculum development, with the implementation of a new general education core planned for fall 2002
Maximizing Educational Quality
The selection and hiring of faculty has a greater impact on the long-term quality of the academic program than any other single activity. Over several years, Indiana University South Bend has developed hiring procedures that are uniform for all academic divisions and departments, designed to draw productive candidate pools. Most importantly, a detailed hiring plan for a national search is submitted by the appropriate dean or department chair for every faculty vacancy. The plans must be approved by the vice chancellor for academic affairs in consultation with the affirmative action officer. In a new policy adopted for 1999-2000, every candidate offered a position was also offered a substantial level of reimbursement for moving expenses and modest funds for research start-up expenses. New hires in the sciences receive additional start-up funds. A measure of Indiana University South Bend’s success in recruiting well-qualified faculty is that in many searches Indiana University South Bend has been able to appoint the search committee's first choice from a large national pool of candidates.
Indiana University South Bend is committed to building a diverse faculty, staff, and student body. To this end, all faculty searches involve active encouragement of minority and women candidates that goes well beyond the usual phrases at the end of an advertisement. The affirmative action officer monitors every step of the search and screen process and provides guidance on reaching under-represented groups. Nevertheless, although the proportion of women has improved during the 1990s, racial minorities are still under-represented among the faculty, as documented in Chapter 3.
If well-qualified faculty are to be recruited and retained, salaries must be competitive. Over several years, Indiana University South Bend has worked to achieve average faculty salaries that are close to the national mean for comparable institutions in each professorial rank and by discipline for new hires. A pay equity task force appointed in 1998-1999 by the chancellor was charged to examine this issue and to make recommendations. Additionally, a consulting firm was hired to review faculty salaries and to recommend ways to define, achieve, and maintain salary equity among faculty. The work of the task force is nearing completion and, in fact, may be complete by the time of the arrival of the NCA team.
Procedures and criteria for tenure and promotion appear in both the IUSB Academic Handbook (p.23) and the Indiana University Academic Handbook (pp. 56-65). Each faculty member is evaluated on teaching, research or other scholarly/creative activity, and service. (Areas for library faculty are performance, professional development, and service.) To be granted tenure and/or promotion, faculty are required to excel in at least one of the areas and to exhibit at least satisfactory performance in the remaining areas. In exceptional cases, promotion and/or tenure may be given to a candidate who exhibits a balance of strengths demonstrating excellent overall performance. (IUSB Academic Handbook, p. 23).
Routing of dossiers and recommendations varies somewhat depending on the division or school. In the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences (where there are departments), the process begins with the department and proceeds to a divisional committee and then to the dean. In other divisions the process begins with a divisional promotion, tenure, and reappointment committee. The divisional review is followed by consideration at the campus level by the IUSB Academic Senate Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment (PTR) Committee. In those programs that are part of Indiana University-wide schools (e.g. public and environmental affairs, nursing, and social work) reviews and recommendations are also made at the all-school level. Following review by the senate PTR committee, recommendations are forwarded to the vice chancellor for academic affairs and the chancellor. The Indiana University president and the Indiana University Board of Trustees give final approval.
The senate PTR committee is interdisciplinary and may include untenured faculty as well as faculty from departments who are sending forward a candidate. There is some feeling that representation from all divisions should be required, or at least from all divisions having someone being reviewed for tenure and/or promotion in a particular year. A change in the IUSB Academic Senate Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment Committee structure would require the action of the IUSBAcademic Senate.
Academic Resources
The Office of Academic Affairs is the administrative unit responsible for managing the academic resources described above as well as those that follow. The office is headed by the vice chancellor for academic affairs, one of three vice chancellors in 1999-2000. Vice Chancellor Guillaume assumed duties in July 1999. His office is staffed by an associate vice chancellor, an administrative assistant, two full-time secretaries and one part time, and three professional appointees. Although the Office of Informational Technologies, discussed in Chapter 3, does not fall under the administrative responsibilities of the Office of Academic Affairs, nevertheless several of its functions clearly provide valuable academic resources and are therefore discussed in this section.
The Office of Graduate Programs was established in 1998. The graduate programs coordinator reports to the vice chancellor for academic affairs through the associate vice chancellor and serves as liaison to the Graduate Council. The coordinator manages the day-to-day activities of the office and makes recommendations and communicates changes of operation to the Graduate Council and the vice chancellor.
The Graduate Council consists of representative graduate program directors and is appointed by the vice chancellor for academic affairs each academic year. For 1999-2000, the Division of Education has three representatives; the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences has two; and the remaining graduate programs each has one, for a total of 10 members. The council serves in an advisory capacity. All recommendations are reviewed by the vice chancellor and the associate vice chancellor, and operational/procedural decisions are made at their level.
The Office of Graduate Programs is a multi-faceted function serving both graduate programs and the nondegree graduate student population. The office processes all graduate applications, collects and maintains data for reporting purposes, conducts and assists in recruitment events, produces an array of publications, and maintains a resource room for graduate students. The IUSB Graduate Bulletin 1999-2001 is available in the NCA Resource Room.
After being separated in 1993, the programs serving international student and faculty needs were combined again in August 1999. The newly structured Office of International Programs consists of the director of international programs (a 75 percent reassigned faculty member on 12-month appointment who reports to the vice chancellor of academic affairs), a full-time assistant director, and secretary. The office is housed in the newly renovated Gunther and Barbara Jordan International Center. The office serving international students was located in student affairs prior to being shifted to the Office of Academic Affairs. With the reassignment the director of international student services resigned in August 1999, and a proposal is under consideration to replace that position with a program coordinator. The director of international programs is assisted by the International Programs Advisory Council, which is made up of business and community leaders, and by a faculty committee. The IUSB Office of International Programs is closely related to university-wide international programs activities, and the director participates in many of its committees and task forces.
Indiana University South Bend typically has over 200 international students from 59 countries, with more than half of them coming from the Far East. In fall 1999 there were 166 undergraduates and 63 graduates. The total number of credit hours was 2,105, which was 7 percent of graduate and 3.5 percent of undergraduate credit hours at Indiana University South Bend. Indiana University South Bend also serves as host institution for the privately operated South Bend English Institute (SBEI). In 1997 and 1998, 39 SBEI students enrolled at Indiana University South Bend. Beginning in fall 1999 the Office of International Programs assumed the responsibilities of the former Office of International Student Services: processing all admissions materials, issuing visa documents, granting permission for employment, giving approval for exit and re-entry into the United States, academic advising for all entering international students, administering the mandatory health insurance program, helping with housing, maintaining the databases for admitted students and alumni, and providing ongoing support to all international students.
Curriculum, Study Abroad, and International Affiliations
Since its creation in 1996, 33 students have graduated with a Certificate of International Studies. The International Programs Committee, appointed by the vice chancellor for academic affairs, brings together faculty from all disciplines to work on promoting the internationalization of the campus.
The office is responsible for promoting study abroad opportunities to Indiana University South Bend students, advising students about individual programs, and making recommendations to departments concerning transfer credits. The office also administers all Indiana University South Bend study abroad programs and helps faculty develop new programs for approval by the Indiana University Overseas Study Advisory Council.
Since 1993, 161 Indiana University South Bend students have studied abroad, 156 of them in summer programs. The Language, Culture, and Society in Mexico program has been most productive, having enrolled 77 students. Indiana University South Bend has an active exchange with the University of Ulster, and international affiliation agreements with a number of other universities.
Since 1993 international programs has sponsored and co-sponsored more than 100 events. The office issues a newsletter each semester and an International Directory that is updated every year. The office also has several Web sites.
In 1999, the Office of International Programs at Indiana University South Bend conducted a self-study. That self-study and the external review are being used to improve the operation of international programs. These reports are available in the NCA Resource Room.
With the loss of the full-time student services position, staff have been stretched to do all that is absolutely necessary and have been forced to cut back on many important activities, in terms of services to students, admissions, and internationalization of the campus. The goals of international programs are closely tied to Indiana University South Bend's mission of student-centered education, academic excellence, and community partnerships. Moreover, at a time of potential enrollment decreases at Indiana University South Bend, international student enrollments can help fill the gap.
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) operates as a unit administered by the Office of Academic Affairs and is served by an advisory board. Personnel in ARC consists of a director, three lecturers, a secretary (all of whom are full time), and three half-time positions, one of which is the director of the Writing Center. ARC's functions include academic assessment and placement for entering students, providing tutorial and other support for certain courses, and assisting in orientation activities for entering students. In addition to the tutoring done by student instructors assigned to courses as requested by faculty (a service currently supported by a Lilly grant), ARC also operates the Writing Center and administers the Perkins grant that serves special populations.
The Office of Information Technologies (OIT) does not fall under the administration of the Office of Academic Affairs. In addition to those described in Chapter 3, however, several of its services provide support for academic programs.
OIT has annually supported the acquisition of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) technology with a presence in the library, Northside, and Wiekamp computer laboratories. Steps are being taken to interface more formally with the student services ADA support office. Plans are being made to centralize some more highly specialized equipment, and the feasibility of a full-time staff position devoted to its support is being considered.
OIT supplemented Perkins grant funds to provide the Academic Resource Center computer laboratory with state-of-the-art computers addressing their mission. OIT has offered assistance for networking of their systems. In addition, the Writing Center, which had a limited computer laboratory with antiquated hardware and software, has been networked with the campus system and received newer Pentium computers and software as well as specific OIT staff support of system administration.
The Franklin D. Schurz Library is part of the Indiana University Library System, which is the seventh largest university library in the country. The Indiana University systems library houses seven million volumes which are available to all Indiana University faculty and students. The Schurz Library and the Learning Resource Center (LRC), an educational media branch, provide access to information supporting the scholarly and teaching pursuits of the academic community of Indiana University South Bend. The resources of the Schurz Library at IUSB and the LRC complement the public and school libraries in the area with free borrower cards which are available to the public upon request.
The collections of the Schurz Library and the LRC consist of books, journals, government publications, audiovisual materials, microforms, and electronic resources. The library has approximately 886,571 volumes, subscribes to 2,101 periodicals, and provides access to hundreds of electronic journals, indexes, and other resources. The size of Indiana University South Bend's collection merits a grade of A based on standards published by the Association of College and Research Libraries.
The number of electronic resources has increased greatly in the last year, in part because of a statewide initiative to fund access to Ebscohost, a common set of databases for all public and academic libraries. A second boost for the virtual library collection was the addition of $52,000 to the base materials budget in 1998. This allowed subscribing to resources such as J-Stor, an electronic archive of complete runs of back issues of major journals in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. The library is also a Federal Depository. Government publications, which come in a variety of formats, have the same bibliographic and accessibility levels as the rest of the collection.
The library budget has not kept up with the inflation rate for books and particularly for journals. For 8 of the last 10 years, the increase in the materials base budget averaged only 2.5 percent per year. In recent years, however, the library received increases between 10 and 13 percent. Often the administration has granted one-time funds for monographic purchases. Additionally, the library has begun a campaign for an endowment fund to supplement the library materials budget.
The library is beginning to face a space problem, particularly with the serials collection. Decisions need to be made regarding current holdings and subscriptions to titles which are available online. This will be part of a needed evaluation process.
During the academic year, the library is open 98 hours per week, longer than any of the other Indiana University regional campuses. In the last 10 years, there have been over three million visitors. The reference desk is staffed 77 hours per week. Reference assistance is also available by phone or e-mail. Interlibrary loan is one of the most valued services offered. The library is able to fill 92 percent of the requests with the average turnaround time of four days. (The national average is an 88 percent fill rate with a fourteen day turnaround.)
The educational function of the library is served by a very strong library instruction program. Librarians work closely with instructors to develop presentations that meet the goals of specific classes. In recent years, 10 computers have been added to the instruction room allowing more hands-on instruction in electronic resources. Library instruction has been offered to off-site locations at the request of the classroom instructor and is taught either through two-way interactive video or on site. Increasingly classroom instructors are requesting multiple sessions on library resources or assistance in formulating research assignments and evaluating final projects. Additionally, a 1 credit hour course on library skills and resources is offered each spring semester.
The instruction librarians have become involved with assessment and in 1996 they developed Informational Literacy Competencies for students at Indiana University South Bend. Two of the librarians have published articles and spoken at national conferences concerning their initial findings on this topic.
Library personnel retrieve materials and make photocopies for persons with disabilities. The library owns the following equipment to assist users in need: Kurzweil Reading Machine, Optical Character Enhancer, Perkins Brailler, braille typewriter, four-track cassette player and lighted magnifying glass. Also available is a computer with assistive software and hardware, including enlarging and voice synthesis and a braille printer.
The library offers an array of electronic services. These include the online catalog and other indexes provided through IO, our CD-ROM LAN, and the library's homepage. IO consists of IUCAT (the union catalog for holdings of libraries on all eight Indiana University campuses) and access to several other titles provided to all Indiana University campuses. The CD-ROM LAN provides 14 databases available from any networked computer on campus. The homepage includes not only links to research related sites, but also provides interactive forms for a variety of requests and submissions. In 1997, the library began an electronic reserves service that allows students to access reserve readings from any computer with Internet access. Most electronic resources are available to the student laboratory in Elkhart, as well as to anyone dialing in using an Indiana University South Bend network connection.
The Learning Resource Center (LRC) is a specialized library that contains education oriented materials ranging from preschool to high school level and is housed in Greenlawn Hall with the Division of Education. It also has a wide assortment of media equipment typically found in the public schools that aid in the creation of visuals. LRC personnel teach education students how to create teaching visuals for grades K-12 for enhancing their lesson plans. The use of this equipment and the expertise of the staff are extended to all students and faculty on campus so that they can also create visuals for classroom and professional conference presentations. The LRC is open 59 hours per week and has one full-time staff person, who is responsible for managing daily operations in addition to conducting workshops on the resources and selecting materials and equipment.
The Franklin D. Schurz Library opened in January 1989 and provides an attractive and functional facility. At present, however, there is no growth space in the periodicals section. The general collection space currently has approximately eight years growth left. The collection has never been systematically weeded, but evaluations are underway. A planned evaluation of collections will permit weeding items. This should increase shelf capacity. The Learning Resource Center has reached capacity in shelving, equipment, and seating space. Weeding of the collection is done annually to control space. There is no room for the LRC to expand until a new facility is constructed for the Division of Education.
The Schurz Library, including the LRC, has 10 librarians, 4 professional staff, and 5 FTE appointed support staff. Additionally there are 13 FTE hourly staff, consisting primarily of student assistants.
The standards established by the Association of College and Research Libraries use a formula based on the size of the student body and the size of the library collection to determine the adequate size of staff to meet a library's need for services, programs, and collection organization. For Indiana University South Bend, the optimal size should be 14 librarians and 26 support staff, not counting student assistants. This situation needs to be reviewed and remedied.
At Indiana University South Bend strong support for faculty development and student learning is embedded in the campus ethic and reflected in budgetary decisions as well. These commitments have led to the establishment of a highly qualified faculty focused on both scholarship and student achievement. Indeed, excellence in these areas is an ever-present goal and a source of great pride when attainment of excellence is acknowledged. There are two recent examples: In spring 1999 an Indiana University South Bend graduating senior with a major in mathematics and a double minor in physics and philosophy was selected from a field of 1,000 nominees as 1 of 20 students named to the 10th USA Today All-USA College Academic Team. She is the only student from Indiana to receive the national honor. Also, in 1999 an Indiana University South Bend faculty member was honored when selected as Indiana Professor of the Year, the first Indiana University professor to receive the Council for Advancement and Support of Education award.
Indiana University South Bend's plan for assessment of student achievement is being tested and modified as needed. It is not yet clear how the assessment process has contributed to changes in pedagogy and curriculum. As data are collected from assessment activities, as well as from systematic program and accreditation reviews, it is expected that analysis of outcomes will contribute to improvement of academic programs and student learning.
Indiana University South Bend recognizes that its general education requirements need review. The directive
to all Indiana University campuses from President Brand, the leadership of Vice Chancellor Guillaume, growing interest
among faculty, especially in the liberal arts and sciences—all indicate that attention to general education will
be a major campus activity in the next years. The expectation is that a well-constructed and supported requirement
will be in place for implementation in fall 2002.