This is the report of a comprehensive evaluation for continued accreditation
at the master's degree-granting level that was conducted for the Commission
on Institutions of Higher Education on April 20-22, 1998. This report is organized
into four sections:
Section I - an introduction to the context of the comprehensive
evaluation.
Section II - an evaluation of the University of Wisconsin-River
Falls against the General Institutional Requirements and the Criteria for Accreditation,
including a summary of strengths and challenges.
Section III - advice and suggestions to the University.
Section IV - the formal recommendation to the commission and
the rationale for that recommendation.
Section I - The Introduction
The University of Wisconsin - River Falls (UW-River Falls) was established in
1874 as a Normal School. In 1912, the campus was assigned an additional responsibility,
adding agricultural education to its mission of teacher preparation. The institution
was renamed in 1925 to Wisconsin State Teachers College at River Falls with
authority to grant the bachelor's degree. In 1951, the name was shortened to
Wisconsin State College at River Falls when authority to grant liberal arts
degrees was gained. And, with authority to offer graduate education the name
was changed to Wisconsin State University-River Falls in 1960. In 1971, the
campus was merged into the University of Wisconsin System and the name became
the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
UW-River Falls was initially accredited by the NCA in 1935 and it has been continuously
accredited since then. Its last comprehensive evaluation took place in February
of 1988, at which time the team of evaluators recommended continued accreditation
status for ten years with a focused visit on graduate education scheduled for
1991-92. The focused visit took place in February of 1992. While progress was
noted by the evaluators, four concerns (see below) were noted in the Report
of the Focused Visit and a Required Report on these issues was due by March
30, 1994. The Required Report was accepted by NCA staff.
In conducting the current evaluation, the six members of the Team consulted
with the chancellor, the provost and the vice chancellors, other officers reporting
to the chancellor, deans, chairs, and professionals responsible for student
life, athletics, advancement and administrative areas. Members of the faculty,
staff and student body were consulted in both open and scheduled meetings, as
well as individually and as members of key shared governance committees. The
Team also consulted with two members of the Board of Regents, the Senior Vice
President for Academic Affairs of the University of Wisconsin System, community
leaders/supporters, and alumni. Overall, the Team found the UW-River Falls family
to be proud of their University. People were open and forthright. The Team especially
appreciated the friendly and helpful attitude encountered all across the campus.
The Self-Study Report prepared by the University was well written and informative.
Appropriately, there were sections devoted to "challenges" and "action
plans" included in the key chapters of the Report. Findings from the University's
self-analysis were broadly distributed to employees. Appropriate materials were
collected in the documents room. In short, the Team found that the information
it needed-was either accessible or readily available from the appropriate administrative
office. Throughout the visit, the Team was pleased by the level of awareness
that an evaluation for continued accreditation was underway.
The Self-Study Report accurately describes (pages 7-17) UW-River Falls' response
to concerns and advice contained in the 1988 Team Report of a comprehensive
evaluation. The current Team is pleased with the attention given to these issues
over the intervening ten years. The Self-Study Report also describes (pages
17-19) the University's responses to concerns noted in the 1992 Report of a
Focused Evaluation of the University's graduate programs. The 1992 Report identified
four continuing concerns about graduate education: Lack of written criteria
for acquiring or maintaining graduate faculty status; Lack of written criteria
for expectations of faculty scholarship and linked to promotion, tenure, and
salary merit decisions; Little evidence of successful implementation of long-range
planning initiatives linked to graduate education; Excessive turnaround time
in approving graduate student's programs of study. A Required Report, filed
by March 30, 1994, addressed the four concerns and no further actions were required.
Nonetheless, UW-River Falls continued to address the four concerns and make
improvements as noted in the Self-Study Report.