Criterion Two - The institution has effectively organized the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to accomplish its purposes.
UW-River Falls is one of eleven comprehensive universities in the University of Wisconsin system. The system is governed by a Board of Regents responsible for establishing policies for governing the system. The Board of Regents is a 17-member board consisting of: State Superintendent of Public Instruction; President of the Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education; 14 citizen members appointed for seven-year terms by the Governor with confirmation by the State Senate;
and a student member appointed for a two-year term by the Governor with confirmation by the State Senate. The Board of Regents appoints the President of the University of Wisconsin System, who is responsible for system operation and management. The University of Wisconsin system President and the Board of Regents select the chancellor of each member institution. The chancellor is delegated the authority to administer and operate the institution within Regent policies and guidelines.

The university is well administered and managed. Based on a review of resumes, the campus administration has appropriate experience and credentials for their positions. Based on interviews with University of Wisconsin system personnel, the campus administration is well respected. Based on the campus interviews and meetings, the campus administration is respected, and available and supportive of the faculty, staff and students to fulfill the mission and goals of the university.
A review of the organizational chart (see Appendix IV, pp. 193-201, of the Self-Study Report) and the team's meetings on campus, revealed that the campus organization is appropriate and working. Two vice chancellors report to the chancellor. Units are appropriately assigned to each of the two vice chancellors. Individual units (athletics, development and alumni, and compliance) report to the chancellor.

Since 1988, changes in the UW-River Falls organizational structure include:
• changing the reporting line for the Dean of Students Office from the Assistant
Chancellor for Administration to the Provost/Vice Chancellor (the Dean of Students is a member of the Provost's Deans Group);
• merging two positions (Assistant Chancellors) for Business and Finance and for Administration into one position titled Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance;
• merging the Graduate School with the College of Education and combining the positions of Dean of the College of Education and Dean of the Graduate School;
• creating the School of Business and Economics to house Business Administration,
Accounting, and Economics Departments.

The Provost's Deans Group meets weekly (and more frequently if needed) and is quick to seek inputs from campus stakeholders with regard to various academic and other campus and program-related issues, needs, and opportunities.
Programs are overseen and courses are taught by faculty with appropriate educational credentials. In 1997, 78% of all the faculty hold a doctoral degree. Significant progress has been made in the last ten years since only 65% of all faculty in 1988 held a doctoral degree.

Over the last ten years, there has been an effort to increase the number of the minority in the faculty ranks-women and faculty of color. The team recommends that the campus become more aggressive in seeking members of under-represented groups to enrich the academic community.

In fall 1997, there were 5,441 students enrolled in the university. In the fall 1988, there were a total of 5,544 students, a slight decline of 103 students. For the ten year period, there was a high of 5,564 students and a low of 5,196. Out of the total number of students in the fall 1997, 404 were graduate students which is a decline from 574 in the fall 1988. The reduction in graduate students is a result of: planned reduction in the graduate program array; deliberate reductions in graduate class size; accrediting standards related to specific programs; and changes in the State of Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction teacher retraining and re-certification standards.

Since the last comprehensive accreditation visit the University of Wisconsin system has had three system-wide enrollment management initiatives. Faced with increased student demand and a declining share of state budget appropriations, the Board of Regents approved a series of enrollment management plans. Begun in 1987 and ending in 1991, the first plan was designed to maintain quality academic programs and to limit student access consistent with available resources. The campuses were assigned specific enrollment targets and a budget based on this target. River Falls had as its target a 7% reduction in student FTE over the four-year period. The base FTE of 5,172 in the 1986-87 year was reduced to a target FTE of 4,807 for 1990-91, a decrease of 365 FTE. The second enrollment management initiative was policy from 1991-92 to 1994-95, during which time the university's enrollment target was further reduced by 3.25%. A revised 1990-91 based of 4,832 was reduced to a target FTE of 4,675, a decrease of 157 FTE.

The campus is currently under the third enrollment initiative in effect from 1995-2000. UW-River Falls proposed acceptance of 256 additional FTE students without additional resources. With the concurrent implementation of a new Tuition Revenue Management Plan, campuses which exceed their target are allowed to keep for local use 75% of the funds generated by the excess tuition. Campuses which fall short of the target are required to return a proportionate share of funding to the University of Wisconsin system. In 1996 and again in 1997, River Falls exceeded its enrollment and tuition revenue targets. In 1996, the university exceeded its enrollment target by 44 students and in 1997 by 64 students. This success and subsequent increased revenue have added to the university's monies available for internal reallocation for supplies and expenses, technology, equipment, and faculty and staff development.

Since the last NCA visit, criteria for admission to the university have been increased. In 1988, the standard admission criterion was ranking in the upper 50% of the graduating class or having an ACT composite score of 18 or above. The current admission standard required high school graduates to rank in the upper 40% of their high school graduating class or have an ACT composite score of 22 or higher. In the fall of 1997, the profile of entering students included an average ACT score of 22.7 and an average high school rank of 71st percentile.
Over the past ten years, non-resident students made up approximately 45% of the student enrollment. Due to the proximity to Minnesota, particularly the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, almost all of the non-resident students are from Minnesota. Proximity, comprehensive programs, tuition reciprocity, and the small campus/small town characteristics are the primary reasons for attendance by students from Minnesota. Recent legislation enacted in both Wisconsin and Minnesota ensures the continuation of interstate reciprocity well into the future.

The university provides tutoring services, writing and English laboratories, and computer laboratories. The faculty and staff at University of Wisconsin-River Falls are dedicated to providing services for their students to succeed.
The main campus consists of 216 acres. In addition to the main campus the institution operates two lab farms-one consisting of 206 acres which borders the main campus, and a second consisting of 292 acres. Facilities used to support the mission of the University include 31 major buildings and over 50 small buildings constituting over 1.6 million square feet of space. The grounds and buildings are attractive and well maintained.

Over the past ten years, the campus has spent over $16 million on major renovation and updates. Of particular note is the remodeling of the original university building and the library remodeling. The library is well designed and functional. The university has acquired computers and software in order to electronically access the • materials in the library collection. During the visit, the computer terminals were constantly in use. Also included in the library basement are dedicated and open computer laboratories for student use.
Currently under renovation is the art department. Ground breaking will be held in the next few weeks for the new $6.5 million teacher education center. The university has created a technological infrastructure across the campus enabling students, faculty, and staff to access the electronic networks and the world wide web. A fiber optic backbone linking all buildings on campus has been installed. The university has completed the interior wiring to connect every office, classroom and laboratory in the academic buildings to the fiber optic backbone. Non-academic buildings such as resident halls have limited access to the network, full rewiring of these buildings is in the planning stages.

To ensure that faculty and staff have access to up-to-date computer technology, the university has established a computer replacement fund that provides for the upgrading of all faculty and staff computers on a five-year rotation. Currently, each faculty and staff member has access to a computer that is not over five years old.

To support the teaching effort, several classrooms are equipped with the latest in technology. These rooms are almost scheduled to capacity. The university plans to have more rooms "on line" by the fall of 1998. Faculty are excited about the technology in the classroom and are using the technology more each day.
The faculty, staff, and students generally feel they are in a safe and healthy environment. In talking to the students, they did feel there is a need for more "blue" phones and there were a few "black" spots on the campus that could be solved with some lighting. University personnel continue to work with the students to solve these problems.

The University of Wisconsin system prepares a biennial budget request with input from each institution in the system. The system budget included both continuing costs and new initiatives from each campus and the system office.
Over the past ten years the system has seen a sizable decrease in its share of state budget. Its share has dropped from 12% in 1988 to 9.1% in 1997. For UW-River Falls, the overall change was a budget reduction of $1.3 million.
Recently the state has funded special initiatives for laboratory and classroom modernization, general computer access, and the recruitment and retention of faculty.

In the general fund, the campus budget allocated more than 90% of the funds to faculty and staff compensation, leaving a small portion for supplies and expenses, travel, and equipment. The university, through internal reallocations, is beginning to increase the portion assigned to non-personnel expenditures. The goal is to have 12% of the general fund allocated to supplies and expenses, travel, and equipment. Based on the visit, personnel on campus understand the budget environment. The campus has limited but well-managed resources.

Students participate in university governance through a variety of processes. The student constituency is represented through the Student Senate. Following a reorganization of Student Affairs, the Student Association created three advisory boards and several subcommittees to mirror the newer Student Affairs structure. While Student reactions to the newer structure are mixed and creative tension exists as appropriate roles are defined over time, the advisory boards have expanded the opportunities for student involvement. Students also participate on university committees, and student leaders appear to have effective relationships with university administrators.

The 1998 Self-Study Report (p. 31) states "the concept of shared governance is a long-respected tradition at UW-River Falls." However, the development and implementation of the Reach for the Future, the Long Range/Strategic Plan, may have created an imbalance in decision making among the governance groups: the Faculty Senate, the Academic Staff Council, and the Student Senate. The planning process has possibly resulted in top-down management excluding departmental faculty and students in the eyes of some campus constituents. Some members of the Faculty Senate view their participation as "ceremonial" and feel their role has been redefined as obstructing new initiatives. The recent reallocation of funds along with the reconfiguration of departments within or between Colleges appears to some to have exacerbated a division between the Faculty Senate and the Academic Staff Council.

Many other faculty express appreciation for increased funding for computing technology and professional development because of the reallocation of funds, but have a sense of "bum out" because of the intensive committee work needed to prepare Reach for the Future. And some have a sense that the planning process and the new plan reflect a diminished input from stakeholders.
Through the traditional faculty-student relationship, the faculty is sensitive to the needs of students and share concerns regarding issues of diversity, frequency of course offerings, advising needs, and increased class sizes. The faculty must also be encouraged to model principles upholding human rights to the University community. Some faculty, both males and females, label reassignments, or other discriminating decision-making within departments, as "abusive". This kind of climate requires sensitive, proactive leadership and communication from the highest levels of administration.

The team finds that UW-River Falls has met Criterion Two.

Criterion 3