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The University of Florida series, Measuring University Performance, will take up additional topics reflecting the university's commitment to measuring university performance in quality and productivity of research, teaching, extension, and service.

All of us at the University of Florida welcome comments and suggestions prompted by this series. Please write to the Office of Institutional Planning and Research, PO Box 113115, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-3115 (ufdata@aa.ufl.edu).

Introduction

Last month, a commission created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching released a report described by the Chronicle of Higher Education as "one of the harshest indictments yet of undergraduate education at research universities." The report, "Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities," criticizes the nation’s 125 research institutions for putting too much emphasis on research and too little on teaching. They contend that research universities shortchange undergraduates by using poorly trained graduate students or substandard faculty to teach them rather than the top-notch researchers highlighted in the institutions’ recruitment brochures. Further, they argue that undergraduates miss out on the research activity that makes these institutions unique.

Whatever the truth of such broad brush conclusions, Florida’s research universities have already met the challenge of reinventing undergraduate education, and our universities have already implemented most of the good suggestions contained in the report. The State University System of Florida has long demonstrated its commitment to high quality, undergraduate-centered university education, so it comes as no surprise to find that the three SUS research universities (USF, FSU, and UF) have established traditions of excellence and innovation in undergraduate education. What follows is a short summary of some of the highlights of the University of Florida experience. Our colleague institutions have similar stories to tell.

Commitment to Undergraduate Education

The University of Florida has always had a strong commitment to undergraduate education and views teaching as the fundamental purpose of the university. With over 31 thousand undergraduates making up more than three-fourths of the 42 thousand students on campus, no one takes undergraduates for granted. While we have the sixth largest total enrollment among all private and public U.S. universities, we have fewer graduate students (18% of the total) than other major public research universities.

Numbers alone do not tell the full story. In recent years we have initiated several programs aimed at improving the undergraduate experience at UF. The Teaching Improvement Program (TIP), a nationally recognized program to enhance and reward undergraduate teaching, provides a major emphasis on the quality and productivity of instruction. Long before the Carnegie Report recommended such a program, Florida’s public universities implemented faculty salary increases based ONLY on teaching quality and productivity. Faculty who win a TIP award receive a permanent $5,000 salary increase. Highly successful in refocusing faculty commitment to quality instruction, this program’s success encouraged the Florida legislature to fund these incentives again this year.

Constructing a student-centered university requires more than rhetoric, and for the past three or four years we have developed and deployed one of the most comprehensive computer-based student advising and information system in the country. TeleGator and the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) permits students to conduct almost all their academic registration, advising, degree tracking, and degree auditing activities on-line. Students can review their progress towards their degree or degree shop to find alternative majors or programs, they can review transcripts or register on-line, they can review student evaluations of teaching or drop and add classes, and they can check their financial aid status and payments. This system relieves the advising staff of routine queries and bookkeeping, permitting more time with students on the substantive issues of career choice, problem resolution, and identification of academic opportunity. In addition, with the automatic system, students move quickly to their major departments and colleges for specific, expert program advice. The automation not only keeps students on track to their degree, it permits the university to guarantee that every student will find a seat in the required courses needed for their degree. Rather than asking the student to assemble a course of study from a wide range of available courses, the system assembles the courses that the student will need to achieve the student’s degree. The computer permits us to rearrange the course structure to meet the student’s needs rather than ask the student to adjust their needs to fit the college and departmental structures. (For an overview of this system select ISIS Functions at http://www.isis.ufl.edu/.)

The results of this program appeared quickly. Periodically, we survey our students to ensure that we meet their needs and improve the university’s programs. Over 94 percent of our Spring 1998 graduating seniors rated their overall experience as good or excellent, with our excellent rating up by 11 percentage points since 1993. This improvement should continue as more and more students benefit from the tracking program implemented just two years ago. Perhaps the greatest test of the quality of the student experience is the growing demand for undergraduate admission. While the university has grown in size, the various measures taken to improve the quality of undergraduate instruction and student life has made the University of Florida more attractive than ever to high quality students. Our freshmen acceptance rate of 54 percent is the seventh lowest among the 32 AAU public institutions. Even more importantly, we do very well in attracting the nation’s top high school students who could choose any university, but choose the University of Florida. In 1997, we ranked eighth in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled and fourth in the number of National Achievement Scholars.

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Instruction

A common criticism echoed by The Carnegie Report, focuses on large undergraduate lecture classes. While the state of Florida seeks to drive the cost of lower division undergraduate education to community college levels even at research universities, Florida’s universities nonetheless engage their full-time faculty in all aspects of undergraduate education. At the University of Florida, for example, more than three-fourths (77%) of the classes taken by graduating seniors had a class size of 120 or fewer students. About one-third of their classes had fewer than 30 students and 26 percent had a class size of between 31 and 60 students.

Most of the graduates in this Spring 1995 class had the majority of their classes taught by ranked faculty. Eighty-two percent of the students had at least two-thirds of their classes taught by ranked faculty. Only three students out of nearly 3000 had one-third or less of their classes taught by ranked faculty. Since these data include "attached" sections (such as lab or discussion sections) that are taught by teaching assistants as part of a course taught by ranked faculty, the se percentages are actually quite conservative. If we had been able to separate the classes from the attached sections an even high percentage would have had more than two-thirds of their classes taught by ranked faculty.

These data reflect our efforts to increase the quality of instruction over the past several years. An earlier study we conducted found that the proportion of teaching done by ranked faculty has increased since 1991-92 while the proportion done by other faculty, principally teaching assistants, has declined. Students indicate strong satisfaction with the quality of instruction. Eighty-six percent of the most recent graduating class rated the quality of UF faculty as good or excellent. Nearly all (94 %) of the 1993 Spring senior class agreed that "most of the professors in my major are good teachers."

The Carnegie Commission writes, "every student at a research university should be able to feel that some faculty member knows and appreciates that student's situation and progress…." In our 1993 survey of graduating seniors, four out of five students said they had developed a close enough relationship with faculty that they felt they could ask for advice about career decisions. Even more (87%) felt they could ask for a letter of recommendation. Among the most recent senior class, 91 percent said it was easy to see faculty outside of class.

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Research

At the University of Florida, research is an integral part of the undergraduate experience. Over 350 undergraduates did original research this academic year as one of the requirements necessary to receive either high or highest honors. National Merit Scholars—numbering 146 in 1997—can apply for a $1,000 stipend to be used for research or overseas study. Last year, more than 4500 undergraduates took individual research or study courses where they work directly with professors in labs or on other research projects in all fields. To recognize some of the best of these projects, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences recently held its eighth annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The result of a highly selective competition among undergraduate research projects, the sixteen winners presented papers on their research from a wide rage of fields. The number of applicants for this symposium continues to increase steadily, presenting a challenge to the six faculty members representing three divisions of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Humanities who must select the participants.

To help undergraduates find a faculty mentor who matches their interest, we maintain an undergraduate research database on the Internet. (See http://www.honors.ufl.edu/researchdatabase.html.) This database currently contains information on 133 active projects—many being conducted by UF’s top researchers—representing most fields of study on campus.

The internship experience has long been a part of the undergraduate program at the University of Florida. Our recent survey of Spring 1998 graduating seniors indicates that 49 percent participated in an internship or practicum while at UF. The vast majority (88%) of these students rated this experience as good or excellent. Clearly, the Carnegie recommendation in favor of internships is old news at the University of Florida. (For additional information see our Cooperative Education and Internship site at The Career Resource Center http://www.crc.ufl.edu/experiential/intern/intern.php.)

Campus wide, the University of Florida serves some 1500 honors students by creating many aspects of a small college within the context of a large major research university. Small classes, sharing classes with a group of students, and interest-focused residences all contribute to the honors experience for those students that qualify and choose to participate. Within this context, of course, honors students find strong encouragement from their professors to engage in research activities related to their interests. (The Honors College page is at http://www.honors.ufl.edu/.)

Post-Graduation Preparation

Florida’s universities have long pursued special programs in oral and written communication. At the University of Florida not only do our students fulfill writing requirements throughout their undergraduate curriculum under a state regulation called the Gordon Rule, but we also have a variety of special programs that enhance that commitment. We recently developed a Center for Written and Oral Communication whose mission and activities serve as examples of what the Carnegie Commission recommends. We require writing-intensive courses early in an undergraduate career. We provide graduate assistants with teacher training to ensure that they perform well in their teaching assignments and leave the university prepared for teaching careers. We promote greater proficiency in real-life writing tasks by offering communications courses geared toward the student’s discipline or profession. We introduce faculty to ongoing research and innovative techniques in instruction, especially those who teach courses on writing and speaking in the disciplines. (For more information visit http://web.cwoc.ufl.edu/.)

While there is always room for improvement, recent survey data suggest University of Florida graduates leave this institution well prepared for careers and post-baccalaureate education. Among the most recent graduating class, 53 percent plan to work following graduation and 41 percent plan to continue their education. Of those who plan to work, two-thirds either have a definite job or are negotiating with one or more employers. Of those who plan to continue their education, 51 percent are seeking a master's degree, 18 percent a Ph.D., and 26 percent a professional degree—with most having already been accepted to at least one university for advanced studies.

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Sense of Community

Although the University of Florida offers a complex and large environment, students demonstrate a strong commitment to developing and participating in a high quality student life. Multiple student-based academic societies in the colleges, a heavily subscribed roster of student activities, a high profile and well attended range of lectures and events, and the intense enthusiasm surrounding both intercollegiate and intramural sports help students maintain a high degree of commitment to their campus communities. Among the activities that engage students and demonstrate their commitment is a wide range of community service projects sponsored by many groups from fraternities and sororities to campus housing units, from academic societies to ad hoc groups of students. An illustration of the student commitment and involvement in their university communities appears on web pages maintained by various groups. (See for examples the programs of the Institute of Black Culture at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/multicultural/ibc/, and the UF Student Guide at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/.)

In a recent survey, 81 percent of graduating seniors noted their involvement in extracurricular activities such as fraternities, sororities, intramural sports, and various student organizations. A 1993 survey of Liberal Arts & Sciences undergraduates found that 77 percent agreed that it is "easy to meet new people" at UF, and 58 percent of all Spring 1993 graduating seniors said they met most of their closest friends here. Perhaps even more important, after graduation, these former students support their university through participation in alumni organizations and fundraising activities at rates comparable to any university, large or small.

Conclusion

Every large research university must work constantly to maintain, enhance, and improve the quality of the undergraduate program. Universities in the state of Florida have often been way ahead of their counterparts around the country on this dimension. At the University of Florida, we subscribe to this statewide commitment to excellence in undergraduate instruction, and it is rewarding to see that our university has already met or exceeded the kind of recommendations that appear in national studies such as The Carnegie Commission Report.

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