Reducing the incoming enrollment rate and focusing on providing benefits for current students were among main objectives in AU President Benjamin Ladner's first public address this semester to the campus in Kay Spiritual Life Center on Tuesday.
Ladner discussed the University's 15 Point Plan and Middle States Self-Study in his mid-year address.
"We are trying to assure we are focused on academic quality and the quality of student experience and the quality of our Washington-based global capacity for our entire community," Ladner said in discussing how the 15 Point Plan would be used to improve the AU community now and in the future. "[These points] give us the boundaries in which we can map those changes, and we can be proud of our accomplishments."
Ladner expanded on the idea to make the University smaller.
"In two to three years, the demographic pool will drop off considerably in terms of people who are going to college in the 18 to 24 age group," Ladner said. "[we cannot] be stuck with letting the quality slip and begin to open our doors wider ... simply because we need bodies to fill [the space]."
Instead of admitting more students, the University will admit roughly 1,100 each year, reduce costs and expenditures and hold on to the high quality students.
Currently, over 12,000 applications were received for the incoming Class of 2008, up 38 percent from this year's freshman class. Out of these 12,000 applicants, less than 59 percent will be admitted in the fall, compared to the 80 percent of applicants who were admitted 10 years ago. This number is expected to decline.
Another point in the plan was the focus on the $200-million fundraising campaign, for which the University has already raised $68 million in the past three months. This money is intended to be used for not only improving the School of International Service, School of Communication and Health Center buildings but also to upgrade the quality of the number of scholarships and to hire more high-level faculty.
"It is my belief that if we did nothing else in the plan, this would be the most dramatic contribution that ultimately we could make," Ladner said.
Donations to the school were also among the topics Ladner discussed.
|
Ladner's main points
- Keep incoming enrollment to 1,100 students, although applications have increased by 38 percent from last year - Decrease adjunct faculty from 40 to 30 percent - Focus on the $200 million fundraising campaign, of which $68 million has been raised - Increase endowment - Establish $500,000 fellowships for professors - Expand AU Abroad, which will include Oxford and Cambridge universities, and areas of the world like Nigeria |
The next "not-so-easy" proposal is to ensure that undergraduate student's (primarily freshmen and sophomores) years at AU are "exciting." Although this is a somewhat vague plan, Ladner wants AU not to be "just another place to get credit," but a university that is engaging to its students.
The plan also includes goals of maintaining the high-quality graduate programs as well as increasing efficiency and reducing costs at AU. As the president of one of the 10 largest businesses in D.C., Ladner wants to free up funds for academic programs and technology improvements.
Also addressed was AU's focus on the Washington community and global communities. AU's Abroad program is community as well as global communities. AU's Abroad program is expanding vastly. AU has recently made agreements for exchange programs with Oxford University and Cambridge University, as well as several others around the world.
One of AU's highest-regarded programs is American University of Sharjah (AUS). This co-ed, English-based school is the first American school located in the Persian Gulf region. Its eight faculty members instruct students in 21 bachelor and 21 minor areas of study.
In addition to AUS, AU has just signed an agreement to "establish a high-quality institution" in Nigeria. Ladner feels that in 10 years from now, institutions in other countries will realize that the "secret link" to creating an educated citizenry is to have a high educational drive and an educational system like that of AU.
Aside from expanding its services abroad, AU's plan includes improvement in teaching and research services at home.
Ladner hopes to establish presidential fellowships, at $500,000 each, to allow faculty to take on new projects. AU is also decreasing its adjunct staff from 40 percent to 30 percent and aims for students and teachers to be connected to life at AU through more than just the classroom. In doing this, Ladner has also appointed a project team that will continue to improve the advising system.
"Academic advising is the best of services our students receive," he said.
Ladner also spoke about the Middle States Self-Study Report and the recent visit by the Middle States team. Every 10 years, universities across the nation go through a review to renew accreditation for an additional 10 years, which includes producing a document of the 10-year summary of AU to be evaluated by peers.
Ladner reports that over 90 people have been working for the past two years to put the Middle States Self-Study together, and he claims that it is the "best document [he has] seen of this sort."
"[The Self-Study] stands as a milestone in the history of the institution in marking our direction from where we've come [and] from where we're headed, and also is reflective of the high quality of the kind of place that we are," Ladner said.
He also said that the response from the Middle States committee was "uniformly positive" and that the committee agrees there is a "great deal of momentum at AU... [the AU community] seems to know where [it's] going ... and there's a very high quality throughout the faculty, staff and students - there's something special and unique about American University."
In addition to University accreditation, AU's individual schools and departments are also undergoing review. Ladner is confident that AU will receive its accreditation and he is "proud and pleased with the entire community" and expects to hear reports from the committees within the next few weeks. However, the accreditation will not be affirmed until this summer.
As well as academic reviews, AU is "constantly undergoing" financial reviews that include bond issues, ratings, and audits. For the first time, it has received "A" ratings from two financial agencies. Out of nine universities overseen by Morgan Stanley, it was the only one to receive an upgraded rating.
Ladner said that Morgan Stanley believes "almost no university has gone as far as AU in defining so clearly its identity for its future ... [the AU community] is committed to an idea of where the University is going."
AU has also established a new Office of Campus Life in order to ensure campus involvement and activities among its students. Each year AU holds over 9,000 individual events outside the classroom, not including events held in Bender Arena or Kay Spiritual Life Center.
Another landmark in the history of AU is that this year's endowment has exceeded $200 million. Although AU has struggled in the past to establish such high endowment, Ladner is "confident that [the endowment] will grow."
"We have been doing exceptionally well in the national market," Ladner said. AU's programs have been rated between the top five to 55 in the country. U.S. News & World Report placed AU at 99 in the top 100 universities and ranked it No. 50 among private schools.
Other goals for the University include raising staff and faculty salaries and improving technology and the Jacobs Fitness Center.
"It is the responsibility of the intellectual community to make students aware of how to take care of [themselves]," Ladner said. The University already has a number of initiatives that have improved health awareness in the AU community.
Overall, Ladner is extremely pleased with the current status of AU.
"What we do every day matters and reflects on who we are," he said. "It's that engagement that makes AU such a special place"
