Vol. 38, No. 18

1-19-2006
By: Joni Bentz Seal

Snyder outlines key academic priorities for year

Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara Snyder outlined for trustees Nov. 4 the university's three key academic priorities for the year: the alignment of funding with quality in graduate education, the review of undergraduate education and targeted investments in academic excellence.

Snyder explained that Ohio State's doctoral programs differ greatly in quality, admission requirements and enrollment controls, and that the current fiscal model for distributing the doctoral subsidy received from the Board of Regents - based solely on credit hours generated - is not the ideal way to support quality.

"Even though the best way to improve a unit's graduate program may be to reduce or hold constant the number of its students, there is a powerful financial disincentive to do so," she said, "and because the doctoral subsidy is fixed, any increase in headcount results in a reduction of the subsidy in every program across the university."

These are the key findings, Snyder said, of the Freeman Committee, which issued the first part of its final report this summer and recommended a substantial overhaul of the fiscal model for supporting doctoral education, including a new internal funding formula based more on quality than credit hours, and regular assessments of doctoral programs.

The university is serving very different students today than it did 10 years ago, yet just concluded its first comprehensive review of undergraduate education in 17 years, according to Snyder.
The McHale Committee, convened last year, has provided recommendations on the General Education Curriculum, the number of credit hours required for graduation and the reflection of undergraduate programs on the university's commitment to diversity, interdisciplinarity, research and outreach.

Released earlier this month, the committee's final report concludes that Ohio State's GEC is out of step with today's better prepared students and does not lead to an integrated, coherent educational experience. Among the recommendation highlights that Snyder presented were encouraging minors and double majors; offering new "freshman clusters" that are team-taught, interdisciplinary three-course sequences organized around a broad theme; allowing minors, double majors, study abroad and research opportunities to satisfy some GEC requirements; creating an oversight committee that reports to the Council on Academic Affairs; and redesigning the GEC Web site and reorganizing the current category structure. Snyder said the committee also proposes a reduction in credit hours required for graduation from 191 to 180.

"We're envisioning a major reshaping of undergraduate education at Ohio State, so clearly this review must be one of our top priorities," Snyder said.

The third priority, a new initiative called Targeted Investments in Excellence, will support a small number of departments and programs that can move to the top of their academic fields and have a significant impact on the university's academic stature.

After an examination of public institutions ranked higher than Ohio State, it was clear, Snyder said, that the ability to get to the next level was tied directly to the reputation of individual colleges, departments and programs. Therefore, units designated as most likely to achieve worldwide recognition and have an important impact on the university's academic stature would be in line to receive support from $50 million in central funds that have been identified to invest in such programs over the next five years, with matching funds to be provided by the targeted unit. Unlike the university's Selective Investment program, which awarded a set amount, these funds will vary in size according to the needs of the targeted program. Snyder said the unit evaluations and decisions should be finalized by the end of spring quarter so funds will be available by July 1.

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