Earlier this fall, Provost Joseph Wood invited the university community to join him in discussion of USM’s current status and its future as part of a planning process to prepare for the university’s next five years. The process, which started with five “town meetings” held between October 27 and November 29 on all three of USM’s campuses, was undertaken in the wake of a report released by the USM Board of Visitors. The BOV report, “A Southern Maine Imperative: Meeting the Region’s Higher Education Needs in the 21st Century,” recommends that USM take steps toward becoming a top-ranked, regional public university.
The recommendations from the BOV report that were most often points of discussion at the town meetings were the need for increased financial support for USM and the conflicting demands on the university expressed in the report, especially the tension between accessibility and high academic standards.
As always, financing and workloads were frequently voiced concerns. Other “hot” topics at meetings were the institutional emphasis on faculty scholarship versus teaching and community service, and the role of a liberal education relative to science and technology in the curriculum.
There was a strong call, repeated in different terms, for acknowledgement of the importance of a liberal education, the need to link liberal education and workplace skills in employers’ minds and public view, and, internally, to link liberal education and experiential learning, such as service learning, internships, and international exchanges.
Prior to the meetings, the Faculty Senate had suggested certain topic areas, such as governance and the role of technology in higher education. The actual discussions, however, brought other topics to the fore or refocused topics. While the Senate suggested that balancing the needs of traditional and non-traditional students might be a fruitful topic to explore, discussion of student needs, for instance, focused more on balancing the needs of underprepared students and better students. Many made reference to the problem faculty face in assisting students with remedial needs without lowering standards or neglecting the best students. Also, the need for increased financial aid for students was brought up at more than one meeting, a statewide problem validated in a recent report, “Measuring Up 2000,” from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, which gave Maine low marks on aid for students.
In every forum, the question of how to characterize USM arose. Should USM develop an identity based on small classes, diversity of age among students, a strong service learning component, a connection to the community, the dual emphasis on research and teaching? How can we define USM’s niche or articulate reasons why students should attend USM? Is there a common experience USM students have?
Common themes emerged. There was considerable agreement on the assertion that
USM’s role is not simply to develop the region’s workforce, but questions
remained on how to integrate liberal arts with career preparation and professional
programs. Also in the area of academics and curriculum issues, a frequently
voiced topic was the value of service learning and whether it was adequately
recognized at USM. Concerns about how USM is supporting and advancing our diversity
plan were expressed, as well as a statement about the need to develop “cultural
competence” across campus.
In regard to the CORE program, there was a call for USM “to reinvigorate
the Core competencies” and better tie CORE courses to requirements of majors.
The new importance at USM of R&D prompted several kinds of concerns: how to keep up with the technological needs, how to integrate R&D with USM’s educational mission, and a fear that non-science disciplines would suffer.
Closely connected issues focused on resources and how to allocate new resources, if they were found, to support areas of excellence without, as someone said, “creating new areas of mediocrity.” Library resources were also on several lists of concerns, and the need for more space to adequately house and upgrade all disciplines. Several times it was pointed out that the financial infrastructure and physical plant were not adequate for the vision of USM’s future.
There was general acknowledgement of morale issues as salaries are seen to lag and demands on faculty/staff are seen as increasing. Additionally, concern was expressed repeatedly about how performance is evaluated and whether non-scholarship is rewarded. It was pointed out, too, that the role of part-time faculty, who are often a student’s first contact with the university, is under appreciated.
Internal communication seemed to be another point of concern. At the fourth meeting, a student shared her viewpoint that students are bounced around too often because faculty and staff in each department don’t know what’s going on in the rest of the university. There was also a call for more collaboration between the academic side and the Division of Student Development.
Between 30 and 70 people participated at each meeting. “While I would have hoped for greater numbers of participants,” Provost Wood said, “those people who attended one of the meetings had a real opportunity to engage in fruitful discussion about values and aspirations for the university.”
At the final meeting, November 29 on the Gorham campus, there was a lot of interaction and very realistic discussion among the 40 participants, according to Robin Day, a co-facilitator for the meeting. There was clear agreement on some issues, she said. “There was much support, for instance, for the statement that USM can’t be everything; we have to agree on what we can do.”
"The themes that have emerged will inform the next stage in the process,” Wood said. He notes that the next step will be to compile a draft report for widespread distribution early in the spring semester. “I'll be looking for members of the university community to assist in preparation of the draft,” he said. “I am still hoping to receive input, in the form of memos or statements, from individuals, units, or various councils before the end of the semester.”
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