Site Team Report

17. Team Recommendations and Rationale

The team's recommendations for action, including its recommendation to continue the accreditation of Michigan Technological University, are shown in the attached Worksheet for Affiliation Status. The team's reasons for its recommendations are:

1. New degree sites: No prior Commission approval required to offer degree programs throughout Michigan. No prior Commission approval required to offer campus-approved courses and degree programs to regional companies and their subsidiaries at remote sites.

   Michigan Tech has an established record in delivering educational programs to industrial sites of Michigan companies, and to individuals seeking training in surveying. The change of status allows the University to expand its activities in an orderly way to regional companies, and to their subsidiaries world-wide. While the team's recommendation is more restricted than the institution's request, conversations with the administration confirmed that the new status will allow Michigan Tech to grow in the way it anticipates.

2. A progress report required, by February 1, 2001, on the development and implementation of a regular review of academic programs.

   Michigan Tech has just begun regular reviews of graduate academic programs. The team recommends that the research centers and undergraduate programs also be reviewed regularly, in the latter case to supplement the ABET accreditation reviews. (The University's goals are broader than those of ABET; e.g. the expanding the research and graduate education program and how that influences the undergraduate program.) The report should contain the policies and procedures that are developed and an evaluation of the value of the review program to the University.

3. A progress report required, by February 1, 2003, on the revised general education program and assessment of student learning across the general education program.

   Michigan Tech is in the process of converting from a quarter to a semester system, and is rethinking its general education program and its assessment. Thus, the team was not able to evaluate this important area. The progress report should contain the same information as is expected in a regular self-study report on general education and the assessment of student learning.

4. A monitoring is report is required, by February 1, 2001, on the development of undergraduate and graduate distance education degree programs at remote physical locations.

   Michigan Tech has limited goals at this point, but activity is expected to grow. It is not clear that appropriate quality control mechanisms are in place or that there is sufficient faculty involvement in setting policy and providing academic direction if the level of activity expands. The report should describe all degree programs offered at a distance that develop over the next three years, and conform to the North Central Association guidelines for reporting on distance education programs. If the University develops degree programs that require a change the "New Degree Sites" stipulation, it should be requested as part of the report.

5. A monitoring report is required, by February 1, 2003, on renovation of the existing library and construction of an addition and on the adequacy of library resources to meet the needs of an expanded graduate education and research enterprise.

   The 1988 team expressed concern about the library which have still not been addressed. In the meantime, The University has expanded its research program and has ambitions to achieve Carnegie Research University II status. While expansion of the library's physical space is part of the University's fiscal 1999 capital improvement plans, it is not clear that the University has a viable plan to address all of its library needs, including those of undergraduates. The report should include a description of improvements to the physical plant of the library, and the progress the University has made in addressing collection and access needs for both undergraduates and graduate students. Depending on the nature of the report, a comprehensive visit in less than ten years may be required.

6. Next comprehensive evaluation: 2007-08

   Michigan Tech meets all of the General Institutional Requirements and Criteria for Accreditation of the North Central Association. The progress and monitoring reports recommended by the team are meant to aid the institution in achieving its laudatory goals, not to suggest reservations about accreditation.
   
   
   
   
   

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   Last Revised: 10 April 1998
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