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MARKET EVALUATION SURVEYING DATA ANALYSIS BENCHMARKING INNOVATIVE PRACTICES LITERATURE REVIEW

Organizational Restructuring of Graduate Schools

In this report, we discuss the functions, dissolution, and retention of separate administrative units for graduate schools in institutions of higher education. Several universities have contemplated and/or undertaken organizational restructuring of graduate schools in order to make administrative procedures and the delegation of tasks university-wide more efficient. Additional consideration is given to more general restructuring initiatives with the same goal.

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ACADEMY ADMINISTRATION PRACTICE

© 2009 The Hanover Research Council – Academy Administration Practice

SEPTEMBER 2009

Introduction: Overview of University Organization

The organizational structure of institutions of higher education depends greatly on the size, history, and mission of the institution. A university is typically subdivided into faculties, colleges or schools, and these units function as part of the larger whole, but have some autonomy in their administration.1 The awarding of an undergraduate degree is typically handled by the school or college in which a student‟s major is housed. For the awarding of graduate degrees, some institutions have implemented an administrative structure that complements the undergraduate system in that certain schools administer all functions related to the awarding of graduate degrees based on discipline, while in other institutions, there is an altogether separate administrative unit that coordinates all processes in graduate education, from recruitment and admissions to the awarding of graduate degrees. In short, the organization of graduate education in institutions of higher education in the United States is not always unified.2 Many institutions place all administrative responsibilities on one unit known as the Graduate School or Graduate Division, and such entities are administratively culpable for the majority of non-academic tasks associated with graduate education, regardless of discipline. This is the case at UCLA, which has made its Graduate Division

“responsible for the overall quality and progress of graduate education”.3 Other institutions have graduate divisions for each school or college within the university, particularly if the primary function of these schools or colleges consists of the granting of graduate-level professional degrees (law and medicine, for example). Similarly, schools or colleges that offer undergraduate and graduate professional degrees, such as those in education, business, engineering or architecture, may administer graduate programs independently of or in cooperation with the larger administrative unit, dependent on institutional procedures. At Yale University, for example, the Graduate School states clearly in its admissions FAQs: “The university‟s ten professional schools (Art, Architecture, Divinity, Drama, Forestry, Law, Management, Medicine, Music and Nursing) have separate admissions policies and application processes”.4 Where liberal arts or arts and sciences − i.e., purely academic and non-professional degrees − are concerned, there is generally a college or school that houses all of these disciplines for undergraduates as well as a separate administrative division for graduate students.5

1 Harvard University. “Harvard At A Glance”. http://www.harvard.edu/about/glance.php; Stanford University. “Stanford Facts: The Seven Schools”. http://www.stanford.edu/about/facts/schools.html; The University of Chicago. “University Organizational Chart”. http://www.uchicago.edu/about/orgchart/; 2 Ibid. 3 University of California at Los Angeles. “Graduate Division: About Us”. http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/asis/infoserv/aboutus.htm 4 Yale University. “Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Frequently Asked Questions”. http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/admissions/faqintro.html 5 Ibid.; University of Virginia. “Facts at a Glance: Schools and Degrees”.

http://www.virginia.edu/Facts/Glance_SchoolsDegrees.html .

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The goal of this report is to characterize the function and efficiency of separate administrative units specifically for graduate education. In some institutions, free-standing graduate schools, whether brick-and-mortar establishments or not, appear to perform some administrative tasks that overlap with other entities such as departments, colleges, schools, or purely administrative bodies, e.g., the registrar. The questions that this report aims to answer include:

How do graduate schools, departments, and other administrative units overlap in terms of tasks performed?

Are the functions of free-standing graduate administrative units substantial enough to justify this overlap?

How have universities addressed or attempted to address this through administrative restructuring of graduate divisions and/or of other university entities?

What universities represent the so-called standard in terms of the administrative organization of graduate education?

In some institutions, the call for restructuring has repurposed the functions of the graduate unit to address unfulfilled university-wide needs such as housing interdisciplinary programs or coordinating research objectives. In other institutions the initial consideration of the restructuring of the graduate unit ultimately resulted in the reorganization of other units instead, leaving the graduate division intact. There are also some universities within which restructuring was proposed but ultimately rejected by faculty, students, or administrators.

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Overview of Graduate School Administration

Responsibilities of Free-Standing Graduate Divisions or Administrative Units6 Admissions and Recruitment

Most administrative graduate units coordinate and administer the processes of identifying prospective graduate students, establishing timelines for application and admission, creating and accepting applications for admission, collecting associated fees, and officially notifying applicants of a decision of admission. The UCLA Graduate Division even states this as part of its overall mission, saying it “serves as the administrative core for graduate recruitment and admissions”.7 As discussed below, departments play a role in assessing the strength of candidates in disciplinary context while the graduate division handles the logistics. Graduate administrative units, often with higher administrative or departmental input, also establish the requirements for admission, such as setting standards for scores on graduate admissions tests like the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT.

Establishment of Degree Requirements

Graduate schools are largely responsible for determining the overall requirements that must be satisfied for the completion of graduate degrees. This includes collecting appropriate fees, collecting copies of theses and dissertations, and establishing the required number of credits or courses for achievement of the degree. This excludes specific departmental requirements such as comprehensive or qualifying exams, language proficiency, required courses, or other disciplinary specifications. It also excludes enrollment verification and the collection of tuition, which is typically the responsibility of other administrative units such as the Registrar. The University of Michigan states its requirements for the achievement of a doctorate as follows:

Doctoral education has two stages. Graduate students in doctoral programs first take preliminary coursework to prepare for advanced research. During this precandidacy stage, students must complete at least 18 hours of graded graduate coursework on the Ann Arbor campus. Students who are successful in this coursework, meet other program requirements, including preliminary exams, and demonstrate readiness to do original and independent research, are admitted to candidacy by their program. Departments and programs may have additional requirements. Specific requirements for each type of

6 The term free-standing does not exclusively imply brick-and-mortar structures for graduate program administration, rather, it describes the unit from a purely organizational standpoint, as a division of a university that has its own leadership, staff, and special functions. 7 University of California at Los Angeles. Op.cit.

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doctorate offered in a particular field of specialization are available through the department or program.8

This suggests that the Graduate School has certain policies that it establishes and upholds for graduate education, though departments and schools may also have additional policies. Standards for Dissertations and Theses Graduate schools often determine the physical standards for dissertations and theses, whereas departments control the content, writing, and timeline for completion. Such standards typically dictate formatting issues such as width of margins, font size and type, spacing, paper type, formatting of page numbers, headers, and footers, and the inclusion and formatting of the title page, table of contents, and acknowledgements. The University of Southern California Graduate School, for example, provides graduate students with a nearly 40 page document outlining the required formatting for theses and dissertations.9 Usually the graduate administrative unit is the final step towards commencement for a degree-seeking student, and is where the thesis or dissertation is turned in and examined for adherence to formatting standards. Funding and Graduate Assistantships The graduate administrative unit manages all fiscal aspects of the distribution of university, private, state (where applicable), and federal funding for graduate students among departments. Depending on the institution, the assignment of graduate assistantships may be delegated by the graduate school to departments which know which students are qualified for such appointments; otherwise, these assistantships may exclusively be assigned by the graduate school, possibly through an application process or as a result of financial need. Certain types of funding may be exclusively administered by the graduate school. The university may award specific scholarships and grants − for example, dissertation-year fellowships or field research grants − because they are only permitted to be administered through the graduate school. For example, the University Graduate School at Indiana University at Bloomington provides an extensive list of internal funding and grant opportunities for graduate students on its website.10 Additionally, some federal or institutional grants and scholarships can only

8 University of Michigan. “Rackham Graduate School: Degree Requirements”. http://www.rackham.umich.edu/policies/gsh/section2/#2 9 University of Southern California, The Graduate School. “Guidelines for the Format and Presentation of Theses and Dissertations”. http://www.usc.edu/schools/GraduateSchool/documents/Thesis/Format_Presentation_Guidelines.pdf 10 Indiana University Graduate School “Internal Awards, Grants, and Other Funding Opportunities”. http://graduate.indiana.edu/internal-awards.php

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be administered through such an entity because they are open to multiple disciplines and cannot therefore be allocated to specific departments. Graduate schools, in addition to career centers, teaching centers, and grant administrators, may also serve as points of reference for graduate students looking to obtain external funding for graduate study. At Harvard University, for example, the Graduate School has a separate Fellowships office which “provides a range of

services to assist graduate students in their search for fellowship funding”.11 As the general point of contact for private, public, and federal organizations advertising opportunities for graduate student funding, graduate schools may be the first unit to be informed of annual competitions and other opportunities to secure funding. Approval of Courses and Curricula In many institutions, graduate administrative units cooperate with the registrar to produce and maintain an annual handbook containing all policies regarding graduate education, degrees, procedures, and courses. New courses are usually added to this record after undergoing a process initiated by the faculty member or department wishing to create the course. Only when the graduate school has approved the course will it usually be added to the graduate record permanently. Similarly, courses can only be removed from this record through graduate school approval. The creation of new curricula and degree programs is generally a more extensive process that requires the approval of high-level administrators and in the case of public universities, state approval.12 The graduate division likely plays a role in the establishment and creation of new curricula, but is not the only university body involved in these processes. Overall Administration Information about past and present enrolled students is managed by graduate administrative units. In some institutions, the payment of tuition or of certain fees may be handled by the graduate school, and in others, by the registrar or bursar. Decisions about the university‟s mission and strategic plan regarding graduate education and the degrees and certificates offered are determined by administrators designated specifically to the graduate division, which, depending on institutional organization may consist of a separate Vice Provost, Vice Chancellor, Vice President, or Dean assigned specifically to the graduate division.

11 Harvard University. “Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Fellowships Office”. http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/current_students/fellowships_office.php 12 Indiana Commission for Higher Education. “Guidelines, Policies, and Procedures for Developing New Academic Program Proposals”. January 12, 1990. http://www.in.gov/che/files/program_guidelines.pdf

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The graduate school also administers federal and institutional surveys for recipients of graduate degrees such as the Survey of Earned Doctorates. This includes keeping records for purposes of institutional advancement and evaluation of programs. Overlap of Administrative Responsibility Departments Departments and graduate administrative units usually work cooperatively in order to effectively create and implement policy, create new courses, restructure and formulate curricula, and serve the needs of enrolled graduate students. Though graduate divisions handle the technical aspects of graduate admissions, most departments play a crucial role in reviewing the applications and accepting or rejecting applicants based on their qualifications specific to the discipline. For enrolled students, departments determine the specific coursework necessary for achievement of degrees and also establish and create the guidelines for and format of comprehensive and qualifying exams. For theses and dissertations, departments approve proposals for research and ultimately sign off on the final product, though the formatting is determined by the graduate school. The numerous duties for departments and graduate divisions are sometimes difficult to differentiate, and they are very rarely mutually exclusive from institution to institution. The purpose of this is likely to serve as a system of checks and balances, though this is not explicitly stated by institutions of higher education. Other Administrative Divisions/Units At many institutions, the registrar‟s office plays a central role in developing the graduate handbook and enrolling students in graduate courses. This is because the registrar is often charged with keeping records such as transcripts, enrollment, and payment of tuition and fees (although this task is also assigned to a bursar in some institutions). Additionally, the registrar determines the overall academic calendar, though individual schools may make amendments to meet school or program requirements. Regarding enrollment, graduate administrative units generally adhere to the registrar‟s or other administrative units‟ policies regarding leaves of absence, withdrawal from the university, and academic standing, although some graduate administrative units will have specific policies as deemed appropriate.

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Summary

Table 1: Overlap of Graduate Administrative Responsibilities

Administrative

Unit

Responsibility

Admissions Degree

Requirements

Formatting Dissertations and Theses

Content of Dissertations and Theses

Graduate Student Funding

Course &

Curricula Creation

Policies & Procedures

Maintenance of Student

Data

Graduate School

Registrar

Department

Upper-Level

Administration

Centers for Careers,

Teaching & Grants

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Recent Examples of Restructuring Proposals and Initiatives

University of Louisville University of Louisville has approximately 4,500 graduate students. Its graduate school was founded in 1915, and since the 1840s Louisville has offered professional degrees in medicine and law. Administration of graduate education has traditionally been under the authority of professional schools or the Graduate School proper. In 2006, the suggestion to reorganize the graduate school was first proposed in a report of university goals, one of which states: “Restructure the graduate school to assure a seamless interaction between the school and other academic units to increase graduate school enrollments, retention, and graduation of students”.13 This goal is categorized as part of a larger objective to “review and reorganize academic and administrative areas to determine „best fit‟ to ensure greatest opportunity to meet university goals in conjunction with mission”.14 Based on this categorization, we can deduce that University of Louisville is concerned, on some level, with restructuring existing administrative and academic processes in order to accomplish institutional objectives, perhaps with the goal of streamlining administrative processes in order to eliminate overlap. In April 2007, the Provost at the University of Louisville formally proposed restructuring the institution‟s graduate school. This proposal suggested merging the administration of the graduate school into the responsibilities of the Provost‟s office and departments. This would eliminate the graduate school as a free-standing unit. The reasons for this were to “provide for increased efficiency and improved coordination between the graduate programs and the undergraduate programs and departments that feed into them”.15 Additionally, the move was seen as one that would serve to “provide a more seamless system”, “cut administrative overhead”, and “eliminate one bureaucracy that students have to maneuver”.16 Nearly one year later, in January 2008, after further research and input from faculty and students, the following restructuring was undertaken:

In response to a variety of internal and external forces and opportunities, the University Provost has called for evolutionary change in graduate education at the UofL. Consideration of university wide consultation has led to the conclusion that retention of a school of interdisciplinary and graduate studies

13 University of Louisville. “The Challenge for Excellence: A Plan for Team-Based Accountability”. Office of the President. 2005-06, p.4. http://louisville.edu/president/articles/Office%20of%20the%20President%20Goals%20200506%20goal%20update.pdf/at_download/file 14 Ibid. 15 University of Louisville. “Graduate School Reorganization Proposed”. Office of the Provost. http://louisville.edu/provost/fromtheprovostitems/gradschoolreorg.html 16 Ibid.

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is clearly in the best interests of the students, academic programs and the UofL.17

Following further investigation, the Provost instead opted to transform it into the School for Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. U of L‟s official statement on this transformation observes:

Originally, the Provost did propose closure of the Graduate School. In working through the long term consequences of closure of the Graduate School, it became apparent that this action would disenfranchise graduate students in the university governance system. In addition, there are unit specific issues that the various unit deans, faculties and academic programs have raised. As we move forward, we are implementing as best we can the administrative and academic changes that students, faculty and administrative leaders have called for when we originally made the decision to close the school. Student opportunities and university strategic priorities, such as interdisciplinary, applied and translational programs will be preserved as a first priority.18

The “administrative and academic changes” that resulted from this transition were not overwhelming. The original administrative functions of the graduate school remained the same. The primary change was that interdisciplinary programs, which prior to this change were housed in one department, became administered separately in the new School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. U of L describes the logistical changes in the following way:

The day to day direction and operation of graduate education at the unit and department level will not be changed significantly. The School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies will process admissions applications, provide service for thesis and dissertation guidance, work with the registrar on maintenance of academic records, etc. In addition, there is a variety of collaborative roles for the graduate school that will be available to assist academic programs throughout the university. One […] required change will be that certification of student academic status (good standing, probationary, etc.) will be the responsibility of the unit and any dismissal for academic reasons will be communicated by the dean of that unit.19

The restructuring undertaken by the University of Louisville is similar to that of the University of Arizona in its attempt to refocus and repurpose the administrative and academic responsibilities of the Graduate School into a different kind of organization that recognizes and supports the increasing popularity of interdisciplinary programs.

17 University of Louisville. “Graduate Education at U of L”. School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. https://graduate.louisville.edu/gen/university-information/graduate-education-at-uofl.html#0 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid.

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University of Minnesota In February 2009, the University of Minnesota‟s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost proposed a plan to restructure graduate education and administration of graduate programs at the university. The genesis of the plan was the response to the university‟s need “to preserve and further promote academic excellence, enhance student services and support, and lower operating costs, particularly during this time of great fiscal challenge and increasing competition for students and research”.20 Additionally, the University of Minnesota seeks to position itself as a leading research university, and consequently views innovative organizational change as a potential means to that end, as stated in the initial proposal to restructure graduate education in particular:

The Graduate School will be reconfigured from a free‐standing administrative unit to which all graduate programs directly report, to an Office of Graduate Education that parallels the Office of Undergraduate Education. As such, the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education will reside within the Provost‟s Office, and will be responsible for oversight, coordination, and leadership on issues related to graduate education. Ultimate responsibility and accountability for the quality of individual graduate programs will rest with collegiate deans and their faculties. This new structure will lead to improved communication between the Provost‟s Office and collegiate units and to increased harmony between graduate education objectives and collegiate objectives. This model of collegiate responsibility and leadership with oversight and advocacy in the Provost‟s Office has been extremely effective over the past decade in greatly improving the quality of undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota. This model also is similar to the models that Stanford University, MIT, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania employ for oversight of graduate education. For Minnesota, this is an opportunity to continue to be a leader among public research universities in employing innovative,

efficiency‐enhancing organizational change.21

For the University of Minnesota, the goal of efficiency appears to be equal to the achievement of leading status among the country‟s research universities. Administrative overlap is mentioned in the initial proposal as one of the primary problems with the existing organization, because even though “the intent of the current structure is to oversee and promote the quality of graduate programs, to assist graduate students, and provide centralized services, the result is overlapping

20 Bruininks, R. “Renewing Graduate and Professional Education at the University of Minnesota”. Website of the University of Minnesota Provost. p.1 http://www.academic.umn.edu/provost/reports/documents/grad_report062609.pdf 21 Bruininks, R. “Restructuring the Oversight and Support of Graduate Education to Enhance Excellence”. Website of the University of Minnesota Provost. p. 3. http://www.academic.umn.edu/provost/documents/gradschool021909.pdf

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responsibilities and redundancies in a number of areas”.22 The overlap and shared authority and oversight of graduate education by many different offices, rather than one centralized administrative body, is further criticized for its financial implications by the President, who observes:

Divisions of authority and responsibility create ambiguities about accountability and undermine effective decision making and the setting and implementation of priorities. When the independent investment decisions of the colleges and of the Graduate School are not aligned, the effectiveness of both the central and the collegiate investments is undermined. Additionally, the overlapping of responsibilities between various Graduate School offices and other offices at the University creates opportunities for inefficiency, duplication of effort, and unnecessary administrative overhead, all of which draw resources away from direct investments in graduate education.23

Following the issue of this report, the University of Minnesota President organized a committee of faculty, staff, and administrators, whose task was to offer concrete recommendations regarding the proposed plan. The committee‟s recommendations for graduate and professional education were composed and presented by April 2009, and the campus community was invited to comment on the recommendations over a 30-day period in an online, open forum. The President then undertook the task of determining specifically which changes should be implemented, based on the findings of the committee, the campus community‟s reactions to proposed changes, and other administrative concerns. As of July 2009, an interim Vice Provost and Dean for Graduate Education will be providing upper-level administration to the Graduate School until a permanent, appropriate internal candidate is formally appointed to the post, which is anticipated to happen later in the fall of 2009. In the meantime, definitive changes to the academic and administrative character of the Graduate School are still being determined. In the University of Minnesota President‟s report on the matter, the following are worth mention:

The Graduate School will retain its current name and reporting line to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Based on the outcome of…workflow analysis and redesign, the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education, the Provost, and the deans will develop a streamlined central and local staffing plan that eliminates redundant operations and maintains a high level of continuity of staffing, services, and

support to faculty and students… I recommend that beginning 2010‐11, the Graduate School discontinue hosting its own commencement ceremonies altogether, and that the University graduate program commencements transition completely into collegiate level commencement ceremonies… We

22 Ibid., 2. 23 Ibid., 3.

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must ensure that our current policies do not create administrative burden, reduce quality and accountability, or limit our competitiveness in any way.24

In addition to the modifications described above, the President also recommends a change in the name of the Graduate School to follow the model of the University of California system, which uses Division of Graduate Education.25 The President also recommends reassigning some of the current responsibilities of the Graduate School concerning awards and grants for research and the administration of the University of Minnesota Press to the Vice Provost for Research.26 There are also many other changes that have not yet been officially implemented, and therefore, the changes to the Graduate School at University of Minnesota are currently ongoing.

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame has offered graduate degrees since the early 1900s. In the 1930s and 40s, the administration of the graduate school underwent restructuring to reflect the growing need for separate oversight of graduate education. In 2007, the university recognized a need to have two separate entities, a Graduate School and an Office of Research, which would, respectively, have separate leadership.27 The Office of Research has a separate mission from the Graduate School, which is devoted exclusively to the sustenance of research and scholarship by undergraduates, graduates, and faculty.28 Apparently, the goals of the Graduate School and the Office of Research were distinctive enough that the university felt the need for this separation in order to streamline processes relative to both entities. In August 2008, the primary leadership of the Graduate School was divided into 2 positions: Vice President for Graduate Education and Research, and Dean of the Graduate School. Both of these administrators report to the Provost. The Dean has since undertaken initiatives to reassign the functions of the graduate school at the University of Notre Dame as part of a larger comprehensive plan to restructure the Graduate School. As recently as August 2009, the Dean restructured the administrative body of the unit to consist of 4 Associate Deans, each responsible for one of 4 administrative areas of responsibility: professional development, academic programs, recruitment and admissions, and student affairs. Prior to this change, the leadership in the Graduate School was provided solely by the Vice President for Graduate Education and Research and the Dean with few other administrative faculty working among the ranks of the unit. In 2009, the Summer Session, previously the domain of the Graduate School, was transferred as the responsibility of the

24 Bruininks “Renewing…”. Op. cit., 2-4. 25 Ibid., 2. 26 Ibid., 5. 27 The University of Notre Dame Graduate School. “History”. http://graduateschool.nd.edu/about-the-graduate-school/history 28 The University of Notre Dame. “Message from the Vice President for Research”. http://nd.edu/research/message-from-bob-bernhard/

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Registrar‟s Office. Similarly, the School of Architecture is now completely disassociated with Graduate School, as with the law and business schools, and administers all tasks associated with its graduate programs. The results of these restructuring initiatives have yet to be determined due to their recent occurrence. The Dean specifies the overarching goals of these restructuring initiatives as follows:

At the centerpiece of the restructuring plan is a new associate-dean structure that will divide the major responsibilities of the Graduate School among four experienced administrators. This will allow a focus on each of our areas of emphasis: expanding our recruiting efforts, increasing the efficiency of academic progress and the quality of our training, providing our students with a holistic education that is an intense but rewarding experience, and examining the quality of our academic programs.29

Other restructuring initiatives seem to be anticipated, though this is not outlined in the current version of the strategic plan. The changes enumerated above, in fact, are not in the current strategic plan (2002-2010), which states:

The basic structure of the University - of departments, colleges, and schools - will likely remain the same. Proposals for administrative reorganization must demonstrate that the reorganization will significantly enhance our aspirations and goals.30

We can ascertain from this statement that there must have been good reason to reorganize the Graduate School at Notre Dame. Specific information on factors that led to this decision is not provided, however, it seems to be centered on the objectives of streamlining administrative processes specific to graduate education, e.g., admissions, student affairs, academic affairs, and faculty affairs, as well as of delegating tasks to departments and other offices in an attempt to decrease overlap. Other Types of Restructuring Initiatives Dominican University of California Dominican University recently announced its intent to reorganize thirteen larger departments into four schools beginning September 2009: The School of Business and Leadership; The School of Health and Natural Sciences; The School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; and The School of Education and Counseling

29 University of Notre Dame “Major Restructuring Initiatives in the Graduate School”. Graduate School Website. August 25, 2009. https://graduateschool.nd.edu/news/12132-major-restructuring-initiatives-in-the-graduate-school 30 University of Notre Dame. “Notre Dame 2010: Fulfilling the Promise, Charges, Academic Units”. Strategic Planning Process Information Site. http://www.nd.edu/~stratgic/text/charge_academic.shtml

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Psychology. Each school will administer undergraduate and graduate programs independently.31 Rutgers University In 2003, then New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey proposed a unification of Rutgers University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. This consolidation of New Jersey public universities was received negatively by all parties involved, however, and Rutgers was the most outspoken opponent. The goal of this reorganization was to create a “unified, more prestigious state university system” and would presumably have streamlined the consolidated universities “into a system similar to California's, with a single chancellor and board of regents”.32 Financial gain, primarily in the area of obtaining research funding, would have been a potential benefit of the merger. Additionally, with fewer upper-level administrators to pay as a result of the consolidation of the administration into one comprehensive body of leadership, money might have been saved. The New York Times reports one primary motivation for the merger appears to have been the Governor‟s desire to achieve something noteworthy while in office, rather than the achievement of efficiency.33 Stevenson University In March 2009, the President of Stevenson University in Maryland approved an initiative to assign the departments of the College of Arts and Sciences to 3 separate schools. The departments will be organized as follows: Art, Business Communication, Film, and Theatre; Science, Math, Nursing; and Psychology, English, Human Services, Humanities, and Public History. Additionally, Education will be administered through the College of Arts and Sciences.34 These divisions are purely at the undergraduate level. Stevenson maintains a separate school which grants degree programs known as the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. No changes have been proposed for the organization of this unit. University of Arizona The University of Arizona restructured its organization of departments and colleges in 2009. Originally consisting of twenty different colleges, the restructuring initiative placed four colleges − the College of Science, the College of Social and Behavioral

31 Dominican University of California. “Dominican Announces Academic Restructuring”. News and Events website. http://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/dominican-announces-academic-restructuring-as.html 32 Mansnerus, L. “Rutgers Resists Deadlines on McGreevey‟s Campus Merger Plan”. New York Times, November 24, 2003. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/24/nyregion/rutgers-resists-deadline-on-mcgreevey-s-campus-merger-plan.html 33 Ibid. 34 Stevenson University. “History”. http://www.stevenson.edu/explore/history_main.asp

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Sciences, the College of Humanities, and the College of Fine Arts − into one organization known as the Colleges of Letters, Arts, and Science. The Graduate College was not restructured or blended into another unit. Rather, it remained a separate entity because it houses all interdisciplinary graduate programs, whereas the other colleges house all other graduate programs. For under-enrolled programs, the University either eliminated the programs or merged them into more popular programs, as the strategic plan states:

Several academic programs were closed because they had low degree production or were no longer central to the mission of the college and other options exist for these students. A few small programs were merged and other programs were renamed or transferred to another college. The main focus of the discipline in several of the degree programs that were closed exist as other types of degrees with the same or very similar content. The programs that were closed, merged, transferred, or given new names were initially recommended for these reorganizations by the Faculty Senate Strategic Planning and Budget Committee, with some additional faculty members to provide coverage in all university areas.35

The University of Arizona model did not involve a direct restructuring of the graduate school, but offers an alternative for keeping separate graduate divisions intact. This makes other units more efficient and ultimately justifies the separate graduate division (particularly considering that it also houses all interdisciplinary graduate programs). With the continuing trend in higher education towards the interdisciplinary approach, repurposing graduate administrative units to house programs that reach across disciplinary boundaries has its benefits to the programs themselves and to the university. University of Massachusetts System

In 2007, the President of the University of Massachusetts System proposed his “Vision for One University” plan which would have unified the leadership of all UMass campuses into one comprehensive body. The plan was met with substantial resistance from the five campuses involved. The plan was to be implemented “in hope of boosting efficiency and collaboration and forging a more cohesive, powerful university”.36 Parts of the plan were approved, and changes are still ongoing in the UMass system.

35 University of Arizona. “Academic Programs Strategic Plan”. Provost‟s Office website. p. 1 http://provost.arizona.edu/files/Academic%20Programs%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf 36 Schworm, P. “Dissent Grows on Changes at UMass”. Boston Globe, May 28, 2007. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/05/28/dissent_grows_on_changes_at_umass/

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Models of Graduate Administration at Leading U.S. Research Universities

The University of Minnesota specifically mentions four universities upon which it is basing its own model of restructured graduate education, and we have included an overview of the structure of graduate education in place at those universities.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Historically, MIT was more committed to undergraduate education than to graduate education. This changed in the latter half of the twentieth century and today MIT graduate students outnumber undergraduates.37 The administration of graduate education is headed by the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education (ODGE), which provides services related to: academic and financial advising that is non-specific to a discipline; enrollment; grievances; permission for non-standard procedures such as extending deadlines, earning a self-designed or joint degree, appealing decisions on academic matters, and navigating other unique circumstances; applications for certain fellowships; and issues concerning health benefits.38 The Graduate Student Council at MIT also plays an important role in establishing policy for graduate education. Departments are solely responsible for recruitment and admissions. ODGE has taken on new responsibilities since 2008, when the administration was changed in order to reflect “the scope of the office‟s activities [which] had expanded to include many aspects of the graduate experience, especially graduate policy and procedures and the evolving reality of the graduate community”.39 The overall mission of ODGE is to be the administrative body that: Works with departments and other academic units on the recruitment and

inclusion of graduate students, particularly expanding the number and academic success of underrepresented minority and women students;

Works with the Committee on Graduate Programs to develop, review, and administer graduate student policies and procedures;

Collaborates with Resource Development and the Alumni Association on fundraising and stewardship;

37 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “MIT Facts 2009: Graduate Education”. http://web.mit.edu/facts/graduate.html 38 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Services”. Office of the Dean for Graduate Education. http://web.mit.edu/odge/about/services.html 39 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Annual Report”. Office of the Dean for Graduate Education. http://web.mit.edu/annualreports/pres08/2008.16.00.pdf

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Provides immigration-related and other assistance to international students;

Provides and administers central graduate fellowships and responsibly stewards internal and external funds entrusted to the office for that purpose;

Advocates for graduate student issues that improve education and the overall quality of the graduate experience;

Provides support for meaningful living and learning experiences on and off campus in conjunction with the dean for student life;

Provides support for improving processes such as graduate admissions, student financial services, and career counseling in conjunction with the dean for undergraduate education;

Provides a venue for resolving individual problems facing graduate students.40

ODGE, in general, serves as a central administrative unit for all tasks related to graduate education, but does not solely administer all processes, as indicated above. Overall, the MIT model decentralizes certain tasks that can be performed at a lower level, e.g., admissions, but also centralizes other tasks that are specific to graduate education that do not overlap with administrative units devoted purely to undergraduate education or elsewhere. The model also shows increased collaboration and cooperation between the head of ODGE and other entities, including academic departments and other university organizations.

Stanford University

Stanford University is world renowned for its undergraduate and graduate programs. Currently the university has approximately 8,500 enrolled graduate students and offers professional and academic degrees in the fields of medicine, law, business, engineering, arts and sciences and education. Since its founding in 1891 Stanford has housed a graduate program. In 2005, a commission of faculty across all seven of Stanford‟s schools was assembled and assigned the task of determining how, during a five-year period, Stanford could plan strategically for continued and increased excellence in graduate education. The commission stated the primary goal of new strategies to define Stanford as “THE place that attracts the best graduate students and provides them unparalleled education in preparation for their leadership roles in a complex, global society”.41 In

40 Ibid., 1. 41 Stanford University. “Report of the Commission on Graduate Education”. 2005. http://www.stanford.edu/dept/president/CGE2005.pdf

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characterizing the measures that would contribute to the achievement of this goal, the commission cited decentralization as the primary means by which “organizational flexibility and responsiveness”42 could be established. The existing organization at the time of the report resembled that of institutions described in this report, which overwhelmingly assign tasks to multiple offices, creating inefficiency, overlap, and a lack of easily identifiable leadership. Recognizing this problem, the commission at Stanford suggested that a new position of leadership, the Vice Provost of Graduate Education, be established in order to provide leadership and oversight to the graduate programs spread across schools at the university. By and large, this administrator would: function as an advocate for graduate students and graduate programs on the executive level, both for academic and quality-of-life purposes; manage the fiscal aspects of graduate education, including budgeting and securing funds to be allocated specifically for graduate programs; serve as the liaison for graduate education across schools, i.e., as the centralized point of reference. By its very design, the reorganization of leadership in this regard would permit the reassignment of various programs to the office of the Vice Provost of Graduate Education, rather than having programs distributed randomly throughout university administrative units.43 As a result of the commission‟s recommendations, the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE) was subsequently founded at Stanford in January 2007. This office, in general, is not the sole entity involved in the administration of graduate programs, as the VPGE website states: “The overall organization and management of graduate education at Stanford is decentralized; each school and department coordinates its own graduate programs. Oversight of graduate education across all schools resides in the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE)”.44

In its mission statement, the office of the VPGE states its primary objectives are to: “administer university-wide graduate fellowship programs; advance graduate student diversity; foster cross-school learning opportunities; coordinate and guide university-wide graduate policy; and problem-solve for university-wide issues”.45 Note that these tasks are substantially abbreviated in comparison with those of other graduate administrative units.

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago has four divisions of academic graduate education and seven professional schools which offer graduate degrees. Over 10,000 graduate students study at the University of Chicago across all disciplines and schools. This is

42 Ibid., 8. 43 Ibid., 38-9. 44 Stanford University. “Overview of Graduate Education at Stanford”. Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education. http://vpge.stanford.edu/about_us/su_graded.html 45 Ibid.

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double the undergraduate student population.46 Ideally, Chicago must have a solid administrative process in place for managing graduate education, and according to the University of Minnesota, its model in this regard is of note. Academic graduate degrees are divided on a disciplinary basis into four divisions: biological sciences, humanities, physical sciences, and social sciences. There are seven professional schools in the respective areas of law, medicine, business, divinity, public policy, social service administration, and general studies. The divinity, law, and business schools conduct their own admissions processes, but all other divisions and professional schools use a general online application system for prospective students. Each of the divisions and schools, however, requests discipline-specific supplemental information to be submitted directly to the division, school, or program as part of the application process. Admissions and recruitment policies therefore are delegated as a task of the division, school, and/or department, rather than overseen by a separate administrative unit. The divisions and schools by and large manage most aspects of graduate education independently of the Office of Graduate Affairs (OGA). This office, according to its mission statement: …supports the graduate student career through the administration and

management of fellowships, grants, and academic exchange programs and enhances the graduate student experience through the development and coordination of workshops, communications, services, and programs such as Graduate Student Orientation and the Family Resource Center.47

OGA is a branch of the Office of Campus and Student Life and appears to be the administrative unit assigned to tasks that are non-specific to a discipline, division, or professional field, providing quality-of-life services and information as well as general opportunities for funding and professional development. There is also a Deputy Provost for Graduate Education, which is a new position at the University of Chicago, created in 2008. This position seems to be one that oversees graduate student life and work issues, in addition to providing leadership in determining changes that need to occur more generally in graduate education at the University of Chicago.48 The impetus for the Provost‟s creation of this position in 2008 is related to the need for someone to “lead a critical assessment of the graduate experience across the University, considering new programs and paradigms necessary to define graduate

46 University of Chicago. “About the University”. http://www.uchicago.edu/about/index.shtml 47 University of Chicago. “Office of Graduate Affairs”. http://grad-affairs.uchicago.edu/ 48 The University of Chicago Chronicle. “Cohen Shares Vision of Chicago‟s Graduate Education”. April 27, 2008. http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/080417/cohenqa.shtml

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education for the future” and also to “provide a University-wide perspective on issues ranging from graduate education to teaching responsibilities to campus life”.49 The University of Chicago‟s interest regarding graduate student quality-of-life issues appears to be a motivating factor for the appointment of a Deputy Provost. Recent news and reports posted by the Provost‟s office indicate that the university has been reexamining wages for graduate student teaching, and also maximizing other types of graduate student funding and support, such as stipends, childcare, and housing.50 This is, perhaps, less relative to the main idea of this report, which is concerned with the restructuring of the administration of graduate education in an attempt to maximize efficiency, but more relative to ongoing trends in higher education and a specific need identified by the University of Chicago to provide more definitive leadership in the area of graduate education related to student life. Overall, the organization of graduate education at the University of Chicago is mostly decentralized, assigned to departments, divisions, and schools, with certain tasks unrelated to specific disciplines assigned to the OGA and the Deputy Provost.

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania offers graduate degrees in twelve different schools and has a current enrollment of approximately 10,000 graduate students and an equal number of undergraduates.51 Each school has a separate Graduate Division, which, for example, in the Arts and Sciences, is led by a Dean for Graduate Studies and Director of the Graduate Division. Other administrators in this office include one professional devoted to academic and student affairs, finance and administration, admissions, and business.52 Each of Penn‟s twelve schools has a Dean who oversees graduate education respectively. Admissions procedures appear to be overseen by both departments and the dean‟s office in each school.53 In Penn‟s 2002 strategic plan one of the goals for the university is stated as “reprioritizing work, eliminating unnecessary tasks, and significantly increasing the skill base of staff” in order “to improve our overall efficiency and effectiveness within

49 The University of Chicago Chronicle. “Rosenbaum Creates Two New Deputy Provost Positions”. January 10, 2008. http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/080110/provost.shtml 50 The University of Chicago. “News”. Office of the Provost. http://provost.uchicago.edu/news.shtml 51 The University of Pennsylvania. “Penn: Introduction to Penn”. http://www.upenn.edu/about/welcome.php 52 The University of Pennsylvania. “School of Arts and Sciences Grad Division”. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/gas/home/contacts/contacts.html 53 The University of Pennsylvania. "Graduate Admissions”. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/GAS/home/apply/admissions.html#app_procedure

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schools and centers”.54 Based on this initial statement, it is possible to ascertain that Penn has an objective dedicated to avoiding overlap in the interest of efficiency, like the other institutions profiled in this report.

54 The University of Pennsylvania. “Building on Excellence: The Next Agenda”. 1995-2002. http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/FC-Agenda.html

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Summary

Universities that propose restructuring initiatives specifically for graduate schools do not always find ways to do so effectively or in a way that satisfies members of the campus community;

Some universities do find ways to reorganize the administrative responsibilities of graduate schools by allowing programs to be absorbed into departmental responsibilities or by giving graduate schools authority over interdisciplinary programs.

Because relatively few institutions have successfully implemented change, other potential methods for streamlining administrative and academic responsibilities of free-standing graduate schools have yet to be seen;

At universities considered by some to represent the standard in terms of graduate education organization, processes are still not uniform in their organization. However, institutions such as Stanford, MIT, Penn, and Chicago do bear some resemblance in the way many administrative processes relative to graduate education have been decentralized and delegated as tasks of schools, divisions, and/or departments;

Some institutions undertake restructuring or consolidation of other university entities (i.e., departments, campuses, schools, leadership positions) in order to achieve efficiency and streamlining of academic and administrative responsibilities; and

The current economy is causing administrators on many campuses to focus on efficiency. As a result, it is likely that more university restructuring will be seen over the coming months and years.

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Note This brief was written to fulfill the specific request of an individual member of The Hanover Research Council. As such, it may not satisfy the needs of all members. We encourage any and all members who have additional questions about this topic – or any other – to contact us.

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