Quality in the Undergraduate Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Who Decides? Summary of a Workshop (2016)
Chapter: Front Matter
Quality in the Undergraduate Experience
What Is It? How Is It Measured? Who Decides?
SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP
Karin Matchett, Maria Lund Dahlberg, and Thomas Rudin, Rapporteurs
Board on Higher Education and Workforce
Policy and Global Affairs
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by Grant No. OPVT/Lumina Foundation 9408 from The Lumina Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13:978-0-309-44301-2
International Standard Book Number-10:0-309-44301-6
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/23514
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Copyright 2016 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Quality in the Undergraduate Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Who Decides? Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23514.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION: WHAT DOES IT MEAN, HOW IS IT MEASURED, AND WHO DECIDES? A WORKSHOP
PAUL N. COURANT (Chair) Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Economics, Professor of Information, and Faculty Associate in the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
ELLEN HAZELKORN, Policy Advisor to the Higher Education Authority, and Director, Higher Education Policy Research Unit (HEPRU), Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland
PAUL J. LeBLANC, President, Southern New Hampshire University
ALEXANDER McCORMICK, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, and Director, National Survey of Student Engagement
MARCO MOLINARO, Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Effectiveness, and Director, Center for Educational Effectiveness, University of California, Davis
INDIRA NAIR, Former Vice Provost of Education and Professor, Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
ROY A. SWIFT, Executive Director, Workcred
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
THOMAS RUDIN, Director, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
AQILA COULTHURST, Associate Program Officer, Science, Technology, and Economic Policy
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Associate Program Officer, Office of Communications
IRENE NGUN, Research Assistant, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
ADRIANA COUREMBIS, Financial Associate, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
Consultant
KARIN MATCHETT, Rapporteur
BOARD ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
WILLIAM E. KIRWAN (Chair), Chancellor Emeritus, University System of Maryland
LAWRENCE D. BOBO, W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University
ANGELA BYARS-WINSTON, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Wisconsin–Madison
JAIME L. CURTIS-FISK, North America Director of STEM, and R&D scientist, The Dow Chemical Company
APRILLE ERICSSON, Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program Manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
RICHARD FREEMAN, Herbert Ascherman Professor of Economics, Harvard University
PAUL J. LeBLANC, President, Southern New Hampshire University
SALLY MASON, President Emerita, University of Iowa
FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, Chancellor, Los Angeles Community College District
SUBHASH SINGHAL, Battelle Fellow Emeritus, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
KUMBLE R. SUBBASWAMY, President, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
SHELLEY WESTMAN, Vice President, Operations & Strategic Integration Initiatives, IBM
MARY WOOLLEY, President, Research!America
Staff
TOM RUDIN, Director, Board on Higher Education and Workforce
ASHLEY BEAR, Program Officer
NINA BOSTON, Research Assistant
IRENE NGUN, Research Assistant
Acknowledgments
The committee thanks the Lumina Foundation for its support of this workshop.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Karen Elzey, Business-Higher Education Forum; Jordan Matsudaira, Cornell University; Josh Trapani, Association of American Universities; Scott Watson, Education Policy Institute; and Joshua Wyner, The Aspen Institute.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Norman Bradburn, University of Chicago. Appointed by the Academies, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the institution.
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