USI Presidential Search >>Commitment to

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Commitment to Continual Quality Improvement

professor and student As enrollment figures have grown, at times dramatically, there has been concern that the University maintains its quality and commitment to superior instruction. Nearly 70 percent of USI’s classes have enrollments of 25 or fewer students. USI reflects student-centered learning in its extraordinary commitment to an educational model that emphasizes faculty/staff-student connections and educating the complete student inside and outside the classroom for a future of active lifelong learning. Students often comment that they value the opportunity to work closely with their professors. USI students who compare notes with friends attending larger universities come away pleased that USI does not have teaching assistants as a filter between students and faculty.

Excellence in teaching continues to be the most important criterion in faculty recruitment. The ability to do research, to engage in continuous scholarly and creative work, and to provide service, primarily to the region and the state, are important additional qualifications. Because full-time faculty are the core of the University, USI will continue its efforts to reduce the present reliance on part-time faculty while maintaining flexibility in staffing. Funding through the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs allows faculty to participate in scholarly research, engage in student/faculty research projects, and undertake summer and sabbatical study.

Measuring what students are learning is fundamental to judging the quality of teaching. To that end, more than 2,500 freshmen and juniors participate annually in the Assessment of Academic Achievement testing program. In addition to this assessment method, many of the institution's academic departments administer the Educational Testing Service Academic Major Field Test for students in their senior year. Overwhelmingly, USI students exceed national norms on these tests.

A revised general education program, the University Core Curriculum, was implemented in fall 1995 following several years of study, development, and planning.

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