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San Francisco State held its Asilocampus retreat for faculty and staff from January 24 to 26. This year's theme, "The Changing University," elicited sessions in which issues crucial to SF State's ability to serve its students and employees were raised and discussed. Of course, there was also time for learning folk dances of the Greek and Roman Diaspora in the Cantina with Dance Dept. Chair Jerry Duke.
The following reports on several Asilocampus sessions were provided by the staff of the Office of Public Affairs.
Student Recruitment and Retention in the Post-209 Era
Service learning improves students' sense of civic responsibility, educational achievement, and life skills, guest speaker Alexander Astin of UCLA said in the kick-off speech of Asilocampus 2000. Its impact is especially noteworthy, he said, because it runs counter to two other student trends: 1) becoming less engaged politically and 2) using higher education to become well off financially rather than to develop a meaningful philosophy of life.
Astin, who directs UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute, drew his conclusions from analyzing 34 years of survey data of college students. He found that taking part in service courses leads to positive academic outcomes (college GPA, critical thinking skills, and writing skills), behavioral outcomes (leadership, choosing service careers), and value outcomes (racial understanding, commitment to serving the community, and individual empowerment).
Calling service learning the equivalent of lab work in the hard sciences, Astin said its demonstrated value challenged two faculty beliefs: 1) that community work is vocational, not academic, and 2) that it takes time away from the classroom. It is superior to pure volunteerism, he said, because the classroom work associated with it provides an intellectual underpinning.
Responding to Astin's remarks, Mark Phillips, director of educational outreach and secondary education professor, noted that service learning programs and others like them (e.g., active learning, student "families") are becoming the model for both high schools and universities because they benefit the "at-risk" adolescents who increasingly constitute both high school and college populations.
"Classrooms are anachronisms compared to the world outside," he said.
Astin also challenged traditional notions of academic excellence, based on an institution's resources and reputation, and urged replacing them with talent development: how well an institution refines its students' skills and talents.
"Our emphasis has gone way overboard in demonstrating 'smartness' rather than developing it," he said.
Year-round Operations
This summer SFSU will experiment with a state-supported summer semester, financed by a grant from the CSU Chancellor's office and offering approximately 40 classes. Students enrolled in these courses will pay the fall and spring semester tuition rates instead of the traditional summer rates of about $400 a course.
Classes available this summer are mainly in the nursing and teacher preparation areas, although some BECA, math, English, section 3, and Liberal Studies courses will also be offered. The courses will be offered on the College of Extended Learning intensive unit model, rather than a full twelve-week semester model.
Year-round Operations (YRO) will have significant implications for San Francisco State University, said the panelists (most of whom were members of the YRO committee), affecting everything from building maintenance to enrollment management. The impact on students and the state of California will be significant as well.
The session left some unanswered questions. Faculty and staff asked, "What are the long-term plans for faculty appointments?" "What impact will YRO have on faculty benefits and building maintenance?" A staff member asked, "How will student activity fees be assessed [for a twelve-month year as opposed to the current nine-month year]?"
How many students will take advantage of the new course offerings is difficult to say. Because federal student aid does not apply to summer semesters, some students may not be able to afford a third semester of units.
Benefits of YRO, according to the panelists, will include more course options for students, more flexibility for faculty, the ability to meet the increasing community demand for teachers and nurses through accelerated programs, and improved access to higher education in California.
Changes in Degree Programs
Is the marketplace driving the recent changes in degree programs at the university? That was the main question posed by audience members during the Asilocampus panel presentation "Whither the University? Changes in the Character of Academic Programs at SFSU."
According to panel member Thomas LaBelle, Vice President for Academic Affairs, SFSU is balancing the demands of the marketplace with the goals of each discipline, recounting the evolution of today's university model and its function in society as a context from which to consider the changing face of the university.
The issues that prompted Monday's panel discussion include the increasing number of professional and pre-professional degree programs being introduced into the curriculum, the discontinuance of some creative arts degrees, and the trend toward shifting bachelor of arts degrees into bachelor of science degrees, which often increases math and science requirements.
Comments and questions from the packed audience were varied, some of which the panel agreed were worthy of a closer look. One person raised the issue that if SFSU shifts degrees from an art to a science core, the university must consider the preparedness of incoming students, many of whom have math skills at or near the remedial level.
While the factors contributing to any changes, deletions or adoptions of degree programs are complex, panelists were in agreement that the process of review is being improved upon, that the marketplace is only one factor influencing change, and that input from the broader campus community is always a valuable tool in making decisions that impact the focus and direction of the university's educational mission.
Leadership Studies Minor
SFSU soon hopes to join the growing number of universities across the country that offer academic programs in leadership studies for students. In a session titled "2001: A Leadership Odyssey: Toward a Minor in Leadership Studies," Will Flowers, director of Student Programs and Leadership Development, outlined plans for the program, which is expected to be in place by next year and coincide with a student leadership conference planned for 2001.
"The classes in combination with community service, tutoring and mentoring will help develop a sense of responsibility and a sense of confidence in students," he said.
Although the minor doesn't exist yet, students this spring can choose from several leadership classes with community service components offered under the Counseling Department. The three-unit classes include the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) class, the Leadership Institute, Leadership 101, Emerging Leaders Conference and Internship, and the Empowered Student/College Success Skills.
Joining Flowers on the panel at Asilocampus were Aimee Barnes, project coordinator of the Cesar Chavez Student Center; Mario Rivas, associate dean of undergraduate studies; Jennifer Biehn, dean of student activities at City College of San Francisco; and Rees Hughes, director of the Office of Student Activities/Leadership Development and director of the Office of Residential Life at Humboldt State University.
Nearly 700 leadership development programs are now offered on campuses across the country. For example, students at Humboldt State can take 18 units for a minor in leadership studies. Hughes said Humboldt's program started in 1990 in its College of Professional Studies. "But I have to say that a minor such as leadership development is not a clean fit within any college or department," he said.
Hughes said some of the most valuable lessons come out of the program's capstone course in which students reflect on their work and experiences. It includes a weekend retreat and development of a portfolio.
"Business and industry really want people with leadership skills," said City College's Biehn. Rivas said that a leadership program at SFSU could mesh well with other programs on campus such as teacher credential programs.
Added Barnes: "A strong leadership studies program will allow students to apply what they have learned to real-life situations."
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