The North Central Association review team has recommended that Wayne State University be reaccredited for 10 years, the longest reaccreditation period permitted by the Association's rules. The review team also recommended that Wayne State file reports on its progress in implementing new computer-based administrative systems and technology in the instructional program and in coordinating its budgeting and strategic planning processes.

The North Central team report will not become final until action is taken by the North Central Association's Commission on Higher Education. Action is expected in September.

The review by a team of 10 higher education professionals from other universities - led by Dr. Claire A. Van Ummersen, president of Cleveland State University -  visited WSU April 13-16 and recently submitted its report to WSU President David Adamany.

The team's official visit follows a year-long self-evaluation by university faculty and administration, a report of which was then published and submitted to the North Central Association prior to the team's on-site visit.

In a letter to the North Central Association, Wayne State University President David Adamany responded to the report with praise, saying: "The report is impressive, reflecting thoughtfulness and hard work by the visiting team. The report affirms the progress we have made toward our mission; but it also focuses us on some key issues we must address."

Adamany also endorsed the team's recommendation: "I strongly agree with the recommendation that Wayne State University be accredited for 10 years, the longest reaccredidation period . . . I welcome the report's recommendation that Wayne State submit, in year 2002, a progress report on the relationship between budgeting and strategic planning, management information systems, and the integration of technology into the curriculum."

The report praised Wayne State's accomplishments on many fronts, saying:

* "The faculty and instructional staff are not only expert in their fields but also caring and considerate of students. They understand and appreciate the broad diversity within their classes."

* "Wayne State University has an unusually rich mix of students, with a wide range of ability levels, academic goals, age, ethnicity and personal backgrounds. Students are articulate in their sense of pride in Wayne State University. They celebrate the contribution of a diverse student body to the understanding of other cultures and appreciate the opportunity the City provides as a learning environment."

* "The team commends the faculty for maintaining dedication to students and teaching while also substantially enhancing the institution's scholarly reputation and productivity . . ."

* "The University is to be commended for its flexibility in meeting the varied needs of its diverse student population and for utilization of the Detroit metropolitan area as a learning laboratory to enrich the environment for students."

* The University's investment in the city of Detroit is manifested in a beautification of the campus and stabilization of the immediate environment of the University."

* "The University's ongoing efforts in providing educational, research and professional service to its Detroit metropolitan area fulfills its urban mission. Contemporary urban scholarship has been advanced by Wayne State University through a concerted effort to promote interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and degree programs. This commitment to urban mission is exemplified by annual expenditures of more than $60 million on public service programs."

The review team also identified issues of concern for the University to address:

* "The University needs to have a widely disseminated and broadly understood plan for computing and information technology implementation, a set of priorities, a timeline, and a realistic multi-year budget plan to support its installation, maintenance, and ongoing operation."

* "The University needs to have an academic plan for integrating technology into the curriculum, a plan for focusing on distance education, and identification of adequate resources to provide for faculty and staff development."

* Although current resources appear adequate to fulfill the existing institutional mission, operating funds are limited and have not grown in real terms in more than 10 years."

* "The response to implementing assessment [of student learning outcomes] across the University is uneven. Some Colleges and Schools are doing an excellent job and already have good feedback to assist in program improvement. Others are much slower in meeting the requirement. Assessment of general education appears not to be underway."

* "There is good diversity in senior level administrative staff and there has been some improvement in the full-time faculty ranks, but given the composition of the student body, further attention needs to be paid to increasing diversity, especially of faculty."

* "Departments and Colleges/Schools need to make special efforts when positions come available to search out minorities and women to create a more balanced faculty."

In two areas that have provoked controversy on the campus ­ assertions of poor faculty morale, and faculty governance ­ the North Central team found conditions to be generally positive.

* "The team heard much about poor morale on the campus from members of the Faculty Senate and the AAUP [the faculty union]. While morale is an elusive concept and often quite individualistic, the alleged poor morale was not evident among much of the faculty and staff. Indeed, it appeared that morale generally was quite good."

* "Each college has its own governance structures which appear to work well. Faculty are satisfied that they have input into curriculum and other matters within each college. However, the University-wide governance body ­ the Academic Senate ­ leadership does not believe that there is sufficient communication and consultation by the University administration on appropriate and important matters before action is taken. The issues are complex because of the existence of a unionized faculty and academic staff and the tension that that introduces into the equation."

* "Wayne State University is now at a point where substantial changes are likely to occur within the near future with the resignation of its long-time president. Furthermore, the very substantial progress that has been made within the past 10 years appears to be accelerating with many new and different faculty and an institution-wide commitment to continue to improve its reputation as a research university. The governing board is supportive, works hard at their task, and fully understands the nature of an urban university. They are confident in the current administration and one can hope that they will also be confident in the new administration so that they can keep to their task of policy making rather than operational management. That confidence and task separation at the board and presidential levels is particularly important at Wayne State due to a rather weak and ineffective faculty governance system partially due to faculty collective bargaining as well as a general misunderstanding of faculty governance on the part of some of the faculty."

The visiting team also had strong praise for outgoing WSU President David Adamany and for the University's Board of Governors:

* "Despite tremendous opposition to many of his policy decisions and an adversarial relationship which apparently exists in a small University faction, President Adamany has provided excellent leadership during a very troubled period in the history of Wayne State University. Working with the faculty, extraordinary accomplishments have occurred during his tenure: a potentially bankrupt institution when President Adamany assumed office, Wayne State University has been revitalized, and along with it, midtown Detroit appears to have a new lease on urban life. His demonstrated energy and creativity in increasing funding through state and private resources have enabled realization of a shared vision he had to rebuild Wayne State University, over a very brief time, to a Carnegie I research institution, to oversee a $300,000,000 campus building and expansion program, which has more than doubled the physical plant size in a decade, and simultaneously he has continued to emphasize the missions of WSU to provide affordable educational programs to financially disadvantaged students and to maintaining affordable access to superior quality education for all persons in metropolitan Detroit and Michigan."

* "It is the judgment of the evaluation team that the Board of Governors of Wayne State University is a major strength of the institution. It is a highly involved and deeply committed board. Board members contribute their talents, time and good judgment to the University. The Board appears to have a good working relationship with the President. Members of the board realize that their search for a new President is particularly important to the University's future. They understand the need for a strong leader who can continue to work with the faculty and administration to further the University's progress in achieving its mission. They are committed to finding such an individual."