University Relations at UW Oshkosh
CONTACT: Richard H. Wells, (920) 424-0200
Chancellor heads national task force
OSHKOSH – University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard H. Wells will chair one of seven panels named by two national higher education groups to development a voluntary assessment program to help public higher education better serve the public.
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Wells, one of 78 administrators from public colleges and universities across the nation appointed to one of the panels, will head the Task Force on Campus Engagement for the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) Project.
The project is a partnership of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC).
The project is made possible by a $267,900 grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education.
Vice-chair of the Task Force on Campus Engagement is J. Patrick O’Brien, president/CEO of West Texas A & M University. Others on the panel are from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern Maine, California State University Fresno, North Carolina Central University, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Montana, Longwood University in Virginia, University of South Carolina and University of Colorado at Denver.
Wells has been an advocate for the project launched by the AASCU and NASULGC. The goal is to help public universities better serve the public with respect to learning outcomes while also providing more information to students and families to help them select a school to attend.
In the presentation Re-Defining Quality Education to the UW System Board of Regents in 2003, Wells said the quality of education should be measured more by how much a university provides a student—such as academically challenging experiences and collaborative learning opportunities that result in greater mastery of subject matter and the development of stronger critical thinking skills.
Instead, too often, quality is measured by things such as the “quality” of students who are admitted, the institution’s reputation and how much the alumni give, not the value of the educational experience the institution provides the student.
The task force headed by Wells will identify methods for gathering, analyzing and sharing information on the quality of the student educational experience.
During 2007, Wells’ task force and the other panels will develop a system of voluntary accountability that could be adopted at any public college or university.
