Undergraduate Education in the Public University Symposium

Thursday, March 10, 2016 - Friday, March 11, 2016
9:00 a.m- 4pm 
David Brower Center,Goldman Auditorium, UC Berkeley Campus 
Symposium participants will explore the distinctive advantages and challenges research-intensive public university face in providing a quality and exceptional undergraduate education. Major public universities educate nine percent of all U.S. undergraduates; they have comprehensive academic and professional programs, world famous faculty and among the most diverse student bodies; students participate in faculty directed research, in co-curricular activities and various forms of public service; they have access to unique facilities and support services. Yet public universities also face major challenges in providing and affordable and quality undergraduate experience due to declining public investment, rising student to faculty ratios, and, some would argue, the priority faculty and institutions place on research productivity.

 This symposium will generate discussion and analysis around a number of strategic questions, including: what are the characteristics and dynamics of the student experience in these large public universities? Is there a research university advantage for undergraduate education that can be identified and leveraged? Can we define and measure it? How can we scale high-impact practices that often depend on relatively low student to faculty ratios?  What is the role of residential life in shaping the educational experience and personal goals of students? What cost-effective strategies can increase the enrollment capacity of public universities without decreasing the educational experience and learning outcomes of students?  And if an institution determines that change is important in undergraduate pedagogy, how can it best motivate and effect change?

Day 1 (March 10) will be composed of morning and afternoon sessions organized by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium for its members. SERU is a network of some 35 top-tier American and international universities devoted to studying and improving the undergraduate and graduate student experience at their institutions and that has generated, thus far, over 700,000 student survey responses as part of its data collection efforts. 

 Day 2 (March 11) will include sessions intended to seek observations and pathways for improving the undergraduate experience and featuring experts from a wide array of perspectives and experience.

PROGRAM

Location: David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Suite 100, Berkeley, CA 94704

SERU SESSIONS Invite only for SERU representatives and guests
9:00 - 9:15 Introduction and SERU Updates: John Douglass - CSHE/SERU Principal Researcher, UC Berkeley
 9:15 - 11:00
SERU Session 1 - SERU Data & Analysis and Campus Policymaking - SERU Campus Case Examples
Chair: Ronald Huesman - SERU Principal Researcher and SERU AAU Managing Director, University of Minnesota
  • UC Berkeley - Amber Machamer - Executive Director, Office of Planning & Analysis
  • University of Minnesota - Krista Soria - Analyst & SERU Coordinator, Office of Institutional Research
  • Osaka University - Takahiro Saito - Associate Professor, Institute for Academic Initiatives 
  • UC Office of the President - Pamela Brown - Vice President for Institutional Research & Academic Planning
  • UCLA - Kelly Wahl - Director Statistical Analysis - Academic Planning & Budget

Time to Degree

 11:00 - 11:15  Break
 11:15 - 12:15
Chair: Amber Machamer - Executive Director Office of Planning & Analysis, UC Berkeley 
Comment: Jenn Stringer - Associate CIO, Academic Engagement Educational Technology Services, UC Berkeley
Discussion with Participants 
 12:15 - 1:15  Lunch
 1:15 - 2:15
Chair: Igor Chirikov - SERU-International Managing Director - CSHE UC Berkeley/Higher School of Economics Moscow
Panel: 
LIU Shengtao - Professor Institute of Education Science, Hunan University
Satoshi Watanabe - Assistant Vice President for International Affairs, Hiroshima University
Ana Maria Carneiro - Center for Public Policy Study (NEPP), University of Campinas (Unicamp)
 2:15 - 3:15
Chair and Discussant: Henry Brady - Dean Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley
Presentation: Tongshan Chang with Chris Furgiuele, Xiaohui Zheng, and Susannah McCormick - UC Office of the President
 3:15 - 3:30 SERU Session 5 - SERU Graduate Student Survey (GradSERU) - Update on Fall/Spring Administration Plans
 OPEN SESSIONS  - Requires registration
 4:00 - 4:15 Welcome and Introduction - Carol Christ - CSHE Director
 4:15 - 5:30
Presentation: John Douglass, Igor Chirikov, and Gregg Thomson - SERU Consortium, CSHE UC Berkeley
Panel:
Christine Keller - Vice Present for Research and Policy Analysis, Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU)
Josh Trapani - Associate Vice President for Research and Policy Analysis, Association of American Universities (AAU)
 6:00 - 7:00 Keynote - President Mark Schlissle, President, University of Michigan 
 7:00 - 8:00 Symposium Reception - SERU Campus Representatives and Guests - Wolf Gallery, Brower Center
 DAY 2  Friday, March 11
 9:00 - 10:30
Panel: 
David Asai - Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Michael Jackson - University of Southern California
Douglas Hesse - University of Denver
10:45 - 12:15 
Panel:
Jane Wellman - Senior Advisor, College Futures
Joni Finney - University of Pennsylvania
Candace Thille - Stanford University
 12:30 - 1:30 Lunch 
 1:30 - 2:15 Session 4: Undergraduate Education at Berkeley - a discussion with Chancellor Nicholas Dirks and Provost Claude Steele
2:15 - 2:30 Break 
 2:30 - 4:00
Panel:
Mitchell Stevens - Stanford University
Barbara Bichelmeyer - University of Missouri, Kansas City
Steven Brint - University of California, Riverside