2000 CAO Institute Working Groups
(Formerly the Deans Institute)
The 28th Annual National Conference for Independent College
and University
Join Your Colleagues in a Focused Discussion on Key Issues in Higher
Education
Chief academic officers have found it helpful to meet with colleagues
at CIC’s CAO Institute to discuss critical issues facing their campuses.
By meeting in Working Groups, a popular part of the conference since 1997,
participants:
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focus on a particular topic;
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explore a common challenge for independent college and
university campuses with colleagues;
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consider possible approaches to the issue which would improve
their campus culture of learning;
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have a means to continue the conversation with a group of
colleagues after the conference; and
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share their findings with other CAOs through a written summary
placed on the CIC Web site
Each Working Group will meet for two blocks of time, allowing colleagues
to discuss issues in depth, and to share ideas. Whether you are attending
the CAO Institute for the first time or are an experienced participant,
you are welcomed and encouraged to register for a Working Group.
Working Group Goals:
Participating in a working group will help you:
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develop practical ideas to assist you in working with your constituents
upon return
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to your institution
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foster a climate of change on campus
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become part of a network of colleagues addressing a key issue for
your campus
After reviewing the issues discussed last year, CIC is offering six Working
Group topics for the 2000 conference. Each group will address one topic;
if more than twelve CAOs wish to explore a specific topic, a second group
will be created on that topic. Each group will have a leader and a recorder
from among the participants.
Working Groups Meet Twice
By registering for a Working Group, you are making a commitment
to participate in two sessions: a Sunday, November 5, meeting from 4:30-5:45
p.m., and a Monday, November 6, meeting (including breakfast) from 7:15-9:45
a.m. With this schedule, Working Group participants could attend the first
offering, but not the second presentation among the repeated concurrent
sessions on Sunday afternoon. They would also miss the end of the breakfast
discussion groups on Monday morning and the first series of repeated concurrent
sessions that morning.If groups wish to schedule additional optional meetings,
they may contact the CIC staff to arrange for a room.
Preparation for the Working Group
Please register for a Working Group by writing the letter and
title of the Working Group you would prefer on the CAO Institute Registration
Form at the end of this brochure. You may also register by going to the
CIC web site at www.cic.edu/conference/CAO Institute and selecting
your choice of group on the line Optional Working Group. Each group member
is asked to write a brief summary addressing the questions listed under
the Working Group topic selected. Please answer as many of the questions
as you can, given your current work with the topic you select. Include
your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Please e-mail
your summary to amp@cic.nche.edu by September 29.
CIC will collate the summaries prepared by Working Group members and
e-mail them to members of the group prior to the conference. Leaders and
recorders for each group will be named prior to the conference. CIC staff
will participate in many of the Working Groups and seek means to follow
up on the findings of these groups. Reports on the issues discussed in
the Working Groups will be posted on the CIC web site.
Topics for 2000 Working Groups
A. Distance Education at Independent Colleges
Is distance education appropriate for residential campuses? How has your
campus used distance education to support student learning? What are the
barriers on your campus to using distance education? How did you prepare
faculty to utilize distance education? What incentives do you provide
for faculty to use this technology? What support services do you provide
for those who are using distance education? What evidence do you have
which indicates that your use of distance education is effective in supporting
student learning? In what ways was it unsuccessful? How did you gather
that evidence?
B. Follow Up to the
Disney Institute–(Disney Institute Participants Only)
This Working Group offers CAOs who participated in the CIC Disney
Institute program during this summer an opportunity to support each other
in implementing ideas gained at the Institute. Participants will discuss: How can the customer service philosophy
be applied to the academic affairs area? What are the expectations for
faculty of customer service? How can the goals of both academic rigor
and customer service be met? How does customer service affect the academic
support services from registration through graduation? How will you assess
the value of moving to a customer service philosophy? What incentives
do you need to provide to make the change acceptable? How might CIC and
the Disney Institute help you to build on their initial experience? What
additional advice would you give others who are trying to adapt the Disney
ideas in a higher education environment?
C. Retaining the Essence of the Liberal Arts College
How do you present the value of the liberal arts in today’s society?
What strategies have proven helpful in explaining the value of the liberal
arts to the general public, prospective students, parents of prospective
students, and current students? What are the essential traits or characteristics
of a liberal arts college, according to your institution?
In transforming your campus, what traditions, essences, practices,
or cultural traits need to be retained? What are the essential aspects
of your mission which need to be carried forward into the new millennium?
How do you retain these essential traits when your institution has new
programs, new delivery systems, new students, etc.? How do you prepare
new faculty/staff to support your mission? What additional advice would
you give others who are trying to foster the value of the liberal arts
in the post liberal arts age?
D. Redefining Faculty Workload Within Fiscal Constraints
What experiments have you made on your campus to redefine faculty workload?
What are the barriers on your campus to changing faculty workload? How
did you prepare faculty to experiment with a change in workload? What
incentives did you provide to make the change acceptable? How did you
assess the value of the workload revision? What evidence do you have which
indicates that your faculty workload revisions were successful?
Success might be defined as a more equitable workload formula,
or work which clearly carries out the mission of the institution. In what
ways were your experiments unsuccessful? What additional advice would
you give others who are trying to institute change?
E. Retention
What are your current retention rates from year to year and from entrance
to graduation? How has your campus moved to place greater emphasis on
retention? What are the barriers on your campus to supporting retention?
How did you prepare faculty and staff for this emphasis on retention?
What incentives do you provide for faculty and staff to make this shift?
What evidence do you have which indicates that you have been successful
with your efforts to improve retention?
In what ways was it unsuccessful?
How did you gather that evidence? What additional advice would
you give others who are trying to institute change?
F. Working With Non-Traditional Students
What processes do you have on your campus which you consider effective
in working with non-traditional students? What are the barriers on your
campus to effective programs for non-traditional students? Have you changed
processes recently to improve their effectiveness? How did you prepare
faculty/staff for changes in these processes on your campus? What incentives
do you provide for faculty/staff to participate in effective programs/processes
for non-traditional students? What evidence do you have which indicates
that your work with non-traditional students is effective? In what ways
was it unsuccessful? How
did you gather that evidence? What additional advice would you give others
who are trying to institute change?
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