By Debra Bradley Ruder

Gazette Stafff

A team of outside educators will visit Harvard later this month as part of the University's 10-year accreditation through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Led by Princeton University President Harold Shapiro, the evaluation team will spend three days here meeting with faculty, staff, and students in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and in the Central Administration. The visit runs Nov. 16-19.

The 10-member team will be armed with a self-study prepared over the past year by Harvard faculty and administrators. The report describes the current state of various areas -- from counseling services, to building renovations, to writing programs -- as well as many changes over the past decade and some future plans. In short, it offers a snapshot of an ever-evolving institution.

Part of the document, minus the thick appendices, is available on the World Wide Web at www.fas.harvard.edu/harv-reaccred-report97.

"This exercise has been valuable because it has allowed us to pull together self-studies done in recent years," said Jeffrey Wolcowitz, associate dean for undergraduate education, who is coordinating the effort with Dean Whitla, special consultant to the Dean of Harvard College.

"The report offers a good overview of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the Faculty's relationship to the institution as a whole," Wolcowitz said.

It is also peppered with interesting statistics. For example, "the FAS system transmits some 300,000 e-mail messages a day," and "Of those undergraduates admitted in 1996-97, 76.3 percent chose to attend."

Although the accreditation covers the entire University, it focuses on the FAS, and undergraduate education in particular, because all or most of the professional schools are reviewed periodically by their respective professional societies, according to Whitla.

The accrediting body, the Bedford-based New England Association of Schools and Colleges, is expected to render its decision in early spring. It is a voluntary, nonprofit organization and one of six regional accrediting bodies in the United States.

In addition to Shapiro, the evaluation group includes representatives from Brown, Dillard, Yale, and Wesleyan universities, M.I.T., the University of Chicago, and Amherst and Dartmouth colleges.

"We look forward to having such a distinguished panel of educators visit the University, share their views, and bring us another perspective," said Dean of Harvard College Harry R. Lewis. "We appreciate their willingness to spend three busy days exploring and reflecting on Harvard and its mission."

Looking Inward

In its opening pages, the self-study offers a helpful summary of the structure, governance, and mission of this large and complex University.

It describes the institution's mission as pursuing the highest standards of academic excellence in teaching and research, preparing students for leadership positions in their chosen pursuits, advancing knowledge in the arts, sciences, and professions, and serving society.

The 93-page document also sums up the University-wide academic planning process that led to the $2.1 billion fundraising campaign now in full swing -- a process aimed at setting priorities and managing the University's resources as effectively as possible.

Turning toward the FAS (which encompasses Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Continuing Education), the report highlights two major academic developments: the recent review of the Core Curriculum, and the role of the Educational Policy Committee in overseeing the FAS curriculum.

The 1987 reaccreditation team had raised questions about these two areas, expressing concern about insufficient faculty involvement in curricular review, and noting the need to provide adequate opportunities in quantitative reasoning.

The 1997 report explains that after a two-year study by the Core Review Committee, the Faculty last spring affirmed its commitment to Harvard's general education program, but it called for a number of changes, including adding a course requirement in quantitative reasoning. Other issues that emerged, such as the foreign language requirement and the overall number of requirements that students face, will be taken up this academic year.

Meanwhile, the Educational Policy Committee, created in 1992 by FAS Dean Jeremy R. Knowles to consider all aspects of the curriculum outside the Core, began an ongoing series of meetings with departments and committees that offer undergraduate programs. Its work has inspired many departments to carry out their own evaluations; History, for example, used the Committee's guidelines to redesign its undergraduate curriculum and tutorial program.

The Educational Policy Committee, said Dean of Undergraduate Education William Todd, has played an important role in monitoring and shaping the undergraduate curriculum.

"It is gratifying to look back and remember that the accreditation team 10 years ago helped encourage Harvard to set up such a valuable faculty body," Todd said.

An Evolving Institution

A number of other areas within the FAS and College have undergone changes in recent years. Among those cited in the report:

* Concentrations: The newest field of concentration is Environmental Science and Public Policy, established in 1992 as an outgrowth of the Interfaculty Initiative on the Environment. In 1995, new concentration tracks were introduced in Biology, Computer Science, History and Science, and Psychology, arising from the Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative.

* Writing: Nancy Sommers (the Sosland Director of Expository Writing) and the Harvard Writing Project have taken a number of steps to improve writing pedagogy, including helping faculty revise courses to make them more writing intensive. Sommers plans a longitudinal study to understand the kinds of writing experiences that undergraduates have here.

* Freshman Advising: Since her appointment five years ago, Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans has worked to improve the availability of academic advising information for first-year students.

* Teacher Training: Guidelines were adopted in 1994 for the training and preparation of new teaching fellows. Under the policies, all departments and instructional programs must develop plans for preparing and orienting first-time instructors in the appropriate teaching skills.

* Faculty Support: The issue of junior faculty recruitment and support has been examined by the FAS Resources Committee, the Faculty, and the Dean over the past two years. Discussion focused on salary and other compensation matters (such as child care and housing assistance), and research support. The Dean has taken steps to address some inequities in compensation and support.

* College Structure: The 1994 report on the administrative structure of Harvard College led to a number of changes, including the appointment of a senior faculty member (Harry R. Lewis) as Dean of Harvard College, and the random assignment of student blocking groups to residential Houses, among other developments.

* Women's Initiatives: Over the past year, the Dean of Harvard College has set forth a program of women's initiatives designed to address the needs of women students and to provide more mentoring and role-modeling opportunities for them. "Much has been accomplished over the past several years to create a genuinely co-educational environment" in the College, the self-study states.

* Safety: For the first time this year, freshmen attended a mandatory program on safety concerns that included presentations by the University Police Department, University Health Services, and peer counseling and peer education groups. One segment was devoted to date rape.

Other safety measures introduced recently: electronic access systems in all undergraduate residences, enhanced walkway lighting, and a community policing program.

* Public Service: The College has reorganized the administration of public service programs. A faculty standing committee was established to oversee public service and volunteer programs, and the position of Assistant Dean for Public Service and Director of Phillips Brooks House was created and filled.

* Computers: About 94 percent of students have their own computers, and 30 percent of students have their own Web pages. Some 20 computer rooms are available for student use. More than 200 courses have Web pages this year, and the number is rapidly growing.

* Renovations/Space Use: Among the major renovations in recent years were the revitalization of Memorial Hall and the four-year overhaul of the freshman dormitories. Many other projects, including a new computer science and electrical engineering building, are being planned or are under way.

The FAS Planning Office plans to survey instructional space (classrooms and teaching labs) to confirm capacities, identify scheduling policies, and develop a long-range plan for improvements to that space.