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Undergrad education should be Miami's aim

President Hodge,

Miami has developed into a first-rate university by providing a high-quality undergraduate education for all students. This education has become the foundation on which the university's reputation is based. We, as members of the Associated Student Government's academic affairs coalition, are proud members of the Miami community because of this reputation.

However, the commitment to undergraduate education must be more than simple admissions jargon. In the last several years, focus on high-quality education has been lacking, and as a university, commitment has diminished.

We have been moving away from the "Miami model for undergraduates" to what some would call the "Ohio State University model" - commitment to research and a large graduate program at the expense of undergraduate education. As a committee representing the academic needs of the student body, we do not believe that Miami is anywhere close to resembling the OSU model. We do believe that some of the energy has been let out of the drive toward undergraduates and their academic performance.

Many of our undergraduates here have aspirations of attending a graduate program someday and choose Miami because our students historically have had a high acceptance rate into these programs. According to the university's graduation rates

Web site, "About 88 percent of our pre-med students are accepted to medical school if they have a 3.2 grade point average overall and in the sciences, with average or above-average scores for each subset of the Medical College Admission Test. In contrast, the national acceptance rate is 47 percent."

While this statistic demonstrates that this university historically produces quality undergraduate education, if the focus is not kept on the undergraduate education, fewer of our peers will receive acceptance letters to graduate programs.

This is not to say that we believe in the "gross mythology" that teaching and research are mutually exclusive. It is simply that we believe that research should be conducted to keep a professor involved in his or her field, so as to be better able to teach students who desire to go into the same field.

If Miami truly has a focus on high-quality undergraduate education, then more than the current 30 percent of Miami Plan Foundation courses should be taught by tenured faculty. Having distinguished and decorated professors on staff does increase the prestige of the university, but having them on staff does not necessarily increase the quality of classroom instruction.

When new students come for orientation with their anxious parents, their minds are calmed by conversation about "the importance of teaching and classroom instruction." Parents are told of the great number of distinguished professors and the opportunities their sons and daughters will have by taking classes and labs with these esteemed professors. However, many of the most highly decorated professors here rarely teach class, and when they do, it is in sections of fewer than 10 students.

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A recent addition to the Miami professors was asked by one of her students if "she thought we were an undergraduate or research-based institution." Based on her orientation she felt that "we (Miami) lean more toward research."

In order to receive tenure at Miami, professors should first be evaluated on the quality of their teaching. Research, with regard to tenure, should be judged based on its quality and after teaching is evaluated.

We would like to see all of our professors publishing their papers and research in scholarly journals, but the quality of the work and the prestige of the article should be evaluated, not the sheer number of articles each professor publishes. This should be emphasized to all faculty, new and old, in order to develop a group of professors who truly believe in the importance of high-quality undergraduate classroom instruction.

We believe that in order to keep with the grand tradition of high-quality undergraduate education here at Miami, the university as a whole must promote it - not just by mentioning the philosophy to potential students, but by making it part of the university's mission. This will encourage the university community as a whole to promote the concept by keeping an open dialogue.

Evaluation of success must be measured by the success of our students, our peers, once they leave the university and not by the number of articles the university publishes a year. The current student body perception is that we are not an undergraduate-focused institution, though Miami could be an excellent undergraduate institution.

We must keep our focus on undergraduate education, which will undoubtedly lead to an enriched Miami experience and a strong foundation to "Make Miami more Miami."

Anne Townetowneae@muohio.edubethany bowyerbowyerba@muohio.educasey brownbrowncl@muohio.edugeoff reinhardtreinhagd@muohio.eduhannah jeffersjefferhk@muohio.edujens sutmollersutmolj@muohio.edujeremy harrellharreljb@muohio.edukyle cormneycormnekh@muohio.edunicole oederoedernl@muohio.eduLaura walaszekchief of staff to the Presidentwalaszla@muohio.edumelonia bennettsecretary academic affairsbennetm2@muohio.eduroya samarghandivice presidentcampus activities councilsamargrh@muohio.edujen housesecretaryoff-Campus affairshousejr@muohio.edu

Anne Towne, Senator - AAC MemberBethany Bowyer, Senator - AAC MemberCasey Brown, Senator - AAC MemberGeoff Reinhardt, Senator - AAC MemberHannah Jeffers, Senator - AAC MemberJens Sutmoller, Senator - AAC MemberJeremy Harrell, Senator - AAC MemberKyle Cormney, Senator - AAC MemberNicole Oeder, Senator - AAC MemberLaura Walaszek, President's Chief of StaffMelonia Bennett, Secretary for Academic Afairs - AAC ChairRoya Samarghandi, Vice President of Campus Activities CouncilJen House, Secretary for Off-Campus Affairs


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