Student Perspectives:
A Vision for the Future
Issues for the eighth President of Carnegie Mellon
The next university president will play an incredibly important role in shaping the future of Carnegie Mellon. The choice of the next president will undoubtedly impact the lives of students at this university. In October, a committee of six students, from a variety of backgrounds, was formed to provide the Faculty Search Committee with a student perspective on issues relating to the search for the next university president.
Each committee member set up a series of focus or discussion group meetings that involved a wide variety of students. In these focus groups, students discussed university issues that they viewed as important. Students discussed the strengths and weaknesses of Carnegie Mellon and articulated the direction in which they would like to see the university progress. To maximize the number of discussion groups that could be held, one member of the committee facilitated the meeting and took detailed notes that were shared with the rest of the committee.
This document was written to share our perspectives as students at Carnegie Mellon with presidential candidates who would like to better understand student concerns. We have outlined the strengths of the university as we perceive them. In addition, we talk about our perception of the ideal state for this university. In a sense, this document is our vision, as students, for the future of Carnegie Mellon.
Carnegie Mellon has a unique environment in many respects, fostering innovation and promoting excellence in teaching and research education. This university has undergone a gradual metamorphosis from being a regional technical school to a prestigious international research university.
Pre-eminent Research University:
Carnegie Mellon is recognized for outstanding research contributions to science, technology, management and fine arts. The university has a strong research budget and enjoys tremendous financial support from federal, professional and corporate institutions. Carnegie Mellon has become known as the seamless university, where faculty and researchers cross disciplinary boundaries to collaborate on common problems. For example, faculty in the music department have worked with the School of Computer Science to develop a program called PIANOTUTOR.
Quality of Faculty:
The world-class faculty at Carnegie Mellon reflects a diverse set of backgrounds with a long-standing commitment to teaching and scholarly research. They provide students with unparalleled opportunities to learn and participate actively in state-of-the-art research being conducted at Carnegie Mellon University.
Inter-disciplinary Environment:
Carnegie Mellon University education offers not only strong fundamental and versatile problem-solving skills in a particular discipline, but also provides opportunities to explore more than one field of study. This enables students to enroll in courses drawn from disciplines in other colleges of the university. The small size of the student body and the compact dimensions of the campus enable students to easily access the facilities and courses offered at other colleges.
Quality of Students:
The students selected to this university, both at the graduate and the undergraduate levels, are among the best throughout the world. These thoughtful, well-informed individuals are highly motivated and strive towards excellence in their chosen areas of specialization.
Information Technology Facilities:
Carnegie Mellon is world renowned for its information technology applications. The university community has access to a wide variety of powerful computing tools such as computers, terminals, printers, plotters, and other hardware and associated software to meet their diverse needs. Carnegie Mellon is home to Andrew, the first distributed personal computing network on a university campus in the world.
City of Pittsburgh:
The city of Pittsburgh has evolved from an industrial center to one of high technology, ranked as the fourth largest corporate headquarters. There has been a tremendous growth of high technology firms, significantly fostered due to the presence of Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh. Downtown Pittsburgh is located approximately five miles from campus and offers all the attractions of a major cosmopolitan area.
Current State:
Carnegie Mellon is internationally known in the technical world for its computer science, robotics, and engineering programs. Some of its other programs such as industrial administration, drama, and cognitive science are also well known in certain circles. However, the name Carnegie Mellon is still relatively unknown outside of western Pennsylvania and outside of the industry. This places Carnegie Mellon at a disadvantage to better known schools in terms of recruitment of students. It also sometimes places Carnegie Mellon students and alumni at somewhat of a disadvantage when applying to graduate schools for non-technical subjects and for jobs in non-technical fields. Our reputation has not yet caught up with the quality of our programs in many cases.
In many college guides, Carnegie Mellon still has a reputation for low student satisfaction and extremely high stress. Carnegie Mellon also has a reputation for making research a higher priority than teaching. Although research is important and does draw attention to Carnegie Mellon, we do not want to be known as simply a research institution that does not care about its students. Though in recent years, the level of student satisfaction has been on the rise due to strong efforts to improve the quality of student life on campus and to the completion of the University Center. The amount of stress has decreased somewhat due to changes in the curricula of many departments and an effort to increase student retention by providing academic help for students who need it. President Mehrabian's "Commitment to Undergraduate Education" also has helped to shift some focus back to teaching. These changes are beginning to change our reputation, but reputations are tough to change quickly. In addition, this year, Carnegie Mellon dropped out of the "Top 25" universities, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report.
Goals:
Ideally, Carnegie Mellon will continue to be respected as a world leader in our areas of traditional strength and will also become more of a household name as a university. Carnegie Mellon will have a reputation as an institution that produces exemplary people and groundbreaking research while becoming a more enjoyable place to live and attend school.
Presidential Actions:
- To keep a positive national spotlight on Carnegie Mellon so that the university can continue to develop the name recognition that other top universities enjoy.
- To make it a personal goal to improve the level of student satisfaction on campus, and to continue making improvements to student satisfaction a university priority.
- To make sure that the university's commitment to undergraduate education continues.
- To work closely with the public relations department to publicize research and other positive things happening at Carnegie Mellon.
Carnegie Mellon has a unique environment and a very different sense of pride. The community on this campus is developed through many smaller facets of the school. Students here are very involved in what they do and this is what makes their experience here memorable and rewarding.
Current State:
Many groups and individuals have been working to improve the unity of Carnegie Mellon. Spirit, for the entire community, has been on the rise and many strides have been made to contribute to the quality of life on campus. Student satisfaction is uneven and this is a prime concern to the lives of students as well as the reputation and quality of this university.
The prime areas of concern are:
- Social atmosphere
- Pride in activities and academics
- Carnegie Mellon name recognition
- Concerns of students being heard
- Greek community
Goals:
- To initiate and support school spirit and extracurricular projects.
- To work with the student organizations to help them achieve their goals.
- To provide support for the Greek community by acknowledging and encouraging fraternity and sorority contributions to the university community.
Presidential Actions:
- Name recognition: This can be directly improved through presidential interactions outside the university.
- Atmosphere improvement: Students need to feel that the university is concerned about their happiness and environment. The president should encourage initiatives that ensure that students are constantly kept in mind.
- Student input: Students must be convinced that their input is listened to and acted upon when appropriate. The president can stress to the different parts of campus the importance of inclusion of student opinion.
Current State:
Students would like to see a greater level of interaction between academic departments. Carnegie Mellon’s traditional strengths have come from blurring the lines between disciplines, and students feel that those efforts should continue. The ability to do coursework and conduct research outside of one’s department would enhance the university experience.
Goals:
- There is difficulty enrolling in classes outside of a student’s major. Some curricula are rigid, and often this impedes the opportunity to take courses outside their major that interest them.
- More inter-disciplinary work not only should be encouraged but also should be actively supported. The goal to create well-rounded individuals must be accepted by faculty as a priority.
- Departments should promote awareness and appreciation of their research to the university community. At the same time, they should develop connections between research and teaching.
- Encourage the development of inter-disciplinary programs of study such as the Bachelor of Humanities and Arts and the University Choice programs.
Presidential Actions:
The president should encourage and foster the development of interdisciplinary research and teaching between academic departments and colleges. The president should make available necessary resources to implement strong ideas for growth.
Current State:
The level of interaction between students and faculty varies tremendously from department to department. Some departments go out of their way to promote interaction between faculty and students outside of class. However, other departments do not seem to view interaction between faculty and undergraduates as a priority.
Many students perceive the faculty as being more involved with research than they are with students. This is partially due to the fact that many departments tend to weigh more heavily a faculty member's research achievements than his/her teaching ability and concern for students when making tenure decisions. As a result of this emphasis, some professors seem to view students as a necessary burden that takes time away from their research.
Goals:
Ideally, we will have a consistent level of faculty-student interaction across the university with interaction being the norm rather than the exception. Faculty and students will be viewed as partners in learning.
Presidential Actions:
- Encourage deans to work with departments to set up informal ways for students and faculty to interact.
- Find new ways to recognize outstanding teaching throughout the university so that faculty knows that teaching is an important part of their job as is research.
- Work with deans and department heads to make teaching ability and dedication to students a critical criterion in the tenure decision process throughout the university.
- Promote opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research with members of the faculty and publicize these opportunities.
Current State:
Many students feel there should be a high level of interaction between the president and the student body. President-student interaction covers a range from formal committee meetings down to informal contact while the president is walking around campus. Currently, there is a good channel for formal communication through the President’s Student Advisory Council and other standing committees. Ideally, the president will be highly visible around campus and approachable on an informal level. Simply being seen regularly in campus facilities and initiating conversations with students, the president would go a long way to assure students that the administration is in tune with student needs.
Recognizing the high demand on the president’s schedule, we do feel that any actions taken to increase interaction between the president and the university community would greatly enhance the atmosphere of Carnegie Mellon.
Goals:
- To have highly substantive informal interaction between the president and student body.
- To maintain or increase the interaction between the president and student groups and student governance organizations.
Presidential Actions:
Formal Interactions
The president should continue to make use of the administrative-student committees that are already in place. In addition, the president should attempt to make contact with major organizations by occasionally attending their meetings. The practice of having weekly open office hours for the student body should continue and should be advertised more heavily.
Informal Interactions
There are many small things that the president can do to develop interaction on an informal level. First and easiest, is to simply be regularly seen around campus using the same facilities that the university community uses. This would help to make the community know that the president is in touch with their everyday lives and would therefore be able to make better decision on these issues.
It is also recommended that the president regularly host informal lunches and dinners with students. This would help to foster dialogue between the president and the individuals on campus.
Current State:
The university needs to be more accommodative of and recognize the needs of graduate students. The Graduate Student Organization is the official representative body, serving the needs of graduate students, but increasingly finds it difficult to fulfill its role of representing graduate student interests on campus.
Graduate students are strongly affiliated with their department and academic advisor, and often lack a sense of belonging to the university. This has resulted in a certain level of detachment from events and occurrences on campus. Hence, it is imperative for Carnegie Mellon to instill in its graduate students, a sense of pride and belonging with the university. There are approximately 2700 graduate students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon, identifying them as an important source of alumni support.
Certain specific concerns raised by graduate students are the following:
- Faculty teaching needs to improve for graduate courses. Research is given disproportionate emphasis as compared to teaching.
- Improvements are needed for library resources and research facilities.
- More professional development programs for graduate students are needed. An example would be the development of an academic center that trains and assists students in proposal preparation for research grants.
- The university’s technology transfer office is too bureaucratic and has a slow turnaround on projects.
- The overhead rate charged for research projects is very high.
- Access to services on campus during summer and winter breaks should not be reduced significantly.
Goals:
- Improve university level support for graduate students.
- Enhance professional development for graduate students in order to assist them in their endeavor to become leaders in academic and professional institutions.
- Improve the quality of life for graduate students on and off campus, by recognizing and addressing their needs.
Presidential Actions:
Organize a task force that includes members from the administration, the Graduate Student Organization, and nominated graduate students. This task force would be responsible for conducting a comprehensive evaluation on identifying the needs of graduate students and proposing recommendations of how best to address them. This task force would conduct the evaluation for a period of six months, prepare a report and submit it to the president for approval. Based on the resources available, the president could set a two-year time-line to implement the recommendations.
Admissions to Carnegie Mellon are divided into two distinct areas: undergraduate through the Office of Admission and graduate through the departments or colleges. Carnegie Mellon has had continuous, substantial growth in the number of applications to the university. This growth in the applicant pool allows the university to select higher quality students.
Current State:
The current admission model for undergraduates does not give enough weight to non-academic factors, such as extra-curricular activities. Carnegie Mellon is increasingly competing for high-quality applicants, and therefore quality students.
Goals:
- The admission process will recruit, accept, and enroll, the highest quality students in academic and extracurricular measures.
- The admission model will accept fewer students in order that the impending overflow of university resources will be allayed. A balance must be maintained when tightening the admissions standards so that the university uses its resources most efficiently.
- Carnegie Mellon will be highly respected among peer institutions and the general public as an institution that accepts only the best students who will contribute in a variety of ways to the university community and beyond.
Presidential Actions:
The president will support initiatives to accept students of greater depth.
Enrollment Services is the unit within Carnegie Mellon that processes all student transactions and records. This group has several responsibilities and functions: distributing financial aid, course scheduling, academic record keeping and reporting, and accepting payment of tuition and fees. Over the past several years, this unit has been undergoing a reengineering process.
Current State:
The reengineering process of enrollment services has brought about several changes. The creation of a new centralized front-end to enrollment services (The HUB), although an excellent idea, has been poorly implemented. The identification card system is just being updated after a series of delays. Class registration is a cumbersome process that could be streamlined.
Goals:
- The HUB must begin to focus on customer service. This includes, and is not limited to, face to face, telephone, and email conversations. Response time and genuine willingness to help must be stressed.
- An online enrollment system, from class registration to account transactions to tuition/fee payment, must be developed and implemented.
- The new identification card system should be developed as a one-card system with the abilities to use it in retail facilities, the library, and building/facility access.
Presidential Actions:
- The president should continue to support the ongoing reengineering process.
- The president should make available resources to implement the necessary technology in order to meet the goals of the reengineering process.
- The president should work with The HUB to help it identify its role and responsibilities within the campus community.
Fundamental skills are tools that help students to succeed in their academic and professional careers and to enhance their competency in their disciplines of specialization. In general, these are skills in applied higher level mathematics, analysis, teamwork, computing, and oral and written communication.
Current State:
Students are not always adequately developing these skills through current courses. There is little integration of the development of these skills into curriculum as a whole.
Goals:
- Students will gain strong competency in these fundamental skills.
- The teaching of these skills will be through an integrated and interactive approach.
- Application of these fundamental skills will be required in successive course work at the university.
Presidential Actions:
- The president will work with colleges and departments to design these fundamental skills into all curriculums.
- The president will make available resources to develop innovative ways of teaching and integrating these fundamental skills into the curriculum.
Financial Aid:
Financial aid packages are often used as a recruiting device to draw top high school students to Carnegie Mellon. However, many students feel as though once they come to Carnegie Mellon, the university becomes much less flexible with them in terms of financial aid packages. A program of redistributing merit-based scholarships (that are lost due to failure to maintain a minimum QPA) to students who are doing extremely well at Carnegie Mellon (but who might not have been worthy of a scholarship upon graduation from high school) would help solve this problem and could be used as a recruitment device for high school students who might not be deserving of scholarships but have the potential to perform very well. This might also improve the retention of students who might otherwise transfer to peer institutions.
Fund Raising Initiatives:
It is critical for the president to guide an aggressive institutional effort to raise funds. In addition to maximizing resources, the president should ensure that funds raised benefit students and faculty across the colleges, both in enhancements to quality and reduced reliance on tuition income. To achieve this objective and maintain attention to other campus issues, the president must enlist the support of all senior administrators in fund raising.
College of Fine Arts Development:
There is a pervasive feeling among College of Fine Arts students that their top-rated college needs to get the respect and acclamation that it has earned, from the university community. There is a need to improve facilities, such as additional computer studios for architecture and design departments, and a need for additional allocation of space for the College of Fine Arts departments. There ought to be considerable interaction between departments within College of Fine Arts, and encouragement from the departments to enable students to take courses in other College of Fine Arts departments. Better job placement opportunities needs to be created with the help of the Career Center, for graduating College of Fine Arts students.
College of Humanities and Social Science Development:
The present state of the College of Humanities and Social Science provides ample scope for improvement. The students of the College of Humanities and Social Science feel that the reputation of their college needs to match up with the overall quality of programs at other colleges of the university. Part of this perception could be attributed to an increased acceptance of drop-out students from other colleges at Carnegie Mellon and a high acceptance rate at freshman level as compared to other colleges at Carnegie Mellon. The faculty of College of Humanities and Social Science will acknowledge and fulfill the challenging role of providing top quality education in liberal arts to its students, one that befits the reputation of this university. As is the case with College of Fine Arts, better job placement opportunities will be created with the help of the Career Center, for graduating College of Humanities and Social Science students.
Dining:
All students, especially first-year students, would like greater flexibility in the meal plans, better value for their money at the current food facilities, and a greater variety of eating options. In previous years, dining services incurred debt for the university. Last year, for the first time in recent years, dining services was able to meet its budget. However, the current university policy is that dining services will need to pay back the debt that it has accumulated in previous years. Many students view this as unfair to them as they must pay extra to make up for errors made in the past.
Security:
Carnegie Mellon is to be commended for the secure environment that they have provided. The issues for security that need to be stressed are security in residence halls and areas surrounding campus. Additional security measures should be taken to insure that residence halls remain secure. Another security issue is the need to patrol areas around the campus, especially near the university border with Schenley Park. Also, additional measures need to be taken to eliminate bike and car theft and damage.
Greek Community:
The university must make a commitment to the Greek community. Plans for a new fraternity quadrangle must be developed and acted upon within the next decade. The university will work with the leaders of the Greek community to develop stronger inter-fraternity/sorority bonds. The university will recognize the significant differences between the fraternity system and the sorority system and create a second advisor position for the sororities.
Career Services:
As earlier discussed, College of Fine Arts and College of Humanities and Social Science graduates do not enjoy the same job recruitment opportunities on campus as is available to their peers in the engineering and computer science colleges. The nature of hiring and the scale of operations in liberal and fine arts professions does pose challenges for the Career Center to attract companies to conduct on-campus recruitment. We feel that the Career Center on campus should be active "enablers" taking proactive steps to train students, especially from College of Fine Arts and College of Humanities and Social Science to conduct individual job searches, identify different options and make resources available to the students.
Gender/Racial Equity:
The university must continue to develop programs that encourage women and under-represented minorities. The university will work with constituents of those minorities, both students and faculty, to identify and support professional and academic goals of those groups. Carnegie Mellon will use its leadership role to advance the causes of under-represented minorities through example and action.
Computers and Technology:
Carnegie Mellon has for many years been a leader in the application of technology. Ideally, the university will continue to be a leader in the design and appropriate, ethical implementation of computers and technology. Technology and computers will be applied to teaching, not for the sake of application, but because it makes learning easier and more effective.
We have summarized some of the major issues concerning the student community at Carnegie Mellon and have attempted to articulate a comprehensible vision, as expressed by the students. We have kept the document brief in the interests of time and clarity; however, we are available to discuss any or all of the issues addressed in this document in greater detail.
In the last twenty years, Carnegie Mellon has transformed itself from a regional, technical institution to a world-class university. We firmly believe that Carnegie Mellon is poised to achieve even greater success and recognition among institutions of higher education and research. To attain this new level of success, we need a strong leader, someone with an insight into the needs of the university and a clear vision that will carry us into the twenty-first century.
Katherine Hart (Psychology, BS, 1998)
Bryon Krug (Electrical and Computer Engineering, BS, 1998)
Brenden O. Mielke (Industrial Management, BS, 1998)
Jayakrishna Shankavaram (Architecture, Ph.D. Candidate, 1997)
William E. Slye (Materials Science and Engineering, Ph.D. Candidate, 1998)
Kimberly Wilson (Chemical Engineering, BS, 1999)