SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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S.75-60
MEMORANDUM
To ......... .........SENATE
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Subject . .......
NOTICE OF MOTION GIVEN
AT MARCH
MEETING
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SENATE........
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DANIEL R. BIRCH, DEAN
From
.........................................................................
FACULTY OF,. EDUCATION
MARCH 25, 1975
Date
...................................................................
MOTION:
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"That the Chairman of Senate request the. Vice-President,
Administration, to prepare a report to be presented to
Senate no later than September 1975 to contain at least
the following elements:
1.
A detailed statement of S.F.U. expenditures on
Athletics for men and women respectively
(including athletic awards) for the past three
fiscal years (1972-3, 1973-4, 1974-5);
2.
A detailed projection of S.F.U. expenditures
on Athletics and Recreation for men and women
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respectively (including athletic awards) for
the 1975-6, 1976-7 and 1977-8 fiscal years.
3.
A plan for allocating S.F.U. expenditures on
Athletics and Recreation to men and women
respectively in direct proportion to th
number of men and women enrolled as under-
graduates at S.F.U. (At least one form of
this plan must be prepared with the assumption
that total S.F.U. support to Athletics and
Recreation will not increase significantly.)"
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SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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S. 7s-(o
MEMORANDUM
H. M. Evans, Se cretary of Senate
To................
Registrar's Office
Subject.......
Notice
of Motion Given at March Meeting
of Senate
Daniel R. Birch, Dean
From
...........................................................................
Faculty of Education.
Date.
March 25, 1975
MOTION:
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That the Chairman of Senate request the Vice-President,
Administration, to prepare a report to be presented to
Senate no later than September 1975 to contain at least
the following elements:
1.
A detailed statement of S. F. U. expenditures on
Athletics for men and women respectively (includ-
ing athletic awards) for the past three fiscal years
(1972-3, 1973-4
2
1974-5).
2.
A detailed projection of S.F.'U. expenditures on
Athletics and Recreation for men and women
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respectively (including athletic awards) for the
1975-76, 1976-7 and 1977-8 fiscal years.
3.
A plan for allocating S. F. U. expenditures on,
Athletics and Recreation to men and women
respectively in direct proportion to the number of
men and women enrolled as undergraduates at
S. F. U. (At least one form of this plan must be
prepared with the assumption that total S. F. U.
support to Athletics and Recreation will not,
increase significantly.)
RATIONALE: It is alleged that Simon Fraser University has an outstanding
program of Women's Athletics. Certainly the appointment of
a co-ordinator is clear and visible evidence of commitment.
However, existing (perhaps outdated) projections reveal data
such as the following:
1.
In the 1974-75 fiscal year 10% of the funds committed to
S.F. U. athletic awards are designated for women
athletes.
2.
Changes are projected such that 14.5% of such funds are
designated for women athletes in the 1977-78 fiscal year.
- Cont'd. -
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Discussions with those carrying responsibility for Athletics and
Recreation reveal the desire to, improve support to women's
programs. However, reasons given for slow progress reveal
a certain circularity, e.g. We can't commit a greater.
proportion of the resources because, we have relatively few
women athletes. We have relatively few athletes because we
have fewer programs for women We have fewer programs for
women because we haven't the staff. We haven't the staff
because we haven't the financial resources to retain them.
Historical or incremental budgeting is a major force in maintain-
ing the status quo. In times of modest increase In total university
budgets, re-allocation Is essential if change is to come about.
It is to be hoped that the report will substantiate the quality of
athletic programs for both men and women and that it will
provide evidence of greater equity than appears to be the case.
Furthermore, the report will provide a clear and rational basis
for appropriate action by the responsible individuals and bodies
should 'current practice be shown to be less than equitable.
DRB/dr
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SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
00
................ I ...... Menbe.rs
.... of ... Senate. ........................
............................
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From
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The Committee on Alternative Academic
Philosophies and Academic Objectives
...............................................................................................................................For S
j
xrrjn Fraser Univ.rsity
Subject
............. F-na•1Pepprt
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Date
...
.
M
arch 17, 1975
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Attached is the final report of the Committee on Alternative Academic
Philosophies and Academic Objectives for Simon Fraser University.
The table of contents for the Report is as follows:
Introduction
I.
The Goals, Direction and Limitations of SimDn Fraser University
II.
The Problem of Over-Specialization
III.
Planning Proposals
1.
Graduate/Undergraduate Distinctions and Professional Programs
2.
An Integrated Underg
raduate Curriculum
3.
Our Commitment to the Community
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4. Size of the University
Appendix
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ALTERNATIVE
ACADEMIC
PHILOSOPHIES AND ACADEMIC OBJECrIVES
FOR
SThtN FRASER
UNIVERSITY
At the
February
1974 meeting of
Senate
a committee comprising a student
(Mr. R. F. Kissner), an administrator (Dr. W. A. S. Smith, Dean of Arts)
and
a faculty
member
(Dr. J. Walkley, Professor of chemistry), was established
with the following charge:
"To hold hearings, examine
and discuss
academic philosophies
and
academic objectives for Simon Fraser University."
Dr. J. Chase, Director of Institutional Studies, served as secretary
to the
Coniiittee.
Because
of insufficient
time between
the estab1isbrtnt of the
Committee
and
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the
May
1974
meeting
of Senate, hearings were not held at that
time.
The
Committee
submitted a preliminary
report to the Senate at its
May meeting. Subsequently,
the report was published in the Pak and distributed to members of faculty.
Hearings were then held on the report, with
both verbal
and
written
submissions
invited.
On the basis of reactions received to the first report and reconsideration
by the
Committee
of its
initial recommendations,
this
second
report
is
now
transmitted
to Senate for discussion.
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I. THE (X)1.tS, DIRECTION AND LIMITATIONS OF SIMDN FRPJSER UNIVERSITY
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The request to examine alternative philosophies and objectives for Simon
Fraser University cones at a tine when all universities are confronted both from
within and from without by the blunt demand that we identify our role in society.
The most essential role of a university lies in the advancerrent of knowledge
and the attainnent of an increased understanding of man, society, and environment
on the part of its nenbers. This is an historical role and yet one which is nore
valid today than ever before. There is, in fact, no other large, multi-disciplin-
ary collection of persons of high intellectual ability asserrbled in a single
institution to play such a role. A second vital task of the university is to
produce an environrrent conducive to the personal developnent of its students,
to their overall cultural developnent and to the obtaining of the skills they
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need to becone contributing rrerrbers of society.
Universities today are being challenged on both counts. There is a growing
spirit of anti-intellectualism developing, a sense that perhaps universities no
longer have a relevant and neaningful role to play in society. We do not share
this view, but feel an obligation to respond to the challenge.
Many changes are being asked of the universities. Soire of the requests
contradict one another, others are of limited viability in that they represent
transcient socio-cultural interests, sone are radical in that their inpleireritation
would replace rather than make use of the university. Nevertheless, many of the
changes being proposed reflect very real deficiencies and point to urgent changes
which are needed if the universities are to continue rreeting the goals of advance-
nent of knowledge and cultivation of student growth.
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A continued commitment to historical roles must not blind us to the social,
technical and related changes occuring in contenporary society, developments
which challenge universities to respond in new and different ways: More
young people are being educated for longer periods of tine. When they arrive
at university, these students often possess an advanced level of academic
ability and preparation, and share very diverse career goals. The jobs they
will eventually undertake will den'and of them not only well developed skills
initially, but may well require that they undertake periodic educational updating.
Many students are reluctant to spend extended periods of tine confined to a
classroom situation, seeing such activity as one to which they can make very
little active or real contribution. The realization that education is a continuous
process which extends beyond the realm of the classroom has placed the university
in a new position. It is no longer necessary to view a university education as
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a 'once-in-a-lifetiire' experience, and hence the coirplete education of the
individual need no longer be theresponsibility of the university.
It is evident to the Committee that Sinn Fraser will perform a more effective
role if it recongizes and accepts these changes and adapts to them. There is
also a greater need to ensure equal access to university education for all
individuals: those of varying racial and socio-economic backgrounds as well as
those of varying ages and lifestyles.
Those of us in universities are given considerable freedom by the rest of
society. We have considerable autonorry, as an institution, in deciding what we
teach, who we hire to teach it, and the areas of research and community involve-
ment we wish to enter.. With this freedom cones the responsibility to return to
society reasonably aware and well-educated graduates as well as research and
service which will benefit the culture as a whole.
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The primary areas of our responsibility, then, are teaching, research
and service:
Teaching
The University must be corririitted to the provision of facilities and
resources maximally conducive to the transmission of knowledge, to the
stimulation of critical thinking, and to the personal and intellectual
growth of all ireirbers of the academic conutunity.
Research
Faculty and students have a responsibility to apply their knowledge
and skills to the furtherance of understanding via research. It is normal
for scholars and students to do this in response to their own innate
intellectual curiosity and their desire to achieve excellence along the
growing edge of knowledge,'às well as in response to society's claim for
research in its own behalf.
Service
The university, as an institution, must be responsive to the needs
of the community in which it exists. Faculty and students, as individuals,
must also recognize their responsibilities as citizens of a larger society,
particularly in light of the specific skills, abilities and aptitudes which
they possess as university members.
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Where does Simon Fraser University stand today? Over the past nine
years, we have collectively established a university with a solid and positive
national reputation. We have provided thousands of students with a thoroughly
reliable academic background. We have, both in an architectural and geographical
sense, one of the riost beautiful university canpuses in the country.
We have done reasonably well and have done so without a "grand plan."
Goals have tended to be set more in terms of the needs of the individual departments
than in terms of any integrated overall plan. Our philosophies are individually
conceived and, in their diversity, represent largely the varied educational
backgrounds of the faculty.
This trend of departmental independence has been both a blessing and a
curse. As a coirinittee, we recognize the rigour that emerges from departmental
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autonomy and freedom and we encourage its continuation. However, we are equally
convinced that Simon Fraser University cannot become maximally useful to the
society which surrounds and suppôts it without some collective corimitnent to'
connon goals that transcend departmental and faculty boundaries. Such a
perspective should suggest directions for development of genuine alternatives,
to the educational experiences available in other colleges and universities in
this province.
Before we suggest directions in which such comprehensive planning could go,
it is irrportant to consider the limitations and boundaries we are working within.
These boundaries are both physical and geographical/political:
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Physical Limitations
Any long-range planning must take into account our location upon a
mountain top. We are limited in the amount of space we have to expand on
the present campus. The relative distance of the University from downtown
Vancouver means that students, faculty and staff are heavily dependent upon
the automobile, thus requiring a major commitment of useable space to parking.
Even if this were not so, it is important to ask whether
we
wish to further
diminish any of the remaining natural beauty of our rrountain-top location.
Geographical/Political Considerations
The second delimiting parameter lies in our being part of a provincial
system of post-secondary education now including four public universities,
ten regional colleges, the British Columbia Institute of Technology and several
vocational schools.
In John B. r&ibnald
t
s 1962eport on higher education in British Colurrbia,
a case was made that the province could not justify, for the immediate future,
more than one comprehensive university offering extensive graduate and professional
programs. Today the provincial population growth suggests that a second corrpre-
hensive university may, in fact, be needed. Should we attempt to be this?
Both our proximity to the University of British Colurrbia and our campus site
restrictions argue against it. The Corrraittee believes that any new conprehensive
university would be more appropriately built in the interior of British Columbia
and should become organically a part of the economic and cultural development
of that area.
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The Committee sees as the proper role for Simon Fraser University the
filling of the continuing need for broad education not dominated by the demands
of graduate faculties and professional schools. We do not see any advantage
in attempting to emulate the University of British Columbia or blindly seeking
the prestige associated with professional schools or massive graduate enrolments.
It is important, then, that we at Simon Fraser begin to focus on a comprehensive
program which meets needs not net elsewhere and which makes clear what our
unique place in the province is to be.
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II. THE PBLEM OF
OVER-SPECIALIZATION
The currently popular idea that there has been "an explosion of knowledge"
in recent years is a dangerous half-truth that leads many professors and students
to the questionable conclusion that a broad liberal education is no longer
attainable -- that all education must be highly specialized and that all courses
must be taught be specialists. This reasoning is used by many academic special-
ists as a justification for expanding the requirements for undergraduate majors
in their narrow fields and specialties at the expense of more comprehensive
integrating courses.
What has been called "an explosion of knowledge" can more properly be
described as a sharp increase in the nurrber of scholarly publications and an
accelerated output of technical data, particularly in the natural and behavioural
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sciences.
In response to this situation much has been said about the need for
increased specialization. From a research perspective, this approach may be
justified, but from a teaching/learning perspective it is deficient in that
much new data has little meaning to those whose ability to co-ordinate this
knowledge remains undeveloped. If the University is to honour its obligation
to the student, it must examine this trend towards specialization. The Committee
feels that emphasis at the undergraduate level should be placed on the development
by the student of the ability to assemble and co-ordinate information from all
disciplines, and that it is crucial that the student develop the ability to
give new information an historical perspective. The most natural way to ensure
that such abilities develop without losing sight of the nature of conterrporary
society is to emphasize an interdisciplinary approach to learning rather than
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early specialization. The present program in Canadian Studies is an example
of such an effort. Such programs are flexible and may be developed and amended
as the need arises. Attempts to achieve interdisciplinarity might be facilit-
ated were the University to insist that after a Faculty had achieved a Faculty
size capable of teaching a departmental program of a reasonable size, additional
faculty employed by that department must have a joint appointment to another
department. In this way departmental barriers might be broken down, and the
university might enjoy the appointment of faculty members whose expertise and
interests encompass areas outside the bounds of the limited traditional programs.
Attempts to stress the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge could also
include a reclassification of existing departments. The definition of new
groupings could be thematic, and each department within the group could develop
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laterally unified courses for programs based upon specific themes. The joint
faculty appointment mechanism could be applied to such a schema, and would,
in all likelihood, facilitate thd procedure.
In summary, then, the Committee feels that the nost important and relevant
role that Sinon Fraser University can serve in the province is the provision
of a broad comprehensive four-year liberal arts curriculum in a supportive and
cohesive campus community. We feel that any graduate or professional or technical
program should be secondary to this principal goal.
As suggested remedies, we are presenting proposals regarding the proper
place of professional programs, an integrated undergraduate liberal arts curricu-
lum, an expanded continuing education program, and the optimum size of the student
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III. PLANNING PROPOSALS
The operational planning proposals that we consider most consonant
with the purposes and goals noted above are as follows:
1.
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DUATE/UNDERGRADUATE DISTINCTIONS AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS
PecomiTendations
(a)
That Simon Fraser University restrict further development of
professionally-oriented schools, programs and courses to those
areas where investigation denonstrates the University's special
competence and potential contribution in that area, where such
programs are appropriate to the unique goals of this University,
and where the need is not being net adequately elsewhere in the
Province; or to programs which are organized in such an innovative
way as to serve different needs or populations than analogous
professional programs in other institutions.
(b)
That such professional schools, programs and courses as are
established at Simon Fraser University be concentrated at the
post-bachelors degree level.
(C)
That Simon Fraser University offer a bachelor degree only at
the present majors level and move the honours degree program
to the graduate level.
40
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The reasoning behind the first recommendation is pragmatic. The
ten regional colleges, the British Columbia Institute of Technology,
and the University of British Columbia provide the province with
vocational, technical and professional training in a wide variety
of fields. The Committee has made no attenpt to determine whether
these programs are adequately meeting the needs of the province.
Insofar as the needs of the province are not
met
by the existing
schools, it would appear that the province would be much better
served were it to expand existing facilities rather than develop
new ones. The cost and operation of professional schools is a
deterrent to their establishment, and unnecessary duplication of
programs should be avoided.
10
In areas, however, where no sensibly developed professional program
exists, and where such a proram might involve interdisciplinary study
or have a significant community orientation, the University should nova
to develop such programs.
The second reconrrendation is made by way of reiterating that both
the individual and the society are benefited when the University offers
a broad education rather than early specialization. This objective
is facilitated if professional schools and specialized programs and
courses are deferred to the post-graduate level. By placing such
programs at the post-baccalaureate level, they will become available
to a wider spectrum of persons. Those graduating from other universities,
and those wishing to undertake an updating of their education could
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avail themselves of such courses of study. The programs could cater
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to, and be designed for, a small number of students; the courses need
not be offered during the day since there would be little demand
for them by those studying at the undergraduate level. program
might also be offered at off-canpus locations, perhaps throughout
the province, and could conceivably be designed in order that they
may be presented as postal, radio, or television programs.
The third reconurendation is based upon the belief that the
traditional Honours degree provides a graduate or professional
training, and that such specialization is best handled at the post-
baccalaureate level. The Conmittee repeats its preference for the
interdisciplinary approach, and maintains that under the proposed
plan, the entire undergraduate program could reflect the University's
commitment to liberal education while the post-baccalaureate programs
would offer the necessary training to the specialist and the professional.
2.
AN INTEGRATED UNDERGRPDtJrE CURRICULUM
Recorrurendations
(a)
That
an integrated liberal arts curriculum encoirpassing the
first 60 senester credit hours of all undergraduate degree
programs be established at Sirron Fraser University.
(b)
That
in their second 60 senester credit hours at Sirron Fraser
University, students have the option of pursuing either the
traditional departirental ntjor program or continuing in an
integrated interdisciplinary "liberal arts major" program.
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(c) That if recommendations (a) and/or (b) are adopted, a
Corrmittee of Senate of Simon Fraser University be struck
to bring forward, via the Academic Planning Conutittee,
a detailed proposal for an integrated liberal arts
curriculum.
Content
The tendency towards specialization which is described in Section
II is seen by many academic specialists as a justification for the
expansion of degree requirements within the student's chosen field
of study. This course is often followed at the expense of more com-
prehensive interdisciplinary courses. The Committee recognizes that
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the traditional goals of the undergraduate programs are often necessary
for professional reasons, bit maintains that the early narrowing
of options is ill-advised for nost students. Given our recommendations
concerning the nature of graduate and professional programs, the
Committee feels that, at the undergraduate level, Simon Fraser
should seek to integrate rather than fragment knowledge. A broad
liberal education as opposed to early specialization would facilitate
such an endeavour. Such a program would require co-ordination
with the regional colleges with respect to courses and programs.
To the Conimitte, an integrated liberal arts education implies
an intellectual experience not bound by the conventional limits of
particular disciplines. It has as its underlying principles the
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following:
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(a) a coherent intellectual structure of courses
(b)
a sense of the relatedness of all knowledge
(c)
a familiarity with the common procedures of
inquiry and verification which are the
basis
for the disciplined acquisition of knowledge
(d)
an awareness of history and the civilizing role
of the humanities
(e)
an understanding of the way in which values
infuse all inquiry
(f)
an appreciation of the philosophy and develop-
ment of science
Although the Committee is coimited to such a program, it is conceded
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that such a program is not appropriate for, and therefore should not be
required of, all students.
Because the Coimittee feels that such a curriculum will require at
least 60 seirester credit hours, it is further recommended that a coninittee
be struck and charged to develop an appropriate program. Such a program
should not be conceived as a mere assemblage of existing courses but should
consist of a series of integrated and coirpreherisive courses guided by the
principles listed above.
3. OUR CDMtETNENT P3 THE COMMUNITY
Reconirendations
(a) That Simon Fraser University ensure that a university education
be accessible to all people in British Columbia by offering select
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degree programs at a variety of tines, in a variety of
locations, and via means different than those which
currently exist.
(b) That Sirron Fraser University, in consultation with relevant
bodies, develop and co-ordinate credit-free coirinunity service
programs which focus on the needs, interests and aspirations
of those involved, and which can best be offered by a university.
Many occupations require periodic updating of knowledge. In
addition, more people undertake a variety of occupations and careers and
thus require the opportunity to learn new skills. Society's increasing
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occupational corrplexity requires a higher level of sophisticated knowledge
than was previously the casq..
Existing programs at the University discriminate against two groups:
those who are unable to complete a degree program on a full-tine, or 'day-
tine' basis, and those who, although not seeking degree credit, see the
University as being of assistance to them in their desire to update their
knowledge, to develop new understandings, to cope with social and familial
responsibilities, and to learn new job-related skills. Recognizing the
University's responsibilities, the government has stipulated in the new
Universities Act that the university is to "provide a program of continuing
education in all academic and cultural fields throughout the province."
Greater accessibility to degree completion programs can be achieved
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in several ways: an extended, integrated day; off-campus prograirming;
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correspondence and other msdia-based courses; and combinations of these
which might encourage the participation of able individuals from the
lower socio-economic groups who, regardless of scheduling and physical
factors, feel uncomfortable in traditionally middle class institutions.
Credit free learning can be facilitated by allocating resources
to continuing professional education, liberal studies programs, public
affairs programs, and forums of community and organizational development.
To ensure the greatest impact, the Coitinittee believes that the University
should locate these activities both on and off campus by utilizing a
variety of instructional formats and media.
4. SIZE OF
THE UNIVERSITY
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PeconTrendations
(a)
That the maximum undergraduate headcount enrolment at Simon
Fraser University in any one semester shall not exceed 13,000
students.
(b)
That the maximum graduate headcount enrolment at Simon
Fraser University in any one semester shall not exceed
2,000 students.
(c)
That if recommendations (a) and (b) on enrolment are adopted,
a committee be struck and charged with examining the implica-
tions for Simon Fraser University of a steady-state enrolment.
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CormEnt
In attenpting to
determine
the most desirable rninirru.]in and maximum
enrolirent, the Committee has taken into consideration (a) the nurrber
of people which can be accorrrrodated at Sixron Fraser (given the physical
restrictions of the University as delineated in Section I), (b) whether
there are distinct advantages and disadvantages connected with growth
and size, (c) if academic distinction is related to size, and (d) if
size affects operating costs, and if so, how.
Although the couplete architectural plan for Sinon Fraser University
envisaged a maximum enrolment of 18,000, this figure has never been in-
corporated into any academic planning.
Growth has both functional and disfimctional consequences. As
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elaborated in Appendix A, university growth brings with it the dis-
advantages of campus sprawl
s
and congestion, absence of community, dead-
end overspecialization, administrative complexity, bureaucratic confusion
and impersonality, alienation and preoccupation with status. The prinary
positive aspects of growth are economy, diversity and flexibility. A
large university is cheaper - per student - to operate since facilities
are being shared across a wider base. A larger number of faculty irembers
in a departmant often generates nore interaction, excitenent and diversity
than a smaller number would. And a larger institution is more flexible
in terms of introducing new programs, hiring faculty over a wider spectrum
of specialties and being able to meet the costs of further expansion.
Although the Corririittee sees the information given as useful, in and of
themselves these factors are of limited assistance in determining an optimum
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enrolment for Sirron Fraser University.
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Several studies of the relationship between size and academic quality
have been carried out. Of the "leading" graduate departments (as identi-
fied by A. Cartter in his study of U.S. universities), size and relative
distinction appear to be uncorrelated. However, those schools included
in the category of "leading" departments revealed a discrete minimum,
above which there appears to be little relationship between size and
academic rating. Presumably, then, the critical mass for academic
excellence (by the criteria errployed in the Cartter study) is equal to
or less than the size of the smallest "leading" department in each field.
The departxrents/faculty "critical mass" figures taken in conjunction with
typical student/staff ratios produces a university critical mass for
departmental excellence in the range of 10,000 to 15,000 students. Growth
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beyond this size range continues to provide flexibility in staffing, and
spares administration the trouble of having to make difficult decisions.
The size of the university based upon economic considerations is
easier to handle. In economics, it is commonly observed that unit costs
decline as the size of a plant or manufacturing concern increases. In most
cases, a limiting unit cost is achieved at a finite and observable size
which is tenred "the minimal optimal scale." Studies perforned by Gallant
and Prothero, and the Carnegie Corimission on Higher Education on a large
number of universities indicate that operating expenditures per full-tine
equivalent student tend to fall sharply until enrolnent reaches approximately
5,000 students, decreasing irore gradually as enroirrent increases to approxi-
mately 15,000 students, with almost no unit cost decline thereafter. Thus,
economic
considerations
would dictate that a university be no smaller than
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5,00 students, and no larger than 15,000.
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Given our previous reconuendations regarding the desirability of
emphasizing the undergraduate program and restricting the development
of professional schools and graduate programs, the Corrnittee believes
that the enroirrent of Sirion Fraser University (undergraduate and
gradute) should be limited to 15,000 on-campus students during any
one senster.
Given that such a recomrrendation has ireny implications for the
operation of the University, the Corrmittee also urges that a corrmittee
be established to examine and report on the issues involved.
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THE FUNCTIONAL AND DISFUNCTIONAL ASPECTS
OF UNIVERSITY GROWTH*
a
*
The Committee is indebted to Jonathan A. Gallant and John W. Prothero for
their perceptive article entitled "Weight Watching at the University: The
Consequences of Growth," Science, 175: 381-388, Jan.1972, from which the following
materials are drawn.
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DISFUNCTIONAL GROWTH
Various disfunctions have attended university growth. Some
of them appear to be static consequences of scale while others
are dynamic consequences of the growth process itself.
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Diffusion
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A sprwling campus poses logistic difficulties for pedes-
trians. At the same time, a large, urban university creates
automotive traffic congestion.
2. Absence of Community
The myth of the multiversity as a community of scholars
lingers on. The persistence of this phase suggests a general
recognition that a community provides a good environment for
scholarship and education. In order for members of a group
to comprise a community, it is necessary that, by and large,
they know one another. But people have a limited capacity
to associate names with faces, or to associate either with
previous encounters. If it is true that a community constitutes
. , a good environment for scholarship, then university growth
beyond a rather small size becomes progressively more dis-
functional as it eliminates, at one level or another, the
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? possibility of a community.
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3. Dead-end Overspecialization
There are probably numerical limits to community size,
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determined by the number of individuals with whom a single
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individual can make other than glancing contact. For a
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scholar, the microenvironment is the community of colleagues
with whom he comes in contact by virtue of physical proximity
and shared concerns. Out of these encounters comes the
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friendships, banter argument, and give-and-take that nourish
personal and intellectual growth.
Giant universities hinder precisely this'process of
maturation among their faculties. In a small college,
the individual scholar's microenvironment can include the
entire faculty. In a somewhat larger college or' university,
the microenvironment is narrowed. Finally, in the giant
multiversities, the microenvironments become truly
microscopic.
4. . Administrative Complexity
Coherent functioning of an institution demands co-ordin-
•
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ation among the elementary units. ?
But as the number of
units increases, the number of co-ordinations required
increases disproportionately. ?
More specifically,
administrative complexity must increase disproportionately
with increasing numbers.
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At each stage of growth, newly
adopted organizing principles enable the institution
to cope with greater complexity, but always at some cost.
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The costs take many forms: bureaucratic impersonality,
the familiar rigmarole of committees, reports and de-
ferred decisions, and decreased attention to the needs
of the institution as a whole.
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• 5. ?
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy may be regarded as a response to the organ-
ization problems inherent in large size.
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The members of
know
a large institution are too numerous to
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one another
or to make organizatinal sense of one another's activities.
As a result, intermediaries are introduced to channel
information and to co-ordinate.
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The need for intermed-
iaries gives rise to a hierarchial structure simply for
purposes of efficiency: the most efficient pathway for
information transfer is bottom to top, the most efficient
pathway for transmitting decisions is top to bottom.
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But
bureaucratic organization brings with it certain well-
known difficulties.
One of these is the garbling of information.
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Large bur-
eaucracies transmit information through layers of intermed-
iaries.
A second difficulty is that hierarchial structures, al-
though rapid and effective in the performance of simple,
routine tasks, are slow and ineffective in areas that
demand innovation, creativity, and adaption to change.
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Finally, bureaucratic structures are impersonal. When very
many of an institution's functions become bureaucratized -
which seems unavoidable with great size - a pervasive
atmosphere of impersonality develops. Students have
repeatedly objected to this depersonalization; it is
their most compelling and frequently voiced complaint
against the multiversity.
6. Alienation
Anonymity, impersonality, absence of community, and
bureaucratic complexity combine to diminish the possibil-
ity of fruitful human interaction. The community becomes
a crowd. Activities become routine. Give-and-take between
individuals gives way to the processing of I.B.M. cards.
7.
The Status Game
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Alienation does not apply to everyone. For some indivi-
duals, it is precisely the large organization's size and
bureaucratic structure that provide the arena for career
motivation. Large hierarchial organizations are especially
adapted to satisfy the hunger for status, which is gained
by "moving up."
The perpetual expansion of individual university units
may be more than partially due to the pursuit of status.
Size is often taken as a mark of status, and if a med-
iocre program cannot be good, it can at least be big.
Upwardly mobile personalities, in consequence, mount a
continuous campaign for expansion of their own units.
In this way, the pursuit of status as an end in itself
is transformed into the pursuit of size as an end in
itself. Size and hierarchial structure may thus generate
a cycle of disfunctional growth.
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FUNCTIONAL GROWTH
1. Economy
The most obvious potential advantage of increased size
is economy, meaning simply the money saved through the
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sharing of facilities among numerous students. It
is cheaper to educate 100 students in shared facilities
than to build a university for each one. But we would
expect the law of diminishing returns to apply to
economics of this kind. For example, if the cost of
education decreased linearly with increased population,
there would be some population size at which education
- would cost nothing. 'Clearly, per capita economies of
scale must approach some limiting valve as population
increases.
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In economics, it is commonly observed that unit costs
decline with the increasing size of a plant or manufactur-
ing concern. In most cases, a limiting unit cost is
achieved at a finite, observable size, which is termed
the "minimal optimal scale." In studies performed on
the California State college system, the "minimal
•
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optimal scale" was determined to be approximately 3600
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students.
2.
Critical Mass
- The second potential advantage of increased size is
analogous to the principle of critical mass in nuclear
physics. Both the elaboration of ideas and the formation
of a stimulating educational environment require inter-
action among faculty members, just as the propagation of
a chain reaction requires interaction among radioactive
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nuclei. What then is the minimum number of scholars
in a given field - the critical mass - required to gen-
erate a high degree of academic excellence?
S
3. Flexibility
Institutional flexability can be viewed from several
different directions. First, increases in enrolment
frequently produce concomitant increases in funds
available to support the expansion of knowledge.
Second, large student numbers require a large number
of faculty appointments. This requirement permits
faculty appointments across a much wider spectrum of
specialities within each discipline. This, in turn,
permits a university to cover each discipline in
depth.
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