Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...
Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ... Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...
3. 2. PROGRAM SELF- ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES INTRODUCTION The curriculum of the School of Architecture, while remaining structurally intact, has continued to evolve in light of ongoing developments in the discipline and practice of architecture. Perhaps the most important concerns in recent years have been the assertion of technology as a primary component of the curriculum, the proactive (curricular and extracurricular) engagement with the City of New Orleans and the assimilation of professional concerns across the curriculum. While continuing to focus on design as the central component of architectural education, the administration and faculty have sought both to better integrate disciplinary issues across the curriculum and to realize the design studio as a laboratory for discovery and research. This approach is concomitant with the mission of the university-at-large. Internationally recognized as a teaching and research institution, Tulane University is concerned not only with the dissemination of ideas and information—the traditional emphasis of effective teaching—but the ongoing discovery of further insight and principles. In light of recent innovations in education and management principles, the university administration has rethought its educational mission. The usual emphasis on the university as an institution where ideas are conserved and disseminated has been joined by a new paradigm: the university as a locus of learning. Such a realignment of emphasis inherently promotes a research environment in which an active partnership between administration, faculty, student and the community-at-large is encouraged. Moreover, the responsibility for the acquisition of knowledge and skills is no longer hierarchically arrayed, that is, from top down, but is understood as a set of shared interdependencies. In embracing this paradigm, the Tulane School of Architecture seeks to develop a culture that embraces and promotes these principles on a daily basis. UNIVERSITY PROCEDURES FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT Tulane University undertakes a general self-study a minimum of every ten years in preparation for its re-accreditation visit by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the University’s regional accrediting body. The University is due for a SACS Re-accreditation in 2010. The University Self-Study Committee will be convened as a component of this project. The Dean of the School of Architecture will be a current member of the committee upon its formal initiation. The Associate Dean and various staff, along with members of the faculty, will join with the Dean of the School of Architecture to oversee the School’s contribution to this self-evaluation and eventual accreditation process. To this end, Tulane has developed a new University Strategic Plan and revised Institutional Mission. Within the larger University environment, the Provost and the Deans' Council provide additional perspectives. One of these was the recent
Tulane Renewal Plan, a response to the problems incurred by the University due to Hurricane Katrina. This refocusing of the University contains initiatives that will continually involve the necessary upgrades and coordination of all academic and administrative departments while at the same time preparing for the upcoming university re-accreditation review. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Tulane University and the School of Architecture as a unit within the University maintain a number of different self-assessment procedures that ensure ongoing evaluation of its programs. The School of Architecture is very interested in the continuous monitoring of all aspects of the program, particularly as they affect the faculty, staff, and student body. TSA uses both formal and informal means of facilitating the assessment process. Since the School of Architecture is one of the smaller units within the University, faculty, staff, and students are able to streamline many of the informal and formal self-assessment procedures. And, as is the general habit of a school of architecture, self-assessment and self-criticism are virtual by-laws of the program; it is a process engaged both within and between the various constituent groups. Faculty The committee structure involves the Faculty in an active process of assessment through both the constitutional committees and the standing committees. As one example, the Curriculum Committee receives suggestions for assessment or change from both formal channels (e.g., faculty meeting motions) and informal ones (e.g., suggestions from faculty or ideas from student members on the Committee). As well, the very critical deliberations of this Committee are informed by material solicited from our sister institutions, as a means of self-measurement and critique. Other committees, the work of which becomes especially involved with selfassessment, are the Executive Committee, the Grievance Committee, the Promotions, Reappointment and Tenure Committee, the New Faculty Committee, and the Resources Committee. Administration and Faculty Self-assessment The Dean's evaluations and initiatives further the process of selfassessment within the School. Former Dean Kroloff, in conjunction with the faculty, has taken a special interest in examining the workings of the Curriculum throughout the past three years. Faculty, staff, and administration also participate in intermittent faculty retreats in order to reassess the state of the program. The last formal faculty retreat occurred in early 2005, prior to the experience of Katrina. Led by Dean Reed Kroloff, much of the faculty retreat material findings became part of the new Strategic Plan (see above). Since then, the faculty has staged more informal retreats, also led by the Dean. There have been three such retreats in 2006-07, supplemented by numerous 'faculty discussion sessions' that alternate with 'faculty business meetings.' These discussions sessions thus occurred on a bi-monthly basis. Issues
- Page 19 and 20: ● The initiation and development
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- Page 43 and 44: apidly and radically changed design
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- Page 51 and 52: eliminated, replaced by a return to
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- Page 63 and 64: Tulane University is justly proud o
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- Page 69: PROGRAM SELF-ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
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3. 2. PROGRAM SELF- ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
The curriculum of the School of <strong>Architecture</strong>, while remaining structurally<br />
intact, has continued to evolve in light of ongoing developments in the<br />
discipline and practice of architecture. Perhaps the most important<br />
concerns in recent years have been the assertion of technology as a<br />
primary component of the curriculum, the proactive (curricular and<br />
extracurricular) engagement with the City of <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> and the<br />
assimilation of professional concerns across the curriculum. While<br />
continuing to focus on design as the central component of architectural<br />
education, the administration and faculty have sought both to better<br />
integrate disciplinary issues across the curriculum and to realize the<br />
design studio as a laboratory for discovery and research.<br />
This approach is concomitant with the mission of the university-at-large.<br />
Internationally recognized as a teaching and research institution, <strong>Tulane</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> is concerned not only with the dissemination of ideas and<br />
information—the traditional emphasis of effective teaching—but the<br />
ongoing discovery of further insight and principles. In light of recent<br />
innovations in education and management principles, the university<br />
administration has rethought its educational mission. The usual<br />
emphasis on the university as an institution where ideas are conserved<br />
and disseminated has been joined by a new paradigm: the university as<br />
a locus of learning. Such a realignment of emphasis inherently promotes<br />
a research environment in which an active partnership between<br />
administration, faculty, student and the community-at-large is<br />
encouraged. Moreover, the responsibility for the acquisition of knowledge<br />
and skills is no longer hierarchically arrayed, that is, from top down, but<br />
is understood as a set of shared interdependencies. In embracing this<br />
paradigm, the <strong>Tulane</strong> School of <strong>Architecture</strong> seeks to develop a culture<br />
that embraces and promotes these principles on a daily basis.<br />
UNIVERSITY PROCEDURES FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT<br />
<strong>Tulane</strong> <strong>University</strong> undertakes a general self-study a minimum of every<br />
ten years in preparation for its re-accreditation visit by the Southern<br />
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the <strong>University</strong>’s regional<br />
accrediting body. The <strong>University</strong> is due for a SACS Re-accreditation in<br />
2010. The <strong>University</strong> Self-Study Committee will be convened as a<br />
component of this project. The Dean of the School of <strong>Architecture</strong> will be<br />
a current member of the committee upon its formal initiation. The<br />
Associate Dean and various staff, along with members of the faculty, will<br />
join with the Dean of the School of <strong>Architecture</strong> to oversee the School’s<br />
contribution to this self-evaluation and eventual accreditation process.<br />
To this end, <strong>Tulane</strong> has developed a new <strong>University</strong> Strategic Plan and<br />
revised Institutional Mission.<br />
Within the larger <strong>University</strong> environment, the Provost and the Deans'<br />
Council provide additional perspectives. One of these was the recent