A Polytechnic Vision

Lisa A. Rossbacher

March 31, 1998

When I was working at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, I became interested in the question of what it meant for a university to call itself “polytechnic.”  I talked with people at the other five institutions that, in 1992, had polytechnic in their names.  I wrote a short paper at the time to satisfy my own need to summarize what I had found;  a copy of this document is attached.  Although I might change some of the details, in retrospect, I still believe in the view expressed in the final paragraph:

Colleges and universities that successfully link the liberal arts with science and technology are the most truly polytechnic institutions.  The education these schools provide to students will prepare their graduates for leadership and responsibility.  Without this linkage, graduates will be modern technicians, not masters of technology.  Being truly polytechnic is a valuable and important niche in higher education today.

Being a real polytechnic university, with its blend of science, liberal arts, and technology, is a truly distinctive role in higher education.  Science provides a context within the natural world for the activities -- past, present, and future -- of people, as well as offering the skills of inquiry and analysis.  The liberal arts contribute both a common core of knowledge and essential skills:  critical thinking, solving problems, working collaboratively, finding connections, communicating clearly, and adapting to change.  And technology provides the tools to bring the insights and methods of the liberal arts and sciences to the process of answering questions.

The greatest risk for a polytechnic university is training, rather than educating, students.  Understanding the conceptual framework and theoretical underpinnings of technology is ultimately more important than learning the immediate, practical applications.  Both are necessary, but, over the course of a professional career, the ability to adapt and change will prove more valuable than training to use a specific technique or piece of equipment.  It is not enough for a student to be well-prepared for her or his first job;  the student must be prepared, through education, to evolve and grow with the job.

Southern Polytechnic State University has a unique niche in higher education as one of the few schools that has identified itself as polytechnic.  This uniqueness should be used for maximum advantage in developing name recognition, alliances with the other “polytechnics,” and in defining the distinctiveness that sets SPSU apart from the other state universities and engineering schools.  I see broad opportunities for publicity, public relations, and a campaign to develop name recognition -- locally, state-wide, and nationally.  The relationship to the University System of Georgia can be used to advantage in emphasizing accessibility, reasonable cost, and the known quality of the System.  SPSU can benefit, however, from staking out a fresh claim on the polytechnic territory that is unique within the System.

My vision of SPSU is that it can be a place whose graduates are known for having an education that allows them to be productive on the first day of a new job...and to be just as flexible, creative, and innovative on the day they retire.  Graduates should have learned how to learn, and they should be engaged in a continual process of updating their knowledge and skills, throughout their careers.  A key element of supporting this reputation may be providing continuing education programs for graduates, to assist them in staying current in their fields.  Such courses could be valuable to non-alumni, but SPSU graduates should receive a discount (or other benefit) in such courses.  Distance learning technologies should be explored as a mechanism for conveying this knowledge that is most convenient to the continuing student and which can be updated as needed.

Educating students -- and continuing to teach alumni -- to understand, use, and apply technology in solving problems requires faculty members who are equally up-to-date in their disciplines.  This expectation of the faculty demands an organized, funded program to ensure that all faculty continue to develop professionally.  Each faculty member could develop an individualized plan for professional development;  such plans may include sabbatical leaves, short courses, workshops at professional meetings, practical experience, or formal coursework.  The 1994-95 Information Digest for the University System of Georgia shows SPSU as having the lowest percentage (51%) of faculty holding the doctorate of any regional university or senior college in the system;  SPSU also had one of the higher percentages (60%) of tenured faculty in the system.  This suggests that the current faculty represents a fairly stable population, and that a structured development program is needed.  If the state does not provide funding to support such an initiative, external donors -- businesses and corporations who depend on the currency of graduates’ knowledge -- should be sought to fund it. 

SPSU’s strategic plan correctly identifies some important issues in higher education, including the loss of a sense of community.  Few aspects of modern life are more isolating than technology, including telecommunications, electronic mail, distance learning, and computers...all of which are integral to teaching and learning at a polytechnic university.  Developing community within SPSU is essential to producing balanced, adjusted graduates who are able to communicate and work effectively with other people.  The University has an advantage in its relatively small size and, particularly, the residential emphasis.  This aspect of the University must be nurtured, supported, and expanded.

To lead SPSU in the direction I believe it needs to move, I would use the following guidelines:

· All aspects and functions of the University should be focused on providing the best possible polytechnic education to the students, and all members of the University community should understand and be appreciated for how they contribute to this mission.  Groundskeepers and public safety officers are as important, in the overall function of the institution, as faculty, librarians, deans, and presidents.

· Specific plans for how to accomplish the goals of quality and currency of the education should be developed collaboratively by the University community.  In groups both large and small, formal and informal, discussions of ideas and proposals should evolve toward consensus. 

· Consensus, while always desirable, is not always possible, and leaders within the community, including the president, will sometimes need to set a course that not every member of the community fully supports.  Considerations for the quality of education provided to students should be paramount.

· Shared governance should be the standard approach to institutional decision-making, with information shared broadly and openly.  It is better to err in the direction of sharing too much information than too little, just as it is better to consult more rather than less.

· Expectations (of faculty, staff, students, and administrators) should be clearly defined, and the means to accomplish these expectations should be provided (as with professional development plans).

· SPSU should stand behind the value and currency of its education by teaching students how to adapt to change by providing alumni (and others) continuing education programs and “updates” to ensure that graduates continue to learn and grow throughout their careers.

· Everyone with administrative responsibility should have both the associated authority and accountability;  this is as true for the treasurer of a student organization as for the chief financial officer and the president.

· Micromanagement is an ineffective organizational model.  The rule should be to hire the best people, allow them to do their jobs, and hold them accountable for the results.

· An academic community is characterized by civility, respect for the opinions of others, awareness of the unique disciplinary perspective that colleagues bring to a discussion, and a willingness to share one’s own opinions and ideas.  Communities are also built on interpersonal relationships, which should transcend divisional, disciplinary, and departmental boundaries.

· Excellent public relations are essential to the future of the institution, for both political support and fund-raising.  Although sometimes the results of these efforts appear in unexpected and long-delayed forms, developing public support should always be a priority.  Faculty and students who can explain their work and its relevance to non-specialists make an important contribution in this area.

Many of these goals cost money -- probably more than the State of Georgia is likely to provide.  Alumni, friends of the University, employers who benefit from the skills of graduates, and the industries that develop and manufacture the technologies should be engaged in the life of the University and cultivated to become donors.  Partnerships with specific companies, contracts with government and private agencies, and grants from public and private foundations can all help support the programs at SPSU that are need to ensure the quality and continuing value of its polytechnic education.

Five years ago, when I summarized what I had learned about polytechnic universities, I was motivated by my own need for a sense of closure on the questions I had been asking about what distinguished the role and mission of polytechnic institutions.  I am amazed -- and pleased -- to find further use for that study.  (I’m also lucky I could find the diskette on which the file was stored!)  I believe in the distinctiveness of a polytechnic education and the important, unique role that Southern Polytechnic State University can play in higher education.