Year Three Self-Evaluation Report
Resources and Capacity
February 2013
Note to Evaluators
This document contains hyperlinks to supporting documentation located on the University of Puget
Sound website, in the supporting documentation folders (on the Puget Sound Resources and Capacity
page and on the evaluator flash drive), and within the document itself. Hyperlinks appear in blue font
within the document.
We recommend you use the Firefox browser to access the supporting websites.
Supporting documentation folders are located on the Puget Sound Resources and Capacity page. Log in
instructions will be provided to each evaluator for this site.
For technical assistance, please contact the Technology Services service desk at (253) 879-8585 or
servicedesk@pugetsound.edu .
For assistance with the report or supporting documents, please contact Alyce DeMarais at (253) 8793117 or ademarais@pugetsound.edu .
Table of Contents
Section
Institutional Overview
Basic Institutional Data Form
Preface
Update on Institutional Changes
Recommendation Responses
Response: Indicators as Assessment Tools
Response: Threshold for Mission Fulfillment
Chapter 1: Mission, Core Themes, and Expectations
Executive Summary
Standard 1.A Mission
Mission Fulfillment
Standard 1.B Core Themes
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Chapter 2: Resources and Capacity
Executive Summary
Standard 2.A Governance
Standard 2.B Human Resources
Standard 2.C Educational Resources
Standard 2.D Student Support Resources
Standard 2.E Library and Information Resources
Standard 2.F Financial Resources
Standard 2.G Physical and Technological Infrastructure
Institutional Summary
Appendices
Appendix I: Puget Sound Core Themes, Objectives, Indicators, Assessments
Appendix II: Puget Sound’s National Peer Institutions
Appendix III: Class Scheduling Memo
Appendix IV: Financial Resources Supporting Policies, Procedures, Practices
Page
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86
90
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
1
Institutional Overview
Established in 1888, The University of Puget Sound is a selective, national, residential liberal arts college
in Tacoma, Washington [Eligibility Requirement 1]. The students, staff, and faculty at Puget Sound take
pride in this distinction as it is the product of 30+ years of a deliberate refocusing of the college’s
mission to its original intent. Puget Sound’s undergraduate student body of about 2,600 takes part in a
strong academic program that includes a core curriculum in the liberal arts tradition and more than 40
major, minor, and interdisciplinary emphasis programs. Approximately 200 students are enrolled in
three distinctive graduate programs in education, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
The faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees support a program committed to academic excellence in a
liberal arts environment. The full-time faculty of approximately 225 is first and foremost a teaching
faculty, selected not only for excellence in various subject areas but also for the desire and ability to
promote student learning and critical thinking. Students benefit from classes taught by committed
faculty members who welcome students into their classrooms and into the broader scholarly
community of the campus. Faculty members maintain active intellectual lives that nourish their own
scholarly development and their work with students.
Puget Sound welcomes students, faculty, and staff inclusive of religious faith, racial and ethnic
background, sexual orientation and gender expression, socio-economic background, age, ability, political
belief, and veteran or documentation status. The limited size of the student body, the residential
campus, and the commitment of the faculty and staff to intensive, rigorous education create a highly
engaged and caring community.
Learning beyond the classroom is an important component of a residential college experience. Puget
Sound is a community in which each student's education is enriched by many opportunities to extend
and supplement in-class learning through such activities as attending lectures, seminars, plays and
concerts; joining student clubs; participating in intramural or intercollegiate athletic teams; leading
residence hall or residence community groups; volunteering in Tacoma and Pierce County; participating
in sustainability efforts; or working on research through the Civic Scholarship Initiative; or pursuing
social and environmental goals through the Race and Pedagogy Initiative or the Sound Policy Institute. In
these and similar settings, students develop empathy while navigating differences, learn to be
productive members of a team, and forge new friendships.
Over the past several years, Puget Sound has focused in a disciplined way upon strengthening the
academic and residential experience of the campus and confirming Puget Sound’s national reputation as
a liberal arts college. The success of these endeavors has been enhanced by building upon the college’s
distinguishing strengths in innovative interdisciplinary study in the context of a traditional liberal arts
curriculum. The college has invested in improving the campus living and learning environment by
designing and implementing an ambitious master plan and has looked beyond the campus to engage
external constituencies, alumni, and the local community in a more systematic and sustainable way.
Puget Sound faculty and staff are working to strengthen the college’s financial position to support
students more effectively through an enhanced fundraising plan and apparatus, including a $125 million
capital campaign, and through prudent management of financial assets, and strategic deployment of
human resources.
While the intellectual objectives of the University of Puget Sound are of paramount importance, the
college recognizes that the life of the mind creates a context for personal and professional growth. The
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
2
college therefore ascribes to outcomes provided by an undergraduate liberal arts education as set forth
in the institution’s mission statement and educational goals. Such an education should prepare a person
to pursue interests and ideas with confidence and independence; to meet the demands of a career,
including professional preparation in Puget Sound’s graduate programs; and to address the complexity
of modern life. Building on the college’s mission and educational goals, the Puget Sound community is
dedicated to a visionary strategic plan. The objectives of Defining Moments: The Strategic Plan for the
University of Puget Sound clarify and refine Puget Sound’s commitment to comprehensive liberal
learning and academic excellence. The Board of Trustees approved and endorsed the strategic plan in
2006 and the president, cabinet, and board assessed the strategic plan at its mid-point in 2011. The four
objectives of Defining Moments are:
Innovate: Enhance and distinguish the Puget Sound experience. We will build upon our reputation for
distinguished teaching and learning to be nationally recognized for providing the most successful
integration anywhere of a traditional liberal arts curriculum with innovative interdisciplinary programs,
distinctive centers for learning and research, vibrant co-curricular programs, and a campus community
that embraces cultural diversity, the challenges of global citizenship, and meaningful partnerships in the
region. We will develop resources for embracing curricular innovation focused on environmental,
international, and civic concerns; create new faculty lines to enhance faculty recruitment and retention,
strengthen targeted programs at the intersection of disciplines, and generate opportunities for faculty
research and student mentoring across disciplines; and strengthen and promote academic achievements
and partnerships in the arts and music, education, health sciences, and business and leadership that
engage regional issues for their national significance and recognition.
Inspire: Build an inspiring physical environment for learning. We will implement the Tapestry of Learning
master plan to create a campus that is an inspiring, fully integrated living and learning environment and
an intellectual asset for our community—a place that takes full advantage of the resources of our urban
and natural setting and the university’s distinctive architecture and landscape. We will complete the
integrated Science Center and Slater Museum of Natural History; build a Center for Health Sciences as a
distinctive academic and clinical asset uniting psychology, exercise science, and physical and
occupational therapy; create Commencement Walk to integrate the north and south sectors of campus
and establish a new grand campus entrance and approach; and expand and improve recreation facilities
to promote health and fitness for the campus community.
Engage: Forge lifelong relationships. We will be a first-choice college that instills intense pride and
fosters membership in the Puget Sound family as an enriching, lifelong investment. We will reorient the
alumni office from a program-based operation to a strategic center for cultivating mutually beneficial
relationships; develop and manage a network of volunteer opportunities to generate an array of
connections and services for alumni, parents, and friends; and enhance external and internal campus
programs and communications to reflect and promote our mission, vision, values, and strategic goals.
Invest: Strengthen our financial position. We will create a culture of philanthropy and attract the
resources necessary to meet the full educational needs of an increasingly diverse and talented body of
students and the campus in which we live and learn. We will meet student financial need through
increased annual giving and endowment; strategically deploy the university’s endowment asset
allocation, spending policy, and leverage capacity; and implement an inspiring and successful
comprehensive campaign to support the advancement of the university for many years to come.
3
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
Basic Institutional Data Form
Information and data provided in the institutional self-evaluation are usually for the academic and fiscal
year preceding the year of the evaluation committee visit. The purpose of this form is to provide
Commissioners and evaluators with current data for the year of the visit. After the self-evaluation report
has been finalized, complete this form to ensure the information is current for the time of the
evaluation committee visit. Please provide a completed copy of this form with each copy of the selfevaluation report sent to the Commission office and to each evaluator.
To enable consistency of reporting, please refer to the glossary in the 2003 Accreditation Handbook for
definitions of terms.
Institution: University of Puget Sound
Address: 1500 N Warner St, CMB 1014
City, State, ZIP: Tacoma, WA 98416
Degree Levels Offered: X Doctorate X Masters X Baccalaureate
If part of a multi-institution system, name of system:
Type of Institution:
N/A
X Comprehensive
Institutional control: X Private/Independent (X Non-profit)
Institutional calendar: X Semester
Specialized/Programmatic accreditation: List program or school, degree level(s) and date of last
accreditation by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. (Add additional
pages if necessary.)
Program or School
Degree Level(s)
Chemistry
Undergraduate
Education
Music
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Graduate
Undergraduate
Graduate
Graduate
Recognized Agency
American Chemical Society
Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction
National Association of Schools of Music
ACOTE
CAPTE
Date
June 2012
(pending)
March 2010
Fall 2010
April 28, 2012
Nov. 17, 2010
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
4
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment Formula used to compute FTE: [(Number of units taken by
part-time students) multiplied by (per-unit tuition) divided by (full-time tuition)] plus the number of fulltime students:
Official Fall 2011 (most recent year) FTE Student Enrollments
Current Year
Dates: Fall 2011
Undergraduate
2630.6
Graduate
216.98
Professional
0
Unclassified
1.14
Total all levels
2848.72
One Year Prior
Dates: Fall 2010
2558.54
221.3
0
3.77
2783.61
Classification
Two Years Prior
Dates: Fall 2009
2586.74
228.85
0
4.58
2820.16
Full-Time Unduplicated Headcount Enrollment. (Count students enrolled in credit courses only.)
Official Fall 2011 (most recent year) Student Headcount Enrollments
Current Year
Dates: Fall 2011
Undergraduate
2620
Graduate
199
Professional
0
Unclassified
0
Total all levels
2819
One Year Prior
Dates: Fall 2010
2547
202
0
1
2750
Classification
Two Years Prior
Dates: Fall 2009
2581
211
0
3
2795
Numbers of Full-Time and Part-Time Instructional and Research Faculty & Staff and Numbers of FullTime (only) Instructional and Research Faculty & Staff by Highest Degree Earned. Include only
professional personnel who are primarily assigned to instruction or research.
Total Number
Rank
Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Instructor
Lecturer and
Teaching Assistant
Research Staff and
Research Assistant
Undesignated Rank
Number of Full-Time (only) Faculty and Staff by Highest Degree Earned
Full
Time
93
54
59
34
Part
Time
0
0
0
51
Less than
Associate
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Associate
Bachelor
Masters
Specialist
Doctorate
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
8
25
0
0
0
0
91
51
51
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
5
Mean Salaries and Mean Years of Service of Full-Time Instructional and Research Faculty and Staff.
Include only full-time personnel with professional status who are primarily assigned to instruction or
research.
Rank
Mean Salary
Mean Years of Service
Professor
$100,637.50
Associate Professor
$74,026.06
Assistant Professor
$61,634.03
Instructor
$64,859.47
Lecturer and Teaching Assistant
0
Research Staff and Research
Assistant
0
Undesignated Rank
0
Financial Information. Complete each item in the report using zero where there is nothing to report.
Enter figures to the nearest dollar. Auxiliary and service enterprises of the institution (housing, food
service, book stores, athletics, etc.) should be included. The institution’s audit materials should be an
excellent reference for completing the report.
Fiscal year of the Institution:
July 1 – June 30
Reporting of income:
Accrual Basis
Reporting of expenses: Accrual Basis
x
x
Accrual Basis
Accrual Basis
BALANCE SHEET DATA
ASSETS
CURRENT FUNDS
Unrestricted
Cash
Investments
Accounts receivable gross
Less allowance for bad debts
Inventories
Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
Other (identify)
Due from
Total Unrestricted
Restricted
Cash
Investments
Other (identify)
Due from
Total Restricted
TOTAL CURRENT FUNDS
ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS
Cash
Investments
Other (identify) Perpetual Trusts
Last Completed
FY Dates:2012
One Year Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates:2011
Two Years Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates: 2010
23,496,000
17,584,000
27,848,000
24,513,000
19,099,000
29,927,000
17,617,000
33,873,000
33,019,000
(2,590,000)
731,000
2,066,000
0
0
69,135,000
(2,849,000)
712,000
2,246,000
0
0
73,648,000
(760,000)
757,000
2,567,000
0
0
87,073,000
0
0
0
0
0
69,135,000
0
0
0
0
0
73,648,000
0
0
0
0
0
87,073,000
1,676,000
247,005,000
1,787,000
1,649,000
247,756,000
1,886,000
607,000
215,409,000
1,675,000
21
8
2
15
0
0
0
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
Due from
TOTAL ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS
PLANT FUND
Unexpended
Cash
Investments
Other (identify)
Total unexpended
Investment in Plant
Land
Land improvements
Buildings
Equipment
Library resources
Other (identify)
Collections
Construction In Progress
Total investments in plant
Due from
Other plant funds (identify)
TOTAL PLANT FUNDS
OTHER ASSETS (IDENTIFY)
Beneficial interests in outside trusts
Assets held under split interest agreements
Intangible assets
Other investments
TOTAL OTHER ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS
LIABILITIES
CURRENT FUNDS
Unrestricted
Accounts payable
Accrued liabilities
Students’ deposits
Deferred credits
Other liabilities (identify)
Due to
Fund balance
Total Unrestricted
Restricted
Accounts payable
Other (identify)
Due to
Fund balance
Total Restricted
TOTAL CURRENT FUNDS
ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS
Restricted
Quasi-endowed
6
0
250,468,000
0
251,291,000
0
217,691,000
882,000
0
0
882,000
132,000
0
0
132,000
7,469,000
0
0
7,469,000
10,729,000
13,406,000
136,214,000
9,070,000
657,000
10,640,000
7,592,000
122,263,000
8,277.000
793,000
10,464,000
6,938,000
116,212,000
8,548,000
1,079,000
544,000
2,602,000
173,222,000
0
0
174,104,000
540,000
23,210,000
173,315,000
0
0
173,447,000
535,000
8,312,000
152,088,000
0
0
159,557,000
1,708,000
6,042,000
3,889,000
1,038,000
12,677,000
506,384,000
2,035,000
6,390,000
891,000
2,118,000
11,434,000
509,820,000
One Year Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates: 2011
Last Completed
FY Dates: 2012
1,626,000
7,172,000
595,000
994,000
10,387,000
474,708,000
Two Years Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates: 2010
2,361,000
13,120,000
2,912,000
0
0
0
0
18,393,000
6,990,000
10,712,000
2,916,000
0
0
0
0
20,618,000
6,620,000
9,851,000
2,543,000
0
0
0
0
19,014,000
0
0
0
0
0
18,393,000
0
0
0
0
0
20,618,000
0
0
0
0
0
19,014,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
Due to
Fund balance
TOTAL ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS
PLANT FUND
Unexpended
Accounts payable
Notes payable
Bonds payable
Other liabilities (identify)
Capital lease obligations
Asset retirement obligations
Due to
Fund balance
Total unexpended
Investment in Plant
Notes payable
Bonds payable
Mortgage payable
Other liabilities (identify)
Capital lease obligations
Asset retirement obligations
Due to
Other plant fund liabilities (identify)
TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN PLANT FUND
OTHER LIABILITIES (IDENTIFY)
Liabilities under split interest
agreements
Government advances for student
loans
Unrealized loss on interest rate swap
TOTAL OTHER LIABILITIES
TOTAL LIABILITIES
FUND BALANCE
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
60,707,000
0
0
59,000
1,611,000
0
0
62,377,000
0
62,236,000
0
0
109,000
1,563,000
0
0
63,908,000
0
63,694,000
0
0
188,000
1,571,000
0
0
65,453,000
2,391,000
2,576,000
2,785,000
12,827,000
13,122,000
13,515,000
16,052,000
31,270,000
112,040,000
394,344,000
9,091,000
24,789,000
109,315,000
400,505,000
10,961,000
27,261,000
111,728,000
362,980,000
CURRENT FUNDS, REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND OTHER CHANGES
REVENUES
Tuition and fees (net of financial aid)
Federal appropriations
State appropriations
Local appropriations
Grants and contracts
Endowment income
Auxiliary enterprises
Other (identify)
Gift contributions
Actuarial adjustments & other changes
Gain on revalue of asset retirement
obligations
66,795,000
0
0
0
2,228,000
(2,286,000)
21,745,000
One Year Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates:2011
64,153,000
0
0
0
2,229,000
39,655,000
20,616,000
Two Years Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates: 2010
63,384,000
0
0
0
2,070,000
26,202,000
20,847,000
19,240,000
(8,477,000)
0
7,731,000
3,404,000
0
12,962,000
Last Completed
FY Dates:2012
3,305,000
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
Gain on insurance recovery
Other sources
TOTAL REVENUES
EXPENDITURE & MANDATORY TRANSFERS
Educational and General
Instruction
Research
Public services
Academic support
Student services
Institutional support
Operation and maintenance of plant
Scholarships and fellowships
Other (identify)
Mandatory transfers for:
Principal and interest
Renewal and replacements
Loan fund matching grants
Other (identify)
Total Educational and General
8
0
1,777,000
101,022,000
0
2,810,000
140,598,000
278,000
2,000,000
131,048,000
45,819,000
941,000
0
8,882,000
17,400,000
14,225,000
0
0
0
44,212,000
776,000
0
8,875,000
17,181,000
13,397,000
0
0
0
43,280,000
600,000
0
8,985,000
17,364,000
12,282,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
87,267,000
0
0
0
0
84,441,000
0
0
0
0
82,511,000
19,916,000
18,632,000
18,339,000
0
0
19,916,000
0
0
18,632,000
0
0
18,339,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURE & MANDATORY TRANSFERS
OTHER TRANSFERS AND ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
(identify) Actuarial adjustments & other
changes
107,183,000
0
103,073,000
0
100,850,000
(1,419,000)
EXCESS [deficiency of revenues over
expenditures and mandatory transfers (net
change in fund balances)]
(6,161,000)
37,525,000
28,779,000
One Year Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates:2011
62,345,000
0
Two Years Prior to
Last Completed FY
Dates:2010
63,882,000
0
Auxiliary Enterprises
Expenditures
Mandatory transfers for:
Principal and interest
Renewals and replacements
Total Auxiliary Enterprises
INSTITUTIONAL INDEBTEDNESS
TOTAL DEBT TO OUTSIDE PARTIES
For Capital Outlay
For Operations
Last Completed FY
Dates:2012
60,766,000
0
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page
9
Domestic Off-Campus Degree Programs and Academic Credit Sites: Report information for off-campus
sites within the United States where degree programs and academic coursework is offered. (Add
additional pages if necessary.)
Degree Programs – list the names of degree programs that can be completed at the site.
Academic Credit Courses – report the total number of academic credit courses offered at the site.
Student Headcount – report the total number (unduplicated headcount) of students currently enrolled
in programs at the site.
Faculty Headcount – report the total number (unduplicated headcount) of faculty (full-time and parttime) teaching at the site.
PROGRAMS AND ACADEMIC CREDIT OFFERED AT OFF-CAMPUS SITES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
Location of Site
Academic
Student
Name
Degree Programs
Credit
Headcount
City, State, ZIP
Courses
Faculty
Headcount
N/A
Programs and Academic Courses Offered at Sites Outside the United States. Report information for
sites outside the United States where degree programs and academic credit courses are offered,
including study abroad programs and educational operations on military bases. (Add additional pages if
necessary.)
Degree Programs – list the names of degree programs that can be completed at the site.
Academic Credit Courses – report the total number of academic credit courses offered at the site.
Student Headcount – report the total number (unduplicated headcount) of students currently enrolled
in programs at the site.
Faculty Headcount – report the total number (unduplicated headcount) of faculty (full-time and parttime) teaching at the site.
PROGRAMS AND ACADEMIC CREDIT COURSES OFFERED AT SITES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
Location of Site
Academic
Student
Name
Degree Programs
Credit
Headcount
City, State, ZIP
Courses
N/A
Faculty
Headcount
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 10
Preface
Update on Institutional Changes
Puget Sound’s last report to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) was a
Year One Report submitted in February 2011. Since March 2011, one significant change to the academic
program that is in the process of implementation is revision to the first-year seminar rubrics. Puget
Sound retains a two-semester first-year seminar program, now designated Seminar in Scholarly Inquiry I
and II. The seminars introduce students to an academic community and engage them in the process of
scholarly inquiry. In these discussion-based seminars, students develop the intellectual habits necessary
to write and speak effectively and with integrity. Students increase their ability to develop effective
arguments by learning to frame questions around a focused topic, to assess and support claims, and to
present their work to an academic audience both orally and in writing. As part of understanding
scholarly conversations, students learn to identify the most appropriate sources of information and to
evaluate those sources critically. Over the course of two seminars, students—with increasing
independence—contribute to these conversations and produce a substantive scholarly project.
In August 2011, Puget Sound opened a center for health sciences, Weyerhaeuser Hall. This new
academic building provides a venue to prepare students for work in the dynamic fields of health and
behavioral sciences. Building on Puget Sound's liberal arts tradition of interdisciplinary innovation, the
center brings together teaching and research in the undergraduate disciplines of psychology and
exercise science with clinical graduate studies in occupational and physical therapy and provides
resources for the interdisciplinary emphasis in neuroscience.
Recommendation Responses
While reaffirming accreditation of Puget Sound in 2011, the NWCCU found that the two
recommendations identified in the Spring 2011 Year One Peer Evaluation Report addressed areas where
the college was “substantially in compliance with the Commission’s criteria for accreditation, but
need[ed] improvement.” Those two recommendations are:
1) The evaluators recommend that the University of Puget Sound provides greater specificity how
[sic] its list of indicators will be used as assessment tools to demonstrate accomplishment of its
core theme objectives (Standard 1.B.2.).
2) The evaluators recommend that the University of Puget Sound articulates how its various
assessment indicators will demonstrate an acceptable threshold of mission fulfillment (Standard
1.A.2.).
Response: Indicators as Assessment Tools
Over the past year Puget Sound representatives have reviewed the core themes, objectives, and
indicators. This ongoing review resulted in affirmation of the core themes and refinement of the
objectives and indicators. The Accreditation Review Committee (ARC) conducted this work and the
president’s cabinet reviewed and confirmed the revisions in August 2012.
The revision process included a thorough review of assessment evidence available for each of the
indicators. Assessments were assigned to each indicator and areas where assessment evidence was
required were identified. A full list of the core themes, objectives, indicators, and assessments is
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 11
provided in Appendix I. A more detailed discussion of the core themes, objectives, indicators, and
assessments is provided in Chapter 1 of this report.
Response: Threshold for Mission Fulfillment
Mission fulfillment for the University of Puget Sound is defined by the advancement of students who, at
the end of their Puget Sound educational experience, have fulfilled the tenets of the mission statement
and educational goals. Puget Sound expects all of its graduates to demonstrate they have experienced
the principles identified in the mission statement and gained and practiced the values and skills
identified in the educational goals. Puget Sound graduates have engaged in their education through the
academic, co-curricular, and community life at the college.
Within the context of Puget Sound’s Core Themes of academic excellence, rich knowledge of self and
others, and engaged citizenship, we recognized that the expected outcomes for student achievement
align with the outcomes identified through the Wabash National Study regarding student experiences
(www.liberalarts.wabash.edu). The Wabash National Study identifies broad categories of high impact
teaching practices and institutional conditions that predict growth on key student outcomes. The
research showed that students who report higher levels of high impact experiences tend to grow more
on outcome measures.
Puget Sound, therefore, has developed a holistic approach to mission fulfillment by identifying specific
high impact practices and experiences to serve as representation of the extent of Puget Sound’s mission
fulfillment within the context of our three Core Themes. Within this framework we have identified those
high impact practices Puget Sound provides for students, those high impact practices students
experience, and demonstrated achievement of student outcomes within the context of these high
impact practices.
Specifically, Puget Sound has aligned the following high impact practices as identifying mission
fulfillment in the context of our Core Themes:
Puget Sound Core Theme
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Mission Fulfillment Practices
Good teaching and high quality interactions with
faculty; academic challenge and high expectations
Diversity experiences on and off campus
Active, collaborative citizenship requirements and
opportunities
Achievement of the measures identified within these high impact practices denotes mission fulfillment
for Puget Sound. A more detailed discussion of high impact practices within the context of Puget
Sound’s Core Themes and how they demonstrate an acceptable threshold for mission fulfillment at
Puget Sound is provided in Chapter 1 of this report.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 12
Chapter 1: Mission, Core Themes, and Expectations
Executive Summary
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the University of Puget Sound (established in 1888; Eligibility
Requirement 1) mission statement, fulfillment of the mission, and the college’s core themes. The first
section includes articulation of the mission statement and the college’s educational goals (Eligibility
Requirement 3). This section also includes an overview of the governing Board of Trustees (Eligibility
Requirement 2) and a discussion of mission fulfillment at Puget Sound. The second section provides a
description of the three core themes and the objectives, indicators, and assessments addressing each
theme.
Standard 1.A Mission
The University of Puget Sound articulates its purpose through the following mission statement and
educational goals [Standard 1.A.1]:
The mission of the university is to develop in its students capacities for critical analysis, aesthetic
appreciation, sound judgment, and apt expression that will sustain a lifetime of intellectual curiosity,
active inquiry, and reasoned independence. A Puget Sound education, both academic and cocurricular, encourages a rich knowledge of self and others, an appreciation of commonality and
difference, the full, open, and civil discussion of ideas, thoughtful moral discourse, and the
integration of learning, preparing the university's graduates to meet the highest tests of democratic
citizenship. Such an education seeks to liberate each person's fullest intellectual and human
potential to assist in the unfolding of creative and useful lives.
To these ends, the faculty has selected the following goals to emphasize in the undergraduate
curriculum:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
the ability to think logically, analytically, and independently;
the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing;
the ability to learn on one's own;
breadth of learning in the form of familiarity with a variety of academic fields and potential
interests;
depth of knowledge in a single field in order to know a sense of the power that comes with
learning;
an understanding of the interrelationships among the various fields of knowledge and the
significance of one discipline for another;
an acknowledged set of personal values; and
informed appreciation of self and others as part of a broader humanity in the world
environment
Puget Sound adopted its current mission statement in 1998. The statement was thoroughly reviewed
and reaffirmed in preparation for the strategic planning process led by President Ronald Thomas in
2004-2005, and ratified by the Board of Trustees in February 2006. The campus community, the
president’s cabinet, and the Board of Trustees reviewed the mission statement and educational goals as
part of the comprehensive reaccreditation review process in 2008-2009.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 13
The mission statement is discussed in several venues, including our new staff orientation sessions,
regular meetings of the senior management, and at the annual Fall Faculty Conversation and Fall Staff
Conversation, among others. The mission statement appears in many college publications, including the
Bulletin and Graduate Bulletin, the college website, the annual Financial Report, the Commencement
Program, the Parent Resource Guide, and also in grant proposals.
Development of Puget Sound’s core themes has taken place since 2009. Careful review of the college’s
mission statement and educational goals led to identification of core themes that encompass a Puget
Sound education. Puget Sound’s core themes are: (1) academic excellence, (2) rich knowledge of self
and others, and (3) engaged citizenship. Refinement of the core themes is an ongoing, iterative process
that has encompassed all constituents of the college—faculty, staff, and students. The Board of Trustees
affirmed the core themes in fall 2010. A list of the core themes, objectives, indicators, and assessments
is provided in Appendix I.
The University of Puget Sound is an independent residential liberal arts college governed by a Board of
Trustees. The board sets broad institutional mission and policies, delegates administrative authority, and
periodically reviews its own structure and practices in order to ensure continued effectiveness. The
documents that outline the role of the governing board are the Restated Articles of Incorporation, the
Corporate Bylaws, and the board’s implementing resolutions, the most important of which are the
statement of Board Organization and Committee Responsibilities and the Statement of Individual
Trustee Responsibilities. These documents are periodically reviewed to assure compliance with evolving
practices, legal requirements, and fiduciary responsibility. The board ensures that all resources at the
college are directed toward fulfillment of the mission of the college.
Mission Fulfillment [Standard 1.A.2]
Puget Sound’s mission-centered expected outcomes for student achievement fall within the context of
our three Core Themes: 1) Academic Excellence, 2) Rich Knowledge of Self and Others, and 3) Engaged
Citizenship. As described in the Preface of this report, we recognize that achievement of the goals of
Puget Sound’s core themes aligns with the outcomes identified through the Wabash National Study
regarding student experiences (www.liberalarts.wabash.edu). The Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts
Education is administered by the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, housed at Wabash College, and is
“the primary mechanism by which the Center of Inquiry has implemented its mission to collaborate with
institutions to gather and use evidence to strengthen liberal arts education.”1
The Wabash National Study identifies broad categories of teaching practices and institutional conditions
that predict growth on a wide variety of student outcomes2. Students who report higher levels of these
experiences tend to grow more on outcome measures. Puget Sound, therefore, has chosen specific high
impact practices and experiences, as recommended by the Wabash National Study, to serve as
representative of the extent of Puget Sound’s mission fulfillment within the framework of our Core
Themes. Although there are several outcomes that address each high impact practice, Puget Sound has
carefully chosen representative outcomes in each high impact practice category to demonstrate mission
fulfillment.
High impact practices that represent mission fulfillment in the context of our Core Themes are:
1
“The Wabash Study 2010,” Center of Inquiry, http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/wabash-study-2010-overview/
“The High-Impact Practices and Experiences from the Wabash National Study,” Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts
Education, http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/study-research/
2
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 14
Puget Sound Core Theme
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Mission Fulfillment Practices
Good teaching and high quality interactions with faculty;
academic challenge and high expectations
Diversity experiences on and off campus
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Active, collaborative citizenship requirements and opportunities
Within the framework of Puget Sound’s Core Themes, we have identified high impact practices in three
categories: 1) high impact practices Puget Sound provides for students, 2) those high impact practices
students experience, and 3) demonstrated achievement of student outcomes within the context of
these high impact practices. In each case, achievement of the goal is identified through representative
assessments that address mission fulfillment.
For each outcome, Puget Sound has set an acceptable threshold as meeting or exceeding the benchmark
for Puget Sound’s National Peer Institutions (or the equivalent) as defined for the National Survey of
Student Engagement (NSSE). A list of Puget Sound’s National Peer Institutions for the 2008 and 2011
NSSE administrations is provided in Appendix II. The following tables present high impact practices and
assessment outcomes for Puget Sound in each of the three categories. In all three tables, Puget Sound
assessments that exceed the benchmark by a statistically significant margin are indicated by an asterisk
(*). Puget Sound assessments that fall below the benchmark by a statistically significant margin are
indicated by a double asterisk (**). Unmarked assessments indicate there is no statistically significant
difference between Puget Sound’s assessment and the benchmark.
Mission Fulfillment: Puget Sound Context and Environment
Puget Sound
Core Theme
High Impact
Practice
Puget Sound
Context/Environment
Core Theme
1: Academic
Excellence
Good Teaching
and High Quality
Interactions
with Faculty
Academic
Challenge and
High
Expectations
A faculty interested in
teaching and student
development
HERI 2A
Students ask questions in
class or contributed to
class discussions
NSSE 1a
Core Theme
2: Rich
Knowledge
of Self and
Others
Diversity
Experiences
Puget Sound includes
diverse perspectives in
class discussions or
writing assignments
NSSE 1e
Core Theme
3: Engaged
Citizenship
Active,
collaborative
citizenship
Students participate in
learning communities,
research, and activities
NSSE 7c
(learning
community),
7d (research
project), and
1s (work with
faculty
outside
coursework)
Assessment
*Puget Sound assessment is significantly greater than the benchmark.
Assessment Benchmark
Puget Sound
Assessment
Benchmark
Met
High Student-Centered
Pedagogy:
27%
High Student-Centered
Pedagogy:
32%
75% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
74% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
Yes
85% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
82% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
70% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
76% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
Yes*
70% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
74% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
7c: 29% (Freshman: Plan to
Do, Done) NSSE 2008
7c: 38% (Freshman: Plan to
Do, Done) NSSE 2008
Yes*
32.4% (Senior: Plan to Do,
Done) NSSE 2011
26% (Senior: Plan to Do,
Done) NSSE 2011
Yes
7d: 52% (Freshman: Plan to
Do, Done) NSSE 2008
7d: 47% (Freshman: Plan to
Do, Done) NSSE 2008
Yes
45% (Senior: Plan to Do,
Done) NSSE 2011
36% (Senior: Plan to Do,
Done) NSSE 2011
Yes*
1s: 17% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
1s: 18% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
Yes
35% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
28% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
Yes*
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 15
Mission Fulfillment: Puget Sound Student Experience
Puget Sound
Core Theme
High Impact
Practice
Puget Sound Student
Experience
Core Theme
1: Academic
Excellence
Good teaching
and high quality
interactions with
faculty
Prompt written or oral
feedback from faculty on
student academic
performance
NSSE 1q
Academic
Challenge and
High Expectations
Students work on papers
or projects that require
integrating ideas or
information from various
sources
Students have serious
conversations with
students from different
backgrounds
NSSE 1d
Core Theme
2: Rich
Knowledge
of Self and
Others
Core Theme
3: Engaged
Citizenship
Diversity
Experiences
Active,
collaborative
citizenship
Assessment
NSSE 1u (with
students of
different
race/ethnicity)
and 1v (with
students of
different
religious belief,
political
opinion,
personal
values)
NSSE 1t
Students discuss ideas
from their readings or
classes with others
outside of class
*Puget Sound assessment is significantly greater than the benchmark.
**Puget Sound assessment significantly less than the benchmark.
Assessment Benchmark
Puget Sound
Assessment
Benchmark
Met
72% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
81% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
80% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
94% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
80% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
84% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
87% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
95% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes*
1u: 65% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
1u: 58% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
No**
56% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
53% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
1v: 70% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
1v: 68% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
Yes
66% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
56% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
No**
72% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
77% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
74% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
82% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Mission Fulfillment: Puget Sound Student Outcomes
Puget Sound
Core Theme
High Impact
Practice
Puget Sound Student
Outcomes
Core Theme 1:
Academic
Excellence
Good teaching
and high quality
interactions with
faculty
Quality of non-classroom
interactions with faculty
Academic
Challenge and
High
Expectations
Students worked harder
than they thought they
could
NSSE 1r
Core Theme 2:
Rich
Knowledge of
Self and
Others
Diversity
Experiences
Students understand
people of other
backgrounds
NSSE 11l
Core Theme 3:
Engaged
Citizenship
Active,
collaborative
citizenship
Students examine
strengths and
weaknesses of their own
views and better
understand someone
else’s view
Assessment
NSSE 1p
NSSE 6d
(examined own
views) and 6e
(better
understand
someone else’s
views)
*Puget Sound assessment is significantly greater than the benchmark.
Assessment Benchmark
Puget Sound
Assessment
Benchmark
Met
28% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
30% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
Yes
41% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
40% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
56% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
56% (Freshman: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2008
Yes
62% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
57% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
60% (Freshman: Quite a Bit,
Very Much) NSSE 2008
55% (Freshman: Quite a Bit,
Very Much) NSSE 2008
Yes
54% (Senior: Quite a Bit, Very
Much) NSSE 2011
51% (Senior: Quite a Bit, Very
Much) NSSE 2011
Yes
6d: 63% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
6d: 70% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
Yes*
62% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
68% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
6e: 70% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE
6e: 73% (Freshman: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2008
Yes
2008, 72% (Senior: Often,
Very Often) NSSE 2011
73% (Senior: Often, Very
Often) NSSE 2011
Yes
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 16
Mission Fulfillment Analysis
Puget Sound is an institution that sets high expectations for itself and strives to meet those expectations
through careful evaluation and analysis. We have chosen to set high expectations for mission fulfillment
at Puget Sound: meeting or exceeding benchmarks set by our national peers on measures of high impact
practices in three areas: 1) high impact practices Puget Sound provides for students, 2) those high
impact practices students experience, and 3) demonstrated achievement of student outcomes within
the context of these high impact practices. Overall, Puget Sound has met or exceeded these
benchmarks.
In some categories, Puget Sound meets the mission fulfillment benchmark but we are working to
improve the experience and outcomes for our students. For example, the faculty is currently evaluating
and assessing the senior experience at Puget Sound. We have received a grant from the Teagle
Foundation to address the senior experience and have used those funds for assessment, analysis, and
implementation of new programs. By addressing the senior experience and senior outcomes,
departments and programs will have a framework to evaluate the academic challenge of the rest of the
curriculum.
There is one student experience area where two of the four Puget Sound assessments are significantly
below the benchmarks (indicated by the double asterisks). This area represents students’ experiences
with other students from different backgrounds. Addressing diversity is an important goal for Puget
Sound. A campus climate survey was administered in spring 2012 and the preliminary results of that
survey have been disseminated across campus. Faculty, staff, and students are evaluating the outcomes
and addressing next action steps. The Diversity Advisory Council will further disaggregate findings over
the summer of 2013 and will form recommendations. Puget Sound has recently hired a new Dean of
Diversity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer who will help lead the campus in these endeavors. In
addition, the campus community is in the process of several initiatives that address diversity at Puget
Sound. For example, the faculty conducted a curriculum review of course content addressing diversity
and is in discussion regarding a diversity core requirement. At the February meeting, the Board of
Trustees held a workshop specifically addressing diversity at Puget Sound. In all areas, Puget Sound is
striving to meet our own expectations for a welcoming environment that challenges students to
experience, understand, and appreciate commonality and difference.
In all areas of mission fulfillment, members of the Puget Sound community are engaged in careful
review and analysis. We continue to address outcomes of what we provide students, what students
experience, and what students achieve.
Standard 1.B Core Themes
A Puget Sound education is not something students get; it is an experience in which students engage
that has substantial influence on the persons they become. By bringing together a highly talented and
increasingly diverse student body to work with a dedicated faculty of teacher-scholars—in an
environment distinctly enriched by a combination of strong liberal arts curriculum, innovative
interdisciplinary programs, and a vibrant co-curriculum complemented both by schools of business,
music, education, and occupational therapy and physical therapy and by the dynamic Pacific Northwest
environment—Puget Sound invites students to join with the college in investing in their preparation to
engage the world with a clear sense of purpose.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 17
Puget Sound thus accepts the challenge of articulating core themes essential to the mission and
educational goals and to the strategic vision that guide the work of the college: academic excellence,
rich knowledge of self and others, and engaged citizenship [Standard 1.B.1]. Each core theme
incorporates three levels of thinking: what the college brings to the students’ experience, how the
students engage the experience, and what capacities the students demonstrate as they move through
and beyond their educational program at Puget Sound.
Puget Sound’s core themes are essential elements of our mission statement:
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
In the narrative and tables below, we provide an overview of the objectives and indicators for each core
theme [Standard 1.B.2]. This information is also provided in a composite table in Appendix I.
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Put simply, at Puget Sound we engage students in high quality learning, intellectual exploration, and
academic conversation in the liberal arts and selected professional fields. We seek to inspire students to
excellent academic work and we aspire to demonstrate excellence in all aspects of our work with them,
from the classroom to the athletic field and from the dining hall to the residence hall. Students
demonstrate academic excellence through five objectives: by becoming (1) effective critical thinkers and
(2) able advocates, both in writing and speaking; by developing (3) familiarity with a variety of fields and
interests and understanding of interrelationship among those fields and interests; and by achieving both
the (4) depth of knowledge in a major field and (5) intellectual independence requisite for a bachelor’s
or first professional degree.
Objective 1A. Critical Analysis
The ability to think critically and analytically is an important component of academic excellence and is
central to Puget Sound’s goals. Practice in critical analysis begins with Prelude, the academic orientation
for first-year students. Two first-year seminars introduce students to the tools for and practice of critical
analysis through in-depth analysis of a focused area of interest. The core curriculum offers third and
fourth year students the opportunity to develop an understanding of the interrelationship of fields of
knowledge through critical analysis in their interdisciplinary Connections courses. Senior culminating
experiences (including but not limited to senior capstone courses, theses, advanced courses within a
program, independent research, musical and artistic performances) attest to the mission to foster an
environment promoting critical analysis. A culture of information literacy across the curriculum
challenges students to evaluate, critique, and use information from a variety of sources effectively
within multiple disciplines.
Complementing the curriculum, residential and campus programming (e.g., lectures, workshops)
provide opportunities for the development of critical analysis skills. Leadership roles through committee
service and participation in clubs, athletics, and residential organizations create opportunities to
develop and practice critical analysis skills outside the classroom.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 18
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Objective 1A : critical analysis
Indicator 1A1: senior culminating experience
Indicator 1A2: Connections core course
Indicator 1A3: residential and campus
programming; Student Affairs learning goal of
critical analysis
Indicator 1A4: leadership pathways; alumni
information regarding leadership
Indicator 1A5: information literacy across the
curriculum
Assessments: Senior culminating
experience assessments
Assessments: Senior focus groups;
senior survey; Connections review
Assessments: Participation
analysis; Student Affairs learning
goal assessment
Assessments: Alumni Sharing
Knowledge (ASK) network analysis;
Alumni Council leadership
participation
Assessments: Research practices
survey; senior culminating
experience assessments
Objective 1B. Communicate Clearly and Effectively
Clear and effective communication is an important component of academic excellence at Puget Sound.
As such, writing is of highest importance across the curriculum. All first year students complete two
seminars over two semesters: currently titled Writing and Rhetoric and Scholarly and Creative Inquiry.
These courses are designed to aid students in effectively communicating their ideas, both in a written
and an oral manner. Writing across the curriculum is embraced by all departments and programs at
Puget Sound, and written expression is highlighted in most courses offered. Many departments and
programs require students to complete a substantial writing project as a prerequisite to graduation. To
complement writing as a means of expression, several departments/programs require students to
communicate via performances and oral and/or multimedia presentations.
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Objective 1B: communicate clearly
and effectively
Indicator 1B1: first year seminars
Indicator 1B2: writing across the curriculum
Indicator 1B3: written and oral communication
within the majors
Indicator 1B4: research project/performance
presentation
Assessments: Seminar objectives
review; transcript analysis
Assessments: Writing assessment;
NSSE
Assessments: Department and
program curriculum reviews;
senior culminating experience
assessments; NSSE
Assessments: NSSE; Freshman
Survey; Senior Survey
Objective 1C. Breadth of Learning
As a liberal arts institution, Puget Sound provides students the opportunity to experience a breadth of
learning in many ways. The Core Curriculum enhances students’ learning by allowing them to attain
knowledge outside of their major and/or minor fields of study. Puget Sound prepares first-year students
with core courses on inquiry, argument, and effective communication. Over the next two years students
take courses in the Five Approaches to Knowing: Fine Arts, Humanistic, Mathematical, Natural Scientific,
and Social Scientific. Students also participate in a Connections core course which introduces them to
interrelated fields of knowledge. Puget Sound emphasizes its mission as a liberal arts institution to foster
an understanding of the interrelationships of fields of knowledge. The Core Curriculum provides
students with the necessary information and skills to make valuable connections across disciplines. The
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 19
college maintains several interdisciplinary programs that provide opportunities for students to examine
material and ideas from multiple perspectives, as described above (e.g., Connections Core)
As a graduation requirement, students take three upper-division courses outside of their major area of
study. This requirement encourages students to continue to take advantage of the interdisciplinary
nature of Puget Sound’s curriculum. The college maintains a foreign language competency requirement
for all students, thus creating an additional opportunity for students discover not only a second
language but also a culture different from their own.
Puget Sound offers residential programs that are clear extensions of the curriculum. Many students
participate in co-curricular enhancements, such as residential seminars, or live in themed housing
arrangements such as the Foreign Language and Culture House in order to further extend their breadth
of knowledge.
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Objective 1C: breadth of learning
Indicator 1C1: core curriculum and upper
division graduation requirement
Indicator 1C2: foreign language graduation
requirement
Indicator 1C3: integration of residential
programs
Assessments: Transcript evaluation
of graduation requirements; survey
and focus group data; Curriculum
Committee review; number of
students with multiple
majors/minors
Assessments: HEDS survey results;
participation comparison with
other institutions
Assessments: Residential seminar
assessment; focus group data
Objective 1D. Depth of Knowledge
In addition to providing students with a breadth of knowledge, Puget Sound promotes depth of
knowledge in one or more areas for its students. This is accomplished primarily through academic
majors, minors, and interdisciplinary emphases that encourage students to explore an area of study or
discipline in depth. Independent research projects allow students to pursue, under the mentorship of a
faculty member, an area of study that may not be covered in courses or that may be an extension of
work done in previous courses.
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Objective 1D: depth of knowledge
Indicator 1D1: major/minor/emphasis; upper
division graduation requirement
Indicator 1D2: senior theses and projects;
independent research
Assessments: Program outcomes;
Department/Program curriculum
reviews; transcript analysis; Senior
survey
Assessments: Senior culminating
experience assessments;
independent research
assessments; NSSE
Objective 1E. Intellectual Independence
Puget Sound prepares students to participate in a life of intellectual independence. As students move
through the curriculum and co-curriculum, they hone their analytical and communication skills to
demonstrate advanced critical thinking. Several educational goals support intellectual independence
including the ability to think logically, analytically, and independently; the ability to learn on one's own;
and the realization of interrelationships among the various fields of knowledge.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 20
Culminating experiences such as senior theses, senior seminars, independent research projects,
portfolios, and performances provide avenues for students to demonstrate their knowledge and test
their own theories and ideas. Participating in internships allows students the opportunity to explore
careers and vocations, build experience and prepare for the challenges of life after college. Students
bring their experience back to the classroom and to their other endeavors, thus enhancing their work.
Puget Sound students carry their intellectual independence beyond their undergraduate experience.
Participation in pre- and post-graduate scholarships and fellowships requires the demonstration of
academic achievement, self-directed project development, and global awareness.
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Objective 1E: intellectual
independence
Indicator 1E1: independent research, projects,
study; student publications and clubs
Indicator 1E2: internships
Indicator 1E3: post-graduate fellowships and
programs
Assessments: Participation in
research and independent study;
final report and reflection analysis;
NSSE
Assessments: Number of students
participating; student and
employer evaluations; Senior
survey
Assessments: Numbers and types
of fellowships
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Twenty-first century students live in global community and they encounter daily the opportunities and
challenges of interpersonal, intercultural, and international relationships and undertakings. In this
context, we seek to model strong understanding of self and connectedness to others; to uphold our
commitments to a campus community that values inclusivity and integrity; and to foster opportunities
for creative and useful work, both individually and with others. Students demonstrate rich knowledge of
self and others by addressing four objectives: (1) developing informed appreciation of and enacting
respect for diversity; (2) attending and producing creative and analytical works; (3) participating in team
endeavors in the curriculum and co-curriculum; and (4) completing internships and other pre-service
placements, community-based learning assignments, and volunteer service projects.
Objective 2A. Informed Appreciation of Commonality and Difference
Appreciation of commonality and difference is central and essential to a liberal arts education and is a
core value at Puget Sound. The college is guided in this aspiration by a Diversity Strategic Plan that
emphasizes the importance of recruiting and retaining a diverse student body, faculty, and staff;
creating a campus environment that fully welcomes and supports all aspects of social diversity including
age, disability, gender, race/ethnicity, religion/spiritual tradition, sexual orientation, job status or
socioeconomic class, personal appearance, and political beliefs; improving working and business
relationships with diverse communities in the Puget Sound region; and demonstrates accountability for
achievement of diversity goals. Students build openness and engagement through courses and events
designed to educate about respect, difference, and commonality. Programs such as the Race and
Pedagogy Initiative and the Freedom Education Project foster critical examination of race, education,
and incarceration as well as advocacy and action to reduce racism. The Puget Sound community is
enriched by diversity in all its forms and fosters active engagement of all who work and study in this
community.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 21
Puget Sound motivates its students to experience cultures other than those of the United States. The
international programs office coordinates international experience efforts, including study abroad
programs and international students and visitors. Puget Sound students fulfill a foreign language
requirement that encourages understanding of other cultures and the world around us.
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Objective 2A: informed appreciation
of commonality and difference
Indicator 2A1: implementation of the diversity
strategic plan and Race and Pedagogy Initiative
Indicator 2A2: international programs
Indicator 2A3: foreign language graduation
requirement
Assessments: Campus climate
survey; student outcomes
assessments; club and affinity
group participation
Assessments: Participation in study
abroad; student reviews of study
abroad experiences; NSSE
Assessments: HEDS survey results;
NSSE
Objective 2B. Creative and Useful Lives
For a Puget Sound student, living a creative and useful life means participatory citizenship and a general
concern for the well-being of others. Students are extensively involved in research, music, dance, and
theatre performances at Puget Sound. Students conduct independent research across the disciplines.
Puget Sound students perform in many different musical, theatre, and dance groups, both as formal
aspects of the curriculum and as co-curricular activities. Participation in the arts extends beyond those
students majoring in these programs.
A high percentage of Puget Sound students participate in varsity, club, and intramural athletics. The
college is committed to providing facilities and opportunities for students, faculty members, staff
members, and community members to engage in physical recreation and healthy living.
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Objective 2B: potential for creative
and useful lives
Indicator 2B1: problem solving; art, music,
dance, and theatre performances and juried
exhibitions; science and humanities research
and exhibitions
Indicator 2B2: athletics participation
Assessments: Participation
numbers and reflections; project
assessments; NSSE
Assessments: Participation
numbers; reflections; athletics
strategic plan assessment
Objective 2C. Sense of Community
A key distinction of a residential liberal arts institution is community—the manifestation of shared
common values, pursuit of the life of the mind, and respect for others. Puget Sound is intentional about
the design of its programs and facilities to enhance learning in and out of the classroom to create an
engaged campus. Through the communal environment, students find opportunities for academic,
identity, and social discovery.
Puget Sound is a residential campus that strengthens student interactions with faculty and staff,
reinforces the tenets of the residential college experience, and integrates many aspects of learning and
personal development. In addition to a variety of residential opportunities, students participate in
living/learning communities such as residential first-year seminars, foreign language theme houses, an
outdoor education hall, interest theme houses, or Greek letter houses.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 22
The Office of University Relations, in collaboration with other campus entities, has developed an
extensive network of alumni and parent volunteers who organize regional club activity, host events,
keep connections between alumni groups and parents vigorous, develop plans for reunions and other
gatherings, and solicit financial support for the college. In addition, other offices such as Career and
Employment Services work with alumni through their Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) Night. ASK Night
is an opportunity for students to meet and engage with alumni about careers, graduate school,
volunteer activities, and other experiences during and beyond Puget Sound.
The sense of community at Puget Sound is fostered through extensive participation in clubs, in social
and service groups, and on intercollegiate and intramural athletic teams. The Associated Students of the
University of Puget Sound (ASUPS) supports over 100 clubs. These clubs range in focus from academic
and political to social and recreational. In addition, there are a variety of groups students can join from
formal and informal music and theatre groups to social or academic Greek communities. Students also
participate in the Logger athletics program by competing or supporting our teams.
Puget Sound students are encouraged to learn about and embrace the college’s history by participating
in its Logger traditions, some which date back many decades and others that have begun more recently.
Some of the traditions are: Lecture Series, such as the Swope, Pierce and Regester lectures; Fall and
Spring family weekends; campus milestones including Freshman Orientation, sophomore leadership
events, and class receptions; club activities, such as the Log Jam activities fair and the annual Luau;
Commencement Weekend activities, such as the Senior Class party, academic department celebrations,
Baccalaureate, and Commencement; campus celebrations including the Martin Luther King, Jr.
celebration; and music and theatre productions.
The practical aim of the Student Integrity Code is to create educational experiences from which students
develop both skill and confidence in making personal judgments and appreciating their consequences.
The standards provide an additional educational resource as they describe in more specific detail the
expectations that all members of the Puget Sound community are required to meet.
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Objective 2C: sense of community at
Puget Sound
Indicator 2C1: integrated residential programs;
Orientation program
Indicator 2C2: engaged alumni community
Indicator 2C3: clubs and theme groups
Indicator 2C4: lectures and performances
Indicator 2C5: Student Integrity Code and the
conduct process
Assessments: Residential seminar
data; residential program data;
Freshman and Senior surveys
Assessments: Arches readership
survey; participation in councils
and programs
Assessments: Club annual reports;
Senior survey; NSSE
Assessment: Availability; Freshman
and Senior surveys
Assessments: Hearing board
process; matriculation integrity
code; conduct process learning
outcomes assessment
Objective 2D. Extended Learning
The Civic Scholarship Initiative (CSI) connects Puget Sound's faculty and students with citizens of the
south Puget Sound region in projects of mutual concern. By investing the college's intellectual capital,
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 23
the initiative provides community laboratories for faculty and students to pursue their research and
teaching objectives while partnering with regional organizations to solve problems, develop policy, and
educate the public on issues of regional and national significance.
Puget Sound students extend their learning opportunities by completing internships and other preservice placements, and community-based learning assignments. The Community Involvement and
Action Center (CIAC) serves as the central resource for connecting members of our campus community
(students, faculty and staff) with over 200 off-campus partners. The college continues to make service
opportunities available and appealing to students at all levels.
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Objective 2D: learning through
engagement with the broader
community
Indicator 2D1: Civic Scholarship Projects
Assessments: Number of projects
and participation
Indicator 2D2: internships
Assessments: Internship
participation; employer
evaluations; student evaluations
Assessments: Percentage of
volunteers/community services;
student learning outcome
assessment; Senior survey; NSSE
Indicator 2D3: community service
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Liberal arts education has long been recognized as education for citizenship. Puget Sound affirms its
participation in that tradition and, as such, seeks to be a community of citizens who are civically
engaged, environmentally responsible, and globally focused. Notably, our commitments are not merely
to prepare students for such engagement as flourishing and productive members of society but to
welcome their participation as campus and community citizens from matriculation as first-year students
through life-long relationships as alumni. Puget Sound encourages the application of knowledge to novel
situations for the good of the community and society.
Students demonstrate capacities for engaged citizenship by addressing three objectives: (1) developing
the deliberative skills necessary for the full, open, and civil discussion of ideas; (2) participating in
governance, community programs, and projects that address issues of institutional, regional, or national
significance; and (3) enacting commitments to sustainability, broadly defined.
Objective 3A. Full, Open, and Civil Discussion of Ideas
Full, open, and civil discussion of ideas is central to a Puget Sound education. In their first year at the
college, students are introduced to this manner of discussion in Prelude, part of Puget Sound’s
orientation program. In the first-year seminars, students focus on argument, inquiry, and effective
communication. Many first-year students choose to participate in residential seminars that take learning
beyond the classroom and are clear extensions of the curriculum. In addition to small class sizes that
promote an environment for discussion of ideas, students also participate in various programs and
seminars and on panels, including research presentations and symposia, where they share their research
with the campus community and discuss and defend their ideas in a collegial environment.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 24
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Objective 3A: full, open, and civil
discussion of ideas
Indicator 3A1: first-year experience
Indicator 3A2: residential programs
Indicator 3A3: senior experiences and
independent projects
Assessments: Prelude evaluations
(faculty and student); first-year
seminar review; “I am Puget
Sound” evaluation
Assessments: Residential seminar
assessment; conflict resolution in
residential programs assessment;
NSSE
Assessments: Student research
evaluations and reflections;
presentations and symposia; NSSE
Objective 3B. Active, Collaborative Citizens
Puget Sound students exercise the ethos of community engagement and service by participating in
campus governance and development, and in service to the local and regional community. Students
extend their activities with the broader community through service programs sponsored by the
Community Involvement and Action Center (CIAC). In many campus opportunities, students work
alongside their peers, faculty members, and staff members to address matters that impact the college’s
achievement of its mission and strategic goals. Through participation on the Honor Court, the body that
adjudicates matters related to the Student Integrity Code, through service on standing and ad hoc
committees, task forces, and campus advisory groups, students practice collaboration and decisionmaking. Students extend their service beyond the campus community by participating with faculty
members in projects of strategic significance through the work of the Civic Scholarship Initiative.
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Objective 3B: active, collaborative
citizens
Indicator 3B1: community service programs
Indicator 3B2: university governance
Indicator 3B3: Civic Scholarship projects
Assessments: CIAC data; SSSJ data;
Greek community; ASUPS service
groups; student-initiated groups;
Senior survey
Assessments: Student participation
(faculty committees, university
committees, ASUPS); honor court,
peer boards; advisory groups;
Faculty and Staff Senates reports)
Assessments: Project participation
and reports
Objective 3C. Commitment to Sustainability
The college has made public commitments to sustainability in its use of resources, in development of
campus event initiatives and in physical environment changes, supported by an active budget process
which has allocated resources to sustainability priorities. Students and other campus community
members participate in a campus Sustainability Advisory Committee, which has effected changes in how
Puget Sound builds, holds events, recycles, maintains the campus, and travels to and from campus.
Initiatives include a recycling program for waste generated at events, LEED-certified building projects,
implementation of a car sharing program, strategies to encourage the use of alternative transportation,
and PrintGreen, an initiative to manage printing on campus. The Sound Policy Institute engages faculty
members and students with local stakeholders in civic scholarship to address pressing environmental
issues beyond the college’s boundaries.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 25
The college maintains an active, open budgeting process that supports fiscal sustainability. Staff
members, faculty members, and students serve on the Budget Task Force and participate in the
budgeting process. The college focuses on strategic fiscal planning, coupled with intensive financial
audits, to maintain a strong fiscal position. The current Campaign for Puget Sound is on track to raise
$125 million to enhance and support financial aid, academic programs, and campus life.
An active and well-connected alumni community serves alumni, current students, and the parents of
students and alumni. Informal and formal systems of mentors, friends, and allies benefit Puget Sound
students and affiliates throughout their lives. The Office of University Relations, in collaboration with
other campus entities, has developed an extensive network of alumni and parent volunteers who
organize regional club activities, host events, keep connections between alumni groups and parents
vigorous, develop plans for reunions and other gatherings, and solicit financial support for the college.
Through year-round face-to-face and electronic activities and reports, Puget Sound alumni, parents, and
students meet, hear from faculty and staff, learn about developments on campus, develop new
relationships far from home, and reflect on their experiences.
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Objective 3C: commitment to
sustainability
Indicator 3C1: environmental sustainability
Indicator 3C1: fiscal sustainability
Indicator 3C3: alumni and student support
Assessments: Sustainable
operations evaluation;
Sustainability Advisory Committee
reports; Sound Policy Institute
evaluations and reports; STARS
assessment
Assessment: Budget Task Force
process; audited financial reports
Assessment: ASK participation;
Alumni Council participation;
alumni participation on Board;
regional program evaluation;
reunion evaluation
Summary
Through its mission statement and educational goals, the University of Puget Sound sets out a
challenging and inclusive pathway for its students. Puget Sound graduates, through their participation in
a rigorous academic program and integrated community, develop and demonstrate the tenets of the
mission as reflected in the core themes: academic excellence, rich knowledge of self and others, and
engaged citizenship.
Assessment of Puget Sound’s core theme objectives includes evaluation of three main areas: what the
college brings to the students’ experience, how the students engage the experience, and the outcomes
students demonstrate as they move through and beyond their educational program. We understand
that, in articulating ambitious core themes, our work will never be fully evidenced. In part, some of the
work we do is made true only in the daily acts through which professional educators make it so; in part,
some outcomes evidence is simply not available until beyond the limited years of students’ enrollment
at the college. We remain committed, nonetheless, to hold to ambitious goals and to bring the best
evidence available to the ongoing development and evaluation of Puget Sound’s educational program.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 26
Chapter 2: Resources and Capacity
Executive Summary
The University of Puget Sound is an independent, residential, predominantly undergraduate liberal arts
college with select graduate programs that build on a liberal arts foundation [Eligibility Requirement 4].
Under the guidance of the college’s mission statement, and as identified in the college’s Equal
Opportunity Statement, Puget Sound does not discriminate in education or employment [Eligibility
Requirement 5]. Puget Sound, as indicated in part through the policies identified on the college’s
website, strictly adheres to the highest ethical standards in all of its operations and relationships
[Eligibility Requirement 6].
The people involved with Puget Sound—students, staff, faculty, and administrators—are the
fundamental to the college. The active, 31-member Board of Trustees is responsible for the quality and
integrity of Puget Sound. The board sets broad institutional mission and policies, delegates administrative
authority, and periodically reviews its own structure and practices in order to ensure continued effectiveness
[Eligibility Requirement 7]. President Ronald Thomas was appointed by the Board of Trustees and
devotes his full-time responsibilities to Puget Sound while trustee Richard Brooks serves as Chair of the
Board of Trustees [Eligibility Requirement 8]. In addition to President Thomas, Puget Sound has an
administration composed of highly qualified, dedicated individuals who work collaboratively to fulfill the
mission of the college [Eligibility Requirement 9]. A full-time faculty of approximately 225 is first and
foremost a teaching faculty with a strong commitment to ensuring the integrity and continuity of Puget
Sound’s academic programs, policies, and educational objectives [Eligibility Requirement 10].
Puget Sound’s educational programs, both undergraduate and graduate, are designed by the faculty to
support the liberal arts mission of the college. The educational programs culminate in student learning
outcomes identified on the college’s website, as well as in the University of Puget Sound Bulletin, and
lead to degrees consistent with program content in recognized fields of study [Eligibility Requirement
11]. The undergraduate educational program includes a Core Curriculum as a key component of every
Puget Sound degree. The Core Curriculum includes two first-year seminars, five “Approaches to
Knowing” courses, and an upper-level integrative course (Connections)[Eligibility Requirement 12].
The educational programs at Puget Sound, curricular and co-curricular, are sustained by an integral
network of support services. Collins Memorial Library serves as the hub of information access and
literacy for Puget Sound, fulfilling its mission to provide “excellent collections, quality service, engaging
learning environments and innovative instruction in support of the university’s mission of teaching,
learning, civic engagement and diversity” [Eligibility Requirement 13]. The beautiful 94-acre campus
supports the academic, residential, and co-curricular programs that comprise a Puget Sound education
[Eligibility Requirement 14].
The open and inclusive programs at Puget Sound encourage academic freedom for students, staff, and
faculty to pursue intellectual inquiry and independence. As defined in the Faculty Code, at Puget Sound
“academic freedom is the right of all members of the academic community to study, discuss,
investigate, teach, conduct research, publish or administer freely as appropriate to their respective
roles and responsibilities. It is the obligation of all members of the university academic community
to protect and assure these rights within the governing framework of the institution”[Eligibility
Requirement 15].
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 27
Puget Sound publishes its student admission policies on the college’s website and in the University
of Puget Sound Bulletin and University of Puget Sound Graduate Bulletin (published catalogs).
Admission practices at Puget Sound adhere to the policies as presented [Eligibility Requirement 16].
The website and bulletins also serve as sources for all public information including grading policy;
information on academic programs and courses; names, titles and academic credentials of
administrators and faculty; rules and regulations for student conduct; rights and responsibilities of
students; tuition, fees, and other program costs; refund policies and procedures; opportunities and
requirements for financial aid; and the academic calendar [Eligibility Requirement 17].
The college is a good steward of sufficient financial resources to afford stability and sustainability of the
institution. Puget Sound’s comprehensive and inclusive budgeting process bolsters responsible financial
planning and realistic development and utilization of financial resources while maintaining balanced
operating budgets. The college’s conservative risk management procedures ensure solvency and longterm sustainability. Puget Sound undergoes an annual audit, conducted by an external agency, and the
results of that audit are reviewed by the college’s administration and the Audit Committee of the Board
of Trustees [Eligibility Requirements 18 and 19].
Puget Sound participates fully with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
The college discloses all information to the NWCCU required for evaluation and accreditation [Eligibility
Requirement 20]. Puget Sound accepts the standards, policies, and procedures of the NWCCU and
agrees to comply with the standards and policies. Puget Sound also agrees that the NWCCU may make
known the nature of any action regarding Puget Sound’s status with the Commission [Eligibility
Requirement 21].
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 28
Standard 2.A Governance
The University of Puget Sound is an independent residential liberal arts college governed by the Board of
Trustees. The board sets broad institutional mission and policies, delegates administrative authority, and
periodically reviews its own structure and practices in order to ensure continued effectiveness. Puget Sound
is a single entity with a well-integrated and well-understood governing structure [Standard 2.A.2].
Governance and Board of Trustees
Puget Sound’s governance is well understood by its various constituencies and allows for input and
evolution. By linking its elements through purposefully integrated documents, governance at Puget
Sound engages a broad range of contributors across campus and generates a mutually supportive
division of labor among units. The system clearly articulates areas of activity, responsibility, and
oversight for all campus constituencies. As a result, rights and duties of institutional contributors are
both unambiguously stated and optimally flexible in changing circumstances [Standard 2.A.1]. This
governance model is in keeping with the guidelines established by the Association of Governing Boards
(AGB) of Universities and Colleges Statement on Board Responsibility for Institutional Governance.
The University’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the Faculty Code, and the Constitution of the
Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound complement each other and allow provision for
revising, subject to existing guidelines and inter-relation.
Recent examples of aligned evolution include revision of “stop the clock” process, the automatic delay
of an evaluation if a faculty member is granted personal medical, family medical, or parental leave;
clarification of who has the right and responsibility to participate in faculty evaluations; and substantive
changes to the Constitution of the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound. The faculty
actions moved from the Professional Standards Committee to the Board, while the ASUPS actions
moved from student vote to board action [Standard 2.A.1].
The University of Puget Sound is a single-unit institution [Standard 2.A.2] governed by a Board of
Trustees that is independent of contractual, employment, or financial interest. The Articles of
Incorporation require a minimum of 15 trustees and the Corporate Bylaws call for a maximum of 39
trustees. The current number of board members is 31 and for the past several years this number has
ranged from 30 to 33. Consistent with the bylaws of the university, the president is a voting trustee. No
other employee of the institution is a voting member of the board [Standard 2.A.4].
The board acts as a committee of the whole unless authority to act for the board is otherwise delegated.
The Corporate Bylaws authorize the Executive Committee to act for the board during the intervals
between regular board meetings, except as provided by the bylaws or the board itself by resolution. In
practice, particularly with respect to matters of substantial importance, the Executive Committee acts
either as specifically authorized by the board or subject to the board’s subsequent review and approval
[Standard 2.A.5].
The Corporate Bylaws similarly require the board by resolution to define the authority and duties of
other standing board committees. The currently effective board resolution for this purpose is the Board
Organization and Committee Responsibilities document, which describes the authority of each of the
board’s policy and operational committees. The authority and duties of each committee are reviewed
and approved or adjusted as needed by the full board at least annually [Standard 2.A.6].
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 29
The board operates through its policy and operations committees. Committee roles and responsibilities
are as directed in the bylaws. Board committee roles and responsibilities are reviewed and approved by
the full board at least annually [Standard 2.A.6].
The board, through its committees and subject to full board approval, reviews its practices regularly and
updates its practices and documents as needed. Examples of changes in recent years include a new gift
acceptance policy and establishment of a real estate subcommittee, revision of bylaws to allow for
electronic means of communication, and provision in the bylaws for emergency temporary presidential
succession [Standard 2.A.1].
Individual trustees or ad hoc trustee committees may speak or act for the board only as expressly
authorized. The board’s Statement of Individual Trustee Responsibilities informs trustees that “except
when convened as a corporate body, individual trustees have no special prerogatives.” Furthermore,
“individual trustees may speak on behalf of the board only when authorized and delegated this
responsibility by the board chair.” Each trustee’s introduction to board work includes a review of this
Statement and the standard is reinforced by example.
The board continues to monitor changes in the external regulatory environment that affect or may
affect its practices. Regular reports to the board through its policy and operations committees keep the
board informed. The board is fully aware of changes to the annual Conflict of Interest questionnaire, for
example, the public’s right to examine IRS form 990 and additional regulations that have required
additions to complement policies held by Puget Sound’s Accounting and Budget Services department.
Puget Sound monitors the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) Standards for
Accreditation, apprises the board of any changes to the standards, and ensures compliance with all
NWCCU standards [Standard 2.A.3].
The board has responsibility for approving broad institutional policies and monitoring the university’s
general well-being and course. The board’s “Responsibilities of the Board of Trustees” document clearly
articulates this role as does the Statement of Individual Trustee Responsibilities. By delegating policy
execution to the university’s administration, the board has indirect responsibility for day-to-day
management of the university. The board is not involved in organizational or staffing issues at the
operational level. Through regular reports from the president and through its various committees, the
board monitors the effectiveness with which institutional policies are implemented and administered.
The Committee on Trusteeship has attended to the demographic makeup of the board and requires that
a “board composition” document is a provided as a matter of standing practice to the Committee on
Trusteeship at its meetings. This document captures among other data elements the age, gender and
ethnic makeup of the board. The table below shows the shift in board demography in the past five
years.
Women
Persons of Color
Alumni
2007-08
16%
3%
71%
2012-13
29%
13%
77%
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 30
The Committee on Trusteeship also has in the past five years become focused in the development of
trustee candidates from a pool of potential candidates who have the opportunity over time to learn
about the role of volunteer leadership at Puget Sound and to demonstrate their capacity for volunteer
leadership.
As was highlighted recently in AGB’s Trusteeship magazine, ongoing identification of risks and
mitigations is a role of a prudent, attentive, and engaged board of trustees “formally incorporating risk
assessment into its work.” Puget Sound is among the one-third of colleges that regularly address
Enterprise Risk Management and is also among the one-third of colleges that engage in board
assessments [Standard 2.A.6].
The president is the university’s chief executive officer and reports directly and solely to the Board of
Trustees. Representing the University of Puget Sound, and in alignment with his responsibilities as
president of the university, President Ronald Thomas serves in a voluntary capacity on certain nonprofit
boards. He provides no services to, and receives no compensation from, other organizations or boards.
The board reserves to itself the selection and appointment of the president. The Presidential Search
Committee of 2002–03 included faculty, staff, and student members, along with board members. The
Board of Trustees selected and appointed Ronald R. Thomas as Puget Sound’s 13th president on
February 6, 2003.
The Board of Trustees, via its Compensation Committee, evaluates the president’s performance and
compensation on an annual basis. The evaluation of the president’s performance is conducted
consistent with the Compensation Committee Charter and Executive Compensation Philosophy
Statement approved by the Board of Trustees; both documents underwent major revision in 2006 to
formalize the Compensation Committee’s work consistent with best practices. The full board
participates in the annual assessment of the president of the university [Standard 2.A.7].
The Board of Trustees regularly evaluates its own performance. The board has, over the course of three
decades, periodically engaged nationally recognized board development consultant Richard Chait. Dr.
Chait’s work with Puget sound has helped us with a thoroughgoing review (1993-94) that resulted in
trustee term limits and a better-defined organizational structure, as well as a substantial reorganization
of the board and its operating procedures; helped us to define and build upon the relationship between
strategic planning and the management of the university; and then to assess and better understand the
funding needs of the strategic plan and the board’s role in a capital campaign (2007). This work
prepared us for the quiet phase and successful launch of the [One] of a Kind Campaign for Puget Sound.
The work with Dr. Chait underscored the importance of the fiduciary, strategic, and generative work of
the board. He joined us again in fall 2012 for a review of the operations of the board in the changing and
challenging landscape of higher education economics.
The Board Organization document adopted in 1994 and reviewed periodically since that time provides
guidance on the general practices of assessment. Puget Sound participates regularly in the Association
of Governing Board’s assessment of board practices survey for private institutions and we are in
compliance with general practices [Standard 2.A.8].
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 31
Leadership and Management
Ronald R. Thomas was elected president of the University of Puget Sound in 2003 and took office July 16
of that year. The presidency of the college is his fulltime responsibility and he serves as a member of the
board of trustees, as required by the Bylaws of the University of Puget Sound. A past member of the
board of directors for the American Council on Education and for the Chronicle of Higher Education and
New York Times Higher Education Cabinet, President Thomas is the former chair of the board of the
Independent Colleges of Washington and served on the President's Council for NCAA Division III. Dr.
Thomas is a current member of the executive committee of the Annapolis Group, a consortium
comprised of approximately 130 leading national independent liberal arts colleges. President Thomas
embodies the attributes identified by the Board of Trustees and the 2003 Presidential Search Committee
[Standard 2.A.10]:
 commitment to ideals of liberal arts education and ability to articulate them persuasively
 appreciation of Puget Sound’s particular values and culture
 record of scholarly achievement
 clear understanding of strategic priorities with the vision, energy, commitment to realize them
 respect and appreciation for all disciplines and for well-considered changes
 significant and successful administrative or executive experience
Puget Sound’s leadership system is based on a president’s cabinet of five vice presidents and the
executive director of communications who each head an administrative division [Standards 2.A.9;
2.A.11]. These positions, along with the director of the office of the president, who also serves as the
board secretary, report directly to the president. The cabinet members strive to provide exceptional and
continuously improving services that strengthen Puget Sound’s community of learning and operational
effectiveness.
Office of the Academic Vice President
The academic vice president and dean of the university is the university’s chief academic officer and is
directly responsible for the entire academic program. Many of the specific duties and responsibilities of
the dean of the university are established by the Faculty Code and Faculty Bylaws. The dean (or a
designee) is an ex officio voting member of the Faculty Senate and all of the standing committees of the
faculty. Since spring 2011, the academic division has – through retirements and planned transitions –
welcomed four new directors (academic advising, institutional research, international programs, center
for writing, learning and teaching) and two new associate deans; and a new dean for diversity and
inclusion and chief diversity officer.
Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration
The vice president for finance and administration is responsible for the university’s financial, physical,
technological, and human resources, and a variety of service and support operations for students,
faculty, staff, alumni, and community that advance Puget Sound’s mission and goals.
Office of the Vice President for University Relations
The vice president for university relations is the university’s chief development officer and has
responsibility for institutional advancement activities. Reporting directly to the vice president for
university relations are the directors of Alumni and Parent Relations, Annual Giving, Capital Giving,
Corporate and Foundation Relations, Donor Relations, University Relations Research, and University
Relations Information Services.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 32
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
The vice president for student affairs and dean of students is the university’s chief student affairs officer
and has responsibility for many student programs and services. A review of the structure and functions
within the division in 2005 resulted in the realignment of reporting lines. The primary reason for this
organizational change was to reduce the level of senior administration and increase the number of staff
providing direct service to students. The resulting change made possible an increase in staff resources
for Counseling, Health, and Wellness and for Spirituality, Service, and Social Justice.
Office of the Vice President for Enrollment
The vice president for enrollment has responsibility for all matters concerning admission. The Office of
Admission has the primary responsibility for recruiting new students and monitoring the enrollment of
continuing students with the objective of maintaining the number of students necessary to meet the
academic and budget objectives of Puget Sound. Collaborative activities between the enrollment
division and other units are an important part of the success of the division. In January, Puget Sound
welcomed a new vice president for enrollment who will integrate the offices of admission and of
student financial services.
Office of Communications
The Office of Communications develops and executes strategies to support the university’s strategic
plan and four key goals: enhancing and distinguishing the Puget Sound educational experience;
implementing the master plan; increasing student and alumni engagement; and strengthening the
university’s financial position. In support of these goals, the office focuses on increasing national
recognition among prospective students, alumni, and other stakeholders; building stronger relationships
with the local community to increase goodwill, facilitate progress on the master plan, and leverage
national press; and helping to develop stronger ties to alumni to create a culture of lifelong involvement
with the university.
The six divisions distribute the work of the university into functional units creating natural,
unambiguous, and efficient spheres of responsibility. The clarity of reporting relationships and
responsibilities within divisions ensures that administrative decision making is timely and effective.
Direct reporting relationships between division heads and the president facilitate communication and
allow the president to provide effective leadership and to establish his commitments to informationbased planning and institutional thinking. This structure is periodically reviewed by the president and
division heads. The president and the cabinet periodically meet with other senior administrators, such as
the chief technology officer, chief diversity officer, chief human resources officer, director of
institutional research, and executive director for community engagement, among others, to facilitate
planning and sound decisions [Standards 2.A.9; 2.A.11].
Policies and Procedures
Academics
Academic Policies [Standard 2.A.12]
Policies and procedures related to faculty teaching, service, scholarship, research, and artistic creation
are communicated to the faculty and related staff and administrators via a number of documents that
are updated yearly and made available in paper form as well as on the university’s website. Faculty
members who are new to the university receive paper copies of the university-level documents, and all
faculty are made aware of department-specific ones by their department chair. In the context of
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particular discussions, reference to these documents is frequent; thus, faculty, staff, and administration
have good working familiarity with these documents, as needed. These include:
 the Faculty Code – pertaining to teaching, service, scholarship, research, and artistic creation,
the Code describes the rights and responsibilities of faculty, the method and timeframe of
evaluation, causes for and processes related to faculty separation from the university, and
grievance processes for faculty.
 the Faculty By-Laws – describes the faculty governance structure and related processes and
responsibilities of faculty, specifically as related to committee participation.
 Faculty Evaluation Criteria and Procedures – the Professional Standards Committee outline of
due dates, processes, and expectations for evaluation.
 Departmental Guidelines – articulate in greater detail the processes and standards for faculty
evaluation of teaching, scholarship, and service as framed at the departmental level.
Relevant to students, faculty, administrators, and staff, academic policies more specifically related to
teaching and coursework are printed in the Academic Handbook and the University of Puget Sound
Bulletin. As stated in the Handbook forward, “All members of the university community are responsible
for adhering to the policies herein as well as to the policies published in the University of Puget Sound
Bulletin.” Addressed in the Academic Handbook are topics such as academic integrity, student leave of
absence policy, policies related to registration and withdraw from courses, and final exam policies. The
Bulletin likewise contains descriptions of general academic policies, student’s rights and responsibilities,
and the educational privacy statement. Students and faculty are provided with copies of these
documents when entering / hiring into the university, and both documents are frequently used in
practice, when needed, by faculty, staff, administrators, and students.
Library and Information Resource Policies [Standard 2.A.13]
Policies associated with library and information resources are accessible from the Collins Memorial
Library website and updated frequently to reflect any changes. Circulation policies address borrowing
privileges, loan periods, renewals, recalls, fines and interlibrary loan (ILL) for faculty, students, staff, and
community borrowers for locally owned materials, resources associated with the Orbis Cascade Alliance,
as well as those outside of the consortium. Additional information about confidentiality of library
records as well as borrowers’ responsibilities is also outlined. Staff contact information is provided on
these pages to assist the users with any questions and the library also offers links to the “Collins is
listening” web form which provides another avenue for asking questions. FAQ pages are also available.
Off-campus access to library resources is documented with easy to follow step-by-step directions. A link
from the main library website to a guide on accessibility provides detailed information on some of the
specialized services that are provided to students with unique learning needs. The library also provides
information on accessibility of resources through mobile services. As more students utilize mobile
devices to store, transfer and access information, we are committed to updating our services to meet
these needs. This approach is also reflected in our guide to e-books . This guide outlines license
agreements associated with use of and access to our growing collection of e-books. Information about
our licensed electronic resources is provided via the library website on general use guidelines for
electronic resources. In addition, for many of our licensed electronic resources we provide a link in the
catalog record that reflects license terms for the use of scholarly materials including use in course packs,
course reserves and sharing for scholarly purposes with peers outside of the Puget Sound community.
All registered users may access their library accounts online which provide information on borrowers’
responsibilities. Special paper notices are adhered to physical items borrowed via interlibrary loan and
through our consortium to remind users of loan rules.
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Transfer-of-Credit Policy [Standard 2.A.14]
Puget Sound is responsible for the policies and procedures used to accept transfer credit. Evaluators in
the Office of the Registrar work systematically to transfer courses similar in content to Puget Sound
courses, to identify transfer courses with content and intention applicable to the Puget Sound Core
curriculum, to transfer academic courses suitable as electives, and to remove from considerations those
courses determined to be non-transferable based on content, format, or method. Evaluators use course
descriptions from transfer institution catalogs, course syllabi provided by students, and also may request
course materials before completing an evaluation. To preserve institutional autonomy, the university
does not make articulation agreements but does play an active role in statewide transfer organizations.
The university’s transfer-of-credit policy is published in The University of Puget Sound Bulletin and The
University of Puget Sound Academic Handbook. Both publications are available in print and as content
on the university’s website. The Transfer of Credit Evaluation Policy is also available on the college
website.
The transfer-of-credit policy is also reflected in the annual publication of the Transfer Equivalency
Manuals outlining the university’s transfer practices for the community colleges in the state of
Washington. This publication is available in print and as content on the university’s website.
Credit Hour Equivalency. Academic credit at Puget Sound is characterized as units. In order to receive
the baccalaureate degree from the University of Puget Sound, a student must earn a minimum of 32
units. For purposes of transferring credit, one unit is equivalent to six quarter hours or four semester
hours. Courses are approved by the faculty Curriculum Committee on the basis of a unit offered over a
15 week semester. Courses are scheduled according to defined time frames within the 15 week
semester. The Course Scheduling Memo is presented in Appendix III. A formal credit hour review policy
is being put in place through the Academic Standards and Curriculum Committees.
Students
Students’ Rights and Responsibilities [Standard 2.A.15]
The University of Puget Sound Bulletin—found both on the university’s website and sent to students in
hard copy before matriculating—describes several student policies and procedures as related to rights
and responsibilities (e.g., FERPA). In addition, the Student Handbook (which includes the Academic
Handbook, the Student Integrity Code, and Campus Policies) is published on the university website. The
Academic Handbook describes specific policies and processes pertaining to courses and students’
enrollment in courses (e.g., academic integrity violations and responses, classroom disruption,
petitioning process, disability services). The Student Integrity Code explains in a general way the
overarching expectations for how students are to conduct themselves both in and outside of the
classroom; six standards more fully articulate the Integrity Code, and found here also are the procedures
for how the university addresses violations of this Code. Students recite the Integrity Principle at their
matriculation ceremony. A variety of Campus Policies (e.g., alcohol and drug, weapons, hazing) are a
third section of the student handbook. In all cases, these policies are easily found via several “clicks” off
of the university’s main webpage. Importantly, nearly all of these policies have been written with a great
deal of student input, have a “high profile,” and are used and referred to often in the normal course of
day-to-day work.
As to fair administration of said policies, proof is indirect. It is common practice for all administrators of
the various polices explained above to consult closely the written processes and procedures when
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conducting their work. For academically-related policies, the Associate Dean and Academic Vice
President oversee and monitor their fair implementation. In many cases, there are separate individuals
or committees that play a role in the decision making or implementation, creating a type of built-in
check and balance system. For example, a faculty committee reviews petitions for exceptions to
academic policy in the case of a “failure to approve” decision by any one member of the Petitions
Preview Team (i.e., Registrar, Associate Dean of Faculty, Director of Academic Advising). With few
exceptions, there is the opportunity for students to appeal most decisions and, again, this grievance
option is openly and plainly explained on the website and resolution involves a separate office or
administrator from the matter under dispute.
Admission [Standard 2.A.16]
Criteria for undergraduate admission at Puget Sound are delineated in the University of Puget Sound
Bulletin and on the Office of Admission website. Puget Sound provides applicants with details of
expected high school preparation and a profile of the academic demographics of recent entering classes.
Office of Admission practices comply with the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s
(NACAC) Statement of Good Principles and Practices as well as the criteria for Common Application
membership requiring a “holistic review” of applications. Primary considerations for admission include:
content and rigor of high school course selection, grade point average, standardized test results (ACT or
SAT and TOEFL for International applicants), personal essay and supplemental written statement, cocurricular interests, and teacher and counselor recommendations.
Policies for admission to graduate programs are provided in the University of Puget Sound Graduate
Bulletin and on the university website.
Puget Sound’s policies regarding continuation in and termination from its educational programs are
delineated in the University of Puget Sound Bulletin and extensively outlined on the institution’s Student
Life website via the Student Resources, Student Handbook, and Academic Handbook sections.
Institutional expectations are further expanded in Puget Sound’s Student Integrity Code, Academic
Standing, and Academic Integrity sections.
Co-curricular Activities [Standard 2.A.17]
The Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS) has formal documents which include
the Constitution, Bylaws, and the Club and Organization Governing Guidelines and Policies. These
documents are published on the website. Online content is considered the primary resource as it is
updated throughout the academic year. Changes to the ASUPS Constitution must be approved by the
general student body as well as the Board of Trustees. The ASUPS Bylaws and the ASUPS Club and
Organization Governing Guidelines and Polices are updated and approved by the voting members of the
ASUPS Senate.
The Constitution, Bylaws, and the ASUPS Clubs and Organization Governing Guidelines and Policies
documents contain current and accurate information regarding co-curricular activities and the roles and
responsibilities of students and the institution for those activities, including publications and other
student media. There are specific sections in the Bylaws for Student Media, Student Programmers and
Senate roles. Clubs and Organizations policies and relationships are specifically listed in the ASUPS Clubs
and Organization Governing Guidelines and Policies document.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 36
Human Resources [Standards 2.A.18 – 2.A.20]
Policies and procedures relating to faculty and staff employment are published on the college’s human
resources website. The Human Resources Department at Puget Sound updates staff policies when
regulatory or administrative changes prompt revisions. Policies applicable to faculty members are
established through the Faculty Code and Bylaws. Student staff policies are communicated in the annual
student employment referral process. For all human resources policies, there are regular review and
update mechanisms involving campus governing bodies or Senates, including the President’s Cabinet,
Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, and Office of the Academic Vice President and Dean.
The Faculty Code and Staff Complaint Resolution Procedures Policy outline procedures to address
concerns about equitable applications of policies. In recent years the suggested format for staff and
campus-wide policies has been updated to include common questions and responses, definitions, and
links to related policies (for example, see this format with the policy for staff selection).
The published staff policies referenced above outline criteria for staff appointment, evaluation, retention,
promotion, and/or termination. Faculty members are apprised of their conditions of employment through
the Faculty Code and annual contract letters. In addition, all job postings include job duties and
responsibilities, minimum and preferred qualifications, Fair Labor Standards Act classification, expectations
regarding equity and inclusion via the University Diversity Statement, criteria for salary determinations,
anticipated work duration and schedule, benefit eligibility, and work location (see current job postings at
https://www.pugetsound.jobs/ ).
An appointment letter provided to all regular staff confirms details of employment and contains a signature
statement affirming the selected hire’s commitment to abide by all university policies.New staff members are
further advised of conditions of employment and policies through (1) a first-day orientation in Human
Resources, (2) an orientation checklist provided to supervisors, (3) a website for new faculty and staff
members, and (4) a New Staff Orientation meeting. New faculty members also attend a Human Resources
orientation as well as a New Faculty Orientation session.
Current employees have additional access to information concerning their rights and responsibilities through
labor law posters in various locations on campus, and through consultations with Human Resources
personnel. Staff members who are counseled as a result of performance issues are fully advised of corrective
action policies.
Personnel and benefits files are stored in a locked, dedicated file room located within the Human
Resources department. Additional faculty evaluation and personnel records are kept in a secure location
in the Office of the Academic Vice President and Dean. Access to electronic records requires positionbased, online permission grants. In addition, Human Resources staff sign confidentiality agreements and
are regularly trained in security and confidentiality protocols.
Institutional Integrity [Standards 2.A.21-2.A.26]
Representation
Policies, practices, and appropriate staffing are in place to ensure authentic and accurate
communications about Puget Sound, including procedures for close and careful review of all publicly
disseminated information. Puget Sound accurately represents its current accreditation status in print
publications and on the university website.
Media. A media measurement system, implemented in 2006 and revised in 2011, tracks coverage of key
initiatives, academic programs, and student/alumni activities and provides a means to analyze the
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content, accuracy, and dissemination of messaging about Puget Sound locally, regionally, nationally, and
internationally; media reports are provided electronically and in hard copy to trustees at each board
meeting, keeping trustees informed as to how Puget Sound’s academic intentions, programs, and
services are being covered by the media; coverage clips are provided monthly to members of the Alumni
Council Executive Committee; all releases are proofread and fact-checked internally and with primary
sources and posted online; an extensive experts guide was updated in 2011 to make faculty experts
more publicly accessible to the media and others.
Interactive. A newly redesigned site was launched in October 2009, providing more interactive features,
student blogs and social media, a virtual tour, links to social media, features about faculty and student
academic work, and profiles on academic departments. We introduced a more stable content
management system based on open source technology, which makes it easier to keep the site fresh,
accurate and updated on a consistent basis. Web analytics capabilities were introduced in 2011 to assist
academic and administrative areas in assessing how successfully their messaging is reaching intended
audiences. Navigation and content changes are frequently made based on analysis of this data. In 2010,
we developed a strategic and operational plan for website management, including a content review
schedule for all sections of the site, ensuring that content remains current and accurate. Student
usability testing was conducted following the 2009 site launch, and will be conducted again pre- and
post-launch of a completely updated site in 2013-14.
Alumni Communications. Reader surveys for the alumni magazine, Arches, were conducted in 2002,
2004, 2006, 2009, and Fall 2012. A three-year survey schedule has now been adopted in order to
respond to feedback before resurveying readers. A content analysis was completed in 2011 to provide
an overview of coverage by academic and subject area, and demographics of profile subjects (gender,
ethnicity, class year, etc.) in order to ensure balanced coverage. Effective July 2012, we are adding eight
pages to each issue in order to better respond to reader interests and increasing submissions of news by
alumni. The Alumni Council communications committee meets with representatives of the Office of
Communications twice a year and provides feedback on the alumni magazine and other
communications with alumni. Surveys consistently indicate that the magazine enjoys a high level of
readership and trust.
Institutional Public Relations. Puget Sound has conducted regular research with outside consultants to
monitor and respond appropriately to impressions by key stakeholders. This work includes current and
prospective student surveys and focus groups (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012); college counselor interviews
(2012); and introduction in fall 2010 of a publication and website featuring faculty scholarship, to
communicate more fully about faculty research to prospective students, prospective faculty, and other
audiences interested in the academic life of the university. A password-protected online photo database
was introduced in fall 2010, along with more robust participation in and monitoring of social media
channels.
Code of Conduct
In 2005, the Board of Trustees adopted a Code of Conduct for the campus. The code provides an
overarching general statement expressing the expectation that all members of the campus community
do and will uphold ethical, professional, and legal standards. The code applies to trustees and all
members of the campus community. It supplements but does not replace existing published university
policies and codes. The Audit Committee reviews the Code of Conduct annually. Also in 2005, the
university instituted an externally managed Compliance Helpline that is available to all members of the
campus community as a means to communicate perceived breaches of the Code of Conduct.
Effectiveness of the code and helpline is reviewed annually. The code is shared with new faculty and
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staff members and new trustees, and also is distributed to all campus members each fall. Since 2005,
there has been no helpline activity. This suggests compliance with university governing documents and
policies across campus constituencies.
The duties, responsibilities, ethical conduct requirements, organizational structure, and operating
procedures of the board are collected in the board’s policy manual. The relevant documents are:
 Restated Articles of Incorporation, April 11, 1997;
 Corporate Bylaws, December 17, 1975, amended through May 15, 2009;
 Board Organization and Committee Responsibilities, May 2008;
 Responsibilities of the Board of Trustees (adapted from Richard T. Ingram, Effective Trusteeship:
A Guide for Board Members of Independent Colleges and Universities: Association of Governing
Boards of Universities and Colleges, 1995), February 1999;
 Statement of Individual Trustee Responsibilities, February 2003;
 Conflict of Interest Policy, May 21, 1977 (Also see Article II, Section 4, of Corporate Bylaws.);
 Code of Conduct, May 2005 (updated May 2006).
In the course of its regular review of board practices, the Committee on Trusteeship in May 2007
recommended, and the board approved, an expanded Conflict of Interest Questionnaire for trustees and
non-trustee officers of the university. This questionnaire is broader in scope and asks for more specific
information in response than did the previous version. Conflict of Interest policies are in place for the
governing board and non-trustee officers, as well as for staff and faculty. Regular in-service training
during the campus’s annual professional development training series allows refresher and case study
training for staff. Trustees and non-trustee officers annually complete a conflict of interest
questionnaire, and appropriate disclosure is made in the university’s 990 Tax return.
Puget Sound advocates, subscribes to, and exemplifies high ethical standards in managing and operating
research and teaching at the college. The Institutional Review Board facilitates the review and safety of
research studies and projects involving human subjects in compliance with university policy and federal
guidelines. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee assures that all research and activities at
the University of Puget Sound involving live vertebrate animals is conducted in accord with the highest
scientific, humane, and ethical principles.
Intellectual Property
Puget Sound’s intellectual property policy addresses rights to ownership, copyright, control,
compensation and revenue derived from creation and production of intellectual property. The policy
was revised and reviewed in 2011-2012 and approved by the Board in October 2012.
Contractual Agreements
Five officers of the university are authorized by board resolution to enter into contractual agreements
on behalf of the university. These officers are also authorized, under certain specific conditions, to
delegate authority to sign to other faculty and staff members.
Most contracts are submitted to the Vice President for Finance and Administration for review of the
appropriateness of the terms relative to the described need, for compliance with legal, regulatory, and
ethical considerations, for conformity to the university’s mission and goals, and for guidance on practical
negotiation strategies. Common contracts utilized in the Academic Division, such as honoraria or , are
reviewed and signed by an authorized officer or delegate in that division. In the instances where
additional assistance is required the officer may consult with outside legal counsel.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 39
Should a request be submitted for payment for products or services that require a contractual
agreement and the agreement is either not present or not signed by an authorized agent of the
university, the request is routed to the Vice President for Finance and Administration for review and
approval on an exception basis. The initiating department is advised of the need to revise their
procedures to ensure contract review prior to entering into arrangements.
Academic Freedom [Standards 2.A.27 – 2.A.29]
There are several documents that speak both broadly and narrowly to the principles of academic
freedom, academic responsibility, and the protection of faculty, staff, students, and board members
from forces that could directly or indirectly threaten these principles.
The Faculty Code, which is written and revised by faculty and approved by the governing board, contains
statements and policies directly related to the concepts of academic freedom, academic responsibility
and their protection. For example:
 I E 1a defines academic freedom as the “…right of all members of the academic community to
study, discuss, investigate, teach, conduct research, publish, or administer freely as appropriate
to their respective roles and responsibilities.” It continues by stating that, “It is the obligation of
all members of the university academic community to protect and assure these rights within the
governing framework of the institution.”
 I C 3 and 4b specify that “[f]aculty respect and defend the free inquiry of associates and the
exchange of criticism and ideas, showing due respect for the opinions of others.” Further, the
Code notes that “[m]embership in the academic community obliges each person to respect the
right of others to express differing opinions, to insist on intellectual honesty, to promote free
inquiry, and to participate in that community with fairness, integrity and respect for others.”
Methods for handling any alleged violations of these principles are provided for by the Faculty Code and
outlined in Chapters I, V, and VI of that document. As mentioned briefly above, the university also has
numerous specific policies on, for example, privacy, conflict of interest, and harassment which protect
members of the community and, ultimately their capacity to participate with integrity and freely in the
academic community.
Academic Freedom in Teaching
The Faculty Code states that, as scholars and with respect to their disciplines, the primary responsibility
of any faculty member is “to seek and to state the truth as they see it.” Subsidiary interests “must never
seriously compromise their freedom of inquiry.” The Code obliges the faculty not just to tolerate but
also to promote and defend free inquiry and expression. In relations with their faculty colleagues,
professors are charged to “respect and defend the free inquiry of associates and the exchange of
criticism and ideas, showing due respect for the opinions of others.” As teachers, one important
responsibility of faculty is to “encourage the free pursuit of learning in students and protect their
academic freedom.” As the Code states, “Membership in the academic community obliges everyone to
respect the right of others to express differing opinions, to insist on intellectual honesty, to promote
free inquiry, and to participate in that community with fairness, integrity, and respect for others.”
With these rights comes the responsibility not to push free expression and inquiry past reasonable
limits. “The expression of dissent and the attempt to produce change should not be carried out in ways
which impede the functions of the university, injure individuals, damage institutional facilities, or disrupt
the classes of one’s students or colleagues.”
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At no point in the process of appointment, evaluation, tenure, or promotion are burdens put on
members of the faculty that conflict in any way with this basic academic freedom. Faculty members
maintain complete autonomy over the control and design of their courses. In all of these contexts, as in
any situation where faculty interact with the board and administration, the only relevant criteria involve
academic performance and university service. “The university does not discriminate in its relations with
faculty on account of matters having no bearing on academic performance.”
As with the other rights and responsibilities accorded to faculty, the Faculty Code enforces the
provisions guaranteeing academic freedom by creating a system for handling grievances that would
enable any faculty member to maintain before the Professional Standards Committee that his or her
academic freedom had been impinged upon by either a colleague or the university.
Academic Freedom in Scholarship and Creative Work
The mission of the university, in constituting the university as a community of learning with a strong
commitment to scholarly engagement, implicitly requires that faculty and students be accorded the
broadest freedom in their pursuit of truth and artistic expression. The Faculty Code is quite explicit when
it demands that, as scholars, faculty members seek the truth as they see it, without interference and
with the support and encouragement of their colleagues and the university as a whole:
“A faculty member must be able to participate in the democratic process of the institution, must be able
to learn and teach what scholarship suggests is the truth, must be able to question even what is believed
to have been settled, and must be able to publish what scholarship has discovered without fear of
reprisal. A faculty member is entitled to freedom in research and in publication of the results, subject to
the adequate performance of the faculty member’s other academic duties.”
The university’s mechanisms for awarding tenure and promotion and for the distribution of resources in
support of scholarship provide adequate safeguards against any infringement upon basic academic and
artistic freedom.
The breadth and diversity of scholarly and artistic productions that are supported, applauded, or at the
very least, tolerated by the community, and the civility with which the faculty and staff have handled
issues on which there has been disagreement, attest to the degree to which this commitment to
academic freedom is implemented in the daily lives of members of the Puget Sound community. For
example, controversies around expression in student publications, dramatic productions, and
advertisements have provided opportunities for education, mediation, and improved understanding.
Finance [Standard 2.A.30]
Puget Sound has board-level policies for oversight and management of financial resources that address
and provide an effective framework for all financial issues such as planning, budgeting, fundraising, cash
management, and debt management. These policies include clearly defined board and management
(staff) roles and responsibilities. Please refer to Appendix IV for a list of applicable finance-related
policies, procedures, and/or practices.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 41
Standard 2.B Human Resources
Personnel [Standard 2.B.1]
The Human Resources department is charged with analyzing and monitoring Puget Sound’s human
resources needs and programs to ensure Puget Sound has the talent and capability needed to fulfill its
mission and adhere to its core values.
Within the university’s support and operations functions, assessing personnel needs is a collaborative
exercise between Human Resources and the departments concerned. Senior managers or faculty
department heads can request a reorganization or organization design review. In addition Puget Sound
has an annual process for requesting additional staff and for returning or repurposing unneeded FTEs
(full-time equivalency).
Position announcements posted on Puget Sound’s jobsite identify qualifications for successful
candidacy. Selection procedures for staff and faculty positions can be viewed online in the Faculty
Recruitment Guidelines and the Staff Selection Policy. Job descriptions are reviewed and updated at the
beginning of each search or when a position redesign is necessary, and as of January 2013 will be
requested during the annual staff performance evaluation process.
Human Resources is scheduled to implement a new information system in January 2013; this system is
expected eventually to make additional data available for workforce planning activities.
Staff Evaluation [Standard 2.B.2]
Staff, including administrator, performance reviews are conducted campus-wide during the first quarter of
each calendar year using university criteria and/or individually-set performance goals (see Staff Performance
Review and Development Policy and forms at http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/offices-services/human-resources/forms/#Staff%20Performance%20Review). Staff members identified through
this process as not meeting performance standards may be placed on performance development plans.
Evaluation of Cabinet members and university officers occurs as a separate process each summer. Planned
improvements to the staff performance review program will focus on the quality of the reviews,
including the suitable identification of objectives for the upcoming year.
Professional Development [Standard 2.B.3]
Professional growth and development of faculty are pursued through numerous channels. A full listing of these
options may be found at http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/faculty--staff-resources/professionaldevelopment. Full-time faculty members who are new to the university participate in New Faculty Orientation,
which provides information and the opportunity to discuss topics related to teaching, scholarship, and cocurricular programs. Department chairs also work with new faculty to establish expectations and to assist them
in developing a strong work performance.
As of the 2011-12 academic year, the Associate Dean of Faculty invited all new faculty holding continuing
positions to a series of informal coffee hours to discuss topics suggested by the new faculty—such as work-life
balance, revising courses, evaluation, advising, service, and tips for handling students who are performing
poorly.
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Internal grants and leaves are recognized as important contributors to faculty professional growth and
development. These can include funding for conference attendance, curricular development, faculty research,
summer research, pre- and post-tenure sabbaticals, and/or course release time. The reports we receive from
faculty indicate that such measures have helped them to complete data collection, write and publish articles
and books, gain extensive depth of knowledge in new areas of study, and develop new courses, among other
activities. For the last five years, all applicants for pre-tenure sabbaticals have received a semester’s leave, and
we were pleased in fall 2012 to receive funding from the Mellon Foundation to continue this program.
A challenge we continue to face is the variable quality of department chair orientation of adjunct and visiting
faculty members. Because adjunct and visiting faculty members frequently teach larger, introductory courses,
their potential impact is extensive and, thus, their orientation and support is especially important.
Administrative and support staff are encouraged to pursue professional growth by attending classes offered at
an annual professional development and enrichment conference (see sample program at
http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/offices--services/human-resources/professional-development/ ), as well
as through stand-alone programs offered during the academic year. Evaluations indicate participants are
satisfied with such programs, though we still have work to do to assess how well such programs support
improved performance. In addition, most departments have their own staff development programs, which
include internal workshops and training, as well as funding for off-site workshops and travel to professional
meetings and conferences. Human Resources’ strategic plan includes provisions for greater focus on
professional and career development.
The Faculty
Students attending the University of Puget Sound work with a faculty selected not only for excellence in
their respective disciplines, but also for their desire and ability to build a learning environment that
enables students to accomplish the university’s core themes and educational goals. Puget Sound
faculty—many of whom have won distinguished teaching awards and postdoctoral fellowships during
their graduate careers—choose to come to the university because of their strong commitment to liberal
arts education and to the mutually enriching pursuit of teaching and scholarship that occurs in this
academic community.
The university employs a full-time faculty of 225; tenure-line faculty—those appointed to the ranks of
assistant professor, associate professor, or professor, who are eligible for reappointment and promotion
to a higher rank, and who are eligible for tenure consideration—hold terminal degrees. Twenty three
positions in the ongoing faculty complement are non-tenured instructors. Instructors are employed to
teach lower- level or prerequisite courses in certain departments, such as introductory language
courses, or to teach in specialized clinical areas of the curriculum [Standard 2.B.4].
The role of faculty as teachers, scholars, and colleagues is outlined in Chapter I, Part B, of the Faculty
Code. General and specific duties of faculty members are outlined in Chapter I, Part C, of the Faculty
Code. The usual expectation is that faculty members teach six units a year, convene classes at regularly
scheduled times during the full academic year, prepare for courses, grade student work, and keep office
hours and scheduled appointments. Faculty members are expected to advise students, participate in
university service, and maintain an active scholarly life [Standard 2.B.5].
Puget Sound faculty have adopted a rigorous and thorough process for faculty evaluation [Standard
2.B.6]. Faculty are evaluated against two documents: (1) the Faculty Code (Chapter III), which describes
the general process and university-wide expectations for job performance in the areas of teaching,
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 43
professional development, advising, and service, and (2) department-level evaluation guidelines, which
describe the specific content and standards by which these areas of evaluation are implemented.
Importantly, each departmental guideline document is examined carefully by the Professional Standards
Committee to ensure that it is consistent with the spirit and letter of the Faculty Code, and all
documents are approved before they are implemented by departments.
In years 1 and 2, all ongoing and tenure-line faculty are evaluated at the department level. Student
course evaluations are collected and read for each course taught by a given faculty member; along with
these evaluations, the head officer (often, but not always the department chair) normally collects other
forms of evidence (e.g., course observations). The head officer then writes an evaluative letter, a copy of
which is given to the evaluee and the academic vice president/dean. Unless the head officer
recommends non-reappointment, no further action is required.
Beginning in year 3, persons in the rank of instructor, assistant professor, and associate professor are
normally evaluated every three years according to the following general process. (Additional detail
about, and small variations from, this process are found in Chapter III, Sections 4 and 5, of the Faculty
Code.)
At the department level:
 The evaluee prepares a file for department review that includes a statement of professional
goals, objectives, teaching materials, documentation of scholarly and professional activity, and
evidence of service. The previous two semesters (four semesters in the case of tenure) of course
evaluations are included in the file.
 Department colleagues review the file and are expected to have good familiarity with the
evaluee’s work. Departments are required to have at least two class observations by at least two
faculty members as part of the evidence of the evaluee’s teaching. In most cases, departments
have between eight and 15 classroom observations, especially when the evaluation could result
in a change of status.
 Department colleagues write a substantive letter of evaluation. In the cases of tenure or change
of status, colleagues are expected to document in writing their independent recommendation.
 The evaluee has the right to review these letters of evaluation. The evaluee may also waive his
or her right to view the letters (i.e., the evaluee may opt for a closed file).
 The department makes a recommendation via a deliberative process, ensuring that there is
evidence that department faculty had available the necessary materials/documentation and
that “adequate consideration has been given to the candidate’s qualifications.” The head officer
prepares a letter describing the deliberative process and outcome and provides a copy to the
evaluee. All materials and letters of evaluation are then forwarded to the Faculty Advancement
Committee (FAC).
Faculty Advancement Committee (FAC):
 This committee is composed of the academic vice president/dean and five tenured faculty,
selected by the academic vice president/dean from a slate elected by the faculty.
 FAC members read each file, including materials prepared by the evaluee, all letters of
evaluation, and all original copies of student course evaluations.
 The committee comes to an independent recommendation and prepares a letter of evaluation
that is sent to the evaluee and head officer.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 44
Evaluation by the president:
 In the case of tenure or promotion, the president reads the file forwarded to him by the FAC.
 The president reaches an independent recommendation and informs the evaluee, in writing, of
his intention to submit this recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
Evaluation by the board:
 The Academic and Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees reviews evaluation
materials and the recommendation forwarded by the president.
 The Board of Trustees makes a final decision on tenure or promotion.
Faculty members in the rank of associate professor who are not candidates for tenure or promotion,
and professors with five, 15, 25, or 35 years of service in that rank (as well as ongoing instructors with
more than 17 years of service in that rank) may elect to be evaluated via the following modified process:
 The head officer determines whether or not a streamlined review is warranted and reports this
decision to the academic vice president/dean; if both concur, the streamlined process proceeds.
 The evaluee prepares a file as described earlier, and department colleagues have the option of
reviewing the file.
 The head officer reviews the file and prepares a letter of evaluation that is forwarded to the
academic vice president/dean.
 The academic vice president/dean or a designated member of the FAC reviews the file and
prepares a letter of evaluation.
 Both the head officer’s and the academic vice president/dean’s letters of evaluation are
forwarded to the evaluee.
 At the conclusion of the review process, the head officer or the academic vice president/dean
may call for a full review to be conducted during the subsequent academic year.
In the event that a faculty member’s evaluation is unsatisfactory, the academic vice president/dean
holds a conference with the head officer and faculty member to discuss the reasons for the substandard
evaluation. If the decision is not appealed by the evaluee, the faculty member (i.e., evaluee), head
officer, and academic vice president/dean draw up an agreement that includes a specific faculty
development plan, including clearly stated goals and a schedule for performance appraisal with specific
criteria for the evaluation. The academic vice president/dean and head officer conduct an annual review
of the faculty member’s progress, and a subsequent evaluation is conducted three years following the
initial evaluation after which, if the result remains unsatisfactory, the faculty member may be dismissed.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 45
Standard 2.C Education Resources
Puget Sound’s educational resources manifest our core themes of Academic Excellence, Rich Knowledge
of Self and Others, and Engaged Citizenship. In joining the University of Puget Sound’s intellectual
community, students are invited to participate in the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and habits of mind
through the exploration of diverse ideas, values, and cultures. As stated in the Puget Sound curriculum
statement and university mission statement, the educational goals of the Puget Sound undergraduate
curriculum are to foster in students:
1. the ability to think logically, analytically, and independently
2. the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing
3. the ability to learn on one’s own
4. breadth of learning in the form of familiarity with a variety of academic fields and potential
interests
5. depth of knowledge in a single field in order to know a sense of the power that comes with
learning
6. an understanding of the interrelationships among the various fields of knowledge and the
significance of one discipline for another
7. an acknowledged set of personal values
8. informed appreciation of self and others as part of a broader humanity in the world
environment.
Puget Sound faculty members address these goals within the context of dynamic learning made possible
by the residential liberal arts environment. Faculty members are committed to fostering intellectual
relationships with their students, acknowledging that some of the most productive exchanges with
students occur in informal settings. Faculty members provide mentorship through collaborative research
and support and direct a generous number of senior theses (required for some majors, optional for
others) and independent student research projects. The university supports the effective use of
technology in instruction, yet faculty members continue to affirm that technology must serve to
enhance and enrich instruction, rather than substitute for direct contact between professor and
student. Faculty members interact with students in a sustained way through academic advising, cocurricular and residential teaching, as sponsors for student organizations, and as audience members for
a rich array of student events, performances, and competitions. Faculty members understand that
liberal arts learning requires active engagement according to the best traditions of a college.
The Puget Sound 32-unit baccalaureate degree program is composed of three parts: study in the core
curriculum (8 units), study in a major (9 to16 units), and complementary and exploratory elective
courses. The select graduate programs at Puget Sound are designed to build on the baccalaureate liberal
arts experience and extend liberal learning into professional training for work in education, occupational
therapy, and physical therapy. No remedial courses are offered at Puget Sound. Credit for prior
experiential learning is not granted at Puget Sound [Standard 2.C.7].
Puget Sound offers undergraduate degrees in areas ranging from traditional disciplines to innovative
interdisciplinary programs. Select graduate degrees are offered through programs in education (MAT,
MEd), physical therapy (DPT) and occupational therapy (MOT, MSOT). Many departments offer multiple
major degrees as well as minors, and many faculty members across departments participate in
interdisciplinary programs which bridge traditional areas and innovative developments at the
intersections of disciplines. These programs may offer majors (e.g., molecular and cellular biology,
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 46
biochemistry, international political economy), minors (e.g., environmental policy and decision making,
gender studies), or an emphasis designation (e.g., Asian studies, neuroscience)[Standards 2.C.1; 2.C.3].
Degrees offered at Puget Sound include:
Bachelor of Arts with a Major in
Art
Business
Chemistry
Chinese
Classics
Communication Studies
Comparative Sociology
East Asian Languages
Economics
English
French
French International Affairs
German
German International Studies
Hispanic International Studies
Hispanic Studies – Language, Culture,
Literature
History
International Political Economy
Japanese
Music
Philosophy
Physics
Politics and Government
Psychology
Religion
Science, Technology, and Society
Special Interdisciplinary Major
Theatre Arts
Bachelor of Science with a Major in
Biology
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Computer Science
Computer Science/Business
Economics
Exercise Science
Geology
Mathematics
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Natural Science
Physics
Special Interdisciplinary Major
Bachelor of Music
Elective Studies in Business
Music Education
Performance
Minors Offered
African American Studies
Art
Biology
Business
Chemistry
Chinese
Classics
Communication Studies
Comparative Sociology
Computer Science
Economics
English
Environmental Policy and Decision Making
Exercise Science
French
German
Gender Studies
Geology
History
Humanities
Japanese
Latin American Studies
Mathematics
Music
Philosophy
Physics
Politics and Government
Religion
Science, Technology, and Society
Spanish
Theatre Arts
Interdisciplinary Emphasis in
Asian Studies
Global Development Studies
Neuroscience
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 47
The University of Puget Sound Bulletin, which is updated annually and is available online and in printed
form, clearly defines degree requirements as well as the major and minor requirements specific to each
department and program. Faculty members in academic departments or programs consistently evaluate
the content and rigor of degree requirements to make sure that the appropriate breadth and depth are
met. Some departments, schools, or programs may consult with their respective professional
organizations for guidance in developing and maintaining a curriculum that is relevant and current
[Standards 2.C.2; 2.C.4].
Departments or programs outline key learning objectives in their program description as well as on their
program websites. Specific outcomes/objectives for individual courses are outlined in course syllabi
[Standard 2.C.2]. Assessment of student learning is varied and may include examinations, presentations,
and research papers as well as review of student portfolios and self-assessments of learning [Standard
2.C.4].
Departmental objectives are evaluated in the context of the department or program’s self-study during
their 5-year curriculum review. The university’s Curriculum Committee serves as the internal reviewer of
the curriculum of each department, school, or program and also monitors the effectiveness of the Core
curriculum. This faculty committee applies the educational philosophy and ideals of the university to the
undergraduate and graduate curricula offered.
Academic departments and programs are asked to annually assess and reflect on the effectiveness of
their curriculum in supporting student achievement of learning outcomes. This annual curriculum
assessment may include individual course assessments as well as reviewing data collected from surveys
(senior or post graduate), focus groups, and Institutional Research (MIRS reports). Some departments
undergo external reviews by their discipline’s professional agencies (e.g., American Chemical Society—
Committee on Professional Teaching) or administer standard examinations (e.g., Economics ETS exam).
Degrees are awarded in the Registrar’s Office after an evaluator has audited the degree candidate’s
record and verified the candidate has completed each academic requirement of the qualification for
which the candidate applied [Standard 2.C.3]. Credit awarded for Advanced Placement and International
Baccalaureate examination results is subject to assessment each year as faculty determine the
appropriateness of student placements based on student progress in the courses beyond the course
exemptions allowed by the examination results. Credit awarded for classes is subject to the assessment
of the faculty’s Curriculum Committee which oversees the curriculum review process for the Core
Curriculum and for academic departments.
The final degree audit is completed using a worksheet and a Degree Progress Report, the template for
which is constructed by an evaluator in the Registrar’s Office who codes bulletin text into programming
which outlines degree requirements. The records of new students are reviewed in the Registrar’s Office
after the first semester, continuing student records are reviewed between the sophomore and junior
years, between the junior and senior years, and following registration for the term in which the student
has applied to graduate. The Degree Progress Report is available at all times to students and to
academic advisors so that student progress can be reviewed in preparation for each semester’s
registration.
Faculty members take full responsibility for designing, maintaining, and updating the curriculum
[Standard 2.C.5]. The cycle of assessment and reflection propels the curriculum forward, and
departments or programs make the needed changes to the curriculum to accommodate the diverse
needs of the students as well as changes in faculty expertise. To support the offerings in a particular
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 48
curriculum, additional teaching support may be required to accommodate for higher enrollments or as a
replacement for sabbatical leave. When a department or program demonstrates the need for additional
staffing to support the curriculum, they make a specific request to the Academic Vice President/Dean.
Faculty members in a particular department or program actively participate in the process of hiring
temporary and tenure-line faculty, from working with Human Resources to develop the advertisement
to submitting the names of the top candidates to the Dean [Standard 2.C.5].
Most departments and programs specifically note as student learning objectives the ability to
communicate effectively and to search and use the literature of a field. To realize these objectives,
faculty members work with liaison librarians in order to effectively and appropriately integrate library
and information resources into their courses. Library personnel also work with students directly to
integrate library and information resources into their learning [Standard 2.C.6].
The library takes very seriously the importance of information literacy and research skills and works
collaboratively with faculty members as well as academic offices and co-curricular departments to
integrate library and information resources into the learning process, both formally through the
curriculum as well as informally through outreach efforts. The library has identified information literacy
as a key strategic theme and this includes: integration of information literacy across the curriculum from
the first year through capstone course by developing rubrics and standards, participation in new student
orientation, and working with the Curriculum Committee and academic departments to establish
research and resource benchmarks that can help inform the curricular review process.
Puget Sound is responsible for the policies and procedures used to accept transfer credit [Standard
2.C.8]. Evaluators in the Office of the Registrar work systematically to transfer courses similar in content
to Puget Sound courses, to identify transfer courses with content and outcomes applicable to the Puget
Sound Core curriculum, to transfer academic courses suitable as electives, and to remove from
considerations those courses determined to be non-transferable based on content, format, outcomes,
or method. Evaluators use course descriptions from transfer institution catalogs, course syllabi provided
by students, and also may request course materials before completing an evaluation. To preserve
institutional autonomy, the university does not make articulation agreements but does play an active
role in statewide transfer organizations.
The evaluators use their judgment in determining which transfer decisions should be reviewed by
faculty. The responsibility for transfer evaluations is placed in the Registrar’s Office so consistent
academic standards can be enforced and, when content expertise is required, evaluators may ask faculty
to help determine the similarity of the transfer course to the Puget Sound course. This centralized
responsibility allows those students with transfer credit concerns to present their cases for
reconsideration to a single office and it also provides a single contact for the faculty and the Academic
Standards Committee when making determinations on transfer credit and transfer policy.
The rigor with which Puget Sound evaluates transfer credit is a distinguishing aspect of Puget Sound as
our evaluators make a consistent effort to review aspects of a course beyond content. They consider
course format, the purpose of the course, student learning outcomes, the nature of the institution, and
the program under which the course was offered. Such scrutiny allows the evaluators to apply the
standards that our faculty members apply to their own courses.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 49
Undergraduate Programs—the Core Curriculum
The Puget Sound faculty has designed the Core Curriculum, our general education component, to give
undergraduates an integrated and demanding introduction to the life of the mind and to established
methods of intellectual inquiry [Standards 2.C.9; 2.C.10]. The Puget Sound undergraduate's core
experience begins with two first-year seminars that guide the student through an in-depth exploration
of a focused area of interest and that sharpen the student’s skills in constructing persuasive arguments.
In the first three years of their Puget Sound college career, students also study five “Approaches to
Knowing” - Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Science, and Social Science. These core areas
develop the student’s understanding of different disciplinary perspectives on society, culture, and the
physical world, and explore both the strengths of those disciplinary approaches and their limitations.
Connections, an upper-level integrative course, challenges the traditional boundaries of disciplines and
examines the benefits and limits of interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge.
Further, in accord with the stated educational goals of the University of Puget Sound, core curriculum
requirements have been established: (a) to improve each student's grasp of the intellectual tools
necessary for the understanding and communication of ideas; (b) to enable each student to understand
herself or himself as a thinking person capable of making ethical and aesthetic choices; (c) to help each
student comprehend the diversity of intellectual approaches to understanding human society and the
physical world; and (d) to increase each student's awareness of his or her place in those broader
contexts. Each core area includes student learning objectives that are intended to provide a clear
statement of what students can expect to learn from any given core area.
To fulfill core requirements, students must successfully complete one course in each of eight areas:
First-year seminars
1. Writing and Rhetoric
2. Scholarly and Creative Inquiry
Approaches to knowing
3. Fine Arts
4. Humanistic
5. Mathematical
6. Natural Scientific
7. Social Scientific
Upper-division interdisciplinary experience
8. Connections
The core curriculum is required for all students graduating from Puget Sound regardless of major.
Because this core experience is the basis for the university’s liberal arts curriculum, the faculty is
stringent in reviewing and adopting courses in fulfillment of the core. Learning objectives and course
guidelines for each core area are described in the Curriculum Statement. Each course proposal is
evaluated by the faculty Curriculum Committee based on the guidelines and objectives for the given
core area.
Two of the eight core areas are assessed each year by the Curriculum Committee. The assessment
includes: 1) a review of all syllabi in the core area, 2) student data including Senior Survey and focus
group assessments based on the core area objectives, 3) a faculty survey based on the core area
objectives, and 4) a faculty focus group based on the core area objectives. Based on the assessment,
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 50
modifications to the core area rubric(s) may be proposed by the Curriculum Committee. Revisions to the
core area rubrics are presented to the full faculty for approval.
In addition to the Core Curriculum, Puget Sound students also complete a series of graduation
requirements. These include a foreign language requirement. In addition, students earn at least three
academic units outside the requirements of the first major at the upper division level.
Puget Sound does not offer applied degree or certificate programs [Standard 2.C.11].
Graduate Programs
Puget Sound offers first professional graduate studies in Education (MAT and M.Ed.), Occupational
Therapy (MOT and MSOT) and Physical Therapy (DPT).
The mission of the larger institution is expressed overtly in the individual mission statements,
statements of purpose, and / or descriptions of each of the graduate programs [Standard 2.C.12]. For
example, in Education the faculty has noted that students seeking a M.Ed. are entering a program that
“by virtue of its location in a liberal arts institution, is committed to training competent professionals,
not technicians. The M.Ed. program provides a firm foundation of skills and knowledge that will enable
students to adjust to changing circumstances that will affect their professional practice in the future and
which cannot be fully anticipated.” Likewise, the Occupational Therapy (OT) program emphasizes that
in addition to training students for practice, the program ensures that students exit the program with
“an excellent foundation for later specialization and for professional lifelong learning.” In their
statement of purpose, the Physical Therapy (PT) program asserts that “our presence on a liberal arts
campus underscores our belief that the development of clinician scholars is a natural extension of the
values of critical analysis, sound judgment, active inquiry, community participation and apt expression.”
Therefore, all three programs highlight the importance of developing excellent problem-solving,
decision-making, oral and written communication, and analytical skills as being more important than
narrow proficiency with one particular theory or technique. This is said not to minimize the importance
of sound technique, but rather to emphasize the importance of such fundamental skills as the vital
context within which students learn the practices of the profession. Such fundamental skills also give
students the foundation from which they are able to continue learning and adapting to changes in their
respective professional environments. This sentiment is wholly consistent with the broader mission of
the university.
At the same time, the graduate programs are clearly differentiated from the undergraduate majors to
the extent that they each require a quantitatively and qualitatively deeper command of their respective
subject areas as well as significant applied experiences that prepare students for the certification and
practice demands of teaching, counseling, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In the cases of all
graduate programs, such applied experiences are permitted only after students successfully complete
the preparatory coursework that includes in-depth study of various content areas and methods that are
specific to the discipline. It is also the case that successful completion of these applied experiences is
required to graduate from the program.
Admission and retention policies are written and practiced in a manner that includes and balances both
university-level offices (e.g., Registrar, VP for Enrollment) and the expertise of the faculty in each
graduate program [Standard 2.C.13]. This balance ensures that each program’s students are capable of
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 51
performing, and do perform, at a level that is at least commensurate with university-wide standards and
also retains discipline-specific input into the decision making.
To ensure that graduate applicants meet the published admission criteria, all applicants are evaluated by
the Registrar’s office to ensure that they meet basic program requirements. As expected, these criteria
vary between programs and include evaluation of areas such as: (1) completion or reasonable
expectation of bachelor’s degree completion prior to enrollment; (2) completion of prerequisite courses;
(3) fulfillment of GPA requirements; and/or (4) GRE scores. (The specific criteria are listed on pages 3742 of the Graduate Bulletin.) When the files have been cleared along these broader dimensions, they are
passed to the respective departments who examine the discipline-specific application areas. Each of the
graduate departments ranks its own candidates and makes an admission recommendation: it is in
consultation with the Program Dean/ Director that the Dean of the Graduate Studies and Vice President
for Enrollment make final decisions regarding admission.
Regarding retention of students, all graduate students are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0
scale). With input from the Dean or Director of the program, the Academic Standards Committee
reviews the record of a degree candidate who earns a cumulative grade point below 3.0 to determine
the appropriate official academic action (e.g., probation). All programs also state that a student can be
removed from candidacy for violations of ethical practice as understood by their various professions.
Each of the graduate programs also has additional stipulations regarding a student’s continued
enrollment; these regulations help to ensure that only those students who are making good progress
through the respective curricular requirements will be permitted to student teach, go on internship, or
be placed in a fieldwork setting. For example, OT notes that a candidate will be unable to continue in the
program if he or she receives less than 2.0 for the second time in a single required course or must repeat
more than 2 required courses. PT asks the Academic Standards Committee to review the transcript of
any student earning a grade of C+ or lower in a given course; they also specify that a student will be
removed from the program if he or she earns a grade of C- or lower for the second time in a required
course. The School of Education states that only 2 courses with C grades may be used to complete a
degree.
Transfer credit is not allowed for the PT and MAT programs. OT permits up to 6.5 transfer units of 14 if
requested and approved at the time of application, and the M.Ed. permits up to 3 of 12 units. These
requests are evaluated by the Registrar’s office, in consultation with the respective Program Director, in
accordance with specified guidelines. For example, in OT, the course is accepted if it has been taken at
an accredited or similarly qualified institution of higher education and (1) is similar to a course offered at
the University of Puget Sound (as determined by evaluation of the syllabus), (2) uses a scholarly
approach to the topic, and (3) is appropriate for inclusion in the Puget Sound degree as determined by
the appropriate academic officer. Credit is not granted for experiential learning prior to matriculation
into the graduate programs [Standard 2.C.14].
Each of our graduate programs has special status or is accredited by their respective professional
organizations: Education, by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction;
Occupational Therapy, by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE); and
Physical Therapy, by the Commission on Accreditation for Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Each of
these accrediting bodies is tied to program certification and / or certification or licensing of graduating
students. Thus, the curricular structure for each program is heavily informed by the various curricular
standards of each professional organization and is also highly tailored to ensure that Puget Sound
students are well prepared for the various examinations that come at the conclusions of the programs.
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High levels of knowledge and performance skills are cultivated first by students taking courses that have
been designed to address the various curricular standards. Following the coursework, students complete
some form of field work or internship and then sit for some type of examination. For example, following
coursework related to professional issues and curricular instruction, MAT students must successfully
complete a semester of student teaching. Spring term culminates in major assessment now required for
all teacher preparation candidates seeking certification in the State of Washington, the Teacher
Performance Assessment (TPA). This is a comprehensive form of assessment for teacher certification
covering 4 broad tasks with each student being evaluated on 14 different rubrics. Similarly, M.Ed.
students first complete coursework in areas such as introductory counseling, humanistic and cognitive
behavior therapies, and psychological testing: all courses cover the 70 benchmarks in the Standard V
(from the State of Washington standards for teacher certification) for counseling programs. Following
this work, M.Ed. students must successfully complete a 400 hour internship in a school or counseling
setting. There are also two major counseling benchmark assessments: after Year 1, students must pass
an oral examination and evaluation of counseling dispositions, and after Year 2 they must pass an
internship performance and comprehensive written exam.
OT and PT have similar structures with coursework that is overtly and intentionally linked to
accreditation standards, requirements for practical application, and a certification exam. OT students
must complete at least 6 months of full-time practice under the supervision of a licensed occupational
therapist in a medical center, school, or health care facility. Following completion of the fieldwork
experience, students are eligible to take the written national certification examination. PT students are
required to complete the equivalent of 36 weeks of full-time clinical internship under supervision of a
licensed PT; typically this occurs in three separate on and off-site placements. To be licensed as a PT,
one must sit for a licensing exam given by the Federation of State Boards of PT and pass the national
standard [Standard 2.C.15].
Continuing Education and Non-Credit Programs
The University of Puget Sound does not offer continuing education or non-credit programs [Standards
2.C.16 – 2.C.19].
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Standard 2.D Student Support Resources
Puget Sound exercises great care in admitting students who are well prepared academically and well
matched personally to make the most of the rich and varied features of its campus life. Puget Sound
offers a nationally recognized orientation program to introduce new students to campus resources for
support, to their responsibilities as community members, and to the wide range of co-curricular
opportunities. The university further offers to continuing students services that are appropriate to each
stage of their development. The goal is to help Puget Sound students grow intellectually, socially,
personally, and morally toward the ideals of informed citizenship expressed in the university’s mission
and core themes. Puget Sound cultivates a campus community enriched by civil discourse on the
important intellectual, political, social, and cultural issues of the day, by wide-ranging leadership
opportunities contributing to personal growth, by a host of student activities offering a niche for each
student, and by a fair and transparent system for upholding the integrity of student conduct in the
community.
Student Support Services
Puget Sound students enjoy an array of academic support services [Standard 2.D.1]. The academic
advising system provides significant academic support in the critical early weeks of students’ careers.
Online tools support students and their advisors in developing solid academic programs and tracking
their progress throughout their academic careers. The university carefully plans academic offerings to
assure timely degree completion, including for the 42% of students who opt to study abroad for one
semester or more. Tutoring and writing support are available on campus, as are person-to-person
instruction and assistance from information specialists in the Library and in Technology Services. Puget
Sound offers juniors and seniors a competitive research-grant program and assistance with applications
for national and international fellowships, graduate education, or employment after graduation. An
alumni support network assists in this process.
Center for Writing, Learning and Teaching
The Center for Writing Learning and Teaching (CWLT) provides services for all students and faculty. Staff
members in the CWLT hire peer tutors and peer writing advisors. Peer tutors work with students
individually or in small groups to improve understanding of a wide range of subjects. Peer writing
advisors help students get started on a paper, organize their thoughts, and/or improve their editing
skills. In addition to the peer support, the CWLT holds special workshops that teach students how to
develop effective study strategies, write a thesis, and manage time effectively. The CWLT offers classes
that increase student reading efficiency and mastery of textbook assignments; provides handouts on a
wide range of writing and learning strategies; and offers workshops to help faculty members improve
classroom instruction.
The CWLT coordinates with Career and Employment Services (CES) and the Office of Fellowships in
helping students to prepare for postgraduate work by specializing in preparation of personal statements
for graduate school, professional schools, and fellowships. Students seeking to work on resumes and
cover letters for employment are referred to CES.
Disability Services
The Disability Services Office is housed in and reports to the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching.
Demand for disability services at Puget Sound has grown dramatically in recent years with a growing
proportion of students that requires high levels of support.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 54
Students may request accommodation for a disability before arriving on campus or at any time after
enrollment, with appropriate documentation that is not more than three years old. Services are
provided only to students who have been certified as requiring learning accommodation by the director
for disability services. The director works directly with faculty members and staff to identify reasonable
accommodations for individual students.
Students with disabilities graduate from Puget Sound at about the same rate as students generally. This
attests to the success of Puget Sound’s Disability Services office. Furthermore, the university is engaged
in ongoing efforts to increase services and resources for students with disabilities.
Career and Employment Services
Working with alumni, employers, staff and faculty members, the Career and Employment Services (CES)
office provides comprehensive resources at every stage in students’ career development, from student
employment and internships to part-time, summer, and post-graduation jobs. The office intends that
this combination of services conveys that all work-related experiences constitute valuable learning
about career development. CES oversees and administers all part-time, temporary, summer, and workstudy employment programs on and off campus in collaboration with student financial services. CES
actively engages with students early in their college careers to maximize the benefit the office can
provide.
Fellowships Office
Students have many opportunities to earn external scholarships, fellowships, or other special support
for postgraduate travel, research, and study; some external awards also support upper division
undergraduate study. The Fellowships Director works in collaboration with a faculty Fellowships
Advisory Committee to assist students in applying for external fellowships and scholarships awards.
Success in achieving external scholarships and fellowships requires early and strategic planning.
Students are encouraged to begin the exploratory process during spring semester of their first year and,
during their second year, begin working with the Fellowships Office to initiate the application process. A
record 22 students earned external fellowship awards in 2011-2012.
Diversity and Inclusion
Valuing and engaging with diversity is essential to a liberal arts education. The Puget Sound community
engages diversity, broadly defined, though meaningful and sustained learning opportunities, through
collaborative work to improve and appreciate diverse perspectives, by continuing to grow as a
welcoming and inclusive community, and by enhancing rich exploration and dialog with the greater
academic, local, national, and international communities.
Puget Sound has hired a new dean of diversity and inclusion/chief diversity officer who will continue to
engage with Puget Sound community members to implement the Diversity Strategic Plan. The first
report on the 2012 Campus Climate Survey is now available and provides a rich resource for ongoing
reflection, discussion, educational programing, and professional development at Puget Sound.
Student Affairs Services
Puget Sound’s student affairs professionals offer a comprehensive set of services for students grounded
in the mission and educational goals of the institution Student learning outcomes and their
measurement have been developed based upon these mission and goals. A variety of departments
constitute divisional student support services. Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services offers
confidential personal counseling, basic clinical health services, and health-awareness programming.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 55
Spirituality, Service, and Social Justice offers interfaith support for student religious groups and
opportunities for students wishing to enact their ethical and moral commitments. The Community
Involvement and Action Center supports the 75 percent of Puget Sound students volunteering in the
community. Multicultural Student Services offers a home and support for groups engaged in promoting
and celebrating campus diversity. Puget Sound Outdoors teaches and supports students seeking
adventures in the open air. Student Activities works with the Associated Students organization to sustain
a lively series of campus events throughout the academic year. In all of its student services, the Division
of Student Affairs fosters a developmental approach beginning with support and directed toward
leadership.
Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services
Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services (CHWS) provides primary medical care and psychological
assessment and treatment to any enrolled Puget Sound student. CHWS was created in the mid-1990s
through a merger of previously separate health and counseling services. In addition to providing clinical
treatment, CHWS offers a program of wellness education.
Medical Services. Medical consultation, diagnosis, treatment, and referral are provided by three fulltime mid-level medical practitioners (a nurse practitioner and two certified physician assistants), a fulltime registered nurse, a full-time medical assistant, and a family practice physician (6 to 8 hours per
week). The department supports continuing medical education for the staff through active membership
in relevant medical professional organizations.
Because of its integrated staff, CHWS can address student medical concerns with both medical and
psychological components. The department’s medical practitioners have been given increasingly
sophisticated training in the treatment of more routine psychiatric concerns. CHWS contracts with a
psychiatrist three to four hours per week to bring additional expertise to students with complex
presentations.
Counseling Services. Counseling in CHWS is provided by three full-time psychologists, two full-time predoctoral psychology interns, and two part-time master’s-level practicum students. Each full-time
psychologist carries additional duties, including those of chief psychologist, substance-abuse prevention
coordinator, and training director. Puget Sound’s counselor-to-student ratio compares favorably to that
of similar institutions in the region and falls within the range recommended by the International
Association of Counseling Services. The department supports continuing education for the CHWS
psychology staff through membership and activity in relevant professional organizations (including
conference presentations and consultancies on other campuses).
CHWS psychology staff members provide services to between 11 percent and 15 percent of Puget Sound
students annually. The most common diagnoses include mood disorders, anxiety, and relationship
concerns. CHWS services are evaluated annually through a survey of clients. Survey results consistently
affirm student recognition that the psychological treatment received at CHWS contributes to their
academic success as well as to improved relationship skills and physical health. CHWS also evaluates
treatment outcomes for each client both from the perspective of the student in counseling (using a
brief, standardized instrument of mental health pre- and post-treatment) and from the perspective of
the counselor (using the Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF, scale). These assessments of clinical
progress consistently demonstrate the modest client gains expected in a setting providing brief
treatment.
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Wellness and Other Services. All members of the CHWS professional staff provide wellness-education
programming, including student-leader training (including CHWS student employees and Residence Life
student staff), counsel to active student groups (including the Student Health Awareness Club and
Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians and Allies for diversity—BGLAD), and outreach programs for residence halls
and campus classrooms (including classes in psychology, religion, counselor education, and exercise
science).
Suicide Prevention. In the spring of 2003, CHWS began a staff development program to increase
expertise in best practices for suicide prevention and clinical assessment of suicide risk. This work led to
the design of the Mandated Assessment of Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm, MARSSH, a model program
requiring assessment of suicide risk for students who engage in self-harming behavior or make suicidal
threats. CHWS launched this program in January 2004, monitoring and evaluating outcomes in an
ongoing way since that time. To date, the data affirm MARSSH as an effective, calibrated programmatic
effort. In addition to the MARSSH protocol, CHWS received a three-year grant (Garrett Lee Smith
Memorial Grant, currently underway) designed to increase campus suicide prevention efforts. As
required by the grant, CHWS sustains ongoing assessment of these efforts.
Substance-Abuse Prevention. One member of the CHWS psychology staff supervises and maintains a
comprehensive substance-abuse prevention program. Several components of the program have been in
place for years, while others continue to evolve with campus needs and student interests. Over the past
three years, three different staff members have assumed these responsibilities, resulting in limited
program continuity. CHWS recently appointed a full-time staff member to this position and anticipates
renewed progress and continuity. During most years, surveys have been administered to assess
substance-abuse trends on campus. These data have served as the basis of a campus social-norms
campaign against substance abuse, based on best practice recommendations in the field.
Three other significant annual programs are central to CHWS’ work. The first, “Six Pack of Common
Sense,” is a peer-led new-student orientation program that introduces information on substance-abuse
concerns to students as they enter the university. The second program, “Decrease Your Risk Training”
(DYRT), is a 90-minute interactive program based on best-practice models of harm reduction.
Participation in DYRT is required of students found responsible for substance-abuse violations of the
Student Integrity Code. Third, CHWS staff provides individual substance-abuse assessments for students
with multiple offenses related to alcohol or other substances. CHWS has modeled its individual feedback
protocol on the BASICS best-practice model of intervention.
Safety and Security [Standard 2.D.2]
The Office of Security Services’ mission is to promote and maintain a safe and secure learning
environment by actively undertaking crime prevention measures and by providing 24-hour services. The
department’s vigilance results in a low campus crime rate relative to other areas of Tacoma and to most
peer institutions, based upon published crime statistics from the City of Tacoma and peer institutions.
The director, in collaboration with other university staff, also plans and prepares the campus community
to respond to regional, local, and campus emergencies.
Frequent campus patrols by uniformed, full-time campus safety officers and part-time student patrol
staff are the foundation of Puget Sound’s crime prevention efforts. There is always at least one full-time
Security Services staff member on duty providing supervisory support to three part-time student staff
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 57
members. The security staff monitors campus safety, offers safety escort services, and acts as first
responders to all campus requests for medical aid services, working closely with the Tacoma Fire
Department to render emergency medical care. The security staff also maintains a close working
relationship with the Tacoma Police Department which patrols the campus vicinity and maintains
regular radio contact with Security Services. The Security Services office employs a fulltime, professional
dispatcher.
Security Services also manages parking and university transportation matters, including routine daily
parking and large-event logistics. The director ensures compliance with Washington State Commute Trip
Reduction laws, coordinates with City of Tacoma officials regarding parking concerns, and co-chairs the
university’s Transportation Task Force, which is charged with promoting and facilitating sustainable
travel on campus and in the Tacoma community.
Extensive risk management and emergency/disaster preparedness plans are in place and subject to
regular review. These plans have been developed in collaboration with local first responder jurisdictions
and based upon national best practice structures.
Since the summer of 2008, the university installed Wide-Area Broadcast emergency telephone towers
and a mass-communication system to allow university administrators to communicate quickly with the
campus community about any situation requiring an immediate response. These tools have
supplemented more routine communications systems, including campus-wide e-mail and voice mail
broadcasts regarding security incidents on campus. Routine means of communicating with the campus
community include weekly articles in the student newspaper and weekly safety meetings for ASUPS
student representatives. The university conducts all-campus emergency drills once per semester, with
emphasis on person accountability in both evacuation and lock-down scenarios, and assesses results on
an ongoing basis.
Every October, the director of Security Services produces and distributes to the campus community an
annual report that meets the requirements of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and
Campus Crime Statistics Act. The report contains a description of university security practices and crime
prevention programs. The report is available in hard copy at the Security Services office and online at
http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/offices--services/security-services. Annual crime statistics are also
published in this document. A daily log of incidents occurring on or near campus is also maintained and
available for public review at the Security Services office.
Additional documentation and reporting of safety related incidents occurs through the Discriminatory
Harassment Annual Report issued by the campus Harassment Reporting Officers; and the Bias Hate
Education Response Team, accountable to the faculty Committee on Diversity.
Admission and Orientation [Standard 2.D.3]
Puget Sound’s mission and core themes are at the heart of the institution’s enrollment efforts. Students
are recruited and admitted to Puget Sound based on their academic abilities and personal qualities.
Personal qualities include a student’s engagement in academic and co-curricular activities resulting in a
balance between the two. It is important that students convey in their applications time management
skills, integrity, leadership ability, willingness to accept a challenge, and talents which will add to the
richness of the Puget Sound campus and community.
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Puget Sound offers an award-winning weeklong orientation program designed to introduce students to
the university’s academic expectations and resources, help them begin building social networks, provide
individually focused academic advising, and articulate community values. The first-year orientation
program features activities that introduce students to Puget Sound’s core themes: academic excellence,
rich knowledge of self and others, and engaged citizenship.
Academic advising begins with information pertaining to academic requirements and curricular offerings
available on our Welcome website. As a part of this website, the advising process and selection of first
year advising classes and seminars are explained and courses are selected by incoming students. New
first-year students meet with their faculty and peer advisors prior to classes beginning in the fall
semester to discuss placement, additional course selection, registration, and graduation requirements.
Responsibilities and expectations of students in regard to academic advising are included online and in
our first-year advising booklet that is mailed to students prior to their arrival on campus.
Program Requirement Changes [Standard 2.D.4]
When the institution or a department is considering eliminating a program or making a significant
curriculum change, the Registrar’s Office determines the number of students whose progress might be
disrupted so that plans can be made to offer the courses necessary to “grandfather” continuing students
through the existing program on a specified transition schedule.
Faculty are flexible in dealing with continuing students during the transition period, advising some
students on how to make the transition to the new program and advising others on the courses that will
be available for students continuing with the old program. This work requires coordination among the
university departments implementing the change, the Academic Advising Office, and the Registrar’s
Office so that all can plan for the necessary courses, for consistent academic advice to be provided, and
to update the records of the continuing students to reflect any adaptions necessary to either continue
with the old program or to adapt requirements for the students to transition to the new requirements.
The University of Puget Sound Bulletins [Standard 2.D.5]
The University of Puget Sound Bulletin – Course Catalog and the University of Puget Sound Bulletin –
Graduate Programs are published in paper form annually in July for the following academic year.
Bulletin content is also delivered online through two mechanisms: 1) as a pdf file of the published
Bulletins, and 2) as content on the college’s website. Online content is considered the primary resource
as it is updated throughout the academic year. Bulletin content is prepared by the Associate Academic
Deans’ Office in collaboration with several individuals and offices across campus, including all academic
departments and programs, the Admissions Office, Student Affairs representatives, the Registrar, the
Student Financial Services Office, etc.
Both Bulletins contain current (at time of publication for the paper version) and accurate information
regarding: the institutional mission and core themes; entrance requirements and procedures; the
grading policy; information on academic programs and courses, including degree and program
completion requirements, expected learning outcomes, required course sequences, and projected
timelines to completion based on normal student progress and the frequency of course offerings;
names, titles, degrees held, and conferring institutions for administrators and full-time faculty; rules,
regulations for conduct, rights, and responsibilities; tuition, fees, and other program costs; refund
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 59
policies and procedures for students who withdraw from enrollment; opportunities and requirements
for financial aid; and the academic calendar.
External Eligibility Requirement Information [Standard 2.D.6]
State eligibility requirements for licensure or unique employment requirements pertain to the graduate
programs in Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and the School of Education (MAT, M.Ed.) In the
case of all four degree areas, the University of Puget Sound Bulletin – Graduate Programs (print and online) explains the respective standards both for preparation and achievement of requirements.
For Occupational Therapy, students are informed that following their required coursework, they move
to the fieldwork experience which “…consists of completion of at least six months of full-time practice
under the supervision of a registered occupational therapist in a medical center, school, or health care
facility. Following completion of the fieldwork experience, students are eligible to take the written
national certification examination. In states with occupational therapy licensure laws, passing the
national examination is accepted as evidence of competence to practice.”
In Physical Therapy, under the degree requirements, is a list of minimum technical standards and
competencies; students must read and sign this document at the beginning of the program to verify that
they understand they will be expected to possess various levels of cognitive, motor, communication,
observation, behavioral and social competencies that are expected by the profession. Further, PT
students are told that they are required to complete the equivalent of 36 weeks of full-time clinical
internship under supervision of a licensed PT. After completion, and to be licensed as a PT, one must sit
for a licensing exam given by the Federation of State Boards of PT and pass the national standard. In
addition, each student must “provide his or her own transportation to clinical facilities for clinical
experience, pay a clinical internships fee, and maintain health insurance, immunization, and a current
CPR certificate.” Students must also pass a criminal background check.
For the MAT, the Bulletin informs the reader that Washington State has a uniform means for assessing
basic skill competency for all teaching candidates statewide. “Passage of all three subsections (reading
writing and math) of the Washington Educator Skills Test- Basic, or WEST-B, is required for admission to
the MAT program. All candidates seeking an endorsement to a new or existing Washington teaching
certificate will be required to take the WEST- E assessments and meet the minimum passing score(s) for
their chosen endorsement area.” The print version of the Bulletin makes clear that to become certified,
students must pass all required coursework (including student teaching) and “meet the requirements for
moral character and personal fitness, established by the state Board of Education.”
Student enrolled in the M.Ed. are informed that candidates must complete a 400-hour internship in a K12 setting under the supervision of university faculty and an on-site supervisor. Like the MAT students,
they must meet the moral character and personal fitness standards established by the Board of
Education. Last, they are informed that their counseling certificates are only valid in Washington State
and may or may not transfer to other states.
Student Records [Standard 2.D.7]
Active student folders are secured by Registrar’s Office staff in a locking cabinet or in individual staff
offices that may be secured. Inactive student transcripts are secured in the office vault with records
archived on microfilm and stored off-campus as well as electronic records backed-up by Technology
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 60
Services. Access to electronic student records is maintained by privilege codes managed in the
Registrar’s Office so that access is restricted to those who need access in order to perform their assigned
employment responsibilities.
The institution publishes a Public Notice Designating Directory Information in both The University of
Puget Sound Bulletin and The University of Puget Sound Academic Handbook as part of institutional
policy on compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Both publications are
available in print and as content on the university’s website. Puget Sound publishes a comprehensive
education records policy on the university website. Additionally, the Registrar’s Office sends individual
emails each semester to all enrolled students notifying them of their rights under FERPA.
Financial Aid
Puget Sound makes significant investments in its institutional financial aid programs to support the
enrollment and retention of our students. Puget Sound also participates in Federal Title IV aid programs
administered by the U.S. Department of Education and in state aid programs administered through the
Washington Student Achievement Council. All students seeking need based financial assistance at Puget
Sound are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and all financial aid
is awarded through the financial aid operations of the Student Financial Services office [Standard 2.D.8].
Puget Sound focuses the majority of its institutional aid on programs that reward academic merit, with
supplemental need based grants provided to help fill demonstrated need. Additional support from
federal and state grants, scholarships from outside organizations, loans, and work study allows us to
meet on average 84% of all demonstrated need of our undergraduate student population. In ongoing
efforts to continue to address student financial need, meet enrollment and retention objectives and
ensure net revenues necessary to sustain operations, Puget Sound revises its financial aid awarding
practices each fall based on an exhaustive analysis of prior year awarding results and the application of
sophisticated predictive models. We consider recruitment challenges that arise as a result of our highly
competitive market and the nation’s economy. These focused reviews and modifications to our aid
strategy directly support our institutional objectives of becoming a stronger version of Puget Sound, of
enrolling a student body that is academically successful and retained to graduation, and of
strengthening our business model to better support our educational mission.
Student Financial Services (SFS) holds primary responsibility for ensuring that information about
financial aid programs is widely available to our enrolled and prospective students. We employ
electronic mediums of communication to the extent possible and students access their student finance
details through their password protected, secure Cascade account. We use our SFS website as a key
repository for student finance information. The SFS website includes links to pages containing student
consumer information disclosures, financial literacy information, and detailed information about
student borrowing to include our Code of Conduct. We provide information about our annual lender
survey for private loans to be included in the Simple Tuition loan comparison tool also linked on our
website.
The Money Matters brochure remains the most comprehensive guide to costs and financing at Puget
Sound. The brochure is provided via electronic link to every enrolled student and is referenced in all
initial financial aid award notifications in admission packets for admitted students. Institutional policies
that govern our financial aid programs are included in this brochure, and are also provided more directly
on the SFS web site.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 61
Puget Sound rolled out its version of the Net Price Calculator (NPC) in October 2011. The NPC is useful
and informative tool for prospective students and satisfies the HEOA 2008 compliance requirements.
Reports generated from the data collected from registered NPC users helps inform us about the
interests of our prospective students as well as providing us useful demographic information to help us
better understand our market.
The Student Financial Services office complies with all federal regulations requiring borrowers of federal
student loans to receive detailed information about their repayment obligations.
Prior to receiving federal loan funds, borrowers of Stafford and Graduate PLUS loans are required to
complete an online loan entrance counseling session and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Perkins
loan borrowers also complete Entrance counseling and sign an MPN. The entrance sessions include
detailed information about individual loan programs, and emphasize a borrower’s rights and
responsibilities.
All borrowers of Federal student loans who are graduating or no longer enrolled at least half time are
instructed by SFS to complete a required exit counseling session. The exit counseling emphasizes
repayment plans, rights and responsibilities, options for loan forgiveness and deferment, and provides
the student with a summary of the amount borrowed. In addition to online counseling, staff in SFS hosts
several open house events prior to graduation in which students are encouraged to ask questions about
loan repayment. Borrowers who fail to complete exit counseling receive a paper packet with a written
summary of the information provided in the online session.
Throughout the academic year, SFS conducts a variety of financial literacy events open to all students,
and the SFS website includes comprehensive resources to assist students in making good financial
decisions.
Puget Sound annually reviews3 the cohort default rate for all federal loan borrowers in repayment, and
reports student indebtedness levels annually4. The Federal Perkins cohort default rate is included in the
annual Fiscal Operations Report to the Department of Education, and is reviewed as part of the federal
A-133 audit each year. The cohort default rates for Puget Sound are well below the national average.
The cohort default rate for 2009, the latest year for which data are available, was 1.0%, and the Perkins
default rate (2010) was 2.42%. The 2005 national cohort default rates for all federal loans and for
Perkins loans were 8.8 percent and 10.04 percent, respectively [Standard 2.D.9].
The Entrance and Exit Counseling notification processes are currently only partially automated. The new
PeopleSoft system will allow us to provide mandated counseling in a more efficient manner. The
Student Loan Indebtedness Report allows us to monitor student borrowing levels, and is used by
leadership to measure progress towards limiting the growth of student debt upon graduation.
3
Graph_Cohort Default Rate Summary.xls
4
Report on Loan Indebtedness 10-11.doc
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 62
Academic Advising [Standard 2.D.10]
At Puget Sound, first-year students are assigned to faculty advisors through a disciplinary introductory
course. The instructor of this course serves as the students’ advisor until the students declare majors. As
part of a student’s major selection, s/he chooses an advisor in that academic department or program.
New transfer students have the choice of choosing a disciplinary advisor if they know their majors or
work with a professional advisor in the Office of Academic Advising to explore fields.
Responsibilities and expectations of advisors and students in regard to academic advising are included
online and in our first-year advising booklet that is mailed to students prior to their arrival on campus.
Formal training for advisors occurs twice a year. The first session addresses holistic and philosophical
approaches to advising students, such as advising as teaching and learning, an overview of university
student support services, common advising scenarios, and group discussion. The second session occurs
immediately prior to new student orientation and focuses on transactional advising on topics such as,
placement, course selection, and registration. Advisor training covers university core and graduation
requirements, introduction to the academic programs, and review of the student information system,
which includes automated degree audit and curricular planning tools available to students via selfservice. In addition to these student self-service tools, students have access to the University Bulletin,
curriculum guides and worksheets for each major and several pre-professional programs, and graduate
school resources through the Academic Advising website.
Targeted advising in the areas of pre-health professions and pre-law professions is provided through
faculty-led advising programs.
Student support extends beyond the formal academic advising at Puget Sound. Any faculty or staff
member can submit an alert regarding a concern s/he may have about a student to the Student Alert
Group (SAG). The SAG is designed to coordinate and combine the efforts of student support
professionals across campus to respond, case-by-case, to students’ varied academic and personal
concerns. The SAG includes staff members from academic advising, student affairs, student financial
services, admission, the registrar’s office, athletics, disability services, and campus security. The SAG
meets weekly and also takes advantage of the university’s digital technologies to provide timely
interventions for struggling students.
Co-Curricular Activities [Standard 2.D.11]
Co-curricular activities are part of many departments on campus. Student Activities, Multicultural
Student Services, Spirituality, Service and Social Justice and ASUPS are the major coordinators of cocurricular activities. Each of the mission statements of these departments encompasses the institution’s
mission, core themes, programs and services.
The mission of the Student Activities department is “to enhance the living-learning environment,
encourage student participation in Puget Sound traditions, and provide resources and leadership
opportunities that empower students to build a foundation for their future. Student Activities
encompasses new student orientation, the Wheelock Student Center, outdoor programs, Greek life, and
student-led programs both cultural and social. The myriad programs are inclusive of all students and
members of the Puget Sound community.” Over the years extensive student satisfaction surveys have
been conducted which indicate a high percentage of students feel a stronger sense of connection and
support as a result of their orientation experiences. As with all student affairs units, more recently
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 63
student learning outcomes have been developed and measurement is ongoing to assess the impact of
these activities related to institutional mission and education goals.
The mission of Multicultural Student Services is “committed to enhancing intercultural awareness and
creating a learning environment in which the entire campus community feels welcomed and respected.
Our staff provide resources and support for all students interested in exploring multicultural issues. We
work in particular to support the needs of students of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
questioning students; women; first generation college students; and students of various spiritual
backgrounds.” An MCSS strategic plan now exists to guide the work of MCSS consistent with the Puget
Sound’s Diversity Strategic Plan.
The mission of Spirituality, Service and Social Justice (SSSJ) “seeks to foster and nurture a deeper
connection between the self and the world in which we live. For some, this may take the form of
spiritual growth and exploration.” The learning outcomes that have been created for SSSJ have resulted
in the measuring of impacts as well as the creation and/or highlighting of purposeful pathways to guide
students passionate about social justice.
Auxiliary Services [Standard 2.D.12]
Puget Sound provides auxiliary services, including student housing, dining, and bookstore operations.
These self-operated programs support the institution’s mission, contribute to campus community
intellectual climate, and enhance learning environment quality.
Overall auxiliary services quality is recognized and appreciated by students and other customers. Puget
Sound also strives to continually improve. We are implementing and planning major housing, dining, and
Bookstore enhancements.
Residence Life
The University of Puget Sound is a primarily residential campus focused on creating environments that
encourage academic and co-curricular engagement, a key component of student success. A compact
residential campus strengthens student interactions with faculty and staff, reinforces the tenets of the
residential college experience, and integrates many aspects of learning and personal development.
Puget Sound implemented a new two-year housing requirement in fall 2012 and is constructing a new
residence hall to accommodate increased residence occupancy. The new hall and minor other capacity
adjustments will increase total housing capacity from 1,611 to 1,751 in 2013/14. Considering increased
capacity, the new two-year housing requirement, and other actions, it is projected we will house roughly
1,750 students beginning in 2013/14.
Residence Life staff include a director, with overall responsibilities for the department; two assistant
directors; and three resident directors (RDs) responsible for the daily operation of residence halls. The
RDs and GRD select, train, and supervise 54 resident assistants (RAs); advise the residence hall
associations (which provide student-run governance); mediate resident conflict; initiate programming;
and provide crisis management. They offer a professional staff presence during evenings and weekends,
and uphold university policies. RDs also serve as judicial officers and adjudicate minor conduct cases in
their areas.
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Residence halls, Union Avenue houses (Greek chapters), and residence houses provide students with
choices in the types of living environment that best suit their academic and personal preferences. In
2002, as a step toward its strategic goal of making the campus increasingly residential, Puget Sound built
a new suite-style residence (Trimble Hall) for upper-division students. Trimble Hall’s design was
prompted by an assessment of student needs. Housing lottery data gathered from 1997 to 2001
demonstrated that the university was turning away an average of 100 students per year who had
requested on-campus residence space, including a high percentage who had requested single rooms.
These data, combined with the results from student focus groups, resulted in a building that features
suites with individual rooms, a classroom, and a large forum for formal lectures and informal gatherings.
Students who join fraternity or sorority chapters typically live in chapter houses beginning in their
sophomore years. All chapter facilities are university-owned and offer the same amenities (furniture and
technological connections) provided in other campus housing; e.g. furniture, technological connections,
and cable television in individual bedrooms.
More than 60 houses also serve as student residences on campus. Some are designated as theme
houses (in which students are offered theme-related programming and events). However, most houses
generally are available to junior and senior students who select them in annual housing lottery
processes. Houses offer a more independent lifestyle than do residence halls.
Puget Sound has made significant efforts to increase connections between residence life and the
academic mission. Existing and new academic/residential co-curricular engagement programs
intentionally and effectively bridge classroom and residential lives of students, including extended
academic conversations and learning experiences. Residential seminars are a prime example. In these
arrangements, all students from a single seminar live together on one floor of a residence hall. In
addition to residential seminars, Puget Sound offers multiple other long-standing academic residential
programs (Humanities, Honors, Language and Culture). The new residence hall will provide academically
themed, residential community, suite style living environments for upper-division students plus much
needed campus teaching and meeting space.
Residence Life promotes the “community standards” model of community development in most campus
residence halls. This model encompasses a set of campus-wide policies designed to protect the rights,
health, and safety of residents. Puget Sound places responsibility upon resident students to respect the
rights of others and foster a strong community. RAs lead floor-standards discussions with their
residents, encouraging those residents to take ownership of their own communities. Floor-standards
discussions encourage students to identify and address community issues, develop conflict resolution
skills in a group setting, and experience the empowerment of consensus; these objectives align well with
the core theme of engaged citizenship. These discussions also encourage residents to view RAs as
community resources, rather than merely as authority figures.
Assessment measures suggest that the community standards model serves students well. For example,
five years of solicited feedback indicate that the roommate booklet employed in this model has been a
useful tool to help residents establish healthy ground rules from the beginning of the year. Assessment
tools have also affirmed that students now perceive the RA role as one of community-building, rather
than policy enforcement. In keeping with this shift, Residence Life training now focuses more on
community, conflict resolution, and referral than on policy enforcement.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 65
Ongoing renovation of residence facilities is a priority for Puget Sound We comprehensively updated all
major residence facilities. An ongoing planned major maintenance program provides facilities which are
well maintained, attractive, and incorporate features that meet students’ full housing needs.
The university participates periodically in a national housing officers student campus living survey. We
also conducted a 2012 enterprise risk management assessment of residence occupancy and
academic/residential co-curricular engagement programs. These assessments identified multiple action
plans to improve housing facilities and programs.
Dining and Conference Services
Dining and Conference Services (DCS) offers a wide variety of meal, snack, beverage, and catering
services to residential and nonresidential students and to the greater campus community. Meal plan
participation is mandatory for students living in residence halls and Union Avenue housing. About 700
students living in university-owned houses and off campus voluntarily purchase meal plans. This
unusually high voluntary meal plan participation evidences dining program quality and value. Many
faculty and staff also dine on campus. This fosters student, faculty, and staff social and intellectual
engagement.
In 2010 Puget Sound implemented a partnership with Columbia Hospitality, an international premier
hospitality and consulting company. This collaboration greatly enhanced service and food quality.
DCS is Puget Sound’s largest single student employer. Students perform jobs including preparing food,
serving food, cashiering, working in one of two campus cafés, and working for catering services. Student
manager positions in DCS offer supervisory experience to students who oversee the Diversions Café and
the Cellar (a student pizzeria) operations. This student employment experience, offered in partnership
with Career and Employment Services, provides students practical and meaningful work experience as
well as financial support.
The main diner food court, located in Wheelock Student Center, is an à la carte dining facility. The
management team continually seeks to provide high quality contemporary service via ongoing
assessment and improvement. À la carte dining programs are more challenging to manage and operate
than traditional food services programs, but they provide a higher service level in terms of variety,
quality, authenticity, and equity.
Beginning in 2013 there are plans to comprehensively renovate dining kitchen, servery, and seating
facilities to accommodate increasing meal plan participation and enhance service quality. Assuming final
project approval, this will enable a state-of-art facility and program.
DCS takes a proactive role in campus sustainability efforts. They provide china dishes, Eco2Go, and
stainless flatware for food consumed in and outside of Wheelock Student Center in order to minimize
use of disposable paper products. They also recycle waste cooking oil for use in biodiesel fuel, provide
reusable beverage mugs, and operate a “farm to table” local food program. In addition they purchase
energy efficiency equipment.
DCS solicits and responds to customer comment cards and e-mail messages within 48 hours. There also
is a student food/safety committee that meets bi-weekly with the dining director to regularly address
questions and suggestions.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 66
Bookstore
The Bookstore offers a wide selection of competitively priced products and services, online purchasing,
and fast, friendly service to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Its highest priority is supplying books,
course packs, and other academic products and services. The Bookstore also carries general interest
books and operates a popular “Book Nook” program where titles recommended by faculty, staff, and
students are displayed and sold.
Faculty members depend on the staff’s knowledge of the textbook industry to acquire and create topquality educational resources. Staff provide faculty with information about new editions, out-of-print
titles, and copyright clearance for custom course packs. In the interest of economy and sustainability,
Bookstore staff collaborates closely with faculty to identify book titles to include in its “buy-back”
program, maximizing the number of books students may return for cash and the number of books future
students may buy less expensively as “used.” The bookstore also offers a textbook lease program.
In the interest of sustainability, the Bookstore carries a range of recycled paper and supplies. The
Bookstore purchases fair trade products when feasible. It also collects used plastic bags for recycling and
is exploring a program to reduce or eliminate plastic bags.
The Bookstore developed new technologies to enhance efficiency and service. Faculty may now send in
textbook requisitions via the Bookstore website. In another significant project involving the Office of the
Registrar and Technology Services, course materials available at the Bookstore are linked to students’
course schedules, allowing students to purchase those materials online rather than standing in long lines
at the beginning of semesters.
The Bookstore also has worked with Alumni and Parent Relations to advertise online merchandise in the
Arches magazine to support Puget Sound’s strategic objective to connect with its alumni. It also created
an “Alumni Corner” on its Web site. Dialogue with Alumni and Parent Relations continually identifies
goods and services of greatest importance to alumni.
The Bookstore belongs to several industry associations and participates in financial operation and
benchmarking studies. The Bookstore also collaborates with a group of similar college stores to produce
annual benchmarking studies used to monitor and enhance operations. Bookstore staff attends national
and regional meetings to engage new industry trends and procedures. Through its national association,
the Bookstore receives regular reports from a research firm that focuses on college-age populations.
These efforts sustain currency in customer service and technology.
The Bookstore uses a suggestion box and daily face-to-face customer feedback to solicit feedback from
customers. In 2011 the university conducted a comprehensive bookstore assessment in partnership with
Campus Bookstore Consulting Corporation, a national bookstore consulting company. This project
involved a strategic assessment/planning group with representation from Academic Affairs, Student
Affairs, University Relations, Admission, Office of Communication, Business Services, and students. The
university is using project recommendations to guide bookstore operations and planning.
Athletics [Standard 2.D.13]
The Puget Sound intercollegiate athletics program sponsors 23 varsity programs offering participation
opportunities for approximately 450 students. The department consists of intercollegiate athletics,
recreation and physical education and is part of the academic division of the college reporting to the
academic vice president. The department abides by university policies and procedures for all facets of its
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 67
operations. The department director participates as a member of the Academic Leadership Team as well
as the president’s leadership group, LEAD. The intercollegiate athletics program is evaluated every five
years as part of the academic division department review process. The review was last completed in
2010 in conjunction with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III institutional selfstudy.
The University of Puget Sound is a member of the NCAA with affiliation in Division III. The intercollegiate
athletics program is guided by and operates under the rules and regulations of NCAA Division III and the
Northwest Conference (NWC), and therefore does not offer athletic-related financial aid. The
recruitment and admission of prospective student-athletes are consistent with the university regular
admission practices and financial aid is awarded based on university standards for merit and need-based
aid. The Board of Trustees regularly reviews and affirms the program’s commitment to the NWC
statement of sportsmanship and ethical conduct.
In addition to the intercollegiate athletics program, Puget Sound offers club sports, intramural athletics,
courses in recreational sports, and athletic facilities to support student fitness and participation. Puget
Sound supports a wide range of recreational activities that take advantage of the outdoor resources of
the Pacific Northwest through Puget Sound Outdoors. The Expeditionary is a student run outdoor
equipment rental facility that provides resources and equipment to the Puget Sound community. The
Expeditionary includes a Bike, Ski, and Skate shop as well.
Distance Education
The University of Puget Sound does not offer distance education courses or programs at the
undergraduate level [Standard 2.D.14]. The graduate programs in Occupational Therapy and Physical
Therapy place students in clinical internships throughout the region and, sometimes, out of the country.
Identity verification for students enrolled in these clinical internships occurs as follows.
When Physical Therapy (PT) students are placed in clinical internships the clinical facility (medical center,
school, or free standing outpatient clinic) enters a valid contractual agreement with the university.
Requests for internship placement are made in writing in the calendar year prior to the internship
(March 2013 for placement in 2014). Eight weeks prior to student placement the internship site is
provided with student personal data forms (demographic information) and the criminal background
check for the student as well as any special forms required by the particular site. Background checks are
conducted by a subscription service purchased by the individual student and the student provides the
access. The policy on background checks is provided to students in the pre-enrollment information and
again at relevant times throughout the curriculum. Each clinical site confirms the name and credentials
of the clinical instructor (CI) for the intern. The clinical instructor and PT student are assigned to each
other via Clinical Performance PTA CPI website, a secure platform for student evaluation. The student
and CI each independently log into the CPI to conduct performance assessments (midterm and final).
These assessments are then discussed and each must electronically sign off on the reciprocal
performance assessment before the University of Puget Sound faculty member of record can view the
evaluations and make notations.
Clinical internships in Occupational Therapy (OT) also occur off-campus. On online tool is not yet
available for OT clinical internship support; however, background checks and systematic reviews are
conducted as per Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) standards.
Placements, site visits, and evaluations are conducted by the OT Academic Fieldwork Coordinator.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 68
Standard 2.E Library and Information Resources
Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts
college libraries and is recognized as an innovative and creative organization. The library serves as the
information gateway of choice for the Puget Sound community. The library staff embraces and supports
the university’s core themes of academic excellence, rich knowledge of self and others, and engaged
citizenship. In addition, the library staff upholds the principles of the American Library Association’s
Code of Ethics, including the principles of intellectual freedom and the protection of library user’s rights
to privacy and confidentiality. The mission of Collins Memorial Library is to provide excellent collections,
quality service, engaging learning environments and innovative instruction in support of the university’s
mission and core themes [Standard 2.E.1].
Puget Sound benefits from being a member of the Orbis Cascade Alliance (the Alliance) that connects
the collections and resources of 37 libraries. Library users benefit from robust locally owned collections
and from the combined resources of peer institutions. The Alliance’s Summit Union Catalog (Summit) is
comprised of 9.2 million titles representing 28.7 million items. Sixty-seven percent of those titles are
unique in that they are owned by only one member library. Puget Sound users may borrow materials
directly from this vast collection with an average delivery time of five days. Collins Library’s membership
in the Alliance represents a commitment to providing resources that would otherwise be difficult or
impossible to obtain for Puget Sound students and faculty in a timely and cost-effective manner. In
addition to Summit borrowing, consortial purchases of electronic resources enable the library to provide
collections and resources directly to faculty, staff, and students. These electronic resources include
bibliographic databases, full-text journals and monographs.
Alliance agreements emphasize the responsibility of each member institution to contribute to the
robustness of the combined collection. Alliance membership leverages the capacity of each individual
partner, greatly enriching, but not substituting for, local collections. Collins Library retains full authority
and control to select materials most needed to support its own academic programs. Collins Library adds
over 4,000 individually selected print and electronic monographic volumes a year. The selection process
relies on the expertise of both faculty and librarians in support of the curriculum. The library is
responsive to the core themes and in the last three years has been purposeful in the acquisition of
materials that reflect diversity.
The library staff has reorganized and re-emphasized our unique and special collections, including
archives, artists’ books, and books that focus on the Pacific Northwest and our local community. We
promote the use of these materials in the classroom as well as in displays. We support digital collections
and continue to make advances in providing access to unique locally owned materials.
In 2010-2011, the library provided access to 36,400 unique journal titles; the vast majority are available
electronically, thus offering “anywhere/anytime” access to scholarly materials. In July 2011, we began
participation in a successful demand driven acquisitions program with the Alliance. This program
provides access to over 14,000 e-book titles available for student use and demonstrates a collaborative
approach to allocation of institutional funds. The library also supports and participates in the Alliance’s
cooperative collection development program to reduce duplicate purchasing and ensure regional access
to the broadest and deepest set of materials possible. A collection development policy is posted on our
website and provides guidelines for selection of materials. This document is continuously updated to
reflect new programs and approaches. The library maintains a series of resource guides on both the
subject and class level. These guides provide links to databases, journals, references to books, reference
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 69
materials and other unique resources, including media resources such as ARTstor, NAXOS music library
and Films for the Humanities. Materials that are not available locally or through the consortium are
provided through a well-organized and efficient interlibrary loan program.
The library makes a focused effort to collect and review data to help guide services and collections
[Standard 2.E.2]. The library has a standing planning committee and updates strategic themes in
alignment with our institutional mission. Assessment efforts are outlined on a publicly accessible web
page and we take seriously our commitment to user input. The Associate Director is the library’s
assessment coordinator and also serves on an Alliance Committee on assessment. The library solicits
feedback both formally and informally. The LibQual Survey and the Research Practices Survey are
administered, in association with the Office of Institutional Research, on an approved schedule. Results
are fully documented and we take pride in sharing them with our community. LibQual is a highly
respected national survey that provides feedback on services and collections with access to data from
peer institutions. The Research Practices Survey (RPS) charts the preparedness of incoming students and
in 2012 the RPS was also administered to seniors. Thus we will have data to help assess student learning
and information literacy. In 2010, the library began an association with the nationally recognized
research initiative, Project Information Literacy, which enhances our visibility and better informs us as
to student research habits and skills. We continue annual web usability testing with student and staff
focus groups to assess web design and organization. We provide both print and online comment forms
and post comments: Collins is listening. We hold student focus groups and have an informal student
advisory committee. In 2009, we began implementation of a “balanced scorecard approach” to chart
progress on goals. In 2010, we implemented the library statistics dashboard which is a public interface
that provides up-to-date information about library usage. The library participated in an internal
academic review in 2010 and used this process to re-evaluate many services as well as the
organizational structure. The Library is currently (2012) preparing an assessment plan which will outline
the schedule of surveys, focus groups and usability studies.
The library offers a variety of efforts to ensure users understand the resources and services that are
available [Standard 2.E.3]. The library participates in both new faculty and new student orientation.
Incoming students take a scholarly practices tutorial as well as participate in an academic research
puzzle challenge. Librarians participate in the Prelude program and create and publish numerous course
and subject related guides. Librarians attend faculty meetings to provide updates and participate in
planning the Wedneday@4 programs which focus on scholarly and research issues relevant to our
community. The library works in collaboration with the Center for Writing, Learning and Teaching in the
development of faculty workshops and librarians are frequently asked to share updates on resources,
pedagogy and services. Library staff members participate in the annual professional development
conference sponsored by Human Resources and share expertise with colleagues about services and
resources. Online tutorials such as Research 101 and “Academic Integrity at Puget Sound” provide the
opportunity for self-directed learning. In addition, the library has developed several short videos that
complement our course and research guides. Internally, we offer the “Learning About Puget Sound”
series that provides opportunity for library staff to learn more about departments. The library works
closely with communication services to share information about events, collections and resources and is
frequently featured in blog posts. In addition, the library sponsors three academic awards: the Book
Collecting Contest, the Research Practices Award, and an Archives Summer Fellowship.
The library’s association with the Orbis Cascade Alliance provides data associated with collection
statistics and Alliance services. Library staff members are actively engaged in Alliance programs and
serve on a number of key committees that affect policy and services. For example, Wade Guidry, Library
Applications Administrator, served on the Shared Integrated Library System Committee (2012). This
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 70
effort has major implications for library services, particularly the next 5 to 10 year time frame; mainly in
terms of virtualizing the library collections of the Alliance members into a single, cohesive, shared
collection. This will enhance the library and reinforce the concept that while we may be “small” in size,
our collections reflect a large scale research oriented library. Participation in the e-book consortia
purchase program offers a cost effective approach and provide wide access to titles. WorldCat local
provides access to a world of information and can be searched at the local, Alliance and world level. The
library participates in NAPCU (Northwest Association of Private Colleges and Universities) and the
annual statistics provide as benchmarks. We consistently review our circulation and interlibrary loan
transactions and make adjustments as needed in purchasing and/or instruction and outreach. We
continually review our technology platforms and a concise review of our efforts is outlined in the Library
Technology Brief (one of the appendices to this document). We maintain up-to-date and accurate
records associated with accounting and anticipate the Optimize Puget Sound project will provide
increased ability to analyze data. We strive to broker the most cost effective agreements with vendors
of resources and continuously review our budget to assure accuracy [Standard 2.E.4].
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 71
Standard 2.F Financial Resources
An analysis of Puget Sound’s financial resources is available beginning on page 6 of the university’s 2012
Financial Report.
Puget Sound achieves financial stability through strategic planning, carefully developed financial plans,
balanced operating budgets, strong liquidity, and maintenance of contingencies and reserves to protect
against the unexpected. Puget Sound’s strategic plan and long range financial plan (five- and ten-year
budget modeling), Cabinet and Board engagement in enrollment management, fundraising, and
endowment , as well as its financial policies and practices, provide a framework for realistic
development of financial resources and appropriate risk management to ensure short-term solvency
and anticipate long-term obligations [Standards 2.F.1 and 2.F.2]. By consistently balancing its operating
budget and producing positive operating results, Puget Sound demonstrates a long-standing history of
appropriately conservative fiscal management. In 2010, Puget Sound implemented Enterprise Risk
Management (ERM), a framework for managing financial and other risks, and, as an example, recently
utilized ERM principles to evaluate the risk of not meeting housing occupancy goals.
Puget Sound regularly monitors its liquid assets. Puget Sound seeks to maintain strong liquidity on its
balance sheet to support operations, debt service requirements, and endowment capital calls,
rebalancing, and distributions. Puget Sound had $41.1 million in cash and short-term investments at
June 30, 2012, providing ample working capital. Puget Sound has a significant unrestricted net asset
balance, including reserves specific to operations, and also includes contingencies within its annual
budget. Puget Sound’s financial strength is evidenced by key financial ratios reported longitudinally and
in comparison with peer and aspirant groups. See Appendix IV for policies, procedures, and practices
regarding Puget Sound financial resources.
Puget Sound utilizes a comprehensive and inclusive budgeting process, a Long Range Financial Plan (fiveand ten-year budget forecasts), a multi-year enrollment projection model, a budget checklist, and other
forecasting tools/models to engage in resource planning and development to achieve realistic
budgeting, enrollment management, and projections for revenue sources and expenditures.
Through its Budget Task Force process, Puget Sound provides its constituencies with appropriate
opportunities for participation. An advisory committee to the President, the Budget Task Force, reviews
analyses and proposals from across the institution, weighs the various options and trade-offs, and
recommends a balanced budget to the President that advances the mission and is consistent with the
university’s strategic plan and the economic realities. The President reviews his recommendation with
the Finance and Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees. Final action on the budget is taken by the
Board of Trustees. The Budget Task Force consists of two faculty members, two students, two staff
members, the Vice President for Finance and Administration, and the Academic Vice President, who
serves as the chair [Standard 2.F.3].
Puget Sound uses an accounting system that supports its mission and related requirements. In July 2012
Puget Sound moved from SunGard HE Banner to PeopleSoft Financial Management. Puget Sound
financial-related processes are designed to provide an effective system of internal controls over financial
reporting. The accounting system is configured to provide effective general controls and the accounting
staff are qualified and trained in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and the importance of
internal controls [Standard 2.F.4]. Key financial processes and related procedures are reviewed and
tested at least annually (as part of the annual independent audit) to help ensure ongoing effectiveness.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 72
Management also reports annually to the Audit Committee of the Board on its system of internal
controls over financial reporting. The university demonstrates that it follows GAAP by achieving “clean”
annual financial statement audits. The university publishes its audited financial statements on a timely
basis and submits audited financial statements and federal program (A-133) reports to regulatory bodies
to meet required due dates [Standard 2.F.7].
The Audit Committee of the Board of Trustees has oversight responsibility for Puget Sound’s audits and
financial reporting and it reviews, at least annually, the qualifications, performance, and independence
of outside auditors and the integrity of the university’s financial reporting processes. The Audit
Committee approves audit engagements in advance. Within six months of the end of each fiscal year
and within a few weeks of the completion of the annual audit, the Audit Committee reviews the
university’s audited financial statements and the outside auditor’s reports on the financial statements
and federal programs, including acceptance on behalf of the board. The Audit Committee also reviews
auditor’s recommendations to management and management’s response if a weakness or deficiency is
identified. Recommendations, adjustments, and findings from external audits have been minimal. The
Audit Committee reviews the effect of regulatory and accounting initiatives on the financial statements
of the university. It also routinely reviews internal controls over financial reporting and the steps
management takes to monitor and ensure their ongoing effectiveness [Standard 2.F.7].
Puget Sound’s capital budgets are guided by the Campus Master Plan and informed by project-specific
analysis and periodic facilities condition audits. The university has carefully developed and is executing
its 20-year campus master plan In developing priorities, Puget Sound considers its mission and key
goals,; current status of its infrastructure; the space needs of students, faculty, staff, and programs; and
available funding resources. A master plan Tapestry of Learning Implementation Team (T-LIT) provides
long-term continuity to the implementation of the master plan and the Facilities Subcommittee of the
Finance and Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees advises the board regarding major capital
projects. In the last ten years, the university invested $130 million in its campus facilities, with
approximately equal funding from gifts, debt, and university budgets/reserves. To continue making gains
in maintenance of its significant investment in campus facilities, Puget Sound has increased its planned
major maintenance budgets by at least ten percent per year since 2005 to get closer to fully funding
deprecation in its annual budget. As Puget Sound makes capital plans, it is careful about the use of debt.
In its Debt Policy, Puget Sound articulates its philosophy regarding debt and the framework that guides
decisions about its use and management. Both the Debt Policy and the Corporate Bylaws require board
approval for new or restructured debt. In determining if new debt is appropriate for priority projects,
the university carefully considers its impact on its financial statements and credit rating and the
affordability of additional debt service within the annual budget [Standard 2.F.5].
Puget Sound’s balanced operating budget incorporates auxiliary enterprises, which work in unison with
the university’s educational and general activities. The university operates its auxiliary operations inhouse, including dining, housing, conferences, and a bookstore. Puget Sound operates its auxiliary
services to be financially self-sufficient after factoring in direct costs and an allocation of indirect costs
from the educational and general budget. The auxiliary budget includes funding to maintain and renew
auxiliary facilities and to acquire and replace equipment in support of operations [Standard 2.F.6].
The Office of University Relations consistently conducts all institutional fundraising activities in a
professional and ethical manner and complies with governmental requirements [Standard 2.F.8].
University Relations follows the guidelines and standards established by a number of high-profile and
highly respected advancement professional organizations including those developed by the Council for
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 73
Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the
National Committee on Planned Giving (NCPG), the Association of Professional Researchers for
Advancement (APRA), and the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP). More specifically,
university relations staff members are guided by:
 Statement of Ethics (CASE 1982)
 Donor Bill of Rights (American Association of Fundraising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for
Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), AFR, and CASE 1993)
 Statement of Values and Code of Ethics for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations
(Independent Sector (IS) 2004)
 Principles of Practice for Fundraising Professionals at Educational Institutions (CASE 2005)
 Statement on the Management of Conflicts of Interest (CASE 2008)
 Statements on Compensation for Fundraising Performance (CASE 2010)
Each staff member is committed to furthering the goals of the university through his or her work and
each honors the deep and valued relationship the university has developed or is developing with its
constituents. To this end, each staff member upholds his or her fiduciary responsibilities with regard to
donor intent and operates in accordance with the policies and procedures of the division and the
university.
University Relations complies with all state and federal government requirements that address
institutional fundraising activities. Puget Sound:
 Follows all applicable sections of the Federal Trade Commission’s Electronic Code of Federal
Regulations, Title 16, Part 310 (telemarketing sales rule) and of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2009 (email and text message rules).
 Follows the guidelines defined in IRS publications 526 and 1771 regarding the substantiation and
disclosure requirements of charitable contributions.
 Fully completes and discloses appropriate information associated with IRS Form 990.
 Conducts fundraising for gift annuities only in states in which it is registered to do so.
Puget Sound does not have a relationship with a fundraising organization that bears its name and whose
major purpose is to raise funds in support of the university’s mission.
Puget Sound’s Gift Acceptance Policy is the primary policy utilized to address this standard. This policy
document defines the policies adopted by the university’s board of trustees to ensure that gifts to Puget
Sound are appropriately solicited, accepted, used, and stewarded. The purpose of the policy is to
protect the interests of Puget Sound and its supports by clarifying the types of gifts that are and are not
acceptable to the university and the conditions under which gifts may be solicited and accepted.
Puget Sound conducts its fundraising activities in compliance with governmental requirements for
solicitation of gifts, management of endowments, operation of deferred giving programs (such as
charitable gift annuities and charitable trusts), and other fundraising activities. The university utilizes the
services of qualified service providers for investment custody and/or management, beneficiary
payments, stewardship reporting, accounting services, and tax form/return preparation.
Puget Sound’s charitable gift annuity program has been audited by the Washington State Insurance
Commissioner, who provides regulatory oversight for gift annuities in Washington State. The results of
these audits have been clean with minimal recommendations for procedural changes or improvements.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 74
Standard 2.G Physical and Technological Infrastructure
Puget Sound’s campus in the heart of the vibrant port city of Tacoma, Wash., consists of 94 acres of ivycovered Tudor Gothic buildings, mature tree groves, sports fields, and extensive landscaping. All campus
resources are managed with a view to creating an inspiring learning environment, a place for selfdiscovery, and an inclusive community that shares ideas and resources with its Pierce County neighbors.
The university’s attention is also focused on: providing modern equipment and facilities, security and
safety, accessibility for all, renewable resource planning, and the need for emergency planning. Major
capital projects are developed in line with the 20-year campus master plan and all receive significant
input from campus stakeholders in order to meet the university’s educational goals and support its
mission, programs, and services.
The Department of Facilities Services oversees the development of Puget Sound’s 94-acre campus, and
manages, maintains, and operates the university’s facilities, buildings, and grounds [Standards 2.G.1 –
2.G.4].
Significant progress has been made in the past decade in implementing the 20-year Tapestry of Learning
2023 Master Plan, which guides the development and improvement of campus facilities. All planning,
design, and work is monitored by the Facilities Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees, the board itself,
and the president and cabinet. In addition, the Tapestry of Learning Implementation Team, composed of
faculty, staff, administrators, and students, makes recommendations to the president regarding the
timing and location of proposed projects. Securing funding for implementation of the master plan has
been a priority and has been achieved through fundraising, debt, and the use of reserves.
Between 1996 and 2012 Puget Sound invested $179.5 million in major construction and renovation
projects to meet current and future demand for instructional, co-curricular, residential, administration,
and support services spaces, and to maintain facilities and infrastructure.
Since 2005 four major construction projects have been completed:
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
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Harned Hall (2006), a new science building, which provides modern and well-equipped spaces
for Puget Sound’s popular science majors
Facilities Services complex (2009), which was relocated and constructed at the edge of campus
to open up the center for recreational spaces and a new student residence
Commencement Walk, which created new outdoor event spaces and tied together the north
and south ends of campus with a sweeping view
Weyerhaeuser Hall, a new health sciences building, which brought five life sciences together in
a space that will encourage interdisciplinary research and learning
Construction started in summer 2012 on a 135-bed residential hall, which is designed to encourage a
24/7 living and learning experience by housing together students with similar interests and by providing
event spaces. Also in the planning stage are an extension remodel of Wheelock Student Center’s
kitchen, servery, and seating; a new and renovated Athletics and Aquatics Center, to replace an aging
facility; and a new Admission Center to provide a welcoming space for parents and prospective students.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 75
The completed and planned campus improvements are helping the university keep pace with the rapid
growth and change in its programs and with the need to provide students with constructive living and
learning experiences, as well as inspiring recreational and athletic spaces, all of which are central to the
strategic plan. The changes also allow us to serve students with the modern facilities and equipment
necessary for preparation for their future careers and pursuits.
In order to ensure investments are optimized to meet changing needs, the university will be developing
an administrative and student services space “needs analysis,” which will help us refine our assessment
of current space availability and future space needs.
In recent years Puget Sound also has had an emphasis on improving residence halls, classrooms, and
laboratories; on instituting energy savings and implementing sustainability programs; on enhancing
safety and security; and on reducing the backlog of deferred maintenance.
Sustainable practices are implemented on an ongoing basis, including efforts relating to water usage,
green construction processes, recycling of a wide variety of materials, and reduction of waste. Three
recent buildings received LEED Gold ratings for adhering to stringent environmental standards: the
Facilities Services complex, Live Green House student residence, and Weyerhaeuser Hall. In summer
2012, Puget Sound achieved a “gold” rating in the national, campus-tracking environmental program
known as STARS (Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System). Accessibility for all campus
members and visitors is also a priority, and the vast majority of academic and administrative spaces are
now accessible.
Safety and security remain top priorities. Enhancements of our systems and practices over the past
decade have extended into several areas. Puget Sound maintains a strict policy for the safe use, storage,
and disposal of hazardous or toxic materials, in accordance with all federal, state, and local regulations.
In 2009 Facilities Services completed an “asbestos good faith survey” on all of its major buildings. In June
2011 we hired a full-time Environmental and Safety Manager, who will ensure safety policies are fully
implemented and progress continues on sustainable practices.
Campus security enhancements have included a multimodal emergency communication system for
quickly alerting campus members to any threat, “blue-light” emergency telephones located at key sites
on campus, and strategic use of security cameras. Card access to buildings, already implemented for all
residence halls and many major buildings, is being progressively extended.
As the Tapestry of Learning 2023 Master Plan rolls out, Puget Sound is employing long-term capital
planning to identify project priorities and funding needs and sources. To assist in this planning, Facilities
Services hired an architectural and engineering firm in 2009 to prepare a comprehensive building and
infrastructure report. The report concluded that the university’s maintenance backlog represented a
cost of $20.8 million.
Puget Sound stepped up to address this backlog and for several years has increased the major
maintenance budget by 10 percent a year, with the aim of reaching the level needed for timely
maintenance (). Over the summer of 2012, Facilities Services updated its records to gauge where we
currently are with deferred maintenance.
In 2010 Facilities Services implemented a new computer software package (Schooldude) to manage all
aspects of work orders. This has streamlined maintenance projects and provided more accountability.
The department also conducts random surveys of those served and reviews the feedback made through
the work-order system in order to gauge performance and to make improvements in service.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 76
Furnishings and equipment typically are updated when a building is renovated or newly constructed, or
when departments identify a need and the operating funds are available. Facilities Services has made
progress in establishing and funding equipment inventories and replacement cycles, though there is
room for improvement in this regard. A survey to assess the campus community’s satisfaction with
furnishings and equipment is planned.
Academic departments purchase the majority of specialty equipment for science labs, art classes, and
technology classes, while the athletics department buys athletics equipment. The Associate Academic
Dean assesses equipment requests from academic departments, the library, and athletics and either
distributes allocated funds or requests additional funds from the Budget Task Force to ensure Puget
Sound remains on track to meet its strategic plan.
Puget Sound has identified the need for a specific landscape master plan that will address decades of
campus maturation, as well as storm damage to trees. It is hoped to produce such a plan within the next
two years.
The significant planning and construction efforts of recent years, guided by the Tapestry of Learning
2023 Master Plan, will continue into the next decade. Puget Sound’s campus is a highly valuable asset
that the university aims to nurture with care and thoughtfulness, so that students, faculty, alumni, and
staff can continue to enjoy both its beauty and utility.
The Department of Technology Services provides the computer and network technology infrastructure
for Puget Sound. Services include student computing labs, faculty and staff desktop support, the
university network, secure servers, remote access, email, telecom, print and copy services, web
infrastructure, classroom enhancement programs, and administrative computing [Standards 2.G.5 –
2.G.8].
Puget Sound regards technology as a key strategic resource for achieving its educational goals and
advancing its mission. Over the past two years, the university underwent a major strategic review of its
technology infrastructure under the leadership of a new chief technology officer. Subsequently, backed
by the Board of Trustees and President’s Cabinet, Technology Services has begun to introduce
substantial changes, including a new integrated software platform, Oracle PeopleSoft. Implementation
of the platform began in fall 2011 under the project name Optimize Puget Sound. More details on this
initiative follow.
Technology Services’ policy is to deliver a rich computing environment easily accessed by students,
faculty, and staff, anytime and anywhere. The department is accomplishing this by building a set of
services that use open standards and that are web accessible.
Computer and network resources are available to all campus members. Full-time faculty and staff
receive a desktop computer that is regularly updated and that includes email access (with 500
megabytes of storage) and separate network storage (5–10 gigabytes). Faculty members have space to
develop a website and course projects, and can access academic tools such as the learning management
system Moodle.
Another 350 Windows or Macintosh computers are available to students in computer labs. The campus
has more than 100 electronic classrooms and 15 student computing labs, plus campus-wide wireless
access. All campus members also have access to vDesk, a virtual desktop system introduced in 2011 that
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 77
provides anytime, anywhere access to a wide range of software and tools, including Microsoft Office,
Adobe Photoshop, Acrobat Pro, and specific applications such as Mathematica and SPSS.
Campus members can work from multiple locations, including from home, with full access to the
documents and software on their office computers, via the vDesk service. Email and telephone voice
mail can be accessed remotely.
The telecommunications network is a modern, standards-based infrastructure composed of a 10
gigabyte per second (Gbps) backbone, with at least 100 megabytes per second (Mbps) to the desktop.
The university is connected to the Internet via two distinct sites provided by separate carriers. This
provides the security of being able to switch Puget Sound’s entire operation to either carrier in the
event of an emergency.
Telephone services are via a newly installed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), provided by Cisco. This
has allowed the university to minimize costs by consolidating services on the data network, while adding
new telephone features convenient for campus members.
For many years, a major challenge the university has faced is the existence of numerous, disparate
software platforms that handle educational, administrative, and management functions across campus.
Though the situation has been workable the inability to share data across custom-built platforms and
the many requests for “change orders” have proved awkward and inefficient. Addressing the issue
entails major expense and years of implementation, not to mention the retraining of hundreds of
campus users. However, Puget Sound is now eagerly pursuing a new, streamlined platform that will
enable a more focused pursuit of the university’s strategic objectives.
Following an intensive one-year study, with broad input from campus stakeholders, Puget Sound began
implementing Optimize Puget Sound in 2011. The PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning (ERP)
package will combine finance (July 2012), human resources (January 2013), and student information
(March 2013) in one vendor-supported software suite (PeopleSoft). While the aggressive
implementation schedule is stressing human and operational resources of the campus, the new ERP
system will eventually enhance the operations of numerous departments and provide students, faculty,
and staff easier access to information essential for their work. Admission and advancement functions
may also be brought into the PeopleSoft fold in the future.
On-campus technology experts provide friendly and informed support for students, faculty, and staff.
The Client Support and Educational Technology Services (CSETS) unit offers real-time support with a
simple telephone call during working hours or, by special arrangement, for weekend or evening events.
The CSETS team also provides instruction in one-on-one and group settings. During 2012 Professional
Development Week, CSETS staff led 12 workshops on a range of topics, serving 275 faculty and staff.
CSETS also runs a multimedia lab with 31 computers for digital editing and three micro-studios for sound
editing. Campus members can check out media equipment including digital cameras, data projectors,
and recording equipment. They are given training at no charge.
To keep abreast of the technology needs of campus members, the Technology Support Advisory
Committee (TSAC) meets monthly. The members, including staff from most administrative units, learn
about new initiatives and provide feedback. The Library, Media, and Information Services (LMIS)
Committee—a standing committee of the Faculty Senate composed of faculty, technology, and library
staff—meets bi-weekly to review and guide technology projects affecting faculty and students. In
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 78
addition the ERP Steering Committee monitors implementation of the new PeopleSoft enterprise
resource planning software.
The new ERP suite and phone system, the helpful technology support team, and a recently launched
TechNews newsletter that puts a human face on the technology team efforts have all invigorated the
campus and motivated students, staff, and faculty, who can feel confident that their teaching, learning,
and operational needs are being fully supported.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 79
Institutional Summary
The University of Puget Sound has the resources to deliver effectively on its mission, core themes, and
educational goals. The college has a clear sense of purpose; engages in ongoing processes of
assessment, review, and planning; and communicates its work effectively among constituent members
of the campus community: trustees, faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni.
The primary focus of work of the President’s Cabinet and the Board of Trustees over the past eighteen
months has been to review and adjust the objectives of Puget Sound’s strategic plan at its five-year midpoint and in the context of the challenging economic realities that the Great Recession has brought to all
of higher education. Coming out of the October 2011 Board meeting, our analysis of Puget Sound’s
current position, based upon achievements thus far and new challenges that are emerging, was as
follows:





The Defining Moments Strategic Plan is fundamentally sound and our course is correct.
The academic program and faculty are comparable in quality to those of top liberal arts colleges in
the country.
The institution is well and efficiently managed as our benchmarking and record of budget savings
and resourcefulness show.
The 2006 plan seeks to provide strategic solutions for our budgetary issues in diversifying our
revenues over the long term and by building philanthropic capacity.
Following the recession of 2008, we know we cannot take a solely long-term approach and must
intensify work in building national profile, enrollment and retention, and the residential character of
campus to secure our primary revenue source: net tuition.
As a well-managed organization, Puget Sound is cognizant of its challenges. These include our relative
strength in the higher education marketplace, student recruitment, and student retention to successful
graduation: Puget Sound’s recognition and identity are not as strong as the quality of the educational
experience we provide for students. Our recruitment and financial aid practices have required reexamination in the face of rising discount rates, declining wealth of families, an increasing proportion of
high-need students, constrained growth of net revenues, and reduced ability to support students in
need and maintain diversity goals. Our graduation rates, while strong, are not competitive with liberal
arts peers and correlate with lower on-campus student residency.
At the February 2012 meeting, the Board affirmed full commitment to our fundamental mission to
deliver a teaching-intensive, residential, and fully integrated liberal arts education and, at the same
time, supported in concept strategic investment in increased efforts in admission, financial aid strategy,
institutional identity, retention and the residential character of the campus at the potential short-term
expense of other priorities. The senior staff was charged to outline an action and funding plan and,
following Board concurrence at the May 2012 meeting, we have begun work on the following strategic
initiatives, with clear goals and milestones in each area:
1. Identify a clear and consistent institutional messaging platform to inform a fully integrated internal
and external communications plan by 2013.
2. Stabilize the Freshman Discount Rate to a competitive but sustainable level by 2017.
3. Rebalance to pre-recession levels the economic profile of our student body by 2017 to sustain our
business model while protecting our commitment to a diverse student body.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 80
4. Increase the 4-year graduation rate from 68% to 75% and the 5-year graduation rate from 72% to
80% by 2017.
5. Further develop the character of the campus as a four-year residential experience, moving from 59%
to 70% of students living on campus by Fall 2013.
Fundamental to these efforts is the development of a well-researched and compelling message about
ourselves, used consistently both internally and externally. The messaging needs to be true to who we
are, differentiate us from our competitors, position us in an increasingly competitive market, and
resonate with our constituent audiences. Work on this strategic initiative has been moving forward on a
fast-track since May 2012 – inclusive of input from faculty, staff, and students – and, with the advice of
professional consultants, has culminated in an integrated strategy that is being rolled out concurrent
with Puget Sound’s 125th anniversary year of 2013. Two staff members have joined the Communications
Office staff, an area historically understaffed, to execute the comprehensive program through new
media and other platforms. The branding initiative has strengthened further Puget Sound’s clarity about
who we are, what we offer, and to whom we offer it; we are implementing a cogent message
framework that builds upon our mission, core themes and values, and strategic vision for the university.
We have also enhanced the college’s investment in the effectiveness of our admission effort, with
understanding that we need to re-balance the applicant pool with families with ability to pay in order to
support those who cannot and that we need to increase net revenues; we achieved some success in the
re-balancing effort and in our structural diversity objectives for Fall 2012, but fell short of first-year
student enrollment goals. Our efforts continue to increase selectivity and to admit students most likely
to persist to graduation: those who can both qualify academically and afford to continue. We have hired
a new vice-president for enrollment, effective January 2013, and have shifted resources to bolster with
three new positions the ability of the admission office and athletics staff to identify and penetrate key
markets, increase yield through aggressive and highly personalized programming, and deploy organized
alumni and parent volunteers in recruitment efforts.
Strategic initiatives focused on improving student success to graduation are in-progress as well. While
recognizing that strengthening student retention is a campus-wide responsibility, we have named a chief
retention officer to coordinate those institutional efforts. We are implementing an enterprise system
with the data capabilities to sustain evidence-based retention work and have invested in staffing in the
office of institutional research, also historically understaffed, to support assessment analytics. As noted
at the outset of this report, we are implementing an important rubric-based and sequential revision to
the first-year seminar program; we seek as well, as tenure-line hires are completed, to strengthen the
proportion of tenure-line faculty teaching in the first-year program. We have implemented a two-year
residential requirement for the entering class of Fall 2012 and we will open a new 135-bed residence
facility for upper-division students in Fall 2013, which will bring on-campus residency to 70%.
These structural adjustments are joined by programmatic initiatives to strengthen further the four-year
Puget Sound experience and to build a consistent campus mindset for student retention and success.
For example, the new residence facility will provide upper-division academic-residential houses focused
on humanities, international study, environmental sustainability, and entrepreneurship; we have
secured grant funding for a cohort program for historically underrepresented students; and
collaborative work is underway to bolster our sophomore year initiative and to enhance Greek Life. The
faculty continues to be highly invested in curricular innovation and revision, some examples of which
include an environmental policy and decision-making major and a Latin American Studies minor,
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 81
interdisciplinary investigations in neuroscience and trans-America studies, faculty-led field studies in
Asia, as well as collaborative curricular projects with Northwest Five Colleges colleagues.
In all, we are confident of our five-year strategic vision to see Puget Sound be an academically and
financially thriving institution, sought after by high achieving students who receive a distinctive
educational experience, persist successfully to graduation, and maintain lifelong relationships with the
college.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 82
Appendices
Appendix I: Puget Sound Core Themes, Objectives, Indicators, and Assessments
Core Theme 1: Academic Excellence
Objective 1A : critical analysis
Indicator 1A1: senior culminating experience
Indicator 1A2: Connections core course
Indicator 1A3: residential and campus
programming; Student Affairs learning goal of
critical analysis
Indicator 1A4: leadership pathways; alumni
information regarding leadership
Indicator 1A5: information literacy across the
curriculum
Objective 1B: communicate clearly
and effectively
Indicator 1B1: first year seminars
Indicator 1B2: writing across the curriculum
Indicator 1B3: written and oral communication
within the majors
Indicator 1B4: research project/performance
presentation
Objective 1C: breadth of learning
Indicator 1C1: core curriculum and upper
division graduation requirement
Indicator 1C2: foreign language graduation
requirement
Indicator 1C3: integration of residential
programs
Objective 1D: depth of knowledge
Indicator 1D1: major/minor/emphasis; upper
division graduation requirement
Indicator 1D2: senior theses and projects;
independent research
Assessments: Senior culminating
experience assessments
Assessments: Senior focus groups;
senior survey; Connections review
Assessments: Participation
analysis; Student Affairs learning
goal assessment
Assessments: Alumni Sharing
Knowledge (ASK) network analysis;
Alumni Council leadership
participation
Assessments: Research practices
survey; senior culminating
experience assessments
Assessments: Seminar objectives
review; transcript analysis
Assessments: Writing assessment;
NSSE
Assessments: Department and
program curriculum reviews;
senior culminating experience
assessments; NSSE
Assessments: NSSE; Freshman
Survey; Senior Survey
Assessments: Transcript evaluation
of graduation requirements; survey
and focus group data; Curriculum
Committee review; number of
students with multiple
majors/minors
Assessments: HEDS survey results;
participation comparison with
other institutions
Assessments: Residential seminar
assessment; focus group data
Assessments: Program outcomes;
Department/Program curriculum
reviews; transcript analysis; Senior
survey
Assessments: Senior culminating
experience assessments;
independent research
assessments; NSSE
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 83
Objective 1E: intellectual
independence
Indicator 1E1: independent research, projects,
study; student publications and clubs
Indicator 1E2: internships
Indicator 1E3: post-graduate fellowships and
programs
Assessments: Participation in
research and independent study;
final report and reflection analysis;
NSSE
Assessments: Number of students
participating; student and
employer evaluations; Senior
survey
Assessments: Numbers and types
of fellowships
Core Theme 2: Rich Knowledge of Self and Others
Objective 2A: informed appreciation
of commonality and difference
Indicator 2A1: implementation of the diversity
strategic plan and Race and Pedagogy Initiative
Indicator 2A2: international programs
Indicator 2A3: foreign language graduation
requirement
Objective 2B: potential for creative
and useful lives
Objective 2C: sense of community at
Puget Sound
Indicator 2B1: problem solving; art, music,
dance, and theatre performances and juried
exhibitions; science and humanities research
and exhibitions
Indicator 2B2: athletics participation
Assessments: Participation
numbers and reflections; project
assessments; NSSE
Indicator 2C1: integrated residential programs;
Orientation program
Assessments: Residential seminar
data; residential program data;
Freshman and Senior surveys
Assessments: Arches readership
survey; participation in councils
and programs
Assessments: Club annual reports;
Senior survey; NSSE
Assessment: Availability; Freshman
and Senior surveys
Assessments: Hearing board
process; matriculation integrity
code; conduct process learning
outcomes assessment
Indicator 2C2: engaged alumni community
Indicator 2C3: clubs and theme groups
Indicator 2C4: lectures and performances
Indicator 2C5: Student Integrity Code and the
conduct process
Objective 2D: learning through
engagement with the broader
community
Assessments: Campus climate
survey; student outcomes
assessments; club and affinity
group participation
Assessments: Participation in study
abroad; student reviews of study
abroad experiences; NSSE
Assessments: HEDS survey results;
NSSE
Assessments: Participation
numbers; reflections; athletics
strategic plan assessment
Indicator 2D1: Civic Scholarship Projects
Assessments: Number of projects
and participation
Indicator 2D2: internships
Assessments: Internship
participation; employer
evaluations; student evaluations
Assessments: Percentage of
volunteers/community services;
student learning outcome
assessment; Senior survey; NSSE
Indicator 2D3: community service
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 84
Core Theme 3: Engaged Citizenship
Objective 3A: full, open, and civil
discussion of ideas
Indicator 3A1: first-year experience
Indicator 3A2: residential programs
Indicator 3A3: senior experiences and
independent projects
Objective 3B: active, collaborative
citizens
Indicator 3B1: community service programs
Indicator 3B2: university governance
Indicator 3B3: Civic Scholarship projects
Objective 3C: commitment to
sustainability
Indicator 3C1: environmental sustainability
Indicator 3C1: fiscal sustainability
Indicator 3C3: alumni and student support
Assessments: Prelude evaluations
(faculty and student); first-year
seminar review; “I am Puget
Sound” evaluation
Assessments: Residential seminar
assessment; conflict resolution in
residential programs assessment;
NSSE
Assessments: Student research
evaluations and reflections;
presentations and symposia; NSSE
Assessments: CIAC data; SSSJ data;
Greek community; ASUPS service
groups; student-initiated groups;
Senior survey
Assessments: Student participation
numbers (faculty committees,
university committees, ASUPS);
honor court, peer boards; advisory
groups; Faculty and Staff Senates
(participation numbers and
reports)
Assessments: Number of projects
and participation
Assessments: Sustainable
operations evaluation;
Sustainability Advisory Committee
reports; Sound Policy Institute
evaluations and reports; STARS
assessment
Assessment: Budget Task Force
process; audited financial reports
Assessment: ASK participation;
Alumni Council participation;
alumni participation on Board;
regional program evaluation;
reunion evaluation
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 85
Appendix II: Puget Sound’s National Peer Institutions
As defined for the 2008 National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE), Puget Sound’s National Peer
Institutions included:
As defined for the 2011 National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE), Puget Sound’s National Peer
Institutions included:
Allegheny College
Amherst College
Beloit College
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Colgate University
Colorado College
Connecticut College
Denison University
DePauw University
Franklin and Marshall College
Furman University
Gettysburg College
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Kenyon College
Knox College
Lawrence University
Macalester College
Middlebury College
Smith College
St. Olaf College
Swarthmore College
Union College
Vassar College
Washington and Lee University
Wellesley College
Wesleyan College
Wheaton College
Whitman College
Willamette University
Williams College
Beloit College
Bucknell University
DePauw University
Franklin and Marshall College
Furman University
Gettysburg College
Kalamazoo College
Sewanee – University of the South
St. Lawrence University
St. Olaf College
Wheaton College
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 86
Appendix III: Class Scheduling Memo
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
September 24, 2012
Department Chairpersons and School/Program Directors
Brad Tomhave, Registrar and Kris Bartanen, Dean
2013-2014 Class Schedule
It is time to prepare the class schedule for next year. Please submit your 2013-2014 schedule to
Schedule Coordinator Doris Acosta in the Registrar’s Office by Tuesday, October 23, 2012.
Attached are printouts of your 2012-2013 schedule. You may make changes to existing courses
in red or blue ink just above the course entry and you may add new courses at the bottom of the
page. You may also submit your schedule on a separate spreadsheet and please remember to
include all the details.
Please use the following schedulable periods when developing your department’s course
schedule:
MWF
TT
8:00 – 8:50
9:00 – 9:50
10:00 – 10:50
11:00 – 11:50
12:00 – 12:50
1:00 – 1:50
2:00 – 2:50
3:00 – 3:50
4:00 – 4:50*
8:00 – 9:20
9:30 – 10:50
11:00 – 12:20
12:30 – 1:50
2:00 – 3:20
3:30 – 4:50
MW/WF/MF
2:00 – 3:20
4:00 – 5:20*
(5:00 – 6:20, 6:00 – 7:20 also available)
MTTF/MTWT/MTWF/MWTF/TWTF
MTWTF
8:00 – 8:50
10:00 – 10:50
11:00 – 11:50
1:00 – 1:50
2:00 – 2:50
4:00 – 4:50*
8:00 – 8:50
10:00 – 10:50
11:00 – 11:50
1:00 – 1:50
2:00 – 2:50
4:00 – 4:50*
Four-day-per-week courses that begin at 9:00,
12:00, or 3:00 will have Tuesday and/or
Thursday session(s) that are adjusted to fit
within the closest legal 80-minute time period
(see the box at upper right).
Five-day-per-week courses that begin at 9:00,
12:00, or 3:00 will have Tuesday and Thursday
sessions that are adjusted to fit within the
closest legal 80-minute time period (see the
box above).
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 87
Please also adhere to the following guidelines for your department’s course schedule:
1.
*The 4:00 time slot, as recognized in the Scheduling Principles document adopted by the
Faculty Senate in November 2007, should be used for courses not required for the major
and for which there are multiple sections. This slot is offered to improve the options for
offering a course with multiple sections.
2.
Also acknowledged in the Scheduling Principles document, “the schedule should reflect
an efficient and effective use of the classrooms available, of the five working-days
available per week, and of the hours from 8:00 a.m. to 9:50 p.m. … in practice, the vast
majority of classes are scheduled sometime between 9:00 a.m. (starting-time) and 5:00
p.m. (ending-time).” Therefore, please:
a. Schedule courses throughout the day. Without considering the 4:00 period,
there are 14 schedulable periods for you to use and each has its own appeal and
we need to spread classes efficiently throughout the day to make the best use
of rooms that match class sizes.
b. Schedule courses throughout the week. Arranging a departmental schedule
limited to only 2 or 3 days per week may limit the opportunities of your
students to select courses from your department. It is not desirable for students
or equitable to faculty if some departments have a clear majority of their
courses on a TT schedule; please aim for an equitable distribution of courses in
TT and MWF time slots (remembering that longer course slots are available on
MW, MF, and WF).
c. Make sure courses do not create scheduling conflicts for students who must
also take courses in other department(s) at the same time of day. It is important
to maintain contact with chairs in other departments to minimize this kind of
disruption. If faculty members in your department are teaching in
interdisciplinary programs, please cooperate with those program coordinators
in formulating schedule plans.
It is important for the class schedule to be coherent and to allow students flexibility
when selecting courses. On occasion it may be necessary for the Associate Dean or the
Registrar to ask a department or instructor to move a course to a different time of day
than originally requested. Your support and cooperation should this occur is helpful to
the overall functioning of the university and is much appreciated.
3.
Please minimize the number of courses that will have an actual enrollment of fewer
than 10 students. Courses enrolling fewer than 10 students may need to be canceled in
order to provide another course elsewhere where the need is greater.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 88
4.
Please review enrollment limits to make sure they are neither too low nor too high.
Please expect courses in the Fine Arts, Humanistic, and Social Scientific Approaches Core
areas to have a limit of 28, Mathematical Approaches courses to have a limit of 24, firstyear seminars to have a limit of 17 or 18 (depending upon instructor preference), and
Connections courses to have a limit of 22. Please note we may not be able to sustain
team-taught Connections courses unless there is an historical record of such courses
achieving enrollments of 44. If you have questions about enrollment limits, please
consult with Associate Dean Lisa Ferrari.
Department chairs and program directors should attend to matters of equity in the
numbers of individual students taught by a single faculty member (e.g., one colleague
regularly having 90 students per semester while another has a much smaller number).
5.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday courses generally begin on the hour and end 10 minutes
before the next hour.
6.
Tuesday-Thursday courses begin and end within the 80-minute blocks shown in the
table on page one.
7.
Monday-Wednesday or Monday-Friday or Wednesday-Friday at 2:00-3:20 is also available for
80-minute classes. Although there will be no 80-minute classes at 3:00-4:20, 4:00-5:20 is
available for courses with multiple sections.
8.
The Tuesday and/or Thursday sessions that accompany Monday and/or Wednesday
and/or Friday sessions at 9:00, 12:00, or 3:00 are shifted by thirty minutes to fit within
one of the 80-minute Tuesday/Thursday time blocks that begin at 8:00, 9:30, 11:00,
12:30, 2:00 or 3:00.
9.
Tuesday and/or Thursday sessions that are part of four or five-day-per-week classes
may, at the instructor’s request, be assigned the entire 80-minute time period.
10.
As stated in the Scheduling Principles document, “One-day-per-week, three-hour classes
should be limited to 300- and 400-level courses and graduate courses. Except in
extraordinary circumstances, no professor should teach more than one of these classes
per term.” Although a particular three-hour time slot has not been designated for
seminar courses, starting times are available at the 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 time slots,
provided that the course is not a single section of a required course.
Additionally, a department may wish to schedule a three-hour class on Tuesdays or
Wednesdays. In addition to having only one non-teaching day per semester, scheduling
on Tuesdays or Wednesdays allows the seminar to meet during the week of Reading
Period. When arranging a schedule for a seminar, please note that a course scheduled in
a regular time slot may be granted more priority. Nonetheless, weekly three-hour
seminars are valuable and a place for them will be arranged in the class schedule.
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 89
11.
Requests for specific classrooms will be honored when possible and please note the
required feature of the requested room. For example, it is helpful to know if a
department requests a particular room because it is an electronic classroom or because
it has tables and chairs. It is not always possible to grant first choices, but it is helpful to
be able to make a prudent substitution when necessary.
12.
The schedule needs to be consistent with the number of faculty teaching units available
to your department through full-time faculty and any approved adjunct units. Make sure
that the total assignment of each career and full-time member of your faculty is six
units. Compute science lab assignments at the rate of 6 hours in lab = one unit in load.
Additionally:
a. Please do not schedule any faculty person for a load of more than 6 units
without budgetary approval.
b. Please do not adjust the length of labs without first consulting Associate Dean
Lisa Ferrari.
13.
Once the class schedule is no longer a draft (Monday, March 25, 2013, for fall 2013 and
Monday, October 21, 2013, for spring 2013), please do not make any more changes.
This will allow students and faculty to plan with confidence. New faculty hired to teach
existing courses are expected to teach at times already published.
14.
Please note individual instructors have the authority to limit the number of students
who may select the pass/fail grading option in their respective classes. Instructors may
exercise this authority by sending a message to Doris Acosta at
dacosta@pugetsound.edu specifying the course and the maximum number of students
who may select pass/fail grading (and the maximum number may be 0).
If you have questions about the preparation of your schedule, you may call Brad Tomhave at
3529, Associate Registrar Lori Blake at 3105, or Schedule Coordinator Doris Acosta at 2850.
cc:
Lisa Ferrari, Associate Dean
Martin Jackson, Associate Dean
Sarah Moore, Associate Dean
Landon Wade, Director of Academic Advising
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 90
Appendix IV: Financial Resources Supporting Policies, Procedures, and Practices
Formal Board-Level Policies, Governance, and Other Documents
Standard
Defining Moments: The Strategic Plan for University of Puget Sound
2.A.30
University of Puget Sound Code of Conduct
2.A.30
Debt Policy
2.A.30; 2.F.1; 2.F.5
Designation of Unrestricted Funds Policy
2.A.30
Endowment Investment Policy
2.A.30
Pooled Cash Investment Policy
2.A.30; 2.F.1; 2.F.5
Gift Acceptance Policy
2.A.30; 2.F.8
Enterprise Risk Management Policy, Framework, and Program
2.A.30
Campus Master Plan
2.A.30; 2.F.5
Board of Trustee Committee Role and Responsibility documents, particularly those of the key financialrelated committees and subcommittees: Finance & Facilities Committee, including its Facilities,
Investment, and Real Estate Subcommittees; Audit Committee; and Compensation Committee
2.A.30; 2.F.7
In the past five years, the following board of trustee workshops on governance, strategic, programmatic,
and financial planning have been conducted at regular meetings:
2.A.30
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February 2012: Action Plan on Strategic Initiatives
February 2012: Strengthening Market Position
October 2011: Review Strategic Plan Progress (midpoint, 5-year review)
May 2011: Residential Life
May 2011: The Campaign for Puget Sound
February 2011: Review, Reset, Revision (prepare board members to identify and discuss key issues
in executing the next phases of Puget Sound’s strategic plan and realignment of priorities, as need,
over the next five years)
September 2010: Review Hardwick Day Pricing Study to provide an analytical basis for establishing
tuition levels and associated educational costs.
September 2010: Technology Update to prepare board members for an anticipated spring 2011 vote
by the board to endorse implementation of a recommended ERP system
May 2010: The Present and Future of On-Campus Living, a discussion about the residential life
component of a Puget Sound education
February 2010: Enterprise Risk Management
February 2010: Economic Update
October 2009: Campaign Update and Strategy
October 2009: Student Retention Task Force Report
May 2009: Center for Health Sciences
May 2009: Economic Climate/Contingency Planning
February 2009: Economic Environment
February 2009: Puget Sound Academic Program
October 2008: Economic Overview
October 2008: Admission Marketing
October 2008: Alumni Survey and Alumni Council Report
May 2008; Puget Sound’s Admissions Marketing Challenges and Opportunities
February 2008: Strategic Use of Financial Aid
October 2007: Best Practices – Generative Boards and Successful Campaigns
May 2007: Comprehensive Campaign Feasibility Study
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 91
Formal Board-Level Policies, Governance, and Other Documents
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Standard
May 2007: Creating an Alumni and Parent Relations Volunteer Network
February 2007: Strategic Communications
Other Documents That Describe Practices and Processes
Standard
Description of Puget Sound’s annual budgeting process, including the Budget Task Force’s annual report
to recommend a balanced operating budget
2.A.30; 2.F.1; 2.F.2;
2.F.3
Budget Checklist utilized by the Board in reviewing and approving the balanced annual operating budget
recommended by management (Associate VP for Accounting & Budget Services Janet Hallman can
provide upon request)
2.F.1
Budget Task Force Request/Presentation Guidelines (Janet Hallman can provide upon request)
2.F.3
Summary description of internal controls over financial reporting for the Audit Committee of the Board
of Trustees (Janet Hallman can provide upon request)
2.F.4
Documents maintained by financial area staff for the annual independent audit of the university’s
financial statements that include descriptions of key entity-level and financial-related processes and
controls (financial areas include: accounting and budget services, student financial services, and treasury;
Janet Hallman can provide these documents upon request)
2.F.4
Additional Qualitative and/or Qualitative Evidence
Standard
The Long Range Financial Plan, Puget Sound’s five- and ten-year budget forecasting model (Janet Hallman
can provide upon request)
2.A.30; 2.F.1; 2.F.2;
2.F.3; 2.F.6
Operating budget variance projection and/or actual report at each regularly scheduled board meeting
(Janet Hallman can provide samples upon request)
2.F.1; 2.F.2; 2.F.3;
2.F.6
Puget Sound’s long-standing history of appropriately conservative fiscal management that include
balancing its operating budget and producing positive operating results for both educational and general
operations and auxiliary enterprises (upon request, Janet Hallman can provide a schedule of operating
budget surpluses and their designation since FY 1999)
2.A.30; 2.F.1; 2.F.2;
2.F.6
Puget Sound’s long-standing history of clean (in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles and audit standards) financial statement and federal program audits, and more recently clean
audits of its 403(b) retirement plan, including the first year the plan was audited (plan year 2009-10),
which was the first audit in the 70+ year history of the plan. (Janet Hallman can provide access to
historical reports and/or provide samples.)
2.F.1; 2.F.4; 2.F.7
Annual comparative and longitudinal financial ratio report to the board (Janet Hallman can provide
sample report upon request)
2.A.30
Annual board debt portfolio risk review (a sample copy can be provided upon request)
2.A.30; 2.F.1; 2.F.5
Institutional Research multi-year enrollment forecasting model (a sample copy can be requested from
Director of Institutional Research Ellen Peters)
2.F.2
Puget Sound maintains a long-term rating of “A1” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., and “A+” by
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (confirmation can be provided upon request)
2.F.5
Puget Sound’s “fund accounting” structure that identifies and tracks key fund groups (e.g. educational
2.F.6
Puget Sound Resources and Capacity Page 92
Additional Qualitative and/or Qualitative Evidence
Standard
and general, auxiliary enterprises) for budget and financial reporting
Annual review by the Audit Committee of the Board of Trustees of (as documented in the minutes of
their meetings):
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Qualifications, performance, and independence of outside auditors
Approval in advance of audit engagements
The integrity of the university’s financial reporting processes
Outside auditor’s reports on the financial statements and federal programs, including acceptance on
behalf of the full Board
The auditor’s recommendations to management (“management letter”) and management’s
response if weaknesses or deficiencies are identified
Effect of regulatory and accounting initiatives on the financial statements of the university
Internal controls over financial reporting and steps management takes to monitor and ensure their
ongoing effectiveness
2.F.7