Achieving High Goals: An Analysis of Baylor 2012 Initiatives:Imperative One

Our emphasis is upon the extremely positive results that have been achieved in a relatively short period of time. Our point is that no reasonable person can dispute the genuinely positive results that have been achieved during the first five years of Baylor 2012.

On the sidebar to the right, you will find links to the 2012 Imperatives that set forth the narrative goal and the steps being taken to implement them. As we have time, we will address each one in sequence. We will list the steps being taken as set forth on the web page (underlined here), followed by our analysis of the status of those steps, with the analysis in italics.

Imperative I: Establish an environment where learning can flourish.

Narrative: Imperative One

Steps being taken to implement:

Reduce student-faculty ratio to 13 to 1. As of December 2006, the ratio is 16 to 1, down from 18.6 to 1 in December of 2000. There has been improvement, and the ratio goal of 13 to 1 is within reach in the five remaining years of 2012.

Establish additional courses in new fields, including more endowed chairs and professorships at the undergraduate and graduate levels. New courses are added regularly across the university, but two new areas of work are in medical humanities and great texts. New endowed professorships have been added in social work, the seminary, and the law school. One new distinguished professor has been added in the social sciences, Rodney Stark.

Create a Great Texts Program, as well as an Honors College that incorporates interdisciplinary and University Scholars Programs. The Honors College has been developed and incorporates the Great Texts Program, the University Scholars Program, the Honors Program, and the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core Program. The Honors College has been a great success and has more than 1,300 students in the four programs collectively. The Honors College and its programs are particularly appealing to students who seek a challenging and active learning environment.

Develop additional writing and speaking courses. We have been unable to ascertain the status of this. We will update this as information comes to our attention.

Create facilities that will enable learning, research and teaching, including a new sciences building. The new state of the art sciences building is magnificent and has attracted many top science students to Baylor. Brooks College is currently under construction and is an exciting addition to the campus. More about that will be discussed under the residential campus imperative.

Create an Academic Success Center to improve retention and graduation rates by ten percent. The Paul L. Foster Success Center is operational, and broader in scope than even the 2012 plan envisioned.