Undergraduate education is a major responsibility of North Carolina State University. Core education is provided in science and the humanities, with specializations offered in physical, social, and life sciences, in the humanities, and in professional and technical disciplines. The atmosphere of a research university provides distinctive opportunities for undergraduates to benefit from the experience of research in the classroom, laboratory, and informal settings. Exposure to the discovery and synthesis of new information provides students with a basis for identifying and solving society's problems and builds a critical foundation for their personal growth, cultural enrichment, and professional development. (NCSU Mission Statement, 1991)As a land-grant university, NCSU offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate degree programs in both basic and applied fields. Undergraduate degree programs include professional, technical, and pre-professional programs, and the basic arts and sciences. Through the Division of Multidisciplinary Studies, students can also plan unique degree programs to meet individual needs and interests.
Of a total University enrollment of nearly 27,500 undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong education students in fall 1993, over 68 percent were enrolled in undergraduate degree programs. Most undergraduate NCSU students pursue either bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degrees. Bachelor degrees are offered in eighty-nine fields of study by the faculties of the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Education and Psychology, Engineering, Forest Resources, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Textiles, and the School of Design. Over seventy undergraduate minors are also offered. Approximately 450 students are enrolled in two-year programs leading to the degree of Associate of Applied Science through the Agricultural Institute.
Each school or college, with its dean, assumes responsibility for administrative oversight of academic course offerings and degree programs within its disciplinary areas. Academic-support services for undergraduates, such as cooperative education and advising, and overall coordination of general education requirements are the shared responsibility of the school or college deans and Division of Undergraduate Studies. Overall responsibility for review of undergraduate curriculum resides with the provost, advised by school and college curriculum committees through the University Courses and Curriculum Committee. On matters pertaining to the general education requirements, the Council on Undergraduate Education makes recommendations to the dean of undergraduate studies, the provost, and the University Courses and Curriculum Committee.
NCSU is widely viewed as having one of the best undergraduate academic programs in the state and region, and was rated seventy-ninth in academic reputation among all American universities in a recent poll of university educators (U.S. News and World Report, September 1993). Although NCSU has the largest undergraduate student body of any university in North Carolina, the average composite SAT score (1071) of its entering students consistently ranks second highest among public universities and fourth highest among all universities in the state. Undergraduate programs in technical and applied fields consistently are ranked at or near the top in their fields nationally, and programs in the arts and sciences now compare favorably with the best in the Southeast region. The University Merit Awards Program attracts outstanding high school applicants from across the nation; the average SATs of Merit Award recipients in 1993 exceeded 1300.
NCSU's undergraduate programs are also rated highly by participants. Nearly all respondents (94 percent) to a self-study survey conducted in fall 1992 rated NCSU's intellectual environment "good" to "excellent" in quality. More than 86 percent of respondents agreed that the education of students is a high priority at NCSU. Over 97 percent responded that major courses are challenging, and majority of students in technical fields praised the quality of their technical educations. Special strengths of the undergraduate program identified by respondents to this survey included a very strong and well-qualified student body; an institutional commitment to racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity; recent improvements to the general education program; and computer competence of students and faculty.
NCSU has an outstanding student body that is largely satisfied with its rigorous academic programs, but the spotlight of national attention on undergraduate education at research universities makes this an appropriate time to review program quality at NCSU. The conclusion of the self-study will be that NCSU's undergraduate programs comply essentially and substantially with accreditation criteria. If NCSU is to fulfill its mission to undergraduates, however, several areas of institutional activity require further attention.
