Davidson-Reaffirmation of Accreditation

Compliance
Certification
Core Requirements
2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.7.1 | 2.7.2 | 2.7.3 | 2.7.4 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.10 | 2.11

Quality Enhancement Plan
2.12

Comprehensive Standards
3.1.1 (Mission)

3.2.1 | 3.2.2 | 3.2.3 | 3.2.4 | 3.2.5 | 3.2.6 | 3.2.7 | 3.2.8 | 3.2.9 | 3.2.10 | 3.2.11 | 3.2.12 | 3.2.13 | 3.2.14 (Admin.)

3.3.1 (Effectiveness)

3.4.1 | 3.4.2 | 3.4.3 | 3.4.4 | 3.4.5 | 3.4.6 | 3.4.7 | 3.4.8 | 3.4.9 | 3.4.10 | 3.4.11 | 3.4.12 | 3.4.13 | 3.4.14 (Educational Program)

3.5.1 | 3.5.2 (Undergraduate Program)

3.7.1 | 3.7.2 | 3.7.3 | 3.7.4 | 3.7.5 (Faculty)

3.8.1 | 3.8.2 | 3.8.3 (Library)

3.9.1 | 3.9.2 | 3.9.3 (Students)

3.10.1 | 3.10.2 | 3.10.3 | 3.10.4 | 3.10.5 | 3.10.6 | 3.10.7 (Resources)

Federal Requirements
4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.8

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Compliance Certification Report

Comprehensive Standard 3.8.1 - Resources supporting missions of teaching, research, and service

The institution provides facilities, services, and other learning/information resources that are appropriate to support its teaching, research, and service mission.

Judgment of Compliance

Davidson College is in compliance with Comprehensive Standard 3.8.1.

Rationale for Judgment of Compliance

The Davidson College Library is 100,000 square feet in size, on three floors, centrally located near the academic facilities of the campus. It has controls for air conditioning and humidity throughout, and recently the HVAC controls were completely replaced/upgraded for central monitoring by the Physical Plant. A new roof was installed three years ago. There is seating for over 650, over one-third of the student body, available in individual lounge chairs, tables, group study/listening rooms, and the 24-hour-study room. Even though the recent renovation of Chambers Building provided adequate offices for active and on-leave faculty, the 39 faculty research carrels in the Library are annually fully subscribed by faculty and emeriti faculty. A quarter-million dollar state-of-the-art electronic classroom was added in 2003 to serve as a location for library instruction (used for over 100 classes a year). In the afternoons and evenings it is available as a lab for student use. The building is completely wireless and port connections to the campus network are available throughout the building. There are approximately 50 public terminals available in the building. There is a small computer lab on the main floor maintained by Information Technology Services (ITS). Administrative work areas are, for the most part, adequate in size, and the funding for a four-year replacement cycle of computers throughout allows up-to-date support.

The building was constructed in 1974 with an estimated capacity of 500,000 volumes to serve a student body of 1200. The building, now 31 years old, contains over 600,000 volumes and serves a student body of over 1700. The facility has served the College well; however, additional shelving capacity and interior re-decoration are needed. The recent Let Learning Be Cherished capital campaign included funding for the refurbishing of the Library facility as well as provision for additional shelving space for the collection, either as an addition to the present facility or an off-site storage arrangement.

Interlibrary loan services are state-of-the-art and heavily used. Most non-book requests are received via internet and delivered to the faculty or student by password-protected Web sites. Over 20,000 transactions—borrowing and lending—have been handled for each of the last five years. Titles borrowed for our patrons are later considered for possible purchase for our collection. Electronic reserves are very popular, both for the text documents and for digitized music recordings, with uses totaling over 100,000 hits per year. Approximately 80,000 books are checked out each year. Even with the addition of an outstanding new College Union next door, use of the Library facility has remained almost constant for the last decade or so—around 1,000 people coming into the building each day. The 2004-2005 usage statistics can be found here.

The materials budget for the Library was $1,527,000 for the year 2005-06, a five percent increase from the previous year. Support by the administration for the materials budget (books, periodicals, online resources, etc.) has increased about 4-5 percent for the past five years. This budget is above the average of the Oberlin Group of Liberal Arts College Libraries. With this budget, approximately 10,000 volumes are added each year and membership is maintained in NC-LIVE—the state-wide electronic resource network—and subscriptions are continued for all of the electronic J-STOR resources, ArtSTOR, Project Muse, and hundreds of other online resources. Sixty percent of the materials budget is allocated by the Faculty Library Committee to the academic departments and programs, which are responsible for selection of materials to support their course offerings. The faculty’s responsibility for collection development in their areas is a constitutional requirement, and the librarian makes an official report about faculty involvement in the library and in collection development to the Dean of Faculty, upon request, for each faculty member being considered for contract renewal or for tenure.

Other Resources Related to Teaching, Research, and Service

Although the Library is the most visible resource, many other facilities and services provide support for Davidson’s teaching, research, and service functions.

Music Library. The Presser Music Library, located on the first floor of the Sloan Music Center, houses a collection of over 10,000 items including reference books, scores, sound recordings, and videos. The Music Library also includes state-of-the-art listening stations.

Chemistry Library. A 9,000+ volume chemistry library is housed in the Martin Chemical Laboratory. It includes complete runs of Chemical Abstracts and other major reference works. On-line computer searches of the chemical literature are available. In addition, the Chemistry Help Center uses Chemistry majors and minors to assist students with concepts, problem sets, and laboratory assignments.

The Economics Center. The Economics Department provides an enriching program of study through this Center to create a nurturing environment for majors and minors. The anchor activity is tutorial assistance provided to all Economics 101 students who seek it. Comparative Advantage is a mentoring program for majors and minors that matches students with professionals in the Charlotte area. The Center also publishes an on-line e-journal, Davidson Economic Times and Review and sponsors talks and workshops.

Math Center. Peer tutors are available on a drop-in basis to assist students in Calculus with concepts, applications, and use of the graphing calculator. The Center is coordinated by the Mathematics Department, which also oversees the peer tutors.

Writing Center. The Writing Center provides trained peer tutors representing each major academic division who work with students one-on-one or in small groups for collaborative writing projects. It is directed by a full-time member of the English Department.

Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office offers individual counseling for academic support and tutors are available for every major through the office. The Counseling Center can also provide general study skills assistance.

Supporting Documentation

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