Undergraduate Education
See also: The Iowa Promise: A Strategic Plan for The University of Iowa, 2005-2010
Strengthening undergraduate education is at the heart of the Office of the Provost's mission as the University's central academic office.
Working with and through the colleges and their deans, the Office of the Provost seeks to improve the quality of undergraduate education by fostering dynamic interactions between senior faculty and undergraduate students (including undergraduate research opportunities), ensuring the appropriate integration of faculty teaching and research, enhancing the quality of teaching, promoting curricular and co-curricular opportunities that will help students become engaged citizens in a multicultural and global community, and providing academic and career advising that will help undergraduates succeed in college and after they graduate.
The Office of the Provost also works to help colleges recruit and retain excellent students; seeks to ensure access to the University through an appropriate blend of merit- and need-based financial aid, and to increase the amount of aid available to undergraduates; and implements programs to ease the transition into the University for entering first-year and transfer students.
The deans of the University's undergraduate colleges (the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Nursing) report directly to the Provost. The directors of the University's student academic services offices (the Office of Admissions, the Office of the Registrar, Evaluation and Exam Services, Student Financial Aid, and the Academic Advising Center) report to the Provost through the Senior Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of the University College.
The Office of the Provost administers academic credit for a number of undergraduate programs through the University College, including University Honors Program courses, Study Abroad, and College Transition courses. With the Office of the Vice President for Student Services, the Office of the Provost also administers the Civic Engagement Program, which links the University's teaching, research, and service missions to meeting needs in the community by promoting volunteerism and service learning.
"Iowa, like all public universities, has reached a moment in history where
it must rededicate itself to its core function of undergraduate education .
. . . Public universities wouldn't exist were it
not for our role in educating undergraduate students and preparing them for
responsible participation in their communities. We must, therefore, hold
each other accountable for outstanding performance as undergraduate
teachers, advisors, and mentors. We must explore new learning environments,
encourage good citizenship through service learning programs, and create new
research experiences that will enable our students to sample the value-added
of an education at a major research university."
--Executive Vice President and Provost Michael J. Hogan
