Volume 1, Number 2, March/April 2000

Profile of the CMHE REPORT's "Early Adopters"  

by Bill Warters, Wayne State University

Prior to the release of the first issue of the REPORT, the Higher Education Focus Project posted a brief online survey and subscription form to help with the planning and design of the newsletter. Despite a number of technological challenges that required some persistence on the part of participants, as of May 9, 2000 I am pleased to note that the Conflict Management in Higher Education Report has logged a total of 245 registered subscribers. I think this is a pretty good start for a new initiative like this one, especially given the minimal publicity (basically a few email list announcements) used to launch of the publication. Because the REPORT is freely available via the web (for the first year at least...), the inaugural issue actually had significantly more than 245 visitors, but it is the registered subscriber base that is described in this brief profile. If you haven't subscribed yet and would like to, please click on the subscribe button to your left at any time during your visit to the newsletter.

Using data from the survey, a snapshot of current subscribers' home institutions, as well as their campus roles, conflict handling experiences, and national organization memberships is provided below. As you will see, the current registered readership is quite diverse, covering the full higher education gamut, including students, staff, faculty and administrators from public and private institutions, large and small.

When reviewing the results, please be aware that not all subscribers provided complete demographic information (it is/was optional), and the total number of people answering any given question varied by category (not all folks answered all questions).

CAMPUS INSTITUTIONAL TYPE	Totals
Public college/university	128
Private college/university	44
Campus Size (by Enrollment)
<1000 students	15
1,001-5,000 students	30
5,001-10,000 students	22
10,001-15,000 students	27
15,001-20,000 students	20
>20,000 students	53

 

COUNTRY	Totals
United States	191
Canada	24
Costa Rica	2
New Zealand	2
Israel	1
Japan	1
Netherlands	1
Philippines	1
United Kingdom	1

 

FORMAL ROLES on Campus	Totals n=189
STUDENTS (total)	54
Undergraduate students	14
Masters students	25
Doctoral students	15
FACULTY (total)	60
Part-time Instructors	34
Assistant Professors	6
Associate Professors	11
Full Professors	7
Emeritus faculty	2
STAFF MEMBERS	18
ADMINISTRATORS	39
OMBUDS	29
Outside CONSULTANTS	23
CAMPUS SECURITY	2

 

Campus Conflict Handling Experiences	Totals
Participants in a Mediation	72
Grievant/Appeals Board Users	24
Litigants	12
Collective bargaining team members	12
Partnering session participants	13
Informal problem solvers	109
Ombuds	39
EEO officers	9
Advocates	25
Informal mediators	118
Formal campus mediators	86
Former high school or middle school mediators	5
Mediation Intake Workers	36
Coordinators of campus mediation initiatives	48
Mediator trainers	98
CR skills trainers	100
Faculty/instructors for ADR Course	69
Conflict Researchers	32
Dispute systems work	57
Judicial board members	14
Appeals board members	15
Grievance board members	15
Administrators addressing conflict internal to their area	29
Administrator addressing conflict external to their area	32
Sexual harassment officers	17
Other	22

 

National Organizations	Members of
ACCUO (Association of Canadian College and University Ombuds)	2
AFM (Academy of Family Mediators)	14
COPRED (Consortium on Peace Research, Education and Development)	5
CREnet (Conflict Resolution in Education Network)	28
IACM (International Association for Conflict Management)	1
NAFCM (National Association for Community Mediation)	17
PSA (Peace Studies Association)	2
SPIDR (Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution)	54
TOA (The Ombuds Association)	18
UCOA (University and College Ombuds Association)	32
AACU (Association of American Colleges and Universities)	1
AAHE (American Association for Higher Education)	4
ACPA (American College Personnel Association)	8
AERA (American Educational Research Association)	1
ASJA (Association for Student Judicial Affairs)	10
ASHE (Association for the Study of Higher Education)	2
NACUA (National Association of College and University Attorneys)	4
NASPA (National Association of Student Affairs Professionals)	10