One of the most under analyzed stories of last week was the release of UW’s annual Accountability Report. Since 1993, the UW Board of Regents has required UW System staff to annually report on how UW is doing. The report, while perhaps not the most gripping nighttime reading, is a unique self-instigated tool for holding the regents accountable.

Accountability reports of this nature — especially self-imposed ones — are rare because they often highlight failure. The 2001-02 UW Accountability Report is no different — only 13 of UW’s 20 objectives are being achieved. UW does well in areas of research and Internet use, but lags behind the national norm in diversity and advising.

The report shows conclusively that money targeted for administration and research is spent well, while diversity and advising programs fall short. In other words, UW students may have superior research opportunities, but too many students graduate “under prepared for a diverse world” and without ever meeting an advisor.

For the past decade, UW has shown as little progress as it has ingenuity in advising and diversity efforts. The administration is agonizingly slow to embrace peer-mentoring programs or out-of-state recruiting. Both are new approaches to problem areas that are continually under-funded by the state Legislature.

Unfortunately, the report fails to highlight some of UW’s most chronic problems, including student alcohol abuse, and some objectives seem outdated or outlandish. The regents put much emphasis on sending students abroad and encouraging Internet use, but there is no measurement of student habits or graduates’ career success.

Accountability is an essential component of good policymaking, and this report is a good start. We hope the Board of Regents takes this opportunity to improve on weaknesses like advising and diversity and expands its review of potential pitfalls.