FORMAT FOR APR COMMITTEE REPORTS TO THE FACULTY SENATE
1. The Academic Program Review (APR) Committee makes recommendations about
each program that it reviews in written reports to the Faculty Senate. The APR
Committee Report to the Faculty Senate should provide constructive feedback that
encourages program improvement. APR should provide a report to Faculty Senate
using the reporting grid attached to this document. In addition, APR may choose to
request a mid-review period follow-up (3 years) to concerns raised regarding the
program.
2. All materials referenced by the APR Committee should be in electronic format and
are received from the Deans’ Office. The following materials comprise the report to
APR:
 The APR Self-Study Report provided by the departmental self-study
committee (including the annual reports and other important departmental
documents contained therein);
 the unit data sheet provided by the Office of Institutional Research to the
department under review
 the report of the external consultant(s) or accreditation agency;
 the departmental response to the aforementioned reports; and
 the dean’s summary report, which is prepared by the dean after reviewing the
APR Self-Study Report, the external consultant’s or accreditation agency’s
report, and the departmental response to this report.
Approved by Faculty Senate 9/28/06
Academic Program Review SUMMARY*
Department under review: Department of Psychology
Date self-study received in Dean’s office Fall 2011
Date of external consultant’s review October 2011
Date APR received report Fall 2011
APR’S summary of self-study (first two boxes must be completed)
APR’s summary of how the academic program attempts to reach its goals and objectives
and the extent to which those goals and objectives have been achieved.
The Psychology Department is designed to prepare students for a variety of workforce
options and for many, graduate school. They do so by offering a rigorous, option filled
major and minor, as well as two of their own graduate programs (School Psychology and
Student Affairs Administration). Graduates consistently find employment in a variety of
fields, and regularly gain entrance into reputable graduate programs. The program
achieves these goals due to an impressive array of professors representing diverse fields
(many of whom are junior faculty), highly effective and multi-faceted student advising,
committed student-teacher interaction and research, extensive assessment analysis of the
program, and excellent leadership by way of the department chair.
APR’s comments including:
Notable Strengths
1. The psychology major is a strong program with high student interest. The program
offers a rich experience for students in supplying the key components of a
psychology degree rooted in an appreciation of strong research and the scientific
method, a diversity of course options representative of several sub-disciplines, and
undergraduate research options involving student/teacher interaction. Many of the
students who graduate go on to excellent graduate programs.
2. The department faculty are mutually supportive and encouraging of each other’s
success, diverse, highly active in personal and student research/scholarship
(sometimes combined), actively involved in student advising, fully participating in
service, and under strong leadership. The department is esteemed within the
university, by external reviewers and other external sources. It is a “leading
department in the college (CLS)” (Dean’s letter).
3. The department has a strong assessment plan that while needing to be minimally
adjusted, is admirable because of its organization and the range of data it acquires,
and because of departmental consensus regarding what to test, how to test it, and
what to do with the information.
Notable Weaknesses
1. Salary compression and inversion undermines the morale and capacity of the
program.
2. Low level of funds available for travel for all members of the department and
cramped space for research may affect scholarship.
APR comments on any/all of the six specific components of the self-study (if applicable)
Self Study: Purposes
The purposes of the department are to provide students with a thorough education in
psychology through the options of a major, minor and/or two graduate programs (School
Psychology and Student Affairs Administration), and to provide University curricular
service in the University’s Core Curriculum (General Education) and other departments.
According to the Dean’s letter the department is currently developing the program for a
clinical doctorate in School Psychology (in relation with the UW-System Consortium
Online Graduate Degree Program). In pursuing these ends, the department follow
learning goals and outcomes adopted from the American Psychological Association. The
psychology major is a “popular and vibrant program,” in which 30-40% of the students
immediately enter into a graduate program. The minor is unique in that it includes a
research design class. The two graduate programs – School Psychology and Student
Affairs Administration – are also flourishing. The School Psychology program is fully
approved by the National Association of School Psychologists, whom also recognizes the
programs strengths, and is praised by DPI during their review of the school of Education.
The program is highly competitive and boasts of a 100% placement rate. The Student
Affairs Administration will soon become a free standing department once the by-laws have
been approved. This program to has been able to place students in excellent positions.
Last, the department displays strong university service by offering four courses in the
General Education curriculum which are spread out over three categories. As an
example, the General Psychology course (PSY 100) services over 1000 students per
year. The department also offers services to other programs and departments such as
Lifespan Development (Psy 212, teacher education preparation), as well as providing
important electives for other departments within the university.
Self Study: Curriculum
The Department offers a BA or BS in Psychology and a minor in psychology. Reflecting
national trends and pursuing a good balance across recognized subfields, the major
prepares students for either MA programs or to go directly into positions. Consistent with
the university minimum, students must complete at least 120 credits of which 35 are in
Psychology, 48-49 in Gen Eds and 18-25 in a minor of their choice. Courses have
prerequisites and a required C grade for admission, an indicator of a curriculum that
advances students through required competencies at acceptable levels of achievement.
Unlike total university undergraduate grade distributions (34% A, 19% AB), Psychology
maintains 22% in the A category and 27% in AB reflecting, perhaps, greater academic
rigor. The popularity of the degree has resulted in increasing numbers of majors over the
last four years and higher student/faculty ratios in the major than are desirable.
The department is home to an interdisciplinary emphases which is also a minor (At Risk
Child and Youth Care). The Gerontology emphasis has recently moved to the
Department of Health Education and Health Promotion. In addition to its 600 majors,
Psychology serves over 1000 students each year across four Gen Ed classes in the
categories Self and Society, International and Multicultural Studies and Multiracial
Women’s Studies. Students studying to be teachers are required to take a class in
psychology (Lifespan Development) and it offers electives for 7 programs. An accredited
and fully approved School Psychology MA has a 100% placement rate and the graduate
program in Student Affairs Administration, now a department (pending by-law approval),
was aided administratively by Psychology over several years.
The department identified the need for a research design course before advancing to
upper level classes. This is true for the minor as well but does not require statistics.
Unique to the program is the requirement to take application courses (e.g. Empathic
Listening) where they develop specific skills. No course is required in multicultural issues
but most faculty members consider these issues in their classes and many majors take
courses like Culture and Mental Health. The department remedied this situation by hiring
a new tenure track faculty member who will teach and conduct research in the area of
multicultural issues in psychology.
Self Study: Assessment of Student Learning & Degree of Program Success
An issue the department has identified is the “larger amount of variability than the
department would like to see” in writing quality and it found that its majors write fewer
papers of 20+ pages than others in CLS. The department is working on quality and
consistency of writing experience for shorter papers that are consistent with the discipline.
The faculty have standardized a rubric for writing, citing and oral communication.
Comparing its program with similar schools, UWL Psych majors ranked at the 50 th
percentile in the Major Field Test.
The department is seeking to confront the fact that freshmen have lower levels of
satisfaction and less interaction with faculty mainly because the first course they take has
500 students. It is possible that a majors only intro course would remedy the situation but
no decision on this has been made.
In surveys of graduating seniors the most noteworthy success is the level of satisfaction
with the advising process. Yet students persist in imagining that upon graduation they will
be a psychologist regardless of how much they are told that it doesn’t work that way.
Students do not take advantage of guidance that would dispel this misperception, which
simply seems to be the condition of being an undergraduate but they also want additional
career guidance.
Using an APA rubric, the department plans to assess several of 8 domains each year in
addition to conducting annual assessments using the realistic approach of reviewing a few
SLOs each year rather than all of them. The department notes that Its indirect
assessments have proved more useful than direct measures that need to be linked more
closely to course and program goals. With a fall 2011 retreat on assessment undertaken
to involve junior faculty in the process, the department is cognizant of the challenges and
opportunities that assessment provides.
Due to the high number of majors and the need to guide them through the major, the
Department created a Psychology Advising Center staffed by a professional advisor and a
graduate assistant. The Psych Faire is an additional mechanism designed to encourage
students success as they move through the major.
Self Study: Previous Academic Program Review and New Program Initiatives
In the area of new programs, the department is considering a mental health graduate
program, has hired someone to teach/research in the area of multi-cultural competency
(fall 2011) and new hires (IAS and tenure track) have enabled greater topical diversity in
course offerings.
In response to the previous APR recommendations the department claims:
1. More scholarship: Faculty are doing quality research and publishing to the extent
humanly possible.
2. Additional positions: GQ&A and an internal reallocation allows the department to be
more effective in advising, scholarship and teaching
3. Formal assessment plan: Implemented and evolving
4. Do a retreat: Held in 2006 to discuss needs and goals
In response to the 2004 external review the department:
1. Enacted 3 of 7 recommendations for changes to the curriculum. One reason for the
decision not to follow certain recommendations concerned insufficient staff. The
recommendation to reduce the number of credits in the major was rejected on the
basis that it is one of the lowest credit majors at UWL.
2. Finds salary inversion and compression to be a continuing problem
3. Concurs on the need for alumni surveys, a more formal assessment system and
review of Gen Ed SLOs
4. Notes that equipment and facilities have improved
Self Study: Personnel
The department houses an impressive faculty. A broad variety of crucial sub-disciplines
are covered, allowing for a rich curriculum and student experience. Beyond teaching
courses, the faculty are highly productive in advising, personal research and scholarship,
student research and mentoring, as well as college and university service. It should be
noted that, like all departments within CLS, there are very little travel funds allocated for
each faculty member, yet as a whole the department remains dedicated to research
activities which often require them to travel. As a community they exhibit mutual support
and mentoring; this is a strong group. Their leadership is superb (internal comments,
external review, Dean’s letter). The faculty are organized around a common and
transparent assessment plan, and actively make use of assessment data to improve as a
department. According to the Dean’s letter, the department has received five tenure track
faculty. This should help to create the flexibility necessary for an already busy staff to find
some time away from teaching, student mentoring and advising, and service work, for the
sake of research and scholarship.
Self Study: Support for Achieving Academic Program Goals (Resources)
Improvements have allowed faculty to have individual office space but this is not true for
research space which is currently inadequate because it remains shared. GQ&A has
allowed most faculty to have computers that are no older than four years but technology
needs for research and teaching may outstrip resources. Similar to other departments in
CLS, there is limited funding for the travel (research/scholarship). Demand for Psych
courses requires modifications to PeopleSoft to allow automatic wait listing.
External Reviewer Recommendations
APR’s Comments on External Reviewer (if applicable)
External Reviewer’s comments included the following:
1. Heavy demands on faculty time are made by the high number of advisees;
2. PSY 200 should be a required course for the major. Recommendation supported
by student surveys agreeing or strongly agreeing that it ought to be required;
3. The department needs a capstone course;
4. Specific course changes, consolidating courses, offering a graduate program in
counseling, rotate special topics courses that the reviewer notes are up to the
department;
5. Assessment is generally excellent but need to do the Major Field Test every 2-3
years rather than every 5-7 and the department should survey alumni as well as
hold a mini retreat on assessment each year;
6. Lack of salary increase, compression and inversion affects morale;
7. Fund conference travel only if faculty present. Junior faculty who are expected to
present have to use their own funds to cover additional expenses over $900;
8. Class size is well above 30 (average for UWL 24). Need another line;
9. Space concerns;
10. Provide one course release per faculty/year or semester on a rotating basis.
Department’s response to the Reviewer Recommendations
APR’s Comments on the Department’s Response (if applicable)
The Department has addressed the majority of these concerns adequately as follows:
1. PSY 200 is strongly encouraged and the department may develop a senior capstone.
2. Reassignment is currently provided to tenure track untenured faculty, which seems a
good idea.
Dean’s Letter
APR’s Comments on Dean’s Letter (if applicable)
1. The Dean’s letter explicitly states that the Department of Psychology is “one of the
leading departments in the college,” in demonstrating strong teaching,
research/scholarship and service. This is reflected in the fact of the department’s
nomination by CLS and UW-La Crosse for the UW-System Board of Regents
2.
3.
4.
5.
Department Award.
The Dean’s office responded to student-to-faculty ratio issues by hiring 5 tenuretrack faculty and one 100% IAS position. A 50% academic advisor position was
also filled. These hires have reduced the faculty workload (including teaching and
advising), as well as contributed to the intellectual diversity of the faculty (i.e.,
expanded sub-disciplines). This should help make it possible for faculty to find
more time for teaching/scholarship.
The Dean’s office recognizes the seriousness of salary compression-inversion, is
actively engaged in the resolution of the problem, but is also clear that there are
currently few opportunities within the UW System for correcting these
shortcomings.
In response to space and technology issues, while the opening of Centennial Hall
helped to alleviate some problems, the Dean’s office has also undertaken several
renovations in Graff Main Hall and engaged in equipment purposes. There are
several other projects that are planned. Certain departmental and program moves
to other buildings will result in more spatial options for offices, research labs, and
classrooms.
The Dean thoroughly commends the department’s leadership.
APR’s Recommendations (must be completed)
Recommendations:
1. In general, the department should continue its all-around excellent work.
2. The Dean, Provost and Chancellor should continue to apply pressure at the state
level and within the university to ensure that salary compression and inversion are
addressed.
3. The department should work to ensure that its new hires continue to get financial
and mentoring support to ensure their successful progress towards retention,
promotion and tenure.
4. The department should continue its commendable job applying direct and indirect
assessment instruments in its efforts to improve curriculum. The department
should also continue to develop a capstone experience.
5. The department should continue its excellent work in student mentoring and being
actively supportive of student research.
XX No serious areas to address – review in next regularly scheduled cycle
□ Some areas to address – review in next regularly scheduled cycle
□ Some areas to address – department should submit short report on progress to Fac
Senate/Provost’s Office in 3 years
* APR’s report to faculty senate will consist of this completed form in electronic form.