DRAFT
Faculty members at Valley City State University possess the necessary
professional competencies to provide effective instruction and to carry out related
responsibilities. The faculty demonstrate a genuine concern for their students’
personal and intellectual development and career success. They are committed
to scholarship in their professional disciplines and to the process of teaching and
learning in higher education. Faculty quality is documented by credential files, by
self-evaluation, and by student and peer assessments.
Faculty at VCSU are hired to teach courses for which they are well qualified. For
the academic year 1999-2000, 51% of full-time VCSU faculty members
possessed terminal degrees. Forty-four percent of the full-time faculty1 have
earned doctorates. Of those with doctorates, 58% are PhDs. Forty-two percent
of the faculty teach with a master’s degree; 5% are ABD; 3% are MBAs; 3% have
a bachelor’s degree; 2% have an MFA; and, 2% have a JD. The concentration of
people with a master’s degree occurs in divisions where other degree options
(like an MBA) are more common. For example, the Divisions of Science and
Math (78%), Communication Arts and Social Sciences (55%), and Education and
Psychology (55%) have a majority of faculty members with doctorates.
Furthermore, two of the three ABDs are housed in those divisions. Divisions with
fewer than 50% of faculty members holding a doctorate are Fine Arts (43%),
Health and Physical Education (13%), and Business and Technology (11%). In
recent years, there has been an effort to increase the number of people on
faculty with doctorates. To that end, the Faculty Development Committee is
creating a broad faculty development policy that will include a few paid
sabbaticals. People with the highest priority for sabbaticals will be those
individuals pursuing a doctorate.
Despite the lack of time and money, VCSU faculty have actively engaged
themselves in the pursuit of scholarly activities. In recent years,2 one faculty
member has published a book and has another book forthcoming. Fourteen
different faculty members have published articles in refereed, academic journals
or conference proceedings. Faculty articles have appeared in journals like The
Prairie Naturalist, Paideuma: A Journal dedicated to Ezra Pound Scholarship,
and The American Music Teacher. Published articles in conference proceedings
include, the Canadian Mathematical Society, the Society for Information
Technology and Teacher Education (a number of articles), and the Association
for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Twenty faculty members have
presented papers at academic conferences; most faculty members attended a
conference during the period surveyed. Many more speak to local groups and
provide expertise at area workshops. A number of faculty members give lectures
Included in the number for faculty are four members who are tenured, but no longer
teach. They have been included in all numbers for this section. The total percentage
adds up to 101% because of rounding.
2 Information has been compiled for the years 1997 though 2000.
1
for the Barnes County Historical Society Lecture series, and faculty often serve
as experts for K-12 in-services. Two faculty members have conducted seminars
in Mexico at VCSU’s sister university in La Paz. VCSU faculty members have
also received grant money to facilitate research opportunities and enhance
programs offered on campus. In 2000, one faculty member received a Fulbright
grant for the 2000-2001 academic year. Faculty research on campus includes
work on learning styles, Eurasian Watermilfoil (a VCSU faculty member first
documented Eurasian Watermilfoil in North Dakota), Sheyenne River
invertebrates, Norwegian immigrant women, the Cold War West, Ezra Pound,
Lewis and Clark’s celestial navigation, the impact of notebook computers on
learning, and a variety of math and computer projects. The art and music faculty
exhibit their work and perform at concerts.
Faculty development is important to the promotion of scholarship on any campus.
At VCSU, $200 has been provided for each faculty member to attend a
conference or workshop. The divisions determine how the money will be
allocated. In some divisions, faculty members indicate that they will use the
money during the year. The money not earmarked for use is then allocated to
those people who will travel. Travel within the state of North Dakota is fully
funded. This mechanism for funding travel will change during the 2000-2001
academic year, with people attending conferences to present papers receiving
the funding. Because of limited faculty development monies on campus, grants
from outside sources have played an important role in the total faculty
development picture. The Bush Foundation grants have also provided important
faculty development dollars. Most faculty have received Bush monies to
enhance their technology skills. Title III grant monies have also enabled VCSU
faculty to develop new skills.
Because faculty development is so crucial to a university community, the Faculty
Development Committee at VCSU has spent the academic year discussing
changes to the faculty development policy that was implemented in 1996. The
key feature in the Committee’s discussions is the inclusion of a paid sabbatical.
All of the features of the new proposals are designed to encourage and facilitate
academic scholarship on the campus of VCSU. The Faculty Association will
discuss the new policy directives during the 2000-2001 academic year.
Documentation
Credential Files
CVs from faculty
New Faculty Development Policy Draft
Snapshot List from VPAA’s Office
Role of Faculty in Design of Educational Programs
At Valley City State University, the faculty members play an important
role in the design of educational programs. At the departmental level,
individual courses and specific programs are created to meet the needs of
learners, employers, and accreditating agencies. The appropriate
Divisions then discuss the courses and programs. Upon divisional
approval, the Curriculum Committee, comprised of faculty representing
each Division, approves or disapproves the courses/programs. Approved
courses/programs are then discussed at Faculty Senate meeting.
Teacher Education faculty must assess any program changes that affect
teacher education also. Throughout the entire process, the faculty
participates in the design of courses and programs. It is the faculty who
are responsible for the creation of programs at VCSU.
Role of Faculty in the Evaluation of Educational Programs
The faculty at Valley City State University evaluates the institution’s
educational programs informally on a regular basis. Most of this work is
done at the departmental/divisional level, but any changes that result
from program review must be heard before the Curriculum Committee,
Faculty Senate, and, in many cases, the Teacher Education faculty.
There is also a Program and Planning Evaluation Committee on campus
that is responsible for the institutional review of educational programs.
A representative from each division, the Director of the Library, and the
Vice President for Academic Affairs serve on this committee.
Responsibility for Quality of On-Campus Offerings
Valley City State University faculty members are responsible for ensuring
the quality of their individual classes. Departments and Divisions
ensure that the courses and programs offered meet the institutions
quality standards. Because VCSU is accredited by NCA and NCATE
internal and external entities assess the quality of the institutions
programs and courses. Discussions in Curriculum Committee, Faculty
Senate, Program and Planning Evaluation Committee, and the Teacher
Education Committee, all of which are made up primarily of faculty,
address issues quality of courses and programs.