DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Unit Strategic Plan and Annual Report -- Academic Year 2010-11
____Academic Unit
I.
_X Administrative/Support Unit
Unit Title: Academic Support Services
School/College or University Division: Academic Affairs
Unit Administrator: Diane W. Blansett
Program Mission: The Office of Academic Support Services provides the support services that are necessary for student success in
college courses, assists students in developing an educational plan consistent with life goals and objectives, and equips students with
the skills and attitudes necessary for the attainment of personal goals.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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II.
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan / User Outcomes Assessment Plan
Table I: Learner Outcomes identified for the major and for student services and support.
A. Learner Outcome
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic
Support Laboratory I and II know,
value, or be able to do at the
completion of the two semesters,
throughout the college experience, at
graduation and beyond?
LO1: The student will be
able to navigate the DSU
website and to demonstrate a
knowledge of Delta State’s
policies regarding academic
probation and suspension and
financial aid probation and
suspension.
G-10
TABLE I – Student Learning Outcomes
B. Data Collection & Analysis
C. Results of Evaluation
1. What assessment tools and/or methods will you
use to determine achievement of the learning
outcome? 2. Describe how the data from these
tools and/or methods will be/have been collected.
3.Explain the procedure to analyze the data.
1. Class discussion, pre- and posttest to determine the student’s
knowledge of policies and
procedures.
What were the findings of the analysis?
D. Use of Evaluation
Results
1.List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being
made as a result of the program
learning outcome assessment process.
The results of the pre- and
post-test are as follows:
Pre-test: 0% of the students
demonstrated at least 70%
competence on knowledge of
2. Within the first several days of the DSU’s policies and
semester, the students are given a
procedures.
pre-test to determine how much they Post-test: 88.2% of the
know about DSU and the policies
students demonstrated at least
and procedures that govern student
70% competence on
behavior and academic progress.
knowledge of DSU’s policies
The test consists of questions about
and procedures.
the number of hours they must
attempt to be considered full-time,
the hours of operation and services
offered by Student Health Services
and the DSU laundry, the difference
between Flex Bucks and Okra Green
dollars, the name of Delta State’s
President, the university attendance
policy and consequences of
exceeding the allowable number of
absences, the GPA required to
1. Although the students
were able to recall the
specifics of the policies
governing academic and
financial standing and the
consequences of not
maintaining satisfactory
standing, on the whole, the
students did not apply that
knowledge. Constant
reminders of the possibilities
of losing financial aid due to
poor academic performance
should have resulted in more
time on task and more time
in tutoring, but that was not
the case. Entirely too many
of the students enrolled in
Academic Support Lab I and
II found themselves in
academic trouble at the end
of the first semester and first
year.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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remain in good standing with
Academic Affairs and with Financial
Aid and the consequences of falling
below those standards, dates and
deadlines for submitting financial aid
documents and for registering for
classes, as well as policies
concerning alcohol use, parking
decals, and residence hall visitation.
Then we spend the next several days
finding answers to all those questions
by learning to navigate the DSU
website. Students are taught to
access the different components on
Online Services, OkraMail, the
OkraKard site, the DSU online
catalog, curriculum check sheets, and
the student handbook. They are also
taught to compute grade point
averages. At the conclusion of this
process, the students are given a posttest on the same material.
Additionally, the final exam for the
semester contains several questions
on DSU policies and procedures.
3. Students must attain a grade of at
least 70% on the post-test to
demonstrate competence.
2. I did not REQUIRE
tutoring sessions as a part of
the CED 099 grade during
the Spring 2011 semester as
I did in the Fall 2010.
Instead, I offered bonus
credit on the student’s
lowest test grade for those
who attended tutoring
sessions. This incentive was
not a successful means of
motivating the students to
come to tutoring. The
regularity with which the
CED 099 students attended
afternoon tutoring decreased
tremendously from Fall
2010. During the 2011 –
2012 academic year, I will
once again require regular
tutoring sessions for the
students in CED 098 / 099
in an effort to improve
student performance and
retention. I will also try to
motivate the students to set
academic priorities and
gently remind them of the
consequences of poor
academic performance. I
plan to hold occasional
website drills with fun
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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rewards for the student who
is able to locate a specific
fact on the DSU website
first to encourage the
students to spend outside
time navigating the site.
Knowledge is power, and
knowing policies should
empower the students to be
more successful, to not miss
deadlines, and to access the
resources available to
him/her while at Delta State.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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A. Learner Outcome
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic
Support Laboratory I and II know,
value, or be able to do at the
completion of the two semesters,
throughout the college experience, at
graduation and beyond?
LO2: The student will be
able to establish appropriate
short term and long range
goals for his/her academic
progress at DSU.
GE-10, SP 1
B. Data Collection & Analysis
C. Results of Evaluation
1. What assessment tools and/or methods will you
use to determine achievement of the learning
outcome? 2. Describe how the data from these
tools and/or methods will be/have been collected.
3.Explain the procedure to analyze the data.
1. Goal worksheet, goal cards, and
unit test questions.
What were the findings of the analysis?
D. Use of Evaluation
Results
1.List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being
made as a result of the program
learning outcome assessment process.
The students seemed to really
enjoy the value exercise.
Great discussions followed as
2. The unit on values and goals is
they made connections
introduced with an exercise on
between what they value and
discovering what is important
the steps required to achieve
(Appendix C). The students must
goals related to what they want
identify the link between what they
to achieve. This lead into the
value and how to achieve what they
goal-setting process. The
value, and also the role that education goals worksheet was an
will play in the achievement process. excellent tool for helping the
We discuss the characteristics of
students see the steps required
SMART goals (Appendix D) and
to meet goals, academic or
complete a SMART Goal Worksheet otherwise. The class
(Appendix E). Completing this
discussion was tremendous!
worksheet helps them develop a plan The students helped one
for achieving the goal, rather than
another determine better ways
simply saying they want to meet the
to meet goals, and as they
goal. As we move through the unit in talked through the process,
the text, we use index cards for the
they came to a better
statement of the goal, the plan for
understanding of how they
accomplishing the goal, and the
could improve to meet their
assessment of the extent to which the own goals.
goal was met. This unit transitions
into the section on time management Approximately 66% of the
so that the students are able to equate students reached the 70%
the amount time spent on a goal with competency rate on the daily
1. During the 2011 – 2012
academic year, I will require
a goal setting exercise with
every unit of the text. This
should reinforce the goal
setting process, as well as
instill in the student the
importance of the new
material as it relates to the
student’s long range goals.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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the level of achievement. The
quizzes on the goals material
students complete a weekly selfand 60% of the students scored
evaluation of the extent to which they 70% or higher on the unit test.
met their weekly goal. We spend
class time discussing their successes
in meeting goals and what could have
been done differently if the goals
were not met.
3. The self-evaluation is important
for the students to observe their
attitudinal and behavioral changes.
The unit test has questions about
SMART goals, and additionally, the
students are required to write a goal
and complete all sections of the goal
sheet for an assigned topic. These
are graded by the instructor. The
students must attain at least 70% of
the possible points on those questions
to demonstrate competence.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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A. Learner Outcome
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic
Support Laboratory I and II know,
value, or be able to do at the
completion of the two semesters,
throughout the college experience, at
graduation and beyond?
LO3: The student will be
able to identify and apply
proper time management
techniques to his/her daily
academic routine.
GE-1, GE-10, SP-2
B. Data Collection & Analysis
C. Results of Evaluation
1. What assessment tools and/or methods will you
use to determine achievement of the learning
outcome? 2. Describe how the data from these
tools and/or methods will be/have been collected.
3. Explain the procedure to analyze the data.
What were the findings of the analysis?
1. Unit test, Improvement Plan,
Improvement Plan revisions.
2. Prior to studying this unit in our
text, we logged onto the Virginia
Tech website and completed the time
management activity entitled “Time
Management Strategies for
Improving Academic Performance”
(http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdyhlp.html).
We listed our most common time
wasters and approximated the
amount of time per week/day that
was spent on those time-wasting
activities. This led to a discussion of
setting priorities and the importance
of developing a schedule. The
activity concluded with the students
completing the “Where Does Time
Go?” assessment. The textbook unit
was then introduced and covered
over the next couple of weeks.
3. Time management strategies were
tested in daily quizzes and on the unit
test These questions were graded
objectively by the class instructor.
The material on managing
time, establishing priorities,
and avoiding procrastination
was tested in two daily
quizzes. Seventy-six percent
of the students scores 70% or
better on these quizzes.
Additionally, there were
several time-management
questions on the unit test, and
68% met or exceeded the 70%
competency rate.
D. Use of Evaluation
Results
1. List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being
made as a result of the program
learning outcome assessment process.
1. The VA Tech site is an
excellent way to introduce
the material. It is interactive
and promotes immediate
feedback. During the 20112012 academic year, I will
once again utilize this site to
introduce this concept. At
midterm, the students were
required to reflect on their
progress over the first eight
weeks of college, what they
had done well and what
needed improving. As an
out-of-class activity, they
had to prepare a detailed,
step-by-step improvement
plan for any subject area in
which their grade was below
a C. We revisited the
improvement plan
periodically to determine
how well they were
following their own
guidelines. I will continue
to use this technique.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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A. Learner Outcome
B. Data Collection & Analysis
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic Support
Laboratory I and II know, value, or be
able to do at the completion of the two
semesters, throughout the college
experience, at graduation and beyond?
1. What assessment tools and/or methods
will you use to determine achievement of
the learning outcome? 2. Describe how
the data from these tools and/or methods
will be/have been collected.
3.Explain the procedure to analyze the
data.
LO 4: The student will declare
an academic major during
his/her first year at Delta State
and will be able to demonstrate
an understanding of the
relationship between the
chosen academic major and a
desired career path.
GE-5, GE-9, GE-10
1. Academic major/career path
project.
C. Results of Evaluation
D. Use of Evaluation Results
What were the findings of the analysis?
1.List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being made
as a result of the program learning
outcome assessment process.
Seventy-eight percent of the
students demonstrated a
competency level of at least 70%
2. Prior to the assignment of
on the Academic Major / Career
the informal research project on project.
an academic major and the
career options available for
someone with that major, we
once again discussed values.
The student’s values, as well as
his/her interests and abilities,
provided the bases upon which
the students would declare an
academic major. The student’s
project consisted of a 3-page
typed paper and an oral
presentation to the class.
Included in the report was
internet research on the major
and possible careers linked to
the major, an interview with
someone currently working in
the chosen field, and an
interview with an instructor in
the academic area of the major.
Visual aids were optional, but
1. During the 2011 – 2012
academic year, we will make
any necessary revisions to the
rubric to make it more
relevant and easier for
students to use. Although I
was pleased with the overall
quality of the presentations,
five students were not
prepared for their presentation
the day their name was
chosen.
2. In an effort to insure that
all students are prepared for
their presentation when called
on, I will set a due date for my
copy of the project papers
several class days prior to the
presentations. Additionally,
rather than a random draw of
names that I have been using
to determine presentation
order, I will assign each
student a day for his/her
presentation.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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encouraged. Some class time
was allotted to the research for
the project, but most had to be
completed outside of class.
The presentation rubric was
distributed and thoroughly
explained to insure that the
students were fully aware of
what was expected in the paper
and presentation.
3. The students made the
presentations to the class. The
grades on the presentations
were computed using the
following weights: 40% of the
grade from peer evaluations,
60% of the grade from
instructor evaluation. A grade
of at least 70% was required to
demonstrate competency.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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A. Learner Outcome
B. Data Collection & Analysis
C. Results of Evaluation
D. Use of Evaluation Results
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic Support
Laboratory I and II know, value, or be
able to do at the completion of the two
semesters, throughout the college
experience, at graduation and beyond?
1. What assessment tools and/or methods
will you use to determine achievement of
the learning outcome? 2. Describe how
the data from these tools and/or methods
will be/have been collected.
3. Explain the procedure to analyze the
data.
What were the findings of the analysis?
1. List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being made
as a result of the program learning
outcome assessment process.
LO 5: The student will be able
to identify his/her primary
learning style and personality
type and to make appropriate
adjustments to note taking and
studying to compensate when
his/her learning style differs
from the instructor’s delivery
method.
GE-1, GE-5, GE-8
1. The Multiple Pathways to
Learning Assessment, the
Personality Spectrum
Assessment, in-class
cooperative learning exercises,
and the unit test.
Daily quizzes: 81% of the
students scored 70% or higher.
Unit test: 96% of the students
scored 70% or higher.
2. After a brief introduction of
the unit, the students complete
both the Multiple Pathways to
Learning and the Personality
Spectrum assessments in class.
These instruments provide
insight into the ways students
learn and how they interact
and communicate with others.
The students also participate in
cooperative learning exercises,
first with same personality
type students and second with
different personality type
students. A similar exercise is
repeated with students of same
and different learning styles.
The students discuss how they
can use the characteristics of
their dominant learning style
1. Although the students
began to discuss more openly
the differences in their
instructors’ delivery methods
and their learning preferences,
I am not sure that they
actively used the information
they have learned. During the
2011-2012 academic year, as I
cover chapters subsequent to
the Learning How You Learn
chapter, I will continue to
focus on the characteristics of
each learning style,
particularly as we discuss
note-taking and test-taking
skills, in an effort to
encourage the students to
apply what they have learned
about how they learn.
2. I plan to have the students
write more about specific
classes in which they are
struggling. Hopefully by
focusing on areas of
weakness, we can apply some
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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to convert information
disseminated by the instructor
into a format that better meets
their learning style needs. The
unit test includes questions
that require students to
recognize not only
characteristics of the different
learning styles and personality
types, but also study
techniques that maximize
each.
of the techniques learned in
this chapter to help them
strengthen those areas.
3. Application of this material
is difficult to measure
objectively. Although the unit
test questions do measure the
student’s knowledge of the
learning styles and personality
types and study techniques that
maximize each, the student’s
ability and willingness to adapt
to different delivery styles is a
behavioral change that is
difficult to measure
objectively. Students must
attain at least 70% of the
possible points on the unit test
to demonstrate competence.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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A. Learner Outcome
B. Data Collection & Analysis
C. Results of Evaluation
D. Use of Evaluation Results
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic Support
Laboratory I and II know, value, or be
able to do at the completion of the two
semesters, throughout the college
experience, at graduation and beyond?
1. What assessment tools and/or methods
will you use to determine achievement of
the learning outcome? 2. Describe how
the data from these tools and/or methods
will be/have been collected.
3.Explain the procedure to analyze the
data.
What were the findings of the analysis?
1.List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being made
as a result of the program learning
outcome assessment process.
There was definite improvement
in the organization and neatness
of the student’s notes as the unit
progressed. The students were
required to read sections in the
text and take notes. I would
check the notes for completion,
but not for content. However, I
gave an open-note quiz after
each section of reading. As the
unit progressed, the grades on
the open-note quizzes improved.
The chapter was divided into 3
daily quizzes.
1st quiz: 67% of the students
scored 70% or higher.
2nd quiz: 75% of the students
scored 70% or higher.
3rd quiz: 94% of the students
scored 70% or higher.
I will teach this material
during the 2011-2012
academic year using similar
methods to those used this
year. In an effort to
individualize the instruction, I
will ask the students to
determine which note-taking
technique would work best in
each of their respective
classes and to give examples
of how that method would
look for specific sections of
their notes.
LO6: The student will be able
to demonstrate multiple notetechniques.
GE-1, GE-2
1. Sample note-taking
exercises, unit test.
2. As a pre-unit exercise, I
give a mini-lecture and the
students are asked to take
notes using their method of
choice. At the conclusion of
the lecture, students are
allowed 5 minutes to clean up
their notes and expand as
needed, but the students may
not consult me or another
student. An open-note quiz
follows and the students grade
themselves to determine how
well their method of recording
the information prepared them
for the quiz. Although these
grades are not recorded, it
gives the students valuable
feedback on their note-taking
skills. I then introduce the unit
and different note-taking
techniques are introduced and
practiced. Students are
reminded of their dominant
Although long-term application
of this material is behavioral and
difficult to measure, 82% of the
students who took the unit test
demonstrated competence of this
material.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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learning style and note-taking
strategies are provided for
each learning style. The
students are also required to
utilize different note-taking
methods from their reading,
not just from lectures. The
daily quizzes and unit test
contain questions that require
the student to recognize
characteristics of the different
note-taking styles and to
connect learning styles with
various note-taking methods.
For instance, a student whose
dominant learning style is
Visual-Spatial might prefer to
take notes using a Think Link
or Spidergram. Students must
attain at least 70% of the
possible points on the unit test
to demonstrate competence.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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A. Learner Outcome
B. Data Collection & Analysis
C. Results of Evaluation
D. Use of Evaluation Results
What should a student who has
successfully completed Academic Support
Laboratory I and II know, value, or be
able to do at the completion of the two
semesters, throughout the college
experience, at graduation and beyond?
1. What assessment tools and/or methods
will you use to determine achievement of
the learning outcome? 2. Describe how
the data from these tools and/or methods
will be/have been collected.
3.Explain the procedure to analyze the
data.
What were the findings of the analysis?
1.List any specific recommendations.
2. Describe changes in curriculum,
courses, or procedures that are
proposed or were made/ are being made
as a result of the program learning
outcome assessment process.
LO7: The student will
demonstrate improved reading
comprehension skills.
GE-1, GE-2, QEP-2
1. Developing Critical
Thinking Skills software; unit
test.
2. As I introduced the chapter
entitled Reading and Studying,
I assigned each student a
section of the unit. The
student was required to read
the assigned section, take
thorough notes in their own
words, and be prepared to
teach that section at the next
class. At the following class,
the chapter was taught section
by section, one student after
another. At the conclusion of
this process, the students
admitted that they understood
their individual section better
than the other sections because
of their preparation. I
encouraged them to always
read as if they were
responsible for teaching the
material to others.
Ninety-six percent of the
students completed the computer
work at a competency level of at
least 70%.
1. No changes are
recommended for the use of
the Developing Critical
Thinking Skills reading
software for the 2011-2012
academic year.
Eighty-one percent of the
students scored 70% or higher on
the daily quizzes on the unit
2. Although the students
entitled Reading and Studying.
performed better this year on
this chapter than last year,
Seventy-four percent of the
only 74% met the required
students scored 70% or higher on competency level. Students
the Reading and Studying unit
seem to lack the focus
test.
required for improved
comprehension of what they
read. I will spend more time
reinforcing the concentration
techniques discussed in the
text as I teach this material
during the 2011-1012
academic year.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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Periodically, the students are
required to complete units
using the reading software
program Developing Critical
Thinking Skills, a program that
tests the students ability to
recognize context clues for
vocabulary, main ideas,
inference, and sequence.
3. Students must attain a
grade of at least 70% on the
unit test to demonstrate
competence.
A competency level of 70% or
above is required on the
reading software before the
student is allowed to advance
to the next level in the
software. Students not scoring
at least 70% on each
component of the Developing
Critical Thinking Skills
reading program are required
to repeat the sections with
unacceptable scores.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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III. Goals
-- For the Current Year
A.
Goal #1: Insure that students are placed into developmental classes according to the policies of the Mississippi Board of
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, and track students’ progress through the courses to insure continuous
enrollment until successful completion of the required courses.
1. Institutional Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goals #1 & #2, QEP Goal # 4
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I run regular Banner ACT component score reports throughout the spring and summer prior to fall
enrollment to determine which students require one or more developmental courses. For students whose ACT component scores
dictate the need for one or more developmental courses, I then check the student’s Banner account to determine if a
developmental hold has been placed on the student. If the hold is not already in place, I execute the hold process. If the hold is
already in place, no immediate action is required. Once the student is prepared to register for classes (whether at Freshman
Orientation or at another time during the summer after the student has been fully admitted to the University), I remove the hold
and register the student for the required developmental course(s). Periodically, I run a Banner Developmental Course Load List
report to track enrollment changes in the developmental courses. If a student has been removed from a developmental course, I
make sure that a developmental hold has been reapplied to the student’s account. At the completion of each semester, I run a
Banner report (SFRSLST) to view final grades recorded in all developmental courses. If a student has not successfully
completed the required course(s), I check their registration for the upcoming semester. If the student has already preregistered
for the failed developmental course for the upcoming semester, no course of action is required on my part. If the student has
preregistered, but has not preregistered for the failed developmental course, I contact the student to correct the registration
schedule. If there is no schedule for the upcoming semester, I simply execute a developmental hold on the student’s account
which will prevent registration until the student has contacted me. Once contacted, I register the student for the required
course(s), remove the developmental hold, and either assist the student with the registering for the remainder of his/her courses
or instruct them to work with another academic advisor to complete registration. Accuracy in these processes requires close
coordination among the offices of Academic Support Services and Developmental Studies, Enrollment Management, and the
Registrar.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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3. Actual Results of Evaluation: Through close coordination among the offices of Academic Support Services and
Developmental Studies, Enrollment Management, and the Registrar, Delta State University strictly complies with the IHL policy
regarding enrollment in the developmental courses. Students who require developmental courses in mathematics, English,
and/or reading, are properly placed in those courses and are tracked to insure continuous enrollment until each required course is
successfully completed while enrolled at Delta State University. Students who withdraw from the University prior to successful
completion of those required developmental courses must show proof of credit in the developmental courses from another
institution of higher learning or re-enroll in those courses upon readmission to the University.
4. Use of Evaluation Results: Students who are placed in developmental courses according to the IHL policy are not allowed to
withdraw from those classes unless they are completely withdrawing from the university. Additionally, students must maintain
continuous enrollment in the required developmental classes until they have been successfully completed, and they may not
enroll in a subsequent course in the subject area until they have successfully completed the required developmental course. If
there is an enrollment change in a developmental course that does not follow these guidelines, I meet with the office staff who
allowed the exception to reinforce the IHL policy and the serious nature of not complying with the stated guidelines and make
every effort to correct the exception immediately.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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B. Goal # 2: Provide academic support classes, peer tutoring services, and study skills workshops that focus on effective time
management, study skills, note-taking techniques, and reading comprehension, which will produce better students who persist
to graduation and become more productive employees and citizens. Continue to draw speakers from a wide variety of
disciplines to offer diversity of academic success themes to workshop attendees. Use the results of the previous semester’s
workshop evaluations to assist in selecting speakers, topics, and times for the workshops.
1. Institutional Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goals #1 & #2
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I provide regular email notifications of tutoring hours (Appendix F), workshop dates and topics
(Appendices G and H), and other special academic-enhancing events to all students in the OkraMail database. Additionally,
these email notices are sent to all faculty and staff through the appropriate ListServs. I enlist the aid of the faculty and GST
mentors and encourage them to require their students’ attendance at one or more of the workshops per semester. I record
attendance at all workshops and have workshop attendees evaluate the speakers. Additionally, I maintain tutoring records, and
track the academic progress of SDP students and CED students.
3. Actual Results of Evaluation: Tutors in the Academic Support Lab provided assistance to 1219 students. This is a decrease
of 253 students from the previous academic year. Our greatest decrease was in the number of students requesting mathematics
assistance during the spring semester. The only explanation that I have is that many of the mathematics faculty required “on
site” lab time as a component of the class requirements. Additionally, the spring enrollment for the math courses that we
primarily serve was slightly lower in Spring 2011 than in Spring 2010.
During the Fall 2010 semester, I presented study skills tips to fifteen GST 100 classes and to the SSC 101 class during both fall
and spring. Through these outlets, study skills and time management information was shared with over 275 students.
During the Fall 2010 semester, 56 students enrolled in CED 098, Academic Support Lab I. Three of those students
were purged from all classes for financial reasons and four of the students exceeded the allowable number of absences in the
course. Two of the four who exceeded the allowable number of absences in CED 098 also cut out of all other classes and left the
University during the semester. Of the remaining 51 students, only 37 (72.5%) returned for Spring 2011. Of the 14 who did not
return, 4 students chose to attend a community college closer to their home, 9 of the 14 lost their financial aid due to poor
academic performance, and 1 student left due to a pregnancy. These numbers are very disturbing to me. I would expect students
in the academic support classes to persist at a higher rate than their peers, but this does not appear to be the case.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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Attendance at the Study Skills Workshops continued to increase. A total of 933 students attended the workshops offered during
the 2010 – 2011 academic year, an increase of 195 from the previous year. Additionally, 52 different faculty referred students to
fall workshops and 60 different faculty referred students to spring workshops. (See the table below for more complete
information on the Study Skills Workshops.) I can only hope that the information disseminated at these sessions will continue to
positively impact the academic performance of those in attendance.
Workshop
Fall 2008 - I
Fall 2008 - II
Fall 2008 - III
Spring 2009 - I
Spring 2009 - II
Spring 2009 - III
Fall 2009 - I
Fall 2009 - II
Fall 2009 - III
Spring 2010 - I
Spring 2010 - II
Spring 2010 - III
Fall 2010 - I
Fall 2010 - II
Fall 2010 - III
Spring 2011 - I
Spring 2011 - II
Spring 2011 - III
Students in Attendance
88
92
162
Total for semester: 342
94
86
198
Total for semester: 378
67
107
184
Total for semester: 358
100
106
174
Total for semester: 380
97
144
174
Total for semester: 415
108
153
257
Total for semester: 518
Number of Faculty Who Referred Students to Workshop
23
31
35
Unduplicated number of faculty referring: 52
15
19
26
Unduplicated number of faculty referring: 34
18
22
30
Unduplicated number of faculty referring: 42
16
11
23
Unduplicated number of faculty referring: 33
31
28
35
Unduplicated number of faculty referring: 52
23
37
37
Unduplicated number of faculty referring: 60
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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In an effort to provide more direct feedback to the faculty presenters and to assist me in scheduling upcoming workshops (best
times, desired topics, etc.), with the assistance of IR, I developed a brief evaluation form to be completed by all workshop
attendees at the completion of each workshop. A compilation of some of the feedback is provided below. The workshop
evaluation form contains questions not represented below, as well as a space for comments. However, the items shown here are
the most relevant and most helpful when scheduling future workshop topics and speakers. (The results shown represent
responses from five of the six workshops held during the 2010-2011 academic year. For some reason, the evaluation sheets for
the January workshop never reached IR to be processed. I have checked with the DSU Post Office, but the forms are no longer
there.)
Survey Question
The topics were relevant to my personal needs.
Would you like to hear this speaker again?
What additional topics would you like to have
discussed at future workshops? (Mark all that
apply.)
Number of
Respondents
798
786
1672 responses from
785 respondents
What day is best for you to attend a presentation?
What time is best for you to attend a presentation?
Responses
89% Agree or Strongly Agree
92.5% responded Yes
38% responded Study Skills
36% responded Financial Management
44% responded Time Management
30% responded Organizational Skills
29% responded Note-Taking Techniques
34% responded Academic Motivation
20% responded Monday
33% responded Tuesday
27% responded Wednesday
20% responded Thursday
14% responded 3 pm – 4 pm
25% responded 4 pm – 5 pm
61% responded 5 pm – 6 pm
4. Use of Evaluation Results: Tutoring - I continue to focus the tutoring services offered by this office on the areas most
demanded. Over the last several years, the demand for assistance in basic business courses has increased. As a result, I have
contacted chairs of several disciplines within the College of Business asking for referrals of students who would be qualified to
serve as tutors for the basic CIS course, macro and microeconomics, and the basic accounting courses. I will continue to hire
multiple math tutors and hope to be able to hire at least one writing tutor. However, since the Writing Center is available to
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
20
provide assistance in courses that require writing, I will hire more tutors in the areas of mathematics and business than in
English/writing. I will continue to seek referrals from the appropriate departments to insure that the tutors that I hire are well
qualified to provide the help required.
CED 098/ 099 – Students who have poor grade point averages are placed on Academic Probation or Suspension and Financial
Aid Probation or Suspension. The vast majority of the CED students who did not return in the spring had lost their financial aid
and were unable to pay college fees without assistance. This inability to pay their fees prevented them from re-enrolling. It is
not uncommon for underprepared students to make poor choices regarding time management, which typically results in poor
grades and the loss of financial aid for tuition and fees. I will devote more class time to the consequences of poor grade point
averages in an effort to assist the students in remaining focused on their academic requirements.
Study Skills Workshops / GST 100 / SSC 101– As I plan upcoming workshops, I use the results of the previous semester’s
workshop evaluations. Speakers and/or topics with poor reviews will not be asked to present at subsequent workshops. I seek
feedback from GST 100 and SSC 101 faculty/staff to determine if the study skills information that I cover with these groups
meets the needs of the group, and if needed, I will revise my presentations.
C.
Goal #3: Maintain a closer relationship with the CED 098/099 students after they have completed the CED sequence of classes.
1. Institutional Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goal #2, QEP Goal #1
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): Using the class roles from the previous fall, I emailed the former CED students through their
OkraMail address at the beginning of the semester to encourage them to continue utilizing Academic Support Services and the
success techniques discussed in the CED classes. I also emailed them again prior to midterm to remind them of the hours that
we offer tutoring in the lab. This correspondence was in addition to the regular announcements sent to the DSU student body
regarding upcoming study skills workshops and the tutoring hours.
3. Actual Results of Evaluation: Although I did see a good many of my previous students, I have no way of knowing if they
returned to the lab for help because of the emails or if they would have returned unprompted. Regretfully, I did not keep a
record of email responses.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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4. Uses of Evaluation Results:
I invited two former CED students who are making successful progress toward a degree to speak to my CED classes to
encourage my current students, as well as to inform them of the challenges they will face as they continue their higher education.
However, neither student was able to come due to scheduling conflicts. It was my desire that my current students would relate to
these former CED and seek them out for academic guidance. I will issue more invitations during the 2011-2012 year and will
hopefully be able to find one of my former students without class conflicts.
D.
Goal #4: Continue to offer a Summer Developmental Program (SDP) as an alternate route to admissions for students who do not
meet the university admissions requirements as established by the IHL Board. Encourage the students who successfully
complete the SDP to continue their higher education at Delta State University.
1. Institutional
Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goal # 1 & # 2
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): Compare SDP enrollment and success rate with the number of students who enrolled at DSU in the
fall semester.
3. Actual Results of Evaluation: Fourteen students enrolled in the 2010 Summer Developmental Program. Of those fourteen,
eight successfully completed all areas of the program, and were therefore eligible to attend a 4-year university in the fall. Seven
of the eight (87.5%) enrolled at Delta State University. The other student transferred to another university to play football.
4. Use of Evaluation Results: Throughout the Summer Developmental Program, I encourage the participants to assimilate into
the DSU family. I make them aware of events on campus that might interest them and events in Cleveland in an effort to help
them form a bond with DSU and this community. I will continue to follow-up on the enrollment status of those students who
successfully complete the SDP. If the percentage of the students successfully completing the SDP and enrolling at DSU for the
subsequent term decreases, I will make every effort to determine the cause and address the problem, if there is one. Many times,
however, the students choose a summer program close to their home, but come to our Summer Developmental Program with
firm plans to attend college in the fall elsewhere. Plans can be changed, and I will continue to create an environment for these
students that is both academically stimulating, as well as socially pleasant to try to recruit them.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
22
E.
Goal # 5: Continue to expand the services provided in the lab by housing an academic software library to be used by students
preparing for tests and completing assignments. Work with OIT to insure that all student software is available on the Union lab
computers.
1. Institutional
Goal which was supported by this goal:
QEP Goal # 2
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): Keep records of the number of students who utilize the lab and the software housed in the lab.
3. Actual Results of Evaluation: The number of students who accessed the music software in our lab decreased this year. Dr.
Herron, the professor for MUS 114 and MUS 115, offered the MUS 114 class only as an online course in the fall and did not
offer the MUS 115 at all in the spring. As an online course, the music software was incorporated as a link on BlackBoard, so the
students were not required to come to our lab to access it. Even with this decrease, 132 students utilized academic websites and
software housed in the lab for areas not offered in our tutoring services.
4. Use of Evaluation Results: I am continuing to try to upgrade the software library to attract more students who desire an
environment conducive to learning. I emailed the DSU faculty on May 5, 2011, to encourage them as they plan for the fall term
to consider housing support software in the Academic Support Lab (Appendix I). I will send another email early in the fall
semester to once again offer the services of our office in housing support software.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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-- For Coming Year(s)
A.
Goal # 1: Insure that entering freshmen who require developmental classes according to the policies of the Mississippi Board of
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning are accurately registered and monitor their progress through the required
courses to insure continuous enrollment until successful completion of said courses.
1. Institutional
Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goals # 1 & # 2, QEP Goal # 4
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I run regular Banner ACT component score reports throughout the spring and summer prior to fall
enrollment to determine which students require one or more developmental courses. For students whose ACT component scores
dictate the need for one or more developmental courses, I then check the student’s Banner account to determine if a
developmental hold has been placed on the student. If the hold is not already in place, I execute the hold process. If the hold is
already in place, no immediate action is required. Once the student is prepared to register for classes (whether at Freshman
Orientation or at another time during the summer after the student has been fully admitted to the University), I remove the hold
and register the student for the required developmental course(s). Periodically, I run a Banner Developmental Course Load List
report to track enrollment changes in the developmental courses. If a student has been removed from a developmental course, I
make sure that a developmental hold has been reapplied to the student’s account. At the completion of each semester, I run a
Banner report (SFRSLST) to view final grades recorded in all developmental courses. If a student has not successfully
completed the required course(s), I check their registration for the upcoming semester. If the student has already preregistered
for the failed developmental course for the upcoming semester, no course of action is required on my part. If the student has
preregistered, but has not preregistered for the failed developmental course, I contact the student to correct the registration
schedule. If there is no schedule for the upcoming semester, I simply execute a developmental hold on the student’s account
which will prevent registration until the student has contacted me. Once contacted, I register the student for the required
course(s), remove the developmental hold, and either assist the student with the registering for the remainder of his/her courses
or instruct them to work with another academic advisor to complete registration. Accuracy in these processes requires close
coordination among the offices of Academic Support Services and Developmental Studies, Enrollment Management, and the
Registrar.
3. Expected Results: I expect Delta State University to continue to strictly adhere to the developmental guidelines as stated in
the IHL booklet entitled Admission Standards, Developmental Education Curriculum and Core Undergraduate Requirements
for University System Institutions.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
24
4. Anticipated/Intended Uses of Evaluation Results: Students with ACT subtest scores of 16 or below in English, mathematics,
and/or reading will be properly registered for the required developmental course(s). Those students will not be allowed to
withdraw from those classes unless they are completely withdrawing from the university. Additionally, those students must
maintain continuous enrollment in the required developmental classes until those classes have been successfully completed, and
the students may not enroll in a subsequent course in the subject area until they have successfully completed the required
developmental course. I will monitor this enrollment carefully and often, and if there is an enrollment change in a
developmental course that does not follow these guidelines, I will meet with the office staff who allowed the exception to
reinforce the IHL policy and the serious nature of not complying with the stated guidelines.
B.
Goal # 2: Provide academic support classes, peer tutoring services, and study skills workshops that focus on effective time
management, study skills, note-taking techniques, and reading comprehension, which will produce better students who will
persist to graduation. Additionally, I will continue to present study skills information to GST 100 groups and SSC 101 classes.
1. Institutional Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goals # 1 & # 2
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I will continue to record attendance at all workshops, have workshop attendees evaluate the
speakers, maintain tutoring records, and track the academic progress of SDP students and CED students.
3. Expected Results of Evaluation: I expect the services offered by this office to have a positive effect on the student’s
academic performance. Students who take advantage of the study skills workshops and the academic tutoring would be expected
to perform better than they would without the academic assistance. I expect the number of students attending the tutoring
sessions to continue to increase. I expect students in the academic support classes to persist at a higher rate than their peers.
I expect the attendance at the Study Skills Workshops to continue to increase. As students benefit from attending the workshops,
and the change in those students becomes evident to their instructors, faculty support should also continue to build. More faculty
are recommending the workshops to their students, and more faculty are volunteering to serve as the presenters at the workshops.
Additionally, I expect GST 100 instructors to continue to schedule a study skills component as one of the required sessions for
their First Year Experience classes. Through these avenues, as well as through presentations to other groups on campus and the
Academic Support Lab I and II classes, I expect the rate at which students persist to graduation will increase.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
25
4. Anticipated/Intended Use of Evaluation Results: I will continue to select workshop presenters who will deliver the
information most needed by our students. I will also regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the study skills information that I
cover with GST 100 students and the other groups I address each semester. I will try to increase the number of hours offered
each semester for tutoring in the subject areas most requested. If the tutoring assistance requested by students extends beyond
the subject areas currently offered, I will seek additional funding to hire tutors in additional subjects to better meet the needs of
the student body.
C.
Goal # 3: Continue to adjust the content covered and time spent on topics addressed in CED 098/099 and topics covered in
study skills workshops to meet the ever-changing academic needs of the students enrolled at Delta State University.
1. Institutional Goal(s) supported by this goal:
GE #1, SP Goals # 2, & # 4, QEP Goals # 1, #2, & #3
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I will obtain oral feedback throughout the semester and written feedback at the end of each
semester from those CED students on the use of class time and material covered and make necessary adjustments based on that
feedback. I will use the results of the study skills workshops evaluations when arranging for speakers, determining topics, and
setting days and times for the next semester’s workshops. Additionally, I will continue to monitor the academic progress of the
students in CED 098/099 and make adjustments to how class time is spent in an attempt to increase student retention.
3. Expected Results: I expect to make regular adjustments to both the content covered in CED 098/099, and also the time spent
on each topic as individual student needs dictate. By allowing student input into the areas of emphasis, it is my expectation that
the students will take a more vested interest into the content of the course. I expect them to retain the information better because
of their involvement, and as a result, demonstrate more academically sound choices.
4. Anticipated/Intended Uses of Evaluation Results: I will be required to be flexible in determining the content to be covered in
CED 098/099, while at the same time, providing enough structure to cover the information crucial to academic success. I will
teach the academic success topics in the order requested by the students rather than as introduced in the text.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
26
D.
Goal # 4: Increase the campus awareness of the services offered by the Office of Academic Support Services and
Developmental Studies in the following ways:
 Encourage faculty to include Academic Support information in each course syllabus.
 Post workshop and tutoring flyers in each academic building and residence hall.
 Use OkraMail and FaceBook to announce upcoming events sponsored by this office.
 Set up a table in the H L Nowell Union during Welcome Week to increase the awareness of the services offered by this
office.
 Keep the Academic Support Services web site up-to-date.
 Request that the Academic Support Service and Developmental Studies’ web pages be included under the category
Resources in the DSU homepage Quicklinks.
1. Institutional
Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goals # 1& # 5, QEP Goals # 2 , # 3, & # 4
2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I will keep accurate records of lab use and workshop attendance to monitor the number of students
being served.
3. Expected Results: By utilizing a wider variety of means of notifying students and faculty of the services offered by the Office
of Academic Support and Developmental Studies, I expect the number of students and faculty utilizing the services to continue
to increase.
4. Anticipated/Intended Uses of Evaluation Results: If the number of students attending tutoring and the study skills workshops
fails to increase, I will seek other means of notifying students of upcoming events and tutoring hours.
E.
Goal # 5: Increase enrollment in Delta State’s Summer Developmental Program (SDP), and encourage those students who
successfully complete the program to continue their higher education at Delta State.
1. Institutional Goal(s) supported by this goal:
SP Goal # 2
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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2. Evaluation Procedure(s): I will offer the Accuplacer test multiple times during the spring for students who have been referred
to screening by the Office of Enrollment Management. On each test date, I will distribute detailed information about Delta
State’s Summer Developmental Program for students who do not successfully complete the Accuplacer to make sure they are
aware of the other admission opportunities. I will keep accurate records of students who do not pass the Accuplacer and contact
them periodically throughout the spring to encourage them to retake the Accuplacer, assuming they are eligible to do so, and to
answer any questions they might have about the upcoming Summer Developmental Program. During the actual Summer
Developmental Program, I will provide the students with orientation activities to make their transition to DSU in the fall easier.
I will also register the students for fall classes while in the SDP.
3. Expected Results: I expect the enrollment to continue to increase in Delta State’s SDP and the percent of the students who
successfully complete the program who remain at Delta State for the fall semester to also increase.
4. Anticipated/Intended Uses of Evaluation Results: If the enrollment in the program decreases, I will seek additional means of
advertising the SDP. If students who successfully complete the program choose to attend a university other than Delta State, I
will attempt to determine if the transfer could have been prevented.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
28
IV. Data and information for department:
The office of Academic Support Services and Developmental Studies is a one-person office. The director also serves as the instructor
for the all sections of CED 098 in the fall and CED 099 in the spring. Upper level students are hired using funds from Work Study,
Regular Student Employment, and Graduate Assistantships to serve as peer tutors for the general student population.
The primary goals of the office Academic Support Services include:
 To provide the support services that are necessary for student success in college courses.
 To identify at-risk students and meet the needs of those students to increase student retention.
 To assist students in developing an educational plan consistent with life goals and objectives.
 To equip students with the skills and attitudes necessary for the attainment of personal goals.
 To provide accurate information about Delta State University's institutional policies, procedures, and programs.
The director works very closely with a number of other administrative offices on campus including Enrollment Management,
Financial Aid, Registrar, and Orientation. One function of this office is to appropriately identify and register all students requiring
developmental classes. This means that every student with an English, mathematics, and/or reading comprehension ACT subtest score
of 16 or below is registered for the appropriate developmental class(es) by the director of this area. Students who require two or more
of the developmental courses are also required to include CED 098/099 in their course schedule. These are the study skills classes that
incorporate such topics as appropriate time management skills, note-taking techniques, test-taking techniques, general study skills
development, academic major and career exploration, and enhanced reading comprehension. Students meet either three 50 minute
classes each week or two 75 minute classes each week for two semesters. Most of the topics covered address attitudinal and
behavioral changes that are required for the student to perform successfully in college course work. Additionally, the director also
serves as coordinator for all developmental courses on campus and serves as liaison between the IHL and developmental faculty, as
well as liaison between Delta State University’s Provost and developmental faculty.
This office also works cooperatively with Financial Aid by offering three study skills workshops each semester. Students who have
been placed on financial aid probation are required to attend at least one of the workshops during the semester of their probation. The
director schedules the workshop presenters, makes the appropriate room reservations, and communicates with faculty, staff, and
students through email and campus signage to publicize the workshops. The director also attends each of the workshops, maintains
attendance records, and notifies all referring faculty members of their students who attended.
The Summer Developmental Program, which serves as an alternate route to university admissions for students who do not meet the
admissions standards established by the IHL, is coordinated by this office. The Director of Academic Support Services also serves as
the Director of the Summer Developmental Program, and completes all admissions, registrations, and reporting for the program.
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
29
Additionally, the director serves as the instructor for the MAT 090, the summer developmental math, and serves as the Math
Coordinator for the state of Mississippi which includes constructing the statewide common math exam for the eight Summer
Developmental Programs throughout the state of Mississippi.
Comparative Data:
Year
Category
Combined Developmental : Unduplicated
(CED + CRD + ENG + MAT)
CED 098
CED Enrollment as percent
of Unduplicated Combined Developmental
Developmental Enrollment as percent of
Freshmen Class (First-time Freshmen
only: unduplicated)
Enrollment in Developmental Classes
(Numbers represent those receiving final grades.)
Fall
Fall 2007
Fall 2008
2006
Fall 2009
Fall 2010
Enrollment
Enrollment
Change
Enrollment
Change
Enrollment
Change
Enrollment
Change
172
177
+2.9%
148
-16.4%
158
+6.8%
160
+1.3%
63
57
-9.5%
45
-21%
71
+57.8%
53
-25.4%
36.6%
32.2%
32.4%
44.9%
33.1%
38.2%
40.6%
34.9%
43%
42.1%
The continued growth in developmental enrollment seems to indicate that the students graduating high school do not possess the
academic skill base required to perform successfully in college level classes. As the table indicates, over 40% of the Fall 2010
freshman class required one or more developmental courses, and one third of all developmental students had deficiencies in two or
more of the subject areas of math, English, and reading, as indicated by their enrollment in the CED 098.
V.
Personnel:
Diane W. Blansett serves as director of Academic Support Services and Developmental Studies, instructor of the CED 098/099
classes, director of the Summer Developmental Program, instructor for the MAT 090, and coordinator of the Developmental Studies
program at Delta State University.
Noteworthy activities and accomplishments: See Vita and Activity Report in Appendices A and B, respectively.
New position(s) requested, with justification: The assignment of a graduate assistant would be merited by the scope of the program.
Recommended change of status: None
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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VI. Degree Program Addition/Deletions and/or Major Curriculum Changes:
Changes made in the past year: N/A
Recommended changes for the coming year(s): N/A
Academic Support Services Unit Plan and Report 2010-11
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