Academic Program Review 2006-2007
Executive Summary
Department of Philosophy
The Department of Philosophy was included in the fifth cycle of academic program review for
the 2006-2007 school year. Based upon feedback from the previous cycles, the contents of the
self-study were modified as were some of the implementation details. Included in the process
was the composition of a self-study document based upon faculty’s analysis, a departmental
retreat where the data were reviewed and the final two sections discussed. The visitation by an
external reviewer, Dr. Terry Mazurak, professor, Albertson College of Idaho, who read the selfstudy, interviewed faculty, staff, administration, and students, and submitted his analysis.
The departmental self-study completed by the faculty and staff is the major document for this
program review. This complex document reveals the strengths and challenges through the
departmental perspective and reflects the commitment of the department for self-analysis,
reflection, and evaluation. The institutional expectation is that the department and college
administration will use the self-study document, the dean’s report, and the executive summary as
guides to the faculty, staff, and administration for the next several academic years as the
department addresses the recommendations and continues its record of excellence.
Since this process requires an enormous amount of time and effort from all of the participants, it
is necessary to ensure that the results are used to inform decisions and future course of actions.
Therefore, the department faculty and college administration will be expected to provide a
summary of activities undertaken during the 2007-2008 academic year as a consequence of the
program review. This report will be due to the provost in October, 2008.
It should be noted that Dr. Mazurak’s analysis is very thorough and detailed and, along with the
dean’s report, provide the depth and context for the faculty and administrators to move ahead in
addressing the recommendations and celebrating the commendations.
Commendations
The self-study document as submitted by the Department of Philosophy was clearly written and
informative. It can be determined from reading the self-study report, the observations of the
reviewer, and the summary comments of the college dean that the department has several
strengths and challenges. It should also be concluded that the department is integral to the
mission of the college and university and should be commended in the following areas:
Department Faculty:
Faculty of the Department of Philosophy are vital members of the College of Arts and
Humanities and Central Washington University campus community. Philosophy faculty have
consistently demonstrated productivity in teaching, service to the university and community, and
achieved several scholarly accomplishments. Faculty have received several awards of distinction
and provided leadership at the college and university levels and through national and
international organizations. Faculty are very supportive of students and have helped them
achieve accolades in undergraduate research, services activities, and graduate study. It should be
noted that non-tenure track and adjunct faculty are also integral to this department’s success and
are recognized as worthy and appreciated colleagues. The department and college should
continue to make a concerted effort to retain current faculty and recruit faculty in the future that
display such positive attributes.
Student Services:
The department provides a number of extra activities outside of classes to engage and develop
student learning. Examples of these activities include two honor societies and one major’s club.
Faculty lead and regularly participate in club/organization activities and are also involved in a
variety of other informal activities (book drives, potlucks, barbeques, etc.) to enhance student
development and student/faculty interaction. Faculty should be encouraged to continue these
activities and engage students outside of class.
Recommendations
Although the department is clearly successful and should be commended in many areas, there is
also a need to continuously improve. Following are areas that should be addressed to improve
the functioning and quality of the department and its associated programs:
Curriculum Development:
There is intent of the department to revise the religious studies specialization to a full major and
rename the department to include both philosophy and religious studies. The department should
be encouraged in this regard given the fact that the religious studies specialization program of
study is already quite different from a curriculum perspective than that of the philosophy major.
Specializations tend to be the branches derived from a larger core/field of study. In reviewing
the current curriculum configuration, religious studies already seems to be a stand-alone major.
Thus, it makes sense to complete the necessary internal and external steps of the curriculum
process to further differentiate and enhance these two interrelated but somewhat separate fields
of study.
The ability of students to obtain a Master of Arts in Individual Studies in Philosophy or
Religious Studies was mentioned by both the reviewer and dean as a source of possible program
strength and concern. I share this same sentiment. The idea of tailoring a graduate degree to
meet the individual needs and aspirations of students seems intuitively positive. However,
efforts must be made to establish coherent program goals, an ability to offer a rigorous course of
study and an assessment process to determine whether student learning goals are met. Based on
the very small number of students that have traditionally enrolled, limited dedicated graduate
course offerings, and an undefined level of faculty involvement and institutional support, serious
consideration should be given as to whether the department and college can legitimately deliver a
quality graduate program for students in this area. I agree with the external reviewer in that
graduate level programs need to be aligned with departments that have the student interest and
resources to deliver them. Currently, this does not seem to be the case in the Department of
Philosophy. Thus, the department and college would be advised to defer further individualized
MA studies unless there were credible levels of resources and support to sustain a quality
program.
Assessment:
Although there are departmental goals and some mention as to how they would be assessed, no
student learning data was provided to demonstrate student goal attainment in this review. A
concerted effort must be made in the future to collect, analyze, and discuss assessment data.
Results should be explicitly linked to programmatic and student learning outcomes and include
interpretation. Data should also be compared to established standards of mastery and be
disseminated and discussed with various stakeholders (students, faculty, administrators). Based
on the new assessment planning and reporting expectations of the college and university and the
mechanisms the department currently has in place, it is hoped that assessment will play a more
prominent role in departmental decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.
Class/Faculty Size:
There appears to be a self-reported need to examine the issue of class and faculty size in this
department. The external reviewer and Dean concur. I also share this sentiment. Several
factors should be considered in this examination prior to enacting change. A few of these
include: the examination and comparison of upper division major course FTE to lower division
general education FTE. Although it is true that lower division general education FTE is high
(e.g., PHIL 101 = 58.9 FTE), it also seems true that upper division course FTE (PHIL 306; 378 =
3.9/4.0 FTE) is relatively low. Thus, finding ways to better balance this FTE imbalance might
assist the department in managing more equitable class sizes. An examination of who is teaching
various courses should also be undertaken. Do and should non-tenure track faculty (where there
is very little scholarly expectation of them) teach the majority of the lower division general
education courses (where the class sizes and teaching demands are largest/greatest)? Whatever
findings and decisions are made by the department, it seems clear that professional development
should be sought to encourage/manage student writing assignments and the employment of
active learning strategies.
Summary
Overall, the Department of Philosophy is an important part of Central Washington University.
Faculty are productive in teaching, service, and scholarship. In addition, student development
and learning are fostered in and outside of class. Faculty should strive to improve pedagogically
in terms of teaching and assessing writing and in employing active learning strategies. By
examining its curriculum and course sizes, improving its assessment processes, and continuing to
encourage faculty professional development, the department will certainly achieve its goals and
those of the college, and university.