Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Academic Program Review
CEPS Dean’s Review
July 1, 2004
The Academic Program Review Process
The Academic Program Review is one of the most viable and cogent activities, in which
the faculty of a department engages to assess its programs. The assessment includes
curricula, instruction, advising, scholarship, and service. As stated in the preamble to the
APR guidelines document, the program review process “is the faculty’s opportunity to
scrutinize itself, to publicize its accomplishments and examine its shortcomings.” Within
the context of the Central Washington University Strategic Plan, the Academic Program
Review process is an opportunity for the faculty and staff in the department, as well as
the college dean and the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies, to
determine the degree to which a department meets the mission, vision, core values, and
strategic goals of the university. Moreover, the Academic Program Review provides a
formal process by which the department’s faculty and staff can examine their academic
activities in the context of their own mission and strategic goals.
Strengths of the Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
The mission of the Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation is
enhancement of “the quality of life experiences that are highly valued in today’s
diversified global society (HHPR Academic Program Review document, 2004, Section I,
p. 4). The department’s mission is central within the Central Washington University
mission. Both the university and the departmental missions acknowledge a responsibility
“to help individuals comprehend and engage in making informed choices associated with
productive healthy lives and good citizenry” (HHPR Academic Program Review
document, 2004, Section I.C.ii). Therefore, in its programs, instruction, advising,
scholarship, service, and other HHPR professional activities, the HHPR department
focuses on physical and psycho-social well-being through directing students to issues of
resources, community, diversity, and informed choice. The viability and commitment to
the university and departmental visions are strengths and guiding principles, which are
manifested throughout the department and include the following strengths:
Faculty. Each one of the tenured, tenure-track, and FTNTT HHPR faculty has a high
level of expertise, credentials, and experience in his/her fields. Each one is committed to
providing quality curriculum, instruction, and advising to every student, including the
department majors and the students who enroll in HHPR courses as part of other
programs or electives. The faculty and students have a close professional relationship,
which enhances faculty mentoring of students. Examples include: (a) placement and
mentorship of students in practicum and/or cooperative education sites; (b) sponsorship
of professional clubs for students; (c) advisement and mentorship of undergraduate and
graduate students in student-faculty research projects (Source and Graduate Symposium);
and (d) high quality advisement of students.
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Students. Students have high regard for the HHPR faculty and their programs o f study
within the department. Faculty mentoring and advising combined with the students’
commitment to their potential careers and/or advanced academic studies has led to and
enhanced student positive participation in extra-academic activities, including
professional clubs, service learning, faculty-student research, and leadership
development. A number of students attend and give presentations state and national
professional meetings, as well as campus research events such as SOURCE and Graduate
Symposium. The students in the Exercise Science program, for example, conduct
research activities under the guidance of one or more Exercise Science faculty members
and present the research findings at professional meetings.
Program Quality. Every program in the HHPR department is an academically high
quality program. The EMT/Paramedic program continues to receive accreditation
annually and is a premier program in the state for its offering the only bachelor’s granting
program in the Pacific Northwest. The Dance program under Physical Education is
receiving accolades from various constituencies for its annual Orchesis Performances. In
addition, the Dance Education faculty member is part of a state consortium of two other
universities to provide academic modules that will lead to state teacher certification for
twelve dance teachers in the Vancouver School District. The Recreation and Tourism
program has an excellent record of satisfaction and initial career preparation for the
students and graduates. The Physical Education-Teaching and Health EducationTeaching faculty has exceeded expectations (an OSPI term for program excellence) in
complying with new state certification standards in those areas, as well as the
development and implementation of a health/fitness teacher endorsement area. The
Health Education-Community Health is involved in critical academic review of their
program in preparation to transform the program into Public Health Education. Faculty
conduct annual reviews of their courses and overall programs to ensure quality.
Instruction. Instruction in the HHPR department is exemplary. Faculty dedication to the
students and their areas of expertise is evident in faculty excitement about their teaching
and their continual endeavors to enhance their teaching with the most appropriate
instructional strategies, technology, and engagement of students in cooperative education
and research activities. The faculty actively engage students through class lectures and
discussion, laboratory experiences, internships, large and small group activities, and
appropriate/available technology. In addition, the faculty engage students in agency
and/or industry experience via field trips, connections with career providers, and local,
state, and national conference participation.
Scholarship and External Funding. Most of the tenured and tenure-track faculty are
engaged in scholarship and research activities, which enhances their own professional
development, their curriculum/programs, and the students academic experiences. Several
faculty are highly productive in conducting research studies, involving students in
research, delivering papers at professional meetings, and creative/artistic exhibitions
(Orchesis). A number of faculty members have received external and internal grant
funding, including a tenure-track faculty member who was awarded external funding for
research on exercise programs for chemotherapy patients.
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Overall, the department faculty are quite productive in securing external funding. The
department, for example, has brought in over $200,000 in grant funding during the past
three years. The grants funding has enabled and supported faculty in curriculum
development and revision, research activities, and partnerships with community entities.
The funded grants have also served as a means to support students in their studies and
research and to provide services both campus wide and to the health providers
community.
Service and Professional Activities. The HHPR faculty’s commitment to service is
evidenced in their activities at Central Washington University, in the community and
state, and in national professional societies and agencies. The faculty hold a number of
leadership positions at the university and with professional groups. These activities place
the faculty in positions of influence related to physical lifestyle and health related fields
of study and scholarship. A merger with scholarship and service/professional activities is
verified in Physical and Health Education faculty members’ development and
implementation of a national PELINK4U Web site, which received numerous hits
monthly. PELINKS4U has been touted by a national professional society as one of the
most influential sources of information for health and fitness education in the nation.
Another strength of the department is in Community Health education faculty work. One
faculty member has combined scholarship and service activities with Central Washington
Planned Parenthood and the work is beginning to demonstrate positive results within a
number of populations in the Yakima Valley area.
Faculty and Staff Confidence and Efficacy. The HHPR faculty, including tenured,
tenure-track, and FTNTT, are outstanding, dedicated, knowledgeable, teachers and
scholars, resourceful, and creative. There are significant differences of opinion and
approaches to teaching and scholarship, and the dissimilarities in subject fields,
scholarship, and instructional strategies cause some vocal and written disagreements.
However, the faculty are resourceful and either settle their issues or “agree to disagree
and get on with ‘it’”. Most faculty hold the Chair in high regard. From my perspective,
the present Department Chair is a exceedingly strong advocate for HHPR. The bottom
line is that the faculty and Chair know what their department’s mission and value are and
work diligently to see that the programs and scholarship and service activities promote
and accomplish HHPR’s goals. Likewise, the support staff are outstanding, dedicated,
and committed to the department’s faculty, students, leadership, and each other.
Challenges and Recommendations for the Department of Health, Human
Performance, and Recreation
Some of the strengths of the Health, Human Performance, and Recreation Department,
along with the desire to offer students a diversity of programmatic options, have created
some significant challenges for the department. Other challenges present under the
categories of: (a) faculty; (b) undergraduate programs; (c) graduate programs; (d)
scholarship; (e) resources; (f) facilities; and (g) communication.
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Under the “Strengths” section on Page 2 of this document, I wrote, “The viability and
commitment to the university and departmental visions are strengths and guiding
principles, which are manifested throughout the department.” The guiding principles
should be apparent as the department addresses the following challenges and considers
the recommendations.
Faculty Issues. The need for additional faculty in the HHPR department are critical.
During three years of budget reductions and reallocations within the university and
specifically within the college, the department has had a number of vacant positions
deleted. An exception is the Exercise Science program, to which a new tenure-track
position was added and filled in 2002-03. Inadequate staffing in terms of tenure-track
and/or multi-year contracted FTNTT, along with significantly increased class sizes, will
ultimately adversely affect program quality and student preparation and satisfaction. For
example, the department needs tenure-track faculty members in the following areas: (a)
paramedic/EMT; (b) public health education; (c) health/fitness; and (d) dance.
A second area of concern is faculty salaries, which is a university-wide issue.
A third area of concern for tenured and tenure-track faculty is time; that is, time for
scholarship and time for advising. I will address the scholarship issue in the section under
scholarship.
A fourth area of concern is the diversity and gender mix of the HHPR faculty. The search
process for TT faculty mandates that the department and college make every appropriate
effort to have an applicant pool that reflects the ethnicity and gender percentage
population of available applicants. I never will approve an affirmative action hiring
process, both for my own professional reasons and also for adherence to Washington
state law. However, it is a concern that the department has only three females among the
22 faculty members and the department has no tenured or tenure-track faculty who are
members of an underrepresented ethnic group.
Recommendations:
1. HHPR faculty should review their Academic Program Review documents and
develop a three to five year plan, which includes the following:
A. Priority staffing need of the department based on student enrollment and
FTE trends;
B. Future directions for the programs;
C. Potential for external funding through grants and/or fund raising;
D. Potential for the programs in terms of visibility (campus, state, nation) and
meeting high-needs/high-demands criteria; and
E. Appropriate faculty mix (TT, FTNTT, and adj.) for each program.
The department chair should consult with the CEPS dean concerning faculty
positions and available funding for the positions.
2. HHPR faculty should work closely with their faculty senate representative
concerning salaries. (Note: The recently voted in “collective bargaining” unit will
negotiate with CWU administrators concerning faculty salaries.)
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3. Conduct faculty searches so that qualified applicants from underrepresented
populations are including the applicant pool.
Undergraduate Programs. HHPR undergraduate programs include major areas such as
physical education, health education, exercise science, and recreation/tourism. Under the
bachelor degree granting programs are the following specializations:
Bachelor of Science: Physical Education; Physical Education-Teaching K-12; Health
Fitness endorsement
Bachelor of Science: Exercise Science
Bachelor of Science: Paramedic
Bachelor of Science: Public Health (formerly Community Health)
Bachelor of Arts: School Health
Bachelor of Science: Recreation and Tourism (Tourism Management and Recreation
Management)
Minors: Physical Education; Athletic Training; Dance; Dance Teaching; Coaching;
Exercise Science
General Education: HED 101
Service to ECE and Elem. Ed. Programs: HED 446; PE 334
Each of the bachelor degree offering programs is strong; however, some of the programs
and specializations require offering a significant number of sections each quarter.
Moreover, due to budget reduction measures, enrollments in a number of sections has
increased dramatically (average of 19 per section in 2000 to more than 27-30 per section
average in 2004). Some 100 and 200 level course sections have increased to 60 to 90
students per section. Quality may become a factor in the academic integrity of the
programs.
Two programs, Paramedic/EMT and Dance are one-faculty programs. The two faculty
members have no field-specific colleagues with whom to consult. Students have limited
advising and mentoring resources, as well as pedagogic experiences in the respective
areas of study.
Although there are some similarities between Recreation and Tourism and other
programs in the department, RT may be placed in an inappropriate area. For example, the
national Family and Consumer Sciences society has national standards for RT.
Exercise Science and Nutrition have been coordinating some of their courses. The faculty
in both programs have had discussions concerning an interdisciplinary program.
Recommendations
1. Develop an annual process to assess the quality of each undergraduate program,
as well as the specializations, minor, and general education offering. If academic
quality becomes a concern, develop and submit to the dean a proposal to enhance
academic quality. Conduct a curriculum audit to determine if: (a) there is course
duplication within the department; (b) there is course duplication between the
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2.
3.
4.
5.
HHPR courses and other courses in the college; and (c) there is course duplication
between the HHPR courses and other courses in the other three colleges. If there
is course duplication: (a) either eliminate the HHPR course(s) or require the
students to take the course(s) in other departments or colleges; or (b) write a
justification concerning “why” HHPR should offer the course rather than another
department. The course audit, results, and remediation measures should be
submitted to the dean within a year of the Department Chair’s receiving the
dean’s academic program review document.
Make the department’s highest priority conduction of a search to fill a tenuretrack position for Paramedic/EMT. The search should begin in fall 2004 to fill the
position beginning with the 2005-2006 academic year.
Consider deletion of the Dance program in HHPR. I recommend discussions with
the College of Arts and Humanities to determine if there is interest in accepting
the program. (Note: A number of colleges and universities across the nation house
dance performance and dance education within arts and humanities.) The funding
for the FTNTT dance position can be reallocated to the Paramedic program for
the tenure-track position.
Have discussions to consider transferring the Recreation and Tourism program to
the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. Begin those conversations in
fall 2004. If needed, the CEPS dean will facilitate the some of the discussions
between HHPR and F&CS. If the transfer placement is determined to be a
positive move, the transfer will take place on July 1, 2005.
Continue the discussions between Exercise Science and Nutrition to develop an
interdisciplinary program under the IP charter, which will be submitted to the
Academic Affairs Council in August for approval. Determine if such an
interdisciplinary program could evolve into a Center of Excellence.
Graduate Programs. HHPR graduate programs include Master of Science degrees in
two fields of study: (a) Exercise Science; and (b) Health, Human Performance, and
Recreation. A department distinction is that the HHPR program is available completely
on-line. Although I perceive no deficiencies in any of the programs, I am presenting the
following recommendations:
Recommendations
1. Make the Exercise Science a distinctive program; that is, list it in the catalog as a
Master of Science in Exercise Science (perhaps with specializations in Exercise
and Nutrition and/or exercise physiology and/or Psychology of Exercise/Human
Performance). The faculty of the program are exemplary in that they have the
research expertise and dissemination, knowledge, and name recognition to attract
students to the program. Interdisciplinary approaches and curriculum
development with Food Science and Nutrition, as well as psychology could add to
the program evolving into a Center of Excellence.
2. Continue working with the CEPS dean, CEPS development officer, and the Office
of Research and Graduate Studies to develop additional on-going year-long
graduate assistantships.
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Scholarship. The scholarship requirements for faculty members at Central Washington
University have changed during the past four years. Specifically, more scholarship is
expected and required, especially in the area of peer-reviewed publications. As a result of
the scholarship requirements for reappointment, tenure, and promotion, along with the
scholarship expected of individuals who have reached full professor rank, a number of
issues have emerged: (a) disparity in types of scholarship expectations among faculty
members in different units of the department [i.e., empirical-based research/publications
versus qualitative-based research/publications versus curriculum-based publications,
etc.]; (b) disparity in the scholarship expectations for tenured and tenure-track faculty
members who hold different terminal degrees [i.e., master’s or doctoral degrees]; (c) time
for faculty members who wish conduct more extensive research; and (d) technology to
conduct research.
Recommendations
1. The HHPR faculty need to recognize and honor various types of scholarship,
including empirical-based research/publications, qualitative-based
research/publications, curriculum-based publications, etc. The Department Chair
should take leadership in working with the Personnel Committee in collaboration
with all tenured and tenure-track faculty members to develop a department
scholarship policy. The policy should reflect levels of expectations, which include
annual reappointment for tenure-track faculty, tenure acquisition, promotion from
assistant professor to associate professor, and promotion from associate professor
to full professor. The Personnel Committee, then, should adhere to those policies
when making personnel decisions.
2. Since time for scholarship for both tenure-track faculty and graduate faculty is a
concern, the department chair and faculty should develop a plan to provide faculty
who wish to engage in scholarship with some course reduction on a rotating basis
(Note: The dean’s office may be able to assist in this endeavor.). For example, the
Chair should encourage faculty members to apply for scholarship grants and
incentives from the Office of Graduate and Research and the CEPS Dean’s office.
In addition, the faculty should write and submit grant proposals to external
agencies to seek funding for research and projects. The proposals should include
buy-out time for the projects.
3. The CEPS Dean’s office will offer professional grant-writing training upon the
request of the department chair and HHPR faculty.
4. The department should work with technology offices on campus to obtain
computers, software, and technology adjuncts, which are needed for graduate
students and faculty in the various HHPR units.
Technology. The faculty in the department desire and need appropriate technology and
other hard equipment for their programs. Every student should have the advantage and
academic experience to develop the competence needed for his/her future career and/or
advanced study. However, due to changes that occurred when the new university Athletic
Director and his staff moved into the Physical Education Building, the undergraduate
technology lab was converted into a graduate student lab, resulting in no pre-bachelor’s
student access to a computer lab in the Physical Education Building and Nicholson
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Pavilion. There are computer labs available in other campus buildings, but availability is
absent if a lab is needed during a class or if the student is working with a faculty mentor
in the PE or NP buildings. Furthermore, a technology-rich program such as Exercise
Science has specific technology needs; however, there are no department or college short
and long term plans to replace old equipment or to purchase new equipment.
Recommendations
1. The department has been addressing the technology issues for several years. The
HHPR faculty need to assess technologies that will be needed during the next five
years, develop an acquisition plan, and consider ways to meet those needs. In this
time of reduced resources from the state, faculty must seek external funding
sources for technology and laboratory upgrades and new equipment, along with
having departmental, college, and university sources.
2. To install an undergraduate computer lab, department representatives should meet
with the campus technology and academic space personnel to develop and
implement a plan for such a lab.
3. The Exercise Science faculty should conduct an inventory of their present
technology, develop a list of their needs for academic purposes, and a plan to
replace the equipment when necessary. The faculty should meet with the Chair
and the Dean to discuss the needs of the program.
Facilities. The facilities (Nicholson Pavilion and the Physical Education Building) for
the HHPR department are inadequate and overused. I am making only one
recommendation under facilities because there are university plans to remodel Nicholson,
to move the Athletic Department into the remodeled portion of Nicholson. That
implementation will result in increased office and classroom space for HHPR programs.
Recommendation
1. Remodel the balcony area above the swimming pool; i.e., the balcony area could
be “glassed in” with effective HACV controls and used as classroom space for
physical education activity oriented courses. In its present state, the balcony space
is wasted space.
Communication and Faculty Morale. Faculty morale seems to be quite good, even as
the department faces significant challenges. Communication seems to be good within the
department, except for a few misunderstandings among some faculty concerning
personnel decisions and college resources. In an earlier section of this APR document, I
addressed the personnel committee issues. A concern and challenge lies in some faculty
members’ expectations of administrators; specifically, distrust of administrators.
Recommendations
1. The HHPR Chair should arrange a quarterly department meeting during which the
dean will meet with the faculty. Both the dean and faculty will share information
and designate time for Q&A.
2. The HHPR Chair should arrange an annual department meeting during which the
Provost will be invited to meet with the faculty for information exchange and
discussion.
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Moving Forward
The Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation is one of exemplary
quality, strengths, and promise. The faculty are committed to the students, their fields of
expertise, and to the university. The department has an excellent reputation both on
campus and externally. Some of the faculty are known nationally and internationally for
their scholarship and contributions to their professional societies. The challenges and
recommendations are, therefore, to be used to enhance the department and, simply put,
help guide faculty in developing higher quality programs, scholarship, work-place
environment, and support.
I look forward to working and collaborating with HHPR faculty, staff, students, and
Department Chair to meet the challenges and to enhance an excellent department.