Family and Consumer Sciences Department
Academic Program Review
CEPS Dean’s Review
July 23, 2003
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, including, but not limited to,
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.
My Recommendations for the Self Study Document. My recommendations for the
written self-study document include ways to enhance the overall Academic Program
Review for the department and to provide greater direction for the department in terms of
(a) presentation of information, (b) analysis of information, and (c) preparation for the
future.
Recommendation 1: Direct the departments to state both short-term and long-term goals.
Section VII, Future Directions, indicates that the department should the future directions
the department should pursue. Moreover, the guidelines direct the department faculty to
base the future directions discussion upon the data and analyses contained in the selfstudy document. The department’s stating short- and long-term goals in the appropriate
places in the document will inform the department’s setting future directions, as well as
the resources needed to achieve the future initiatives.
Recommendation 2: Direct the self-study writer(s) to leave out the names of faculty,
staff, and students in places unless absolutely indicated (i.e., Professional Records,
student accomplishments, etc.). The writer(s) included too much information concerning
individual faculty members and the various department chairs, especially in the
department’s history and the scholarship list.
Recommendation 3: Include a specific subsection under Section II, Description and
Explanation of Programs, about accreditations for programs within the department, as
well as interdepartmental/college accreditations, such as NCATE.
Recommendation 4: Direct the department to provide both a governance organizational
chart and a narrative description of the governance system (Section I, Subsection D).
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Strengths of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department
The mission of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department centers on enhancing the
“quality of life for Americans and their families” (F&CS Academic Program Review
document, 2003, Section I, p. 1). The department’s mission is central within the Central
Washington University mission. Both the university and the departmental missions are
reflected, if not embedded, in the programs, instruction, advising, scholarship, service,
and other F&CS professional activities. The viability and commitment to the university
and departmental visions are strengths and guiding principles, which are manifested
throughout the department. The strengths of the Family and Consumer Sciences
Department are the following:
Faculty. Each one of the tenured and tenure-track F&CS faculty have a high level of
expertise, credentials, and experience in their 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 F&CS courses as part of other programs or
electives. The faculty and students have a close professional relationship, which enhances
faculty mentoring of students.
Students. Students seem to have high regard for the F&CS faculty and their programs o f
study within the department. Faculty mentoring combined with the students’ commitment
to their potential careers and/or advanced academic studies has lead to and enhanced
student positive participation in extra-academic activities, including professional and
service clubs, service learning, and leadership development. A number of students attend
state and national professional meetings.
Program Quality. Most programs in the F&CS department are high quality programs.
The Food Science and Nutrition program received its continuing accreditation during AY
2002-03. The Plan II Vocational Education Teacher Certification is receiving accolades
from various constituencies as a model program, which could be emulated in other
alternative teacher preparation areas. The Family Studies and Fashion Merchandising
programs have good records of satisfaction and initial career preparation among/for the
students/graduates. Faculty conduct annual reviews of their courses and overall programs
to ensure quality.
Instruction. In most cases, instruction in the F&CS 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. 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 travel, including international experiences.
Scholarship. Most of the F&CS faculty are engaged in scholarly activities, which
enhance their own professional development, their curriculum/programs, and the
student’s academic experiences. Several faculty are highly productive in conducting
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research studies, involving students in research, delivering papers at professional
meetings, and creative/artistic exhibitions.
External Funding. Some F&CS faculty are quite productive in securing external
funding, especially in grant development. The department, for example, has brought in
over $1.7 million 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 greater Kittitas Valley community.
Service and Professional Activities. The F&CS 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 Family and Consumer Sciences fields of
study and scholarship.
Challenges and Recommendations for the Family and Consumer Sciences
Department
Some of the strengths of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department, along with the
desire to offer students a diversity of programmatic options, have created some
significant challenges for the department. Other challenges present as intense
philosophical differences, communication issues, and resources needs. The external
reviewer made the following observations, which need attention and a carefully thoughtout plan of action.
1. The department has taken on too many things (programs/projects) for the current
amount of resources.
2. The faculty are stressed due to busy teaching and advising schedules.
3. The students have noticed some of the faculty stress; recognize that the faculty are
busy.
4. Communication is an issue between chair and faculty and between department
and students.
5. Tenure and promotion continue to create tension in the department.
6. New technology and equipment are in great need.
I will add another challenge to the list:
7. Too little attention was given to the graduate programs in the self-study
document.
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
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should be apparent as the department addresses the following challenges and considers
the recommendations.
Programs. The weakest program in the department is the Family and Consumer Sciences
Personalized Studies, which is known as the Interior Design program. There are
approximately 40 majors and pre-majors in the program. However, numbers do not
equate to quality in curriculum, instruction, and advising. The program was developed as
an attempt to meet student demands for an area dealing with housing, interiors, and
overall quality of life design. The program has become an example of the department’s
trying to do too much with too few resources. The curriculum and instructional quality is
weak. The program must have a tenure-track position, but there is inadequate funding.
The dollars used to fund a FTNTT and/or adjunct positions should be used for other
programs in the department. The faculty should appoint a committee, which will work
with the department chair to develop a plan to graduate the students who are currently in
the program and discontinue the program within the next two years.
A second area that needs to be examined is the graduate programs in the department. The
faculty and the departmental resources are stretched to the limit. In the past five years, the
student enrollment, FTES, and SCH have increased. However, the number of faculty in
the department has remained constant. Faculty seem to regard the graduate programs as
“extra”, which gives the impression that primary attention should be given to the
undergraduate programs. The undergraduate programs are critically important and should
receive considerable attention. The faculty should appoint a departmental committee to
examine the viability of the graduate programs and decide if any program should be
placed in reserve for a definite period of time. This same committee should then develop
a plan to determine the resources needed to fully support the graduate programs, along
with a plan of how to obtain the resources. This plan should be developed using the
university strategic plan Goal III (“Develop a diversified funding base to support our
academic and student programs.”)
A third area for examination is the courses and scheduling. There is course duplication
within the college and among colleges, which directly affect F&CS. Examples include
courses in early childhood and child development. During this time of reduced resources,
such duplication is not efficient in terms of faculty assignments, dollars available, and
time restraints. In Fall 2003, the department should begin a study to determine course
duplications. The plan will cross departmental and college lines. Therefore, the Associate
Dean for Professional Studies will assist with this process.
A fourth and final area for examination and revision is in the subsections of assessment
of program quality and instruction. The self-study document includes student SEOIs,
focus groups, and advisory committees as the means of assessing and making changes in
programs and instruction. Those factors and groups of people should be part of the
process but not all of the process. There is little to no mention of how recent research
findings inform the curriculum and instruction. That is a critical omission. In addition,
some mention is made of accreditation agency standards. However, every program in the
department has some type of professional society and professional standards by which
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programs should be compared and informed. In some cases, there are state and federal
standards for programs, which should be used to determine quality factors.
Governance, Decision Making, and Perception of Power. Issues of shared governance,
decision making, along with the perception of power exist in the department. The
problems seem to have a history of at least ten years. There is underlying, if not convert,
conflict between the chair and some department members and between some faculty. The
faculty has been working on these issues and has used assistance from appropriate
Central Washington University personnel. The situation has improved during the past ten
months but there is still work to do. Governance within the department must be shared;
decision-making must be shared and comply with a democratic consensus based process.
The faculty and department chair should develop and implement a policy on how
decisions are to be made in the department. While Roberts Rules of Order may be a bit
formal for a departmental meeting and governance structure, the Rules can offer
considerable guidance on decision-making policies. Likewise, decision making should be
considered within the context of a number of factors, including the following: (a)
university, college, and department mission, vision, goals, and objectives; (b) analysis of
performance data, both at the program and the department levels; (c) available resources,
including financial, library, technological, and human; (d) potential for external funding;
(e) agency/industry demand; (f) student demand; (g) scholarship base; (h) marketing
strategies; and (i) faculty input.
In addition to the recommendations in the preceding paragraph, communication is an
issue in the department. I will discuss that topic under the next heading. However,
communication, governance, decision-making, and power are intertwined. Some of the
issue can be remediated with the following strategies:
1. The chair and faculty should hold departmental meetings at least monthly, rather
than quarterly. More frequent meetings will provide a venue in which faculty can
discuss departmental business and be better informed.
2. The chair should distribute materials at least a week in advance of the
departmental meetings so that faculty have an opportunity to consider such topics
as curriculum recommendations, department policies, academic service to
students, and requests from administrators. Likewise, faculty who wish to have an
item on the agenda should distribute information to his/her colleagues.
3. The chair or faculty should present agenda items at a meeting for discussion and
action at a following meeting.
4. The chair should work with the faculty to develop an atmosphere is trust,
openness, and collegiality.
Communication. Communication continues to be an issue in the F&CS department. The
chair and a number of faculty are working on the communication issues. The four
strategies listed in the prior section can help ameliorate some of the communication
issues.
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Scholarship Variance. In the F&CS department, there is a deep philosophical difference
about what constitutes scholarship. Such differences exist in other departments at Central
Washington University and other campuses nation wide. The department must come to
terms with the requirement that each faculty member is expected to publish in peerreviewed professional journals or comparable media. In some cases, such as Fashion
Merchandising, creation/artistic juried exhibition is comparable to a publication. In
addition, each faculty member should review the CEPS Scholarship policy. The faculty
should, including the chair, should develop a departmental scholarship policy, which is
consistent with the college policy. Moreover, the faculty should mentor tenure-track
faculty in scholarship, teaching, and service to ensure their best advantage for success in
the department.
Facilities and Technology. The faculty in the department desires and is need of
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. The department is beginning to address
the issues of technology. However, the faculty need to develop plan to acquire what they
need 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.
Moving Forward
The Family and Consumer Sciences department is one of significant 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 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.
The final two sections of the Academic Program Review self study need to be revised.
The information from my review, along with that of the external reviewer, should be
infused in the Reflections sections. The Future Directions section needs considerable
work. I suggest that the section be addressed along the lines of short-term directions
followed by long-term directions. I will meet with the department in Fall 2003 to begin
the revision process.