+
CEPH self-study
Criteria 1: The Public Health Program
1.1 Mission.
a. Mission statement
The mission of the School of Community Health Sciences (SCHS) is to: Develop, disseminate, and apply
knowledge with an ecological approach to protect and promote the health of populations. This mission
is congruent with the missions of the Division of Health Sciences (DHS), and the University of Nevada,
Reno (UNR) where the program is located.
The SCHS is one of four schools in the Division of Health Sciences. The four schools, SHCS, School of
Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Social Work are tied together by the need to find solutions
for and help people towards improving their health and well-being through education, research, clinical
care and public service. The Division of Health Sciences provides an important linkage between the
schools and supports the mission of the SCHS.
The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a constitutionally established, land-grant university. The
university served the state of Nevada as its only state-supported institution of higher education for over
75 years. In that historical role, it has emerged as a doctoral-granting university which focuses resources
on doing a select number of things well. The mission of the University of Nevada, Reno supports and
engages the SCHS by offering high-quality undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in the
liberal arts, sciences, and selected professions in agriculture, engineering, health care, education,
journalism, and business. UNR creates new knowledge through basic and applied research, scholarship,
and artistry, in strategically selected fields relevant to Nevada and the world. The University improves
economic and social development by engaging Nevada's citizens, communities, and governments and
seeks to reflect the gender, ethnic, cultural, and ability/disability diversity of the citizens of Nevada in its
academic and support programs, and in the composition of its faculty, administration, staff, and student
body. In particular, the 2015-2021UNR strategic plan addresses the goal of improving the physical and
mental health of Nevadans and this translates into support for the development of a full School of Public
Health by adding more MPH areas of specialization and implementing a PhD in Public Health. The
alignment of missions throughout the university structure provides strong endorsement for the SCHS
programs and for public health in general. http://www.unr.edu/Documents/provost/provostsoffice/forms/Strategic%20Plan%20Final%20Jan%202015.pdf
UNR strategic plan (goal 3) excerpt:
“ Improve mental and physical health and quality of life for Nevada’s diverse and growing population.
 Forge partnerships with public and private hospitals, healthcare institutions, and community
agencies to enhance medical and health professional education throughout the State of
Nevada.
1




Expand graduate medical education.
Expand community and state partnerships in public health, including county health
departments and districts, state agencies, and public health laboratories to enhance public
health practice and education.
Develop special areas of expertise and focused training programs that will enhance Nevada’s
economic and social development as well as the health and quality-of-life of Nevada
communities and counties.
Provide preventative outreach programs that encourage good health and nutrition.
Goal 3 Metrics
Accreditation for a Master
and PhD of Public Health
2014
2021
MPH, 2 areas of
specialization
5 MPH areas + PhDs in Epidemiology,
Social Behavioral Health and Health
Management and Policy
b. Guiding values
SCHS’s Vision: Foster equitable and healthy communities.
We achieve this vision through these values:
 Advancing knowledge
 Embracing diversity
 Demonstrating integrity
 Inspiring learning
 Succeeding through collaboration
Description of values:
Advancing Knowledge: We are committed to asking and answering important questions to advance
public health through influential research.
Embracing Diversity: We value the backgrounds and experiences of our students, faculty, and staff as
partners with diverse communities to reduce disparities and promote equal opportunities to achieve
optimal health.
Demonstrating Integrity: We strive to be consistent in all endeavors, in demonstrating honesty, fairness,
and respect to promote mutual trust and understanding.
Inspiring Learning: We cultivate a dynamic learning environment that includes meaningful
conversations and experiential learning to engage and inspire professionals who are committed to
advancing community health.
Succeeding through collaboration: We appreciate the importance of partnerships for achieving public
health outcomes and endeavor to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones.
c. Goal statements
The goals of the SCHS programs are:

To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders
2




To develop the knowledge base for public health through research
To be recognized for leadership in innovative approaches to public health
To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service
To expose students to diversity in multiple venues
d. Measureable objectives and performance indicators
Table 1.1.d. SCHS Goals and Objectives
Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders.”
Objective 1: Recruitment/Admissions
1a. 80% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have an overall undergraduate GPA that
exceeds 3.2.
1b. 40% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have verbal and quantitative GRE scores
that exceed the 50th percentile.
1c. By 2015, historically underrepresented racial/ethnic populations will comprise 10% of the
students accepted to the MPH program.
By 2018, 20% of MPH applicant pool will include students representative of target diversity groups.
Objective 2: Education/Training
2a. 90% of MPH students will receive grades of B- or higher in the MPH core and required courses
( first time they take the course)
2b. By 2018, 60% of undergraduate CHS majors will have a GPA of 3.0 at graduation.
2c.By 2015, 95% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper.
By 2018, 90% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH professional paper in the same
semester during which they were enrolled in the Capstone course.
2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities.
2e. By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles and/or providing service to
the community or university.
By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to the community or university,
in addition to coursework, the internship or paid work.
2f. By 2018, 90% of MPH students completing internships will be rated by their preceptors at
“good” or above.
2g. By 2018, 75% of undergraduate students completing their internship will be rated at “good” or
above.
2h. By 2018, 80% of MPH students will rate the quality of their internship as being “good” or above
Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation
3a. 90% of full-time MPH students will complete their degree within 3 years of matriculation.
3b. By 2018, the 3 year graduation rate of juniors will be 75%.
3c. 75% of recent MPH graduates will become employed in public health or settings closely
related to their degree within 6 months of graduation.
3d. 5% of MPH graduates within the past year will be admitted to a program for further academic
training (PhD, MD, etc.).
3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national leadership positions in public
3
Data Source
MPH
application
file
MPH
application
file
MPH
application
file
My Nevada
Institutional
Analysis
Capstone
course
Digital
Measures
Student
Survey
Preceptor
evaluation
Preceptor
evaluation
Student
internship
evaluation
Graduate
School
Database
Institutional
Analysis
Alumni
Survey
Alumni
Survey
Alumni
health.
Survey
3f. 60% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in Nevada and the Intermountain West by
2015.
By 2018, 50% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in Nevada.
3g. By 2018, 20% of graduating students will take the CPH exam within one year of graduation.
3h. By 2018, 80% of graduating students who take the CPH exam will pass it.
3i. By 2018, 25% of CHS BS graduates will be tracked for post-graduation activities.
Alumni
Survey
Goal 2: “To develop the knowledge base for public health through research.”
Objectives:
1. 60% of faculty will publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal per year.
2.
70% of faculty will present research results at one scientific conference per year.
3.
70% of faculty will submit one proposal for grant funding per year.
4a. Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015
Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5%
from the 2014-2015 baseline.
4b. Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by 2015
Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5%
from the 2014-2015 baseline.
Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”
Objective:
1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections, editor positions, and other
influential bodies.
2. 30% of faculty will share health-related information with community or media by 2015.
Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.”
Objectives:
1. 40% of faculty will co-author reports and publications with colleagues at other units on
campus.
2. 30% of faculty will co-author reports, publications, and presentations with community
members.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing education opportunities to
public health professionals.
15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community, including but not limited
to, program evaluations, consulting, data analysis, grant partnerships.
50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or committees.
10% of UNR SCHS committees will include a community member. (includes SCHS standing
committees, CAB, ad hoc committees, MPH committees)
40% of faculty will serve as reviewers of journal articles and grant applications.
8.
Annually, the SCHS Community Advisory Board will represent at least 6 different professional
fields or community groups.
Goal 5: “To expose students to diversity in multiple venues.”
Objectives:
1. Faculty and staff are representative of women, underrepresented minority, and other
diverse groups in the relevant labor markets by 2015.
4
CPH report
CPH report
Alumni
survey
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Financial
spreadsheet
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures and
staff Survey
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Digital
Measures
Program
Director
Digital
Measures
CAB Minutes
Admissions
Forms
2.
3.
4.
5.
Relevant Labor Markets
Women Faculty:54% Staff: 46% Minority Faculty:16% Staff: 21%
By 2018, faculty and student populations will meet diversity goals as follows:
Faculty: 20% Latino, 5% African American, and 3% Native American/Alaska Native
Grad students: 20% Latino, 5% African American, 3 % Native American/Alaska Native, 30%
first generation college
Undergraduate students: 20% Latino, 10% African American, 5% Native American/Alaska
native, 30% first generation college
There will be 1 new effort to recruit underrepresented populations (either locally or outside
of local market) for the MPH program per year.
Applicants for faculty positions will meet UNR’s applicant pool diversity requirements and
there will be at least 1 new effort to either recruit or hire diverse faculty and staff for any new
searches that year.
By 2018, SCHS will meet all diversity requirements for all searches at the first report.
55% of MPH applicants will report experience working with underrepresented populations.
85% of faculty address issues affecting underrepresented populations in their work.
Faculty and
Staff Survey
Diversity
report
Search
Committee
Report
MPH apps
Digital
Measures
Note: Italicized objectives are new and were created in 2015 with targets set for 2018. Objectives without a target
year specified are the same for 2015 and 2018.
e. Development of mission, values, goals and objectives
The mission and goals were originally developed for the MPH program when it was formed in 2000. The
process used faculty committees with student input and the language was voted on by the entire
faculty. During the initial accreditation self-study, the mission and goals were revised by faculty and
student committees and input from the newly formed Community Advisory Committee was solicited.
Outside constituents (adjunct faculty and public health professionals) were also asked for input.
Measureable objectives tied to the mission and values for the MPH program were first developed in
SCHS faculty subcommittees and were initially adopted in the fall of 2009. Input was sought from
students and external constituents before final approval. Data sources were identified at that time and
new evaluation materials created to ensure objective measurements would be available in future years
for review and revision.
f. Dissemination and updating mission, values, goals and objectives
The mission, goals and values have been prominently displayed in the halls of the School of Community
Health Sciences. This year when the mission and values were updated, the students assisted in
producing a more engaging and exciting display. They are made available on the School’s website and
partially included in program materials. The student handbook includes the information and is available
on the website. The objectives and measurements have not been displayed but plans include identifying
selected objectives to be displayed in a dashboard and in future annual reports.
The mission and goals are reviewed every two years since the formation of the MPH program in 2000
and are revised as needed. The faculty hold school-wide retreats twice a year at the beginning of each
semester. Strategic planning, which includes reviewing goals and mission, occurs annually. The mission,
vision and values were reviewed and approved in Spring of 2012 at a faculty retreat including the
Community Advisory Board (CAB). At that meeting a school tagline was also discussed. From three
5
phrases suggested by the faculty, a school wide vote was taken with hundreds of student participating.
“Making Health Happen” was the clear winner and has become a vibrant tagline for the SCHS.
Three years ago as the university began to emerge from the recession, the school was asked to create a
strategic plan. A plan to grow to a School of Public Health was drafted by the director and was
subsequently revised and approved by the faculty in 2013. The plan has been endorsed by the Vice
President of the Division and the University president. The plan includes a significant increase in faculty
over a 7 year period and the creation of additional MPH areas of specialization and PhD programs. It
includes an emphasis on increasing research activity and creation of supporting infrastructure. The plan
is being funded as requested and this prompted a reexamination of the mission, goals and values
initiated fall 2014 and completed in summer 2015. The work was done by a faculty and student
subcommittee and reviewed by the CAB. This was particularly important in light of the growth of the
School, the evolution to a school of public health, and increasing engagement with the community. This
resulted in revision of the mission statement and a new values statement to reflect more energy and
engagement. The changes were voted on by the faculty at large and adopted in August 2015.
Measurable objectives have been updated twice since accreditation in 2011 to represent more realistic
goals. The updates have been proposed by a faculty subcommittee and were discussed and voted on by
the faculty during retreats and meetings. As new faculty have joined the department, new ideas and
perspectives have invigorated the process of defining success and measuring outcomes. The last revision
of the objectives was started by a subcommittee in fall of 2014 and completed in summer 2015 after
significant faculty discussion and vote. New objectives for the undergraduate program were added at
that time. The Community Advisory Board reviewed the mission, goals, values and objectives at their
summer meeting in June 2015 and suggested changes that were incorporated and voted on at the
August 2015 faculty retreat.
g. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criterion is met.
Strengths:
 This program has relied on a mission statement, goals and objectives since inception and has
made regular efforts to keep these up-to-date and relevant.
 The goals of increasing faculty and encouraging faculty to engage in education, research and
community service are realistic and supported by the President, Provost, Vice President Division
of Health Sciences and leadership at UNR.
Weaknesses:
 The faculty are still in search of better outcome measures for educational attainments for both
the undergraduate and graduate programs.
Plans:
 Continue to review goals and objectives yearly and identify existing data that will provide
objective measurements.
 Consider instituting an annual review of progress towards goals to be posted on our website and
shared with our Community Advisory Board and community partners.
6
1.2 Evaluation
a. Evaluation process
The Director of the Center for Program Evaluation (CPE, a center within the SCHS) was hired to collect
and analyze data and provide quarterly and annual reports. She reviews and uploads data from the online Digital Measures reporting system that faculty complete each year capturing accomplishments in
service, teaching, and research) to measure the objectives related to faculty accomplishments. She also
reviews and analyzes the MPH student evaluation surveys of courses and faculty. Data for student
efforts are available from recruitment and admission records, instructor records in My Nevada, alumni
surveys collected by the CPE and UNR, and internship and preceptor evaluations. The CPE director has
access to all data sources to ensure objective reporting. Each objective defined in Criterion 1.1d and
noted in the chart is followed by the data source in the final column.
Undergraduate assessment efforts are centralized and unit specific. The UNR undergraduate core
curriculum has undergone substantial change over the last 3 years as has the assessment process. UNR
now collects undergraduate student evaluation of faculty in a centralized database and shares with the
SCHS. Previously each CHS course was evaluated using paper assessments. The assessments were
comprehensive and analyzed student opinion regarding their own growth and learning. This system was
not efficient since it required staff to translate written comments into reports for faculty. The SCHS had
tried an online evaluation with the same form but student participation was poor. With UNR
centralization, there is not as much information available and with the SCHS BS undergraduate program
significantly changed, the undergraduate committee is responsible for evaluating assessment activities
and suggesting changes to the objectives for undergraduate students. Data are available from UNR
Institutional Analysis for graduation rates, GPA and diversity. Current data sources that may be tapped
in the future include faculty evaluation data from students (the UNR measurement system) and results
of the new competency survey for undergraduates that was designed and piloted in 2014-2015 by SCHS
faculty. In addition, a new UNR alumni survey is being piloted by Career Studio to track student
outcomes. It is unclear if this will give the SCHS sufficient data for our undergraduate outcomes. To help
us meet our measurement goals (track 40% of our undergraduates by 2018), a tracking system will be
developed at the SCHS.
An annual diversity report is due to UNR administration each November and data for this is collected by
the SCHS director from Division of Health Sciences advisor reports on student demographics, from MPH
student enrollment forms, from search reports and from internship placement information.
b. Using evaluations to enhance programs
Annual evaluation updates are prepared to show progress in meeting stated objectives. The data are
reviewed and discussed by the faculty in various venues starting in the graduate and undergraduate
committees, composed of faculty and students, and then going forward to the general faculty.
7
For objectives not meeting or making progress towards defined levels, discussions and
recommendations are made for a vote. Actions are identified and responsible parties are assigned. The
graduate or undergraduate director is ultimately responsible, along with the SCHS Director for
implementing needed changes. An example of changes resulting from evaluation is the response to not
meeting defined levels for diversity in 2012. A graduate student from an ethnic minority was engaged as
a graduate assistant to help with the development of recruiting materials and to participate in recruiting
events. This proved to be so successful that every year a graduate assistant position is dedicated to
improving diversity recruitment and works closely with the graduate director and the Coordinator for
Field Studies and Community Engagement.
Student evaluation information from student surveys of courses and faculty are addressed by the
graduate and undergraduate committees. For graduate courses, after the CPE director reviews and
analyzes information, each faculty member and the graduate director receive a copy of their evaluation.
Information from this survey is used to refine courses, change course progressions, address grade
inequities, and alter electives. Internship and preceptor evaluations led to a change in 2014 in the
required classes that must be passed before an MPH student can take their internship. For
undergraduate courses, student evaluation information is accessible to each faculty member, the
undergraduate director and the SCHS Director. Changing content, delivery methods, and updating syllabi
have all resulted from committee deliberations. All curricular changes are recommended to the faculty
for vote at general meetings. Last year, the University committed to participate in a new initiative, the
Student Success Collaborative tracking undergraduate student outcomes via online portals throughout
their college experience. The intent of this initiative is to continuously evaluate student outcomes and
provide information to colleges and faculty for use in advising and assessment activities. The go-live date
for this initiative is April 2016. The undergraduate curriculum committee chair and SCHS director will be
participating in the planning and implementation of this system. When the data elements in this
program are better known, the undergraduate committee will review and potentially revise the
objectives to use these data for ongoing improvement activities.
c. Program performance data
Table 1.2.c. SCHS Goals and Objectives—Performance Data 2013-2015
Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers,
educators and leaders.”
Target
Objective 1: Recruitment/Admissions
1a. 80% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have an overall
undergraduate GPA that exceeds 3.2.
1b. 40% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have verbal
and quantitative GRE scores that exceed the 50th percentile.
8
80%
20122013
67%
20132014
83%
20142015
53%
40%
44%
48%
33%
1c. By 2015, historically underrepresented racial/ethnic populations
will comprise 10% of the students accepted to the MPH program.
By 2015
10%
20% of MPH applicant pool will include students representative of
target diversity groups (Latino, African American, Native
American/Alaska Native, first generation college).
Objective 2: Education/Training
2a. 90% of MPH students will receive grades of B- or higher in the
MPH core and required courses ( first time they take the course)
2b. 60% of undergraduate CHS majors will have a GPA of 3.0 at
graduation.
2c. By 2015, 95% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH
professional paper.
By 2018, 90% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH
professional paper in the same semester during which they were
enrolled in the Capstone course.
2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research
activities.
2e.By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles
and/or providing service to the community or university.
By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to
the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship
or paid work.
2f. 90% of MPH students completing internships will be rated by their
preceptors at “good” or above.
2g. 75% of undergraduate students completing their internship will
be rated at “good” or above.
2h. 80% of MPH students will rate the quality of their internship as
being “good” or above
Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation
3a. 90% of full-time MPH students will complete their degree within
3 years of matriculation.
3b. By 2018, the 3 year graduation rate of juniors will be 75%
3c. 75% of recent MPH graduates will become employed in public
health or settings closely related to their degree within 6 months of
graduation.
3d. 5% of MPH graduates within the past year will be admitted to a
program for further academic training (PhD, MD, etc.).
3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national
leadership positions in public health.
3f. By 2018, 50% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in
Nevada.
9
46%
18%
36%
(New)
By 2018
20%
--
--
36%
90%
93%
93%
94%
(New)
By 2018
60%
By 2015
95%
71%
61%
60%
100%
96%
100%
58%
64%
49%
68%
64%
45%
(New)
By 2018
90%
(New)
By 2018
75%
(New)
By 2018
80%
--
--
100%
--
--
95%
--
--
100%
90%
100%
100%
93%
By 2018
90%
30%
By 2015
75%
By 2018
60%
(New)
By 2018
55%
75%
92%
93%
Not yet
available
5%
0%
13%
23%
10%
23%
20%
64%
82%
Not yet
available
Not yet
available
By 2018
50%
Not yet
available
3g. By 2018, 20% of graduating students will take the CPH exam
within one year of graduation.
3h. By 2018, 80% of graduating students who take the CPH exam will
pass it.
3i. By 2018, 25% of CHS BS graduates will be tracked for postgraduation activities.
Goal 2: “To develop the knowledge base for public health through
research.”
Objectives:
1. 60% of faculty will publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal
per year.
2. 70% of faculty will present research results at one scientific
conference per year.
3. 70% of faculty will submit one proposal for grant funding per year.
4a.Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5%
by 2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)
Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards
per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.
4b. Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5%
by 2015
Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards
per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.
Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”
Objective:
1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections,
editor positions, and other influential bodies.
2. 30% of faculty will share health-related information with
community or media.
Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through
professional and scholarly service.”
Objectives:
1. 40% of faculty will co-author reports and publications with
colleagues at other units on campus.
2. 30% of faculty will co-author reports, publications, and
presentations with community members.
3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing
education opportunities to public health professionals.
4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community,
including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data
analysis, grant partnerships.
5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or
committees.
6. 10% of UNR SCHS committees will include a community member.
(includes SCHS standing committees, CAB, ad hoc committees, MPH
committees)
7. 40% of faculty will serve as reviewers of journal articles and grant
applications.
9. Annually, the SCHS Community Advisory Board will represent at
least 6 different professional fields or community groups.
10
(New)
20%
(New)
80%
(New)
25%
--
29%
9%
--
100%
50%
--
--
--
60%
69%
58%
71%
70%
70%
92%
71%
70%
5%
increas
e from
baselin
e
71%
$10,191/
FTE
38%
decrease
from
baseline
1.4/FTE
64%
$19,121/
FTE
17%
increase
from
baseline
1.2/FTE
89%
$32,287
/FTE
98%
increase
from
baseline
1.2/FTE
25%
46%
46%
40%
30%
33%
41%
53%
40%
50%
53%
44%
30%
38%
40%
50%
15%
33%
41%
47%
15%
56%
47%
58%
50%
56%
59%
63%
10%
62%
74%
55%
40%
73%
86%
93%
(New)
6
--
--
8
5%
increas
e from
baselin
e
Goal 5: “To expose students to diversity in multiple venues.”
Objectives:
1. (2015) Faculty and staff are representative of women,
underrepresented minority, and other diverse groups in the relevant
labor markets by 2015. Women: Faculty 54% Staff: 46% Minority:
Faculty 16% Staff 21%
By 2015
Women
Faculty:
61%
Staff:
100%
Minority
Faculty:
22%
Staff: 0%
--
Women
Faculty:
59%
Staff:
100%
Minority
Faculty:
20%
Staff: 0%
--
Women
Faculty:
60%
Staff:10
0%
Minority
Faculty:
25%
Staff: 0%
(2018) faculty and student populations will meet diversity goals as
(New)
By 2018
See
follows:
Templat
Faculty: 20% Latino , 5% African American, and 3% Native
e 1.8.1
American/Alaska Native
Grad students: 20% Latino, 5% African American, 3 % Native
American/Alaska Native, 30% first generation college
Undergraduate students: 20% Latino, 10% African American, 5%
Native American/Alaska native, 30% first generation college
2. There will be 1 new effort per year to recruit underrepresented
Met
Met
Met
populations (either locally or outside of local market) for the MPH
progra.
2 SCHS will meet all diversity requirements for all searches at the
100%
100%
100%
first report.
3 55% of MPH applicants will report experience working with
63%
71%
64%
underrepresented populations.
4 85% of faculty address issues affecting underrepresented
81%
87%
89%
populations in their work.
Note: Italicized objectives are new and were created in 2015 with targets set for 2018. Objectives without a target
year specified are the same for 2015 and 2018.
d. Development of the self-study
The Director and the undergraduate program chair attended the CEPH meeting in August 2014. The
SCHS director set out tasks and timelines at the fall 2014 retreat appointing lead faculty to organize the
assessment of curricula and competencies for the MPH emphases in Epidemiology (KCN), Social
Behavioral Health (PD), new emphasis in Health Administration and Policy (MM), and for the
undergraduate program BS in Public Health and Kinesiology (DC). Faculty doing evaluation were tapped
to identify needed changes and ensure that discussion was scheduled and votes taken. The Coordinator
for the Field Studies and Community Engagement provided data on the internship experience,
recruiting, and community participation. The CPE director prepared templates and narrative on
evaluation sections. The UNR Institutional Analysis office provided important data. An ad hoc committee
wrote narrative and edited to create the section on diversity. Graduate students completed the Eresources document, reviewed catalogs, websites and handbooks for data matching, reviewed the selfstudy and provided comments. The UNR budget office provided comment on the financial sections. Selfstudy components were discussed and votes were taken on some of the changes at the fall retreat in
11
August 2015; further modifications were discussed and voted on at the September 2015 faculty
meeting. The final draft was reviewed, discussed and edited by faculty.
The preliminary self-study document was posted on the SCHS shared drive website in August 2015. The
SCHS Community Advisory Board reviewed selected parts of this version at their September 2015
meeting. Selected adjunct faculty of the SCHS were given access to the document in early September
2015 for review. Patty Charles, DrPH completed final review and editing and will be available to serve in
this role during the fall 2015 semester as it is anticipated that final refinement will be accomplished in
response to the comments of the preliminary self-study by reviewers (fall 2015) and further input will be
requested.
e. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.
This criterion is met.
Strengths:
 The program has an explicit evaluation plan with objective data sources, responsible personnel
and regular reporting.
 The evaluation activities continue to improve with creation of better surveys and participation in
annual updates to CEPH.
Weaknesses:
 Data sources, particularly Digital Measures, can be difficult to use and data is not always
classified the same by faculty when they fill out the form. This requires more effort by the
evaluation team.
 Financial data that is prepared by centralized sources is not detailed enough to accurately
describe revenue and expenses and it is not done in a timely fashion.
Plans:
 A detailed information sheet was created to help faculty fill out Digital Measures but has not
been updated or shared with all new faculty. A meeting with faculty to go over this material is
planned prior to the next evaluation cycle (December 2015).
 A new, detailed set of spreadsheets will be created to update financial data for the school
12
1.3 Institutional Environment
a. The University of Nevada, Reno
The School of Community Health Sciences (SCHS) is a unit of the Division of Health Sciences of the
University of Nevada, Reno.
The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a constitutionally established (1874), land-grant university
classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education as a Comprehensive Doctoral
institution with medical and/or veterinary medicine. Within the university, nine colleges offer a range of
undergraduate and graduate majors. Graduate-level training and research, including doctoral-level
programs enhance the university's mission to create scholarly activity.
Nevada is listed as one of the top 120 universities in America for funded research, according to the
Carnegie Foundation. With more than $175 million in research expenditures (FY 2014) the University is
the leading research enterprise in Nevada's higher-education system.
The Division of Health Sciences (DHS) includes the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Social Work and
Community Health Sciences, and included several free-standing centers. Its chief administrative officer is
the Vice President for Health Sciences (VPHS). The VPHS is currently also the Dean of the School of
Medicine, Dr. Thomas Schwenk. Trudy Larson, MD, was hired as Director of the School of Community
Health Sciences in 2011. The Director reports to the Vice President for Health Sciences and level of
authority and reporting lines are equivalent to those of the Directors of the schools of nursing and social
work. Dr. Larson has standing monthly meetings with the vice president and communicates directly with
him whenever needed.
UNR is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and is recognized by the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. The university has
maintained accreditation status since 1938. On February 12, 2014, the NWCCU reaffirmed the
accreditation based on the continuous process of review that was instituted in 2011. There are also
numerous university programs accredited by national professional accrediting organizations. These
specialized accrediting organizations, recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, are
in the E-resource files.
b. Reporting infrastructure and organizational charts
The president is the university’s chief executive, with ultimate decision-making responsibility for all
aspects of the institution. The Executive Vice President and Provost reports directly to the president and
is the university’s chief academic officer. Other aspects of university operations, such as administration
and finance, information technology, development, student services and sponsored research are the
responsibility of distinct vice presidents. Academic programs of the university are divided into colleges
defined along subject-matter lines. Each college is headed by a dean who reports to the Provost.
Departments are grouped within colleges and department chairs report to their respective deans. In
general, departments are the fundamental academic units of UNR.
13
The University’s Division of Health Sciences departs from this general structure. The division, which
includes the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Community Health Sciences and Social Work is headed by the
Vice President for Health Sciences who has a direct reporting line to the president, as well as to the
provost. Because of this reporting line, the division is viewed as a higher administrative unit than the
colleges. The Dean of the School of Medicine and the Directors of the Schools of Nursing, Community
Health Sciences and Social Work all report to the VPHS. Schools that have directors, rather than a dean,
are regarded as intermediate units with attributes of both colleges and departments.
The vice presidents and deans interact regularly with the president and provost. Chairs of academic
departments relate primarily to the deans of their colleges, while in the Division of Health Sciences,
directors of schools interact in a similar way with the VPHS. In most situations, the deans and the VPHS
represent the departments and schools to higher administrators. However, school directors may
communicate with the provost and meet with him when the need arises.
c. Program responsibility in key areas
- Budget and resource allocation
The university administration sets the non-grant portion of academic unit budgets in consultation with
the deans and vice presidents. Directors work with the vice president and chief financial officer of the
DHS to set budgets. Under the university’s funding formula unit budgets are proportional to the number
of instructional faculty. Units also receive 7.75% of indirect costs receipts for grants involving unit
faculty. Principal investigators receive another 7.75%. Tuition and fees are not returned directly to the
units that generate them, but are part of the pool of funds available to the administration to meet the
university’s operating expenses and growth. Fund-raising support is typically provided at the college or
division level by specialized development staff. Self-supporting budgets from a variety of sources
(contracts and grants) add revenue to the unit for support of faculty, staff, graduate assistants,
operations, equipment, and supplies and are controlled by the School.
– Personnel recruitment, selection and advancement
Faculty recruitment, selection and advancement are handled internally by the school and the division.
Searches for tenure-track faculty are initiated by the school through a request process from the provost.
Proposals are reviewed and authorized by the vice president and then sent to the provost for approval.
The areas in which new faculty are recruited are determined by the schools in consultation with the vice
president. When a search is successful and a candidate is identified, the selection is made by the school
and requires approval from the vice president and the provost. There is considerable flexibility in hiring
grant-funded, non-tenure track faculty, but approval of the vice president is still required.
Faculty promotion and tenure applications are also initiated by the school following a standard
schedule. Applications are reviewed within the school by a faculty committee, reviewed by the vice
president and by a faculty committee at the university level. Recommendations for promotion and
tenure must be approved by the vice president and the provost. Awards of tenure require final approval
by the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
14
15
http://www.unr.edu/Documents/president/office/Univ-OrgChart_091714.pdf
16
Classified staff positions are governed by the policies and procedures of the Nevada State Personnel
System. Staff hires are initiated by the school, and staff are evaluated within the units according to state
personnel policies. The vice president must review and approve staff evaluations but is usually not
involved directly.
– Academic standards and policies
Academic standards and policies are established by the Board of Regents and operationalized through
the UNR Provost’s office. Curricula are developed and managed within academic units. Proposals for
new curricula and changes to existing ones are reviewed by division and university committees on
courses and curricula. Graduate curricula are also reviewed by the University’s Graduate Council. These
reviews tend to be concerned primarily with the potential for duplication of courses and programs
within the university and working within common course numbering within the entire higher education
system. Proposals for new majors and new degrees also require approval by the Board of Regents.
Unless significant changes are proposed, oversight of curricula is within the purview of the academic
unit.
Minimum academic standards for graduate degrees are set by the UNR Graduate School. Academic
units may set additional requirements if they do not conflict with graduate school policies. For example,
a unit may establish the number of credits required for a degree, as long as that number is no less than
the minimum established by the graduate school.
d. If a collaborative program, descriptions of all participating institutions and delineation of their
relationships to the program. Not Applicable
e. If a collaborative program, a copy of the formal written agreement that establishes the rights and
obligations of the participating universities in regard to the program’s operation. Not Applicable
f. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criterion is met.
Strengths:
 The SCHS is part of an accredited university with well-defined processes and reporting
structure.
 The university administrative structure supports the activities of the SCHS
Weaknesses:
 The classified staff system is governed by the state rather than the university. This is not always
a good fit for academic activities.
Plans:
 The university is moving towards a paperless administration that will improve efficiencies and
communication. Although the implementation will be difficult, the outcome will enhance the
function of the SCHS within the university.
17
1.4 Organization and Administration
a. Administrative organization of the programs
Over the last two years, the School of Community Health Sciences has grown in the number of faculty,
from 16 to 24, and the number of units, from 1 to 3 supporting the goals of learning, research and
service. In particular, the SCHS now includes the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory (NSPHL) that
serves the entire state in support of public health and the Center for Survey Research housed with the
Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Surveys. These are newly incorporated into the school and they
both have capacity to add to the educational, research and service functions through collaborations with
faculty and students. The NSPHL houses the Newborn Screening program in addition to all the
laboratory support for preparedness, communicable disease surveillance, and food safety. The newly
updated laboratory director position (search in process) will hold a faculty appointment in SCHS. The
missions of the lab and the SCHS are complimentary and synergistic. The Center for Survey Research
already collaborates with faculty in the SCHS (BRFSS for example) and the merger creates efficiencies to
collaborations and enhances research opportunities for both.
One important faculty addition, starting in January 2016, is an Associate Director. The Associate Director
will be responsible for overseeing the academic activities of the school and will serve as the graduate
and undergraduate curriculum director. Duties also include working closely with staff on scheduling and
recruiting adjunct faculty and mentoring new faculty. This position will be key in providing the
infrastructure to support all the missions of the SCHS as the school continues to grow.
b. Interdisciplinary coordination, cooperation and collaboration
Public health learning within the SCHS is coordinated and monitored by the graduate and undergraduate
director and the curriculum committees. The committees include members of all the public health
disciplines to promote internal coordination with content, scheduling and evaluation. Both graduate
and undergraduate courses require support from a cadre of well-educated adjunct faculty, many of
whom are employed in public health. The SCHS Director and the graduate and undergraduate directors
work with a dedicated classified staff member to coordinate the adjunct faculty selection, hiring and
support. Adjunct faculty are supported by full-time faculty to coordinate learning objectives, deliver
consistent content, and utilize campus resources. Classes from other colleges such as College of
Business are integrated into the curriculum and the relevant curriculum committees coordinate
schedules to ensure access for students.
Over the last two years, public health learning has been integrated into the University of Nevada School
of Medicine (UNSOM) curriculum. Two faculty members from SCHS sit on the UNSOM Year 1-2
curriculum committee and work with UNSOM faculty to integrate public health curriculum throughout
the first two years. This important collaboration is supported by the Dean of UNSOM and spearheaded
through the Office of Medical Education. Much has been learned by this interdisciplinary coordination.
In addition, a new program with family medicine residents just started where residents will complete
their residency in four years with a MPH. This program is jointly administered by the graduate director
of SCHS and the family medicine residency director.
18
19
The Cultural Considerations in Health conference is an annual conference created and coordinated by
the Division. In its fourth year, this event is a product of interdisciplinary planning among the Schools of
Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Social Work and Nursing. Students serve as primary planners,
supported by faculty from each school and work in a committee to plan and implement this two day
event on campus for students and faculty. The conference serves an important role in highlighting
cultural issues in health and focuses on different dimensions each year. Students become aware of other
disciplines and have the opportunity to listen and participate in sessions and engage in hands on
learning. Public health emerges as a foundational topic for this conference and increases awareness of
the discipline among attendees.
The SCHS has a strong relationship with both the local and state public health authorities. Many aspects
of these relationships are coordinated through the Coordinator for Field Studies and Community
Engagement. The Nevada State Division of Public and Behavioral Health provides internship
opportunities for students, contracts with faculty for evaluation services and continuing education, and
partners with faculty and the public health laboratory on grants. The Coordinator supports all aspects of
the internship relationship as well as participating in the Western Region Public Health Training Center
program that is establishing continuing education for working professionals. The local health authorities
in Washoe County and Carson City also work with the Coordinator. The SCHS director maintains regular
communication with the health authorities in the state through participation in the Nevada Public
Health Foundation board (all health authorities are represented on the board) and through joint
programs supporting research and service.
Contracts and grants with local and state agencies support research and serve the community. In
addition to opportunities identified through the Coordinator, faculty have developed excellent
relationships with external constituents that include school districts, community non-profits, and
foundations. The Center for Program Evaluation has a number of these contracts and utilizes a
philosophy that supports significant collaboration and input from contracted entities.
b. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criterion is met.
Strengths:

The SCHS is organized to support the growth of the school through strong collaborative
networks and a defined reporting structure.
Weaknesses and Plans:

The lack of administrative positions within the SCHS has made it difficult for the director to
cover all aspects of teaching, research and service. The arrival of the new Associate director will
significantly help manage growth. The Coordinator has been an excellent addition but
burgeoning student populations have stressed that position. Graduate students are now being
assigned to assist and potential for an added part time position will be assessed over the next
year.
20
1.5 Governance.
a. Committee structure
Undergraduate Committee: lead by the undergraduate director, is responsible to
 monitor the quality of undergraduate program including conducting periodic review of the
curriculum and assessment of learning outcomes;
 provide recommendations pertaining to changes, modifications, or additions to the
undergraduate curricula, and recommend actions to the Director and the faculty at large (FAL);
 develop policy and procedures for field studies and independent studies;
 develop an assessment plan, conduct assessment activities, and provide assessment
data to the university’s assessment office;
 determine students/ eligible candidates for undergraduate scholarships and awards and
recommend to the FAL ;
 review student grade appeals or grievances and recommend action if requested to
do so by the Director; and,
 recommend possible promotional literature or events for student recruitment
All faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on the Committee. The SCHS
Director makes appointments of members to the committee with input from the faculty. Terms are
three years, unless another term is agreed upon. There is no minimum or maximum number of
members.
Current Members: Dan Cook (chair), Nora Constantino, Jim Wilson, Jeff Angermann, Karla Wagner, So
Young Ryu, Amy Fitch, Julie Smith-Gagen, Raina Benford (student)
Graduate Committee: lead by the graduate director, is responsible to
 monitor the quality of the graduate program
 develop competencies and the means to assess the extent to which competencies are met
 conduct regular reviews of curriculum, competencies, and assessment results and
recommend changes needed to ensure that competencies are met
 regularly review accreditation criteria set by CEPH and other relevant bodies and
recommend changes needed to ensure compliance
 develop an assessment plan, conduct assessment activities, and provide assessment
data to the university’s assessment office
 recommend to the FAL, candidates for graduate scholarships and awards;
 provide recommendations pertaining to changes, modifications, or additions to the
graduate curricula, graduate curriculum matters, and recommend actions to the Director and
the FAL
 process graduate applications for admission to the graduate program
 review applications for Graduate Assistant positions, and make recommendations to
the Director
 develop marketing programs to increase student enrollment in the graduate programs
21
All faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on the Committee. The SCHS
Director makes appointments of members to the Committee with input from the faculty. Terms are
three years, unless another term is agreed upon. At least one graduate student shall serve on the
Graduate Committee.
Current Members: Wei Yang (Chair), Elizabeth Christiansen, Kristen Clements-Nolle, Gerold Dermid, Erin
Grinshteyn, Julie Lucero, Michelle Granner, Roman Pabay, Taylor Lensch and Alison Claudianos
(students)
Personnel/Promotion & Tenure Committee: lead by a rotating chair, is charged to:
 develop, in consultation with the Director and with input from the FAL, consistent,
reproducible standards for evaluation of faculty performance in accordance with
bylaws, regulations, and policies of higher levels of governance
 inform the faculty of these standards
 advise and make recommendations to the Director regarding faculty performance,
roles and goals, promotion and tenure
 review, along with the Director, annual goals of all School faculty members to assure
compliance with the School’s mission and needs
 at the request of the Director, to advise regarding other faculty personnel issues
All faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on the Committee. The
Committee has at least four members, at least three of whom are current, tenured faculty. The fourth
member may be a lecturer, research faculty member, or a tenure-track faculty member that is in the
first or second year of service. Members of the Personnel and Promotion and Tenure Committee are
elected by the FAL. Potential members can be nominated by self or other. All those who accept
nomination will be placed on a ballot and an election is held. The nominee(s) with the greatest
number(s) of votes is elected to the Committee. Terms are for three years for all faculty. Terms are to be
rotated so that at least one tenured position is open for appointment each year.
Current members: Minggen Lu (chair), Judith Sugar, Jeff Angermann, and Kristen Clements-Nolle.
Steering Committee: lead by the Director, is charged to ensure coordination between and among School
committees and academic programs and to advise the SCHS Director on the mission, goals, and direction
of the School. Membership includes the Director of Undergraduate Education, the Director of Graduate
Education, the Personnel/P&T Committee Chair, the leaders of each specialty area and the SCHS
Director. At the discretion of the Director, other members may be appointed. The Steering committee
acts as the self-study committee for CEPH.
Current members: Trudy Larson (chair), Mel Minarik, Kristen Clements-Nolle, Paul Devereux, Nora
Constantino, Minggen Lu, Dan Cook, Wei Yang
Ad hoc committees: time limited committees appointed and charged by the Director.

Bylaws: Last constituted in 2013-14 and charged by the Director to address needed
amendments to capture current practice.
22




Space committee: Last constituted in 2012-2013 to address space planning to serve the faculty
needs for research and teaching. Newly configured as a vision committee (2015) to begin early
planning for a new building.
Search committees: search committees constituted over the last 3 years include: Epidemiology
search committee for 3 positions, Biostatistics search committee for 2 positions, Social
Behavioral Search committee for 2 positions, Environmental Health search committee for one
position, Health Administration and Policy search committee for one position, Associate Director
SCHS search committee for one position. Search committees for 2015: Biostatistics (chair
Minggen Lu, SCHS), Health Administration and Policy (chair, Jeanne Wendell, College of
Business), and Kinesiology (chair, James Fitzsimmons, Center for Recreation and Wellness).
Program Review Committee: charged to oversee the university program review process and
documentation every 8 years (chair, Michelle Granner).
Scheduling committee: Operational in nature to ensure that courses are scheduled to meet
sequencing issues for both MPH and undergraduate students (chair, Trudy Larson).
b. Identification of how the following functions are addressed within the program’s committees
and organizational structure.
The governance and general program policy development of the School of Community Health Sciences is
established in the school’s bylaws under the authority of the bylaws of the Division of Health Sciences
and the bylaws of the University of Nevada, Reno and the Code of the Nevada System of Higher
Education.
Within the School of Community Health Sciences, the director is the primary level of governance and
final authority. The director is appointed by the president of the university on the recommendation of
the vice president for health sciences and the faculty of the school. The faculty constitutes the second
level of governance. Rights and responsibilities of the faculty are established by the Bylaws of the
University (Chapter III, sec. 39 E-resource, UNR bylaws). Under the bylaws of the school, the faculty
provides input regarding policies and procedures. Policy recommendations are developed by standing or
ad hoc committees of faculty and brought forward to the director for consideration. The director may
also develop policies and procedures needed for the operation of the school. The director leads strategic
planning initiatives. The Steering committee serves as an initial reviewer for policies, procedures and
planning changes. The faculty votes on matters affecting the mission, programming and functioning of
the school. Approval by majority vote of the faculty is required for curriculum changes (described
below), establishment of new academic programs and centers, appointment of adjunct faculty, and
amendment of the bylaws. In other matters, votes of the faculty are advisory to the director. Decisions
of the director can be appealed by a majority vote of the faculty, which may petition the Vice President
for Health Sciences if resolution cannot be reached internally. The university bylaws provide further
mechanisms for resolution of faculty grievances.
Planning and evaluation are addressed by the Director and relevant faculty committees. Strategic
planning is initiated by the Director and vetted by the faculty through discussion. Curricular planning and
evaluation are under the purview of the designated undergraduate or graduate committee. Program
evaluation and self-study are overseen by the Director with committee input as noted in section 1.1.
23
Budget and resources for the programs of the School of Community Health Sciences are provided
through the budget of the SCHS as described in 1.6. The budget is determined by the UNR
administration in consultation with the Vice President of DHS and the director. The state budget
includes lines for faculty, staff, and student salaries and operations for the school as a whole. The
director determines budget reallocations as needed. Contracts and grants provide additional resources
and are allocated by the principal investigators (faculty). Additional budget allocations are determined
by the director in consultation with faculty for program support, equipment, travel, and teaching
resources. The graduate director allocates graduate assistant positions to faculty to support teaching.
Classrooms (rooms not in the central pool of classrooms) and administrative space is shared by all of the
school’s programs. Office and research space is assigned by the school director according to criteria
specified in the bylaws and faculty may request changes to their office space. The director is responsible
for budget and resource requests and for managing expenditures. The Division of Health Sciences Chief
Financial Officer provides financial planning, facilitates resource requests, and assists with budgeting
support for the director.
Student recruitment, admission and award of degrees are managed at the University and school level.
Undergraduate recruitment and admission is conducted by UNR Student Services. Student recruitment
to the SCHS degrees is done by faculty and the health sciences advisors. The BS degree is awarded by
the School upon successful completion of the course of study determined by the faculty of the SCHS and
attainment of university prescribed credits (120 credits).
The graduate committee sets admissions standards for the MPH program, reviews applicants to the
program, and develops materials and strategies for marketing and student recruitment. A recruitment
plan is in place that was developed by the graduate committee and involves faculty and students.
Student progress towards graduation is monitored by the Graduate committee. Graduate degrees are
awarded by UNR’s Graduate School after approval by the faculty of SCHS.
Faculty recruitment, retention, promotion and tenure are managed at the level of the school and the
division (with approvals required at the university level). Searches for new faculty are initiated by the
school director in consultation with the faculty and must be authorized by the Vice President for Health
Sciences and the provost. The specific areas in which new faculty are recruited are prioritized according
to the strategic plan developed by the SCHS. Development of a school of public health is a high priority
in faculty recruitment, and all new tenure-line faculty members are expected to contribute. Searches for
new faculty members are conducted by an ad hoc search committee approved by the director. The
search committee is responsible for advertising, interviewing, and recommending candidates to the
director, who makes the final selection, with approval by the vice president and provost.
UNR Bylaws and NSHE Code require that faculty are evaluated annually for research, teaching and
service. At the beginning of each calendar year, faculty submit a role statement listing goals for the year.
At the end of the calendar year, faculty submit an annual review document summarizing productivity
recorded on Digital Measures (university online system). Evaluations must include student evaluations
of teaching. Program faculty are evaluated initially by the School of Community Health Sciences
Personnel/Promotion & Tenure Committee, which recommends an evaluation to the director. The
24
director then produces an evaluation report, which takes the committee’s input into account. The
director’s report is shared with the faculty member in writing and discussed in a meeting, and is then
forwarded to the vice president for review and approval.
Promotion and tenure actions are also initiated within the school. Tenure track candidates are reviewed
at year 3 by the Director and the Vice President for progress towards tenure. At year 4 and 5 the
candidate has a tenure review conducted by the Director. Upon successful review, candidates prepare
an application package that is defined by UNR Bylaws and NSHE Code. This document, along with letters
from external referees that have been solicited by the director, is reviewed initially by the
Personnel/Promotion & Tenure Committee. Following the P&T committee’s review, the director makes
a written recommendation to the vice president that refers to the recommendation of the committee
and the external referees. Recommendations for promotion and tenure require further approval by the
university promotion and tenure committee. Awards of tenure must be approved by the Board of
Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Academic standards and curricular activities are under both university and SCHS policies. Academic
standards and policies for the undergraduate program are developed by the Regents, UNR Provost’s
office and colleges and schools. In 2012 the UNR undergraduate core program was studied by an
appointed faculty committee and recommendations for a new core program were developed and
submitted for faculty vote. The Silver Core plan was approved by the faculty and a UNR committee of
faculty and administrators was appointed to construct an implementation plan. A dedicated position
was created to oversee the implementation of the Silver Core plan and full implementation is set for Fall
2016. Each school was tasked with restructuring their major requirements to include the core
competencies as developed in the silver core. The SCHS faculty have updated courses and syllabi to
reflect updated student learning outcomes and all courses have undergone core committee review and
approval for inclusion in the catalog. The SCHS undergraduate committee as defined in the bylaws and
noted in 1.5a, has had primary responsibility for overseeing the updating of the curriculum and defining
the major requirements. Curriculum changes are voted on by the faculty at large and require a majority
for implementation.
Academic standards and curricular activities for the graduate programs are developed by the SCHS
Graduate Program Committee subject to the regulations of the Graduate School. The graduate
committee and functions are shown in 1.5.a. The committee is required by the bylaws to have at least
one member who is a graduate student. Student members typically serve for one academic year. The
standards, policies and procedures are disseminated to students in the MPH Student Handbook (E
resource, MPH student Handbook) and to faculty during orientation for advisors and in the guidelines
for MPH Advisors. (E resource, Advising, MPH advisor timeline)
Both the undergraduate and graduate committees meet monthly during the academic year and have
primary responsibility for establishing, reviewing and monitoring the curriculum, core competencies and
evaluation.
25
Proposals for new courses and curriculum changes must be reviewed and approved by the faculty and
director of the school, and subsequently by the Division of Health Sciences Courses and Curriculum
Committee, the University Courses and Curriculum Committee, and Graduate Council (for graduate
courses). The school has a representative on the Division Courses and Curriculum Committee. The
Division, in turn, has a representative on the university-level committee and the Graduate Council who
represents the interests of the School of Community Health Sciences, as well as the other units in the
division.
Research and service expectations of faculty are defined during the annual evaluation process but follow
general research and service expectations of UNR as noted in the UNR bylaws. A generally accepted
division of duties is 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% service. Each faculty member creates a role
statement that may match or vary from the standard percentages that is discussed with and approved
by the director. The SCHS personnel committee is tasked with presenting recommendations for research
and service expectations to the director for consideration. These changes are brought forward by the
director for general faculty discussion and vote. The changes are then included in the policies that define
the expected research and service contributions of faculty. The most current revision was adopted by
the faculty in September 2015.
c. Bylaws specifying rights and obligations of personnel


School of Community Health Sciences By-Laws (E-resource, SCHS bylaws)
Board of Regents Handbook (Title 2 is NSHE’s formal Code)
http://system.nevada.edu/Nshe/index.cfm/administration/board-of-regents/handbook/

Board of Regents Policies and Procedures Manual
http://system.nevada.edu/Nshe/index.cfm/administration/board-of-regents/proceduresguidelines-manual/
UNR procedures and policies:
 University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws
http://www.unr.edu/facultysenate/bylaws/UNR%20Bylaws/unr-bylaws-8-10-2015.pdf
 University Administrative Manual
http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual
d. Faculty contribution to the University
Division Committees:
Committee
Courses and Curriculum
Excellence in Teaching
Council on Diversity Initiatives
Conflicts of Interest
Council on Diversity
Interdisciplinary Gerontology Curriculum Committee (IGCC)
Faculty Member(s)
Judith Sugar
Kristen Clements-Nolle
Dan Cook
Dan Cook
Dan Cook
Judith Sugar, Erin Grinshteyn
UNSOM Block directors
Julie Smith-Gagen
26
Upstream Nevada Project
School of Nursing Task Force
Mel Minarik
Wei Yang
University Committees:
Committee
Faculty Senate
Institutional Review Board
Service Learning Council
Core Ethics Advisory Committee
Core Board and Core Objective 4 committee
Campus Affairs
Tibbetts Teaching Award committee
Center for Recreation and Wellness
Campus Bicycle Committee
Faculty Senate Professional Leave Committee
Gender, Race, Identity Studies
University Athletic committee
Tobacco Free University Implementation Team
Special Hearings Committee
Faculty Member(s)
Judith Sugar
Paul Devereux
Gerold Dermid
Erin Grinshteyn
Nora Constantino
Veronica Dahir
Mel Minarik
Nora Constantino
Amy Fitch
Paul Devereux
Dan Cook
Mel Minarik
Dan Cook
Kristen Clements-Nolle
e. Student governance and organizations
Students play a significant role in governance through a variety of mechanisms that include participation
on important school committees, by actively evaluating faculty, courses, and internships, and
participating in self-studies.
Undergraduate students are included in the undergraduate curriculum committee (a recent decision
spearheaded by the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN)) and are asked to evaluate
every course and the faculty who teach the course. The undergraduate club, the Public Health Coalition,
elects officers and undertakes many activities during the school year. They are a registered club under
the ASUN and have access to funds to support their activities. They also raise money for public health
initiatives. They actively participate in the planning and implementation of the SCHS co-sponsored
Cultural Considerations conference every spring.
Graduate students are active participants on the graduate committee and are involved in all decisions
except those that involve student progress. In addition, graduate students are appointed to every
faculty search committee, usually one student per search, and all graduate students are asked to
formally evaluate all candidates. Students are asked to join ad hoc committees such as the
Mission/Values committee and they provide valuable insight. Graduate students provide a more
rigorous evaluation of graduate classes and experiences through formal evaluations. These evaluations
are important in changing courses and curriculum and in the evaluation of faculty. The graduate
students have a newly revised student Graduate Society of Public Health that elects officers and is a
27
recognized member of the Graduate Student Association (the UNR association that utilizes student fees
for programs and activities). MPH students have been members on the GSA board. The club hosts
gatherings for many purposes including having speakers from the faculty and outside agencies,
discussing current internal and external issues, and planning graduation activities.
Graduate students are participating in the preparation of the CEPH self-study by gathering documents,
reviewing websites and documents for consistency, and will be asked to comment on the drafts of the
self-study when they return to campus for the fall semester. In addition, the formal six year program
review for UNR is starting in fall 2015 and graduate students will be collecting data, helping craft
responses and will be meeting with program reviewers in the spring.
In addition to these more formal activities, students are encouraged to contact the undergraduate and
graduate directors and/or the school director to discuss their issues regarding the school, courses,
faculty, advisors and staff. Specifically, students have requested that they be changed from one advisor
to another for various personal and professional reasons. These requests were accommodated in order
to ensure an optimal experience for both student and advisors.
All students may initiate comments in person or by email and faculty and staff email addresses are
readily available on the web page. A stable communication system was developed using WebCampus to
promote better and surer communication between students and faculty following student input about
lack of access to announcements. This was a very positive change in policy and procedure initiated by
student concern.
f.
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 The SCHS has an active and participatory committee structure that includes students with
responsibilities for important school activities. All faculty are expected to contribute.
 The bylaws are regularly reviewed and revised to reflect changing operations of the school.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 The undergraduate students just recently suggested that they be included in the curriculum
committee. After faculty discussion, it was agreed to ask for a student volunteer for the
undergraduate curriculum committee.
 With the arrival of the Associate Director in January, part of the bylaws and structure will need
revision.
28
1.6 Fiscal Resources.
a. Budget and allocation of funds process
Each institutional President is responsible for recommending to the Board of Regents of the Nevada
System of Higher Education (NSHE) for approval the allocation of resources to (instruction, academic
support, student services, etc. within the college or university budget. Institutional Presidents have
flexibility in establishing a budget plan and institutional priorities, and are held accountable for final
performance outcomes as measured by student success, increased grant funding, alignment with state
goals and the like.
A new funding model for NSHE was adopted in the 2013 Legislative session and consists of two
components – a base formula driven by course completions and a performance pool driven by
performance metrics that align with the goals of the State. The base formula allocates state resources
(General Fund dollars) to teaching institutions based upon completed courses as measured by student
credit hours. Student credit hours are weighted by discipline cluster in an expanded matrix that is cost
informed and independently developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management
Systems (NCHEMS). Funding is determined by measuring completed course work, with funding setaside to support small community colleges and the operations and maintenance of dedicated research
space at UNLV and UNR. A fundamental premise of the new formula remains the campus retention of
student fees and out of state tuition collected without offset to state general fund appropriations.
Retention of student fees and tuition at UNR coupled with substantial student growth, estimated to
reach a total of 20,900 students fall 2015, has been the primary driver of the additional funds to support
faculty and infrastructure development. State support, when combined with student fee revenues
generated by an institution, represents the total funding available to an institution in a given fiscal year.
The adoption of the NSHE’s performance pool came about as part of the funding formula study that
considered methods for rewarding institutions for graduating students. The performance pool is based
on a carve-out of state funds over an initial four-year implementation period. The carve-out percentage
will be set aside and depending on an institution’s performance in a defined year they can “earn back”
the set aside funds. An institution’s performance is measured based on seven metrics (two of which
have sub-metrics for under-served populations). The majority of the metrics are based on the number of
students graduating, including metrics for students graduating in defined populations (underserved
populations, STEM, allied health, etc.). In addition, increasing sponsored project activity, transfer and
articulation, and general efficiency are encouraged. Institutions that do not earn 100 percent of their
performance funds in the first year of the performance cycle will be given the opportunity to earn back
those funds in the second year of the cycle. UNR has earned 100% of these performance funds. (Eresource, Fiscal resources, NSHE fund form)
The funding formula governs the allocation of state funds to the institution as a whole, rather than to
academic units and programs within the university. Internally, the university administration sets the
non-grant portion of academic unit budgets in consultation with the deans and vice presidents. Tuition
and fees received by the university are not returned directly to the units that generate them, but are
part of the pool of funds available to the administration to meet the university’s operating expenses.
29
Faculty salaries are the largest component of the state funds allocated to units. This sector of the budget
is dictated by the number and rank of occupied faculty positions allocated to the unit in a given fiscal
year. Tenure-line faculty positions in the School of Community Health Sciences are fully state-supported,
so state funding for these positions supports teaching, research, and service activities. Classified staff
positions are handled similarly in that the number of state-supported positions is determined by the
university administration. Funds for staff positions are also allocated annually according to the job title
and seniority of the incumbents. SCHS retains faculty vacancy savings and the funds are not swept
centrally. This policy allows the unit to manage its budget and respond internally to added demand for
instructional sections, faculty development, or other short-term needs. The university also allocates
funds for general operations, including equipment, supplies, communications, travel, and student
recruitment. Annual operating budgets are typically based on the budgets for previous years. For the
first time in several years, the SCHS received a 2.5% increase to its operating funds this fiscal year.
Funds for graduate assistantships are provided by the Graduate School and Provost. The number of fulltime equivalent assistantships allocated to each academic program is determined by the Provost and the
Dean of the Graduate School and is typically based on prior number and is increased for additional new
faculty positions. Graduate Assistant salaries were increased from 15,500 to 17,000 between Fiscal 2015
and Fiscal 2016 in an effort to improve competitiveness for top quality graduate students. In addition,
the School of Community Health Sciences has the option to split fulltime assistantships into full- and
half-time positions. The school receives 7.75% of indirect costs received by the university for faculty
grants. Faculty in the school provide contracted services as well. Funds for teaching classes between
semester are shared between the faculty member and the school. Further details of the school’s budget
are outlined in section 1.6.b
Additional funds for instructional support and special projects are provided by UNR and the Division of
Health Sciences on request from the school. At the beginning of each academic year, the school submits
an estimate of the number of credit hours to be taught by temporary and contract faculty and a budget
based on this estimate using a standard contract rate set by the university. These requests are circulated
to UNR through the DHS office. These requests are routinely granted.
The DHS has developed a faculty development fund that faculty may apply to support conference
presentations, attendance at faculty development events etc. These funds are matched by the SCHS.
The school director may occasionally request other funds from the vice president. This process was
used, for example, to equip a video conference facility that is used for meetings and distance education.
More recently, funds have been requested and used to purchase kinesiology equipment.
b. Program budget statement
The school currently has an annual budget of approximately $2.78 million, including university funds,
grants/contracts and indirect-cost recovery. University funds are the largest component, totaling
approximately $1.9 million in the current fiscal year, including $1.38 million for faculty salaries, $87,500
for staff salaries, $193,340 for general operations, $138,000 for instructional support and $107,000 for
graduate student stipends. Grant income in the last 5 years ranged from $162,856 in 2012-2012 to
30
about $795,600 in 2014-15. Part of the variation is due to the departure of research intense faculty in
2011 and in 2014 the merger of the Center for Survey Research into the SCHS. Indirect cost receipts on
faculty grants generate income averaging $2,100-9,600 per year. In addition, the university provided
research startup funds to new faculty supporting the public health program. The school does not
receive a direct appropriation from the state or a share of tuition and fees and does not have an
endowment. Gifts are typically modest from individual donors with the exception of a Chinese Scientific
Society gift in 2010-2012 (for visiting scholars) and one large gift in 2014-15. The endowments support
the SCHS scholarship funds for both graduate and undergraduate students.
Table 1.6.1 Sources of Funds and Expenditures by Major Category, 2010-11 (FY11) to 2014-15 (FY15)1
2010-2011
2011-2012
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Source of Funds
University Funds
Grants/Contracts
Indirect Cost Recovery
Endowment
Gifts
Extended Studies
1,529,074
867,020
9,617
900
24,826
12,117
1,485,926
188,423
3,239
1,610
31,726
16,081
1,475,926
162,856
2,130
1,490
1,225
29,783
1,608,999
388,153
3,666
3,515
3,375
27,133
1,906,338
795,599
6,247
2,646
51,827
35,078
Start-up funds (UNR)
Total
10,000
2,477,480
15,000
1,742,005
10,800
1,682,985
44,000
2,075,466
36,334
2,782,242
1,428,337
1,130,292
1,226,931
1,431,891
1,709,277
85,867
74,621
89,260
97,720
182,470
90,095
4,096
123,957
4,036
55,461
10,000
138,221
392,116
54,313
1,935
88,829
1,240
71,324
15,000
39,374
46,593
400
1,508,921
91,425
8,628
102,483
505
66,770
10,800
23,504
110,056
6,775
153,064
6556
85,065
44,000
64,873
323,789
33,181
193,902
10,774
150,843
36,334
72,201
6,325
1,609,926
1,554
1,953,558
Expenditures
Faculty Salaries &
Benefits
Staff Salaries &
Benefits
Operations
Travel
Student Support
Tuition and fees (GA)
Contracted Faculty
Start-up funds
F&A
Subcontracts
Participant support
Total
2,320,235
2,682,355
1. Reported as academic years July1, 20XX-June 30, 20XX.
2. State funded benefits are paid from a centralized pool and are not included in the figures above.
Grant funded benefits follow a standard rate. (E-resource: Fiscal resources, fringe benefits )
3. Extended studies: Shared fees from faculty teaching off-load (between semesters).
31
4. Contracted faculty for both instruction and research
5. Equipment included in operations
UNR support for the program has increased substantially over the last 2 years to support the addition of
new faculty. This follows 3 years of salary and operations reductions. In fiscal 2011, mandatory furloughs
for all faculty and staff were implemented in addition to a 2.4% salary reduction. This was in response to
the continued recession and downturn in state revenues. With a slowly improved financial status, the
salary reduction was removed in FY 2014 and merit was awarded in FY 2015 and the furloughs were
removed in FY 2016 (July 2015). Merit was not approved for the upcoming biennium but a cost of living
increase of 2% will occur July 2016.
Funding from grants and contracts increased slowly from 2011-2013 but is now trending much higher.
New faculty are contributing to this increase through more grant submissions and more senior faculty
are receiving grant awards as the school gains more prestige in the community. Multi-year grants will
contribute to more resources and funding from research activities. The addition of the Nevada State
Public Health Laboratory and the Center for Survey Research has the potential to increase revenue as
well. The laboratory is funded through the state with additional resources from grants and service
contracts. (E-resource, Fiscal resources, NSPHL).
c. Collaboration and program budget. Not NA
d. Measureable objectives regarding fiscal resources
Table 1.6.d Financial resources
Target
Outcome Measures
Goal 2 Objective 4a.
Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by
2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)
Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards per
FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.
5%
increase
from
baseline
Goal 2 Objective 4b.
Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by
2015
Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards per
FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.
5%
increase
from
baseline
20122013
$10,191/
FTE
38%
decrease
from
baseline
1.4/FTE
20132014
$19,191
/FTE
17%
increase
from
baseline
1.2/FTE
2014-2015
$32,287/FTE
98%
increase
from
baseline
1.2/FTE
e. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plan
This criteria is met with commentary.
Strengths:
 The SCHS budget is increasing through both university and grant funding. The administration
intends to support the growth to a School of Public Health and have committed to 13 new
positions over the next 5 years.
Weaknesses and Plans:
32

The grants and contracts funding is still not sufficient to support a robust research enterprise.
New faculty are already contributing and senior faculty are becoming active again. Additional
space, staff and opportunities will be important to expand this financial resource.
1.7 Faculty and Other Resources
a. Number of primary faculty employed by the program
Table 1.7.1 Headcount of Primary Faculty
Epidemiology
Social Behavioral
Health
Health Administration
and Policy
Biostatistics
Environmental Health
Kinesiology
Anticipated
20122013
4
6
20132014
4
5
20142015
3
5
2015-2016
4
5
5
5
1
1
1
2
1
1
3
2
1
5
7
The headcount of primary faculty over the last three years takes into account the hiring of three new
epidemiology faculty, one new health policy faculty, one new environmental health faculty and one new
social behavioral health faculty. One social behavioral faculty member retired, one switched
concentration to kinesiology and one epidemiologist moved to another position. The new category
includes new primary faculty arriving fall of 2015 or spring of 2016. The headcount includes faculty who
teach both undergraduate and graduate classes.
b. Number of faculty, students and SFRs, organized by concentration
Table 1.7.2 Faculty, Students and Student/Faculty Ratios by Department or Specialty Area
2013-2014
Epidemiology:
MPH
Social
Behavioral
Health: MPH
Health
Administration
and Policy:
MPH
BS: CHS
2014-2015
Epidemiology:
MPH
HC
Primary
Faculty
FTE
Primary
Faculty
HC
Other
Faculty
FTE
Other
Faculty
HC
Total
Faculty
FTE
Total
Faculty
HC
Students
FTE
Students
SFR by
Primary
Faculty
FTE
SFR
by
Total
Faculty
FTE
4 +2
4.6
3
.3
9
4.9
23
19.75
4.2
4
5
2.6
1
.2
6
2.8
22
16.5
6.3
5.8
5
2.8
0
0
5
2.8
5
4
1.43
1.43
15
6.0
16
3.8
31
9.8
828
798.2
133
81.3
3+3
4.8
2
.2
8
5
23
17.5
3.63
3.5
33
Social
Behavioral
Health: MPH
Health
Administration
and Policy:
MPH
Public Health:
BS
Kinesiology:
BS
2015-2016
Epidemiology:
MPH
Social
Behavioral
Health: MPH
Health
Administration
and Policy:
MPH
Public Health:
BS
Kinesiology:
BS
5
2.6
2
.4
7
3
17
15
5.73
5
5
2.8
1
.1
6
2.9
11
9
3.2
3.1
15
6.5
34
6.5
49
13
965
933.33
143.5
71.7
16
See
above
Included
above
Included
above
5+4
7.1
2
.2
11
7.3
25
22.5
3.13
3
7
3.5
2
.4
9
3.9
13
12
3.43
3.07
5
2.8
3
.3
8
3.1
10
9.5
3.33
3.05
19
7.6/2=3.8
26
4.1
45
7.9
643
20
.8+3.8=4.6
10
1.6
30
6.6
405
Not
available
Not
available
Primary faculty >.5 FTE to program. Calculated FTE as follows: each class=.1 FTE, research=.4
FTE and is considered as graduate directed public health research, service total is .2-.3 FTE
divided by program emphasis. Service defined by emphasis (ie. Undergraduate director is given .2
FTE to undergraduate program).For students, 1 FTE = 1 student taking 9 or more semester-credits
per semester.
c. Administrative and staff personnel
The school has three full-time administrative assistants who provide support for all the programs in the
School. Bonnie Coker, AA 4, is the assistant to the SCHS Director and has responsibility for maintaining
the school’s financial accounts and personnel documents. In addition, she supervises administrative
assistants and student staff. Jenna Hartman, AA 3, supports the undergraduate and graduate programs.
In that role, she records the transactions of the graduate and undergraduate committees, schedules
courses, assists with adjunct faculty identification and recruitment, helps with admission and maintains
student and alumni records. Courtney Carter, AA 1, does general office work, manages travel, collects
time sheets and shares duties with Ms. Hartman in maintaining the program website. Part-time student
employees assist with general office work and miscellaneous assigned duties.
The Center for Research Survey is headed by a director, Dr. Veronica Dahir, .25 FTE. She supervises two
full-time staff (an administrative and a program assistant) who monitor up to 20 graduate and
undergraduate students in conducting survey work. This work supports contracts and research projects
headed by CHS faculty and others.
The Nevada State Public Health Laboratory (NSPHL) is headed by a Laboratory Director (TBD) and
34
Administrator, Stephanie Van Hooser, who supervise 32 staff and oversee all the work of the laboratory
in support of public health for the state. The NSPHL provides opportunities for research for both faculty
and graduate students.
The Center of Program Evaluation is headed by Dr. Elizabeth Christiansen, 1 FTE, who provides .2 FTE
time for SCHS program evaluation and graduate student advisement. Her primary mission is to provide
evaluation and assessment services for university and community partners. She routinely provides
research assistantships to our MPH students through her grants and contracts.
d. Space
The Program has access to approximately 7600 sq. ft of administrative, faculty and research office space
in the Lombardi Center on the main UNR campus. Details are noted in E-resource, Space Allocation and
a brief description follows.
Office and Administrative Space. Every full-time academic faculty member has a private office of
approximately 130-150 sq. ft. with a telephone and networked personal computer with standard
software. An administrative suite totaling 1100 sq. ft. includes offices for the school director, three
administrative assistants and part-time student workers, and a staff workroom. A 400 sq. ft. conference
room with computer projection and video-conferencing capabilities is available for meetings and
seminars. UNR IT provides timely administrative support for all technology issues including during
emergencies.
Research Space. Three areas are available in the Lombardi Center for sponsored research projects.
These areas typically provide work space for grant-supported graduate assistants and secured storage
for research projects. In addition to the space in the Lombardi building, two affiliated centers have
additional space on campus. The Center for Program Evaluation has two offices in the Annex XXX near
the medical school and the Center for Survey Research occupies approximately 2000 sq.ft.in Sarah
Fleishman building on the southern part of the main campus. Additional research space (approx. 1500 sq
ft) is located in the Applied Research Facility and these laboratories are described below in section 1.6.e.
Classroom Space. SCHS has access to a variety of classrooms across campus through central scheduling.
The Lombardi classrooms are usually occupied with SCHS classes but other colleges use them as well.
Classrooms throughout campus are “smart classrooms” equipped with networked computers connected
to the internet, LCD projectors and document cameras. With the growth in students, there are sufficient
classrooms but scheduling must be at relatively unpopular times of the day. There is a concerted effort
by UNR administration to construct a policy that will spread classes throughout the 5 day week and
provide opportunities for weekend classes as well. Many graduate courses are offered in the evening to
meet the needs of working professionals, and have been scheduled throughout campus. The school
currently does not have its own instructional computer laboratory, but several such facilities are
available on campus and are utilized for epidemiology and biostatistics courses
Student Areas. State-supported graduate assistants have assigned carrels in a shared 385 sq. ft. office
with 11 workstations. No other dedicated work space is available for graduate students who are not
employed as research or teaching assistants. A common area (approximately 850 sq. ft.) with tables and
chairs is provided on the second floor of the building, and students have very convenient access to the
35
Joe Crowley Student Union, which offers study space, restaurants, a bookstore and a convenience store,
and to the IGT-Matheson Knowledge Center that has extensive areas for study and research.
The Program’s current space in the Lombardi Center is at capacity. There are no more faculty offices
available and faculty meetings now take place at the JCSU to accommodate the increase in faculty
numbers. Research offices were converted to faculty offices. More graduate student workspace and a
computer teaching lab are needed. Approximately 2800 sq. ft. of space is being renovated for faculty
offices and research space in the Savitt Building in the medical school complex and will be available by
January 2016.
e. Laboratory space and special equipment
Laboratory space is available in the Lombardi Center and in the adjacent Applied Research Facility (ARF).
A human subjects facility used for clinical research is located on the ground floor of the Lombardi
building. This laboratory is approximately 1200 sq. ft., including a private room for interviewing or
examinations, and is equipped with clinical manipulation tables, a GE Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometer
for measuring body composition, a Precor treadmill, and a Cosmed K4b2 portable metabolic system. An
exercise physiology laboratory, also located in Lombardi, is used primarily for undergraduate teaching.
A 349 sq. ft. lab on the 2nd floor of Lombardi houses facilities for statistical data analysis used by the
Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Informatics. The lab has 6 computer work stations and a 16 TB
memory size data analysis server.
In the ARF the SCHS controls a 1000 sq. ft. main research laboratory (ARF 315) and a 150 sq. ft. ancillary
lab (ARF 111) that support activities relating to translational medicine, environmental and cellular
physiology, histopathology, molecular biology, microscopy, environmental toxicology, and cell / tissue
culture. Specialized equipment is available for use by researchers in the school, the Division of Health
Sciences, and other researchers in the UNR community, on a collaborative basis. (E-resource: Faculty
Research, Environmental Health Laboratory)
ARF 328 and 330 are laboratory spaces for survey research and analysis of statistical data occupied by
the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Informatics. This includes a total of 410 sq. ft. used for data
collection and a survey lab with 4 workstations equipped with PCs and software for Computer Assisted
Telephone Interview functions.
Computer facilities and resources
All full-time administrators, faculty and staff have their own dedicated, networked computer
workstations. Two high-speed networked printers are available in the Lombardi Building and most
faculty members also have local printers. All faculty and staff computers are connected to the Internet
and are equipped with standard software for communication, word processing and data analysis. The
university has site licenses for numerous software packages for such specialized tasks as statistical
analysis, and for general office use, and these are available for faculty, staff and students at no or
reduced cost. In addition, computing capacity has been improved through the addition of secured
servers and access to HIPPA compliant systems are available through the University of Nevada School of
Medicine. The university also provides free email service to employees and students.
Computing facilities are available to students in several locations on campus. Graduate research and
f.
36
teaching assistants have access to a student office with 11 networked workstations on the second floor
of the Lombardi Building. Graduate assistants working on research projects have access to additional
computers in faculty research offices and laboratories. In addition to the school’s on-site facilities, a fully
equipped, state-of-the-art computer laboratory is available to students in the adjacent IGT-Matheson
Knowledge Center. All computers on the UNR domain require a login and can connect to the campus
network by cable or wireless. Computers vary from basic desktop workstations and checkout laptops to
high-end systems for research and special projects. All computers supported by the campus IT staff are
purchased through approved vendors, run the latest operating systems and security software, and
receive regular maintenance. Faculty, staff and administration office computers are available through
the department or campus replacement program. Routine computer replacement was on hiatus for 5
years during the recession but has recently been renewed.
All students, faculty, staff, administration and guests have access to standard IT user support through a
centralized Help Desk in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. The Help Desk is available by phone,
email and a walk-up counter. Service requests that cannot be resolved immediately are recorded and
maintained in an electronic work order system. Information on IT supported systems and user support,
plus self-help documentation is available on the UNR IT website at http://www.it.unr.edu
g. Library/information resources
The Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center is uniquely positioned as one of the most technologically
advanced university libraries in the country, providing the discovery, acquisition, and access to diverse
forms of knowledge that the university’s students and faculty need. Building highlights include:
automated book retrieval system; reading rooms and quiet study-areas; computing laboratories and
large format printing; wireless network and computer access throughout; smart classrooms and
conference rooms; coffee shops and group study areas.
The collection contains more than 1 million volumes of books and journals, 23,000-plus e-journals and
more than 50,000 e-books. Plus, hundreds of general and specialized research databases available
online. More specifically, the collection boasts more than 600 electronic journal subscriptions relating to
public health and many, many more general health sciences titles. The University of Nevada Savitt
Medical Library (located just north of the school) has designated funds with which to purchase new
titles in public health.
Recognizing the synergy between information and technology, the Knowledge Center has consolidated
library services, research, and computing help into the second floor atrium. The Library & Research
Services counter pulls together reference, circulation, electronic reserves, and document delivery
services. The Computing Help Desk staff tackles software and hardware problems, wireless access, and
computing related questions generally.
The circular @One desk sits in the middle of first floor with both library and technical staff available to
field any question that a computer lab user might have. It functions as a hub for poster printing and
laminating, general software assistance, and DataWorks Lab support. A variety of audio/vidio and
computing equipment is available for checkout to UNR students, faculty, and staff in the @One Digital
37
Media Checkout office. Digital video and still cameras, lighting kits, tripods, audio recorders, laptops,
and digital projectors are only a few of the dozens of items available. Digital Media Services supports the
Dynamic Media Lab and the videoconference room located in @One. The Multimedia Center has a
circulating collection of approximately 15,000 videos, as well as music CDs and audio-books
Currently enrolled UNR students, faculty or staff members are eligible for off-campus access to licensed
resources upon providing necessary identification. Wireless network and computer access is available
throughout the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.
h. Other resources
The Nevada State Public Health Laboratory is administratively associated with the SCHS. It is a 18,888 sq
ft facility with staff, equipment, and space to support the laboratory needs of public health throughout
Nevada. Current programs include bio-surveillance, clinical lab studies, newborn screening, disease
outbreak investigation support, and other work that supports the Nevada Division of Public and
Behavioral Health and local health districts. There is great potential for collaborative research with the
Lab and this will be developed.
i.
Assessing the adequacy of resources
Table 1.6.m. Selected Outcome Measures for Program Resources
Outcome Measures
Goal 2 Objective 4a.
Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase
by 5% by 2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)
Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external
fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015
baseline.
j.
Target
2012-2013
$10,191/FTE
38%
decrease
from
baseline
2013-2014
$19,121/FTE
17%
increase
from
baseline
2014-2015
$32,287/FTE
98%
increase
from
baseline
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met with commentary.
Strengths:
 The budget is increasing to support expansion of the SCHS. Administration is very positive about
the plan to grow to a School of Public Health and many faculty positions are being added.
 The laboratories are well equipped and computer technology readily available.
Weaknesses:
 The school is adding needed faculty but does not have the space to support this growth. There is
insufficient office and research space to support the expanding research enterprise.
Plans:
 When the new Recreation and Wellness Center is built, additional space in Lombardi will be
available for the school. This space is best utilized by the undergraduate kinesiology program for
expansion of facilities for teaching and research. Lombardi does not provide an ideal lay out to
support public health program growth.
38

In concert with the vice president of DHS and UNR president, a plan is being proposed to build a
new structure to house most of the SCHS exclusive of the kinesiology program. Ideally, the new
building will address the aging issues of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory as well
location of all the programs of the SCHS back into one site. Additional resources such as a new
student computer lab, survey research laboratory, research and graduate student space will be
part of the overall plan.
1.8 Diversity
a. Incorporation of diversity elements
i. Under-represented populations
SCHS has defined under-represented populations in the program based on population demographics
and public health workforce needs.
The undergraduate program collects demographic (ie. Race/ethnicity and gender) information. It is
difficult for SCHS to track students due to the large number, over 1000, and movement of students in
and out of the major. Figures are reported for the Division of Health Sciences as a whole and also
specifically for CHS (Figure 1) Under-represented populations include Hispanic (20% of the northern
Nevada population), Black (8%), Alaskan Native (3%), and males (specifically within public health,
nursing and social work).
Figure 1. (based on UNR 2011 data)
ETHNICITY
Alaskan Native
Pacific Islander
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Undeclared
Caucasian
GENDER
Male
Female
CHS MAJORS
Number (total 1863)
61
58
186
104
295
13
1391
Percentage in DHS pop.
3.27%
3.11%
9.98%
5.58%
15.83%
0.70%
74.66%
CHS (not exclusive)
2%
3%
10%
7%
11.4%
367
1496
642
20%
80%
34%
36%
64%
75%
The Graduate MPH program identified 5 target populations as under-represented in 2011. These include
Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Black, First generation college attendees, and rural
populations. These populations were selected based on northern Nevada demographics and Nevada
specific public health needs. In 2011 Latino/Hispanic persons represented 20% of population, Native
American/Alaskan natives 2.4%, and Blacks 1.8%. 34.5% of UNR freshman were first time college
attendees and represented a broad group of more diverse students that included students from lower
socioeconomic groups and those from rural/frontier Nevada population. These populations are
considered to be underserved for all health professions including public health. Faculty targets
benchmarked community demographics representative of the workforce in 2011 as an initial goal.
39
In 2015, a committee updated the diversity populations to include faculty, graduate and undergraduate
students who identify as Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, and African American. In addition, the
frequency distribution of first generation college students will be measured for undergraduate and
graduate students. Goals were established based on population demographics and public health needs
and prior data indicating reasonable targets. We decided on the measurement of first generation
college goers used by UNR as a surrogate for geographic disparities. (More information from the Center
for Cultural Diversity Office: http://www.unr.edu/cultural-diversity/programs-and-services/annualreports
ii. Goals for achieving diversity and cultural competence
Goals for achieving diversity and cultural competence within the SCHS include:
1. Recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and staff representative of women, underrepresented minorities and other diverse groups in Northern Nevada.
2. Retaining and graduating diverse undergraduate students within the SCHS majors
3. Recruiting and graduating diverse graduate students in the MPH emphases
4. Ensuring that students are exposed to courses that explore cultural, global, ethical,
professional, and spiritual domains
5. Participating in experiences that are in diverse communities or address the needs of
diverse communities.
6. Conducting research that addresses the area of diversity in many settings.
These goals operationalize the UNR strategic plan to create a more diverse community on campus that is
engaged and aware of the benefits of attaining cultural competence. The UNR strategic plan explicitly
discusses goals and measurements for diversity on campus.
UNR Strategic Goals:
Diversity of academic
faculty
2014
2021
21%
25%
Goal 2: Recruit a high-achieving, diverse student body and provide access and a clear path to
graduation.
• Provide scholarships to academically meritorious students including those with financial need.
• Increase the diversity of the student body.
• Move from emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) to a designated HSI.
• Provide University housing and facilities that promote a culture of learning and a sense of community.
Goal 2 Metrics
6-year graduation rate
National Merit, Achievement, Hispanic
National Hispanic Scholars
Diversity of undergraduate student body
2014
54.8%
49
4
36%
2021
60.8%
60
50
45%
Goal 3: Provide high-quality graduate programs taught by research-active faculty.
• Increase the number of graduate teaching and research assistantships.
• Strategically develop new PhD programs.
40
• Increase diversity of graduate students.
Goal 3 Metrics
Graduate Teaching Assistant
lines at UNR
PhD enrollment at UNR
Diversity of graduate
students at UNR
2014
476
2021
700
789
21%
1,000
25%
iii. Policies to support diversity
The Nevada System of Higher Education’s (NSHE) Board of Regents sets policies for all the universities,
colleges, and community colleges within Nevada. There is a strong policy that prohibits sexual
harassment and discrimination that was adopted and is reviewed and measured on a system wide basis.
The University of Nevada Reno implements these policies and has a well-defined process for training
faculty and staff, investigating and enforcing compliance. Harassment can be cause for termination.
http://www.unr.edu/eotix/sexual-harassment-policy
The NSHE and UNR have an affirmative action plan that is updated and reaffirmed annually. The policies
in the plan reflect both non-discrimination and affirmative action in supporting a diverse campus
environment.
http://www.unr.edu/drc/equal-access-policies/affirmative-action-policy
For example, to support diversity in all its forms, a non-discrimination statement is seen on all
recruitment materials.
EEO/AA Statements to be included in all print and jobs.unr.edu web announcements: “The University of Nevada,
Reno is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action in recruitment of its students and
employees and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, creed, national origin, veteran
status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or gender expression.
The University of Nevada employs only United States citizens and aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United
States. Women, under-represented groups, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.”
Through full time administrative support and grievance processes, the policy is enacted and upheld.
These policies pertain to both students and faculty.
Within the SCHS, statements in the mission, values and vision support diversity. In the annual evaluation
process of faculty, the professionalism section measures the professional nature of relationships within
the school and promotes respect and tolerance. At present, this section does not impact the overall
evaluation but is used during evaluation meetings with the director to consider corrective plans.
To further establish an environment that respects diversity, course syllabi include statements that
promote a tolerant and respectful atmosphere in the classroom. (E-resource: syllabi)
iv. Policies that support a climate for working and learning in a diverse setting.
In addition to the UNR strategic goals and subsequent policies, the school is supported in its diversity
efforts by various programs throughout the university and through the UNR commitment to diversity.
Three programs on campus focus on diversity and offer undergraduate majors or minors, master’s
degrees, certificates, or specialization. The Gender, Race, and Identity Program is dedicated to assuring
41
that UNR students develop a deep understanding of the impact of race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity,
and gender on their identities, as well as their society. This Program has several core faculty and over 30
affiliate faculty drawn from a diverse field of departments from a number of faculties on campus. Three
members of our school (Devereux, Cook and Sugar) are Faculty Affiliates of this program. Other
programs include the Developmental Disabilities Program and Women’s Studies program.
42
v. Building competency in diversity and cultural considerations.
Through measurement objectives, the curriculum is reviewed to identify content that addresses
diversity and cultural considerations. Faculty service and research is also addressed in this goal (85% of
faculty will address diversity issues in their work). In addition, the internship sites are reviewed with a
goal of placing 45% of students in sites that serve or involve diverse populations. The CHS support
opportunities for working and learning in other countries including courses in Kenya, South Africa,
Bangladesh, Turkey, and China and has committed to promoting international collaboration.
vi. Assuring a diverse faculty
Recruitment starts with placement of advertisements for positions in diverse sources, includes a
diversity target in recruitment pools has a diversity representative in each search committee, and
promotes successful diversity hires through administrative support. Within the SCHS, search committee
chairs and the diversity representative (advocate) promote inclusion of diversity in the pool of
candidates by conducting Skype interviews that provide more opportunity to explore all aspects of a
candidate’s application. From the initial Skye, decisions about campus visits always include a
conversation about the inclusion of diverse candidates.
http://www.unr.edu/Documents/education/college/accreditation/4recruitment-diverse.pdf
Specific retention practices have been suggested by UNR’s Chief Diversity Officer. One issue that
emerged from faculty who were looking at positions at UNR was the lack of identifiable “communities”
for under-represented minorities. The Officer helped identify campus networks in support of faculty
from diverse backgrounds to help link new faculty with existing communities.
Within the SCHS, an official mentoring project has been proposed for years. Now that faculty have
reached a critical mass, this program will be implemented to help transition faculty into their new role
and their new environment.
vii. Assuring a diverse staff
Staff policies are set by the State of Nevada and are reflected in the classified staff recruitment and
hiring documents. Individual institutions and schools have very little input other than participation in
search committees to hire staff.
UNR and SCHS policies on supporting a diverse campus apply to all the classified and program assistant
staff but procedures involving staff are governed by the State. The Human Resources department is split
between faculty and classified personnel. The classified HR department assists with all the tasks needed
to recruit, develop, promote and retain staff and offer classes for supervisors.
Within the SCHS, staff are recognized in the bylaws as an essential part of the school and are treated
with respect. Although the process for promotion is regulated by the state, supervisors can initiate the
process and this is an important aspect of retention.
viii. Assuring a diverse student body.
Implementation of the strategic plan for enhancing diversity at UNR involves the whole campus
community. For undergraduate students, Student Services has plans and many programs that promote
all aspects of creating a diverse community on campus. (http://www.unr.edu/studentservices/resources-and-downloads/comittment-to-diversity). The TRIO program, the McNair’s scholar
43
program and Upward Bound are just a few programs that actively engage diverse students to improve
their success. The SCHS participates in Upward Bound and faculty have mentored McNair scholars.
Within the SCHS, the diversity plan includes specific activities to create a diverse student body for both
undergraduate and graduate students. It starts with outreach to a local high school, Reed High School,
to present public health topics to a selected group of students who participate in the HOPE academy, a
magnet program for health careers. Students are diverse and often from families where higher
education has never been a priority. In addition, work with the community colleges has resulted in the
development of an AA degree for Community Health Sciences that seamlessly melds with the curriculum
at UNR. These students are more diverse than the incoming UNR students. Activities are planned on
campus to highlight cultural diversity and increase awareness. Retention is greatly facilitated by the UNR
Center for Student Cultural Diversity (the Center) where a myriad of resources support students as they
move through their years of school. Faculty identify promising undergraduate students and provide
important one-on-one advisement to encourage them to apply to graduate school. The SCHS
undergraduate program is a major source of MPH students.
For graduate students, recruitment activities include attendance at graduate fairs and conferences. In
particular, California has more diversity than Nevada and has been the primary area for recruitment. The
Community Advisory Board created a scholarship 3 years ago for a diverse student to help with
recruitment. Wording on the GRE admission requirement was changed in response to diverse students
stating that taking and passing the GRE was one of their greatest concerns. It now requires that students
take the GRE, and it is hoped that the GRE performance climbs, but the admission committee looks at
other factors as well. On campus, the new GradFIT program, “Fully Inclusive Training for Diverse
Graduate Students” addresses the needs of diverse graduate students in order to prepare them for
success. SCHS faculty met with a few students this year and intends to become a regular part of this
program.
Retention is assisted by advisement and appropriate referral to resources like the Center. In syllabi,
reference to the Math and Writing Centers is standard and students are encouraged to ask their
professors for assistance. Further, respect and tolerance are expectations that are included in syllabi and
are addressed by faculty. This contributes to an environment that supports diverse student success.
http://www.unr.edu/gradfit
ix. Evaluation of diversity efforts
UNR requires an annual report on the diversity goals of each unit and how they are being met. This
provides the SCHS a way to evaluate their goals and objectives. (E-resource: Diversity: MPH diversity
plan ).The goals and objective measures are reviewed and discussed and faculty comment on ways to
improve our statistics. During occasional Community Advisory Board meetings, members are asked to
review our measures and participate in identifying new or existing topics we should be addressing to
improve the diversity of our school.
In Nevada, the demographics show a less diverse population, especially in northern Nevada, so the
diversity goals are often aspirational. To address this, one component of the plan is increasing the
number of graduate student recruitment sites to include out-of-state sites that have a more diverse
student body. The number of students who come to the table, the number of inquiries resulting from
44
the contact, and the number of students who fill out admission forms helps determine if that site will be
included in subsequent years. Determining the success of these measures is important in identifying
what is most efficient and cost effective and this is done annually in the graduate committee. Admission
information identified that having more graduate assistantships targeted for diverse students resulted in
the enrollment of more qualified students. This strategy will be continued. The Community Advisory
Board scholarship helped recruit a diverse, qualified student and a plan to add more scholarships is in
process.
http://www.unr.edu/cultural-diversity/programs-and-services/annual-reports
b. Implementation of diversity efforts
The SCHS values diversity within its students, faculty, and staff. The latest mission/values statement
(approved in fall 2015) includes a number of statements that reference diversity, inclusiveness, and
cultural competence.
School’s Vision: Foster equitable and healthy communities.
We achieve this vision through these values:
 Advancing knowledge
 Embracing diversity
 Demonstrating integrity
 Inspiring learning
 Succeeding through collaboration
Description of values:
Embracing Diversity: We value the backgrounds and experiences of our students, faculty, and staff as
partners with diverse communities to reduce disparities and promote equal opportunities to achieve
optimal health.
Demonstrating Integrity: We strive in all endeavors to consistently demonstrate honesty, fairness, and
respect to promote mutual trust and understanding.
Diversity issues are interspersed throughout the curriculum and the MPH curriculum addresses the
majority of the ASPPH competencies in diversity and culture (60% of the competencies in the MPH core
and 100% in the Social and Behavioral Health specialty area). For undergraduate students, CHS 360,
Disabilities Issues, has been described as a “life changer” for its impact on the awareness of students to
the many different barriers facing people with disabilities. CHS 345, Ethics and Professionalism in Public
Health provides an interactive curriculum exploring cultural issues, discrimination and ethical dilemmas.
These are required courses for the major. Many other courses focus on diversity issues, including world
health, cultural diversity, rural health issues, and HIV/AIDS and are offered as 400/600 classes for both
undergraduate and graduate students.
The undergraduate and graduate committees provide important suggestions for activities to promote
diversity. This has included changes in competencies measures (e.g., adding more diversity
45
competencies to core MPH courses), changes in recruitment sites to enhance diverse student
recruitments, and changes in how faculty conduct classes (role of explicitly stating student and faculty
expectations as they pertain to professional behavior).
The internship experience for both graduates and undergraduates includes projects and agencies that
serve minority or underserved populations. Examples of these placements include working at NN HOPES
an FQHC, ACCEPT, Disabled Sports, Walker River Diabetes Program (native American) and the Children’s
Cabinet serving vulnerable children. Faculty are measured on including diversity topics in their classes
and this is demonstrated in the curriculum map. (See Criteria 2.8 and 2.6 for curricular mapping to
diversity competencies).
Measurements for faculty, staff, and student diversity have shown improvement over the last three
years. One difficulty in meeting faculty measures is the lack of diversity in northern Nevada. We
continue to concentrate on the hiring of Latino and American Indian faculty and students as that
demographic is increasing in our area.
c.
Development of diversity plans and policies
UNR has had a diversity plan for many years and reports to the NSHE Board of Regents on an ongoing
basis. The plan is updated during UNR Strategic planning that involves the entire campus community. A
significant part of the UNR diversity plan was achieved when the Center for Student Cultural Diversity
was established to coordinate efforts to improve student diversity and achievement for UNR. As a
centralized resource, the Center has published an annual diversity report since 2009 and includes
reports from the SCHS. Although diversity has always been a strong force within the SCHS in
recruitment, teaching, research and service, a coordinated plan was not created prior to 2011.
The 2011 SCHS diversity plan was developed by a committee composed of the Graduate director, SCHS
director and a graduate student, in response to CEPH concerns at the initial accreditation visit. The
committee developed a plan that fit the goals and measurements that had already been created with
assistance from the Director of the Center for Student Cultural Diversity. The plan was approved by the
faculty and implementation has begun. This initial plan only included the MPH program and was further
expanded to officially include the undergraduate students in 2015 although inclusion of undergraduate
students in diversity activities has been well-documented since 2011. The Community Advisory board
helped craft the most recent diversity measures and participated in the final approval process in fall
2015 during the faculty retreat. Graduate students have been an important voice in ensuring that the
diversity plan is appropriate and updated.
d. Monitoring the diversity plan
The annual diversity report is compiled by the SCHS director and shared with the faculty during faculty
meetings. This report reviews diversity targets (students and faculty) and discusses the activities that
have been undertaken to improve diversity over the last year. Discussion of relevant issues (ie. faculty
search changes, internship site placements, professionalism in the classroom) occurs at the meeting and
opportunities identified to improve diversity outcomes or processes. The graduate committee often
46
reviews strategies to recruit a more diverse MPH group. These conversations help identify successful
activities from unsuccessful ones and help the plan/policies change as needed to keep on track with
SCHS goals. The plan is officially reviewed and edited, including measurements, approximately every two
years by an ad hoc committee of faculty and students and suggested changes must be voted on by the
entire faculty. The last committee suggested revisions to the diversity measurements and changes in our
vision and values statement.
e.
Evaluating success in achieving a diverse complement of faculty, staff and students
Template 1.8.1. Summary Data for Faculty, Students and/or Staff
Category/Definition
Latino: Undergraduate
Method of
Collection
Self-report
Graduate
Self-report
Faculty
Self-report
African American:
Self-report
Undergraduate
Graduate
Self-report
Faculty
Self-report
American Indian/Alaskan Self-report
native: Undergraduate
Graduate
Self-report
Faculty
Self-report
First Generation College: Self-report
Undergraduate
Graduate
Self-report
Women faculty
Self-report
Women Staff
Self-report
Minority faculty
Self-report
Minority Staff
Self-report
*New targets established in 2014-2015.
Data Source
Institutional
Analysis
Admissions form
Survey
Institutional
Analysis
Admissions form
Survey
Institutional
Analysis
Admissions form
Survey
Institutional
Analysis
Admissions form
Survey
Survey
Survey
Survey
Target
20122013
11%
20132014
18%
Target
20%
20142015*
18%
20%
20%
4%
6%
7%
8%
6%
6%
20%
20%
10%
15%
5%
6%
5%
4%
0%
2%
3%
0%
1%
5%
5%
5%
2%
0%
1%
3%
4%
0%
3%
0%
3%
3%
40%
2%
0%
8%
61%
100%
22%
0%
22%
59%
100%
20%
0%
30%
-----
20%
60%
100%
25%
0%
54%
46%
16%
21%
Additional diversity measurements:
Table 1.8.e
Target
Outcome Measures
Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners,
researchers, educators and leaders.”
1c. By 2015, historically underrepresented racial/ethnic
populations will comprise 10% of the students accepted to the
MPH program.
20% of MPH applicant pool will include students representative of
target diversity groups (Latino, African American, Native
American/Alaska Native, first generation college).
Goal 5: “To expose students to diversity in multiple venues.”
1. (2015) Faculty and staff are representative of women,
underrepresented minority, and other diverse groups in the
relevant labor markets by 2015. Women: Faculty 54% Staff: 46%
Minority: Faculty 16% Staff 21%
47
By 2015
10%
(New)
By 2018
20%
By 2015
20122013
20132014
20142015
46%
18%
36%
--
--
36%
See
Template
1.8.1.
See
Templat
e 1.8.1.
See
Templat
e 1.8.1.
(2018) faculty and student populations will meet diversity goals as
follows:
Faculty: 20% Latino , 5% African American, and 3% Native
American/Alaska Native
Grad students: 20% Latino, 5% African American, 3 % Native
American/Alaska Native, 30% first generation college
Undergraduate students: 20% Latino, 10% African American, 5%
Native American/Alaska native, 30% first generation college
2. There will be 1 new effort to recruit underrepresented
populations (either locally or outside of local market) for the MPH
program per year.
5 SCHS will meet all diversity requirements for all searches at
the first report.
6 55% of MPH applicants will report experience working with
underrepresented populations.
7 85% of faculty address issues affecting underrepresented
populations in their work.
f.
(New)
By 2018
See
Template
1.8.1.
See
Templat
e 1.8.1.
See
Templat
e 1.8.1.
Met
Met
Met
100%
100%
100%
63%
71%
64%
80%
93%
88%
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met
Strengths:
 The diversity plan has guided efforts and resources to increase the emphasis on diversity. UNR
has a robust diversity plan that provides assistance to the school to help with programs and
ideas.
 The student body is becoming increasingly diverse.
 Faculty recruitments are subject to diversity targets and search committee strive to bring in a
diverse pool of candidates.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 Nevada is not diverse except for a growing Hispanic population. That has influenced the need to
recruit out of state and has impacted faculty recruitment due to the lack of supportive
networks. The SCHS continues to assess barriers to enrollment and barriers for successful
recruitment of faculty.
 Increasing the number of scholarships to support diverse candidates for our programs is a goal.
48
2.0 Instructional Programs
2.1 Degree Offerings, all degrees.
a. An instructional matrix presenting all of the program’s degree programs
Table 2.1.1. Instructional Matrix – Degrees & Specializations
Academic
Professional
Bachelors Degrees
Specialization/Concentration/Focus Area
Degree*
Public Health
BS
Kinesiology
BS
Masters Degrees
Specialization/Concentration/Focus Area
Degree*
Epidemiology
MPH
Social Behavioral Health
MPH
Health Administration and Policy
MPH
Joint Degrees
2nd (non-public health) area
Degree*
MD
MD/MPH
MSN
MSN/MPH
b. Catalog and official publications
The Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Sciences offers two specialization areas, Public
Health and Kinesiology. Both of the degrees include core and elective courses that introduce broad
public health concepts as well as more specialized material. The BS degree requires 120 credits and
includes a practicum experience. The catalog explaining the degree programs and instructional matrix
with course requirements and descriptions is found at:
Public Health emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5721
Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Public-Health-Major2014.pdf
Kinesiology emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5448
Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Kinesiology-Major2014.pdf
The MPH degrees are offered in three specializations, Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Health and
the newer Health Administration and Policy specialization. The MPH in Biostatistics has been approved
but has not yet enrolled any students. Two joint degrees in nursing and medicine are offered that
49
require choosing one MPH emphasis. The catalog explaining these degree programs with course lists
and course descriptions can be found at:
MPH degrees: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=12&ent_oid=1207
MD/MPH: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5474
MSN/MPH: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5466
More detailed information about the courses and proposed course sequencing can be found on the CHS
website: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/mph/handbook
c.
Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criterion is met.
Strengths:
 The bachelor’s degree is a long standing program with a strong public health focus. The splitting
of the degrees has provided important specialization among students who want to pursue more
exercise science based activities.
 The catalog is now fully online and provides a readily available source of information for
students. It is update annually.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 The curriculum is undergoing a fundamental change to redefine the undergraduate core
curriculum based on learning outcomes. This will be fully implemented in fall of 2016. This has
required substantial faculty work to re-do syllabi, apply for approval from the core board, and
find courses that fulfill all the requirements. When implemented there will be more work to
refine and improve courses and sequencing.
50
2.2 Program Length. An MPH degree program or equivalent professional master’s degree must be
at least 42 semester-credit units in length.
a. Definition of a credit with regard to classroom/contact hours.
The student credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified
by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably
approximates not less than:
(1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction (defined as a nominal 50 minute classroom hour)
and a minimum of two hours of out‐of‐class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks
for one semester hour of credit or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
(2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other
academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica,
studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. The amount of academic
credit awarded for such other academic activities is specified in UAM 6,081. (UNR Administrative
Manual).
http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/6000-6999-curricula-teaching-research/courses-andcurricula/6082-definition-of-student-credit-hour
Therefore, a course with 3 hours of lecture per week during a 15-16 week semester is equated with 3
student credit hours.
b. Minimum degree requirements for all professional public health master’s degree.
The MPH degree requires 18 semester credits of core courses, 6 credits of practicum, 3 credits for the
capstone/culminating experience, and 6 credits of elective courses. Each specialization requires 12
credits in required courses specific to the discipline. Each MPH degree requires 45 credits and conforms
to accepted standards regarding program length and objectives of the credentials. Students in the dual
MD/MPH program must choose to complete one of the 3 specializations and complete the required 45
credit components with the practicum cross linked into the MD credits.
c. Number of professional public health master’s degrees awarded for fewer than 42 semester
credit units, or equivalent, over each of the last three years.
There were no MPH degrees awarded for fewer than 45 credits over the last three years.
d. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criterion is met.
Strengths:
 The curriculum is 45 credits with each course accounting for 3 semesters except for the
internship that is 6 credits.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 There are limited electives for students as noted by the students. The faculty believe that even
fewer electives may be reasonable (especially for Health Administration and Policy) to ensure
that graduates have the necessary skills to be successful.
51
2.3 Public Health Core Knowledge.
a. Attaining fundamental knowledge in core competencies
Table 2.3.1 Required Courses Addressing Public Health Core Knowledge Areas for MPH Degree
Core Knowledge Area
Course Number & Title
Credits
Biostatistics
CHS 780 Biostatistics in Public Health
3
Epidemiology
CHS 712 Epidemiology in Public Health
3
Environmental Health Sciences
CHS 725 Health and the Environment
3
Social & Behavioral Sciences
CHS 701 Social and Behavioral Dimensions of
Health
3
Health Services Administration
CHS 755 Health Policy and Administration
3
In addition, all MPH students are required to complete CHS 700, Research Methods in Public Health, CHS
798 MPH Internship, and CHS 796 MPH Capstone.
b. Assessment of the the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criterion is met.
Strengths:
 There is a well-established core curriculum that covers the fundamental competencies in basic
public health knowledge. All specializations must take these core courses.
 The additional requirement of CHS 700 helps ground students in core research competencies
prior to taking other classes.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 Competencies are revised regularly but lag behind needs assessment data. Better and regular
communication between the faculty doing the needs assessments and the core faculty will
improve the relevance of the core.
52
2.4 Practical Skills.
a. Description of the program’s policies and procedures regarding practice placements
Practical public health skill development is an integral part of the MPH program, regardless of program
concentration, requiring 270 hours (6 credit hours) of professional work experience in a public health
agency (clerical-level work is not accepted). While students are encouraged to take these six credits in
two consecutive semesters (3 credits), the program is flexible regarding the time frame in which
students complete the internship, provided that 45 hours of internship coincide with each credit.
Internship participation is required for all MPH students. Students are responsible for locating and
arranging their own internship experience, with support from their faculty advisor and the internship
coordinator.
Faculty advisors and the internship coordinator maintain ongoing communication with former site
preceptors to facilitate new student placements and partnerships in state and local health departments
and community agencies, and continuously work to foster new community relationships with potential
preceptors in order to develop further student opportunities. Potential internship preceptor/project
recruitment letters are sent out to community partners during the fall semester each year. Responses
from this recruitment solicitation are compiled into a list that is communicated to MPH students at the
MPH internship orientation meeting in November of each year. The SCHS maintains a strong network of
preceptors that include past preceptors of MPH students, past preceptors of undergraduate field studies
students, and potential new preceptors that have shown an interest in mentoring our students.
Preceptors are approved by the faculty advisor and the internship coordinator. Preceptor qualifications
are based on position in the organization and extent of public health background, including number of
years in practice as well as educational degrees earned.
Effective communication and orientation to the internship process is essential to the ongoing success of
the program. Orientation and support of preceptors to the internship process is conducted in the
following ways:
1. Formal written communication about the background and goals of the internship program during the
preceptor/project recruitment process
2. During the MPH student contracts meeting in which the student, internship coordinator, preceptor,
and faculty advisor review the roles and responsibilities of each team member to the success of the
internship (acknowledged through the signing of the MPH Internship Roles and Responsibilities
document by all parties) as well as review the guidelines for successful completion of the internship
(acknowledged through the signing of the MPH Internship Contracts Meeting Acknowledgement)
3. During a Midterm Student Site Visit in which successes and challenges of the internship are discussed
in a team-based approach
4. During ongoing online communications with the internship coordinator, student, and faculty advisor
throughout the internship process
53
Working with their faculty advisor and the internship coordinator, students begin planning for the
internship at least six months before the desired start date by examining interests, program
concentration, competencies, and goals for the internship. The internship coordinator and students
locate sites and preceptors based on all of these factors. Once a site and preceptor are arranged, the
student completes: the MPH Internship Agreement (similar to a Memorandum of Understanding) and
the Student Learning Contract outlining student goals, competencies to be addressed, and scope of
work for the internship (project management plan). Upon student completion of these documents, it is
reviewed and signed by the preceptor, faculty advisor, and internship coordinator to ensure common
understanding among all parties in moving forward. Only then can the student begin work on the
internship.
Internship emphasis is placed on developing an experience that will provide the student with
opportunities to: enhance skills learned during coursework, develop new skills and experiences in which
the student will be working in a professional capacity, address competencies, and evaluate the site and
overall experience. Students are required to focus on six Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH)
competencies during the internship coursework, three of which are pre-defined (one leadership [H-5],
one professionalism [J-10], and one communication [F-7]), and three of the student’s choice, to be
determined by areas of special interest or an identified need to enhance specific skills, and which apply
to the individual internship experience.
In addition to the 270-hour work requirement, students must complete two presentations and two
reports during their internship work. The Midterm Student Site Visit Presentation and Final Student
Internship Presentation allows students to reflect on strengths and challenges of the internship
experience, reflect on the progress for achieving the scope of work and competencies, and discuss any
further development needs. The Midterm and Final Reports require students to research the
organization for which they are working, describe their own role in addressing the agency’s mission and
vision, and reflect on their progress in working toward the goals and competencies identified in the
student learning contract. In addition to overseeing student on-site work, preceptors provide midterm
(at 135 hours of internship completed) and final (at 270 hours of internship completed) evaluations of
student performance, strengths, areas for improvement, and readiness to enter the public health
workforce.
The internship coordinator facilitates the internship course (CHS 798) and is responsible for overseeing
students during their internships, including maintaining communication with the student and preceptor
throughout the internship, establishing procedures, monitoring progress, assessing quality, and
arranging for student and site evaluations. Faculty advisors serve in a supportive role for students
throughout the internship process, assisting the student in the development of internship goals and
competencies, locating a suitable placement site, and monitoring student progress.
Placement sites and preceptors are evaluated by the student on such topics as: relevance of the
experience to student goals and competencies, professional work environment, engagement of
preceptor and other agency staff, and strengths and weaknesses of the site for future internships. The
internship coordinator and faculty advisor also contribute evaluations from their perspectives of the
54
effectiveness of each site and preceptor and recommendation of the site and preceptor for future
placements.
MD/MPH dual degree students select an internship experience that will count for both their MPH
internship and their medical school electives. The process still requires ongoing communication between
the student, site preceptor and advisor but the expectations are the same in terms of addressing
competencies and using this experience for their professional paper and capstone experience.
b. Identification of agencies and preceptors used for practice experiences for students
Table 2.4.b. MPH Internship Placements for Academic Years 2013 -- 2015
Internship Site
Preceptor
Epidemiology Emphasis
UMC Trauma Center, Las Vegas
Debra Kuhls, MD
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Julia Peek, MHA
Washoe County Health District
Lei Chen, PhD
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Melanie Flores, MSW
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Ingrid Mburria, MPH
Nevada Water Science Center
Angela Paul, MS
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Lacy Matsley, MBA
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Michael Kosoy, PhD
Nevada Office of Rural Health
John Packham, PhD
Safe Kids Washoe County
Melissa Krall, LSW
Envirolution
David Gibson
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Don Ariyakumar, MS
Washoe County Health District
Sara Dinga, MPA
Ascel Bio, LCC
James Tunkey, MBA
Immunize Nevada
Heidi Parker, MA
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Dan Mackie, MPH, MS
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Danika Williams, MPH
Nevada Primary Care Association
Nancy Bowen, MS
Desert Research Institute
Adrienne Breland, PhD
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Michael Lowe, PhD
Nanchang University, School of Public Health (China)
Yuan Zhaokang, PhD,
MD
University Medical Center, Las Vegas
John Varras, MD
Social/Behavioral Health Emphasis
University of Nevada, School of Medicine
Mary Beth Hogan, MD
Nevada Cancer Coalition
Cari Herington, MBA
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Kimisha Griffin, MPH
Tahoe Forest Health System
Caroline Ford, MS
55
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Safe Kids Washoe County
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Kitovu Hospital
Renown Health
Julia Peek, MHA
Melissa Krall, LSW
John Whitehill, MPH
Emily Brown, MPH
Anita Mago, MPH
Gayle Hurd, MA
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Marjorie FranzenWeiss, MPH
Washoe County Health District
Randall Todd, DrPH
Susan G. Komen Foundation
Heather Goulding, MBA
Washoe County School District, Wellness Department
Laura Thurston, MPH
Samburu Girls Foundation
Nevada Primary Care Association
Josephine Kulea
Patrick Chang, MPH
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Stephanie Woodard,
Psy.D
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Kathie Lloyd, MSN, RN,
CNM, CNS
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Melanie Flores, MSW
Nanchang University, School of Public Health (China)
Yuan Zhaokang, PhD,
MD
Community Chest, Inc.
Adrienne Sutherland,
LCPC, LCADC, NCC, MA
Kocaeli University, School of Medicine
Nilay Etiler, MD
Children's Cabinet
Kathleen Sandoval, MS
Willow Springs Adolescent Behavioral Health
Jeremy Matuszak, MD
Health Administration and Policy Emphasis
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Melanie Flores, MSW
Nevada Health Co-Op
Bobbette Bond, MPH
Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
Linsdey Dermid-Gray,
MPH
Community Chest, Inc.
Adrienne Sutherland,
LCPC, LCADC, NCC, MA
Renown Health
Keith Payne, MS
56
c. Data on the number of students receiving a waiver of the practice experience for each of the
last three years.
There were no students receiving waivers.
d. Data on the number of preventive medicine, occupational medicine, aerospace medicine and
general preventive medicine and public health residents completing the academic program for
each of the last three years, along with information on their practicum rotations.
Not applicable.
e. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 There is a well-defined process for selecting internship sites and preceptors and continual
evaluation ensures that the site remains competent.
 The timeline is communicated and students and advisors understand their roles.
 Ongoing communication allows for more immediate remediation in case of internship
difficulties.
 There are more internship sites and proposals than there are MPH students and this allows for a
better match of students to agencies.
Weaknesses:
 Occasionally the agency is unsuccessful in providing data to students in a timely fashion and this
influences the ability of students to use their internship experience for their professional paper.
Plans:
 Continue to refine the process of placing interns in agencies through a strong insistence on data
being available and projects being immediately ready for implementation.
57
2.5 Culminating Experience.
a. Identification of the culminating experience
The MPH culminating experience at UNR has three components: 1) the internship/field studies; 2) the
MPH professional paper and presentation; and 3) the capstone course. Through the MPH culminating
experience students demonstrate proficiency in public health knowledge and competencies. Successful
completion of all three components of the culminating experience is evidence that the MPH graduate is
prepared to become a public health professional.
After students complete their internship experience (described in section 2.4), they are prepared to
complete their MPH professional paper and presentation, and the capstone course.
MPH Professional Paper
Students complete a MPH professional paper that represents the culmination and mastery of the MPH
curriculum. The MPH professional paper is typically based on the student’s internship experience and
represents a product that the student has developed. Students may need to take the work from their
internship a step further to ensure that the product is suitable for the professional paper. Some
examples of professional products that could be the basis of the paper include: a needs assessment, a
program plan, a program evaluation, product or curriculum development, primary data analysis,
secondary data analysis, policy analysis, or grant development.
Before beginning the MPH professional paper, students must: 1) establish a professional paper
committee; 2) obtain committee approval for their proposed paper topic; and 3) obtain committee
signatures on their program of study. Please see the MPH professional paper guidelines, professional
paper approval form, and timeline in the E-resource: Culminating Experience. If the work contributing to
the professional paper involves human subjects and meets the definition of research, students must
receive appropriate approval from the University of Nevada, Reno Office of Human Research Protection.
IRB approval must be obtained before any data collection with human subjects can begin. If the intent
of the project is to meet agency needs and fulfill the MPH Professional Paper requirements only, IRB
approval is not needed.
The professional paper committee includes:
 The student’s academic advisor (committee chair)
 A faculty member from inside the School of Community Health Sciences (member)
 A graduate faculty member outside the School of Community Health Sciences (graduate
school representative)
 A professional practice representative typically from the student’s field studies site (highly
encouraged, but not required)
Through the MPH professional paper students will:
 Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in
the context of professional and public health activities (ASPPH Competency F7)
 Communicate epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences (ASPPH
Competency C8)
 Apply evidence-based principles and scientific knowledge base to critical evaluation and
decision-making in public health (ASPPH Competency J3)
58

Analyze determinants of health and disease using an ecological framework (ASPPH
Competency J6)
In addition, students work with their faculty advisor to choose one competency within their area of
emphasis and one cross-cutting competency that they will emphasize in their professional paper.
Committees use a standard evaluation rubric based on the MPH paper guidelines and competencies to
evaluate the student’s MPH professional paper. This evaluation rubric and a summary of student’s
professional paper scores from the past three years can be found in the E-resource: Culminating
Experience.
Oral Presentation
Students orally present their professional paper to their committee, other MPH faculty, and MPH
students during spring semester. A standard evaluation rubric based on curriculum competencies is
used to evaluate the oral presentation. A copy of this evaluation rubric and a summary of oral
presentation scores can be found in the E-resource: Culminating Experience. Following the presentation
and general questions from the audience, the committee is given time alone to discuss whether the
student has provided evidence of mastery of the MPH curriculum and competencies in their professional
paper and presentation. Revisions are typically requested and must be made before the student can file
for graduation.
The MPH Capstone Course
The MPH capstone course provides the resources structure students need to complete their
professional paper and oral presentation. Several scientific writing and oral presentation workshops are
provided and students are given the opportunity for peer evaluation during the course.
The capstone course also addresses professional development. Special sessions and assignments
related to professional development will vary based on student needs, but may include topics such as:
public speaking, group facilitation, conflict resolution, how to be a good supervisor, resume
development, how to land a job, public health ethics, and the future of public health as a profession. As
a course assignment, students reflect on their mastery of MPH competencies and identify competencies
that need to be further developed in a post-graduation professional development plan.
In addition to the competencies related to the professional paper and presentation, the following
professional development competencies are addressed through the capstone course:
• Embrace a definition of public health that captures the unique characteristics of the field
(e.g., population-focused, community-oriented, prevention-motivated and rooted in social
justice) and how these contribute to professional practice (J9)
• Value commitment to lifelong learning and professional service including active participation
in professional organizations (J11)
• Apply basic principles of ethical analysis (e.g. the Public Health Code of Ethics, human rights
framework, other moral theories) to issues of public health practice and policy (J2)
• One competency within area of emphasis that needs development (student choice)
• One competency outside area of emphasis that needs development (student choice)
59
b. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criterion has been met.
Strengths
 The internship, professional paper, and the capstone course are integrated into a
comprehensive culminating experience.
 The capstone course provides students with the structure and feedback needed to successfully
complete their professional paper and presentation in a timely manner.
 Evaluation of the professional paper and presentation is standardized and provides valuable
feedback for the students and the capstone course instructor.
 Many students present their professional paper findings at state and national public health
conferences (E-resource Culminating Experience)
 The competencies for the professional paper and the capstone course balance academic and
professional development.
Weaknesses and Plans
 MPH students complete a professional paper, not a thesis. While the committee structure
provides students with the support they need to complete their professional paper, outside
committee members do not always understand that a professional paper is based on applied
public health experience. To address this, standard language has been developed to
differentiate a professional paper from a thesis and this is shared with the committee at the
paper proposal meeting. In addition, an evaluation of committee structure and requirements
for professional papers in all CEPH accredited schools and programs is being conducted. Data
from the evaluation will be shared with the graduate school to determine whether an academic
committee structure is needed for a professional paper.
 The field studies experience does not always produce a product that can be used for the
professional paper. Agency priorities and timelines change, data may not be as useful as
anticipated, or other unexpected “real life” issues may emerge such as staff turnover. In an
attempt to ensure that students are carving out a master’s level project, a mid-internship onsite site visit has been added. The student, faculty advisor, field studies coordinator, and
agency representative meet to discuss progress and identify the focus of the MPH professional
paper. The MPH professional paper orientation has been moved to the spring semester before
students begin their internship and halfway through their internship students complete a
capstone assignment where they read and evaluate MPH professional papers from previous
years. Doing this assignment during their internship has given students greater context for
determining the focus of their professional paper.
60
2.6 Required Competencies.
a. Competencies for graduate professional and baccalaureate public health degree students
Table 2.6a. UNR MPH Core Competencies.
Domain: Biostatistics
A1. Describe the roles biostatistics serves in the discipline of public health
A2. Describe and apply basic concepts of probability, random variation and commonly used statistical
probability distributions
A3. Illustrate preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when
assumptions are not met
A4. Identify and explain the different measurement scales and the implications for selection of statistical
methods to be used based on these distinctions
A5. Calculate descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data
A6. Apply common statistical methods for inference
Domain: Environmental Health Sciences
B1. Compare the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and
occupational agents
B2. Describe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health
outcomes following exposure to environmental hazards
B3. Explain federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines and authorities that control
environmental health issues
B5. Describe approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks
to human health and safety
B6. Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to various environmental
exposures
B7. Review various risk management and risk communication approaches in relation to issues of
environmental justice and equity
Domain: Epidemiology
C1. Describe key sources of data for epidemiologic purposes
C2. Demonstrate the principles and limitations of public health screening programs
C3. Illustrate a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time, and place
C4. Explain the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical, economic and political
discussion of health issues
C5. Apply basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and
dissemination of epidemiologic data
C6. Describe the basic terminology and definitions of epidemiology
C7. Calculate basic epidemiology measures
C8. Summarize epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences
CHS Epi_1. Apply causal inference and hypothesis testing
CHS Epi_2. Illustrate the purposes, strengths and weaknesses of various study designs
CHS Epi_3. Calculate and illustrate random error and systematic error (bias)
61
CHS Epi_4. Describe and demonstrate whether confounding and/or effect modification is present
C10. Illustrate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reports
Domain: Health Policy and Management
D1. Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and delivery of health
services and public health systems in the US
D2. Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services
D4. Illustrate the basic policy process for improving the health status of populations.
D7. Explain quality and performance improvement concepts to address organizational performance
issues.
D8. Apply "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems.
D9. Communicate health policy and management issues using through written and oral communication
Domain: Social and Behavioral Sciences
E1. Identify basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that
are used in public health research and practice
E2. Identify the causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations
from an ecological perspective
E3. Identify individual, organizational, and community concerns, assets, resources and deficits for social
and behavioral science interventions.
E6. Describe the role of social and community factors in both the onset and solution of public health
problems
E7. Describe the merits of social and behavioral science interventions and policies
E10. Specify multiple targets and levels of intervention for social and behavioral science programs
and/or policies
Domain: Communication and Informatics
F. 2. Describe how societal, organizational, and individual factors influence and are influenced by public
health communications
F7. Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the
context of professional public health activities
Domain: Diversity and Culture
G1. Describe the roles of, history, power, privilege and structural inequality in producing health
disparities.
G3. Explain why cultural competence alone cannot address health disparity
Domain: Leadership
H5. Demonstrate team building, negotiation, and conflict management skills.
H8. Apply social justice and human rights principles when addressing community needs
Domain: Professionalism
J2. Apply basic principles of ethical analysis (e.g. Public Health Code of Ethics, human rights framework,
other moral theories) to issues of public health practice and policy
J3. Apply evidence-based principles and the scientific knowledge base to critical evaluation and
decision-making in public health.
62
J6. Analyze and assess determinants of health and disease using an ecological framework
J9. Explain and apply a definition of public health that captures the unique characteristics of the field
(e.g. population-focused, community-oriented, prevention-motivated and rooted in social justice) and
how these contribute to professional practice.
J10. Demonstrate the importance of working collaboratively with diverse communities and
constituencies (e.g. researchers, practitioners, agencies and organizations)
J11. Propose a commitment to lifelong learning and professional service including active participation in
professional organizations
Domain: Program Planning
K7. Compare between qualitative and quantitative methods in relation to their strengths, limitations,
and appropriate uses, and emphases on reliability and validity
Table 2.6a Core Competencies BS Degree in Community Health Sciences
Core Student Outcomes for BS degree in Community Health Sciences
Student Outcome 1: Describe the history and philosophy of public health as well as its core values,
concepts, and functions across the globe and in society
Student Outcome 2; Apply the basic concepts, methods, and tools of public health data collection, use,
and analysis and explain why evidence-based approaches are an essential part of public health practice
Student Outcome 3: Distinguish the concepts of population health, and the basic processes,
approaches, and interventions that identify and address the major health-related needs and concerns of
populations
Student Outcome 4: Recognize the underlying science of human health and disease including
opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the life course
Student Outcome 5: Compare the socio-economic, behavioral, biological, environmental, and other
factors that impact human health and contribute to health disparities
Student Outcome 6: Demonstrate the fundamental concepts and features of project implementation,
including planning, assessment, and evaluation
Student Outcome 7: Evaluate the fundamental characteristics and organizational structures of the U.S.
health system as well as to the differences in systems in other countries
Student Outcome 8: Discuss the basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of
health care and public health policy, and the roles, influences and responsibilities of the different
agencies and branches of government
Student Outcome 9: Practice the basic concepts of public health-specific communication, including
technical and professional writing and the use of mass media and electronic technology
b. Specific competencies.
Competencies for MPH:
Table 2.6b. Epidemiology Specialization Competencies.
Domain: Biostatistics
A. 3. Evaluate preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when
assumptions are not met
A. 4. Compare, evaluate and debate the different measurement scales and the implications for selection
of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctions
A. 5. Construct and justify descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data
63
A. 6. Decide common statistical methods for inference
A. 7. Recommend descriptive and inferential methodologies according to the type of study design for
answering a particular research question
A. 8. Verify basic informatics techniques with vital statistics and public health records in the description
of public health characteristics and in public health research and evaluation
A. 9. Compare and judge results of statistical analyses found in public health studies
A.10. Create and develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public
health professionals and educated lay audiences
CHS.Epi.5. Design, apply and evaluate data analysis using a statistical software package (SAS)
Domain: Epidemiology
C.1. Evaluate key sources of data for epidemiologic purposes
C.3. Evaluate and distinguish a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time, and place
C.5. Assess and compare basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use
and dissemination of epidemiologic data
C7. Analyze, apply and judge basic epidemiology measures
CHS Epi 1. Assess, verify and evaluate causal inference and hypothesis testing
CHS Epi 2. Analyze and assess the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of various study designs
CHS Epi 3. Investigate, judge and verify random error and systematic error (bias)
CHS Epi 4. Investigate, verify and analyze whether confounding and/or effect modification is present
C.10. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reports
Domain: Informatics
F. 1. Describe how the public health information infrastructure is used to collect, process, maintain, and
disseminate data
F. 3. Explain the influences of social, organizational and individual factors on the use of information
technology end users
F. 5. Evaluate legal and ethical principles to the use of information technology and resources in public
health settings
F. 6. Explain collaboration with communication and informatics specialists in the process of design,
implementation, and evaluation of public health programs
F. 7. Develop effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context
of professional public health activities
F. 8. Analyze information technology to access, evaluate, and interpret public health data
F. 9. Investigate informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to promote public health
F.10. Describe how informatics and communication methods can be used to advocate for community
public health programs and policies
Domain: Program Planning
K. 2. Develop the tasks necessary to assure that program/study implementation occurs as intended
K. 8. Develop a program budget with justification
K. 5. Compose goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a research
proposal
64
Table 2.6b. Social and Behavioral Specialization Competencies.
Domain: Biostatistics
A. 5. Apply descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data
A. 6. Apply common statistical methods for inference
A. 7. Develop methods and study designs to answer a particular research question
Domain: Health Policy and Management
D. 10. Demonstrate leadership skills for building partnerships
Domain: Social and Behavioral Sciences
E. 1. Evaluate basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that
are used in public health research and practice
E. 2. Evaluate causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations
from an ecological perspective
E. 4. Justify the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning and implementation of public health
programs, policies and interventions
E. 5. Design and evaluate the steps and procedures for the planning and implementation of public health
programs, policies and interventions
E. 7. Justify and assess the merits of social and behavioral science interventions & policies
E. 8. Apply and propose evidence-based approaches in the development of social and behavioral science
interventions
E. 9. Apply and assess ethical principles to public health program planning and implementation
Domain: Communication and Informatics
SBH.1. Collect, manage and organize data to produce information for different audiences
F. 4. Apply theory and strategy-based communication principles across different settings and audiences.
F. 7. Develop effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context
of professional and public health activities
Domain: Diversity and Culture
G. 2. Analyze how professional ethics and practices relate to equity and accountability in diverse
community settings
G. 5. Comprehend the basic concepts and skills involved in culturally appropriate community
engagement and empowerment with diverse communities
G. 6. Comprehend the principles of community-based participatory research to improve health in
diverse populations
G. 8. Differentiate between linguistic competence, cultural competency, and health literacy in public
health practice
G. 9. Identify and evaluate situations where consideration of culture-specific needs resulted in a more
effective modification or adaptation of a health intervention
G. 10. Develop public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and
traditions of the communities being served
Domain: Program Planning
K. 2. Distinguish and evaluate the tasks necessary to assure that program implementation occurs as
intended
65
K. 3. Justify how the findings of a program evaluation can be used
K. 4. Evaluate the contribution of logic models in program development, implementation, and
evaluation
K. 5. Create goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a public health
program
K. 6. Assess the purposes of formative, process, and outcome evaluation
K. 7. Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods in relation to their strengths,
limitations, and appropriate uses, and emphases on reliability and validity
K. 9. Assess individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health
programs
Domain: Systems Thinking
L. 2 Assess unintended consequences produced by changes made to a public health system
L. 7 Evaluate how changes in public health systems (including input, processes, and output) can be
measured
Table 2.6b. Health Administration and Policy Specialization Competencies.
Domain: Health Policy and Management
D. 1 Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and delivery of health
services and public health systems in the US.
D. 2 Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.
D. 4. Illustrate the basic policy process for improving the health status of the population.
D. 7. Explain quality and performance improvement concepts to address organizational performance
issues.
D. 8. Apply "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems.
D. 9. Communicate health policy and management issues using appropriate channels and information
system technologies.
CHS HAP 1. Distinguish the main components of the policy process as it applies to improving
population health outcomes.
CHS HAP 2. Utilize aspects of program planning, development, economic evaluation, management,
collaboration, and evaluation to develop a comprehensive policy analysis.
CHS HAP 3. Assess collaborative aspects of policy development and develop plans for systems-level
implementation of these collaborations.
CHS HAP 4. Analyze evidenced-base by understanding statistical analyses with which to applying
decision-making.
Domain: Social and Behavioral Sciences
E. 4. Justify the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning, implementation and evaluation of
public health programs, policies and interventions
E. 5. Design the steps and procedures for the planning, implementation and evaluation of public
health programs, policies and interventions
66
E. 8. Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral
science interventions
E. 9. Develop ethical principles to public health program planning, implementation and evaluation
Domain: Communication and Informatics
F. 3. Compare influences of social, organizational and individual factors on the use of information
technology by administrative and clinical end users.
F. 4. Apply theory and strategy-based communication principles across different settings and
audiences.
F.6. Relate with users of communication and informatics specialists in the process of design,
implementation, and evaluation of health services programs.
F. 7. Develop effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the
context of professional and public health activities.
F. 8. Appraise information technology for Quality Improvement to assess, evaluate, and interpret
health services and patient data.
F. 9. Justify informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to assist communities in
understanding health services.
F. 10. Identify informatics and communication methods for Quality Improvement of health services.
Domain: Diversity and Culture
G. 4. Prescribe the importance and characteristics of a sustainable diverse public health workforce.
G.10. Develop public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and
traditions of the communities being served.
Domain: Leadership
H. 6. Role model transparency, integrity, and honesty in all actions.
H. 9. Role model strategies, to motivate others for collaborative problem solving, decision-making,
and evaluation.
CHS HAP 5. Critique in writing or, if called upon, verbally his or her understanding of the implications
that knowledge workers have for the contemporary workforce.
Domain: Program Planning
K. 5. Create goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and expected outcomes for a public
health program
K. 9. Assess individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health
programs
Domain: Systems Thinking
L.9. Illustrate the effects of political, social and economic policies on public health systems at the
local, state, national and international levels.
67
Table 2.6.b. BS competencies by specialization
Student Outcome BS in Community Heath Sciences: Public Health
Student Outcome 1. Demonstrate completion of a literature search on a health issue using a variety of academic and public resources.
Student Outcome 2: Appraise evidence-based approaches to public health practice.
Student Outcome 3: Evaluate regulatory dimensions of health care and public health practice
Student Outcome 4: Employ effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences in the context of professional and
public health activities.
Student Outcome BS in Community Health Sciences: Kinesiology
Student Outcome 1: Evaluate existing conditioning programs for safety and effectiveness.
Student Outcome 2: Demonstrate the ability to promote and maintain successful physical activity programming in diverse settings and
situations.
Student Outcome 3: Describe a theoretical framework for valid and reliable assessment and evidence-based modification of an individual’s body
structure and physical capacity.
Student Outcome 4: Demonstrate process of incoming sensory information and subsequent motor output.
c. A matrix that identifies the learning experiences by which the competencies defined in Criteria 2.6.a and 2.6.b are met.
Competency Table matrix for MPH Core found in E-resource: Competency, Table 2.6.c MPH Core Competencies
Epidemiology Competency Matrix
Competency
CHS 709
Epidemiologic
Research Design
CHS 703 R Applied
Health Analysis
CHS 753 Health
Informatics
CHS 708
Epidemiology II
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
Domain: Biostatistics
A. 3. _____ preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used
statistical methods when assumptions are not met
A. 4. _____ the different measurement scales and the implications for
selection of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctions
6. Evaluate
R
4. Compare
R
68
6. Evaluate
R
6. Debate
R
Epidemiology Competency Matrix
Competency
CHS 709
Epidemiologic
Research Design
CHS 703 R Applied
Health Analysis
CHS 753 Health
Informatics
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
5. Construct
6. Justify
R
R
6. Decide
R
A. 5. _____ descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public
health data
A. 6. _____ common statistical methods for inference
A. 7. _____ descriptive and inferential methodologies according to the
type of study design for answering a particular research question
6. Recommend
R
A. 8. _____ basic informatics techniques with vital statistics and public
health records in the description of public health characteristics and in
public health research and evaluation
A. 9. _____ results of statistical analyses found in public health studies
6. Verify
P
4. Compare
P
5. Create
R
5. Design
R
A.10._____ written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses
for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences
CHS.Epi.5. _____ data analysis using a statistical software package
(SAS)
Domain: Epidemiology
C.1. _____ key sources of data for epidemiologic purposes
C.3. _____ a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time,
and place
C.5. _____ basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection,
maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic data
C7. _____ basic epidemiology measures
CHS Epi 1. _____ causal inference and hypothesis testing
CHS Epi 2. _____ the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of various
study designs
CHS Epi 3. _____ random error and systematic error (bias)
CHS Epi 4. _____ whether confounding and/or effect modification is
present
CHS 708
Epidemiology II
6. Evaluate
R
6. Assess
R
6. Assess
R
4. Analyze
R
4. Investigate
R
4. Investigate
R
69
4. Analyze
R
6. Verify
R
6. Judge
R
6. Verify
R
6. Judge
R
5. Develop
P
3. Apply
P
6. Evaluate
R
4. Distinguish
R
4. Compare
R
3. Apply
R
6. Evaluate
R
6. Judge
R
6. Evaluate
R
6. Assess
R
6. Verify
R
4. Analyze
R
Epidemiology Competency Matrix
Competency
CHS 709
Epidemiologic
Research Design
CHS 703 R Applied
Health Analysis
CHS 753 Health
Informatics
CHS 708
Epidemiology II
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
C.10. _____ the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reports
6. Evaluate
R
Domain: Informatics
F. 1. _____ how the public health information infrastructure is used to
collect, process, maintain, and disseminate data
2. Describe
P
F. 3. _____ the influences of social, organizational and individual factors
on the use of information technology end users
F. 5. _____ legal and ethical principles to the use of information
technology and resources in public health settings
2. Explain
P
6. Evaluate
P
F. 6. _____ collaboration with communication and informatics specialists
in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of public health
programs
F. 7. _____ effective written and oral skills for communicating with
different audiences in the context of professional public health activities
2. Explain
P
5. Develop
R
F. 8. _____ information technology to access, evaluate, and interpret
public health data
4. Analyze
P
F. 9. _____ informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to
promote public health
F.10._____ how informatics and communication methods can be used to
advocate for community public health programs and policies
Domain: Program Planning
K. 2. _____ the tasks necessary to assure that program/study
implementation occurs as intended
K. 8. _____ a program budget with justification
K. 5. _____ goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and
expected outcomes for a research proposal
4. Investigate
P
2. Describe
P
5. Develop
P
5. Develop
P
5. Compose
P
70
Competency
Social and Behavioral Health Emphasis Competency Matrix
CHS 721
CHS 747 Applied
CHS 705 Theoretical CHS 720 Program
Program
Research
Foundation of Health Planning and Grant
Evaluation in
Methods in Public
Promotion
Writing
Public Health
Health
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
Domain Biostatistics
A. 5. _____ descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public
health data
A. 6. _____ common statistical methods for inference
3. Apply
R
3. Apply
R
5. Develop
R
A. 7. _____ methods and study designs to answer a particular research
question
Domain Health Policy and Management
D. 10. _____ leadership skills for building partnerships
Domain Social and Behavioral Sciences
E. 1. _____ basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social
and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and
practice
E. 2. _____ causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of
individuals and populations from an ecological perspective
E. 4. _____ the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning and
implementation of public health programs, policies and interventions
3. Demonstrate
R
6. Evaluate
P
6. Evaluate
R
E. 5. _____ the steps and procedures for the planning and
implementation of public health programs, policies and interventions
E. 7._____ the merits of social and behavioral science interventions &
policies
E. 8. _____ evidence-based approaches in the development of social
and behavioral science interventions
E. 9. _____ ethical principles to public health program planning and
implementation
Domain Communication and Informatics
SBH.1. _____ , manage and organize data to produce information for
different audiences
F. 4. _____ theory and strategy-based communication principles across
different settings and audiences.
6. Justify
P
6. Justify
R
4. Design
P
6. Evaluate
R
6. Assess
R
Propose
R
6. Assess
R
6. Justify
R
3. Apply
R
3. Apply
R
5. Collect
P
3. Apply
R
71
Competency
F. 7. _____ effective written and oral skills for communicating with
different audiences in the context of professional and public health
activities
Domain Diversity and Culture
Social and Behavioral Health Emphasis Competency Matrix
CHS 721
CHS 747 Applied
CHS 705 Theoretical CHS 720 Program
Program
Research
Foundation of Health Planning and Grant
Evaluation in
Methods in Public
Promotion
Writing
Public Health
Health
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
5. Develop
R
5. Develop
R
5. Develop
R
4. Analyze
R
G. 2. _____ how professional ethics and practices relate to equity and
accountability in diverse community settings
G. 5. _____ the basic concepts and skills involved in culturally
appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse
communities
2. Comprehend
R
G. 6. _____ the principles of community-based participatory research to
improve health in diverse populations
2. Comprehend
R
4. Differentiate
R
G. 8. ______ between linguistic competence, cultural competency, and
health literacy in public health practice
G. 9. _____ situations where consideration of culture-specific needs
resulted in a more effective modification or adaptation of a health
intervention
G. 10 _____ public health programs and strategies responsive to the
diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being served
Domain Program Planning
K. 2. _____ the tasks necessary to assure that program implementation
occurs as intended
K. 3. _____ how the findings of a program evaluation can be used
1. Identify
R
6. Evaluate
R
5. Develop
P
4. Distinguish
P
5. Develop
P
6. Evaluate
P
6. Justify
P
6. Evaluate
P
K. 4. _____ the contribution of logic models in program development,
implementation, and evaluation
5. Create
P
K. 5. _____ goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and
expected outcomes for a public health program
K. 6. _____ the purposes of formative, process, and outcome evaluation
6. Assess
P
72
Competency
Social and Behavioral Health Emphasis Competency Matrix
CHS 721
CHS 747 Applied
CHS 705 Theoretical CHS 720 Program
Program
Research
Foundation of Health Planning and Grant
Evaluation in
Methods in Public
Promotion
Writing
Public Health
Health
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
K. 7. _____ between qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods in
relation to their strengths, limitations, and appropriate uses, and
emphases on reliability and validity
K. 9. _____ individual, organizational, and community concerns and
resources for public health programs
Domain Systems Thinking
L. 2 _____ unintended consequences produced by changes made to a
public health system
L. 7 _____ how changes in public health systems (including input,
processes, and output) can be measured
Competency
4. Distinguish
R
6. Assess
P
6. Assess
P
6. Evaluate
R
Health Administration and Policy Competency Matrix
CHS 756
CHS 758
CHS 720 Program CHS 741 Methods
Organizational
Information Systems
Planning and
in Health Policy
Behavior in Health
in Health Services
Grant Writing
Analysis
Services
Management
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
Domain: Health Policy and Management
D. 4. _____ the basic policy process for improving the health status of
the population
D. 7. _____ quality and performance improvement concepts to address
organizational performance issues
D. 8. _____ "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems.
4. Illustrate
R
6. Assess
R
5. Propose
R
D. 9. _____ health policy and management issues using appropriate
channels and information system technologies.
CHS HAP 1. _____ the main components of the policy process as it
applies to improving population health outcomes.
4. Distinguish
R
CHS HAP 2._____aspects of program planning, development, economic
evaluation, management, collaboration, and evaluation to develop a
comprehensive policy analysis.
3. Utilize
R
73
3. Apply
R
6. Assess
R
Competency
CHS HAP 3._____collaborative aspects of policy development and
develop plans for systems-level implementation of these collaborations.
CHS HAP 4._____evidenced-base by understanding statistical analyses
with which to applying decision-making.
Domain: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Health Administration and Policy Competency Matrix
CHS 756
CHS 758
CHS 720 Program CHS 741 Methods
Organizational
Information Systems
Planning and
in Health Policy
Behavior in Health
in Health Services
Grant Writing
Analysis
Services
Management
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
6. Assess
P
4. Analyze
P
E. 4. _____ the selection of critical stakeholders for the planning,
implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and
interventions
6. Justify
P
E. 5. _____ the steps and procedures for the planning, implementation
and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventions
E. 8. _____ evidence-based approaches in the development and
evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions
E. 9. _____ ethical principles to public health program planning,
implementation and evaluation
Domain: Communication and Informatics
F. 3. _____ influences of social, organizational and individual factors on
the use of information technology by administrative and clinical end
users
4. Design
P
3. Apply
R
3. Apply
R
F. 4. _____ theory and strategy-based communication principles across
different settings and audiences
F.6. _____ with users of communication and informatics specialists in
the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of health services
programs.
F. 7. _____ effective written and oral skills for communicating with
different audiences in the context of professional and public health
activities
3. Apply
R
4. Compare
P
5. Relate
P
5. Develop
R
4. Demonstrate
R
6. Appraise
P
F. 8. _____ information technology for Quality Improvement to assess,
evaluate, and interpret health services and patient data
6. Justify
P
F. 9. _____ informatics methods and resources as strategic tools to
assist communities in understanding health services.
74
Competency
F. 10. _____ informatics and communication methods for Quality
Improvement of health services.
Domain: Diversity and Culture
G. 4. _____ the importance and characteristics of a sustainable diverse
public health workforce
G.10. _____ public health programs and strategies responsive to the
diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being served
Domain: Leadership
H. 6. _____transparency, integrity, and honesty in all actions.
Health Administration and Policy Competency Matrix
CHS 756
CHS 758
CHS 720 Program CHS 741 Methods
Organizational
Information Systems
Planning and
in Health Policy
Behavior in Health
in Health Services
Grant Writing
Analysis
Services
Management
Bloom's Taxonomy Level
4. Identify
R
5. Prescribe
P
5. Develop
P
6. Role Model
P
6. Role Model
P
H. 9. _____ strategies, to motivate others for collaborative problem
solving, decision-making, and evaluation.
CHS HAP 5._____in writing or, if called upon, verbally his or her
understanding of the implications that knowledge workers have for the
contemporary workforce.
6. Critique
P
Domain: Program Planning
K. 5. _____ goals, measurable objectives, related activities, and
expected outcomes for a public health program
5. Create
P
K. 9. _____ individual, organizational, and community concerns and
resources for public health programs
Domain: Systems Thinking
L.9. _____ the effects of political, social and economic policies on public
health systems at the local, state, national and international levels.
6. Assess
P
4. Illustrate
R
P=Primary, R=Reinforcing
Template 2.6.1: Courses and activities through which BS degree Student Learning Objectives are met (please see 2.8 d Template L)
75
d. Analysis of the completed matrix included in Criterion 2.6.c. with changes.
Epidemiology:
Competency assessment (described in section 2.7) demonstrated the need for more SAS analysis before
students begin their internship experience. Therefore, CHS 753-Health Informatics was moved to spring
semester (year 1) and this course was revised to include more SAS data management and descriptive
analysis skills. This course was coordinated closely with CHS 703R-Applied Health Analysis which is
taught the same semester and focused more on advanced analytic techniques. Covering the
competencies for CHS 709-Epidemiologic Research Design was not possible with a 2 credit course, so
this course was changed to 3 credits and CHS 708-Epidemiology II was changed from a 4 credit course to
a 3 credit course, including 1 SAS lab credit. After a few semesters of competency assessment, course
instructors for CHS 712-Epidemiology for Public Health and CHS 780-Biostatistics in Public Health
collaborated more closely to ensure that epidemiology and biostatistics course material was
complementary. One biostatistics competency was moved from CHS 712 to CHS 780 and different
aspects of shared competencies are taught in each class. For example, CHS 712 focuses on systematic
error, while CHS 780 focuses on random error.
Social and Behavioral Health:
Based on employers’ requests that students have more training in survey and mixed methods, a new
course, CHS 747 Applied Research Methods in Public Health, was developed and required to be
completed before social/behavioral students commence their internship. Relatedly, CHS 700 Research
Methods in Public Health was increased from 1 to 3 credits and is required for all MPH students.
A related concern was that the MPH cultural diversity class was only required for the social/behavioral
health students yet workforce needs require that all students be skilled in partnering with diverse
groups. Therefore, our competencies were revised in an effort to address cultural diversity issues
throughout the curriculum for all MPH students.
Health Administration and Policy:
Our non-SCHS HAP faculty along with SCHS faculty met in Fall 2013 to review the current HAP
curriculum. It lacked more quantitative courses and financial courses. At that time, we added the
Health Care Finance course to our curriculum and hired two LOA faculty to develop the course and teach
it in Spring 2014 with mixed success. While it was a good first step, feedback from our Finance
instructors as well as the instructors for Health Economics and Health Policy Analysis indicated poor
skills and competencies with quantitative content. These faculty now coordinate their curriculum topics
together in order to provide better overlapping materials to students. In addition, our HAP students’
feedback from their internships in summer 2015 indicate more is needed.
So, while our students were achieving the competencies, it was not translating to other courses and
then to internship. We have not yet achieved the appropriate level of content for the HAP students to
be successful. We anticipate in 2016, we will be better prepared in these areas as it is now the second
time around for all courses for HAP students, and faculty have made adjustments coordinating more,
and have clearer expectations of assignments that will achieve the competencies.
In addition, we also changed the competencies for CHS 755 – to make it more system focused and less
76
administration focused. We dropped several of the competencies and focused on policy and system
competencies.
Field Studies:
The graduate committee analyzed the internship experience and identified that there were a set of
competencies that were needed to successfully complete the internship and prepare for the culminating
experience. The graduate committee and faculty from each discipline identified the courses needed to
be taken and passed before commencing an internship. Each discipline also changed course sequencing
to ensure that students would be well prepared for their experiences (see section 2.6d above).
In 2014, the Student Learning Contract in CHS 798-MPH Internship was revised to include more
professionally relevant student competencies that were mentioned in midterm and final student
evaluations of the past years. The Student Learning Contract now also incorporates a Project
Management Plan with SMART objectives and an hour distribution tracking mechanism, as well as a
methods section to discuss the methods that will be utilized in the internship project. Resources and skill
based tracking assessment has also been incorporated to ensure that the students are embarking on
their internships with the necessary skill sets to succeed.
MPH Capstone:
MPH professional paper evaluations and student competency assessment revealed the need to provide
students with more structure for writing the methods and results section for their professional paper.
Two new class sessions and accompanying materials focused on structuring quantitative and qualitative
methods and visually displaying data were added to CHS 796-MPH Capstone. The need to begin the
professional paper earlier also emerged and three required writing workshops were added to the
semester before the capstone course begins.
e. Developing competencies, how they are used and made available to students.
Competency Development. MPH core competencies were identified by a core competency
subcommittee consisting of faculty who teach required core courses and a student representative. Core
course instructors developed competency plans (see E-resource file) that mapped each competency to
specific learning and assessment activities. After all competency plans were developed, the competency
subcommittee reconvened to approve individual course competency plans and to develop the matrix
that maps all core competencies with the required courses. A similar process was followed for the
development of area of specialization course competency plans and the competency matrix for each
area of specialization. Core and area specialization competencies are presented and approved by the
graduate committee and faculty-at-large.
Competency Use. The core and area of specialization competencies form the basis for all MPH Program
curricular development, assessment, and revision. Each semester, the competencies are evaluated by
students and faculty (see section 2.7). Core and area faculty meet to review the evaluation data and
make curricular adjustments. Competencies are used to make sure all courses are taught consistently.
We encourage students to share the list of competencies addressed in completed courses when
discussing possible internship placements with preceptors. Finally, the competencies form the basis for
77
student planning and participation in field studies and the culminating capstone course. Students select
competencies to target for individual development during each course and complete self-assessment of
chosen competencies. Students in the capstone course also identify competencies that they plan to
address through professional development after graduation (see sections 2.4 and 2.5).
Availability of Competencies to Students. All syllabi for MPH core courses and required courses for each
area of specialization include the approved competencies. The competencies are listed on the school’s
website and in the student handbook. The competency assessment plans are distributed during courses
or posted for students on their course websites. In addition, the university’s assessment office recently
agreed to recognize our developed competencies as the required student learning outcomes for each
MPH class and will add our competencies to the university catalog by end of spring 2016.
f.
Competencies are based on changing needs.
A survey of undergraduate CHS student conducted in 2010 indicated that 67% of students would be
very interested in a degree in kinesiology or allied health. Inclusion of exercise physiology and
kinesiology and their prerequisites in biology slowed student progress through the CHS BS degree.
Students more interested in public health wanted to be able to take more electives in public health. This
information sparked the split of the CHS BS degree into the two emphases. Exploration of other
programs in kinesiology helped in the formation of the kinesiology curriculum. In addition, the state of
Nevada did not have any programs that would certify secondary physical education teachers.
Identification of the components needed to certify teachers showed that addition of a few courses to
the kinesiology curriculum would fulfill that requirement.
A public health workforce development survey was completed in 2013 and 2015. The survey in 2013
assessed educational and skill needs. The 2015 survey concentrated on an assessment of essential public
health competencies. Important information gleaned from these surveys indicated that over 60% of
working public health professionals did not have MPH or public health training. The competency survey
in particular noted a need for basic skills related to epidemiology, program planning and evaluation, and
a desire to use technology more effectively. Based on this and internship feedback, the curriculum
changed to address quantitative and qualitative evaluation competencies before the internship
experience.
An alumni survey is completed every year and graduates reflect on the usefulness of their core MPH
coursework for their current employment positions (see section 2.7c). While this survey does not
evaluate specific objectives the overall ratings of courses on a 4 point scale are high: CH 700-Research
Methods for Public Health (3.45), CHS 701-Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Health (3.23), CHS 712Epidemiology in Public Health (3.83), CHS 725-Health and the Environment (3.28), CHS 755-Health Policy
and Administration (3.18), and CHS 780-Biostatistics in Public Health (3.68). Core and specialization
competency committees review findings from the workforce development surveys, alumni surveys, and
internship supervisors to revise competencies and course progression. In addition, an employer survey
is being developed to more specifically evaluate whether our current competencies meet the needs of
employers.
78
g. Assessment of program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criterion is met with commentary.
Strengths:
 A well-developed competency-based curriculum is in place.
 Competencies are revised based on student input, faculty assessments and workforce needs.
Weaknesses:
 Workforce surveys have been conducted, however they have focused more on professional
development needs rather than specifically evaluating the school’s competencies. More
specific assessments of program-wide competencies would provide useful data. While
internship preceptors evaluate internship-related competencies there is a need to more
comprehensively assess core and specific competencies to address workforce needs.
Plans:
 The 2015 workforce survey data are currently being analyzed in greater detail and results will
be shared with faculty to determine competency gaps. A plan to address these gaps will be
developed in the upcoming year.

Survey results are being presented to stakeholders throughout Nevada during the month of
October 2015. Feedback from these community roundtables also will be used in revising the
competencies.

Development of an employer survey focused on competencies.
79
2.7 Assessment Procedures.
:
a. Monitoring and evaluating student progress
Beginning in Fall 2014, the School of Committee Health Sciences instituted an Exit Exam for graduating
students with a declared CHS major in the Bachelor of Science degree program. The exam has been pilot
tested for two semesters (Fall 2014 and Spring 2015).
The exam consists of a single case study drawn from a chapter in Savage Inequalities (Kozol 1991). We
created twelve short answer questions that assess students’ competency in six domains: social
behavioral health, health policy, public health ethics, environmental health, epidemiology, and public
health biology.
The first pilot test (Fall 2014) was designed to examine feasibility and logistical issues related to
administering the exam. The exam was administered anonymously via the UNR WebCampus platform to
students in the CHS 494 “Field Studies in Public Health” course, which is required for all CHS majors in
the last year of their degree progression. All students in CHS 494 were randomized to take one of two
versions of the exam, each of which consisted of six questions (one question per domain). Participation
was incentivized by raffling three gift certificate worth $10 each to students who completed the exam by
the last day of class. Seventeen out of 55 (31%) students completed the exam . Students were given two
weeks to complete the exam. On average, students spent over 2 hours completing the exam. Students
who completed the exam had earned an average of a 90% in CHS 494. The Undergraduate Curriculum
Committee reviewed the exam results and formulated several recommendations for improving response
rate and addressing logistical barriers that emerged in the first pilot. These included:
1. Increase student participation through: further incentivizing participation, explaining the
purpose and importance of the exam, reducing the time burden
2. Improve student experience and reduce logistical barriers through: changing the administration
to a more user friendly web interface, allowing students to select one question per domain
rather than randomly assigning
In the second pilot test (Spring 2015), the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee instituted several
changes in response to the recommendations from the first pilot. The exam was administered
anonymously using Google Survey, which reduced the logistical burden associated with WebCampus
and allowed students to select questions from each domain to answer. The exam was described in the
CHS 494 syllabus and assigned a point value – credit was earned for completing the exam but was not
based on the students’ scores. The Director of the Undergraduate Program wrote a letter to students
explaining the rationale for and purpose of the exam. Seventy-six out of 113 (67%) CHS 494 students
completed the exam – a considerable improvement over the 31% participation rate in the first pilot.
Two second-year MPH students, who were trained by Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, graded
the exams. The average score on the exam was 2.14, on a four-point Likert-type scale (1-4). The
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee is in the process of reviewing the exams and formulating
recommendations for future implementation. Deliberations will include:
80
1. Characteristics of the exam – Are the questions appropriate for measuring the public health
competencies outlined by the program? Is it appropriate to assess all the competencies at the end
of the four-year course progression, or should the program implement interim exams that assess
competencies immediately after required coursework? Can the short-answer questions be replaced
or supplemented with multiple choice questions, which would reduce burden and facilitate
consistency in grading?
2. Quality of the grading – Were the responses graded appropriately? How can the program ensure
appropriate and consistent grading of short-answer responses year-to-year and grader-to-grader?
3. Student participation – How can students be further incentivized to commit sufficient effort to the
exam? How can the participation rate be improved further?
4. Content of the undergraduate curriculum – After addressing measurement and logistical issues that
might impact results, how can the results of the exit exam be used to improve student learning
thorough their progression in the CHS major?
In September 2015, we met with the University Assessment Office to determine our assessment plan.
The office has additional capacity to support specialized assessment in each major and has added staff
analysts and survey software. We devised a plan with three surveys identifiable to student names
throughout the course progression: CHS 101, early in the semester, as a pre-test; CHS 280, by the end of
semester, as a mid-point assessment; CHS 494, towards end of semester, as the post-test. The survey
questions will include self-assessment about the program SLO’s.
Every required MPH and area of specialization course has a competency plan ( E-resource : Competency
assessment plan). The competency plan includes assessment and evaluation methods that serve the
basis for monitoring whether students are achieving expected competencies (e.g., exams, assignments,
papers, projects, and final course grades). Using the evaluation methods identified in the competency
plans, faculty members meet once a semester (or more as needed) to assess student progress in
mastering the core and area of specialization competencies (before the drop date and near the end of
the semester).
Since 2010, MPH competencies have been assessed in two ways for each required and core course—by
the course instructor and by student self- assessment. At the beginning of the semester, instructors of
core and required courses provide students with a course competency plan, which describes the
competencies covered in the course along with the topics, readings and assignments/assessments
associated with each competency. Faculty use this plan throughout the semester so that students are
familiar with it. A course competency survey was developed for each of the core and required courses in
the program and is administered to students at the end of the semester. The survey lists each of the
competencies for the course along with the sample topics, readings, and assignments related to that
competency. Then, students are asked to rate their degree of proficiency with each competency on a
scale from 1 = Very Poor to 5 = Excellent. In addition, the instructors conduct their own assessments of
the course, reflecting on results from course assignments and tests and their observations throughout
the semester regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the course. Upon reviewing the student’s selfassessment of competencies and/or based on their own course assessments, instructors determine how
81
to address weaknesses. Competency assessment data from fall 2012 through fall 2014 for the core and
required MPH courses are presented in the E-resource: Competencies: survey and results.
The internship preceptor completes a student evaluation based on competencies identified in the
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (see section 2.4 Practical Skills). In addition, students establish
an MPH professional paper committee (see section 2.5) that evaluates students’ achievement of courseand student-identified competencies using a standard evaluation tool (E-resource: Competencies
assessment tool). The evaluations are both qualitative and quantitative. Students must receive approval
from their committee members that they have demonstrated in their final paper and presentation the
ability to synthesize public health knowledge and apply it to the solution of public health problems.
Faculty members rated students’ oral presentations on eight different competencies using a scale from
1 = Needs Improvement to 10 = Excellent. For the professional paper, using the same 10-point scale,
faculty rated students’ writing competency for each of seven parts of the paper, along with five
additional competencies. From 2013 to 2015, mean professional paper ratings ranged from 8.7 to 9.0,
while mean presentation scores ranged from 9.3 to 9.4 Professional paper and presentation
competency assessment data are presented in E-resource: Culminating Experience: evaluation.
b. Outcome measures to identify student achievement.
The SCHS has defined a number of goals and objectives that serve as important outcomes measures for
both the undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition to graduation in a defined period of time,
additional outcome measures include maintaining GPA above 3.0 for both undergraduate and graduate
students and having internship ratings of the students that are good or above. MPH student outcomes
include successfully defending the professional paper in a timely manner, being involved in faculty
research, and providing service to the community or university outside usual course work. Postgraduation outcomes for MPH students include successful employment, admittance into additional
academic training, being in leadership positions and successfully taking the CPH examination. In
addition, diversity outcomes are measured for both undergraduate and graduate students (see Table
1.8.1)
Graduation rates for the MPH degree follow a predictable pattern based on whether students are full
time with an expectation to graduate in two years or whether they are part-time and take classes over
years. All masters graduate students must complete their degrees in 6 years.
Table 2.7.1. Students in MPH Degree, By Cohorts Entering Between 2009-2010 and 2104-2015
Maximum Time to Graduate = 6 years
Cohort of Students
2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
2009-10
# Students entered
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
16
0
0
0.0%
2010-11
# Students continuing at beginning
of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
16
16
4
0
82
2014-15
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
# Students continuing at beginning
of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
# Students continuing at beginning
of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
# Students continuing at beginning
of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
# Students continuing at beginning
of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
9
56.2%
3
18.8%
3
13
16
0
2
68.8%
3
6
56.3%
1
0
0.0%
1
4
15
32
0
1
75.0%
0
2
68.8%
3
7
43.8%
4
3
9.4%
0
2
5
25
27
0
0
75.0%
0
1
75.0%
0
1
50.0%
0
19
68.8%
3
2
7.4%
0
1
4
6
22
32
0
0
75.0%
0
1
81.3%
0
2
62.5%
0
3
78.1%
0
13
55.6%
0
4
12.5%
Target
20122013
20132014
20142015
90%
93%
93%
94%
(New)
By 2018
60%
By 2015
95%
71%
61%
60%
100%
96%
100%
58%
68%
64%
64%
49%
45%
--
--
100%
Table 2.7.b
Outcome Measures
Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers,
educators and leaders.”
Objective 2: Education/Training
2a. 90% of MPH students will receive grades of B- or higher in the
MPH core and required courses ( first time they take the course)
2b. 60% of undergraduate CHS majors will have a GPA of 3.0 at
graduation.
2c.By 2015, 95% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH
professional paper.
By 2018, 90% of MPH students will successfully defend their MPH
professional paper in the same semester during which they were
enrolled in the Capstone course.
2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities.
2e.By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles
and/or providing service to the community or university.
By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to
the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship
or paid work.
2f. 90% of MPH students completing internships will be rated by their
preceptors at “good” or above.
83
By 2018
90%
30%
By 2015
75%
By 2018
60%
(New)
By 2018
2g. 75% of undergraduate students completing their internship will be
rated at “good” or above.
2h. 80% of MPH students will rate the quality of their internship as
being “good” or above
Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation
3a. 90% of full-time MPH students will complete their degree within 3
years of matriculation.
3b. By 2018, the 3 year graduation rate of juniors will be 75%.
3c. 75% of recent MPH graduates will become employed in public
health or settings closely related to their degree within 6 months of
graduation.
3d. 5% of MPH graduates within the past year will be admitted to a
program for further academic training (PhD, MD, etc.).
3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national
leadership positions in public health.
3f. By 2018, 50% of employed UNR MPH graduates are located in
Nevada.
3g. By 2018, 20% of graduating students will take the CPH exam within
one year of graduation.
3h. By 2018, 80% of graduating students who take the CPH exam will
pass it.
3i. By 2018, 25% of CHS BS graduates will be tracked for postgraduation activities.
90%
(New)
By 2018
75%
(New)
By 2018
80%
90%
--
--
95%
--
--
100%
100%
100%
93%
(New)
By 2018
75%
75%
92%
93%
Not
availa
ble
TBD
5%
0%
13%
23%
10%
23%
20%
TBD
By 2018
50%
(New)
20%
(New)
80%
(New)
25%
64%
82%
TBD
--
29%
9%
--
100%
50%
--
--
--
Undergraduate students in the CHS BS degree program often start UNR as “undecided” or in another
degree program. In addition, the community colleges offer an AA degree in Community Health Sciences
that is readily transferrable to UNR. Students who transfer into CHS may have a more prolonged
undergraduate career to attain the required courses needed to graduate. The unprecedented growth at
UNR affects the ability of students to enroll in required classes. There has been a concerted effort to
prioritize admittance into CHS classes for seniors to complete their required courses in a timely fashion.
To address the growth, additional budget allocations for faculty (full time and adjunct) were received
over the last three years.
The standard measure for graduation success nationwide is 6 years and that is what is used in Template
2.7.1 for the BS degree. Few students declare their major as freshman so the information presented is
not an accurate representation of graduation success in the school. Rates are only tracked from a cohort
of freshman and do not include information on students who transfer into the major during their
sophomore through senior years.
84
Table 2.7.1. Students in BS Degree, By Cohorts Entering Between 2008-2009and 2014-2015
Cohort of Students
2005-06
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
2006-07
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
13
44
2
10
49
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
2
7
21
# Students graduated
0
0
0
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
9
23
28
70
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
0
1
15
34
2
0
0
0
9.52%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
6
22
13
36
63
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
0
3
0
5
29
5
0
0
0
11.36%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
1
14
13
31
34
62
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
0
3
0
0
0
29
# Students graduated
1
9
0
0
0
0
39.10%
31.81%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
4
1
10
4
6
28
11
0
25
2
0
33
10
0
130
17
0
34.09%
12.24%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0
0
0
17
9
5
23
14
0
23
1
0
113
35
1
161
40
0
12.24%
7.14%
0.00%
0.00%
0.70%
0.00%
3
0
0
9
2
3
22
8
2
77
19
1
121
39
0
78
26
0
7.14%
4.76%
3.25%
1.53%
0.00%
0.00%
4
3
1
12
57
82
52
1
2
3
1
6.30%
4.83%
3.07%
1.86%
1.28%
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
7 Cumulative graduation rate
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
2014-15
2014-15
5
Cumulative graduation rate
2013-14
2012-13
33.33%
Cumulative graduation rate
2012-13
2011-12
0
30
# Students graduated
2011-12
2010-11
0.00%
11
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
2009-10
8
0
Cumulative graduation rate
2010-11
2008-09
0.00%
# Students graduated
2009-10
2007-08
0
Cumulative graduation rate
2008-09
2006-07
21
0.00%
Cumulative graduation rate
2007-08
2005-06
# Students continuing at beginning of this school year
# Students withdrew, dropped, etc.
# Students graduated
Cumulative graduation rate
85
Other measurements may provide some relevant information. For the last three years, we have
information on the number of graduates, the time to graduation, graduating GPA and fall-to-fall
retention.
2012-13
141
4.9
3.19
78%
Undergraduate degrees granted
Undergraduate time to degree (yrs)
Undergraduate GPA
Undergraduate fall to fall retention rate (2nd -3rd year)
2013-14
148
4.9
3.13
85%
2014-15
186
5.1
3.10
85%
To address the inability to track graduation success, the school will work with the Assessment office to
create a better way to track this figure. Classic rates may not be useful given the influx of students into
the major in their later years of college. The new student tracking system may assist with this.
Template 2.7.2 Destination of MPH Graduates by Employment Type
2011-2012
19 90.5%
1
4.8%
1
4.8%
0
0
Employed
Continuing education/training (not employed)
Actively seeking employment
Not seeking employment (not employed and not
continuing education/training, by choice)
Unknown
0
Total
0
2012-2013
10 71.4%
3
21.4%
1
7.1%
0
0
0
21
0
2013-2014
17 77.3%
5
22.7%
0
0
0
0
0
14
0
22
Template 2.7.2 Destination of BS Graduates by Employment Type
2000-2012
combined
UNR comparison
n=13728
n=282
Employed
202
72%
10,88
0
79%
Continuing education/training (not employed)
65
23%
1922
14%
Actively seeking employment
5
1.5%
544
4%
Not seeking employment (not employed and not
continuing education/training, by choice)
10
3.5%
347
2.5%
Unknown
0
0
37
.5%
Total
282
13,728
Undergraduate employment information has been difficult to track. UNR has conducted an alumni
survey since 2001. Data for CHS is limited but does provide some insight into comparative experiences
for CHS compared to UNR. Alumni surveys do not reach many graduated students primarily because of
86
the difficulty of finding graduates after they leave UNR. One strategy just implemented by UNR is that
students can keep their unr.edu email address after they leave. This may improve the ability to track
graduates. The faculty added the development of a SCHS undergraduate tracking system to the goals
and objectives in 2015.
c. Job placement data collection
An online survey of the current years’ MPH graduates is conducted each fall three to five months
following graduation. The graduate survey includes questions about the graduate’s employment or
continuing education status, employment sector, employer and location. Additionally, graduates are
asked to evaluate the quality of the MPH program, including the faculty, courses, strengths, and
challenges. A graduate employment update survey is administered to MPH graduates a year after
graduation. This brief survey includes questions about the graduate’s employment or continuing
education status, employment sector, and location. MPH graduate job placement data is derived from
these two surveys and supplemented with employment information that faculty members have received
directly from graduates who did not complete the surveys.
Of the 2012 MPH graduates, 19 of 21 completed the graduate survey yielding a 90% response rate. The
2013 graduate survey was completed by 13 of 14 graduates in fall 2013 for a 93% response rate. A
survey of 2014 MPH graduates was administered online in fall 2014 and completed by 15 of 22
graduates for a 68% response rate. The employment update survey for 2014 graduates is ongoing
currently in fall 2015. Final results of the 2014 graduate employment update survey will be updated
prior to the spring 2016 site visit.
In fall 2012, 97 MPH alumni were invited to complete an online survey, which included items relating to
their employment status, sector, location, employer, and their scholarship, service and leadership
related to public health. Of the 97 invited, 39 completed the survey for a 40% response rate (46%
response rate after adjusting for 12 invalid email addresses). Most of the respondents (84%) were
employed; 13% were pursuing further education; while one respondent (3%) was not employed. The
majority 70% of employed respondents were located in the state of Nevada; and, 6% in other
Intermountain West states (Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, or New Mexico). The highest percentages of
respondents were employed in the government and healthcare sectors.
The UNR alumni survey has been conducted by phone interviews. A sample of graduates is contacted
and a standardized script is used to collect the data. The study size has been limited. For the last two
years there have been no respondents from SCHS (due in part to the changes in assessment activities at
UNR). The full survey can be seen in the E-resource : Surveys section.
d. Graduate certification performance
The MPH graduates have begun to take the CPH exam. For the last two years seven students have taken
the test and 5 have passed. Students who did not pass took the test prior to finishing their courses.
Students are being encouraged to take this test after they graduate.
Our BS degree is not associated with any national credentialing at this point.
87
e. Employed graduates performance
Combining responses from 2011 through 2014 MPH graduate survey respondents, on a scale from 1 =
strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree, 92% of MPH graduates agreed or strongly agreed that “overall,
the MPH Program advanced my career objectives.” Graduate survey respondents also were asked to
indicate, on a scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree, the extent to which they agreed that
each of the six core courses gave them a solid foundation in public health principles. Mean ratings across
the courses from 2011-2014 graduate survey respondents ranged from 3.2 to3.8
Graduate survey comments about the strengths of the MPH program also provide evidence of how the
program has prepared alumni to perform competencies in the employment setting.
“Overall, the MPH program had many strengths. Here are my top 3. First, most of the classes provided
me with the information I needed to succeed in the field of public health. Second, there were many
opportunities that allowed me to show my skills and abilities (GAships, GSPH, recruiting, etc.), which
opened many doors. Third (and probably the most important), the professors and faculty cared about
the students and were willing to provide as much guidance and help as needed (as long as the students
are willing to work).”
“[The program has] made huge steps to ensure the graduates of the MPH program have all the
opportunity available to succeed after graduation.”
“Overall I have learned so much and have honestly felt prepared for my next academic research
opportunity.”
“The field experience was the best learning experience. Also, the electives taught by professionals in the
field gave me the most real-life lessons that have benefited me to this day in my public health
profession. Plus, advisers/professors who really wanted their students to learn and were involved often
gave the best learning opportunities to my cohort.”
“This program gave me a strong research foundation. The skills that I learned in the MPH Program have
already enabled me to contribute to large-scale changes in our community.”
An MPH alumni survey was conducted online in 2012 with the primary purpose of collecting MPH
employment data. While alumni were not specifically asked about their ability to perform competencies
in an employment survey, one comment from survey respondent relates to that topic,
“The internship gave me the experience needed to capture a great/amazing first job.”
The UNR alumni survey asks employers for their assessment of the importance of selected skills and how
well UNR graduates were able to demonstrate those skills. Overall, respondents felt that CHS graduates
were well-prepared and covered skill sets they felt were important to their work. (see full
undergraduate alumni survey in E-resources) Ratings in all categories were above 60% for very well
prepared. In particular, employers felt CHS students were very prepared to consider ethical behavior in
their work (90%) and being comfortable in diverse environments (83%).
88
f.
Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criteria is met with Commentary.
Strengths:
 There is well-developed system to track the graduation rates and destinations of MPH students.
Graduates are active participants in the surveys.
Weaknesses:
 The UNR alumni and employer surveys are done annually but the number of responses has
always been small. It is difficult to identify themes that will help change the curriculum.
 Specific data about the ability of MPH graduates to perform competencies in an employment
setting, including information from periodic assessments of alumni, employers and other
relevant stakeholders is lacking.
Plans:

Faculty are developing a survey to send to employers of the MPH program’s graduates and
revising the alumni survey in order to better assess this criterion.
89
2.8 Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Health.
a. Bachelor of Science coursework.
The BS in Community Health Sciences degree requires 120 credits for graduation. The program has UNR
core requirements as well as specific requirements for the two emphases in kinesiology or public health.
The coursework that is required can be seen in the link below and covers courses in SCHS as well as
other units on campus to ensure a well-rounded education.
b. Offficial curriculum and catalog forms
The BS degree requires 120 credits and includes a practicum experience. The catalog explaining the
degree programs and instructional matrix with course requirements and descriptions is found at:
Public Health emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5721
Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Public-Health-Major2014.pdf
Kinesiology emphasis: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5448
Website information: http://dhs.unr.edu/Documents/dhs/chs/academics/CHS-Kinesiology-Major2014.pdf
c. Template K matrix: Experiences that ensure introduction to domains
DOMAINS
Courses and other learning experiences through which
students are introduced to the domains specified
Science: Introduction to the
foundations of scientific knowledge,
including the biological and life
sciences and the concepts of health
and disease
CHS 102, CHS 200; Gen Ed Core Science;
Social and Behavioral Sciences:
Introduction to the foundations of
social and behavioral sciences
CHS 101, CHS 102, CHS 473; Gen Ed Core Social Science
Math/Quantitative Reasoning:
Introduction to basic statistics
CHS 280, CHS 473; Gen Ed Core Math
Humanities/Fine Arts: Introduction to
the humanities/fine arts
Gen Ed Core Humanities and Core Fine Arts
90
d. Template L matrix: Exposure to domains
CHS Undergraduate Core
PUBLIC HEALTH DOMAINS
Overview of Public Health: Address the history
and philosophy of public health as well as its core
values, concepts, and functions across the globe
and in society
Public Health History
Public Health Philosophy
Core PH Values
Core PH Concepts
Global Functions of
Public Health
Societal Functions of
Public Health
Role and Importance of Data in Public Health:
Address the basic concepts, methods, and tools
of public health data collection, use, and analysis
and why evidence-based approaches are an
essential part of public health practice
Basic Concepts of Data
Collection
Basic Methods of Data
Collection
Basic Tools of Data
Collection
Data Usage
Data Analysis
Evidence-based
Approaches
Identifying and Addressing Population Health
Challenges: Address the concepts of population
health, and the basic processes, approaches, and
interventions that identify and address the major
health-related needs and concerns of populations
Population Health
Concepts
Introduction to Processes
and Approaches to
Identify Needs and
Concerns of Populations
Introduction to
Approaches and
Interventions to Address
Needs and Concerns of
Populations
Course Name and Number
CHS
CHS
102,
CHS
101,
Pers
200, PH
Intro PH H&W
Biology
CHS
280,
Biostats
C
I
CHS
473, Epi
C
C
C
C
I
I
C
C
C
C
I
I
C
C
I
I
C
C
I
I
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
I
C
C
C
I
I
I
I
I
I
91
CHS
4xx
Capstone
CHS
494
Field
Studies
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
Human Health: Address the underlying science
of human health and disease including
opportunities for promoting and protecting health
across the life course
Science of Human Health
and Disease
Health Promotion
Health Protection
Determinants of Health: Address the socioeconomic, behavioral, biological, environmental,
and other factors that impact human health and
contribute to health disparities
Socio-economic Impacts
on Human Health and
Health Disparities
Behavioral Factors
Impacts on Human
Health and Health
Disparities
Biological Factors
Impacts on Human
Health and Health
Disparities
Environmental Factors
Impacts on Human
Health and Health
Disparities
Project Implementation: Address the
fundamental concepts and features of project
implementation, including planning, assessment,
and evaluation
Introduction to Planning
Concepts and Features
Introduction to
Assessment Concepts
and Features
Introduction to Evaluation
Concepts and Features
Overview of the Health System: Address the
fundamental characteristics and organizational
structures of the U.S. health system as well as to
the differences in systems in other countries
Characteristics and
Structures of the U.S.
Health System
Comparative Health
Systems
Health Policy, Law, Ethics, and Economics:
Address the basic concepts of legal, ethical,
economic, and regulatory dimensions of health
care and public health policy, and the roles,
influences and responsibilities of the different
agencies and branches of government
Legal dimensions of
health care and public
C
C
C
C
I
I
C
C
C
I
C
C
I
C
C
I
C
I
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
I
I
C
I
C
I
92
health policy
Ethical dimensions of
health care and public
health policy
Economical dimensions
of health care and public
health policy
Regulatory dimensions of
health care and public
health policy
Governmental Agency
Roles in health care and
public health policy
Health Communications: Address the basic
concepts of public health-specific communication,
including technical and professional writing and
the use of mass media and electronic technology
Technical writing
Professional writing
Use of Mass Media
Use of Electronic
Technology
Key
I – Introduced
I
I
C
I
C
C
C
I
I
C
C-covered
e. Template M matrix: Experiences that guide students to demonstrate skills.
Skills
Public Health Communication: Students should
be able to communicate public health information,
in both oral and written forms and through a
variety of media, to diverse audiences
Oral communication
Written communication
Communicate with
diverse audiences
Communicate through
variety of media
Information Literacy: Students should be able
to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize
information
Locate information
Use information
Evaluate information
Synthesize information
Courses and other learning
experiences through which
students demonstrate the
following skills.
Methods by which these skills
are assessed.
CHS 494 & Capstone course
CHS 494 & Capstone course
Course assignments and activities
Course assignments and activities
CHS 494 & Capstone course
Course assignments and activities
CHS 494 & Capstone course
Course assignments and activities
CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone
CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone
CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone
CHS 101, 211, 473, Capstone
Course assignments and activities
Course assignments and activities
Course assignments and activities
Course assignments and activities
Note:
CHS students have experiential opportunities in several courses. These culminate with the required
Capstone course (CHS offers 9 topics) and the Field Studies course in which students master
integration and synthesis (Core Objective 13) and application of concepts (Core Objective 14).
93
f.
Template N matrix: Cumulative and experiential activities to integrate, synthesize and apply
knowledge.
Cumulative and Experiential
Activity (internships, research
papers, service-learning
projects, etc.)
CHS 4xx Capstone Course
Paper
CHS 494 Field Study Internship
Other courses with service
learning
Narrative describing how activity provides students the
opportunity to integrate, synthesize and apply knowledge.
The capstone course (required university-wide) assigns a significantly
weighted project paper that integrates concepts from across the core
curriculum and knowledge from the major.
Create public health learning objectives for internship and complete
these through 100 hours of internship experience. Present experience
in poster session and with video.
Various courses have service-learning units within; ex. CHS 360
Disability Issues
g. Template O: Curriculum exposes students to concepts of public health
Concept
Advocacy for protection and
promotion of the public’s health at
all levels of society
Community dynamics
Critical thinking and creativity
Cultural contexts in which public
health professionals work
Ethical decision making as related
to self and society
Independent work and a personal
work ethic
Networking
Organizational dynamics
Professionalism
Research methods
Systems thinking
Teamwork and leadership
Manner in which the curriculum and co-curricular experiences
expose students to the concepts
PED 466, CHS 360, CHS 310, CHS 421, Capstones
PED 466, CHS 360, CHS 362, CHS 494
CHS 211, Capstones
PED 466, CHS 360, CHS 345
PED 466, PED 391, CHS 345
PED 466, PED 391, CHS 494
CHS 345, CHS 494
CHS 360, CHS 340, Capstones
CHS 345, CHS 360, CHS 494
CHS 473
CHS 340, PED 466, CHS 360
CHS 310, PED 391, CHS 494
h. Syllabi for all required coursework. See E-resource, Syllabi: Undergraduate courses
i.
Examples of student work. See E-resource, Undergraduate Assessment
j.
Cumulative and field exposure experiences.
Practical public health skill development is also an integral part of the undergraduate program. CHS 494:
Field Studies in Public Health requires all student to complete 100 hours (3 credit hours) of unpaid
professional work experience on a public health project for which the student is independently
responsible during their senior year of the program. Internship participation is required for all
undergraduate students. Students are responsible for locating and arranging their own internship
experience with support from the internship coordinator. CHS 494 is offered on campus during the fall
and spring semester and is offered internationally during winter and summer semesters.
94
The internship coordinator maintains ongoing communication with former site preceptors to facilitate
new student placements and partnerships in state and local health departments and community
agencies, and continuously works to foster new community relationships with potential preceptors in
order to develop further student opportunities. Potential internship preceptor/project recruitment
letters are sent out to community partners two months prior to the upcoming semester (fall/spring).
Responses from this recruitment solicitation are compiled into a list that is communicated to students
via WebCampus resources prior to the start of each semester.
Once a site and preceptor are arranged, the student and preceptor complete: the CHS 494 Internship
Agreement (similar to a Memorandum of Understanding) and a Project Management Plan. The
preceptor is also provided with a Supervisor Handbook with essential aspects of the course clearly
outlined. Internship emphasis is placed on developing an experience that will provide the student with
opportunities to: enhance skills learned during coursework and develop new skills and experiences in
which the student will be working in a professional capacity. Students complete the course using a
service learning model incorporating the three main areas of: Knowledge, Action, and Reflection. All
student assignments relate to one of these three key areas to enhance the student learning
experience. Students have the opportunity to network through the Making Health Happen Seminar
Series and the opportunity to present their work through a professional poster presentation
and through a final student film presentation.
k. Documentation: handbooks, files, and instructions
E-resource: Practical/internship experience: undergraduate internship
l.
Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 We have been graduating students from a Bachelor of Science program with a strong public
health philosophy grounded in the ecological approach to population health for two
decades.
 Graduates often find careers in public health and various other health professions.
 Our campus now requires measurable student learning outcomes of all courses and
programs, and the Community Health Sciences B.S. program intentionally aligned its
program SLOs and course SLOs with nationally recognized public health competencies
during the transition.
Weaknesses:
 The assessment plan is the last piece of the campus transition to best practice in curriculum
development. The faculty curriculum committee was charged with assessment while the
university assessment office lost resources during the recession and budget crisis. The original
assessment plan was to pick a competency and assess it before moving on to other
competencies. Effective writing was the competency selected. There were vastly different
95
assignments and levels of writing competency. What some faculty viewed as competent, others
did no. It because less about meeting writing competencies and more about creating a clear
vision of effective writing. With the loss of support from the institution, this was dropped.
Other assessment surveys were piloted with varying success. Those experiences have informed
the plans for assessment.
Plans:
 Our undergraduate advising office has expanded its staff capacity recently to keep up with the
campus growth. Also, at present the university assessment office has a reinvigorated mission
and abundant support for faculty in the disciplines. An improved assessment plan is being
implemented to evaluate student learning outcomes. We plan student assessment surveys three
times during the curriculum progression, and the central university office can keep track of
specifically identified students by name. This new assessment philosophy and procedure, not
unlike the ongoing assessment already in place for the masters program, will allow the faculty to
focus on continuous quality improvement while teaching.
96
2.9 Academic Degrees: Not at this time
2.10 Doctoral Degrees: Not at this time
2.11 Joint Degrees.
a. Joint degree programs
The Orvis School of Nursing and the School of Community Health Sciences offer a dual degree MSN/MPH
program. The dual degree program prepares BS/RN nurses to draw upon advanced knowledge and a
variety of skills to define, critically assess, diagnose, and collaborate with communities to plan care and
resolve public health problems. The program includes academic and clinical practice preparation for
nurse practitioners delivering primary health care in public health settings.
Both degrees when completed separately are two-year degrees. Students in the combined program can
complete the plan of study in less time than it takes to earn each degree separately. Students enroll in
courses in Nursing and Public Health each semester to enhance interdisciplinary learning and practice.
Students complete the core courses in both the public health and nursing program; however, there is
some overlap.
Admission requirements to the MPH/MSN program include those set by both programs. Students must
apply to both programs separately, then be admitted to each of them before embarking on the dual
program. http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5466
For the MD/MPH student, there is an accelerated one-year program of study, with the field studies and
capstone course following in year two. There is some flexibility offered for the initiation of the MPH
curriculum.
There is a 6-unit overlap with the medical students in their clinical rotations which will have a public
health emphasis and therefore may be used for their MPH internship credits. Upon completion of the
clinical rotations, the students will return for the following spring semester to complete their MPH
capstone course. Apart from the 6-unit overlap, MD/MPH students are required to complete all other
requirements just like other MPH students, and to demonstrate attainment of all identified public health
competencies. http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=5474
This year the MPH program was expanded to include Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residents
who wished to complete their MPH during their residencies. This is a 3-year program that incorporates
MPH classes during the second through fourth years of the residency program. Progression of classes is
dependent on the emphasis chosen by the residents. An example of student progression is seen in the Eresource: Joint degrees.
b. Differences from standard degree program.
The MSN/MPH dual degree is currently undergoing revision and there have been no enrollees in the last
3 years. The primary reason for this is that both degrees require full course work without allowing any
97
substitution (ie. taking nursing epidemiology class in addition to CHS epidemiology class). Students
cannot complete both degrees in three years. There is new interest in exploring the MSN/MPH degree
again in the context of newer MSN requirements.
The MD/MPH dual degree requires medical students to take all of the required courses for their
specialization. The only credit sharing is done for the internship experience. Courses have been
designated as meeting the public health requirement for content as well as the medical content. If
students identify a unique experience, an evaluation is done by the internship coordinator/advisor to
ensure that the experience meets the public health requirements and competencies before accepting
the experience as fulfilling the internship experience.
c. Assessment of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans.
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 There is a clear description and procedure for dual degree students to enroll and commence
their program.
 The mix of MD/medical students and nursing students with MPH students has been
invigorating and has enhanced student participation.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 For students who did not go directly into their residencies after completing medical school
and enrolled in the MPH, the decision about what classes to count from their medical
education were more complicated. The faculty are considering whether these students
should be enrolled in the MPH as a dual degree. The graduate committee will be discussing
and voting on this.
98
3.0. Creation, Application and Advancement of Knowledge
3.1 Research
a. Supporting research and scholarly activity
All of the tenure- and research-track faculty members affiliated with the Program are involved in
research. Tenure-track faculty typically dedicate 40% effort to research during the academic year and
often do more research during the summer months. Research-track faculty devote a larger proportion
of their time to research, usually 50-90%, depending on funding and other duties.
The norm for most members of the faculty is to conduct empirical research. This typically requires grant
support and results in publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. However, there is considerable
variation reflecting the range of academic disciplines that make up the program and the backgrounds of
individual faculty members, as shown in table 3.1.1. Much of the research conducted by the faculty
involves graduate students, typically acting as research assistants. Student research is addressed in
more detail in 3.1.e.
For the faculty as a group, both production of scholarly publications and grant support have varied over
the last 5 years. The difficulty of successfully competing for federal grants, the sizable increase in
students in the SCHS and increase in teaching load to 2:3, and the retirement/transfer of senior,
research active faculty all contributed to a downturn in funded research and fewer publications.
However, in the past two years, with the increase in the number of faculty and a reduction in teaching
load to 2:2, the number of grants and publications has increased. This trend is a result of increasing
average individual productivity, as well as increasing numbers of newly hired experienced research
active faculty.
Research support is obtained from various federal, state, university and foundation sources, with federal
grants and state contracts accounting for the largest amounts of funding. Recent funding sources
include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Nevada State Health Division,
National Institutes of Health and the California Cancer Research Program. A number of these projects
are community based; these are described in detail in 3.1.1.
Faculty involvement in research is highly valued by the School and by the university. Faculty members
regularly enter their research accomplishments, including publications, presentations, grant
applications, and grant and contract awards into the university’s online database (Digital Measures).
Research productivity, along with teaching and service is assessed in both annual evaluations of
individual performance and recommendations for merit pay. Evaluations emphasize the importance of
scholarship and specifically encourage activities that contribute to public health knowledge. Evaluations
for promotion and tenure also consider research: excellence in research is one of the bases for
promotion and granting of tenure.
Faculty research is supported in several other ways. The standard teaching load for most tenure-track
faculty members at the University of Nevada, Reno is three courses per semester. However, faculty in
research-intensive programs (usually those with doctoral degrees) have a reduced load of two courses
99
per semester. Similarly, faculty in the School of Community Health Sciences normally teach two courses
per semester to facilitate greater engagement in research. Newly-hired faculty members receive startup funds and are granted reduced teaching responsibilities to help them establish a research program.
The amount of start-up support varies with the discipline and is currently provided by the Vice President
for Research and Innovation with additional needs funded by the vice president for DHS and the SCHS.
The School of Community Health Sciences also assigns state-supported graduate assistants to junior
faculty members to help with research. Additional resources for SCHS faculty include the ability to apply
for pilot grant funds to the CTR-IN (Clinical and Translational Research-Infrastructure Network) and the
INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) programs. These two programs are statewide
and funded by the NIH to increase the research capacity of states with low numbers of federal grants.
Two associate professors have completed INBRE funding and their pilot projects are currently being
published and proposals for federal support are in process.
The university also encourages research with several types of financial incentives. A 7.75% share of
indirect cost receipts is returned to externally-funded investigators; these funds are deposited in a
university account and may be used at the investigator’s discretion for professional needs, such as
books, travel, conference registration and student support. Academic faculty on nine-month contracts
may use salary support from grants to fund overload on non-contracted days, most of which occur
during the summer. Overload is compensated at the faculty member’s daily rate (equal to academic
year salary divided by the number of contracted days). The number of days available for overload is
slightly less than half of the number of contracted days, so faculty members with sufficient grant funds
can increase their salaries substantially by conducting funded research during the summer.
b. Research collaboration
The school is committed to community‐based research and has a number of projects with most
providing opportunities for student involvement. This research is sponsored by federal and state
organizations including the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services Innovation Center, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Health, and the Nevada Division of Public and
Behavioral Health(NDPBH). The primary community partner is the NDPBH and ongoing and important
research is done throughout the state. The outcomes from this research inform policy and resource
distribution to support prevention and other public health services. For purposes of determining
research vs. service, the following definition wasused. “Research: All research and development
activities that are sponsored by Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations. This term includes
activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training)
where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where
such activities are not included in the instructional function. “The community collaborations provide a
way for faculty to collect data and evaluate program outcomes. Many of these research partnerships
have existed for years.
The school is also home to the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Survey which has formal
agreements for community-based research with the NDPBH to conduct and analyze the Behavioral Risk
Factor Survey and the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. Primary data collection is an important function of
the SCHS faculty and provide objective information for state decision making.
100
c. Faculty Research
Table 3.1.c :Research Activity from 2013 to 2015
Project Name
Nevada Youth
Risk Behavior
Surveillance
System (YRBS)
Principal
Investigator &
Department
(for schools)
or
Concentration
(for programs)
Wei Yang, EPI
(PI)
Kristen
ClementsNolle, EPI (CoPI)
Funding
Source
Funding
Period
Start/End
Amount
Total Award
Amount
2013-2014
Amount
2014-2015
Centers for
Disease
Control and
Prevention
through
Nevada
State
Health
Division
CMS/REMS
A
December
2012December
2013
$60,000
$60,000
June 30,
2013December
31, 2015
$280,000
$100,000
$100,000
Amount 20152016
Com
munit
yBased
Y/N
Student
Participa
tion Y/N
Y
Y
$80,000
Y
Y
$300,000
Y
Y
N
Y
REMSA: CMS
Innovation Grant
Trudy Larson,
HAP (PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(Co-PI)
Nevada High
School, Middle
and Tribal School
YRBS
Wei Yang, EPI
(PI)
Kristen
ClementsNolle, EPI (CoPI)
James Kenyon,
School of
Medicine (PI)
Kristen
ClementsNolle, EPI (CoPI)
Echezona
Ezeanolue,
School of
Medicine (PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(Co-PI)
Kristen
ClementsNolle, EPI
(Supporting)
Minggen Lu,
EPI
(Supporting)
Trudy Larson,
HAP
(Supporting)
CDC PS131308 and
supplemen
tal funding
from
NDPBH
NIH/NV
INBRE
January
2013-July
2018
$1,500.000
$300,000
$300,000
July
2013-June
2015
$150,000
$75,000
$75,000
NIH
Septembe
r 2012December
2013
444,836
5494
--
--
N
N
Xiaoliang
Wang (PI)
Minggen Lu,
EPI
(Supporting)
HEI
October ,
2014Septembe
r 2016
$649,912
--
1998
1998
N
N
Screening for
Adverse
Childhood
Experience
Among Juvenile
Offenders
Implementation
Science in
Prevention of
Maternal-Child
HIV Transmission
(PMTCT)-Ro1
Real-World
Vehicle Emission
Characterization
for the Shing
Mun Tunnel in
Hong Kong and
Ft. McHenry
Tunnel in the US
101
Dietary and
Environmental
Exposure to
Cadmium and
the Risk of
Endometrial
Cancer
Cadmium, Age at
Menarche, and
Early Pubertal
Development in
Girls
Sex/Drug
Tourism at the
US/Mexico
Border: Social
Network
Influences on HIV
Risk
Networks and
normative
influences on sex
and drug-related
HIV risk in black
women
State and county
level income
inequality and
infant mortality
risk: The
moderating role
of race and
socioeconomic
status
Nevada Behavior
Risk Factor
Surveillance
(YRBS) System
Rudolf Rull,
EPI (PI)
Cancer
Prevention
Institute of
California
June 18,
2012-April
30, 2014
$105,470
$71,198.51
--
--
N
Y
Rudolf Rull,
EPI (PI)
Cancer
Prevention
Institute of
California
July 1,
2012December
31, 2013
$35,461.36
35461.36
--
--
N
N
Karla Wagner,
SBH (PI)
NIH/NIDA
$322,198.19
--
176,310
145,888.19
N
Y
Karla Wagner,
SBH (PI)
NIH/NIDA
May 1,
2015Septembe
r 30, 2019
$404,611
--
--
101,150
Y
Y
Roman
Pabayo, EPI
(PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(Co-PI)
NIH
July 27,
2015-June
30, 2018
$439,110
--
--
156,326
N
Y
Wei Yang, EPI
(PI)
Veronica
Dahir, CRDA
(Co-PI)
Septembe
r 2014January
2019
$1,175,000
$235,000
$235,000
$235,000
Y
Y
Nevada Baby
Birth Evaluation
and Assessment
of Risk Survey
Wei Yang (PI)
Veronica
Dahir, CRDA
(Co-PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(PI)
CDC
through
NDPBH and
supplemen
tal funding
from
NDPBH
NDPBH
March
2014Novembe
r 2015
$136,929
Y
Y
NIH/U54
August ,
2013-July
2018
$285,037.80
$43,070.07
$57,008.00
$57,008.00
Y
Y
$9,895,950
7194.99
3393.35
0
N
Statistical Core
for Clinical and
Translational
Research
Infrastructure
Network (IDeACTR)
Centers of
Biomedical
Research
Excellence
(COBRE), NeuroScience
Michael
Webster,
Psychology
(PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
Supporting, as
the
Populationbased Core
Director)
Septembe
r 1, 2014
– August
31, 2016
DHHS-NIHNIGMS
Septembe
r , 2012August
2018
102
$136,929
Nevada
Leadership in
Neurodevelopme
ntal Disabilities
Stephen Rock,
Education (PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(Supporting)
Echezona
Ezeanolue,
School of
Medicine (PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(Supporting)
HRSA
July
2011-June
2016
$2,541,670
10,736
11,516
6854.50
y
NIH R01
Septembe
r 2012August
2015
$1,345,617
5000
5000
5000
N
Judith Ashley
(PI)
Wei Yang, EPI
(Supporting)
NIH
July ,
2008-June
2014
$1,497,875
20,000
--
--
N
Colorectal cancer
FIT Mailing Study
Paul
Devereux,
SBH (PI)
Renown
Health
Foundation
January
2015December
2015
$26,353
$12,940
$13,413
Y
Y
Well Women
Guidelines
Daniel Spogen
(PI)
Michelle
Granner, SBH
(Supporting)
Jaren Blake
(Supporting)
Catherine
McCarthy
(Supporting)
Stephanie
Wright
(Supporting)
Patricia
Sharpe (PI)
Michelle
Granner, SBH
(Supporting)
State of
Nevada
Attorney
General
Sept
2015March
2017
$355, 508
10,500
N
Y
NIH-NIDDK
August
2007-July
2013
$2,713,230
Y
N
Julie Lucero
(PI)
NARCHIHS-NIGMSNCI
Sept
2013-Sept
2018
$475,000
Comparative
Effectiveness of
Congregation
and Facilitybased
Approaches:
Prevention of
Mother-to-Child
HIV Transmission
(PMTCT)
Resident and
Preceptor
Education in
Nutrition and
Cancer
Health disparities
among minority
and underserved
women
NARCH
VII: Disseminatio
n and
Implementation
to Reduce
American
Indian/Alaska
Native Health
Disparities
Project
Totals
5,395,170
0
$95,000
968,154
1,115,094
Y
938,138
Only SCHS primary faculty grants added in total grant award column. Other columns include support for
faculty from other grants (in italics). Awards do not equal expenditures (represented in the financial
report)
103
d. Measures for evaluating research
The Program has established specific goals and objectives by which research success is measured. The
four objectives assessing peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations, grant submissions, and
grant awards are tracked annually using data submitted by the faculty via the Digital Measures database
described previously. Data on the amount of grant awards are supplemented by information from the
University Office of Sponsored Projects.
Table 3.1.d
Goal 2: “To develop the knowledge base for public health through
research.”
Objectives:
1. 60% of faculty will publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal per
year.
2. 70% of faculty will present research results at one scientific
conference per year.
3. 70% of faculty will submit one proposal for grant funding per year.
4a.
Total amount of external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by
2015 (2010-2011 baseline=$16,334/faculty FTE)
Over three years (by 2018), the total amount of external fund awards
per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.
4b.
Number of new external fund awards per FTE will increase by 5% by
2015
Over three years (by 2018), the number of new external fund awards
per FTE will increase by 5% from the 2014-2015 baseline.
60%
69%
58%
71%
70%
70%
92%
71%
70%
5%
increase
from
baseline
71%
$10,191/
FTE
38%
decrease
from
baseline
1.4/FTE
64%
$19,121/
FTE
17%
increase
from
baseline
1.2/FTE
89%
$32,287/FT
E
98%
increase
from
baseline
1.2/FTE
5%
increase
from
baseline
Other measures of research success are evaluated annually for individual faculty members. The
indicators considered in annual evaluations of research activity are directed primarily toward scholarly
publication and grant support. For publication, the number and types of scholarly publications, the
faculty member’s role as an author, and, for journal articles, the journals in which they appear are
considered. Some faculty members contribute to public health reports or other professional
documents, and these are also considered in performance evaluations. The impact of publications is
difficult to assess in the short-term, but narrative evidence of impact, such as influence in science or
policy-making is considered when available. Highly-cited papers and particularly influential ones are
noted in evaluations for promotion and tenure where the longer time span facilitates evaluating the
impact of publications.
Grant support is considered in faculty evaluations. All faculty members are encouraged to pursue
external research support, while recognizing that there is considerable variation among disciplines in the
need for research support and the amounts likely to be obtained. The magnitude of grant awards is
considered to be less important than success in securing the funds needed to support a high-quality
research program. The Personal/Promotion and Tenure committee recommended recent changes in
the measurement strategies for scholarly work in the SCHS. These changes help quantify the importance
of publication and grant writing for the yearly evaluation process.
104
e. Description of student involvement in research.
At UNR, student research is supported by the Office of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Research,
the Honors program, and by individual college and school’s programs. A number of grants support
undergraduate research and can be used by students in any discipline. There is ready assistance at
http://environment.unr.edu/undergraduateresearch/ to help students find faculty and opportunities as
well as resources to make them successful in the research process.
In the SCHS, undergraduate research is supported by a number of initiatives from faculty. One faculty
member took students to Bangladesh on two different occasions and taught them to survey the
population and take biological samples and water samples to identify arsenic impacts. The students
learned important research skills and are now participating in the analysis of the findings. Other
undergraduate students have participated in community education programs and conducted
evaluations. SCHS faculty have participated as mentors for the Honors program to provide needed
assistance to undergraduate students doing a thesis project.
Goal 1: Objective 2. Education/Training
Target
2d. 30% of MPH students participate with faculty in research activities.
30%
20122013
58%
20132014
64%
20142015
49%
Graduate student involvement in developing new public health knowledge is a priority of the Program.
The opportunity to be involved in research and scholarly publication is an important component of
graduate training, allowing students to practice skills they learn in the classroom. (E-resource: Research:
students)
The faculty provide many opportunities for students for scholarly work, through independent work and
in a faculty partnership mentoring capacity. Research training of graduate students is accomplished by
performing well in graduate courses that include curriculum on research methods, analysis,
implementation (to name a few) and by the mentoring relationship with a faculty member when the
graduate student is a research assistant. Master’s professional projects may also involve research.
Many MPH students gain research experience through formal research assistantships. Graduate
research assistants are involved in all phases of research and carry out a wide variety of activities, such
as:






Collecting data by administering surveys, interviews, or running research protocols
Coding and entering data into a spreadsheet or statistical analysis program
Conducting literature reviews and document research
Developing and proposing new research ideas and IRB applications
Participating in the methodological development of a research project, including study designs,
modeling and statistical inference.
Using computer skills such as word processing, spreadsheet, scheduling and statistical analysis
software
105


Participating in preparation of submissions for local or regional conferences and, if accepted,
working on poster or oral presentations for professional conferences
Participating in preparing a manuscript to submit the results of your collaborative research to a
scientific journal
Mentorship and research assistantships also allow the student to work one-on-one with a faculty
member, enabling the student to gain skills and knowledge that aren't easily learned in the classroom,
such as research attitude and generation of research ideas. The extent of inclusion of students into
faculty research is documented in Table 3.1.1.
f.
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 Research active faculty are very productive. New faculty are bringing in grants. This is fueling
the increase in revenue and in papers being presented and published.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 There is insufficient infrastructure to support the details of producing grants and providing
real time grants management services. We have requested an additional staff member to
take over the grants management activities and become a liaison to the Office of sponsored
projects.
 There are difficulties in managing contracts with the state that results in delayed notice of
awards and difficult timelines to spend funds and complete deliverables. The OSPA is in
negotiation with the state to provide a standard process for grant awards and F&A costs.
106
3.2 Service
a. Service activities
As a land grant university, UNR maintains a commitment to community and public service programs
through dissemination of knowledge to the community, collaboration with the public and private
sectors, and provision of assistance to state and local governments. The most recent UNR strategic plan
emphasizes the importance of engagement with our community
From the UNR strategic plan: Theme 3: Engagement: Strengthen the social, economic, and
environmental well -being of Nevada citizens, communities, organizations, and governments through
community outreach and reciprocal partnerships
Goal 1: Develop and adopt a unified concept and vision for the University’s public engagement and landgrant mission.
•Recognize and highlight the public engagement of faculty across resident instruction, research,
and Extension.
Metrics Goal 1:
Create additional awards for community engagement
Report by June 30, 2015
Develop a mechanism for tracking partnerships between oncampus education programs and community -based programs
Report by June 30, 2015
Recognize community engagement in tenure and promotion
Report by June 30, 2015
The university is working towards a Carnegie “Engaged University” status as part of the implementation
of the strategic plan.
The UNR Division of Health Sciences (DHS) mission statement also illustrates a commitment to service;
“[DHS] is tied together by the need to find solutions for and help people towards improving their health
and well-being through education, research, clinical care and public service”
The mission of the School of Community Health Sciences, “Develop, disseminate, and apply knowledge
with an ecological approach to protect and promote the health of populations” highlights a commitment
to service, and one of our five core values is “succeeding through collaboration”. Goals adopted by
SCHS demonstrate our commitment to engaging in professional and scholarly service and contributing
to positive changes in the health of Nevadans. Our mission, vision and goals are satisfied through
numerous activities and commitments of the CHS faculty and are supported through the university’s and
school’s encouragement and expectations of both faculty and student involvement in service activities.
Two of the CHS goals, “To be recognized for leadership in public health” and “To engage with multiple
communities through professional and scholarly service” provide context to the types of service that the
SCHS believe is important. Service on regional and national committees, both research focused and
professional associations, is valued by the school and the university. Professional memberships are
107
valued and leadership positions are recognized as an important way the CHS faculty can serve a broader
audience.
SCHS houses three centers that have ongoing partnerships and contracts with community organizations
and agencies. The Center for Program Evaluation and the Nevada Center for Health Statistics & Survey
Support are primarily involved in research and evaluation but their projects provide important service to
agencies. Examples include state-wide needs assessments for behavioral health services and Women,
Infants, anc Children (WIC) services. Other services include reports (based on research such as the Youth
Risk Behavior Survey,YRBS) that help put the information into context for implementation. In addition,
the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory maintains a number of important contracts and sub-grants
that fund surveillance activities, food safety services, newborn screening, chemical and biological testing
and others. These centers provide important links to the community that provide us with capacity to
develop additional service-related collaborations.
b. Emphasis on community and professional service activities in the promotion and tenure
process
Faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno are evaluated annually on teaching, research and service
activities. The university by-laws state that “an academic faculty member being recommended for
appointment with tenure must receive a "satisfactory" rating or better in the area of service, which may
include, but not be limited to [italics added to community service elements]:
(A) Membership and participation in professional organizations;
(B) Ability to work with faculty and students in the best interests of the academic community and
the people it serves, and to the extent that the job performance of the academic faculty
member's major unit may not be otherwise adversely affected;
(C) Service on university or system committees;
(D) Recognition among colleagues for possessing integrity and the capacity for further significant
intellectual and professional achievement; and
(E) Recognition and respect outside the System community for participation and service in
community, state, or nationwide activity.
All SCHS faculty have service obligations that are outlined in annual role statements upon which they are
evaluated. The typical service commitment is 20% of each faculty member’s time. Although service
activities for SCHS faculty generally include membership and chair positions on SCHS, Division of Health
Sciences and university committees, faculty are also expected and encouraged to engage in both
scholarly and community service outside the university. The SCHS personnel committee recently revised
guidelines that provide more specific language regarding the expectation of external service (including
both scholarly and community service) for all tenured professors, tenure-track professors who have
completed at least two years toward tenure, and lecturers. These guidelines will be used for the
evaluation of faculty for 2016. (In process. E:resource: Faculty evaluation)
108
c.
Current service activities
Table 3.2.1. Faculty Service from 2013-2014 to 2015-2016
Faculty
member
Role
Organization
Activity or Project
Year(s)
Jeffrey
Angermann
Councilor
Society of Toxicology,
Mountain West
Chapter
Maintenance of website, coordination of
activities at regional at national meetings
2014, 2015
Jeffrey
Angermann
Invited Manuscript
Reviewer
External Grant
Reviewer
American Heart
Association
American Heart
Association Western
Region
Circulation Research; Hypertension;
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biology
AHA Peer Review Committee
2013, 2014, 2015
Jeffrey
Angermann
External Grant
Reviewer
NSF
NSF EPSCoR Undergraduate Research
Opportunity Program (UROP)
2013, 2014, 2015
Kristen ClementsNolle
Committee Member
Nevada Statewide
Epidemiologic
Outcomes Workgroup
Participate on Nevada Statewide Epidemiologic
Outcomes Workgroup
2013, 2014, 2015
Kristen ClementsNolle
Committee Member
Statewide HIV
Community Planning
Committee
Work with representatives from Nevada State
Health Division, Washoe County Health District,
Clark County Health District, Carson City Health
Department, and faculty from UNLV to write
statewide HIV Prevention Plan. Provide advise
on epidemiology and needs assessment.
2013, 2014, 2015
Nora Constantino
Committee Member
Committee Member
Special Interest Group: Minority Health and
Research
This coalition is composed of members of the
health community interested in slowing the
incidence of chronic disease.
2013, 2014, 2015
Nora Constantino
American College of
Sports Medicine
Washoe County
Chronic Disease
Coalition
Nora Constantino
Board of Directors
Member
Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and
Adults
2013, 2014
Nora Constantino
Board of Directors
Member
Nevada Diabetes
Association for
Children and Adults
NAPHERD
NAPHERD
2013
Daniel Cook
Student Org Advisor
(Non-Professional
Org)
Nevada Statewide
Coalition of Youth
(Tobacco Control)
Advised a youth advocacy summit sponsored by
the state and advised in planning additional
advocacy events
2014, 2015
Daniel Cook
Committee Member
Tobacco Free University Implementation Team
2014, 2015
Daniel Cook
Committee Member
Contribute to strategic planning on tobacco
control and contribute to action
implementation when appropriate
2013, 2014, 2015
Daniel Cook
Officer,
President/Elect/Past
Tobacco Free
University
Implementation Team
Northern Nevada
Tobacco Action
Committee, Nevada
Tobacco Prevention
Coalition
Nevada Public Health
Association
President Elect 2013
President 2014
Past President 2015
2013, 2014, 2015
Paul Devereux
Board of Directors
Member
Nevada Colon Cancer
Partnership
Nevada Colon Cancer Partnership
2013, 2014, 2015
109
2013, 2014, 2015
Paul Devereux
Conference
Reviewer
American Public
Health Association
Reviewed abstracts submitted to American
Public Health Association meeting
2013
Paul Devereux
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Nevada Public Health
Association
Reviewed abstracts submitted for presentations
at the Annual Conference of the Nevada Public
Health Association
2014
Amy Fitch
Member
Bicycle/Pedestrian
Advisory Committee
The committee provides input to the RTC on
policy issues relating to bicycle and pedestrian
2013, 2014, 2015
Amy Fitch
Panel Member
Member
serve on an RTC Review Panel for the Request
for Approach submissions for Evans Avenue
reconstruction.
participate in the Transportation Workshop for
the master plan
2014
Amy Fitch
Amy Fitch
Committee Member
Regional
Transportation
Commission
UNR Master Plan
Transportation
Workshop
Truckee Meadows
Bicycle Alliance
assist in planning and implementation of Bike to
Work Week event in Reno/Sparks area every
May in conjunction with national Bike to Work
Month.
2013
Michelle Granner
Committee Member
Nevada Medical
Marijuana Dispensary
Advertising Panel
Michelle Granner
Associate Editor
Health Behavior and
Policy Review
Associate Editor
2013
Erin Grinshteyn
Conference
Reviewer
GSA (Gerontological
Society of America)
Abstract Review
2014
Erin Grinshteyn
Committee Member
Renown Health
Working Group on
Behavioral Health and
Workplace Violence
Prevention
2014, 2015
Erin Grinshteyn
faculty organizer
Teach In Regarding AB
148
Trudy Larson
Committee Member
Ebola Task Force for
Nevada
Partnership comprised of Renown Health, St
Mary's Regional Medical Center, Northern
Nevada Medical Center, REMSA, and West Hills
Hospital to address behavioral health needs in
the community and workplace violence
prevention.
Faculty organizer of an on campus teach in
regarding Assembly Bill 148, which proposed
allowing concealed carry on campus to all CCW
holders. In this role I helped plan the event,
obtained speakers for the event, and spoke at
the teach in
Provide expertise on Ebola and participate in
planning and identifying Nevada's needs for
preparation and implementation of emerging
infection biological preparedness.
Trudy Larson
Board of Directors
Member
Nevada Donor
Network
Board of governors is the responsible party for
the Nevada Donor Network, an organ
procurement organization.
2013, 2014, 2015
Trudy Larson
Committee Member
Work with committee to identify public health
issues and determine need for policy change
2013, 2014, 2015
Trudy Larson
Committee Member
Liaison to the Dean
Trudy Larson
Medical Consultant
The Leadership Council is charged with
providing information and recommendations to
the Project Director of the PAETC in all areas.
Responsible for overseeing the organ donor
program, a statewide program, and
coordinating with community advocates
Provide consultation and support for the
Immunization program at the Washoe County
Health Department.
2013, 2014, 2015
Trudy Larson
Nevada State Medical
Association: Public
Health committee
Pacific AIDS Education
and Training Center
Leadership Council
SOM Organ and Tissue
Donor Program
Washoe County
Health Department
2014
2014
110
2015
2014
2013, 2014, 2015
2013, 2014, 2015
Trudy Larson
Committee
Member, Officer,
President/Elect/Past
Nevada Public Health
Foundation
Trudy Larson
Committee Member
Trudy Larson
Guest Lecturer
Medical Advisory
Committee to the
Nevada State Health
Division
Multiple Universities
in China
Melanie Minarik
Executive
Consultant
Nevada State Health
Division
Minggen Lu
External Grant
Reviewer
CDC
Julie Smith Gagen
Associate Editor
Judith Sugar
Committee Chair
Karla Wagner
Working group
member
Medicine, Wolters
Kluwer
Association for
Gerontology in Higher
Education
Overdose/Naloxone
Legislation Working
Group
Karla Wagner
Guest Lecturer
Drexel University
Karla Wagner
Ad Hoc Reviewer
James Wilson
Guest Speaker
National Institutes of
Health
NV State Ebola Task
Force
Wei Yang
Committee Member
Wei Yang
Committee Member
Wei Yang
Committee Member
Wei Yang
Editorial Board
Member
Wei Yang
External Grant
Review Panel
Member
Nevada Statewide
Youth Bisk Behavior
Study Steering
Committee
American Public
Health Association
Nevada Substance
Abuse Prevention &
Treatment Agency
Journal of Nevada
Public Health
Association
NIH National Institute
of Environmental
Health Sciences
Research Linking
Environmental
Exposure to
Neurodegenerative
Disease (R01 R21)
NPHF focuses on the public health needs of
Nevada and looks to partner with, write grants
for, and implement programs that improve the
health of Nevadans.
Provides medical input to Health Division on
decisions regarding HIV treatment/medications
for Nevada citizens with HIV/AIDS
2013, 2014, 2015
Gave 3 guest lectures to different School of
Public Health in Nevada. 2 lectures on HIV/AIDS
and 1 on innovations in Medical Education.
Professional and confidential consultations with
4 different members of the NSHD team
regarding internal management issues.
Healthy Brain Initiative Network (HBIN) SIPS 14001 & 002 Special Emphasis Panel External
Grant Reviewer
Associate Editor
2014
Fellows Committee
2013, 2014
Research (analyzing statewide data on overdose
deaths, hospital admissions, and other
indicators) and service (providing expertise on
national best practices, assisting with education
and outreach efforts).
Gave the inaugural lecture for the Community
Health Forum series at the Drexel University
School of Public Health, Department of
Community Health and Prevention.
Special Review Group - ZDA1 NXR-B (June 10,
2014)
Provided a review of current medical
intelligence regarding the West Africa Ebola
response effort.
Steering Committee
2014, 2015
Committee of Statistican Involvement in
Evidence-Based Public Health Practice
Epi Committee
2013, 2014, 2015
Editorial Board Member
2013,2014
Invited by NIH for R01/R21 Review Panel. As the
core reviewer reviewed 6 applications and as
the panel member reviewed total over 70
applications.
2014
See E-resource section: Faculty Service for additional service activities.
111
2013, 2014, 2015
2013, 2014
2104
2014
2014
2014
2014, 2015
2014, 2015
2013, 2014, 2015
d. Evaluating success of service efforts
Goal 1. Objective 3: Graduation/Post-Graduation
Target
3e. 10% of MPH graduates will have local, regional or national
leadership positions in public health.
10%
20122013
23%
20132014
20%
20142015
Not
yet
availa
ble
25%
46%
46%
40%
By 2015
30%
By 2018
40%
33%
41%
53%
40%
50%
53%
44%
30%
38%
40%
50%
15%
33%
41%
47%
15%
56%
47%
58%
50%
56%
59%
63%
40%
73%
86%
93%
Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”
Objective:
1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections,
editor positions, and other influential bodies.
2. 30% of faculty will share health-related information with
community or media.
Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional
and scholarly service.”
Objectives:
1. 40% of faculty will co-author reports and publications with
colleagues at other units on campus.
2. 30% of faculty will co-author reports, publications, and
presentations with community members.
3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing
education opportunities to public health professionals.
4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community,
including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data
analysis, grant partnerships.
5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or
committees.
7. 40% of faculty will serve as reviewers of journal articles and grant
applications.
e. Student involvement in service
The students in the SCHS have a number of opportunities for service. Through the under graduate and
graduate public health clubs and through classroom opportunities students can participate in
vaccination clinics, facilitate conferences, work with agencies on projects or any number of other
community and campus events. The undergraduate club participated in Relay for Life, World AIDS Day
celebrations, National Public Health Week and set up tables representing public health at special events
on and off campus. The SCHS gives an annual award to graduating seniors recognizing excellence in
service. These awards have gone to Corey Stone 2015 for volunteer projects abroad, Cory Guidi 2015 for
fund raising for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, to Bonnie Elliott 2014 and Dana Pardee 2013 as
very active Public Health Coalition presidents.
Although many students entering the MPH program already have a strong history of service, the MPH
curriculum, the Public Health Club, internships and research all encourage and support student service.
Including service as a component of the MPH curriculum provides students with exposure to the variety
112
of opportunities available to them. However, it is also critical that students pursue such service on their
own, recognizing the value that service brings to the community and themselves. SCHS MPH students
have demonstrated their independent commitment to service through numerous community activities.
During the 2013-14 school year, the GSPH organized a hygiene kit drive and a warm winter wear drive.
The GSPH contacted businesses in the Reno-Sparks area for donations of hygiene products like soap,
deodorant, hand sanitizer, and oral hygiene products or monetary donations to buy these types of
products and over 100 hygiene kits were made. For the warm winter wear drive, the GSPH collected 50
coats/jacket, beanies, socks and gloves. The GSPH worked with community partners to distribute the
hygiene kits and the warm winter wear. In addition to community outreach, the GSPH also participated
in health promotion activities on campus including leading a session on health disparities during the
Cultural Competencies of Healthcare conference and showing a screening of a PBS documentary on
Childhood Trauma and PTSD. In 2014-15, the GSPH volunteered with the Northern Nevada Outreach
Team (Health department based sexual health education and screening team) during their prescription
drug roundup and collected prescription drugs at community drop off centers. In addition, GSPH cosponsored the screening of the documentary, Deep South and held a World AIDS Day event. Prior to
this event, GSPH members made red ribbons that people could buy for $1 to show their support for
World AIDS Day and donated the $75 raised to the Northern Nevada Outreach Team. In the spring,
GSPH participated in the Division of Health Sciences Cultural Considerations in Healthcare conference by
presenting on health literacy. Lastly, GSPH co-sponsored the screening of Feeding Frenzy with the
Washoe County Health District during public health week.
The Making Heath Happen (MH2) events have inspired students to join or start their own activities. ( Eresource; Workforce development: MH2 events). Students are informed of community events and
opportunities for service through a bulletin board and a WebCampus webpage that allows for mass
email distribution.
Goal 1. Objective 2: Education/Training
Target
2e.By 2015, 75% of MPH students will be involved in leadership roles
and/or providing service to the community or university.
By 2018, 60% of MPH students will be involved in providing service to
the community or university, in addition to coursework, the internship
or paid work.
f.
By 2015
75%
20122013
68%
20132014
64%
20142015
45%
By 2018
60%
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 Faculty are engaged in both unfunded and funded service. They serve national, regional,
state and local agencies and programs.
 Students are excited to participate in service events and find inspiration for their future
plans. There are many opportunities both in class and outside of class
Weaknesses and Plans:
 Faculty are sometimes too involved and excited about their service. The new evaluation
guidelines will help faculty focus on service at higher levels.
113
3.3 Workforce Development.
a. Community needs assessment
The SCHS feels it is important to periodically identify work force priorities for continuing education and
technical assistance. Many anecdotal opinions are gathered during continuing education and training
assessments but an organized approach is important in defining the content and delivery method that
can be most useful to the public health workforce. The school has conducted two surveys of the public
health workforce over the last 3 years. Both of these efforts involved primary data collection and offered
either online, paper, or phone access.
Dr. Elizabeth Christiansen and MPH student, Yasmine Mohamednur, conducted the first survey in
2013. Key findings from that survey (N=194) indicate that there is a high level of interest among
Nevada’s public health workforce to advance professionally and there is wide diversity of public
health interests. To guide the development of professional development programs or co ntinuing
education curriculums topics such as community outreach and engagement, mental health, and
program evaluation had the highest level of interest among survey respondents. The most popular
methods of delivery as indicated by the survey respondents included: conference with breakout
sessions, hands-on workshop, and lecture. Most participants indicated that an online or webinar
option would be the most convenient way to participate in a professional development or
continuing education program. The majority of respondents believed that participatin g in one to
three continuing education events per year would be feasible.
The second survey was conducted through participation in the Western Region Public Health Training
Center’s need assessment process. Gerold Dermid, project coordinator, and Quinn Cartright, MPH
student, conducted this survey from November 2014-April 2015. Many public health workforce
competencies were assessed to identify key areas of need particularly as it relates to public health
department accreditation. Key findings from this survey (N=837) indicate that public health
professionals have different needs depending on their duties. Public health professionals represented
half of participants (53.8%), while directors and senior leaders represented the least (5%).
Approximately 49% of support staff felt trainings on prioritization and time management would enhance
professional growth; 54.8% of public health professionals favored trainings on evidence based programs,
policies, and practices; 67.2% of managers and leaders supported leadership skill trainings; close to 70%
of directors and senior leaders favored trainings focusing on improving program outcomes and
measures. The two most popular training characteristics for all job descriptions were on-site trainings at
workplace (60+%) and independent study computed-based training (54+%). This information will help
inform ongoing continuing education programs.
b. Continuing education programs
114
List of Continuing Education Offerings of the School for the Last Three Years
Faculty
Organization
# of
Participants
Professional
or Academic
Description
Year
Melanie Minarik
Nevada State
Health Division
200
Professional
2013
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
22
Professional
Executive Development for the NSDH
Leadership Team - Strategic Planning,
Communication, Teambuilding, Change
Management, Organizational Structure
Facilitation. 4 separate sessions. 12 hours.
(Webinar) Data Utilization: Getting Down to the
Basics
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
25
Professional
(Webinar) Data Collection: Sources and
Methods
2013
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
20
Professional
(Webinar)Data Reporting: Mobilization and
Sustainability
2013
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
28
Professional
2013
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
34
Professional
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications
for Substance Abuse Prevention and Mental
Health Promotion (Montana)
Epidemiologic Principals (Samoa)
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
33
Professional
The Intersection of HIV and Substance Abuse
Epidemics: Implications for Prevention (Samoa)
2013
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
23
Professional
2013
Kristen Clements-Nolle
SAMHSA
9
Professional
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Implications
for Substance Abuse Prevention and Mental
Health Promotion
Webinar: Collecting Data with Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender Communities
115
2013
2013
2014
Provided 2 90 minute lectures for REMSA
community health paramedics on the Social
Determinants of Health and finding Health Care
in Washoe county
Two workshops on the ACA and Ryan White for
HIV providers.
2014,
2015
Professional
Presented an Update on HIV/AIDS for medical
professional group
2013
56
85
92
Professional
Planned and presented at the Annual Autumn
Update for HIV at Lake Tahoe.
Immunize
Nevada
25
Professional
(Webinar) Influenza in Vulnerable Populations:
Children, Chronic Disease and the Elderly"
2013
2014
2015
2015
Nevada Division
of Public and
Behavioral
Health (NDPBH)
NDPBH
20
Professional
Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals
module
2014
20
Professional
Program Planning for Public Health
Professionals module
2014
NDPBH
20
Professional
Program Evaluation for Public Health
Professionals module
2014
Trudy Larson
REMSA
11,5
Trudy Larson
NN HOPES
Southern
Nevada
Gathering
15
45
Trudy Larson
NV AIDS
Education and
Training Center
(AETC)
NV AETC
25
Trudy Larson
Kristen Clements-Nolle,
Roman Pabayo
Trudy Larson
Paul Devereux, Michelle
Granner, Dan Cook, Roman
Pabayo, Gerold Dermid
Gray
Paul Devereux, Michelle
Granner, Dan Cook, Roman
Pabayo, Gerold Dermid
Gray
Professional
Professional
116
2013
Paul Devereux, Michelle
Granner, Dan Cook, Roman
Pabayo, Gerold Dermid
Gray
Paul Devereux, Michelle
Granner, Dan Cook, Roman
Pabayo, Gerold Dermid Gray
Michelle Granner, Dan Cook,
Roman Pabayo, Gerold
Dermid Gray
Michelle Granner, Dan Cook,
Roman Pabayo, Gerold
Dermid Gray
Michelle Granner, Dan Cook,
Roman Pabayo, Gerold
Dermid Gray
NDPBH
20
Professional
Research Tools for Public Health Professionals
module
2014
NDPBH, WCHD
30
Professional
Introduction to Public Health Policy:
Understanding Data and Best Practices Training
2015
NDPBH, WCHD
30
Professional
Policy Development Training
2015
NDPBH, WCHD
30
Professional
Community and External Partner Engagement
Training
2015
NDPBH, WCHD
30
Professional
Policy Implementation and Evaluation Training
2015
117
c. Certificate programs and non-degree offerings
At the master’s level, faculty participate in the Social Justice, Gerontology, and the Gender, Race, and
Identify (GRI) certificates. One MPH student is currently enrolled in the Social Justice Certificate for
which CHS 701 counts as an elective. One MPH student is enrolled in the GRI certificate. At the
undergraduate level, CHS students have completed certificates in gerontology and addiction treatment
and prevention services and certain CHS courses can be used for electives.
d. Support for continuing education and workforce development
Workforce development for the State of Nevada is a core mission of this university. UNR offers a
vigorous extended studies program and the strategic plan explicitly links university expertise to
economic development for the state (E-resource: Strategic Plan UNR). Faculty from SCHS participate in
the Extended Studies program to provide content expertise for working professionals during courses but
do not offer programs at this time. .http://www.extendedstudies.unr.edu/index.htm
The SCHS vision and mission statement supports active engagement and collaboration with community
partners to improve the health of Nevadans. The school’s mission statement includes five goals, with
the fourth goal being “to engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service.”
This goal includes engaging the public health workforce in training and development activities. The
Community Advisory Board provides an important feedback loop for our educational services and helps
identify areas of educational need. The SCHS established a training goal in Objective 3.3 to provide a
measurable outcome of workshops, training, and continuing education activities. To support this
engagement, a full-time coordinator for field studies and community engagement was hired in 2013. It is
beneficial to have a coordinator who engages the community for educational purposes also identify
engagement opportunities for research, service and education. Continuing education activities can be
seen in Table 3.3 b and funded continuing education activities can be found in Template 3.3.1 (E
resource: Templates)
Examples of important SCHS engagement include training efforts conducted at the Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral Health over the last three years. Topics included leadership and strategic planning
to begin the process of accreditation for the state. More recently, in 2014, sessions on Epidemiology,
Program Planning and Program Evaluation and Research Tools in Public Health assisted new and
continuing staff to refine basic skills. In 2015, modules on Public Policy and community engagement
were delivered on site at the NDPBH and at the Washoe County Health Department as part of their
accreditation preparation and in response to the needs assessment.
The SCHS was awarded the subcontract for Nevada with the Western Regional Public Health Training
Center (based in University of Arizona) to more formally identify training needs and expand training
efforts. The needs assessment information presented in 3.3a, will help define future topics but
accomplishments this year include the creation of a Project ECHO based Public Health Grand rounds that
covers cutting edge topics. Participation is web-based and includes case presentations and questions.
118
One major issue identified during the 2013 needs assessment was the difficulty for part-time public
health professionals from rural and frontier Nevada to attend public health conferences. Part of the
training center award provides stipends to practitioners to attend meetings. The award also supports
travel to rural Nevada for faculty to present topics on-site. The goal is to provide a network of support to
develop public health expertise in rural Nevada.
e. Collaboration in continuing education
University of Nevada School of Medicine Project ECHO to present Public Health Grand Rounds
Nevada Public Health Foundation for conferences
Nevada Public Health Institute in collaboration to present the County Health Rankings
Western Region Public Health Training Center (U of AZ, U of HI, UCSF)
Nevada AIDS Education and Training Center
Nevada Geriatric Education Center/Consortium
*Immunize Nevada
*Nevada Cancer Coalition
*Nevada Public Health Association
*
The last three are through professional development conferences/trainings.
f.
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 The school has a well-developed community outreach program that results in relevant
continuing education activities.
 Receiving the award for the subcontract for the Western Region Public Health Training Center
brought important resources to expand the number and type of continuing education offerings
in the state.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 The latest needs assessment has not been sufficiently reviewed to be able to target new
educational opportunities and topics. We anticipate using the assessment to provide continuing
education throughout the state.
119
4.0 Faculty, Staff and Students
4.1 Faculty Qualifications
a.Primary faculty
Table 4.1.1. Current Primary Faculty Supporting Degree Offerings of School or Program by Department/Specialty Area
Department
(schools)/
Specialty Area
(programs)
Name
Title/
Academic
Rank
Tenure
Status or
Classificatio
n*
FTE
MPH
Epidemiology
Kristen
Clements
-Nolle
Associate
Professor
Tenured
1.0
FTE
Roman
Pabayo
Assistant
Professor
Tenuretrack
.7
FTE
BS
.3
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Institution
where
degrees
were
earned
Discipline in
which degrees
were earned
Teaching Area
Research
Interest
MPH,
PhD
University
of
California,
Berkeley
Epidemiology
Epidemiology,
HIV/AIDS,
Vulnerable
youth
interventions,
YRBS
MS
McGill
University,
Universite
de
Montreal
Human
Nutrition and
Dietetics,
Nutritional
Epidemiology,
Public Health,
Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Identifying
social and
physical
determinants
of health in
many
populations.
PhD
Social
Behavioral
Health
Julie
SmithGagen
Assistant
professor,
Tenure
track
.7
.3
MPH,
PhD
University
of
California,
Davis,
California
Epidemiology
Public Health
biology,
Epidemiology
Health
outcomes,
health
disparities
Paul
Devereux
Associate
professor
Tenured
.6
.4
MPH,
San Jose
State
University
General
Introduction to
Public Health,
Social
Psychology in
Health
disparities in
cancer
screening
PhD
University
120
Department
(schools)/
Specialty Area
(programs)
Name
Title/
Academic
Rank
Tenure
Status or
Classificatio
n*
FTE
MPH
FTE
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Institution
where
degrees
were
earned
Discipline in
which degrees
were earned
of Nevada
Teaching Area
Research
Interest
Public Health
Social
Psychology
Amy
Fitch
Lecturer 1
Non-tenure
track
.3
.7
MPH
University
of
California,
Berkeley
Social
Behavioral
Health
Health
Communicati
on,
Introduction to
Public Health,
Lifespan
Issues in
Public Health,
Built
Environment
Built
environment
and bicycle
friendly cities
Michelle
Granner
Associate
professor
Tenured
.6
.4
PhD
University
of South
Carolina
Individual,
Social, and
Environmental
Factors in
Health
Health
Communicati
on
Obesity,
Stress
management
Julie
Lucero
Assistant
professor
Tenure
track
.7
.3
MPH
University
of New
Mexico
Epidemiology
Health
Communication
Social
Behavioral
Health; Health
Disparities
Community
Participatory
Research;
American
Indian health
issues
York
University,
Toronto,
Psychology
Public Health
professionalis
m, Public
Aging and
retirement
choices
PhD
Judith
Sugar
Associate
professor
Tenured
.5
.5
PhD
121
Department
(schools)/
Specialty Area
(programs)
Name
Title/
Academic
Rank
Tenure
Status or
Classificatio
n*
FTE
MPH
FTE
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Institution
where
degrees
were
earned
Discipline in
which degrees
were earned
Canada
Health Admin
and Policy
Teaching Area
Research
Interest
Health and
Aging
Karla
Wagner
Assistant
professor
Tenure
track
.7
.3
PhD
University
of
Southern
California,
Los
Angeles,
California
Health Behavior
Research
Public Health
Ethics
Injection drug
use, HIV/AIDS
and networks
Dan
Cook
Associate
professor
Tenured
.5
.5
PhD
City
University
of New
York.
Graduate
Center
Political
Science
Health Policy,
Scientific
writing
Health and
safety
regulation and
policy
Gerold
DermidGray
Administrat
ive faculty
Non-tenure
track
.6
.4
MBA
UNR
Business
Administration,
Health
Management/M
arketing
Internship
Coordinator;
Professionalis
m; Health
Disparities;
Health
Disparities;
Health
Communicatio
ns; Social
Networks; HIV
Social
Networks
Erin
Grinshtey
n
Assistant
professor
Tenure
track
.6
.4
PhD
122
UCLA
Health
Services,
Health Policy
and
Health Policy
Injury/Violence
Prevention,
Mental Health,
Disparities,
Department
(schools)/
Specialty Area
(programs)
Name
Title/
Academic
Rank
Tenure
Status or
Classificatio
n*
FTE
MPH
FTE
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Institution
where
degrees
were
earned
Discipline in
which degrees
were earned
Teaching Area
Management
HIV, Gero
Trudy
Larson
Professor
Tenured
.7
.3
MD
University
of
California
Irvine
Medicine
Vaccine
policy and
regulation;
HIV/AIDS
policy
Outcomes
research and
quality
improvement
Mel
Minarik
Lecturer 3
Non-tenure
track
.4
.6
MPH
UCLA
Health Service
Management,
PhD
UNR
Health
Administration
, Health
Policy,
Organizationa
l Behavior,
Leadership
Quality
Management,
Health Policy,
Organizational
Behavior.
Personal
leadership
Educational
Leadership
Biostatistics
Research
Interest
Minggen
Lu
Associate
professor
Tenured
.9
Soyoung
Ryu
Assistant
professor
Tenure
track
1.0
.1
PhD
Northern
University,
Boston,
MA
University
of Iowa,
Iowa City,
IA
Mathematics,
Biostatistics
Biostatistics,
Advanced
Analytic
methods
Statistical
analysis
(collaborative),
Biostatistical
methods
MS
Florida
State
University
University
of
Washingto
n
Applied Math
and Statistics;
Statistics
Statistics
Biostatistics;
Bioinformatics
Proteomic
analysis
modeling
MS
PhD
123
Department
(schools)/
Specialty Area
(programs)
Name
Title/
Academic
Rank
Tenure
Status or
Classificatio
n*
FTE
MPH
FTE
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Institution
where
degrees
were
earned
Discipline in
which degrees
were earned
Teaching Area
Research
Interest
Wei
Yang
Professor
Tenured
.9
.1
PhD
University
of
Nevada,
Reno
Environmental
Health and
Epidemiology
Informatics,
Environmenta
l health,
Biostatistics
Outcomes
evaluation,
health
statistics and
mapping,
BRFSS, YRBS
Environmenta
l Health
Jeff
Angerma
nn
Assistant
professor
Tenure
track
.6
.4
PhD
University
of Nevada
Reno
Environmental
Science
Environmenta
l Health,
Public Health
biology, Toxic
communities,
Scientific
writing
Health impacts
of arsenic
exposure
Kinesiology
Nora
Constanti
no
Assoc
professor
Tenured
.2
FTE
.8
FTE
PhD
University
of
Southern
California,
Los
Angeles,
California
Exercise
physiology
Personal
Health and
Wellness
Fitness in
children
* Classification of faculty may differ by institution, but may refer to teaching, research, service faculty or tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure-track faculty or
alternative appointment categories used by the school or program.
124
c. Qualifications of other program faculty
Template 4.1.2. Other Faculty Used to Support Teaching Programs (adjunct, part-time, secondary appointments, etc.)
Department
(school)/
Specialty Area
(program)
Name
Epidemiology
2014-15
James
Wilson
Title/ Academic
Rank
Title & Current
Employer
FTE
or %
Time
MPH
FTE
or %
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Discipline for earned
graduate degrees
Teaching Areas
Assoc
Research
Professor
Administrative
faculty
School of Community
Health Sciences
.1
.3
MD
Pediatrics
Infectious disease
forecasting
Director, AIC, Desert
Research Institute
.1
.1
DVM,
PhD
Epidemiology and
Infectious Diseases
Epidemiology,
Biopreparedness and
Biosurveillance
.1
.1
DrPH
Epidemiology
Disease Investigation
.2
MPH,
PhD
Epidemiology
Epidemiology
PhD
Epidemiology
Outbreak Control
MPH
Epidemiology
Epidemiology;
Biostatistics
2013-2014
Kimothy
Smith
2013-2014
Randy Todd
Adjunct
Faculty
Director,
Preparedness and
Communicable
Disease: Washoe
County Health
Department
2013-2014
Ishan
Azzam
Affiliate faculty
Statewide Cancer
Epidemiologist:
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
2013-2014
Lei Chen
Adjunct faculty
Epidemiologist,
Washoe county
Health Department
2014-2015
Peter
Dieringer
Affiliate
Faculty
Analyst, Nevada
Division of Public and
Behavioral Health
.1
.2
125
Department
(school)/
Specialty Area
(program)
Name
Title/ Academic
Rank
Title & Current
Employer
2013
Paula
ValenciaCastro
Affiliate faculty
2015
Maximillian
Wegener
Social Behavioral Health
2013-2015
Elizabeth
Christiansen
FTE
or %
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Discipline for earned
graduate degrees
Teaching Areas
Graduate student
.1
PhD
Environmental
Health
Epidemiology
Affiliate faculty
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health: Analyst
.1
MPH
Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Administrative
Faculty
SCHS, Director,
Center for Program
Evaluation
MA
Social Psychology
Program Evaluation
PhD
Social Psychology
International Health
Communications
and International
Strategy
Social Behavioral
Health
Social Behavioral
Health
Social Behavioral
Health
2013-15
Gerold
Dermid
Administrative
faculty
2013
2013
Enid
Jennings
Tory Clark
Administrative
faculty
Affiliate faculty
2013-2015
Andrea Esp
Affiliate faculty
2013-2015
Amy Arias
Affiliate faculty
2013-2015
Manal
Toppozada
George
McKinley
Affiliate faculty
2013-2015
Steve Kutz
Affiliate faculty
2013
Heidi Parker
2014-15
Lisa Lotts
2013-2014
FTE
or %
Time
MPH
.2
SCHS, Coordinator,
Field Studies and
Community
Engagement
UNR student health
.3
MBA
.1
MPH
Counseling practice
.1
Nevada State Public
and Behavioral
Health
Faculty for TMCC,
UNR
Director and founder:
The Notables
Graduate Student
UNR
.2
MPH,
PhD
MPH
.3
MA
Communication
Introduction to public
health; Health and
Wellness
Health Communication
.2
MA
Music Therapies
Disabilities
.1
PhD
Education
Disabilities
.2
MPH
Affiliate faculty
Washoe County
Health Department
Executive Director
.1
MA
Introduction to public
health
Health Communication
Affiliate faculty
Graduate student VA
.1
PhD
Social Behavioral
Health
Communications
and Marketing
Anthropology
Affiliate faculty
126
Global Health;
HIV/AIDS
Introduction to public
health
Health and Wellness
Medical Anthropology
Department
(school)/
Specialty Area
(program)
Name
Title/ Academic
Rank
Title & Current
Employer
2014-15
Heather
Kerwin
Melanie
Flores
Affiliate faculty
2014-2015
Kelli
GoatleySeals
Affiliate faculty
2014-2015
Yasmine
Mohamednu
r
Robbin
Vasques
Affiliate faculty
2015
Erin Dixon
Affiliate faculty
2015
Karli Epstein
Affiliate faculty
2015
B. Denise
Stokich
Affiliate faculty
2015
Kelly
Morning
Affliliate
faculty
2015
Natalie
Powell
Affiliate faculty
2015
Lindsay
DermidGray
Affiliate faculty
2014-2015
2014-2015`
Affiliate faculty
Affiliate faculty
FTE
or %
Time
MPH
FTE
or %
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Discipline for earned
graduate degrees
Consultant: Program
evaluation
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
Washoe County
Health Department;
Chronic Disease
coordinator
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
Washoe County
School District;
Special Education
consultant
Washoe County
Health Department
American Red Cross
.2
MPH
.2
MSW
Social Behavioral
Health
Community
Outreach
.2
MPH
International
Health/
Epidemiology
Introduction to public
health;
.2
MPH,RN
Social Behavioral
Health
Technical writing for
the health sciences
.2
MA
Education; Special
Education
Disparities
.1
MA
.2
MA
Introduction to Public
Health
Global Health
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
Think Kindness
.1
MPH
Health
Communication
International
Development and
Complex
Emergencies
Public Health
Leadership
.1
MPH
Social Behavioral
Health
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
.1
MPH
Social Behavioral
Health
Personal Health and
Wellness:
Epidemiology
Field Students in
Public Health;
Introduction to Public
Health
Technical Writing in
Health
.1
MPH
Social Behavioral
Health
Health through the
Lifespan
127
Teaching Areas
in public health
Introduction to public
health
Personal Health and
Wellness HIV/AIDS
Department
(school)/
Specialty Area
(program)
Name
Title/ Academic
Rank
Title & Current
Employer
2015
Cicely
ValentiSmith
James
Seaboldt
Peter Reed
Affiliate faculty
FTE
or %
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Discipline for earned
graduate degrees
Teaching Areas
Self-employed
.1
MS
Recreation and
Health
Health through the Life
Span
Affiliate faculty
Glaxo Smith Kline
.1
Administrative
Faculty
Health Administration and Policy
2013-2015
John
Associate
Packham
Professor,
SOM
Sanford Center for
Aging UNR
.1
Pharm D,
MS
MPH,
PhD
Pharmacy;
Microbiology
Aging
History, Science and
Politics of vaccines
Aging
Director, Center for
Rural Health, School
of Medicine
.1
PhD
Health Policy
Health policy
2014-2015
Curtis Splan
Affiliate faculty
Kaiser Foundation
Oregon
.1
MS
Health Information
Systems
2015
Leonard
Hamer
Donna
Knapp
Sheila
Leslie
Affiliate faculty
Physician Select
Management
Consultant, MGMA
.1
MBA
Management of
Information
Science
International
Business
.1
MA
Affiliate faculty
Washoe county
Social Services
.1
Jay Kvam
Affiliate
Faculty
State Biostatistician:
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
.2
Michael
Doane
James
Kuhzippala
Affiliate faculty
.1
Marisa
Crowder
Affiliate faculty
UNR; Graduate
student
Nevada Division of
Public and Behavioral
Health
Instructor
2015
2015
2015
2015
Biostatistics
2014-2015
2015
2015
2015
Affiliate faculty
Affiliate faculty
FTE
or %
Time
MPH
Environment
128
MA
Health Finances
Health Finances
Spanish Language
and Literature
Public Health Policy
Biostatistics
Biostatistics
PhD, MA
Social Psychology
Biostatistics
.1
MPH
Epidemiology
Biostatistics
.1
PhD, MA
Social Psychology
Biostatistics
Department
(school)/
Specialty Area
(program)
FTE
or %
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Discipline for earned
graduate degrees
Teaching Areas
.2
MS
Environmental
Health
Environmental Health
Affiliate faculty
Retired: Washoe
county
environmentalist
Graduate Student
.1
PhD,
MPH
Neuroscience,
Environmental and
Molecular
Toxicology
Environmental Health
Michael
Spevak
Affiliate
Faculty
Partner: Active
Physical Therapy
.3
DPT
Physical Therapy
Kinesiology
2013-2015
Parley
Anderson
Affiliate
Faculty
Partner: Active
Physical Therapy
.3
DPT
Physical Therapy
Kinesiology
2013-2015
Phil
Pavillionis
Affiliate faculty
PE teacher and
coach: Washoe
County School
District
.3
MS
Exercise Science
Athletic Injuries;
2013-2015
Yani
Dickens
Administrative
faculty
UNR
.1
PhD
Sports Psychology
Psychology of
Extreme Athletes
2014-2015
James
Fitzsimmons
Administrative
Faculty
UNR; Director Center
for Recreation and
Wellness
.2
PhD
Educational
Leadership
Fitness training;
2015
Dean Hinitz
Affiliate faculty
Private practice:
Psychology
.2
PhD
Sports Psychology
Sports Psychology
2015
Rhonda Serr
Affiliate faculty
.1
MA
al Health
2013-14
2015
Kinesiology
2013-2015
Name
Title/ Academic
Rank
Title & Current
Employer
Noel
Bonderson
Affiliate faculty
Tania Das
Banerjee
FTE
or %
Time
MPH
129
Department
(school)/
Specialty Area
(program)
Name
Title/ Academic
Rank
Title & Current
Employer
2015
Amanda
LaTorre
Affiliate faculty
2015
Sheena
Harvey
2015
Jeffrey
Assiff
FTE
or %
BS
Graduate
Degrees
Earned
Discipline for earned
graduate degrees
Teaching Areas
Sports Trainer
.1
MPH
Social Behavioral
Health
Exercise Science
Administrative
faculty
Center for Recreation
and Wellness, UNR
.1
MS
Equity and
Diversity in
Educational
Settings
Team and individual
Sports
Affiliate faculty
Washoe County
School District
.1
M. Ed
Educational
Leadership
Adaptive PE
Public Health Biology
2013-2015
Logan
Hamill
Adjunct
Faculty
Retired
.4
MPH
Glutamine oral
supplementation
on cancer subjects.
Public Health Biology
2014-2015
Affiliate faculty
Graduate student
.2
MPH
Epidemiology
Public health biology
Christy
Works
FTE
or %
Time
MPH
130
d. Faculty in practice
Many of the CHS courses include guest speakers from public health practice to ensure that the practical
aspects, the application of theories, are highlighted. Examples of this are seen throughout the
curriculum (see syllabi). Six full time faculty have MPH degrees a, two more have MS degrees in public
health and many have had practical experience in public health work. Dr. Clements-Nolle worked with
the epidemiology department in San Francisco, Amy Fitch worked as an Education & Training
Coordinator for the Communicable Disease Program & Public Health Preparedness Program at
the Washoe County Health District and Dr. Mel Minarik was a health administrator. Dr. Julie SmithGagen worked as an MPH in the Florida Department of Health and the California Cancer Registry.
Before joining UNR, Dr. Yang worked for seven years as a Physician and Clinical Epidemiologist in
Occupational Medicine, and served ten years as the Nevada State Chief Biostatistician and Director of
the State Center for Health Data and Research at Nevada State Department of Health and Human
Services. Gerold Dermid-Gray has over 10 years of experience in public health practice as a health
educator, health communications specialist, administrator, and consultant for Washoe County Health
District and Dr Pabayo has worked with three local health departments. They are strong advocates for
the inclusion of practice with theory.
Faculty also have expertise in medicine, public policy, social work, aging, psychology, and education. All
of these perspectives provide a rich foundation for programs in public health.
Our affiliate and adjunct faculty who teach bring their perspectives to the classes they teach. They
routinely work in local and state health departments, run their own consulting firms, work in their
related health fields, or are retired from careers in public health. This real world knowledge brings a
strong degree of relevance to the courses and inspires students to consider public health. In addition,
they often provide a connection to their agencies that assists in the placement of interns.
e. Assessing faculty qualifications
Goal 3: “To be recognized for leadership in public health.”
Objective:
1. 25% of faculty will hold positions on review panels, study sections,
editor positions, and other influential bodies.
Goal 4: “To engage with multiple communities through professional
and scholarly service.”
Objectives:
3. 15% of faculty will provide workshops, trainings and continuing
education opportunities to public health professionals.
4. 15% of faculty will provide technical assistance to the community,
including but not limited to, program evaluations, consulting, data
analysis, grant partnerships.
5. 50% of UNR faculty are members of community boards or
committees.
131
25%
46%
46%
40%
15%
33%
41%
47%
15%
56%
47%
58%
50%
56%
59%
63%
f.
Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 The SCHS faculty are from a diversity of backgrounds and are dedicated to public health
education, research and service. They are well qualified.
 The adjunct, affiliate and part time faculty are all qualified in their field and are dedicated to
teaching students in the SCHS. Many of them repeat every semester because they feel
enriched by the experience. They bring exceptional professional backgrounds to their work.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 With the number of students in the SCHS, it will be important to continue to expand the number
of faculty. The university has committed to positions and this is essential to strike the right
balance between teaching and research. With the planning of the PhD progressing, the use of
132
4.2 Faculty governance documents
The most current UNR faculty governing documents are available from the faculty senate at
http://www.unr.edu/facultysenate/bylaws/UNR%20Bylaws/unr-bylaws-8-10-2015.pdf
A handbook for part-time faculty is also available at http://www.unr.edu/provost/faculty-and-part-timeinstructor-resources
a. Faculty development opportunities
UNR offers a number of faculty development opportunities. Through the Vice President for Research
and Innovation there are internal awards and services that are available for faculty to increase their
research efforts. These include MICRO grants, equipment grants, travel grants, and pre-proposal reviews
through the limited submission program. There are also several awards including the Regents Awards
for Research, Outstanding Researcher and Foundation Innovation Awards designed to provide stipends
for researchers across the campus. These are competitive awards but assist faculty to continue their
productivity or explore new avenues. http://www.unr.edu/research-and-innovation/researcherresources/awards-funding. For the SCHS faculty in particular, CTR-IN (Clinical Translational Research
Infrastructure Network http://ctrin.unlv.edu/ ) and INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research
Excellence http://www.unr.edu/inbre/programs-and-projects/research-projects) grants provide
mentored research opportunities for health related research and can be awarded as pilot grants ,
sabbatical support, mini consultations, or as development research proposals funding up to $75,000 for
two years. These grants require that faculty devote a substantial portion of their time to work on
projects by allowing for salary support and course buyout. This research support is only for full time
faculty.
At the Graduate School, there are resources for new and returning graduate directors and graduate
faculty to assist them to be effective in their roles. More information is available at
http://www.unr.edu/grad/faculty-resources. These resources are particularly valuable for new faculty
as they assume advisor tasks.
Educational resources are available and include campus-wide assistance from Web Campus Learn and
Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) (https://teaching.unr.edu/index.html ). WebCampus is the
system used on campus for all instruction and there are numerous tutorials and sessions available for
both full time and adjunct and affiliate faculty who teach. The educational sessions are particularly
helpful as they are highly interactive and address individual faculty needs. The TLT services include many
innovative techniques that faculty can use to improve their teaching effectiveness. There are additional
campus awards that recognize and reward excellence in teaching and advising for full time faculty and
staff. The F. Donald Tibbits Award ($10,000) is awarded annually for excellence in teaching at the
University. Dr. Kristen Clements-Nolle from SCHS was awarded this honor in 2014.
The University also provides staff and faculty access to reduced-rate educational opportunities. The
purpose of educational benefits is to encourage staff to pursue continued professional growth and new
or renewed intellectual achievement. This may be accomplished through study leading to completion of
133
a degree, whether associate, undergraduate, graduate or Ph.D., so that career effectiveness may be
enhanced, occupational usefulness increased and the University’s personnel skills strengthened.
Sabbatical and development leaves are available to academic and administrative faculty after 6 years of
service and every 10 years thereafter. This program enables faculty to be reassigned to projects that
lead to professional advancement in instructional, service, or research areas. The program permits
reassignments that may be for one-half year or less at full base salary, or more than one-half year up to
one full year at two-thirds base salary. During the recession fewer awards were available but one faculty
member, Dr. Judith Sugar, was granted a year’s sabbatical to write a book on Aging Education (2013).
The Division of Health Sciences (DHS) has a teaching award and faculty in the school have been
nominated multiple times and Dr. Clements-Nolle and Dr. Mel Minarik won in 2013 and 2014
respectively. Travel funds are available for faculty development through the DHS and many faculty
members were awarded funds to present their research. These applications are accepted twice a year.
http://medicine.nevada.edu/ofd/dhs-unsom-funding-awards. The SCHS provides matching funds to
support these faculty development opportunities.
At the SCHS, brown bag sessions have been conducted for faculty (full time and adjunct and affiliate) to
share effective techniques for teaching. These have included discussions of classroom management and
how to write student learning objectives. In addition, faculty share syllabi and best practices informally
and in one-on-one meetings. Once a year the part time and adjunct faculty are invited to meet with full
time faculty at a breakfast meeting. The agenda always includes updates, discussion of new educational
policies, and review of university and SCHS initiatives. Research brown bag sessions are also conducted
to share research ideas, practice presentations, or discuss research related policies. Students are invited
to these sessions and some take advantage of the opportunity to present their poster or oral
presentations for faculty input.
Additional resources for faculty development that are individually controlled include indirect cost
recovery funds (7.75% of grant revenues go to the Principal investigator) and start-up funds. New faculty
positions have start-up funds allocated (from the university, DHS and SCHS) that can be used over a
three year period for variety of things including conference attendance, graduate research assistants,
equipment, and training opportunities.
b. Evaluating faculty competence and performance.
Each January, faculty members electronically submit annual review documents (through Digital
measures) summarizing their accomplishments in teaching, research, and service for the previous
calendar year to the school’s personnel (P&T)committee. The committee reviews the document,
assesses strengths and weaknesses, and recommends a ranking of excellent, commendable, satisfactory
or unsatisfactory to the school director. The personnel committee uses faculty approved measures in
these reviews (see E-resource).These evaluations are used by the school and university administration
for retention, tenure and merit raise decisions. http://www.unr.edu/provost/forms-and-policies
134
The school’s policies and procedures for evaluating faculty for tenure and promotion are included in our
bylaws (E-resource). According to university policy, tenure track faculty must be tenured by the end of
their sixth year as an untenured assistant professor. An applicant for tenure, promotion, or both must
submit a file containing required evidence of performance in teaching, research, and service, plus
supporting materials. Materials related to teaching performance include student and peer teaching
evaluations, and summaries of courses taught and students advised. Evidence of research and
scholarship include a compilation of peer-reviewed papers, other publications, research grant
production, and presentations at scientific meetings. The file must contain evidence of service to the
school, the university, the community, and the candidate’s profession. At least five external reviews of
the candidate’s research are obtained from well-known scholars in the candidate’s field. This all follows
the procedure developed by the university’s Provosts office. For non-tenure track faculty, lecturers for
example, there is a similar process. An application from the candidate for promotion is compiled that
includes information on teaching and service (research is not a requirement for promotion in the
lecturer category). External review letters are not needed.
At the SCHS, the file is initially reviewed by the school’s Personnel/Promotion and Tenure Committee,
which consists of faculty members in the school. Applications for tenure alone are reviewed by
committee members at or above the current faculty member’s rank, and applications for promotion are
reviewed by committee members at or above the rank sought. All members may vote on lecturer
promotion applications. Tenure at or promotion to associate professor requires that the candidate be
rated excellent in scholarship or teaching, and at least good in the other areas (teaching or service).
Tenure at or promotion to professor requires that the candidate be rated excellent in scholarship,
excellent in either teaching or service, and good or excellent in the other category. All school committee
members are required to vote by written ballot; these ballots and justifications are added to the file. The
SCHS director reviews all the materials submitted and writes a letter summarizing the application and
committee decision with a recommendation. All materials are forwarded to the vice president of health
sciences, and the VP must write a letter of evaluation for inclusion in the file. The entire file is forwarded
to the provost’s office. From there the packet is evaluated by the university’s Promotion and Tenure
committee. Since 2010, all faculty (two assistant professors and two professors) who applied for tenure
successfully obtained promotion and/or tenure and one lecturer was promoted in rank.
c. Student evaluation of courses and faculty
All courses are evaluated by all students every semester. Evaluation has included both paper and webbased forms. The initial experience with web-based forms was variable and response rates were
suboptimal. Paper forms were used for 3 years (2011-12 through 2013-14) to increase the response rate
(E-resource: Course evaluations). Since evaluations play a very important role in the improvement of
courses and the evaluation of faculty, a concerted effort was made to make the process as confidential
as possible while asking for written comments. The staff visited each class at a designated time to pass
out and retrieve the written evaluation. Questions with quantitative values were analyzed and written
comments were typed up by the staff to provide anonymity for student remarks. This information is
available to each faculty member as well as to the Director. With the increase in students, the process
135
became too cumbersome and an alternative online process was discussed. This coincided with university
efforts to create a centralized online evaluation mechanism. The system was piloted in fall 2014 in two
CHS classes and was implemented in spring 2015. http://www.unr.edu/assessment/course-evals ( Eresource: Course evaluations)
Response rates were directly tied to incentives given to students. For example, some faculty provided
extra credit, other’s made it an in-class assignment, and the university provided final grades earlier to
students who completed the evaluation. For the SCHS, response rates were 75% for the spring 2015
session. The evaluation report of each class and faculty member uses comparative values across the
university as a benchmark. The school plans to add questions to the online version to improve targeted
assessment information.
Some faculty conduct course evaluations throughout the semester rather than obtaining feedback only
at the end of the semester when the course is over. These evaluations can take many forms. Some
faculty ask for paper based mid-term self-assessments and others ask for course improvement ideas.
Faculty who receive lower student evaluations (typically below 3.5 on a 5-point scale and now 3 on a 4.0
scale) will work with more experienced faculty to establish a development plan to improve their
teaching. New faculty and affiliate faculty are mentored by more experienced faculty for some classes
already. This will be expanded. The affiliate and adjunct faculty are evaluated in the same manner and
evaluations impact future teaching opportunities.
d. Assessment and analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 The university offers a number of faculty development opportunities. The travel and research
awards have been used by SCHS faculty.
 Evaluation is a continuing process and there is now more support from UNR administration to
do more and focused evaluation.
 There are formal and well recognized policies for faculty promotion and faculty have been
successful.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 Faculty developmental funds have been limited over the last 4 years. There are now more
resources available to support faculty endeavors and it is hoped this will allow for at least one
faculty member a year to take a sabbatical.
136
4.3 Student Recruitment and Admissions
a. Recruitment policies and procedures
UNR Student Services and the Graduate School provide campus wide resources for recruitment of
undergraduate and graduate students. Student Services has a number of programs designed to recruit
and retain undergraduate students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Specific recruitment programs
target diverse students (see section 1.8) while other programs target high achieving students, National
Merit Scholars, out-of-state students, international students, and transfer students. Policies encourage
on-campus recruitment efforts run out of the Office for Prospective Students that provide parents and
students with campus tours and informational sessions. Specific recruitment for SCHS undergraduate
students may start with participation in the Upward Bound or orientation programs. SCHS faculty and
advisors talk about the major in CHS and answer questions from prospective students and their parents.
A Health FIT (Freshman Intensive Transition) program is in its second year and helps promote enrollment
in the SCHS major. The Division of Health Sciences advising staff guide students into the SCHS major,
either as a first year student or in transfer from other UNR programs or from community colleges. The
SCHS has purposefully not created a minimum GPA requirement for students entering or transferring
into the major. Many of our students enroll in CHS in their junior year after exploring other health
options or being unable to satisfy major GPA requirements for enrollment in other programs. Although
we aspire to have increasingly qualified students in our major, the faculty believe that CHS is a major
that can serve many populations and creates skilled students who can work in a variety of settings. The
SCHS undergraduate program has doubled in the last 5 years, currently at 1,050 students, and so
recruitment activities now focus on encouraging students with interest to consider the MPH programs.
Faculty often identify and talk with talented undergraduate students to encourage them to consider a
career in public health by entering the MPH program.
The SCHS seeks out undergraduate students at UNR and other qualified and dedicated students with a
diverse range of interests and educational and work related backgrounds for the MPH program. These
students bring into their programs of study a vast repertoire of experiences and motivations for
advancing their public health careers. UNR graduate school policies allow 6 years for completion of a
graduate degree and this encourages working professionals to enroll and attend. Diversity students are
actively recruited (see 1.8.for more information) in keeping with the mission and vision of the school
through targeted outreach and support such as graduate assistantships and scholarships.
The responsibility and activities of recruitment for MPH students are multidimensional and involve many
people. The Graduate Director attempts to meet with all interested potential applicants face-to-face
when possible before applications are complete or when students become graduate specials. Graduate
special students are graduate students not enrolled in the MPH program but who take core courses as a
way of evaluating their interests. These students commonly apply to the MPH program. The graduate
committee and other individual faculty assist with recruitment strategies through meeting with
interested candidates, by staffing tables and booths at conferences/fairs, and by connecting with their
professional networks. MPH students help recruit during their internship experiences as they meet
others interested in their work. The assignment of one 10-hour graduate assistant to recruitment has
been helpful at conferences/fairs as potential students enjoy talking with peers. Typically, the graduate
137
director or the coordinator for community engagement attends 1-2 fairs a year to recruit out of state
students that contribute to a more diverse student body. The SCHS collaborates with the UN School of
Medicine and the Orvis School of Nursing in recruiting joint degree students. As the public health
curriculum becomes more complete for medical students, it is hoped that applicants for the joint degree
will increase. One important source of recruits is alumni. As the alumni base grows, alumni referrals are
becoming more common. Websites are an increasingly important recruitment tool. The SCHS website
was updated twice in an effort to promote an attractive, professional and interactive site for prospective
students. We continue to look for unique opportunities to recruit students in different areas as
identified by our current students, colleagues, alumni, and other community support networks.
b. Admissions policies and procedures
Admissions are overseen by UNR Student Services through the Office of Admissions and Records. They
admit students according to the policies created by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE)
Board of Regents. Procedures are UNR specific and cover the details of how students are admitted and
enrolled into UNR. Undergraduate students from Nevada are admitted to UNR according to the
following minimum qualifications:




must be a graduate of an approved or accredited high school
must have taken and passed: English 4 units, Mathematics 3 units, Social Studies 3 units, and
natural Science 3 units:
must have taken the ACT/SAT (used for placement in first year courses and freshman
scholarships): and
must have a 3.0 High School Grade-Point Average (weighted) in the above academic courses
Admission criteria are verified by official transcripts. Other categories of admission include freshmen
from Western states (Western University Exchange), transfer students and other admission categories
and requirements vary for each. The specifics of the admission process and requirements can be viewed
at http://www.unr.edu/admissions. This website has links for all classifications of students (including
graduate students) with information on financial aid, residence hall applications, and campus programs.
Admission materials must be complete by February 1 for freshman. A process of review of records is
done by the Office of Admissions and Records and students are notified in April that they have been
admitted. There are many resources to help students through the admissions process. These include
web-based information as well as personal communication via email and phone. There are detailed
instructions for filling out the FAFSA (parent financial aid form) so that students can receive financial aid
to attend UNR. There are a multitude of needs based and performance based scholarships including
Nevada’s Millennium scholarships awarded to students who graduate from a high school in Nevada with
an entering GPA 3.25, register for core courses and attended a Nevada college or University.
http://www.nevadatreasurer.gov/uploadedFiles/nevadatreasurergov/content/GGMS/Forms/DocFactSheet.pdf
138
Graduate admissions are monitored by Student Services, the Graduate School and each program
offering graduate degrees. Overall policies are created by UNR but each program may have specific
criteria and processes. UNR admission criteria for graduate school are:
1. Bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from a regionally accredited institution
2. Minimum grade point average (on a 4.0 scale):
o 2.75 for a master’s degree
o 3.0 for a doctoral degree
3. Online application
4. Official transcripts from every institution attended for a complete education history
5. Official GRE or GMAT test scores from an exam taken within the past 5 years (recommended
scores are determined by individual programs)
6. Resume or curriculum vitae
7. Statement of purpose
8. Three letters of recommendation
Once the admission qualifications for UNR are met, an application for admission to the MPH program
may be made. The SCHS graduate committee reviews admission requirements for the MPH program
annually to insure consistency with the program’s mission.
MPH Admissions criteria (specific):
1. Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher learning, with an undergraduate
grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4-point scale. If you graduated from an
international college or university, please contact the Graduate School for approval of your
undergraduate degree for graduate studies at UNR.
2. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) combined score of 300 (verbal plus quantitative scores), with both
verbal and quantitative scores above the 40th percentile. Other graduate entrance examinations
are also acceptable (e.g. MCAT, DAT, GMAT, LSAT, OAT, USMLE and NBVME) with a score
equivalent to the GRE combined score of 300. The GRE is not required for applicants who have
already obtained a Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., Dr.PH, or Master Degrees from approved institutions.
Exceptions may be granted for experienced professionals but taking the GRE is mandatory.
3. Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with prior academic and/or
professional performance.
4. Written statement of purpose. The essay should be at least 500 words in length, outlining the
student's interest in public health, potential research interests, and specifying the MPH track of
interest (Epidemiology, Social Behavioral Health, or Health Administration and Policy).
5. Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) which demonstrates evidence of professional and/or
educational health-related experience.
6. Academic health-related writing sample.
7. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores for applicants from non-English speaking
nations with a minimum score of 550 for the TOEFL paper exam, 80 for the internet-based
exam, or IELTS score of 6.5.
139
In addition, pre-requisite coursework is required for admission into the MPH Program. Applicants will
have:
1. Completed undergraduate or graduate courses in statistics. Statistics must be completed prior
to taking CHS 780: Biostatistics in Public Health and CHS 712: MPH Epidemiology. The MPH
student may be able to take a statistics course in summer school prior to starting their
progression of study in fall.
2. Students who have not completed an undergraduate patho-physiology course must complete
CHS 200 - Public Health Biology, a course that grounds a student in health science. It is
preferable that the student have this background/course before applying, but with the Graduate
Director approval, this course can be taken after admission is approved.
While relevant work in the health field is not required for admission into the program, evidence of this
helps ensure a proper alignment and knowledge of public health values consistent with our MPH
program. However, we also do encourage students with non-health related backgrounds to inquire
about the program and if appropriate, to apply. It adds to the diversity of experiences of students who
will now choose public health as a future direction without having had that background in their past.
The Graduate School receives and processes required materials (transcripts and official test scores) from
the student in their information system, Nolij. Then, the graduate director (via the Administrative
Assistant by accessing Nolij) receives the other materials from the applicant. When the student’s folder,
is complete it is forwarded to the graduate director. The admissions committee is composed of the
graduate director and representatives from each MPH program. The committee reviews the files and
identify missing information or the need for additional information if necessary. Files are reviewed by
faculty in each specializations who recommend admission. Admissions are for fall semesters only with a
final deadline of January 10th for applications. This deadline was changed to an earlier time for program
planning and to encourage earlier commitments to the program through the offer of graduate
assistantships and scholarships.
Notifications of acceptance are sent by the graduate director via email. Students may find additional
information and instructions for their enrollment in classes and their advisor via website links. An
applicant who has one or more deficiencies in admission requirements or in prerequisite coursework
may be admitted on a provisional basis. Provisional admits can become regular admits after making up
the deficiency and obtaining above a 3.0 GPA in coursework. Students who are not admitted, will
receive an email indicating the areas that need further strengthening for a future admission. In concert,
our administrative assistant notifies the Graduate School through the Nolij computer-based information
system.
c. Recruitment materials and sources of program information
Recruitment materials include brochures, post-cards, and websites. For UNR, the home website
attractively displays a number of activities and information on colleges, admissions, and the school.
Academic offerings can be accessed from this home page and specific colleges have their own websites
for more information. The academic calendar is located in the Academic Central section of the website
140
as is the complete UNR catalog. A hard copy of the catalog is no longer published.
http://www.unr.edu/academic-central
For the SCHS, the newly remodeled website sits on the Division of Health Sciences website. Pictures
depicting health related scenes and easy to navigate sections provide complete information on all
programs of the school. Admission processes are detailed and community partners and alumni are
featured to provide context for careers that SCHS graduates may choose. Brochures and post cards are
new and sport a new brand developed following a branding exercise involving students, faculty, and
community partners.
Online recruitment materials:
UNR School of Community Health Sciences website: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs
UNR SCHS undergraduate programs: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/undergraduate
UNR MPH Website: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/mph
UNR MPH Application Process: http://dhs.unr.edu/chs/academics/mph
UNR On-Line Catalogue: http://catalog.unr.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=12&ent_oid=1207
UNR Graduate School: http://www.unr.edu/grad/
UNR Academic Calendars: http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-resources/academiccalendar
Other materials can be seen in E-resource: Student recruitment.
MPH Student Handbook (E-resources MPH student handbook)
d. Applicant information
Table 4.3.1 Quantitative Information on Applicants, Acceptances, and Enrollments, 2013 to 2015
Epidemiology
Social
Behavioral
Health
Health
Administration
and Policy
CHS: BS
CHS: Public
Health BS
CHS:
Kinesiology BS
Applied
Accepted
Enrolled
Applied
Accepted
Enrolled
Applied
Accepted
Enrolled
Applied
2013-14
13
10
9
6
4
4
17
14
9
No application
needed
2014-15
24
17
13
10
9
8
9
9
8
No application
needed
2015-16
16
13
12
13
7
5
11
5
4
No application
needed
Accepted
Enrolled
Applied
Accepted
Enrolled
Applied
Accepted
Enrolled
Specialty area is defined as each degree and area of specialization contained in the instructional matrix
(Template 2.1.1)
141
e. Student information
Table 4.3.2 Student Enrollment Data from 2013 to 2016
2013-14
HC
2014-15
FTE
HC
2015-16
FTE
HC
FTE
MPH: Epidemiology
23
19.75
23
17.5
25
22.5
MPH: Social Behavioral Health
22
16.5
17
15
13
12.0
MPH: Health Administration and Policy
5
4
11
9
10
9.5
CHS: BS
828
798.2
965
933.3
1048
Not
available
CHS: Public Health BS
643
CHS: Kinesiology BS
405
f.
Enrollment outcomes
The SCHS uses both GPA and GRE scores as a way to identify students who are most likely to succeed. In
addition, diverse students are energetically recruited (see section 1.8).
Goal 1: “To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers,
educators and leaders.”
Target
Objective 1: Recruitment/Admissions
1a. 80% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have an overall
undergraduate GPA that exceeds 3.2.
1b. 40% of students enrolled in the MPH program will have verbal and
quantitative GRE scores that exceed the 50 th percentile.
80%
20122013
67%
20132014
83%
20142015
53%
40%
44%
48%
33%
g. Analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 UNR has an easy to use and readily available admission website and extensive assistance to help
students enroll. The SCHS website has information and admission requirements readily available
for graduate students.
 The SCHS admissions process is actively supported by staff and the graduate director. The
graduate committee assists in the admission process.
Weaknesses and Plans:
 There are no specific admission requirements for the undergraduate SCHS program and the
numbers are increasing rapidly. This does not allow for tracking of student GPAs for admission
or an understanding of students who are enrolled. There are no plans at this time to implement
an admission requirement but the discussion will continue.
142
4.4 Advising and career counseling
a. Advising services
The undergraduate and graduate programs both provide advising services. The undergraduate advising
is done through the academic advising program specific for Division of Health Sciences students. The
graduate program advising is accomplished by the School, primarily by the Graduate Director and faculty
advisors.
The mission of academic advising at UNR is to assist each undergraduate student in developing and
implementing an academic plan designed to meet his/her educational, career and life goals. The
advising process is one of shared responsibilities between students and advisors. The mechanism by
which advising is provided to students may vary by academic unit. However, it is the responsibility of
faculty and staff who serve as advisors to:
1. Be knowledgeable about the curriculum requirements for the program(s) for which they advise
2. Assist students in selecting appropriate classes and developing an academic plan that meets
degree requirements
3. Assist students in linking program requirements with relevant career and other post-graduation
opportunities
4. Be familiar with campus resources and make appropriate referrals when necessary
5. Support the achievement of campus-wide goals for increasing graduation and retention rates
6. Clarify and provide accurate and timely information about university policies, regulations and
procedures
7. Be available and accessible to student advisees on a regular basis
8. Maintain student confidentiality in accordance with FERPA
9. Be proficient in the use of the university's student information system/computerized advising
tools relevant to the advising process.
It is the student's responsibility to:
1. Seek advising assistance in a timely manner
2. Come to advising appointments prepared
3. Become knowledgeable about university, college/school, and departmental program
requirements associated with his/her major(s) or minor(s) as well as relevant policies and
procedures
4. Take the initiative to become familiar with and utilize available campus resources
5. Keep his/her advisor informed of any changes that might impact or interfere with satisfactory
academic progress
6. Take responsibility for his/her actions and decisions
The role of an academic advisor is to assist, not make decisions for students. (taken from the advising
web-site as noted below)
143
Students (and their parents as applicable) are informed of resources via mail, online communication,
and during orientations. The many services of Academic Advising are listed on their website. More
information and details can be found at: http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-advising.
The DHS advising staff provide advisement for students in the schools that comprise the DHS. They
provide services for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors; for academic probation/dismissed
students; for student athletes; for transfer and out-of-state students; for pre-nursing students and they
assist with career counseling. There are a number of resources for freshman including Nevada FIT
(Freshman Intensive Transition) a 5 day intensive experience designed to improve student success.
There is a specific Health FIT for CHS majors that is now in its second year. It runs the week before the
fall semester begins and has an intensive agenda designed to improve the confidence and success of
freshman in CHS as they start their academic careers.(agenda for Health FIT 8.15 in E-resource). More
information is found at their website: http://dhs.unr.edu/students
At the school level, the Undergraduate Director works closely with the advising staff to answer
questions and address concerns for individual students and address curricular problems. Printed
information sheets about the CHS majors are available at the School’s office and on the website.
Examples of printed information include lists of required courses for each of the undergraduate majors,
suggested sequencing to graduate in 4 years, and resources for tutoring. Faculty provide informal
advisement to students after classes, through teaching assistantships, in joint research projects, during
volunteer activities, and by appointment. All faculty keep and publicize office hours to meet with
students.
Graduate students initially meet with the Graduate Director to explore options and to ask questions
about the admission process and coursework. Students with particular foci of interest are referred to
faculty in that area of specialization for more formal advisement.
Upon admission, the Graduate director matches MPH students with an advisor based upon their
program specialization and personal interests. The advisor assists them with their Program of Study
(POS) and course selection, and begins the development of their MPH experience. Advisors meet with
students each semester to assist in planning coursework and to work with the Field Studies coordinator
and student to select and implement an appropriate internship. They also assist the student while they
are in the MPH Capstone Course, all in alignment with the student’s career goals and objectives. During
the final phases of the professional paper and presentation development, advisors play an important
role in editing and providing feedback to students. Faculty advisors provide letters of recommendation
for students as they enter the workforce or professional or academic training.
The MPH student orientation was originally a half-day event in the fall and it now a full-day event every
August.. The orientation is a time to meet faculty, other students and alumni, to become familiar with
the MPH Student handbook (E-resource: MPH Handbook) and to ask questions. One new session was
added to define and discuss professionalism as it applies in public health. (E-resource: Advising; MPH
orientation 2015). Those who do not come to the orientation meet with the Graduate Director and/or
advisor to receive the information provided at orientation.
144
At UNR, students who are not officially admitted into a master’s program of study and/or are in the
process of completing their application, may take up to 9 units as Graduate Specials. When admitted to
the MPH program, these courses can transfer into their program of study. The number of Graduate
Special students is an indicator of interest in the program and of future admissions. All Graduate Special
students are initially advised by the Graduate Director and/or a course faculty member until admitted
into the program. Over the last 3 years, graduate specials have numbered 50 and 75 % have
transitioned into the MPH program. More effort is required to track and advise these students.
Difficulties arise in trying to keep them in progression or when they change their emphasis. Graduate
special students stay in contact with the Graduate Director and are tracked via an internal database to
ensure smooth progression to MPH admittance.
To prepare faculty in their roles as advisors there is a faculty orientation and an advisor guideline ( E
resource: Advising; MPH advisor timeline) that defines the tasks and highlights the timeline for MPH
students to complete their studies and their papers. In addition, the graduate committee provides
information to keep the other faculty members aware of changes.
b. Career counseling services for students
Career counseling is formal and informal for both undergraduate and graduate students. Nevada’s
Career Studio offers a multitude of services to help UNR students, both graduate and undergraduate,
identify career paths, consider potential employers and gain important skills. The Career Studio provides
a number of tool kits for students to explore careers. Opportunities are available to students to gain an
understanding of the necessary skills, such as resume writing and interview techniques, to obtain a job
after graduation. Services can be one-on-one but most are online and offered in training sessions. The
DHS academic advising core provides career counseling as part of their one-on-one interactions with
students and will send students to the Career Studio for additional assistance. More information can be
found at the Career Studio website: http://www.unr.edu/career
At the SCHS, we are a central hub for career opportunities and internship postings from many
organizations in the Northern Nevada area as well as out of the area employers. These are posted on the
undergraduate and graduate Bulletin Boards, shared on our list-serve and on our WebCampus site. We
use WebCampus postings for internships, fellowships, and job openings. The CHS Bulletin Board in the
school’s building has fliers from graduate schools and other job openings in the area and nationally.
The other more formal resources are both the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Association
http://www.unr.edu/gsa/ who represent groups committed to the professional development of UNR
students. They host a graduate school fair each fall for all UNR students to explore graduate offering
including the MPH program. Each spring, a UNR career and internship fair is held on campus and
students are encouraged to attend. http://www.unr.edu/grad
Professional development for undergraduate majors is formally done in the CHS 345 “Ethics and
Professionalism in Public Health” class and in CHS 494, “Field Studies in Public Health”. With Career
Studio assistance, students are required to write resumes, practice interviewing skills and discuss
appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Student learning outcomes include development of a project
145
at the internship site that requires demonstration of organizational and presentation skills. Preceptors
identify these efforts as attractive skills for future employees.
Orientation for the internship experience for graduate students (CHS 798: Field Studies in Public Health )
includes a discussion of professionalism and appropriate behavior and attitudes that impact job
performance and evaluation. This has paid off with student internships evolving into student
employment opportunities. A good deal of career counseling occurs during the professional
development portion of the capstone class. Special sessions and assignments related to professional
development include: group facilitation and mediation, public speaking, how to be a good supervisor,
resume development, how to land a job, public health ethics, and the future of public health as a
profession.
Near the end of the course students complete a competency assessment to identify competencies that
need to be further developed. Students use this assessment to develop a post-graduation professional
development plan. Graded assignments include:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Resume
Job search and application development
Oral presentation (including professional dress and conduct)
Post-graduation professional development plan
Ethical issues in public health practice
In the less formal and more MPH program specific career counseling, there are many who contribute to
the students’ future: their advisor, other MPH faculty, alumni, and faculty/community mentors. Public
health professionals are frequent guest speakers to classes and are available during and afterwards for
students to consult with about their career choices and possibilities. As students are completing their
internships, they are encouraged to meet other people at their sites, besides the preceptor, in order to
create a broader network.
Because all students have advisors, a major source of career counseling is 1:1 mentoring related to the
job application process. Faculty review job applications, resumes, and cover letters and provide letters
of recommendation as requested for current students and alumni.
c. Student satisfaction with advising and career counseling services
A formal student advising satisfaction survey of UNR undergraduates was completed in the spring
semester 2015. One hundred and four students who returned surveys assessed the Division of Health
Sciences advising services from many viewpoints. Overall student satisfaction scores ranged from 3.2-4.0
on a scale of 1-5 and 50% of students ranked services as good or very good. The survey indicated good
information was presented but students at times did not feel welcomed. The Director of Academic
Advising & Student Achievement will be conducting regular student satisfaction surveys in the future.
With the new tracking system scheduled to start in April 2016, there will be faster feedback and better
detail to help improve advising services further. (E-resource: Survey, Advising Evaluation).
Of the 2011 to 2014 graduate survey respondents, on a scale from 1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly
agree, 85% agreed or strongly agreed that “Overall, MPH faculty were supportive of my academic
146
interests.” Comments about strengths of the program also indicate high levels of satisfaction with
faculty support and advisement.
“Very supportive faculty who have a genuine interest in your success. Also the support with the capstone course in
completing the final paper and presentation was excellent!”
“The professors and faculty cared about the students and were willing to provide as much guidance and help as
needed (as long as the students are willing to work).”
“Advisers/professors who really wanted their students to learn and were involved often gave the best learning
opportunities to my cohort.”
“The availability of faculty, and the individual interest faculty showed in each student. I always felt I could talk any
faculty member and they were willing to work with or help me.”
“Professor involvement with students. Most took the time to know students and help them when asked. It was
also nice that there was a firm schedule on what needed to be accomplished in order to graduate.”
“The faculty are very good about taking an interest in what you hope to gain from the program and work hard to
accommodate that.”
“Strong, committed faculty who focus on student development Low professor: student ratio Plenty of
opportunities for students to be involved in leadership and/or research”
While most MPH graduates appear to be satisfied with their experiences with faculty advising, a few mentioned
having some issues with advising, such as lack of advisor availability or involvement in the professional paper
process.
In the past three years, there have been 4 requests by students to change advisors. This is a small
percentage and is one indicator that there is satisfaction with the services provided. We also understand
and support students in seeking out advising and career support from many sources beyond their
advisor and beyond our walls.
d. Managing student complaints and grievances
The process for students to communicate program/academic concerns has been substantially upgraded
over the last 3 years. There is now a centralized UNR office, the Concierge Service, where forms and
procedures for concerns are initiated and followed. Details are posted on the website:
http://www.unr.edu/academic-central/academic-resources
The Concierge Service has seven categories in which students concerns can be filed:




General advising questions: concerns that have not already been addressed by one’s academic
advisor
Grade Appeal: complaints about a grade received in a course (students are required to consult
with the instructor prior to pursuing this complaint)
Poor Advising: complaints about the perceived quality and/or accuracy of academic advising
Poor Instruction: complaints about the perceived quality of instruction for a course
147



Course Availability: complaints about the availability of a course offering required for a student’s
program
Course Policies: complaints about the policies being enforced in a particular course
Other: academic complaints not covered in the previous categories
Upon receipt of the filed concern, the student is contacted within two business days to confirm receipt,
request additional information (if needed), and to indicate initial routing of the issue. In some cases, a
complaint may be immediately referred out to other offices for review (i.e. sexual harassment, academic
integrity, disability compliance, etc.). Names are confidential depending on the cause. The students
must disclose their names and student ID to the Concierge Service. In cases of grade appeals, the
information will move into the procedure for grade appeals described in the administrative manual and
in the General Catalog.
A grade assigned by an instructor is only subject to the appeals procedure if there was a
clerical/administrative error in the calculation and/or assignment of the grade, the grade assignment
was based on factors other than the student's performance in the course and/or completion of course
requirements or the grade assignment meant that the student was held to more demanding standards
than other students in the same section of the course. The burden of proof of these conditions rests on
the student.
There are four possible processes for grade appeals, the most common complaint identified in the SCHS.
1. Student consults with instructor before filing a grade appeal;
2. Student files a grade appeal using the online Concierge Service;
3. Student meets with the department chair or with both the department chair and instructor; and
4. Department chair appoints a grade appeal review committee.
There are detailed directions for each of the processes that can be found at:
http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/3000-3999-students/3510-grade-appeal-policy-andprocedures
Follow up action is initiated if the concern or complaint is not addressed by referring it to a higher level
of authority. For SCHS this would mean involvement by the Director and if needed, the Vice President
for Health Sciences. The Concierge Service supplies a record of complaints and responses to the
relevant Associate Dean(s) and the Office of the Provost at the end of each Fall, Spring, and Summer
academic term. (policy in e resource http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/3000-3999students/3511-processing-of-student-academic-complaints )
As with all programs, the SCHS program strives for a professional, collegial relationship with all students.
There are other less formal opportunities for students to voice their concerns. Undergraduate syllabi
include office hours and invitations for students to meet with faculty regarding any issue but particularly
if there are concerns with academic performance. Many issues are addressed at this level. The more
formal procedures offered through UNR are available for students who may not be able to resolve issues
or are concerned about retaliation.
148
Depending on the type of concern the student may have, there are several options for resolution:
 If the concern is about a course, students are encouraged to seek assistance first from the
course instructor, then from his or her advisor and/or graduate director. If a result is still not
satisfactory, the student may file a complaint with the Concierge Service.
 If a concern involves the advisor and/or internship preceptor, the student is encouraged to seek
assistance from the graduate director and/or internship coordinator, and finally the director of
the school. Again, the route would then be to the Vice President for Health Sciences.
 If a graduate assistant has an issue with their supervisor, the student can come to the graduate
director and/or then to the director of the school.
 If students have issues with other students, this would be formally handled though the
instructor and/or advisor, depending on the situation.
 In any case, if a student is not comfortable discussing the issue with the graduate program
director, he/she may approach the graduate curriculum coordinator or Director.
 Regardless of the issue, MPH students may choose to meet with and process the issue with
another MPH student.
The SCHS Director is usually the last step in any concern resolution.
There have been 5 student grievances that came to the director in the last 3 years dealing with both
undergraduate and graduate students. One of these came from a graduate student who had complaints
regarding a faculty member’s responsiveness. Four came from undergraduates who had grade issues. All
were resolved at the school level and did not require further efforts. These grievances were handled by
meeting with the students and with the faculty. No systemic issues were identified.
e. Analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.
This criteria is met.
Strengths:
 There is a well-established process for handling student concerns that has become more
standardized and more easily accessed over the last two years. This process is overseen by a
university office (as of fall 2014) to make it less intimidating for students.
 The inclusion of career preparation into the undergraduate curriculum has improved the
internship experience for students and their preceptors during the students’ senior year.
Weaknesses:
 Lack of information for the three years preceding 2014 for grievances.
 Students don’t declare their CHS major early in their academic tenure and that makes it very
difficult to advise and assist students to complete their degrees in a timely fashion.
Plans:
 The availability of the new students tracking system will assist the undergraduate program to do
a better job with advisement and career counseling. The analytics of the program assist in
identifying programs where students may find more success based on grades in key courses.
 Lack of specific questions about advising on the MPH graduate and alumni surveys. Faculty will
add questions to capture this information for the future.
149