Self Study Framework for Periodic Review of Academic Department
Boise State University; June 2013
Boise State University’s Mission Statement was approved in February 2012 by the Idaho State
Board of Education and reads as follows:
Boise State University is a public, metropolitan research university offering an array of
undergraduate and graduate degrees and experiences that foster student success,
lifelong learning, community engagement, innovation, and creativity. Research and
creative activity advance new knowledge and benefit students, the community, the state,
and the nation. As an integral part of its metropolitan environment the university is
engaged in professional and continuing education programming, policy issues, and
promoting the region’s economic vitality and cultural enrichment.
Academic departments are key contributors in the carrying out of the University’s mission. It is
therefore fitting that the guidelines for the creation of the departmental self study, a key
component of the periodic review process be based, in large part, on the mission, core themes,
and core objectives of the University. Each core theme is an elucidation of one aspect of the
University’s mission; thus the University’s four core themes are Undergraduate Education,
Graduate Education, Research and Creative Activity, and Community Commitment. Core
themes are further expanded in the core objectives, which together comprise the ways in which
the University accomplishes its work. The texts of the core themes and core objectives are
embedded in the document below as reference.
A department preparing a self study should provide comprehensive responses to each of the
questions below, thereby providing a window into the department for external reviewers and
administrators. Include faculty and staff participation in the creation of the self study as
appropriate.
I. Context :
A. Give a brief overview of the history of the department.
Include information on trends over time of number of majors, number of
graduates, number of credit hours generated, number of faculty members,
number of staff members, and budget.
B. Previous Periodic Reviews
Give dates of previous reviews and describe any major concerns raised and
resulting actions that led to important changes.
C. Specialized/Professional Accreditation
List programs subject to specialized/professional accreditation, list their
respective accreditation organizations, and give the dates of the last and the next
reviews. Describe concerns and resulting actions that led to important change.
Describe any agreement to use parts of a specialized/professional self study to
replace a portion of the Periodic Review self study.
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II. Department Overview, Structure, Governance, and Workload.
A. Overview
Give a brief and concise (i.e., ~250 words) introduction to the department: what
programs do you offer, what is the focus of your research/creative activity, and
what is distinct about your department?
B. Administrative structure and governance.
Describe the roles of the department chair, other administrative positions held by
faculty members, and committees within the department. Describe how
decisions are made within the department.
C. Workload policy
Describe the faculty workload policy of the department and discuss its application
in determining the workload of faculty members and in the annual evaluation
process.
III. Undergraduate Education
“Core Theme One: Undergraduate Education: Our university provides access to high quality
undergraduate education that cultivates personal and professional growth in our students and
meets the educational needs of our community, state, and nation. We engage our students
and focus on their success.”
A. Evaluate the contribution of the department to Core Objective 1.1: Access and
Completion.
“Students of all backgrounds have the opportunity and support needed to pursue and
successfully complete their undergraduate degree programs.”
1. Discuss any actions by your department to increase access to the university
and its undergraduate programs. For example,
a. Have you taken actions to increase recruitment of underrepresented
groups, create bridge programs, work with local schools, etc.?
b. Have you taken actions to increase access to your programs and
offerings by expanding the times, locations, and/or format/method of
delivery?
2. Describe and evaluate any “gateways” that exist to control access of students
to your undergraduate programs.
a. What are the “gateways” that control access of students to your
undergraduate programs?
b. What is the reason for controlling access?
c. What avenues of access do you provide for students who initially are
excluded?
d. Evaluate how well the mechanism of access control aligns with the
reason for controlling access. Are there students excluded who should
be allowed access and vice versa?
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3. Discuss the support that your students receive from advising and from the
department office.
a. Describe and evaluate academic advising in your department.
i.
Who does the advising, how are students assigned, and what
materials are available to students? How do you motivate
students to seek advising? How do you measure student
satisfaction with advising? Are students satisfied with the
advising they receive?
ii. What are the outcomes you are trying to achieve with your
advising? Have you been successful? What evidence do you
have?
b. Describe and evaluate the advising your students receive regarding
post-graduate life.
c. Describe other support that your department provides for students.
4. Describe and evaluate your success in facilitating the progress to graduation
of students in your major.
a. Describe and discuss the data for your department’s programs that
indicate how well student’s progress in a timely manner through your
undergraduate programs, for example: number of credits at graduation,
retention of juniors in the major, etc. How do you compare to other
departments? What are areas of concern? What are explanations?
b. Describe your success in providing your students access to the
courses offered by your department needed to complete your
department’s programs in a timely manner.
i.
Provide a list of the courses required by your majors and taught
by your department. What are enrollment trends? How do those
course-enrollment trends compare with the numbers of students
in your majors requiring those courses?
ii. Are there bottleneck courses that impede progress through your
programs? What are you doing in response?
iii. How do you assess need for seats in courses and plan for future
demand?
c. Are there any problems with access to courses that are offered by
other departments and that students in your programs are required to
take?
i.
Provide a list of those courses. What are enrollment trends?
How do those course-enrollment trends compare with the
numbers of students in your majors requiring those courses?
ii. Are there bottleneck courses that impede progress through your
programs? What are you doing in response?
iii. How do you and/or the other department assess need for seats
in those courses and plan for future demand?
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5. Describe and evaluate your success in facilitating the progress to graduation
of students in the programs of other departments, e.g., by providing service
courses required of other majors and courses that contribute to the Core
Curriculum/Foundational Studies Program.
a. For the key service courses required of other majors and provided by
your department, provide a listing of course titles, the majors that
require those courses, and the enrollment trends in those courses.
How do enrollment trends compare with numbers of students requiring
those courses?
b. How do you assess need for those courses and the sufficiency of seats
provided? Are any of your courses “bottlenecks” for other
departments? How do you ensure sufficient seats? (see question B.6
for discussion of content of service courses)
c. Provide a listing of Core/Disciplinary Lens courses offered by your
department and data on enrollment trends. How do you forecast
demand and respond to changes in need? (Note: Content is discussed
below).
6. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding
access to and successful completion of your undergraduate programs.
B. Evaluate the contribution of the department to “Core Objective 1.2: Relevance.
“Our undergraduate students develop depth and breadth in the skills, knowledge, and
experiences required to ensure their success in the 21st century world.”
1. List and discuss the learning goals of each of your programs. What process
was used to develop those goals? How recently were they revised?
2. Discuss the relevance of your learning goals and the relevance of your
programs. What contributions do your programs make to the
community/state/nation? Are there features of your programs that set them
apart from similar programs at other institutions? To what extent have you
made use of outside assessments, advisory committees, etc., in determining
the focus of your programs?
3. Discuss the involvement of your students in discipline-related experiences
such as internships, clinical experience, field experience, service learning,
research/ creative activity, and community projects.
a. In what ways does your department facilitate such experiences outside
of class?
b. In what ways does your department integrate such experiences into
your curriculum and courses?
4. Discuss University Learning Outcomes (ULOs) 1-6 as they relate to the
learning goals of your undergraduate programs.
a. In one or more of the following tables, list the learning goals of your
programs. If the learning goals of your undergraduate programs are
very similar, then one table will likely suffice. If there is substantial
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variation among your programs, then more than one table may be
required to compare ULOs with program learning goals.
b. Discuss the similarities of ULOs 1-6 with your program learning goals.
To what extent have you integrated/connected ULOs 1-6 with the
learning goals of your program? Do you see opportunities in this area?
(In the next section you will discuss the role of various courses in
helping to achieve program learning goals and ULOs).
c. To what extent have you incorporated the ULOs 1-6 into courses
required in your curriculum beyond your FF and CID courses (do not
include DL courses in this discussion)? What are your plans in this
area?
University Learning Outcomes 1-6
ULO 1. Writing. Write effectively in multiple
contexts, for a variety of audiences.
Program Learning Goals for
__________________________________
1.
ULO 2. Oral Communication. Communicate
effectively in speech, both as speaker and listener.
ULO 3. Critical Inquiry. Engage in effective critical
inquiry by defining problems, gathering and
evaluating evidence, and determining the adequacy
of argumentative discourse.
ULO 4. Innovation and Teamwork. Think creatively
about complex problems in order to produce,
evaluate, and implement innovative possible
solutions, often as one member of a team.
ULO 5. Ethics. Analyze ethical issues in personal,
professional, and civic life and produce reasoned
evaluations of competing value systems and ethical
claims.
ULO 6. Diversity and Internationalization. Apply
knowledge of cultural differences to matters of local,
regional, national, and international importance,
including political, economic, and environmental
issues.
5. How well do your Service Courses (offered by you and required of other
majors) contribute to the program learning goals of served departments?
a. How do you determine the content of your service courses? Is that
determination done in consultation with served departments? How do
you determine if the needs of other departments are being met?
b. For service courses that are also required of your own majors, how do
you meet needs or your program and the needs of served programs?
6. For Disciplinary Lens and/or Core courses offered by your department that are
required by your programs, how do you resolve the tension between
Disciplinary Lens learning outcomes and the learning outcomes the courses
must achieve to serve your programs?
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7. Discuss any recent initiatives in the realm of undergraduate programs that
your department has undertaken or plans to undertake in response to the
University’s previous strategic plan (Charting the Course) or its new one
(Focus on Effectiveness).
8. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
relevance of your undergraduate programs.
C. Evaluate the contribution of your department to: Core Objective 1.3: Quality.
“In addition to developing depth of knowledge, understanding, and skill in their
respective disciplines, our undergraduate students are engaged in an education that
stresses the liberal arts. They master enduring skills and habits of mind that transcend
disciplinary boundaries, achieve a breadth of knowledge and understanding over a
range of disciplines, receive a solid grounding in civic and ethical responsibility, and
become aware of the global community and their connection to it.”
1. Do your students successfully achieve the learning goals of your
undergraduate programs?
a. What is your assessment plan by which you determine the extent to
which students achieve program learning goals? Include a description
of the role of assessment within your Finishing Foundations (FF) and
Communication in the Discipline (CID) courses.
b. What are the results from those assessments? Do your students
achieve program learning goals? Present specific evidence that shows
the success or lack of success of your students.
c. What actions have you taken in response to those results? Describe
the process by which the department considers the results of your
assessment measures and determines appropriate actions. How do
you ensure that the process is sustainable and ongoing?
d. Does the assessment/improvement process work well? For example,
are there assessment measures that have not proved useful in
informing improvements? Are there gaps in your assessment plan,
such as new measures that could provide useful information on which
to base improvements?
2. Is the coursework of your programs aligned with the learning goals of your
programs?
a. Present, in the appendix, the curriculum map for each of your
undergraduate programs to show how each aspect of your curriculum
contributes effectively to achievement of program learning goals. Are
there learning goals that are not well addressed or are overaddressed? Are there courses that serve too many learning goals or
too few?
b. What changes to your curricula and your learning goals have you
made in response to analyzing your curriculum maps? What work
remains to be done?
c. Describe the role of your Communication in the Discipline (CID) and
Finishing Foundations (FF) courses of the Foundational Studies
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Program in helping your students achieve the learning goals of your
undergraduate programs.
3. Describe and evaluate how you ensure that your coursework is high quality.
How do you ensure that undergraduate courses are revised, updated, created
anew as needed, and/or discontinued as needed?
4. What processes and structures do you have in place to help ensure that the
instruction in your courses is of high quality?
a. Describe how the department supports instructional/pedagogical
development of your faculty members. What opportunities are
available? Do your faculty members make use those opportunities?
Give examples of changes that have been made.
b. Describe how you assess the quality of the instruction in your
undergraduate courses and describe how you make use of that
assessment information. Give examples of the information you use to
assess instructional quality and actions you have taken.
c. Is your evaluation of instruction consistent among the various types of
faculty members (pre-tenure, tenured, adjunct, lecturer, graduate
teaching assistant). Discuss.
5. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
quality of your undergraduate programs.
D. Evaluate the contribution of your department to Core Objective 1.4: Culture.
“Our undergraduate students experience high expectations for academic achievement,
a vibrant intellectual atmosphere, a culture that embraces local and global
connections, and an environment that inspires creativity, innovation, and
entrepreneurship. An appreciation of, and respect for, a variety of perspectives and
cultures are developed in our students. Our students are engaged in university life
and community activities.”
1. Discuss how your department contributes to the vibrancy of the culture and
intellectual atmosphere experienced by our undergraduate students.
2. Discuss the extent to which your department contributes to the development
of, in your students, an increased appreciation of, and respect for a variety of
perspectives and cultures.
3. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
culture of your undergraduate programs.
E. Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
1. What does your department do particularly well in the realm of undergraduate
education? For what should you be recognized?
2. What are the areas of your department that are most in need of work in the
realm of undergraduate education? That is, what are your “soft spots”?
3. What would you suggest are the most important opportunities available to your
department in the realm of undergraduate education?
4. In which particular areas do you want input from the external reviewers?
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IV. Graduate Education
Core Theme Two: Graduate Education. Our university provides access to graduate
education that is relevant to the educational and societal needs of the community and
state, is meaningful within national and global contexts, is respected for its high quality,
and is delivered within a supportive graduate culture.
A. Evaluate the contribution of the department to Core Objective 2.1: Access.
“We provide students of all backgrounds with access to graduate educational
opportunities in formats that are appropriate, flexible, accessible, and affordable.”
1. Discuss any actions by your department to increase access to the university
and its programs, e.g., by expanding number or types of program
components, times, locations, and/or format/method of delivery.
2. Describe the degree to which you are successful in providing support to
graduate students via assistantships and other means.
a. Comment on the number of assistantships in your program and the
size of associated stipends. Are they sufficient? Discuss the impact to
the program if you could allocate more funds to assistantships.
b. What is your strategy for making use of graduate student stipends?
How are they allocated? What are the responsibilities of graduate
assistants who are receiving stipends? Have you considered other
strategies?
c. Do you have endowment-funded and otherwise externally funded
fellowships available to students in your department?
3. Describe and evaluate your graduate program recruitment activities.
a. What is the overall strategy and who is responsible for recruitment
activities? Does the department make use of programs such as the
GEM Hi-Tech Scholarships or the Graduate Residential Scholars
Program as recruiting tools? Do you recruit from the community, from
outside the community, and/or internationally? Do you recruit
members of under-represented groups?
b. Evaluate the success of your recruiting efforts.
4. Evaluate the success of your department in retaining and graduating your
students. Are your students able to proceed smoothly through your
program(s) and then graduate without unnecessary impediments?
a. Highlight important trends and give context to the data regarding
numbers of graduates, retention in the program, and time to
completion. Put in the context of the number of full-time and part-time
students.
b. How does the department assess the progress of individual students?
Who has the responsibility for that assessment?
c. What actions are taken by whom to deal with impediments and to
facilitate student progress?
5. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding
access to and successful completion of your graduate programs.
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B. Evaluate the contribution of the department to “Core Objective 2.2: Relevance.
“Our graduate students develop skills, knowledge, and experiences that are relevant
and valuable locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.”
1. List and discuss the learning goals of each of your graduate programs. By
what process were they determined? How recently were they revised?
2. Discuss the relevance of your learning goals and the relevance of your
programs. What contributions do your programs make to the
community/state/nation? Are there features of your programs that set them
apart from similar programs at other institutions? To what extent have you
made use of outside assessments, advisory committees, etc., in determining
the focus of your programs?
3. Discuss the involvement of your students in discipline-related experiences
such as internships, clinical experience, field experience, service learning,
research/ creative activity, and community projects (culminating activities are
dealt with below).
a. In what ways does your department facilitate such experiences?
b. In what ways does your department integrate such experiences into
your curriculum and courses?
4. Discuss any recent initiatives in the realm of graduate programs that your
department has undertaken or plans to undertake in response to the
University’s previous strategic plan (Charting the Course) or its new one
(Focus on Effectiveness).
5. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
relevance of your graduate programs.
C. Evaluate the contribution of your department to: Core Objective 2.3: Quality.
“Our graduate programs are composed of advanced and integrated learning
experiences that provide disciplinary depth and interdisciplinary connections, and that
reinforce the overall scholarly output of the university.”
1. Do your students successfully achieve the learning goals of your programs?
Are they prepared to successfully move to the next phase of their lives?
a. What is your “assessment plan” for determining the extent to which
students achieve program learning goals?
b. What do the results from the assessments tell us about student
achievement of learning goals? Present specific evidence that shows
the success or lack of success of your students.
c. What actions have you taken in response to those results? Describe
the process by which the department considers the results of your
assessment measures and determines appropriate actions. How do
you ensure that the process is sustainable and ongoing?
d. Does the assessment/improvement process work well? For example,
are there assessment measures that are not proving useful in
informing improvements? Are there gaps in your assessment plan
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such as new measures that could provide useful information on which
to base improvements?
2. Is the curriculum of each of your programs aligned with the learning goals of
that program?
a. Present, in the appendix, the curriculum map for each of your graduate
programs to show how each aspect of your curriculum contributes to
achievement of program learning goals. Discuss: are there learning
goals that are not well addressed or are over-addressed? Are there
courses or activities that serve too many learning goals or too few?
What changes to your curricula and/or your learning goals have you
made in response to analyzing your curriculum maps?
b. For each graduate program, describe the requirement for a culminating
activity, such as a project, thesis, dissertation, or comprehensive
examination. What are the program learning goals that will be
achieved by that activity? Describe and discuss department
expectations regarding the quality and extensiveness of each type of
culminating activity. How effective are your culminating activities in
achieving your stated goals?
3. Evaluate the extent to which your students make significant contributions to
the discipline and/or profession.
a. For those programs that require a thesis, dissertation, or project, what
is the expectation regarding a contribution to the discipline and
presentation to a broader audience, e.g., via publication, presentation,
or performance? How well have your students met those
expectations? As applicable, describe numbers and prominence of
publications, presentations, exhibitions, performances, etc., that have
resulted.
b. What other contributions have your graduates made to the discipline
and/or profession, e.g., leadership positions in organizations.
4. Evaluate the graduate faculty of your program.
a. Enter in the table(s) below the number of faculty in various categories
who routinely participate in the program as graduate course
instructors, student advisors, or supervisory committee members.
Complete a separate table for each graduate program.
b. What qualification criteria do graduate faculty members meet?
c. Discuss the sufficiency in numbers, expertise, and scholarship of your
faculty members in terms of being able to carry out the delivery of high
quality graduate programs.
5. Discuss and evaluate the mentoring and advising of your graduate students.
a. Describe how students are linked to major advisors and committee
members. What are the responsibilities of the advisor and the
supervisory committee? What is their role in monitoring academic
progress of the student?
b. Discuss and evaluate the effectiveness and consistency of mentoring
of your graduate students. What are the expectations of mentors? In
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Name of Program:
(one table for each program;
copy as needed)
# of graduate faculty
members who serve
as advisors
# graduate faculty members
who serve as graduate
committee members
# of graduate faculty members
who serve as instructors for your
department’s graduate courses
Tenured or Tenure-track
Faculty in your department
Tenured or Tenure-track
Faculty in other departments
Research Faculty
Clinical Faculty
Adjunct or Affiliate Faculty
and Lecturers
what areas do they provide mentorship? How do you evaluate and
ensure consistency and effectiveness? What guidance do faculty
members receive in how to effectively mentor graduate students?
6. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
quality of your graduate programs.
D. Evaluate the contribution of your department to Core Objective 2.4: Culture.
“Our graduate experience embodies high expectations for academic achievement and
respect for the core values of scholarship, integrity, generosity, and responsibility.”
1. Evaluate the orientation and ongoing support provided to your graduate
students in establishing the graduate culture and supporting the core values.
2. Describe the extent to which graduate students are exposed to the broad
culture of the discipline through professional meetings, performance and
exhibit venues, professional organizations, social networks, and the offcampus collaborations of their faculty mentors.
3. Describe and discuss the “graduate culture” of your programs, e.g., do your
students create and experience a mutually supportive environment?
4. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
culture of your graduate programs.
E. Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
1. What does your department do particularly well in the realm of graduate
education? For what should you be recognized?
2. What are the areas of your department that are most in need of work in the
realm of graduate education? That is, what are your “soft spots”?
3. What would you suggest are the most important opportunities available to your
department in the realm of graduate education?
4. What are the particular areas that you want input from the reviewers?
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V. Research and Creative Activity
“Core Theme Three: Research and Creative Activity. Through our endeavors in basic and
applied research and in creative activity, our researchers, artists, and students create
knowledge and understanding of our world and of ourselves, and transfer that knowledge to
provide societal, economic, and cultural benefit. Students are integral to our faculty research
and creative activity.”
A. Evaluate the contribution of the department to Core Objective 3.1: Access.
“Community members can connect with and benefit from our researchers, artists, and
students. Our students are true collaborators in our activities.”
1. To what degree are students involved in the research and creative activity of
faculty members? Describe and evaluate opportunities available.
2. Describe and evaluate the extent to which your educational programs
incorporate research/creative activity.
3. Describe significant links of faculty research/creative activity with off-campus
organizations, businesses, etc. Does the community have access to your
researchers/artists/scholars?
4. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding
access to your research/creative activity.
5. Describe the institutes, centers, and/or core facilities with which your faculty
members and your department are key participants. Evaluate the impact of
those entities on the department and its faculty members and students.
B. Evaluate the contribution of the department to “Core Objective 3.2: Relevance.
“Our efforts in research and creative activity have direct and beneficial impact on the
community, state, nation, and global community.”
1. Give a brief description of the research/creative activity interests of present
faculty members, grouped by area of interest. Include the interests of any
faculty members for whom you are presently searching or will soon be
searching. Describe any long-term plans you have regarding changes in this
area, e.g., are you planning to strengthen particular areas-of-interest with your
future hires, or are other areas-of-interest being dissolved because of
retirements?
2. What is your contribution to the community and beyond? Describe how your
department’s research/creative activity benefits the community, region, state,
and nation.
3. Discuss recent initiatives in the realm of research & creative activity that your
department has undertaken or plans to undertake in response to the
University’s previous strategic plan (Charting the Course) or its new one
(Focus on Effectiveness).
4. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
relevance of your research/creative activity.
C. Evaluate the contribution of your department to: Core Objective 3.3: Quality.
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“We pursue research and creative activity that brings about discovery of fundamental
knowledge and produces a better understanding of the human condition and our world.
The work of our researchers, artists, and students has substantial disciplinary impact
and contributes to the overall reputation of the university.”
1. How does your department define and measure the quantity and quality of
“Research/Creative Activity” in departmental policies and procedures?
2. In terms that will be understandable and interpretable by outside reviewers in
your discipline, as well as by administrators, describe and provide supporting
evidence regarding the degree to which the faculty members in your
department engage in productive research/creative activity that results in
quality publication, presentation, exhibition, performance, etc. As applicable,
include description of success in securing funding from grants, etc.
3. In terms of your department’s measure of quantity and quality, what are the
expectations for quantity and quality of research/creative activity by individual
faculty members?
4. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
quality of your research/creative activity.
D. Evaluate the contribution of your department to Core Objective 1.4: Culture.
“We provide creative, proactive, and responsive support for the research and creative
activity of our faculty, staff, and students. Our researchers, artists, and students
collaborate within and across disciplines, both within and outside the institution. We
facilitate an ongoing integration of teaching with faculty research and creative activity.”
1. Describe and evaluate faculty development/mentoring opportunities that exist
in the area of research/creative activity both within and outside of the
department.
2. Describe and evaluate department and university policies and practices as
they relate to the pursuit of successful research/creative activity by your
faculty members. Evaluate the degree to which department, college, and
university cultures recognize and promote creativity, innovation, and
entrepreneurship.
3. Describe the interactions of your faculty members with other individuals and
entities.
a. What intra-department groupings, collaborative efforts, or clusters of
research/creative activity presently exist, formally or informally?
b. What collaborative efforts involve your faculty members with faculty
members or entities outside of the department? Include on-campus
and off-campus collaborations.
c. Evaluate the degree to which university, college, and department
policies, processes, and cultures facilitate (i) informal interdisciplinary
interactions, (ii) the development of enduring and productive
interdisciplinary collaborative relationships.
4. Discuss, as necessary, any other information you might have regarding the
culture of research/creative activity.
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E. Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
1. What does your department do particularly well in the realm of
research/creative activity? For what should you be recognized?
2. What are the areas of your department that are most in need of work in the
realm of research/creative activity? That is, what are your “soft spots”?
3. What would you suggest are the most important opportunities available to your
department in the realm of research/creative activity?
4. What are the particular areas that you want input from the reviewers?
VI. “Service” to the Community, Institution, and Profession
Important note: Service to and partnership with the community are part of our Core Themes;
therefore the following section (Section A) is structured (as above) in terms of the Core Theme
and Core Objectives. Service to the institution and profession are treated separately in
Section B.
A. Partnership with and Service to the Community
“Core Theme Four: Community Commitment. The university is an integral part of the
community, and our commitment to the community extends beyond our educational
programs, research, and creative activity. We collaborate in the development of
partnerships that address community and university issues. We and the community
share knowledge and expertise with each other. We look to the community to inform
our goals, actions, and measures of success. We work with the community to create a
rich mix of culture, learning experiences, and entertainment that educates and
enriches the lives of our citizens. Our campus atmosphere is civil and collegial.”
“Core Objective 4.1: Access. Our campus is easily accessible and navigable
by community members. Similarly, our faculty and staff are easily accessible
to community members seeking information and expertise. Students, faculty,
and staff easily connect with community partners.”
“Core Objective 4.2: Relevance and Quality. Members of the community and
of the university collaborate to solve important problems and to enrich our
community. We contribute to the development and direction of the community
and the community is engaged in the development and direction of the
university. The university and community share valuable knowledge and
expertise. The community seeks and values the contribution of the university
and the university seeks and values the contribution of the community.”
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“Core Objective 4.3: Culture. We partner with the community in a wide range
of cultural, athletic, and social events. We provide educational opportunities
beyond the classroom, serving as a center for non-credit educational
programs. We provide a welcoming environment the community, which
values, supports, and participates in programs offered by the university.”
Note: you need not repeat descriptions of partnerships already described in
the section on research/creative activity.
1. Describe the community service of the members of your faculty. What are
highlights? What are key partnerships that have been forged with community
members? What is the value to the community?
2. As feasible, describe how the amount of community service provided by your
faculty members has changed over the last 5 to 10 years. Discuss and
evaluate trends in community service. Is the department where you want it to
be in this regard?
3. To what degree are your faculty, staff, and students sought as a source of
knowledge and expertise within the community?
4. To what degree are students involved in the community partnerships of faculty
members? Describe and evaluate opportunities available.
5. Describe and evaluate the extent to which your educational programs
incorporate community service.
6. Describe and evaluate department and university policies, practices, and
culture as they relate to the pursuit of successful community partnerships by
your faculty members.
B. Service to the Institution and Profession
1. Describe (at the level of detail you feel is appropriate) the service of the
members of your faculty in institutional and professional service. What are
highlights?
2. Evaluate the degree to which faculty members in your department help meet
the service needs of the department, college, university, and profession?
3. As feasible, describe how the amount of service provided by your faculty
members has changed over the last 5 to 10 years. Discuss and evaluate
trends in service. Is the department where you want it to be in this regard?
4. As feasible, provide information as to the distribution of institutional and
professional service activity among your faculty members. Discuss. Is the
entire service agenda of your department dependent on relatively few faculty
members, or is there widespread contribution from most/all of your faculty
members? Are there reasons for discrepancies among faculty members?
C. Structures, processes, and initiatives.
1. Describe and evaluate faculty development opportunities that exist in the area
of service. Describe and evaluate how the department facilitates service
contributions by new faculty members through mentorship and other
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developmental structures. Describe and evaluate opportunities provided
outside of the department to help faculty members become stronger service
contributors.
2. Describe your tenure and promotion, workload, and annual evaluation policies
as they relate to service and discuss the application of those policies in your
department. How is service rewarded and recognized? What aspects of
service are considered? To what extent are they emphasized? To what
extent and in what ways does the department make use of the workload policy
to potentiate the service of its faculty members?
3. Discuss recent initiatives in the realm of research & creative activity that your
department has undertaken or plans to undertake in response to the
University’s strategic plan Focus on Effectiveness.
D. Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
1. What does your department do particularly well in the realm of service? For
what should you be recognized?
2. What are the areas of your department that are most in need of work in the
realm of service? That is, what are your “soft spots”?
3. What would you suggest are the most important opportunities available to your
department in the realm of service?
4. Are there particular areas that you want input from the reviewers?
VII. Departmental Summary and Synthesis
A. Productivity, Efficiency, Workload.
1. Examine information on departmental productivity such as number of credits
hours and number of graduates. Examine trends over time. Examine
numbers per faculty member. Discuss and compare to other departments
and the university overall.
2. Discuss the enrollments in sections of your courses and the curricula of your
undergraduate programs. Evaluate whether you could more efficiently use
faculty time while preserving quality. Are there “boutique” courses and/or low
enrollment courses that should be discontinued or offered less frequently?
3. How could you consolidate and/or streamline your curriculum? Do you have
emphases or options that require the teaching of low-enrollment courses?
Describe any recent changes you have made.
4. Discuss the workload of faculty members in your department in terms of the
areas of responsibility of the department. What changes have you made to
increase the effectiveness of your department? What is working and what is
not?
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B. Infrastructure and Resources
1. Evaluate and discuss the extent to which the department’s faculty, staff,
space, equipment, budget, scholarship support, and other resources (e.g.,
library) enable you to contribute successfully. Create separate foci for each
of the Core Theme areas if desired.
2. Evaluate and discuss the extent to which processes, procedures, policies, IT
infrastructure, and data resources enable you to contribute successfully.
Create separate foci for each of the Core Theme areas if desired.
3. What are key obstacles? Prioritize obstacles in terms of department
productivity and efficiency.
C. Overall Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
From the lists at the end of each of the previous sections, select the most important
entries. Feel free to combine items from different sections as appropriate.
1. What does your department do particularly well? For what should you be
recognized?
2. What are the areas of your department that are most in need of work? That is,
what are your “soft spots”?
3. What would you suggest are the most important opportunities available to your
department?
D. Focus of Future Action
Recall that typically external reviewers will read the department’s self study, visit the
department for a two-day period, and then prepare a review report. The department
will then prepare an action plan, basing its plan on the external review report, on
concerns raised by the dean or the Provost’s Office, and on the department’s own
evaluation of its operations. Regard the following response as a first rough draft of
that action plan, painted in broad strokes, based only on the department’s own
evaluation of its operations (many of which have been captured in the sections
above).
1. How does the department view its future? Are there areas in which the
department should increase or decrease its emphasis?
2. In general terms, what are actions that the department recognizes that it
should undertake to make improvements? Give a rough prioritization to
those proposed actions.
3. In general terms, what are actions that the department recognizes that it
should undertake to take advantage of opportunities? Give a rough
prioritization to those proposed actions.
4. Financial resources are limited: they always have been and they always will
be. In you discussion of your actions, differentiate between those actions that
can be accomplished without additional financial resources and those that will
require new financial resources.
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VIII. Appendices
1. Provide information on programs, including program learning goals for each degree
program.
2. Provide curriculum maps for each program.
3. Provide examples of syllabi's showing learning outcomes. This can be provided
through online links.
4. Provide information on your assessment of program learning goals. Show
evidence/Inventory of documents that demonstrate the analysis and appraisal of
program outcomes. Include examples of instruments and procedures used to
measure educational program effectiveness demonstrating comparability of
outcomes for courses or programs offered under concentrated or accelerated time
frames or other nontraditional instructional formats.
5. Include a link to your assessment information on the department website.
6. Provide a maximum 4 page CV for each full time faculty member. Provide
information on department promotion and tenure policy and workload policy merit
pay policy. Provide summary information on adjunct faculty that includes a listing of
adjunct faculty, the qualifications, and what they teach.
7. Provide information on distribution of advisees among advisers, web and written
advising materials, surveys of student satisfaction of advising, studies of alumni and
former students feedback on advising.
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