To:
Faith Hensrud, Provost
Steven Rosenberg, Chair of the Faculty
Elizabeth Blue, Chair of Human Behavior, Justice and Diversity
From: Program Review Council
Jeffrey Schuldt, Chair 2008-2011
Date: November 1, 2011
Re: Report on the Review of the Department of Human Behavior, Justice and
Diversity
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………… 1
Strengths, Opportunities for Improvement and Support Table……. 3
Appendix A: External Review of HBJD………………………………. 8
Appendix B: Comments on External Review from Department of Human
Behavior, Justice and Diversity………………………………………. 16
Introduction
According to the schedule of Departmental Review established by the University of
Wisconsin Superior System, the Department of Human Behavior, Justice and Diversity
(HBJD) was to complete the Self Study for Continuous Improvement (SSCI) and
forward their study to a) an external reviewer and, b) the Program Review Council
(PRC) during the 2009-2010 academic year. The Department faced many obstacles
during the completion of their SSCI including: they were the first department to
complete the SSCI process; they did not have access to the required data because
personnel in the Department of Institutional Data were not in place; and a procedure for
external review of large multidisciplinary departments had not been established by the
Administration of the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Furthermore, several important
questions addressed by the SSCI (ie. Strategic planning, assessment) were not
implemented as campus initiatives until the 2010-2011 academic year. Therefore a late
submission of materials to the PRC was not the fault of the Department of HBJD.
The PRC received the completed SSCI on 9/28/10 and the completed external review
on 12/17/2011. The PRC faced further challenges as it was not clear from the
documentation of the SSCI as to what the PRC should do with the presented
information. A table exists in the original SSCI document that asks the PRC to consider
Strengths/Weaknesses, Opportunities for improvement (OFI’s) and Support. The 20102011 PRC rearranged this table into Strengths, OFI’s and support. Furthermore the
2010-2011 ORC interpreted “support” to mean existing sources of support to
information gathering (ie. Institutional Data), other existing groups/committees on
campus or identifiable monetary support.
The PRC during 2010-1011 consisted of Laura Jacobs, Wendy Kropid, Jeffrey Schuldt
1
(Chair), and Priscilla Starratt. The PRC decided that committee members should
identify strengths, OFI’s and Support for alternating sections as follows:
Jacobs/Schuldt
Kropic/Starratt
Sections 1, 3, 5
Sections 2, 4, 6
All comments from Council members were synthesized by Jeffrey Schuldt (Chair).
2
Self-Study for Continuous Improvement
Opportunities For Improvement
Recommendation Support
Department of Human Behavior, Justice and Diversity
Strengths
Opportunities for
Improvement /
Recommendations
I. Department Mission and
Alignment
The department has an
insightful and agreed upon
mission statement.
The department should
explicitly mention the 5 liberal
arts initiatives and student
learning outcomes
The department is clearly
aligned with the liberal arts
mission of UWS.
The department utilizes a
variety of inputs to review its
mission (ie. FNS advisory
committee, faculty review,
annual retreats)
The department serves a
broad/diverse group of
students
Social work has been
accredited since 1977
FNS has developed goals and
objectives, and is developing
outcome measures in response
to previous reviews.
3
Support
Strengths
II. Helping Students Lean
Opportunities for
Improvement /
Recommendations
Support
Each program has a strong
process for establishing
student learning objectives.
The department should identify
common student learning
objectives.
Assessment Academy
Each program has identified a
strong set of student learning
objectives.
Develop departmental priorities
for improvements among
programs.
Mentoring among programs
within the Department
The programs have articulated
plans for addressing
assessment of student learning
objectives.
Build upon the complementary
nature of the programs and the
various processes each has in
place to provide balanced
responses for all programs.
Mentoring among programs
within the Department
Note: The PRC sensed that the
following OFI’s are being
addressed by the Department
but that explicit evidence or
explanation was not provided.
Conversations with the PRC
membership.
Each program has established
a protocol to analyze the
results for student learning
objectives and address
concerns as well as strengths
in plans for improvement.
III. Accomplishing Other
Distinctive Objectives
The department supports
student groups, faculty and
student scholarship, and
community outreach.
The department should
establish a process for setting
“Other Distinctive Objectives”
The department should
establish explicit “Other
Distinctive Objectives”
The department should align
other distinctive objectives with
department mission and vision
4
Strengths
Opportunities for
Improvement /
Recommendations
philosophy
The department should
establish assessment tools for
other distinctive objectives
Support
Assessment Academy
IV. Understanding
Students and Other
Stakeholders Needs
The many external and
community stakeholders, in
addition to the student body
and university community,
who benefit from these
programs
Note: The PRC sensed that the
following OFI’s are being
addressed by the Department
but that explicit evidence or
explanation was not provided.
Establish foundation by
referring to and including data
in support of
summaries/comments
Identify multiple stakeholders
addressed by each program to
provide balanced picture of
student opportunities after
graduation
Identify multiple externally
employed stakeholders who
benefit from programs
First Nations Studies has many
additional community
stakeholders that should be
mentioned here
5
Conversations with the PRC
membership.
Strengths
V. Valuing People
The department has well
established mentoring plans
for new faculty hires
including a welcome dinner,
encouragement of
participation in opening week
sessions and New Faculty
Orientation activities, and
protection of first year faculty
time (no advising or
committee responsibilities).
Faculty are encouraged to
participate in Faculty College,
Wisconsin Teaching Fellow
and Scholars Program, and
pursue OPID and Faculty
Development grant
opportunities.
Opportunities for
Improvement /
Recommendations
Support
The First Nations Program
needs a full time faculty
member to bolster its minor
course offerings as well as to
support the general education
courses offered by this
program.
Monetary support for faculty
hire
Psychology is down one tenure
track line.
Monetary support for faculty
hire.
Social Work could increase its
online capacity with an
additional faculty member.
Monetary support for faculty
hire.
Additional monetary support
for professional development.
Monetary support.
The department states that
“staff and faculty loads
The Chair of HBJD meets
generally do not exceed campus
with all tenure track faculty to norms.” However the data in
communicate expectations for Appendix E indicate that
tenure and promotion and
teaching loads for five faculty
identify support needs.
members in four different
Mentoring of tenure track
programs (Criminal Justice,
faculty includes assessment of Legal Studies, Psychology, and
teaching and preparation of
Social Work) have greatly
retention materials. Tenure
exceeded 12 credits per
track faculty also receive
semester for most of the last
constructive feedback from
seven years (See Table 1
the departmental Personnel
below). The Department
Committee in writing during
should review this situation to
the retention, tenure, and
determine the need for
promotion process.
additional faculty to balance
loads and ensure quality.
Faculty and staff receive
monetary support to attend
conferences and workshops.
6
Opportunities for
Improvement /
Recommendations
Strengths
VI. Department Planning
Continuous Improvement
Support
Highlight the benefits and
strengths of the First Nations
Program by separating out
responses describing the First
Nations Center.
Table 1. Total credits taught during Fall semester by 5 faculty listed by program and year. The
total number of credits taught is the sum of Full Term Courses, Continuing Education, Distance
Education, and or Extended Degree as appropriate.
Program
03-04
04-05
05-06
06-07
07-08
08-09
09-10
Criminal Justice
Legal Studies
Psychology
Psychology
Social Work
32
23
51
45
42
30
26
34
57
30
34
32
39
82
43
31
21
21
34
47
41
17
11
18
18
32
12
12
21
36
35
9
12
3
39
7
Mean
Load
33.57
20
25.71
37.14
36.43
Appendix A: External Review for the Department of Human Behavior, Justice and
Diversity.
______________________________________________________
Department of Human Behavior, Justice, and Diversity
Review in Absentia
December 17, 2010
Outside Reviewer
Maureen A. McCarthy, PhD
Kennesaw State University
_____________________________________________________________
I want to thank the University of Wisconsin Superior and Dean Robinson for the invitation to review
the Department of Human Behavior, Justice, and Diversity. I also want to thank Elizabeth Blue for
her help in providing and clarifying the self-study materials. This review is unusual in that I was
asked to review the self-study document and to conduct a SWOT analysis rather than conduct a full
scale review of the department. This report contains strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
(SWOT), but they are incorporated into each of the areas addressed herein. Because I did not conduct
a site visit, issues of climate and local function are not addressed in this report. Instead this review is
intended to provide the department with observations related only to the self-study that might be
useful for future planning and development.
Before reviewing my suggestions, let me characterize my own experience and background. Maureen
McCarthy is Professor of psychology at Kennesaw State University, a large (i.e., 24,000 students)
regional comprehensive state university. She regularly teaches a variety of psychology courses
including Introductory Psychology, Research Methods, Experimental Methods, Tests and Measures,
Ethics, Developmental Psychology, and the Senior Capstone course. She previously served as the
Associate Executive Director of Precollege and Undergraduate programs for the American
Psychological Association. While serving at the APA, she was responsible for several new initiatives
related to assessment of the undergraduate major and establishment of the NSF funded Online
Psychology Laboratory. She continues to conduct research in the scholarship of teaching and remains
active in the Advanced Placement Psychology program. She has reviewed a variety of Psychology
Departments with different sized faculty complements, resources, numbers of majors, and
institutional missions. She has written extensively in the area of program review and is an author or
the recently released book entitled Using Quality Benchmarks for Assessing and Developing
Undergraduate Programs (2011).
Overarching Recommendations
The current configuration of the department includes Legal Studies, Psychology, Social Work, and
First Nations programs. Together these individual disciplines include limited commonalities.
However, where these commonalities exist, I recommend working collaboratively to reduce
independent efforts, to limit redundancies, and use resources more efficiently. 2
8
Social Work is accredited by an external organization. As such, the program is tasked with meeting
specific criteria for curricula and resources. Responding to external accreditation guidelines
necessarily places an accredited program in the position of requiring resources to meet the
accrediting guidelines. Because the Social Work program must meet external accreditation criteria,
the program is sometimes mandated to increase faculty lines or resources. Although the Social Work
program sometimes obtains additional resources, they have been generous in sharing those resources.
This type of collaboration helps to alleviate perceived inequities. It will also be important to
acknowledge this sharing of resources and for all programs to be aware of efforts to share resources
and ensure equity.
A large diversity of course offerings are present across the four programs. Too much diversity in
coursework can result in overextension of resources and personnel. It would be useful to consider
reducing the number of course offerings across programs in instances where there are redundancies.
It might also be useful to consider offering one common set of research methods and statistics
courses for the department. For example, allowing Social Work students to enroll in Biological
Psychology (PSYC 350) in addition to, or instead of, the currently required Human Biology (BIOL
115), as the psychology course might provide students with information that is more directly relevant
to the major.
As configured, the First Nations program is unique to the institution, and perhaps more broadly. At
institutions across the nation centers are often broadly defined – providing students with support
through student affairs and linking with academic units to provide necessary expertise. A large set of
resources are devoted to the First Nations program. Although the program is well respected and
important to the community, it might be useful to consider how the resources might be more
efficiently managed. For example, limiting course offerings might allow existing faculty to expand
linkages to the community regionally and nationally. The First Nations program offers a minor, yet
much of the information presented in the self-study appeared to approach a major. Expanding
interdisciplinary collaborations will also allow the First Nations Program to grow as a service unit
without compromising academic integrity.
Program Mission and Alignment
HBJD should be commended for placing diversity at the heart of the mission. The respective
programs also subscribe to the liberal arts mission of the university. Each program develops skills
associated with the liberal arts. Communication skills, sociocultural awareness, and information
literacy are central to the liberal arts and the department is committed to providing students with
opportunities to develop in these areas. The department is particularly well situated to provide
students with a strong multicultural component in each of the program areas.
UWS requires each department to identify unique characteristics. Although the department identified
unique aspects in programs (i.e., Native philosophy), the real strength of the department is providing
students with opportunities to learn the basic liberal arts skills. 3
9
Curriculum
• Psychology
Two important publications, the St. Mary’s Conference Report (McGovern, 1993) and the Guidelines
for the Undergraduate Major in Psychology (American Psychological Association, 2007) have
shaped the psychology curriculum over the course of the past two decades. The most recent National
Conference on Undergraduate Education in Psychology, (NCUEP) held at the University of Puget
Sound produced additional guidance for curricular matters (Dunn et al., 2010). All three documents
emphasize psychology as a science and the University of Wisconsin Superior Psychology program
has been attentive to national guidelines and trends as reflected in the curriculum.
Students are currently required to take a core set of courses that reflect the scientific foundations of
the discipline. Students must also select a course from four content areas. The program appropriately
specifies areas that are consistent with national guidelines and that reflect the current breadth of the
discipline. Finally, the department requires all students to complete a senior research capstone course
as recommended (Dunn et al., 2010; Dunn & McCarthy, 2010) for programs in the liberal arts. The
psychology program also emphasizes the scientific underpinnings of the major in that the senior
capstone is an advanced research course. The psychology curriculum is well designed and structured.
• Social Work, Legal Studies, First Nations
Although not an expert on Social Work curriculum, it appears as though course offerings are well
constructed and consistent with national trends. The emphasis on research methods is particularly
beneficial to students. Courses are thoughtfully sequenced and students are provided with clear
direction regarding courses.
Similarly, the legal studies course requirements are well articulated. However, it also appears as
though there are several concentrations available through this program and the diversity of the
programs may be difficult to maintain at a small liberal arts institution. It may be useful to
concentrate on a select few emphases that are most useful for the local community and limit the
number of course offerings.
The First Nations course offerings are highly diverse for a program offering only a minor. The selfstudy indicated that a very diverse set of courses are regularly offered. Recent revisions of the
curriculum indicate that these offerings have been scaled back to much more manageable level. As
this is a program that is specific to the Superior Wisconsin region, course offerings are best reviewed
by the local constituents. It appears as though several courses are cross-listed and this is a useful way
to increase enrollment and serve multiple programs across colleges. It does not appear as though
prerequisites are listed for any of the courses, so it might be useful to consider adding prerequisites
for courses as necessary (e.g., 480 First Nations Society and Culture: Field Research). 4
Student Learning Outcomes
Consistent with the requirements for the self-study, each program listed learning objectives.
However, in some instances learning goals and specific learning outcomes appear to be conflated. I
recommend identifying a small set of common goals that can used across the programs within the
Department. After identifying these common liberal arts goals, specific learning outcomes for the
department can be specified. Liberal arts goals that might be applicable across programs include:
nstrated ability to communicate in written and oral formats.
ings.
10
Each program could then identify how they will meet the department learning goals. Specific
learning outcomes and assessment measures would then be crafted and integrated into an assessment
plan. Additional learning goals and outcomes are articulated in the Developmentally Coherent
Curriculum document (2008) available from APA. Although the learning goals and outcomes are
specific to psychology, they might be adapted for use with the programs in the Department of Human
Behavior, Justice, and Diversity.
As currently configured, the learning goals and outcomes for each of the programs appear to be too
extensive. Psychology has developed a large number of learning outcomes, perhaps too many. Some
of the programs do not have enough specific learning outcomes. Additional goals and specific
learning outcomes can also be stipulated for each of the programs however, these should be limited
as assessment of learning outcomes is both critical and onerous. A small set of program specific
goals and outcomes should be developed for the respective programs. For example, the department of
psychology might wish to emphasize the scientific methodology that characterizes the discipline. A
set of specific learning outcomes, along with assessment methods should follow. It is important to
note that developing a comprehensive assessment plan entails a significant investment of time and
energy. Faculty involved in this task should be provided with appropriate compensation (i.e., release
time, stipend).
Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
The common set of liberal arts learning goals for the department will serve as a foundation for
creating a comprehensive assessment plan. If the department constructs a small set of goals, complete
with a specific learning outcome, each program will be able to identify a mechanism for assessing the
outcome. For example, if students should be able to communicate in writing, then each program
would identify where in the curriculum students will gain experience in writing. At some point in
each respective curriculum, the department would then identify a particular assignment that could be
evaluated for writing proficiency. It is absolutely essential that each program develop a plan for
assessing the learning goals and outcomes that are department-wide. 5
In addition to the liberal arts goals for the department, programs may wish to evaluate learning
outcomes specific to the major. Existing content based assessment measures (e.g., MFT, ACAT) can
be used as a summative measure of content knowledge. However administering the instruments alone
is not sufficient. Results of the measures should be used to inform curriculum planning and revisions.
UWS requires departments to document effectiveness of teaching and learning and the assessment
measures listed above will assist in documenting effectiveness. The department self-study document
indicates that course evaluations are used as a measure of teaching effectiveness. Although course
evaluations provide information about instructor popularity, it offers only limited information about
instructional effectiveness (Ballard, Rearden, & Nelson, 1976; Beyers, 2008; Buskist, 2006; Eckert &
Dabrowski, 2010; Germaine & Scandura, 2005; McKeachie, 1997). I recommend emphasizing
objective measures of student learning as a mechanism for evaluating instructional effectiveness.
Systematically collecting these data will help the department to evaluate learning across time.
11
The department should develop a comprehensive assessment plan. Student learning assessment
should include common liberal arts learning outcomes along with discipline specific content. Student
perceptions of advising, instruction and other student development opportunities (e.g., clubs) should
also be assessed. The department should also implement an alumni survey that can aid in evaluating
long-term success of graduates. Although alumni surveys are usually sent to majors, it would be very
useful to obtain information about how students are using the FNS minor in their careers. It may be
difficult to obtain information of this nature, but it will be useful in building ongoing support for the
program.
Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
The university requires each department to identify how they are accomplishing objectives that
include service learning, centers or institutes, along with other major activities that involve a
significant investment of time and money. The department identified student clubs and groups as
important to the mission and useful for students. In the future, it would be helpful to include data that
help to clarify the investment of resources into these activities and the benefit for students. For
example, faculty load and service commitment for each student group, along with budget lines
should be clearly articulated. Similarly, it would be useful to have information about the number of
students participating in the student development activities. Additionally, it would be useful to retain
information about the types and numbers of events that contribute to student learning and community
service. This type of documentation will be particularly useful for helping the department identify
their contributions to the community (i.e., powwows, workshops), particularly in the FNS program.
The university asked each department and program to identify measures of satisfaction. To date, the
department does not appear to administer systematic measures of satisfaction for students. It will be
useful to consider administering a senior exit survey that can be used to improve each of the
programs. For example, course offerings, advisement, and student development opportunities can all
be evaluated using the senior exit survey. Additionally, the senior exit survey can be used to collect
contact information from students. The contact information can then be used to track 6
student satisfaction longitudinally. It may also be useful to obtain information about employment and
graduate school from graduating seniors as these data help to demonstrate program effectiveness.
Faculty Development
The university monitors and implements hiring practices that ensure diversity and the department
works to provide mentoring to new faculty. I would urge the department to continue with their
positive diversity and mentoring practices.
The department currently provides very limited support (i.e., ≈$200.00) for scholarship through
faculty development grants. The limited funding for faculty travel is a significant weakness. Faculty
are being increasingly pressured to produce peer-reviewed scholarship, even at liberal arts
institutions. Scholarship often begins with a presentation delivered at a national meeting, followed by
a manuscript developed for publication. Thus travel, for the purpose of presenting research at a
conference, requires significant funding. At a minimum faculty should be funded in the amount of
$1,000.00 to present a paper at a professional meeting. These travel monies should be equitably
distributed across programs. It will also be important to establish clear and transparent guidelines so
that resources are distributed equitably among individual. Finally, travel funds should be listed as a
separate line item in an effort to more clearly link this activity with the university mission.
Sabbatical opportunities are also available for faculty pursuing terminal degrees. To ensure equity, it
might be useful to reevaluate the sabbatical criteria. A highly productive scholar might also benefit
from a sabbatical even though a terminal degree has already been earned.
12
The department self-study indicates that faculty loads are consistent with the university system 12hour load. However, when examining the course enrollments across programs, disproportionate
enrollments were obvious. It will be important to examine faculty load with respect to enrollments in
individual programs and courses to ensure equity.
It also appears as though advisement loads are disproportionately assigned. Some faculty have as
many as 35 advisees, while others have as few as 5 advisees. Although these inequities might reflect
situational conditions, the inequities should be examined. If some individual faculty carry fewer
advisees then the faculty member should be reassigned to other tasks. For example, faculty with
limited advisement loads might be more appropriately tasked with managing the admissions process,
or managing the ongoing alumni survey.
The self-study indicated that faculty are provided with mentorship and support for the tenure and
promotion process. Although support for the process is important, it is equally important to provide
support for early career faculty by ensuring that faculty are not overloaded. For example, in the
psychology department junior faculty are encouraged to take on appropriate leadership roles.
Sometimes service can be very time consuming and service is relegated to faculty with limited time. I
would urge senior faculty to take on most of the service obligations so that junior faculty can focus
on the necessary scholarship to achieve tenure and promotion. Certainly, limited leadership roles in
service should be encouraged, but these roles should be limited. 7
Resources
Small public liberal arts universities almost always operate with limited resources. Thus efficiencies
of scale are important to ensure ongoing quality program offerings. The department has already
responded to the limits in financial support by combining several programs into a single department.
Is appears as though additional measures of austerity might also be implemented.
The department expressed concern about being able to obtain sufficient resources to meet student and
programmatic needs. Significant concern about filling faculty lines was highlighted. Open faculty
lines revert to a general pool and departments must provide a rationale for a faculty position. This
procedure is consistent with those of comparable institutions nationally. In addition to providing a
strong rationale for retaining a position, the department should engage in a careful analysis of current
practice so that they can strengthen rationale for faculty lines. Replacements for faculty lines require
a significant investment of resources, so the search process may be extremely expensive. It will be
important to examine current costs associated with a faculty search and ensure that adequate
resources are available for all new hires. Given the increased emphasis on scholarship, it will also be
important to provide both new and existing faculty with resources to conduct empirically based
research.
13
Although the department has already taken steps to ensure that resources are used appropriately, class
size should be carefully examined. It appears as though, in some programs class size is extremely
small. Actions to increase class size to a minimum level should be undertaken. This may mean that
some courses will necessarily be offered less frequently. It may also mean that some courses are
eliminated. [This recommendation may no longer be critical as some of these actions have already
been taken]. If it becomes necessary to reduce the diversity of course offerings, it may be possible to
consider the current course offerings and reconceptualize how they are delivered. For example, it
may be possible to offer a combined FNS course in Culture, Myths and Legends, rather than two
separate offerings. It is quite possible to offer a rich set of fewer courses with moderate enrollments.
8
Summary
Despite the diversity of programs located in the Department of Behavior, Justice, and Diversity, the
department is working well as a cohesive unit. The self-study document was comprehensive in scope
and detailed in the necessary areas. It is also important to note that the department has already used
the self-study document to make ongoing improvements in each of the programs, so some of the
recommendations contained in this report are potentially redundant.
The programs offered through the Department are well developed. Curricula for each of the programs
are thoughtfully constructed and provide students with outstanding opportunities for earning a liberal
arts degree that will allow them to pursue successful careers. Not only are the curricula sound, but
students are afforded several opportunities to participate in meaningful student activities while
pursuing their degrees.
The department will benefit from a careful review and refinement of student learning outcomes for
each of the programs. A comprehensive assessment plan should also be developed from these
outcomes. It will be important to compensate (i.e., release time or stipend) faculty involved in
developing and implementing the assessment plan as the process is time consuming.
The Department of Behavior, Justice, and Diversity offers students outstanding opportunities in the
respective programs. I believe that the department is functioning well, and with continued attention
to curriculum, assessment, and faculty development, they will continue to serve the Superior region
admirably. 9
References
American Psychological Association. (2008). Teaching, learning, and assessing in a developmentally
coherent curriculum. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, Board of
Educational Affairs. Retrieved fromwww.apa.org/ed/resources.html
American Psychological Association. (2007). APA guidelines for the undergraduate psychology
major. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from www.apa.org/ed/resources.html
American Psychological Association. (2008). Teaching, learning, and assessing in a developmentally
coherent curriculum. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, Board of
Educational Affairs. Retrieved fromwww.apa.org/ed/resources.html
14
Ballard, M., Rearden, J., & Nelson, L. (1976). Student and peer rating of faculty. Teaching of
Psychology, 3, 88-90.
Beyers, C. (2008). The hermeneutics of student evaluations. College Teaching, 56, 102-106.
Buskist, W., Keeley, J., & Irons, J. (2006). Evaluating and improving your teaching, Observer, 19(4),
27-30.
Dunn, D. S., McCarthy, M. A., Baker, S., & Halonen, J. S. (2011). Using quality benchmarks for
assessing and developing undergraduate programs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Dunn, D. S., & McCarthy, M. A. (2010). The capstone course in psychology as liberal education
opportunity. In D. S. Dunn, B. C. Beins, M. A. McCarthy, & G. W. Hill, IV (Eds.), Best
practices for beginnings and endings in the psychology major (pp. 155-170). New York:
Oxford University Press.
Dunn, D. S., Brewer, C. L., Cautin, R. L., Gurung, R. A., Keith, K. D., McGregor, L. N., Nida, S. A.,
Puccio, P., & Voight, M. J. (2010). The undergraduate psychology curriculum: Call for a
core. In D. F. Halpern (Ed.). Undergraduate education in psychology: A blueprint for the
future of the discipline (pp. 47-61). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Germaine, M., & Scandura, T. A. (2005). Grade inflation and student individual differences as
systematic bias in faculty evaluations. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 32, 58-67.
McCarthy, M. A., Niederjohn, D., & Bosack, T. (in press). Embedded assessment: A measure of
student learning and teaching effectiveness. Teaching of Psychology.
McKeachie, W. J. (1997). Student ratings: The validity of use. American Psychologist, 52, 12181225.
15
Appendix B: Response to External Review by HBJD.
In January, 2011, HBJD met to discuss the Report of the Outside Reviewer in regard to
the SSCI we submitted. At that time we decided that some kind of departmental
response/context to the report was needed. This document will offer that commentary,
including specific comments from the Psychology and Social Work Programs.
SELF STUDY CONTEXT:
The department began the SSCI self-study process in March of 2008, and the outside
review was not conducted until the fall of 2010.
 When we began the self study process we were HBD (Human Behavior and
Diversity);
 We had completed the bulk of the written self-study and awaited the statistics
needed to fulfill the study obligations all through 2008 and 2009 and part of
2010. I asked repeatedly for assistance with this, but none was forthcoming until
2010 when LeAnn Brown came on board and worked through this, providing us
with our first set of statistics.
 At the end of the written self study process, in the summer of 2009, the makeup
of the department changed significantly with the addition of Legal Studies,
including Criminal Justice, to our mix. We became HBJD (Human Behavior,
Justice and Diversity) that fall.
 The self-study was basically complete at that time (Fall of 2009) and had been
waiting for statistics, so we determined that we would proceed with what we had
and try to identify places in the future planning where LSTU could have its
planning and activities integrated into the department as a whole. After 18
months or better of work, at that point, chucking the thing and starting over was
not a viable option.
 Incidentally, the council should know that LSTU (no CJUS) did undergo System
level review seven years after its inception. System approved the program and
made some recommendations to strengthen it.
 We determined that we would include the LSTU/CJUS materials in the statistical
analysis we were given, so they had the same material to work with at that point
that the rest of the departmental program units had.
 Thus, the final written self-study did not, for most part, include L STU in its
narrative, but did include it statistically. Given the statistics after the fact, as we
were, no genuine analysis of these statistics occurred in written self-study
document.
 I would like to point out that ideally a self-study process would begin with these
statistics having been provided, giving a foundation of evidence upon which to
build the self-examination process. Indeed, Departments currently under review
are doing so with statistics provided at the front end of the process.
CONTEXT OF THE OUTSIDE REVIEW
Initially HBD was given to understand that only Psychology materials in the SSCI would
be sent out for outside review. The Psychology Program identified a qualified outside
reviewer (Dr. Maureen McCarthy) early in the process and her name/contact information
was forwarded to Administration in late 2008 and again in 2009. At this time, HBD was
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told Social Work was exempt from outside review due to its accredited status and FNS
was exempt as a minor-only program. When we became HBJD, LSTU came into the
process so late, that its materials for review were minimal.
In fall 2010, Dr. Rhoda Robinson was given the responsibility for arranging this outside
review. At that time, she told the Chair that Dr. Markwood was insisting that all four
program units would be reviewed by an outside reviewer; the only person identified was
the person Psychology had forwarded as qualified to review it. This was a total change
from the expectations/parameters of outside review set forward initially. The chair
objected to this change, as this affected the circumstances of the review and put the
qualifications that the reviewer under question. She was perfectly qualified to review
Psychology, but had no background with the other disciplines. The review went forward
with Dr. McCarthy, who certainly did what she could to understand the nature of the
department and the review process.
Again, it should be noted that by the time Dr. McCarthy actually reviewed the written
SSCI materials, not only were three of the disciplines not as familiar to her, but also the
written review was almost two years old. A number of the recommendations Dr.
McCarthy made have already begun in various programs and in the department in
response to our participation in the SSCI process itself and as part of the strategic
planning process underway on campus.
COMMENTS FROM PSYCHOLOGY
The Psychology Program reviewed the report of the external evaluator and has the
following comments:
1. We agree with the evaluator that it would be desirable to pursue curricular
collaborations with other programs in the department.
2. We applaud the evaluator's statement that psychology is a science and note that this
recognition informs the future development of the program (e.g., tenure-track search,
curricular revision).
3. We endorse the evaluator's recommendation regarding travel funding.
COMMENTS FROM SOCIAL WORK
The Social Work Program is pleased to have its curriculum noted as sound and well
developed. We, too, agree that seeking curricular collaborations might be desirable.
We would like to point out that the Program has had to develop and conduct outcome
assessment for many years; strictly speaking, it is not true that no element of the
department is ready or able to conduct outcome assessment at this time. Social Work
certainly does so. We fully support the ideal of continuous improvement informed by
on-going evaluation.
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