The Higher Learning Commission (NCA) 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
| Chicago, IL 60602-2504
312-263-0456 |
800-621-7440 | Fax: 312-263-7462
www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org
April
30, 2001
Dr.
Joe Anna Hibler
President
Southwestern
Oklahoma State University
100
Campus Dr.
Weatherford,
OK 73096
Dear
President Hibler:
This
letter is formal notification of the action taken concerning Southwestern
Oklahoma State University by the Higher Learning Commission. At its meeting on April 23, 2001, the
Institutional Actions Council voted to continue the accreditation of
Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and to adopt any new items entered on
the attached Record of Status and Scope.
The Commission Board of Trustees validated that action through its
validation process concluded on April 27, 2001. The date on this letter constitutes the effective date of this
new status with the Commission.
The
Record of Status and Scope summarizes the new, current relationship between the
Commission and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Modifications to it may require prior
approval from the Commission, although several sections of the Statement of
Institutional Scope and Activity can be modified through submission of the
annual report.
Changes in your institution that would require
further Commission action prior to their initiation are found in Chapter 12 of Handbook
of Accreditation, Second Edition and on pages 16 - 18 of the Addendum to
the Handbook. The Addendum
can be found on the Commission’s website at www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org
under the Information for Affiliated Institutions and Consultant Evaluators. Please review them with care.
Information
about informing the public of this action is found in Chapter 15 of the
Commission’s Handbook.
On
behalf of the Board of Trustees I thank you and your associates for your
cooperation. If you have questions about
this action or about Commission policies and procedures please write or call
Dr. Mary B. Breslin, B.V.M., who is the member of our staff responsible for
providing continuing assistance to Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
Sincerely,
Steven
D. Crow
Executive
Director
Enclosure: Record of Status and Scope
cc:
Evaluation Team
Members
Chair of the
Board
North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools
30 N. LaSalle Street, Suite
2400
Chicago, IL 60602-2504
(800) 621-7440
SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
100 Campus Drive
Weatherford, OK 73096
Status: Accredited (1922-34; 1950- .)
Highest
degree awarded: Doctor’s.
Most
recent action: April 27, 2001.
Stipulations
on affiliation status: Accreditation at the Doctoral
level is limited to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) and at the Master’s level
to degrees in professional programs.
New
degree sites: No prior Commission approval required for
offering existing degree programs at new sites within the state.
Progress
reports required: 6/30/04; A report on
accomplishment of “The Agenda for
Excellence: A Vision for Southwestern”.
Monitoring
reports required: None.
Contingency
reports required: None.
Other
visits required: None.
Last
comprehensive evaluation: 2000-01.
Next
comprehensive evaluation: 2010-11.
Legal
status: Public institution.
H/99
undergraduate enrollment: 4308.
H/99
graduate enrollment: 607.
Number
of degree programs: Associate’s (8); Bachelor’s (37); Master’s (4); Doctor’s
(1).
Full
service degree sites other that home campus:
---
In state: Sayre
Other
degree sites: None.
Course
sites:
---
In state: 1 site.
Distance
Education: Courses are offered through Videotapes/Broadcast TV, Interactive TV.
REPORT
OF A VISIT
TO
SOUTHWESTERN
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
Weatherford,
OK
October
2-4, 2000
for
the
Commission
of Institutions of Higher Education
of
the
North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools
EVALUATION
TEAM
Mark
S. Auburn, Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts
University
of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4703
Bette
G. Midgarden, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Minnesota
State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN 56563
Theresa
A. Powell, Vice President for Student Affairs
Western
Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5348
Samuel
H. Rankin, Board of Trustee Professor of History
Chadron
State College, Chadron, NE 69337-2690
R.
Craig Schnell, Vice President for Academic Affairs
North
Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105-5014
John
Stone, Associate Dean, Graduate Studies, Continuing Education & Learn
Center
University
of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI 53190
Robert
L. Reid, Vice President for Academic Affairs
University
of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN 47712 (Chair)
I. Introduction 3
C. Evaluation of the Institution’s
Self-Study process and Self-Study Report
II. Institution’s Response to Previously
Identified Concerns: 5
1990 Comprehensive Team Report
III. General Institutional Requirements
(GIRs) 7
IV. Criteria
for Accreditation 8
Criterion One 8
Criterion Two 10
Criterion Three 18
Criterion Four 43
Criterion Five 46
V. Institutional
Strengths 48
VI. Team’s
Challenges 49
VII. Team’s
Advice and Suggestions for Institutional Improvement 49
VIII. Team’s
Recommendation and Rationale 51
Worksheet for the Statement of Affiliation
Status (SAS)
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Structure and Scope of the Visit
This is the report of a comprehensive
evaluation of Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), Weatherford,
Oklahoma, for continued accreditation at the master's (professional curricula)
degree-granting level, conducted for the Commission on Institutions of Higher
Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools on October
2-4, 2000.
The seven-team members consulted with the
president, vice presidents, self-study coordinator, deans, member of the staff
and members of the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges, faculty, staff, and
students. In addition, members reviewed supporting materials in the resource
room, met regularly to discuss the results of their findings, and drafted the
team’s recommendations for the exit interview.
B. Accreditation History of the
Institution
Southwestern
Oklahoma State University had its beginnings as a normal school chartered by
the Oklahoma territorial legislature in 1901. Several modifications in name and
authorization including the merger with Sayre Junior College in 1987 have
occurred over the ninety-nine years. North Central accreditation has been
continuous since 1950. The most recent comprehensive NCA review and visit
occurred in 1990; it concluded with a ten-year recommendation for
re-accreditation. A focused visit was conducted in 1994 to give attention to
eight concerns noted by the 1990 NCA team. The focus visit concluded that six
of the eight concerns had been met and that the institution was addressing the
remaining two. In 1998, another focused visit was conducted to review the SWOSU
request to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree and to change the
Stipulations on Affiliation Status to limit the university to this degree at
the doctoral level and to professional programs at the Master’s level. The team
recommendation was affirmative.
C. Evaluation of the Institution’s
Self-Study process and Self-Study Report
The
institution opted to use the self-study process as an opportunity to give
special attention to strategic planning. A document entitled The Agenda for
Excellence: A Vision for Southwestern resulted from a broad based review of
SWOSU with particular attention to its future. The information and data
gathered in the future planning process were also incorporated in the
self-study. The process itself including the relationships between planning and
self-study is described in the preface of the Self-Study Report (viii-x). The
Self-Study Report presents the current status of Southwestern Oklahoma State
University fairly and accurately. It gives evidence of an extensive
participatory process, which was confirmed by interviews and meetings with
members of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University community. Because of the
focus on planning, it was evident that the institution has begun to address
several of the issues identified in the self-study process. The team commends
Southwestern Oklahoma State University for this effective blending of long
range planning and internal review.
The team members found their Southwestern
Oklahoma State University hosts to be very welcoming and cordial. Team members
were supplied with permanent name tags and were pleased to find that all
university employees were proudly wearing their own blue badges throughout the
duration of the visit. Questions were addressed forthrightly and the resource
room provided necessary information in a well-organized fashion.
The Self-Study Report does address the five
criteria for accreditation and incorporates responses to each of the General
Institutional Requirements within the text.
II. INSTITUTION’S REPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY
IDENTIFIED CONCERNS OF THE
1990 COMPREHENSIVE VISIT
A. Mission
The
1990 team expressed a concern regarding the incomplete nature of the mission
statement. Separate mission statements were in place for the two campuses.
These matters were satisfactorily addressed prior to the 1994 focused visit and
so reported. The mission statement, as adopted by the Board of Regents of
Oklahoma Colleges, can be found in the catalogs of SWOSU, on its website, and
is included in the Self-Study Report (pp. 2-3). It is evident that the
strategic planning process is based on the present mission statement.
B. Sayre Campus
The concern
regarding the relationships between the Weatherford campus and the two-year
Sayre campus located some sixty miles west were being addressed when the 1994
focus team visited SWOSU. The integration of the two campuses seems complete
and offers mutual benefits of which each campus is proud and from which the larger
campus obtains needed opportunities for outreach to under-served populations
and for delivery (as well as beta site-testing) of its distance education
ambitions. The Sayre Campus is addressed further on pp. 29-32 of this report.
C. Scholarly Activities
As
documented in the Self-Study Report and the exhibits made available to the
team, there has been a significant increase in both scholarly expectations and
achievements. While not an explicit goal in its Agenda for Excellence,
expectations about increased cooperation with other institutions and
organizations, higher achievements in sponsored programs, and faculty
development initiatives are indicators of a growing understanding of the role
of scholarly activities at SWOSU.
D. Affirmative Action
SWOSU
continues to work on this issue. Issues regarding the need for a plan,
commitment, organization, and results were addressed to the satisfaction of the
1994 focus unit team. Reflecting the times, the present team commends the
institution for its success in increasing the numbers of minority enrollments
during the last half of the past decade, for recognizing the curricular
importance of cultural diversity topics and themes, and for publicizing its
commitment to affirmative action on bulletin boards throughout the campuses.
However, the need to increase significantly the presence of minorities in
faculty and staff positions continues.
E. General Education
There
is clear evidence that the institution took seriously the need for a revision
of its general education program. The program, which is overseen by the General
Education Committee and a Director of General Education, provides a much
stronger and more coherent core curriculum than the previous program.
F. Salary Policy
The
1994 focused evaluation visit noted that a new salary schedule had been
implemented and initial opposition to the plan had been overcome. Resentment on
the part of some senior faculty is still evident; however, there is broad
understanding of the need for a flexible salary policy which allows the
institution to recruit and retain faculty. While market factors and equity are
understood, there seems little enthusiasm for incorporating exceptional
performance into the salary process.
G. Assessment
This
issue was reviewed in 1994 and evaluated positively in light of the assessment
criteria of the NCA. Several programs have made strong progress in the realm;
others need to be encouraged to take this responsibility seriously. The
strategic plan incorporates assessment measures and decisions about program
development will utilize a variety of these measures. A more extended
discussion of assessment at SWOSU in found on pp. 38-39.
H. Computing
The
institution has taken the challenge of providing students and faculty with
computers and other forms of technological support seriously. All members of
the faculty have computers on their desks and plans are underway regarding
student access from residence halls. There is strong support for the good work
being done by those responsible for the computer network and related
institutional support services.
III. GENERAL INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
During its evaluation, the Visiting Team to
Southwestern Oklahoma State University reviewed the Self-Study Report and other
documents, as well as interview data pertinent to the 24 General Institutional
Requirements. The Team found evidence that Southwestern Oklahoma State
University was in compliance with each of these foundational principles for
institutions of higher education.
A complete description of this is found in
Chapter Four of the Self-Study Report on pages 29 to 35. Supporting documents
were available to the team to further confirm the statements found in the
Report.
Conclusion: On
the basis of its review, the Visiting Team concludes that Southwestern Oklahoma
State University meets all 24 of the General Institutional Requirements of the
North Central Association Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
IV. CRITERIA FOR ACCREDITATION
Every higher-education institution
accredited by the North Central Association's Commission on Higher Education
must demonstrate that it fulfills five Criteria for Accreditation. Following
study of the materials presented by the institution, review of facilities and
operations, and discussions with representatives of campus constituencies, the
Visiting Team concludes that Southwestern Oklahoma State University fulfills
these five criteria. The following section of the report provides support for
that conclusion by means of evaluative and descriptive comment on selected but
representative programs and activities.
Criterion One: Southwestern
Oklahoma State University has clear and publicly stated purposes consistent
with its mission and appropriate to an institution of higher education
Southwestern Oklahoma State University is a
public institution governed by the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges. The
coordinating board for all of higher education in the state is the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education. The University offers programs through the
master’s professional and Doctor of Pharmacy on the Weatherford campus. The
Sayre campus provides opportunities for students to complete the first two
years of collegiate experience.
The mission statement is widely distributed
and provided the basis for the planning process which was the focus for the NCA
Self-Study. The four areas of strategic vision which will be given priority
over the next three to five years are
·
quality,
cost-effectiveness, and demand-oriented programs;
·
public awareness of the
strengths of the University;
·
cooperative
arrangements with other institutions to share program strengths and broaden
educational opportunities; and
·
partnerships with other
enterprises that cultivate career development for students and economic
development for the larger community.
Specifically, the broad planning process led
to a publication The Agenda for Excellence: A Vision for Southwestern.
The five goals expressed in this document are refinements of those four areas
of interest. The goals are
The Agenda for Excellence articulates a vision for the University which is
already being utilized to shape decisions about programs, budgets, and
operations. This document presents a set of purposes and directions which have
been broadly disseminated and which are in keeping with the mission of SWOSU as
an institution of higher education.
Criterion Two: Southwestern
Oklahoma State University has effectively organized the human, financial, and
physical resources necessary to accomplish its purposes.
GOVERNANCE
Governance
of all public institutions of higher education in the state of Oklahoma is the
responsibility of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE),
which has substantive authority for the coordination of all of higher
education, including the review and establishment of budget priorities and the
allocation of state funding to the individual campuses and the governing boards
which are charged with responsibility for the individual campuses. Southwestern
Oklahoma is governed by the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges (BOROC). The
State Regents conduct a continuous review of academic programs which requires
the periodic review of all programs at least once every five years. This formal
review process is called the Academic Planning and Resource Allocation System;
it is the intent of the State Regents that APRA constitute an integrated and
interactive planning system for all of higher education. Thus, a major function
of the OSRHE includes oversight of the planning, budgeting, and resource
allocation processes on each public campus in the State.
The governing board (BOROC) is responsible
for the hiring and termination of the President and all policies that relate to
the operation of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Members of this
Board are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the State
Senate. One member, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is elected
and serves as an "ex officio" voting member of the Board of Regents.
In addition to governing Southwestern Oklahoma State, the BOROC also governs
five other regional universities within Oklahoma.
Both
the State Regents and the BOROC operate with constitutional autonomy in their
decision making processes. The authority of each board is defined in the
Oklahoma State Constitution and in Oklahoma state statutes.
The
Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges appointed the current President of
Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1990. The President operates as the
Chief Executive Officer of the University and reviews and approves all
administrative policies of the University. The President delegates authority to
vice presidents including the Executive Vice President for Administration and
Finance, the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research, and the Vice
President for Student Services. Four Directors also report direct to the
President including the Athletic Director, the Director of Alumni and
Development, the Director of Public Information, and the Director of
Institutional Research. Internal governance councils including the Faculty
Senate, the Student Government Association, and the Support Staff Council also
have direct access to the President.
Southwestern
Oklahoma State's governing board has authorized the University's affiliation
with the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools. This affiliation has been continuous since
1950.
Faculty Senate
The Faculty Senate
is the representative body empowered to "make recommendations to the
Administration, the Faculty, and the Student Government Association on all
matters relating to the best interests of the University." This year’s
Senate is composed of 32 members who meet regularly to conduct the business of
the Senate. The Faculty Constitution was revised in 1997. Nine standing
committees are part of this structure. These committees are identified on page
20 of the Faculty Handbook. In addition, faculty members serve on a large
number of University Committees, numbering more than 30. Members of the
visiting team were concerned about the lack of accountability in the procedures
of the Senate: neither those who make or second motions nor the votes are
recorded. Further, the lack of participation by the Vice President for Academic
Affairs who is the recognized "channel" to the Administration is
troubling. A more open and responsible system in which the members of the
Senate and appropriate administrators share ideas and concerns in official meetings
should be considered.
Student Government
Student Government
Associations (SGA) operate on both the Weatherford and Sayre campuses. Students
are encouraged to take an active role in university life. It appears that much
of this participation occurs in the form of social activities. Students also
participate in recruitment and community service.
Support Personnel Organization
The University has a Support Personnel Organization
consisting of volunteers from various staff positions. In a meeting with team
members, the membership demonstrated a strong sense of loyalty and dedication
to the University.
However,
a number of concerns were expressed by the membership present at the open
meeting with the team: the inclusion of mechanisms for increased participation
of the support staff in university activities; the existing separation of
faculty and staff events on campus; a desire to be actively involved in the
selection of a new President; the forced use of vacation leave time during the
inter-term winter break; sick leave policies; more staff development
activities; and the need for enhanced levels of merit based salary adjustments.
The
team encourages the University administration to expand its dialog with the
support staff to explain and clarify existing policies and to consider ways to
include the support staff in more formal ways in the fabric of the university.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Audit
The team reviewed on-site original copies of
external, university fiscal audits for the years 2000, 1999, and 1998. The audits
were conducted by Cole and Reed, P.C. of Oklahoma City. The audits appear in
all respects to have been conducted in accordance with generally accepted
auditing standards, and in each case, the external auditors found the
University to be in sound fiscal condition. There were no exceptions stated by
the auditors in the documents reviewed by the team. The required external
audits are conducted annually and filed by the external auditor with the
University's governing board, the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges, the
Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education, and the Director of the Office of
Internal Auditing of the State of Oklahoma.
The
external audits are conducted by major accounting firms which are selected by
the University's governing board, the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges.
The process of selection includes an open and competitive request for bids and
proposals and the firm selected is contracted by the Board to audit each of its
constituent campuses annually. The process of selection is repeated in
five-year cycles with rotation to a new firm occurring in five-year intervals.
The external audits are fiscal audits
only and do not include, as a matter of routine, management comments or
suggestions. However, it was noted to the team that its governing Board (BOROC)
would begin to require management comments commencing with the fiscal 2001
audit. The addition of required management comments should allow the BOROC to
obtain comparative statements of fiscal conditions and suggestions for improvements
of fiscal practices from one central auditing firm for each of its regional
universities.
Revenue Sources and Internal Allocations
The primary sources of revenue for the University are
state appropriations, student tuition, fees, grants and contracts, and
auxiliary operations. The team reviewed internal allocation and budget
documents for the current (2001) year and the previous two fiscal years. On the
basis of these documents as well as the aforementioned audits and interviews
with the Executive Vice President for Administration and the Director of
Business Affairs and the University President, compliance with the Commission's
General Institutional Requirements 19, 20, and 21 has been demonstrated.
When
broken down by function, approximately 57 % of the University's Educational and
General Expenditures was dedicated to Instruction. Other functional areas
within the E and G budget include Research at 1.3%, Public Service at 0.8%,
Academic Support at 9.2%, Student Services at 7.2%, Institutional Support at
7.5%, Physical Plant at 10.5%, and Scholarships at 6.5%. By object, total
personnel expenditures constituted 75% of the University budget and 25% of the
budget was dedicated to operations including travel, utilities, supplies and
materials, furniture and equipment, books and periodicals, and scholarships.
This allocation pattern is within the normal range for regional universities
with similar missions.
Utilizing University provided comparisons
with IPEDS data, the University's allocation pattern is at or above the 50
percentile of peer institutions in each function with the exception of Public
Service and Student Services. Given the reality that this team's evaluation of
the University has generated a concern regarding funding for essential student
service activities and facilities, the reality of a below mean allocation in
this function is not surprising and may indicate a need for the University to
enhance funding for student service functions. However, the current allocations
demonstrate an appropriate commitment to the primary mission of the campus,
Instruction.
The
allocation of appropriated funds to the University is based on a program
budgeting formula which places heavy emphasis on fiscal year full time
equivalent enrollments. Data made available to the team indicate that the
University has received a fair or equitable allocation of available funds.
Funding requests flow from the University to the Oklahoma State Regents for
Higher Education (OSRHE). In turn, the Legislature appropriates state support
to the OSRHE for distribution to each of the state's colleges and universities.
In recent years, Southwestern Oklahoma State has received approximately 3% of
the total appropriations of state dollars available for all of the states colleges
and universities. While this figure reflects equity within the state on the
basis of enrollment and program funding, it is an equity within scarcity. The
scarcity is driven by the reality that the budget formula for all colleges and
universities reporting to the Oklahoma State Regents (OSRHE) has been funded at
just 70% of formula demonstrated needs.
In
fiscal year 1999-2000, based on the OSRHE formula, Southwestern Oklahoma State
should have been funded at $27,271, 107. In reality, the University was funded
at $20,032, 759 or approximately 73 % of its formula demonstrated need. The
average funded of formula level for the regional universities governed by the
Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges for the same year was 68.92% and the
average funded of formula level for all state universities and colleges in
Oklahoma was 69.81%. Thus, while the 73% of formula for Southwestern represents
a good average, it also reflects the reality that all colleges and universities
in Oklahoma are under-funded given an internal formula, which is based upon
external comparisons. Audit reports reveal that over the last three years,
funding per fiscal year student at Southwestern places the University third
among the six regional universities within the state of Oklahoma.
It
should also be noted that, because of unanticipated declines in state funding
in the 1980's, each institution reporting to the Board of Regents of Oklahoma
Colleges is required to operate with a reserve of approximately 8% of the
institution's total budget. This figure is perhaps too conservative given
institutional needs and a consistently under-funded formula budget.
The
team also reviewed the management of auxiliary enterprises and debt at the
University. The University currently operates without bonded indebtedness and
the cash flow support for auxiliary enterprises are appropriate to current
levels of service. The University contracts with an outside vendor for the
operation of its bookstore, but continues to operate the food service without an
outside vendor. While this arrangement appears to work, the team notes as a
concern the development of facility support for student activities. The
University should consider the possibility of acquiring some bonded
indebtedness for purpose of enhancing student life and wellness facilities and
activities on campus.
Budget and Allocation Processes.
The development of university budget requests follows
a clearly defined process which allows for university wide access and provides
linkage to university goals as expressed in the university's new strategic
plan. The university President annually begins the budget request process by
establishing a calendar and setting general budget parameters. Vice Presidents
and Action Team Coordinators are notified of the calendar and directed to
develop and forward preliminary budget requests to the Office of the Executive
Vice President. The Executive Vice President prepares a consolidated document
for review with the President, the Budget Committee of the Faculty Senate, as
well Action Team Leaders with direct responsibility for implementing the
University's strategic plan.
Subsequent
to the preparation of a preliminary budget, the President meets with the Vice
Presidents and the Executive Vice President, who serves as Chief Fiscal Officer
of the campus, for the purpose of preparing a final budget for submission to
the Governing Board and Coordinating Board. In the process of preparing a final
budget, the President also meets with the campus Planning and Resource Council prior
to submitting the final request to the Boards. This budget request process is
followed in the allocation of resources available to the University after the
legislative process and the allocation process by the State Regents for Higher
Education.
The
overall budget process at Southwestern State on paper appears to provide both
ample opportunity to campus constituencies for input and is linked to the
campus strategic planning document and process. However, team members
discovered in meetings with faculty and staff a sentiment that budget
parameters established at the level of the President and the Executive Vice
President Officer were often narrow and restrictive. In addition, more than a
few faculty seemed unaware of the opportunity for input in the budget process
through the Budget Committee of the Faculty Senate. Based upon these
interviews, the team suggests that the Administration and Faculty seek broader
and more systematic opportunities for a more open process of internal
allocation of resources. A more open budgeting process seems especially
appropriate as the campus begins to implement the goals of The Agenda for
Excellence, the University's five-year strategic plan.
PHYSICAL RESOURCES
Physical Plant
The University's physical plant includes 50 buildings
on 190 acres of land that provide a little more than 1,000,000 square feet of
usable space. In 1980, the North Central Association's Commission noted the
physical plant as an area of major concern. Since that time considerable
improvement has occurred. The 1990 report did not single out the physical plant
as a weakness or area of concern and did note that maintenance was an area of
institutional strength. The 2000 team notes a concern in the area of physical
facilities that support student life activities: the Student Union, facilities
for intramural activities, and the lack of a modern fitness/wellness center.
The 2000 team also expresses a concern about the absence of technologically
interconnected residence halls. In addition, the 2000 team notes as a concern
the University's inability to fully implement the spirit and substance of ADA
requirements at both the Weatherford and Sayre campuses.
While
the University's continuing maintenance program has generated significant and
on-going building renovation projects in recent years, the team encourages the
University to continue to enhance and beautify campus grounds and facilities.
With this in mind, the team encourages the University to complete the
development of a new physical master plan for both the Weatherford and Sayre
campuses.
The
team reviewed a list of building improvement priorities kept by the Director of
the Physical Plant, who reports directly to the Executive Vice President. The
list of priorities is entitled "Campus Master Plan" but falls short
of a detailed physical and grounds master plan. The team is informed by the
University that such a detailed master plan is near completion and that the
University has contracted with an Architect and Planner in the generation of
this plan. The team recommends that this new plan be shared widely within the
campus's constituencies prior to its finalization and that the process of
updating the new plan become a matter of periodic importance at the University.
Criterion
Three: Southwestern Oklahoma State University has accomplished its
educational and other purposes.
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS: GENERAL
Concerns about General Education raised by
the 1990 team "have been addressed," wrote the 1994 focused visit
team. The questionable pre-1994 program used a capacious cafeteria of courses
from throughout the university to meet the spirit of subject-matter mandates
from the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. The post-1994 General
Education program begins with four statements of desired learning outcomes to
develop students "as human beings and citizens preparing for the
twenty-first century" and lists just twenty-five courses grouped in ten
subject matter areas for a total of 48-49 hours. In six subject matter areas,
students choose one of two or two of three or four courses; in four, courses
are prescribed. All courses but the School of Business’s "Contemporary
Economics" are taught by the School of Arts and Sciences. SWOSU
demonstrates a commitment to a coherent, defined, and focused General Education
program rarely encountered at public universities, a commitment earned at costs
not inconsiderable to their proposers and reaffirmed through a culture of
continuous quality improvement worthy of emulation.
To achieve the present program, central
administration in the early nineties insisted upon developing the statements of
learning outcomes first and choosing the courses which could achieve those
outcomes second. Faculty embraced the learning outcomes redefinition (not
always easily) so that comprehensive course-embedded outcomes assessment is
poised to feed back sophisticated information to improve curricular delivery
and to enhance institutional effectiveness. A Director of General Education
(former department chair and current Arts and Sciences assistant dean) works
with the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and an elected General
Education Committee (two members each from the four Schools) to assure that
every multiple-section course employs common textbooks, compatible syllabi, and
(if not everywhere common final examinations) common General Education learning
objectives. Faculty have responded well to these university-wide requests for
accountability without significant additional resources: they seem to recognize
value in collective approaches to curricular delivery. As more evidence
develops from the analysis of course-embedded assessment, data-driven
adjustments to General Education courses will inculturate a new generation of
SWOSU professors to conceive pedagogy from outcomes-based perspectives. Members
of the General Education committee believe the process is underway in their
diverse departments, and that the lessons learned in General Education
influence assessment-driven, programmatically-accredited disciplines like
nursing, business, and engineering technology.
Continuous improvement and use of
course-embedded assessment may lead to effective programmatic assessment—pre-
and post-General Education global assessment, for instance. Central
administration and Arts and Sciences now invest heavily in this effort and
could recoup even more from further SWOSU investments for technological support
in General Education courses, or recognition for General Education instructors
in load calculation and promotion or tenure decisions, or public acknowledgement
and recognition for General Education instructors and General Education
Committee members alike. Stakeholders in General Education might investigate a
University-wide capstone experience for the better "human beings and
citizens" they seek to develop, or they might explore integrating thematic
focuses of international or multicultural topics congruent with the four
statements of desired learning outcomes, such as a text assigned to all new
freshmen and touched upon over any four-year period by many or most of the
accepted General Education courses. Such enhancements might help this exemplary
program at a regional public university to achieve national recognition.
ACADEMIC STRUCTURE
The School of Arts and Sciences
The School of Arts and Sciences includes twelve
academic departments including Art; Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Computer
Science; Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; Language Arts;
Mathematics; Music; Physics; Psychology; Social Sciences; and Technology. The
School's programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Science, and
other professional degree programs such as the Bachelor of Music and the
Bachelor of Social Work. In addition, the School offers a wide and typical
array of minors in the Arts and Sciences disciplines, provides academic course
support for pre-professional programs in Dental Hygiene, Dentistry,
Engineering, Law, Medicine, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and
Veterinary Medicine, and offers most of the courses in the General Education
Program. The Department of Music also offers the Master of Music degree.
Selected other departments offer graduate courses in support of masters degree
programs in Education and Applied Psychology.
Faculty
within the school are well prepared for instructional, research, and service
responsibilities. For the most part, courses are taught by full time faculty
with very minimal reliance on adjunct or part-time faculty. In individual
interviews and at the general meeting with faculty, there was evidence of a
strong commitment, dedication, and loyalty to the University. Faculty were
supportive of the new General Education program and its strong emphasis on a
core approach in lieu of the broadly distributive approach, which had
been listed as a concern in the last decennial North Central report. The
current program has a strong focus on the knowledge base, skills, and values
commonly associated with a liberal education. In interviews and in a general
meeting, faculty and department chairs noted that the general education program
constitutes a major responsibility of the School of Arts and Sciences. Faculty
confirmed that they were deeply involved in the development and remain active
in the implementation and continuing assessment of the relatively new program.
The new General Education program is cited by this visitation team as an
institutional strength.
The
School has recently completed a search for a new Dean and visits with the Dean
indicated a renewed enthusiasm for supporting the action plans which have
evolved from the new university planning process. The Dean of the School
underscored the reality that the unit action plans evolved directly from
faculty efforts and did not involve at the initial stages either input or
influence from the Dean's Office. Thus, faculty were allowed to develop
priorities and strategies in a "visioning" process which is not
dominated by preconceptions at an administrative level. Faculty expressed
satisfaction with the process in individual interviews and in the general or
open meeting conducted by members of the visitation team. While the development
of action plans is at an initial stage, faculty seemed supportive of the
process and hopeful of results in the way of resources and an enhanced focus
within the school. Measurable progress in the quality of teaching, research,
and service in the School's departments should occur in very specific ways in a
three to five year time frame.
Faculty
seemed satisfied with the recent upgrading of individual access to computers as
well as a recent allocation of over $320,000 for instructional equipment and
technology in the School. From the perspective of the dean and the department
chairs, this allocation was an early indicator that planning efforts and
departmental participation in these efforts could be linked at the
institutional level to allocation decisions.
Concerns
expressed by some faculty and department chairs included unevenness in the
application of instructional loads, inadequate reassigned time for department
chairs, uneasiness with the consolidation of the Departments of Chemistry and
Physics and concern with anticipated internal re-allocation of resources from
departments and disciplines with low student participation and graduation
rates. Although such concerns are real, there is also evident a consensus that
the School is in the process of being right sized and the planning process has
reinforced changes previously contemplated by faculty and administration. The
fact that the planning process has, to this point, been faculty-driven was
cited by the dean and reinforced by faculty as a strength.
The
team strongly encourages faculty and administration attention to declining
enrollment in selected disciplines in the Arts and Sciences. Although the
number of students declaring a major or undecided in the Arts and Sciences is
at a ten year high (1,704), several majors operate with precariously low
student/faculty ratios and others are experiencing on a relative basis high
student/faculty ratios. This imbalance could jeopardize several existing
programs and suggests that serious consideration be given to the reallocation
of resources from low enrollment majors to better subscribed programs. The
existing Academic Planning and Resource Allocation process mandated by the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the new campus-based strategic
planning process should provide decision makers with a data base from which
difficult resource reallocation decisions may be made for the welfare of the
School.
Selected
disciplines in the School of Arts and Sciences are accredited by or affected by
accreditation standards from the following specialized accreditation bodies:
the American Chemical Society; the Technology Accreditation Commission of the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; the National Association
for Music Therapy; the National Association of Schools of Music and the
National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. These
accreditations seem appropriate to the mission of the University and represent
areas of excellence within the University.
School of Business
The
School of Business is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business
Schools and Programs (December 1999). The School is undergoing significant
transformation. As a result of internal tension, the dean and both chairs
resigned last year. An interim dean was appointed (August 2000) as well as an
interim chair of business administration. A chair was permanently appointed for
accounting/finance (June 2000). Faculty expressed considerable support for the
new administration and felt that faculty morale was much improved. Student
enrollment numbers have fluctuated. The pattern has been an overall decline
which now seems to have halted and an increasing trend is underway. The School
is planning to add new academic programs in management information systems and
is phasing in a 150-hour accountancy program. Both should have positive effects
on enrollment. The facility is relatively new and is well equipped in
IT-computer equipment, having received authority to purchase 20 new,
state-of-the-art computers. The major concerns for the School are faculty and
salaries, which are interrelated. In the last hiring cycle, three positions
formerly held by doctorally trained faculty had to be replaced by master’s
level, professionally qualified persons, largely because of an inability to
offer adequate salaries. While this approach may satisfy a short-term need, it
may be detrimental in the long term.
School of Education
Since the 1996-97
reorganization, the School of Education has consisted of two departments, the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Programs and the Department of School
Service Programs. The latter offers graduate programs and certification in
school administration, school counseling, agency counseling, and school
psychometry. Elementary and secondary faculty members prepare elementary,
secondary, PK-12 pre-service teachers, as well as master’s degree candidates.
Annually, education faculty members are required to work in the schools for 10
hours, and most also work with recent graduates during the graduates’ first
year as practitioners.
Declining
enrollments are a concern in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Faculty
members explained that within the past few years, Oklahoma instituted a
Commission for Teacher Preparation, which acted promptly to increase the rigor
in Oklahoma teacher preparation programs. A portfolio concept was implemented
at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The general education requirement,
"the 4 by 12," was mandated so that all students must complete 12
credits in each of four areas: English, mathematics, biological and physical
sciences, and social sciences. Yet, at roughly the same time, teacher candidates
certified to teach in one area were permitted to add an area of certification
by passing an examination, as long as the additional certification is within
the same school level. These factors, increased rigor and additional
certifications by examination, contributed to the drop in teacher preparation
enrollments experienced in the late 1990s. Regional demographics also present a
challenge.
Teacher
education graduates from SWOSU are in demand regionally, but faculty members
expressed grave concern that in Oklahoma, public school teacher salaries are
not competitive with those in neighboring states. Lower starting salaries and
fewer teacher education graduates have served to reduce the pool of qualified
teachers pursuing careers within the Oklahoma schools. This has led to
alternative certification strategies that increasingly result in persons
without appropriate credentials hired within the Oklahoma schools. The School
of Education faces a troubling paradox: SWOSU-educated teacher education
graduates are in high demand in neighboring states and are meeting ever more
rigorous standards during their formal preparation and in their year of
residency. Yet, it appears that Oklahoma schools in the SWOSU service region
will be forced to rely upon those admitted to the teaching profession through
alternative paths.
School of Health Sciences
The
School of Health Sciences includes the School of Pharmacy, Division of Nursing,
and Division of Allied Health.
School of Pharmacy
The
School of Pharmacy is in the process of converting from the Bachelor of Science
to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. An accreditation visit was
conducted by the American Council of Pharmacy Education in October 1999; as a
consequence, the School has been granted CANDIDATE STATUS in the Doctor of
Pharmacy Program. A subsequent accreditation visit will occur in early 2001 for
evaluation to remain in candidate status or advancement to full accreditation.
Progress toward implementation of the professional practice degree is
progressing very well. A major consideration was garnering additional funding
to meet the added program requirements. This was accomplished by charging
students in the professional program a special programmatic fee equal to
in-state tuition. Total costs are still less than comparative pharmacy programs
in this region.
The School has been given authority to hire
additional faculty. Progress has been made with considerable gender diversity
being accomplished. A major barrier for hiring clinically oriented faculty was
salary; however, special consideration was allowed in hiring at increased
salary levels. Nevertheless, faculty salaries still lag national norms (AACP)
by more than 25%. Faculty workloads are typical of those in other schools in
the University (24 credits plus 3 credits scholarly activity). Faculty members
show considerable interest in participating in scholarly activity and
pharmaceutical sciences will begin some bench-type research. Faculty morale is
judged as excellent with stated respect for the dean and central administration.
Faculty participation was high in the University’s action plan, as well as the
initiatives in assessment and general education. The School enjoys a high level
of informational technology with computers for faculty and computer clusters
and laboratories for students. The central administration holds the school,
dean, faculty, and students in high regard as evidenced by the tangible support
provided for salary adjustment, resource allocation, and planned renovation of
physical facilities to support the new Pharm.D. degree program.
Division of Nursing
The
Division of Nursing offers the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
to the traditional generic student and to the registered nurse (RN) student,
and is accredited by the National League of Nursing (March 1996). All full-time
faculty members hold master’s degrees; two are doctorally qualified. Fall 2000
marks the initial offering of the revised professional curriculum, which is
consistent with the holistic approach to nursing defined as the mission of the
department. The Oklahoma Board of Nursing granted the program continuing full
approval in spring 1998. The Division has strong administrative support,
evidenced by the renovation of the programmatic laboratory space, including two
new skill labs, a small classroom, and additional storage space for equipment
and supplies.
Faculty members appropriately identify
declining enrollment as the greatest programmatic challenge. In addition to
declining regional demographics, the program faces increased competition as a
result of action by the Board of Regents to approve additional sites for
nursing programs offered by other Oklahoma institutions. Faculty members plan
to respond through effective marketing and improved recruiting. Programmatic retention
data are not included as a part of the University fact book, and that could
provide a useful reference for additional planning strategies for faculty
members. Several nursing faculty members indicate they are available to teach
courses within their disciplinary expertise in other programs within the School
of Health Sciences, which would provide some assignment flexibility within the
School.
Division of Allied Health
The Division of
Allied Health offers nationally accredited programs in medical technology and
health information management, and two associate degree programs in physical
therapist assistant (PTA) and occupational therapist assistant (OTA) on the
Sayre campus with cooperative accreditation. Enrollment in the health
information management major bears careful monitoring, as it appears to have
stabilized in the last two years at slightly less than half the average
enrollment enjoyed from 1992 to 1996. While the self-study reports stable
enrollment in medical technology, the Fall 2000 SWOSU Fact Book shows dramatic
decreases in the number of medical technology majors, with only 3 in fall 2000,
compared with 56 majors in fall 1993; 53 majors in fall 1994; and 50 majors in
fall 1995. In fact, the medical technology, PTA, and OTA programs have all
suffered precipitous enrollment declines in recent years. Faculty members
attribute decreased student interest in the PTA and OTA programs to changes in
Medicare, third-party billing, and federal home health care regulations that
currently set a $150 cap on reimbursement to individuals for physical and
occupational therapeutic treatments. Moreover, some hypothesize that the same
changes have adversely affected interest in the medical technology program.
Exacerbating these difficulties is the spring 2000 notification that the
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy has placed the PTA program on
probation, necessitating notification of the program’s status to all enrolled
students and to all students seeking admission. The dean indicated that the PTA
program will be reassessed; a contributing factor will be the recently
remodeled Sayre campus facilities for both the PTA and OTA associate degree
programs. This reassessment will be only one test of the effectiveness of
"The Agenda for Excellence" strategic planning process, as the campus
works it way through competing resource expectations from its cooperative
partners and its core programmatic missions.
The Division also makes two open-enrollment
baccalaureate degree programs available to students in health care
administration and the health sciences. These are used by students as
pre-professional programs; health sciences demonstrates excellent growth,
whereas the administration degree track enrolled 27 declared majors in fall
2000, down from 40 in fall 1999, and 60 in fall 1998. The addition of two new
allocations to the health sciences shows considerable administrative support
for this combined array of SWOSU degree offerings.
Graduate Education
The Associate Vice President for Academic
Affairs also serves as the Dean of the Graduate School, currently overseeing
three active graduate programs—the Master of Business Administration, Master of
Education, and Master of Music. Enrollment in a fourth program, the Master of
Science in Applied Psychology, has been suspended. Each program is reviewed
once every five years, with the evaluation focusing on program objectives,
student enrollments, diplomas/degrees granted, faculty, curricula, and
resources. Additional program reviews are conducted by external organizations
in securing or maintaining program accreditation.
The Graduate Council is composed of eight
graduate faculty, two graduate students, and is chaired by the Dean of the
Graduate School. The Council recommends policies and monitors approved policies.
The graduate curriculum is taught by approximately 100 "Graduate
Faculty," who are designated as such having earned a Ph.D. or an Ed.D. and
having garnered a recommendation for such status from their department.
Graduate Faculty not actively engaged in scholarly or creative activity are
subject to removal from the Graduate Faculty. There are also approximately 50
"Associate Graduate Faculty," who are instructors with a master’s
degree who are active in both teaching within a graduate program. There is no
Graduate Faculty Constitution and no difference in the rights or
responsibilities of "Graduate Faculty" and "Associate Graduate
Faculty."
The primary objectives of graduate education
delineated in the Graduate Catalogue include "promoting independent thought
and providing advanced declarative and procedural knowledge." In general,
the graduate curriculum appears to support these objectives. A review of
randomly selected syllabi from 5000 level courses offered by the College of
Business and College of Education reflect a tendency to focus on advanced
content and require greater levels of independent and applied learning than
similar courses offered at the undergraduate level. Similarly, a review of
randomly selected 3000 level courses offered to advanced undergraduate
students, but also open to graduate enrollment, reveals a commitment to clearly
delineating expectations for graduate students that differ from undergraduates.
Typically, graduate students are asked to complete additional reading,
additional assignments and meet frequently on an independent basis with the
instructor. Each of the graduate programs, to varying degrees, requires
graduate students to be actively engaged in research—though such initiatives
are clearly tempered by the fact programs are designed to assist students
develop their skills and knowledge base in professions that don’t place a
premium on basic research skills.
The number of graduate degrees granted by
the institution over the past ten years has remained relatively stable. The
institution has granted, on average, 142 degrees each year. Graduate degrees
represent approximately 17% of the total number of degrees granted by the
institution each year.
These figures stand to change dramatically.
There has been a precipitous drop in graduate enrollments—with fall 2000
revealing an approximate 50% decline in both graduate headcount and graduate
FTE over fall term two years ago. Graduate enrollment, which accounted for
between 11% and 13% of the total enrollment from 1990-1998, has dropped to 7%
in 1999 and 6% in 2000. The Masters of Education degree program and the pool of
Undecided Graduate Majors—programs that have accounted for approximately 90% of
the graduate headcount over the past five years—have experienced significant
declines. Over the past two years, there has been a 40% drop in FTE among
Undecided Graduate Majors, and a 53% decline in FTE in the Master of Education
program. Even the relatively robust summer enrollments of graduate students
revealed a noteworthy decline in summer 2000.
Significant changes in state requirements in
professions directly addressed by the graduate curriculum, the emergence of
graduate programs among private schools which have lower degree requirements
than state universities, and a growing number of graduate competitors in the
Tulsa area were cited by the faculty as reasons for this decline.
There is evidence that the campus has
certain competitive advantages at the graduate level. The University appears to
have very competitive tuition rates, a graduate faculty who appear quite
committed to their programs, and the recent addition of tuition wavers for
graduate students. Graduate faculty, in particular, appear confident, based on
the solid placements rates of the graduate programs and the good reputation of
the University.
SWOSU, particularly as it continues to move
through the process of implementing its strategic plan, should consider closely
what role graduate studies will play on the campus in the years ahead. As
indicated under Goal #3 of the Visioning Statement, the campus will retain only
those programs that meet ARPA guidelines, and will add programs only if they
will meet such guidelines. However, other important questions for SWOSU remain.
For instance, in serving 5,500 students by the year 2003 (Goal #1), how many of
these will be graduate students? Answering such a question is central to
implementation of other strategic decisions (i.e., Goal #2: which graduate
programs will receive special attention, where will they be marketed, and what will
be said about these programs to attract students?)
Moreover, as suggested in Goal #3 of the
Visioning Statement, the University is encouraged to extend its tradition of
offering graduate education through distance education by exploring the
viability of offering asynchronous learning opportunities. The convenience that
attends such opportunities may prove particularly alluring to working adults
interested in the Master of Business Administration program.
Sayre Campus
The
Sayre campus serves 462 students, more than half of whom are under 23
and another third of whom are over 27. All
are overwhelmingly first-generation college students place-bound by personal
resources or circumstances, and to succeed in college most require the Sayre
experience of highly motivating one-on-one instruction in a nurturing
environment. More than 60% of Sayre's students go on to the Weatherford campus
for a four-year degree. Stakeholders believe in this campus. Nearly all of the
faculty and staff and 35 students turned out to discuss the strengths of their
campus with a visiting NCA consultant-evaluator on a day when very few of them
had to be on campus since few classes are held. Their testimony by presence and
participation witnessed the commitment of these folks to a special place in
sparsely populated western Oklahoma.
Enrollment
has been steady for the past four years, though down from the
682-headcount-student peak in 1993 (the same year of Weatherford's peak at
4,990). An array of associate degree programs is supported by the 48-49-hour
General Education program whose courses share similar or identical objectives
and learning outcomes with Weatherford's. Indeed, faculty testified to their
Weatherford faculty counterparts' active involvement in shaping and helping to
assess these courses; nearly all SWOSU General Education courses as taught at
Sayre share common textbooks, common syllabi, and common course-embedded
assessment techniques with those at Weatherford, though the University transcript
still marks a course with the same number and name by the campus of delivery, a
practice which should be reconsidered given the close integration of the two
campuses and their faculties.
The
sixteen faculty at the Sayre campus earn rank according to standards set by the
Board of Regents for Oklahoma Colleges (BOROC). All fall into the Lecturer or
Instructor categories, minimum requirements for each rank being set by BOROC.
Six have now earned tenure as Instructors, and eight more are on tenure track
and should stand for tenure in the next three to four years. Two or three
faculty members should complete requirements for doctoral degrees and be
eligible for promotion to Assistant Professor in the next five years,
particularly if the Dean is given local autonomy in setting teaching load so as
to encourage degree-completion behaviors.
In
its current three-year strategic plan, Sayre campus seeks Weatherford campus
support for new curricular plans, student recruitment and retention, and
additional technological and pedagogical equipment. SWOSU attention to the
physical plant has provided a sparkling, convenient, five-building campus
adjacent to an I-40 exit and close to the Sayre branch of Western Tech, part of
Oklahoma's well-funded
vocational-technical system and with which
the current energetic dean is forging mutually beneficial partnerships. Sayre's
three top priorities are curricular planning; recruitment and retention; and
technological support. An extensive environmental scan which defines new opportunities
and identifies additional investment in each of the priorities is needed.
Additional investment in planning would help determine which programs of study
to offer in concert with the base General Education program that constitutes
almost 80% of the associate degrees; which potential student populations to
attract and what it will take to retain them; and what technological and
pedagogical resources to add to the well-equipped campus. The Sayre campus is
already a leader in telecourse delivery (asynchronous video instruction using
packages developed elsewhere) and in interactive video delivery (sychronous
multisite instruction) in western Oklahoma; telecourses will be superceded by
web-based self-paced instruction and interactive video expanded to new markets
such as tribal communities if SWOSU chooses to make entrepreneurial investments
in line with the goals of the "Agenda for Excellence."
The
Sayre campus appreciates the ten months of service by its first outside dean,
who is leaving to become an Associate Vice Chancellor with the Oklahoma State
System of Higher Education. Planned interim on-site leadership from an
experienced Weatherford campus administrator (the current Director of
Assessment and Self-Study Coordinator) will provide time for local stakeholders
and SWOSU leaders to identify an energetic, innovative, and caring long-term
dean who will sustain the strengths of
nurture and challenge which underlie the
Sayre experience and the opportunities for change which can guarantee Sayre's
advancement as the front door of SWOSU to western Oklahoma, to new native
American constituents, and to aspiring college students reached best by
out-of-the-classroom educational delivery.
Some
immediate desires at the Sayre campus include better accessibility for the
mobility-limited; authority to implement daycare services, perhaps beginning as
a campus-sponsored but student-run cooperative babysitting space; exploration
of student housing; and assessment of needs for on-site four-year completion
programs. An outsider hears a desire for a "‘real' four-year, full-service
comprehensive college" in
Sayre and near the Texas panhandle; and the
visitor would discount that desire as parochial and excessively burdensome to
taxpayers, except for recognizing the opportunity possible for SWOSU's
expansion through its front door to these potential new markets. Careful
balance of on-site intimacy combined with aggressively-expanded distance
delivery centered at Sayre for non-traditional and underserved-population
students offer SWOSU a marketing opportunity in Oklahoma City for new
traditional students.
Faculty
Development
The Faculty Development Committee (FDC)
encourages excellence in teaching scholarly activities through programming
focused on improving teaching, research and new faculty orientation. The FDC is
made up of faculty who are nominated, then elected, by members of the Faculty
Senate, with others nominated by the deans from each school and appointed by
the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the President. The Director of
Assessment serves as an ex-officio member. The Chair is elected by faculty on
the FDC serving the last year of their two-year term.
In general, members of the FDC serve as
liaisons, bringing specific requests from faculty of their school to the group
for consideration. The Committee also conducts a needs analysis (survey) early
in the academic year, a process that is reportedly plagued by a low response
rate. Currently, first-year faculty participate in a program where they learn
about university policies, assessment, workshops relevant to teaching
improvement and grant writing. There are some departments in various colleges
from across the campus that also support first-year faculty by providing
mentoring opportunities. The nature and intensity of these mentoring programs
tend to vary widely, but most reportedly focus on helping new faculty prepare
for tenure and promotion.
The FDC has used its annual budget (during
the 1997-1998, $12,000) over the past two years to sponsor workshops for all faculty,
including sessions about on-line Course Info, writing for publication, and
developing critical thinking skills. The attendance and perceived utility of
these sessions are not known beyond that there appears to have been 87 faculty
and 37 administrators who attended the two-day session on critical thinking.
The FDC also provides support, when dollars are available, to fund requests of
individual faculty to attend unique or important professional development
opportunities off campus.
SWOSU, as indicated under Goal #1 of the
Visioning Statement, appears committed to "incorporating faculty
development programs to assist in the improvement of pedagogy." To that
end, the FDC is encouraged to think in greater detail about the professional
development needs of the various segments of its faculty population (e.g.,
first-year, probationary, mid-career, senior). A more rigorous and focused
needs analysis generally, and a tracking of attendance and participant
evaluation of the various professional development opportunities (e.g.,
workshops) specifically, would assist with long term planning.
A closer examination of the needs of
first-year faculty, and a more coherent mentoring program for first-year
faculty (an initiative under Goal #1) may assist some colleges with their
reported problems retaining new faculty. Recent workshops about writing for
publication, grant writing, and cultivating critical thinking are, no doubt,
formative for probationary faculty. However, more regular and intensive
professional development opportunities for probationary faculty—beyond that of
the one-shot workshop—will have greater effect on their teaching and,
ultimately, success in achieving promotion and tenure. Finally, it is clear
that mid-career and senior faculty would benefit significantly from a greater
commitment to, and promotion of, the sabbatical program. Faculty in these
population segments have ostensibly ignored sabbatical opportunities, with the
campus awarding only one or two (depending on which senior administrator you
talk to) over the past five years.
Any progress in the area of faculty
development will require greater financial commitment from SWOSU. The FDC is
strongly encouraged to consider working through the highly successful Office of
Sponsored Programs to locate and secure funding for innovative professional
development programs.
Sponsored
Programs
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)
assists principal investigators in the preparation and submission of extramural
grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements, and acts as a liaison between
granting agencies and the University to ensure compliance. The OSP is overseen
by the Director of Sponsored Programs, who is also responsible for activities
of the institutional review board for human subjects, radiation safety, animal
welfare, and intellectual property. The Director reports to the Vice President
for Academic Affairs and Research Administration.
The University has an appropriate policy on
Protection of Human Subjects. It was reported that there are also institutional
policies on animal welfare, chemical safety, and radiation safety.
The success of the campus generally, and the
OSP specifically, in securing extramural funding over the review period is
remarkable. In FY1991, the OSP assisted in securing $226,000. By FY1999, this
figure had grown to $3,300,000 and is expected to reach $3,500,000 by the end
of FY2000. Faculty, administration, and the Director of OSP are all to be
commended for their roles in engineering this noteworthy increase. Further, as
evidenced in Goal #3, the campus is acutely aware of this success and appears
committed to ensuring continued success in the years ahead.
Distance Learning
Southwestern
Oklahoma State university became involved in distance learning when Sayre
Junior College, seventy miles to the west of Weatherford, was merged with SWOSU
as a branch campus in 1987. Faculty on both campuses became involved in
telecourses, which combine television lessons viewed at home or on campus,
related assignments and readings, and examinations. Students have contact with
faculty by telephone, e-mail, or in person by appointment for discussions and
for examinations held on campus. Led by the director of distance learning and
2.50 professional staff members (1.50 of those on the Sayre campus) augmented
by student help, distance learning continues to grow and develop. The
department coordinates the Regents Television Instructional System on campus,
the University distance learning offerings, which include telecourses, computer
assisted instruction, and interactive video courses, and works with the
associate vice president for academic affairs and the academic departments to
schedule distance learning offerings. Distance learning offerings increased 37%
in 1999-2000 relative to the previous year, and generated in excess of $200,000
in tuition receipts. This fall, twenty-eight interactive video courses are
being offered; last fall there were twenty. Distance learning priorities
include delivery of the MBA to two sites, and increased participation in the
cooperative school counselor M.Ed. degree program. The distance learning web
site is straightforward, easy to use, and informative.
At
this time, SWOSU has two web courses in education, and one in business, with a
number of web-enhanced offerings in various disciplines. Blackboard or Course
Info became available to faculty members this fall, and on the first faculty
development day of fall 2000 in August, thirty faculty members participated in
a "train the trainer" program using that tool. The director of
instructional technology indicated that another 19 faculty members are learning
Blackboard and that the campus community is on its way to incorporating
asynchronous learning into is pedagogical menu. The relatively early, and
certainly sustained, success of the Sayre telecourse initiative contributed to
a delayed move into web-based and web-enhanced course development.
Distance
learning initiatives should be expanded, with particular attention to various
modalities, including asynchronous learning.
Continuing Education, Conference
Coordination, and Media Services
The Division of Continuing Education falls under the
supervision of the director of the conference center and media services. The
School of Pharmacy is heavily involved in a range of continuing education
programs, which are the responsibility of the associate dean in the School of
Pharmacy, who also coordinates programming for non-traditional students. Within
the School of Education, Friday evening and Saturday workshops for in-service teachers,
often grant-supported, are effective and mission-consistent.
The
Conference Center, originally a church which is located directly across the
street from Southwestern, is a considerable asset to the University. A rough
count of activity during fiscal year 2000 revealed 135 scheduled events,
ninety-four of which were University-sponsored, that attracted over sixty-eight
hundred participants to the facility. The director supervises the operation of
the center, and aided by one full-time assistant director, helps to plan and
conduct the conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings, and special events
hosted by the University Conference Center. The director also administers media
services, which includes selection, acquisition, distribution, and maintenance
of audiovisual equipment. Video programs obtained and produced through media
services are relocated in the library’s collection for distribution to faculty,
staff, students, and members of the public.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
There
are library facilities on both the Weatherford and Sayre campus, and the Sayre
Library has recently undergone remodeling. The library staff is service
oriented and maintains policies which insure access through scheduling,
computer availability, and newly acquired electronic databases. For example,
the Weatherford campus library is open 84 hours per week. Materials are
selected carefully to maximize resources and the library reports that the
budget in this regard has been increased by 10 percent in five of the past
seven years. The use of interlibrary loan and the increasing numbers of
electronic sources for scholarly journals including J-Store are viewed as
positive accomplishments by faculty and students.
TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SERVICES
The
University Computer/Telecommunications Advisory committee is appropriately
representative of academic and administrative areas and contains members with
technological expertise. Although the SWOSU Faculty Handbook does not list a
student member, the committee chairperson indicated that there is a student
member, normally the president of the student association. The advisory
committee makes recommendations to the academic vice president and effectively
carries out its multiple charges. The advisory committee (1) solicits
information from the University community concerning present and future
technology-related needs; (2) develops a technology strategic plan that is
linked to campus-wide and departmental action plans and includes short- and
long-range acquisition, implementation, and coordination of technology-related
activities on a University-wide basis; and (3) recommends standards for
software, hardware, and other related items that will be available
University-wide to ensure uniformity, accessibility, and economy.
All
technology plan goals set for the initial three-year plan spanning 1998-2001
were met, with two exceptions. The plan called for a faculty development
program to facilitate University-wide training in all areas of computer and
telecommunication applications. The academic vice president referred this to
the Faculty Senate. That body rejected the proposal, citing no need for the
program. The plan also proposed the development of Strategic Control Units
(SCU) across campus to provide effective technological coordination for each
SCU, e.g., academic school. This suggestion failed to gain the support of the
Council of Deans, because of the costs associated with the necessary faculty
reassigned time. The advisory committee has made good progress on the second,
three-year technology plan, and will bring both failed recommendations back for
reconsideration as components of the second plan.
University
computer services consists of a director who supervises eight staff members: a
webmaster, added as a new allocation in June 2000; a network administrator;
three program analysts; a technician; a telecommunications expert; and an
administrative assistant. The unit is responsible for both academic and
administrative computing, and this organizational structure works well at
Southwestern. Computer services personnel consistently emphasize the service
component of computer services, and work successfully to provide its
various constituents with what is required to accomplish assigned
responsibilities. Working with the University Computer/Telecommunications
Advisory committee, software and hardware standards are established and are
reviewed as many as four times each year.
Computer services’ first goal in the current
three-year action plan is to incorporate the technology plan fully into
"The Agenda for Excellence." Secondly, the unit will work to ensure
that departmental action plans are similarly linked. This fall, for example,
computer services plans to pilot three approaches to creating computer access
in the residence halls, which is Goal 1, Initiative 5 in "The Agenda for
Excellence."
SWOSU has developed and implemented a
technology plan and technological support for faculty and students that
deserves commendation.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment efforts at Southwestern Oklahoma
University are overseen by the Director of Assessment and an Assessment
Committee with members appointed from constituencies across the campus by the
Vice President of Academic Affairs.
General Education assessment efforts are
exemplar. Clearly stated behaviorally-based outcomes are closely linked to the
curriculum, with assessment data collected each semester through a number of
curriculum-embedded quantitative and qualitative measures. Though data
collection efforts are still in their nascent stages, there is anecdotal
evidence that such information is being used by the instructors to adjust
pedagogy, and may eventually influence decisions relevant to the revision of
the curriculum. The General Education Committee, the Director of General Education,
the Director of Assessment, and the faculty involved in the collection and
analysis of the data at the Weatherford and Sayre campuses, are to be commended
for the intelligent design and their relentless efforts in implementing this
model program.
The General Education Director and Committee
members recognize the labor-intensive nature of, and appear mindful of the
risks affiliated with, using only curriculum-embedded assessment procedures.
They are encouraged to continue their exploration of using pre- and post-test
measures to affirm that the outcomes are largely a by-product of the
curriculum, and identifying and implementing ways of making the current
data-collection system less onerous or, at least, more widely recognized as
meritorious/valuable to the University.
All undergraduate and graduate programs have
developed assessment plans—plans that include the identification of assessment
outcomes and measures. However, there appears significant variation among the
academic programs relative to how much progress each has made in implementing
their plan. In general, many programs in the School of Business, the School of
Education, and the School of Health Sciences have identified assessment
outcomes, and there is evidence that many are active in employing measures in
accordance with the requirements of their accrediting organizations. (Among
these, degree programs such as the Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education,
are to be commended for delineating behavioral-based objectives and finding a
number of internal an external assessment measures.) Other degree programs,
primarily in the School of Arts and Sciences, appear to have invested little
energy in identifying specific behavioral-based outcomes or demonstrated
commitment to collecting data.
The Assessment Committee is encouraged to
assist those academic units struggling with the implementation of an assessment
plan. One suggestion is to make more public the methods and successes of those
programs that are more advanced in the assessment process. There is reason for
optimism in believing that all academic programs can be brought up to speed
quickly. There is ample evidence that increasing numbers of faculty are
becoming conversant with the vocabulary, processes, and best practices in
assessment. Moreover, basic mechanisms exist for sharing assessment information
with internal and external constituencies. In discussions with students,
faculty and administration, it became clear that there is a growing awareness
of the relevance of assessment in achieving the core mission of the University.
Finally, SWOSU is encouraged to assist
programs in adopting processes that use assessment results to improve pedagogy,
revise the curriculum, and influence departmental three-year budgeting and
planning decisions. In general, assessment stands to become a more integral
part of institutional budgeting and planning decisions when it can be made a
part of other institutional processes (e.g., Academic Program Review). Further,
as the assessment efforts on the campus continue to mature, the Assessment
Committee might work to identify learning outcomes manifest in settings and
activities outside the curriculum (e.g., Student Affairs initiatives), and
consider methods of assessing such outcomes using not only the ample student
perception data currently collected, but also performance-based data.
STUDENT AFFAIRS
The Division of Student Services, under the
direction of a Vice President who reports to the President, provides an
effective array of student services including: Student Senate and Student
Organizations, Student Development Services and Placement, Residential Life,
Student Health Services, and High School – College Relations including the
Upward Bound Program. There appears to be a sound institutional commitment to
educational programs that enhances undergraduate student life. The Vice
President has assembled a strong team of individuals who understand student
learning and personal development and who work collaboratively as a team and
with others at the University. Staff in this administrative unit seem to be
knowledgeable, energetic, and committed to developing excellence in programs
and services to students.
Financial and human resources, however,
appear to be unevenly distributed at the University. There is a need in the
majority of these offices for an increase in basic funding in order to continue
day-to-day operations and further develop important programs and services. This
unit could make a greater impact on students if human and financial resources
were enhanced. Opportunities for professional development are available but
rarely is this option possible at the national level. Much can be learned by
involvement in professional organizations and associations; therefore,
increased funding in this area is important. A review all of the budgets,
salaries, and human resources of this unit in order to become more equitable
with other administrative areas at the University and within the state is
encouraged.
Members of the NCA team met with several
students and found them engaging, motivated, and generally positive about their
experiences at SWOSU. The majority of the students enthusiastically report that
they receive a quality education from the University that will ultimately
contribute to their intellectual development and overall success. However, some
believe that resources are allocated to some of the more popular academic
programs while many of the liberal arts programs are inadequately funded and
face elimination. They believe they are studying and living in a safe environment
and name individual administrators and academic advisors who go out of their
way to make their college experiences invaluable.
Students do not believe they have a voice or input on many of the decisions made by the administration regarding items that directly affect them. In fact, they believe information is kept from them until final decisions have been made. And when given