Resources for Department and Division Chairs

Transcription

1 For your bookshelf Resources for Department and Division Chairs Alan, Mary J. Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education. Bolton, MA: Anker, 2004 Banta, Trudy W. (Ed.) Assessing Student Learning in the Disciplines: Assessment Update Collections. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, 2007 Bresciani, Marilee J. Outcomes Based Academic and Co-Curricular Program Review: A Compilation of Institutional Good Practices. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2006 Butler, Jeffrey L. The Essential Department Chair: A Practical Guide to College Administration. Bolton, MA: Anker, College Learning for the New Global Century, A National Report, (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2008) Dickeson, Robert C. Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services: Reallocating Resources to Achieve Strategic Balance (revised and updated). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Kuh, George D. High Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Washington, DC: AAC&U, Learning, Deryl R. Academic Leadership: A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department. Bolton, MA: Anker, 1998 Lucas, Ann F. Leading Academic Change: Essential Roles for Department Chairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Gmelch, Walter H. & Miskin, Val. Chairing an Academic Department. Madison, WI: Atwood, Suskie, Linda Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, 2009 Wergin, John F. Departments that Work: Building and Sustaining Cultures of Excellence in Academic Programs. Bolton, MA: Anker, Wheeler, Daniel W., Seagren, Alan T., Becker, Linda W., Kinley, Edward, R., Minek, Dara D., & Robson, Kenneth J. The Academic Chair s Handbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

2 Resources for Department and Division Chairs Websites IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) College Results Online (based on IPEDS) U.S. News & World Report and other publications Chronicle of Higher Education Facts and Figures AAUP and other vendors (e.g. faculty salary data) U-CAN (University and College Accountability Network)

3 Using Data 2011 CIC Workshop for Department and Division Chairs Number of faculty Number of faculty slots Faculty years of service Number and % tenured faculty Number and % tenure track faculty Descriptive Data for Departments/Divisions Number and % non-tenure track faculty Expertise areas of faculty Number of adjuncts or part-time faculty Number of departmental/divisional support staff (clerical, lab technicians, etc.) Number of presentations, papers, publications from the department/division Committee service by faculty Institutional or external grants to the department/division or members of the department/division Other faculty service to the institution Faculty awards or honors Educational objectives of departmental/divisional programs Special programs available in the department/division (e.g. graduate program, study abroad, urban or rural immersion, etc.) Special departmental/divisional events (e.g. field trips, summer research programs, student and/or faculty exhibitions or performances, etc.) Named programs (donor sponsored) within the department/division Significant alumni or donor connections with the department/division Number of courses offered Numbers of specific kinds of courses (major, general education, service learning, etc.) Course rotation data Course enrollment data Student course evaluation data Number of internships, independent student research projects, senior theses, etc. Student credit hours generated in the department/division Credit hours in major courses Credit hours in service courses

4 Using Data 2011 CIC Workshop for Department and Division Chairs Number of work study students and work study hours in department/division Number of students organizations within the department/division Number of students majoring in departmental/divisional programs Number of students minoring in departmental/divisional programs Number of student advisees in department/division Number of students entering the institution intending to major in department/divisional programs Number of internal students entering and leaving departmental/divisional programs Number of transfer students entering departmental/divisional programs Demographic data on students majoring in departmental/divisional programs Retention and graduation rate data for majors in departmental/divisional programs Placement data for majors in departmental/divisional programs (professional, graduate study, etc.) Student awards or honors Assessment of student learning data Student survey or interview data Alumni survey or interview data Departmental/divisional budget Fixed costs for the department/division Discretionary costs for the department/division Facilities overseen by the department/division (labs, studios, performance spaces, galleries, dedicated classrooms, reception space, special equipment, etc.) Library resources/costs associated with the department/division Technology resources/costs associate with the department/division Interdisciplinary programs with which the department is involved Institutional or community partnerships in which the department is engaged Historical significance attached to Department/Division programs

5 2011 CIC Workshops for Department and Division Chairs Using Data at the Department/Division Level: Scenarios The Gift As chair of a three-person political science department you have been informed that the Development Office has received a major gift of $2 million from a donor who has stipulated that the funding is for a new Asian Studies program. The terms of the agreement indicate that this is a three-year gift that will fund a new faculty line, program related expenses, and limited travel and that the new program will be housed in your department. No one in your department, including you as chair, has been involved in the discussions that led to the gift. Several of your colleagues in other department are upset that their priorities were not shared with the donor. The curriculum for the new program will have to be approved before the start of the Fall semester. It will be your department s responsibility to present the program for approval by the curriculum committee and ultimately the entire faculty. 1. What data will you gather to support the adoption of this new program? 2. How will you respond to questions about the fate of this program after the three year gift period ends? 3. Do you ultimately have a way out so that this program does not get housed in your department? 4. Is there a better department for the program? If so, can you support your position with data? 5. What kind of data?

6 2011 CIC Workshops for Department and Division Chairs Scenario: A Critical Retirement You are the head of a Modern Languages Department at a nationally ranked liberal arts college facing the retirement of a long-time faculty member in German. This faculty member is the only German teacher on campus and is essentially the German program. The program offers a BA in German in a very traditional format. Enrollments in the German major have been dropping for several years to the point that in the upper division courses there are rarely more than 3 students. As a result the German teacher has been doing a number of independent study or tutorials with individual students to help them complete their degree. The administration has been questioning the feasibility of the German program for some time based on low enrollments and would like the languages department to drop German and develop a program in Asian Languages and Culture. The administration has indicated that the tenuretrack line could be transferred from German to this Asian Studies area. The administration also notes that prospective student interest in Asian languages is growing while interest in German is declining. You have asked a subcommittee of your faculty to study the situation and come back with a recommendation. They come back with a proposal to change the German major to a German Studies major with less upper-division courses in German and more courses in German history and culture taught in English. Their rationale is based on the following arguments and data: German is an important language spoken by 120 million people. America has strong ties to German culture. The college has had a German major for over 100 years. The MLA recommends that new languages should not be added by eliminating traditional language instruction, rather by adding new resources. The college faculty members agree with this stance. Current German enrollments, especially at the upper-division levels are admittedly low, however the change to German Studies will certainly increase student interest with more upper-division courses taught in English. Other nationally ranked liberal arts colleges have German majors and a list of peer and aspirant colleges is provided to which support this point. 1. Are the data points listed above sufficient for you to take a proposal to the administration to fund a tenure-track position in German Studies? 2. If not, what other data would you like to include you your proposal? 3. As the faculty have decided to support German Studies rather than consider moving to new language possibilities, are you ready to take that case on to the dean?

7 2011 CIC Workshops for Department and Division Chairs M E M O R A N D U M September 15, 2011 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: VPAA Department/Division Chair Request for additional staffing in the Department/Division I am requesting one additional faculty member to be added to the Department/Division. While I realize that these are difficult economic times for the college, I believe that the data strongly support my request. If it is not possible to add a new faculty line to obtain this position, then reallocating an existing line from Another Department/Division is appropriate. Following are the data which support this request: 1. Every class offered in the Department/Division during the academic year had at least 20 students enrolled. In fact, the average enrollment for courses in the Department/Division was 26. Our enrollments this fall are again over 20 in all of our classes. 2. Our department/division also provides more advisors to students than any other department/division. Each of the advisors in our department/division report that they are working with more than 40 advising folders. As you probably know, some departments/divisions have advisors who are responsible for only 2 or 3 students. 3. U.S. News and World Reports indicates that the faculty to student ratio at the College is 14:1. At the faculty workshop you stated, apparently incorrectly, that the student to faculty ratio at the College is 16:1 and that this is the target the College wishes to maintain. Either way, the average enrollment in the Department/Division is greater than our target by 10. It is not fair for the Department/Division to have such extreme differences from the stated goals of the college. 4. The Registrar has provided the Faculty Executive Committee with the enrollments in all classes at the College. Based on these numbers, my calculations indicate that the average enrollment in Another Department/Division is 8. Clearly, moving a faculty line from Another Department/Division to my Department/Division would be appropriate and work toward achieving the stated goals of the College. I realize that you just arrived at the College in July and that you are still learning about the College. However, I am sure that you will find the data presented above to be convincing and that you will approve the request of the Department/Division for an additional faculty member. In order to get the search for our new position underway, we will need to get our ads posted right away. I suggest that you buy me lunch and that we talk about how many finalists we should bring to campus for the new position.

8 2011 CIC Workshops for Department and Division Chairs Background on the College in the Case Typical CIC institution relatively small, church affiliated, private college. College offers traditional liberal arts and sciences majors as well as majors in preprofessional programs (e.g. Business, Criminal Justice, Education, Nursing, and Mass Communications). Full-time undergraduate enrollment is approximately 1500; part-time undergraduate enrollment approximately 700 (primarily non-traditional students taking courses in the evening or on-line). Two graduate programs (MBA, M.Ed.) offered primarily in the evening or on-line enrolling approximately 200 students. 93 full time faculty members; 96 part-time faculty members. The VPAA is new to the institution as July 1, The Department/Division Chair is tenured and in year 20 of service to the college. Questions to Discuss 1. Does the Department/Division Chair make a good case for an additional faculty position? If so, why? If not, why not? Do the data presented support the case for a new faculty position? 2. What other data might the Department/Division chair have included in this request? 3. What other questions will the VPAA want to ask? What other data will the VPAA want to examine? 4. Do you think the VPAA will buy the Department/Division Chair lunch?