ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT OF THE GEOGRAPHY AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES GRADUATE PROGRAM

Transcription

1 ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT OF THE GEOGRAPHY AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES GRADUATE PROGRAM COMMITTEE PROCESS This Academic Program Review Committee (APRC) Report is based on the following source material: 1. Department of Geography Self-Study Report to APRC, December External Reviewers Report and Summary of Recommendations to Geography Department, May Department Response to Outside Evaluators Report. 4. APRC Interview with Department Chair Nancy Wilkinson, Institute for GIScience Director Jerry Davis, and Associate Dean Dawn Terrell on November 4, Department Response. 6. Guidelines for the Sixth Cycle of Academic Program Review. 7. The APRC customary evaluation procedures. These sources were employed to construct an integrated view of the Geography Graduate Program s present strengths, aspirations, and possibilities for future development. INTRODUCTION REPORT The academic focus of the Department of Geography and Human Environmental Studies is on examining natural and social environments at a variety of scales from local to global. Their areas of research include environmental resource management, physical geography, environmental studies, techniques in geographic analysis, cultural geography, and urban and land use planning. As stated by the external program reviewers, the program is strong and valuable and fits the mission of this campus as well as that of the broader CSU system, and serves the needs of the Bay Area Region. The science of geography has been taught at San Francisco State University since its founding in 1901, and in 1947 a Geography major and minor were established. In1966 an MA in Geography was offered for the first time, and later an MA Concentration in Resource Management

2 and Environmental Planning was added to the Geography graduate program. In fall 2010 a new MS in Geographic Information Science will be offered. The Department also manages the CSU Geo-Sciences Consortium, which runs the CSU system ARCINFO site-license and the GIS Institute, which provides continuing education. At present the graduate program averages about 10 MA degrees each year, approximately one per graduate faculty member. The external program reviewers (April 9 and 10, 2009) described the MA program as strong and high-quality with no red flags. They acknowledged specifically the academic rigor of the program, the positive regard MA students have for the program and faculty, and the strong relationships the department maintains with its alumni. They were especially complimentary of the Department's GIS emphasis, calling it a "feather in the cap" of the SF State campus. University Standards The APRC commends the Department for meeting all University standards for graduate programs. Program Specific Requirements There is no evidence of any comprehensive program planning; the Department only plans from one hiring cycle to the next and does shortterm planning for class scheduling. The practice of effective program planning is particularly important when there are scarce resources; the ARPC strongly suggests developing an active and ongoing strategic planning process. The APRC agrees with the suggestion of the external reviewers that the Department needs to showcase its accomplishments and strengths more effectively, since they believed some of these were unknown in the community (e.g., the program website could be enhanced to publicize its strengths and capabilities). The APRC believes that a more effective set of planning practices (i.e., a comprehensive strategic planning process) would allow the Department to focus its efforts and its message more effectively and could help to accomplish that goal of being better known and acknowledged. Curriculum APRC commends the Department for instituting a Thesis Proposal Presentation requirement. This not only enhances the progress of graduate students in their research, it allows for feedback from faculty and fellow students, fostering a highly communicative experience and providing an opportunity for students to improve their communication

3 skills. In addition to the current culminating experience of a thesis, the Department is exploring the alternative of a publishable paper, which is being widely discussed by the Graduate Dean. APRC encourages pursuing this option. The APRC commends the Department on the proposal to develop a qualitative methods course and encourages the Department to move ahead with this plan. The APRC suggests this could be an area for possible collaboration with other departments and suggests seeking out other departments for this course in these times of fiscal difficulties. In addition, the APRC proposes the Department utilize its new and, apparently successful, Colloquium Series, as one possible way of implementing the recommendation for finding new ways of meeting student interest in current geographical issues. Faculty Experience The faculty members in the Department are active in research and professional development, obtaining and receiving extramural grant support, and actively involving students in their research. The achievements of several faculty have been recognized through various awards both on-campus and off-campus and have also served as leaders in several important professional associations. Most notably, Professor Nancy Wilkinson has been president of the regional professional association and currently serves on the national board. It is a testament to the dedication of the faculty that they maintain this high level of activity despite the high faculty workload in the Department. Despite having recruited excellent new faculty (or perhaps, because of that high caliber), the Department has suffered several losses from talented faculty moving on to positions at high profile institutions. In the San Francisco area, the high cost of housing often contributes to faculty attrition. While the APRC fully supports the development of additional faculty housing at some time, in the short term it is important for departments to find ways to build camaraderie and a supportive culture for faculty as intangible means of encouraging faculty to remain at the University. Also in the short term, the APRC encourages the Department to help resolve some of its workload issues by working to more fairly distribute the thesis advising workload; we find the current distribution untenable in the long-term and encourage other faculty make themselves more accessible to students in the future.

4 As soon as possible, the APRC also encourages the Department and the College to resolve the issue of whether Professor Holzman will be returning to the Department. If not, the APRC supports the Department's effort to replace her with a tenure track position in biogeography and suggests to the College that this should be a priority. Student Experience Masters graduates continue on to PhD programs or take jobs in an array of arenas, including community college teaching, environmental consulting, civic and agency work, and research technicians. Those who move on to the PhD have obtained faculty positions in academia. Recent MA students in Geography hold the department and their experience there in high regard (external reviewer report, pg.2). The departmental culture, focused around class field trips and departmental events, has been extremely helpful in creating this positive view. This cocurricular culture promotes strong morale that reinforces the strong productivity of the graduate students. The APRC supports the recommendation to further this practice by holding a field trip or social activity for incoming graduate students and faculty each year. The APRC further commends the Department for inviting elected graduate student representatives to attend department meetings. The APRC is concerned about two areas of student life: 1) the relatively long time to degree of many of the Geography graduate students (3.5 years mode, median 4 years) and 2) the lack of diversity among its students (significantly less diverse than the University as a whole, as seen from Table 8 in the Self Study). The APRC recommends the Department focus upon the goals of reducing time to degree and enhancing student diversity in order to resolve or mediate these issues. Resources and Strategic Planning The College of BSS has been attentive to the staffing needs of the Geography Department, insofar as resources allow. APRC supports the continuing funding for Map Library graduate assistant positions, for GTAs and graders for large classes, and for work-study funds for various department needs. APRC supports approval and funding for a full-time lab manager position for the Geographic Analysis Teaching Lab. With the increased level of sophistication expected to accompany the new MS GISci. degree, the staffing level must keep pace in order to achieve the optimum level of use and productivity. The APRC expects that the new MS GISci. will create a significant increase in student enrollment. This makes the issue of strategic use of resources all the more important. As the new MS GISci. program gets under way, we hope that appropriate

5 support funding will be made available from the College of BSS and from the University. The issue of computer refreshes, of course, becomes more critical with the current budget crisis. But for this Department, particularly with a new degree program focused upon computer technology, the need for periodic refreshes of the entire GIS lab is even more important. Due to the reliance of the new degree on this technology, the APRC recommends that, when computer refreshes become a reality once again, the GIS lab should become a priority. The APRC recognizes the importance of a federal map repository for the Department, this campus, and the area and recommends the College continue to support the Library to whatever extent possible. The APRC also recognizes the safety hazard currently existing in the Physical Geography Laboratory. This safety hazard has been the subject of recommendation from a number of program reviews over several departments for the past 3 years. The APRC strongly urges the University to seek a solution to this problem as soon as possible. As the graduate program continues to grow, APRC supports the quest for an increase in space. Scientific research and training requires physical space, lab benches and equipment space to remain at the leading edge of these efforts. Conclusion APRC regards the MA in Geography as a highly productive program with an eye toward pursuing state-of-the-art training opportunities for graduates, and we expect that this level of productivity to grow. The APRC commends the department's efforts to manage with a reduced set of faculty and resources during these economically strenuous times.