NOTE: This meeting was canceled due to inclement weather.

Transcription

1 NOTE: This meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. GRADUATE COUNCIL AGENDA for Thursday, December 14, 2000 at 2:00 p.m. Old Main Minutes for the November 16, 2000, Graduate Council meeting will stand approved if no corrections are received. (Please review the minutes on the Graduate School web page before the meeting: 2. Announcements 3. Old Business: A. Graduate faculty status for MFA faculty (Group I vs. Group II) (Attachment A) B. Graduate faculty status for Skip Rutherford (Attachment B) 4. New Business: COPE Committee report on review of M.Ed., Ed.S., Ed.D. programs in Adult Education (Attachment C) 5. Graduate Council Curriculum Committee report (Attachment D) 6. Graduate Faculty Recommendations (Attachment E is a partial list; a complete list will be handed out at the meeting) 7. Other Business

2 Page 1 of 1 ATTACHMENT A UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Graduate School GRADUATE FACULTY CLASSIFICATIONS The graduate faculty consists of those faculty members in area or departments in which graduate study is offered who have been approved by the Graduate Council in one of the following classifications: Group I Group I-T* Classification Authority Qualifications Applies to areas or departments offering doctoral or MFA degrees, or participating in inter-disciplinary doctoral or MFA programs. Group II Group II-T Supervision of study of candidates for the doctoral degree. Supervision of study of candidates for the MFA degree Also includes items for Group II Supervision of study of candidates for Doctoral degree, for supervising doctoral students. Doctoral or MFA degree, for supervising MFA students. Scholarly achievements in relevant field of study. Experience in the conduct of graduate degree programs. Doctoral or MFA degree, or master's degree and evidence of proficiency. Group III Group III-T the master's degree. Graduate teaching. Membership on doctoral or MFA advisory committees (Doctorate or MFA regularly required.) Membership on master's committees. Teaching of specified graduate courses. May, with the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School, serve on Master's committees. Experience in relevant field of study. Master's degree and evidence of proficiency. Requests for approval of such classifications are initiated by departments and are subject to the approval of the appropriate deans. Revisions approved by the Graduate Council, April 15, 1975; November 21, *Adjunct graduate faculty may not direct doctoral or MFA theses without approval from the Graduate Dean, on a student-by-student basis. Applications for temporary faculty status must specify the time period requested.

3 Page 1 of 3 ATTACHMENT C Review of Graduate Programs in Adult Education (M.Ed., Ed.D., Ed.S.) by the COPE Committee, December The article, "A Framework for Program Review" [Program Review and Educational Quality in the Major, Association of American Colleges, 1992] was the model used to organize comments of the COPE Committee. This review is based on a self-study by the Department of Vocational and Adult Education. The department offers degrees in both Vocational and Adult Education. This report focuses on the M.Ed., Ed.D., and Ed.S. programs in Adult Education. Goals Department goals are determined by the faculty and appear to be clear and well articulated. The department clearly identified its clientele and the target professions for which the programs train students. The goals center on providing advanced training and leadership development for education in vocational education and adult education programs at all levels of higher education. While goals are not explicitly stated in the Standards For Graduate Programs in Adult Education, by the Commission of Professors of Adult Education of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education, the standards proposed there implicitly endorse the goals stated by the UA program. The department supplies evidence that it is meeting these goals in its documentation of employment destinations of recent graduates, in the recent increase in enrollment of M.Ed. students via distance learning, and in the course syllabi. According to the self-study, student outcomes are assessed by the program faculty through "periodic comprehensive follow-up studies with students." The document states that these studies are used to make "program and course modifications." Presumably, outcomes are also assessed through regular evaluation in courses, internships, independent studies, and practica. However, very little information is provided from these follow-up studies, other than a general list of program strengths, so it is difficult to determine how well students know the goals of the programs and believe that the goals are being met. Students are placed in a variety of appropriate jobs on completion of the programs, or continue in careers they began before enrolling in the programs. The goals of the program appear to be reviewed on a regular basis. Currently, the faculty is reviewing the curricula of the programs in light of changes in the field and student demand. Also, regular review of the program is encouraged by the aggressive distance education program which includes a vigorous and formative summative evaluation program. The self-study document provides excellent comparison data with benchmark institutions. It is clear from these data that, with significantly fewer resources, the UA graduate programs in Adult Education are performing above those institutions. Structure of the Curriculum The structure of the curricula for each of the programs is based on standards in the field of adult education, the mission of the College of Education and Health Professions, the goals of the department, and the interests/strengths of the faculty. The programs allow considerable flexibility in the choice of courses, depending on the student's interests. For example, the master's student can specialize in vocational education, adult education, or a combination of the two. This choice, plus the fact that 21 out of 33 required hours consist of customized specialty studies and electives, allows flexibility in meeting the graduate education needs of students with diverse work experiences and diverse career goals. The actual courses taken are selected with the aid of the student's advisor. Moreover, the instructors consider courses to be "works in progress," which are continually adapted and updated. Despite the flexibility in the curriculum, there appears to be considerable coherence in the programs' requirements. We do not know whether students perceive the logic of the program requirements, but we suspect that it is clear from the way those requirements are presented (i.e. COHEP core, ADED core, specialty studies, electives, etc.) Also, the criteria for admission to the program emphasize the same types of skills as the program requirements, e.g. writing. The self-study does not make a clear distinction between the curriculum for thesis and nonthesis master's degrees. The study mentions that six additional thesis hours are required for the thesis M.Ed. degree, but does not explain any differences in advising or course requirements. Presumably an advisory committee is selected to guide the student in course selection. The self-study could more clearly delineate this. Distance Learning The department has a particular strength in the area of distance learning, with four degrees offered via compressed video. The M.Ed. degree in Adult Education is offered at six distance sites; a specialist degree is offered at UAPB; and one faculty member has been named as a Distance Learning Scholar by President Sugg.

4 Page 2 of 3 The Vocational and Adult Education Department has exhibited a high level of leadership on the UA campus in developing distance learning technology, course adaptation, training of other faculty in its use, and research on improving its effectiveness. The distance learning capability has resulted in a recent 50% increase in enrollment in the M.Ed. program. Connections Connections between the university and a variety of settings outside the university are clearly important to these programs, and appear to drive many of the program goals. Since many of the Adult Education graduate students are engaged in careers while pursuing graduate degrees, those connections appear ready-made. Additionally, independent studies, internships, seminars, and on-site visits facilitate connections, and graduate students who have no prior experience in the adult education field are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities. These on-site experiences are carefully supervised for content and performance. It is also clear that experiences provided in the program connect with principal career opportunities. With regard to scholarship, the faculty have expertise in a variety of areas, including human resource development, distance learning, curriculum, adult literacy, and vocational education. Several faculty members have good publication records. However, several faculty members have been in the rank of Associate Professor for unusual lengths of time. This may indicate their lack of research productivity, which may be the result of limited departmental resources and a heavy teaching and service load. Several faculty members have extensive contract and grant support. Teaching Quality Quality of teaching is assessed during annual reviews in which each faculty member does a self evaluation, is evaluated by a minimum of three peers, and is evaluated by the department head. It is not clear whether this teaching evaluation includes an evaluation of student learning. It also appears that there is an informal department norm which encourages attention to the quality of teaching, as several faculty attend conferences that focus on teaching; teaching styles and learning styles are the research focus of some of the faculty; and as the department encourages extensive distance learning efforts. However, it is not clear how faculty are mentored or helped to improve their teaching, with the exception of distance learning, which is a particular expertise and the focus of development within the department. The importance of teaching in tenure and promotion decisions appears to be the subject of some debate, as "there seems to be a feeling that there is a far greater emphasis on research especially in the promotion and tenure arena" than on teaching. Of course, this is an issue that is beyond the departmental purview alone. Advising The self-study lists the sequence of steps for new students for application, admission, and assignment of advisors. It is not clear how students are advised: one section of the report suggests that students are advised by a temporary advisor, until the advisory committee is formed. Alternatively, the information provided implies that all advising for a student is carried out by the student's own advisor for these highly customized programs. Thus, this aspect needs to be made clearer so that one can evaluate the process of thesis research assignment, course requirements, examination, and the role of the advisory committee. Mentoring may take place in the independent studies and internships, although this is not clear. The extent to which there are less formal opportunities for faculty/student interaction is also not clear. Advising appears to be valued in the program, but again details are not provided. Inclusiveness The self-study states that the program student body is diverse, with over half of the program female, and 18.4% minority and non-resident alien (in ). The actual enrollment numbers provided in Appendix L of the self-study suggest that women are well represented in the programs and minorities are well represented in at least some of these programs. For Fall 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, on the average, students of color (Black, Hispanic, American Indian) represented about 10% of the students enrolled in the M.Ed. program; 56% of the students enrolled in the Ed.S. program; and 10% of the students enrolled in the Ed.D. program. With regard to the diversity of the faculty, women are well represented (60%), but no data are available on ethnic and racial diversity. No diversity goals were provided for the department, with regard to recruiting faculty or students of color. The department has a close working relationship with Pittsburg State University which has a large population of Chinese students. It is not clear what efforts are being made to reach out to predominantly black institutions or institutions in predominantly Hispanic or Native American areas. It is not clear how the program assesses its curriculum for the inclusion of relevant new scholarship about women and minorities, or how well it connects female and minority students with professionals from underrepresented groups.

5 Page 3 of 3 Institutional Support While the self-study could have added more information on institutional support for distance learning, travel to conferences for research and teaching, and library facilities, it is clear that the support provided for these programs is weak compared to benchmark institutions. The department has fewer faculty, lower faculty salaries, and lower graduate stipends compared to the benchmark institutions, while teaching similar course hours. Even though teaching excellence is promoted and practiced, research activities are heavily emphasized when evaluating faculty for promotion and tenure. The department provides a mechanism for allocating Research Incentive Funds for start-up research funding based on proposal evaluations. Collaborative faculty efforts are promoted. Outcomes Assessment The department modifies programs and courses based on the results of studies of students undertaken by the College of Education and Health Professions. However, the self-study did not give clear details of the nature of these student evaluations and the form of their output. Were they student interviews or knowledge tests? What have the recent results of these studies actually been? The self-study indicates that M.Ed. students take a master's comprehensive exam, but does not specify whether there are both written and oral components to this exam and if the same exam is given to both thesis and nonthesis students. There is no information given on employment rates nor tracking of alumni accomplishments, although the study does list all employment for the last three years of graduates. Benchmark comparisons were made with ten other universities and the results of that comparison were discussed above. Admissions requirements for this department were the same as or higher than similar departments in the benchmark universities. No information was given to allow comparison of the quality of student output of these universities. Conclusion The self-study listed the following strengths as mentioned by graduating students: admissions, the library, the thesis process, the studentoriented faculty, real-world courses, flexibility in the program. The department also has strengths in its curricula and the diversity of its student body. The self-study emphasized the need for increased graduate student stipend support and increases in the number of support staff and faculty positions. More consistency in the importance of teaching and advising, compared to research, for promotion and tenure decisions would be appropriate, but is beyond the authority of the department. It is unclear how the department uses student feedback to inform the goals and curricula of the programs, and only general student comments were provided in the self-study report. We do applaud the efforts to create an advisory board for the programs. Compared to benchmark institutions, it is clear that the UA graduate programs in adult education are doing well with restricted resources. In general, within the limits of the data provided to the COPE Committee, we believe that the M.Ed., Ed.S., and Ed.D. programs in Adult Education are serving the University of Arkansas well. [Note: While this review does not cover the graduate programs in Vocational Education, also contained within this department, one reviewer felt that the requirements for the M.Ed. in Vocational Education and the M.Ed. in Adult Education are so similar that they could be merged into a single master's degree in Adult and Vocational Education.]