3 Year Action Plan New Graduate Education Programs: 2014-2017 Lisle, Springfield, and Moser Campuses Mission Statement of the Program/Unit The mission of the is grounded in Benedictine values and traditions that promote community, concern for the individual and responsible stewardship. The unit makes every effort to create effective practitioners who are committed to scholarship, lifelong inquiry, leadership and social responsibility. Vision Statement The aspires to develop and enhance an understanding of individual differences so that as educators we can empower school age youth to be self-learners, to achieve their potential and to improve their lives and the lives of others. Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the Program Academic units: state the Student Learning Outcomes of the program or academic unit. Academic support units: state the intended goals of the unit. Illinois State Board of Education Standards (www.isbe.net) Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (IPTS) (www.isbe.net) National Content Standards (www.isbe.net) Program Goals (1-3 year goals) 1. Curriculum The will be engaged in curricular redesign and development over the next three years. The development of new graduate education programs will focus in the areas of Principal Preparation, Teacher Leader, Teaching and Learning, Bilingual Education, etc. As programs are developed, a variety of program delivery methods will be implemented, including traditional, blended, and online. MED Reading Specialist (reported in a separate 3 Year Plan) ELL/ESL Endorsement (reported in a separate 3 Year Plan) Principal Preparation (program application awaiting ISBE approval) New curriculum development: to be planned over the next 3 years Special Education Director of Special Education Teacher Leader Teaching and Learning Bilingual Education 1
Technology The unit will have an explicit process for increasing and utilizing current and new technologies to support teaching and learning of faculty and candidates. Extensive professional development will be provided for faculty and candidates. Assessment The unit is engaged in the redesign of the assessment system that monitors candidates growth toward professional standards and program effectiveness. 2. Collaboration and Partnerships The unit ensures that effective partnerships and high-quality clinical practice are central to preparation so that candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions necessary to demonstrate positive impact on all P-12 students learning and development. The development and monitoring of such collaborations and partnerships require an extensive commitment by the unit. This work will require onsite meetings, professional development offerings, and research projects in exchange for access to classroom placements and involvement of practitioners in program development and ongoing assessment. 3. Candidate Quality, Recruitment, and Selectivity The unit will develop and implement a plan to recruit and support high quality candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and diverse populations that reflect America s P-12 students. New state education polices will require the unit to revise admission criteria. This plan will include efforts to address community, state, national, regional, or local needs for hard to-staff schools and shortage fields. 4. Governance The unit administration and faculty will have clearly defined rights and responsibilities concerning program governance and academic policies. Programs located at Lisle, Moser, and Springfield comprise the education unit. Partners and candidates will have participatory roles in the conduct of program evaluation procedures, policy setting and decision making. 5. Faculty and Support Personnel Resources As new programs initiated, additional faculty and support personnel will be necessary fulfill requirements for ongoing state approval. 6. Assessment System The assessment system will be redesigned to meet new state and national program approval requirements. AQIP Categories Impacted by Program Goals 1. Curriculum (AQIP 1) 2. Collaboration and Partnerships (AQIP 1,2) 3. Candidate Quality, Recruitment, and Selectivity (AQIP 1,2,4) 4. Governance (AQIP 4,5) 5. Faculty Resources (AQIP 5) 6. Assessment System (AQIP 4,6) 2
Program Goals Action Steps Person(s) Responsible 1. Curriculum The curriculum for all programs will be redesigned which includes syllabi, admission requirements, program completion requirements, assessment, and delivery methods. Additional Resources Required: Stipends for Adjunct Faculty to participate in the revision of curriculum. Mary Jeffery, Assessment Coordinator Rich Campbell, Licensure Officer Timeline (due date) MED Programs-December 2014- March 2015 New Curriculum Development-April 2015 to December 2015 2. Collaboration and Partnerships Arrange meetings with current and prospective partners to provide professional development, to address school improvement plans through action research projects, and to secure internships and school placements Jan Writer, Director of Placement Ongoing Additional Resources Required: 1- Administrative Assistant to manage School Partnerships 3. Candidate Quality, Recruitment, and Selectivity The unit will support the various offices by providing printed information and face to face meetings to discuss changes in program admissions criteria. Admissions and Enrollment Directors Marketing and Communications Institutional Research Ongoing 3
Additional Resources Required: None 4. Governance The unit will clearly define rights and responsibilities concerning program governance and academic policies. In addition the unit will create organizational structures that align with and support the rights and responsibilities. 5. Faculty and Support Personnel Resources Additional Resources Required: None The unit will develop a plan for hiring faculty to support the current and new programs. Mary Jeffery, Assessment Coordinator Rich Campbell, Licensure Officer Rich Campbell, Licensure Officer Ethel Ragland, Dean, College of Education and Health Services JoAnna Beth Tweedy, Dean of Academic Affairs, Rich Campbell, Licensure Officer August 2014 New programs: hiring as required by ISBE rules 4
Additional Resources Required: English-Language Learning Faculty (1) Principal Preparation Faculty (2) by March 2015 Ethel Ragland, Dean, College of Education and Health Services JoAnna Beth Tweedy, Dean of Academic Affairs, 2 additional faculty to teach in the Teacher Leader and Teaching and Learning programs as these programs demonstrate growing enrollment. 6. Assessment System The unit will explore viable technologies to support the assessment system in collaboration with Instructional Technology Support Services and other vendors. Mary Jeffery, Assessment Coordinator Rich Campbell, Licensure Officer Information Technology Office August 2015 Additional Resources Required: Stipends for trainers and consultants and additional financial resources for travel and expenses to conferences for training to meet the requirements. 5
Year End Report (YER) Program s/unit s Results (The information in the YER will be incorporated into the six-year program review.) List each 1-3 year program goal in the table below and comment on progress made toward the goal. 3-Year Action Plan - Progress Program Goals 1-Curriculum 2-Collaboration and Partnerships 3-Candidate Quality, Recruitment, and Selectivity Action Steps The curriculum for all programs will be redesigned which includes syllabi, admission requirements, program completion requirements, assessment, and delivery methods. Arrange meetings with current and prospective partners to provide professional development, to address school improvement plans through action research projects, and to secure internships and school placements The unit will support the various offices by providing printed information and face to face meetings to discuss changes in program admissions criteria. Progress Made The curriculum and assessments for the Principal Preparation program have been developed. The program application has been completed and submitted to the ISBE for approval. Currently, the Graduate Education Program Committee, led by Cyd Kuck, is developing a strategic plan for additional new program development. This plan reviews market need and analysis, viability, competitive analysis, etc. to identify new programming areas for development. Once this process is completed, recommendations will be made to the Acting Provost and other senior administrators. Three new partnerships have been developed to support the Principal Preparation program in Lisle/Moser and Springfield. It is intended that these partnerships will also be involved in planning of additional new graduate education programming. Additional partnerships will be developed as needed. Strengthened program admissions criteria that are in alignment with new ISBE rules for the Principal Preparation program have 6
4-Governance 5-Faculty and Support Personnel Resources 6-Assessment System The unit will clearly define rights and responsibilities concerning program governance and academic policies. In addition the unit will create organizational structures that align with and support the rights and responsibilities. The unit will develop a plan for hiring faculty to support the current and new programs. The unit will explore viable technologies to support the assessment system in collaboration with Instructional Technology Support Services and other vendors. been developed and are a part of the program application currently submitted to the ISBE for approval. A recruitment plan is currently in development. As other new graduate education programs are developed, recruitment plans and program admission criteria will be developed and implemented. The relationship between the School of Education and Moser Center is facilitated by Cyd Kuck and the Graduate Program Committee. It is becoming clearer to all parties that the programs are the responsibility of the and therefore their operations are accountable to it. As a part of strategic planning for new graduate education programs, staffing and resources are considered as a part of the viability review. The strategic planning for these programs is currently in process. As new programs are developed, strong assessment assignments are embedded in every course and effective assessment procedures are delineated. The technology to be used for programmatic and assessment support is D2L. AQIP Categories Progress Using the AQIP categories from page two, briefly explain how the progress reported in the table above improves the program, department, college or university. AQIP 1 Helping Students Learn: As curriculum is developed, problem-based learning and flipped classroom strategies are used to support student learning processes. These strategies are built into all graduate education programs. As candidates are selected for admittance into a program, their learning needs are considered and instructional strategies will be deployed to support their learning. Data from these changes, upon program implementation, will be used to determine the effectiveness of these strategies. 7
AQIP 2 Meeting Students and Other Stakeholders Needs: Through its collaborative partnerships, the is embedded in the work of educating P-12 students. By working closely with the partners and through its Advisory Council, the remains informed as to current and evolving needs of P-12 educators. This, in turn, impacts the structure, delivery models, and content of new education programs at the graduate level. Finally, the careful selection of candidates admitted to graduate programs supports their development as effective teachers and leaders, and meets their learning goals and needs. AQIP 3 Valuing Employees: Faculty resources are critical to continued and effective operation of its graduate education programs. Given the rapidly evolving policy and political milieau that surrounds P-12 education, expansion of faculty and staff, ongoing professional development, and support for partnerships are needed elements to ensure that candidates completing a graduate initial licensure program are prepared to serve their schools and communities well. At this time, there is a hiring commitment for 1 new faculty member to support the Principal Preparation program. Current faculty and staff are significantly stretched to maintain P-12 partnerships, engage in program development, and create appropriate assessments to meet state requirements and the SoE s need to determine program effectiveness and support continuous improvement. As new graduate education programs are developed, additional faculty and staff will be required to support these programs. AQIP 4 Planning and Leading: The governance structure of the includes the faculty, staff, candidates, and programs, regardless of their physical location (Lisle, Moser, or Springfield). This structure must be sufficiently staffed in order to carry out state requirements applicable to programs, assessments, faculty, candidates, and P-12 partners. The leadership of the typically meets on a weekly basis, and with faculty and P-12 partners on a set schedule. The Director of Graduate Education Program is a liaison between the and Moser Center. Additionally, the Graduate Education Program Committee facilitates communication, planning, and identifies programmatic opportunities through an extensive analysis of environmental demands and needs. The development of P-12 partnerships provides strong sites to support programs field experiences and clinical practice. Finally in an ever increasingly difficult statutory environment the unit has proactively developed processes and data collection instruments designed to meet all regulatory requirements. AQIP 5 Knowledge Management and Resource Stewardship: The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) requires all Schools of Education to develop and maintain an extensive system of assessments. Program assessments must be aligned to state, professional and unit standards, and produce data that are accurate, consistent, and fair. Data from these rubrics are entered into the database and managed by the Assessment Coordinator. In order to meet this demand, this process must be supported by a robust technological and information infrastructure. The fiscal and physical requests for programmatic and unit support are based on and aligned to the unit s strategic plan. AQIP 6 Quality Overview: The ISBE requires all Schools of Education to develop and maintain an extensive system of assessments. This system of assessment gathers data related to programs, candidates and their qualifications, faculty, partnerships, budget, etc. On a set schedule, these data are analyzed and reviewed by faculty, administration, the Advisory Council, and P-12 partners. Based upon their input, areas needing improvement are identified, and strategies and revisions are developed to address the identified areas. Over the past year, the assessment system has seen significant development. As new programs are implemented, data from the assessment system will be used as described above. 8
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) Progress Report progress on the SLOs connected to 1-3 year program goals listed on page two. No data is available for the Principal Preparation program as it is not yet launched. This program s key assessments have been aligned to the following SLOs: IL Professional Teaching Standards IL Reading and Reading in the Content Area Standards IL Special Education Standards IL ELL/ESL Standards IL Social/Emotional Learning Standards SREB s 13 Principles and 36 Competencies The 2 sets of national standards that govern principal preparation programs Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) The Conceptual Framework Each syllabus has 1-2 key assignments assessed by scoring rubrics aligned to the standards listed above. As new programs are developed, they will follow the same process as listed above, using the applicable set of state and national standards. IDEA Group Summary Report (GSR) for the Program Provide average scores and a brief summary of IDEA scores from the GSR (in narrative format). Namely, share reflective thoughts, significant changes in scores, planned improvements, etc. Average Scores (on a 5 point scale) Adjusted Score Progress on Relevant Objective (PRO) Overall Excellent Teacher (OET) Overall Excellent Course (OEC) Summary Evaluation The data for the Reading Specialist and ELL Program is grouped with the Moser Campus information. It is not separated to provide accurate results. The SOE will address this issue for future reports. The Principal Preparation Program is awaiting approval by the Illinois State Board of Education. It has not been launched. 9
Using results from above, the program/unit must tell its story. Using qualitative and quantitative information briefly discuss your program s achievements, including any that are not listed above. Also, state what improvements are planned based on the results and analysis of this data. At the beginning of this past year, the Reading Specialist program was put on probation based on the 11-12 annual report due to a lack of full time faculty with terminal degrees to support the number of candidates in the program. The initial formal response to the State Board of Education resulted in the removal of the probationary status. The program was approved for continuation based on data provided in the 12-13 annual report. Changes in Program Curriculum and Assessment have been made to reflect changes in revised state and national standards in both Reading Specialist and ELL. Based on content area test results and other program assessments, coursework was reviewed and modified to strengthen content in identified areas of concern and phase in new coursework in English Language Learning, Reading, Special Education, and Common Core Standards. Initial steps have been taken to address the Education Teacher Performance Assessment System. Retention Goals 1. Increased student engagement by utilizing a flipped model for course structure and androgogy 2. Increased field experiences designed to support the linkage between theory and practice as well as the impact on student learning in the classroom. 10