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College of Arts and Sciences
Institutional Program Review
Report to Board of Regents
B.S. in English for Information Systems
Date of Onsite
Visit: April 20, 2006
Reviewer: Dr. Patricia Freitag
Ericsson, Ph.D.
Assist
Professor, Digital Technology and Culture/Technical Communication
Department of English
Strengths and Limitations
Identified by Reviewer
Analysis of Trends in
the Discipline
Dr. Patricia Freitag Ericsson,
external reviewer for the English for Information Systems (EIS) program, indicated
that EIS fits a national trend for more interdisciplinary work in higher
education.
Analysis of Academic
Programs and Curriculum
Dr. Ericsson noted that one of the main strengths of the EIS
program is its versatility. Because of
this, it can be used to prepare students for a wide range of career
choices. While she recognizes the desire
for faculty to update the curriculum, she warned not to lose the incorporation
of technology nor the interdisciplinary nature of the
degree program.
She also recommended that the curriculum update be overseen
by a senior faculty member who should be allowed time and compensation to work
on the program.
Analysis of Program
Enrollment and Student Placement
The external evaluator recognized a drop in enrollment in
the last few years. She suggested that
the decline may be due to weakness in recruiting efforts. She suggested that the faculty work with
administration and the university’s marketing staff to develop a recruitment
plan.
Dr. Ericsson indicated that student placement was not a
concern.
Analysis of Faculty
Credentials
The external reviewer did not address this section in her
comments and no concerns were noted.
Analysis of Academic and
Financial Support
Dr. Ericsson reported that the program would benefit from
additional full-time faculty. In addition,
she noted that class size is an issue for quality delivery of a degree
program. The National Council of
Teachers of English (NCTE) standards for postsecondary composition class size
recommends caps between 15 and 20 for 100-level courses and not more than 15
for remedial courses. She also
recommended that faculty not teach more than two sections of composition each
semester.
Analysis of Facilities
and Equipment
The external evaluator reported that current facilities and
equipment were adequate.
Analysis of Major Field
Assessment
Dr. Ericsson suggested that current assessment activities
are not adequate. She recommends that
the current portfolio system be evaluated for effectiveness. She also argued that the assessment be
locally developed and controlled. She
felt that, because of the unique nature of the degree, use of any outside
assessment tool would not be advisable.
Analysis of Strategic
Planning
Dr. Ericsson suggested that the faculty take the next year
to consider changes and update the EIS program.
Upon completion of the curriculum changes, she recommended that a five
year delivery plan be developed.
Overall Evaluation of
the Strengths and Limitations of the Academic Program Being Reviewed
According to Dr. Ericsson, the strengths of the program are
excellent placement with employer surveys indicating that the program is
valuable. She suggested that the
degree’s under-enrollment is its greatest weakness, but could be the result of
name/identity issues, the need for updated curriculum, and a lack of marketing.
Reviewer’s
Recommendations for Change
Dr. Ericsson recommended the following changes:
·
Update curriculum
·
Reconsider degree name
·
Provide support for faculty to research and update
the curriculum
·
Add additional full-time faculty positions to
support growth of program
·
Utilize assessment data, including graduation
and student enrollment numbers
·
Technology is excellent, but will need to re-evaluated
and updated periodically for continued integration of newer technology
·
Laboratory facilities are adequate; software
needs may change and require updates.
Part 2: Institutional
Response to Reviewer’s Recommendations for Change
Curriculum: Update curriculum ,
including reconsidering degree name
· The EIS faculty has scheduled a special day-long retreat to reconsider the name and identity of the degree; define the career potential, knowledge, skills, and abilities of EIS graduates; and review and revise the curriculum to meet these outcomes.
· The EIS is discussing several ideas to enhance recruitment, including a day-long or summer workshop to bring high school students to the DSU campus to participate in a variety of multimedia activities and to meet and interact with DSU students and faculty.
· The College and the EIS websites are being revised to better explain and market the program.
Faculty Resources: Provide support for faculty to update process
·
To enable faculty collaboration in the updating
process, all EIS faculty will be provided time for a day-long retreat. Any further support will be determined during
this process.
Faculty Resources: Add
full-time faculty positions to support growth of program
· In “Analysis of academic and financial support,” Dr. Ericsson notes that EIS faculty may at times be overloaded due to heavy composition teaching loads. She cited research which suggests that enrollment in composition classes should be capped at 15-20 for 100-level courses and at 15 for remedial classes. The College has accepted that recommendation and will request sufficient FTE to support those enrollment caps.
· Dr. Ericsson also cited research that suggests faculty should teach no more than two composition courses in one semester. While it isn’t likely that additional faculty will be hired, a similar outcome can be obtained by having all English faculty share responsibility for teaching composition classes and for teaching the courses in the major. This change would also allow faculty more opportunities to collaborate in course development, resulting in richer and ever improving curricula.
·
As a part of curriculum revision discussions during
the day-long retreat, the faculty will also analyze the need for additional
full-time faculty, based on Ericsson’s recommendation that additional full-time
faculty be hired with specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to help grow
the program, rather than hiring additional, temporary part-time faculty.
Curriculum: The
degree is viable and can grow if the appropriate steps to assure its currency
are taken.
· Dr. Ericsson, in the “Executive Summary of Findings,” recommended that the program seek to maintain its interdisciplinary nature. One way of maintaining the interdisciplinary aspect of the program would be to expand the social science element of the program by adding curriculum that addresses the sociological and psychological effects/impact of new media, as well as new communication demands and opportunities. This will be further explored at the EIS retreat.
· In addition, Dr. Ericsson noted in “Academic Program Evaluation” that, as the curriculum is updated, the student assessment process must be revisited. She recommended that assessment continue to be locally developed and controlled and that “curriculum development and assessment processes proceed hand-in-glove.” Therefore, the issue of assessment portfolios, particularly the difference between student assessment, program evaluation, and professional portfolios, will be also be discussed at the EIS retreat, with the goal of recommendation a new plan of action relative to student and program assessment.
Student enrollment
and completion: Student enrollment is
low, but items above suggest ways in which that issue can be remedied. No data about completion was provided, nor
was this an issue identified for consideration in this review.
· The EIS faculty will request the completion and placement data from the DSU Assessment Office to inform curriculum and recruitment decisions. This remains a concern and will continue to be a focus for EIS faculty discussions. Currently, the faculty are considering a day-long workshop for high school students, improvements to the English Department website, creation of publications that maintain the spirit of the DSU website and convey the vitality of our program.
Technology
integration: This element is
excellent. As the degree is updated,
even more technological integration may be considered.
· To maintain the level of excellence noted by Dr. Ericsson, faculty intend to continue, as an ongoing activity, to integrate technology into EIS classes and to be leaders in the region and in their disciplines in effective integration of technology.
Faculty numbers and
background: Faculty backgrounds are excellent.
Faculty numbers need to be increased to support the program.
·
As mentioned above, the faculty will discuss the
reviewer’s staffing recommendations during their retreat. If new faculty are
needed, the recruitment focus should be on identifying
skill/knowledge/abilities needed both to support and to grow the program.
Laboratory
facilities: Computing lab facilities
appear to be adequate. Software needs
may change and require updates, especially as the degree is updated.
·
A new software program that is increasingly
being used in industry, Adobe InDesign, has been
purchased and faculty will be trained in its use during a two-day workshop in Fall 2006. Specialized
computing lab facilities and appropriate software for technical writing,
desktop publishing, web design, and multimedia applications will be maintained
and supported by the