Standard One -
Institutional Mission and Goals, Planning and Effectiveness 3
Standard Two -
Education Program and Its Effectiveness
Introduction
The Evaluation Team thanks the Montana State
University-Bozeman (MSU-Bozeman) faculty, staff, students, Regents, and the
Montana Higher Education Commissioner for their hospitality. It was a most congenial and supportive
visit. The MSU-Bozeman community went
far beyond what is expected to provide us with a most friendly environment in
which to conduct the evaluation. As an
example of that support, we suspect that few schools have ever provided the
computer support we experienced. The
meeting room, exhibits, and additional materials were well done. When we needed transportation and access to
the computer area during the evenings, they were very accommodating. We thank President Malone, Pamela Hill and
her staff, the faculty, staff, Board members and university students for making
this a productive visit.
If one is to understand the concerns, recommendations and
commendations of the Evaluation Team, it is necessary to review briefly the
role of MSU-Bozeman and the context of the changes and problems encountered by
MSU-Bozeman between 1988 and 1998.
MSU-Bozeman is Montana's land grant institution and is
committed to accomplishing the institutional mission of research, teaching and
public service, and to share these accomplishments through the dissemination of
information to its constituents. It is
classified as a Doctoral II University. It has an enrollment of nearly 12,000 students. Eighty-eight percent of these students are
working towards their first bachelor's degree, 8 percent are working towards a
doctorate or master's, and 4 percent are taking courses beyond their first
bachelor's. Nearly one-quarter of the
students are over twenty-five years old. There are over 650 faculty members in residence at MSU-Bozeman. Seventy-five percent hold terminal degrees
in their fields, and over two-thirds hold doctorate degrees. The student/faculty ratio is about 19.5 to
1.
Probably the most important change that has affected
MSU-Bozeman in the past decade is the decline of the relative financial support
of state funding for Montana higher education. During that period, state support per MSU-Bozeman resident student,
adjusted for Consumer Price Index inflation, decreased by nearly 18
percent. In absolute dollars, state
funding remained virtually constant. The state general fund support now comprises less that 50 percent of all
revenues. For peer institutions, state
support comprises nearly 70 percent of all revenues. The average level of state support per resident FTE was a little
over half of that of its peers. This
decline of funding left MSU-Bozeman with uncompetitive salaries, a significant
backlog of remodeling, renovation, maintenance problems, depleted operating
budgets, and many other shortfalls.
Also, in 1994 Montana's Board of Regents restructured
Montana higher education. It created
major changes in the structure of Montana higher education. Those changes have had important
implications for its Bozeman campus. MSU became MSU-Bozeman with the lead for management of three smaller
affiliates-MSU-Billings, MSU-Northern (Havre), and MSU College of Technology in
Great Falls.
In the past decade, the university saw a major change in the
student population. The current student
population is 15 percent higher than 1990. This growth has been accompanied by a modest reduction in the number of
tenure track faculty. Obvious problems
have resulted. Added to all this was
the 1995 Productivity, Quality and Outcomes Agreement (PQO). The agreement established instructional
goals very much in concert with the goals of the Board's restructuring. One outcome of PQO was an increase in
faculty workloads.
During the decade, the university's sponsored research
capability changed dramatically. Its
sponsored contract and grant activity tripled and with that change came new
areas of emphasis and additional significant research achievement.
In concluding our introduction, it is important to emphasize
that the Evaluation Team was especially impressed with the comprehensiveness of
the self-study; moreover, we can seldom recall as candid as self-study as this
one. It was quite refreshing. After reviewing the self-study, written
records of meeting dates and attendees, writing assignments, and interviews
with on-campus and off-campus individuals, it is clear that there was
broad-based participation in the self-study process. Appropriate and diverse constituencies were represented on the
steering committee and were involved in the collection and analysis of data
used in developing conclusions and responses to the self-study items. These constituencies were afforded
sufficient opportunities to respond to the steering committee's initial observations,
and made aware and provided access to the self-study campus review. Preparation for the review was
excellent. We hope the character and
extent of participation bodes well for the self-study becoming the beacon for
MSU-Bozeman's planning and strategic actions in the months and years ahead.
Standard One
INSTITUTIONAL Mission AND Goals,
Planning AND Effectiveness
MSU-Bozeman's mission and goals define the institution,
including its educational activities, its student body, and its role within the
higher education community. There is an
official statement, and it was developed with significant participation from
faculty, staff, students and the university's publics. It is reviewed every three years, but a
recent review has not been completed.
The MSU-Bozeman Office of Institutional Research (IR)
coordinates the institutional documentation related to accomplishments of the
University's mission and goals. It
maintains data histories that are used throughout the campus to support
planning and assessment. It provides
the outcome assessment to a variety of campus and off-campus groups, the latter
includes both the local news media, governor's office, Office of the
Commissioner for Montana Higher Education, and the Regents. As to the former, it provides data and
analysis support for numerous campus departments. It maintains all this information on the University Committees
Web site.
In response to the 1990 NASC review, MSU-Bozeman established
the Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) in 1993. Their planning process led to the adoption of a MSU-Bozeman Long
Range Plan in 1994. The purpose of the
plan is to serve as the means to implement the university's mission.
There are other planning and budget groups at work as
well. In 1998, the strategic Planning
Budget Committee (SPBC ) was formed to address budget recommendations in
concert with funding priorities, mission and goals of the university. Further, the President's Executive Committee
(PEC) considers budget issues as well as a range of other issues. The concern is that there is no clear
perception about how the two planning groups, the SPCB and the LRPC, interface
as well as to how the recommendations of those two groups are used by the PEC
(Standard 1.B.1)
Standard Two
EDUCATION PROGRAM AND ITS
EFFECTIVENESS
General Education
Related instruction is not
relevant in this section of the report, since MSU does not offer either
associate degrees or certificate programs.
General Education requirements for
all students are located in the Core Curriculum, a group of six categories of
courses: Communication (verbal and written), Mathematics, Fine Arts,
Humanities, Natural Science and Social Science. Students are required to complete one or two courses in each of
these categories, six credits of which must come from courses designated as
multi-cultural/global. The Core
Curriculum (CC) is monitored by a Core Curriculum Committee (CCC), which
reviews and approves proposals from departments for courses meeting its
criteria.
The CCC has regularly monitored
its offerings by assessment data and surveys of seniors and alumni, and,
commendably, has sought to integrate the course offerings by thinking about
their coherence in achieving the goals of general education. Still, with the large number of students to
be served, the number of courses grows. Presently some 180 courses are listed to satisfy the six areas. Recently MSU received a grant from the
Hewlett Foundation to do a study aiming at reconceptualizing the Core. The study has tried to engage large numbers
of faculty (and students) in the process of re-thinking goals and means. This culminated in the design of a "New
Core" which seeks not to eliminate the "Old Core" but to offer to many students
the alternative of a more integrated set of Core courses that would be taken in
the first two years of college, along with a set of courses to satisfy the
breadth of distribution requirements.
Seven sections of some of these
new Core courses were offered last year and 13 sections this year. The new courses and structures are imaginative
and promise to be effective. Whether or
not they are able to replace parts of the Old Core, the project exhibits the
continued dedication of the faculty to the goals of liberal and general
education, and to teaching.
Policy 2.1 of Standard Two is fully
met by the Core Curriculum and by this evidence of continued commitment to the
goals of General Education.
College of
Agriculture
The College of Agriculture (COA) clearly meets all elements
of Standard Two with the exception of Standard 2.B (Educational Program
Planning and Assessment). While the COA
does have some general learning outcomes identified for each degree, they tend
to be somewhat non-specific, and there was minimal documentation in terms of a
plan for assessment (Standard 2.B.2). This concern was mentioned by students in the context of curricula
changes that have occurred frequently and did not seem to students to have a
relationship to the learning outcomes for the degree they were pursuing.
The departments in the COA are using assessment practices to
modify the various programs in their departments and to alter practices in
their work in areas other than in teaching. The weakness in the assessment efforts was the documentation of evidence
to support the changes that had been made (Standard 2.B.3).
Much progress has been made by the COA in assessment during
the past five years and with slight modifications they should meet the
standard.
Commendations:
1. In
the early phases of the development of the Self Study document, the COA identified
weaknesses in the college relative to the standards and took action to mediate
the concern. This indicates a sound
self study process and further reinforces the seriousness in which they
undertook the accreditation review process.
2. The
general appearance of the facilities on the agricultural farms was excellent
and reflected the care and attention provided by the farm managers and
staff.
3. Several
departments in the COA--especially notable the Department of Veterinary
Molecular Biology--have very successfully incorporated undergraduate research
experiences in a substantial and meaningful way in their curriculum.
General Comments
and Suggestions:
1. There
have been five different deans during the past ten years. Such a high rate of change can affect the
relationship of the college with commodity groups, agricultural leaders, and
elected officials; as well as with on-campus faculty, staff, and students. Competitive salaries for administrators are
important for leadership stability.
2. While
the COA has met all targets established by the Productivity, Quality and
Outcomes (PQO), it has failed to account for the breath of responsibilities
that faculty have in the COA. Some
faculty expressed that this "straight jacket" approach resulted in the perception
that certain faculty were more or less valuable than others. Also, issues of one-on-one faculty-student
involvement, teaching outside the classroom and graduate student advising were
not valued in the PQO.
It is the understanding of the accreditation review
team that the PQO agreement was for four years, and that it has recently become
a non-issue with the Board of Regents. Nearly all states are developing, designing or already using some type
of work load formula, and it is likely that some system of work analysis will
be used in universities for the foreseeable future. The phasing out of the PQO may well be an opportunity for MSU to
design a system that takes into account the concerns of the campus.
3. Since
the last accreditation review, a system of "charge backs" has been implemented
by MSU. This is basically a system that
charges costs associated with the use of space and services on campus. Extension specialists and those with
Experiment Station projects are now charged for their use of space and
services. While I believe this is a
common practice with many universities, it would help with communications and
campus understanding if some data from peer institutions were collected and
discussed with faculty.
College of Arts and
Architecture
The College of Art and
Architecture (CAA) consists of the School of Architecture, School of Art, the
Department of Media and Theatre Arts, Department of Music, Montana Public
Television and the professional touring company, Shakespeare in the Parks. The College offers undergraduate programs in
Architecture, Studio Arts, Art History, Art Education, Graphic Design, Motion
Picture/Video/Theatre, Photography, and Music Education. There are Master of Architecture and Master
of Fine Arts degrees at the graduate level. The current administration consists of a Dean and Assistant Dean,
Directors for both Schools of Art and Architecture, and Department Heads for
MTA and Music.
The College seems unified and
collegial, energetic and committed to excellent teaching. There are strategic plans and vision and
mission statements in place for the College and each of its schools and
departments. These have appropriate
goals and implementation strategies that are beginning to be exercised
effectively. The faculty seems to share
in and support uniformly these goals. The College intends to serve, educate and enrich culturally the
university community and, through inspired research/creative works and outreach
programs, extend to the State and region.
The CAA is educationally healthy
and the faculty have increased in quality and creative potential. Reviews of the professional degree awarding
units by their respective accrediting boards have been quite positive. There is a strong sense of the College's
mission, and there appears to be respect for its current administration.
The enrollment for 1998-99 is
1347 students, up from 1073 in 1994-95. The student body is bright, excited about their education and involved
properly in its pursuit. Student work
on the walls, in galleries and in studios is of really high quality.
Performance based programs are impressive, extensive and vital to the
community. There is a range of experiences for unique learning opportunities
such as excellent internships, individual study mechanisms and overseas study
opportunities. There is a good range of younger and older students, providing a
balance of ideas and experiences that strengthen any interactive program. There is a good mix of local, statewide and
out-of-state students providing the important educational diversity. Instructional effectiveness is very apparent
in the response from students who clearly understand the intent of their
respective programs and share in its mission to provide exceptional arts
education.
Effective assessment processes
are already in place in all programs. Along with grades and evaluations, there are often first-year reviews of
student work by faculty, portfolio or performance reviews at second and third
year and appropriate and well-defined capstone experiences. However, the class sizes can be large for
many arts-based program (the norm described by the College Art Association is
16 students while 25 students can be a studio enrollment at CAA). In the fastest growing units, advising has
been diminished in quality given the increased numbers of students assigned to
each faculty member.
In summation, the educational
programs are well structured, diverse and well balanced, providing a mix of
theoretical and practical course work. The student work is quite good and poised to meet the challenge of
changing technology. The material is
delivered through a variety of techniques of lecture, seminar, and studio
situations.
The physical facilities of the
College of Art and Architecture, adequate some 25 years ago when first
built. Performance, studio and work
spaces and technical equipment one requires in a professional school are now
past their useful limit. The facilities
are spread through three separate buildings and have the usual need for more
teaching, practice and studio spaces. The increased need for technical equipment is obvious, and especially
difficult with integrated electronic and computer equipment becoming an
increasingly integral part of the arts; however, the facilities are well
maintained and the generous shops appear to be excellent facilities with good
safety practice. Student spaces are
supportive and well networked as needed in environmental design studios. A
unique branch library, which contains a part of the creative arts collection,
is within the College building and is heavily used by the faculty and students;
however, the arts are not well represented in the limited collection of books
and journals. The internal slide
collection is good, growing in size, but limited in providing proper coverage
of many art topics.
College of
Business
The College of Business (COB) at MSU has a clearly stated
mission ("to prepare students for
leadership roles in a diverse and global business world"), with appropriate
general goals (e.g. to educate students so that they will "acquire knowledge of
current business practice and theory. . . ," "develop competencies in critical thinking and problem solving. . . ,"
and "become lifelong, self-directed learners. . .") and more specific
objectives (e.g. to assist students to "develop competencies in current
technology" [relevant to business]). The College's primary degree program, in which almost all of its
students are enrolled, is the Bachelor of Science in Business. The College also offers a small,
specialized program leading to the Masters of Professional Accountancy
(M.P.Ac.) degree. Currently, about
1,000 students are enrolled in the B.S. in Business program and about 35 in the
M.P.Ac. program. Thus, the College of
Business puts almost all of its efforts into offering high-quality
undergraduate education for business.
The COB first achieved accreditation for its undergraduate
business degree program in 1981 under the auspices of the American Assembly of
Collegiate Schools of Business AACSB), the agency for specialized accreditation
in business education. The College has
retained this status ever since, and its accreditation was reaffirmed most
recently in 1997 for another period of years. This action indicates, in effect, that peers in business education at
other comparable universities regard the COB's programs as being of appropriate
high quality.
The curriculum of the College appears to be very well
planned and constructed. There is a
relevant set of pre-business course requirements, followed by a Common Core of
business courses required of all majors, and concluding with a set of required
courses in one of the four available "options" (accounting, finance, management
and marketing). The set of Common Core
courses is constantly reviewed for currency and appropriateness, as are the
subsets of courses for each of the four "options." With respect to the curriculum, the College has made a number of
important changes and innovations in recent years, including the required
Freshman Seminar (BUS 101) that provides for extensive interaction of students
with faculty in sections limited to 15 students, a corresponding Senior Seminar
(BUS 474C) required of graduating seniors, a newly-designed and integrated
sequence of courses for the management "option," the launching of a
high-quality M.P.Ac. degree in 1995, and the addition of increased
opportunities for student exchange experiences abroad with a selected set of
foreign institutions. In short, the
curriculum in the B.S. in Business program is constantly being updated,
revised, and improved.
The quality of instruction in the various courses in the
undergraduate business program appears to be high. The faculty individually and collectively have a strong
commitment to teaching and, based on interviews with students, their efforts
are extremely well received--and appreciated--by their student
"consumers." Students (seniors, in
this case) were uniformly positive about the quality of instruction they had received
and about the opportunity for meaningful interaction with their instructors.
The College of Business expends considerable time and effort
in activities relating to assessment of student outcomes. As stated earlier, the College has
identified both general and specific objectives for student outcomes in the
B.S. program. Further, these objectives
are then linked with specific courses or parts of courses so that the College
and its faculty can be sure that appropriate curriculum and teaching emphasis
is given to each objective. Also, for
some of these objectives, specific measurements have been devised to determine
students' current status or progress in meeting them. In addition, the College collects other independent data on how
well the objectives are being achieved by students. These other sources of data include periodic surveys completed by
alumni and employers and the records for numbers and quality of placements of
graduates with employing companies and organizations. By all of these criteria, the COB appears to be doing an excellent
job of meeting its objectives related to student outcomes. Furthermore, and especially important, the
data collected from these various sources have been used by the College in
making changes in individual courses and in curriculum requirements, e.g.
modifications in the Core and the recent redesign of the required capstone
Senior Seminar course. Thus, not only
are appropriate assessments being carried out, but also they are being used as a basis for making changes--something not always common in higher education.
In the area of student advising, the College also has
devoted major efforts to improve the process. This has resulted in a so-called "dual model" that involves a
centralized administrative office within the College (Office of Student Services)
supplemented by faculty advising. This
system appears to be working moderately well, but students reported that there
remains definite room for improvement. This is especially so with regard to the consistency in the quality of
advising of individual faculty members and in the availability and willingness
of faculty to engage in substantive--as opposed to superficial and
mechanistic--advising. The design of
the advising system appears to be good, but its implementation appears somewhat
spotty.
The physical infrastructure relating to facilities for
instruction (appropriate classrooms, student access to computers, etc.) appears to be generally good, and students
had very few complaints in this regard. The recent AACSB accreditation report did note, however, that the
College should give attention to increasing the availability of computer-based
instructional equipment; in this connection, the College has made some
subsequent progress in this area.
The College of Business at MSU has achieved considerable
progress in recent years, especially in terms of developing and improving its
undergraduate degree program and in maintaining AACSB accredited status. For this, it is to be congratulated and
given appropriate credit; however, as is typical with any academic unit in any
university, challenges remain. The
College (in conjunction with campus administration) is currently beginning a
search for a new dean. It is assumed
that that new dean will be in place by the beginning of the 2000-01 academic year. Several of the major challenges and issues
that will face that dean (and the College) will include: (1) establishing a clear, unambiguous
strategic direction for the College for the early years of the 21st century, including a set of shared goals to which both the dean and faculty
commit themselves; (2) establishing a
set of goals and expectations for college-wide and individual faculty
accomplishments in the area of research/scholarship; and (3) developing and
obtaining additional resources from a variety of sources so that student
educational experiences can be enhanced even further beyond their current level
and the faculty's ability to achieve academic accomplishments can be
increased. The base has been built
for dealing effectively with these and other challenges, so there is definite
reason to be optimistic about the future of the College of Business at
MSU.
College of
Education, Health and Human Development
The College of Education, Health and Human Development was
created in 1987, a combination of Education, Physical Education, and Home
Economics. The College is headed by a
new Dean who joined the staff two months ago. (The visiting team did not meet with him; he was attending an off-campus
meeting.) The College also has an
Assistant Dean and two full-time administrative Department Chairs, one for
Education and one for Health and Human Development.
Almost all students in the college are in undergraduate
programs; teacher preparation is the largest. Graduate programs (both Master's and Doctoral) are offered in the
curriculum, adult and higher education, and school administration and account
for significant numbers of the doctorates awarded at MSU. About 55 FTE faculty make up the College.
In addition to the new Dean, a number of faculty are new as
well. At present, only five faculty are
at the full professor level.
A number of issues face the College of Education, Health and
Human Development. Some are unique to
the College, but many represent more general concerns found throughout the
university. New faculty bring new ideas
and prospective which are welcomed. In
addition new faculty have been recruited from wide geographic area. Yet there is a real concern about the
College's ability to provide the resources necessary to support their
success. Concerns include mentoring,
which, given the number of new hires, will need to be assumed by a limited
number of senior faculty. Finally, a
lack of funding support, improvements in technology, which faculty need for
their own research, as well as to use in class is of concern. Modeling for their students new ways of
teaching is a growing concern.
In addition to lack of funding for equipment, operation
budgets have also suffered. Not only
have there been no increases since the early 90s, in some cases, operations
budgets in this College have actually been reduced. Classes in the College are conducted in five different locations
on campus and some are judged as less than adequate. Summer School has also presented problems for the College; summer
is a time of obvious demand for students in these subject areas, yet
administrators feel penalized for offering classes then. Summer is the first semester of the fiscal
year, but budgets are often not received until October, long after Summer
School has ended.
Faculty hope the new Dean will be able to call attention to
these issues and to remedy them. He has
announced his goal of developing a strategic plan for the College to address
these and other issues. Further, he has
indicated there will be a goal to increase externally funded projects coming
into the College. Progress in this area
has begun. This past year the Montana
University System received a $12.5 million grant to work with middle school
students, especially under-represented populations, to develop readiness for
college or other continued education. Nevertheless, faculty and the Dean have had little interaction at this
point, given that candidates were brought to campus after the Spring term had
ended and given the new Dean's short tenure. Faculty look forward to opportunities for input in committee
development, committee membership and development of new directions.
The College of Education, Health and Human Development is
involved in assessment. Outcomes for
Education have been developed and published. Students are questioned as exiting seniors, one year after graduation
and three years after graduation. Focus
groups are held with students during their program. A recent survey showed that 90 percent of graduates are in the
field for which they were trained and in positions of their choosing.
Despite these concerns, faculty and students in the College
remain optimistic about their work, their students and the university. They are encouraged by the enthusiasm of new
faculty and the ideas they bring. They
feel the College will gain attention under the new Dean, but they recognize
many of the issues are university-wide or beyond the control of local
university administrators.
Commendations:
- The College has been successful in recruiting well-qualified faculty from a wide geographic area to fill those positions.
- The College has begun a more aggressive pursuit of external funding to add resources and support new initiatives.
- The College has begun some cooperative projects and courses across department lines.
- The College has developed a strong assessment effort which it has begun to use in its planning and in improving instruction.
Concerns:
- The College, through its faculty and administrative leadership, need to work with university leadership to address the very real concern of developing the necessary infrastructure to support the College's activities.
- Other concerns regarding operational, capital budgets and Summer School also require College and university staff to find innovative ways of dealing with them if new faculty are to be retained and are to progress to senior levels.
College of
Engineering
As a land grant institution, Montana State University
fulfills an important element of its mission through the programs offered in
the College of Engineering (COE). The
COE is home to five departments including Chemical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering, and Computer Science. Undergraduate and advanced degrees are offered in Engineering,
Engineering Technology and Computer Science. While carrying on major research efforts, the CEO's primary mission is
to prepare professional practitioners. As such, there is a very deliberate commitment to the undergraduate
program.
All of the undergraduate engineering degree programs (except
for Computer Engineering) are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission (EAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET). Additionally, all of the
Engineering Technology degree programs are accredited by the Technology
Accreditation Commission (TAC) of ABET. The undergraduate degree in Computer Science is accredited by the
Computer Science Accreditation Commission of the Computer Sciences
Accreditation Board (CSAC/CSAB). The
program in computer engineering does not have separate professional
accreditation through ABET because it is a very recent addition to the COE and
must demonstrate successful placement of graduates before it can be reviewed.
The degree programs are well balanced in their content of
general education, mathematics, physical science, and engineering courses and
meet the ABET criteria on curriculum. The physical facilities are very adequate with the recent addition of
100,000 square feet in the newly occupied EPS building (constructed at a cost
of $22.3 million). The laboratories are
well equipped, maintained and supported. The capital equipment budget ($80,000/year) for the COE is clearly not
adequate but, as is the case in other universities, the COE supplements this
budget with external gifts and grants to make an enriched laboratory experience
for its students. The engineering dean
is assisted in his development efforts by a part-time development officer.
In academic year 1998-99 externally funded research at
MSU-Bozeman was $50 million. The COE's
part of this was $8.6 million. This
money supports two research centers (the Center for Biofilm Engineering and the
Montana Manufacturing Center), four programs (the Western Transportation
Institute, the Engineering Experiment Station, the Local Technical Assistance
Program, and the Tribal Technical Assistance Program) and other faculty
research in the five departments. These
dollars support graduate research, of course, but also a surprising number of
undergraduate research projects. The
Center for Biofilm Engineering is a state-of-the-art research facility
established in 1990 by a major grant from the National Science Foundation and
is rather unique in its quality and scope. In addition to graduate research, it supports about 40 undergraduate
research projects. The COE is commended
for its initiative in aggressively creating and sustaining this center.
The COE has a new but comprehensive plan of program evaluation. This document is in its thirteenth revision
and has included extensive involvement by the faculty. An important element in the policy is a new
requirement that all graduating engineering students sit for the Fundamentals
of Engineering exam. This exam is
administered by the State Board of Examiners and is the first step in the
professional licensing process. Results
from the exam provide data on how well MSU graduates perform in the various
engineering subject areas as compared to national norms. Construction Engineering Technology
graduates have been required to sit for the Certified Professional Constructor
exam since 1998. The COE is commended
for its commitment to program evaluation.
Overall enrollment in the undergraduate programs of the COE
has shown a slow but steady growth over the last ten years, whereas the
graduate program experienced a significant increase in 1992. For the fall
semester of 1999 the Associate Dean reports an increase of five percent in the
undergraduate program. A detailed look
by department reveals that some programs grew considerably while others have
sustained significant losses. It was
reported by the faculty that this shift in enrollment has not been accompanied
by a reallocation of budgets. This has
left two departments in particular (Civil Engineering and Computer Science)
with very heavy teaching and advisement loads and large upper-division
classes. This was also reported as
problematic by ABET in view of the research expectation of the faculty. The Computer Science department is currently
considering capping its enrollment based on its resources. In general, the COE
is characterized by heavy teaching and advisement loads. In view of the limited resources available to
the COE, it is suggested that the COE address the issue of budget reallocation
between departments based on recent dramatic changes in department enrollments.
It has also been learned that the Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering voted to close the program in Electrical and Electronic
Engineering Technology. Currently new students are not being accepted into this
program.
The COE is committed to recruiting to its programs greater
numbers of minorities (particularly American Indians) and women. This program has met with some evident
success, especially in recruiting women.
College of Letters
and Science
Behavioral and Social Sciences: The area of the Behavioral and Social
Sciences is composed of the Departments of Political Science, Psychology (with
options in applied psychology, communication, and psychological science), and
Sociology and Anthropology (with options in Anthropology, Justice Studies, and
Sociology).
The programs of this area meet the minimum requirements of this section. Descriptions, sample
schedules, objectives and student outcomes are listed in multiple places and
are easily available to the students. However, as the student FTE enrollment increases and faculty FTE remains
constant or declines, some departments have found it necessary to impose
ceiling enrollment on courses or to offer needed courses in the major every
other year. This may lead to difficulty
for students to achieve program objectives in a timely manner. The degree programs demonstrating a coherent
design, though prior merging of departments has led to at least one strange
combination--that of the communication option in the Department of Psychology.
The university is to be commended for its adherence to commission policy for
the students in the pipeline, who have been able to complete their program in a
timely manner and with minimum disruption. The programs require the use of the library and other information
resources. Here again an undergraduate
student mentioned that in the preparation of a research paper the library
holdings were not adequate. The faculty
has a major role in the design, integrity and implementation of the curriculum.
The university classrooms are used heavily and the departments try to ensure
accessible scheduling.
The preponderance of program assessment at the departmental
level is based on survey-type instruments which measure "customer" satisfaction
on data related to grades received by students, or student evaluation of
instructors and courses. In response to a request for assessment that in turn
caused an academic content or pedagogical change, however, there were some
examples. The instructor of one class
posed some questions at the beginning of a class, and again at the end of the
semester in an attempt to gauge the "value added," results which led to
modifications in course content. In one
department a survey of employers led to substantial changes in course
content. There is clear evidence that
assessment is no longer a foreign concept at the department level and that the
university-wide assessment requirement is being taken seriously.
The degree programs in the Behavioral and Social Sciences
are organized to meet this standard and
the university clearly portrays the tripartite structure of (1) general
education, (2) major and (3) electives in its publications. Undergraduate
students who spoke to this evaluator are pleased with their programs and with
the quality of the faculty who deliver them.
Humanities Departments: The educational objectives of the four humanities departments
are, of course, integral to the mission and nature of MSU, dealing as they do
with concerns of liberal and general education. Together, they graduate about 20 percent of the CLS seniors.
They all have assessment programs in place, including
designated capstone courses, and at least one of them has used the resulting
data already to revise some of its courses.
The Modern Language Department, like those elsewhere, is
encountering some difficulties in filling its language classes and majors in
French and German, although not in Spanish, and the department has recently
begun offering Japanese with a view to supporting a minor in Japanese
studies. The language lab needs
upgrading, and a study to determine its needs is underway.
The Center for Native American Studies provides study for
and about American Indians of Montana and offers a non-teaching minor as well
as courses in the Core Curriculum. It
is in the process of seeking approval for a master's degree program.
The Department of History and Philosophy also offers courses
in Religious Studies, and all three of these fields offer numerous courses in
the Core Curriculum. Most of the
History majors are in a history teaching option.
The Department of English, the largest of the four, launched
a master's degree in English this year, with 13 students. Like History and Philosophy, it offers
options in literature and teaching.
Sciences and
Mathematical Sciences: The College and the Departments of Biology, Chemistry/Biochemistry,
Earth Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Microbiology, and Physics gave
indications of a strong commitment to the education of its students in both
service courses and courses for majors. Various tracks are offered within the several disciplines to accommodate
different needs, e.g. graduate study, professional study or employment,
preparation for teaching at the secondary school level and courses suitable for
K-8 teachers. Degree objectives and
expected competencies are established for each program.
Support for
students in lower-level courses is offered in the form of various help
laboratories, in mathematics through calculus, and in general chemistry, for
example. Physics also has help sessions
for students. These laboratories are staffed by advanced undergraduates, graduate
students, adjunct faculty and, in some cases, by regular faculty, depending on
the level of the course. Remedial
mathematics courses are offered to students who do not get a high enough score
on any of several standardized tests to qualify for a regular mathematics
course. Some courses are offered on the
MSU campus by the MSU-Great FallsTechnology College through a mechanism too
complex to explain here.
Appropriate
courses are offered often enough for students to complete the programs within a
reasonable time. Prerequisite
requirements are clearly spelled out. There is a concerted effort on the part
of faculty to involve undergraduates in research as early as possible. This is more difficult to accomplish in
biology than in the other disciplines because of the high number of majors.
The faculty in
these departments are well qualified by training and experience for their
teaching assignments. Most are active
teacher/researchers and are following through on MSU's mission statement, ".to
integrate instruction with research and creative activity." This was underscored by an interview with a
sophomore student who is already involved in a research project with possible
biomedical significance. This
experience, and having been positively challenged in two freshman seminars, has
made this student enthusiastic and convinced that one can get a really good
education at MSU.
Teaching loads
vary depending on the curriculum needs and the research commitments of the
faculty. Graduate assistants are
available for assisting faculty with very large introductory courses and for
supervising laboratory sections. There
is a full-time demonstrator in Physics. In some areas there are not enough graduate assistants for these tasks
which places a heavier load on the instructor. There is no formal acknowledgement of advising graduate students
involved in research as being part of a faculty member's teaching load. The classrooms and laboratories (some of
which are quite old) are adequate, and funds for remodeling some of the older
facilities have become available. Funds
for instructional supplies are very short. There are some "smart classrooms," and the equipment is kept in working
order.
Assessment: All of the departments have assessment
plans, but evidence of full implementation is skimpy in most cases. Microbiology appears to have the most fully
developed plan, and it relies on scores in standardized tests such as the MCAT,
GRE, and DAT. Students are interviewed
just prior to graduation and five years after graduation. In one sampling, seven of eight of the
graduates in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences track were reported to be working
in the field and, although no specific numbers were given, feedback from those
in other tracks was reported to be "positive." Biology has one measure of program effectiveness in that data are
available in the form of MCAT test results for those students who take this
exam, which does not include many of the majors. In 1998 MSU students scored above national averages in the verbal,
physical sciences, and bio-sciences parts of the test.
Considerable use is
made of students' performances in upper-division and capstone courses to
determine whether degree objectives are being met and the desired competencies
are being developed. Problem-solving
exercises give insights into students' abilities to synthesize what has been
learned in course work. More generally,
the courses and research projects that require a substantial amount of writing
and oral presentations give the opportunity to assess oral and written
communications. The degree of
satisfaction with communication skills varies from one department to
another. Chemistry/Biochemistry,
Physics and Microbiology are the most satisfied; the other three departments
are less so. The least satisfied
departments, Biology and Earth Sciences, are convinced that more emphasis
placed on assignments requiring writing and speaking will improve the
communication skills of their students. Written assignments and oral presentation have to be graded and feedback
given, all of which require faculty time. The highest numbers of majors are found in Biology and Earth Sciences,
and the ratio of majors/faculty is substantially higher in these disciplines
than it is in the others. Thus,
requiring more faculty-intensive assignments will be harder to accomplish in
these departments.
Implementation of the assessment plans is somewhat spotty on
the basis of evidence presented in departmental exhibits. As a consequence, not much evidence was
presented that assessment has precipitated changes that would improve the
programs. There are, however,
indications that the departments have at least begun to think about making
changes.
Advising: Advising of students who are majors is
handled in a satisfactory manner and is done by faculty in all departments. The load is distributed among faculty but
is still very high in Biology and Earth Sciences because of the large number of
majors. Biology assigns new freshmen to new faculty members and new transfer
students are assigned to experienced faculty members.
College of Nursing
The number of faculty in the College of Nursing (CON) is
adequate to teach the clinical courses with an 8:1 to 10:1 ratio, which is
typical for teaching clinical nursing courses. The CON has a research office to support the scholarly work of the
faculty. The budget increased 14 percent in the last five years. All faculty have computers and access to
printers, and tenure track and research active faculty all have printers in
their offices.
Faculty on all campuses are well connected, which allows
ease of information transfer among faculty. (Standard 2.A.1)
The mission of the CON reflects that of the university, as
its outreach activities reflect MSU's mandate for outreach education to rural
areas within the state. The CON has a strategic plan which is periodically
updated, and the goals and objectives are derived from those of the
university. (Standard 2.A.2)
Both undergraduate and graduate programs are developed by
the CON faculty and are monitored by the undergraduate and graduate academic
affairs committees (UAAC and GAAC). They meet the requirements of this
standard. (Standard 2.A.3) The degree designations of BSN (Bachelor of
Science in Nursing) and MN (Master's in Nursing) are the appropriate
professional degrees in nursing and are consistent with the program content. (Standard 2.A.4) The college's practices are consistent
with programs in nursing as described in the catalog. (Standard 2.A.6)
Faculty clearly have a major role in designing the
curriculum. The UAAC and GAAC oversee the curriculum and are responsible
to the faculty. This was verified by
a review of annual reports of the curriculum committees. (Standard 2.A.7)
The class schedule for courses leaves little opportunity for
flexibility because of the large number of clinical practicum hours. This is typical for schools and
colleges of nursing. Montana has a
Model Articulation Plan, endorsed by the Board of Regents, calling for the
formation of partnerships among nursing education programs to improve access to
nursing education within the state. The
dean of the College of Nursing has been involved in this effort. (Standard 2.A.9)
The CON provides several options for credit for prior
learning for Registered Nurse students. They can take CLEP or departmental challenge exams for non-nursing
courses. Validation of prior nursing experience can be done by portfolio or by
taking NLN Mobility exams for nursing
courses. The CON is considering
articulation agreements as the number of RNs applying to the BSN program is not
as high as they could be. (Standard 2.A.10) The UAAC and GAAC have a systematic plan for course review at all
levels, which was documented by minutes of those committees. (Standard 2.A.11)
Student evaluations are in place. There are several measures used by the CON for the evaluation of
program effectiveness, which include the California Critical Thinking Test, the
NLN Comprehensive Achievement Test for baccalaureate Nursing Students,
graduation rates, NCLEX-RN licensing exam results and program satisfaction data
collected for employers of graduates of both programs. A program evaluation
sub-committee is in place. It is worthy
to note that NCLEX-RN pass rates have consistently been 95 percent, and 100
percent of the graduates of the Family Nurse Practitioner program are
certified. Graduation rates for
students admitted to the upper-division nursing program between 1994 and 1996
have remained relatively stable. It is
harder to track students initially enrolled in lower-division nursing because
not all of those students will meet the criteria for admission to the upper
division. (Standard 2.B.1)
In summary, the assessment plan is well thought out, which
includes key elements, examples of evidence and the individuals responsible for
the plan. However, it does not include
benchmarks, nor is there data to show that assessment data have been used to
confirm that activities in place have been successful or to make changes for
those that have not. (Standard 2.B.1)
The standards of the profession of nursing are published in
the catalog. The comprehensive assessment plan of the CON include data that
students who have completed the program meet expected learning outcomes.
(Standard 2.B.2)
The CON requires 41 non-nursing courses which are published
in the catalog, including courses that support the major, such as communication
skills, mathematics, (elementary statistics) social science, and natural
sciences. (Standard 2.C) Students are also required to take the
University Core Curriculum, which requires three credits in fine arts and six
in humanities. Six credits must be
designated as multicultural perspectives and global issues. (Standard 2.C.3)
Procedures for CON transfer students are clearly stated in
the catalog. (Standard 2.C.4) There is an extensive advising system
resulting from the very complicated placement process for nursing students on
all campuses. An advising coordinator
for the college works with the nursing advisors on all campuses. (Standard 2.C.5)
A review of curriculum vitae shows that the faculty are
adequate for the educational levels. (Standard 2.C.7)
The Family Nurse Practitioner graduate program meets the MSU
mission to provide graduate education and to meet the health care needs in the
state. (Standard 2.D.1) They are guided by objectives developed by
the college and are in keeping with national guidelines for Nurse Practitioner
programs. A review of syllabi at both the undergraduate and graduate level
validated that the level of study of similar content +at the graduate level has
more depth than similar undergraduate courses. (Standard 2.D.2)
University and CON block grants give faculty "seed" money to
develop small research grants in anticipation of submitting a larger
grant. Faculty commitment to nursing
research strengthens the graduate program. (Standard 2.E.1)
While the CON is supported fully by the university, the
budget is the same amount as given the previous year. However, indirect cost funds from grants were added which go back
to the college. In addition, the CON is
able to hire master's prepared nurses on the tenure track with the commensurate
salary. Maintenance of this salary rate
assists them as they recruit faculty with doctoral degrees. (Standard 2.E.2) While only 29 percent of the faculty have doctorate degrees, all
of the Core nursing courses at the graduate level are taught by faculty with a
doctorate. The clinical courses are all taught by certified nurse
practitioners. This meets the standard expected for graduate programs in
nursing that prepare nurse practitioners. (Standard 2.E.3)
Three times a semester all graduate students and faculty
travel to Bozeman to meet and sit together in graduate classes. In addition, they are all on the Bozeman
campus for orientation and all take a health assessment course taught in an
intensive format in Bozeman. Discussion
with students validated that they have good communication with other students
and faculty. There was good two-way
interaction among students during a distance learning class which used two-way,
audiovideo technology. Students
communicate with faculty and other students in the distance education program
via e-mail. (Standard 2.E.5)
Admission information is published in the MSU catalog, and
all policies are available on the web on-line. (Standard 2.F.1)
The CON graduate academic affairs committee reviews GREs,
GPAs, letters of recommendation and telephone interviews when making admission
decisions. Recommendations are then
made to the College of Graduate Studies. (Standard 2.F.2) A member of the
College of Nursing sits on the Graduate Council where decisions are made. (Standard 2.F.3)
The College of Graduate Studies has established policies
related to numbers of years in which the degree must be completed, the minimum
number of credits for the degree and acceptable GPA. The CON makes decisions
related to the number of credits and courses students need to meet professional
standards for the MN degree. (Standard
2.F.4)
Commendations:
- The CON has a strategic plan that guides the efforts of the college.
- The CON educational programs (BSN and MN) meet the need for nursing education throughout the state.
- The CON meets the health care needs of many of the citizens of Montana throughout the state.
- The distance education program for the MN program is very successful and meets the needs of place-bound RNs who would otherwise be unable to earn a master's degree.
Recommendations:
- The CON needs to further address articulation plans for RN/BSN students to increase enrollment.
- The assessment plan needs to include benchmarks and feedback loops for improvement based on evaluation of the plan.
Graduate Programs
MSU has developed
some innovative graduate programming and interdisciplinary activities in
response to societal needs, while capitalizing on institutional strengths.
These include the Master of Science in Science Education, the Center for
Biofilm Engineering, and the Complex Biological Systems program. (Standard 2.B)
Faculty members are discussing ideas for new graduate
programming. While rigorous review of proposed programs had not uniformly
occurred historically, the new Graduate Dean, hired in January 1999, plans to
work closely with departments to ensure that future program proposals meet
institutional needs, conform to the university's long range plan and can be
supported both in terms of a student base and resources. (Standard 2.B)
Although there are no graduate program review guidelines in
place, the Graduate Dean plans to initiate program review efforts in the near
future that will both serve to aid the university in rigorously screening new
graduate programs and continuing programs alike. (Standard 2.B.1)
The data available for analyzing graduate affairs is scant.
The Graduate Dean is aware of the need to develop longitudinal studies for
understanding admissions and retention activities, developing data bases, as
well as creating an alumni satisfaction surveys to aid in the assessment
activities and program review area. (Standard 2.B.2)
Teaching assistants at MSU can be instructors of record in
courses. Graduate students expressed
the concern that they were undercompensated in some areas, despite being
expected to perform at the same level of competence as faculty members.
Further, as there is no pedagogical training available to teaching assistants,
graduate students are thrust into instructional situations for which they may
not be prepared. We suggest a review of teaching assistant responsibilities and
the creation of a university-wide training program for teaching assistants. (Standard 2.C.7)
Teaching assistants who do not speak English well are a
matter of concern to the institution. The university has set higher English
competency standards for admission of international students who will be
awarded assistantships and for those who will not. In spite of this,
administrators expressed concern that a problem persists. In consequence, it is
suggested that MSU develop screening procedures that ensure the desired level
of English language competency for graduate assistants from abroad. (Standard
2.C.7)
The graduate programming at Montana State University is
consistent with the stated mission of the institution. (Standard 2.D)
Degree-seeking graduate students at Montana State constitute
11 percent of the overall student population. The majority of graduate students
are enrolled in science and education fields. During most of the past decade
there has been little growth in graduate degree completion. Coincidentally,
there has been no permanent graduate dean during the period. The consequent
absence of steady and permanent leadership in graduate affairs created a vacuum
in the graduate arena. Departments and colleges did not follow a uniform set of
graduate policies or standards. During this period, the Graduate Council seems
to have served as a curriculum approval committee. With the appointment of the
new Dean, the decline in Graduate fortunes appears to have reversed. (Standard 2.E.2)
The Dean and his very able and knowledgeable staff are
intent upon ensuring that the academic standards are enforced uniformly and are
strengthened institutionally. To this end, the Assistant to the Dean and her
associates have prepared an College of Graduate Studies (CGS) policies and
procedures manual distributed to all departments and available on the MSU
web-site. The development and publication of this document is commendable. It
allows the graduate community full access to all CGS policies and procedures
governing their degree programs. (Standard 2.E.2)
It is the intention of the Graduate Dean and the Provost to
transform the Graduate Council into a decision-making body to aid the Graduate
Dean in such areas a program development and program review. (Standard 2.E.2)
Because of the lack of attention to graduate affairs during
the past decade, the place of graduate studies in the university's planning and
priorities has been neglected at best. Only with the appointment of the new
Dean has any money been allocated for operating funds for the College, a change
that will enable the Graduate Dean to begin to assist departments with
recruiting, advertising, and other appropriate activities essential to
promoting and enhancing graduate education at MSU. (Standard 2.E.2)
As the awarding of teaching assistantships is a major form
of graduate student recruitment and retention, the stipends and benefits should
be adequate to support graduate students. Stipends are lean at MSU and should
be increased to at least a level that keeps pace with the cost of living. (Standards 2.E.1 and 2.E.2)
Graduate students complained about the lack of current
scientific publications in the library and noted that this is a severe
impediment to their research activities. They further noted that the library
itself is not a commodious place in which to study or conduct research as it is
overcrowded and noisy.
Further, students and faculty alike noted the adverse effect
of the university's policies governing residency on time to degree. By being
constrained to reduce credit elections to conform to the policy, the average length
of a graduate program increases substantially. (Standards 2.E.1 and 5)
An area where lines of authority are unclear involves the
relationship of the Bozeman campus to the other MSU campuses at the graduate
level. It appears that while the Graduate Dean, situated in Bozeman, has
responsibility from programming throughout the system, the other campus
graduate communities act at times unilaterally. Through the MSU system-wide
Graduate Council, the Dean hopes to rectify this problem. One of the problems
resulting from this situation is confusion concerning what credits may be
counted toward a graduate degree in Bozeman when elected at one of the other
campuses. (Standards 2.E.3, 2.E.5, 6A)
Advising is an uneven process at the graduate level. Some departments do this well; others, not
so well. Where advising is inadequate, graduate students are not treated as
junior colleagues in training and are not mentored well, particularly at the
doctoral level. The Graduate Dean is taking steps to remedy this by holding
workshops for faculty and department officers to promote better advising,
greater collegiality and stronger mentorship activity. (Standard 2.E.3)
There is much institutional pride in the research-related
accomplishments of faculty and staff and much enthusiasm for further growth.
The administration and a large number of faculty have set as their objective
the attainment of at least Research II standing for MSU. Associated with this
is the desire and need for a larger graduate student component and still
greater research activity. (Standard
2.E.4)
If the institution's mission is to include a greater
emphasis on research and graduate study, given the current stated commitment to
undergraduate education, MSU will have to balance carefully its resource
allocations to ensure that the undergraduate mission is met. Some faculty fear
that emphasizing research and graduate study will result in a decrease of
funding for undergraduate programming. (Standard 2.E.4)
While the CGS has produced a study based on departmental
input concerning departmental capacity for graduate students shows that a
substantial increase is possible without the need for increased resources. The fact that graduate assistant stipends
are not competitive, and that there is a need for increased out-of-state fee
waivers in the face of the State's policy governing residency eligibility,
means that there is a risk of resource diversion. There is scant evidence of
in-depth planning for the growth of graduate programming and its impact on programming
and faculty loads. In consequence, it is suggested that broad institutional
review occur to assure all constituencies the opportunity to contribute to the
change process. Once elected, a thorough planning process should be put in
place to drive graduate programming. (Standard 2.E.4)
The curricular side of the graduate programming is generally
sound. However, use of 300-level courses collateral with a limited number of
graduate degree programs points to a possible lack of understanding concerning
the nature and depth of what graduate programming ought to be. The practice of
using 300-level courses in partial fulfillment of graduate degree requirements
should be discontinued. (Standard 2.F.4)
Thus it appears that it is not clear that all faculty of MSU
share the same values concerning what constitutes graduate level programming.
(Standard 2.F.4)
Special
Instruction
Contin