SALISBURY. Focus Area 1: Academic Programming

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1 Goals for the Next Five Years GOAL 1 Provide exceptional contemporary liberal arts education and academic and professional programs that are aligned with an increasingly competitive, global, and knowledge-based economy. Focus Area 1: Academic Programming Salisbury University has been recognized nationally as an outstanding regional comprehensive university, providing high quality education at a reasonable price to students from Maryland and beyond. In recent years the University has grown dramatically, adding faculty as the student population has grown. As the University looks ahead to the next five years, it must respond to several key challenges and opportunities. The State of Maryland leads the nation in per capita spending on research and development, and ranks second nationally in overall research and development spending, 1 despite being ranked 19th in population. 2 Analysis shows, however, that Maryland has not been as successful in turning research and development into jobs and economic growth for the State. Clearly this presents a challenge to the University, both to be a vital part of the State s research and development endeavors, and to educate students for knowledge-based economy jobs and the kinds of entrepreneurial opportunities that emerge from research and development. While these trends certainly underscore the recent emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), a vibrant, knowledge-based economy will also rely on a dynamic, flexible, and highly motivated Salisbury University promotes awareness of the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader in the world marketplace of the 21st century. 1 Source: Presidential Task Force on Research and Economic Competitiveness, University System of Maryland, August 14, Source: Census 2000 Data and Information, Resident Population and Apportionment Count, Release Date: March 19, 2001, cen2000/dw_resppcnt.html SALISBURY 8

2 Salisbury University: A Maryland University of National Distinction SU s Top Majors by Enrollment Major No. % of UG Enrolled Population Business Administration % Biology % Communication Arts % Nursing % Elementary Education % Psychology % Accounting % Marketing % workforce made up of creative individuals with demonstrated research, analytical, and communication skills. We believe that a liberal arts education continues to be the primary vehicle for our students education, whether it leads directly to meaningful and diverse employment opportunities; is combined with undergraduate professional studies in such areas as business, education, social work, or nursing; or serves as the basis for graduate programs in specific fields. Curriculum reform in the Fulton School of Liberal Arts has created a ready vehicle for integration of many of our strategic goals into student learning. As of fall 2008, students with majors in the arts, humanities, and most of the social sciences in most cases take four four-credit courses instead of five three-credit courses, allowing them to tackle subjects in greater depth and develop their academic skills more intensively. As the Fulton School provides a substantial proportion of the University s General Education offerings as well, the undergraduate experience is being transformed. Expectations of academic work outside of the classroom have increased, aligning the SU undergraduate experience with that of its growing public Ivy profile. Students are expected to take charge of their academic priorities outside of the classroom, but our small school feel encourages them to turn to their instructors for expert advice and guidance. In addition to increased readings and other assignments, faculty members have enhanced and transformed their courses by a variety of other means, including the addition of University-supported exercises in civic engagement, service learning, and study abroad. Though the structure of curriculum reform is in place, the transformation of student learning is just beginning at Salisbury University. As the numbers of high school graduates in this country begin to decline, international students provide potential for a growing and important part of Maryland s workforce. Students from other countries often choose to study in STEM areas. In addition, the opportunities afforded to American students for study abroad expose them to the global marketplace and build upon their ability to compete and thrive in our knowledge-based economy. Salisbury University must increase its efforts to attract international students in the coming years while building on existing study abroad programs. SU must develop additional partnerships which prove mutually beneficial to international students seeking to study here on our campus, and new opportunities must be created for SU students who wish to study abroad for longer periods than are currently available to them. SALISBURY9

3 In response to the increasing diversity among the students we will be serving in the years ahead, our curriculum must be relevant and responsive to the demands and needs of a changing society. Academic and professional disciplines themselves are dynamic, and our faculty must stay actively engaged in developments in their field of expertise to keep their teaching relevant. Interdisciplinary programs may be especially appropriate to students looking to develop broad knowledge of areas in which they plan to make their careers. Data and survey information provide direction as to how SU can capitalize on students academic and professional program demands while addressing State workforce needs. The College Board Enrollment Planning Service (EPS) provides data on those student SAT test-takers who request that their scores be sent to SU. This service informs the University that the five most frequently desired majors of these students are Business/ Management, Engineering, Health Professions, Biology, Visual/Performing Arts, and Education. Similar majors are selected by those who scored at least 1200 on the SATs in a slightly different order: Health Professions, Business/Management, Education, Engineering, and Biological Sciences. Data from the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation also show that the fastest growing occupations from 2004 to 2014 include a number of jobs in the field of IT/computers, education/teaching, healthcare, and counseling. These fields yielded multiple jobs with at least 1,500 openings in 2014 and a 20 percent increase in job openings from 2004 to Clearly, the University can use this information as it plans new and enhanced academic and professional programming in the coming years. Similarly, data regarding program and per-credit costs of course offerings should be examined to ensure that resources are being spent effectively and, perhaps, to identify those areas where a shift in dollars could create additional capacity in areas of high demand and workforce need. A systematic program of assessment, which identifies how programs are meeting their identified learning goals and highlights areas of needed improvement, will further inform these discussions moving forward. One continuing challenge to keeping SU s professional programs competitive is the need to meet accreditation requirements imposed by outside agencies. These accreditations are important as they allow students to be certified or licensed as they venture from the University into various SALISBURY 10

4 Salisbury University: A Maryland University of National Distinction Due to the growing population of educators with Masters Degrees, the implementation of a Literacy Doctorate Degree at Salisbury University is imperative. Many of these teachers aspire to continue their professional development and better serve the diverse needs of developing readers. A local program would provide the vehicle for Eastern Shore educators, across the disciplines, to enhance their professional development and become educational leaders in schools and communities. Excerpted from the petition signed by 136 area teachers requesting a Doctorate of Literacy Education at SU professions. Standards for accreditation change continually, however, and require significant investment of faculty and staff time and University resources to keep current. The University must continue to support the needs of those programs dealing with the ongoing and increasing demands of maintaining these important professional accreditations. In addition, SU needs to continue to develop the resources, partnerships, and professional program arrangements that continually renew the relevance and excellence of professional programs. Technology provides opportunities to deliver academic information using a variety of media to students inside the classroom and at remote locations. It also enables development of a range of new programs that will appeal to different student markets. Distance learning is used today to offer SU s program in Respiratory Therapy as well as both the graduate and undergraduate programs in Social Work. Additional distance learning programs should be developed in disciplines that are appropriate for this type of format. Such programs will help to enhance SU s enrollment in the future as the traditional market declines while also meeting sustainability goals and addressing the limits of current facilities. In addition, the new state-of-the-art Integrated Media Center in the Teacher Education and Technology Center provides potential to create nationally recognized programs in areas such as electronic arts, Web marketing, instructional technology, film making, electronic game design, music recording, digital media integration, and other areas. These areas should be explored as new program planning moves forward. Two graduate academic programs which we know are currently in strong demand, or will be in the future, are the Doctorate of Literacy Education and the Doctorate in Nursing Practice (D.N.P.). The University explored introducing the education doctorate several years ago. Last year s petition from 136 local teachers expressed the need for such a program and serves as an impetus for renewing these efforts. The pending requirement that nurse practitioners hold a doctorate by 2015 has likewise spurred the efforts to support the delivery of a D.N.P. within our region. Because of the costs of such a program and the limited availability of nursing educators, however, SU should explore partnering with an established program. As competition tightens for excellent students, SU must continue to be a leader in offering challenging and exceptional educational experiences through its Bellavance Honors Program. The Honors program employs SALISBURY11

5 best practices in student learning and engagement, including small seminar classes, living-learning communities, summer orientation, and community-building programs. Offering a challenging curriculum and diverse extracurricular opportunities helps attract and retain strong students. It also creates a center of undergraduate research excellence (a quarter of last year s National Council on Undergraduate Research presenters were Honors students) and allows faculty to experiment with effective teaching and learning strategies. A strong Honors Program helps create and extend the University s culture of academic excellence while strengthening SU s ability to compete for the best students. The Honors Program is integral in helping the University to increase its academic excellence, continue to attract and retain excellent students, build a more engaged student body, and attract additional resources. As the nation faces significant challenges in the decade ahead, our students must be educated to become citizens of the world, willing and skilled to address pressing societal problems, from energy use to health care to the environment. Our students education at Salisbury University should also equip them to identify their roles as members of a socially and environmentally responsible community in a complex and changing world. Recommendations 1.1: Evaluate and modify as necessary our current General Education and majors curricula to ensure the variety of academic programs that best prepares an increasingly diverse student body for 21st century employment. a. As necessary, diversify or integrate courses and programs to prepare students for employment and graduate/professional programs. b. Continue to integrate alternative approaches to teaching that maximize student engagement and active learning. These approaches may include undergraduate research, and service- and community-based learning and internships, and other methods. c. Develop and fully utilize the Center for Student Achievement to maximize the success of all students. Bellavance Honors Program Strategic Plan Summary of Goals GOAL 1: Maintain and expand excellent Honors curriculum. GOAL 2: Make Honors a magnet for Salisbury University recruiting. GOAL 3: Maintain and improve Honors student community. GOAL 4: Continue to build a culture of excellence and outstanding achievement. Salisbury University s new Teacher Education and Technology Center has high-tech classrooms and labs dedicated to STEM support. SALISBURY 12

6 Salisbury University: A Maryland University of National Distinction 1.2: Maximize students competency in an information-based economy, ensuring their understanding and use of information resources and information technologies. a. Develop students research skills and provide information resources to facilitate academic and professional success, effective citizenship, and life-long learning. b. Establish a physical library environment that more adequately supports the University s mission and goals. c. Support faculty development, teaching, and research resources. d. Explore new programs that enhance curriculum technology offerings while maximizing use of the new Integrated Media Center in the Teacher Education and Technology Center. 1.3: Strengthen and expand graduate program offerings in response to student, State, and regional needs. a. Work with employers and other constituencies to identify current and future needs for graduate education, including high-quality distance-learning programs. b. Assess and strengthen graduate student support services from application through graduation, including resources for professional development, assistantships, online application processes, comprehensive orientations, and marketing. c. Develop and implement a Doctorate of Literacy Education. d. Develop a partnership that enables delivery of a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in the region. 1.4: Recruit, develop, and retain a faculty of teacherscholar-citizens who provide a personal and integrated educational experience in the best liberal arts tradition while preparing students for work in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. a. Support effective teaching by broadening the mission of SU s Teaching and Learning Resources (TLR) to include not only support for distance education and e-learning, but also other contemporary pedagogical approaches. SALISBURY13

7 b. Increase support for, and recognition of, faculty scholarship, whether it be (peer-reviewed) scholarship of discovery, creation, integration, teaching, learning, application, or community-based research. c. Support engagement in meaningful service at all levels. 1.5: In recognition of the increasing growth of science and technology employment in our State and region, as well as the expressed priorities of the University System of Maryland, build science and related STEM programming to increase the number of students that graduate in these areas. a. Increase targeted recruitment to STEM areas, including outreach to under-represented minorities, financial incentives for STEM students, active recruitment of prospective students by STEM departments, and establishment of clear paths to graduate education and employment in STEM, including STEM teaching. b. Improve retention in STEM areas through best practices such as living-learning communities that include shared introductory science/math courses, math placement, developmental math resources, and connections between students and alumni who are employed in STEM fields, including STEM teaching. c. Create and implement a plan to build stronger connections with K-12 schools and community colleges and between STEM and education faculty on campus. 1.6: Provide the charge and leadership to the Academic Long- Range Planning Committee to develop a system for analyzing existing academic programs and planning for new programs that will achieve the recommendations identified above. SALISBURY 14

8 Salisbury University: A Maryland University of National Distinction a. Work with University Analysis, Research, and Assessment (UARA) to identify, collect, and utilize those data that will inform the committee about the strength of academic programs and assist in making strategic academic and budget decisions. 1.7: Increase support to professional programs to enable those to continually meet accreditation requirements while developing the resources, partnerships, and professional program relationships that are required to build the relevance and excellence of these programs. 1.8: Create additional distance learning programs in appropriate areas of study that will serve a new market of students as well as address sustainability goals and facility limitations on campus. 1.9: Continue to build upon the strengths of the Bellavance Honors Program to attract and retain well-qualified students. UARA Data Use and Understanding Strategic Plan Summary of Goals GOAL 1: Streamline the Academic Program Review process. GOAL 2: Expand and enhance efforts to assess in General Education areas. GOAL 3: Work with the University Academic Assessment Committee to develop a plan and timeline to address the University s assessment needs. GOAL 4: Communicate results of ongoing assessment and data efforts and provide opportunities to educate the campus community about assessment topics. Focus Area 2: General Education and Program Assessment To be effective, academic programs need to meet identified General Education program goals. A systematic program of assessment is essential to measuring the success of General Education and academic programs in meeting those goals. The principal goals of Academic Program Review (APR) are to demonstrate continuous quality improvement in program curriculum and instruction, to validate the achievement of programrelevant student learning outcomes, and to affirm that a program s current and future plans and vision are congruent with its School and the University. Recent changes in APR process and accreditation reporting require that academic programs include student learning outcomes. The APR should provide the type of periodic opportunity for rigorous evaluation that advances programmatic excellence and, in turn, suggests appropriate changes to academic programs. Further, an effective assessment plan ensures that learning goals are aligned with, and result from, Salisbury University s mission statement and overarching goals. SALISBURY15

9 The University Analysis, Reporting and Assessment (UARA) Office is poised to provide the professional support required to meet the University s assessment and data collection needs. UARA can help streamline the assessment process by assisting in linking program student learning goals to overall University goals. Those goals can also be developed in such a way that they reflect the proficiency of knowledge, skills, and abilities that students were to have gained through General Education. In simplifying this process, UARA can help disciplinespecific programs create individualized student learning outcomes. Data can subsequently be identified, collected, and extracted by program to measure success in meeting those goals. UARA has developed a five-year plan to improve General Education and program assessment. Staff of UARA should work in cooperation with the University Academic Assessment Committee and the Provost s Office to implement the goals of the plan and improve assessment of academic program goals and student learning goals across the campus. Recommendation 1.10: Under the direction of the Provost, UARA should work with appropriate governance bodies and committees to implement the goals of the UARA five-year plan and improve assessment efforts of General Education and academic majors programs across campus. Focus Area 3: International Students and Study Abroad International students have the potential of supplementing future student markets while increasing the number of Salisbury University graduates who enter the workforce with degrees in STEM areas of study. The ability of our students to participate in study abroad experiences supplements SALISBURY 16

10 Salisbury University: A Maryland University of National Distinction Currently, Salisbury University s students represent over 60 foreign countries their exposure to other cultures while providing the tools necessary to work successfully in the global marketplace. International students and study abroad experiences are of fundamental importance to our students growth and education. We must renew our efforts to increase this important component of the SU experience. One challenge to successfully attracting more international students is our lack of an English Language Intensive (ELI) program. When international students begin an academic course of study in the United States, and are not fully competent in the English language, they must first address the language barrier. Many universities across the country, including the majority of SU s peer institutions, have addressed this challenge by implementing an ELI program. An ELI program enables international students to be enrolled in a program while simultaneously providing the language education they need to succeed in American institutions. Once the ELI program is completed, students experience little difficulty as they transition into a degree program, and the student generally chooses to do so at the same university where the ELI education was completed. Establishing an ELI program, therefore, would likely boost SU s efforts to attract international students and could help augment future enrollment at the institution, helping to mitigate the effects from predicted declines in the number of high school graduates in the United States in the coming years. The ELI also would allow SU to become a testing site for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a requirement for many foreign students seeking graduate study. The globalization of an SU education would be further enhanced by an increase in the presence of international faculty. SU s ability to invite international faculty to our campus for short-term assignments is impeded by our lack of authority from the U.S. Department of State to be a sponsoring institution on the J-1 exchange visa program. SU is in the process of gaining such authority. While there may be additional costs associated with inviting international faculty to our campus, the gains will be significant. Academic schools and departments can mitigate any costs through strategically planning to incorporate visiting international scholars into teaching, thus off-setting instructional costs. SALISBURY17

11 To maintain quality and allow for International Student Headcount continued development of short-term faculty-led international 65 programs, the University must 6060 increase its support for these 60 programs. This support will be particularly important in the 55 administrative areas of budgeting, registration, billing, collections, 50 orientations, and student affairs. The University also should strive to 45 create semester-length programs that offer SU academic credit and/or provide SU administrative, academic, or student support on site overseas. Furthermore, the University must balance the number and variety of well-designed student exchange programs. SU may be able to make greater strides in its study abroad efforts by strategically identifying and developing four or five key sites abroad for program development. Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) have already been established with several foreign partners. These sites provide logical opportunities to begin establishing comprehensive SU foreign programs for short-term, semester-, and year-long study abroad programs; student, faculty, and staff exchanges; and other international initiatives. These priorities and other initiatives have been incorporated into the International Education Strategic Plan for by the Center for International Education and the International Programs Committee of the Faculty Senate. The University must support the implementation efforts of this plan. To underscore SU s renewed support for international education, Goal 1 s recommendation that international education be incorporated into the University s mission statement should be implemented immediately SALISBURY 18

12 Salisbury University: A Maryland University of National Distinction International Education Strategic Plan Summary of Goals GOAL 1: Incorporate international education in the University s mission statement. GOAL 2: Increase number of study abroad students. GOAL 3: Increase presence of international students. GOAL 4: Increase opportunities for international scholarly activities for faculty. GOAL 5: Promote the further internationalization of the on-campus curriculum. Recommendation 1.11 Increase international students and faculty on the SU campus and study abroad opportunities overseas. a. Incorporate a reference to international education in SU s mission statement. b. Support efforts to implement the five-year Center for International Education Strategic Plan. GOAL 6: Promote the further development of awareness of international issues on campus and in the community. SALISBURY19