| Integrative
Essay for WASC Educational Effectiveness Review
This self-study has centered on reviewing and evaluating
the effectiveness of our educational and support programs
in the context of the special focus of our strategic plan
on CSUSB as a learning community, the campus as an effective
and supportive social community, and the university's outreach
and connections to the broader regional community around us.
Our study has analyzed a great number of reports, special
studies, and the data collected as part of our preparatory
review of campus capacity and how we meet the WASC standards.
The study also looked at student learning, both at the individual
course and program level and at the macro level, with examination
of the overall outcomes of General Education, student growth,
progress and satisfaction with their education at CSUSB, and
students' achievement of personal goals and broad life skills.
We developed an excellent repository of useful information
and disseminated the findings of our inventory of good practices
and types of learning communities that are in place. The campus
has not yet widely discussed or digested all the implications
of and potential uses for the many findings and educational
results in order to improve the process of teaching and learning.
Preparing the two phases of the self-study at the same time
is problematic. We are one of the first institutions to be
reviewed under the newly developed WASC standards and procedures.
Our two reviews were scheduled six months apart; and we attempted
to write two self-studies at the same time, which resulted
in confusion and fragmented our efforts. In retrospect, it
would have been better to have different (and perhaps more)
subcommittees working on each phase and topic being studied.
Both the Preparatory Report and the Educational Effectiveness
Report point to the need to further improve the connection
between data collection and use, planning, budgeting and evaluation.
The themes and issues examined were excellent ones for the
institution to focus on during this review cycle because they
are embedded in our long-range plan and our on-going goals
and objectives. The Strategic Plan has served us well in the
past five years, and (with minor modifications and improvement
of procedures) it should continue to provide the focus and
impetus for sustaining our progress and for following up on
the conclusions and recommendations from our self-studies.
The internal linking of the three vital aspects of "community"
is an important one. It was revealing that so many initiatives
and projects reporting their results in our strategic plan
progress report actually fit under more than one goal area
and many projects contained overlapped themes. This is not
redundancy but amplification, synergy, and a good example
of interaction of the various strands of operational objectives
that need to work together to knit the campus into a continuous
interlocking whole.
Were the goals and outcomes established in the original
self-study proposal achieved? Yes, the self-study plan
formed the basis of the investigations and reports of the
three theme committees and yielded much useful information
and analysis. This self-study provided an opportunity to examine
our progress in meeting our strategic planning goals and objectives,
but also allowed us to look at key issues embedded in the
campus long-range plan. The self-study took a diagonal slice
across the content and context of the many strategic initiatives
to look for patterns and areas of improvement and concern.
Common Themes Noted
· Assumption of CSUSB's role as an intellectual and
cultural center for the region.
- Excellence in using a wide variety of modalities to deliver
courses and services throughout the vast region we serve.
- Need to continuously reinvent our selves. In a sense,
we have come full circle back to portions of the original
vision of the campus and now must focus more on student
life, residential students, and cultural and social activities.
- Access for ever-increasing populations.
- Expansion of the campus's influence and connections from
the local community to the region (and even globally.)
- Growing pains in developing into a large comprehensive
university.
- Ever continuing need for evidence and evaluation data
to support verification of achievement of our goals.
Issues Addressed
Strategic Planning. Continued focus is required. The
University Strategic Plan still appears to be sound and viable,
but may be in need of revision for better focus on priorities,
more direct assignment of responsibility, and more tangible
criteria for knowing when the objectives have been accomplished.
The objectives are too numerous, and the campus could concentrate
on and track progress in a few key priority areas during each
year or planning cycle. The number of strategies could be
reduced as well.
- Recommendation: Review and revise, as needed,
the Strategic Plan and reporting process.
- Planned Action. The Long-range Planning
Committee should carry out the following tasks:
- Review and reduce the number of performance indicators
we track on a university-wide basis.
- Develop objectives which can be tracked, measured
and accomplished within five years.
- Recommendation: Each academic department
should develop goals and objectives that are tied to the
University's Strategic Plan. The goals and objectives should
be limited in number, focused, and measurable, and, whenever
appropriate, quantifiable.
- Planned Action: Progress toward reaching
these goals should be reported annually to the Dean of the
College who would make a summary report to be shared with
the Long-range Planning Council and the Budget Council.
Development of Community. The concept of "community"
integrated our self-study. All three of our self-study themes
focus on some aspect of both the internal and external community--and
this emphasis grows directly from our University Strategic
Plan. The importance of the Strategic Plan's goals lies in
the way the University interacts and affects the social, economic,
and cultural development of the region we serve and from which
we draw our students.
Engagement with the community is not only an opportunity
for CSUSB to exert leadership but also a means of influencing
our future student body by helping high school graduation
rates, influencing the quality of K-12 education, increasing
college-going rates and community college transfer rates,
and changing the aspirations and level of achievement of those
needing higher education. Improving the image and quality
of life in the region will directly affect the role and status
of the University as well as our ability to attract and retain
faculty, place our graduates, obtain needed resources, and
carry out our overall mission. One aspect of our strategic
plan which has not yet been realized is the need to carry
out research and provide evidence of what works in adult learning
and what the long-term effects of higher education are on
our graduates, their employers and the health of our society.
We have just begun this long-term project.
As the campus has grown from a small liberal arts college
to a large, comprehensive regional university, it has been
difficult to maintain the close interaction of earlier times
and the mutual understanding needed for clear communication
and common values. With a largely commuter campus and students,
faculty and staff who often live at a distance, there is a
potential for disengagement and fragmentation of effort. The
very size of the institution, however, provides opportunities
for development of the many and varied strengths of our faculty
and our departments. A true university is broad in its vision,
wide in its reach, and comprehensive in its scope and range
of activities. The campus is still just beginning to realize
the full implication of what it means to be a "Teaching
and Learning Community." We have developed working definitions,
surveyed existing departmental approaches to community building,
and started a few intentional learning communities.
Encouragement of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Our review found a large number of educational programs and
activities across the institution which support active student
learning. Most departments have some form of in or out-of-class
activities which could be considered a type of learning community,
though there is a need to increase student engagement and
involve students (and faculty) more with intentional learning
communities. Student satisfaction with their educational experience
is high and has improved over the past few years; however,
there is some indication that standards and level of expectation
for student performance could be improved. Programs for the
assessment of student learning and program effectiveness are
well-established and providing useful information for program
improvement and evaluation of educational achievement.
Faculty Development. Our program of faculty development
is well developed and has strong support from the faculty
surveyed. Unfortunately, our average teaching load is very
high given the demands on faculty. The CSU budget historically
was based on an expectation of 12 hours a week in the classroom.
Even raising average class size to reduce the number of course
individual courses preparations has not allowed the balance
of teaching, research, and service that must be maintained.
Faculty members still are requesting additional assigned time
to do non-classroom work. We don't have a direct solution
for this problem. Also, the consistency and balance of service
vis-à-vis teaching and professional development is
uneven and unclear to the faculty as we have begun to emphasize
community outreach and service to the region.
Student Engagement. Our self-study found a good deal
of faculty interaction with students both in and outside of
class and many opportunities for student involvement, but
many students do not take advantage of them and are not highly
engaged. It is apparent that we have many learning support
structures in place. Most are functioning well and serving
their audience well, though some, such as advising, career
services, and retention programs, have not reached their full
potential or are not used by all students. The level of student
engagement found in our self-study is not what we had hoped.
- Recommendation: The campus needs to develop
a plan for improving student learning and engagement in
key areas of concern and low performance.
- Planned Action: The campus has joined AAHE's
Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students
(BEAMS) project to allow us to compare and track data from
a group of over 100 minority-serving institutions. We will
be sending a team to a conference where we will develop
a plan for addressing key issues and share ideas with similar
institutions. Cooperative, cross-institutional projects
are envisioned.
- Recommendation: Data on student engagement
and involvement in academic life and co-curricular activities
should be tracked and compared to CSU and national data.
A set of similar institutions should be developed for national comparisons.
- Planned Action: We will continue to use
registration survey to poll student opinion. The campus
also has joined a cohort of 15 CSU campuses that have agreed
to participate in the NSSE every three years and share data.
A list of 10 state universities from across the country
with comparable demographic and student characteristics
has been identified but is not yet finalized.
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment. Although most
departments have developed, have had approved and started
implementing their assessment plans, a number of plans still
need to be developed, revised, or approved.
- Recommendation: Additional incentives and
support systems should be developed to encourage and assist
the remaining departments.
- Planned Action: The Associate Vice President
for Assessment and Planning has developed a funding scheme
and plan for getting the remaining assessment plans developed
and operationalized.
- Recommendation: Annual outcomes assessment
reports from each academic program need to be refined and
focused on summary results and how the findings have been
used for program improvement.
- Planned Action: The program review policy
and procedures have been revised to focus on assessment
results so that each program will report its outcomes assessment
findings as part its 5-year program reviews. The campus
will submit annual summaries for each major and departments
under review as part of annual accountability reports to
the Chancellor's Office and Trustees each fall. These will
be public documents.
Student Satisfaction. Students are satisfied overall
with the quantity and quality of services they receive at
CSUSB. Still, there are some critical areas where improvement
is needed (advising, career development, etc.). The Student
Transition and Retention System (STARS) program needs time
to be fully implemented.
- Recommendation: We need to build on the
best practices found on campus in areas such as peer advising,
SAIL and EOP tutoring and adjunct courses.
- Planned Action: A Taskforce on Facilitating
Graduation has just been appointed to improve graduate rates,
facilitate better articulation of majors and lower division
transfer from community colleges, prevent students from
accumulating of "excess" units, and develop "road
maps" for course sequencing. Another committee is working
on revising our new student orientation and transition programs
to reinforce each other, integrate activities, and develop
follow up programs, such as linked GE courses, special interest
groups, and additional mentoring.
Our recently implemented student learning outcomes assessment
programs have revealed well-structured curricula, clear goals
and objectives, and a focus on the quality of our programs
and the success of our graduates. We also learned we need
to do a better job promoting the things we do well. We underestimate
our successes and need to celebrate them more widely and more
publicly. Our study revealed many good things that are happening
on campus, and we collected data demonstrating widespread
student satisfaction with the activities and services provided,
the quality of instruction, and their educational experience.
Likewise, despite calls for improvements in some aspects of
the university, faculty and staff are generally pleased and
proud to work here.
Diversity. This aspect of "community" warrants
continued examination and reflection. Although we have made
great strides in this area, the campus climate for diversity
is still an area of concern for some on campus. Some surveys
and studies have indicated major changes and positive results,
and others have found lingering concerns and problems to be
addressed.
- Recommendation: The Diversity Plan
should be revised and adopted by the University.
- Planned Action: The Co-chairs of the Diversity
Committee will take responsibility for revising the plan
and bringing it to Administrative Council and other bodies
within the next year.
Data Management and Usage. Many of the surveys and
the data collected have not been widely read and digested
yet by various offices and departments that might have use
for them. The self-study committees primarily looked at the
big picture. A number of follow up studies are needed to make
the results of these studies more meaningful, more widely
discussed and used. There is a good deal of repetition and
duplication in our benchmarking and client satisfaction tracking
mechanism. Data management is a problem. We have almost too
much data and potentially useful information that needs to
be shared, discussed, digested and used for improvement of
services, program and practices.
- Recommendation: We need to streamline and
coordinate our assessment and evaluation processes. We need
to coordinate surveys, distribute results in a more organized
and intentional way, and develop a process to manage the
follow-up and responses required.
- Planned Action: The Office of Institutional
Research needs to collaborate with each division to build
a comprehensive plan for approving, carrying out, analyzing,
responding to studies carried out each year, and developing
an agreed upon cycle for monitoring and coordinating quality
assurance and benchmarking studies across the campus, perhaps
in a common format.
Services to Students. We need to effectively monitor
the satisfaction of evening, non-traditional, and distributed
learning students to ensure that we are meeting their needs.
Additionally, some support exists to increase staffing levels
in some key areas.
- Recommendation: Continue the work of the
Evening Services Committee and broaden its charge to include
distance learning students and other categories of students
needing special attention and services. We also need to
maintain a parallel focus on services to the growing number
and percentage of younger, full-time students, and of residential
students. Already a plan has been developed by Student Affairs
for enhancing our co-curricular activities and providing
for student needs.
- Planned Action: The recommendations of the
Student Affairs Division should be shared more widely, and
agreement should be reached on which of the many suggestions
can be implemented short-term and over time, given the current
and projected budget constraints.
Technology. It is clear that additional funding is
needed to support the emerging technology trends for CSUSB.
One way to meet this need is through the implementation of
a technology fee. CSUSB should continue to explore ways of
implementing such a fee, as well as other avenues that may
be appropriate.
Image and Visibility. The University has made substantial
progress in enhancing its visibility and increasing its capacity
to serve the region. Almost every part of the university is
now engaged in some form of partnership and/or outreach program.
The work of our many centers and institutes, the efforts at
early outreach and assistance to K-12, the prominence of the
Coussoulis Arena as major venue, the success of our athletics
programs, academic team competitions, and the development
and management of the new cable television network all bode
well for even greater prominence and leadership opportunities
and roles in our region.
- Recommendation: We need to promote and advertise
our activities and events more widely and more aggressively.
- Recommendation: The campus needs to continue
to monitor and measure its success and reputation as a high-quality
institution that is open and eager to serve its constituencies
and the growing number of students needing higher education.
- Planned Action: This will require involvement
and cooperation by all parts of the university under the
leadership of the Public Affairs Office with the assistance
the University Advancement division, the College of Extended
Learning, and other related offices that play key roles
in this effort.
Continuing Education. Recent financial losses and
a downturn in enrollment in the College of Extended Learning
are temporary setbacks that were exacerbated by the movement
of the formerly profitable Summer Session to the state side
of operation. We are very optimistic about the potential for
the University to expand its offerings in training, conferences,
and even credit programs. There appears to be a strong market
for programs for international students, both here and abroad,
and for self-supported, off-campus degree programs for specialized
clientele and areas that the University cannot serve due to
budget and enrollment limitations. CEL is poised to become
even more central to general university planning and realization
of the campus's outreach goals.
- Recommendation: A strategic plan, revised
business plan, and a marketing plan need to be developed
for CEL.
- Planned Action: This planning is underway
and implementation will await the hiring of a new permanent
Dean of the College of Extended Learning. CEL plans to engage
in more interaction with academic units.
Community Partnerships. Despite its huge service area,
the university has had notable success in moving programs
and departments to greater engagement. The strategic planning
progress report notes the many, many activities, both large
and small, both highly organized and ad hoc, which are underway.
Without squelching initiative and enthusiasm, there is a need
for better coordination of these widespread and varied activities.
The coordination of our partnerships is essential if we are
to sustain this level of activity as well monitor and evaluate
our success and progress. This is particularly important given
the emerging risk management issues surrounding off campus
engagement, such as service learning. Community partnerships
and service work are still not well understood or recognized
and rewarded consistently. There also is a need for campus-wide
agreement and a concrete definition of what constitutes a
formal community-university partnership.
- Recommendation: The key players need to
be brought together, coordinated by the President's Office
to discuss our current situation, to share information about
recent accomplishments and planned projects, to coordinate
efforts, to eliminate potential overlap, and to develop
a plan to guide the further development and evaluation of
our success in community partnership.
- Planned Action: CUP is currently undergoing
a 3-year review as called for by Senate policy
Distance Learning. The road to developing our program
in distributed learning has been long and pitted with many
challenges. However, with our commitment to serve our site-bound
students we have managed to develop a program which is currently
giving students in over 280 courses (and as many as 4000 users
on- and off-campus) exposure to on-line instruction. These
partially on-line courses supplement many on-campus courses
and provide an alternative to traditional classroom methods.
Such instruction is leading to more classes using technology
effectively. We expect in the future to make a limited number
of full degree programs available off-campus, either on-site,
on-line or in mixed mode. This would be in addition to Education
credential programs offered off-site. Off-campus work will
be greatly assisted by the growing number of successful federal
grants and contracts for development of excellence in distance
learning and to carry out our role as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
The support functions needed for a successful Distributed
Learning program are scattered throughout the university.
The various offices and constituencies need to be coordinated.
- Recommendation: A representative body needs
to be developed to coordinate the planning, operation, and
evaluation of our distance learning and off campus programs.
- Planned Action: The recently developed
strategic and tactical plans for distributed learning call
for this cooperative body to meet regularly. Likewise, the
Faculty Senate's Distributed Learning Policy calls for faculty
involvement and oversight as well.
External Fundraising. With the recent and projected
budget down swings, it is even more crucial that the university
expand its fundraising. There have been sporadic successes
as we took advantage of new buildings for naming opportunities,
received significant gifts for establishment of a permanent
site for the Palm Desert Center, conducted a successful scholarship
campaign, capitalized on federally-supported major projects,
and increased our membership in the alumni association. All
of this has been accomplished during a time of establishing
the fundraising program and experiencing rapid staff turnover.
- Recommendation: We need to stabilize and
strengthen the leadership of these efforts, capitalize on
the strengths of the current staff and be more successful
in engaging volunteers, foundations and corporations in
the process.
- Planned Action: In order to maintain our
recent successes and expand the percentage of our operating
budget and total dollars raised, it may be necessary to
invest further in our Advancement division and the related
positions throughout the university.
Overall Conclusions and Next Steps to Address the Major
Recommendations of the Internal Review
Because of the overlap in the preparation of the two reports,
there is a high level of congruity between these two perspectives.
The above summary analysis from the Educational Effectiveness
Report is consistent with and echoes the findings of the Preparatory
Report:
- Make the Vision Statement a Reality
- Establish Strategic Priorities
- Link Strategic Planning with Budget Making
- Improve Assessment Capacity
- Encourage Active Student Learning
- Increase and Improve Service Learning
- Improve Coordination and Implementation of Distributed
Learning
The further amplification of those issues noted in the earlier
"capacity" review combined with the refinement and
probing of the key topics and questions in this current "effectiveness"
report has allowed us to begin address these earlier recommendations.
An overarching theme from both the Capacity and Educational
Effectiveness reports is that there is not yet widespread
"buy-in" from the campus for the long-term use of
assessment and evaluation data for decision making at the
programmatic and departmental level or for budgeting and policy
development. The campus in general needs to continue its migration
to a "culture of evidence" that goes beyond student
learning outcomes assessment to integrating on-going data
collection, evaluation and analysis into the decision-making
process.
We need to improve strategic planning at all levels. This
goes back to the concept of "buy-in" mentioned above.
There is a need to eliminate the "disjointedness"
of the campus. In some ways, the campus grew too fast in recent
years, and some infrastructure issues need to be addressed.
The link still needs to be solidified between strategic planning
and budgeting, performance, and evaluation. |
