Examples of CSUSB Academic Program Review Process

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN BERNARDINO

Programs Scheduled for Review 2000‑2001

Review Summaries Received

Anthropology BA X

Criminal Justice BA/MA X

Economics BA X

Environmental Studies BA X

Geography BA X

History BA X

Human Development BA X

Political Science BA X

Psychology BA/MA/MS X

National Security Studies MA X

Social Sciences BA/MA X

Sociology BA X

Social Work MSW X

Special Review Features All programs prepared a self‑study document which included analysis of five‑year trend data on enrollments, grading, graduates, curriculum, modes of instruction, departmental/program governance and operations, library and related resources, perception of the program by others. Included in the reports are the results of findings of surveys of current students and alumni. Each report was provided to an off campus consultant/reviewer, who came to campus to verify the report, to interview faculty, students and administrators, to observe courses, and to discuss the program. (Increasingly, the self‑study reports are being focused on results and findings of student learning outcomes assessment and the program review policy guidelines which govern the procedures for program reviews is being revised to require more use of this type of evidence of program and student achievement. Most of the social science majors now have approved student learning outcomes assessment plans, but most have had not implemented them or collected data in time for this cycle of program review.) The self-study reports and consultant reports are then reviewed and summarized by a University‑level committee, which makes recommendations to the department, dean and vice president for changes and improvements needed. The program then develops a Plan of Action with a time line for addressing issues raised.

Anthropology, B.A. The department is a small one, with 48 majors and five full‑time faculty members, and provides linkages and service to General Education, Ethnic Studies, and Human Development. Because of its small size there has been some difficulty in scheduling sufficient upper‑division specialty courses requested by majors. More core courses in the major as well as hiring of additional faculty was recommended. Expansion of internships and fieldwork opportunities, more use of student assistants in large GE lecture courses, more departmental space and facilities were recommended. Likewise, library holding, especial journals needed to be strengthened.

Anthropology generally scored higher than the college mean in most categories surveyed, e.g. quality of advisement, instruction, and curriculum. Both current students and alumni were very satisfied with the program, though the need for additional equipment, lab space, computer facilities and faculty was noted. Early implementation of the department assessment plan was also recommended.

Criminal Justice, B.A., M.A. The undergraduate program has grown 40% during the past five years, though the MA program has experienced a decline due to a shift in emphasis from a professional vocational curriculum to a new academically oriented research focus. . With the addition of faculty and growth in enrollments, current office and teaching facilities are inadequate, but this will be addressed with the opening of a new Social Science Building in fall 2002. Expansion of library holdings is clearly needed. The faculty was found to have "strong commitment to teaching" and student evaluations are consistently good. The emphasis on writing and critical thinking is noteworthy. The Paralegal Studies concentration was seen as providing "a unique service to the community" and specific career path for students. The faculty are active scholars and researchers as well and have shown success in acquiring grants and contracts, which strengthens the professional involvement and the graduate program.

Many of the students are working adults attending school part‑time and some have concerns regarding juggling the class schedule with their personal and work responsibilities. Students and alumni indicated a general satisfaction with the faculty, level of instruction and the programs, however. Recommended changes include improving student recruitment, better tracking and advisement of students, stronger mentoring for junior faculty, development of a community advisory board, increased staff support, and additional efforts to secure external funding.

Economics, B.A. The department has a cohesive faculty, who demonstrate a genuine concern for students and who are professionally dedicated. Although the number of Economics majors is steady, overall enrollments have declined markedly with drop in enrollment in the College of Business and Public administration for which Economics provides core courses and services the Business Economics concentration. As a result, two open faculty positions were not replaced recent years. A number of recruitment efforts are underway as well as discussion with programs in public administration, business and education regarding program articulation and collaboration. Although there has been an increase in number of on‑line journals, the number of hard‑copy books and periodicals in Economics are limited. Sharing of clerical support and office space is a continuing problem.

The B.A. program is a fairly traditional one and needs to examine its curriculum. Further assessment of student interest and needed was advised. Alumni surveyed indicated strong support for the program and its high level of teaching, however. High marks were also earned in areas of sequencing of classes and access to faculty. The outside consultant stressed that the Economics department is "very strong and exhibits no major weaknesses."

Environmental Studies, B.A. This major is housed in the Department of Geography, but also uses faculty from a number of social science and natural science departments to teach its classes. Although there were 73 majors at the time of the self‑study, there has been a 29% decrease in the past five years. Lower division courses in General Education do not seem to be serving as a sources of majors and the consultant recommended that the best senior faculty be assigned to these service courses. It was also suggested that wider visibility would be attained by changing the name of the department to "Geography and Environmental Studies."

Library resources are adequate and are supplemented by recent acquisition of on‑line holdings and the presence of the nearby UC Riverside library. The program needs to develop and implement its outcomes assessment plan and would benefit from more focus of attention by the Geography department and formation of and advisory committee made up of faculty from department teaching the core courses.

Geography, B.A. The Geography curriculum has been revised since the last program review and now consists of three tracks: General Geography, Geographic Analysis, and Social Science Teaching. As is typical with other geography programs in the CSU, there has been a significant decrease in number of majors over the past five years despite the development of an applied emphasis. The department is seeks develop in the areas of water resources/hydrology, remote sensing/GIS and regional geography of Asia. This growth will require additional faculty, library resources, and the new facilities that will become available in fall of 2002. In order to carry out the type of expansion envisioned, the department will need to aggressively recruit students. The program needs to take advantage of its faculty strength, improve advising, be more visible, both on‑ and off‑campus, and to involve faculty in more externally funded research.

The consultant found the major was a good one, providing a variety of approaches to a first rate geographic education. Recommendations included more and better advising, wider availability and use of field experience, internships, and applied work, more articulation and communication with community colleges, and vigorous pursuit of outside funding for support of field work, scholarships, and equipment.

History, B.A. Enrollments have increased in History in the past five years, and the program serves both those seeking to become social science teachers and those seeking a liberal arts major in history. The department plans to develop its expertise and offerings in the area of Public/Oral History. A variety of new courses in non‑western history have been offered with recent broadening of faculty expertise.

Both students and alumni showed satisfaction with the quality and fairness of instruction, though the department's grading is more rigorous than most departments. The reviewer recommended additional efforts at improving the minority enrollments and the diversity of the majors. The outside reviewer also recommend further exploration of offering an M.A. in History, but the department feels the amount of faculty and library resources is not adequate at this time. The department seeks rather to reorganize and strengthen its curriculum to better prepare students for professional or graduate study. The early implementation of its proposed student learning outcomes assessment plan should assist these efforts.

Human Development, B.A. This interdisciplinary program is housed within the Psychology department and uses faculty expertise from a number of disciplines. The program provides academic preparation for graduate and professional study in such related fields as human/child development, family studies, clinical psychology, social work, school psychology and education.

With the rapid growth of the undergraduate program, hiring of more human development specialist faculty members, expansion to include a track for prospective multiple subject/elementary school teachers, and the addition of a graduate program in Child Development, a separate department is being considered.

Students and alumni surveyed and interviewed expressed satisfaction with the program and level of instruction, but saw the need for more academic advisement, better class scheduling and cycling, close mentoring and career advisement. The outside consultant recommended more clerical and administrative support, additional grant writing activities to support a proposed Institute for Child Development, more involvement with the campus Children's Center and early Childhood Education/Pre‑School programs at area community colleges, further development of a separate MA degree in Child Development, strengthening of majors' math, computer and information literacy skills, development of an outcomes assessment plan, and additional planning for departmental status.

National Security Studies, M.A This interdisciplinary has three full‑time faculty from Political Science and eight faculty members from other departments who teach the graduate courses in the master's degree. Although enrollment declined with closure of three nearby military bases in the 1990, the number of students pursuing this program has again grown to 44 students. The NSS program has developed a strong reputation nationally. Students have excellent internship and job opportunities and are sought by federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, the CIA, the FBI, the GAO, the Nation Imagery and Mapping Agency, congressional offices, and by defense contractors and policy analysis organizations.

The NSS master's degree program was seen as having rigorous requirements, providing students with support for their professional advancement, and in preparing them to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. The program has now developed its outcomes assessment plan and needs to begin implementing it. The program was recommended to focus attention on recruitment of students, grant writing, and cultivation of alumni. Additional core faculty are needed with specialization on more regions of the world. Use of graduate assistantships to assist recruitment of students from out of state was suggested also.

Political Science, B.A. The program emphasizes both the liberal arts background of the field and teaching in secondary schools. Enrollment declined in the past five years from 222 majors to 117 but has begun to creep upwards again. The program has been revised to lessen the foreign language and mathematics requirements which were much more stringent than found in other Political Science programs. Nonetheless, the program is still seen as having high standards and the initial results of the first round of formal outcomes assessment showed the department is doing a good job with its undergraduates. It was noted that the department does an excellent job of teaching and student survey results were very positive, with students appreciating the emphasis on good writing and rigorous papers. Another indicator of the department's instructional quality is the success and reputation of the Model UN and Model Arab League teams which are consistent winners in regional and national competitions.

The drop in number of majors has been partially addressed, but it worrisome and needs the attention of the department. Availability and use of computer resources also need to be addressed. Orientation, Career Counseling and preparation of students for graduate school likewise need attentions and improvement. Library holdings need to be expanded. Investigation of a graduate program, more effort in obtaining external funding and grants for faculty projects, more visibility and a larger role for the department in university governance and service to the on‑and off‑campus community, development of more internship opportunities, and establishment of a regular speakers series to strengthen both department and community involvement also were recommended.

Psychology, B.A., M.A., M.S. The department is one of the large in the University with 31 full‑time faculty members and about 30 part‑time instructors. 689 students are enrolled in the undergraduate program and 89 in the master's degrees. Undergraduate programs are delivered at Coachella Valley Center as well as the main campus. The outside reviewer commented "the department has done on outstanding job of recruiting, nurturing and retaining faculty and adding diversity to the campus." The curriculum has been revised since the last review to provide more core courses and better preparation of students for the upper‑division. The external reviewers indicated that the department is "well‑respected inside and outside the university." The average grades given seem high and further investigation is warranted. Students are generally pleased with the program and the department is highly visible with as reputation for being dynamic with a heavy emphasis on quality of teaching and research.

Despite recent improvements with the advent of electronic databases, remote online access to the libraries catalog, and electronic ordering of interlibrary loan material, a number of important journals not available either in hardcopy or electronically. Computer facilities are excellent and lab facilities will greatly improve with opening of the new building next year.

Recommendations for the undergraduate major include a need for more long‑range planning for the department, more fundraising and grant‑related activities, better space utilization, reduction in grade inflation, monitoring of high use of part‑time faculty, and adoption of a Service Learning component.

The MA degree was recently expanded to include a Child Development track and the MS track in Clinical/Counseling track was undergone changes to respond to new state licensure requirements. The Industrial/Organizational Psychology program is outstanding and draws students from outside the region.

The graduate programs seem to be at a crossroads at the present time and may need to shift emphasis from pre‑doctoral programs to emphasis on other careers. Although the graduate programs are strong and well‑positioned to meet the career needs of the students, more long-range planning is needed. The outside consultant suggested that the "Strong leadership from the senior faculty is needed to set the direction of the graduate programs." Outcomes Assessment plans need to be developed, alumni need to be tracked more carefully, better connections are needed with community leaders and their organizations, and internships opportunities need to be expanded. A joint‑doctoral program with Loma Linda University is under discussion.

Social Sciences, B.A., M.A. The undergraduate major is a broad interdisciplinary program which blends a number of disciplines by requiring a primary field and two secondary fields. Students may also chose electives which focus on ethnic studies or special topics. The number of major has grown from 188 to 144 declared majors in the past five years. The program has no faculty of its own, though advising is done by five senior faculty members and the Associate Dean for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The program coordinator and program committee meet regularly to supervise and monitor the program.

The self‑study found some evidence that Social Science majors are generally less prepared for upper‑division study in the disciplines where they must compete wit students who are majoring in the specific field, yet area schools indicate that the program graduates are well‑perceived by the school administrators who hire graduates. Alumni are overall pleased with the program and rated most highly the level of instruction the accessibility of faculty, and the praised the program for emphasis on writing and speaking well, enhancement of intellectual ability and providing knowledge needed for employment. Improvement was seen as needed in computer lab facilities and availability of student activities. The program was recommended to develop a focused set of goals and objectives along with an outcomes assessment plan to measure success. Also suggested was that the program faculty consider adding more lower division core courses, providing more fieldwork opportunities, requiring a research methods component, and demanding a culininating experience or capstone course in the major. More administrative time is needed for the coordinator and more involvement of program faculty should assist this.

The M.A. in Social Sciences is designed to serve the needs of secondary school teachers with a previous undergraduate background in the social sciences or for those interested in graduate study integrating a number of social sciences. Although still a small program, the number of students enrolled has increased to around 19 classified majors a years, with 4‑5 completing a master's degree each year. The outsider reviewers report was not very helpful and seemed to disagree with the basic interdisciplinary nature of the program. The university review committee, however, found that program is meeting its original goals very well.

It was recommended, however, that it may be time for the MA in Social Sciences program faculty to reexamine the intents, content, and strengths of this broad program and how it might focus on integrative issues and problems or themes that lend themselves to interdisciplinary analysis and study. While it currently serves the needs of K‑12 Social Science teachers, many students do not see this broad program as a preferred degree. (It may also be the case that there is growing demand for development of more disciplinary‑based MA programs in social sciences disciplines.) Some recognition should be given the fact that the program is serving two distinct groups of students. An alternative MA track may be needed for students who would benefit from a more structured course of study and a focus on core concepts, basic social science tools and methods, and application of this content and skills on practical problems or issues to allow students to have a culminating experience that pulls together the threads of the curriculum. The long‑range planning and curriculum revision needs to develop an outcomes assessment plan to monitor progress towards goals and objectives.

Social Work, M.S.W. This two‑year, 90 quarter unit professional program serves 128 students in the full‑time cohort and 63 in the part‑time, evening one. The program is quite selective and receives many more applications that it can reasonably accept, despite expanding by over 35% in the last five years. Much of this growth has had to be funded with "soft money" from federal, state and county grants and contracts. The regional demand for MSW graduates is likewise very high and job placement is excellent. The MSW program is nationally‑accredited and was last reviewed by CSWE in 1996. The Social Work department has eight permanent faculty position and four full‑time lectures hired with grant and contracts, plus one full‑time agency employee on loan, and a pool of part‑time, temporary faculty.

Students and alumni surveyed were satisfied with the program and very satisfied with the quality of instruction by faculty, though there were some concerns about advisement and accessibility of the faculty, who are often off‑campus supervising fieldwork placements. In general, the quality of library support has strengthened and faculty and students have increased their use of electronic resources.. Prior concerns with maintaining positive, constructive relationships with a number of dissident faculty members have largely been resolved through resignations, retirements, retreats, use of consultants, and development of a mutually supportive atmosphere.

The department has been highly successful in obtaining external funding and grants totaling $5,400,000 in the past five years. The program is also very heavily involved in the local social work community and with area governmental and social service agencies. The review found a faculty heavily involved in service to the region and the university. The curriculum is comprehensive and well‑thought‑out. More faculty positions are authorized but are unfilled as yet, so there still is too high a reliance on part‑time faculty. There is a need to expand faculty research and publication activities. The program was encouraged by the consultant to explore the development of an undergraduate program and to undertake a focused and more extensive self‑study in preparation for an upcoming CSWE site visit. to assure reaffirmation of accreditation.

Sociology, B.A. The Sociology department offers several degree programs with tracks in general Sociology and Social Welfare (which is not a nationally‑accredited professional program) as well as a separate degree in Human Services. In fall 2000 there were 314 sociology majors (including 147 in Social Welfare track) and 53 Human Services majors. There are nine tenure track faculty members with a diversity of specializations. Enrollments have decreased slightly over the past few years as more students are drawn to applied fields; and the department will need to plan for the effects of potential development of a BSW degree program that would impact both the Social Welfare and Human Services offerings of the department.

Currently enrolled students rated the faculty very highly. Faculty were seen as enthusiastic and intellectually stimulating. Students appear satisfied to highly satisfied with the services of the department and rate the quality of instruction as excellent. Lower scoring items included variety of course offered, career guidance, and scheduling convenience, with a marked shift in preference for night courses over the past five years. Response on the alumni survey was low and few conclusions could be drawn from the data. The main weakness identified by the consultant centered on inadequacy of resources to maintain the range of instruction and advisement expected of the department.