PROPOSED Self-Study Questions

 

Overview

1. Describe the academic program, including the program's history, academic offerings, curricular focus, and organizational structure. In addition, comment briefly on the program's accomplishments, faculty, and research.
2. Identify 4 comparable and aspirational programs and benchmark using the criteria: degrees offered, number of faculty, number of undergraduates, number of graduates, and degrees awarded. Programs may choose to add additional criteria. Please analyze the table and identify and discuss in your narrative comparisons that bear on the performance and aspirations of FSU's program.

	Fall 2007					2006-07
			Student Enrollment
Aspirational Programs	Degrees offered	Number of faculty	Number of undergraduates	Number of masters students	Number of doctoral students	Degrees awarded
Florida State University
Program 1
Program 2
Program 3
Program 4

 

	Fall 2007					2006-07
			Student Enrollment
Comparable Programs	Degrees offered	Number of faculty	Number of undergraduates	Number of masters students	Number of doctoral students	Degrees awarded
Florida State University
Program 1
Program 2
Program 3
Program 4

 

3. To what extent is the administrative/staffing structure at the program, department, college, and university levels adequate to support the program?
4. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the program.
5. What are the program's academic and organizational short and long-term goals and what plans are in place for reaching them? Evaluate the program's progress towards the stated goals. Cite the program's strategic plan, if applicable.
6. Analyze the diversity of the faculty, students, and staff in the program as indicated in the table below.

	% Female	% Minority	% Resident Alien (International)
Undergraduate students
Graduate students
Faculty
Staff

7. How has the program compiled and used feedback from students, alumni, and employers? To what extent does the program use this information to make curricular and programmatic changes?
   
8. Consider the findings and recommendations from the previous self-study. How did the program address previous findings and recommendations? What are the significant changes in the program since the previous review?
   
9. Report the findings and recommendations from the previous discipline-specific accreditation. Indicate whether the program is currently undergoing accreditation, or when the next one is scheduled.

Students

*In this section, please address each question separately for undergraduate and graduate students.

10. Analyze the graduate and undergraduate headcount enrollment and also the graduate admissions data provided below and identify significant trends and issues with which the program must address.
    
11. Evaluate the quality of the undergraduate and graduate students in the program. Comment on the productivity of graduate students in the program (e.g. publications, presentations, etc.).
12. What efforts are made by the program to recruit, enroll, and retain high-quality students? Describe the orientation process for new graduate students.

(Add rows for each major in the program)

Fall Headcount	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	% 5- Year Growth
Undergraduate
Masters
Doctorate
Professional
Total

 

	Domestic				International
Fall 2007 Admissions	Masters		Doctoral		Masters		Doctoral
# Applied (completed applications)
# Admitted
% applied who were admitted
# Enrolled
% admitted who enrolled

 

	Domestic				International
Fall 2006 Admissions	Masters		Doctoral		Masters		Doctoral
# Applied
# Admitted
% applied who were admitted
# Enrolled
% admitted who enrolled

 

	Domestic				International
Fall 2005 Admissions	Masters		Doctoral		Masters		Doctoral
# Applied
# Admitted
% applied who were admitted
# Enrolled
% admitted who enrolled

 

13. What process does the program use to formulate student learning outcomes and assess student learning?
    
14. What efforts are being made by the department to enhance student learning (e.g., research opportunities, internships, study abroad programs) and the professional development of students? How successful are the department's efforts?
    
15. Describe the mechanisms in place to provide academic advising to students. Are improvements needed?
    
16. Describe the teaching expectations and requirements for graduate students. How many classes do graduate students teach? When do they begin teaching? Discuss the extent and efficacy of graduate student instructional training and evaluation.
    
17. Present any international agreements currently in place. How are they consistent with the program's mission?
    
18. What systematic efforts does the program use to ensure its students are placed well and receive university, regional, or national recognition?
    
19. Analyze the first-time-in-college and AA transfer retention and graduation rates provided below and identify any significant trends and issues that the program should address.

 

 

 

 

20. Analyze the graduate degree completion tables below and identify any significant trends or issues that the program must address. How does the program ensure that doctoral students graduate in a timely manner? What is the process by which doctoral students are annually evaluated on work and academic progress? How does the department determine and address acceptable progress towards the degree?

 

 

Faculty

21. Are there adequate faculty to ensure students, especially those with committees, receive adequate attention and ensure faculty have adequate time for research and creative endeavors? Analyze current staffing capacity and indicate any significant trends or issues which the program must address. Note: you should use the data provided in the Unit Accomplishment Summaries in your analysis.
    
22. Discuss upcoming faculty retirements and the impact on the program. Report on the retention of faculty and the yield of recent recruiting efforts. How does the program ensure that there is an adequate, diverse, and talented applicant pool? Comment on faculty recruitment efforts and the philosophy towards the role of non-tenured and non-tenure track faculty.
    
23. What efforts are made by the program to mentor and support new faculty members?
    
24. What systematic efforts does the program employ to ensure that faculty are nominated for appropriate university, regional, and national awards?
    
25. How are faculty (both tenure earning and non-tenure earning) engaged in decisions about departmental issues?
    
26. Analyze faculty productivity using the Unit Accomplishment Summaries (QE 1-5) as a starting point. How is faculty productivity assessed by the program? How does the program make assignments? What is the quality of research? What is the availability of external funding to support faculty research? Analyze doctoral supervision loads and their distribution among the faculty. Are the indicators measured in the UAS appropriate for the program's academic field? If not, list other measures the discipline uses to assess faculty productivity and provide data on these measures for the program's faculty. Note: you may add measures, but you must also report on the existing measures. Do not delete existing measures (columns).
    
27. How are the efforts of non-tenure track faculty assessed?
    
28. How does the program supervise and train teaching assistants and adjuncts?
    
29. How is teaching effectiveness assessed by the program and what program efforts have been shown to improve the quality of instruction? Please use specific examples.

 

Curriculum

30. How do the program's curricula compare to the best efforts nationally? How often are the curricula reviewed and by whom? When was the most recent review? Describe any changes that were made based on this review and discuss their implementation. How is the program monitoring the effects of curricular changes? What new degree programs, at what levels, does the unit plan to propose in the next five years?
31. How are undergraduate students engaged in research?
    
32. To what extent is distance learning used to deliver courses?
    
33. How does the program relate to other teaching and research units on campus? Consider units that the program currently interacts with as well as other units with which there may be potential for interaction.
34. If applicable, how does the program monitor and assess the performance of the program's instructional efforts at the Panama City, Florida, campus?
35. To what extent do doctoral students and adjuncts support the teaching mission of the program?

 

Resources

36. Analyze the adequacy of the physical facilities utilized by the program?
    
37. Identify any programmatic concerns with information technology.
38. How adequate are the library resources to support the program? Identify "gaps" in holdings and/or databases.
39. How does the program support (stipend, health insurance supplements, travel to meetings, etc.) is provided to graduate teaching and research assistants compare to other comparable programs? To what extent are contract and grant and private dollars available to supplement state support? Analyze and identify any issues that the program must address.
    
40. Analyze the implications of class size in this program for the educational experiences of the students and the instructional challenges for the faculty.

 

Supporting Materials

Appendix A. Unit Accomplishment Summaries (QE 1- 5)
Appendix B. Faculty CVs (made available in department office and uploaded to website: https://netprod.oti.fsu.edu/vitamanagement )
Appendix C. Budgeted and actual faculty FTE for the last 5 years
Appendix D. Teaching Evaluations (for faculty, teaching assistants, and adjuncts)
Appendix E. Organizational Chart
Appendix F. Department Bylaws
Appendix G. Operating Expenditures by Category, by Major Object Code
Appendix H. Student Learning/Program Outcomes, Assessments, Actions, and Results from IE Portal (most current full year available)
Appendix I. Student Handbooks
Appendix J. Surveys of current students, graduates, alumni
Appendix K. Undergraduate and graduate placements