NATIONAL SURVEY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was sent to all freshmen on the Alpine campus and seniors on both the Alpine and RGC campuses this spring. Overall, there was a 20% response rate to provide valuable information about the learning environment at SRSU. To increase participation, Danielle Lucero and the Student Government Association recommended a raffle for those who were eligible to participate and did complete the survey. Winner of the raffle were announced on Monday, April 10th, with fanfare provided by the SRSU Woodwind Quartet. Winners include Alondra Flores, who won an iPad, and Claudia Perez, Donal Morgan and Aspen Walsh, who each won a $100.00 gift certificate! this is an annual event, so there will be winners in 2018, too!
ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEWS
The seven-year cycle for academic program reviews has been set, and three graduate program reviews have been completed, and eight undergraduate program reviews are nearing completion for this year. Dr. Ferris Byxbe and Dr. Martin Urbina completed their program review for the BS Criminal Justice at Rio Grande College. Dr. Byxbe observed that a great deal of energy and effort went into the project, and he concluded that together, he and Dr. Urbina, brought “this task to successful fruition.” Other faculty working on undergraduate program reviews include: Dr. Jim Hector, Dr. Joey Velasco, Dr. Sally Roche, Dr. Tim Wilson, Dr. David Leaver, Professor Ilda Gonzales, and Dr. Mary Elizabeth Thompson.
The three graduate program reviews were completed this year by faculty in the SRSU Education Department, including Dr. Scarlet Clouse, Dr. James Blincoe, and Dr. Barbara Tucker. The purpose of these reviews is to identify strengths and areas from improvement in each program for the benefit of students. the reports also will serve as evidence of institutional effectiveness for our upcoming SACSCOC Compliance Certification. Reflecting on the process, Dr. Roche (RGC) state it was “definitely a valuable exercise.”
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
Special Thank You to IPEDS Reporting Contributors and the Registrars!
The month of March is a busy time with official reporting at IR as SRSU reports to the Texas Sate University System, the Legislative Budget Board and the federal government (IPEDS reporting). As official reporting season concludes, we want to recognize the indispensable and generous contribution of SRSU departments that allow us to comply with our reporting obligations. Special thank to Accounting Services staff for completing the IPEDS Finance Survey; to Human Resources staff for completing the IPEDS HR Survey; and to the Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library Staff for completing the IPEDS Library survey. We could not do it without your support!
Also, we would like to recognize the generous and ongoing support of the Alpine and RGC’s Registrars. Whether it is official reporting or internal data requests, they are always supporting IR.
SACSCOC ADMIN AND ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT REPORTS UPDATE
Mark your calendars for May 31st. All admin and academic report results should be uploaded into TracDat. If you have questions, contact Libby Newman or Chris Estepp or Jeanne Qvarnstrom. Chris and Jeanne have reserved the Library 2nd floor computer room for May 3 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm for a TracDat refresher for the academic coordinators, and Libby is setting up individual meetings to assist with the reports, and she has an important meeting on June 1st for all admin coordinators. More details will be coming!
Many thanks to all of our program coordinators!
UPDATE ON SACSCOC ACCREDITATION by Jeanne Qvarnstrom
During the week of March 24, I had the opportunity to serve as an observer for the On-Site SACSCOC Accreditation Review Committee for the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Here are some lessons learned:
1) Our Faculty Rosters really do matter! All of the syllabi and curriculum vitae are carefully read by the Review Committee. This is our opportunity to demonstrate the outstanding qualifications of our SRSU faculty!
2) One and one-half days were spend interviewing students, faculty, department chairs, staff and deans about the Quality Enhancement Plan, and everyone’s enthusiasm was overwhelming. We can all get behind our QEP theme, “Raise the Bar: Communicating for Success”, that our QEP Oversight Committee is developing.
3) Compliance is possible! The College of Charleston received unanimous approval from the On-Site Committee (to be reviewed by the SACSCOC Board). Working together at SRSU, I know we can achieve compliance, too!
QEP Report
The QEP committee has chosen the slogan “Raising the Bar: Communicating for Success” to act as our mantra for instigating SRSU’s next QEP. Implementation and management of the QEP will necessary involve many facets. As such, 5 subcommittees have been assigned and tasked with addressing various components of the QEP.
Subcommittees:
1. Literature & Best Practices: This committee’s task is to research and compile the appropriate sources available to inform the design and implementation of the QEP; then compose a literature review for the QEP document.
2. Faculty Development: This committee is responsible for developing the aspects of the faculty development for teaching communication and assessment best practices.
3. Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment: This committee is responsible for refining the student learning outcomes and determining how those outcomes will be assessed.
4. Budget & Resources: This committee collects information from the other subcommittees, exam existing university resources, and determine how the university will support the QEP.
5. Marketing & Communications: This committee determines how to promote the QEP to the campus community, alumni, and the wider community.Subcommittees chairs will present their recommendations to the broader QEP Committee during its April meeting. QEP Coordinators are Dan Foley and April Aultman-Becker.