As Thanksgiving approaches, we reflect on our blessings and recognize that many blessings come from the care, dedication, and commitment of others. To all the SRSU community, I want to thank you for your commitment to our institution with our SACSCOC accreditation this year. During that process, we accumulated abundant evidence of our many achievements for students, faculty, staff, and the community, and some are highlighted in this newsletter. Thanksgiving is indeed a time for reflection and appreciation that we are all connected.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jeanne Qvarnstrom
QEP with April Aultman Becker and Dan Foley
The QEP Mapped courses are underway this semester, working to improve our students’ communication skills. Dr. Tiffany Culver and Dr. Joey Velasco work closely with all of the faculty Navigators to implement the program. The QEP held a professional development session on October 4th (in Alpine) and 5th (at RGC) focusing on the Cardinal Rubric and assessment and featuring Dr. Marcia Imbeau, of ASCD. We will have a follow up Assessment Days on December 6th (in Alpine) and 7th (at RGC) to ensure interrater reliability.
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH with Alejandra Villalobos Melendez
As any fall semester, IR has been hard at work submitting SRSU official reporting (federal, state, system). However, data dissemination continues to be a priority. If you missed the latest IR Blog post Fall 2018 Official Enrollment Profile, you can still find it at the IR Blog. This month be on the lookout for a post about the TSUS Enrollment Explorer, an interactive web-based data tool where the user can obtain enrollment data for TSUS institutions, including SRSU. Data are available over time, 2007 to 2017, and can be parsed by demographic and academic variables and CIP codes. It’s a great resource that will soon be available through the IR webpage. Also, coming this month to the IR webpage are the results from the 2018 NSSE survey as well as IR Blog post highlighting some of the findings. Stay tuned!
STRATEGIC PLAN with Eric Funasaki and Gina Stocks
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness published the Strategic Plan Annual Score Card and Report Summary in August 2018. During 2017-2018 academic year, 53 of the strategies in the Strategic Plan were started and of those strategies 36 (67.9%) met their targets for year one. Also, of the 17 (32.1%) strategies that did not meet their targets for year one, at least some progress was made on 14 of them. The Strategic Plan is a living document for SRSU.
Introducing Elisha Jimenez
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness would like to welcome our new Administrative Associate, Elisha Jimenez. Elisha began her new position on October 1, 2018. Elisha is a proud graduate of SRSU and graduated with her BBA in 2013 and MBA in 2015.
INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS with Libby Newman
Coming up this year…
Administrative Assessment Coordinators will have the opportunity to make changes to reports for the 2018-2019 cycle. The assessment cycle includes June 1, 2018 thru May 31, 2019. The Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Libby Newman, will begin meeting with all Administrative or Non- Academic Coordinators to begin making any changes. Incorporating the Sul Ross State University Strategic Plan into administrative assessment reporting will be a goal for this year. Tracdat, our assessment reporting software, has been migrated into Improve. All login and password information should be the same. Please contact Libby Newman, edalton@sulross.edu or ext. 8239 for any issues or questions you may have.
Bringing you up to date on the ETS Proficiency Profile Exam…
All freshman Languages and Literature students were given the ETS Proficiency Profile Exam in September. The ETS is a major tool used to assess Core Curriculum and our Quality Enhancement Plan. The ETS Exam assess four skill areas- mathematics, reading, writing, and critical thinking. Any student who scored proficient in one or more skill area will receive a certificate of recognition from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. All students who successfully completed the exam have been entered into a random drawing to win one of several Amazon gift cards.
Teaching at its Best with Chris Estepp
This fall, IE hosted a book talk series for new faculty and continuing faculty that was led by Chris Estepp. The book was Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors by Linda B. Nilson. The goal of the book talk series was to promote collegiality while focusing on high quality instruction for all students.