Academic Affairs Annual Report & Strategic Plan Update

Mid-Year Report

February 2007

 

  1. With regard to intended student learning objectives or process and program outcomes, provide a narrative summary of unit highlights for 2006-2007 thus far. 

 

Report on Outcomes from COE Dean’s Assessment Plan Submitted in July 2006

 

Goal 1: Recruit and hire one new tenure line faculty member from an OUS recognized minority group to serve students while enhancing the diversity of the COE faculty (3.6d).

 

A: Expanded dissemination of job announcements through personal and professional networks that reach minority candidates.

 

One of the six top-rated candidates selected by the Search Committee to move forward in the Teacher Education search was a minority candidate.

One out of four candidates brought to campus were faculty of color.

The Search Committee’s recommendations to hire included one faculty of color.

 

Seven of the ten top-rated candidates selected by the Search Committee to move forward in the ESOL search were minority candidates

Four out of four candidates brought to campus were faculty of color.

The Search Committee recommendations to hire included two faculty of color.

 

B.  Exploring feasibility of filling line in HPE (migration of shift from athletic to academic).

 

HPE faculty have developed a rationale and plan for filling the line vacated by Judy Lovre and will be including this in their budget proposal for 2007-08.

 

Goal 2: Successfully pass all attempted accreditations. (2.9a, 2.9b, 2.9c)

 

A.  Implementing timelines for completion of University accreditation tasks

 

Two sets of COE edits and additions for Northwest Self Study were submitted to the Provost.

A timeline for the CORE re-accreditation was developed and tasks identified.

Assessment plans for all programs completed and submitted to the Provost.

Preliminary arrangements made for Review team made and shell for electronic exhibit room created.

 

B.  Implementing timelines for completion of College accreditation tasks

 

Drafts of NCATE Standards 1, 3, and 4 have been completed and are being reviewed.

Survey data collected from faculty for NCATE Standard 5.

Description of specifications of assessment system for NCATE Standard 2 is partially drafted.

Documentation of the College’s application of the Conceptual Framework is collected.

Meeting held 2/9/07 with LAS faculty on Conceptual Framework and NCATE/TSPC re-accreditation.

Three retreats held to reexamine MS in Ed program.

Proficiencies are being revised for the MS of Ed program and will go through review process.

An MS in Ed alumni survey was developed and has been administered.

The MS in Ed program has developed an applicable Dispositions assessment.

Revisions for admissions and program progression are being crafted for faculty review. 

Draft of the TPD’s application for CED accreditation was completed.

 

NOTE: Loss of Mark Baldwin in January has delayed some aspects of EDSMART and data analysis.

 

 

Goal 3: Increase the number of MS of ED online course offerings in the professional core and endorsement areas (2.6e).

 

A. Increased access to courses online where applicable in the MS in Ed program.

 

On-line courses for the MS in Ed program increased from 15 in  2005-06 to 18 2006-07.  In comparison, the program only offered 3 online courses in 2004-05.  (Documentation available)

 

 

Goal 4:  Determine viable program areas for potential expansion and distinction (2.8a and 2.8c)..

 

A. Review data on 2004/05 ASL survey and develop timeline of tasks for updating the needs assessment.

 

Faculty have studied and updated their recommendations for ASL curriculum implementations and will bring forward recommendations for approval in Spring term and request for faculty needs in budget proposal for 2007-08.

  

 

B. Conduct external review of TPD program and discuss resulting recommendations with faculty and provost

 

An external review of the TPD program was conducted by Dr. Barbara Schirmer (Dec/Jan) that included a review of programs documents, interviews with faculty and students, and review of exhibits.  The resulting report has been received and discussions regarding the recommendations are ensuing. (See report)

 

C.      Examine ways to respond to Oregon’s shortage areas

 

Planning is currently underway with Woodburn, Central, and Salem Keizer School districts to address need for ESOL prepared and bilingual teachers.

A grant proposal with TRI and LAS is being written for submission March 1st.

Discussions with a faculty and staff group identified to respond to the President’s Town Hall meeting is proposing program developments in this area.

 

D.     Respond to WOU’s growing international student recruitment efforts

 

The joint LAS/COE MS in Ed Info Tech program has grown considerably and is currently serving about 22 students, with potentially 13 more ready to enter in Spring, and applications from 30 more arriving through Dr. Yang. Courses have been refined, meetings held, and supports for students offered by COE faculty and staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B.  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: Looking ahead at 2007-2008.

With reference to the goals document, identify specific that you believe constitute the greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for your unit going forward.  Discuss your plans to address these matters.

 

Strengths

The re-emergence of our ESOL program under the leadership of Maria Dantas Whitney has provided WOU with an area of distinction that is able to respond to Oregon’s changing demographics.  Last year, WOU graduated more ESOL endorsed teachers than any other institution in Oregon. Efforts to seek grant and legislative funding could place this program in the forefront of WOU’s offerings and help attract growing numbers of minority students to WOU. 

 

A partnership with Central School District now involves 27 pre-service students tutoring four hours a week in 4 elementary schools in the district this Winter term.

 

The Rehabilitation Counseling program continues to produce highly qualified graduates.  In fact in 2006, follow up on the 2006 graduates shows that 93% are employed and 40% of this same group were employed by state Vocational Rehabilitation prior to their June 2006 graduation. This winter the program has developed a partnership with OVRS that is now providing monthly stipends of $2,000 to several students in our program who are interning in the state office.  Not only does this speak highly of the progam’s reputation, but this partnership is strengthening our ability to recruit students and is enhancing opportunities for students to benefit from real world applications. 

 

We continue to turn away candidates for both the MAT and Special Education teacher preparation programs.

 

An analysis completed this fall shows that we placed preservice candidates in 55 schools last year and arranged over 500 placements.  This speaks highly of the Field Services office and staff as well as our partner’s willingness to take our students.

 

Weaknesses

The death of Del Schalock created a tremendous loss for WOU that has yet to be fully realized.  His name recognition and reputation was the best free advertising that the College of Education and/or TRI ever had (not to mention WOU).  He opened doors for College faculty to participate in national initiatives (Teacher for a New Era Learning Network, a theory development coalition on teacher preparation and student learning, WOU’s two national conferences on Teacher Work Sample Methodology, and publishing opportunities with AACTE, etc.).  Without him, there is no current leading scholar who will keep the name WOU synonymous with excellence in teacher preparation.  This worries me tremendously.  Frankly, it is what attracted me to WOU.  One step I am taking to address this is to find ways to support Mark Girod, who though still in the early years of his career is the closest thing to an heir apparent.  His understanding and commitment to the focus on Connecting Teaching and Learning combined with his scholarly productivity (8 peer refereed publications this year alone) are WOU’s hope for continued national recognition of our teacher preparation programs.

 

The infrastructure supporting the programs in the College of Education is continually challenged.  Faculty with the experience and desire to serve as leaders in the College are lacking.  There is an inequity based on graduate program teaching load policy that causes a divide among the program faculty.  In some cases, relatively small graduate level programs are advantaged over larger undergraduate programs that produce the bulk of the College’s graduates. In the Division of Teacher Education, this becomes very apparent when considering comparator data.  Last year the SOU School of Education graduated  189 educators, not counting Special Education. Yet, an analysis of their personnel shows roughly 14 full time faculty.  In comparison, the Division of Teacher Education which graduated 531 educators, not counting those in TPD and SPED, had 13 full time faculty.  .

 

Opportunities

With the addition of more faculty in ESOL and our strengthened relationships with Woodburn, we are working to position WOU as the leading institution in the preparation of ESOL and bilingual ESOL teachers in response to Oregon’s changing demographics.  Both a grant proposal and a legislative funding request are in development stages.

 

At any given time, the College could offer two more cohort per year in the Special

Education and MAT program areas.  We turn away applicants in both areas due to lack of faculty lines. We continually receive requests for an MAT in Early Childhood and Elementary Education but do not have adequate faculty resources to provide the instruction and clinical supervision needed.

 

The continuing growth in ASL offerings in Oregon’s high schools offers a ready made audience of incoming freshmen interested in this field.  The proposal to implement the ASL Studies program along with an additional tenure line faculty member in ASL/English Interpreting will bolster the University’s ability to attract and enroll more students in these related areas.

 

 

C.  Personnel

1. Please provide a summary of professional development activities provided for or undertaken by staff in your unit, including unit managers.

 

A proposal was brought to OACTE and accepted to provide funding to bring 2 national experts to Oregon to provide training on the Inter-rater Reliability and Validity Training for Work Sample Scoring.  Ten faculty/staff from WOU attended and registration costs were covered by the Dean’s office.

 

The Rehabilitation Counseling program sponsored a seminar with DEP on Serving Latino Consumers in VR was delivered via “breeze” distance technology through Utah State University and featured an RC alumna, Jaime Silva. The  day and half long event was coordinated by Linda Keller and provided valuable professional development for faculty, RCE students, and VR counselors.

 

Inspired by the message that Donna Beegle delivered at the university’s opening address in September, the College has negotiated with Donna to bring a film crew to campus in February and tape an interactive session with our MAT program.  We will then retain the rights to use the resulting DVD with all of our classes in teacher preparation.

 

Steve Barkley returned to WOU this past summer and worked with 55 participants on mentoring/communication skills in the Oregon Mentor Academy. The participants represented 25 schools in 18 school districts and included current and former students as well as WOU mentor teachers and university supervisors.

 

All the University Supervisors from the UG, MAT, Special Education and Teacher Preparation: Deaf Education met in September and focused on:

Ø      Feedback data from Student Teachers, which identified strengths and weaknesses of our supervision model;

Ø      The College’s Conceptual Framework and identified examples of where we saw it implemented during the student teaching experience Supervisors were asked to share the conceptual framework with mentors in the field;

Ø      Expectations for field experiences identified in NCATE Standard 3. Supervisors assessed how well we are meeting the standards in the field and were asked to share NCATE Standard 3 with mentors and principals in the field;

Ø      Reviewed our inter-rater reliability for scoring Work Samples and developed a plan of action for improvement. Supervisors this term will use the component list to rate the value of the elements we require. This data will be passed onto a faculty task force.

Ø      Expectations related to ED SMART. Mark Baldwin was available to lead supervisors through the process of entering student data.

 

Faculty in the Health and Physical Education Division have held program retreats and been active in the annual 2 day Silver Falls Annual Retreat that convenes HPE faculty from Oregon’s colleges and university programs.


The annual COE Data Analysis Review Event (DARE) is planned for May 2007. 

 

During the fall term, the College hosted a COE Consortium meeting and convened its Special Education advisory committee.

 

A group of graduate level faculty have held three retreats since the beginning of the 2006 academic year to review and made recommendations designed to strengthen the COE Master’s of Science in Education program.  To date the following changes are underway:

  • Proficiencies are being revised for the MS of Ed program and will go through review process.
  • An MS in Ed alumni survey was developed and has been administered.
  • The MS in Ed program has developed an applicable Dispositions assessment.
  • Revisions for admissions and program progression are being crafted for faculty review. 

 

A number of COE faculty are participating in Book Chats sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning.

 

2.  Identify special staffing situations that may occur during 2007-2008 e.g. sabbaticals, retirements, leaves, alternate staffing patterns.

 

Identify Special Staffing Situation:

Explain Proposed Plan of Action:

 

Hank Bersani has announced that he will not be running again for Chair of Special Education and will be resigning as of  June 2007.

 

 

Joe Sendelbaugh returned to the SPED division this year and has discussed his plans for retirement in June 2008. 

 

The TPD program was reviewed by an outside evaluator in January 2007 and the recommendations combined with the lack of a 2nd tenure line faculty point to the need to reassess the future of the program at WOU.

 

The SPED division has renewed their recommendation that a baccalaureate program in ASL Studies be offered (currently already approved by OUS).

 

Gwenda Rice has announced that she will not be running again for Chair of the Division of Teacher Education and will be resigning as of either Summer or Fall 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karie Mize, a 2nd year Assistant Professor in DTE (ESOL) announced that she would be stepping down from a tenure line to pursue other interests,

 

George Cabrera, a Full Professor and minority faculty member in DTE retired suddenly in December 2006. 

 

 

In January 2007, Amy Smith, a 2nd year Assistant Professor in DTE announced that she would be moving to Chicago to follow her spouse who is taking a new job.

 

 

Adele Schepige has requested a sabbatical for Fall 2007 which she is highly deserving of.

 

Karleen Adams, a receptionist in the College of Education announced her resignation effective January 2007 to accept a position in a school district.

 

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, the loss of Mark Baldwin in January 2007 has left parts of our COE EDSMART data system very vulnerable.  His role had been evolving from a programmer to data analyst and support for faculty using the system. 

 

Discussions range from selection of a new chair to a merging of the teacher preparation program in Special Education and Deaf Education with the teacher preparation programs in Teacher Education. 

 

This year his load has been split between both Rehab Counseling and the Teacher Preparation in Deaf Education programs. 

 

 

These conversations are currently underway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussions are underway regarding the faculty staffing needs this would require and a proposal will be brought forward during the budget cycle.

 

 

 

There is a dearth of individuals ready and willing to be considered for Chair in this division by their colleagues. This is a very demanding position due to the complexity of licensure requirements, the public interest/criticism of teacher education, requests for partnerships from our local school districts, and the accreditation expectations from both TSPC and NCATE. Only three faculty in the division are full (Dauer, Rice, and Ulveland), two of whom have discussed their plans for retirement within the next two years.. 

 

The Division was able to offer Dr. Mize part time employment as a an adjunct in this high demand field and they requested to initiate a search that commenced in Fall 2006.

 

 

The Division is asking to hire an additional faculty member out of the search pool to address literacy and other gaps created by Cabrera’s retirement.

 

Arrangements have been made to allow Amy to teach in the online MAT program until June 2007.  Discussions with the Provost have outlined the impact that this will make on the personnel remaining to teach in the MAT program.

 

The Dean is meeting with the Chair and Adele to discuss impact of this sabbatical in light of personnel changes.

 

A search was conducted to refill the position and Kelly Kneece was hired in a timely fashion. 

 

 

 

The Dean submitted a request to refill this position and was denied.  A second request to minimally hire a temporary replacement is currently underway. Without stable support in this area, I worry about the technical capacity of the EDSMART system being ignored and technical difficulties encountered now leave us unable to make immediate and effective adjustments to the system. 

 

 

 

College Deans:

Please identify faculty who accomplished any of the following in 2006-2007 thus far:

1.  Significant recognition for exceptional and outstanding teaching.

 

Two College of Education faculty recently received awards sponsored by the Office of Disability Services (ODS)and the Disability Awareness Month Committee. Dr. Brian Caster, associate professor of health and physical education, and Dr. Joseph Sendelbaugh, professor of special education, were nominated by the students of ODS for their outstanding relationships with students with disabilities.

 

2.  Extensive innovations in curriculum and pedagogy (including course/program refinement, curriculum (re)design/revision, course modifications, new instructional materials, new methods of instruction, technological updating or other significant developments in pedagogy and methodology). 

Maria Dantas Whitney and Hilda are working with TRI and Woodburn to apply for a federal grant to develop a pathways program to create more bilingual teachers who can teach in the Woodburn community. This plan would benefit Oregon school district; it would help to diversify WOU, and would increase the connection between WOU and Woodburn school district.

 

Faculty and staff are working in partnership with CEOS and Salem Keizer School District to deliver an onsite MAT program for bilingual district employees who have earned baccalaureate degrees.  The program has involved many hours of planning and advising of students.

 

3.  Extensive participation in the development of well-articulated student learning outcomes and assessment of outcomes.

 

 

Dustin Melton ('05 Master of Science in Education) and Jessica Henderson, associate professor of Health and Physical Education, had an article accepted for publication in a major health journal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal titled Preventing Chronic Disease will publish an article from Melton's thesis, "Do Public Schools Provide Optimal Support for Children with Diabetes?" Melton is first author and Henderson is second and isa  particularly impressive outcome for a graduate student given the criteria for publication in a major journal.

 

Brian Caster, associate professor, and Bob Hautala, assistant professor, collaborated with two students for a presentation at the January 2007 conference of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), Northwest/Southwest districts in Reno. Presenting with them were Tyler Mitchell, an exercise science major, and Boe Burrus of Cresswell, OR, a physical education teaching major. Their conference presentation was titled, The effect of an 8-week physioball training program on core stability and general balance. "Boe and Tyler prepared well for the presentation," Hautala said. "It was easy to step back and let them take over during the activity portion of the presentation. They did a great and very professional job."

 

Also, Burrus was recently named Physical Education Teacher Education major of the year for the Division of Health and Physical Education and will be recognized at the AAHPERD national conference in Baltimore, MD, in March.

 

 THIS FOLLOWING IS ONLY A SAMPLE OF DATA AT THIS POINT.

 

 

Please identify faculty who accomplished any of the following in 2006-2007 thus far, including the titles of the works/projects etc.:

1.  Wrote a book and/or scholarly monograph that was successfully submitted for editorial and/or peer review and eventually published.

2.  Completed one or more articles, book reviews and essays that were published in peer-reviewed journals or presses.

Keller, L., Smith, J., & Hoover, S. (2006, May 20) "Spanning the Distance: Partners Preparing Students for Internship. Peer Reviewed Presentation at the State Coordinators for the Deaf National Conference: Moving on Up. Transcript can be retrieved from www.rcep6.org

 

Smith, J., Keller, L., & Hoover, S. (2006, May 20) Planting the Seed: Partnering with Vocational Rehabilitation for Advanced Practicum in Career Counseling for RCD Graduate Students. Peer Reviewed Presentation at the State Coordinators for the Deaf National Conference: Moving on UP. Transcript can be retrieved from www.rcep6.org

 

3.  Completed a textbook and/or a teaching manual for a textbook or original work that was peer review/juried and published.

Linda Keller Co-authored the “Revised Oregon Administrative Rules specific to Ethics for Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapist”

 

4.  Prepared peer-reviewed work or practice in the fine arts, including creative work in music, drama, artistic exhibits, productions and performances of artistic works or literature and subsequently performed.

5.  Delivered a refereed paper at scholarly meetings or major professional symposia attended by specialists and leaders in the field.

 

Braza, J. (July 2006).  Peace in Every Step. Presented at the 10th Annual Peace Village in Lincoln City, OR.

 

Braza, J. (June 2006). Mindfulness. Presented at the Summer Day of Mindfulness in Portland, OR.

 

Caster, B., Hautala, B., Ely, A.M., & Griffith, D. (October 2006). The effect of an 8-week physioball training program on core stability and general balance. Presented at the 2006 Oregon Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance conference in Salem, OR.

 

Henderson, J. (September 2006). Immunization among Infants in the Oregon Health Plan. Presented at the 2006 Oregon Health Research and Evaluation Conference in Salem, OR.

 

Henderson, J. (September 2006).  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Prevention through Health Messages FAS Leadership Meeting in Portland, OR.

 

Scarlato, M. C.  (2006, June). Substantial Reading Gains for Middle School Students Through Systematic Teaching and Collaboration.  32nd Annual confederation of Oregon School Administrators Conference.  Seaside, Oregon.

 

Scarlato, M. C.  (2006, October).  Systematic Teaching And Collaboration Produce Significant Reading Gains Among Middle School Students.  28th Annual International Conference on Learning Disabilities:  Research in Context—A Capitol Idea.  Council for Learning Disabilities.  McLean, Virginia.

 

Smith, J.& Keller, L. “Partnering with Vocational Rehabilitation for Advanced Practicum: Planting a Seed” State Coordinators of the Deaf, Rochester, NY

 

Smith, J.  & Keller, L. “Crossing the Bridge to Effective Case Management: An Innovative Training Model” State Coordinators of the Deaf, Rochester, NY

 

 

 

6.  Secured an externally funded and peer-reviewed research grant.

Davis, C. (5 years) Western Region Outreach Center & Consortia A sub-contract with California State University Northridge funded by OSERS.

 

         van der Mars, H., McNamee, J. & Timken, G. (September 2006 to June 2007)             Coaching teachers to integrate formal formative assessment in their teaching,   Research Consortium of AAHPERD $14,700.

 

7.  Participated as a named investigator in sponsored, peer-reviewed research.

8.  Securing competitive peer-reviewed external awards, grants/fellowships or other notable extramural support for scholarly endeavors.

 

Please identify faculty (and/or approximate percentage of unit faculty) who made significant or extraordinary accomplishments in the following areas in 2006-2007 thus far. Please provide best estimates and or representative samples. 

 

1.      Special contributions to the faculty governance of the institution, particularly including service activities as a very valuable departmental colleague and/or faculty mentor.

Linda Stonecipher has served as COE Graduate Coordinator since Summer 2006 and has overseen the administration of comprehensive exams, streamlined processes, and provided timely reports on student results to faculty and administrators.  She has also been a key facilitator of a group of faculty revamping key elements in the College’s MS in Ed program.

Gwenda Rice has facilitated the development of a clear set of roles and responsibilities for Program Coordinators that will help ensure clarity and stronger program services.

 

2.      Extensive service to students outside of the formal classroom, beyond regular advising.

Denvy Saxowsky and Gail Saxowsky have provided a very personalized outreach to the international students enrolled in the MS in Ed Information Technology program (and some of their undergraduate friends), hosting them at their home for meals, helping them acclimate to WOU and the community and advocating for their needs.

 

Fifty-six CCC students met with WOU faculty (E. Bruce & R. Kendall) on October 20 at CCC to learn more about health and physical education majors at WOU. A second session is scheduled for November.

 

3.      Extensive participation in University fund raising, public relations or alumni development.

Mickey Pardew continues to be a very active member of the Northwest Autism Foundation founded by the Hamerslys.

 

4.      Extensive participation in student recruitment/admissions and student retention activities and other special assignments related to the business of the University.

5.      Developed new or innovative programs and active participation in the curriculum development, program review and assessment process.    

 

6.      Demonstrated leadership in local, state, federal or international agencies, professional and public interest organizations and other entities that substantially enhance institutional goals.

 

Hank Bersani, professor and chair of the division, was interviewed for a story that was featured on the National Public Radio program All Things Considered Jan. 22, 2007, titled Label Falls Short for Those with Mental Retardation.

 

Hank Bersani also was also selected as a representative from Oregon’s special education teacher preparation programs to attend a national conference on HQT in general education and special education..

Bob Brownbridge  Gave a day-long standardized assessment workshop for 22 Central S.D. special educators on Friday, 8/25

Cardinal, M. (Summer 2006) Attended Executive Board Meetings of Research Consortium, AAHPERD in Reston, VA.

 

Cardinal, M., (Summer 2006) Symposium Planner/Organizer: Choreography as Research Symposium, National Dance Association and Research Consortium, AAHPERD.

 

Cardinal, M. (Summer 2006) Reviewer, Interdisciplinary Research Abstract Review Panel for Research Consortium, AAHPERD.

 

Cardinal, M. Chairperson, Fellow Application for Dance Choreography Ad Hoc Committee, Research Committee of National Dance Association and Research Consortium, AAHPERD.

 

The Conference of Interpreter Teachers just formed an affiliated Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE), and have asked Elisa Maroney to be one of the founding members.

 

Mickey Pardew, professor, volunteered to present a three hour training in Lebanon, Ore., for the KIDCO Head start staff titled Positive Partnerships and Parents. It was held Feb. 5, 2007, for 25 participants.

 

Hilda Rosselli was appointed to a nine member national committee for a 3 year term on the AACTE Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability.