Strategy: Ensure that the campus maintains and develops high caliber courses, curricula, and academic programs.
Point People: Jeffery Gibeling, Patricia Turner, and Harold Levine
Narrative Summary of First Year Implementation Efforts -- Undergraduate:
Our efforts this year have been driven by recommendations from the 2003 Chancellor’s Fall Conference on the Strategic Vision. The groups charged with “learning” agreed that efforts be undertaken to improve student writing. Further, we also pursued increasing departmental/programmatic commitment to honors programs. Finally, in keeping with recommendations from the WASC external evaluation team, we followed up on improving campus program review procedures.
Narrative Summary of First Year Implementation Efforts – Graduate:
The Graduate Council has formal responsibility for assessing the quality of graduate courses, curricula and programs. It has well-established procedures for review of new activities in these areas as well as for periodic review of each graduate program. These program reviews occur on regular cycles every 7-8 years on average. However, it is important that the campus strengthen the program review process to include greater reliance on outcomes. This will require that Graduate Studies develop and provide access to an appropriate database of measurable parameters such as time to degree, attrition rates, completion rates, placements, etc. In concert with this activity, the Office of Graduate Studies has proposed developing measures of program quality to use in determining graduate student support block grant allocations.
During the past year, the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Graduate Council discussed the concept of a minimum viable graduate program size. From an academic perspective, it is important to ensure that a viable cohort of students participates in coursework upon entry into the program. From a resources perspective, it is important that the campus devote financial resources, administrative attention and faculty time to programs that offer the greatest opportunity to advance campus goals. While the Graduate Council did not wish to define a minimum viable program size, the program review process will consider this criterion in future reviews.
The Office of Graduate Studies has initiated discussions with the Graduate Council and the Committee on Courses of Instruction to move courses on professionalism, communication, ethics, scientific integrity, etc. to a common designation under Graduate Studies rather than current practice of offering them through various programs. Both committees were supportive of the concept; the next step is to identify such courses across the campus and work with individual instructors to advance this idea.
The Office of Graduate Studies continues to work with campus constituents to actively support efforts to develop new graduate programs and update existing programs to ensure that curricula are responsive to emerging areas of scholarship. Areas such as animal biology, plant sciences, mathematical biology, bioinformatics and environmental sciences will require special attention as the campus organizational structure evolves and the scientific emphases in these areas change.
Advances and Ongoing Programs Consistent With Strategy -- Undergraduate:
- A proposal for a University Writing Program (UWP) http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/kiskis/ug_council/uwp.html was revised, disseminated, re-written and stewarded through multiple campus constituencies.
- UWP approved by UC Davis Academic Senate on June 4, 2004, and is scheduled for transmission to the Provost by end of spring quarter http://writingprogram.ucdavis.edu/
- National search launched for UWP director
- Annual Unit Review (AUR) on Subject A due for completion by end of spring quarter (URL forthcoming)
- AUR completed on Davis Honors Challenge and submitted for review by Academic Senate Special Programs Committee http://undergraduatestudies.ucdavis.edu/
- Regent’s Scholars recruitment enhanced by Provost investment
- Regent’s Scholars acceptance targeted at 80 students – 107 accept
- After program review meetings held with the chairs of college executive committees, new proposal drafted and available at: http://www.physics.ucdavis.edu/kiskis/ug_council/prog_rev.pdf
- Upper division course for Integrated Studies (high-achieving students) piloted
- Honors thesis course approval secured for Integrated Studies students
Advances and Ongoing Programs Consistent with Strategy -- Graduate:
- Systemwide approval of new MAS degree in Maternal and Child Nutrition.
- Campus approval of name change of MS program in Animal Science to Animal Biology.
- Campus approval of new Graduate School of the Environment.
- Campus approval of new joint Ed.D. in educational leadership with Cal State Sacramento and Sonoma State Universities.
- Graduate Council approval of new Designated Emphasis in Biophotonics.
- Graduate Council initiated discussion of statement of educational objectives for graduate education.
- Graduate Council added consideration of program size to program review criteria.
- National Research Council taxonomy of programs reviewed by Graduate Studies and campus constituencies.
- Discussion initiated to move graduate courses on professionalism, communication, ethics, scientific integrity, etc. to a common designation under Graduate Studies.
- Graduate Studies continues to fully support program review activities of Graduate Council, including dedicating staff time to this process, involving the Dean and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and supporting expenses of external reviewers.
- Graduate Council committee chairs and Graduate Studies’ deans engaged in initial conversation of program quality measures that could be incorporated in graduate program block grant allocation formula.
Short Statement of Plans for 2004-2005 -- Undergraduate:
- Appoint inaugural Clark Kerr Chair in Undergraduate Studies as director of UWP
- Pursue implementation of UWP proposal
- Focus on securing external funds to support UWP enhancements
- Focus on securing external scholarship dollars
- Foster further program review discussions
- Consolidate Davis Honors Challenge AUR and Special Programs Committee recommendations
Short Statement of Plans for 2004-05 -- Graduate:
- Program Review Committee (PRC) of Graduate Council to begin implementing consideration of program size as part of regular program review process in 2004-2005 to ensure that small programs are consistent with campus goals.
- Initiate discussion with PRC of appropriate program outcomes to be included in program review process. Design database and provide access to programs and PRC for 2005-2006 review cycle.
- Continue planning for National Research Council study of research doctorates. Ensure that appropriate campus data systems and adequate staffing are available to provide high quality and accurate campus response.
- Graduate Studies to work with individual faculty, Graduate Council and Committee on Courses of Instruction to identify courses that can be offered under common Graduate Studies designation to ensure broad availability across disciplines.
- Begin discussions of ways to simplify and streamline course approval process with relevant Academic Senate committees to ensure that courses remain current.
- Graduate Council to complete development of educational objectives for graduate education.
- Graduate Studies to continue to encourage faculty to develop new graduate programs and designated emphases.
Evaluation of Metrics:
- Evidence of educational effectiveness, including results from the periodic assessment of instructional programs in relation to program and campus educational objectives for students
Clearly, more needs to be done to encourage departments to establish educational objectives for their students. At present, there is some faculty resistance. Assessment is a key component of the UWP proposal. The Academic Senate General Education Committee worked on educational objectives for GE courses. - At the graduate level, this metric is best assessed through the on-going Graduate Council program review process. This process provides a uniform assessment methodology across all disciplines, and includes external reviews of all programs offering terminal degrees. While the Council already has a list of published standards against which program quality can be assessed, http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/gradcouncil/gcevalpriorit.pdf, it is also working to develop a statement of educational objectives that will provide additional measures of quality.
- Increase in departmental/programmatic commitment to honors programs
The Integrated Studies program expanded from 69 to 114 students in academic year 2004-2004. Faculty participation increased accordingly. - Growth in the number of UC Davis students who enroll in prestigious graduate and professional school programs.
During academic year 2004-2005, the campus needs to improve its ability to calculate these figures. At present, we have no organized system of determining how many students pursue graduate education. - Provision of the highest-quality graduate curriculum responsive to emerging areas of scholarship
This metric is best assessed through the program review process conducted by the Graduate Council. Additional external assessments, such the upcoming National Research Council (NRC) survey of research doctorates, will provide external validation of the quality of our graduate programs. In addition, the NRC taxonomy provides a tool to assess the responsiveness of our graduate curricula to emerging areas of scholarship across the nation. The Office of Graduate Studies must ensure that the data from surveys of this type are broadly available as part of the DataDigest.