Chapter 5
ACADEMIC LIFE - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
|
The Curriculum General Education Interdisciplinary Study Program Outreach The Learning Environment Faculty Recruitment and Development Assessment Special Programs Technology Diversity |
The Academic Affairs Division of the university has focused on three major goals in its efforts to enhance the quality and accessibility of its educational programming during the past decade: developing a curriculum that responds effectively to the changing needs of our students, creating and sustaining an optimal environment and means for the delivery of that curriculum, and increasing the diversity of the people who work and study in that environment as well as what is studied. The academic activities and initiatives selected for description in this chapter are efforts to fulfill these three goals. An extended evaluation of their effectiveness in accomplishing the goals is undertaken in the Selected Topics section of this report.
The Curriculum
The goal to "develop and provide curricula in the liberal arts and
professional fields that are responsive to the needs of the students,
the region and society at large" is fulfilled through both undergraduate
and graduate offerings and by the delivery of programs on and off-campus
and, as of this year, through distance education. All programs undergo
periodic review, ongoing assessment and continuous change to ensure
that students receive a quality education at Shippensburg University.
Three areas that have undergone fairly extensive change in the last
decade are general education, interdisciplinary programming, and extended
studies.
General Education
The university's General Education program has been in place since
1986 and is currently undergoing its third comprehensive review. Various
program modifications have occurred as a result of the first two review
cycles, carried out in keeping with the university's general education
program review policy, instituted in 1989. Modifications include improved
scheduling, an increase in the number of required science units, elimination
of 12 required electives, addition of a foreign-language requirement
for B.A. majors, preparation of a descriptive brochure and catalog copy,
greater integration of technology into the curriculum, and the development
of the Nelson General Education Assessment Project, described in Chapter
Three.
Recently, attention has focused on basic skills components of the program-English,
history, library/information, mathematics and speech. Prior to the fall
of 1997, for example, students could meet the composition requirement
by satisfactorily completing either Composition or Documented
Essay. These two courses have now been replaced by a single course,
College Writing. This course allows for more efficient scheduling
and, more important, includes a required research component and paper.
Because the new course emphasizes academic research and documentation,
the library/information skills requirement, currently taught as a "stand
alone" component of the program, will be integrated into College
Writing this year.
A new Mathematics course, Basic Mathematical Models will replace
Introductory Algebra and eventually College Algebra as
well. The new course, which will be introduced in the fall of 1999,
focuses on developing students' problem-solving and modeling abilities
by incorporating material drawn from a number of disciplines. By moving
away from drill-and-practice to application, it is anticipated that
students will more successfully make connections among mathematics,
general education, and their major.
An outcomes-assessment plan for the six-course basic skills component
of the General Education program is being implemented this year. This
plan will augment the Nelson research with performance-based outcomes-assessment
data. The third and final component of the General Education assessment
program, performance assessment of the knowledge areas, is to be developed
this academic year.
To give greater coherency to the General Education program and provide
better guidance for future planning and assessment the committee that
developed the basic skills assessment plan drafted a set of metagoals
for the program:
- Prepared for advanced study in the major
- Acquainted with the foundations and range of knowledge
- More active in their own education
- More open to new ideas and change
- More creative and effective problem solvers
- Better able to cooperate and collaborate when working with others
- More self-confident and understanding of their own strengths and limitations.
These metagoals have been submitted to the general education review
process for consideration and approval during the present review cycle.
A representative sample of 100 students who graduated in May, 1998,
was reviewed this fall to determine the extent to which students are
actually fulfilling the general education requirements at Shippensburg.
The students in the sample were distributed by degree program in the
same proportion as all graduating students: 38 B.A., 23 B.S., 22 B.S.B.A.
and 17 B.S.Ed. With few exceptions, judging from the analysis, students
are meeting the specific requirements of general education at Shippensburg
University.
While the present General Education program possesses many strengths,
fully meets System guidelines, is scheduled efficiently, has undergone
continuous, incremental improvement, and is completed by nearly all
students, a large percentage of students and alumni, as will be seen
in Chapter Ten, fail to appreciate its value for future learning.
Consequently, the General Education Study Group, responsible for the
first stage in the review of the program, has been given the charge
of developing "a more engaging and inspiring" program that will better
address and respond to student needs.
Interdisciplinary Study
Almost non-existent a decade ago, interdisciplinary study is gradually
becoming an accepted and commonplace mode of study at the university.
Currently interdisciplinary study takes several forms: the Interdisciplinary
Arts major (initiated, 1990), interdisciplinary minors in Ethnic Studies
(1993) and Women's Studies (1992), the clustered-learning program
(1993) and team-taught Honors courses (1992).
With the exception of the Honors courses and introductory courses
in Women's and Ethnic Studies, these programs have tended to be more
multidisciplinary than interdisciplinary in nature. But this is rapidly
changing. The College of Education and Human Services, for example,
has initiated an innovative Human Services Week with activities and
speakers addressing the service elements common to criminal justice,
education and social work and has developed a new course integrating
components of the three disciplines. Recently, student teachers have
been paired with social work students in an effort to introduce them
to the potential benefits such collaboration provides to clients and
professionals alike.
Similar developments are occurring in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Last year, for example, witnessed the formation of a Center for Applied
Social Science Research and Public Policy Analysis, an interdisciplinary
group of social and behavioral science faculty and students who are
pursuing opportunities and have already acquired several contracts
to conduct applied research. The Biology and Geography/Earth Science
departments are actively exploring the possibility of developing a
joint research station at Burd Run. A recent $50,000 grant from the
State System of Higher Education to assist in revitalizing the general
education program focuses on interdisciplinary study, a direction
that received support during faculty discussions this summer. Emerging
in the College of Business through the collaboration of faculty and
students from different disciplines is a plan to operate a student-run
satellite university store in downtown Shippensburg, giving business
majors unusual opportunities to apply principles and theories learned
in the classroom to a real business venture.
While it is too early to say where the curriculum will be ten years
from now, it is clear that interdisciplinary study is likely to play
an even more prominent role than it does at present.
Program Outreach: Off-Campus Programs, Extended Studies, & Distance Learning
Increasingly, residents of southcentral Pennsylvania seeking course
work are nontraditional students, over 24 years of age, employed and
wanting more convenient access to learning than the typical schedule
of course offerings on campus can provide. Although traditional residential
students are anticipated to be its largest student commitment in the
foreseeable future, the university is also committed to meeting as
many of the needs of our nontraditional students as possible.
A continuing challenge for the university is finding ways of securing
sufficient resources to launch new programs. Among recent efforts
to respond to changing educational needs in the region is the university's
Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS), offered collaboratively
by faculty in Computer Science and the College of Business at the
Dixon Center in Harrisburg. Even though this program has been successful
in terms of student satisfaction and enrollment, it remains one of
a few programs presently offered off-campus and one of only two new
degree programs instituted at the university in a decade. The main
obstacle to new program development, especially professional graduate
programs (the kind most in demand in the area), is lack of adequate
funds to start and support the programs. For example, when the College
of Business presented its proposed new Master's Degree in Business
Administration last year, it was clear that the budget required to
support the small cohort of graduate students exceeded the amount
of resources that could be made available to the program without negatively
impacting the college's undergraduate program.
In an attempt to overcome funding constraints, the university has
embarked on a three-faceted strategy: 1) a greater dedication of existing
resources to graduate programs that clearly meet demonstrable and
pressing regional needs, 2) the re-establishment of a continuing education
program, called Extended Studies, and 3) the gradual development of
the university's distance education capability.
Illustrative of the first approach is the present development of a
Master's Degree in Gerontology involving faculty from all three colleges.
The program will respond to significant need in the region for persons
trained in the field and is projected at this early stage of planning
to require a level of funding the university can manage. In anticipation
of the program's approval by the State System Board of Governors two
years from now, plans are underway to gradually shift the resources
needed to support the program from areas in less need.
An Extended Studies program was approved by the various campus governing
bodies last year and a position vacated by a retired administrator
converted to the deanship of the program. While a national search
is being conducted for a dean, an interim dean is collaborating with
faculty, administrators and community resource people to facilitate
the initial development of a small number of programs that will be
offered in selected off-campus sites. Physical resources such as office
space, phones, computers and other equipment have been provided. An
administrative assistant has been transferred from another office
to assist the dean in the establishment of extended studies. An Advisory
Council for Extended Studies is being formed consisting of faculty,
administrators and members of the community to advise the dean on
program development and implementation.
The mission of Extended Studies is to develop and offer quality programs
that meet temporary educational needs of the region using expertise
from on- and off-campus, primarily at convenient off-campus sites
and eventually through distance education. During the next five years
Extended Studies should grow fairly rapidly and become a self-supporting
program. The new dean will bring experience and expertise in Extended
Studies and will work closely with the colleges and community to develop
programs that help the university better serve continually changing
educational needs in the region.
During its first year of operation, Extended Studies is pursuing four
goals: 1) to develop an infra-structure for the smooth operation of
the program, 2) to identify areas for program development and to offer
several courses at off-campus sites, 3) to further research "benchmark"
Extended Studies programs and "best practices" at other universities,
and, 4) to begin developing ways of linking Extended Studies programming
with the university's five-year distance education plan.
The third strategy for dealing with funding constraints, using distance
education as a means of responding to emerging regional needs, is
discussed more fully in Chapter Eleven, Technology and Innovation.
A new five-year plan for distance education, developed by a committee
of faculty and administrators over the past two years, was approved
this fall.
The Learning Environment
A second goal of the university especially pertinent to academic affairs is to "maintain an environment that emphasizes excellence, innovation, and technology in teaching and learning and that results in lifelong purposeful learners." The university strives to fulfill this important goal in all of its activities and functions, but several academic initiatives of the past decade highlight the nature and extent of the effort: faculty recruitment and development, assessment, special student-faculty learning programs, and technological development.
Faculty Recruitment and Development
The mission and priorities of the university are conveyed to new
faculty at the time of their recruitment and are consistently communicated
throughout their probationary years at the university. Job advertisements
are clear about the importance of excellent teaching and each candidate
is asked to make a presentation before faculty and students as a part
of the interview. A two-day retreat of all new tenure-track faculty
held off-campus before the official opening of the school year concentrates
on the characteristics of Shippensburg students, their learning and
the use of diverse teaching methods to motivate and help students
with different learning preferences and abilities succeed. This orientation
is followed up with a series of fourteen "faculty exchanges" during
the year, conducted by faculty and administrators, on various aspects
of academic life, such as advising, technology, general education
and performance evaluations. Evaluations of probationary faculty focus
closely on teaching competency and development and in recent years
they have routinely included comments that commend and encourage efforts
to engage students in active learning experiences in the classroom.
For over a decade, faculty development has been encouraged and funded.
In addition to sabbaticals (approximately 16 per year), educational
leaves are available for faculty seeking to complete their doctorates
or undertake coursework to develop expertise in new areas. Over the
last five years, 14 educational leaves have been awarded, thirteen
to complete the doctorate. Seven of these faculty have received their
degrees; three others will receive theirs at the end of this year.
Of the seven who completed their degree, three are minorities, four
are women.
Every year the faculty Professional Development Committee (PDC) provides
a range of opportunities for professional development for all full-time
faculty. Funds to support these opportunities are provided by the
Shippensburg University Foundation, the University operating budget
and the State System of Higher Education Faculty Professional Development
Council. The university's Instructional Technology Committee also
provides funding for the training of faculty in the use of technology
in the classroom. Following data show last year's participation in
and support for professional development through the PDC and Instructional
Technology Committee.
Table 5-1 Support for Faculty Professional Development
Academic Year 1997/98
| Category |
Funding Source |
Number of Grants |
Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Grant/Special Projects |
State System of Higher Education |
5 |
21,849 |
| Supplemental to State System Small Grants |
Shippensburg University |
5 |
2,362 |
| Small Grants |
Shippensburg University |
8 |
7,128 |
| Conference Presentations |
Shippensburg University |
80 |
52,071 |
Instructional Technology Grants |
Shippensburg University |
7 |
10,903 |
Summer Stipends and Research |
Shippensburg University |
18 |
40,139 |
| Total |
123 |
$134,453 |
Deans of the colleges also fund faculty presentations at national
and regional conferences, and attendance at a wide variety of workshops,
including workshops that involve student learning. Each year the university
Teaching Center sponsors several workshops. For example, this past
year three were offered: Teaching Large Classes Well, Legal Concerns
in the Classroom, and Teaching and Learning in the Computer Age. Two
to three faculty are selected by the PDC each year to attend the State
System Summer Academy, an intensive one-week program that utilizes
some of the best-known experts in the country to lead workshops on
teaching and learning at the college level.
Continual faculty professional development helps maintain an environment
that emphasizes excellence and innovation not only in the classroom
but throughout the campus. Its most important effects are observed
in student learning outcomes, discussed in Chapter Ten, Student Learning
and Development.
Assessment
Assessment of student learning is another major and comprehensive
initiative that has emphasized, supported and enhanced excellence
in teaching and learning. For more than a decade, Shippensburg University
has been developing and integrating into its planning and budget processes
a comprehensive, data-based, self-study program intended to ensure
continuous institutional improvement. The assessment of student learning
outcomes in the institution's academic areas is a key component of
the program. Because all of the campus environment influences student
learning and development, however, the self-study program extends
well beyond academic departments and programs and encompasses all
divisions and functions of the University. This summary focuses primarily
on assessment that relates to the academic areas.
The student outcomes assessment portion of the self-study program
consists of institutional and programmatic levels of assessment, of
external and internal sources of data, and of performance-indicator
data as well as direct measures of student learning. At the institutional
level, the university participates in three major national assessment
programs: The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), the
Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), and the College
Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ). Results of these surveys
are routinely reviewed by the president and his executive management
team, the president's cabinet, various deans' councils, and other
pertinent units in the administrative structure. Those responsible
for areas needing improvement as evidenced by survey results, are
assigned specific tasks and deadlines for reporting recommendations
for change or improvements accomplished. The most important internally
designed institutional assessments are two alumni surveys, instruments
which solicit alumni views of a wide range of academic and student
services. Results of the alumni surveys are reviewed and acted upon
in the same fashion as for the external assessments.
The catalyst for student assessment at the departmental or program
level is the five-year program review. For the review, departmental
data are culled from institutional surveys of students and alumni,
packaged into a booklet, and given to the department conducting the
review. Each department develops its own student learning outcomes
assessment program, the results of which are also reviewed, analyzed,
and reported in the self-study along with plans for addressing identified
student needs.
For many academic departments, the regular assessment of student learning
outcomes and the use of these data to evaluate specific academic programs
has been a relatively recent development. Some programs, such as the
Departments of Teacher Education and Counseling began systematically
evaluating student outcomes in the early 1990s, but most developed
assessment methods after 1996 when such information became required
in the five-year review process. University-wide workshops were held
to train faculty in the preparation of assessment plans and to encourage
their assimilation into departmental cultures. By the fall of 1997
all academic departments had plans in place. The first five-year reviews
using student outcomes data were conducted in 1997/98 in the John
L. Grove College of Business.
The College of Business uses a variety of data on student outcomes
common for all departments. These include an annual alumni employment
survey regarding employment, salaries and job satisfaction. Other
college-wide assessment instruments include exit surveys and interviews
with seniors, as well as internship and student research assistant
evaluations. Each department within the Grove College of Business
adds specific student outcomes assessment tools to the common surveys.
Many of these consist of carefully designed measures of student and
alumni satisfaction related to departmental missions. If responses
are below predetermined levels, action is taken to address perceived
problems. For example, the Decision Science program determined that
six of the fourteen skill areas in their major were rated less than
satisfactory in recent surveys of students and alumni. As a result,
changes have been made or are underway which respond directly to these
areas of concern.
While most academic departments in other colleges also use surveys
to assess student outcomes, a number of other evaluation methods have
been used successfully throughout the university. Portfolios have
been used extensively by education disciplines for many years as a
way to collect samples of student work which can be shown to potential
employers. Departments such as History and Philosophy have adopted
the portfolio as a record of student progress in meeting academic
goals. The department trains all of its students in portfolio development
in their first year. These portfolios are then collected from a representative
sample of juniors and from all seniors and are evaluated anonymously
by departmental faculty on a graduated scale against program goals.
Results, combined with survey data, are reviewed in terms of program
content and practice.
Various programs in the College of Education and Human Services have
used student outcomes assessment as a way to validate their curriculum.
For example, the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations
has detailed goals and outcomes for every aspect of its program. A
matrix has been developed that relates program objectives, activities
related to each objective, and means of evaluation. Specific competencies
are then required from students in each course. Students are also
asked to provide extensive written feedback after each course, and
to evaluate their internship experience. These data, along with alumni
surveys, have helped to generate recent changes in the program.
Finally, the University program for assessing general education consists
of three parts: an attitudinal study, a learning skills assessment,
and a general knowledge assessment. The assessment of student attitudes
about learning, referred to as the Nelson General Education Assessment
Project, has been five years in development and implementation. The
study will continue for several more years, at least until ample data
about changes in student attitudes toward learning over the full span
of a cohort's undergraduate experience have been collected and analyzed.
The learning skills assessment program was developed in 1997/98. Pre-testing
began last year for some of the abilities being assessed during the
spring diagnostic testing of entering freshmen. The first post-test
will occur at the end of the 1998/99 academic year. Results of both
general education assessment programs will be incorporated into the
general education program review. Development of the third component,
which will focus on current objectives for the general knowledge areas,
begins this spring.
Special Programs
Partly to enrich the general learning environment and partly to motivate
students to want to learn and engage in "effortful thought," the university
has initiated several special programs that unite students and faculty
in stimulating educational experiences outside the classroom. These
include: Academic Day, a day reserved during New Student Orientation
for a variety of academic activities, the highlight of which is a
discussion of an assigned book (The Hot Zone in 1997 and The
Color of Water in 1998) within small groups of freshmen and a
faculty member; and University Day, a day set aside in the spring
for special educational events throughout the campus, ranging from
departmental field trips to alumni workshops on career opportunities
in various fields to intellectual games. Whereas Academic Day was
supported at the outset by a large majority of faculty (and still
enjoys such support), University Day was slower to gain acceptance
and be used by all departments as an effective way of involving students
more actively in the academic life of the campus. Recent surveys,
however, show that some of the more reluctant departments have begun
to actively participate.
A very important and well-attended event held on University Day is
the presentation of the results of student-faculty research sponsored
by the University Research Program. Funded by the Shippensburg University
Foundation, currently in the amount of $22,500, the program allows
students to actively engage in mentored research or other scholarly
projects with sponsoring faculty. Each fall, students and supporting
faculty mentors throughout the university are encouraged to apply
for project funding. In the spring, students who have been awarded
grants share the results of their work with the university community
during University Day through posters, displays and oral presentations.
Last year, 73 students received support for their projects. Six of
them were selected to present the results of their work at the National
Conference on Undergraduate Research held at Salisbury State University
in Maryland. This conference provides students an opportunity to view
firsthand how the results of academic research are shared and to hear
speakers discuss emerging issues in their respective fields.
It is noteworthy that each year the number of faculty collaborating
with students in research projects grows and some faculty personally
sponsor student travel to national and regional conferences to present
posters and papers. In addition, the Ethnic Studies program has sponsored
a student research colloquium annually the past several years in which
student participation has been unusually high (42 last year), faculty
sponsorship strong (10) and the quality of presentations a credit
to the sponsoring program.
Two other programs that have valuable potential for significantly
impacting the learning and development of students as well as the
"tone" of the intellectual life on campus are the Honors and the Study
Abroad programs. The Honors Program continues to attract more well-qualified
students than the 40 who are selected for the program each year. Initiated
in 1985, the program, largely general education, has evolved slowly
under the leadership of three different faculty directors and with
the support of supplementary funding by the Shippensburg Foundation.
Interest in admitting more students into the program, an upcoming
program review, the development of a formal assessment of student
learning and a new program director promise significant change in
the future. Greater support for the program is high on the list of
needs submitted recently by college deans and chairs to the Shippensburg
Foundation for consideration as part of an upcoming capital campaign.
In several ways, the Honors Program has served as a model or laboratory
for innovative teaching and learning on campus. The first program
to use team teaching and clustered learning in a significant way and
to develop a community service effort associated with an academic
endeavor, it has influenced important changes in other programs such
as the clustered learning program for at-risk students.
Over the past three years, attempts have been made to incorporate
within the program other innovations as advocated by the National
Collegiate Honors Association. During the 1997 spring semester, for
example, Honors students and two faculty members participated in a
course entitled, "The Southern Narrative in Black and White," that
included a study trip to Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. While
the course was, in the view of all involved, the kind of mind-opening
and challenging experience the university wishes for its students,
cost prohibits it at present from serving as a model for other programming.
More promising in this regard, perhaps, is last spring's venture in
"Creativity, Invention and Entrepeneurship," a course taught by two
faculty (one in Chemistry, the other in Management and Marketing)
to twenty students. Over the course of the semester, student teams
researched and developed patentable products, prepared business and
marketing plans and presented their products to an audience of Arts
and Science Advisory Board members. The emphasis upon research, exploration
and discovery represents the sort of innovative programming advocated
by the Council and at the same time has the potential for involving
a large number of students.
Slower to develop but recently enjoying a large surge of interest
from two sources is the Study Abroad Program. Until this year, fewer
than twenty students have taken advantage of the opportunity to study
abroad in any one semester. Strong faculty support in one of the departments
in the College of Business, which evolved into a senior seminar devoted
to the development of a study abroad program for business majors that
is expected to receive some funding from a university benefactor,
is one of the sources of interest and excitement. The other is the
new Director of the Study Abroad Program who, building on the work
of a committee two years ago, has generated this year a large number
of student inquiries about the many opportunities for study abroad,
provided much expanded and easy access to information about these
opportunities and made the application process a smoother one.
Currently the university has formal exchanges with two institutions
overseas: the Aarhus School of Business in Denmark and Humberside
in England. Students have also attended with some frequency Edge Hill
University, England. Shippensburg faculty have conducted courses abroad
during the summer months; this summer, for example, courses will be
taught in Austria, France and England. Other placements have been
individual and located in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, and
Spain. Many new initiatives for both individual placements and exchanges
are currently underway.
Recognizing both the importance of study abroad for broadening Shippensburg
students understanding of the world as well as the difficulty many
students have in meeting the costs associated with travel, living
and study overseas, the deans and chairs have submitted Study Abroad
as another major priority for funding consideration by the SU Foundation
in the next capital campaign.
Technology
The use of technology in enhancing teaching and learning at Shippensburg has expanded greatly during the past six or seven years, and the university has recently joined several consortia to participate in grant-funded projects that are developing its distance learning capability considerably. These and related developments are reviewed in Chapter Eleven, Technology and Innovation.
Diversity
The goal "to enhance the diversity of the students, faculty, administration
and staff, to improve the campus milieu in which they interact, and
to make the curriculum more gender-balanced and inclusive of different
cultures and ethnic perspectives" has been in many ways one of the
most challenging for the university. It is far-reaching and confronts,
not only on campus but also in the wider community, ways of thinking
and acting that are traditionally much more circumscribed than what
is envisioned by the goal. On balance, the university has made substantial
progress toward achieving the goal during this decade; success is
more apparent in some areas than in others but in every area efforts
toward change are ongoing. The successes achieved thus far are attributable
to strong presidential leadership and support, to an ever-growing
number of individuals committed to ensuring that the university fulfills
its goal and the commitment of substantial resources to make achievement
of the goal possible.
Under the administration of a new dean, the Office of Admissions five
years ago set itself the goal of doubling the enrollment of entering
minority students within five years through annual increases of approximately
20 percent. Immediately a set of aggressive strategies was put into
effect. For example, two university representatives were assigned
to Harrisburg and Philadelphia to develop closer ties with key community
leaders, school districts and organizations. The Diversity Enrichment
Program was developed, a program involving the training and support
of thirty campus and community minority leaders who work to generate
in the region greater minority student interest in Shippensburg University.
Several programs were organized to bring minority students to the
campus for various events, including an overnight campus visitation.
The number of visits to high schools and colleges in areas where African
American and Hispanic populations are largest was greatly increased.
Through the auspices of the State System, the campus participated
in the Minority Joint Recruitment Program, hosted the Pittsburgh Partnership
(a three-week summer program for teenage minority students from Pittsburgh),
and actively sponsored an ongoing program for minority students in
Chambersburg (see Chapter Six, Student Life). The College Board's
SEARCH Service was utilized to identify and send mailings to minority
students throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
These initiatives contributed to the successful doubling of minority
enrollments over the past five years. The following table shows the
progress made.
Table 5-2 New Minority Enrollments*
1998 |
1997 |
1996 |
1995 |
1994 |
1993 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black |
110 |
90 |
85 |
66 |
76 |
51 |
Hispanic |
28 |
31 |
26 |
30 |
20 |
19 |
American Indian |
6 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
Asian |
41 |
24 |
27 |
30 |
25 |
17 |
Total |
181 |
150 |
142 |
130 |
122 |
87 |
* Includes new enrollments for Fall and Spring semesters.
Many programs contribute to the retention of minority students.
Although the percentage of minority students retained is below the
university norm, it is much higher than the national norm for comprehensive,
public universities (see Chapter Ten: Student Learning and Development).
The academic programs which contribute to the success that has been
realized include: the Commission on Minority Student Retention,
the Learning Assistance Center, diagnostic testing and placement
of entering students, the ACT 101 program, developmental courses
in basic skills, the clustered learning program, the Ethnic Studies
Program, the Martin Luther King Program and the Marshall Mentoring
Program. Together, and in conjunction with effective support programs
in student affairs, these programs have had a positive influence
on minority student retention. As noted in Chapter Ten, however,
minority student retention rates have slipped somewhat in the past
several years. The slope appears to be associated with the admission
of greater numbers of less prepared students, a finding that has
serious implications for developmental programming at the university.
The increase in importance of developmental education for minority
student retention has come at a time of transition in developmental
programming and its administration for the whole student body at
Shippensburg. The resignation of the director of the ACT 101 program,
the upcoming retirement of the Dean of Special Programs and various
changes that have occurred or are expected to occur in different
skills areas of general education called for a review of developmental
education and the development of a comprehensive plan for the future.
To begin the process, an outside consultant visited the campus Fall
1998 for ten days, examined available materials and interviewed
over 50 faculty, students and administrators. His report underscored
three needs: the need to integrate, coordinate and refine the various
"fragmented and scattered" developmental offerings, services and
programs throughout the campus community; the need to define the
concept and practice of developmental education for the university
at large; and the need for developmental education to be seen as
a campuswide responsibility, rather than the responsibility of a
few individuals or programs. These and other issues are among the
matters under current discussion campuswide.
As reported in Chapter Four, while great strides have been made
toward increasing the numbers of women faculty in the last decade,
the percentage of minority faculty has remained the same despite
efforts to improve their numbers. The kind of aggressiveness that
has characterized the recruitment of minority students is required
if more progress is to be realized in the recruitment of minority
faculty. This need is reflected in the recommendations that conclude
the self study.
During the past six or seven years, the university has conducted
several studies of the perceptions women and minorities have of
the Shippensburg campus environment. These include the perceptions
of students, faculty, administrators and staff. In the most recent
of these surveys (conducted last year for the campus's Commission
on Human Understanding), results are summarized as follows.
The commitment to make the campus a more multicultural environment
has widespread campus community support. Overall, 82 percent of
the campus say they "enjoy working with a more diverse group of
colleagues," 68 percent are "committed to making the campus a more
multicultural environment," and 74 percent "see the benefit of hiring
more women and minorities." While these numbers are not yet unanimous,
they represent significant support for an important campus goal.
In general, the perception is that the campus environment is a positive
one for women. There is a difference between males and females on
how supportive that environment is, but the difference is at the
positive end of the scale's continuum.
The problem areas that surfaced in the survey are primarily two.
While the general campus attitude is that diversity is good for
the campus, minority faculty, administrators and staff do not always
see that that attitude has been translated into action. Most minority
respondents report feeling a "sense of exclusion" on campus. At
the same time, there is a general perception of widespread inequity
on campus related to gender and race regarding how certain groups
are treated and how important policies are implemented. Some see
women and minorities as being treated less fairly (for example,
in the evaluation and promotion processes); others see women and/or
minorities receiving better consideration and treatment. The president
has responded to the results of the survey by soliciting recommendations
for addressing the problems identified and by improving communication
with various constituencies, especially staff, in the expectation
that better information will increase perceptions of fairness and
inclusion.
The decade saw the implementation of courses and programs that would
provide a more diverse cultural environment for students and the
expansion of library holdings regarding women and minorities. As
mentioned earlier, during this time, Women's Studies and Ethnic
Studies minors were established. Both programs have enjoyed strong
faculty leadership in their directors and active faculty participation
in their advisory committees. Also in these years a program of "winter
institutes," devoted to the creation and modification of existing
courses to include diversity issues and perspectives, was offered.
For three consecutive years, a week-long intensive program, lead
by a nationally recognized expert and attended by fifteen faculty,
gave faculty valuable opportunities to gain insight and knowledge
on how to make their courses more inclusive of women's and minority's
contributions and perspectives.
Other curricular developments include the formation several years
ago of a minor in International Studies and the requirement that
all students take a multi-cultural course as part of general education.
The University Curriculum Committee is currently working on various
options for implementing the requirement.
