to contribute to the quality of the University's academic programs, the Office of the Associate VP for Academic Affairs will promote the development and maintenance of a variety of academic support services.
Objective
Attract Quality Undergraduate Students
To improve the academic reputation of the institution, it is imperative that a higher quality of student be recruited and retained. The higher quality students will also assist the University in recruiting and retaining higher quality faculty.
Indicator
Enrollment Rates
If the University is successful in targeting and enrolling quality undergraduate students, there should be an increase in SAT scores for entering students, an increase in the number of honor students and international students.
Criterion
Increase In Honors Program
To the extent that the Honors Program increases in size without lowering its standards, it can be assumed that growth of the Honors Program is correlated with the University's ability to attract and enroll higher quality students.
Finding
Increase In Honors Program
The Honors Program increased from 342 in the fall of 2007 to 365 students in the fall of 2008. While the University saw an enrollment increase of 1.5%, the Honors program grew by 6.5%. Although the program has grown over the past year and has grown at a faster rate than the university, it is still behind the desired level of 2.5% of the student body.
Criterion
Increased SAT Scores
It is assumed that the increased SAT scores of incoming freshmen is indicative of an overall higher quality student body.
Finding
Increase in SAT Scores
There was a slight decrease in the composite SAT scores for the fall 2008 cohort. The fall 2008 cohort had an average of 1025 compared to an average of 1028 for the fall 2007 cohort. A similar drop was seen in the state and national averages. The ACT average on the other hand, was slightly up from the previous fall (21.27 compared to 21.18).
Criterion
Increased number of International Students
It is assumed that any increase in enrollment by international students is associated with an increase in the academic reputation of SHSU.
Finding
Increased Number Of International Students
The international student population at SHSU grew from 244 students in the fall of 2007 to 267 students in the fall of 2008. Although this represents a significant increase, the program did not appear successful in breaking into the international market. Given the hundreds of international students in the Houston area attending community colleges, SHSU should be enrolling 50-100 new students each year.
Action
Quality Students
The Honors program will need to market itself as competition for honor students increases. A proposal to create an Honors College will be submitted to the President's cabinet for consideration. The Honors Offices will be upgraded to better accommodate visiting students and parents. The use of Scholar X will facilitate the awarding and packaging of scholarships to students.
Action
Attract Quality International Students As Transfer Students
Although there was a significant increase in the number of international students, SHSU has not been successful in recruiting international students. The Office of International Programs will need to increase its presence on the Community College campuses to meet this goal In particular, the opportunity for transfer scholarships needs to publicized. The Office of International Programs will establish a goal of increasing by at least 50 students in the fall of 2010.
Objective
Promote Effective Academic Support
Students are best served by having a variety of support centers. In order to increase the retention and graduation rates of the university, it is important to identify support services that will effectively assist our students in meeting the educational needs.
Indicator
Retention Rates
If the academic support programs are successful, it should result in increased retention rates.
Criterion
Increase retention rates
If the retention rates increase, it is reasonable to assume that the Academic Support Centers have been effective.
Finding
Retention Rates
The fall-to-fall retention rate for the 2007 entering class was 72%. This represents an increase of 2% over the retention rate of the previous year.
Indicator
Graduation Rates
If the academic support programs are successful, it should result in increased graduation rates.
Criterion
Increased graduation rates
If the graduation rates increase, it is reasonable to assume that the Academic Support Centers have been effective.
Finding
Graduation Rates
The six-year graduation rate for the cohort that entered SHSU in the fall of 2002 was 42%. This was an increase of 2% over the 2001 cohort.
Action
Support Programs
Although the 1-year retention rate increased slightly during the past academic year, the rate continues to hover around 70-72%. Analysis of the students who are leaving SHSU have failed to detect a pattern of students leaving SHSU. SHSU will try a callling campaign over the summer to try to increase this rate. The First Year Experience Program will be expanded to address success initiatives across all four years of college.
Objective
Working With Other University Divisions To Improve Access To The University And To Improve Consistency With Off-campus Offerings.
As the college market becomes more competitive, it is necessary to be proactive in recruiting students. This may entail examining and reducing some of the difficulties potential students face in the admission process.
Indicator
Articulation Agreements
With competition increasing between universities, efforts need to be made to make the transition from either high school or community college easier. Thus the university has been active in developing articulation agreements with potential feeder schools or institutions.
Criterion
Access to Advisors
SHSU needs to support to feeder community colleges in the form of regularly scheduled advisement sessions.
Finding
Access To Advisors
SHSU visits Blinn College on a weekly basis. SHSU maintains two full-time staff at the University Center to handle the needs of students from Lone Star College. Specific visits are scheduled on a need basis.
Criterion
Articulation Agreements
SHSU will maintain and expand articulation agreements with community colleges across Texas.
Finding
Articulation Agreements
SHSU maintains articulation agreements with all surrounding community college districts. In addition, the articulation coordinator attends state-wide meetings and offers to create articulation agreements with all interested districts.
Action
Attract Quality International Students As Transfer Students
Although there was a significant increase in the number of international students, SHSU has not been successful in recruiting international students. The Office of International Programs will need to increase its presence on the Community College campuses to meet this goal In particular, the opportunity for transfer scholarships needs to publicized. The Office of International Programs will establish a goal of increasing by at least 50 students in the fall of 2010.
Goal
Promote Effective Administrative Support For Provost
Develop and maintain initiatives to help the Provost advance the academic culture of the university.
Objective
Represent SHSU At The University Center
SHSU is one of six partners that operate a muti-institute teaching center in The Woodlands. To promote the smooth operation of this MITC, representatives from all six schools meet at regular intervals to discuss problems, policies, and finances.
Indicator
Presence At The University Center
Given that a large percentage of SHSU students come from the north Houston area, the University's presence at The University Center is vital to the vitality of the University. Thus, maintaing a high enrollment at the Center is indicative that SHSU interests are being served.
Criterion
Largest support staff
Compared to the other partner institutions, SHSU will have the largest on-site support staff.
Finding
Largest Support Staff
SHSU employs two (2) full-time employees to handle student demands at The University Center. None of the other partners have more that one employee at a time. In addition, advisors from the SAM Center schedule regular visits to TUC.
Criterion
Largest Number Of Degree Offerings,
Compared to the other partner institutions, SHSU will have the largest number of degree programs offered at TUC.
Finding
Largest Number Of Degree Offerings
SHSU offerst 8 of the 26 undergraduate degree programs (31%) at TUC. It also offers 15 of the 33 masters degree programs (45%) at TUC. In addition, SHSU has agreed to offer eight different programs at the new Northwest Houston University Center.
Criterion
Largest number of scholarships
SHSU will provide the greatest amount and number of scholarships to its students at TUC.
Finding
Largest Number Of Scholarships
For Academic Year 2008-2009, Lone Star College offered 8 scholarships valued at $500 for a total of $4,000. The Follett Bookstore offered three $500 scholarships valued at $1,500. The Panther Creek Village Association, The American Association of University Women, and Delta Kappa Gamma each provided a single scholarship. Sam Houston State provided thirteen $1,000 dollar scholarships. Thus SHSU provided nearly two-thirds of all scholarships at The University Center.
Criterion
Majority student enrollment
SHSU will have at least 50% of the student credit hours at TUC.
Finding
Majority Student Enrollment
For fall 2008, SHSU had 69% of the enrollments at TUC. In terms of face to face enrollments, SHSU had 87% of the undergraduate enrollments and 63% of the graduate enrollments.
Action
Presence At University Center
SHSU will add one new degree in Banking for the fall 2009 semester. In addition, the Texas State Univesity System will negotiate with Lone Star College to acquire land so as to build their own building.
Action
Northwest University Center
SHSU will develop programs to administer at the Northwest University Center in conjunction with other local universities.
Objective
Promote Communication Between University Components
The division of Academic Affairs must coordinate its efforts with other components of the University to be effective and consistent. By examining how a decision in one component affects other components is essential to the functioning of the University.
Indicator
Communication Within University
The Division of Academic Affairs must work with the other divisions within the University to make sure that each other's responsibilities are understood and supported. Cooperative efforts will increase the likelihood that the objectives of Academic Affairs are met.
Criterion
Regularly scheduled meetings
To facilitate communicate effectively with the other divisions, there will be regularly scheduled meetings with other divisional personnel to discuss any ongoing issues or future initiatives.
Finding
Communication Withing University
The Associate Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Enrollment Management met approximately every three weeks to discuss issues of mutual concern. The Associate Deans from each college met every other week to coordinate efforts. The Planning Impact Committee met once a month to coordinate efforts across all divisions.
Action
Communication
Planning Impact Meeting will continue to meet on a monthly basis. With the advent of Banner, the Council of Associate Academic Deans, the Council of Academic Deans, and the Academic Affairs Council will be used to a greater extent to share concerns and information about changes to take place.