The Department of Political Science will provide and maintain high quality academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Objective
High Quality Curriculum
The department will maintain high quality curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Indicator
Curriculum Committee Review
Curriculum will be reviewed annually by the deparment's curriculum committee, a committee consisting of 5 members appointed by the department chair. Committee members represent the following areas: international relations, comparative politics, American politics, political theory, and public administration.
Criterion
High Quality Curriculum
The political science courses curriculum will be comparable to curriculum found at universities and colleges ranked by US News and World Report as the top 10% universities and colleges for the study of political science and government. The basis of the comparison will be in terms of hours required for the degree and the types of courses offered.
Finding
Academic Program Improvement
We found that our curriculum was comparable to curriculum found at universities and colleges ranked by US News and World Report as the top 10% of universities and colleges for the study of political science based upon the criteria of hours required and courses offered. However, we did find that some of our lower division courses were classified at the upper division level in our comparison schools.
Action
Academic Program Improvement
We plan to evaluate our lower division courses and determine which courses should be classified as upper division courses.In particular, our American Foreign Policy course (POL 281) and our World Politics (265) course are currently offered as lower division courses while most comparable programs offer them as upper division international relations and comparative politics courses respectively.
Objective
Faculty Teaching
The Department will provide high quality teaching.
Indicator
The Individual Development And Educational Assessment System
Faculty will be evaluated using the data collected through the Individual Development and Educational Assessment system currently used by Sam Houston State University as a tool for evaluating faculty teaching.
Criterion
Faculty Teaching
60% of the political science courses will be scored at or above the national average as indentified by the Individual Development and Educational Assessment program.
Finding
Academic Program Improvement
71% of our courses scored at or above the national average as identified by the Individual Development and Educational Assessment system. Although the findings exceeded our expectations, we found that the above average score was linked to several faculty members scoring exceedingly high. One faculty member scored below the national average and three quite close to the national average.
Action
Academic Program Improvement
Faculty members who score below or near the national average on the IDEA system over three consecutive semesters will be required to meet with the department chair to discuss a teaching improvement plan that includes mentoring and use of the Sam Houston State University's Professional and Academic Center for Excellence (PACE).
Goal
Teaching Track Faculty
The Department of Political Science teaching track faculty will provide high quality instruction and engage in substantive projects designed to promote the department, college, and university.
Objective
Teaching Track Faculty
Teaching track faculty will engage in service work designed to promote the department, college, and university.
Indicator
Number Of Service Projects Completed Per Year
Teaching track faculty's progress will be measured by the the number of service projects completed in a year. Service projects include: membership in college and university committees, participation in department recruitment programs, organizer of major campus events, etc.
Criterion
Teaching Track Faculty
We expect our teaching faculty to complete at least 2 service projects per faculty per year.
Finding
Teaching Track Faculty
2 out of the 4 teaching track faculty did complete 2 service projects. However, the remaining 2 did not. The findings suggest that we need to increase the number of service projects completed each year by teaching track faculty. Conversations with teaching track faculty indicated that teaching track faculty would be far more likely to participate in service projects if they were given a list of service projects deemed important to the department.
Action
Teaching Track Faculty
In an effort to increase the number of service projects completed by teaching track faculty the department chair will create a list of department level service projects designed to improve the department's programs. Projects may include graduate and undergraduate recruitment projects, alumni development projects, internship development projects, and more. Each teaching track faculty will be expected to complete at least two projects from the list per year.
Goal
Research Track Faculty
The Department of Political Science will hire and maintain high quality research track faculty.
Objective
Research Track Faculty
Research faculty will engage in scholarly activities.
Indicator
Number Of Publications
Research faculty's progress will be measured by the number of publications.
Criterion
Faculty Research
Over a rolling 3 year period research track faculty will produce an average of 1 peer reviewed article per year or 1 book during the 3 year period.
Finding
Research Track Faculty
4 of the 9 faculty on research track completed the objective of either one peer reviewed article per year or 1 book during a three year period. Several faculty members did publish 2 peer reviewed articles during the rolling three year period. Conversations with faculty suggest that there are several obstacles to having a successful and fruitful research agenda, specifically: past problems with course scheduling (faculty being assigned a M - F schedule), a core group of faculty being responsible for all service work, and the need for release time and other finincial support. The findings indicate that we must improve our efforts to increase research track faculty publications.
Action
Research Track Faculty
We will improve our efforts to increase research track faculty publications by offering more research conducive class scheduling, shifting more of the service responsibility to the teaching track faculty and several programs designed to increase institutional support. For example, the implementation of monthly research forums where faculty members can discuss their research projects and the encouragement of research faculty to submit grant applications. Encouragement will take the form of providing support for faculty attendance to grant writing seminars and informing faculty of on-campus grant writing resources.
Goal
Prepare Students For Professional Careers
Upon graduation students will be prepared to enter the professional marketplace.
Objective
Professional Marketplace
Upon graduation students will be prepared to enter the professional marketplace.
Indicator
Professional Market Skills
Prior to graduating graduate and undergraduate students will complete the online exit survey. Data from questions 3c (Have you been accepted into a graduate program?) or 4a (Have you obtained professional employment?) from the undergraduate survey will be used to measure undergraduate student professional skills. Data from questions 6c (Have you been accepted into a doctoral program?) or 7a (Have you obtained professional employment?) from the graduate survey will be used to graduate student professional skills.
Criterion
Professional Market Skills
We will anticipate that at least 70% of our graduating undergraudate students will answer yes to question 3c or question 4a and at least 70% of our graduating graduate students will answer yet to question 6c or 7a.
Finding
Professional Market Skills
80% of undergraduates are either entering a MA/MPA program, law school, or have secured employment. 50% of graduates are either entering a doctoral program or have secured employment. We had hoped for much higher rates of success at the graduate level. However, our low response rate (7 out of 22 undergraduates or 32% completed the survey while 8 or 12 graduate students completed the survey or 67%) means we cannot obtain an accurate reading of the survey results.
Action
Professional Marketplace
During the academic year 2009 - 2010 we will begin to make the transition from voluntary exit surveys to mandatory exit surveys. In addition, we will pursue using the VSA data collected by Institutional Research that queries graduates of their future plans in order to augment our own data. These efforts will resolve the problem of low response rates. In order to improve professional skills and increase job placement of our students, beginning in fall 2009 we will organize forums for graduate and undergraduate students. The forums will focus on resumes, graduate school applications, and job searches. We believe this will us improve our student placement record.
Goal
Improve Graduate Student Applications
Improve the quantity and quality of graduates student applications.
Objective
Improve Graduate Student Applications
The number of students entering the graduate programs will increase and the average GRE and GPA of incoming students will increase.
Indicator
Number Of Applications And Average GRE And GPA
We will compare enrollment enrollment figures from the 2007 - 2008 period to the 2008 - 2009 period. We will compare the average GRE and GPA of students who entered the program during the 2007 - 2008 period to the average GRE and GPA of students who entered the program during the 2008 - 2009 period.
Criterion
Improve Graduate Student Applications
We expect a 10% increase in graduate student enrollment overall. We will expect that the average GRE will be at least 1000 or better and that the average GPA will be at least 3.2 or better for both MA and MPA incoming students.
Finding
Improve Quality of Graduate Student Applications
Overall the number of applications accepted increased by 36% which exceeded our expectations of a 10% increase. Within the MPA program the number of accepted applications increased by 46% and within the MA program the number of accepted applications increased by 22%.
For incoming MPA students, the average GRE score went from 863 to 1048 (an increase of 21%) and the average undergraduate GPA score went from 2.67 to 3.46 (an increase of 30%). For incoming MA students the average GRE score went from 980 to 1052 (an increase of 7%) and the average undergraduate GPA went from 2.9 to 3.34 (an increase of 15%).
A review of all incoming applications and student performance indicates that while there has been substantial overall improvement, greater attention must be given to student applications that are considered on a conditional acceptance basis (due to a weak GRE score or a weak GPA). Two students were accepted on a conditional basis. One of the students performed at the A level. The other student peformed at the C level, an unacceptable level of performance at the graduate level.
Action
Improve Graduate Student Applications
We will continue a growth rate of 10% for our enrollment. We will raise our GRE expectations from 1050 to 1100 and are GPA from 3.40 to 3.50. Beginning in fall 2009, students who wish to be considered for conditional acceptance will have to go through a more rigorous application process. These students will have to submit two writing samples rather than one writing sample, provide three letters of recommendation rather than two letters of recommendation, and meet with the graduate director. These additional requirements will allow the department chair and graduate director to make a more informed decision about a student's potential to perform well at the graduate level.
Goal
Student Satisfaction
We will measure students' overall satisfaction with the deparment.
Objective
Student Satisfaction
We will improve students' overall satisfaction with the department.
Indicator
Student Satisfaction
We will use an anonymous online exit survey to measure students' overall satisfaction with the deparment. We will use the question "How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the graduate program?" (Question 9 of the undergraduate survey and question 12 of the graduate survey) to measure students' levels of satisfaction.
Criterion
Student Satisfaction
We will expect that at least 70% of our students will provide a positive response to the survey question. Answers will be considered positive if a student rates their experience as satisfactory or better.
Finding
Student Satisfaction
Over 80% of our students provided a postive answer to the question regarding their overall experience with the department. Students who did not provide a positive response to the question cited the lack of opportunities for students to participate in department related non-classroom activities. Also although we took action that we believed would increase our survey response rate, we continue to encounter a low response rate (7 out of 22 undergraduates completed the survey and 8 out of 12 graduate students completed the survey).
Action
Student Satisfaction
During the academic year 2009 - 2010 we will begin to make the transition from voluntary exit surveys to mandatory exit surveys. This will resolve the problem of low response rates. Beginning in fall 2009 we will schedule the following department related activities: monthly faculty research forums, beginning of the semester "welcome back" social gathering, and current political events forums. We believe these activities will give students the opportunity to bond more deeply with the department.
Goal
Revise Written Comprehensive Exam Process
Revise the format and content of the written comprehensive exam process.
Objective
Revise The Written Comprehensive Exam Process
The written comprehensive exam process tends to produce exam questions and exam results that address material in specific courses rather than the broader field of political science and its subfields. We will revise the process so that exam questions and results address the broader field of political science and its subfields thus transitioning from a less course-centric measure to a program-centric measure.
Indicator
Comprehensive Exam Reading List And Overview Courses
The department will: (1) Develop reading lists of core literature relevant to the discipline of political science and its subfields. The reading lists addressing the field of political science will be developed and approved by the entire faculty. The subfields reading lists will be developed and approved by faculty with expertise in each specific subfield. (2) Develop overview courses for each subfield of political science.
Criterion
Revise the Written Comprehensive Process
Graduate students entering the program in fall 2009 will receive the readling lists and will enroll in the overview courses relevant to their areas of study.
Finding
Revise the Written Comprehensive Exam Process
Student entering the graduate program in fall 2009 were given the reading lists and existing courses were identified as overview courses and the content of the course was changed accordingly.
Action
Revise the Written Comprehensive Exam Process
The lists must be updated at least every two years if they are to remain effective across time. Thus faculty will update the reading lists in their subfields every two years and the faculty as a whole will update the field of political science reading list every two years. The first update will occur fall 2010.
As the department moves toward a program-centric examination process, we will develop a new rubric appropriate to the new content of the comprehensive exam.
To assess the effectiveness of the changes we will compare written comprehensive exam results from the graduating class of 2008 - 2009 to the written comprehensive exam results from the graduating class of 2010 - 2011 (the first class that will have been affected by the changes).