Provide Appropriate Personnel Resources For The Unit
The department will assess the personnel (staff and faculty) needs of the unit on an annual basis. Annual funding requests will reflect these needs and hiring decisions will be based on these needs. The department office will provide appropriate resources and encourage faculty and staff to participate in development opportunities.
Objective
Procurement Of Personnel
The department will maintain personnel to effectively manage all three areas: mathematics, mathematics education, and statistics.
Indicator
New Hires
The department will submit Preliminary Budget Request forms requesting hires for the department's personnel needs.
Criterion
At Least One New Hire
Given the economic situation, the department will consider itself successful if one new tenure-track instructor is hired.
Finding
Hiring In 2010-2011
The Department received no new tenure-track lines this past year. We did have one faculty member leave and have been able to hire a replacement.
Unfortunately, the department also had one faculty member pass away unexpectedly just after the start of the spring semester. We are still interviewing candidates and expect to fill that position by the end of June.
Action
Future Hiring And Current Financial Situation
For the past three years, I have routinely requested new statistics positions because of the increased number of departments requiring statistics as part of their degree program (i.e., Criminal Justice, Political Science, and the new Nursing program). Those requests have not been granted.
In the short term, we are hiring adjuncts - mostly some of our recent MS-Stat graduates who understand our department and are aware of our expectations.
It is not clear how long we will be able to use this stopgap measure.
Goal
Provide Effective Communication With Internal And External Constituencies
The department will insure that appropriate communication channels are maintained with the College of Arts and Sciences Office, upper administration, current students, prospective students, and other external constituencies.
Objective
Communication With Dean's Office
The Department chair will communicate with the Dean's office and attend bimonthly chair's meetings.
Indicator
College Of Sciences Chairs' Meetings As Prelude To Department Communication
The Dean of COS holds bimonthly chairs' meetings throughout the year to keep them abreast of relevant issues.
Criterion
Communication With Faculty
The department chair (or his designated representative) will attend COS chairs meetings and then share relevant information with department faculty.
Finding
Attendance At Chair's Meetings
The chair or his designated representative attended all chair's meeting this year. Information from these meetings was shared with department faculty. Attached are minutes of selected department meetings.
Action
Future Activities
Over the past year, the department has discussed the need to improve our website. At the moment, our website looks dated and unorganized. There is also erroneous or outdated information.
A new associate chair has been appointed and one of his jobs is to work on this for next year. Our website is the face we present to many outsiders and it needs to be remodeled.
Objective
Saturdays At Sam
The department chair (or his designee) will engage in recruitment activities at SHSU's Saturdays at Sam.
Indicator
Meetings With Prospective Students
A member of the department will meet with prospective students.
Criterion
Meeting With 10 - 15 Prospective Students
The department representative will meet with at least 10-15 prospective students in the Lee Drain Building and discuss program offerings.
Finding
Meetings With Students
In the fall. a department representative met with 4 interested students. In the spring, the department chair met with 17 interested students.
Action
Increasing Participation
Department members have given successful presentations and mathematics activities at local middle schools. Would offering similar activities at area high schools lead to more students visiting the department during Saturdays at Sam? This is our hope.
We recognize that mathematics may not ever have a large number of students interested in mathematics, but the small number of students who visited the department presentation last fall was smaller than in previous years. We do believe the number can be increased if potential students can get a taste of what mathematicians do.
Goal
Procure Appropriate Resources To Facilitate The Academic Mission Of The Department
The department will monitor the classroom, laboratory, research, and out-reach (service) needs of the unit. Budget requests will reflect these needs.
Objective
Procurement Of Technology
The department will procure hardware and software relevant to the research and instructional needs of its faculty.
Indicator
Preliminary Budget Request (PBR) Forms For Equipment
The department will submit PBR forms indicating technology needs.
Criterion
20% Of Technology Requests Met
The department chair will submit a PBR form documenting the need for additional technology. The endeavor will be deemed a success if at least 20% of requests are met.
Finding
Money Allocated For Technology
We had $25,000 allocated for capital equipment this past year. While $6,000 was spent on purchasing furniture and office material needed to renovate the room that houses our TAs, the remaining portion of the money was spent on securing new computers for TAs, as well as replacing desktop or laptops for faculty. This means we were able to spend 76% of our capital equipment money on technology.
Action
Future Expenditures
We always expect to allocate a certain portion of our capital equipment request for technology.
This year, with the uncertainty over funding for higher education, departments were not asked to submit any sort of budget or capital equipment requests. At this time (late May), SHSU still has no definite idea on budget allocation for next year.
When such information is available, we expect that there will be cuts in operation, maintenance, and capital equipment expenditures.
Goal
Ptovide Support Of Faculty Activities
The department will insure that the faculty have sufficient input in issues related to teaching schedules and professional development opportunities.
Objective
Faculty Travel
The Department will increase the amount of money allocated for faculty travel in 2010-2011.
Indicator
Travel Allocation
The Department will increase the amount of money allocated for faculty travel to conferences.
Criterion
5% Increase.
Travel allocation for faculty travel will increase by 5% over the previous year.
Finding
Percentage Increase In Travel
In the 2009-2010, $27,000 was allocated for travel. This year that was increased to $33,000, a 22% increase.
Action
Additional Travel Funds
The department was able to allocate more travel funds this year as a direct result of the university's decision to provide support for the Mathematics & Statistics Center. In the past, departmental funds were needed to run the Center. This freed up nearly $50,000 - and approximately $6000 of that was used to support faculty travel.
Goal
Deliver Current, Rigorous Curricula
The department will insure that all curricula meet current professional standards and will insure that the rigor of these curricula are monitored and modified appropriately
Objective
State Board Of Educator Certification (SBEC) Standards
The department will align its curriculum with the SBEC curriculum standards for Mth381
Indicator
SBEC Standards
The department will offer Mth381 in alignment with the State Board of Educator Standards.
Criterion
SHSU Coursework For SBEC Standards
SHSU coursework in Mth381 will be aligned with sections VI (Probability and Statistics) and V (Problem Solving) of the SBEC Standards.
Finding
Syllabus For Math381
The objectives on the attached generic syllabus are taken from the SBEC standards.
Action
SBEC Standards In Other Courses
Last year we aligned the SBEC standards with Math184 and 185. With the alignment of Math381's objectives with SBEC, we have completed the task for the courses taken by prospective elementary/middle school teachers. In the coming year, we will continue this process by examining at least one of our courses for prospective secondary teachers - either Math363 (Euclidean Geometry) or Math485 (Mathematical Problem Solving)