Faculty in the Department of English will demonstrate quality in the instruction of their classes.
Objective
Quality Instruction
The Department's faculty will maintain a level of instruction at or above the average for all departments at SHSU.
KPI
Quality Instruction
Successful teaching will be demonstrated by faculty performance on the Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) Class Evaluation System. The IDEA survey is a nationally normed, university-adopted evaluation instrument developed at Kansas State University and scored by the IDEA Center at KSU that measures student perception of instructor teaching. The faculty of the Department of English will average at least 3.9 (the university's average) on the IDEA student evaluations of teaching. Part of the quality instruction is also adherence to stringent student evaluation; courses need to be interesting yet not too easy.
Result
High IDEA Teaching Score
The English average teaching score was 4.46.
Action
Aiming For Average Teaching Score 4.47
The English teaching score is already fairly high; however, observation of teaching by chair and discussions between the chair and individual faculty members with lower IDEA scores will commence, in the hopes of raising there scores.
Goal
Research And Creative Activities Productivity
The Department's tenured and tenure-track faculty will engage in research and publication.
Objective
Research Agenda
Each of the Department's faculty will develop and maintain an active research agenda.
KPI
Research Agenda
The number of peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and grant proposals by the Department's tenured and tenure-track faculty will serve as indicators of active research agendas.
Presenting a paper at a meeting of a professional association and/or publication of one article will certify research productivity.
This year the goal will be that research productivity will increase (and not decrease) from 2010-2011 through 2011-2012.
KPI
Number And Quality Of Publications
The number of faculty publications will be made note of; however, it is important for the faculty and administrators to understand that quality is much more important than quantity. Quality is defined as publication in peer-reviewed print journals or presenting in peer-reviewed conferences. The expecation is the publication of one peer-reviewed article (or equivalent) per faculty member per year.
Result
Faculty Publishing In Quality Publication Channels
The year 2012 was not remarkable as no scholarly research monographs were published by English faculty. However, five (5) single-authored monographs were submitted, and by August 2013, three (3) books have already come out, published by quality publishers such as Verso and Four Courts Press.
The following publications in 2012 show activity in the area of publication by English faculty:
3 edited books 4 other creative works 11 fiction essays 9 poems 1 book (a translation into French) 4 book chapters 5 journal articles 3 book reviews/dictionary entries.
This translates as forty (40) tokens of research or creative accomplishments, or 1.7 tokens per faculty member.
Action
Everyone Will Be Engaged In Research
All English faculty are actively engaged in scholarship, presenting papers, submitting papers for publication, and publishing articles and books. All faculty members will either present or publish in peer-reviewed venues. The goal is to raise the average token of scholarly activity (defined as the number of publications and presentations--not submissions) rate from 1.7 to 2 on an average. Each faculty member is entitled to have one conference trip paid. Schedules are planned so that they are maximally supportive of research and writing (i.e., nobody teaches on five days a week).
Goal
Professional Service And Activity
The Department's faculty will engage in professional activities and service at a level appropriate for the individual faculty member's rank.
Objective
Professional Service Activities
English faculty will take part in service activities at local, state, regional, national, and/or international levels.
KPI
Professional Service Activities
The number of professional service activities--local, state, regional, national, and/or international--by the Department's tenured and tenure-track faculty will indicate engagement in professional service. Areas of service averaged 9 per faculty member last year. This year, we hope to average 10 service activities per faculty member.
Result
Areas Of Service Increase
All faculty are engaged in professional, university, or community service.
Result
Increased Involvement In Professional Activities
Just one indication of increased English involvement in scholarship and professional activities is the preparation and execution of the International Conference of Medieval and Renaissance Thought. Dr. Darci Hill brought scholars from several different countries and U.S. states to Huntsville. Faculty were 90-percent involved in the preparations and participation. This conference will be repeated every third year, pending funding. Encouraged by the fact that a conference of this magnitude can be organized in Huntsville, there are plans to arrange a Transatlantic Studies conference here with the next two years.
Action
Continued Active Involvement In Service
The chair will divide service roles equally across the faculty. Every faculty member will be involved in department, college, or university service, as members of committees, as organizers of events, or as administrators. Ad hoc committee memberships are actively used in English to involve also those faculty members who do not have larger and more permanent service roles.
Goal
MA In English Program Faculty Development
We will continue to develop the existing English MA Program by periodically reviewing the curriculum and introducing new courses that reflect developments in the field and best serve the needs of our students; by encouraging English graduate faculty to provide the best professional models as researchers, writers, and teachers; and by recruiting qualified students.
Objective
Graduate Faculty Credentials
English graduate faculty will demonstrate their professional competency and credentials for teaching graduate courses and serving as models for students continuing their graduate education, entering the teaching profession, and entering other professions that require graduate-level training in English language and literature.
KPI
Graduate Faculty Credentials
English graduate faculty will demonstrate that they are current in their fields and are qualified to teach graduate courses and to serve as models for students entering the profession.
As demonstration that they are current in their fields and are qualified to teach graduate courses, all graduate English faculty will show that they are actively engaged in the profession by at least one of the following means: one article or significant creative work published in a peer-reviewed publication every three years; one book published by a recognized press every seven years; one conference presentation every two years; one significant editorial project every three years; a leadership role in a professional organization. As part of the faculty research colloquium established to encourage scholarly and creative production, at least two graduate faculty members will present their work to the Department during each assessment period. As mentioned last year, we are hoping that more faculty will participate in scholarly publishing.
Result
Everyone Is Presenting Or Publishing
The English faculty have reached a level of 100-percent in scholarly presentations and publications. Naturally, these tokens of scholarly activity are not equivalent, as they range from a presentation in a local venue to publication of a scholarly article in a peer-reviewed international journal. However, all faculty are to be acknowledged for starting to think in terms of publications and presentations.
Here are the results: 3 edited books 4 other creative works 11 fiction essays 9 poems 1 book 4 book chapters 5 journal articles 3 book reviews/dictionary entries 30 presentations
Action
Competent English Faculty
During FES conferences with the chair, a personal reseach agenda for the future will be discussed and developed. Support for travel and reseach activities will be provided. The First Friday Faculty Forum is a venue where faculty will hear each other's research; this motivates all faculty to be actively engaged in scholarship. Small informal research-discussion group will be established to boost scholarship.
Goal
Advanced Graduate Studies
To produce graduates who are measurably well-prepared for further graduate studies in English (PhD or MFA)