OATdb Archive

2012 - 2013

Agricultural And Industrial Sciences, Department Of

Goal
Professional Development Of Faculty
The department will require faculty to participate in professional development activities.

Objective
Participation In Professional Development
Department faculty will engage in research projects that generate professional research papers acceptable at local, regional, and national conferences.


KPI
Faculty Evaluation System (FES)
The FES will document the presentation of faculty professional research papers at local, regional, and national conferences.  Participation at 2 professional meetings and publication of a minimal of 2 peer reviewed manuscripts/abstracts/presentations will be expected.


Result
Scholarly Achievement Of Faculty
Eighty-seven percent of the faculty achieved the goal of attending/participating at professional meetings or learned societies.  Likewise, 87% had 2 or more publications printed in professional journals.


Action
Professional Development
FES documents will be used to continue monitor scholarly achievement of faculty.  Faculty will be expected to be active in their professional organizations by attending meetings and workshops.  Additionally, they will be monitored on their scholarly achievements by monitoring the number of publications/presentation/abstracts and attendance to meetings.  The department will continue to support faculty scholarly requests with funding incentive for travel and publication costs.  Successful faculty will be recommended for merit.

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 Of Department Activities
Department will communicate mission and goals to administration, alumni and friends.

KPI
Submission Of Department Master Plan
The completed Department Master Plan and satellite facility development at Gibbs Ranch will be used in the department's capital campaign.  Completion and implementation of the marketing plan will document success.

Result
Master Plan And Marketing
Ongoing.  Master Plan is complete, however, marketing plan has not been established.  Waiting on direction and approval from University Marketing and Advancement.

KPI
Agricultural Department Donations Database
The database will document donations and giving to the department for scholarships, facilities, classroom development, etc. Facility donations are to achieve 50% of construction costs.

Donation goals:
Arena Complex: $16 Million,
Plant Science Field Lab:  $3.6 Million,
Endowments/Scholarships: $100,000;
Student and Faculty Enrichment to Department: $200,000

Result
Donations And Gifts Achieved
Donations toward scholarships and Development, as of August 15, is $295,665.  FY 2012 total giving: $253,569.

Donations toward Construction Cost of Gibbs Ranch Facilities (Arena Complex and Plant Science Field Lab): $7,500 (Goal not achieved).

Pirkle Endowment Contribution: $4 Million (Pledge=$25 Million).

Star of Texas Scholarship (4 year, $8,000): Renewed for 4 years.

Herb Schumann Scholarship Endowment received an additional $15,000.

San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo established 5 new scholarships: 1-$15,000 graduate scholarship, 4-$1,000 incoming freshman scholarships.



KPI
Students Recruited
The Department, with assistance from Ag Ambassadors, faculty, and visitor center, will be active in recruiting students, with desires to achieve enrollment increase of 2%.


Result
Student Recruitment
The department with assistance from the Ambassadors actively participated in the and fall and spring Saturday@Sam events.  Likewise, 30 high school and 3 junior college visitations were made.

Faculty participated in the VATAT Professional Conference for recruitment of graduate students.

Faculty participated in the College Information Day held at both Woodlands Campus and Main Campus.

Recruitment booths were available at: State and National FFA Conventions, Houston, San Angelo, and Fort Worth Livestock Shows, Department Career Day.

Enrollment met a department milestone of 1161 students (3.3% increase from 2011-2012 academic year).

Action
Department Outreach Activities
The department met or exceeded most of the goals established, however, the department will continue to be active in pursuing donations and contributions to the department for scholarship and capital improvement.

Department will continue to be active in all student related activities that can serve as recruitment venues.


Goal
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
Increase FTE's And Staff Positions In The Department
Our objective is to increase the number of tenure-track positions and support staff in the department.

KPI
Increase In FTE's
An increase of one full FTE's will indicate success.  Approval of additional staff position for office will be a primary goal.


Result
Faculty And Staff Positions
One tenured-track faculty FTE was added and achieved.  Position was filed with an Animal Science faculty.  An additional lecturer FTE was approved for the department and filled.

Staff position requests were denied by administration.

Action
Personnel
Enrollment data, SCH generation, section reports and other data will be used to justify staff and faculty increases needed.

Workload for staff, accounts and diverse department entities will justify staff position, as well.


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement Additional financial resources were used to support faculty travel and participation in scholarly activities.

Distance Learning money was considered to be used for staff positions to assist with faculty workload, etc. However, budget structure and restricted use of the funds limited implementation.

ITEC faculty increased their recruitment activities to high schools and competitions.  The department supported the activity with funding assistance.

Capital improvement efforts for construction funding have been unsuccessful, yet, the department chair continues to work extensively with the university entities and administrator for the success of the goal.  The chair also continued efforts with external relations with alumni, donors and potential donors to achieve construction goals.


Plan for continuous improvement Those faculty not fulfilling the scholarly achievements for the academic year were mentored by the department chair and goals were set for the following evaluation period. All faculty were notified that the department would support requests for travel and participation at professional meetings and professional development. Student recruitment exceed expectations as indicated by enrollment, the department will continue to encourage faculty and ambassador participation at all possible venues that allowed for recruitment of students. FTE allocation to the department increased, however, the department is still limited in course offerings and number of sections, therefore, 3 new FTE position for the ITEC program was requested. Additional staff positions will be requested for the main office, horticulture center, and Harrell AET Center. Department goal will be to continue its pursuit and goal to obtain 50% of the construction cost of the Arena and Plant Science Facilities. This effort will be in coordination with University Advancement and the Marketing Department.