OATdb Archive - Sam Houston State University

OATdb Archive

2012 - 2013

Biological Sciences, Department Of

Goal

Increase Department Visibility

To increase the exposure of the Department of Biological Sciences at SHSU to other institutions in Texas, the U.S. and globally

Objective

Increased Faculty And Student Participation In Regional Conferences

The faculty and students in the Department of Biology will increase participation at regional conferences.

KPI

Regional Conference Participation

The change in number of faculty and students presenting at regional conferences from 2012 academic year to the 2013 academic year will be calculated. Our goal is to document an increase in number of presentations over time.

Result

Regional Presentations

The Department of Biological Sciences gave a total of 39 presentations at regional conferences in 2012. Students authored 32 of these presentations. We do not have data for 2013 at this time period, as the annual cycle is not yet complete. We will compile all presentation data for 2013 in January and report these numbers in the next assessment cycle.

Action

Gather Regional Conference Data

We will gather data on regional conference presentation given by biology faculty and students in January 2014. We use departmental annual reviews (FES) as a mechanism for generating these assessment data.

Objective

Increased Faculty And Student Participation In National/international Conferences

The faculty and students in the Department of Biology will increase participation at national and international conferences.

KPI

National/international Conference Participation

The change in number of faculty and students presenting at national and international conferences in the 2012 academic year to the 2013 academic year will be calculated. Our goal is to document an increase in number of presentations over time.

Result

National Conference Presentations

The Department of Biological Sciences gave a total of 29 presentations at national-level conferences in 2012. Students gave 22 of these presentations. We have not yet completed the 2013 annual cycle so have no data on total conference presentations from biology during this time period. We will collect and analyze these data in Jan of 2014 and report on these results in the next assessment cycle.

Action

Gather National Conference Data

We will gather data on national conference presentation given by biology faculty and students in January 2014. We use departmental annual reviews (FES) as a mechanism for generating these assessment data.

Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement The department of biological sciences changed chairs in Fall 2012. As a result, many of the objectives outlined by the previous chair were no longer viewed by the biology as important in the long-term direction for the department. Rather, new, more tangable objectives were stated. these objective (above) were linked departmental mission and related to measurable outcomes.

Plan for continuous improvement To meet our goals of expanding departmental exposure by increasing regional and national confernce activity by faculty and students, it is essential to provide funding to faculty and students for these activities.
As a result, the FY13 budget (affecting the 2012 period) was adjusted to increase faculty research support. Specifically, faculty were given $4000 for scholarly activity in FY13. This was an increase from $2000 in FY12. The goal was that this funding would increase faculty and student participation in conferneces.

We will evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy when data on 2013 conference attendance are evaluated. In the mean time, we will continue to use creative budgeting to help faculty participate in scholarly activity. The FY14 budget (affecting the 2014 review period) allotted $3200 per faculty for scholarly activity.