OATdb Archive

2012 - 2013

Fine Arts & Mass Communication, College Of

Goal
I. Promote And Support Development And Delivery Of A Rigorous Contemporary Curriculum
As a liaison with other colleges in the university, university administration, and the arts community at large, the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication should be an advocate for the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance,

Objective
Graduate Demonstrate Knowledge And Skills To Advance Professionally
Graduates of the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will demonstrate knowledge and skills to enter the workforce in their chosen area and/or be accepted into a related graduate program.

KPI
Survey Of Graduates (Undergraduate)
A survey of graduates at the undergraduate level six months after graduation will indicate that at least 75% of graduates are employed in their chosen or related field.  Additionally, at least 1% of graduates will have been accepted into a graduate program in a field related to their major area.


Result
Results: Survey Of Graduates (Undergraduate)
A survey for graduates (undergraduate) was developed collaboratively this year with the department chairs and Information Technology.  The data source with graduates and their SHSU email addresses were forwarded by the Alumni office.  The response rate was extremely low, presumably because graduates are not inclined to monitor their SHSU email accounts. 

Action
Action: Response To Address Efforts To Assess Candidate Preparedness
Due to the low response rate to the survey, the college will seek methods to improve response rate.  Methods may include 1) attempting to secure personal email addresses of graduates, and 2) inform upcoming graduates about the survey.

The college met in August 2013 with IT to transfer the management of the survey from IT to our college.

Goal
II. Recruit, Retain, And Develop Highly Qualified And Successful Faculty Members.
The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will encourage and facilitate the departments of Art, Dance, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Musical Theatre in attracting and maintaining quality faculties.


Objective
Qualities Of Recruited And Current Faculty
Faculty recruited to the College will have the appropriate degrees and skills to teach effectively, remain in the College for an average of five years, and meet appropriate research goals in their specific discipline.

KPI
1. Faculty With Terminal Degrees
At least 90% of tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College will have a terminal degree in the area in which they teach as documented by official transcripts. We met this criterion last year; still, vigilance must be ongoing.


Result
Results: Percentage Of Faculty With Terminal Degree In Their Teaching Field
Records indicate that 17 of 21 (80.9%) [20/25 (80%)-FY2012] tenure-track faculty have completed terminal degrees in their field, and that 37 of 38 (97.3%) [35/36 (97.2%)-FY2012] tenured faculty have completed terminal degrees in their field. Combined, 54 of 59 (91.5%) [55 of 61 (90.1%)-FY2012] of tenured/tenure-track faculty have completed terminal degrees in their field.

It is to be noted that there are multiple faculty members in multiple departments (i.e. School of Music) who do not have a terminal degree (doctorate) in their field who were granted tenure. It has been conveyed to the college that since the time they were granted tenure, a requirement of a completed doctorate to receive tenure has been implemented. Those faculty who were granted tenure without a doctorate are being counted as tenured faculty with a terminal degree. It should also be noted that a Master of Fine Arts -MFA - can be considered to be a terminal degree. It should be further noted that FAMC department chairs have expressed the desire to re-visit requiring terminal degrees, as prestigious programs recruit and hire accomplished individuals who do not have, or plan to pursue, a terminal degree in their field.





KPI
2. Faculty Rated Above Institutional IDEA Average
The College faculty teaching will be rated by students, using the IDEA system, as above the institutional average as measured by the IDEA summary score. Although their is realization that teaching effectiveness is an area of improvement identified last year, there is a desire to determine a more accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness than relying only on IDEA.


Result
Result: IDEA Data And Analysis (Fall And Spring)
*ANALYSIS GUIDELINES -Contextualized IDEA Analysis Guidelines (p. 3 of IDEA “Group Summary Report”). To the degree that the percentages of COFAMC classes in the two highest categories (Much Higher & Higher) exceed 30% (Part 1), “teaching effectiveness appears to be superior to that in the comparison group” (SHSU). Similarly, if the Group’s converted average exceeds 55, and its average on the 5-point scale is 0.3 above that for the comparison group (Part 2), overall teaching effectiveness in the Group appears to be highly favorable.

Fall 2012 Summary– IDEA Averages, Comparisons, Analysis -The IDEA “Group Summary Report” report provided data and guidance for analysis related to the quality of teaching effectiveness in the COFAMC. According to the Section III - Part 1 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, 1% (5% F11) is the degree that teaching effectiveness appears to be superior to SHSU courses. Based on figures reported in Part 2 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, with a converted score of 52 (SHSU-50) and a rating of 4.2 on a 5-point scale (.1 above SHSU rating of 4.1), identical to Fall 2011, it did not appear that the overall teaching effectiveness of COFAMC was “highly favorable.”*

Spring 2013 Summary– IDEA Averages, Comparisons, Analysis - The IDEA “Group Summary Report” report provided data and guidance for analysis related to the quality of teaching effectiveness in the COFAMC. According to the Section III - Part 1 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, 4% (3% S12) is the degree that teaching effectiveness appears to be superior to SHSU courses. Based on figures reported in Part 2 - Adjusted Summary Evaluation, with a converted score of 52 (SHSU-50) and a rating of 4.2 on a 5-point scale (.1 above SHSU rating of 4.1), .1 above Spring 2012, it did not appear that the overall teaching effectiveness of COFAMC was “highly favorable.”*

*************************
Fall 2012 Detail- In Part 1 of Section III of the IDEA “Group Summary Report” for the COFAMC for Fall 2012, in the “Distribution of Converted Scores Compared to This Institution,” the adjusted Summary Evaluation (Average of “A. Progress on Relevant Objectives,” “B. Excellence of Teacher,” and “C. Excellence of Course”) indicated 6% (6% F11) were “Much Higher,” 25% (29% F11) were “Higher,” 56% (50% F11) were “Similar,” 9% (9% F11) were “Lower,” and 4% (6% F11) were “Much Lower.” 31% (35% F11) were Higher or Much Higher - 5% above SHSU (1% F11).*

Fall 2012 Detail- Part 2 of Section III, indicates that the adjusted average converted scores (A., B., and C. above) of COFAMC courses (compared to SHSU) was 52 (52 F11), and on a 5-point scale, the adjusted average was 4.2 (.1 above SHSU rating of 4.1). COFAMC courses did not exceed 55 in any area, and on a 5-point scale, were rated above SHSU, but within .2 (exception: .3 above in Raw of “Excellence of Course”), which reflect nearly identical scores and comparisons when related to Fall 2011.*

Spring 2013 - Detail- In Part 1 of Section III of the IDEA “Group Summary Report” for the COFAMC for Spring 2013, in the “Distribution of Converted Scores Compared to This Institution,” the adjusted Summary Evaluation (Average of “A. Progress on Relevant Objectives,” “B. Excellence of Teacher,” and “C. Excellence of Course”) indicated 5% (7% S12) were “Much Higher,” 29% (26% S12) were “Higher,” 50% (52% S12) were “Similar,” 12% (9% S12) were “Lower,” and 4% (6% S12) were “Much Lower.” 34% (33% S12) were Higher or Much Higher - 4% above SHSU (3% S12).*

Spring 2013 - Detail- Part 2 of Section III, indicates that the adjusted average converted scores (A., B., and C. above) of COFAMC courses (compared to SHSU) was 52 (52 S12), and on a 5-point scale, the adjusted average was 4.2 (.1 above SHSU rating of 4.1). COFAMC courses did not exceed 55 in any area, and on a 5-point scale, were rated above SHSU, but within .2), which reflect nearly identical scores and comparisons when related to Spring 2012.*


To supplement the analysis of the data reported in the IDEA Group Summary Report, COFAMC departments were asked to submit the number of faculty teaching above the institutional average. Results indicated that 86.4% (70.5% FY2012) of the total COFAMC faculty had evaluations above the institutional average (Dept. avgs - 84.6%, 100%, 77.8%, 87%, and 88.9%).  Unlike last year, the Departments were not asked to report the number of faculty evaluated.

KPI
3. Percentage Of Faculty Remaining In Their Department
At least 90% of tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College will remain in the college for an average of five years unless denied tenure or a continuing contract. Last year we did not meet the 90% criterion for retention of faculty, we want to develop an improved approach to determine faculty quality.


Result
Results: Percentage Of Faculty Serving Over Five Years
Records indicated that 79.66% (47 of 59 total) tenure/tenure-track faculty had served for at least five years (63.93% FY2012).

KPI
4. Percentage Of Faculty Completing Scholarly/Creative Work
At least 80% of tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College will complete appropriate scholarly/creative works in their specific discipline (e.g. publishing at least two scholarly pieces) within the year as reported on the FES forms.  It is recognized that "scholarly work" often takes a different form in the Fine Arts, and may appear significantly different than a research publication that is a typical example of other scholarly work in the majority of other disciplines.  

The percentage faculty last year who reported at least two  scholarly/creative works was 59.02%, well below the goal of 80%. In 2012-2013, we are requesting that the departments disaggregate the faculty information into tenured and tenure-track data to better assess and support junior faculty who are pursuing tenure to determine if we can move closer to the 80% standard of success.

Result
Results: Percentage Of Faculty Completing Scholarly/Creative Work
Departments reported the number of tenured/tenure-track faculty who listed at least two scholarly/creative works on their FES (Faculty Evaluation System) The departmental averages were 61.54%, 80%, 33.33%, 30.43%, and 88.89%.  Collectively, 30 of 59 COFAMC faculty (50.85%) listed at least two scholarly/creative works on their FES. This compares to 59.02 % works reported FY2012 and represents a decrease of almost 9%, and well below the target of 80%.

Action
Review Faculty Factors Of Quality Assessment And Consider Improvement Initiatives
Faculty are the “deliverers” of the programs of the department, and the quality of the faculty relates directly to the quality of the program. Reviewing multiple indicators of faculty quality inform where they may be able to collectively improve. Results of the four performance indicators in this goal were reviewed and improvement initiatives will be considered and prioritized.

Terminal Degree. Though records indicate that achievement of terminal degrees by tenured/tenure-track faculty is an area of strength, COFAMC will collect data to assess this faculty characteristic.  The chairs and new dean discussed the terminal degree requirement and its application at SHSU and at other universities. 

IDEA.  Based on the data in Group Summary Report for the College and the information forwarded by the departments, teaching effectiveness is a potential area for improvement.  However, it has reportedly been suggested in the past to university administration that the IDEA instrument does not address the peculiarities of instruction and student preparation in the fine arts, and that the evaluation and related data may not provide an accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness for many courses taught in the Fine Arts. 

That said, in 2013-2014, data will be reviewed, analyzed, and shared with the departments to inform appropriate adjustments to the process and/or instrument to determine a more accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness across the COFAMC.  It will be suggested that an ad-hoc committee be created to consider and propose improvements to the evaluation instrument and process.  Changes implemented would hopefully provide a more accurate assessment of teaching effectiveness, and in turn provide data that would inform department’s efforts to improve the teaching effectiveness of their faculty

Retention of Faculty. Records indicated the retention of faculty was improved (79.66% FY2013 compared to 63.93% FY 2012) but still below the goal of 90%.  With an improvement of 15%, the process still suggested review and possible need for a more thoughtful and/or detailed approach to capturing and assessing this element of faculty quality.  This  approach will be researched with additional captured data in 2013-2014.

Scholarly/Creative Work.  The percentage of faculty listing scholarly/creative work on FES decreased (50.85% FY 2013 from 57% FY2012) as reported to the college by the departments.  This was again quite inconsistent and well below the goal of 80% proposed in the COFAMC objective.  In 2013-2014, there could be consideration to request that departments disaggregate the faculty information into tenured and tenure-track data to better assess and support junior faculty who are pursuing tenure. The expectation of scholarly/creative work for both tenured and tenure-track faculty will be discussed with the department with the hope of getting closer to the goal of 80% of faculty reporting scholarly/creative work.

Goal
III. Promote Student Recruitment, Success, And Retention
The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will support the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance in their efforts to improve student recruitment, success, and retention.


Objective
Support Recruitment And Retention Of Quality Students And Support Quality Degree Plans
The College will support the recruitment of highly qualified students, generating degree plans that promote success, and retaining students as majors from year to year

KPI
1. Increase In Undergraduate Student Majors
There will be a 2% increase in undergraduate students for the College as reported by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (IRA). We discovered last year that overall, we did not meet the 2% growth; however, concerns emerged about outgrowing resources, facilities, and faculty with increased enrollment. Balancing growth and resources is a major objective for the college.

Result
Results: Increase/decrease In Undergraduate Enrollment
Based on enrollment records spanning seven long semesters (Spring 2010 to Spring 2013), undergraduate enrollment decreased in Mass Comm  -7.9% (-13.2% S10 to S12) and in Theatre/Musical Theatre -10.7% (-4.9% S10 to S12). Undergraduate enrollment increased in Art 11.5% (10.6% S10 to S12) in Music 30.4% (15.7% S10 to S12), and in Dance 21.3% (16.3% S10 to S12). The collective growth in undergraduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC over the last seven semesters is 5.48% (.071% S10 to S12).

Based on enrollment records of the last two fall semesters (Fall 2011 and Fall 2012), undergraduate enrollment decreased in Theatre/Musical Theatre  -5.16% (-.4% F10/11).  Undergraduate enrollment increased in Mass Comm 6.64% (-9.38% F10/11), in Art 8.79% (-6.57% F10/11), in Music 7.32% (7.61% F10/11), and in Dance 7.14% (13.95% F10/11).  The collective increase in undergraduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC from Fall 2011 to Fall 2012 is 5.56%, which contrasts the decrease (-2.47%) between Fall 2010 and Fall 2011.

The figures above indicate over 5% growth in the current COFAMC departments since Spring 2010 (.71% S10 to S12), and an increase of over 5.5 % in fall enrollment between Fall 2011 and Fall 2012 (-2.47% F10 to F11).

KPI
2. Increase In Graduate Student Enrollment
There will be a 1.5% increase in graduate student enrollment in the College as reported by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (IRA). We surpassed the criterion last year.  Once again, a balance of growth and resources is needed.

Result
Results: Increase/Decrease In Graduate Student Enrollment
Based on enrollment records spanning seven long semesters (Spring 2010 to Spring 2013), graduate enrollment in the two departments with graduate programs increased 77.78% and 72.22% (55.56% and 22.22% S10-S12). The collective growth in graduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC over the last seven semesters is 74.07% (33.33% S10-S12).

Based on enrollment records of the last two fall semesters (Fall 2011 and Fall 2012), enrollment in one of the two departments with graduate programs increased 18.18%  (0% F10/F11) , while enrollment in the other department decreased to -6.25% (52.38% F10/F11). The collective growth in graduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC from Fall 2011 to Fall 2012 remained flat at 0% (34.38% F10/F11).

Based on enrollment records of the last two spring semesters (Spring 2012 and Spring 2013), graduate enrollment in the two departments with graduate programs increased by 14.29% and 40.91% (27.27% and 22.22% S11/S12)). The collective growth in graduate enrollment of the departments that now comprise COFAMC from Spring 2012 to Spring 2013 is 30.56% (24.14% S11/S12).

The figures above indicate significant 3-year growth of 74% (33% S10/S13) in graduate enrollment in the COFAMC departments since Spring 2010, with inconsistent growth indicated through comparing growth of the last two fall semesters of 0%  (34% F10/F11) to the growth in the last two spring semesters of  9.3% (24% S11/S12).

SUMMER GRADUATE MUSIC PROGRAM.  It should  be noted that the School of Music services more graduate students than the Fall and Spring data above would suggest.  Some students apply for a specific Masters of Music program, and courses are offered during the summer.  The summer-only program in Summer 2013 produced 174 additional enrolled graduate students and 49 MM graduates.

KPI
3. Students Declaring Major As Juniors Will Persist To Graduation
At least 80% of students declaring their majors in the College will persist in the College through graduation as measured by major rosters and graduation rosters provided by the Registrar’s Office from year to year. We struggled last year to gather the data, which was somewhat illusive.  We are working with Information Technology this year to obtain the data.

Result
Result: Report Does Not Facilitate Capturing Persistence Of Major
Institutional report does not facilitate the capture of persistence of major.  Analysis of persistence of Spring 2012 FAMC graduates performed in Office of the Dean revealed that of the 173 Spring graduates who had a FAMC major in at least one of the previous five semesters, 7 (4.05%) did not graduate with a FAMC degree - they did not persist.  Conversely, 95.95% of those students with a FAMC major in at least one of the preceding five semesters did persist through graduation and received a degree in our college. 

The resource-intensive process for determining the persistence rate was not duplicated for 2012-2013 semesters.

Action
Enrollment Data Informs Growth Strategies

UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT. Strategies to recruit and retain quality students can be informed by enrollment data. Reviewing enrollment fluctuations will inform consideration of improvement initiatives. The general enrollment increases in most undergraduate areas, coupled with discussions related to faculty, resources, and facilities, suggest strategies should include assessing and increasing of quality of our students.

The college has investigated ways to capture, by semester, the average GPA of majors, disaggregated by major and program.

GRADUATE ENROLLMENT. Records indicate a general increase in graduate student enrollment, but with total graduate student enrollment below 50, a small number of students can produce significant changes in percentages. With low enrollment numbers and the graduate program in Mass Communication coming beginning in Fall 2014, a commitment to regularly capture and analyze data should be discussed. The enrollment data for the summer-only graduate program in Music was captured and analyzed, a process that should be repeated annually.

PERSISTENCE OF MAJOR THROUGH GRADUATION. The results on retention data collection and analysis (4.05% FAMC majors did not persist through Spring 2012 graduation) did not justify the resources spent to obtain the information. Information services should provide a report that provides that information. It was decided to not expend resources again for that data in 2013.

Frozen GPA data by semester for the college will be obtained to begin the process of assessing improvement in student quality over multiple semesters and years.

Goal
IV. Promote Service To The University, Community, State, Nation, And Global Entities
The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will encourage, suggest, and support efforts by the departments of Art, Dance, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Musical Theatre to be of service to communities in and outside the university.


Objective
Provide Service
The College’s faculty members and students will provide service to various entities

KPI
1. Increase In Academic Community Engaged Courses
The number of Academic Community Engagement Courses (ACE) will increase by 1% over the previous year as reported by the ACE Center. We will also survey faculty regarding the ease and difficulty with having a course with an ACE designation. We far surpassed the criterion last year.  We are leaving the criterion at 1% because eventually the number of courses will level off.

Result
Results: Increase In Academic Community Engaged Courses
At the end of the Academic year, the college obtained specific information on instances of ACE designated courses for the Fall and Spring semesters  The ACE office also indicated between April 2012 and August 2013, nine FAMC professors were approved to add ACE designation to a total of eleven courses (two professors submitted applications for 2 courses). This increase of professors (9) was almost double the number of professors previously approved (5) for ACE designated courses, so presumably, a similar increase in instances of ACE-designated courses is expected in 2012-13.

KPI
2. Generate Database Of Course-Related Service
Last year the College began generating a database of services provided to the various entities. This will be an ongoing effort so that, eventually, we will be able to determine from the database our strengths and weaknesses in global service.

Result
Results: Generate Database Of Course-Related Service
Additional data related to the Academic Community Engagement courses was collected to inform the College and Departments.

For 2012-2013, there were 18 courses/23 sections of ACE designated courses taught in COFAMC  (Fall 2012 - 8 courses/9 sections,  Spring 2013 – 10 courses/14 sections).

2010-11     2 Courses
2011-12     11 Courses
2012-13     18 Courses/23 sections

Based on the above numbers, the college has experienced exceptional increase in the number of ACE courses  - 165% increase over last year, and a 900% increase over 2 years ago.
 
The distribution by department of the 23 sections taught are:

Academic year 2012-2013      21.7%, 4.3%, 39.1%, 34.8%, 0.0%
Fall 2012                                 22.2%, 11.1%, 22.2%, 44.4%, 0.0%
Spring 2013                             21.4%, 0.0%, 50.0%, 28.6%. 0.0%

Additional data that was not obtained last year included:

1. Total number of professors approved for ACE courses since the beginning of the program (Oct 2010 to July 2013): 13 (Dept. Distribution-5,1,3,4,0).

2. List and total number of ACE courses since beginning of the program: 22. (Dept. distribution: 6,1,4,11,0)

3. Between April 2012 and August 2013, nine FAMC professors were approved to add ACE designation to a total of eleven courses (two professors submitted applications for 2 courses). 

Action
Action: Provide Service
A new college representative on the university ACE committee was appointed for 2012-13.  The ACE program and service was emphasized at the annual college faculty meeting.  Based on the marked increase in ACE-designated courses it would appear that efforts to increase service have been successful and should be continued.  

Due to another appointment, the representative to the ACE committee had to be replaced, and a new individual has been identified and agreed to serve.  He and the former representative will be asked to share information at the 2013-14 annual college faculty meeting. 

The associate dean has familiarized himself with the ACE application process, and can encourage and assist faculty in the ACE course-designation process.   

Discrete data related to faculty and ACE-designated courses had been requested and obtained to better track and report participation and service.

Goal
V. Create Infrastructure For New College
The College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication will determine strategic initiatives which support the departments of Art, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance, and concurrently foster the creation and growth of the new College.

Objective
Secure Support For Strategic Initiatives
Present new strategic initiatives from the departments of Art,  Dance, Mass Communication, Music, and Theatre/Musical Theatre and the College to university administration as a crucial component of continuing to build a new college within the university.

KPI
1. Funding Of Initiatives Through Budget Allocation
One strategic initiative from each college will be forwarded for possible funding through Academic Affairs budget allocation.

Result
Results: Initiatives Forwarded From Departments And College For Funding
INITIATIVES SUBMITTED FOR 2013-14
Mass Communication-Global Center for Journalism and Democracy 
Music-Applied Vocal Position
Art-Ink Fee Initiative
Art-NASAD Accreditation
Dance-Faculty TT Position – Choreography
College PT Associate Dean
Theatre-Supplement Theatre O & M

INITIATIVES SUBMITTED FOR 2012-13
Art-Enhance Animation Program
Dance-Establish a Department of Dance
Mass Communication-Establish a Spanish Radio Station
Mass Communication-Establish an International Media Center
Music-Create a Center for String Pedagogy
Theatre-Create a Center for Musical Theatre


KPI
2. Track Funding Support Of Strategic Initiatives
Track support record of strategic initiatives presented by the College to assess and implement appropriate modifications. We are eager to begin populating our database with data regarding the funding of strategic initiatives.

Result
Results: Track Funding Support Of Strategic Initiatives
INITIATIVES SUBMITTED FOR 2013-14
Mass Communication-Global Center for Journalism and Democracy - $150K
Music-Applied Vocal Position - $70K
Dance-Faculty TT Position – Choreography - $73K
College PT Associate Dean - $55K

Art-Ink Fee Initiative (Funding not awarded)
Art-NASAD Accreditation (Funding not awarded)
Theatre-Supplement Theatre O & M (Funding inconclusive)

KPI
3. Funding Through Other Sources
For unfunded initiatives, seek and identify funding both within the College and through external funding sources. Last year a change in leadership retarded efforts which will be renewed this year.

Result
Result: Funding Through Other Sources
Alternative sources of funding for strategic initiatives were not secured.


Action
Action: Secure Support For Strategic Initiatives
Support for 5 of the 7 initiatives for the upcoming year was secured through Academic Affairs and the current planning and budgeting process.  Confirmation of funding occurred late in the fiscal year, and consequently, at the time of this reporting, alternative sources of funding for the unfunded initiatives have not been secured.  The unfunded initiatives will be considered, as will sources to support them that are outside the typical funding process.

Additionally, with a permanent dean starting in July 2013, initiatives to support relationships with donors or potential donors will be explored.  With these relationships in place and nurtured, alternative sources for funding could be explored.

Objective
Develop Advisory Board
The College will Develop an Advisory Board to advise regarding alumni and donor relations

KPI
Identify And Organize Advisory Board
Resuming meetings of the community and faculty advisory boards that were suspended in the spring of 2012 is a goal for fall of 2012. There are also plans for coordinating a donor list (supplied by the Development Office) with merging two ticketing systems into a single comprehensive ticketing system, thus facilitating improved tracking of trends and connections in patron (donors, alumni, staff, etc.) attendance.

Result
Results: Identify And Organize Advisory Board
The interim dean re-established communication with some of the previous community advisory board in 2012-13, but an advisory group from the community was not re-activated or created. 

The merging of the Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre Ticket Office and the GPAC Ticket Office did not materialize in 2012-13. 

Action
Action: Develop Advisory Board
Action-Postpone.  The re-establishment of a community advisory board remains suspended until such time as the newly-appointed permanent dean wishes to re-activate or form a new advisory group from the community. 
After discussion with the Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre and the GPAC Ticket Office Manager, it was recommended to postpone the merging of the two ticket offices.




Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

DATA. The college did assist departments in accessing reports and collecting and analyzing data.

SURVEY FOR GRADUATES.  The college created a survey for recent graduates –undergraduates only -to receive 6 months after their graduation.  It was developed collaboratively with the Department chairs, and emailed to a group of recent graduates to assess their academic and occupational status. 

ASSESSING QUALITY.  The university has developed and provided limited access (two people per college) to a General Student Report (GSR).  The college has divided the vast report into more manageable files for each department, will distribute to each department records on their majors, and provide support for file navigating and interpretation.  A wealth of information on students, delineated to the program level, can be utilized to help assess quality.

FACULTY QUALITY.  The college did facilitate the IDEA process and identified areas for improvement in communicating expectations and deadlines with the departments.  Due to the transitions, the college did not feel compelled to follow through with requesting more specific information from departments regarding scholarly/creative work as reported by tenured and tenure-track faculty.

DATA CAPTURE AND COLLECTION. The college made some progress on data-related collection, analysis, and reporting goals in 2012-13, but not as much as desired.   The college also fell short of regular report capture goals and systematic collection goals that facilitate data analysis and reporting. Lack of progress is partially due to new reports coming on-line, and lack of familiarity with report details.

ENCOURAGE SERVICE.  The college did encourage participation in community service in general through the ACE program in 2012-13.  The college also compiled information from departments on the estimated number of visitors brought to Huntsville as a result of activities related to FAMC programs. 

ENCOURAGE ACE.  The college did specifically encourage participation by faculty in the ACE program in 2012-13, and has carefully considered the appointment of the last two college representatives on the university ACE committee.  The Associate Dean has applied for an ACE-designated course to be better able to share the process with interested faculty.

ENCOURAGE NEW ACE.  In the college, community service was highlighted by the significant number of additional courses that were approved as ACE-designated during 2012-13.

COLLEGE IDENTITY.  The college made clear efforts to discover and mold its identity, including connecting with new Art-related organizations and associations.  The college initiated its membership in Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education, and facilitated participation by multiple FAMC faculty in conferences sponsored by the Texas Commission on the Arts (Jan 2013), and Texans for the Arts (July 2013).  Furthermore, the Associate Dean participated in conferences sponsored by the Houston Arts Partners (Sept 2012), the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (Oct 2012), the Texas Association of Deans of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Feb 2013) and the inaugural meeting of the Texas Association of Fine Arts Deans (Jan 2013). Participation in these organizations and conferences helps to increase the knowledge related to Colleges of Fine Arts and an awareness of the various roles the Arts play in the larger community.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES DATABASE.  The college updated but did not expand the database to track details and funding of strategic initiatives. In the midst of transition in staff of the Office of the Dean, the expansion of the database details were not a top priority.

TEAM BUILDING.  Coalescing a group of individuals into a team is somewhat dependent on the consistency of its members.  The college continued to experience significant transition in staff in 2012-13 with another new Dean (began in July 2013), an additional Associate Dean (to begin in Sept 2013), a Sr. administrative assistant new to the office, and the former Sr. Administrative Assistant promoted to Assistant to the Dean.  A full-time marketing coordinator was also hired (began in August 2013).  In the face of multiple transitions in the Dean’s position, in the staff, and in the physical changes in the office of the Dean, the college has done well in supporting its departments and students, and being responsive to university expectations.

COLLEGE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE.  The college Policies and Procedures Committee met several times in 2012-13 and developed guidelines for a incorporating a college level of review of the tenure process that were proposed to the Interim Dean.  Tenure Review rose as the top priority for the committee, but the committee’s service may be continued to assist addressing other college-level issues.


Plan for continuous improvement PLAN FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT FOR 2013-2014

2012-13 proved to be another year of growth for the college.  The college was fortunate to have a skilled Interim Dean provide guidance and leadership while the search for a permanent dean took place.  Some of the transition issues in 2011-12 that were noted in the previous "Plan for Continuous Improvement" persisted through 2012-2013.  Despite those issues and significant changes in personnel in the Office of the Dean, strategic plans were developed at the departmental and college level, though personnel remained aware that a permanent Dean would be in place for 2013-2014.

The initial goals for the college remain appropriate, though some could be added, and details at the Key Performance Indicator and Objective levels will be reviewed and assessed for possible revision or replacement. 

GOAL: I. Promote And Support Development And Delivery Of A Rigorous Contemporary Curriculum

GOAL: II. Recruit, Retain, And Develop Highly Qualified And Successful Faculty Members.

GOAL: III. Promote Student Recruitment, Success, And Retention

GOAL: IV. Promote Service To The University, Community, State, Nation, And Global Entities

GOAL: V. Create Infrastructure For New College

SURVEY FOR GRADUATES. The college will 1) assume full administration of the survey and associated data (with support from IT@Sam), 2) will request/attempt to obtain “best” (non-SHSU) email addresses to contact students after they graduate, 3) will schedule multiple encouraging emails to graduating students (CC: departments) in their final semester informing/reminding them that they will be receiving an employment/graduate school survey approximately six months after graduation, and expressing advance appreciation of their attention to the survey.

ASSESSING QUALITY OF STUDENTS.  The college will gather more data and detail to help the college and departments capture quality of students in more and deeper ways.  GPA, ACT/SAT scores, internship/praxis-based activity, and other potential measures of student quality will be investigated for feasibility of capture and analysis.

FACULTY QUALITY.  The college will emphasize with departments the importance of compliance with IDEA procedures and timelines and will establish communication and schedules to facilitate timely and complete administration by the departments.  Noting previous results and need for clearer data, the college will request additional information regarding scholarly/creative works indicated on FES, such as “# of faculty indicating one scholarly/creative work,” which will supplement data obtained by capturing the current “# of faculty indicating two or more scholarly/creative works.”  Departments will be asked to disaggregate the data by tenured and tenure-track faculty. 

DATA CAPTURE AND COLLECTION. The college will concentrate on capturing, analyzing, and reporting pertinent data, which will include increasing report knowledge and increasing attention to the strategic capture and collection of pertinent data.  The college will also assist departments in identifying data needs, determining and accessing pertinent reports, and collecting and analyzing data.

ENCOURAGE SERVICE AND ACE PARTICIPATION. The college will encourage service by faculty and students.  This will be partially accomplished by increased participation by faculty in the Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) program, which will be encouraged and tracked by the college.  The college will also work with the coordinator of the initiative to assess the university’s economic impact to refine the data collection for the departments.

COLLEGE IDENTITY. The college will, under the leadership of a new permanent dean, with the expertise of a new marketing coordinator, and with the efforts of a new Associate Dean for Academic Innovation, be making new connections and impressions at the university, local, regional, state, national, and international levels.   

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES DATABASE. The college will maintain the database and expand the information collected in it, particularly as it applies to the application of external funding.

TEAM BUILDING. The college will encourage review of job descriptions, provide training and regular team meetings to assist college staff in optimizing communication, cooperation, and performance in and between departmental and college offices and personnel.  

COLLEGE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE. The college will engage the Policies and Procedures Committee to address prioritized issues that would benefit from consider by a committee representing a cross-section of the college faculty, generally resulting in a report/proposal to the Dean of the College.  Issues could include tenure policy, promotion policy, facility policy, etc., and others as identified by the committee or departmental and college administration.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATION.  The need for the college to make connections to various outside communities and community members remains, as they are the foundation of locating donors and sources of external funding that are important to the growth of the college, its departments, and their programs.   Advisory boards, ticket sales, merger of box offices, and optimizing function and presence on the web will be considered, and the new Dean, new Marketing Coordinator, and new Associate Dean for Innovative Academic Programs will be key to initiatives in this area.