OATdb Archive - Sam Houston State University

OATdb Archive

2013 - 2014

Geography And Geology, Department Of

Goal

Quality Faculty

The faculty of the department will provide quality teaching and engage in quality research.

Objective

Quality Teaching

The faculty will provide quality teaching.

KPI

Effective Teachers

The department utilizes the IDEA system as the teaching evaluation instrument. The IDEA system is a nationally normed, validated and reliable measure of classroom performance. All faculty distribute the IDEA evaluations at the end of their classes each semester. The faculty member's scores are then compared to other faculty across the nation. 80% of the faculty in the department will be in or above the Similar converted score category on the Summary Evaluation in at least half of their classes.

Result

IDEA Summary Evaluation Results

94% of the faculty scored at or above the Similar category during the most recent evaluation period. 63% scored in the Higher category and 6% scored in the Much Higher category.

Action

Evaluation Of Quality Teaching

The only scores in the Lower category of the converted scores on the IDEA form were for faculty members that taught online courses. The online courses have a very low return rate, to the point where the IDEA scores are rated as being unreliable by the evaluators of the IDEA forms. A way to improve the response rate must be developed. On the bright side, there were several faculty who scored 50 or more on the summary evaluation for all of their courses. Faculty wanting to improve their IDEA scores are encouraged to go to the Professional and Academic Center for Excellence (PACE) Center for workshops and one-on-one help with teaching effectiveness. This type of help would be especially valuable for the online courses.

Objective

Quality Research

The department faculty will engage in quality, peer-reviewed research.

KPI

Quality Research

The faculty in the department will publish peer-reviewed books and articles. 80% of the faculty in the department will publish at least one peer-reviewed publication per year.

Result

Peer-reviewed Publications

There were 16 faculty members, with two adjuncts that were not subject to an annual review. Of the faculty members that were reviewed, 64% (9 of 14) published at least on peer-reviewed publication over the past year. Two of the faculty in the department each published three peer-reviewed publications over the past year. Four of the faculty members also wrote successfully funded grant proposals.

Action

Engagement In Quality, Peer-reviewed Research

Departmental faculty members are encouraged to publish quality, peer-reviewed research. The department will support this by providing time and resources to the faculty members. For example, funding travel for geographical research. Travel for some geographers is equivalent to capital equipment to science faculty.

Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement Online IDEA evaluations continue to be an issue in terms of low return rates. A number of faculty teaching online courses have yet to seek help from the PACE Center.

Grant-writing activity has increased in the department and we are hoping to see additional external funding flow into the department. Thesis activity among GIS graduate students has also increased. There are now 7 graduate students pursuing the thesis option. The Woodlands Center is no longer an option for the Geospatial Technology facility, so we are now looking at the University Park campus for potential development. Dr. Gary Acton, our geophysisist, has successfully involved undergraduates in his research, taking two students to the University of California - Davis to collect data for his research. Dr. Jonathan Sumrall took a group of students to Barbados to collect samples and measurements, some of which may result in publications.

Plan for continuous improvement Again, the only faculty that "appear" to be "struggling" are those teaching a number of online courses. We will continue to try to find means of improving the return rates. We will also continue to encourage faculty to go to the PACE Center for workshops and/or one-on-one development meetings.

We will monitor our progress with respect to external funding that is being generated. We are going to development a graduate student handbook for our department and provide guidelines for graduate students, especially those working on a thesis. As the number of graduate students pursuing a thesis increases, this should also increase the number of publications being produced by faculty members of the department. The department will have to shift its focus from developing a Geospatial Technology facility at The Woodlands Center to developing a facility at the University Park campus. Involvement of undergraduate students in faculty research will also continue to grow.