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, which 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 quality instruction is also adherence to stringent student evaluation; courses need to be interesting yet not too easy.
Result
Goal Of Quality Instruction Achieved
The goal of quality instruction was achieved and exceeded. The summary IDEA scores (the better of "raw"/"adjusted") are the following:
Full faculty (N=24; sections: 121) 4.4441 (spring & fall 2013) Adjuncts (N=24; sections: 103) 4.1363 (fall 2013) TAs (N=4; sections: 6) 4.3125 (fall 2013)
Average for all (N=52; sections: 230) 4.3
Discussion: The average of 4.3 IDEA summary score reflects the good instruction that the Department of English provides. Even though the score was somewhat lower than last year's (4.47), it is still well above the expectation. Much of the teaching in English consists of service to other departments, as English teaches the core freshman and sophomore courses. Full faculty scores are slightly higher (4.4) than adjunct and TA scores (4.1 and 4.3, respectively), which reflects the fact that adjuncts and TAs teach mostly freshman composition--courses that are required of all students as part of the core. Adjuncts and TAs are doing amazingly well, when this fact is taken into consideration.
Action
Help All Instructors Achieve And Maintain High Quality Teaching
All IDEA scores for all sections will be monitored closely, with special attention to sections that score below the university average of 3.9. Private meetings with instructors will be held in the spirit of support, with the goal of identifying the reasons for lower scores. Often the reason is that the course is an obligatory course that students are not eager to take; however, even in these courses it is possible to improve the scores without compromising high expectations and rigorous teaching. In adjunct hiring, in addition to the overall qualifications, special attention will be paid to the applicants' potential as classroom instructors. A mandatory teaching workshop will be offered on August 25, prior to the beginning of the fall semester 2014, for all adjuncts and teaching assistants. All graduate teaching assistants have been assigned mentors--experienced professors who are successful instructors themselves.
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 (2013) the goal is that research productivity will increase (and not decrease) from 2012.
Result
Increased Research Productivity
Twenty-four professors produced collectively the following in 2013:
Books: 3 Edited volumes: 1 Articles: 6 Book chapters: 1 Dictionary/Encyclopedia entries: 1 Poems: 12 Short stories: 10 Creative Nonfiction essays: 1 Book reviews: 2 Other: 5
Total: 42 publications, i.e., 1.75 publications per faculty member. This is an increase from 2011 (1.65 publicatons per faculty member). In addition, three books were published this year (last year there were no book publications).
Conference presentations: 27
Total: 42 publications and 27 conference presentations = 69, i.e., 2.9 per faculty member.
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 presentation in peer-reviewed conferences. The expectation is the publication of one peer-reviewed article (or equivalent) per faculty member per year.
Result
Not Everyone Yet Publishing Or Presenting
Fifteen (15) faculty members provided the 42 publications in 2013. Nine (9) faculty members did not publish. All publications counted were peer-reviewed.
Seventeen (17) faculty members presented at peer-reviewed conferences. Seven (7) faculty members did not present.
Twenty (20) faculty members either published or presented. Twelve (12) both published and presented.
Only four (4) faculty members did not publish or present.
Action
Publicizing The Results To Faculty
The results reported here will be made available to the tenured and tenure-track faculty, with faculty names associated with individual accomplishments. Publications will also be reported biannually in the departmental newsletter, _Nuntii Evansensis_. The ultimate goal is 100-percent participation in research activities, defined as either publication or presentation.
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
Service Activity Goal Was Achieved
Twenty-four English faculty report 239 service activities. The average is thus 9.958. With rounding up, it can be said that the goal was achieved.
Action
English Is Active In Service
English faculty are active in service. Adding to the service goals would mean diminished attention to research activities. Everyone serves in some capacity and needs to be commended for this.