The department chair and faculty will engage in strategic planning.
Objective
Strategic Planning
The department will maintain a strategic planning process identifying departmental strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
KPI
Annual Strategic Plan
Document generated by the department chair and presented to the department during the August department meeting.
Result
Annual Strategic Plan
The Department Chair distributed a draft annual strategic plan to the deparment in the first department meeting of the year. The plan provided a summary of the objectives achieved from the previous strategic plan, goals and objectives for the coming year and obstacles to overcome.
The plan was ratified by the department and forwarded to the Dean in September 2013.
KPI
Department Meeting Minutes
Adequate distribution of faculty resources.
Result
Distribution Of Faculty Resources
At the beginning of the academic year faculty were requested to submit requests for travel, capital equipment requests and supplies. The department distributed $37,000 in travel funds, This represented 53% of the requested funding.
The department distributed $68,000 in capital equipment purchases. This provided for research oriented computer systems, Robotics kits, and additions to the department's Virtual Farm. All requests by faculty were met.
The department provided all supplies requested at the beginning of the year together with supplemental supplies requests on an ad hoc basis.
In addition, through the allocation of Distance Learning funds, the department provided support services via the employment of students workers and partial funding of the Director of the Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics to support the online and classroom infrastructure.
Result
Faculty Workload
The department maintained a balanced faculty workload with all faculty members contributing to meeting schedule demands as per contract. Faculty members wee involved in the scheduling process to ensure compatibility with areas of expertise, appropriate course timing and porgrammatic coverage.
As a result of the department having an unfilled faculty line, the part-retirement of one existing faculty member and the growth, especially of graduate programs the department found it necessary to a) employ two adjunct faculty members (total 4 courses) in both the fall and spring semesters, and b) the department chair remains overloaded.
Action
Strategic Planning
The department maintains a strong strategic planning process that appears to be producing results in terms of the effective use of both fiscal and academic resources to meet the current needs of the department.
In addition the process at this point appears to have the additional effect of providing input to the College and University strategic planning process in order to more efficiently utilize resources at those levels.
Future iterations of the annual strategic plan should include external as well as internal review.
Goal
Faculty Teaching
Faculty will demonstrate quality teaching.
Objective
Faculty Evaluation
Faculty will demonstrate quality teaching.
KPI
Teaching Materials
Faculty documents and provides evidence of research, teaching and service activites together with formal end of cycle evaluations of teaching, service and research. This evidence and formal evaluation documents are reviewed by the DPTAC and department Chair. FES forms 1 and 8 are signed by both chair and faculty member and maintained as an historical record from the initial point of employment.
Satisfactory performance requires that the department complete the DPTAC and the department chair complete the faculty evaluation process in accordance with university and departmental policy and forward the required documentation the the Dean of the College of Sciences by the date specified by the Office of Academic Affairs.
The department uses four metrics to establish the quality of teaching, IDEA evaluation scores, classroom observation by the department chair each semester, self-reflection of teaching by individual faculty members and documentation of activities that improve the classroom experience for students. Successful performance in the assessment of teaching will be evidenced by overall departmental IDEA scores being above the Institutional and Discipline averages.
Result
Teaching Materials
The annual Faculty Evaluation process was conducted according to university and departmental policy. The required materials were forwarded to the Dean of Sciences office before the due date.
The overall departmental IDEA evaluation scores were above the Institutional and Discipline averages.
For online courses: 86% of courses scored at or above the IDEA database average and 71% were at or above the Institution average on Progress on Relevant Objectives 79% of courses scored at or above the IDEA database average and 61% or Summary.
For face to face courses: 97% of courses were scored at or above the IDEA Database average and 90% above the Institutional average for Progress on Relevant Objectives.
97% of courses were scored at or above the IDEA Database average and 84% above the Institutional average for Summary.
Action
Teaching Quality
The department is clearly providing high quality education for its students at all levels. The department should review the results and attempt to codify a set of best practices that proceduralize the teaching strengths as both a departmental and institutional resource.
Goal
Curriculum Planning And Evaluation
The department will maintain updated and quality curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Objective
Curriculum Review
The department will conduct continuous curriculum review for each degree program.
KPI
Curriculum Committee Minutes
Minutes of the meetings of the undergraduate and graduate curriculum committees.
Result
Curriculum Committee Minutes
Curriculum committee minutes are stored electronically in the departmental office. Key issues addressed this year in the Curriculum committees include:
A review of the undergraduate program in Computing Science as a result of feedback from the ABET onsite visit. We are currently awaiting the final result from ABET/CAC.
The development of review materials for external review of graduate programs in Computer Information Science, Digital Forensics, and Information Assurance and Security followed by successful external reviews. Documentation of the reviews are located in the OatDB sections for each of the graduate programs.
Development of a full degree program proposal in Digital Forensics Engineering Technology. This proposal is currently under review by the College Curriculum Committee.
Development of a full program request for a doctoral program in Digital and Cyber Forensics. This proposal is currently being finalized and is scheduled to be to the Dean of Graduate Studies and the college Curriculum Committee by October 3rd.
KPI
Curriculum Committee Reviews
The curriculum committees will be asked to review the curricula for both the undergraduate and graduate programs. The committees will issue annual reports to be distributed at department meetings.
Result
Curriculum Committee Reviews
All degree programs within the department were subject to review in 2013/14. The attached documents provide details of the reviews:
The BS in Computing Science was reviewed for continued ABET/CAC accreditation. Current accreditation will expire at the end of the 2015/16 academic year. The department is currently waiting for ABET/CAC to finalize its results.
The graduate programs in Digital forensics Computer Information Science and Information Assurance and Security were externally reviewed.
General comments include:
The B.S. in Computing Science continues to improve its assessment procedures. All other criteria used by ABET/CAC in evaluating the program appear to be strong.
The M.S. in Computing Science, would benefit from a comprehensive curriculum review in order to update the curriculum.
The M.S. programs in Digital Forensics and Information Assurance and Security are strong, well-balanced programs.
The greatest issue relating to all programs is the deveopment of additional faculty resources to address both the range of courses taught across the programs and the growth in all four programs.
Action
Curriculum
The Graduate Curriculum Committee should initiate a complete review of the CIS curriculum.