Enhancing Academic Programs

Garth Thomas

Associate Provost

Telephone: 304.442.3246

Campus Address: 216 Old Main

Upcoming Meeting Dates:

Enhancing Academic Programs Goals for Year 2 of the Strategic Plan:

Completed Enhancing Academic Programs Goals from Year 1:

The comprehensive assessment of all Tech academic program capacities was completed in Year 1, with the finding that nearly all programs, at current staffing and resource levels, can sustain a doubling of their student enrollment, with some programs conceivably sustaining a tripling of their enrollment without further resources. Current enrollment data from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that nationally, a number of the more popular areas of study are in majors offered by Tech. Also, Tech is well represented among the major fields with highest starting salaries and the most job offers. However, the national data indicate that a few programs at Tech, such as Printing Management and the Graphic Arts area of emphasis are trending at much lower levels. The national education and job market data suggest some possible areas for new academic programs that would fit well at Tech, such as biomedical/biological engineering, information systems (with health service emphasis), environmental science/engineering, and recreation management. Work is already underway to have a new Information Systems program launched in Fall 2011.

The Year 1 audit of program resources is still underway, but preliminary findings show that the current annual funding level of academic technology and laboratory investment/replacement is roughly $250,000 below what is needed to maintain a cutting-edge standing. Although set for Year 3, progress has already been made on part-of-term courses, with two courses designed and awaiting approval for implementation during 2011-2012.

Analysis:

The assessment of Tech’s current academic programs indicates that they have strong potential and capacity for growth given proper and active recruitment and retention systems. However, these programs may falter in their standings if their infrastructure is not funded adequately. Careful decisions with faculty input are necessary for the review of programs with declining national trends. The directions for new programs are very promising given their strong national trends and their symmetry with the academic talents Tech already possesses. It will be important to move quickly and decisively in Years 2 and 3 to propose and implement some of these new programs.

For the complete Year 1 Progress Report, click here

The 5-Year Strategic Plan for Enhancing Academic Programs:

An enduring strength of WVU Tech is the quality of its academic programs. The institution has state of the art facilities and labs, and a tradition of unsurpassed excellence in scientific and applied disciplines. There is a bright future also in the creation of interdisciplinary programs (such as energy systems engineering) and that the transformed national focus on innovation, science, and technology creates an enormous opportunity for Tech to achieve renewed prominence.

To enhance Tech’s academics, by the end of the first year data will be gathered on all current academic units to evaluate their capacities for sustainable growth. National data will be collected to determine student enrollment trends that assess each program’s market potential. Additionally, national research funding sources for key disciplines will be identified. This information will be combined with the resource requirements each program reports during a one-year audit. Years two through five will see a refinement of Tech’s academic offerings that are aligned with student and national markets.

By the end of the second year, Tech’s support courses will have undergone a review and be modified to more directly serve student demand and interest. Redundant or low-demand courses will be modified to more effectively deliver streamlined academic programs. This year will also see the reemergence of a student honors program to recognize and motivate Tech’s brightest and most promising students.

By the end of the third year, special cooperative relationships between different academic units will be identified to take advantage of public and/or private funding opportunities for research and educational program innovation. New minors and areas of academic emphasis will be developed as well.

The five-year plan for enhancing academic programs will also have Tech moving to the forefront of new educational techniques. By year three, more part-of-term courses, more study abroad programs, and an increase in undergraduate research opportunities will be integrated with a widespread adoption of technology-enhanced pedagogy, including on-line courses, tele-conferencing internship experiences, and other techniques. Years four and five will emphasize campus-wide reviews of these innovations to determine student satisfaction and any necessary refinements.

For the complete Strategic Plan, click here.

YEAR 1 (3 Goals):

Goal 1: Review Current Academic Programs. Timetable: on schedule. Analysis underway to research demand, competition, and the need for graduates from all of our current programs – reporting is due before May 2011. Data has been collected and a preliminary model has been developed to evaluate program capacities, resource needs, and critical limitations. The deadline is before the next student recruiting season begins. Evaluation underway to determine whether service courses are meeting the needs of the programs they support. The academic deans have been charged to begin looking for course duplications within their colleges

Goal 2: Develop New Programs. Timetable: on schedule. Notes: Subgroup created to identify options for the Interdisciplinary Studies program. A proposal for a new Information Systems program has been submitted. An Area of Emphasis in Energy Engineering has been approved for the Electrical Engineering Department. The Engineering Technology Department has been charged to develop four-year curricula in addition to the +2 programs. This goal is ongoing throughout the 5-year plan.

Goal 3: Enhance Current Programs. Timetable: on schedule. Notes: Study underway to increase undergraduate participation in research projects. Subgroup formed to develop part-of-term courses to improve retention by providing more course alternatives for students who need to make mid-term schedule changes. Improving library research resources has been added as an objective – the Library Committee will be used as the subgroup for this task. Improving campus instructional technology has been added as an objective, with a subgroup formed to provide input for the Campus Master Plan for infrastructure development. A committee has been formed with the objective of increasing international study opportunities.