Strategy 1 Stories: Enhancing Academic Excellence and Innovation
1. Ensure a robust culture of instruction that fosters critical thinking.
The narratives below define and bring clarity to what each of the University Strategic Goals means to Academic Affairs. The narratives express our values and beliefs, and create a context to guide implementation efforts. To learn more about the specific strategies and tactics involved in achieving the enhancement of academic excellence and innovation, please view our Academic Affairs Strategic Plan.
The Division of Graduate Studies hosts an orientation program designed to supplement department or program-level orientations. Kent State University's Graduate Student Orientation (GSO) is held prior to the start of fall and spring semesters and all new graduate students are encouraged to attend. GSO provides an opportunity to meet and network with other new graduate students, along with representatives of KSU's faculty, staff, and administration to learn about university and community resources. The first day of GSO is a general program that is open to all new graduate students. The second day of GSO is focused on teaching and is mandatory for new teaching assistants, including returning KSU graduate students with new teaching assistantships. All graduate students interested in college teaching are invited to attend Day 2 of GSO.
In June 2013, Provost Todd Diacon requested that, through the proper shared governance processes, appropriate faculty members and administrators examine the current direction of the Faculty Professional Development Center and consider clarifying its mission and focus. The Faculty Professional Development Re-design Steering Committee was formed to meet this purpose. Committee members, nominated by Deans, Chairs and Directors, Faculty Senate, and AAUP, considered all elements of the center including name, focus, location, staffing, and consulted with faculty colleagues throughout the process. In an effort to include as many perspectives as possible, an advisory group to the steering committee, consisting of other nominated faculty colleagues as well as professional development individuals from within and outside the university periodically provided feedback and insight as the ideas and suggestions were created. The more significant recommendations include: a) re-focusing the center’s mission towards teaching and learning, b) significantly increasing the center’s staffing to support expanded offerings, c) creating a virtual university-wide clearinghouse of information to ease faculty access to the support services available, and d) adjusting the center’s advisory council to be more representative of the current structure of the university.
During the 2012-2013 academic year, the Office of the Provost offered funding through two new initiatives to support departmental and academic program assessment. The program-level assessment grant funded proposals up to $5,000, and mini-grants were funded up to $500.
Program-Level Assessment Grants were developed to fund collecting student learning evidence related to program-level learning outcomes. The intent of these grants was to help departments/programs "close the loop" regarding their curriculum planning and teaching by looking at student work or other evidence of student learning across courses or an entire major and to use that evidence in decisions about improvement. Additional funding to achieve new program goals will be considered upon completion of the program.
Assessment Activities Mini-Grants were developed to aid departments/programs that are making curricular or programmatic changes as a result of the assessment process.
Program and Assessment activities that were funded include:
- Sophomore Assessment Project—Fashion Design and Merchandising, College of the Arts
- Assessment Plan for B.A. in Spanish—Modern and Classical Language Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
- Assessment and Curriculum—Department of Pan-African Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
- Program Assessment in Political Science: Do men and women have the same experience at Kent State University—Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
- Computer Technology Assessment—Computer Technology, Ashtabula Campus
- Integrated Student Writing & Business Knowledge Assurance and Career Development—College of Business Administration
- Closing the Loop Mini-Grant—College of Business Administration
- Electronic Portfolios: Student, Course and Program Evaluation Process—College of Nursing
- Development of a School-wide Professional Disposition Assessment—School of Library and Information Science, College of Communication and Information
- A Baseline Assessment of HDES Students’ Intercultural Competence—School of Lifespan Development and Educational Studies, College of Education, Health and Human Services
