Scope of Review

Scope of Review

The consultants were requested to examine the structure, organization and operation of the graduate programs at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, with particular emphasis in the following areas:

Leadership and effective organization of the graduate program
Organization of an efficient graduate admissions process
Improvements to graduate student services
Construction and usage of databases in graduate administration
Recommendations for changes to marketing materials-website and mailings

While on campus, the consultants met with faculty, staff and students to better understand the graduate structure and function. (See attached agenda.)

Graduate Programs and the Mission of the University

As part of the University Cluster of the University of Wisconsin system, the University of Wisconsin-Superior shares with other institutions in the Cluster core elements of the mission of the system. In addition, its Select Mission explicitly focuses on those areas that make UW-Superior a distinct member of the Cluster, identifying the unique contributions it makes to the higher education system in Wisconsin and the specific needs it serves in the state.

In its Select Mission, UW-Superior establishes that it “will offer graduate programs in areas associated with its undergraduate emphases and strengths.” The current graduate degrees offered by UW-Superior are:

Master of Arts (M.A.): in Visual Communicating and Arts

Master of Science in Education (M.S.E.): in Educational Administration, Guidance and

Counseling, Instruction, Reading, and Special Education

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.): in Educational Administration

In agreement with UW-Superior’s select mission, some of these limited offerings respond to a long tradition at UW-Superior resulting from its beginnings as Superior Normal School (for example, the Ed.S.), whereas others respond to unique strengths in the undergraduate areas (for example, the M.A. with Art Therapy concentration, one of the few in the country). The graduate programs are well-established, having been created shortly after the Board of Regents authorized UW-Superior to offer graduate degrees. Where relevant, graduate programs are accredited or approved by professional or state agencies, ensuring quality and that professional certification and licensing will be recognized as graduates join the professions. For example, the MSE in Counseling is accredited by CACREP, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs.

An important piece in UW-Superior’s identity is its designation as Wisconsin’s Public Liberal Arts College by the UW System’s Board of Regents in 1998, a fairly recent event. It is not surprising that the university still seems to be working to understand how this role marks the ways in which it offers programs and services to students, particularly since the concept of a public liberal arts institution is one that is still evolving and one that adapts to the characteristics of each institution (some prefer to leave it “productively undefined,” so that the campus community continuously engages in its discussion). What is clear, however, is that graduate programs have a clear and distinct role in public liberal arts institutions, and that the programs at UW-Superior should be seen in that light.

In his 2004 keynote address at the annual conference of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), of which UW-Superior is a member, David G. Brown identified the “unexpected obligations” of PLACs (public liberal arts colleges). Offering graduate degrees, in spite of the predominantly undergraduate nature of PLACs, is one of those obligations, one that is also tied to other seeming paradoxes such as providing access for local constituencies-even while trying to be selective, and providing public service-even while enhancing “cloistered” campuses. As many of the COPLAC members have recognized, PLACs cannot simply replicate the model of private liberal arts colleges (and thus, precisely, the importance of PLACs, and the resulting need for them to associate through an organization like COPLAC).

The University of Wisconsin-Superior is the only public higher education institution in northern Wisconsin, and as such, it bears tremendous responsibility for the needs of place-bound individuals in that part of the state. Even in times when much of education can take place via distance learning, at the undergraduate as well as at the graduate level, it is obvious that some competencies, particularly in professional fields and some hands-on academic areas, cannot be fully developed in the absence of face-to-face curricular interactions. Education and Counseling are prime examples of graduate offerings that satisfy in this way the personal needs of local populations to further their education and careers, while at the same time satisfying clear state needs for increased number of professionals in those areas.

It is also important that PLACs offer selected programs that grow out of the strengths of the undergraduate programs, including (and particularly) non-professional, liberal arts and sciences programs. Such graduate programs enhance the scholarly climate on campus, provide excellent role models for undergraduates, and extend the value of communities of learning through the presence of graduate students. Therefore, the liberal arts and sciences culture on campus is enhanced by and developed through the presence of graduate students, graduate faculty and graduate curricular offerings. In this way, as in many others, the graduate programs make valuable contributions to the mission of UW-Superior, specifically as this mission articulates the expectation of “scholarly activity, including research, scholarship and creative endeavor.”

The consultants suggest that Graduate Council develop a mission statement for the Graduate Programs at UW-Superior making explicit the connection with the University’s mission statement and clearly articulating the fit within the liberal arts and sciences mission. There should also be an approved set of outcomes common to all graduate programs, within which individual programs can fit their particular objectives. The following, from the Council of Graduate Schools Master’s Education: A Guide for Faculty and Administrators - A Policy Statement (2005), may provide a useful beginning point:

Graduates from master’s degree programs should have developed the ability to think logically and consistently; integrate and synthesize knowledge; access up-to-date knowledge and information within the discipline; communicate in a clear, consistent, and logical manner, both orally and in writing; understand the interrelationships between their discipline and others; be aware of and prepared to deal with ethical dilemmas within their profession; apply their knowledge of the discipline to real-life situations; and, increasingly, adapt to the dynamic requirements of their profession and their workplace.

Leadership and Effective Organization of the University

Since July of 2003, there has been no direct administrative oversight of the graduate enterprise at UW-S. The university has been extremely fortunate to have had a dedicated and loyal secretarial employee, Evelyn Hagfeldt, run the day to day operations of the graduate office. The faculty and students alike commend the efforts of Evelyn Hagfeldt but at the same time they are concerned with the flow of paperwork through the graduate office due to the lack of oversight and the heavy workload of the graduate secretary. This has been compounded recently by Ms. Hagfeldt’s additional responsibilities regarding certification compliance. Of even greater concern to the consultants is the decline in enrollment that has occurred without an administrative leader to implement recruitment and admission processes informed with solid data. From fall 2001 to fall 2006, and also from spring 2001 to spring 2006, graduate enrollment dropped over 27%. More alarming is the decline in summer enrollment from 2001 to 2006, a whopping 54%!

The graduate programs at UW-S must be regarded as important and significant programs in their own right, with vigorous support from the faculty and administration of the institution. Adequate resources are critical to attain and maintain the reputation and quality of the graduate unit. The university should have a single individual who is the chief academic officer for graduate education. This individual should be unaffiliated with any other academic or budgetary unit, free from outside pressures to develop a vision of excellence for the graduate community. This full-time Graduate Administrator should be given a strong leadership role, reporting to the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and given membership on the Strategic Planning Committee.

Some Responsibilities of the Graduate Administrator:

ü Serve as an advocate for graduate education on campus and in the community.

ü Provide quality control over all aspects of graduate education.

ü Coordinate the graduate admissions process, including the development of communication plans for prospect, applicant and accepted students.

ü Develop and implement recruitment plans.

ü Oversee the development of degree audit.

ü Support the non-academic needs of the graduate students.

ü Oversee the development of new graduate programs that support the mission of the institution.

Full commitment to graduate education means that adequate faculty resources are provided. We found the graduate faculty to be well-credentialed and extremely student oriented. However, the great reliance on “ad hoc” faculty and faculty overloads is a major concern. More graduate faculty are desperately needed in most programs. The overuse of combined undergraduate/graduate courses in some programs should not be tolerated. A maximum of 6 to 8 semester credit hours of these “slash” courses would be reasonable. Under no circumstance should a student be allowed to take the same “slash” course as both an undergraduate and a graduate student. In the same vein, transfer hours should be limited to no more than 9 semester credit hours.

Release time credits should be established for thesis advisors and for those offering independent study courses (perhaps a 3 hour course reduction for every 6 theses and/or independent study courses). All graduate courses should be offered under the auspices of the graduate unit, not continuing education. With fewer overloads and more faculty, this should be easily accomplished.

Graduate education is a year round enterprise. Summer schedules should be established and faculty contracts signed well in advance with the assurance that these courses will be offered. Average class size by department, rather than individual class size, should be the determining factor in deciding whether classes are dropped.

The combining of the Departments of Counseling and Psychology Professions and Educational Administration appears to be in the best interests of both departments. We suggest that each area maintain a seat on the Graduate Council, however. We further suggest that someone from the Library Science be given a non-voting seat on the Graduate Council.

Recruitment

Most of the following recommendations/suggestions could be implemented by the Graduate Office with increased staff, although some activities could be more appropriately taken over by individual programs. Shared but coordinated responsibility for recruitment should be the most efficient way of ensuring healthy enrollments in all graduate programs.

The network of alumni is one of the strongest recruitment resources for programs the size of those at UW-Superior. Alumni offices typically maintain contact information, but in the case of UW-Superior, the individual programs may have more complete and updated information through the personal contact between faculty and students. If alumni for some programs tend to be clustered in certain geographical locations, annual receptions or “reconnect days” could be sponsored in those locations. These would be different than general alumni receptions; they are specific by program and could serve several purposes such as gather feedback for program improvement, develop new internship sites-contacts, and distribute information for recruitment purposes.

Individual programs should be able to assess whether most of their students have received their bachelor’s degrees from UW-Superior or from other institutions. If the latter is the case, then there might be a handful of institutions from which most applicants come year after year. These feeder institutions should receive special attention in the recruitment process, through individual faculty contacts, visits to their sites, arranged presentations by UW-Superior faculty in seminar or colloquia settings, or, if the numbers warrant it, special visit days at UW-Superior for their students. In addition, lists of prospects may be bought from commercial enterprises such as GRE and gradschools.com’s Student Prospector Service.

Graduate recruitment fairs are typically sponsored in different locations throughout the year. UW-Superior should consider attending those, particularly in the nearby region in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A unified look for all programs should be developed in marketing materials, with brochures and table pieces that can be displayed at these fairs. Salient features and accomplishments of each program should be identified for inclusion in these brochures and larger size poster pieces.

The Art Therapy program appears to be a unique offering, since there is a limited number of such programs nationwide and it is an area of increased interest and application. The consultants suggest that a careful recruitment plan be developed for this program both at the national and the international level, since it has the potential for sustained growth.

The consultants understand that there have not been graduate assistantships for several years. The catalog needs to be updated to reflect that, since they are still listed there. However, we recommend that it be reconsidered whether it is feasible to offer assistantships as a way of attracting high quality graduate students. In some cases, with proper instruction and training, graduate teaching assistants can take the place of ad-hoc faculty at comparable cost, or maybe even at a saving. Teaching assistants are not only supported financially, but the teaching experience enhances the preparation for future careers. Graduate assistants can also have other non-teaching responsibilities: residence hall staff, staff assistants for the Graduate Office for special projects, etc.

Organization of an Efficient Graduate Admissions Process

Currently, when a student inquires about a graduate program, the prospect is sent an initial letter of welcome, an application form, a list of programs with contact information, and a black and white program brochure which contains catalog information in very small print. The program advisor gets an e-mail with the prospect’s demographics. No further correspondence is made by the graduate office, but it is hoped that the program advisors follow-up with additional contact by email, telephone and/or mail.

When a prospect submits an application (either in paper form or electronically), the graduate office manually inputs the data in the PeopleSoft database and sends a “missing document” letter to the applicant. Follow-up missing documents letters are sent until the file is complete or the term of application arrives. The program directors are not aware of who the applicants are until the file is complete, at which time the paper file is sent to the department for an admission decision.

Students may be given Unconditional or Probationary Admission (if degree seeking) or Special Graduate Status (if non-degree seeking). Late applicants who actually intend to be degree-seeking may be given Special Graduate Status to expedite the admission process in the limited timeframe and later converted to Unconditional or Probationary Status.

The University uses the PeopleSoft software system. This can be a very powerful tool to use in the admissions process, if the appropriate modules are installed. It is recommended that the graduate office talk with undergraduate admissions to see what processes they use and if they are using PeopleSoft to generate communication flows to the prospect, applicant, and accepted student pools. A modification of their processes may be beneficial to the graduate unit. I understand that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a well developed recruitment/admissions communication plan using PeopleSoft. Another source of technical expertise would be Tracy Jones at the University of Central Florida (TRJones@mail.ucf.edu). She set up their system with the U. of Wis.’s assistance.

Regardless of how the communication flow is administered, it is important to develop such a flow for prospects, applicants, and admitted students. For prospects, the initial welcoming letter from the graduate unit is well written and contains the information a prospective student needs. It should be followed up with a letter from the program advisor, which should be written by the advisor, but can be generated and sent out by the graduate office two weeks after the initial letter.

As soon as a prospect applies, the prospect communication flow stops and the applicant communication flow begins and a database maintained with the applicant information. The graduate office will continue to send the missing document letters, but the graduate administrator and the program advisor should also send letters at two or three week intervals. A spreadsheet with applicant information should be sent on a regular basis (weekly or bi-weekly) to the program directors, with the status of the application (incomplete, sent to department, accepted provisionally, etc.). This will allow the program advisors an opportunity to contact the applicant early on in the application process and increase the yield of applications to completed applications.

Once the student is accepted, another communication flow should be established welcoming the student to the community. One such item in the communication chain might be information on the debit card/ID or hours the support offices will be open during the week before and the first week of classes (assuming the recommendation of extending hours to accommodate the graduate students is accepted…see below).

Currently the prospect and applicant information is manually keyed into the computer. Students should be encouraged to inquire and apply on-line and an automatic data feed into the PeopleSoft system be created. This saves a great deal of processing time and reduces input errors (assuming the applicant types the information in correctly!)

The Graduate Office should work hand-in-hand with the Registrar’s Office to implement imaging of all documents. Departments should be given access to the imaged documents so that applicant files can be viewed electronically as they are received.

The use of the Special Grad status seems excessive. Late degree-seeking applicants should be required to supply all the same required documents as other applicants and given Unconditional or Provisional admission, as appropriate. Especially in the counseling fields, where the advisors require the students be advised before registering, the practice of giving Special Grad status should be discontinued. For students seeking certification only, a new admission status, Certification Status, could replace the Special Grad status and allow these students to be assigned advisors and be eligible for financial aid.

When acceptance letters are mailed to the students, a copy of the degree or certification plan of studies template could be included, with instructions to the student to take that form to their advisor for finalization and signature before the end of the first term of enrollment. A hold could be placed on the student’s file to prevent further registrations (after the first term) until the plan of study was submitted. (See also the Retention section.)

Construction and Usage of Databases in Graduate Administration

Acquiring and maintaining good information on graduate students and graduate programs is essential to make informed decisions and setting priorities for the future. A decision should be made whether it is the graduate unit or the institutional research unit (or a combination of both) which should be responsible for maintenance of the data. But whatever decision is made, the graduate administrator should have easy access to the data and have a say in what data should be collected. Setting the definitions and categories for how the data will be stored and how reports will be written is critical.

Basic academic and demographic data on all graduate students will help departments and other university offices prepare for program and accreditation reviews as well as be useful for recruitment and admission. Some of the basic data needs are:

ü Find out who your students are—where they come from, why they came. This information may be gathered from questions placed on the application form. Knowledge of “feeder” universities or companies or school districts will be very useful in planning recruitment strategies.

ü “Funnel” data: number of prospects, applications, completed applications, admissions, enrollments by program, with percentages at each stage. Knowing, for example, that only 70% of applications are actually completed may indicate that more resources should be put into trying to get the applicants to complete the application process.

ü Prospect and applicant information for departments: name, address, phone number(s), email address, undergraduate degree earned and from where, applicant materials received (e.g., letters of recommendation) and any other relevant information can be sent out periodically (weekly or bi-weekly) via email to the departments and updated as the application goes through the completion and acceptance process.

ü Kinds and number of degrees awarded.

ü Time to completion of degrees.

ü Retention data.

ü Number of students and credit hours enrolled by program by term.

ü Demographic data: number of students by gender, ethnicity, full/part-time by program.

ü Course enrollments by program; faculty load.

Working with your Institutional Research and Information Technology people, this information should be retrievable from your software system and downloaded into spreadsheet format for the graduate unit’s use.

Retention

Admission to Candidacy

Graduate students must apply for admission to candidacy for the master’s degree “when the student has completed between eight and 16 credit” hours but “no later than the semester prior to graduation” (Catalog). The application includes a “tentative program of studies” and is given final approval by the advisor and the chair of the department. We see admission to candidacy as an unnecessary step and we recommend it be discontinued.

Admission to candidacy is a process typically used in doctoral programs, understandably so given the differences between doctoral and master’s level programs. We could not see what purpose it serves at UW-Superior. Each program should have clearly specified curricular requirements that are available to students when they begin a program, and therefore an individual plan of study should not be necessary (more about this below). Exceptions, such as substitutions, should be handled as what they are, isolated cases, and can be approved on an individual basis. If there are other factors that determine if a student is indeed a viable candidate for the degree, those should be explicit (many of the students with whom we spoke were confused about the admission to candidacy, and did not know what was required of them in order to be successful in this application). For example, the catalog states that the Provost notifies the faculty advisor if a student fails to reach a 3.0 gpa when he/she has attempted 20 semester hours. And then what happens? The catalog does not state what gpa requirement there is for graduation (as a matter of fact, it does not list graduation requirements, only the residency requirement and the 10-year limit). It is to be noted that this 20-hour level for gpa checking would be reached after the student applied to candidacy, that is, a student could have been admitted to candidacy and yet fail to make satisfactory academic progress later. A gpa requirement should be explicitly stated, and it could be monitored if indeed it is desired that students demonstrate a certain level while progressing in their studies (for example, no more than two C or below C grades could be allowed, with warning letters sent when students earn a below B grade and automatic dismissal from the program if more than two are earned).

In addition, the catalog establishes that all master’s candidates must have a thesis or culminating project, and that completion of this requirement must be verified by the advisor on the “student’s course audit plan.” This “course plan audit” is the application for admission to candidacy, and therefore the timing seems to be an issue. If the application for admission to candidacy is made early in the program (as it should be in fairness to students who are not admitted) then it does not make sense that the verification of the culminating project be included (in fact, it cannot!). The verification of completion of thesis or culminating project should, therefore, be a separate form to be received by the Graduate Office as part of the graduation requirements checklist.

We understand that admission to candidacy may play a unique role in the Counseling program. There may be certain attributes desired in those who will serve as counselors that are not necessarily gauged by grades given in theoretical courses. However, there are courses in Ethics, Individual and Group Practicum, and Internship, where those other qualities should be assessed. Students told us they submitted with the application for admission to candidacy a tape of a mock counseling session made during a course they had already taken (and passed); it seems that if the tape showed unsatisfactory performance then action should have been taken during the course, perhaps even failing the student. We believe that Counseling should reassess this process, and if indeed there are reasons for keeping the admission to candidacy, then the objectives should be clearly identified, and students should know on what basis they will be evaluated (this information should be published and widely available through the catalog).

Program of study

In some programs there are curricular requirements that present flexibility. For example, students may choose among a set of courses, or may have to complete a certain number of hours in courses from a specific discipline. There are different ways to ensure that the student has developed a coherent plan that has the approval of his or her program and that the Graduate Office will have that information to verify degree requirements at graduation time. One option would be to send a program of study template with the acceptance to the program letter for degree-seeking and certification students, and to have the students return it to the Graduate Office by the end of the first semester of enrollment after obtaining the approval and signature of the advisor (an enrollment hold can be used until students complete this step). A different approach would be to trust that advisors, early in the students’ career, would guide students in developing a long range plan to reach the degree in a timely manner, and to require the degree plan only as part of the graduation application.

Advising

All students should have an advisor assigned to them upon admittance to their program, whether they are degree or certification students. Indeed, it is for the latter that advising may play a quite significant role, since requirements may be more difficult to navigate and subject to nuances not evident to “outsiders.” In addition, planning of courses and staffing can be made more efficient with the extra information advisors have regarding their advisees.

Recognition of graduate students and programs

On campuses where graduate students are a minority, it requires intentional and continual efforts to build and maintain a sense of identity and community for them. Different strategies can be used to make them feel they count and are valued, particularly in celebrating their achievements. If there is a research day on campus, make sure graduate students are included and/or have special sessions (if not, start a graduate student annual symposium). If there is an academic awards ceremony, make sure graduate students are recognized (if not, have an annual banquet to recognize the outstanding graduate student in each program). In some states, universities have worked together to have the legislature declare a “Graduate Education Week.” Is there such a thing in Wisconsin? If not, start small in your campus, or join with others in the area – recognize graduate programs and their contributions to the local or regional communities.

Course offerings

In programs with limited enrollment (or number of faculty) it is important to develop plans for course offerings that extend beyond one semester at a time. Two-year cycles are reasonable in that they remove uncertainty for students allowing them to modify work schedules if necessary, and it allows faculty to prepare courses effectively and manage their teaching and scholarly commitments and interests. During our visit, both students and faculty expressed serious concerns about which courses would be offered in the following term which was only a few days away! Summer classes should not be considered an “add on” to the academic year, but an integral part of the graduate course schedule.

Improvement to Graduate Student Services

Many of the students with whom we interacted spoke of the need for services geared towards non-traditional students. Among the suggestions they had were expanded hours for the bookstore, cashier, and financial aid. There could be strategic times when some of the offices could be opened later in the day, even if it is only occasionally, so that working adults can avoid missing work time to attend to some university transactions.

Given the proportion of non-traditional students in UW-Superior’s programs, these requests merit serious consideration. In addition, library hours and weekend availability are a concern, but this might be a more challenging problem to address even though it is quite significant if graduate students are limited in access to resources they need in order to have a quality educational experience. We recommend that actual needs are assessed by program, and appropriate strategies developed.

Many students spoke as well about the desire to have a physical “space” for graduate students (“graduate student lounge”), where they could be between classes or when they arrive on campus with time to spare before a class. We understand that there is a resource room that plays that role for Education students, but students in other programs

could also benefit from such a dedicated space. More interactions among students would ensue, enhancing a sense of “graduate community” that would positively impact retention and student perception.

Agenda for Grad Consultants (Maria Di Stefano and Carol Diminnie)

May 14, 2007

7:30-8:30 Breakfast – (Ms. Terri Kronzer, Graduate Council Chair; Dr. Faith Hensrud, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Outreach)

8:30-10:00 Overview of Graduate Office and functions (Evelyn Hagfeldt, Student Status Examiner, Graduate Studies and Faith Hensrud) Main 137

10-11:00 Chancellor Julius Erlenbach and Provost Chris Markwood - Main 212

11:00-11:30 Discussion about Marketing efforts (Faith/Cheri Boreen, Marketing Specialist) Main 101

11:30-1:00 Lunch (Terri Kronzer and Faith Hensrud)

1:00-3:00 Meet with Graduate Council McCaskill 110E

Ms. Terri Kronzer, Chair and Education Administration

Dr. Peggy Marciniec, Teacher Education, Reading

Dr. Wendy Kropid, Teacher Education, Instruction

Dr. Rhoda Robinsion, Teacher Education, Special Education

Mr. Brent Notbahm, Communicating Arts

Ms. Susan Loonsk, Visual Arts

Ms. Ella Cross, Library Science

Dr. Suzanne Griffith, Counseling Professions

Dr. Orv Clark, Education Administration

3-5:00 Campus Tour and Meetings with Faculty (Education/Library)

McCaskill 110E (Ella Cross, Debra Nordgren, Peter Nordgren, all Library Science)

4-7:00 Meetings with Graduate students and/or faculty

McCaskill 110E

7:00 Dinner

May 15, 2007

8:15 Pick up from hotel

8:30-9:30 Meeting with Jane Birkholz, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management - Main 134

9:30-10:00 Meeting with Office of International Programs- Main 337

(Mr. Mark MacLean, International Student Services Specialist)

10:00-10:30 Meeting with Registrar - Main 139 (Ms. Barbara Erickson, Registrar and Ms. Joanne Beck, Department Associate)

10:30-12:00 Faculty and Department meetings (Comm Arts, Visual Arts, Counseling) McCaskill 110E

Faculty included: Dr. Martha Einerson, Chair Comm Arts; and the following Communications Arts faculty: Mr. Joel Anderson, Dr. Keith Berry, Ms. Cathy Fank; Dr. Cynthia Graham; Mr. Brent Notbohm, Mr. Thomas Notton; Dr. James Holter, Chair, Counseling Professions; Mr. Timothy Cleary, Chair, Visual Arts; Ms. Susan Loonsk, visual arts.

12-1:00 Lunch in Cafeteria (with available grad faculty) Faculty included: Dr. Rhoda Robinson, TED Chair; Dr. Peggy Marciniec, TED, Reading; Dr. Wendy Kropid; Dr. Tracy Fabian, Counseling.

1-2:00 Additional meetings with faculty and/or students

McCaskill 110E (meet with 4 counseling students)

2-4:00 Exit meeting and transportation to airport (Terri Kronzer/

Faith Hensrud) McCaskill 110E