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Savannah State University College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Self-Study and Strategic Plan Prepared for SACS Accreditation January 2001 TABLE OF CONTENT Guiding Values, Briefs, Assumptions and Attitudes . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vision Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Clients, Students, Beneficiaries Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Comprehensive Learning Plan Developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Competitors Identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Comparative Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Mission or Purpose Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 College and Department Positioning Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 College and Department Cost (Budget), Staff Competencies, and Production . . . . . . . . . 9 Base Performance (Effectiveness) Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Initiative Responsiveness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Results of Prior Planning; Program Review; Constraints & Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Curricular Integration & Overlap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Planning Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Action Steps, Tactic, or Operational Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Outcome Effectiveness Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Appendix B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Savannah State University College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Self-Study and Strategic Plan April, 2000 1. Guiding Values, Beliefs, Assumptions &Attitudes: A. The worth and dignity of people: Society has an obligation to protect the inherent worth and dignity of all people, regardless of their individual or collective characteristics or status. B. The self-determination of people: Society should make every effort to foster maximum self-determination as long as the individual or collective actions do not endanger themselves or infringe upon the rights of others. C. The purposefulness of human behavior: All human behavior has a purpose, however unusual it may appear and however destructive it may be. Scholars should strive to discover the meanings and purposes of behavior, rather than to label it, stereotype it, or otherwise react to it in a negative fashion. D. People’s capacity to grow and change: People should never be viewed as incapable of changing and growing in ways that will make their lives more rewarding. No person is beyond the capacity to accept constructive help. E. People’s need for opportunities for growth and development: Society and the academy must help people by providing the opportunities necessary for them to achieve their full potential in all aspects of their personal and social functioning. F. People’s right to participate actively in civil society: People should have a right to participate in the decision making processes that impact their lives and well-being. G. People’s right to be free of oppression: All oppression is destructive to life and should be challenged.[1] 2. Vision Statement: The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Savannah State University will be nationally recognized for providing a student-centered academic environment that supports quality education to a diverse student body, and excellence in faculty and student scholarship, research, and community service in the liberal arts, social sciences, and the professions of social work and public administration. 3. Clients, Students, Beneficiaries Identified: Recipients and Beneficiaries of services.
A.1. All entering students will take the majority of their Core Curriculum in CLASS. A.2. Students seeking undergraduate degrees in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and the professions of mass communications and social work. A.3. Students seeking graduate degrees in Public Administration, Social Work, and Urban Studies. A.4. Undergraduate students seeking graduate degrees at other institutions.
B.1. Professionals wishing to participate in continuing education and professional development. B.2. Professionals wishing to earn a masters degree in public administration, social work, or urban studies. C. Community Agencies and OrganizationsC.1. Agencies and organizations serve as in-service locations for students which is mutually beneficial to the university, students, agencies, and the community. C.2. Agencies and organizations that use the expertise of CLASS faculty to engage in research and consultative services. C.3. Agencies and organizations that use CLASS faculty as members of boards and advisory committees. 4. Comprehensive Learning Plan Developed: Learning outcomes or course objectives have been developed for each course offered by the units in CLASS. Those objectives are included on each course syllabus. (Copies of all syllabi are on file in department offices.) The comprehensive learning plan for CLASS is based on the University System of Georgia “Common Learning Outcomes.” A graduate from an academic unit in CLASS should be able to demonstrate competence in the following student learning outcomes: I. Communications: Oral and written communications will be characterized by clarity, critical analysis, logic, coherence, persuasion, precision, and rhetorical awareness. Competence within the context of collegiate general education is defined by the following outcomes: Ability to assimilate, analyze, and present in oral and written forms, a body of information; Ability to analyze arguments; Ability to adapt communication to circumstances and audience; Ability to consider and accommodate opposing points of view; Ability to interpret content of written materials on related topics from various disciplines; Ability to communicate in various modes and media, including the proper use of Appropriate technology; Ability to produce communication that is stylistically appropriate and mature; Ability to communicate in standard English for academic and professional contexts; Ability to interpret inferences and develop subtleties of symbolic and indirect discourse; Ability to sustain a consistent purpose and point of view; Ability to compose effective written materials for various academic and professional contexts. II. Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics: quantitative reasoning and mathematics will be characterized by logic, critical evaluation analysis, synthesis generalization, modeling, and verbal, numeric, graphical, and symbolic problem solving. Competence within the context of collegiate general education objectives is defined by the following outcomes: Ability to model situations from a variety of settings in generalized mathematical forms ; Ability to express and manipulate mathematical information, concepts, and thoughts in verbal, numeric, graphical and symbolic form while solving a variety of problems; Ability to solve multiple-step problems through different (inductive, deductive and symbolic) modes of reasoning: Ability to properly use appropriate technology in the evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of information in problem-solving situations; Ability to shift the verbal, numeric, graphical and symbolic modes of considering relationships; Ability to extract quantitative data from a given situation, translate the data into information in various modes, evaluate the information, abstract essential information, make logical deductions, and arrive at reasonable conclusions; Ability to employ quantitative reasoning appropriately while applying scientific methodology to explore nature and the universe; Ability to discern the impact of quantitative reasoning and mathematics on the Sciences. III. Cultural and Social Perspectives: Cultural and social perspective will be characterized by cultural awareness and an understanding of the complexity and dynamic nature of social/political/economic systems; human and institutional behavior, values, and belief systems; historical and spatial relationship; and flexibility, open-mindedness, and tolerance. Competence within the context of collegiate general education objectives is defined by the following outcomes: Ability to relate local, national, and global social policy; Ability to describe how historical, economic, political, social, and spatial relationships develop, persist, and change; Ability to articulate the complexity of human behavior as functions of the commonality and diversity within groups; Ability to appreciate and respect diversity among people and recognize the roles various people played in their culture; Ability to identify and analyze both contemporary and historical perspectives on contemporary issues; Ability to relate the contributions of groups and individuals to the history of ideas and belief systems; Ability to critically analyze one’s own culture. IV. Scientific Reasoning: Scientific reasoning will be characterized by understanding and applying scientific method, laboratory techniques, mathematical principles, and experimental design to natural phenomena. Ability to understand basic scientific principles, theories, laws as they apply to all scientific disciplines; Ability to demonstrate knowledge in at least one area of science Ability to discern the role in an impact on science on society; Ability to identify and properly use appropriate technologies for scientific inquiry and communication including collecting and analyzing scientific data; Ability to understand the physical universe and science’s relationship to it; Ability to understand the changing nature of science; Ability to understand the scope and limits on the appropriateness of scientific inquiry to physical phenomena; Ability to demonstrate critical observation and analysis Ability to apply mathematical principles to scientific inquiry, including the use of statistics and formulae to understand quantitative data. V. Aesthetic Perspective: Aesthetic perspective will be characterized by critical appreciation of an ability to make informed aesthetic judgements about the arts of various cultures as media for human expression: Competence within the context of collegiate general education is defined by the following outcomes: Ability to make informed judgements about art forms from various cultures including one’s own culture; Ability to recognize the fine, literary, and performing arts as expressions of human experience; Ability to discern the impact and role of artistic and literary achievement in Society and one’s personal life. 5. Competitors Identified:
Institutions that competitors in the immediate geographical area that could provide the same learning arrangements for students in CLASS are: Armstrong-Atlantic University, Georgia Southern University, and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Armstrong-Atlantic University and Georgia Southern duplicate undergraduate programs in English, music, art, criminal justice, history, political science, and physical education (recreation). In addition, Georgia Southern offers an accredited Master of Public of Public Administration degree and undergraduate degrees in journalism (mass communications), and sociology. SCAD offers degrees in art and mass communications. Statistics is taught in each of the three colleges at SSU. There are three different statisitcs courses within CLASS. Discussions are underway in the university’s Core Curriculum Committee about developing a generic statistics course to serve the needs of the three colleges. 6. Comparative Advantage:
CLASS is an academic unit in an HBCU that has proven over the years that it is capable of providing a challenging teaching-learning environment for both under-prepared and high achieving students and produce graduates adequately prepared for graduate school and the professional job market. The diversity of the faculty and student body provides a learning environment that respects and values the importance of diversity. Undergraduate and graduate programs in social work are the only available in Southeast Georgia at SSU. Students in the MSW program commute from as far as Augusta and Brunswick, Georgia. The public administration and urban studies with their emphasis on serving the needs of the economically and socially disadvantaged provides a niche for these programs. Employer and Field Placement Satisfaction Surveys have been done for mass communications, public administration, and social work. Results of these surveys report that graduates are competent and doing well in their respective professions. The large professional community in the region provides an excellent opportunity for CLASS to offer continuing education and professional development opportunities. Faculty members of CLASS are experts in many areas that are useful to agencies and organizations in the public and private sectors. Undergraduate programs in mass communications, sociology, criminal justice, and the interdisciplinary African and African Studies provide an opportunity to infuse the richness of the black experience in the study of these disciplines. The urban setting in coastal Georgia and the low country of South Carolina offers unlimited research and community service opportunities for students and faculty. 7. Mission or Purpose Statement: The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is committed to: (1) delivering quality academic programs in the liberal arts, social sciences, and the professions of public administration, social work, and urban studies to support the development of students that are respectful of the past, competent to handle the present, and prepared to master the future; and (2) serving as an educational resource for cultural enrichment and economic growth throughout southeast Georgia. The CLASS mission statement is consistent with and supportive of the university's mission. In order to succeed at its mission, CLASS provides an academic environment that supports quality teaching and learning, and student service, and excellence in faculty and student scholarship, research, and community service. CLASS is organized into five departments with ten undergraduate majors: English, mass communications, music, history, criminal justice, social work, sociology, political science, recreation and park administration, and African and African American Studies. In addition, CLASS offers master’s degree programs in social work, public administration, and urban studies. Minors are offered in: mass communications, English, art, music, religion and philosophy, African and African American Studies, psychology, history, sociology, criminal justice, gerontology, political science, recreation and park administration, voice, and theatre. CLASS offers courses in the General Education Program for all students at Savannah State University. In addition to the CLASS mission statement, each department and program has developed its own mission statement and specific objectives. 8. College and Department Positioning Statement: CLASS seeks to position itself among its competitors by developing niche areas in disciplines that capitalize on the historic mission of the university and the institution’s strategic location. It will ensure that all students master the liberal arts, humanities, and social science competencies required by the Core Curriculum. CLASS will achieve this by promoting an environment that encourages students (traditional and non-traditional) to develop critical and analytical thinking and effective communication skills using the knowledge base of the disciplines in the Core Curriculum. CLASS will build “Centers of Excellence” for niche areas at the undergraduate and graduate level in social work and at the undergraduate level in African and African American Studies, mass communications, and criminal justice. National accreditation will be achieved for the public administration and mass communication programs. Faculty and students will be expected to participate in research and scholarly activities that contribute to both the applied and academic knowledge base of the various disciplines and professions represented in CLASS. Community service and continuing education activities will use the expertise faculty and students to enhance the reputation of CLASS for providing effective help to agencies seeking to provide in-service training or solve social and economic problems that affect the quality of life in communities, especially in southeast Georgia. The placement and performance of the graduates of CLASS in the workplace and in graduate schools will be the final measure of effectiveness of the educational programs. 9. College and Department Cost (Budget), Staff Competencies, & Production Budget Dean's Office $ 229,730 Department of Fine Arts 539,216 Department of Humanities 1,447,942 Department Recreation 279,818 Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences 1,262,346 Department of Social Work (Undergraduate) 315,037 Department of Social Work (Graduate) 289,675 Public Administration Program 367,504 Urban Studies Program 142,082 TOTAL 4,873,350 CLASS Enrollment History by Program Graduates Program 1987 1997 % of CLASS 1998/99 1999/00 Africana Studies N/A N/A N/A N/A 1 1 Criminal Justice 105 175 140 25.0 21 28 English 14 53 34 6.0 7 4 History 6 39 23 4.0 6 10 Mass Communications 82 147 115 21.0 22 19 Music 16 15 15.5 3.0 0 1 Political Science 12 52 32 6.0 15 13 Recreation
and Social Work 57 185 121 22.0 18 26 Sociology 39 60 50 9.0 12 4 Total 344 756 550 100.0% 110 106
CLASS 1999 Fall Enrollment by Declared Majors Majors Frequency Percent English Language/ 20 3.76 Literature Criminal Justice 76 14.29 History 28 5.26 Political Science 34 6.39 Sociology 29 5.45 Music 10 1.88 Social Work 158 29.70 Master of Social Work 36 6.77 Public Administration 51 9.59 Total 532 100%
Graduate Enrollment In 1999-2000, Thirty-three students graduated from the MPA program. One graduate was accepted into a doctoral program (Northeastern University). Seventy-eight students were enrolled in the degree program. Thirty-six students were enrolled in the MSW program. Sixteen students graduated from the MSW program in May 2000. The new MSUS program has eight students. COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCESFull Time Faculty Profile
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RANK |
BUSINESS |
BUSINESS |
CLASS |
CLASS |
S
& T |
S & T |
|
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
Professor |
|
|
14 |
23 |
|
|
Associate |
|
|
30 |
48 |
|
|
Assistant |
|
|
18 |
29 |
|
|
Instructor |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Highest Degree |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Doctorate |
|
|
42 |
68 |
|
|
Specialist |
|
|
2 |
3 |
|
|
Masters |
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|
18 |
29 |
|
|
Bachelor |
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Other |
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SEX |
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|
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Male |
|
|
35 |
56 |
|
|
Female |
|
|
27 |
44 |
|
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|
|
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|
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RACE |
|
|
|
|
|
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White |
|
|
20 |
32 |
|
|
Black |
|
|
31 |
50 |
|
|
Hispanic |
|
|
1 |
2 |
|
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Asian |
|
|
2 |
3 |
|
|
Other |
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|
8 |
13 |
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TENURE STATUS |
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Tenured |
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43 |
69 |
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|
Tenure Track |
|
|
15 |
24 |
|
|
Non-Tenure |
|
|
4 |
7 |
|
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SPRING 2000