Self-study submitted to NEASC, September 2011 - Castleton State ...

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Castleton State CollegeChapter 4: The Academic ProgramSince the last comprehensive review, virtually all programs have adopted and publishededucational objectives 1 . College-wide standards for admission and retention apply unless theUndergraduate Catalog specifies the special admission and retention standards of a program.Programs can vary in standards and expectations; but, in general, programs with lowerexpectations have been strengthened or eliminated over time. For example, in 2009, the NaturalSciences Department eliminated a 40-credit interdisciplinary Natural Sciences major that did notprovide students with adequate depth. Similarly, the Physical Education Department added aSports Administration major in 2007 to replace a concentration in the Physical Education major.The question of adequacy of resources always needs careful attention, but the academic deanregularly evaluates faculty staffing levels in all academic departments and periodicallyrecommends additional faculty positions—either new positions or positions reassigned followinga vacancy—to reflect the increasing needs of some programs or to provide resources for newmajors that are being added. The budgeting process allows academic programs to requestadditional resources. A similar process, overseen by the Educational Resources Committee,annually solicits proposals for academic equipment and other educational resource needs.Expected educational outcomes and curriculum requirements for undergraduate programs arepublished in the Undergraduate Catalog. Whether proposed academic programs have a coherentcurriculum design and adequate breadth and depth is reviewed by the proposing department.These matters are also considered during the every-five-year review called for under Policy 101,the Vermont State Colleges (VSC) policy on academic program review. The above-mentionedinterdisciplinary Natural Sciences major was eliminated as a result of this process.As part of VSC Graduation Standards, the college introduced an Information Literacyrequirement in 2005. This program requires all students to pass an on-line information literacytest developed by James Madison University. Students having difficulty passing this test can takeadvantage of information literacy workshops offered by Calvin Coolidge Library personnel.First-Year Seminar, required of all first-year students, includes at least one and often two libraryprograms designed to introduce students to information resources. The topic of informationresources and their proper use are also addressed in every section of English Composition, acourse taken by virtually all students. In addition, some majors embed specialized informationliteracy workshops, taught by reference librarians, into intermediate or upper-level courses.Library staff are eager to support students in their research and have developed a series ofSubject Guides for, as of 2011, 29 different curricular areas. These are available on the library’sWeb site, which also contains Course Guides for selected, research-intensive classes. Mostrecently, the library purchased software designed to facilitate the creation of these guides.Prior to the adoption of the VSC Graduation Standards, Castleton had developed an extensiveprogram focused on Writing Standards, which requires students to take English Composition as1 Objectives have not yet been adopted for the A.S. in Communication. We do not anticipate adopting educationalobjectives for the A.S. in Business by Contract, and three of eight of our B.A. in Social Science by Contractprograms have not adopted objectives. The educational objectives of four programs—Multidisciplinary Studies,Music, Philosophy, and Sports Administration—are “published” only in an on-line addendum to the UndergraduateCatalog. All four will be published in the next edition of the hard-copy catalog.18
Castleton State CollegeChapter 4: The Academic Programwell as a prescribed number of “writing-intensive” courses. In each of these courses the studentproduces a timed essay that is to be written consistent with guidelines published in Castleton’sA Guide to the Castleton State College Writing Standards. Once a student has completed theserequired courses and essays, he or she is eligible to sit for a 90-minute “culminating essay,”which is blindly assessed by trained readers. The Writing Standards Committee recentlydeveloped and implemented procedures through which students receive feedback on their inclasstimed essays. Such feedback is provided using the terminology of the Writing Standards.Consistent with VSC Graduation Standards, the college has introduced an Oral Communicationrequirement. This stipulates that students take Effective Speaking and an additional “speakingintensive”course. In the latter, a student is evaluated separately on the basis of oral presentation.Castleton’s General Education program also requires that all students take at least onecomputing-intensive course. In addition, many departments have courses that embed disciplinespecificcomputer applications into required or elective courses. For example, organic chemistrystudents use sophisticated computer software to create three-dimensional visualizations ofcomplicated molecules. Stage and lighting design courses in the Theater Arts Department makeextensive use of computer software, as do empirical research courses offered by the PsychologyDepartment. Students enrolled in ACC-4010, Accounting Information Systems, work throughoutthe semester to develop advanced skills in Excel and utilize a variety of specialized software thatis commonly required in the field of accounting.All of Castleton’s degree programs are periodically reviewed through the VSC’s Policy 101process. Every five years each program is grouped with similar programs from across the VSCsystem and scheduled for review. This approach requires the sponsoring academic department toprepare a self-study that conforms to established guidelines. Normally the academic dean worksclosely with lead writers preparing the program self-studies. The dean also conducts a structuredinterview of all seniors in the major. A review subsequently takes place at an in-person meetingof a system-wide committee composed of program representatives, an academic dean, and one ormore non-VSC experts. Review committees may require follow-up or interim reports. Thisprocess occasionally leads to significant changes in programs and even to program elimination.The Education, Personnel, and Student Life Committee of the VSC Board of Trustees reviewsand approves the resulting reports.Academic planning occurs principally at the department level in response to demographic trendsand program review results. Planning is not normally initiated at the institutional level.Castleton rarely uses distance-learning approaches. Its principal endeavor in this regard took theform of offering the college’s two-year nursing program to students two-and-a-half hours awayin Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. After 10 years of this commitment, the college decided todiscontinue the program in 2008, with the final cohort graduating in May 2010. Currently thecollege’s use of distance learning is limited to occasional “hybrid courses,” which combine inpersonmeetings with on-line assignments and digitally mediated student-faculty contact.Whenever the college has eliminated an academic program, it has faithfully discharged itsobligation to provide students pursuing the program the opportunity to complete their degrees.19
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Self-study submitted to NEASC, September 2011 - Castleton State ...

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