Fiscal Year 1994-1995
Introduction
In the 1995 Institutional Effectiveness report, USC Aiken is reporting on the components of Majors or Concentrations, Performance on Professional Licensing or Certification, Academic Advising, Entry-level Skills and Developmental Education, Retention and Attrition, Academic Performance of Student Athletes, Student Development, Library Resources and Services, and Administrative and Financial Processes and Performance.
CHE will report on the components of Program Changes Resulting from External Reviews, Success in Meeting College or University Admissions Requirements, and Minority Student and Faculty Access and Equity.
The remaining components (with the exception of Transfer from Two to Four Year Institutions, which is not applicable for USC Aiken) are not scheduled to be reported this year. Those include General Education, reported last in 1994 and reported next in 1996; Facilities, reported last in 1994 and reported next in 1996; Public Service, reported last in 1994 and reported next in 1997; and, Research, reported last in 1994 and reported next in 1997.
USC Aiken continues in its dedication to the assessment and continuous improvement of student outcomes. To this end, USC Aiken has been selected as having Exemplary Programs by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (SCCHE) and the South Carolina Higher Education Assessment Network (SCHEA) in the three of the four possible categories of nomination thus far:
USCA has instituted five new academic programs and one new area of concentration in order to meet the growing needs of its students. They are as follows: Industrial Mathematics (in conjunction with Aiken Technical College), Exercise and Sports Science, Comprehensive Science in Secondary Education, Chemistry in Secondary Education, Masters of Education, and Management of Golf Properties (concentration in the School of Business Administration and Economics)
1. General Education
This component was reported last in 1994. Based on the schedule of reporting, it will be reported on next in 1996.
2. Majors or Concentrations
Assessment of the majors from the three professional schools are being reported this year, which include:
The following matrix provides a list of the assessment instruments used by each program for the major.
Majors
Assessment Business Education Nursing Nursing
Instrument * (Associate) (BSN)
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Senior Exit Survey X X X X
Transcript Evaluation X X
Capstone Course X X X
Alumni Survey X X X X
Course-embedded X (APT) X X
Peer/External Review X X X X
Employer Survey X X X X
Advisory Board O X X X
National/Local Exam ETS-MFAT EEE MOSBY
PKE NCLEX
NTE
Review of Syllabi X X X X
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* "X" indicates assessment measures currently being used
"O" indicates assessment measures that are planned to be
incorporated
A complete assessment report for each School can be found in the full Institutional Effectiveness Report on file with the SC Commission on Higher Education and the USCA Office of Assessment and Institutional Research. These reports detail each School's mission, assessment goals, assessment procedures and administration, assessment results, and the use of those findings. Due to the space constraints on this summary report, this section will briefly highlight some of the major assessment findings for each School and a sample of changes that these results have brought about.
School of Business Administration and Economics - Based on the results of the Major Field Achievement Test in Business, the USCA graduates score within the national comparison mean on the overall score and within the various areas of concentration. Further, the results of the test indicate that there are no significant differences across the three campuses where the degree is offered.
Results of the senior exit and alumni surveys indicate that the vast majority of students perceive that the SOBAE is preparing them in the goals set for communication skills, leadership skills, analytical and decision-making skills, social and ethical responsibilities, and the development of a global/international perspective of business and economics. In addition, progress had been demonstrated on the MFAT International indicator scores. Increases in scores have occurred on all campuses from Spring 1993 to Spring 1994. The topic of global/international issues is being monitored for inclusion in core business courses.
The area perceived to be the weakest by graduating seniors and alumni was the extent to which the School of Business provided interaction with the business community.
Based on the assessment results, seven major changes were made by the SOBAE. As an example of those changes, in response to the perceived weakness in providing interactions between the students and the Business Community, the SOBAE: (1) held a "Speak Easy" session with faculty, students and the business community, (2) is reactivating the Business Advisory Board, (3) is committed to inviting more "Guest Speakers" to classes from the Business Community, and (4) is organizing a "Distinguished Business Speakers Series" on campus with invitations to Business Community leaders and USC Aiken students.
The SOBAE has been accepted for candidacy by the AACSB.
School of Education - The School of Education currently offers the programs of Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Physical Education.
The results of assessment demonstrate that the vast majority (over 90%) generally scored well on the teaching exams. The one exception to this pattern has been the students in physical education. In addition, the surveys of cooperating teachers have been favorable with the exception of physical education students. The faculty of the School of Education and the advisory councils reviewed these surveys. With respect to the Physical Education Program, discussions with former graduates indicate that many complete the degree with no intention of becoming teachers. A number have enrolled in masters degree programs to prepare for a career in exercise science. A Bachelor of Science program in Exercise and Sports Science will be opened in the fall of 1995 to address student interest in this career area. The Physical Education Program is currently being phased out with the last group of students graduating by the spring of 1997.
Based on surveys of employers, the overall response to USCA's School of Education graduates were very positive. The following presents the three areas of weakness identified by the Employer Survey and actions being taken by the School of Education.
Four additional changes have been made within the School of Education based on the results of the Post-Student Teaching Surveys of students. Two of these changes include (1) providing more time in the schools and more direct experience with students for the Early Childhood Education majors and (2)increasing practical experiences for Secondary Education majors by adding a new practicum (310) which requires students to observe in a number of different school settings during their sophomore year.
School of Nursing - The School of Nursing offers two degree programs: (1) the Bachelors of Science in Nursing and (2) the Associate Degree in Nursing.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing: Findings from assessment at each level of the curriculum, including the senior project, provided evidence of improved ability to assess clients' health care needs, interpret the resulting data base, prioritize clients' needs, plan and implement appropriate interventions, and evaluate the outcomes of nursing interventions in terms of needed changes. Some evidence of continued immaturity in both written and oral communications continue to be in evidence. Thus, decisions were made to make the curriculum more writing intensive, beginning early in the program; to make greater use of the services available through the Writing Center early in the program; and to continue learning activities designed to explore and implement critical thinking behaviors appropriate to professional nursing practice.
Of the seniors responding to the exit survey, 83.3% indicated that they plan to attend graduate school. Of those 27.8% had already applied to graduate school. Narrative comments indicated that the graduates believed they had received a sound basis for continuing their formal education.
Associate Degree in Nursing: Based on the results of the standardized examinations, several curriculum modifications were implemented, including:
The clinical evaluations of each student included criteria addressing professional roles and appropriate professional relationships. Faculty evaluations of each graduating senior revealed no apparent deficits in their ability to identify the roles and role functions of professionals from other health care disciplines.
Of the students responding to Alumni Survey, 87.5% indicated their intent to eventually return to school for the baccalaureate degree. Of the students responding to the December 1993 Exit Survey, 97.6% reported that they planned to return to school to complete the baccalaureate degree. Nineteen percent (19%) of these had selected USCA's BSN Program and already made application. Of the students responding to the May 1994 Exit Survey, 86.7% indicated an intent to complete the baccalaureate degree and 28.2% had already made application to a BSN program within South Carolina or Georgia. Of the employers responding to the Employer Survey, all reported satisfaction with the clinical performance of the recent graduates.
3. Performance of Professional Program Graduates on Licensing and Certification Exams
National Teacher Examinations
During the 1994-95 academic year 86 of the 93 (92%) USC Aiken pre-student teaching students passed the Professional Knowledge section of the NTE Core Battery. One hundred fifteen of the 122 (94%) students who completed student teaching during the 1994-95 term, passed the Professional Knowledge Examination. This pass rate of 94% for student teachers was identical to that in 1993-94.
With respect to the Specialty Area Examinations, 107 of 116 (92%) of USC Aiken pre-student teaching students passed the exam during the 1994-95 term. One hundred fifteen of the 122 (94%) students who completed student teaching during the 1994-95 term passed the Specialty Area Examinations. This is a 2% increase over the 92% pass rate for student teachers in 1993-94.
National Council Licensure Examination For Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN)
Of the 32 Associate Degree graduates writing for the above exam in December 1994, 96.8% passed which is an increase over the 87.2% of 39 students taking the exam in May 1994.
Based on the results of the NCLEX-RN, several curriculum modifications were implemented to the Associate Degree in Nursing Program. These changes are detailed in the full Institutional Effectiveness Report.
4. Reports of Program Changes that have Occurred as a Result of External Program Evaluations
There have been no program changes in 1995 as a result of external program evaluations.
5. Academic Advising
The Office of Academic Advisement coordinates advisement for the entire campus. Together, the office and the advisor provide guidance to the student in developing and completing an acceptable program of study leading to a degree.
All new faculty must complete new faculty orientation and a discussion of academic advising is one of the components of this orientation program. In addition, the Director also schedules individual appointments with new faculty members to acquaint them with policy and procedures of advising. Also, during the semester the Office of Academic Advisement offers approximately twelve training sessions scheduled at various hours each semester for all advisors. It is during these sessions that current policy and procedures are reinforced and where new ones are introduced. Any changes in procedure or new procedures are also communicated to the advisors by memo immediately before each advisement and registration period. There is an advisement manual that has recently been revised. This past semester mandatory training sessions were scheduled for veteran advisors during the regular departmental/school meetings. Ten of 13 departments/schools have participated thus far, and the other three are scheduled for sessions this fall. The advisement manual was used as a training guide during these sessions. Veteran advisors will be required to attend mandatory training sessions every three years. New advisors will be trained as they are hired.
A survey of the advisement and registration process was done during the Spring 1993 semester. Twelve hundred students were surveyed with 533 responding. The overall results of the survey were positive with an average of 92% of the respondents reporting satisfaction with their advisors' knowledge of various requirements and academic regulations. Ninety-one percent (91%) indicated that overall they were "somewhat" to "perfectly satisfied" with their advisors. Eighty-seven percent (87%) responded that overall they were "somewhat" to "perfectly satisfied" with the advisement process.
Annual student surveys have shown a 7% increase in satisfaction with advisement between the 1994 and 1995 responses, with approximately 80% of the students indicating satisfaction. Surveys across three years of graduates (1989-1992) yielded an average rating of 94% as being satisfied.
USCA is striving to make certain that we are offering the best possible services in the area of advisement to our students. We are also in the process of recruiting "special advisors" to advise our provisionally admitted students. These students are those whose combined SAT scores are below the minimum required for admission and whose predicted grade point averages fall below 2.0. These advisors will receive additional training and will do "intrusive advising" throughout the semester to give these students the care and attention needed to be successful.
6. Entry-Level Skills and Developmental Education
USCA offers three courses in three areas to develop students who are not prepared in the following basic skills areas:
Success in Developmental Courses
See Table 4 of the Act 255 report for specifics on success in developmental courses. Overall, 93 first-time, full-time freshmen took English 100; 79.6% completed the course successfully and 81.1% of those exiting English 100 went on to successfully complete English 101. Only 13 first-time, full-time freshmen took MATH 100; 85% successfully completed the course (this is up from 56% for the 1992 freshman cohort) and 100% passed the entry level class. A total of 35 first-time, full-time freshen took AEDR 121; 94.3% successfully complete the reading course and 69.7% were successful at the next level.
Use of Findings/Future Plans - The results of these studies are reviewed by the departments in which the courses reside. Regular meetings among these three departments are being conducted in conjunction with the Director of Academic Advising. In addition, these results are being reviewed by the Enrollment Planning Team to examine the impact of these courses and related services on retention at USCA.
Additionally, discussions are currently underway as to the possible revision of the mathematics placement test such that it would identify two levels of placement: (1) calculus ready or (2) not ready for calculus. Under this proposal, students would not be required to take developmental courses, but could elect to do so if they so chose to do so.
7. Success of Entering Students in Meeting College or University Admissions Prerequisites
*1987 1993 1994
All Freshmen 31 94 88.9
SC Residents 33 97 91.3
Non-Residents 51 78 72.3
* 1987 was the last year before the prerequisites were required.
8. Achievement of Students Transferring from Two to Four-Year Institutions
This component is not applicable to our institutional type.
9. Analysis of Undergraduate Retention and Attrition
USCA's retention rates have been steadily increasing. Although there has been a slight drop (approximately 5%) in the students who returned their sophomore year from the 1993 cohort when compared to the previous years, this is the first significant drop that has been seen. Retention rates in all other areas continue to show increases (e.g., percent returning their junior year was up 4.4%, percent returning their senior year was up 14.5%). USCA is monitoring its retention of students very closely.
USCA was recognized as having an Exemplary Program in the Assessment of Retention and Attrition in 1994 by the SCCHE and the SCHEA Network. Since that time, USCA reorganized several areas on campus in June 1995 in order to focus its efforts on the retention of students as a first priority.
COMPARISON STUDIES OF RETENTION
AASCU/Sallie Mae Retention Project - USCA has participated in a retention project sponsored by the American Associate of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Sallie Mae Foundation for the past three years. Based on studies of graduation rates, USCA's graduation rates were consistently found to be higher than both its peer group and the overall group responding to the survey. Specifically, for the Fall 1987 cohort, USCA had a six-year graduation rate of 42.3% which was 4.7% higher than its peer comparison group (small, urban institutions), which had an average graduation rate of 37.6%, and 1.8% higher than the average of all 213 institutions responding to the survey, which had an average graduation rate of 40.5% after 6-years. USCA consistently had higher graduation rates based on gender and racial breakdowns of the rates as well.
CSRDE Comparison Study - USC Aiken participated in the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange (CSRDE) sponsored by the University of Oklahoma. The purpose of the CSRDE project was to provide comparative benchmarks for assessing campus student retention.
When comparisons were made between USC Aiken and CSRDE survey respondents, USCA compared favorably when the comparison was with similar institutions (i.e., less selective, public institutions, institutions with more than 20% part-time undergraduates, and/or institutions with less than 5000 undergraduates). While USCA's retention and graduation rates were always less than the average of the entire group of respondents, favorable comparisons were consistently found between USCA's graduation rates and those with whom an appropriate comparison was made. Specifically, USCA's retention rates after one and two years were somewhat lower (4.9% and 13.3%, respectively) than the "less selective" comparison group; however, the graduation rates after four, five and six years was slightly higher than the comparison group in almost all categories (e.g., overall rate, by race, and by gender). Specifically, the overall graduation rates for USCA after four, five, and six years were 19.2%, 35.7%, and 42.3% compared to its National peer group's averages of 15.2%, 31.4%, and 37.4% for four, five, and six years.
The CSRDE general findings noted that the percent of undergraduate students enrolled with a part-time status has a significant effect on graduation and retention. The higher the percentage of part-time students, the lower the retention and graduation rates of the institutions. USCA has 41% of its undergraduate population that attend the institution on a part-time basis. When compared with others in the CSRDE study, USCA had the 15th highest percentage of part-time undergraduates (out of 123 institutions). However, it was found that when compared with all institutions that had greater than 20% of the undergraduates enrolled part-time (not just "less selective") on four, five and six year graduation rates, USCA had higher graduation rates.
Additionally, USCA's graduation rates were significantly higher across four, five, and six years than other "less selective" institutions that had greater than 20% part-time undergraduates. See the table below:
Graduated After: USCA Less Selective All Institutions ---------------- ----- -------------- ---------------- 4 years 19.2% 11.6% 16.2% 5 years 35.7% 26.7% 34.8% 6 years 42.3% 34.0% 41.9%
ENROLLMENT PLANNING TEAM (EPT) ACTIVITIES
In September 1994, an Enrollment Planning Team was established at USCA. The EPT membership includes staff and faculty from a variety of areas that most directly impact, or have data related to, retention. The purpose of the EPT is to compile and to analyze pertinent information on student enrollments at USCA in a way that encourages the review and (as appropriate) the revision of policies, practices, and planning.
After reviewing the results of all available surveys of USCA students and holding focus groups with students on probation, the members of the EPT determined that there were a number of items that represented common findings among many, if not all, of the summaries. In addition to being readily discernible from the data, these items appeared to lend themselves to local action, which, in several cases, was either under discussion already or in early implementation stages.
Steps are currently being taken to address the recommendations made by the EPT. Section 5 (Academic Advisement) of this report discusses the steps being taken with respect to advisement.) Other responses to the findings include: for all degree-seeking students who do not choose a major, USCA will implement special practices and programs to provide this group with exposure to different majors and the value of making a decision; a common brochure for academic and support services on campus has been developed and will be "marketed" to all students; a faculty member has been reassigned to coordinate the evening program at USCA; multi-year schedules for specific programs have been developed for evening students to allow them to better plan their course of study; USCA is offering a larger percentage of courses in the evenings; and USCA is exploring alternative scheduling options to meet the unique need of special populations of students.
10. Minority Student and Faculty Access and Equity
| MINORITY GRADUATE ENROLLMENT, GRADUATE DEGREES EARNED AND REPRESENTATION IN GRADUATE PROGRAMS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | 1993 | 1994 | ||||
| African American # | Total # | African American % | African American # | Total # | African American % | |
| A. Enrollment 1. Number and Percent of African-American Masters and First Professional Students |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 | 10 | 10.0 |
| 2. Number and Percentage of African-American Doctoral Students | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| B. Degrees Earned 1. Number and Percentage of African-American Masters and First Professional Degree Recipients |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2. Number and Percentage of African-American Doctoral Degree Recipients | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| C. Representation of African-Americans in Degree Programs 1. Number and Percentage of Masters and First Professional Programs with No African-American Degree Recipients |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 | 1 | 100.0 |
| 2. Number and Percentage of Doctoral Programs with No African-American Degree Recipients | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
11. Academic Performance of Student Athletes
USCA is committed to the term "student-athlete" by stressing that our coaches and athletes strive for excellence in the classroom as well as on the athletic fields. Our graduation rate of athletes indicates that we are being successful in this area. Specifically, the overall graduation rate for the student athletes who entered USCA with grants-in-aid during the summer or fall 1988-89 academic year was 44% compared to 27.3% for all freshmen that entered during the same time period (this number includes all freshmen, not just first-time, full-time freshmen which are usually reported). In addition to the 11 student-athletes that graduated from USCA, two other student-athletes graduated from USC-Columbia. If these two athletes are included in the graduation rates, then the rate increases to 52%. Further, the graduation rate for the men's basketball team was 33.3% (this was based on one of three students graduating).
During the Fall 1994 semester the GPA for the USCA Athletic Department was 2.6 (compared to 2.7 for all students), the third consecutive fall semester the Athletic Department GPA has increased. Of USCA's 137 student athletes, 50 (37%) earned a GPA of 3.00 or better during the Fall 1994 semester.
12. Procedure for Student Development
Assessment of Student Services
Over the past three years, the Student Services Division has engaged in a variety of activities to assess its programs and services. These activities include, but are not limited to, (a) developing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis as part of the strategic planning process conducted in January, 1993, (b) completing a comprehensive program review of each department in the fall of 1994, (c) analyzing relevant data from campus-wide surveys, and (d) developing and/or utilizing department-specific assessment measures. Each of these areas are described in detail in the full report.
While most survey data has indicated extremely low levels of dissatisfaction with the various areas of student services (ranging from 1.8% to 16%, with seven out of 10 areas being less than 7%), the highest level of dissatisfaction was with orientation. Thus, the orientation program has undergone extensive review and revision this year in response to student concerns.
Assessment of Student Development
USCA has (a) incorporated questions which relate to student growth and development into the annual survey sent to USCA alumni, (b) asked similar questions of seniors during the departmental senior exit interviews/surveys, and (c) conducted periodic evaluations of programs and services offered to determine their potential contributions to student development in order to assess student development.
A number of programs have been evaluated and redesigned to more effectively address the need for student development. Two examples of these programs and the changes made are:
The Student Employment Program was revised in 1994 to more closely parallel "real life" situations. Students are required to complete applications, be interviewed, and be chosen for positions. In addition, each student employee must complete a comprehensive training program.
In the past several years, the Community Service program has been expanded and strengthened in order to instill in students a sense of volunteerism. A program has grown from a volunteer day held once a year to an ongoing program which is supported by a recognized student organization, a graduate assistant, and student activity funds.
13. Library Resources and Service
Annual surveys of users continue to indicate heavy usage of the Gregg-Graniteville Library. The majority of users indicate that the purpose of their visits is to conduct academic/course research or reading. Twelve percent (12%) of the respondents indicated that they seldom or never used the Library. Fifty three percent (53%) of that number replied that their courses did not require library use. A professional reference position was added in the fall to focus on user education. Rigorous efforts will be expended in working with the academic community to promote and to encourage use.
The general book collection was rated satisfactory by 67% of those surveyed, the reference collection by 75% and the journal collection by 64%. The level of satisfaction with the collection continues to decline - a direct result of a more or less static materials budget. Questions about service quality all received a majority of positive responses.
Detailed circulation statistics by discipline are maintained to ascertain use in specific areas of the collection. The collection is also routinely checked against standard bibliographies such as Books for College Libraries, Magazines for Academic Libraries, and American Reference Books Annual. A major selection aid, "Choice Review on Cards", is used to assist faculty in selecting current recommended books in their respective disciplines.
The ALA Standards for College Libraries is applied annually to the USCA Library. At the end of the 93/94 FY, the ratings were as follow: Collection 99% (A), Staff 56% (D), Space 110% (A). The results of this comparison continue to be used as basis for requesting funds for collection development and staffing improvements.
The USCA Library is quite effective in fulfilling its mission but stands in need of a substantial boost in collection development funding.
14. Administrative and Financial Processes and Performance
USCA has a goal of providing high quality academic programs at a relatively low cost to students. USCA, along with USC-Spartanburg, still has the lowest tuition of any of the public four-year institutions. The financial performance of USCA was compared against in-state peers (Group II) using the latest published data (92-93) in the CHE Statistical Manual.
* USCA found that it had the second lowest number of total employees per FTE student, behind only College of Charleston.
* USCA had the highest percentage of employees as teaching faculty (49%) of any institution.
* USCA spent 60% of its budget for 1992-93 in the academic areas of instruction, academic support, research and public service.
* USCA also spent the fewest dollars per FTE student ($673) and percentage of budget on institutional support (8%) of any in-state peer (Group II).
These statistics were reported to senior administrators and helped verify that we are continuing to meet our goal of providing the maximum available funding to academic areas while minimizing total costs to students.
Financial processes were assessed by the USC Internal Audit staff in FY 93-94. The audit report presented to the USC Board of Trustees in March, 1994 showed no audit findings. The Internal Audit staff stated that USCA had excellent financial processes in place and had only very minor improvements to suggest.
An extensive Program Review report was completed in FY 94-95 by each academic and administrative department on campus and presented to the Institutional Planning Cabinet for their consideration. This process has facilitated the budget preparation process for FY 95-96, in which cuts have had to be made. The budget has been planned to target cuts in areas which minimize negative impacts on students, while adding resources to an area which USCA has targeted as key: the recruitment and retention of students. Staff or faculty positions are being reallocated to help in the areas of admissions, advisement and other services for "at risk" students, and evening program coordination. Additional faculty are budgeted to expand services of the Math Lab and the Writing Center.
A number of areas on campus have used the results obtained from student, faculty, and staff surveys to make changes in their operations. Several examples of specific changes which have been implemented are discussed here. Results from student surveys have led to expansion of services for evening students, including the reassignment of a faculty member to coordinate the evening program, and additional evening hours for about seven service areas. The results of a survey of faculty and staff on campus computing have led to a number of procedure changes and service improvements from the Computer Services Division. An ongoing task force on campus computing involving faculty and staff is also working to review all aspects of computer use and make recommendations to the Chancellor.
The performance of senior campus administrators was assessed via questions on the faculty survey. These results were positive, but the questions were too general to give more than an overall impression of performance. Partially because of this, an evaluation instrument was developed and administered for the first time in May 1995 for each of the senior administrators on campus. This is in the form of a 360 degree feedback questionnaire, which will give results for each administrator from a group of peers, subordinates, and other individuals as well as from the supervisor. Results from this evaluation will help shape a performance improvement plan for each individual.
15. Facilities
This component was reported on last in 1994. Based on our schedule of reporting, it will be reported next in 1996.
16. Public Service
This component was reported on last in 1994. Based on our schedule of reporting, it will be reported next in 1997.
17. Research
This component was reported on last in 1994. Based on our schedule of reporting, it will be reported next in 1997.