This summary report includes assessment results and outcomes for the following components:

• Majors or Concentrations

• Academic Advising
• Procedures for Student Development
• Library Resources and Services

The remaining components will be reported as follows:

• General Education (2003)
• Achievement of Students Transferring from Two to Four Institutions (Not Applicable to Institution)

The mathematics curriculum underwent an extensive revision during 1998-1999 that resulted in a significant change, which is in effect this spring (2000). As a result, the mathematics faculty feel that the mathematics curriculum revision will eventually improve both assessment indicator scores for the (AI-1) calculus as well as for the (AI-2) linear and abstract algebra.

A catalyst for the curriculum revision lies with the ETS Major Field Test. As described in the Comparative Data Guide provided by ETS for interpretation of test results, the content specification of the mathematics Major Field Test reflects the basic knowledge and understanding gained in the undergraduate curriculum. This test is designed to assess the mastery of mathematical concepts, principles, and knowledge expected of students at the conclusion of a major in either mathematics or mathematics education. In addition to factual knowledge, the test evaluates students' ability to analyze and solve problems, understand relationships, and interpret material. The test contains questions that call for information as well as questions that require interpretation of graphs, diagrams, and charts related to mathematics.

The reliability coefficient for the mathematics Major Field Test is 0.86 and the standard error of measurement is 6.6 as determined by the Kuder-Richardson Formula.

The scale range for the total score on the Major Field Test (ETS) is 120-200. A comparison of the scores for our students, for the academic years 1995-1999, with the Institutional Mean Score Distribution (IMSD) data for different academic periods is reported in Tables (1) -(5) respectively.

Table (1): 1994-1995

Table (2): 1995-1996

Table (3): 1996-1997

Table (4): 1997-1998

Table (5): 1998-1999

Faculty in mathematics will continue to monitor these scores as curriculum revisions should increase the institution's percentile ranking.

The USCS Computer Science Program has three areas of major: Computer Science, leading to a B. S., Computer Information Systems, leading to a B. A., and Applied Mathematics, leading to a B. S. The three areas have maintained one of the largest number of majors of any area at USCS. As of fall 1999 there were 242 students majoring in the three areas. Probably more than any major at USCS, those students completing a degree in any of the three areas find employment in the Upstate in the information technology field. In the 1999 Alumni Survey of Computer Science majors, some 94% indicated they felt they were good to excellently prepared for their careers in the CS program and some 91% indicate they would choose that major again.

Another major assessment employed in Computer Science is the ETS Major Field Test. The Major Field Test in CS tests four areas, (1) Software Systems and Methodology, (2) Computer Organization/Architecture, (3) Theory, and (4) Computational Math and Special Topics. The tables below give the results from years 1995-1999. The Mean for the series 1992-1995 was 148.8.

Department Summary & National Three-Year Average : Mean(Standard Deviation)

Students in the program are given opportunities to do internships at several local industries by taking SCSC W441. However many students are already employed in the IT areas and are returning to school to complete their degrees, this being especially true at the University Center Greenville (UCG). Several of the courses require students to involve working with others in doing a project requiring critical thinking skills such as SCSC 540.

The faculty is proud of the many students who have successfully gone through the rigors of Computer Science and are working successfully in industry and businesses all over the Upstate and elsewhere in the country.

Both the Associates degree and the Baccalaureate degree programs have been extensively reviewed for re-accreditation for the National League of Nursing (NLN) in 1999. Each program was re-accredited and a commendation was issued by the NLN for demonstrated excellence in the planning. The full program reviews are available at the SC Commission on Higher Education or through the Academic Affairs office at USCS.

Broadly for each program, program assessment is measured with completion rates, job placement rates, and NCLEX professional examination pass rates.

For the BSN program, 86% of the students of the Fall 1995 cohort graduated within four semesters after being admitted to the program; a total of 90% of the students graduated by the fall of 1998. These percentages far exceed the six-year graduation rate of 35.2%. For the ADN program, 79% of the students that were admitted in the January 1996 cohort graduated. The majority of students that did not complete the ADN program was due to financial (5.4%), health (5.8%), or family (6.2%) problems.

Readily available employment for nursing graduates is a strong indicator of the quality of the BSN and ADN programs in a thriving Upstate economy. One hundred percent (100%) of the nursing graduates in both programs find employment within the profession at graduation or within six months after graduation. This trend has continued for over five years with nurses realizing some of the highest starting salaries (over $35,000 per year) of graduates from any other University program.

The passing rates for the NCLEX-RN examinations have been strong for both programs in comparison to state and national pass rates. From January 1995 to December 1997, over 91% of the ADN and 90% of the BSN graduates passed the NCLEX-RN examination. These figures are comparable to the 91% state pass rates for both programs.

More meaningful assessments, however, as applied to each program's curriculum centers on critical thinking, communication, therapeutic nursing interventions, patterns of employment, and program satisfaction. Additionally, the BSN plan identifies service to the profession as an optional program outcome, and the ADN program addresses the professional development of its graduates.

Of all of the learning outcomes identified in the preceding paragraph, critical thinking is perhaps the most relevant to the nursing profession. Facione (1996) states that "critical thinking in professional nursing is purposeful judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inferences. For that reason the faculty selected the analysis and evaluation component of the NLN Comprehensive Achievement Test (NLN CAT) to measure the students ability to think critically.

For each graduating class of the ADN and BSN programs since 1995, the students taking the NLN CAT have achieved a mean advisory percent score not less than 5 points below the median percent score for the norms group. These figures seem to suggest that the faculty in the curriculum are going a good job in preparing nursing professionals that can lead and contribute in the field.

It is important to note that even though both programs received high praise and compliments from the NLN review teams, the faculty of the School of Nursing continue to review and refine the curriculum and pedagogy to make the programs the best in the Southeast. For example, faculty have implemented workshops on test construction and better utilization of the various NLN Assessment tests. The faculty have also completed an extensive review of the California Critical Thinking Skills test and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal to augment the assessment of critical thinking skills. These are only a few of the numerous initiatives listed in each program's comprehensive review.

Despite the low enrollment in the Chemistry program, the students who take most of their course work at USCS are performing at average to excellent levels and are adequately prepared in the field. To augment the learning process, faculty have initiated computer based lecture presentations in the classrooms. Students are able to see molecular modeling and other graphic presentations. No assessment has yet to be conducted to quantify the value-added of this system, but student reactions have been extremely positive.

As a result of the Chemistry Major Program Review for CHE, it has been recognized the need to initiate a chemistry major recruitment process and a chemistry graduate regional job opportunities analysis. The program is targeting from 5 to 10 students in each year of the major. Recruiting activities (including presentations at local high schools incorporate some senior students' interactions via senior seminar.

During the spring of 1998, the College of Arts and Sciences developed a pilot program to address the needs of new freshman that had not declared a major. Learning communities were formed as a "packet" of three courses designed for a cohort of twenty new students. During summer orientation students registered for a learning community packet and two additional courses.

Learning communities provide benefits to both students and to the university. In addition to attending classes with a supportive cohort, one of the packet courses was taught by the student’s academic advisor. Since the faculty advisor was also an instructor this increased the amount of contact the student had with their advisor. Faculty also have the opportunity to collaborate on the students behalf.

Early data revealed that the learning communities were effective in increasing the retention of students. Based on this finding, the packets were expanded to include all incoming freshmen for the fall 1999. Students with a major in the professional schools, i.e. nursing, education, business, retained as academic advisor in their major and the packet advisor served as an academic facilitator.

To increase the effectiveness of the ‘packet’ advisor, the College of Arts and Sciences through the Center for Learning Innovation and Achievement sponsored a two-day training session for the learning community advisors in the spring 1999.

Additionally, USCS participated in a live satellite conference sponsored by the National Academic Advising Association: "Academic Advising: Campus Collaborations". Several faculty attended and copies of the broadcast is available for check out. Faculty also attended "Learning About Learning Communities: Taking Student Learning Seriously", a broadcast sponsored by the National Resource Center for the First- Year Experience sponsored a video broadcast:

The annual assessment of academic advising occurs during the spring semester. The survey is administered to students enrolled during either the day or the evening class hour with the highest volume of enrollment. The results are tabulated by the Office of Computer Services and forwarded to the registrar. Individual comments by students are shared with the dean who is responsible for advisement for that college or school. The results of the survey are published campus-wide and used by academic departments to assess their level of service to students.

The following chart lists the results of a key question:

"Please indicate your satisfaction with the availability of your advisor ……"

Very dissatisfied....................... 4.9% 4.9%

Dissatisfied.............................. 11.6% 10.1%

Satisfied.................................. 55.0% 53.8%

Very satisfied........................... 28.5% 31.2%

Total Usable surveys 913 876

In another key item from the 1999 survey, 85% of the respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement: "My advisor is knowledgeable concerning degree requirements."

Future plans include the strengthening of learning communities, the creation of an advising manual or web site and providing faculty with additional resources to support advising.

This component is not applicable to our institutional type.

The University of South Carolina Spartanburg revised its strategic planning document during the 1999 - 2000 academic year. The plan which was developed, focused on initiatives that will enable the Division of Student Affairs to 1). Promote academic excellence among university students; 2). Assure a high quality student experience; 3). establish mutually beneficial partnerships with campus and off-campus offices/agencies; 4). Monitor resources to increase overall efficiency and effectiveness of all operations. The Division will undertake assessment efforts over the next several years to determine the impact of initiatives developed to support the strategic priorities outlined above. A copy of the division's strategic plan is attached. Each department within the Division of Student Affairs prepared a strategic plan which addresses the priorities of the institution.

Several accomplishments are noteworthy for the past academic year. These include:

• A peer mentor program was developed this year to help retain minority students in school. Access and Equity funds were received from the S.C. Commission on Higher Education which enabled the division to employ eight upper-class mentors to assist minority freshman students. All of the students who worked with freshmen students earned a 2.0 or better cumulative grade point average this year.
• The health services program contracted with the Spartanburg County Health Department and Healthy Spartanburg to expand the number of health services available for USCS without cost to the students.
• Seventy representatives of community agencies were on campus this year to sponsor a health awareness day for the university community.
• Health services collaborated with the Mary Black School of Nursing to successfully complete the third year of a 4-year $120,000 foundation grant.
• A Freshman Day of Service was developed and implemented to engage freshman students in meaningful community service activities.
• A survey of students affiliated with campus greek organizations indicated 82% feel that the "greek system" fosters an environment that is conducive to high academic achievement.
• Assessment of student satisfaction with counseling services reveals that students rated workshops, counseling and testing at a 4.53 and above on a 5 point scale (1 = poor, 5 = excellent).
• The university student housing facility maintained a 99% occupancy level in the fall semester and 94% in the spring. Residents indicated that they were very satisfied with the quality of all services.
• A survey of faculty, staff and students revealed a 98% satisfaction rate with ratings if good or excellent.
• Surveys of new students and parents who participated in the university's orientation program showed a 90% satisfaction rate.
• Of the 167 at risk students enrolled in the division's federally sponsored Opportunity Network program, 90% have met the University's academic progress requirements.
• Since the inception of the Impact program for student community services, more than 1200 students have participated in service activities.

Student development will continued to be enhanced in the coming years as the student's maturation is dependent on development outside the classroom as well as within the classroom.

The Library promotes the metropolitan mission of the University by serving the curricular information needs of USCS students, faculty and staff, and, where possible, the educational needs of the broader community. Specific goals mandate that the information needs of the University community will be met in a timely manner; that all USCS students will be taught to be effective users of information; that the fullest possible use of technology will be made; and that steps will be taken to insure that the Library's services and collections are known and utilized. The report that follows shows that the Library has met these goals.

Since the last report dated January 1997, tremendous changes have occurred in the library. The library’s computer lab that opened in April 1996 gives students not only access to this library’s holdings, but also to the Internet and with it, to resources available anywhere at any time. 24 PCs are available to library users in the library’s computer lab, with an additional 18 in the reference area. These resources can also be accessed from home through the Library’s home page. The changeover to electronic accessibility is also evident in the library’s holdings, particularly its online holdings. The library’s journal holdings in print format have dropped from over 1100 a few years ago, to just a little over 700 during FY 99/00. However, the library now has access to over 2000 electronic journal titles, a list that grows daily. Library services, reference, ILL and circulation, are available to users electronically. Distance learners are served through electronic media as well. However, the Library does not neglect the acquisition of traditional resources and at the end of FY 98/99 227,356 monographic titles as well as 263 CDs, 4,934 videocassettes and close to 60,000 microforms were available to USCS library users, a considerable increase over the holdings four years ago.

During spring 1996 the library conducted the "Ohio Wisconsin Reference Evaluation" in order to have an outside assessment of its reference service. Results were encouragingly positive. 66.24% of all library users found exactly what they needed. The Library thus scored better than the previously "best" rated library that had scored a 65.53% satisfaction rate. However, the report also pointed out that a relatively high number of students needed extra help in finding materials and could not always find a reference librarian. This finding once again indicated that the library was understaffed.

A user survey taken in spring 1997 showed that Internet use was up dramatically, from 13% in 1995 to over 75% of all respondents who claimed they used it daily. During the assessment period, however, books remained the most frequently cited resource used by users with 85%.

A comparison to peer institutions in South Carolina undertaken in spring 1999 showed that the USCS library took the highest percentage of the institutional budget at 12.16%, with South Carolina State’s 4.84 the lowest, and Winthrop’s 10.08 the median. USCS library had the second highest amount of library expenditures per student with $421.14; South Carolina State ad the lowest with $210.63 and USCA the median with $384.13. USCS has the highest number of electronic journal subscriptions (1986). It is suspected that the relatively low number of book volumes per student (51.75) reflects the young age of the institution. The collection is well used by the library’s users, USCS scoring the second highest collection use of 0.32 (the lowest is 0.08 for South Carolina State and the highest is 0.43 for Coastal Carolina). The library is above the median in its operating hours (87.5) and above the median in reference hours (81).

A similar survey was done in fall 1999, this time comparing the library at USCS to other libraries within the Coalition of Metropolitan Universities. This survey showed that the University of South Carolina Spartanburg is the smallest school in the Coalition of Metropolitan Universities in terms of total student enrollment. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the ranking of the USC-Spartanburg library’s resources, relative to the other library in this study, is near the bottom for most variables. But the computer and electronic resources of the USCS library are the major exception. USCS is equal to or above most of the other institutions in computer and electronic resources. When compared to the few distinct peers within the study group, USCS ranks near them on most variables.

The shift to online resources is evident in assessment. With the start of spring 2000, the library now offers an online service survey. Only a limited number of users have taken the online survey as of summer 2000; of these 80% rated the library’s availability of resources as either excellent or good, 16% as fair and 4% as poor. It is suspected that the "poor" rating is more due to perception than actual fact, but the library will continue to improve its holdings as well as its instructional efforts.

Following students’ requests, the library increased its hours of operation from 85-1/2 hours/week to 87-1/2 hours/week by adding two hours to the Saturday schedule, opening at 10:00 AM instead of at 12 Noon. At the same time, reference desk coverage expanded from 61-1/2 hours to 80 hours per week. Feedback received from students using the library on weekends indicated an overwhelming need for reference coverage. A reference librarian is now on duty the whole time the library is open on weekends; on weekdays, the library is staffed by trained circulation assistants for ˝ hour each morning and the last hour before closing when reference librarians are not present. In spite of this expansion of reference hours offered, there has been a decrease in actual questions asked at the reference desk during the past few years; this trend is apparent throughout academia. However, the nature of questions asked has changed as well; with the proliferation of computers, most reference contacts now require more in-depth involvement on the part of the reference librarian.

To provide sufficient Information Literacy classes staffing had clearly been inadequate during past few years. In fall of 1999, the library was awarded an IMLS grant. Among other resources, this grant provided for two additional librarians. Two grant-funded librarians were hired in spring 2000. Their primary function will be library instruction and reference service. At the same time, the university is seeking to improve its general education program and a new library instruction plan was developed to facilitate this new program. During spring semester 2000, all students taking English 102 came to the library for two instruction sessions instead of the customary one, since research shows that the one time contact was not sufficient.

Overall circulation of material increased from 35,151 in 1995/96 to 40,266 in 1996/97, but has fallen since then, down to 28,906 in FY 98/99. It is likely that this decrease is an indication of the increased reliance on electronic resources.

As a result of better online availability of resources, interlibrary loan transactions also decreased from a high of 5,255 in 1996/97 to 4,223 in 1998/99. To make this service more user friendly and user responsive, the university is eliminating all charges associated with this service; in addition, a new web based service will make its debut in summer 2000.

A new Information Complex that will greatly enhance current space is on the drawing boards to better serve user needs. But until this building becomes reality, the library will serve students’ needs no matter where they may be: on campus taking traditional classes, enrolled in distance education classes off-site, or from their home computers with the library’s expansion of literacy courses and provision of online service.

In addition to their regular duties, librarians are involved in all aspects of the University’s mission serving on all major committees: The University Planning Committee, Promotion and Tenure, The Senate and Advisory Committee, Assessment Committee, and others. They also serve the community in various outreach roles.