Preparatory Review Overview

Preparatory Review Sections

I. Introduction

II. Institutional Context

III. Thematic Features:

A. Opportunity
B. Exploration
C. Interaction

IV. Summary and Conclusion

Appendices

A. Evidentiary Report: Opportunity

B. Evidentiary Report:Exploration

C. Evidentiary Report: Interaction

D. Exemplars

E. Strategic Planning Goals

F. Plan for Educational Effectiveness Review

G. WASC Self-Report Steering Committee

H. Required Displays

Preparatory Review

APPENDIX B:
EVIDENTIARY REPORT— EXPLORATION

“Discovery of Knowledge, Self, and Society Through Expanding Horizons”

Encouraging Student Discovery of Knowledge, Self, and Society

General Education

California State University, Fresno’s General Education (GE) program is an introduction to the breadth and depth of human experience. It provides students with a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences through which they are encouraged to explore beyond personal goals and boundaries. The overall objective of the GE program is to create a context within which basic skills are developed, scholarship and disciplined thinking emerge, the boundaries of awareness enhanced, and ultimately, where the integration of knowledge begins.

After several years of careful examination and discussion, a revised GE program was introduced in 1999-2000. The GE program is organized into four phases: foundation, breadth, integration, and multicultural/international studies. GE content areas are now more clearly defined, and approach being explicitly stated as student learning outcomes. As discussed elsewhere, a plan for assessment of student learning outcomes in GE is being implemented. The upper-division offerings of the revised GE program have been made more coherent. Students are required to take an upper-division integrative course in each of the major GE categories (Science and Mathematics, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences). In addition, recognizing the diversity of our student body and consistent with the university vision, an integrative course is required in multicultural/international studies. This was instituted as an upper-division requirement so that all students, including transfer students, would have a multicultural academic experience. In response to concerns about student writing skills, writing requirements were strengthened. Lower-division courses, except in mathematics, require writing assignments totaling at least 2,000 words. Upper-division courses require writing assignments totaling at least 4,000 words.

Undergraduate Programs

Baccalaureate degrees are offered by 54 departments, including the first University of California/California State University joint undergraduate degree, the B.S. in Environmental Sciences jointly conferred with UC Riverside. In 2001-2002, 800 students graduated with baccalaureate degrees from the traditional arts and sciences, and 1,715 students from professional areas. In 2000 - 2001, seven of the smaller departments enrolled between 50 and 100 full-time equivalent students (FTES), while seven of the larger departments enrolled more than 500 FTES [see Student Data Book]. The quality of undergraduate programs will be a major focus of the Educational Effectiveness review. Here, we preview the Music Department as a program that exemplifies the theme of Exploration.

Graduate Education

The university offers 41 master's degrees and 7 certificates of advanced study. The Joint Doctorate in Educational Leadership, a partnership with the University of California, is currently serving its ninth cohort of students. A large majority (approximately 80 percent) of graduate students are building on undergraduate degrees also received from California State University, Fresno. Our graduate programs serve to transform talented undergraduate and continuing students into competent scholars and knowledgeable practitioners. In addition to graduate courses and seminars, each graduate degree program requires students to complete a challenging culminating experience. The culminating experience may include a thesis, project, or comprehensive examination. Successful completion of a culminating experience requires each graduate student to demonstrate the ability to show critical and independent thinking, mastery of the subject matter and a strong capacity to synthesize and integrate knowledge in the subject. Annually, two-thirds of the graduating class of students completes either a thesis or a project.

Providing an Environment that Encourages Exploration, Delivery, and Exchange of Knowledge by Faculty and Staff

The faculty at California State University, Fresno is diverse in the scope of activities that support the university’s mission as a comprehensive institution. Possession of an earned doctorate or other recognized terminal degree in an area appropriate to the individual’s teaching/service area is required for appointment to a tenure track or tenured faculty position. Faculty members engage with students in scholarly and creative activities that span the full spectrum — from basic science to art and athletics. Cross-fertilization between disciplines and collaboration among faculty foster student interest and facilitate exploration at regional and national levels. A brochure, “Faculty Publications and Artistic Creations,” is published annually to list faculty scholarly activities. This document includes numerous examples of investigations and studies that expand student and faculty horizons. It also indicates the extent to which the university meets its educational goal to “foster a learning community on campus that is actively engaged in discovery of knowledge, development of skills, and acquisition of experience,” and its commitment to its stated priorities: “Recruit and retain high-quality, diverse faculty, dedicated to teaching, research, creative activity, and service, recognized for their active involvement in the application of knowledge,” and “Engage in high quality research and creative activity in all disciplines, with particular emphasis on applications that support the region.”

Professional Development Activities for Faculty, Staff, and Administration

One of the university’s educational goals is to “instill a culture of continual learning and improvement for all educational endeavors and the systems that support them.” Professional development activities also help achieve the university priority to “establish a positive and productive working environment for the entire university community, which values the individual; supports teamwork and cooperation; requires honesty, integrity, and civility; and inspires enthusiasm and pride.” Professional development is woven into the fabric of the university’s personnel policies. The process from hiring to tenure is built around the interrelationship between teaching as a scholarly endeavor and professional growth – whether scholarly or creative activities. The faculty member is expected to engage in a demanding program of professional development with a required four-fold goal: (1) as a teacher-scholar, strengthening and updating professional expertise for operative classroom instruction; (2) as a scholar, strengthening and broadening the individual’s scholarly and academic credentials; (3) as a practitioner, engaged in both theory and application; and (4) as an integrated scholar, placing specialties in a broader context.

Employee development includes structured activities such as workshops for people learning new applications as well as general professional and personal development opportunities. “Just-in-time” training for managers and supervisors is offered to address workplace issues. Additionally, a list of reasonably priced, job-related seminars offered by agencies in the local Fresno area is regularly made available. Frequently, the Web is the vehicle used for communicating information to employees. The site developed by the Office of Employee Assistance and Development, for example, is an extremely valuable resource for employees seeking information about everything from diversity and communication to anger management and drug addiction.