Annual Report Summary (2004-2005)

Objective

Update

• Implement the plan for the teaching/learning center thereby integrating teaching/learning functions.

• Faculty-Staff group met to more fully develop the concept.

• Space was selected and the architect consulted

• The space will be ready for spring, 2006

• Implement writing workshops for faculty increasing their ability to assist students with their writing.

• The Writing Committee held two writing workshops for faculty.

• The Economics Department received the first annual award for improving writing in the discipline. They held a workshop for faculty.

• Implement plans for teaching-learning circles thereby increasing faculty teaching skills

• Through the Faculty Development Committee and the Faculty Development Center three teaching-learning circles were convened.

Goal 2: Improving retention and graduation rates.

Objective

Update

• Identify factors that impede students’ graduation in four years

• Through discussions with various groups, several factors were identified:

- Length of teacher education programs

- Limited options for students who no longer want to pursue a degree in teacher education and would like to pursue a liberal arts degree.

- Availability of classes/scheduling

- Class space (e.g. Sperry Renovation)

- Students taking added credits for a second bachelors in fulfillment of requirement for masters

- Student employment

• Develop strategies to remove those impediments

•

• Increase student four-year graduation rates by 15%.

•

Goal 3: Increasing the number of graduate programs/students.

Objective

Update

• Develop four new graduate programs that are non-teacher education programs.

• Sport Management

• International Sport Management

• Athletic Leadership

• Community Health

• Increase the number of graduate students to represent 22% of our overall enrollment.

•

Goal 4: Increasing the number of international students.

Objective

Update

• Objectives: Develop and Implement several international agreements

• Program agreements

• Number of international students

- Fall 2004: 35 international students

- Fall 2005: 53 international students representing 15 different countries

Goal 5: Improving General Education

Objective

Update

• Disseminate the recommendations from the task force to the campus community

• The Task Force will submit its report and recommendations to the EPC

• Develop and implement a Faculty Senate plan.

•

• Assess General Education

• The Arts

- 24.5% Exceeding; 51.1% Meeting; 21.6% Approaching; 2.8% Not Meeting

• Basic Communication – Oral Presentations

- 74.5% Exceeding; 15.0% Meeting; 7.8% Approaching; 2.7% Not Meeting

• Critical Thinking

- 40.0% Exceeding; 41.4% Meeting; 16.6% Approaching; 2.0% Not Meeting

• Information Management

- 0% Exceeding; 100% Meeting

Goal 6: Restructuring the division of academic affairs for better communication, greater efficiency and effectiveness

Objective

Update

• Disseminate the findings and recommendations of the task force on restructuring.

• The Task Force’s Report has been submitted and will be disseminated to the College Community for feedback

• Develop a plan and implement it

UPDATE ON ACADEMIC PROGRAMS (JULY 2004 – JUNE 2005)

Program Actions by SED

New Programs Registered by SED

Name of Program	Award	Note	HEGIS	SED Code	Date
Second Language Education	M.S.Ed.	Non-certification	1508	29696	April 15, 2005
Teaching English as a Second Language	B.A.	Non-certification	1508	29719	May 2, 2005
Teaching English as a Second Language	B.A.		1508	29720	May 2, 2005
School Building Leader	Advanced Cert.		0828	29159	August 31, 2004
School District Business Leader	Advanced Cert.		0827	29161	August 31, 2004
School District Leader	Advanced Cert.		0827	29160	August 31, 2004

Program Revisions registered by SED

Name of Program	Award	Note	HEGIS	SED Code	Date
Adolescence Education: Social Studies 7-12	B.A.		2201	22930	April 25, 2005
Adolescence Education: Earth Science	B.A.		1917	22925	February 11, 2005
Adolescence Education: Earth Science	B.S.		1917	22924	February 11, 2005
Adolescence Education: Mathematics (7-12)	M.A.T.		1701	25109	February 11, 2005
English	M.A.		1501	12169	August 10, 2004

Title Change registered by SED

Name of Program	Award	Note	HEGIS	SED Code	Date
Inclusive Special Education	B.S.	Title Change¹	0808	22916	April 25, 2005

Program Actions by SUNY Central

Program Announcements/Letters of Intent² received by SUNY

Name of Program	Award	Note	HEGIS	SED Code	Date
International Sport Management	M.S.				January 13, 2005
Art-Studio	B.F.A				June 15, 2005

Program Revisions Approved by SUNY

Name of Program	Award	Note	HEGIS	SED Code	Date
Adolescence Education: French (7-12)	B.A		1504	03259	June 16, 2005
Adolescence Education: Spanish (7-12)	B.A		1102	22932	June 16, 2005

Programs Approved for Discontinuance by SUNY

Name of Program	Award	Note	HEGIS	SED Code	Date
Adolescence Education: Biology 7-12	B.A.	Discontinued effective 6/05; B.S. retained)	0401	22921	June 15, 2005
Adolescence Education: Chemistry 7-12	B.A.	Discontinued effective 6/05; B.S. retained)	1905	22923	June 15, 2005
Adolescence Education: Earth Science 7-12	B.A.	Discontinued effective 6/05; B.S. retained)	1917	22925	June 15, 2005
Special Childhood: Childhood Education (1-6)	B.S.	Discontinued effective 9/09	0808	29707	April 25, 2005

Extension Center Approval

The Mohawk Valley Extension Center move was approved by SUNY in August 2004.

Program Action by SUNY Cortland

Program Proposal forwarded to SUNY System

The Proposal for an extension Center at Corning Community College was submitted to SUNY in June 2005.

ACADEMIC UNITS

School of Education

This annual report covers the activities of the SUNY Cortland School of Education during the 2004-2005 academic year. Each year in the School of Education seems to take on a theme that transcends the major activities and accomplishments for the year. For the year 2003-2004 the theme was establishing the School of Education and accreditation. This year, 2004- 2005, the theme has been balancing and adjusting the programs and resources of the school. Next year, the theme will likely revolve around planning and growing as we develop a conceptual plan for the new building and grow some programs to meet the needs of the field.

The first big accomplishment for the School of Education and the entire campus was the formal accreditation by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). In Fall 2004, we received full accreditation from NCATE reaffirming the high quality of the Teacher Education programs at SUNY Cortland. NCATE applies rigorous standards that attest to the excellence of our programs. Our teacher education programs have always been amongst the best in the nation and now that excellence has been recognized. We all share the pride for continuing the 138 year-old tradition of educating the best teachers for New York schools. SUNY Cortland was among the first institutions to be accredited by NCATE in 1954 and the reattainment of accreditation again places SUNY Cortland among the elite teacher education programs in the United States.

Another major accomplishment this year was the hiring of eleven new faculty and professional staff members. These hires enabled the school to fill several vacant positions and to expand staffing in some understaffed areas. The new hires include:

Childhood and Early Childhood Education

• Cristina Gomez

• Janice Kilburn

• Hee-Young Kim

• Lin Lin

• Renee Potter

• Shufang Shi

Educational Leadership

• John Pijanowski.

Field Placement Office

• Linda Foster

Foundations and Social Advocacy:

• Judy Bentley

• Ji-Ryun Kim

We also searched for two additional positions with one unsuccessful search in Literacy and another search in Childhood and Early Childhood Education cancelled for procedural problems.

The failed Literacy search is particularly troubling for the School. We interviewed two very strong candidates, either of whom would have been a good match for the department. We lost both individuals to other institutions who offered much higher salaries.

This year all candidates were required to teach a class during their campus interviews. The School had experimented with this during the 2003-04 year and implemented it for all candidates during 2004-2005. Watching a candidate teach an actual class was very valuable in the evaluation of the candidates. Since a major part of a faculty member’s responsibility at Cortland is teaching, this provided direct information on the ability of the candidate to work with students and teach a class. Our students were very cooperative and we solicited direct feedback from them on the candidates. We selected a course that would likely be taught by the successful candidate and the candidate selected the topic that would be appropriate for the course.

This year we had four resignations by faculty members in the Childhood and Early Childhood Education and Educational Leadership departments including: a) Daniel Farsaci (E/EC), b) John Marshak (EL), c) Jerry Rice (EL), and d) Kimberly Williams (C/EC).

We made a major effort this year to insure an ethnically diverse faculty within the School of Education. This was done through the careful work of the search committees, the department chairs, and the dean’s office. We emphasized the importance of an ethnically diverse faculty for educating our graduates who during their careers will teach in increasingly more diverse classrooms. We also sent faculty recruiters to four conferences with large numbers of attendees from under represented groups. These included: a) “Call Me Mister” Conference at Clemson University, b) National Association for Multicultural Education Conference, c) International Globalization Diversity and Education Conference, and d) American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Each of these conferences yielded applicants and opened some networking opportunities between Cortland and groups of under represented faculty members.

These efforts were successful and allowed the School of Education to expand the ethnic diversity of the faculty. We hired five individuals from under represented groups out of a total of eleven hires. This represents almost fifty percent of the new hires in the School of Education.

During the 2003-2004 academic year the School Leadership Team became concerned with the relatively small percentage of School courses taught by full-time faculty members and the Team set a goal to increase the number of courses taught by full-time faculty members. In the spring of 2003 only 43% of undergraduate and 41% of graduate courses were taught by fulltime faculty members. The Team set a goal that by the fall semester of 2005 to have at least 50% of both undergraduate and graduate courses in each department taught by full-time faculty members. There were intermediate goals for each intervening semester. As we approach the fall semester of 2005, we will meet this goal in all cases except one. The two recent resignations in Educational Leadership will take us below 50% in that department.

This year we implemented seven new academic programs in Childhood Education, Early Childhood Education, Combined Childhood and Early Childhood Education, Inclusive Special Education, School Building Leader, School District Leader, and School District Business Leader. These programs replaced parallel programs that are being phased out.

The large size of the Childhood and Early Childhood Education programs has been challenging for a number of years. During 2000 and 2001 exceptionally large numbers of students (particularly freshmen) were admitted to these programs. These students are now nearing or at the end of their programs with many student teaching. As this “bulge” of students moved through the program, they have caused excessive demands on the faculty for additional sections of courses, field experiences, advisement, and student teaching. In the fall of 2004 there were 758 juniors and seniors in these programs. Similarly, in the spring of 2005 there were 794 juniors and seniors.

Through careful planning with Enrollment Management we have set a goal to have around 510 juniors and seniors in these majors by the fall of 2007. This will be done by carefully assessing the number of continuing students each semester. The comparison of this number against the 510 +/- goal will yield the number of possible change of majors and new transfer students. The 510 +/- number seems to be appropriate given the resources of the department and the projected employment needs for teachers in these areas.

The School Leadership Team embarked on a year long planning process to access the facilities in Cornish and Van Hoesen Halls. There were multiple iterations of the plans with the strengths and weaknesses of each fully explored by the Leadership Team. This was partially necessitated by the need to provide office space for eleven new hires and to make better use of the existing spaces in the buildings. The Leadership Team also set a goal to have all faculty members from a given department in the same geographical area of the buildings. Through this planning process we received $70,000 in funding for seven minor renovation projects that will greatly improve the functionality of the two buildings.

Michelle Kelly, after seven years successfully leading the Cortland Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.) project, decided to return full time to the faculty. This provided an opportunity to review the C.U.R.E. program and its administrative structure. The college reaffirmed support for the program with continuing scholarships for each entering cohort. The scholarships will be $1,000 during freshman year, $2,000 during sophomore year, $3,000 during junior year, and $4,000 during senior year. A new cohort of twelve freshmen will be admitted each fall.

We envision expanding in the future our emphasis on urban education beyond just the C.U.R.E. project. The Park Foundation provided scholarship funding that enables us to provide total C.U.R.E. scholarships of $5,000 for each year for each student.

In the spring of 2004, we implemented a new on campus residence requirement for students in the graduate programs at the Mohawk Valley Graduate Center (MVGC). All students are now required to complete at least half of their program in courses taken on the Cortland campus. This policy change has resulted in a drop in enrollment and an even more dramatic drop in MVGC applications. It has also led to a reduction in the number of majors in the Literacy and Educational Leadership programs. Since the college is attempting to increase graduate enrollment, the reduction in these two programs is particularly troublesome. On the positive side, most of the courses at MVGC were staffed with part-time faculty and the reduction of these courses has improved our ratio of courses taught by full-time faculty members.

We continued our student teaching programs in both Australia and London. The first Australia student teaching program in cooperation with the University of the Sunshine Coast was conducted in the summer and fall of 2004. This program, open to all Cortland teacher education majors, was very successful and has been continued for 2005. The spring London program has been reinvigorated and is available to only Childhood and Early Childhood Education majors.

The state legislature provided $10,000,000 for a new SUNY Cortland School of Education building with an integrated child care center. The four-story, state-of-the-art School of Education Building, will house a relocated, expanded, and technologically equipped SUNY Cortland Child Care Center on the first floor. The 45,000-50,000 square feet building will be constructed along Prospect Terrace adjacent to both Cornish Hall and Van Hoesen Hall with occupancy planned for the fall of 2008.

The future, although bright, provides some challenges for the School of Education. As SUNY Cortland becomes more competitive, we are serving a rapidly changing student body. Rising SAT scores and high school grade point averages have provided a more academically gifted student body. This will necessitate changes in course delivery and the curriculum to meet the needs of these students. At the same time we may be closing the door to many students who in the past would have become high quality classroom teachers. The new building will provide an opportunity to plan for the future with facilities that meet our program needs. This will be a school wide and campus wide effort to insure that we build the best building for today that will be adaptable to meet the needs of students throughout the twenty-first century.

CHALLENGES/CONCERNS

Salary levels continue to be a problem within the School of Education as well as across the entire campus.

We have made strides this year to match our program sizes to the faculty resources. We have dramatically improved the percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty members. As we move into the future, this will be a continuing challenge to balance program needs with available resources.

School of Professional Studies

This annual report is an encapsulated review of the activities and accomplishments that have occurred in the School of Professional Studies during the 2004-2005 academic year.

MISSION STATEMENT

During the 2003-2004 academic year, the new School of Professional Studies developed the following mission statement.

“The School of Professional Studies at SUNY Cortland is committed to preparing liberally educated professionals through active and collaborative engagement in teaching, scholarship and service. The School seeks to prepare culturally sensitive and competent professionals who will be effective agents of positive change for individuals, their communities and environment. Our graduates leave the School of Professional Studies prepared to improve the quality of life in a diverse world.”

LEADERSHIP

Dr. Roy H. Olsson Jr. became the new Dean of the School of Professional Studies at the beginning of the 2004-2005 academic year while Dr. Raymond Goldberg became the new Associate Dean in March 2005.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Some of the major accomplishments of the School of Professional Studies during the 2004-2005 academic year include the following:

3/3 Teaching Workload - Beginning Fall 2005, the teaching load for full-time tenure-track faculty in the School of Professional Studies will be reduced to the equivalent of nine credit hours per semester in order to allow faculty the opportunity to publish and conduct research. Faculty with continuing appointment have the option to teach the equivalent of 12 credit hours per semester in lieu of scholarly productivity; however, research and publications will be required for promotion. Lecturers will continue to teach 12 credit hours per semester.

Criteria for Promotion and Continuing Appointment for Tenure-Track Faculty - The dean, associate dean, department chairs, school personnel committee members and department personnel committee chairs have been working to establish specific criteria for promotion and continuing appointment for tenure-track faculty. The minimum publication record for non-tenured, tenure-track faculty will be one research article in a refereed journal every two years; however, the specific criteria is still in the development stages and will be finalized during the Fall 2005 semester. Once finalized, the criteria will be forwarded for the appropriate approvals and inclusion in the faculty handbook.

Enrollment Management Block Design Plan for Physical Education - In collaboration with Physical Education Department Chair, Jerry Casciani, and Associate Provost for Enrollment Management, Gradin Avery, an enrollment management plan has been developed for Physical Education majors. Acceptance criteria for new students have also been developed. The benefits of this “block” plan include increasing the number of Physical Education students completing the program requirements in four years, improving the caliber of students, and improving the process of scheduling courses from year to year.

Enrollment management plans were also started for Sports Management and Speech Pathology and Audiology and will be finalized during the 2005-2006 academic year.

Graduate Web-Assisted Distance Learning Programs - Pending approval, the Physical Education Coaching Pedagogy Concentration (graduate) will be offered via distance learning beginning Summer 2006. Faculty in the Physical Education and Exercise Science and Sport Studies Departments are in the process of developing the on-line courses for this program. Four additional distance learning graduate programs (Sports Management, International Sports Management, Athletics Leadership and Community Health) will be proposed to begin Summer 2007. Revenue from these programs will be divided among various units on campus.

Faculty Reappointment/Promotion Notebook Organization - The dean developed a reference grid to assist faculty with organizing their professional portfolio materials. The grid lists the materials required for review and states where the materials should be located. The development of this grid resulted in faculty producing notebooks that were neatly organized, concise and easy to access.

Hiring of New/Replacement Faculty - The School of Professional Studies successfully hired six new faculty in replacement positions: Jena Curtis, Health Education (replacing Bill Sechrist); Kathryn Coffey, Community Health/Health Administration (replacing Ken Tomaszewski); Tony Trunfio, Community Health (replacing Jen Nolan); John Foley, Adapted Physical Education (replacing Colleen Lewis); Maha Ebid, Pedagogy/Assessment (replacing Ray Pappalardi); and Virginia Wright, Lecturer in Physical Education (replacing Joy Buffan).

In addition, two full-time visiting professors, William Williams, Pedagogy/Assessment (replacing Tom Steele) and Eileen Spencer, Speech-Language Pathology (replacing Jackie Meyer), were hired for the 2005-2006 academic year as a result of two failed searches. The Physical Education and Speech Pathology and Audiology Departments plan to re-advertise these tenure-track positions during the Fall 2005 semester. Exercise Science and Sport Studies hired a full-time visiting professional for the Athletic Training Program due to Farron Bennett’s and Alyson Dearies’ leaves of absence. The offer for the sport psychology position was turned down; Katherine Polasek has therefore been hired as a visiting assistant professor to fill this position. A new search will be conducted during the Fall 2005 semester.

Pending approval, the Recreation and Leisure Studies Department plans to advertise during the Fall 2005 semester for a full-time tenure-track position (Margaret Arnold’s previous line), and the Sport Management Program plans to advertise for two new faculty as a result of a continual increase in student enrollment.

New Sport Management Department - Based on student enrollment, it was proposed that Sport Management become its own department beginning Fall 2005. Although this was not approved for the fall, the Provost plans to present this request as part of the College’s overall restructuring plan. The Dean, Sport Management Program faculty, and Exercise Science and Sport Studies Department Chair are hopeful that the new department will become effective January 2006.

School of Arts and Sciences

The 2004-2005 academic year has been marked by less change than in previous years. In some ways, the college and the school breathed a collective sigh of relief, as we received official notification of NCATE accreditation. This, along with our recent Middle States Reaccreditation, meant that years of preparation and planning, curriculum development and assessment, finally paid off.

The Dean began the year by visiting the seventeen departments in the school to operationalize the school's vision statement, and to listen to concerns from departments and faculty. The vision for the School of Arts and Sciences revolves around an engaged liberal learning with roots in learning communities, collaborative research between students and faculty, and experiential learning. Many departments within the school are already investing in these activities. Others felt that they lacked the resources to adequately deliver these opportunities to our students.

The 2004-2005 academic year was one of significant challenges and accomplishments for the School of Arts and Sciences. The challenges included continuing to grapple with enrollment issues and understaffing, a commensurate over reliance on part time faculty, inadequate space, the development of new major programs, recruitment and retention of faculty, and dealing with the continuing question of resource allocation. Enrollment in Arts and Sciences remained above the goal of 40 percent of declared majors for the college as a whole, and in fact, the question now is whether we want enrollment to continue to grow. In light of the fact that Cortland's enrollment target has already been exceeded, and many programs within the School of Arts and Sciences are already at, or over, capacity, it makes sense to envision enrollment management from the perspective of matching growth opportunities to resource utilization.

STRENGTHS

The faculty continue to be a primary strength of the school. There are currently 14 faculty in the school that have achieved the rank of Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor or Distinguished Service Professor. This rank, which is awarded through the Chancellor's Office, recognizes the special contributions of faculty to the college, the community and the discipline. Other faculty have received recognition for their teaching, research and service through the Chancellor's Award for Excellence.

This year Professor Noralyn Masselink received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Professor Samuel Kelley was recognized with a Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Professor Victoria Boynton was selected as the recipient of the Rozanne Brooks A ward. Other faculty were recognized by awards from national organizations, and within their disciplines. The faculty of the school are recognized not only for their contributions through excellent teaching and scholarship; they have taken the lead in numerous college wide initiatives. These include but are not limited to the American Democracy Project, Civic Engagement, Service Learning and efforts to internationalize the campus.

A second area of strength is the curriculum. While the pace of curriculum development slowed noticeably, there were two new programs submitted for approval through system administration. One program in teaching English as a second language was approved by system administration and NYSED. The second program, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, has received local approval and been sent to Albany.

In terms of scholarly activity within the School of Arts and Sciences, many individuals, and even whole departments, have been quite productive. Within the natural sciences, faculty in biology and geology have been especially active in both publishing research in peer reviewed journals and pursuing external funding for their scholarship. The new faculty in chemistry are also beginning to develop productive research agendas. Many departments in the social and behavioral sciences, including economics, geography, political science and sociology/anthro-pology, continue to make scholarly contributions to their disciplines at a pace that averages one peer reviewed publication per full time faculty member per year .The departments of art and art history, and performing arts have been active in a variety of creative endeavors.

CURRICULUM INITIATIVES

The school is in the final year of the Title III grant, and the technology and advisement initiatives supported by the grant appear to be bearing fruit. More faculty each year integrate WebCT into their courses. NeoVox, the online international news magazine produced by students, continues to build on the successful transition to new leadership. Many departments have been active in developing other international initiatives, including study abroad programs, student and faculty exchanges and dual diploma programs. This latter initiative promises to make significant contributions to internationalizing the campus as cohorts of students from Turkish universities begin to matriculate at Cortland.

The school has also been active in developing First Year Learning Communities to enhance the educational experience of students in their first semester. These include Earth and Sky, Living Democracy, Tech First, Our Storied Land, and World First. One indicator of the success of all these initiatives at attracting students to the arts and sciences is found in the number of premajors who select an arts and science major. Since 2002 nearly 65 percent of the premajors have selected a major in the School of Arts and Sciences. Some departments, notably Political Science and Psychology, are beginning to offer learning community experiences to first year students coming in as declared majors.

The School of Arts and Sciences exercises the primary responsibility for the General Education program. This has been a source of both accomplishment and challenge. As part of the GE Task force whose members are representative of the three schools, we have developed a plan for complying with the SUNY General Education Requirement, a system wide initiative promulgated by the Board of Trustees. This has included submitting individual courses for approval as meeting categories within the SUNY GER, as well as developing a plan for the assessment of common learning objectives for those categories. We have now completed the third and final year of a plan to assess each of the categories in the SUNY GER. In the future, assessment will include new expectations for Basic Written Communication, Critical Thinking and Mathematics as outlined in the Strengthened Campus Based Assessment Initiative.

The school made significant contributions to the NCATE accreditation. All of the Adolescence Education programs are housed in the School of Arts and Sciences and were reregistered with the NYSED. Additionally, each program submitted folios to the appropriate disciplinary national organization for review.

ENROLLMENT

Enrollment growth will take on a relatively new perspective over the next few years. Overall, Arts and Sciences has succeeded in realizing the goal of having 40 percent of students enrolled in majors within the school. This goal, which is included in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with System Administration in 2000, represents a benchmark where the School of Arts and Sciences was in the early 1990s. In 1990 enrolled majors in the Arts and Sciences represented almost 41 percent of all students in the college and 46 percent of declared majors. By 1998 only 33 percent of all undergraduates had declared majors in the Arts and Sciences. As of last fall we had returned to 41 percent of the declared majors. Of course, some departments within the school are near or at capacity, while others have underutilized resources. We continue to try to develop a model to more effectively manage enrollment and departmental resources. In collaboration with the Associate Provost for Enrollment Management, some departments have come up with plans for tracking admission of new first year and transfer students. These include the History, and Sociology/ Anthropology departments. Overall, the departments with the highest number of majors in the school are History (324), Communication Studies (293), Psychology (252), Sociology/Anthropology (242), and Economics (216).

The School of Arts and Sciences has a long record of promoting diversity on campus, both through its curricular contributions and its recruitment of diverse faculty and students. As part of the Provost's Task Force on Diversity, a sub committee on curriculum prepared an inventory of courses which include a multi-cultural perspective. Curriculum offerings are incredibly rich and represent diversity in a variety of ways. In terms of minority representation within the school's faculty, over 13 percent of the arts and sciences faculty are ethnic minorities. This year's recruitment of new faculty will contribute to the progress of diversifying the faculty.

CHALLENGES

Faculty morale continues to be a challenge in some areas. Faculty morale is tied in part to workload. At the start of this past year, we developed a plan for moving most faculty to a nine hour semester load that were not already at that point. Beginning next fall faculty in the English, International Communications and Culture, and Mathematics departments will teach three courses instead of four .It is hoped that this will not only help to improve morale, but that it will also be a significant recruitment and retention tool for those departments.

A second issue associated with faculty morale is faculty salaries. SUNY Cortland is recognized by both faculty and administrators as having lower average salaries by rank than virtually all other SUNY campuses. It is important to understand that there are compositional effects that may make these data deceiving. When controlling for salary differences across disciplines using national faculty salary data, faculty in some departments at SUNY Cortland continue to suffer from low relative salaries, though faculty in other departments are generally much closer to, if not above, the national average by discipline and rank.

The loss of full time faculty lines and the heavy reliance on adjunct faculty is also problematic, especially given the low pay that adjunct faculty receive. Many departments self report that they are understaffed. These views are invariably reinforced by the reports of external reviewers in conjunction with Program Review. Data on average student credit hours generated per FTE faculty member is one indicator of workload and should help to identify the departments with the most significant need for new faculty. In this respect, History, Communication Studies, Economics, Geography, Political Science and Sociology (especially Criminology) have the greatest need for new faulty resources. A second indicator of need for additional full time faculty resources comes from data on the utilization of part time faculty. History, Economics, ICC and Biological Sciences have the heaviest reliance on part time faculty, with over 40 percent of the courses offered in those departments serviced by part time faculty. For the school overall, nearly 72 percent of the courses offered are taught by full time faculty.

Department chairs continue to express dissatisfaction with what they perceive to be an increase in administrative workload. This perception is probably well grounded and the result of recent accreditation efforts and assessment initiatives. Potential relief is in sight with the recent NCA-TE accreditation success. Provost Salins has also been responsive to the idea of departments doing Program Review on a seven year cycle, as opposed to every five years.

Of course, the most important aspect of promoting the value of a liberal arts education is providing exceptional educational opportunities for our students. This requires not only dedication to teaching, but also commitment to scholarship within our respective fields. The departments and faculty within the school have taken this charge seriously. However, this summary does not include all the activities and achievements reported by departments and individual faculty. A full accounting of all the good work carried out within the school can be found in the department and individual faculty annual reports.

THE FUTURE

Each of the departments that make up the School of Arts and Sciences included plans for the next year and the next five years in their annual reports. Most of these plans include continued focus on recruiting students to their programs, further curriculum development, and hopes to add new faculty. It is clear that we will be unable to add all the new faculty envisioned in the individual faculty requests. Priorities must be established and faculty added where the needs are greatest. Plans to increase enrollments must also be contextualized. Are they realistic? Are they cost effective? How do they fit into the institution's enrollment management plan?

The mission statement for the school, Learning to Make a Difference, while highlighting initiatives in many areas, has yet to be embodied in a comprehensive and cohesive fashion. While its focus on First Year Learning Experiences, Civic Responsibility and Experiential Learning, is found in pockets throughout the school clearly resonates with students, not all students in the school are equally advantaged.

The future of the School of Arts and Sciences, directed by the new mission, Learning to Make a Difference, remains uncertain. The dean’s meeting with individual departments elicited much support in principle for the proposal to develop Learning Communities for all incoming students and providing internship opportunities as capstone experiences, mixed with skepticism that this was feasible given the resource constraints we face. The challenge of attracting students to the arts and sciences seems much less daunting as significant progress continues in this area. New program development, supported by Title III, has resulted in four new programs. Energy is now being directed from program development to recruitment of students. We cannot rely on the strategy "If we build it, they will come." Active and aggressive recruitment of students will be essential to the success of the new programs. Departments are almost universally engaged in efforts to assist in the recruitment of students to the school. This year saw continued collaboration between the school and the Admissions Office. Those efforts appear to be paying off. In the fall of 2001, enrollment in Arts and Sciences was approximately 1700 majors. Last fall it exceeded 2250 majors. We look forward to continuing collaboration with the Admissions Office and the Office of Advisement and First Year Programs in developing a comprehensive recruitment strategy to build on and consolidate the success of the recent past.

The needs of the school in both the short and intermediate term remain the same as they were this time last year. These include additional faculty lines, continued upgrades for computer labs and academic equipment, and support for faculty research and travel.

The Arts and Sciences Alumni Advisory Board continues to meet, at least annually, and provide support to the school. These dedicated alumni take time from their busy schedules to visit Cortland, and act as a sounding board for new ideas. Their support is much appreciated and will be cultivated in the future.

There is a solid foundation on which to build in the School of Arts and Sciences. Continued success will require the determination, commitment and cooperation of faculty, administrators and departments.

Graduate Studies and Summer/Winter Sessions

In the fourth year of re-establishment, the Office of Graduate Studies and Summer/Winter Sessions achieved many accomplishments under the direction of Dr. Yvonne Murnane hired as permanent director beginning July 10, 2003.

Graduate Studies Innovations/Improvements

• Publishing of the graduate newsletter on line. Four newsletters were published and posted online. There were over 1500 “hits” on the newsletter website indicating that students and faculty are reading the newsletter.

• Development of an enrollment graph each semester for all graduate programs showing percentage of each program’s enrollment in graduate studies. This is shared with all graduate coordinators, Provost’s Cabinet, President’s Council. The President also sends this to the College’s top 100 supporters.

• Increased marketing through newspapers and radio ads, other local colleges and universities’ newspapers to reach the undergraduate summer school population.

• Mailing of a graduate teaser brochure to all K-12 schools in the Mohawk Valley area.

• Preparation to print the 2005 – 06 graduate catalog totally online

• Development of a Cortland graduate assistantship policy

• Creation of the layout and design of the Teacher Education Graduate Program Application. This template was also adopted for the undergraduate teacher education program application.

• Representation on the Teacher Education Candidate Review Committee. Until the spring 2005 semester, graduate students who had conduct violations and applied for a teacher education program had no graduate representation on this review committee. Individuals who were not involved with graduate education were making these sensitive acceptance and rejection decisions.

• First New Graduate Student Orientation and Information Fair held in January

• Graduate Studies received $1500 grant from ASC to support the August 2005 New Graduate Student Orientation and Information Fair

• Planning is underway with Dan/ David McNeil and SUNY Cortland administrators in the development of a Main Street building project. We are exploring how graduate studies may use two classrooms for graduate courses or offer other courses the Cortland Main Street community has identified as a need.

• The Summer Session Advisory Council met and recommended a reconfiguration of the summer session schedule due to limited offerings and students’ understanding of one week and “out of the box” course offerings. The proposed schedule was shared with the college community and passed by the Faculty Senate and approved by President Bitterbaum.

Summer Session Restructuring

Changes in the restructuring of the summer sessions to include one ten-week “full session;” two five-week sessions, in Summer Session I and II; four 2½-week sessions, two in Summer Session I and two in Summer Session II.

Curriculum/Program Innovations/ Improvements

• A system was developed and implemented to identify and notify students who have exceeded the 5 year limit for program completion. This identification system will better assist graduate coordinators and program chairs in guiding students to finish their programs. This can also be a quality indicator for graduate studies at SUNY Cortland.

• Development of a formal PRGR (Pre-graduate) admissions policy for potential graduate students who need some additional undergraduate coursework before beginning graduate work.

• Development of a mission statement in collaboration with the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee

Immediate Future Needs

1) The vision for Graduate Studies is to be a School with a dean. This vision includes a physical space where graduate students receive assistance and information to guide them successfully through their programs. Plans are made for Graduate Studies to re-locate to Brockway Hall in the spring of 2006. The Office of Graduate Studies, as it fulfills its vision as a School, needs more of this unplanned space for additional resources of personnel and information.

2) There is the need for a staff member for student services who will be responsible for working with graduate students and financial aid, assist with the marketing of graduate programs, assist the assistant director with the graduate student council, market summer and winter sessions, assist summer/winter session’s program aide with scheduling of courses, design/ publish all marketing materials for the office.

3) There is a need for the Graduate Studies Director to have access to information on scholarly, teaching and community service by faculty and professionals who are involved with graduate education. The goal is not to build a chasm between undergraduate and graduate education but to recognize the significant, quality work that faculty and other professionals do in supporting graduate studies and graduate students. This will also be a quality indicator for graduate studies at SUNY Cortland.

ACADEMIC UNITS: STUDENT DATA TABLES

Table 1: Undergraduate Student Enrollment by Department

Department

Undergraduate Students

Fall 2004

Spring 2005

# of Fulltime Undergraduates in the Majors

# of Part-time Undergraduates in the Majors

# of Fulltime Undergraduates in the Majors

# of Part-time Undergraduates in the Majors

Childhood/Early Childhood

599

15

573

18

Educational Leadership

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Foundations and Social Advocacy

110

0

110

0

Literacy

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Art and Art History

59

4

57

5

Biological Sciences

178

9

186

15

Chemistry

30

0

27

0

Communications Studies

275

8

291

2

Economics

191

5

203

7

English

126

8

116

8

Geography

14

0

15

1

Geology

36

1

33

2

History

341

2

287

10

Int’l Communications and Culture

64

3

67

1

Mathematics

135

5

114

3

Performing Arts

27

0

28

0

Philosophy

6

0

7

0

Physics

45

1

36

4

Political Science

103

3

101

0

Psychology

227

9

222

7

Sociology/Anthropology

183

11

183

15

Health

173

7

152

9

Exercise Science & Sport Studies

647

14

593

18

Recreation and Leisure Studies

123

5

111

5

Speech Pathology/Audiology

145

3

135

0

Physical Education

888

19

761

23

Total # of Students

4725

132

4408

153

Table 2: Graduate Student Enrollment by Department

Department

Graduate Students

Fall 2004

Spring 2005

# of Fulltime Graduates in the Majors

# of part-time Graduates in the Majors

# of Fulltime Graduates in the Majors

# of part-time Graduates in the Majors

Childhood/Early Childhood

47

76

65

64

Educational Leadership

0

240

0

221

Foundations and Social Advocacy

57

0

57

0

Literacy

42

216

51

212

Art and Art History

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Biological Sciences

15

18

20

15

Chemistry

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Communications Studies

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Economics

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

English

24

25

27

22

Geography

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Geology

2

5

2

3

History

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

International Communications and Culture

1

38

0

33

Mathematics

13

17

12

21

Performing Arts

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Philosophy

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Physics

N/A

4

N/A

4

Political Science

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Psychology

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Sociology/Anthropology

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Health

45

79

62

95

Exercise Science & Sport Studies

6

2

6

3

Recreation and Leisure Studies

20

39

23

31

Speech Pathology/Audiology

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Physical Education

16

45

17

57

Total # of Students

288

804

342

781

Table 3: Average Grade Point Average of Students by Department

Department

Undergraduate Students

Graduate Students

Fall 2004

Spring 2005

Fall 2004

Spring 2005

Childhood/Early Childhood

3.11

3.04

3.8

3.81

Educational Leadership

N/A

NA

3.53

3.14

Foundations and Social Advocacy

3.2

3.2

3.3

-

Literacy

N/A

N/A

3.81

3.83

Art and Art History

2.95

2.93

N/A

N/A

Biological Sciences

2.73

2.83

3.64

3.73

Chemistry

2.99

3.03

N/A

N/A

Communication Studies

2.72

2.78

N/A

N/A

Economics

2.72

2.7

N/A

N/A

English

2.95

2.92

3.67

3.57

Geography

3.1

3.31

N/A

N/A

Geology

3.04

3

3.68

3.58

History

2.76

2.78

3.47

3.49

International Communications & Culture

3.07

3.08

3.68

3.71

Mathematics

2.87

2.96

3.71

3.7

Performing Arts

3.32

3.37

N/A

N/A

Philosophy

3.21

3.28

N/A

N/A

Physics

2.91

2.93

3.62

3.37

Political Science

2.74

2.77

N/A

N/A

Psychology

2.79

2.83

N/A

N/A

Sociology/Anthropology

2.81

2.75

N/A

N/A

Exercise Science &Sport Studies

2.90

2.93

3.79

3.63

Health

3.01

3.04

3.51

3.63

Physical Education

2.94

2.94

3.63

3.65

Recreation & Leisure Studies

2.73

2.96

3.50

3.57

Speech Pathology and Audiology

3.17

3.24

NA

N/A

AVERAGE:

2.94

2.98

3.62

3.6

Table 4a: Academic Probations, Suspensions and Dismissals

Department

Fall 2004

Spring 2005

Academic Probation

Academic Suspension

Academic Dismissal

Academic Probation

Academic Suspension

Academic Dismissal

Childhood/Early Childhood

6

4

0

10

3

0

Educational Leadership

0

0

0

0

0

0

Foundations and Social Advocacy

0

1

0

0

1

0

Literacy

1

0

0

0

0

0

Art and Art History

3

1

0

1

1

0

Biological Sciences

13

5

1

9

4

1

Chemistry

0

3

0

0

0

0

Communication Studies

8

3

1

7

6

1

Economics

0

5

3

7

7

0

English

4

3

0

3

5

0

Geography

0

0

0

0

0

0

Geology

1

1

1

0

2

0

History

0

6

1

5

1

0

International Communications & Culture

4

1

0

0

0

0

Mathematics

7

2

2

4

4

0

Performing Arts
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Objective	Update
• Implement the plan for the teaching/learning center thereby integrating teaching/learning functions.	• Faculty-Staff group met to more fully develop the concept. • Space was selected and the architect consulted • The space will be ready for spring, 2006
• Implement writing workshops for faculty increasing their ability to assist students with their writing.	• The Writing Committee held two writing workshops for faculty. • The Economics Department received the first annual award for improving writing in the discipline. They held a workshop for faculty.
• Implement plans for teaching-learning circles thereby increasing faculty teaching skills	• Through the Faculty Development Committee and the Faculty Development Center three teaching-learning circles were convened.

Objective	Update
• Identify factors that impede students’ graduation in four years	• Through discussions with various groups, several factors were identified: - Length of teacher education programs - Limited options for students who no longer want to pursue a degree in teacher education and would like to pursue a liberal arts degree. - Availability of classes/scheduling - Class space (e.g. Sperry Renovation) - Students taking added credits for a second bachelors in fulfillment of requirement for masters - Student employment
• Develop strategies to remove those impediments	•
• Increase student four-year graduation rates by 15%.	•

Objective	Update
• Disseminate the recommendations from the task force to the campus community	• The Task Force will submit its report and recommendations to the EPC
• Develop and implement a Faculty Senate plan.	•
• Assess General Education	• The Arts - 24.5% Exceeding; 51.1% Meeting; 21.6% Approaching; 2.8% Not Meeting • Basic Communication – Oral Presentations - 74.5% Exceeding; 15.0% Meeting; 7.8% Approaching; 2.7% Not Meeting • Critical Thinking - 40.0% Exceeding; 41.4% Meeting; 16.6% Approaching; 2.0% Not Meeting • Information Management - 0% Exceeding; 100% Meeting

Objective	Update
• Disseminate the findings and recommendations of the task force on restructuring.	• The Task Force’s Report has been submitted and will be disseminated to the College Community for feedback
• Develop a plan and implement it


Department	Undergraduate Students
Department	Fall 2004		Spring 2005
	# of Fulltime Undergraduates in the Majors	# of Part-time Undergraduates in the Majors	# of Fulltime Undergraduates in the Majors	# of Part-time Undergraduates in the Majors
Childhood/Early Childhood	599	15	573	18
Educational Leadership	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Foundations and Social Advocacy	110	0	110	0
Literacy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Art and Art History	59	4	57	5
Biological Sciences	178	9	186	15
Chemistry	30	0	27	0
Communications Studies	275	8	291	2
Economics	191	5	203	7
English	126	8	116	8
Geography	14	0	15	1
Geology	36	1	33	2
History	341	2	287	10
Int’l Communications and Culture	64	3	67	1
Mathematics	135	5	114	3
Performing Arts	27	0	28	0
Philosophy	6	0	7	0
Physics	45	1	36	4
Political Science	103	3	101	0
Psychology	227	9	222	7
Sociology/Anthropology	183	11	183	15
Health	173	7	152	9
Exercise Science & Sport Studies	647	14	593	18
Recreation and Leisure Studies	123	5	111	5
Speech Pathology/Audiology	145	3	135	0
Physical Education	888	19	761	23
Total # of Students	4725	132	4408	153


Department	Graduate Students
Department	Fall 2004		Spring 2005
	# of Fulltime Graduates in the Majors	# of part-time Graduates in the Majors	# of Fulltime Graduates in the Majors	# of part-time Graduates in the Majors
Childhood/Early Childhood	47	76	65	64
Educational Leadership	0	240	0	221
Foundations and Social Advocacy	57	0	57	0
Literacy	42	216	51	212
Art and Art History	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Biological Sciences	15	18	20	15
Chemistry	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Communications Studies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Economics	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
English	24	25	27	22
Geography	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Geology	2	5	2	3
History	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
International Communications and Culture	1	38	0	33
Mathematics	13	17	12	21
Performing Arts	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Philosophy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Physics	N/A	4	N/A	4
Political Science	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Psychology	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sociology/Anthropology	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Health	45	79	62	95
Exercise Science & Sport Studies	6	2	6	3
Recreation and Leisure Studies	20	39	23	31
Speech Pathology/Audiology	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Physical Education	16	45	17	57
Total # of Students	288	804	342	781