Carol Tutzauer, director for assessment and assistant vice provost of Undergraduate Education, discussed the University's academic progress throughout a three-year assessment period during Wednesday's Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) Meeting.
UB's academic progress is under examination, she explained. A proactive assessment will determine which of UB's academic expectations have or have not been met. Additionally, the University will also be academically compared to other SUNY schools as part of the review process.
"It is time for a thorough review of our general education program and to identify what UB wishes its students to achieve, not simply respond to SUNY mandates," Tutzauer said.
UB has recently completed its first full cycle of assessments. In comparison, a majority of other SUNY schools have finished their second full cycles. UB is taking longer because officials declined to use the standard tests and rubrics, making it the only SUNY school that has elected to use its own assessment plan. This choice has been met with problems such as a lack of funding from New York State.
"They're supposed to give us some resources for our own assessment, as yet that's been up in the air because they haven't known how much they have to pay for the existing tests and they want to only give us as much as they are giving other campuses that are using existing tests," Tutzauer said.
The deficiency of student assessments was also discussed. Officials explained that there are no incentives for students to complete teacher or course evaluations.
This year, UB's participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was low because it was not planned efficiently, according to FSEC members.
"It was thrown together really fast and as a result. We didn't have a lot of time to market it or get a lot of word out with the students or really promote it with the students," Tutzauer said.
Tutzauer explained that the students are getting e-mails from NSSE, which end up in students' junk mail filters. Tutzauer emphasized the importance of these surveys and wants to work toward encouraging students to take the surveys more seriously.
The FSEC also discussed UB's new Recycled Paper Purchasing Policy. This will ensure that all the 8.5 by 11-inch paper purchased will consist of 100 percent post-consumer content processed, chlorine-free recycled paper. The Computing Help Desk (CIT) and many other departments have already implemented this policy.
The new policy is consistent with President John Simpson's signing of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. Increasing use of recycled paper will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, produce lifecycle fossil fuel energy savings and reduce UB's contribution to climate change.
The initiative is inexpensive and will be beneficial to the University, according to Tutzauer. University Procurement Services have worked out an agreement with Staples to ensure that recycled paper will be available to UB offices and departments at a fair price.
This new policy will cost the University around $10,000 more per year, but in the long run, this is deemed a small price to pay for the environmental benefits.
