Self-Evaluation Report
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Self-evaluation Report Forest Resources Program University of Minnesota Prepared for the Committee on Accreditation Society of American Foresters April 2007 The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation. PREFACE This document is a Self-evaluation Report for reaccreditation of the Forest Resources and Urban and Community Forestry programs at the University of Minnesota. The report describes the status of programs and changes that have been made or have occurred since the last interim status report in 2001. The last Accreditation visit was in 1996. The major changes since the 2001 Interim Status Report have occurred in the organization of programs at the collegiate level. The changes resulted from the University’s Strategic Positioning and associated merger of several colleges on the Twin Cities campus. The program home for the Forest Resources and Urban and Community Forestry curricula is the Department of Forest Resources (DFR). This departmental home has remained essentially unchanged for more than a century. As the University’s forestry program grew and expanded to broader coverage, it eventually became the College of Natural Resources (CNR) with several departments, including the Department of Forest Resources. In 2006, the CNR was merged with the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences and portions of the College of Human Ecology. As a consequence, the Department of Forest Resources and its instructional program now reside in the resulting new College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences (CFANS). A second important change has been the merger of the Forest Resources curriculum with two tracks or specializations and the Urban and Community Forestry curriculum with but one track. The change will be effective fall semester 2007, thus this report assumes that new structure, i.e., a Forest Resources (FR) curriculum with three tracks. In fact, the merger did not involve any changes to the resulting three tracks. The merger is intended to simplify program marketing and recruiting efforts. The documentation was developed following the instructions in the Society of American Foresters 1994 Accreditation Handbook, revised 2003 (2004/2005 Edition). Material in the report was developed from records in DFR and CFANS, and from the University's various central offices. Readers may note that departmental and college information differs from central data at times due to definitions and the date of materials used in the reports. In most cases, local data was used for consistency with our previous reporting and because these are often the most detailed and current figures. Alan R. Ek Professor and Head Department of Forest Resources SAF Self-evaluation Report i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................iii STANDARD I: FORESTRY PROGRAM MISSION, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES........... 1 1 Institution and Program Mission ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 University...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 College.......................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Division......................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Department.................................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Origin and Evolution of Goals...................................................................................... 5 1.6 Process for Modification............................................................................................... 5 2 Program Objectives............................................................................................................. 5 2.1 Context ......................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Influences Contributing to the Strength of the Educational Program........................... 6 3 Objectives of the Curricula in Terms of Educational Outcomes ........................................ 7 4 Developments Since the 2001Interim Status Report .......................................................... 7 4.1 Administrative Structure and Faculty........................................................................... 7 4.2 Support Staffing and Funding ...................................................................................... 8 5 Conclusions......................................................................................................................... 9 STANDARD II: CURRICULUM.............................................................................................. 10 1 Forest Resources Curriculum............................................................................................ 10 1.1 Context ....................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Curriculum Objectives and Tracks ............................................................................ 10 1.3 General Education Objectives and Summary............................................................. 11 1.4 Required Professional Courses and Summary ........................................................... 13 Document A-1 General Education Summary—Required Courses...................... 14 Document A-2 General Education Summary—Restricted Electives................... 15 1.5 Forest Resources Education Summary ...................................................................... 15 Document B-1 Forest Resources Education Summary—Required Courses (Forest Management and Planning Track)........................................................ 16 Document B-2 Forest Resources Education Summary—Restricted Courses (Forest Management and Planning Track)........................................................ 17 Document B-1 Forest Resources Education Summary—Required Courses (Forest Conservation and Ecosystem Management Track) .............................. 18 Document B-2 Forest Resources Education Summary—Restricted Courses (Forest Conservation and Ecosystem Management Track) .............................. 19 Document B-1 Forest Resources Education Summary—Required Courses (Urban and Community Forestry Track) .......................................................... 20 Document B-2 Forest Resources Education Summary—Restricted Courses (Urban and Community Forestry Track) .......................................................... 21 1.6 Review of Educational Objectives with respect to goals........................................... 22 1.7 Evaluation of Courses and Curriculum...................................................................... 27 1.8 Changes in Curriculum Since the Last Reaccreditation............................................. 29 ii SAF Self-evaluation Report TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page STANDARD III: FORESTRY PROGRAM ORGANIZATION & ADMINISTRATION .. 30 1 Administration .................................................................................................................. 30 1.1 Department and College Administrators.................................................................... 30 1.2 Major Coordinator ..................................................................................................... 30 1.3 Student Advising Roles ............................................................................................. 31 2 Student Recruiting, Admissions and Transfers................................................................. 31 2.1 Admission Requirements ........................................................................................... 31 3 Teaching............................................................................................................................ 35 4 Support Staff..................................................................................................................... 36 5 Program Planning and Related Issues............................................................................... 37 6 Education Needs and Outcomes Assessment.................................................................... 38 STANDARD IV: FACULTY ..................................................................................................... 40 1 Description and Responsibilities of Faculty ..................................................................... 40 1.1 Faculty Involved in Forestry Instruction.................................................................... 40 1.2 Adequacy of Faculty for Program Objectives............................................................ 41 1.3 Recruitment and Retention of Faculty ....................................................................... 42 1.4 Adequacy of Faculty for Program Objectives............................................................ 42 1.5 Availability and Use of Innovative Teaching Methods ............................................. 43 1.6 Teaching Awards ......................................................................................................