Psychology 2016 APR Self-Study & Documents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Academic Program Review University of New Mexico Department of Psychology Submitted by Jane Ellen Smith, Professor and Chair January 22, 2016 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Criteria Criterion 0- Introductory Section and Background Information pg. 3-13 Criterion 1- Program Goals pg. 14-20 Criterion 2- Teaching and Learning: Curriculum pg. 22 Criterion 3- Teaching and Learning: Continuous Improvement pg. 23-25 Criterion 4- Students (Undergraduate and Graduate) pg. 26-35 Criterion 5- Faculty pg. 36-52 Criterion 6- Resources and Planning pg. 53-64 Criterion 7- Facilities pg. 65-75 Criterion 8- Program Comparisons pg. 76-80 Criterion 9- Future Direction pg. 81-84 Appendices Appendix #1 Major Policies Adopted by Psychology since Last APR…………… pg. 85-102 Appendix #2 APA Accreditation Letter…………………………….…………….. pg. 103-105 Appendix #3 Department Response to Report of External Review Committee….. pg. 106-112 Appendix #4 APR Mid-Point Review…………………………………………….. pg. 113-117 Appendix #5 APR Annual Action Plan (2014): Goals & Objectives………………pg. 118-121 Appendix #6 Outcomes Assessment – Psychology B.A. Program……………….. pg. 122-132 Appendix #7 Outcomes Assessment – Psychology B.S. Program.……………….. pg. 133-144 Appendix #8 Outcomes Assessment – Psychology Ph.D. Program………………..pg. 145-151 Appendix #9 Community Engagement...…………………………………………..pg. 152-163 Appendix #10 Undergraduate Program……………………………………………..pg. 164-167 Appendix #11 B.A. Degree Plan.…………………………………………………..pg. 168 Appendix #12 B.S. Degree Plan.…….……………………………………………. pg. 169 Appendix #13 BAC Degree Plan…….…………………………………………… pg. 170 Appendix #14 B.A. Road Map……………………………………………………. pg. 171 Appendix #15 B.S. Road Map………………………………….………………… pg. 172 Appendix #16 BAC Road Map…………………………………………………… pg. 173 Appendix #17 B.A. Psychology Major Curriculum Checklist……………………. pg. 174-176 Appendix #18 B.S. Psychology Major Curriculum Checklist.……………………. pg. 177-178 Appendix #19 Basics in Addiction Counseling (BAC) Concentration…………… pg. 179-180 Appendix #20 Psychology Courses – Undergraduate and Graduate...…………… pg. 181-183 Appendix #21 Graduate Program Course of Studies...…………………………….pg. 184-191 Appendix #22 PAL Talks and Special Colloquia.………………………………… pg. 192-198 Appendix #23 Letter to High Achieving High School Students…….……………. pg. 199-200 Appendix #24 Peer Institution Comparisons……………………………………… pg. 201-203 Appendix #25 Program Comparisons……………………...……………………… pg. 204-208 2 Introductory Section and Background Information The section should provide a brief introduction to the self-study which includes the following elements: 0A. An executive Summary that provides a one to two-page summary/abstract of the information contained within the self-study. This self-study is our attempt to address each of the specified questions for this APR, while in the process accurately portraying the strengths and limitations of the Psychology Department here at the University of New Mexico. Given that the department places great value on all aspects of our mission: research, teaching, and service, we have attempted to characterize our oftentimes unique contributions in each of these areas. In preparing this self-study we learned that we will need to explore and discuss our own goals and those of the department more generally as we move forward into the next decade. Overall, we were left with a sense of pride regarding the current state of the department, but also with concern that financial limitations may prevent future expansion and continued excellence. Our recently adopted departmental policies seem to capture some of the issues we were dealing with in the last 7-8 years, and so we have included copies of the major policies that were first adopted or modified since the time of the last APR (see Appendix #1). The policies include: Department Probationary Faculty Mentoring Plan Department Standards and Expectations for Promotion and Tenure Department Standards and Expectations for Lecturers Determination of Minimal Faculty Productivity for Use by the Salary Committee and for Post Tenure Review Teaching Policy: Degree Requirements Promotion to Full Professor: Guidelines Variable Teaching Load Policy Voting Policy for Hiring and Promotion 0B. A brief description of the history of each program within the unit. Clinical Psychology Our clinical program has been accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) continuously since 1973. For many years we followed a scientist-practitioner model. Although there has always been importance placed on research, a few of the earlier faculty members appeared to prioritize clinical training. Nonetheless, we applied for acceptance into the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science in 1997. Although we were not accepted into the Academy at that time, many program strengths were noted. Recommendations for improvement included addressing the somewhat disparate goals of the faculty in terms of the program’s emphasis, and increasing the overall research productivity. By 2003 there had been several notable faculty retirements; individuals who had championed clinical training over the research component of the program. Furthermore, three junior clinical faculty had been hired who had 3 each graduated from doctoral programs in clinical psychology that were members of the Academy. In 2004 the clinical faculty agreed to pursue the goal of establishing a clinical science program. Over time we changed our course content and sequence, enhanced and re-prioritized our assessment of outcomes (e.g., so that research productivity was better captured), and re-evaluated our clinical training experiences so that they were more in line with the mission of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science. As was stated in our application to the Academy, “The doctoral program at the University of New Mexico now is designed to first and foremost produce clinical scientists in the discipline of psychology. It is our goal that students graduating from our program will become researchers who make meaningful contributions to understanding, treating, and/or preventing psychological problems. This focus is not meant to intimate that clinical skills are unnecessary. Indeed, we believe that solid, empirically-based clinical training is necessary in order to produce skilled clinical researchers. That is, a clinical scientist must have experience and expertise with a particular clinical problem to better conceptualize the phenomenon of interest that is at the heart of their research program. The focus of our clinical training however, is on research-based assessment and intervention. Thus, our students are trained to intervene clinically with clients in ways that are derived from and consistent with scientific evidence”. Under the directorship of Dr. Elizabeth Yeater, we applied for membership into the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science in Fall 2013. Our site visit was in early 2014, and we were notified of our acceptance into the Academy shortly afterwards. We recently were re-accredited by APA (April 2015), and were awarded the maximum number of years before the next required review: 7 years (see APA’s letter to UNM President Frank, Appendix #2). Evolutionary/Developmental Psychology Prior to 2001, the Department of Psychology had a graduate training area referred to as “DPS” – Developmental-Personality-Social. In that year, the faculty agreed to re-focus the area. At the time, we had little representation in the areas of Social Psychology and Personality Psychology. Our most senior member of the area, Richard Harris, had just retired. The work of the remaining social/personality psychologist, Steve Gangestad, was generally inspired by evolutionary perspectives. As well, UNM’s Department of Anthropology is one of the leading research anthropology departments in the country, with notable strength in biological/evolutionary anthropology. And the Department of Biology had a very strong evolution and ecology group at the time, with multiple faculty interested in human behavior from an evolutionary perspective. So we decided to avoid competing with many other excellent graduate programs in social and personality psychology and instead to develop a graduate training program in Evolutionary Psychology; one that could take advantage of strength and ties with other core strengths at UNM. At the same time, we continued to offer training in Developmental Psychology. In 2001, we added Geoffrey Miller as a faculty member who largely works in the area of Evolutionary Psychology, and David Witherington as a Developmental Psychologist. In 2010, Jacob Vigil, who received his degree in Developmental Psychology but largely works with Evolutionary Psychology, joined the faculty. We hired Marco Del Giudice, who works within both Evolutionary Psychology and Developmental Psychology, in 2014. The Evolution and Development area continues to offer two distinct graduate training tracks, each with its own requirements. But through hiring of faculty over time, the department has bolstered ties between the two domains of inquiry. Students in Evolutionary Psychology are required to take coursework pertinent to the area offered in other departments. In particular, our students currently regularly take courses offered by nationally recognized scholars in Anthropology (including Jane Lancaster, Hillard Kaplan, Martin Muller, and Melissa Emery Thompson). Cognition, Brain, and Behavior The Cognition, Brain, and Behavior (CBB) Area, which was formed in 2006, brought together three distinct areas historically represented in the department: