Arkansas State University HLC Self-Study 2013

Chancellor’s Welcome

Arkansas State University welcomes the Higher Learning Commission to our campus in Jonesboro, Ark., and we are pleased to provide HLC with our Self-Study Report. This report is the work of a community of learners striving to collaborate for the highest quality education to our students. We are determined to improve outcomes, and the self- study is a key part of the process. Our commitment to dialogue with our faculty, transparency to our constituencies and the assessment of our work product are the key factors in our vision of constant quality improvement at Arkansas State.

We articulate our commitment to the welfare of our students through the university’s mission statement: Arkansas State educates leaders, enhances intellectual growth and enriches lives. The key three words – educate, enhance, enrich – become our formula: e3. It keeps us focused on the value of education we provide and on our goal of challenging students to be known for their achievements, to make a living, make a life, and make a difference.

Throughout this process, our Provost, Dr. Lynita Cooksey, assembled a team to ensure greater input from our faculty and campus constituencies. We believe the final product reflects a growing culture of shared governance, by improving input from faculty, administrators, our valuable staff, our students and our larger community. Synergy is a key concept for our campus. On behalf of the entire university, I want to thank the numerous faculty and staff who contributed hundreds of hours of work toward this report.

The Self-Study Report revealed areas needing improvement that we seek to address. Our future planning process is informed by the input we have received from our faculty and students. We appreciate and welcome frank, honest discourse on the future of A-State, and we encourage greater communication and transparency. Arkansas State is positioning itself to become a destination institution of higher learning. The feedback from HLC and the on-site review team will guide us along our journey.

Thank you for your time and effort as peer reviewers for the Higher Learning Commission. Through your efforts to advance national higher education, we are all able to enhance our ability to educate, enhance and enrich. We look forward to your visit to our campus.

Sincerely,

Tim Hudson

Chancellor

Arkansas State University HLC Self-Study 2013

Mission Statement Arkansas State University educates leaders, enhances intellectual growth and enriches lives.

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Table of Contents Letter from Chancellor Introduction ...... 6 History ...... 6 Self-Study Process ...... 8 Accreditation History ...... 10 Response to 2003 HLC Comprehensive Visit ...... 10 Shared Governance and Strategic Planning ...... 10 Assessment ...... 11 Chapter One–Criterion One ...... 15 1.A...... 17 1.B...... 28 1.C...... 32 1.D...... 39 Chapter Two–Criterion Two ...... 51 2.A...... 53 2.B...... 65 2.C...... 69 2.D...... 73 2.E...... 74 Chapter Three–Criterion Three ...... 81 3.A...... 83 3.B...... 87 3.C...... 100 3.D...... 106 3.E...... 129 Chapter Four—Criterion Four ...... 134 4.A...... 136 4.B...... 151 4.C...... 161

Chapter Five—Criterion Five ...... 184 5.A...... 186 5.B...... 217 5.C...... 225 5.D...... 229 Supporting Documents ...... 239 Request for Continued Accreditation ...... 240 Institutional Snapshot Data ...... 241 Federal Compliance...... 242 Self-study Committees ...... 282 Abbreviations ...... 286

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INTRODUCTION Educating Leaders, Enhancing Knowledge, and Enriching Lives

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INTRODUCTION Educating Leaders, Enhancing Knowledge and Enriching Lives

Now in its second century, Arkansas State University is entering an exciting time in its life as a university as it continues to educate leaders, enhance knowledge and enrich lives. As the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System, it is home to approximately 14,000 students, 490 faculty and 1200 staff. In the last decade, the institution has experienced substantial growth with a 25% increase in enrollment. Research and graduate programs have continued to grow exponentially as the university continues to serve the region and global community in new and exciting ways.

Arkansas State is located in the Mississippi Delta region of Northeast Arkansas. It is the only public, comprehensive four-year institution serving the students of this region. The university offers an array of degrees from associate to doctorate, distributed within 10 academic colleges. Additional educational opportunities are provided by the Honors College and Continuing Education and Community Outreach. Quality teaching and learning remains the foremost emphasis as Arkansas State expands its focus on pure and applied research, and service.

As the second largest public institution in the state, Arkansas State University provides quality academic programs to a diverse student body from the state, nation and more than 60 countries. Since its founding in 1909, the university has over 70,000 proud alumni around the world.

This self-study report, which presents the results of a reflective multi-year self-study process, offers a comprehensive account of the university’s mission, vision and goals; of its strategic planning and assessment processes; major accomplishments over the course of the past decade; and aspirations and goals for continuing growth and development as it moves confidently into a second century of service to its regional, national and global communities.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY - “ARKANSAS STATE”

Arkansas State University was originally founded in 1909 as a vocational high school that focused on the academic preparation of farmers and homemakers. The school later was reorganized as a junior college and by 1925, an act of the state legislature renamed the institution to the First District State Agricultural and Mechanical College authorizing it to offer senior college work and grant baccalaureate degrees. In 1933, the A & M College was renamed to Arkansas State College and continued as such until it was elevated to “University” status in 1967. Highlights of the history of Arkansas State University are shown in Table 1.

The A & M Arch: A reminder of the institution's roots remains today in the heart of the ASU campus and served as the icon for ASU’s recent centennial celebration which began in 2009.

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Table 1. Arkansas State University Highlights in History

•On April 1, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 100 to establish four state 1909 agricultural schools, one in each of its congressional districts

•Vocational school established to improve academic preparation of farmers and 1910 homemakers

•Junior College offering two-year degrees 1918

•Named First District Agricultural and Mechanical College and authorized to offer 1925 senior level course work as A&M College

•Grants baccalaureate degrees 1930

•Named Arkansas State College (ASC) 1933

•First African American students enrolled in ASC; Walter Strong and Fred Turner still 1955 honored today by the Strong-Turner Alumni Association

•On July 1, ASC becomes the second "University" in the state as Arkansas State 1967 University

•First doctoral degree conferred 1995

•Opening of Arkansas Biosciences Institute endorses status of ASU as a growing 2004 research institution

•Centennial Celebration 2009

Organization of the Self-Study Report The organization of Arkansas State’s Self-Study Report follows the HLC continuing accreditation criteria. The chapters provide patterns of evidence that the institution has addressed and responses to previous concerns. The self-study's organization is as follows:

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Introduction Introduction, Institutional History, Self-Study Process, Accreditation History

Chapter 1 Criterion One Chapter 2 Criterion Two

Chapter 3 Criterion Three Chapter 4 Criterion Four Chapter 5 Criterion Five Supporting Documents Request for Continuing Accreditation Institutional Snapshot Data

Federal Compliance Self-Study Committees Abbreviations

The Self-Study Process The initial planning for the self-study process began during the 2009-2010 academic year. In spring 2010, several members of the administrative leadership team and the faculty co-chair for the self-study attended the HLC annual meeting and returned with a preliminary plan for how the university would proceed with the self-study process. The process was finalized by the Self-Study Steering Committee upon its appointment.

Self-Study Steering Committee Composition and Charge Co-Chairs of the steering committee were selected to provide both administrative and faculty leadership: the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Services and a faculty member with strong shared governance experience, who was subsequently elected President of the Faculty Association and Chair of the Faculty Senate. Committee members represented the units of Student Affairs, Finance and Administration, University Advancement and Alumni Relations, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Athletics, the Student Government Association and the community through the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce.

The Self-Study Steering Committee was charged with the task of providing leadership for the campus community in the self-study process. The committee’s role was to:

• provide representation for the various constituency groups of the campus community; • promote interest and involvement in the self-study process throughout all constituencies of the campus community; • ensure that the five criteria for accreditation are appropriately addressed by the criterion subcommittees to support the production of a self-study report that is based on an evaluative format inclusive of argument and evidence; current issues; challenges and accomplishments; appropriate institutional change request(s); and areas of consultation; • create a timeline to help monitor achievement of critical tasks and to keep the Office of the Provost informed fully of committee progress as the self-study

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process unfolds; • carry out the self-study process with efficiency and integrity to warrant its general acceptance by the campus constituencies; • assist with the integration of the findings of the self-study with ongoing University assessment and planning so that the self-study process will have lasting significance on the institution; and • serve as the primary resource group during the Higher Learning Commission site visit.

Self-Study Kickoff The formal self-study kickoff occurred at the 2010 Fall Faculty Conference, the opening event for the academic year. Faculty were given an overview of the self-study process, its timeline and encouraged to be an active participant. This began the formal recruitment for the members of the five Criterion Subcommittees.

Criterion Subcommittees Composition Criterion subcommittee members consisted of volunteers from the faculty, staff and student body as well as members of the steering committee. In some cases, additional individuals were recruited to provide expertise in support of the criterion components. Once the committees were established, the co-chairs were selected.

The charge to the subcommittees was to determine what evidence was needed to support the core components of their respective criterion. In addition, the subcommittees were asked to identify challenges and opportunities associated with data collected and criterion expectations.

At the time Arkansas State began its self-study process, the self-study focused on the old accreditation criteria. While attending one of the informational sessions hosted in fall 2011 to provide feedback on the new criteria, Arkansas State determined that the new criteria were a much better institutional fit. After speaking with HLC staff, the institution requested a spring 2013 visit date to support the use of the new criteria. As most of the evidence data were already collected by the criterion subcommittees, redistribution of the evidence using the criteria crosswalk was conducted by the self-study writing team.

A new chancellor appointment as well as other administrative changes in late spring 2013 prompted a request to delay the visit from spring 2013 until fall 2013 to allow the new chancellor and other new leadership to become more familiar with the campus and its constituencies prior to the visit. Needless to say, Arkansas State’s timeline for the self-study process has undergone multiple revisions with the timeline presented below most closely assimilating the process.

HLC Self-Study Timeline Action Time Frame Outcomes Co-Chairs attend annual HLC meeting; Chancellor Appoints HLC Self-Study Spring 2010 organizational meeting of Steering Steering Committee Committee August 2010 Self-Study Process Announced to Campus Initial Kick-Off of Self-Study Process Fall Faculty Conference Recruitment of Members for Five Co-Chairs and volunteers appointed to Fall 2010 Criterion Subcommittees Criterion Subcommittees Attention to student learning outcomes Self-Study Consultant Visit to Campus October 2010 assessment must be the first priority for self-study process Focus on Student Learning Outcomes Nov. - Dec. 2010 Assessment plans for academic programs

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and General Education revised Collection and review of evidence in Regular Meetings of the Steering Spring-Fall 2011 support of 5 HLC Criteria; identification of Committee and Subcommittees institutional strengths and challenges Change from fall 2012 to spring 2013 visit; Request to HLC for 2013 Visit Fall 2011 use of new criteria required Conversion of Subcommittee Reports and Co-Chairs, Steering Committee, Collection of Additional Data in Support of Spring-Summer 2012 Subcommittees New Criteria Request by New Chancellor to Postpone Visit rescheduled from spring 2013 to fall April 2012 Visit 2013 Draft of Self-Study Drafting of Self-Study Fall 2012-Spring 2013 (HLC Writing Committee, Steering and Subcommittees) Revisions of Self-Study Draft Summer 2013 Self-Study Writing Team Self-Study Reviewed by Chancellor and Comments, revisions and corrections for August 2013 Executive Council Self-Study Report Final edits and approval of Self-Study Final Approval by Chancellor August 31, 2013 report Self-Study Submission to HLC Team Sept. 4, 2013 Self-Study Report Submitted Finalize details of visit for HLC Team Sept. 2013-Oct. 2013 Campus ready for Team Visit HLC Consultant-Evaluator Team Visits HLC Team Visit Oct. 28-30 Campus

The Self-Study Steering Committee Co-Chairs are most appreciative of the work provided by the various subcommittees and other members of the university community for their assistance in gathering evidence; contributing to the writing of the self-study report; and providing support throughout the self- study process. These individuals are recognized in the Supporting Documents.

Accreditation History

Response to 2003 HLC Comprehensive Visit Arkansas State’s last comprehensive visit occurred in March 2003 with a recommendation for “continued accreditation” but the need to address three areas: assessment, strategic planning and shared governance. A focused visit followed in 2008 to address strategic planning and shared governance. Arkansas State became a participant in the HLC Assessment Academy to address its assessment deficiencies. In 2008, ASU requested a focused visit for institutional change associated with expansion of on-line education and the approval of a new doctoral program in Physical Therapy.

Shared Governance and Strategic Planning

Results of the Focused Visit 2008: Shared Governance ● Recommendation of Team: Evidence sufficiently demonstrated. No Commission follow-up recommended. ● Rationale for the Team Recommendation:

Since the 2003 comprehensive visit, ASU has worked diligently to create a trusted and effective system of shared governance. The adoption of the recommendations of the broadly inclusive Governance Task Force convened as part of the overall strategic planning effort has resulted in the formation of a system of committees designed to provide consultation, input and support in virtually all areas of campus

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decision-making. The system has generated a number of decisions in a variety of areas and discussions are in progress across an array of other issues. Most participants and observers expressed both commitment to and confidence in the successful completion of revisions to the faculty handbook. Overall, confidence across a variety of constituencies that there is a meaningful link between current campus discussions and decisions reached and in the ability and commitment of current campus leadership to complete the work of establishing a trusted and effective system of shared governance, is high.

Results of the Focused Visit 2008: Strategic Planning ● Recommendation of Team: Evidence sufficiently demonstrated. No Commission follow- up recommended. ● Rationale for the Team Recommendation:

ASU has made strong progress since the 2003 HLC visit in developing an effective planning process that is driven by reliable information about the internal and external environment, inclusive of a variety of constituencies, well communicated and strongly linked to resource allocation. The planning process links the University’s mission, vision, core values, priorities and action initiatives with unit level action steps, timelines, designations of responsibility, benchmarks for success and statements of resource requirements. The purpose and benefits of planning are articulated by institutional leaders and understood by members of the ASU community. ASU demonstrates the capacity to sustain its planning efforts in the future and to strengthen them.

Both shared governance and strategic planning remain a high priority for the university. The premise of Arkansas State’s shared governance process is to provide all the constituencies of the university (faculty, staff and students) the opportunity to provide recommendation and review of policies that shape the university and affect these constituents. University administration and the institution’s constituents continue to work collaboratively to provide a transparent process of governance.

Since the last comprehensive visit, Arkansas State has completed two strategic planning processes (2005, 2010) to address the many changes and needs of a rapidly growing institution. Top priorities of the plan include shared governance, enrollment management, advanced graduate and research initiatives, assessment, diversity and alignment of these and other issues with Arkansas State’s mission, vision, core values and strategic priorities. The strategic planning processes have been collaborative with representatives from all of the university’s constituent groups and stakeholders. Each planning process resulted in strategic priorities with associated goals and measurable action steps that are being implemented throughout the university.

Assessment The HLC site visiting team for Arkansas State’s comprehensive visit in 2003 recommended ongoing monitoring of assessment within general education, undergraduate and graduate degrees. The final action assigned a focus visit that was to occur in 2006-2007. By the time of the visit, the administration was expected to have demonstrated administrative structures, collection of data and the process of utilizing data to improve student learning. Subsequently, in 2006, prior to the scheduled visit, Arkansas State joined the Assessment Academy and the visit was suspended pending successful completion.

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The Academy Team outlined the following problems facing the institution: uneven staffing of the assessment office, lack of sustainable, systematic control of program-level assessment and skepticism and inertia on the part of faculty. A strong and diverse team of leaders created a rubric project for two general education goals. Although change in leadership of upper administration prevented the team from reaching its full potential, faculty did participate in the rubric project and meaningful results were garnered. Likewise, despite high turnover in assessment directors from 2003-2010, a culture of assessment is evolving and the assessment office has successfully included faculty as assessment leaders. As Arkansas State’s Academy mentor noted, much of the work accomplished between 2011 and 2013 was starting from the ground up. Thus, while HLC’s response to Arkansas State’s Impact Report praised the institution for its renewed energy, allocation of resources and progress in assessment of general education, the reviewer concluded that “an institutional, system-wide strategy for leadership and assessment management” had not yet been evidenced in the 2011 Impact Report.

Placement of trusted leaders into upper administrative positions, stabilization of the Office of Assessment, identification of faculty leaders in each college and intentional linkage of assessment to Arkansas State’s research agenda has provided the infrastructure needed to advance assessment. Data- informed decision making has been documented for all academic programs and several data sets display 2-5 year trend analyses. Findings from the Assessment Academy writing project attest to value-added gains in written communication. Shared governance committees require assessment plans for all new programs and courses and review quadrennial reports of general education courses on a rotating cycle representing each of the general education student learning outcomes. Syllabi, made available for public consumption, list program and general education goals and link course-specific student learning outcomes to the goals. Curriculum maps, assessment meeting minutes, test results and use of data are documented via TracDat. In addition to submitting detailed reports in Tracdat, program chairs and directors complete a one-page summary for annual reporting on the assessment website. The summary, designed to promote data-driven, faculty-owned, continuous quality improvement in student learning outcomes, is publicized on the assessment website.

Those changes in the assessment plans have led to new pedagogy and assessment scholarship by faculty and students. Assessment research is highlighted at Arkansas State’s annual research conference, where student-led, curricular and co-curricular assessment findings are presented to stakeholders. Student researchers in assessment boast several award-winning presentations at the campus level while faculty assessment leaders present posters and papers at national conferences including the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the American Association of Leadership in Higher Education (AALHE). Faculty from University College spearheaded the creation of a statewide, professional organization of assessment professionals that meets semi-annually to hear a keynote speaker and attend concurrent sessions led by assessment colleagues throughout the state of Arkansas.

Faculty-led, program-level assessment now includes major field tests from ETS, ACAT exams from College Outcomes, licensing exams such as Praxis and NClex, locally developed exams, rubrics used to grade common assignments and portfolios created in capstone courses. Fifty-eight percent of ASU students are enrolled in majors that maintain accreditation by outside, professional bodies, each of which requires documentation of assessment plans and progress. The remaining programs are reviewed according to a rigorous, seven-year peer review process managed and overseen by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Online programs report assessment data via the Quality Matters peer review and public evaluation system of accountability.

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Developmental education participates in the Complete College America grant-funded program that includes individual student assessment, adaptive learning, a common reader and signature assignments graded by trained faculty using a departmentally designed rubric. Assessment at the level of the university addresses critical thinking, global awareness and use of technology. An advisory council of eleven members representing each college recommends research questions, measurement tools and analyses that provide meaningful data for stakeholders interested in each of the university-level student learning outcomes. Current analyses include findings from the National Survey of Student Engagement, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, the ETS Proficiency Profile, CIRP, the Research Practices Survey, the Global Perspectives Inventory, Senior Exit Survey, SmArt Measures, the NSF Critical Thinking Assessment Test and the Undergraduate and Graduate Research Experiences Survey.

Assessment efforts are viewed according to Kuhnian theory of paradigm shift. Thus, the Office of Assessment and Academic Affairs and Research recognize that some programs will embrace a student- centric philosophy of teaching and learning more readily than others. Arkansas State continues to work with programs that consider course grades to be the primary reporting tool for assessment, with graduate programs whose high-impact research, thesis, performance and dissertation requirements render categorical assessment via rubrics unfit for assessing the competencies of budding scholars and service units that need help with customer satisfaction survey development in order to assess their institutional effectiveness. Thus, Arkansas State deliberately pursues the moving target of assessment, accountability and transparency at the local, state and national levels. It is believed that a culture of assessment, funded by upper administration, endorsed by deans and chairs, implemented by faculty and supported by the Office of Assessment, has been established at Arkansas State such that it will sustain and continue to thrive amidst unforeseen changes in budget and/or personnel.

Mascot The last comprehensive HLC team report recommended continued open dialogue with ASU constituencies concerning the Indian mascot. Arkansas State was transitioning to the use of the A-State mark for athletics at that time and introduced the spirit character “Red” in summer 2003. Alumni and community support for the Indian mascot was strong but through a very structured and transparent process vetting campus and community support, the Indian mascot was retired on February 28, 2008. A roll-out ceremony for Arkansas State’s newly adopted mascot, the Red Wolves, revealed the new face of ASU athletics on March 13, 2008 and was met with a hardy round of applause and howling from students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the community. Howl, the Red Wolf mascot, has taken even the most loyal Indian fans by storm and is one of the most adored icons in Arkansas State’s history.

JONESBORO, Ark. — “Howl,” Arkansas State University’s lively and very animated mascot, competed in the finals of the 2013 Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) mascot championship held in Orlando, Fla., at Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports Complex. After the judges viewed his highlight video, Howl advanced to the Division 1A level as one of the top 10 college mascots in the country and placed ninth in the competition.

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To the Readers…

In the pages that follow, you will find the results of a multi-year process produced through the collaboration of numerous members of the Arkansas State University community. As you read within, you will experience the intentional and purposeful voices of several authors. These writers were encouraged to respond to the criterion components in “their voice.” We believe these modifications of style not only provide interest but also demonstrate expertise.

This self-study experience has provided the university and its stakeholders with the opportunity to reflect on a decade of lessons learned, challenges met and improvements made. It has occurred during a period of significant leadership transition; yet the university is at its peak of progress and maturation and the campus and community atmosphere is optimistic. Arkansas State is on a trajectory for becoming a research institution but remains grounded in student learning and service to its constituencies. The wisdom acquired during this self-study process will be used to further the continuous quality improvement of our academic programs, student services and fiscal and physical operations. In doing so, the fulfillment of the university’s mission to educate, enhance and enrich the lives of students locally and globally is ensured.

As said by Thomas Jefferson, “I [we] like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” As Arkansas State enters its second century, its past history remains richly ingrained in its traditions and memory but it is the future that it dreams about. We invite you to take a virtual tour of our campus as a prologue to this document (Virtual Tour). As you review this self-study report, you are invited to share in our past, engage in our present and envision the future of Arkansas State University.

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CRITERION

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CRITERION ONE 16 Chapter One

Criterion One Mission

The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations. Core Components 1.A. The institution’s mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operations. 1. The mission statement is developed through a process suited to the nature and culture of the institution and adopted by the governing board. 2. The institution’s academic programs, student support services, and enrollment profile are consistent with its stated mission. 3. The institution’s planning and budgeting priorities align with and support the mission. (This sub-component may be addressed by reference to the response to Criterion 5.C.1.)

1.B. The mission is articulated publicly. 1. The institution clearly defines its mission through one or more public documents, such as statements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans, or institutional priorities. 2. The document or documents are current and explain the extent of the institution’s emphasis on the various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, scholarship, research, application of research, creative works, clinical service, public service, economic development, and religious or cultural purpose. 3. The document or documents identify the nature and scope of the higher education programs and services the institution provides and whom these activities serve.

1.C. The institution understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of U.S. society. 1. The institution addresses its role in a multicultural society. 2. The institution’s processes and activities reflect attention to human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

1.D. The institution’s mission demonstrates commitment to the public good. 1. Actions and decisions reflect an understanding that in its educational role the institution serves the public, not solely the institution, and thus entails a public obligation. 2. The institution’s educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such as generating financial returns for investors, contributing to a related or parent organization, or supporting external interests. 3. The institution engages with its identified external constituencies and communities of interest and responds to their needs as its mission and capacity allow.

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CRITERION ONE

MISSION

Arkansas State University’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

Arkansas State University’s Mission Statement, along with its Role and Scope, Core Values and Vision, guide the institution’s academic programs, student support services, and planning and budgeting processes. The Mission Statement is clear, articulated publicly and is broadly understood within the institution.

1.A. Arkansas State University’s mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operations.

The university’s mission is reflected through the amalgamation of the state role and scope, system and campus mission statements, core values and vision.

The role and scope statement of Arkansas State is concrete and specific, distinguishing Arkansas State from other universities in the state – it identifies the role Arkansas State has in serving its constituency, the people of Arkansas. The role and scope is central to the day-to-day operations and mission of Arkansas State. At the highest level, the direction of Arkansas State is set by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which is “charged with establishing appropriate role and scope designations for each public higher education institution in consultation with representatives of the colleges and universities. The statute under which this responsibility is assigned to the Coordinating Board (ACA 6-61-207) also requires that these designations be reviewed on a periodic basis. An amendment to this Act, enacted in 2005, requires these designations to incorporate consideration of the changing economic needs of the state.”(ADHE Role and Scope)

Role and Scope of Arkansas State University 1. Audiences Primary audiences are: • Residents of Arkansas, particularly those of the Delta region who have completed a high school education and are seeking either a college degree or continuing professional education. • Employers, both public and private, seeking well-educated employees, technical assistance and applied research. • Economic development interests and entrepreneurs in the region and across the state. • The research community. • The community and area by providing a broad range of academic and cultural activities and public events. • K-12 Schools. • Two-year college transfer students.

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2. Array of Programs and Services Arkansas State offers: • Associate programs across a range of areas. • Baccalaureate programs in arts and humanities, the natural sciences and social sciences appropriate for a comprehensive university. • Baccalaureate and masters programs in a number of professional fields including, but not limited to, agriculture and technology, environmental sciences, communications, education, engineering, nursing and allied health and business. • Doctoral programs that meet regional and state needs, most importantly programs in education, heritage studies, environmental sciences, physical therapy and biosciences. • Services specifically designed to meet the needs of business and industry, public institutions and the non-profit sector.

3. Special Features • Arkansas Biosciences Institute. • Delta Center for Economic Development and University Museum SITES. • Beck PRIDE Program for Wounded Veterans.

Arkansas State is the flagship institution for the Arkansas State University System. This system is overseen by a five-member Board of Trustees and a system office run by the ASU System President. The mission of Arkansas State supports the overall mission of the ASU system.

Arkansas State University System Mission (ASU System Mission)

The mission of the Arkansas State University System is to contribute to the educational, cultural, and economic advancement of Arkansas by providing quality general undergraduate education and specialized programs leading to certificate, associate, baccalaureate, masters, professional, and doctoral degrees; by encouraging the pursuit of research, scholarly inquiry and creative activity; and by bringing these intellectual resources together to develop the economy of the state and the education of its citizens throughout their lives.

Each component of the Arkansas State University System will be characterized by:  A supportive learning environment; personal development, leadership and service opportunities; and facilities, technologies and support necessary to meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff;  Racial, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity in the faculty, staff, and student body, supported by practices and programs that embody the ideals of an open, democratic, and global society;  Instructional technologies, student support services and on-line and distance education to advance the purposes of teaching and learning;  A commitment to sharing human, physical, information and other resources among system components and with state agencies, schools and higher education institutions, to expand and enhance programs and services available to the citizens of Arkansas.

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Arkansas State University Mission Statement

Mission Statement Arkansas State’s current mission statement, adopted in 2005 as Arkansas State University part of the university’s strategic planning process avows, educates leaders, enhances “Arkansas State University educates leaders, enhances intellectual intellectual growth growth and enriches lives.” It is brief, yet concisely conveys the and enriches lives. student experience at Arkansas State. The e3 logo is specifically playful allowing for easy recall of the key elements of the mission. In support of the mission are core values and a vision statement.

Core Values Arkansas State University values the following as central to our success:

Student-Centered: We are committed to education, inquiry and service in order to meet students’ changing needs. We foster lifelong learning, civic and social responsibility, leadership and individual and career growth.

Learning-Centered: We nurture intellectual flexibility, knowledge and skills by integrating teaching, research, assessment and learning to promote continuous improvement of our scholarly community.

Excellence: We pursue excellence within the campus community through opportunities for achievement in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity and service.

Diversity: We embrace diversity in all of its dimensions realizing that mutual respect for individuality and the inclusion of all are vital for both personal and institutional success.

Service: We support and recognize service at all levels of the university. We strive to contribute to the benefit of the university, the Delta, the state, the nation and the world.

Integrity: We hold high standards of character and integrity as the foundations upon which the university is built.

Vision Arkansas State University aspires to be an academic leader recognized for innovation and quality in teaching and learning, international standing in strategic research areas and commitment to outreach and service to the Delta and beyond.

Collectively, Arkansas State’s Mission Statement, Role and Scope, Core Values and Vision Statement, provide a template for both academic and non-academic units to develop specific mission statements that articulate the specialized ways in which these units support the shared mission of the university as a whole (Unit Mission Statements). The university’s planning processes, in turn, use the university’s mission and the specific mission statements of individual units as touchstones in measuring

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success in fulfilling their shared mission, and in refining processes and programs in order to more effectively achieve its stated goals.

A moment in time… The first Catalog of the institution was published in 1911 and the document clearly stated the mission of the institution. "Though this school gives a thorough literary training up to Freshman work in our State University, the primary purpose of the school is to give the boy such a training in the practical problems of the farm that he may be thoroughly equipped to become a successful farmer and stock grower, while the girls will be given such courses that they will be equipped for the duties of home making, and will cultivate a liking for the work. They will have not only the usual academic training including music and art, but will meet and solve the practical problems found in every home."

1.A.1. Arkansas State University’s mission statement is developed through a process suited to the nature and culture of the institution and adopted by the governing board.

In 2003, Arkansas State undertook its first major strategic planning in several years, resulting in a new mission statement, revised core values and vision statement. This process was a culmination of collegial discussion and efforts to communicate to internal and external stakeholders the priorities, values and strengths that identify Arkansas State as well as shape its future. This process and its outcomes were reviewed as part of a HLC focused visit in March 2005 (HLC Focused Visit 2005; Strategic Plan 05). During the 2010 strategic planning process (Strategic Plan 10), the mission statement, core values and vision as previously approved by the Arkansas State Board of Trustees (02-25-2005) were reaffirmed as representative of Arkansas State and continue to guide the campus.

1.A.2. Arkansas State University’s academic programs, student support services, and enrollment profile are consistent with its stated mission.

Academic Programs Arkansas State’s academic programs, student support services and enrollment profile reflect its mission of educating leaders, enhancing intellectual growth and enriching lives. Degrees include Associate, Bachelor, Masters, Specialist and Doctoral levels with more than 75 undergraduate fields and 60 graduate fields to meet the diverse interests of Arkansas State students (Academic Programs). A variety of comprehensive programs in agriculture, business, media and communications, engineering, education, fine arts, humanities, social sciences, biological and physical sciences, nursing and health professions, technology, mathematics and computer sciences benefit the state, region and beyond. Enrollment statistics by college and academic program are provided in the 2012-2013 Fact Book (Program Enrollment). Largest programs by enrollment and graduation are provided in Table 1.

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Table 1. Largest Degree Programs by Enrollment and Degrees Conferred FY 2012 Largest Degree Programs by Enrollment (Fall 2012) UNDERGRADUATE GRADUATE BSN Nursing 622 MSE Educational Leadership 591 BSE Early Childhood Education 534 MSE Educational Theory & Practice 411 BS Biological Sciences 392 EDS Educational Leadership 287 BS Interdisciplinary Studies 385 MSE Curriculum & Instruction 202 BS Psychology 318 MSE Special Ed.; Instructional Specialist, 4-12 181 BA Criminology 307 MBA Business Administration 167 BS Accounting 289 MSE Special Ed.; Gifted, Talented & Creative 133 BSE Middle Level Education 273 MSN Nursing 113 Degree Programs by Highest Number of Degrees Conferred (Fiscal Year 2011/2012) UNDERGRADUATE GRADUATE AS General Education 260 MSE Educational Theory & Practice 524 BS Interdisciplinary Studies 160 MSE Educational Leadership 455 BSE Early Childhood Education 148 MSE Curriculum & Instruction 164 BSN Nursing 140 MSE Special Ed.; Instructional Specialist, 4-12 84 BSE Middle Level Education 89 MSE Special Ed.; Instructional Specialist, P-4 67

Total Degrees Awarded (Fiscal Year 2011-2012)

Bachelor’s 1,641 Graduate Certificates 8 Master’s 1,800 Specialist 52 Doctoral 40 Total Degrees Awarded 3,997

As Arkansas State’s student demographics change and employment opportunities evolve with the changing economy, Arkansas State is looking to offer new undergraduate and graduate programs. New academic programs recently approved for implementation in 2013-2014 include the B.S. in Health Studies (spring 2014), B.S. in Logistics (fall 2013), B.S. in Biotechnology (spring 2014), Doctorate of Nursing Practice (spring 2014) and restructured degree programs in communications (fall 2013). Programs under consideration include Occupational Therapy (OTD), Hospitality Management (BS, MBA Track), Literacy Studies (PhD), Global Education (PhD), School Counseling (EdD), Psychology (MS), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and an Arts Administration Track for the Master of Public Administration (MPA). The recent hiring of six new academic deans (Agriculture and Technology, Media and Communication, Education, Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Sciences and Mathematics) in 2012-2013 provides for exciting opportunities in leadership for emerging academic programs.

Student Support Services Arkansas State’s student support services are consistent with its mission. Academic-based student support units are housed within the Division of Academic Affairs and Research and include: Office of Admissions and Records, First Year Studies, Advising Services, Learning Support Services, the Honors College, TRiO Federal Programs, Beck PRIDE Center, Continuing Education & Community Outreach, International Programs, Dean B. Ellis Library and On-Line Learning Services.

The Division of Student Affairs provides services through the following units: Recruitment, Career Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Disability Services, Financial Aid and Scholarships,

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Student Leadership, Greek Life, Parking Services, Red W.O.L.F. Center, Residence Life, Dining Services, Student Conduct, Student Union, Testing Center, Student Health Center and University Police. Those services provided through the Division of Finance and Administration are Student Accounts, the Bookstore, Information Technology Services and the IT Store.

Student Services are discussed in greater detail in 3.D.1.

Enrollment Profile and Student Demographics As a public university, Arkansas State’s enrollment profile is representative of the state (77% Arkansas residents); yet, it is nationally and internationally diverse (17% enrollment from other U.S. states and territories; 6% enrollment from at least 60 countries). This enrollment profile is supportive of the mission, role and scope, and vision of the university. The student body is ethnically diverse for the campus’ geographical locale and closely resembles the ethnic distribution in the state’s population (Table 2). African Americans comprise just over 15% of the state’s population with Hispanics making up approximately 7% of the total population. The most expansive growth of the Hispanic/Latino segment of the population has been in northwest and central Arkansas but is gradually increasing in the region served by Arkansas State. Hispanic/Latino students comprise approximately 2% of Arkansas State’s total enrollment.

Table 2. Minority Enrollment Fall 2012 (Non-Caucasian, Excludes Unknown and International) Ethnicity Undergraduate Graduate All Minorities 2,030 (20.0%) 684 (18.4%) African American 1,563 (15.4%) 545 (14.7%) Hispanic American 207 (2.0%) 59 (1.6%) Overall Minorities 19.6%

In keeping with Arkansas State’s primary audience as stated in our role and scope, the Mississippi Delta county of Craighead, in which Arkansas State is located, provides for over one-third of the institution’s enrollment (24% undergraduate, 11% graduate). Approximately 50% of the Delta counties lie within Arkansas State’s service area. The Delta Region is characterized by low socio-economic status and limited education (per capita income approximately $30,000; 40% of residents with high school diploma, 20% with some college and 9% with bachelor’s degree). Overall, more than 75% of all Arkansas State students receive some form of financial aid of which 43% are federal grants to assist undergraduates.

A moment in time…On September 12, 1955 three African American men, Walter Strong, Frederick Turner, and Larry Williams, became the first students of color at Arkansas State College following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling on school segregation. These courageous students were welcomed to campus during a time when the climate towards integration was still volatile in the South. Their legacy lives on today through the Strong- Turner Alumni Association, which continues to support the success of numerous Arkansas State students through scholarships, mentoring and networking.

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Enrollment Trends Figure 2. Historical Fall Enrollment 2003-2012 Arkansas State’s enrollment trends have been positive in Undergraduate Graduate recent years having grown 16000 from just over 10,500 students 14000 in 2003 to almost 14,000 12000 3364 3787 3709 students in 2012 (Figure 1). 2132

1726 During this growth, student 10000 1160 1246 1276 1387 1484 demographics have changed 8000

significantly in terms of Headcount 6000 10113 10168 9413 9262 9138 9340 9385 9764 10024 10051 academic preparation, student 4000 age and geographical origin. Arkansas State had operated 2000 primarily as an open 0 enrollment institution. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Admission of first-time students was based on Figure 1. Historical Remediation Rates test score (ACT, SAT, COMPASS, ASSET) or high school GPA rather than a combination of both 60.00% factors. High school grade inflation was common and students with satisfactory GPAs 50.00% often had low test scores and lacked college 40.00% readiness skills (Figure 2). Arkansas State implemented several retention initiatives but 30.00% these could not make up for lack of skills 20.00% needed for college success (more detail in Remediation Criterion Three). 10.00%

Six-year graduation rates began to show some 0.00% improvement but continued to lag behind with Requiring Students Year First of Percent 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 an average of 38.9% (2003-2007 cohorts). In Fall Entering Class 2010, Arkansas State began implementing incremental admissions standards over a five-year period in order to address unsatisfactory graduation rates and to align with performance-based state funding. The last of these adjustments will apply to those students conditionally admitted for fall 2014 (Table 3).

Table 3. Historical Admissions Requirements UNCONDITIONAL ADMISSION CONDITIONAL ADMISSION ACADEMIC ACT, SAT, COMPASS, OR ASSET HIGH SCHOOL ACT, SAT, COMPASS, OR ASSET HIGH SCHOOL YEAR SCORE GPA SCORE GPA 2008-09 18 OR 2.35 18 OR 2.35 2009-10 18 AND 2.35 14 AND 2.20 2010-11 17 AND 2.50 14 AND 2.20 2011-12 19 AND 2.50 16 AND 2.30 2012-13 21 AND 2.50 18 AND 2.30 2013-14 21 AND 2.75 18 AND 2.30 2014-15 21 AND 2.75 19 AND 2.30

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The intensity of programming for students conditionally admitted increased with higher performance expectations required through participation in the Academic Success Institute initiated in 2009 (currently First Year Studies Program). This year-long probationary program requires that students participate in a mandatory first-year seminar spread over two semesters, rather than the traditional one semester seminar for unconditional admits, to build and reinforce college success skills. The seminar instructor serves as the student’s advisor during the first year. Students are required to participate in additional tutoring, instructional sessions, adhere to attendance policies, meet regularly with their advisor and the program counselor, and participate in required campus activities. The program is intrusive by nature and assists students with developing university-level study skills and accountability. To continue in the program and remain at Arkansas State, students must complete any required developmental courses with a grade of “C” or better and complete 12 credit hours with a GPA of 2.00 or above. Students failing to meet these requirements are suspended and may only return after completing 12 credited hours at another college or university with a 2.0 GPA. Extenuating circumstances may be considered through a formal appeal process.

The fall 2012 entering class was the best prepared class in Arkansas State’s history with an average ACT composite score of 22.9 and high school GPA of 3.37 (Figures 3 and 4). Arkansas State’s ACT average exceeded that of the nation (21.1) and state (20.3). The fall 2013 entering class will complete the implementation of the new admissions standards for unconditional admission and is expected to be an outstandingly prepared class as well (Figures 3 and 4). Figure 3. Historical High School GPA Figure 4. Historical ACT Score

3.4 3.37 23.5 3.34 22.9 3.35 23 22.8 3.28

3.3 22.5 22.1 3.25 22 3.2 3.15 3.13 21.5 21.2 21.3 3.15 21

High School GPA School High 3.1 3.05 20.5

3 Score Composite ACT 20 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Fall Cohort Fall Cohort

Although it is too early to assess the impact of the changing admissions standards on graduation rate, Arkansas State is optimistic that the average six-year graduation rate will continue to move upward approaching a rate of 45-50% (Figure 5). Students who no longer meet Arkansas State’s admissions standards are encouraged to attend one of the state’s 22 community colleges, several of which are within a 60 mile or less radius of Arkansas State and within the ASU System. These two-year institutions provide opportunities for students to gain skills for college readiness, pursue more technically oriented programs and to obtain associate degrees that are both rewarding and affordable. Arkansas State welcomes students who have proven themselves through successful completion of coursework and degrees from these campuses.

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Honors College Enrollment Figure 5. Comparison of ACT and 6-Year Graduation Rate An exciting attribute of Arkansas State’s changing student population is the 43% 6 Year Graduation Rate Mean ACT increase in students who are participating 45 in the Honors College over the past four 40 years (Table 4). This increase has occurred 35 in spite of honors admission criteria 30 increasing from a minimum ACT composite 25

ACT 20 40.2 41.6 38 34.8 of 24 to 27 plus a minimum high school 15 GPA of 3.50 for the entering fall 2009 10 22 20.6 21.3 21.5 21.5 freshman class. Honors admission criteria 5 had not changed in over 15 years. 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Students want to participate in an Honors Composite or (%) Rate Graduation Yr 6 Fall Cohort program that is competitive and adds value to their academic, co- and extra- curricular activities. Since raising the honors admission criteria, the honors program has seen a boom in enrollment growth.

Table 4. Honors College Enrollment Trends 2009-2012

Honors College Total Enrollment Honors College Freshmen Enrollment Annual No./ Cumulative No./ Annual No./ Cumulative No./ Fall Student Student Percent Percent Percent Percent Semester Number Number Increase (Dec.) Increase (Dec.) Increase (Dec.) Increase (Dec.) 2009 547 ------188 ------2010 629 82 15% 82 15% 191 3 2% 3 2% 2011 769 140 22% 222 41% 239 48 25% 51 27% 2012 815 46 6% 268 43% 232 -7 -3% 44 23%

As expected, new admissions standards Figure 6. Historical Enrollment Trends 2008-2012 have kept first-time freshmen enrollment relatively flat. However, increased First Time Freshman All Other Undergraduate Graduate enrollment by international and graduate 16000 students, along with increased retention 14000 rates, have allowed Arkansas State’s total 12000 3364 3787 3709

2132 enrollment to increase with fall 10000 1726 enrollments just under 14,000 students in 8000 2011 and 2012 (Figure 6). Headcount 6000 7862 8299 8335 8571 8497 4000 The age of entering Arkansas State 2000 1902 1725 1716 1562 1671 students is increasing with an average of 0 23.5 and 34.1 years of age respectively for 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 undergraduate and graduate level Fall Cohort students. Over the past five years, the number of students over 25 years of age has increased from approximately 33% to 41% of the total headcount. Part-time students, many of whom are 25+ years of age, have increased from 28.9% to 38%

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of the total headcount. As both Arkansas and the nation strive to prepare more college graduates by 2025, the non-traditional and part-time learner will increase demands for on-line and hybrid learning opportunities, expanded veteran services and other services that will assist with timely degree completion. Arkansas State is working to meet the challenge of providing multiple modes of delivery to meet the needs of these learners as discussed throughout the self-study report.

International Student Enrollment In fall 2005, Arkansas State’s international Figure 7. International Student Enrollment 2008-2012 student population numbered less than 140. A decade earlier, over 440 Graduate Undergraduate international students were enrolled in ESL and traditional academic programs. 1000 Political and economic impacts, changes 800 600 in international recruitment, and other 525 611 400 339 factors took their toll on international 217 200 153 student enrollment that previously 202 236 263 247

Number of Students of Number 169 provided a global atmosphere for the 0 campus and community. In spring 2008, 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Arkansas State began a renewed Fall Semester commitment to internationalize the campus and provide global opportunities for students through a campaign to “bring the world to ASU and take ASU to the world.” By fall 2008, 322 international students were enrolled full-time in undergraduate and graduate programs, and 96 students were participating in Arkansas State’s newly revamped ESL program provided by The International Center for English (TICE). As of fall 2012, 851 full- time internationally students (plus an additional 180 TICE students) called Arkansas State home, noticeably changing academics, extra- and co-curricular activities and the Jonesboro community at large (Figure 7). These students come from all over the world with the top five countries represented including China, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India and South Korea.

Graduate Student Enrollment Figure 8. Graduate Student Enrollment 2008-2012 Graduate student enrollment has shown the greatest change with an enrollment increase of approximately 53% since 2008 (Figure 8). US International This increase is attributed to international 4000 263 247 student growth and greater availability of 3500 236

high demand on-line graduate programs in 3000

2500 education. In fall 2008, Arkansas State began 202 2000 to offer on-line courses in support of what 169 3524 3462 1500 3128 would become on-line degree programs in Headcount 1000 1557 1930 the Department of Educational Leadership, 500 Curriculum and Special Education. Since the 0 HLC focused visit in fall 2008 led to approval 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 to offer on-line degree programs, Arkansas Fall Semester State has expanded its graduate educational leadership offerings to six MSE on-line degrees, one EdS on-line degree and several professional certifications (Figure 9).

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Figure 9. Graduate Enrollment Trends by College 2008-2012

College

Sciences & Math 2012

Nursing & Health Prof. 2011

Humanities & Soc. Sci. 2010

Fine Arts 2009

Engineering 2008

Education

Communications

Business

Agriculture & Tech.

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Enrollment

Enrollment in the graduate level education on-line programs is beginning to decrease with market saturation and increasing competition from other universities. Arkansas State will continue to provide additional on-line degree offerings to offset this enrollment decrease. For example, two other graduate on-line degree programs, the Master of Public Administration (MPA) and MS in Sport Management were introduced in 2012 and 2013. The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management degrees and RN to BSN degree also are popular on-line offerings. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) will launch on- line in spring 2014. Enrollment in both traditional and on-line graduate courses and programs in the College of Nursing and Health Professions has steadily increased. Engineering added its first graduate degree program in 2007 and added a second program in 2011. Currently, both of these programs are offered as traditional face-to-face programs.

Socioeconomic Trends Over 75% of Arkansas State students require federal, state and university level aid to assist with the cost of attendance. In fall 2012, 91.4% of the entering freshman class received some form of financial aid with almost 80% of the class having assistance from scholarships (Table 5). The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships assists students requiring grant and loan aid as well as scholarship recipients.

Table 5. Financial Aid Distribution Fall 2012 Type of Aid First Time Freshmen Undergraduates Grants 739 (44.2%) 4,355 (42.8%) Scholarships 1,334 (79.8%) 4,222 (41.5%) Loans 661 (39.6%) 4,761 (46.8%) # Who Received Some Form 1,527 (91.4%) 7,527 (74.0%) of Financial Aid (unduplicated)

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Aid Category Unduplicated Number Of Recipients Total Awarded Federal, State, & $34,935,784 Institutional Grants Institutional Employment 1,284 4,213,914 State & Institutional Scholarships 4,905 33,068,526 Federal & Institutional Loans 9,126 78,744,988 Total Aid Awarded 12,944 $150,963,213

Arkansas State students receive federal aid from programs such as Work-Study, Stafford Student Loan, Parent Loan (Undergraduate Students), Stafford Student Loans (Subsidized & Unsubsidized), Pell Grants, Perkins Student Loan and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Almost $151 million in total support was provided in 2011-2012 to Arkansas State students (Table 5). Federal scholarship aid also has been awarded to students through specialized grant programs, such as the NSF-sponsored Experiential Learning Fellowship (ELF) and Undergraduate Research for Minority (URM) programs, and the DOE-sponsored Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program.

Several forms of assistance are provided by the State of Arkansas: Arkansas Challenge Scholarship (Lottery Funded), Minority Teachers Scholarship, GO! Opportunities Grant, Nurse Educator Loan, Governor’s Scholarship, Second Effort Scholarship, Law Enforcement Dependent’s Scholarship, State Grants, MIA/KIA Dependents Scholarship, State Teacher Education Program, Military Dependents Scholarship, Teacher Opportunity Program, Minority Masters Fellows Program and Workforce Improvement Grant. In 2011-2012, ADHE reported that Arkansas State had the highest retention rate of recipients of the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship of any public four-year institution in the state.

University scholarships include: ASTATE Spirit, Beyond Boundaries, ASTATE Scholar (Honors Program); High School Honor Award, ASTATE Leadership, Transfer Scholarship, ASTATE Pride, Out-of-State Scholarship and privately funded scholarships. More detailed information on Arkansas State scholarships and requirements is available (Scholarships).

1.A.3. Arkansas State University’s planning and budgeting priorities align with and support the mission. (This sub-component may be addressed by reference to the response to Criterion 5.C.1.)

The subcomponent is addressed in 5.C.1.

1.B. Arkansas State University’s mission is articulated publicly.

Arkansas State’s mission and its e3 logo are articulated publicly through its website, publications, stationery, business cards and other means. The mission is referenced in presentations and other venues by Arkansas State administration, faculty and staff.

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1.B.1. Arkansas State University clearly articulates its mission through one or more public documents, such as statements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans, or institutional priorities.

Arkansas State’s mission statement is coupled with the university’s core values and vision and is publicly available on the university website and in documents such as the Undergraduate Bulletin, Graduate Catalog, Faculty Handbook, Student Handbook, other college or program handbooks, commencement programs and other documents as appropriate. The mission, core values and vision are expanded upon by the Strategic Priorities and Goals.

The mission was highlighted during homecoming week in October 2011 as part of the campus involvement for the self- study. Faculty, staff and students participated in activities to learn more about the self-study process and accreditation history of Arkansas State through a Fall Festival environment with activities, games, prizes and food.

The e3 mission mark is made available to the campus community on t-shirts, beverage cups, sticky notes, temporary tattoos and other items in an effort to promote familiarity with the University’s Mission during various university venues.

1.B.2. The mission document or documents are current and explain the extent of Arkansas State University’s emphasis on the various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, scholarship, research, application of research, creative works, clinical service, public service, economic development, and religious or cultural purpose.

T he various aspects of Arkansas State’s mission are best reflected in the institution’s Strategic Planning Priorities and Goals, which are the product of Arkansas State’s most recent strategic planning process in fall 2010. The campus embarked on a three-day campus retreat using Open Space Technology led by Mr. Harrison Owen, author of Open Space Technology: A User's Guide (Third Edition 2008). The theme centered on “Preparing for the Future: What are the challenges and opportunities for ASU in the next few years?” Faculty, staff and students participated in group sessions throughout the retreat to brainstorm, share ideas and determine priorities for Arkansas State’s future. At the conclusion of the retreat, 120+ contributions or “inputs” representing these ideas and priorities evolved. The Strategic Planning Operations Committee categorized these inputs into a draft form of strategic priorities and goals. Campus review of the draft Strategic Priorities and Goals occurred during the spring 2011 semester. Following campus recommended edits and revisions, the campus constituencies vetted the

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seven Institutional Priorities with Goals and received approval by the Executive Council in May 2011. Each campus unit (colleges, departments, administrative units, etc.) provided action steps for applicable priorities and associated goals by October 2011. The units update action steps regularly to reflect progress made in completing the actions in support of the priorities and goals with the most recent update in May 2013.

Arkansas State University Strategic Plan Strategic Planning Priorities and Goals Note: Numbering of Priorities is only for tracking purposes. Numbering does not represent any level of prioritization.

Priority 1: Refine Arkansas State’s mission and identity as an emerging global research institution. Goal 1A. Pursue appropriate Carnegie classification based on role and scope Goal 1B. Continue to promote teaching and learning endeavors that are integral to a global research institution Goal 1C. Continue to promote the transformation of Arkansas State in to a research‐ intensive institution Goal 1D. Promote outcome‐based decision making Goal 1E. Increase undergraduate and graduate enrollment of well‐qualified students

Priority 2: Create a service and support culture that is focused on student learning, retention and academic success. Goal 2A. Support student learning as the first priority to establish Arkansas State University as a premier learning‐centered university Goal 2B. Review relevancy of General Education program Goal 2C. Continue to develop a culture of assessment to enhance learning outcomes Goal 2D. Enhance student persistence and academic success Goal 2E. Manage the use of financial aid to help attract and retain students Goal 2F. Provide opportunities to better understand student needs

Priority 3: Create learning experiences through student engagement, service to our region and partnerships with our community. Goal 3A. Increase service‐learning and community engagement opportunities Goal 3B. Enhance community outreach Goal 3C. Promote safety, environmental responsibility and stewardship

Priority 4: Create a collaborative decision‐making environment that is based on effective shared governance, open communication and mutual respect of all members of our teaching and learning community. Goal 4A. Develop a sense of campus community Goal 4B. Create transparency in planning and decision‐making

Priority 5: Adopt policies and models that continuously promote, grow and reward all modes of effective teaching and learning experiences. Goal 5A. Support and reward multiple modalities of teaching and learning Goal 5B. Refocus on excellence in teaching and learning

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Priority 6: Increase our diversity and expand our globalization. Goal 6A. Prepare students for global citizenship Goal 6B. Develop a service environment that supports the needs of a diverse Arkansas State community Goal 6C. Attract, employ, retain and advance greater numbers of university faculty and staff from underrepresented groups

Priority 7: Continually improve our institutional efficacy and alignment of resources with our priorities. Goal 7A. Enhance recruitment and retention initiatives of faculty and staff Goal 7B. Maintain current and strategically plan for future infrastructure needs Goal 7C. Expand resources and refine budget procedures

Although the strategic priorities and goals are broad in focus, they dovetail with the role and scope designated for Arkansas State. Many speak directly to the audience served and array of programs, services and special features prescribed for the university.

Each division of the university has established action steps for applicable goals of the strategic priorities. The status of these action steps is updated regularly and new action steps may be added as appropriate (SP Unit Action Steps). In doing so, support of the priorities and goals evolves to keep pace with the changing needs of the university. A sample of pertinent action steps for the Goals within Priority 2 is shown in Table 6 for the Division of Students Affairs.

Table 6. Sample Strategic Plan Action Steps for Division of Student Affairs

MEASURABLE ACTION STEPS

OUTCOMES

GOAL

PARTY

STATUS

TARGET TARGET

TIMELINE

AUDIENCE

RESPONSIBLE RESPONSIBLE

DEPARTMENT

RESOURCES

Oversight of Master of Science in Participant and

2A College Student Personnel Services

Vice Vice CSPS CSPS

VCSA supervisor assessment Ongoing

(CSPS) practicum course Students

Graduate Graduate

Chancellor

Continuous

Staff Member Member Staff Time

Collaborate with various academic

departments to provide funding for Funding/support

2A

Vice Vice

staff Body

VCSA programming opportunities for implemented

Ongoing Chancellor Chancellor

students Continuous

ASU Student ASUStudent

University University Staff Funding, Member Time

Create an electronic Leadership

Portfolio/Leadership Transcript for staff

2C students to document Completion

Center

academic/extracurricular information Students

Leadership Leadership Leadership

In progress In

Center Center

Spring 2014 Spring Time

and upload into applications Member Staff

t

Assess general education skills in Counts of students 2B

reading, writing and math needing assessment

Center Center

Testing Testing Testing

General General

director

Ongoing

Students

Education Education

Continuous

Assessmen Fee

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1.B.3. Arkansas State University’s mission document or documents identify the nature, scope, and intended constituents of the higher education programs and services the institution provides.

The Role and Scope of Arkansas State University, one of the university’s mission documents described earlier in 1.A., identifies the university’s authority as a grantor of Associate, Baccalaureate, Masters and Doctoral programs appropriate for a comprehensive university. These degrees support the needs of the region and state as they relate to business and industry, public institutions and the non-profit sector. Key academic programs include, but are not limited to, agriculture and technology, environmental sciences, communications, education, engineering, nursing and allied health, biosciences and business. These degree programs are directed primarily at the residents of Arkansas, especially those of the Mississippi Delta region who have completed high school and desire to complete a college degree or continue with professional education. Other constituencies include employers, economic development interests, the research community, K-12 schools, transfer students from the state’s two-year colleges and the community and area served by Arkansas State for educational, public and cultural events. As special features of Arkansas State, the institution hosts a site of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, provides small business support through the Delta Center for Economic Development, supports wounded veterans and their families through the Beck PRIDE Center, and provides for enriching opportunities for the public through the ASU Museum and Heritage SITES.

1.C. Arkansas State University understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of society.

The university values diverse populations and understands that as part of its mission, it has a prominent role in a multicultural society. At Arkansas State, diversity is appreciated in the broadest possible context and includes race and ethnicity, background and culture, gender and sexuality, country of origin, beliefs and abilities. This understanding is exemplified in all aspects of the university’s life.

1.C.1. Arkansas State University addresses its role in a multicultural society.

Arkansas State fulfills this role through its academic offerings, recruitment of students, faculty and staff, campus activities, and community interactions. One of Arkansas State’s Strategic Planning Priorities is to “Increase our diversity and expand our globalization.” Goals of this priority are to prepare students for global citizenship; develop a service environment that supports the needs of a diverse Arkansas State community; and attract, employ, retain and advance greater numbers of university faculty and staff from underrepresented groups.

Preparing students for global citizenship in a multicultural society is supported through both curricular and co-curricular activities. The university encourages organizations, public speakers and other activities that promote multiculturalism and a better understanding of a diverse society. Throughout the academic year students, faculty and staff have numerous opportunities to participate in events that promote multiculturalism and celebrate diversity. Multicultural student organizations and campus events are discussed in more detail in Criterion Three (MCC).

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The Multi-Cultural Center provides educational, cultural and social programs and initiatives that support student success for all students with specific concentration on minority and underrepresented student populations. The goal is to sustain an inclusive campus environment that promotes value and respect for all members of the university community. Services support the recruitment, retention and graduation of minority and underrepresented student populations. Year-round campus-wide events are held in conjunction with national observance of days and months dedicated to the history of achievements by minority citizenry in the U.S. Smaller events are scheduled weekly for the enrichment and benefit of students served by the Center. The following are some of the activities provided by the Multicultural Center:  Fall Explosion: The event is held in the fall for all minority students to learn about the minority student organizations on campus and consists of a speaker who motivates students to do their best during the upcoming school year. The program is co-sponsored by the Black Student Association, a minority student organization.  MC Meet and Greet: The purpose of the program is to allow minority students to meet one another and other minority faculty and staff as well as become familiar with the Multicultural Center and its services.  Tribute to Hispanic Heritage: The purpose of the program is to commemorate Hispanic culture and achievement by having a speaker give remarks on the positive impact Hispanics have and continue to make in the world.  Viva La Noche: The program celebrates and teaches the ASU community about Hispanic culture- particularly music, food and dance. It is co-sponsored by the student organization HOLA (Hispanic Outreach and Latino Appreciation).  LGBT Lecture Series: Celebrated in October, the series includes speakers who discuss various topics concerning the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual and Transgender community.  MLK Candlelight Vigil: This program pays homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy by having students recite and reflect upon one of Dr. King’s famous speeches.  MLK Performing Arts Night: This event displays unity by bringing everyone together to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through diverse student performances.  Tribute to Black History: The program commemorates Black History by having a nationally known speaker and a student tribute that pays homage to the contributions African Americans make in America.  Soul Food Dinner: In partnership with the Strong-Turner Black Alumni Chapter, the program brings students, faculty, staff and community members together to fellowship, share a soul food dinner and learn about the history and tradition of soul food.  Black History Month Gospel Explosion: This program brings the ASU and Jonesboro community together to celebrate gospel music and its influence in Black culture. Each year, church choirs from the Jonesboro community participate in the program.  Black History Month Art Display: Throughout the month of February, the center showcases African American art by an African American artist from Arkansas.  Women’s History Month Conference: Held in March, the conference includes engaging and informative workshops that address women’s issues concerning education, careers, families, health and personal image. The conference also includes a “Living Legends Luncheon” featuring a prominent keynote speaker. One woman is recognized for her outstanding contributions to the ASU and Jonesboro communities.

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 Strong-Turner 3.0 & Freshman Scholars Achievement Program: Partnered with the Strong- Turner Black Alumni Chapter, the program recognizes all African American students who have a 3.0 or higher GPA.  StAte Connection: Is a one-day minority recruitment program for high school juniors in Arkansas. Students are connected to the university in the following areas: admissions, financial aid, academics, residence life, campus resources and student life. The Center collaborates with the Office of Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives.  Pre-Cinco de Mayo Celebration: The event celebrates Mexican pride, heritage and freedom.  MC Graduation Recognition Reception: The reception, held in the fall and spring, recognizes minority, international and non-traditional students who graduate in December, May and August. Graduates receive an ASTATE lapel pin.

The Global Student Leader (GSL) Program rewards the most outstanding student leaders at Arkansas State with an opportunity to travel outside the U.S. The program helps prepare students in challenging and diverse ways to become more productive global citizens. (GSL)

Goals of the GSL program:  Expose ASTATE student leaders to the diversity of cultures, languages, customs and traditions that exist beyond the United States  Visit and experience colleges in other countries, learn how they function, and share with them how colleges in the United States function  Tour and learn from important global government institutions, museums, art galleries and natural areas  Learn about everyday life in other countries  Learn all aspects of international travel

On average, six students participate in the GSL program each year. Recent travel has included Australia, China, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Croatia, Montenegro, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria and Italy, as well as other European countries. The student experience is most rewarding as indicated in comments from students that follow:

“The GSL program gives students the opportunity to travel to foreign destinations where we are immersed in different cultures, forge new friendships and have many laughs along the way. GSL does a great job at putting students in situations where they gain experience that cannot be learned in a classroom. The program urges students to step out of their comfort zone while abroad which, in turn, causes them to develop beneficial world skills that last a lifetime.” Zach Marsh, GSL Ireland, Austria, Germany, Hungary, 2011

“ASU gave me the chance to visit and learn about a new culture and thousands of years of history. I will never forget the memories that were made and the amazing voyage we were able to experience because of the GSL program.” Kirby Massey, GSL Egypt, 2007

“When I was selected for GSL, I felt extremely honored. I spend numerous hours with organizations on campus so I considered this trip a way for ASTATE to show appreciation for all the hard work that I had contributed. ASTATE paid for everything on the trip, including plane ticket, lodging and even some extra money for meals.” Natalie Eskew, GSL New Zealand and Australia, 2004

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Arkansas State’s military veterans contribute to campus global awareness and their experiences add a valuable component both in and out of the classroom. The university continually works to improve the services provided to these students as they return to the classroom and community. The ASU Beck PRIDE (Personal Rehabilitation, Individual Development and Education) Center and Veteran Services staff provide over 400 military veterans on the campus with resources to access the higher education experience, resources for counseling, personal rehabilitation, advocacy and financial assistance in support of these individuals to achieve their post military success goals (Beck PRIDE). The center, an initiative of the College of the Nursing and Health Professions, is unique and is being used as a model by other universities to promote the success of our returning and wounded military. Arkansas State has been listed by the Military Times Edge magazine and editors of Military Advanced Education and G.I. Jobs as among the top military friendly institutions of higher education in the nation.

1.C.2. Arkansas State University’s processes and activities reflect attention to human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

Recruitment of Diverse Faculty, Staff and Students Arkansas State’s hiring practices ensure that the faculty and staff reflect the diversity of the student body they serve. Arkansas State has made important commitments to increase the diversity of its faculty and staff and to provide programs to help minority employees be successful and retained. The university’s Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan (MRR Plan) was drafted by a cross-section of the campus community under the leadership of the Chief Diversity Officer in 2005. The version of the plan in use is 2011-2016. The plan addresses the institution’s definition of diversity: “Diversity is the continuous process embracing the ideal of inclusion by accepting each person as an equal and valued member of the university community.” It provides the rationale for diversity and the process for achieving diversity. The vision and mission statements for the Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan are: Vision Statement ASU will be known for its commitment to diversity as evidenced by its inclusive work and learning environments, its acceptance of differences as positive and enriching and its ability to attract, retain and advance a diverse faculty, staff and student body.

ASU will have an environment where anyone, no matter who they are, will see a consistent reflection of themselves on the campus and in its activities. They will feel comfortable, welcomed and as if they belong at ASU.

Mission Statement The Diversity Taskforce facilitates the process of embracing inclusion for ASU by educating the campus on diversity and its benefits thereby enhancing the learning and work environments and enabling all campus members to become more productive global citizens.

The plan provides guidelines for the recruitment, retention and development of faculty and staff as well as recruitment and retention of students through a series of goals and action steps. The Faculty Strategic Hiring Initiative was implemented establishing a Strategic Hiring Fund to assist with recruitment and retention of the following categories:

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 Tenured or Tenure-Track Minority Faculty and Non-Classified Staff Positions (Targeted at recruitment and retention of minorities defined as Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaskan native, African American, Asian and Pacific Islander)  Tenured or Tenure-Track Women Faculty and Women Administrators (Targeted at recruitment and retention of women in areas of under-representation)

Between FY 2005 and the start of FY 2014, $416,434 was distributed for salary enhancement (augments above the base salary), professional development and other initiatives in support of recruitment and retention of diverse candidates. Over 75% of these funds have gone toward academic positions ($322,455) with the remainder of the funds distributed to Student Affairs ($55,020), Finance and Administration ($26,059) and University Advancement ($12,900).

The following are some of the programs and services used for minority faculty recruitment and support:

 Academic Diversity Search, Inc.  The Ph.D. Project (SREB)  NIH Black Scientists Association  Minority and Women Doctoral Directory  Ford Fellows Program  National Minority Faculty Identification Program  Pipeline Project

The Quality Teaching Circle Initiative, founded and coordinated by Dr. Lillie Fears, provides a forum for minority and international faculty members to promote excellence in teaching, research and service. Faculty exchange ideas, receive constructive evaluation and express concerns through a university-wide support system for diverse faculty.

Various diversity education workshops have addressed diversifying the search process, building inclusive work environments, best practices in diversity, diversity research and other timely topics. In spring 2011, a Diversity Survey indicated that faculty, staff and students view the general atmosphere on the Arkansas State campus as tolerant. On indicators of tolerance, supportiveness and general atmosphere, the majority of the three groups give the campus high marks. In general, faculty, staff and students find the campus community friendly, tolerant and supportive. Further, the majority of respondents indicate that the general environment at is very comfortable. (Diversity Survey Faculty, Diversity Survey Staff, Diversity Survey Student)

Arkansas State’s minority faculty average about 14.5% of the total faculty body. Although Arkansas State has made strides in recruiting African American faculty members, retention of these individuals continues to be a concern (Figure 10). In several cases, personal matters, rather than higher paying or prestigious appointments, have resulted in relocation of these faculty. In some areas, especially in the accounting, business and science disciplines, the ability to offer competitive salaries is often a challenge. Strategic Hiring Funds increase salary offers, provide startup and relocation assistance, professional development and other support. Arkansas State will continue to emphasize recruitment of diverse faculty, particularly African American and Hispanic faculty.

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During the 2013-2014 faculty Figure 10. Faculty Ethnicity recruitment cycle, Arkansas State is pleased in its success to achieve African American Asian American Hispanic Total Minority 13 diverse hires for faculty 18 positions: 5 African Americans, 2 16

Hispanics and 6 Asian Americans. The Strong-Turner Alumni 14 Chapter (S-TAC) is the African 12 American alumni chapter of the 10 Arkansas State Alumni 8 Association. S-TAC takes an 6 active role in meeting with 4

African American candidates Percent Total of Faculty during the on-campus interview 2 process to provide information 0 about the university and 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 community. S-TAC also provides for networking to assist the university in its recruitment and retention efforts for minority faculty, staff and students. The university is appreciative of S-TAC’s role in the recruitment and retention of students through its scholarship program and recognizing the Strong-Turner 3.00 Award recipients, African American students who excel academically by achieving and maintaining a minimum 3.00 GPA. (STAC)

Figure 3. Distribution of Faculty by Rank and Gender

Male Female Faculty diversity by gender has almost an even split of male and female faculty; however, distribution varies

200 within the professorial ranks (Figure 11). Age 150 distribution of faculty is on the mature side with 56% 100 being over the age of 49 (33% over the age of 57). 50 0 Number of Faculty of Number Ethnicity of full-time staff is approximately 15% minority Professor Associate Assistant Instructor Rank (12% African American, 1% Hispanic), similar to that of the faculty community. The staff workforce is 60% females.

Arkansas State is committed to improving the diversity of its faculty and staff, and has recently restructured the position of the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). The university is in the process of searching for a new full-time CDO to assist in recruitment, retention, community outreach, services and initiatives designed to enhance the recruitment and successful retention of faculty, staff and students from diverse and under-represented population groups. The CDO will serve as a liaison and develop partnerships within committees to promote diversity as an essential element of the mission of the university. The CDO will participate in the development and implementation of strategic plans and operating policies as a member of the university leadership team and advise the Executive Council on diversity issues. Dr. Faye Cocchiara, a tenured faculty member in the College of Business with expertise in human resources and diversity is serving as interim CDO until the university completes its search.

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Graduate student minority recruitment and retention is a high priority for Arkansas State. The following are examples of recruitment efforts aimed at increasing the diversity of Arkansas State’s graduate student population:

 Oak Ridge National Laboratory Graduate Fair at Undergraduate Summer Program  Rust College (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Jackson State (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Alcorn State University (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Mississippi Valley State (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Tugaloo College (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Tennessee State University (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Alabama A&M University (HBCU) Graduate Fair  University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (HBCU) Graduate Fair; Biology Career Day  Stillman College (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Grambling University (HBCU) Graduate Fair  Indiana State University McNair Scholars Conference Graduate Fair  North Texas State University McNair Scholars Conference Graduate Fair  SREB Doctoral Scholars Program Institute on Teaching and Mentoring  National Institute of Science/Beta Kappa Chi Joint Meeting Graduate Fair

The graduate admissions application is waived for applicants who have participated in a McNair Scholars program, a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program, or any other federally funded program designed to increase underrepresented minority participation.

Undergraduate Minority Recruitment During the past ten years, ASU has seen a substantial growth in its minority student population (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Minority Student Enrollment Growth 2002-2012

Ethnicity 2002 2007 2012 10 Year Growth 5 Year Growth African American 1,369 1,848 2,108 739 (53.9%) 260 (14%) American Indian 29 45 66 37 (227%) 21 (56.6%) Asian American 68 77 89 21 (30.8%) 12 (15.6%) Hispanic American 67 119 266 199 (297%) 147 (123.5%) Two or more races 178

Arkansas State began a gradual increase in its admission standards in 2007, resulting in a decrease in enrollment of African American first-year students beginning in 2009. As the incremental increase in standards took affect, 2011 standards (ACT 19 and 2.50) had the greatest impact on African American first-year enrollment with a decrease in of 33.7% (394; fall 2007; 261; fall 2012). To counteract this impact, the Multicultural Center assumed responsibility for the AStAte Connection program in 2011. AStAte Connection is a program where high achieving minority high school juniors from Delta region schools are selected and brought to campus at the university’s expense for a day of workshops and activities geared toward college preparation.

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To further enhance the institution’s outreach approach, the Office of Recruitment in the spring of 2013 formed an advisory committee of minority community and campus leaders to advise and assist in the recruitment of minority students. The Office of Recruitment will be reallocating one full-time Recruitment Advisor to target highly minority-populated schools as well as an additional Recruitment Advisor who will target recruitment efforts at prospective Hispanic students and their parents/families.

Another avenue of recruitment is the annual luncheon hosted by Arkansas State for area African American church pastors and ministers. The event connects these ministers to the university to encourage their assistance in recruiting regional seniors to Arkansas State and retaining upper class students by connecting them with church homes. Students also are recruited through the aid of ten foundation scholarships aimed at minority student recruitment. The scholarships are a one-time award of $2000 annually; however, students are encouraged to apply and compete each year.

Diversity Award Individuals and groups making significant contributions to enhancing diversity on campus are recognized each spring at the Diversity Luncheon during Convocation of Scholars activities. The Diversity Excellence Award ($2500) is given to an individual or group that demonstrates the highest commitment to enhancing excellence through diversity. Other individuals and groups demonstrating support and contributions to diversity initiatives or activities are recognized as “Friends of Diversity.”

Diversity in the Curriculum Resources Guide provides a series of links to assist faculty and students to the many types of resources available through the Dean B. Ellis Library. This guide is intended to help individuals find both print and online diversity resources. The guide is a starting point for research and users are encouraged to seek further assistance as needed through the Research & Information Desk in the library. (Diversity Curriculum Guide)

State Diversity Report Act 1091 of 1999 requires all state-supported colleges and universities to establish a program for the retention of African Americans and other members of minority groups as students, faculty and staff.

Under the Act, the term "minority" refers to African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans.

The requirements of the Act are: Each institution must annually prepare a progress report on the steps that have been taken to reach the goals of the plan. The report must include information relative to students, faculty and staff within the institution. Public universities and colleges are required to submit a diversity report annually to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. (ADHE Minority Report)

1.D. Arkansas State University’s mission demonstrates commitment to the public good.

As a public institution, Arkansas State understands its obligations to its many stakeholders, internal and external. Through its mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives, many of the university’s services, activities and initiatives extend far into the community.

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1.D.1. Actions and decisions reflect an understanding that in its educational role Arkansas State University serves the public, not solely the institution, and thus entails a public obligation.

The university and its many divisions provide extensive outreach, educational programs and services that benefit the public good within the community, state and region. Arkansas State contributes to community health and wellness, cultural events, civic engagement, provision of physical facilities and services, continuing education, recreation and a host of other public benefits.

Performing Arts Performing arts and cultural events abound throughout the year, many of which are either free of charge to the public or provided at a nominal charge.

The Fowler Center for the Performing Arts (Fowler Center) The Bradbury Gallery features changing exhibitions of contemporary art in all media from regionally, nationally and internationally recognized artists. The Bradbury Gallery is also the site of the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition, a nationally recognized juried print show. At the end of each spring and fall semester, the gallery is the site of featured artwork by graduating seniors from the Department of Art. The 2013-14 exhibit schedule includes the ASU Faculty Biennial, the Fall Senior Exhibition, the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition, Disparate Acts (Arkansas artists David Bailin, Warren Criswell and Sammy Peters), and the Spring Senior Exhibition.

Riceland Hall is a 970-seat auditorium featuring stellar acoustical properties, which is always a delight for guest artists. Student concerts are performed throughout the academic year in Riceland Hall. The Riceland Distinguished Performance Series presents approximately seven to eight concerts each year. In keeping with Arkansas State’s focus on outreach to the community, new for fall 2013 is the Family Friendly Series, which presents two events geared toward the younger audience with a reduced ticket rate for children. Several of the guest artists offer educational outreach activities for students and the community such as school workshops, music master classes and pre-concert talks. The Kenyan Boys’ Choir and the Moipei Quartet will offer a community workshop on singing African choral repertoire. This workshop will be open to all singers and choir directors before their evening performance during the 2013-2014 season. Examples of the Riceland Distinguished Performance Series performances may be found in the Riceland performance series archives. (Riceland PS Archives)

Figure 13. Fowler Performing Arts Center (Left), Bradbury Gallery (Center), and Riceland Hall (Right)

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The Student Theatre and the Experimental (Black Box) Theatre provide additional venues for performing arts. The Theatre Department presents two major plays each semester and two children’s theatre productions each summer. (Theatre)

The Fine Arts Center Gallery located in the College of Fine Arts Building exhibits a wide range of original work. It is the site of student exhibitions.

The Fine Arts Recital Hall provides a venue for student recitals, small ensembles and other musical performances. The recital hall is currently under renovation to provide a state of the art facility center for instruction and performance.

Museums Arkansas Heritage Sites (Heritage Sites) Arkansas State develops and operates historic properties of regional and national significance in the Arkansas Delta. These sites provide educational resources for formal and informal learning, including serving as living laboratories for students in the university's Heritage Studies Ph.D. program. In addition, they serve as economic catalysts in communities where they are located by attracting heritage tourists from around the country.

Through the combination of restoration and humanities activities, the university strives to enhance the social and economic viability of rural Arkansas Delta towns, as well as provide exemplary educational and research opportunities for scholars, students and the general public. Arkansas Heritage Sites also serves as an administrative agent for Arkansas Delta Byways, the official non-profit regional tourism promotion association serving 15 counties in the Arkansas Delta. Arkansas Heritage Sites has been instrumental in developing and promoting two National Scenic Byways that traverse this region: the Crowley's Ridge Parkway and the Arkansas segment of the 10-state Great River Road, which runs along both sides of the Mississippi River, from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

Arkansas State is committed to working with Arkansas Delta communities to discover, preserve and promote their rich heritage, including developing the region's rural heritage tourism potential, encouraging preservation and enhancing the humanities content of programs offered to visitors.

Figure 14. Arkansas Heritage Sites: Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center (Left); Southern Tenant Farmers Museum (Center); and Lakeport Plantation Museum (Right)

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In its third year, the Johnny Cash Music Festival is presented annually by Arkansas State, with participation by the Cash family, to benefit the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Project in Dyess, Arkansas. This project involves establishing a museum to honor the Johnny Cash legacy as well as restoring his boyhood home and other facets of the Dyess Colony. (Dyess Colony Plan)

The Arkansas State University Museum serves the academic mission of the university as a teaching museum and provides quality programming that broadens the perceptions of people in Northeast Arkansas and the Mississippi River Delta region; connects people with their history; promotes tolerance; engages minds in progressive thinking; and enhances the sense of community among all audiences. The museum offers permanent, on-line and temporary exhibits, audio podcasts, self-guided and guided tours and traveling suitcases. The museum is open to the public and admission is free. The museum is available for birthday parties and other events with many activities and exhibits of interest to families and children. Hundreds of schoolchildren, boy and girl scouts and other groups visit the museum each year, as do visitors from around the globe. (Museum)

Community Health and Wellness The College of Nursing and Health Professions provides many programs to improve the health and well- being of our community including annual seminars feathering national speakers. In the process, Arkansas State students receive intangible service learning opportunities while garnering hands-on experience in their fields of study.

The ASU Community Action Reinforcing Empowerment (ASU Care) Center assists area residents needing social and economic services. Faculty and students from the Department of Social Work provide “care management” for individuals. The goal of the center is to focus on issues such as substance abuse, crime, employment seeking activities, health disparity education, social capital, family services and youth development.

Arkansas State’s Speech and Hearing Center serves a dual purpose within the university community and Northeast Arkansas. In addition to serving as a clinical laboratory for speech-language pathology students to gain practicum experience through the supervised delivery of speech, language and hearing services to individuals with communication disorders, the center provides diagnostic evaluation and intervention (treatment/therapy) services to individuals with communication disorders within the Northeast Arkansas region, free of charge.

The Diabetes Self-Management Program is a free outpatient clinic providing services to ASU faculty, families and students. The program offers education and management for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (pre-diabetes) and metabolic syndrome. Providers, including registered nurses, physical therapists, registered dietitians, laboratory technicians and social workers, assist patients as they make psychological and social adjustments to living with a chronic disease and help patients and their loved ones sustain the lifestyle changes necessary for diabetes management throughout life. As another service, student nurses assist with the community Flu Shot Clinics providing inoculations to more than 3,000 individuals each fall.

The Arkansas Geriatric Education Center improves training opportunities and continuing education in geriatrics for clinical health professionals and faculty who teach in health professions programs and to students in the health professions in Arkansas.

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The Healthy Ager Program is an interdisciplinary service-learning project for health professions students. The College of Nursing and Health Professions works in conjunction with the Center on Aging- Northeast to facilitate this endeavor. Each Healthy Ager (adults >65 years) is matched with an interdisciplinary team that includes students in physical therapy, nursing, clinical lab science, social work, communication disorders and nutrition.

Arkansas State’s Hippotherapy Program is one of only a few university-based programs in the nation. This treatment strategy utilizes equine movement as part of an integrated intervention program to achieve functional outcomes. Hippotherapy sessions occur at the Arkansas State Equine Center. Students who are currently in the rehabilitation programs have the opportunity to Hippotherapy interact and participate in actual hippotherapy sessions with patients and are currently involved in research endeavors with trained faculty members.

The Regional Center for Disaster Preparedness Education is the only accredited provider of the Core, Basic and Advanced Disaster Life Support courses in the state of Arkansas. These courses provide education and training in natural disasters as well as biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosive events. The advanced course includes hands on experiences in which students learn to administer smallpox vaccine, administer auto-injectors for nerve agents, triage a mass casualty field, put on and take off Level C HAZMAT gear and practice treating victims (computerized patient mannequins) for a variety of biological or chemical exposures. The Regional Center is also home to the Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management program that offers a multi-disciplinary minor in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, an Associate of Applied Science, Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Disaster Preparedness and a Graduate Certificate in Disaster Health. A cohort of expert faculty in the field teach in all degree programs and have a multi-disciplinary background in disaster preparedness that includes healthcare (hospital, public health, primary care), law enforcement, education, non-government organizations and emergency management.

The Arkansas Academic Partnership in Public Child Welfare (Title IV-E Program) is a statewide collaboration among nine Arkansas universities and the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The goals of the partnership focus on the professional development of students and child welfare workers to improve child welfare practice.

Other Community Outreach Activities The College of Agriculture and Technology (COAT) sponsors three major conferences annually that engage professionals locally, regionally and nationally: AgriBusiness Conference, Arkansas Soil & Water Education Conference and Renewable Energy & Technology Conference. The Future Farmers of America competition draws several hundred high school students to campus each spring. COAT hosts the Regional Farmer’s Market on the university farm providing a site for vendors to sell fresh produce, plants, cut flowers, baked goods, crafts and other items. It draws over 20,000 individuals during its open season. Another popular draw to the university farm is the Nix Petting Zoo, hosted by COAT students as a service-learning project for schoolchildren, families and other members of the community.

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Students in the College of Business (COB), along with their faculty sponsors, tackle numerous community service projects each academic year as they raise money for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; collect thousands of diapers for PACES; conduct food drives to provide weekend nourishment for impoverished school children; and assist with free tax return preparation; Additional information concerning internationally based philanthropic service learning courses is provided in Criterion Three.

The Delta Center for Economic Development and Small Business Development Center assist individuals with entrepreneurial ventures, developing and improving small business. Catalyst, the technology incubation program of the Delta Center for Economic Development, provides leasable office and laboratory space for research and development ventures.

In the spirit of PK-16 collaboration, the College of Education (COE) engages with multiple PK12 school districts. Each summer, the Advance Placement Institute hones the skills of AP high school teachers from around the state. The college’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs provide training and professional development for area public school teachers in these disciplines. The Department of Health, Physical Education and Exercise Science (HPESS) shares a strong bond with the Jonesboro Health and Environmental Studies Magnet School. A much appreciated service is the Childcare Center, which provides daycare for children of many of Arkansas State students, staff and faculty, as well as training for childcare professionals throughout the state. Starting in fall 2013, the Literacy Center will provide after school assistance to children and others in need of developing and improving basic literacy skills. The Center will provide both instruction and research opportunities for students and faculty.

In addition to the services and outreach provided through the College of Fine Arts’ (CFA) fabulous performance facilities, the college hosts various competitions for area music students; provides summer choir and piano camps and private vocal and instrumental lessons for the community; and partners with the magnet elementary school for the Performing Arts and other area schools. The Summer Children’s Theatre is a tradition for families and delights children of all ages.

The Delta Blues Symposium hosted annually by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Department of English and Philosophy is attended by individuals from across the globe. High school students partake of the Northeast Arkansas Foreign Language Fair, Constitution Day, High School Writing Competition and Model U. N. programs sponsored by departments within CHSS. The college has started a seminar series that focuses on a topic of interest to students, faculty and the community for the academic year. The first series focused on riziculture appealing to many individuals from Northeast Arkansas’ rice producing region.

Boasting one the Mid-South’s finest media and communication programs, the College of Media and Communication (CMC) hosts KASU Radio and Television stations as part of AETN (Arkansas Educational Television Network) serving the citizens of Northeast Arkansas. The college sponsors an annual High School Journalism Competition, hosts the United Cerebral Palsy Telethon and Northeast Arkansas Spelling Bee and provides reduced-cost services in public relations and strategic communications for area businesses through its senior capstone courses.

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The College of Sciences and Mathematics is well known for organizing the community’s annual Earth Day and hosting the Northeast Arkansas Regional Science Fair. Arkansas State faculty and students mentor young scientists and serve as judges for local and regional science fairs. The college also partners with the community’s Math and Science Magnet School. Biological and physical science students and faculty make presentations to school groups and organizations. The Department of Computer Science hosts the BEST robotics competition for junior and senior high school students. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics sponsors the regional math competition as part of the statewide math contest.

University College (UC) reaches out to pre-college students through its Upward Bound program that provides both school year and summer programming to better prepare students for college success.

Continuing Education and Community Outreach (CECO) coordinates concurrent enrollment with the area high schools, offers community education programs and professional development opportunities for businesses and individuals, sponsors Saturday and summer camps for youth and numerous other community outreach based activities.

The faculty address delivered by the President of the Faculty Association, Julie Isaacson, at the summer 2013 commencement ceremony drove home the message confirming that Arkansas State educates leaders, enhances intellectual growth and enriches lives. The graduates are evidence that the university has accomplished its mission. She went on to praise the students for their community service and many philanthropic actions as students at Arkansas State. Her speech recognized “actions that reflect an understanding that in its educational role, Arkansas State University serves the public, not solely the institution…”. (Commencement Speech)

During the 2013 Fall Faculty Conference, faculty were asked to provide specific ways in which their courses or programs engage the community and respond to the needs of the community. Although some of the activities previously described were identified, the variety of community engagement and assistance was commendable. Arkansas State’s faculty, students and staff truly are an asset and invaluable resource to the community. (FC Community Needs and Engagement)

In addition to outreach, Arkansas State has other facilities and services available for public use:  Bookstore  IT Store  Dean B. Ellis Library  Continuing Education Programs  Summer Academic and Special Interest Camps  Equine Center  Nix Petting Zoo  Food Service and Catering  Facility Rentals o Convocation Center o Fowler Center o Student Union o Cooper Alumni Center o Pavilion Publication of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce

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o Garry Meadows Arena and Equine Center o Armory

Arkansas State’s NCAA Division I Sports Programs are an integral part of the community. A heightened sense of support for A-State athletics has occurred in recent years associated with changes in its mascot, coaching and administrative staff. The Red Wolves (formerly Indians) have generated a following of strong support in the community and around the state. Gown and town alike support such community- based activities as “Paint the Town Red,” “Order of the Pack,” Tailgate City, BBQ cook-offs, pep rallies and the homecoming parade.

Additionally, the community is engaged in supporting the success of student-athletes and athletics with local businesses and residents pledging financial support. In fall 2012, the largest gift in Arkansas State Athletics history, $5 million, was contributed by locally owned Liberty Bank resulting in the naming rights of Liberty Stadium and improvement in football facilities.

Arkansas State coaches, administrators and student-athletes regularly participate in numerous community engagement activities within the surrounding area and throughout other parts of the state. Some of the community outreach activities that Athletics and student-athletes provide include summer athletic camps and clinics for youth, reading programs in the schools, visits to hospitalized children, a “Senior Prom” for senior citizens and other community service-based activities.

Volunteer ASU provides the ASU community a place to serve, learn and make a “stAtement” by promoting and coordinating volunteer opportunities and building relationships within the community. Other personal and institutional benefits include creating a service-learning attitude on campus, building personal confidence and bridging the gap between cultures. A few of the many events Arkansas State students participated in during 2012-2013 include:

 Special Olympics of Arkansas Polar Bear Plunge  Pregnancy Resource Center  ASU Day of Service  Rock-a-bye Baby 5K  American Red Cross Blood Drive  Girl Scout Cookie Drop  United Way of NEA Day of Caring  Cowboy Up for CASA  Make A Wish Road Block  NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation Bone Marrow  Special Olympics Basketball Skills Competition Drive  Children’s Advocacy Center Game Day Ride for  Arkansas Mission of Mercy Dental Clinic Kids  March of Dimes 5K  Families Outreach Yard Sale  City Youth Ministries 5K

The Alternative Spring Break (ASB) exposes students to complex social a nd cultural issues through community visits, experiential learning, direct service, group discussion, readings and reflection activities. ASB is designed to transform students into advocates for social change on issues affecting our communities. In 2012, participants traveled to New Orleans to assist in the rebuilding of homes ravaged from Hurricane Katrina. ASU’s non-profit partners included: Rebuilding Together New Orleans, Animal Rescue New Alternative Spring Break in Texas Orleans, Hike for KaTREEna and New Orleans Mission. ASB participants headed to Austin, Texas for Spring Break 2013 where students participated in a different

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service project each day. The non-profit partners included: Blunn Creek Nature Center, Austin Animal Center, Capital Area Food Bank, Caritas Community Kitchen and the University of Texas Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

1.D.2. Arkansas State University’s educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such as generating financial returns for investors, contributing to a related or parent organization, or supporting external interests.

As a public university, Arkansas State endeavors to be a good steward of the resources provided by the State of Arkansas and its people. It does not promote the generation of financial returns for investors, contribute to a parent organization, or support external interests. Arkansas State has an important duty and obligation to ensure that its valuable financial resources, which are provided by legislative appropriations, tuition and fees, returns on investments, philanthropic contributions and other funding sources, are used optimally in achieving the mission, goals and objectives of the university.

Most of Arkansas State’s revenues support the academic matters of the university: faculty salaries, classroom and laboratory equipment, instructional materials and instructional technology, professional development, new academic programs, program accreditations and support of scholarly activity (see Criterion Five).

The university currently employs a number of practices and procedures for cost control, such as competitive bidding on contracts, preventative maintenance of facilities, fixed equipment and non-fixed equipment, cash management, and a variety of energy efficiency measures. However, there is no doubt that there are other actions the university should consider to further contain costs. With the aforementioned in mind, the Chancellor's Task Force on Cost Containment is comprised of individuals from campus with the explicit charge of identifying and recommending how Arkansas State may be able to contain costs more effectively (Cost Containment). Some of the examples of cost containment initiatives recommended include: energy conservation through replacement of boiler systems to reduce natural gas and electricity consumption (implemented); replacement of inefficient light fixtures with low- consumption fixtures (in progress); operation of in-house temporary staffing program to reduce costs of temporary labor (under review); increase offerings of on-line courses and programs (in progress); offer new high-market and expand existing academic programs to attract more students (in progress); use technology more efficiently in classrooms, during interviews, and in supervision of internships to reduce travel expenses (in progress); and go paperless where possible (implemented).

1.D.3. Arkansas State University engages with its identified external constituencies and communities of interest and responds to their needs as its mission and capacity allow.

The university utilizes several external advisory boards to provide insight into its programs and services. Each academic college has an external advisory board, as do some specific degree programs. These groups provide valuable guidance to our faculty and academic administrators in the development and updating of curricular offerings and involve our external constituents in a substantive manner in defining the learning outcomes and skill sets that our students need to master before graduation. The advisory

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boards are another mechanism through which we include our communities of interest in shared decision-making and respond to the needs of the future employers of our graduates.

In addition to advisory boards, other interactions with external constituencies and communities of interest include:

 The College of Agriculture & Technology interacts formally with the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Agriculture Board, Farm Credit System and numerous other agricultural and technology constituencies  The College of Business sponsors the Small Business Technology and Development Center and the Delta Center for Economic Development for community business development in the region  The College of Education and other colleges partner with the public school education system, with the College Preparatory Academy for the Delta, the Education Renewal Zone and STEM Education; Area School Superintendents Advisory Board  The College of Nursing and Health Professions interacts with numerous hospital and clinical stakeholders having more than 500 clinical affiliations  The Colleges of Sciences and Mathematics, Engineering and Agriculture and Technology regularly visit with regional employers to discuss needs and opportunities, including Nestle’, Frito Lay, NicePak, L’Oreal, Hytrol and Nordex

Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce The university has a strong relationship with the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce and it members. Executive officers, academic deans and other university representatives are members of the Chamber and participate in its many events and activities throughout the year. This involvement keeps Arkansas State informed of community growth and development while allowing the university to provide support and leadership to community initiatives.

Chancellor’s Cabinet The Chancellor’s Cabinet provides counsel to the chancellor and university administration on directions, programs, services and activities that will strengthen and enhance the university. The cabinet communicates university goals and aspirations to various constituencies on and off campus as ambassadors of the chancellor and Arkansas State administration, faculty and staff. The cabinet advances the objectives of Arkansas State through personal gifts and by assisting the chancellor and the University Advancement staff in identifying and soliciting sources of vitally needed private financial support from outside the cabinet. The chancellor and administration build an esprit de corps among the cabinet members through social contact at cabinet meetings and other university events, up-to-date information about the university and opportunity to influence the future direction and success of the university.

Arkansas State University Foundation The Arkansas State University Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit corporation duly chartered by the state of Arkansas in 1977 to operate for the benefit of the Arkansas State University System and its related entities. Its primary purpose is to receive, solicit, accept, hold and administer private gifts in support of educational programs associated with Arkansas State University system campuses. The Foundation is governed by a 31 member Board of Directors. (ASU Foundation)

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Red Wolves Foundation Formerly the Red Wolves Club, this 501 (c)(3) organization exists to support the academic and athletic excellence of our more than 350 student-athletes. It is governed by a 17 member Board of Directors. (Red Wolves Foundation)

Arkansas State University Alumni Association The Arkansas State University Alumni Association, Inc. focuses its efforts on partnerships that involve alumni in the life and work of the university. These partnerships include promoting academic growth and success through an annual giving program to generate private investment in university priorities. The association works to promote goodwill with former students through events that encourage alumni engagement and to provide consistent and targeted communications regarding university activities. Governed by an independent volunteer board, the Association is a private non- profit foundation. (Alumni Association)

Other External Constituencies The university engages with its other external constituencies and communities such as city, state and federal governments, the mayor’s office, ADHE, ADE, state and U.S. policymakers. Arkansas State hosts a legislative day each fall to provide an overview of the university’s annual accomplishments and to express its appreciation to these individuals. For example, Congressman Marion Berry was recognized for his assistance with the acquisition of federal funding for the construction of an overpass to improve the safety of the campus and community.

Criterion One Strengths and Opportunities Arkansas State’s mission has withstood the test of time and continues to guide the university. The core values and strategic plan serve to strengthen and focus on the mission. It is anticipated that the institution’s new leadership will refine the vision in accordance with societal and economic trends. Plans for growth and new programs (e.g. Mexico Campus, Osteopathic Medicine) are already underway and will serve to support the mission and assure continued growth of the university. Student and campus support services are widely encompassing of student needs and are highlighted by unique services such as the Beck PRIDE Veteran’s Center and hippotherapy program. Arkansas State enjoys a rich “gown and town” relationship with its surrounding area and is particularly proud of its many existing and evolving service learning opportunities and volunteer activities. The university takes pride in its contributions to economic enrichment through the Delta Center for Economic Development and University Museum SITES. Improving the health of residents of the Delta and beyond through research activities of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, community outreach and the prospect of a future School of Osteopathic Medicine are additional points of university pride.

An ongoing opportunity at Arkansas State relates to diversity initiatives. Although many efforts are in place, the university acknowledges continued challenges in this area and looks forward to guidance from the newly created position of Chief Diversity Officer.

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CRITERION r Two r TWO

Integrity: Ethical and Responsible

Conduct Chapt CRITERION TWO 52 Chapter Two

Criterion Two Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct

The institution fulfills its mission ethically and responsibly. Core Components 2.A. The institution establishes and follows fair and ethical policies and processes for its governing board, administration, faculty, and staff in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions.

2.B. The institution presents itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public with regard to its programs, requirements, costs to students, faculty and staff, control, and accreditation relationships.

2.C. The governing board of the institution is sufficiently autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of the institution and to assure its integrity. 1. The governing board’s deliberations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance the institution. 2. The governing board reviews and considers the reasonable and relevant interests of the institution’s internal and external constituencies during its decision-making deliberations. 3. The governing board preserves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors, elected officials, ownership interests, or other external parties when such influence would not be in the best interest of the institution. 4. The governing board delegates day-to-day management of the institution to the administration and expects the faculty to oversee academic matters.

2.D. The institution is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.

2.E. The institution ensures that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly. 1. The institution provides effective oversight and support services to ensure the integrity of research and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff, and students. 2. Students are offered guidance in the ethical use of information resources. 3. The institution has and enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity.

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CRITERION TWO

INTEGRITY: ETHICAL AND RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT

Arkansas State University fulfills its mission ethically and responsibly.

As a public institution of higher education, Arkansas State University has an obligation to its stakeholders to exercise responsible stewardship of its resources and to act ethically in fulfilling its mission. The university is guided by its six core values as stated in Criterion One. The core value of Integrity states that “We hold high standards of character and integrity as the foundations upon which the University is built.” Integrity is ever present in the actions of Arkansas State’s faculty and staff through established procedures and practices that guide in ethical behavior of its administrators, faculty, staff and students and provide transparency in its decision-making. It is incumbent upon all university employees to make responsible and ethical choices, to treat all constituencies with respect and to perform their duties with integrity as a model for its students. Endorsement by 24 specialized academic accreditation bodies further assists in validating the ethical standards and operating procedures of the institution.

2.A. Arkansas State University establishes and follows fair and ethical policies and processes for its governing board, administration, faculty, and staff in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions. Arkansas State University Website (Active Links in Blue) Several Handbooks, Policy, Procedure and Operating Manuals provide guidance for Arkansas State’s constituency groups. These policies,  Academic Affairs & procedures and expectations are found on the institution’s website for Research ease in access by both internal and external constituencies. Handbooks  Student Affairs for faculty, staff and students; academic calendars, bulletins and  Finance and catalogs; admissions, financial aid, tuition and fees information; Administration procurement; operating procedures; and human resources are but a few  Human Resources of the resources available. Handbooks

 Faculty Handbook Prospective and current student needs are addressed in the links  System Staff Handbook associated with the divisions of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs.  Student Handbooks Tuition and Fee information is provided via Student Accounts, a division Bulletin and Catalog of Finance and Administration. Faculty academic and research  Undergraduate Bulletin information may be found through Academic Affairs and Research links.  Graduate Catalog Employee and staff information such as benefits, business processes, facilities and information technology is associated with Finance and Operating Procedures Administration (see blue links in textbox).  Academic Affairs & Research Operating procedures are available for each of the major institutional  Administration units. Regulations, policies and procedures are constantly monitored by  Facilities Management University Counsel to assure they are accurate and updated. By  Finance & definition, policies require Board of Trustee approval and have system- Administration wide application, whereas procedures are approved at the campus level  University for local application. Advancement  Human Resources  Information and Technology Services Arkansas State University HLC Self-Study 2013

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Board of Trustees Arkansas State University’s Board of Trustees is appointed by the Governor of Arkansas and publicly meets quarterly (at a minimum) to provide fiscal and strategic oversight of the Arkansas State University System and its campuses. The Board, composed of alumni, community and corporate leaders is identified on the university system’s website. The members operate under the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University, which grant the following authority:

“The entire management and control of the activities, affairs, operations, business and property of the Arkansas State University System (hereinafter referred to as the “University”) shall be completely and absolutely vested in the Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”); however, upon general or specific authorization or delegation made or provided for in these Bylaws, the Board may exercise its management and control by and through such officers, officials, committees and agents as may seem fit and proper.”

Additional information concerning the Board, its responsibilities and policies are provided in 2.C. and 5.B.2.

Shared Governance (Shared Governance) Transparency and the opportunity for constituent participation in university governance is provided through Arkansas State’s shared governance process. Shared governance guides the university community when proposing substantive changes or additions to existing policies or procedures. Shared governance provides a defined role for all constituencies to propose or influence policy and to guide decisions that impact the institution. The shared governance process on this campus is two- tiered, addressing Academic and Institutional Governance through various committees specific to these two areas.

The Shared Governance document is housed in the Faculty Handbook, Section I. (Faculty Handbook) and on the Arkansas State website. Shared Governance is discussed in detail in 5.B.1.

Complaint and Grievance Processes Arkansas State strives to resolve complaints and grievances at the lowest level possible within the university. This philosophy is reflected for all constituency groups. Concerns that are presented at a higher level than necessary are rerouted to the appropriate level. Most concerns are resolved at the unit level through informal discussion and rarely result in formal grievances. Students with academic concerns are encouraged to meet with their instructor. Faculty and staff should begin informal resolution with their immediate supervisor. Care is taken to thoroughly investigate all aspects of concerns and to resolve them in a fair and timely manner. Records of student concerns are housed within the office of origination. The records provide information on the conflict resolution.

Formal grievances may be made in those circumstances where the complaint or concern has not been resolved satisfactorily, providing the circumstance can be grieved. Grievance protocols may be found in the appropriate constituency handbook:

 The Student Handbook outlines a student’s academic rights and the grievance process. A formal student grievance is uncommon, as most concerns are resolved at the faculty or department level. The associate vice chancellor for Academic Services serves as a liaison for students to both academic and non-academic units. The associate vice chancellor for Student

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Affairs serves in the same capacity. Some academic programs (e.g., teacher education, nursing and health professions) have additional student handbooks, honor codes and grievance procedures specific to the discipline or degree program. Students are responsible for being familiar with such handbooks.  The Faculty Handbook outlines the process and timeline for faculty grievances.  The System Staff Handbook outlines procedures for filing a formal grievance by staff.

Academic Hearing Committee (Faculty Grievance) As outlined in the Faculty Handbook, Section V., faculty grievances are handled by the shared governance Academic Hearing Committee. This committee handles grievances related to terms or conditions of employment such as promotion, retention, termination, salary and job assignment. The committee for each grievance hearing is comprised of different faculty to insure impartiality and fairness, with the membership being drawn from a pool of 21 full-time tenured faculty members selected by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. All colleges are represented and membership is diverse with regard to academic discipline, gender, race and ethnicity.

Staff Hearing Committee (Staff Grievance) Staff grievance procedures are outlined in the System Staff Handbook. The staff grievance procedure applies only to alleged institutional error which affects the terms or conditions of that staff member’s employment. Grievances that cannot be resolved through informal discussion proceed through the Staff Hearing Committee. This committee is made up of a pool consisting of no fewer than fourteen (14) and no more than 21 members representing administrative, professional, clerical and service/maintenance staff. Members are appointed by the chancellor and serve a two-year term, with one-half of the committee being replaced annually. A member of Human Resources sits as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Staff Hearing Committee, offering technical assistance on procedural and policy matters.

The employees of the university acknowledge the fair and ethical policies of Arkansas State as evidenced by the rarity of the need for formal grievances. In the past five years, the academic and staff hearing committees have been convened only once.

Report Issue, Abuse, or Fraud (Report Issue) Any individual who has concerns about possible misuse of university assets or failure to comply with university policies may report anonymously to Internal Audit such issues as:

 Suspected fraud  Suspected use of university property for non-university activities or personal gain  Departments depositing money into their own checking account rather than through university’s Cash Receipts Transmittal  Suspected expenditures of departmental funds for personal use or other non-allowable expenses  Suspected failure to comply with university policies and procedures, or state or federal laws and regulations

Evidence of the university’s quick and committed response to any reported issue is reflected in the recent identity theft incident that impacted Arkansas State and several other campuses across the nation earlier this year resulting in tax fraud. Arkansas State officials were notified in February 2013 that tax fraud had occurred for some of its employees. These employees became aware when submitting

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their taxes and learned that a fraudulent return had already been filed. In response, the university assembled a security task force comprised of faculty, staff and law enforcement. The committee met daily to communicate the developments of the situation. Additionally, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the Jonesboro Police Department and the IRS joined in working with university officials and the security task force committee. More information can be found on the task force’s webpage.

All employees of Arkansas State were strongly encouraged to take immediate action to ensure that they were not a victim of tax fraud. Although the university has been unable to determine how the fraudulent information was obtained from Arkansas State, the university is committed to protecting and enhancing the confidentiality of all employees and their personal information. Out of an abundance of caution, additional security measures were implemented. As a proactive measure, all Arkansas State employees were offered one year of free credit monitoring service through Experian Credit Services. The service provide employees with a free credit report from Experian, daily credit monitoring services from all three credit reporting agencies, identity theft resolution support, and $1 million identity theft insurance.

Security Task Force (Security Task Force) A security task force has been created to review processes and investigate the fraud. This task force, which is comprised of individuals from several departments on campus, is diligently working with the IRS, the State Attorney General’s office and local, state and federal law enforcement. The task force currently meets on a monthly basis. More information can be found on the task force's webpage.

Privacy and Security Training As part of our ongoing security review for the recent fraud alert, a new training course was created for all employees in BlackBoard Finance & Administration Learn. New employees are encouraged to complete the course (Active Links in Blue) within 30 days of their first date of employment.  Affirmative Action  Security Best Practices Website BANNER Tech Support  Budget Office A security best practices website has been created for Arkansas  Business Services State faculty and staff. This website outlines the best practices for  Controller securely storing, sharing and discarding electronic and paper data  Convocation Center files that could contain personally identifiable information.  Environmental Health Additionally, the site references security guidelines while working & Safety from home, a link to free anti-virus software and information on  Facilities Management software that securely deletes sensitive data files from a computer.  Human Resources  Information & Technology Services Financial Functions, Policies and Procedures  Payroll (Finance and Administration) The university’s fiscal operations adhere to state and university  Procurement Services  Sponsored Programs policies, procedures and best practices to ensure that its fiscal Accounting resources are handled ethically, responsibly and in support of its  Student Accounts mission. The vice chancellor for Finance and Administration is  Travel Services charged with the general supervision of the financial and business  Treasurer affairs of the institution. Units within Finance and Administration  Wellness & Health are shown in the textbox.

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The university’s finances are audited annually by the state and results of this audit are publicly available. Arkansas State is pleased that no significant concerns have emerged from the annual audit in recent years.

Open Records (Open Records) Most financial transactions of the university are transparent and accessible to the public as required by Arkansas Code 6-61-135 (commonly known as the “Open Checkbook Act”) which requires that all state institutions post records of expenditures to a website that is operated by each institution. In compliance with this act and in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, Arkansas State University provides this information in an effort to increase transparency and to demonstrate stewardship of public funds (Table 1). The information on the Open Records site includes financial expenditures, which are reported from the university general ledger. The data is real-time and does not directly correlate with printed budget books and annual budget planning documents, as expenditures are adjusted based on many variables throughout the fiscal year.

Table 1. Open Records Example (Arkansas Open Checkbook)

Payor Payee Amount Purpose Payment Date ASU Common Cents EMS Supply LLC 590.00 Supplies and Services 2013-03-19 ASU F00545 - Instructor--12 Mo: Doe, Jane* 3691.42 Payroll - Teaching 2013-03 ASU Doe, John* 263.34 Travel 2013-03-28 ASU Mini Storage of Jonesboro Inc 213.00 Supplies and Services 2013-03-18 ASU Doe, George* 580.00 Supplies and Services 2013-03-01 ASU 10760.00 - MH Wire Transfer 031213 2013-03-12 ASU Doe, Mary* 19.32 Travel 2013-03-26 ASU P00128 - Project Program Dir: Doe, Bill* 5563.74 Payroll - Admin 2013-03 ASU Sartin Servs Complete Lawncare Inc 417.35 Supplies and Services 2013-03-06 Showing 61 to 69 of 6,860 entries (filtered from 272,983 total entries) *Actual name is shown in record to public

Certain information within financial records cannot be displayed, as it is protected by other statutory protections, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Where possible, such information is redacted. If redaction is not possible, the information is not publicly reported. In addition to the financial information, the university is required to make additional sets of mandatory public information available on the open records site to improve ease of access. These additional items include the annual reports of Revenue Bond, State Agency Vehicle, Certification of Funds, Arkansas State Crime Statistics, Minority Vendor and Internet Usage.

Procurement Services (Procurement Services) Purchases, rentals, leases, lease/purchases and contract services are a major use of the institution’s funds and are ethically and responsibly regulated through numerous policies, procedures and state contracts. All of these procurements for Arkansas State University, regardless of the source of funds, are subject to U.S. and Arkansas laws, regulations and procedures and should be for the official business of university. All types of purchases from university accounts are subject to these regulations and procedures and require prior approval from the Procurement Services Department. The Procurement Official is the sole purchasing authority of the university. A Procurement Handbook is available for individuals involved in the purchasing process. Procurement Services provides numerous training opportunities for new and continuing employees throughout the year and has automated many of its forms and processes in recent years which allows for better workflow and tracking of requisitions and approvals.

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In recent years, Procurement Services has responded to the needs of departments for expedient and simplified purchasing options. Policies & Procedures An electronic purchase order system has greatly improved the (Available on Procurement purchasing and approval process. Achieving the smaller scale Services Website) departmental purchases that maintain the work environment has become easier through the P-Card, a department-based credit  General Procedures card purchasing program. The university is currently piloting a T-  Relocation Allowance  Bid Requirements card system that will allow departments to make purchases for  Equipment Service travel (airfare, hotels, food while on travel, etc.) on a credit card Agreements that will reduce the out-of-pocket expenses that will need later  Institutional Memberships reimbursement for employees and students while on travel.  Printing Rules  On-Campus Food In keeping with Arkansas Act 308 of 2013, no employee of Purchases Arkansas State may purchase, upgrade or replace information  Off-Campus Food technology unless the information technology is accessible to the Purchases visually impaired. All such purchases must be made through the  Utility Cart & Slow Office of Procurement which will work with the Offices of Moving Vehicles Information Technology and Disability Services to ensure  Memberships & Licenses compliance with this law (Technology Purchase).  Terms & Conditions

The university also is committed to utilizing minority businesses in State Contracts  Statewide Contracts contracting to the maximum extent feasible. An annual  Computer Contracts procurement goal of ten percent (10%) has been established by  Cell Phones & Services Arkansas State. The “Minority Purchasing Program” supports the  Office Supply Contract policy of the State of Arkansas to promote equal opportunity and  Microsoft Software economic development in every sector. During 2012-2013, Arkansas State’s purchases with minority vendors totaled $649,766 (16.22 %) exceeding the university’s 10% goal (Minority Vendor).

Personnel Arkansas State University is committed to non-discrimination and equal opportunity for all applicants and members of its student body, faculty and staff. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or other factors prohibited by law in the administration of its educational policies, admission and recruitment policies, financial aid programs, employment policies, or other university administered programs. Human Resources has the primary responsibility for university personnel matters and has established procedures to ensure fair and ethical practices with regard to all employee groups.

Affirmative Action (Affirmative Action, Sexual Misconduct, Non-Discrimination) The Office of Affirmative Action is charged with the responsibility to oversee the university’s compliance efforts with state and federal laws surrounding Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, Title IX, Non- Discrimination and campus-wide initiatives aimed at creating a diverse, welcoming and equitable campus. The office provides advice on policies, programs and services to achieve Affirmative Action goals and enhance the culture of the campus community; including the prevention, reporting, investigation and remedy of sexual misconduct (including discrimination, harassment, assault and violence). The staff of the Office of Affirmative Action delivers educational programs, support activities and programs throughout the campus community (for students, faculty and staff) on the issues of sexual

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misconduct, equity, diversity and affirmative action. All personnel responsible for hiring employees and recruiting students share a responsibility to support the university's equal opportunity and affirmative action program and to provide leadership in achieving its goals.

The university is committed to providing an educational and work environment for its students, faculty and staff that is free from sexual misconduct including sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence. No form of sexual discrimination is tolerated. All members of the campus community are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of others. Employees with supervisory responsibilities and university police personnel must report incidents of sexual discrimination either observed by them or reported to them to the Title IX Coordinator who will conduct an immediate, thorough and objective investigation of all claims. If a violation has occurred, appropriate corrective measures commensurate with the severity of the offense will be taken in an effort to reasonably ensure that such actions are not repeated. The university will consider the concerns and rights of both the complainant and the person accused of sexual misconduct. All reports, complaints and investigations are treated with discretion and confidentiality is maintained to the extent allowed by law.

New employees are required to complete an on-line training exercise to confirm their understanding of the university’s policies on workplace and sexual harassment. For select faculty and staff, similar training is provided for compliance with the child maltreatment law.

Disability Services ensures equal access to programs, classes and services for all students with disabilities accruing to the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Disability Services provides resources for students and faculty, information about on-line courses and other modes of course delivery, available technology, physical and parking access and other information to assist students with accessibility needs.

Employee Classification and Hiring Procedures Arkansas State employees typically fall into two major groups: state classified and non-classified. The Office of Human Resources provides guidelines for the hiring of each of these groups.

Classified employees under state law are assigned to a class and pay grade with others having similar duties and responsibilities. A class may be divided into several levels. For positions that are classified by the state, the classification is determined by the Office of Personnel Management with the help of the university’s Human Resources Department and the departments concerned, subject to state laws. Each classified position will have a state job specification which outlines basic duties and minimum qualifications for the position. Non-classified positions have individually developed job descriptions.

Non-classified employees are not assigned to a pay grade but instead are assigned a job title with a maximum salary limit. Actual pay for non-classified employees is set by each campus based on the qualifications of the employee and the budget of the campus.

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The State of Arkansas recognizes the doctrine of "employment at will," and thus as a public university, employment at Hiring Guidelines & Procedures Arkansas State University is at-will. Either the employee or (Active Links in Blue) Arkansas State may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice.  Classified Staff The at-will relationship remains in full force and effect  Non-Classified Staff notwithstanding any statements to the contrary made by  Faculty  Extra Help university employees or set forth in any documents.

 AstateJobs Hiring Procedures Extensive information is provided for supervisors concerning  Astate Jobs Annual Evaluation the search and hiring processes. Advertisements for open Guide positions are placed in local, regional and/or national publications/websites, depending on the type of position.  Commonly Used Recruitment Arkansas State utilizes several resources that assist with the Resources recruitment of diverse candidates. Search committees are Chronicle of Higher Education apprised of ways to increase the diversity of the applicant pools Diverse Diversity.com and provided assistance and oversight by the diversity officer Diversity Inc. during the search process. Diversity Jobs Diversity Trio Perspective employees may view available jobs and Diversity Innovations requirements and make application via AstateJobs. All Insight into Diversity applications and supporting materials must be submitted Multicultural Advantage electronically through this site. Human Resources personnel Diversity Recruiting Center are readily available to assist any applicants who may have National Diversity Recruitment questions or need assistance with navigating the application Services process. Workplace Diversity National Association for Equal

Opportunity in Higher Ed Evaluations HBCU Connect All employees are evaluated annually. The evaluation process National Black MBA Association is an opportunity for supervisors and employees to review Hispanic Outlook specific information on performance, to determine what LatPro priorities for performance should be and to set future goals for Saludos Hispanics development. National Business & Disability Council Disciplinary Actions Women in Higher Education Arkansas State University utilizes a progressive discipline policy. It is the goal of the university to use progressive steps in employee disciplinary matters except when immediate termination is warranted. The existence and use of a progressive discipline policy does not in any way alter the at-will status of employees. The employee's supervisor will administer any appropriate corrective or disciplinary action. Appropriate action will be determined based on factors such as severity, frequency and degree of deviation from expectations and length of time involved. Because of the great variety of situations that may arise, the university may need to make decisions related to employment in a manner other than as provided in this section. Disciplinary actions may take place in several forms. The forms of disciplinary actions are verbal counseling, written counseling, final counseling and dismissal. Each of these actions is outlined in the Staff Handbook. The human resources department provides assistance to both supervisors and employees in disciplinary actions.

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Employee Benefits (Benefits) Arkansas State University has a comprehensive employee Office of the Provost benefit program for full-time employees. Benefits range Academic Affairs & Research from two retirement options, excellent health and life (Active Links in Blue) insurance packages, a wide range of supplemental benefits Provost and Vice Chancellor as well as perks such as tuition discounts (75% off  Vice Provost for Research and undergraduate and 50% off graduate tuition), degree Graduate Studies completion bonus, competitive vacation and sick leave,  Arkansas Biosciences Institute reduced prices for athletic events, the campus bookstore  Office of Research & and much more. Technology Transfer Each employee is assigned a Human Resources  Graduate School representative to assist them with their benefit needs and  Associate Vice Chancellor for filing of claims. Arkansas State strives to provide benefit Academic Services options that are affordable and meet the needs of its Colleges diverse employees.  Agriculture and Technology Academic Functions, Policies and Procedures  Business (Academic Affairs & Research)  Education The Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs and  Engineering Research is ultimately responsible for oversight of  Fine Arts academic and research functions, policies and procedures.  Humanities and Social Maintaining fair and ethical academic practices is of utmost Sciences  Media and Communication importance as is marshaling resources in support of  Nursing and Health excellent teaching, research, scholarship and service. Units Professions of Academic Affairs and Research are shown in the side  Sciences and Mathematics bar.  University College Support Units Faculty Handbook (Faculty Handbook)  Admissions, Records & The Faculty Handbook provides information about Registration (Registrar) Arkansas State University for current and prospective  Arkansas Heritage SITES faculty members. The Faculty Handbook recognizes that  Assessment & Student the faculty has responsibility for policy development in Learning Outcomes such fundamental areas as curriculum, research,  Continuing Education & scholarship, creative activities, faculty service, faculty Community Outreach status and those aspects of student life that relate to the  Dean B. Ellis Library educational process. The Faculty Handbook also recognizes  Institutional Research & Planning that the administration retains all its prerogatives of  International Programs academic and fiscal management and that the Board of  Interactive Teaching & Trustees retains all its prerogatives of constitutional and Technology Center statutory governance. Changes to the handbook are made  Military Science through the shared governance process under the direction  Museum of the Faculty Handbook Committee. All amendments or revisions require Board of Trustees approval. The Faculty Handbook is a living and evolving document. For it to have life and meaning, all parties have agreed to act in the spirit of collegiality, good faith and mutual respect while implementing its provisions.

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Faculty Promotion, Retention and Tenure (PRT) (FH IV) Promotion, retention and tenure is significant not only in the life of the individual faculty member but also in that of Promotion, Retention university. Arkansas State takes both pride and utmost care in and Tenure the conduction of all actions associated with the PRT process. (Active Links in Blue) A detailed explanation of the promotion, retention and tenure process is provided in Section IV of the Faculty Handbook. UPRT Requirements

College PRT Requirements Persons initially given pre-tenure appointments as professors, associate professors, or assistant professors must be reviewed  Agriculture & Technology for tenure no later than the completion of their sixth year of  Business service at Arkansas State University and tenure will be granted  Education or denied at the beginning of their seventh year of service at • ELCSE Arkansas State University. If the mandatory review results in a • HPESS failure to gain tenure by completion of the sixth year of service, • Psych & Counseling the seventh appointment will be a terminal appointment. • Teacher Education  Engineering

 Fine Arts Prospective faculty members coming with professional • Art productivity earned in previous employment settings may • Music negotiate the terms of initial employment with regard to • Theatre tenure status and academic rank. Given extenuating  Humanities & Social Sciences circumstances, faculty members on tenure-track may apply for • Crim., Soc. & Geography an extension of time in which to meet tenure requirements. • English & Philosophy • History Extenuating circumstances may include, but are not limited to, • Political Science childbirth, adoption, foster care of a child, care for a family • World Languages member, illness and public/university service.  Media & Communication  Nursing & Health Minimum standards for promotion and tenure are established Professions at university, college and department levels. University level • Social Work PRT requirements are discussed during new faculty orientation.  Sciences & Mathematics • Biological Sciences As the PRT requirements for each department and college may • Chemistry & Physics differ, pre-tenure faculty members are encouraged to review • Computer Science these standards and discuss them with their chair or members  Mathematics & Statistics of the departmental PRT committee as early as possible in their appointment. Minimum PRT evidence includes, but is not limited to:  Teaching  Research, scholarship and other creative professional activities  Department, college, university, professional and community service.

Department and college PRT Committees may choose to weight the criteria for post-tenure promotion (teaching, scholarship and service) as appropriate to the discipline and mission. No area can be weighted at zero; there must be some contribution in all three areas. Faculty need not be outstanding in all three areas. In making judgments, the university, college and department PRT Committees and administrators will be aware of the diversity of disciplines.

Arkansas State endeavors to make certain that pre-tenure faculty members understand their progress

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toward PRT at each step of the review process in years 1-6 so that they have every opportunity to improve performance or make changes in career goals. Department and college PRT committees provide formal feedback to pre-tenure faculty at scheduled intervals during the tenure process.

Faculty applying for promotion submit applications in accordance with the promotion and tenure schedule provided by the Office of the Provost/Academic Affairs and Research each year. Promotion recommendations originate at the department level, move to the college level, then to the University Promotion, Retention and Tenure Committee (UPRTC). The UPRTC submits its recommendation to the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and research with the provost making recommendation to the chancellor. Promotion and/or tenure may be granted by the Board of Trustees following recommendation by the chancellor and the president of university.

At each step in the review process for promotion or tenure (department, college and university committees) applicants are notified in writing of the recommendations and rationale. Persons who withdraw an application for promotion and/or tenure at any stage of the process may not resubmit an application during that review cycle and may not grieve. On withdrawal of an application, review of that application, at all levels, ceases.

After the review process has been completed, applicants for promotion and tenure receive a letter from the provost copied to the chair and dean, informing them of the recommendation that will be made to the chancellor. Applicants are notified of the provost’s recommendation no later than the day that the final recommendation will be presented by the chancellor and president to the ASU Board of Trustees for action.

Post-tenure Review (Post Tenure Review) Arkansas Act 1330 of 1997 mandated that state supported institutions of higher education "work with the campus faculties to develop a framework to review faculty performance, including post-tenure review.” The stated purpose of Act 1330 was to ensure and enhance faculty performance and "productivity," and to "correct instances of substandard performance.” Arkansas State University recognizes that the reward of tenure, based on professional achievement, brings with it certain obligations and responsibilities to colleagues, the institution and the State of Arkansas.

The purpose of post-tenure review ensures a consistently high level of performance of Arkansas State faculty. Pursuant to law, the effects of the review process of faculty performance includes rewarding productive faculty, redirecting faculty efforts to improve or increase productivity and correcting instances of substandard performance. The university has a well-established and long-standing practice of annual faculty performance reviews that include review of tenured faculty. Faculty members are required to submit a yearly productivity report. Teaching, research and service performance are evaluated. An annual conference with the department chair is required. Unsatisfactory performance evaluations result in a plan for near-term improvement.

The establishment of a framework for post-tenure review beyond the annual review process serves to enhance and protect the integrity of the tenure system. Substantive Post-Tenure Review will occur if (a) there have been two consecutive annual unsatisfactory performance ratings given by the department chair, or (b) a group of tenured faculty in the department petition for review of a colleague. The faculty within each department develop the criteria defining unsatisfactory performance. Appendix C of the Faculty Handbook outlines the Substantive Post-Tenure Review Process.

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Academic Records and Policies A major role of the registrar is to ensure the integrity of academic records and associated processes. Due diligence is given in adhering to federal, state and university policies and procedures. Best practices prescribed by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) are followed. Staff members participate in national, regional (SAACRAO) and state (ARK AACRAO) meetings and webinars of this organization for professional development.

University academic procedures are provided in the Undergraduate Bulletin and Graduate Catalog. Changes or new procedures are vetted through the appropriate shared governance committee. Waivers or exceptions to academic procedures may be petitioned through the appropriate shared governance committee, usually the Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Appeals Committee. This committee conducts review of student petitions throughout the year. Through committee review, all students are treated as equally and consistently as possible. (Undergraduate Bulletin; Graduate Catalog)

The Office of Admissions and Student Records monitors and evaluates academic procedures, Banner applications, changes in federal and state laws and other related concerns. When modifications are needed, it works with the appropriate administrators and/or shared governance committees. Responding to a much needed change in the preparation and accuracy of degree check sheets is an excellent example of this process. It was brought to the attention of the university by an NCAA audit that there were inaccuracies in degree check sheets, which provide requirements for academic programs and graduation. Because of check sheet errors, several student athletes were rendered ineligible. The errors appeared to have occurred from “cut and paste technology” which continued to replicate errors from one year to the next. At that time, check sheets were prepared and distributed by academic departments. To ensure accuracy, the Registrar’s office met with deans and chairs to discuss the need for one point of preparation and distribution of degree check sheets to ensure accuracy. The departments worked with the registrar staff to develop a standardized check sheet that could be tied into the degree audit system to facilitate both students and faculty in the advisement process and graduation checkout. The registrar’s office is now the sole source for all degree check sheets and updates them annually as changes are made in the Bulletin or Catalog.

Eligibility for the awarding of a degree is initiated by the student and his/her advisor through the filing of the intent to graduate document. Graduation check sheets are prepared by the student’s faculty advisor and then reviewed and approved by the department chair and dean before submission to the graduation coordinator. Upon receipt, the graduation coordinator processes and reports any errors or concerns to the student and advisor. The graduation coordinator will monitor for end of term grades, receipt of transcripts associated with transfer work and any other documentation or action needed for the student to complete degree requirements.

The Office of Admissions and Student Records provides training for faculty, staff and students associated with the academic components of self-service and native Banner. Departmental staff are responsible for entering course data for each academic term. As accuracy of these data is important and errors are easily made due to the massive amount of data entry required, reports are generated regularly to assist with making corrections or to provide needed data on enrollment or grading activities for the departments.

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Auxiliary Functions Arkansas State establishes and follows ethical policies and processes for its auxiliary operations. Auxiliaries are held to the same standards, policies and practices of other university units in conducting their activities and functions.

Auxiliary Oversight Intercollegiate Athletics Director of Athletics Student and Faculty Housing Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dining Services Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Rental of University Properties (Student Union, Pavilion) Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Student Publications and Organizations Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Auxiliary Farms Dean of Agriculture and Technology Convocation Center Vice Chancellor for Finance, Director of Athletics, Provost Parking Services Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Post Office Vice Chancellor for Finance Bookstore, Vending Services, Student Use Copy Machines Vice Chancellor for Finance Red Wolf Fitness Center Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

2.B. Arkansas State University presents itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public with regard to its programs, requirements, faculty and staff, costs to students, control, and accreditation relationships.

The university’s website is the primary provider of information for students, faculty, staff and the public. In spring 2013, Arkansas State launched a new website and continues to review, update and revise this site to provide current and accurate information to the university's constituencies. The website has improved many areas of information and communication both internally and externally (Website). (Active Links in Blue)

Information most frequently accessed by prospective and  Admissions current students may generally be found under five broad  Academics headings at the top of the homepage, each with associated  Campus Life links as shown in parentheses: Admissions (Undergraduate,  Research Graduate, Online, International, Financial Aid, Residence Life, Recruitment,  About ASU Admissions, Records and Registration); Academics (Degrees Offered, Colleges  A-Z Index & Departments, Honors College, Graduate School, Degree Centers, Instructional Sites, Military Science, VC for Academic Affairs & Research); Campus Life  Academic Programs, Degrees & (Student Union, Leadership Center, Red WOLF Center, Intramurals, Dining Services, Majors Student Health Center, VC for Student Affairs); Research (Research & Technology Transfer, Research Opportunities, Sponsored Programs Accounting,  Colleges and Departments Library); About ASU (Quick Facts, History & Heritage, Accreditations, About (Example: http://www.astate.edu/college/sciences- Jonesboro, Visit Campus, Institutional Research & Planning, Chancellor's Office). and-mathematics/index.dot) The A-Z Index provides a more detailed list of search topics or the A-State search engine may be used if the precise  Academic Requirements search terminology is not known.  Undergraduate Bulletin  Graduate Catalog

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Admissions, Records and Registration Admissions information is clearly defined by student category: undergraduate, graduate, international and students pursuing select on-line degree programs. Students can access admissions criteria, applications, freshman new student orientation and campus visit registration as well as contact information for other admissions related or new student services.

Student records are maintained by the registrar. Students may submit high school and transfer transcripts for admission and evaluation, request Arkansas State transcripts, get assistance with registration, veterans benefits, find out about FERPA compliance, or seek information about grades, academic programs and related policies and procedures. The responsibilities, assignments and services of the Registrar’s Office are completed within institutional policies and standards as well as related state and federal laws and regulations. Arkansas State is a member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) with staff participation in its activities at the state, regional and national level to stay abreast of best practices and changes in federal law.

Academic Programs, Degrees and Majors Students can access degree and program information from a variety of links on the website (Undergraduate Bulletin, Graduate Catalog, Academic College, Department, Degree List, Majors, Academics and others). The Degree Programs link is commonly used by students to sort degrees by college, name, type and mode of delivery (such as on-line only). By selecting a given degree, the student is taken to additional information that includes the degree plan/graduation check sheet, careers, certifications/licensure requirements and other applicable information. This past year, the university also implemented a Degree Audit Check within its Banner records system so that students and advisors can quickly evaluate the coursework of the student against any degree offered by the university. In addition to degree programs and requirements, college and department webpages provide information about administration, faculty, student organizations, upcoming events and activities and other pertinent information.

Academic Requirements Academic policies and program requirements are provided in the Undergraduate Bulletin and Graduate Catalog published annually on-line. The Undergraduate Bulletin and Graduate Catalog provide detailed and comprehensive information on the university’s policies and procedures, admissions requirements, academic programs, degree requirements, course descriptions and faculty. The institution’s history, mission and core values are published in these documents along with information concerning accreditations, library, museum, student services and student organizations.

Academic policies and regulations are provided in detail concerning admissions, entrance exam scores, degree completion, honors designations, grading, course repeats, transfer of credit, course drop and withdrawal, academic standing, remediation, class attendance and numerous other policies. The General Education Core is defined along with its goals and requirements. Individual program requirements are listed in each College/Department section. Course descriptions include course numbering identifying level and credit hours, prerequisites, frequency of offering and other associated information. Faculty and their credentials, as well as university administration, are listed. Information in these documents is overseen by the Undergraduate and Graduate Curriculum Councils, Undergraduate Enrollment and Academic Policy Committee, General Education Committee, graduate dean, provost and registrar. Each college, department and unit with information in the Bulletin and Catalog annually review and provide editorial comments to the registrar and graduate dean.

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Faculty and Staff Arkansas State presents information concerning faculty and staff to its students and to the public through its website, searchable directories and a printed System Directory of Students, Faculty and Staff, which is available free of charge to all constituencies. Faculty information and credentials are available publicly on the website via biographical information and Curriculum Vitaes are provided in the college/department listings. Faculty appointment information which includes degrees received is provided in the Undergraduate Bulletin and Graduate Catalog.

Minimum credentials for faculty and staff are outlined by various state policies administered by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA). These credentials may be accessed by the public on the ADHE and DFA websites. Requirements for faculty also are provided in the Faculty Handbook which is available to the public. Administrative, non- classified and faculty appointments require Board of Trustees approval and are publicly announced via news releases.

Tuition and Fees (Student Accounts) The website continually provides information on tuition, fees, housing, food service and other student costs of attendance. Any changes in these costs generally occur with approval at the May Board of Trustees meeting in time for posting prior to the start of the new academic year. The tuition refund schedule is provided for each academic term along with the financial aid distribution and refund schedules. Students can find information concerning payment options and services provided by the Office of Student Accounts as well as links to financial aid and scholarship opportunities, a Net Price Calculator for cost of attendance and information on Financial Readiness Money 101. Additional costs for professional programs are available on the respective websites.

Control Arkansas State University is a public university created by Arkansas Act 100 of 1909. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the management and control of the activities, affairs, operations, business and property of the University System. Board meetings are open to the public and all meeting minutes are posted on the ASU System website.

Day-to-day operations of the university are conducted by the chancellor and the Executive Council consisting of the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research, the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration, the vice chancellor for Student Affairs, the vice chancellor for University Advancement and the director of Athletics. The president of the Student Government Association and chairs of the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and Shared Governance Oversight Committee serve in an advisory capacity to the Executive Council.

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Accreditations The institution’s academic accreditation relationships are publicly posted on the website and in the Undergraduate Bulletin and Graduate Catalog. Arkansas State has 25 discipline specific accreditations and continues to seek additional accreditations as appropriate. These accreditation relationships assist in further validating the ethical standards and operating procedures of the institution.

Business • The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International (AACSB) Media and Communication • Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) Education and Health, Physical Education, and Sport Sciences • Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training (CAAT) • Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) • Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) • National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Engineering • Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET The International Center for English • Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) Fine Arts • National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) • National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) • National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) High School Concurrent Enrollment • National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) Nursing and Health Professions • Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) • Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) • Council for Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CAAASLHA) • Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) • Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) • Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRCEDMS) • Joint Review Committee on Education in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (JRCEMRI) • Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) • National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) • Accreditation Commission on Education in Nursing (ACEN) • Accreditation Council for Education in Nutritional Dietetics (ACEND) Public Administration • National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA))

A moment in time… When the legislature created the institution in 1909, it provided for a board of five "intelligent farmers to manage the school and make rules and regulations." The governance of Arkansas State College changed in January 1943 as Amendment 33 to the Constitution of the State of Arkansas revised the system of boards and commissions charged with management and control of Arkansas institutions. Amendment 33 specified that a board of five trustees oversee ASC.

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2.C. The governing board of Arkansas State University is sufficiently autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of Arkansas State University and to assure its integrity.

Arkansas State University’s Board of Trustees (BOT) is composed of five voting members appointed by the Governor of Arkansas with the advice and consent of the State Senate. Board of Trustees (Active Links in Blue) Each member is appointed to a five year, staggered term and  Bylaws may be reappointed. Officers are elected from within the  Principles of Board Service board and consist of chair, vice-chair and secretary.  Standards of Conduct & Conflict of Interest Board members must be familiar and comply with the  Board Minutes & Principles of Board Service. These principles include: Resolutions

 That no individual Trustee shall purport to act on behalf of the Board as a whole without express authority given by the Board to do so.  That each Trustee shall avoid direct intervention in academic, financial, student, athletic, or administrative affairs of any of the campuses in the System.  That each Trustee address matters of university administration or of executive action only through the President.  That each Trustee devote time to learn how university’s mission and multiple purposes are meeting its uniqueness, strengths and needs.  That each Trustee become familiar with, committed to and abide by the Board’s responsibilities and policies as set forth in the Bylaws and rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees and the laws of the State of Arkansas.  That each Trustee accept and defend the principles of academic freedom and the practice of shared governance as fundamental characteristics of good university administration.  That each Trustee assist the Board as a whole in its efforts to balance its responsibilities in serving its broad public trust with advocacy for university’s needs to fulfill its mission and purposes.  That each Trustee adhere to and comply with rules, regulations, laws, or policies pertaining to governance, ethics and conflict of interest, including timely filing of all required public disclosures.  That each Trustee notify the campus executive as a matter of professional courtesy when a Trustee visits that campus.

The Bylaws of the ASU Board of Trustees provide that the entire management and control of the activities, affairs, operations, business and property of the Arkansas State University System shall be completely and absolutely vested in the Board of Trustees. However, upon general or specific authorization or delegation or provided for in the BOT Bylaws, the board may exercise its management and control by and through such officers, officials, committees and agents as may seem fit and proper.

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2.C.1. The governing board’s deliberations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance Arkansas State University. AND 2.C.2. The governing board reviews and considers the reasonable and relevant interests of Arkansas State University’s internal and external constituencies during its decision-making deliberations.

In the deliberations of Arkansas State University’s Board of Trustees, it focuses on advancing all aspects of the university in the best interests of the constituencies served by the university. In exercising its management and control of the university, the board recognizes that it must determine major policy; review existing policy; define missions, role and scope of the university; and provide ultimate accountability to the public and the political bodies of Arkansas. Evidence of this is reflected in the primary decisions reviewed and approved by the board (Board Minutes and Resolutions):

 appointment of all faculty members and employees  review and approval of proposed changes in academic programs  granting of diplomas and conferral of degrees based upon recommendations of the chancellor and faculty  approval of the annual budget and changes in tuition and fees  monitoring of the institution’s assets, including investments and the physical plant  monitoring the university’s fund raising goals and strategies to secure sources of support; authorization of university officers to accept bequests or gifts  serve as advocates for the university in appropriate matters of public policy  determine the university’s structure, major academic programs and services needed for successful conduct of its mission and purposes

Major decisions faced recently by the board included decisions associated with the priority to increase faculty and staff salaries which required an increase in tuition and fees; the approval to opt out of a controversial state weapons policy for colleges and universities; and funding to provide for completion of the new liberal arts building and a recreational facility. These are reflected in the following excerpt from the board’s actions of the May 23, 2013 board meeting:

ACTION ITEM: Arkansas State University System (ASU) requests approval of the fiscal year 2013-2014 operating budgets and authority to execute the budgets during the fiscal year.

ISSUE: The Board of Trustees must approve each fiscal year the operating budgets of the ASU System.

BACKGROUND:

The operating budget establishes expenditure levels for certain categories of expense, including salaries, supplies and services and capital expenditures. Moreover, the budget establishes sound fiscal policy by which the university manages its annual fiscal affairs.

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ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY-JONESBORO: The Arkansas State University-Jonesboro (ASUJ) 2013-2014 operating budget was developed through the efforts of the university's Executive Council and shared with the University Planning Council (UPC) and the campus community. The UPC-adopted budget planning principles were utilized in the development of the final operating budget. ASUJ will receive additional state appropriation resources in an attempt to bring ASUJ closer to the 75% level of funding within the state formula calculations. State appropriation increases, additional tuition revenues and reallocated resources from currently budgeted expenditure categories were allocated to cover campus safety issues, fixed cost increases, employee health care cost increases, additional faculty positions for academic program growth and other improvements to provide quality instruction and an enhanced overall educational experience for students.

FY2014 state general revenue funding is forecasted to increase by $1,493,933 and Educational Excellence Trust Fund resources are anticipated to be flat. To continue to provide the educational experience expected by today's student population, a 3.3% tuition increase is requested as well as a $2 per credit hour increase in the designated fee for faculty salaries and a $3 per credit hour fee for facilities.

Funds were allocated to the following categories: • Faculty promotions; • 2% COLA increase for classified employees; • 2% merit salary increase for non-classified employees; • 3% merit salary increase for faculty; • An additional public safety officer for continued support of campus safety issues; • Continued support of institutional and performance scholarships; • Inflationary cost increases related to information technology systems; • Five additional faculty positions due to program growth and accreditation requirements; • Employee health care cost increases; • Faculty equity; • Completion of the Liberal Arts Building; and • Construction of a Recreational Facility.

The Arkansas State University-Jonesboro budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 is $144,379,083 for Educational and General operations and $33,654,295 for Auxiliary operations.

The Arkansas Legislature Act 226 of 2013 provided direction to the governing boards of public universities regarding the method for prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns on system premises. In essence, this act allowed for the carrying of concealed weapons on campuses if so approved by their Board of Trustees. This act produced much discussion throughout the state’s communities and institutions of higher education. Arkansas State involved its faculty, staff and student constituencies in gathering information, holding open forums and exercising the shared governance process to provide guidance to the chancellor in presenting the campus’ stance to the board in its decision making process. In addition, the University Police Department and Jonesboro Police Chief were consulted concerning the pros and cons of concealed weapons on campus. The chair of the Faculty Senate addressed the board on this topic. As the Arkansas State University System is dedicated to providing an educational and social climate which is conducive to the safety of all members of the university community, prohibiting all weapons from system property, including concealed handguns, is essential to this goal. Acts of violence on university campuses have proven that weapons pose a serious threat to the safety of persons and property. Thus, the board’s ultimate decision was to continue with its current system policy to restrict the carrying of weapons to approved university

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officials as designated in the Weapons Policy. (Weapons Policy)

2.C.3. The governing board preserves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors, elected officials, ownership interests, or other external parties when such influence would not be in the best interest of Arkansas State University.

The Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University is declared by statute to be a body politic and corporate. Members of the Board must perform their responsibilities in accordance with high standards of integrity, avoid conflicts of interest and disclose those which occur. This policy establishes standards of conduct for members of the Board in addition to those established by applicable statutes or policies of the Board. This policy is to assure that members of the Board act in accordance with these standards and those conflicts of interest which occur are appropriately disclosed and resolved.

A Trustee must always abstain from voting or influencing transactions where a conflict of interest exists. A Trustee having knowledge of a conflict of interest shall disclose it to the Board Chair within a reasonable time after becoming aware of the conflict of interest. A Trustee having a conflict of interest shall not vote or otherwise take any action with the respect to the matter as to which a conflict of interest exists.

Members of the Board shall annually submit a Statement of Financial Interest to the Arkansas Secretary of State on or before January 31 of each year as required by law. Such disclosure shall be deemed a public record and subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Each Trustee shall also submit annually a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form to the Executive Secretary to the Board.

A Trustee shall not use or attempt to use his or her position to secure special privileges or exemptions for himself, herself, or others. A Trustee shall not disclose 1) confidential information acquired by him or her in the course of a member’s official duties; 2) discussions and deliberations of the Board conducted in executive session; or 3) use such information to further his or her personal interest.

2.C.4. The governing board delegates day-to-day management of Arkansas State University to the administration and expects the faculty to oversee academic matters.

The Board delegates day-to-day operations of university to the chancellor and the Executive Council. The faculty has responsibility for policy development in such fundamental areas as curriculum, research, scholarship, creative activities, faculty service, faculty status and those aspects of student life that relate to the educational process as recognized in the Faculty Handbook. The Faculty Handbook also recognizes that the administration retains all its prerogatives of academic and fiscal management and that the Board of Trustees retains all its prerogatives of constitutional and statutory governance.

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2.D. Arkansas State University is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.

Arkansas State University highly regards the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the right to assemble peaceably. The Board of Trustees approved an ASU System Freedom of Expression Policy (Freedom of Expression Policy) which affirms ASU’s commitment to affording each member of the university community the opportunity to engage in peaceful and orderly protests and demonstrations in areas designated as free expression areas providing that these activities do not disrupt the operation of the university.

Such opportunities are provided on an equal basis and adhere to the basic principle that the university will remain neutral as to the content of any public demonstration. In order to achieve this objective, while at the same time ensuring that the institution fulfills its educational mission, the university has the responsibility to regulate the time, place and manner of expression. Through such regulation, equal opportunity for all persons can be assured, order within the university community can be preserved, university property can be protected and a secure environment for individuals to exercise freedom of expression can be provided. The university has designated Free Expression Areas which may be scheduled through the Dean of Student Development and Leadership in order to accommodate all interested users. Marches may take place on streets and sidewalks of the campus.

Academic Freedom Faculty are committed to imparting the values of freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning to students as evidenced in the faculty handbook, III.a. Academic Freedom and Responsibility:

Arkansas State University recognizes academic freedom as an essential component to the development of knowledge and understanding. The university encourages and protects freedom of inquiry in research, publication, teaching, learning and the free exchange of ideas. Academic freedom does not protect all speech and faculty members are expected to recognize that accuracy, forthrightness, integrity, dignity and civility are required as university employees and as men and women of learning. They should not represent themselves, without authorization, as speaking for Arkansas State University. The university acknowledges the principles set out in the “Statement of Professional Ethics” (1987) and the 1940 “Statement on Academic Freedom” as adopted by the American Association of University Professors.

The university is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in student learning as well. The Arkansas State Student Handbook provides the following student academic rights and responsibilities:

Academic Rights of the Student (Student Handbook)  The student shall have the right to an academic environment that is accepting of all students without regard for race, national origin, gender, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or religion.  The student shall be free to take reasoned exception to data and views offered in the classroom and to express differences of opinion without fear of penalty.

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 The student has a right to protection against improper disclosure of information concerning grades, health or character that an instructor acquires in the course of his/her professional relationship with the student.  The student has a right to a course grade that represents the instructor’s professional judgment of the student's performance in the course.  The student has the right to accurate and clearly stated information in order to determine: 1. The general requirements for establishing and maintaining an acceptable academic standing. 2. His/her over-all academic relationship with the university and any special conditions that apply. 3. The graduation requirements for a particular curriculum and major. 4. The student has a right to be governed by educationally justifiable academic regulations. 5. The student has a right to competent instruction.

Academic Responsibilities of the Student  The student is responsible for being informed about academic requirements, both general and specific, for completing a degree program as outlined in the Undergraduate or Graduate Bulletin.  The student is responsible for learning the content of a course of study according to standards of performance established by the faculty.  The student’s behavior in the classroom shall be conducive to the learning process for all concerned.

Students may exercise responsible freedom of speech and expression through participating in the campus newspaper (The Hearld), radio station (KASU), and television station (ASU-TV). The student newspaper is a registered student organization and enjoys the protections afforded by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Subject to the limits of those protections, it cannot be censored or controlled by the university or any of its employees. The radio and television stations are not student organizations of university, but are administrative services of the university associated with an academic unit, the College of Media and Communication. KASU and ASU-TV do not receive the same protection by law that the First Amendment provides to The Herald (Herald On-line).

Students are free to express their perspectives through participation in governance in the Student Government Association and the Graduate Student Council. Students are also free to participate in more than 100 student organizations and may create their own organizations, as long as they do not violate the Code of Student Conduct or discriminate in terms of gender, age, or race.

2.E. Arkansas State University ensures that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly.

As Arkansas State University continues to grow in its research endeavors, it understands the importance of continued public confidence and trust. Misconduct in university research and in application of knowledge, including fabrication of results, plagiarism and misrepresentation of findings raise serious questions about the integrity of the research process and the stewardship of public and private research funds. Arkansas State has policies and procedures in place to ensure the responsible acquisition, discovery and application of knowledge.

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2E.1. Arkansas State University provides effective oversight and support services to ensure the integrity of research and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff, and students.

Among the responsibilities of the faculty of Arkansas State University are teaching, engaging in scholarly activities and offering professional services. The university encourages scholarly activity as essential to the maintenance of skills and the mastery of the area in which the faculty member teaches, as well as to the development of new knowledge. Furthermore, it is the policy of the university to encourage scholarly activity in the form of basic and applied research on the part of faculty and staff. This includes the endorsement and support of proposals for on-campus and off-campus grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. It is anticipated that such research activities may result in patentable discoveries, inventions, or copyrightable materials. Arkansas State University may retain an interest in discoveries, inventions, including patents and copyrightable materials as provided for in Arkansas State’s Intellectual Property and Patent Policies.

Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT) Support services for faculty pursuing research and scholarship funding have grown significantly in the last few years and are provided mostly by the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT). Faculty are encouraged to contact ORTT, their college and their department early in the planning process for advice on proposal budgets, in-kind or matching funds and other assistance with proposal preparation. Faculty are responsible for following the policies and procedures associated with the submission of both internally and externally funded proposals and if awarded, to comply with all federal and state regulations for purchasing, consultant contracting and auditing under which the university operates.

ORTT administers two faculty development endowment funds intended to support faculty scholarly activity: 1. The Eleanor Lane Faculty Endowment is for international travel with awards up to $1,000. Numbers of possible awards vary with the health of the stock market (usually 3‐4 awards). 2. The Nathan Deutsch Faculty Development Fund awards up to $500. Typically, three or four awards are possible. Proposals are evaluated on a competitive basis by the Faculty Research Awards Committee (FRAC).

Assuring appropriate incentives for the development and marketing of intellectual property was the major driving force behind the creation of the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT) within the university and the Research Development Institute (RDI) as a separate non-profit corporation outside the university in 2011.

ORTT and RDI seek to assure faculty incentives, maintain the integrity of research in the educational process and resolve the limitations imposed by confusion over property rights. Good progress and open communication in these areas enable students and faculty researchers to use their results in establishing a public record of accomplishment and funding agencies to realize profits from the endeavors that they commissioned. Hence, the university can recoup its subsidy of the research process for future generations of students and can share with individual investigators profits to be made from the applications of discoveries.

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Administration of the award funds is provided through an account set up by the Office of Sponsored Programs. Throughout the granting period, it is the responsibility of the project director to make all necessary reports and project evaluations to the awarding agency.

The university subscribes to SPINPlus – Grants, Funds Database, a web-based system that includes a database of funding opportunities, a database of investigator profiles and a matching alert service. SPINPlus assists faculty with finding research funds and collaborators. Cayuse Software for Research Proposal Development is used by anyone submitting grants. All external grants must go through the Cayuse approval queue. Cayuse serves as a repository for all grant documents that are generated at Arkansas State, provides an automated approval system and allows uploads to grants.gov as needed.

The Research Compliance Officer within ORTT is responsible for insuring that all research is carried out in a responsible manner and that all federal and state laws are followed. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is mandated for anyone submitting grants and a prerequisite before submitting for approval to the Arkansas State Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research. Arkansas State uses the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) in Human Research Subjects Protections, a web based training program, to meet this requirement. Principal investigators are responsible for assuring that students and postdoctoral fellows have taken and passed CITI training. In addition to the "Basic" content, the CITI model provides the opportunity for institutions to post additional instructional materials specific to their institution. The CITI Program includes:

• Basic Courses in the Protection of Human Research Subjects • Biomedical Focus • Social and Behavioral Focus. • Refresher Courses • Good Clinical Practice Course. • Health Information Privacy and Security Course (HIPS) • Laboratory Animal Welfare Courses for investigators and IACUC Members • Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

SPINPlus, Cayuse and CITI are subscribed to by ORTT with training provided to faculty and researchers by the Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC).

The vice chancellor for Finance and Administration oversees the Department of Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health which coordinates other activities to assure safety in research, such as the control of hazardous materials and waste.

Research Misconduct (Research Misconduct) Arkansas State has established a process for the reporting and investigation of any suspected research misconduct in compliance with the National Science Foundation, Public Health Services and other federal funding agencies. Arkansas State will act vigorously to discourage and detect misconduct in research; will take appropriate disciplinary action against any of its employees or students who engage in such misconduct, as revealed by a careful investigation; and will inform and cooperate with those agencies sponsoring research that appears likely to have been affected by such misconduct

Intellectual Property Policy (Intellectual Property Policy) Arkansas State encourages creativity and acknowledges the complexity of the issues related to the ownership, control and use of creative property. The Intellectual Property Policy was originally

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imbedded within the Patent Policy. During the past academic year, the patent policy has been revised and approved by the Board of Trustees. The intellectual property policy is next in line for revision as a system policy and campus procedure.

Patent Policy (Patent Policy) In December 2012, a new ASU System Patent Policy was approved by the Board of Trustees after much input and deliberation by faculty and staff. Each campus is in the process of developing a supporting operating procedure as applicable to the needs of its campus.

Use of Human and Animal Subjects and Laboratory Safety (Research Compliance) The following regulatory committees based on federal regulations provide oversight for the use of human and animal subjects and laboratory safety at Arkansas State:  Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research  Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee  Agricultural Animal Care and Use Committee  Radiation and Safety Committee  Institutional Biosafety Committee

Conflict of Interest (Conflict of Interest) Involvement of university employees in outside activities, both public and private, often serves the interests of the individual, university and general public but university employees need to be sensitive to the possibility that outside obligations, financial interests, or employment may affect their responsibilities and decisions as members of the university community. Participation of individuals in activities outside the university is encouraged to the extent that it does not interfere with the employment duties of the individual or the mission of university in preserving, generating and disseminating knowledge. Employees must comply with the university Conflict of Interest Policy and sign a disclosure form annually by Arkansas State law.

2E.2. Students are offered guidance in the ethical use of information resources.

The university invests substantial and sufficient resources to acquire and operate information technology (IT) assets, such as hardware, software and Internet connections. It has a responsibility to manage its resources in the most efficient and effective manner possible and in compliance with all laws, regulations and sound business practices. Effective management of information technology resources will assure students, faculty and staff adequate access to information and technology over the long term. The Arkansas State University Appropriate Use of Information and Technology Resources Policy is published on university’s website. These regulations apply to any individual accessing the Arkansas State University information technology infrastructure and associated resources.

The computing Acceptable Use Policy must be acknowledged by all students before applying for an Arkansas State network ID. Failure to comply with these policies may result in the loss of network privileges. Network IDs are issued to registered Arkansas State students only. The policy addresses copyrighted computer software, computer ethics, network ID validity and other topics.

Because Arkansas State University is an agency of the State of Arkansas, all information produced by or stored on university owned computers is subject to a request for disclosure under the Arkansas

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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Arkansas State University is the owner of all information stored on university owned computers and has the legal right and obligation to access any and all computer information. A university employee or student should have no expectation of privacy regarding any information stored on a university computer.

Information Services librarians teach several sections of the for-credit course, LIR 1011: Intro to Using Electronic Information Sources, each semester. There is no prerequisite for the course. The course is an elective and highly recommended for students to take early in their university career to assist with research papers and other scholarly assignments. This one credit, half-semester course teaches students strategies for effective information research, including:

 Becoming familiar with all resources the library has to offer and learning how to use them effectively  Formulating search strategies  Information literacy  Evaluating all types of tools available for searching  Evaluating information found on the web for accuracy and validity  Selecting the appropriate resources

The library also provides links to free citation style guides and citation builders as well as style manuals to assist students with avoiding plagiarism. Faculty were recently asked to share strategies for guiding students in the ethical use of electronic resources. (FC Ethical Use)

Several products are being used to add security to on-line testing by Arkansas State faculty. The Respondus LockDown BrowserTM is used in the Blackboard Learning System. When students use Respondus LockDown BrowserTM to access an assessment, they are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other applications. Students are locked into an assessment until it is submitted for grading. The RemoteProctor is a device which monitors activity during an on-line exam and is used in some courses in Nursing and Health Professions and Business.

Recording Ethics The university does not permit the recording of conversation surreptitiously. The concealed recording of conversations among administrators, faculty, students, or staff constitutes grounds for dismissal.

2E.3. Arkansas State University has and enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity.

Academic Integrity Arkansas State enthusiastically promotes academic integrity and professional ethics among all members of the Arkansas State academic community. As part of its curriculum, the mandatory First Year Seminar course discusses university policies highlighting academic integrity and academic misconduct. The Student Handbook provides the information and policy on academic misconduct as well as the disciplinary action that may be taken by the faculty member. Violations of this policy are considered as serious misconduct and may result in severe penalties or expulsion. Acts of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism and cheating, may be responded to by faculty giving a failing grade on the assignment or exam, assignment of a failing grade in the course, or recommend sanctions. Sanctions may include disciplinary expulsion from the university or academic program. Faculty recently shared their

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approaches to enforcing academic honesty and integrity which are being reviewed for possible consideration as university procedures. (FC Academic Integrity)

Arkansas State does not have a university-wide policy on the use of cell phones and other technology in the classroom as it may relate to academic misconduct. Colleges and departments (e.g., Nursing and Health Professions, Biology) or individual faculty may add to the guidelines provided in the Student Handbook in order to enforce academic integrity and professional ethics to meet their special needs (e.g., clinical, computer, laboratory experiences). A student disagreeing with the sanction issued based on academic misconduct may follow the Academic Grievance Procedure.

Student Academic Grievance Procedure Under certain circumstances, Arkansas State students have the right to request a waiver or variance of university policies and/or procedures and to grieve alleged violations of their academic rights. The academic requirements, rules and regulations of the university are published in the undergraduate and graduate bulletins. For the purpose of providing an avenue of appeal for students who have reason to believe that an exception to the stated requirements, rules and regulations should be made, the following committees are provided:

 College, Independent Department and Graduate School Admissions and Credits Committee  Undergraduate Admissions, Graduation and Academic Appeals Committee  College Hearing Committee

Formal grievances are appealed to the College Hearing Committee if the concern cannot be resolved at a lower level. The process for appealing to one of the above committees is outlined in the Student Handbook. All parties must strictly adhere to the grievance procedures and timelines.

Student Conduct The Office of Student Conduct (OSC) is responsible for addressing issues of behavior with students and student organizations. While the conduct process is reactive, the OSC provides proactive programming for classes and organizations to answer questions and educate students on appropriate behavior. OSC facilitates a positive and safe environment for student learning and strives to help achieve a community in which individuals learn the value of demonstrating respect for others, themselves and university.

Criterion Two Strengths and Opportunities Arkansas State is an ethical and responsible institution of higher education. The institution is growing as a research entity and has assumed a proactive approach to ethical conduct in research and in the overall approach to everyday campus life. Infrequent student, staff and faculty grievances attest to the integrity of campus operations. Likewise, should such an event arise, Arkansas State accordingly follows policy and procedure.

The faculty hold in high regard the PRT process. Rarely are administrative decisions counter to committee recommendations. The number of specific external accreditations further confirms the university’s commitment to integrity.

The Board of Trustees acts responsibly in carrying out their duties for the people of Arkansas. Inherent in this responsibility is their obvious commitment to students, faculty, staff and the overall welfare of the campus as evidenced by two recent sensitive and controversial decisions (gun control and tuition).

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The university’s administration also acts responsibly, as recently demonstrated when a most unfortunate occurrence of identity theft plagued the campus, resulting in numerous employees having fraudulent income tax filings. The administration responded promptly to assist those affected in every way. Throughout the investigation, administration was as forthcoming as allowable for a federal crime investigation. Although no identifiable breach of confidentially has been identified, the campus has responded by putting additional safeguards in place.

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CRITERION THREE

r Three r Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and

Support Chapt CRITERION THREE 82 Chapter Three

Criterion Three Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support The institution provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered. Core Components

3.A. The institution’s degree programs are appropriate to higher education. 1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of performance by students appropriate to the degree or certificate awarded. 2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post- graduate, and certificate programs. 3. The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, etc.).

3.B. The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application, and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs. 1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings, and degree levels of the insti- tution. 2. The institution articulates the purposes, content, and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess. 3. Every degree program offered by the institution engages students in collecting, analyzing, and communicating informa- tion; in mastering modes of inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments. 4. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity of the world in which students live and work. 5. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work, and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appro- priate to their programs and the institution’s mission.

3.C. The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services. 1. The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non- classroom roles of faculty (oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance; establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff; involvement in assessment of student learning; etc.). 2. All instructors are appropriately credentialed, including those in dual credit, contractual, and consortial programs. 3. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures. The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development. 4. Instructors are accessible for student inquiry. 5. Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising, and co- curricular activities, are appropriately qualified, trained, and supported in their professional development.

3.D. The institution provides support for student learning and effective teaching. 1. The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations. 2. The institution provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for placing entering students in courses and programs for which the students are adequately prepared. 3. The institution provides academic advising suited to its programs and the needs of its students. 4. The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (e.g., technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites, museum collections). 5. The institution provides to students guidance in the effective use of research and information resources.

3.E. The institution fulfills its claims for an enriched educational environment. 1. The institution’s co-curricular programs are suited to its mission and contribute to the educational experience of its students. 2. The institution engages its students and contributes to their educational experience through other activities related to its mission, such as research, community engagement, service learning, religious or spiritual purpose, economic development, or others.

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CRITERION THREE TEACHING AND LEARNING: QUALITY, RESOURCES and SUPPORT

Arkansas State University provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered. Arkansas State University provides 190 academic programs leading to Associate, Baccalaureate, Master’s, Specialist’s and Doctorate degrees. These academic programs are supportive of Arkansas State’s mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives. All programs are approved by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (AHECB) and contribute to fulfilling the role and scope set forth by this board in support of the academic and economic needs of Arkansas and its people.

Faculty at Arkansas State engage students in deep learning experiences inside and outside the classroom. Teaching and learning outcomes comprise two-thirds of Arkansas State’s 2011-2015 Strategic Plan (2011-2015 Strategic Plan). Faculty-led shared governance committees approve all degree- programs and course offerings. In 2011, faculty collaborated in painstaking deliberations over ways to maintain academic integrity of undergraduate programs amidst legislative demands for compliance with Arkansas Act 747, an act that restricts most baccalaureate degrees to 120 credit hours. Arkansas State’s academic programming is diverse, providing opportunities in Agriculture and Technology, Business, Media and Communication, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing and Health Professions. Fifty-eight percent of students are enrolled in programs that boast accreditation with external, professional accrediting bodies which are listed in Criterion Two. Degree programs without external accreditation undergo rigorous program review on a 7-10 year cycle (sample self-study format). Program review includes an internal self-study process with external reviewers as required by the state (Arkansas Department of Higher Education Program Review). The university also adheres to regional accreditation standards set by the HLC and the U.S. Department of Education regarding credit and contact hour requirements as described in the HLC Federal Compliance Guidelines.

3.A. The degree programs at Arkansas State University are appropriate to higher education. 3 Providing students with quality education at the Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral levels, Arkansas State continually reviews and modifies its educational offerings to meet the dynamic needs of students. Arkansas State preserves the integrity of its programs through shared governance curriculum committees, articulation of differentiated student learning outcomes, external reviews, advisory boards that include alumni and community members and ongoing accreditation with outside professional accrediting bodies. The current chapter articulates the policies and procedures Arkansas State employs to maintain appropriate degree-program offerings.

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3.A.1. Arkansas State University’s courses and programs are current and require levels of performance by students appropriate to the degree or certificate awarded.

3 Arkansas State offers courses and programs that are current and require levels of performance appropriate to the degree awarded. Degrees offered and minimum credit hour requirements are characteristic of institutions of higher education (Table 1).

Table 1. Degrees Offered and Minimum Credit Hours

Degree Minimum Credit Number of Number of Degree Hours Required Degrees Offered Programs Associate 60 4 14 Bachelor 120 15 72 Master 30 18 53 Specialist 30 past master’s 2 4 Doctorate 69 past master’s 4 7

All of Arkansas State’s academic programs are approved by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (AHECB) and are listed on the AHECB Approved Program List (AHECB Approved Program List). Academic programs must be reviewed regularly according to Arkansas Code §6-61-214 which requires the AHECB to establish standards for the academic programs offered by Arkansas colleges and universities and to create a 7-10 year review cycle for all existing academic programs. The existing state academic program review policies were revised in 2008.

New programs, courses or changes in curriculum originate at the level of departmental faculty committees. Approved documentation then moves to department chairs, individual college curriculum committees, college deans and finally to shared governance councils. These faculty-run shared governance committees meet regularly to conduct a rigorous evaluation of program and related course proposals, with the Undergraduate Curriculum Council (UCC) and the Graduate Council handling all undergraduate and graduate programs, respectively (Graduate Council). These councils, in turn, advise the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research concerning any proposal. Each proposal must demonstrate linkage to the program’s mission, instructor credentials, grading system, reading materials, pre-requisites and co-requisites and assessment of the degree program’s student learning outcomes (new program submission form) (new course submission form). Meeting minutes and documentation of the approval process for each program and course are filed with the Office of the Provost, who grants final approval for all programs and then posts the documentation on-line. For new programs and new emphases/minors, approval must be sought by the ASU Board of Trustees (BOT) and final approval rests with the AHECB. Program deletions, change in mode of delivery, program reorganization and minor curricular changes usually require only notification to the BOT and AHECB (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. New Academic Course and Program Approval Process

New Course, Approvals by Aproval by Approval by the

Level Minor, Emphasis, College Undergraduate

State Arkansas Higher Approval by Approval as Program or Curriculum Curriculum President Education Appropriate Other Currciular Committee and Committee Coordinating

Approval by Accrediation Change Level College Dean (UCC) Board Board of

Proposed Level University

All proposals Approval by Approval by the ASU System Level System ASU

Department Trustees associated with Graduate Council Arkansas Dept. Approvals by educational Approval by of Education if Departmental licensure must Provost Educational be approved by Licensure Curriculum Approval by Committee and the Council on Program/Change Professional Chancellor and Department Executive Chair Education (COPE). Council

3.A.2 Arkansas State University articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate and certificate programs.

Every degree program has learning goals that link to the university’s mission (Arkansas State degree programs by type). Program-level student learning goals are articulated within a department via the program’s student learning outcomes (sample program learning outcomes) and related curriculum maps (sample curriculum map). Learning outcomes differ according to level of degree sought (sample differentiation of learning goals by degree program; sample undergraduate and graduate slos). Undergraduate program goals are linked to three university- level goals: critical thinking, global awareness and using technology (university-level goals and outcomes). Linkages from courses to degree programs are evaluated internally via departmental curriculum mapping and are recorded through TracDat assessment software (sample linkages of course student learning outcomes to program-level student learning outcomes). Syllabi list both course-level and program-level student learning outcomes that are communicated to students via course syllabi (submission requirements for syllabi).

Course level is communicated to students through a course numbering system. Courses for bachelor’s degree-seeking students are denoted by levels 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000, with the first two levels reserved for general education courses and the upper levels designed for advanced study within the major. Pre-requisite and co-requisite courses are programmed into the electronic registration system to ensure proper sequencing of student admission to courses. Courses at the 5000 level and above are reserved for graduate students. Arkansas State offers accelerated programs and dual-listed courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Adherence to strict program admission requirements allows an advanced student to pursue simultaneously the bachelor and master’s degrees. Academic standing is monitored closely at the program level for continuance in the accelerated program. At the course level, shared governance committees (UCC & GC) review the assignments and assessment practices in dual-listed courses to ensure expectations for student learning are articulated appropriately.

3.A.3. Arkansas State University’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, etc.).

University Degree Centers are hosted on several two-year campuses throughout the state to provide

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place-bound students with the opportunity to continue their education beyond the associate’s degree. These centers often are shared by multiple universities to offer a variety of academic programs at the baccalaureate and master’s degree levels. Programs are overseen by the academic college/department in which the degrees are located. Faculty hiring is provided by the responsible department that oversees the instruction to make certain it is comparable to that offered on the main campus. Indirect measures of program quality are measured via surveys (sample branch campus evaluation) while direct measures of program quality are measured via course-embedded assessments (sample course assessment from all locations). Day-to-day service needs such as financial aid and registration are provided to students through staff at these sites, all of which are overseen by the dean of Continuing Education and Community Outreach (Table 2).

The university offers courses in Table 2. Academic Programs by Degree Center or Site multiple formats to address the

needs and learning styles of its

students: traditional face-to- Degree Program

Beebe Mountain

South South

- -

face, blended, on-line and -

Northeastern Northeastern Community College ASU EastArkansas Community College Mid Community College ASU Home synchronous through electronic Arkansas delivery to students enrolled in BS Business Administration X X X X X degree centers at area and AAS Nursing X X X system two-year colleges. Regardless of location or mode BA Criminology X X X X X of delivery, programs and BS Accounting X X courses meet the same BS Management X X standards as those presented on BSE Early Childhood Education X X X X the main campus and faculty BSE Mid-Level Education X X X X meet the same academic BS Technology X X credentials. BAS Applied Science X X X Colleges/departments are BSA Agricultural Business X responsible for ensuring curricular consistency for courses taught by all modes of delivery to all locations. Faculty-developed program-level learning goals that align with the aforementioned three university-level student learning outcomes are developed and overseen by the department offering the course or program regardless of mode of delivery. Syllabi are required to list common student learning outcomes and common assessments across courses taught at the degree program or general education level. Articulation of learning goals and assessment of related outcomes occur at the level of degree program regardless of location or mode of delivery. The shared governance Undergraduate Curriculum Council (UCC) and Graduate Council (GC), comprised of faculty from each college, assist with determining the appropriateness of course classification or academic program as courses and programs are revised or initially proposed. Discipline specific accreditation guidelines also aid in making certain courses and programs are offered at the appropriate degree level.

Curriculum developers and instructional technologists from the Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) assist faculty in creating and delivering quality blended and on-line courses and programs. ITTC implements a standardized process for instructional design called the Course Development Life Cycle (CDLC). CDLC templates include principles of Bloom’s Taxonomy, teaching and learning best practices, linkage to course, program and university-level student learning outcomes, effective assessment of student learning and continuous quality improvement in teaching excellence. ITTC offers summer institutes through which faculty receive a stipend to create quality traditional, on-line

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and blended courses. In 2012, 79 faculty registered for a total of 124 sessions that were conducted during June and July. ITTC staff have worked with faculty to build courses for several master’s programs in the College of Education, the RN to BSN program in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, the Master of Public Administration degree in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in University College. The on-line MBA program in the College of Business received top honors from U.S. News & World Report for 2012. Assessment of course access and quality (sample quality assurance for online course construction) is conducted through the Quality Matters reporting system, as well as through standard student and peer evaluations (on-line course quality checklist). Assessment of student learning in on-line programs is conducted at the level of the department and is reported in Criterion Four of this self-study.

Academic integrity within several programs has been bolstered by the use of an integrated software- hardware device called Remote Proctor, developed by Software Secure. Remote Proctor’s fingerprint scanner authenticates the identity of a test-taker while the camera and microphone monitor the environment and record changes in sounds via a 360 degree view of any motion during the exam.

Detailed information about the CDLC, the eQUIP educational quality improvement process, quality assurance requirements for distance education courses and Remote Proctor is provided (Quality On-line Course Development - ITTC).

3.B. Arkansas State University demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs.

Arkansas State’s mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives is operationally defined via eight university and program-level goals that describe the broad skills students can expect to garner through curricular and co-curricular offerings. Specific programs and opportunities enjoyed by Arkansas State students as they develop competencies, designed to prepare them for engagement in their local community and global world, are discussed in this section.

3.B.1. The General Education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings and degree levels of Arkansas State University.

Arkansas State’s General Education Program is appropriate to the university’s mission, educational offerings and degree levels as it provides a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, characteristic of a comprehensive university. The 35 hour core curriculum represents a distributive model and is based on the university’s mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives. The curriculum’s core is based on communication, mathematics, natural and physical sciences, fine arts, humanities and social sciences. Arkansas State students are encouraged to complete the general education core during the first and second year of their academic programs by selecting from the menu of General Education courses as shown in Table 3.

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Table 3. General Education Core

REQUIRED GENERAL EDUCATION CORE AREA CREDIT HOURS Communication: Six (6) hours required; Three (3) hours optional (see Departmental Option below) ENG 1003, Composition I (required) ENG 1013, Composition II - (required) 6 SCOM 1203, Oral Communication Mathematics: Three (3) hours required MATH 1023, College Algebra OR 3 MATH 1054, Precalculus Mathematics Fine Arts & Humanities: Six (6) hours required; Three (3) hours optional (see Departmental Option below) Fine Arts - Three (3) hours required 3 ART 2503 Fine Arts – Visual MUS 2503 Fine Arts – Musical THEA 2503 Fine Arts - Theatre Humanities - Three (3) hours required 3 ENG 2003, Introduction to World Literature I ENG 2013, Introduction to World Literature II PHIL 1103, Introduction to Philosophy Social Sciences: Nine (9) hours required; Three (3) hours optional (see Departmental Option below) Three (3) hours required HIST 2763, United States History to 1876 3 HIST 2773, United States History since 1876 POSC 2103, Introduction to US Government Six (6) hours required ANTH 2233, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology HIST 1023, World Civilization since 1660 6 ECON 2313, Principles of Macroeconomics JOUR/RTV 1003, Mass Communication ECON 2333, Economic Issues & Concepts POSC 1003, Introduction to Politics GEOG 2613, Introduction to Geography PSY 2013, Introduction to Psychology HIST 1013, World Civilization to 1660 SOC 2213, Introduction to Sociology Science: Eight (8) hours required Physical Science - Four (4) hours required CHEM 1013 AND 1011, General Chemistry I and Laboratory 4 CHEM 1043 AND 1041, Fundamental Concepts of Chemistry and Laboratory GEOL 1003 AND 1001, Environmental Geology and Laboratory PHSC 1014, Energy and the Environment PHSC 1203 AND 1201, Physical Science and Laboratory PHYS 1103 AND 1101, Intro to Space Science and Laboratory PHYS 2034, University Physics I PHYS 2054, General Physics I Life Science - Four (4) hours required BIO 2013 AND 2011, Biology of the Cell and Laboratory 4 BIOL 1003 AND 1001, Biological Science and Laboratory BIOL 1033 AND 1001, Biology of Sex and Laboratory BIOL 1043 AND 1001, Plants and People and Laboratory BIOL 1063 AND 1001, People and Environment and Laboratory BIO 2103 AND 2101, Microbiology for Nursing and Allied Health and Laboratory AND BIO 2203 AND 2201, Anatomy and Physiology I and Laboratory OR BIO 2223 AND 2221, Anatomy and Physiology II and Laboratory Departmental Option: Three (3) hours The three (3) optional hours are chosen by the Department for the Degree plan and not the individual 3 student. The three (3) hours will be from either Communication, Fine Arts and Humanities, or Social Sciences. Total Required Hours: 35

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The university’s general education core meets the requirements of the state core. Courses articulate as transfer courses to fulfill general education requirements at other state institutions of higher education through the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) (Arkansas Course Transfer System for Students). The university recently made modifications to its general education curriculum, which took effect in fall 2012. General Education Goals were reduced from ten to five goals and revised to be more succinct and relevant. The number of required general education hours was reduced from 44-45 to 35 to align with the state general education core. This was done to comply with Arkansas Act 747, legislation that addresses improving student transfer between public institutions of higher education and accommodating changes in federal financial aid by reducing required associate degrees to 60 hours and baccalaureate degrees to 120 hours, except where limited by discipline accreditation or licensure requirements (Arkansas Act 747).

Some of the goals eliminated specifically from the general education core were determined to be geared toward being over-arching university goals: writing effectively, global awareness and using technology (Approved Shared Governance Modification of University Goals). Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees require completion of the 35 hour general education core. Associate of Applied Science degrees require a minimum of 19 hours of the core as specified by the state requirements. All baccalaureate degrees require at least the minimum 35 hour core.

The distributive model of general education has been the standard at Arkansas State for decades. Like all aspects of the university, there is a need to periodically re-assess and re-evaluate. In spring 2013, the provost charged the faculty senate with forming a faculty-led task force to study general education at Arkansas State. The “General Education Dream Team” is being asked to reimagine the university’s general education curriculum. The task force officially began its work in spring 2013 with a consultative presentation on innovations in general education by Dr. Keith Krumpe, dean of The College of Science and Mathematics at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

3.B.2 Arkansas State University articulates the purposes, content and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements. The General Education program is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by Arkansas State University or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that Arkansas State University believes every college- educated person should possess.

Arkansas State’s general education curriculum provides a selection of courses in support of the following mission: The general education program develops a foundation and motivation for the lifelong pursuit of learning in undergraduate students at Arkansas State University by introducing them to a broad range of essential areas of knowledge that will enable them to participate in our democratic nation and in a global society.

The university’s faculty have identified five general education goals with learning outcomes that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the General Education curriculum:

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General Education Goals for Students and Learning Outcomes

Communicating effectively. Students should be able to communicate effectively and correctly, in writing and in speech, for a variety of purposes, using appropriate forms of discourse, organizational strategies and vocabulary.

Students will demonstrate the ability to

 Construct and deliver a well-organized, logical and informative oral or written presentation, accurately documented, that demonstrates proficiency in standard American English

Using mathematics. Students should be able to use, understand and apply basic mathematical skills in practical applications.

Students will demonstrate the ability to  Interpret and analyze quantitative/mathematical information (such as formulas, graphs and tables);  Apply mathematical methods to solve problems.

Developing a life-long appreciation of the arts and humanities. Students should develop an appreciation for the arts and humanities. They should be aware of the role of art and literature in human civilization and contemporary culture.

Students will demonstrate the ability to  Recognize works of literature or fine art and place them in their historical, cultural and social contexts;  Interpret works of fine art or literature.

Developing a strong foundation in the social sciences. Students should be aware of the diverse systems developed by humans to manage and structure our relationships with one another. Students should prepare for the full range of public and private roles they are expected to fulfill as citizens, decision-makers and human beings in a democratic America and in a global society.

Students will demonstrate the ability to  Explain the processes and effects of individual and group behavior;  Analyze events in terms of the concepts and relational propositions generated by the social science tradition.

Using science to accomplish common goals. Students should understand how science is conducted and the criteria for scientific evidence so that they will be able to make informed decisions about the health and well-being of their communities and the environment. They should be aware of the ethical and political issues raised by science.

Students will be able to  Understand the scientific method;  Understand basic concepts of science as they apply to contemporary issues.

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The specific general education outcomes associated with these goals are assessed via a common assignment across sections of courses whose student learning outcomes are directly linked to the above goals for general education. Faculty teaching specific courses aligned with these outcomes (General Education Goals and Associated Courses) create and implement a general education assessment plan that is evaluated by a shared governance committee of their peers according to a rigorous quadrennial review cycle (Quadrennial Review Cycle for General Education Goals). The general education submission, review and feedback forms, along with completed reports, are located in section 4.B.1 of this self-study. The competencies students develop through Arkansas State’s general education program are honed through upper-level individual and collaborative assignments. Specific student learning outcomes for critical thinking and global awareness are weaved through the curriculum trajectory from the level of course goals to broad learning goals of the university. (Degree Programs - outcomes related to analyzing information and mastering modes of inquiry)

3.B.3. Every degree program offered by Arkansas State University engages students in collecting, analyzing and communicating information; in mastering modes of inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments.

Arkansas State engages students in high impact practices and experiences that encourage deep learning. These practice include: capstone courses colloquia, common intellectual experiences, culminating senior experiences, experiential learning, diversity and global learning, first year experience, hands-on experience, laboratory projects, internships, learning communities, preceptorships, research with faculty, service learning, professional development seminars, community-based learning, study abroad, writing intensive courses and collaborative projects (sample programs implementing high impact practices).

According to 2011 results of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) (sample = 1,599 randomly selected students), “Active and Collaborative Learning” is one of the institution’s highest performing benchmarks (sample deep learning experience). When asked the extent to which they worked with other students on class projects, 53% of freshmen (N = 806) and 60% of seniors (N = 793) responded, “often,” or “very often.” These scores were 8-11% higher than comparison schools including Southeast Public, Master’s Large Carnegie Classified and averages for all 2011 NSSE respondents. First year students reported substantial emphasis (more than 70% responding “very much” or “quite a bit”) on activities such as analyzing theories and making judgments about the value of information. More than 50% of freshmen and more than 50% of seniors say they “often” or “very often” examine the strengths and weaknesses of views on a topic or issue (NSSE, 2011). Students develop and hone these critical thinking skills through experiences with general education, capstone courses, hands-on experiences and community engagement.

High-Impact, Selected Capstone, Research and Service-Learning Experiences The College of Sciences and Mathematics provides high-impact learning experiences within both its programs for majors in the college and its general education courses. Students in all laboratory sections of courses work in cooperative teams in a hands-on learning environment. Over the last decade, faculty have revised many of the laboratory exercises in these courses to increase their value and worth to students. Using principles developed by the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement’s (NCSCE) Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibilities (SENCER) project, faculty have created projects that allow students to investigate issues of importance to the local and regional community. These sorts of activities have been shown to increase student interest

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and learning in the discipline while providing a context for the information learned. The College of Fine Arts provides intensive learning experiences for students within each of its departments. Art students are involved in collaborative projects in studio foundation courses and throughout the graphic design curriculum. Music students spend significant portions of their curricula rehearsing and performing in group ensembles. Theatre students collaborate in theatre productions throughout their college careers. Students in all three departments are also heavily engaged in independent study leading to creative activities in their respective fields, through private instruction and culminating senior exhibitions, recitals and projects. Art education and music education students also serve internships as the culmination of their curricula.

Through a capstone course in the College of Agriculture and Technology, students are oriented to the scientific primary literature and publications of the Agricultural Cooperative Extension Service. Student teams ultimately develop a series of fact sheets that provide a general introduction to a given agricultural issue, followed by in-depth discussions of at least two primary articles to support that issue. This capstone course is intended to provide students with the basis for life-long learning in their discipline and prepare them for advanced studies.

In the College of Nursing and Health Professions, students in the Department of Social Work participate in policy classes that prepare undergraduate and graduate students to distinguish, appraise and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including evidence-based clinical interventions. In the policy classes students collaborate with faculty to analyze the intended and unintended consequences of social welfare policies, and then develop advocacy strategies to promote social justice. Examples of this project include poster presentations at “World Aids Day” explaining the costs/benefits of Medicaid expansion and the need for services for children aging out of foster care. In the integrative research class, students complete a quantitative or qualitative research study that assesses the effectiveness of their clinical interventions. In social work practice classes, students learn to critique, select and implement multidimensional assessment, diagnostic interventions and practice evaluation strategies as appropriate to specific client populations and problems.

The College of Media and Communication has a long history of providing students with high-impact practices. Students learn theory, principles and practices in the classroom and immediately apply the learning in labs and projects. Students in multimedia journalism work in either the student newspaper, The Herald, or the student-run television station, ASU-TV, or produce content for the NPR-affiliated radio station, KASU. Starting in fall of 2013, students also will have their own on-line radio station, Red Wolf Radio. Creative Media Production students work in the radio and television stations providing production support and help to provide video and audio production for several of the university's sports events, including football, basketball and baseball games. Production students also work with clients on and off campus with needed projects. Students in Graphic Communication work in Printing Services to learn pre-press, press and post-press operations. The Strategic Communications program includes capstone classes and practicums that require students to work with clients that come from the university, the community, and the state.

Through independent study courses, students in the College of Sciences and Mathematics have the opportunity to perform individualized research with faculty mentors. Some of the degree programs, such as the B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Physics require this independent research, while others in the college encourage it within the upper-division electives. Students who conduct these projects are expected to take seminar classes in which they learn how to present and publish their research to different groups, thereby learning proper scientific communications techniques. Students in these

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activities have the opportunity to travel and meet other researchers, either by attending conferences to present their work or by doing research in the field. In any given year, more than 50 undergraduate students in this college take advantage of this experience.

High-impact learning experiences are not limited to the classroom. Faculty and students within the College of Sciences and Mathematics work on projects that affect the local region. Many of these types of projects have received external funding, sometimes providing students with financial support to continue their studies. Examples of current projects of this variety include the Experiential Learning Fellowship (ELF) project, the Arkansas Louis Stokes Advancing Minority Participation (Ark-LSAMP) grant, the Noyce project and the Arkansas BalloonSat project, among others. This type of active learning is promoted through the college’s motto "The Element of Experience.” The dean's office, in conjunction with the individual departmental offices, supports the professional development of faculty and the infrastructure to continue these opportunities for students. The total internal funding to support these ventures totals more than $.5 million each year in terms of supplies, stipends, salaries and new equipment.

Service-learning experiences are integral to the College of Nursing and the Health Professions, where students in the Department of Physical Therapy participate in educationally intense hands-on opportunities such as scoliosis screening, Healthy Agers and athlete screening at the Health Expo. The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management program maintains a contract with the Center for Domestic Preparedness that allows Arkansas State students to participate with learners from all over the world as they train under experienced leaders at the Center in Anniston, Alabama. This past year student projects of interest included creating disaster response protocols for agencies, working with faith-based disaster response initiatives and revising county emergency operations plans. Students not choosing an internship engage in research. Completed research during 2013 related to iPad technology in disaster education, euthanasia during disasters and disaster planning for special needs children.

3.B.4. The education offered by Arkansas State University recognizes the human and cultural diversity of the world in which students live and work.

Throughout the university’s academic programs and co-curricular activities, students are provided with multiple opportunities to gain knowledge about human and cultural diversity (NSSE 2011 diversity questions and responses). Within its course offerings, students may choose from several undergraduate courses that feature aspects of human and cultural diversity (sample diversity courses, examples from faculty- recognizing cultural diversity). Cultural competence is a key learning outcome for several degree programs. For example, in the Department of Nursing, students submit a cultural analysis of their own culture while investigating health practices of other cultures. In the Department of Sociology, students enrolled in Urban Sociology work with the City of Jonesboro planner to discuss ways in which the city is planning in response to changing demographics in the local community. Cultural competence includes service- learning and policy analysis. Sports management majors not only volunteer at their choice of local non- profits that offer services to minority populations, but also perform Title IX, ADA and inclusion analyses for local high school sports programs.

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Select academic degree programs and minors also provide more intensive focus on diversity:

MINORS DEGREE PROGRAMS African-American Studies World Languages and Culture (BA) Folklore Studies Global History (MA) French International Business (BS) Geography Global Supply Chain Management (BS) German International Studies Religious Studies Spanish Women and Gender Studies

Foreign Language Arkansas State’s foreign language programs provide opportunities for students to explore cultural diversity. Although foreign language is not a uniform university requirement, several programs require it for degree completion: BA degrees in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Mathematics, performance degrees in music and international business. Some academic programs require at least six hours of foreign language that may be met through course enrollment, testing, or two or more years of successful completion of a given language in high school. All students have the option of taking foreign language courses as electives or as a minor. The Department of World Languages and Culture regularly offers introductory, intermediate and advanced courses in Spanish, French and German. When there is student interest and instructor availability, introductory and intermediate courses in Chinese, Swahili and Arabic are offered. Foreign language enrollment is increasing after several years of decline; however, securing an adequate number of credentialed instructors remains a concern, primarily because of the university’s rural location.

Study and Research Abroad Through the years, Arkansas State’s offerings of study abroad experiences have ranged from study groups led by faculty during spring and summer breaks to individual students participating in an international exchange or similar program. As of the time of this report, the university is in the process of expanding its study abroad opportunities and services through the development of more robust experiences for students characterized by field-based learning, deep cultural immersion and community engagement. It is expected the first offering of this improved programming will be available for the spring 2014 term. Several faculty lead study tours during summer sessions: Italy (Fine Arts), China (Nursing and Health Professions), Europe (Education, Business, Humanities and Social Sciences), Costa Rica (Humanities and Social Sciences). Arkansas State also has developed exchange programs with universities in France, Costa Rica, Austria, Mexico, Spain and Germany, giving students 17-day to full-year study abroad opportunities.

The College of Sciences and Mathematics offers courses and research opportunities abroad that broaden students’ cultural horizons while giving students hands-on opportunities to learn. For the last four years, the Department of Biological Sciences has sponsored summer courses on marine environments in Belize and on bat ecology in Nicaragua. Students stay at field stations in those countries and travel the countryside extensively. This department also has researchers who have taken students to islands in the Caribbean to research parasitic crustaceans and to Nepal to study migrating

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elephant herds. From time to time, Arkansas State hosts international scholars. Faculty in the College of Sciences and Mathematics have hosted more than 40 such scholars during the last three years. Individuals in the college have Memoranda of Understanding with colleagues in Mexico, Brazil and Peru, with whom they jointly do research.

The College of Business spearheaded the Ecuador Project in Salinas de Guaranda. During academic breaks faculty take 15-20 students who are enrolled in the undergraduate class called Global Leadership Experience to the village. Students voluntarily decide to participate and undertake fundraising activities to supplement the university’s support for their expenses. The average cost of the trip is $2,500 per student. Students are assigned to work as consultants in various micro-industries throughout the Village. They get hands-on experience in the businesses and later give a report to the businesses and the village cooperative. Students also participate in a MINGA (day of Service) with the village and each year the team has planted more than 1,000 trees to help with the erosion problems the community has encountered. These trees are bought by the students and members of the Rotary Club at Arkansas State. The primary benefactors are the students who learn to adapt to a different culture in a developing country and practice their language skills. Another collaborative project is underway with Heifer International to donate $50,000 worth of alpacas to the village to provide another sustainable impact by introducing a better quality of wool for the textile industry in Salinas.

Campus Internationalization Arkansas State is actively “bringing the world “to the university through the intentional internationalization of the campus. Arkansas State has had phenomenal results in diversifying the student population and enhancing the cultural interactions among students, faculty, staff and the community as discussed in 1.A. International students make up more than 6% of the student populous with students enrolled from more than 60 countries. In the center of the library foyer, flags representing each country of origin for our international students commemorate the importance of these students on campus.

Multicultural Programming Our Multicultural Center provides educational, cultural and social programs and initiatives that support success for all students, with specific concentration for minority and under-represented student populations. The center partners with academic units for its rich programming. The Multicultural Center strives to sustain an inclusive campus environment that values and respects all members of the university community. The center provides a comfortable home-away-from-home, supportive learning environment. Its resource center provides the campus community with books, magazines, theatre productions, art exhibits, concerts, documentaries, nationally known keynote speakers and other timely publications or media. It provides meeting space for classes and student organizations as well as a study lounge. Signature events sponsored by the center include: Minority Welcome Week, Asian Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, LGBT Lecture Series, Multicultural Center Graduation Reception, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Black History Month Celebration and Women’s History Month Conference. Support for non-traditional students such as educational workshops and parents’ night out also is provided by the center located in the Student Union.

Middle East Studies Grants The Middle East Studies Committee (MESC) encourages an awareness and understanding of issues and people of the Middle East. Each year the committee awards parts of its budget, the income from an endowment given to Arkansas State by the Saudi government, to students, faculty and staff for study

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and/or research in the Middle East. The committee seeks proposals identifying specific areas of academic interest and a detailed plan by which the applicant will conduct the study or research. In addition, student/staff proposals must include a description of how the study will benefit the applicant and faculty proposals must include a well-defined plan of how the faculty member will disseminate the research findings. Preference is given to applicants who have not received a grant in the past three competitions (research funded through MESC).

ASU – Mexico The establishment of an Arkansas State University campus in Querétaro, Mexico (expected opening August 2015), will provide a wide range of possibilities to increase global awareness and cultural diversity for Arkansas State students, faculty and staff. Querétaro is home to more than 500 international companies and numerous research constituencies in the biological, physical and health sciences. This new campus will provide endless opportunities for study abroad, faculty exchanges, internships, collaborative research and access to academic programming in areas of international business, engineering, technology, sciences and other disciplines.

3.B.5. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their programs and Arkansas State University’s mission.

The first priority listed in Arkansas State’s strategic plan is to “refine Arkansas State’s mission and identity as an emerging global research institution.” In the past decade, the university has matured appreciably in the areas of research, scholarship and creative works through active faculty and student participation. In recognition of this, Arkansas State was classified in 2008 as one of five research institutions in the state. Annual productivity reports from the colleges and academic units testify to the significant progress Arkansas State has made toward the strategic priority of refining Arkansas State’s “mission and identity as an emerging global research institution:” ABI, COB, CECO, CoAT, COMC, COE, CoEng, CFA, GRADSCH, CHSS, ITTC, LIBRY, CNHP, COSM, UC.

Scholarship Students are integral to the total scholarship output listed in the documents above. They have opportunities to contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge via internships, performance in the arts, research projects culminating in publications or presentations, honors theses, master’s theses and/or doctoral dissertations. The extraordinary growth of Arkansas State’s honors program (Growth in Honors College) has vastly increased the number of undergraduate students participating in research and creative endeavors. Students also are given the opportunity to disseminate their scholarship through the annual Create@State Symposium in the spring during Convocation of Scholars Week activities. In spring 2011, The Office of Research & Technology Transfer, Student Government Association and Graduate Student Council worked collaboratively to combine the annual Undergraduate and Graduate Scholars Day programs into a singular campus-wide event, Create@STATE: A Symposium of Research, Scholarship and Creativity. The newly energized venue provides a high profile opportunity for student scholars to present their research findings and other scholarly and creative activities to the campus community (sample Create@State student presentations). In 2013, more than 300 students participated in Create@STATE.

Funding Increasing the number and quality of scholarship opportunities for students comes at a cost. Some of these costs can be borne internally; however, significant increases in opportunities for students require

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sustained increases in new monies from external sources. Of particular note in the productivity reports above is the increase in nationally competitive federal funding, especially among early career faculty. Arkansas State is supporting an excellent base of faculty that will continue to increase the number and quality of scholarship opportunities for our students for years to come. Notable exemplars come from a variety of disciplines. Dr. Brandon Kemp, an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering, was awarded an NSF CAREER grant this past year to study the use of light to move objects. Dr. Alyson Gill, an Associate Professor in Art, received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities on 3-D digital visualizations. Dr. Paul Sikkel, an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences, received an NSF EAGER grant to study the role of parasitic crustaceans in the Caribbean ecosystem. Dr. Hideya Koizumi, an Assistant Professor in Chemistry and Physics, was awarded a Department of Defense grant to study improved methods for detecting counterfeit circuit boards.

To increase the sustainability of this funding, the Office of Research and Technology Transfer has made several changes to supply appropriate support into the future. The office now has three experienced grant writers who work with faculty and students to create proposals, find appropriate venues and facilitate timely submission. ORTT also has created yearly workshops that provide faculty development on how to write grant proposals, assembled a budget, manage personnel, etc. The success of this program can be seen in the awards to junior faculty above. In the coming year, this program will be expanded to include graduate students to work on fellowships for their research.

While much of the external funding listed in the college productivity reports is targeted for fundamental research, some of it has been funded specifically for undergraduate and graduate scholarship activities. Listed in section 3.B.3, funding targeted toward student scholarship includes: ELF, Ark-LSAMP, Noyce and Arkansas BalloonSat. During the last decade, many other such grants have funded student research, such as the NSF-sponsored Undergraduate Research for Minorities (URM), Research Internships in Science and Environment (RISE), Accelerated Research Into the Science of the Environment (ARISE) and GK12 grants. Another program that has benefited students during this period is the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. This program aims to successfully prepare undergraduate scholars for entrance into graduate school doctoral programs through involvement in research and scholarly activities. The program assists in the academic and professional development of undergraduates whose goals are to obtain a Ph.D. in one of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) disciplines. The McNair Program fosters mentoring relationships, promotes undergraduate research, assists in developing curriculum vitae, provides GRE preparation, assists students who are applying to graduate programs, encourages students to write a research paper and funds students to attend and present at national conferences. (sample McNair-funded research)

Unfortunately, budget cuts in the Department of Education have led to a loss of funding for the McNair program this fall. However, the university is applying the lessons learned during this program to fund and create the Science-Math Advisement, Retention and Tracking (SMART) Center to carry on the spirit of the McNair Program for all students in science and mathematics disciplines. This center will also take over the management of other externally-funded student research enrichment programs (ELF, Noyce, Ark-LSAMP, etc.). By bringing all of these programs under one umbrella, the College of Sciences and Mathematics will be able to more efficiently coordinate the undergraduate research activities in the STEM disciplines and provide better service to students and their faculty mentors.

Another program that has had a significant impact on undergraduate student scholarship is the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). This is a state-funded program that targets

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Arkansas’ public and private institutions of higher education by providing funding to encourage students to conduct in-depth research projects in specific fields of study under the tutelage of a tenured or full-time faculty member. All types of undergraduate research are eligible for support and all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. In addition to the usual science, engineering and mathematics projects, this program will support, for example, a philosophy major who is preparing a paper in the area of bioethics, or an art major who wants to sculpt a major project. Funds are provided for students to travel to conferences to present their accomplishments. Successful SURF recipients receive a stipend up to $1,250 for a full year or $625 for one semester to conduct research with a faculty mentor. ORTT provides 100 percent match for the student stipend which total $2,500 (full year) and $1,250 (one semester). In addition, students may receive up to $750 in travel funds and the faculty mentor may receive up to $750 for travel and supplies.

Arkansas State students are competitive for SURF funding each year. Most recently (2012-2013), the university submitted 23 proposals for a total of $80,875, including $23,750 in ORTT matching funds. ADHE funded 10 of these proposals for a total of $26,250; ORTT matched with $11,250. The College of Science and Mathematics funded an additional three proposals for $8,500 and ORTT funded six proposals, totaling $18,750. The student recipients included the following majors: psychology, mechanical engineering, mathematics, electrical engineering, biology, zoology, computer science, chemistry, exercise science and English.

Symposia, Journals, Publications and Creative Work The vast majority of the scholarship done by faculty and students is disseminated through the usual channels of journals, books, performances and exhibits that are external to the university. However, there are several dissemination venues that are housed on campus. One is the Create@State Symposium discussed above. Another is MEASURE: THE RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, which is an annual publication devoted to showcasing the many scholarly activities at Arkansas State. MEASURE stemmed from the growing importance of research on our campus and the desire to highlight the impact of our activities to the internal Arkansas State community as well as our peers across the globe. MEASURE, now in its third year of publication, is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink in keeping with A-State’s environmentally friendly initiatives. There are two other scholarship journals that originate from Arkansas State. The Tributary Publishing Society produces the literary magazine, Tributary, consisting entirely of submissions from Arkansas State students. It provides students of any discipline with the opportunity to have their writing and artwork peer reviewed and published. The Department of English and Philosophy provides support and oversight of this journal.

The Journal of International Students is an academic, interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed publication (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & On-line ISSN 2166-3750) housed at Arkansas State. The journal features narrative, theoretical and empirically-based research articles, student/faculty reflections and book reviews relevant to international students and their cross-cultural experiences and understanding in higher education. Published in the fall and spring of each year, the journal encourages the submission of manuscripts from around the world and from a wide range of academic fields, including international education, student affairs, linguistics, psychology, sociology, philosophy, international business and cultural studies. (Journal of International Students)

Arkansas State also sponsors several venues for faculty and students to display their scholarship. The Department of English and Philosophy hosts the Delta Symposium annually, attracting nationally

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known scholars and providing for faculty and student participation. The symposium features multidisciplinary presentations on topics ranging from literature, music and art to historical and contemporary issues relevant to life in the Mississippi Delta. The Delta Symposium often features scholarship on blues and other musical expressions and the symposium's focus also includes a wide variety of expressive forms that are resonant with Delta history and culture. The event offers a variety of presentations, including panels, concerts, keynote speakers, readings/signings by prominent writers and the Saturday afternoon Roots Music Festival. The 2013 Delta Symposium’s 20th year theme, "Diversities in the Delta" explored the multi-faceted aspects of diversity in the Delta. Presentations addressed diversity in relation to gender, class, race and ethnicity as well as diversity issues relevant to differences in human abilities, religions, age groups and regional culture within the Delta and the American South. The Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies is published three times a year by the Department of English and Philosophy.

Faculty and student works of scholarship and creativity are abundant in the College of Fine Arts. Faculty recitals occur regularly throughout the semester and demonstrate professionalism in musicality for student emulation. Music students participate in recital attendance each term and develop skills in musical analysis and performance gleaned from their peers and faculty alike. Student concerts and recitals throughout the year showcase the repertoire and skills that students have developed during the academic year. Applied performance music classes (private lessons) allow students to develop musical proficiency in vocal or instrumental performance. Capstone experiences culminate in junior and senior recitals.

Vocal and instrumental student music ensembles perform on campus throughout the year and also perform regionally, nationally and internationally, including performances in Carnegie Hall, in Poland and in Italy. These ensembles include music majors as well as majors from across the campus. Faculty and student art exhibits and shows demonstrate scholarly and creative work. Art faculty exhibit in the university’s galleries and in local galleries and as guest exhibitors nationally and internationally. As examples, John Salvest, Professor of Art, exhibited in London this year and Nikki Arnell, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, presented in Japan. Student exhibitions are associated with various classes throughout their program of study. The Senior Exhibition serves as the capstone experience for graduating art majors. This year, one of our graphic design students was the winner of a Gold Addy at the national level.

As previously discussed in 1.D.1., The Bradbury Gallery is the university’s primary art gallery featuring changing exhibitions of contemporary art in all media from around the world. It also features work of Arkansas State faculty, graduating seniors and graduate students.

The Department of Theatre presents several productions each year produced by faculty and students. Students have the opportunity to learn and perform in a state-of-the-art theatre facility in the Fowler Center, where students always play to a full house. The theatre department also boasts a unique black box theatre for academic and professional performances. Recent faculty directed theatre productions include Boeing Boeing, The Voice of the Prairie and Rhinoceros. Each summer, theatre students produce and perform a summer season aimed at children in our region. Previous performances include The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pippi Longstocking, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and other well-known children’s productions.

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3.C. Arkansas State University has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services.

In 2012, Arkansas State had 487 fulltime faculty, 173 part-time faculty and 1089 full-time staff, all of whom provide and support effective, high-quality academic and student services. The student:faculty ratio is 19:1 and has remained stable during the university’s recent enrollment growth. The student:staff ratio is 11:1.

3.C.1. Arkansas State University has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty, including oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance; establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff; involvement in assessment of student learning.

Based on 2012 data reported by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, Arkansas State has 487 full-time faculty of which 387(80%) hold terminal degrees. Fifty percent (242) of the faculty are tenured with an additional 21% (104) tenure track. These faculty conduct research or participate in other scholarly activity in the disciplinary areas in which they teach. Non-tenure track faculty make up the remaining 29% (141) with most holding instructor rank. Faculty rank is distributed as 21% Professor, 25% Associate Professor, 32% Assistant Professor and 22% Instructor. On average, the university employs 172 part-time faculty as adjuncts during the academic year. Full-time faculty distribution by age is 33% 57+, 45% 41-56 and 22% 40 or less.

The student:faculty ratio has remained stable (18:1 six-year average) even with Arkansas State’s student enrollment growth. The university has been fortunate during the current economic times to be able to continue to recruit and retain high-quality faculty. In disciplines such as business, engineering, nursing, health professions, sciences and mathematics, differential tuition provides for competitive salaries, startup costs and greater support for faculty development activities in these disciplines.

Faculty list course-level student learning outcomes on syllabi and faculty participate in the assessment of student learning. Faculty involvement in the assessment of student learning and faculty development opportunities in the assessment of student learning are addressed in 4.B.4 of this self- study.

3.C.2. All instructors are appropriately credentialed, including those in dual credit, contractual and consortial programs.

Arkansas State’s faculty are appropriately credentialed in the disciplines in which they teach. The university strives to maintain at least 75% of its fulltime faculty with terminal degrees at all times. Currently, 80% of the full-time faculty hold terminal degrees. When advertising for new faculty, the minimum credentials required for the level of instruction as outlined in the faculty handbook and required by state law, are clearly stated and adhered to in the hiring process. Faculty must provide copies of official transcripts from each institution attended. Fulltime faculty transcripts are maintained in the faculty member’s file in the Office of Academic Affairs. Adjunct documents are

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maintained within the respective college.

Faculty Credentials Faculty status is granted to all full-time instructional and academic administrative personnel through the level of the deans (including professional librarians) assigned to an academic department. Faculty status may be granted to others as deemed appropriate by the Board of Trustees, upon recommendation by the chancellor and president of the university.

Required faculty credentials are outlined in the Faculty Handbook (Faculty Handbook - Section II, Personnel Policies).

Instructors of concurrent courses hosted at area high schools must possess the same credentials as on-campus faculty. It is the responsibility of each department to vet the qualifications of these individuals who teach in their disciplines just as they would other adjunct instructors. Continuing Education and Community Outreach assists departments with concurrent course scheduling, enrollment and faculty recruitment.

3.C.3. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures. Arkansas State University has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development .

3. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional Students complete faculty evaluations at the end of each semester. Colleges have the option of administeringpolicies paper and and procedures. pencil surveys The or institution on-line evaluations has processes using andsoftware resources for analysis for assuring of data thatand documentation of results (EvalKit on-line evaluation system). instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports At a minimum,their professionalall faculty are evaluated development. administratively annually by several methods outlined in the Faculty Handbook. This evaluation is conducted by the faculty member’s immediate supervisor and based upon this review, merit recommendations are made to senior administration.AND Faculty who choose to go up for promotion and/or tenure also are evaluated through the PRT process, which consists of initial review at the department committee level, followed by reviews by the chair, college PRT committee, dean, university PRT committee and 3.C.4. Arkansas State University has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are finally, provost. All of the recommendations are relayed to the Chancellor and BOT for final determination of statuscurrent (faculty in handbooktheir disciplines - evaluation and). adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development.

Professional Development The promotion of teaching endeavors that are integral to an emerging global research institution is a goal outlined in the strategic plan. Currency of faculty in their discipline and in instructional strategies and technology is inherent in this priority. Faculty have opportunities for professional development internally and externally through scholarly and creative work, self-engagement, university funded support and extramural funding.

Faculty are predominantly responsible for pursuing opportunities that are specific to their disciplines through research, scholarship and creative endeavors. They are encouraged to pursue extramural funding in support of these activities and also as a means for peer review and collaboration. The university provides funds as appropriate for supporting these endeavors including seed money for research projects, travel funds for professional presentation, workshops and training, publication fees and other support.

The university has internal grants to assist faculty with international travel to professional meetings (Eleanor Lane Faculty Endowment), seed grants (Nathan Deutsch Faculty Development Fund) and

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support for reassignment to conduct pilot studies or pursue creative expression (Faculty Reassignment for Research and Other Scholarly Activities Fund).

A representative sample of workshops, conferences and other professional development activities is provided in Table 4.

Table 4. Sample Faculty Development Activities

Unit Activity Type Description of Professional Development Activity Music Summer Voice Seminar McClosky Summer Seminar for Voice Techniques – Wheaton College The College Music Society Biennial International Conference, Music Performance Presentation Argentina (Faculty and Students Attended) English Presentation The Popular Culture/American Culture Association Nursing Presentation International Conference on Teaching and Learning Physics Invited Presentation American Physical Society Mathematics Presentation National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Conference Board Member of Professional Social Work Southern AIDS Coalition Conference Organization Languages Workshop Southern Conference on Language Teaching Mechanical Presentation SPIE Smart Structures Conference Engineering Electrical Presentation IEEE – Computational Intelligence Engineering Panel Presentation, Art VISEL Photography Workshop Workshop Political Science Presentation Midwest Political Science Association History Presentation Agricultural History Society Education Presentation Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Education Presentation Qualitative Research Conference

The base budget for AAR faculty development Figure 2 . Faculty Development Funds FY 2008-FY funds is $90,000. When available, the provost 2014 may contribute additional funds from other sources such as IDC (Figure 2). Academic Affairs $1,000,000 $900,000 and Research (AAR) provides each college with $800,000 faculty development funds which are $700,000 $600,000 distributed by the dean upon recommendations $500,000 from the chairs. Distribution of these funds Funds $400,000 AAR $300,000 differs from college to college. In some $200,000 COLLEGES colleges, the funds are distributed equally to $100,000 $- faculty; this rarely provides adequate funds. In late fall 2012, the provost provided the Faculty Senate with $40,000 more than the original Fiscal Year AAR distribution to assist faculty still in need of funds for travel and other professional development activities. A request for proposals was issued by the senate and 80 faculty responded. Of these, 67 were funded, most at $471, to help defray costs not covered by other means. In an effort to share the funds among the greatest number of faculty, this exercise had similar results to the college distributions that were equally divided among the

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faculty. Colleges with IDC and differential tuition resources have far greater ability to provide reasonable funding for professional development activities (Table 5). For example, the College of Sciences and Mathematics has continually provided external professional development opportunities to faculty to improve teaching and learning. During the past six years, they have sent five different teams of faculty to the Summer SENCER Institute, where faculty work on infusing civic engagement opportunities into their STEM classes. Recognizing this commitment, he National Center for Science and Civic Engagement has awarded these faculty two implementation grants to make the changes in their classes. In the past year, the college has sent teams of faculty and staff to GRE Test Preparation training, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gulf Coast Summer Institute, Critical thinking Assessment Test (CAT) training and the College of Business Management Institute.

During 2013-2014, the provost will continue discussions with the Faculty Senate concerning more feasible methods of assisting with faculty development in those colleges with fewer resources.

Table 5. Faculty Development Fund Distribution

Academic Affairs and Research Funded Faculty Development (BASE BUDGET $90,000) College FY08-09 FY09-10 FY10-11 FY11-12 FY12-13* FY13-14** TOTAL Agriculture 3,841 3,659 3,719 6,110 5,136 5,693 41,504 Business 9,329 9,329 9,298 15,580 13,688 13,947 115,774 Communication 4,939 4,939 4,835 7,943 7,191 7,400 60,781 Education 15,732 15,365 15,620 26,273 25,238 26,755 199,379 Engineering 2,378 2,378 2,231 3,666 6,358 5,408 34,575 Fine Arts 7,683 7,683 7,810 12,831 12,883 12,808 98,919 Humanities & Social Sciences 15,366 15,366 15,248 25,356 23,294 23,909 193,035 Nursing & Health Professions 12,622 12,622 13,202 21,996 21,934 25,617 161,834 Sciences & Mathematics 12,256 12,988 12,273 20,774 18,158 19,070 152,213 University College 2,744 2,927 2,975 4,888 3,554 5,408 33,060 Library 2,744 2,561 2,789 4,277 3,110 3,985 32,130 TOTAL 89,634 89,817 90,000 149,694 140,542 150,000 1,123,202 *$110,722 from Instructional Support; Additional $30,042 funded from Provost IDC **$110,722 from Instruction Support; Additional $39,278 fund from Provost IDC and Other College Funded Faculty Development From Carry Forward or Supply Accounts College FY08-09 FY09-10 FY10-11 FY11-12 FY12-13 FY13-14 TOTAL Not Yet Agriculture 7,768 12,135 13,095 13,198 5,712 Available 51,908 Business 96,800 126,510 210,020 211,290 233,430 - 878,050 Communication - 0 Education 85,958 105,077 195,099 76,054 195,099 - 657,287 Engineering - 0 Fine Arts 38,299 37,392 46,114 55,187 45,915 - 222,907 Humanities & Social Sciences 39,342 34,835 37,102 39,155 41,632 - 192,066 Nursing & Health Professions 93,865 73,998 81,761 103,521 133,665 - 486,810 Sciences & Mathematics 102,256 213,702 193,050 118,774 237,378 - 865,160 University College 9,165 9,973 13,618 8,241 14,277 - 55,274 Library 9,839 11,291 19,092 15,058 23,021 - 78,301 TOTAL 483,292 624,913 808,951 640,478 930,129 - 3,487,763

Sabbatical leave provides for extended faculty professional development opportunities with five to eight faculty on leave during any academic year. Eligibility for sabbatical leave is outlined in the Faculty Handbook. Faculty are provided with full salary for one semester and half salary for an additional semester. Departments are provided with funding to backfill the instruction of courses as needed (Table 6).

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Table 6. Sabbatical Leave Funding FY 2009-FY 2014

Sabbatical Leave – Professional Development FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 No. of Faculty on Sabbatical Leave 8 6 5 8 6 5

Faculty Salaries $266,662 $193,401 $155,400 $232,087 $208,832 $182,445 Backfill Adjunct Salaries $40,450 $42,400 $35,050 $42,400 $34,800 $29,700 Total $307,112 $235,801 $190,450 $274,487 $243,632 $212,145

The Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) provides regular training for faculty, teaching assistants and adjuncts wanting to improve teaching and learning (summer institutes, bootcamps, workshops and one-on-one assistance). ITTC provides instructional design tools, training in best practices in teaching and learning, curriculum instruction for on-line course delivery and professional development opportunities designed to empower faculty to foster academic excellence as educators, researchers and professionals. ITTC has numerous live and pre-recorded webinars available for faculty to update their pedagogical and technology skills.

Arkansas State recognizes the importance of acknowledging faculty who excel. Each spring, outstanding faculty are recognized in the areas of teaching, scholarship, service and advising. The university faculty Awards Committee reviews nominees selected by each college. The recipient in each category is recognized at the Faculty Awards Ceremony by the chancellor and provost. Each recipient receives a $2,500 award with the recognition (2013 faculty achievement awards). College nominees are recognized at their respective college awards ceremonies during Convocation of Scholars Week.

3.C.4. Arkansas State University instructors are accessible for student inquiry.

Noteworthy student/faculty interaction and availability of Arkansas State faculty have been confirmed through national and local research findings. Comparative data from the 2011 NSSE highlights student- faculty interaction as Arkansas State’s highest scoring indicator of effective educational practice. For this key benchmark, Arkansas State scores higher than comparative institutions in its Carnegie class and across NSSE institutions (Key Benchmarks NSSE 2011). Over half of graduating seniors surveyed in 2011 described faculty as “available, helpful and sympathetic,” thus rating the quality of relationships between faculty and students higher than national norms when compared to Southeast Public Universities and Master’s Large Comprehensive Universities across the United States (NSSE, 2011). A 2012 marketing study led by Simpson-Scarborough found that according to stakeholders, including community members, students, faculty and prospective students, the number one positive attribute of Arkansas State is its faculty and the third most positive attribute is the faculty-student ratio. When asked to complete the sentence, “What I appreciate most about Arkansas State faculty is _____,” 373/612 students responding to the May 2012 senior survey responded, “their concern with student success.”

The faculty handbook requires that, in addition to their instructional time with students, faculty maintain office hours to consult and advise students. In addition to face time with students during and outside of regular class time, faculty are accessible via social networks, email, office, or cell phone. During peak advisement periods, faculty generally provide far more office hours and frequently schedule student

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appointments to ensure that students are aptly served.

Faculty serve as advisers or sponsors for more than 65 student organizations that provide additional access to faculty for student inquiry and interaction. Many of these organizations are academic discipline related or honor societies (e.g. Society of Black Accountants, Philosophy Club, Arkansas State Model United Nations Organization, Association of Women in Communications, Delta Tau Alpha National Society of Collegiate Scholars). Others are special interest groups that provide a shared interest between students and faculty (e.g. Red Wolves Cricket Club, Scarlet Chess Club, WOLFLIFE Campus Ministry, African Student Association, and Muslim Student Associations).

3.C.5. Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising and co-curricular activities, are appropriately qualified, trained and supported in their professional development.

With respect to non-faculty staffing, each department or unit defines the necessary credentials for each position in collaboration with the Arkansas State Office of Human Resources. Position specifications that identify the required and preferred qualifications for employment are available on- line. The Office of Human Resources is directly involved throughout the search process; it evaluates candidates’ credentials for classified and non-classified positions to ensure that minimum qualifications have been met.

Arkansas State staff providing student support services are appropriately qualified (sample credentials - student affairs staff) and provided with opportunities to pursue professional development. Many of the support units hold institutional memberships with professional organizations in their respective fields. For example, Arkansas State has an institutional membership in the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) and the Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC); directors attend these conferences annually. Every counselor who serves students at Arkansas State is a member of the Arkansas Mental Health Counseling Association and the center’s director is a past president of several statewide organizations and the Arkansas licensing board. Throughout the Division of Student Affairs, most professional staff members possess a minimum of a master’s degree, often in college student personnel services, with many possessing a doctorate or nearing completion of this advanced degree. Of the 66 professional staff serving Student Affairs, 48 members have earned a masters-level degree or higher. Many of these graduate degrees are in the fields of higher education, college student personnel, or counseling, suggesting a match between educational background and student needs. In addition, the majority of staff members have significant professional work experience in the field of higher education, with all but one possessing at least 10 years’ experience in their respective fields. Staff development for the professional staff ranges from in-house training to attending of local, state, regional and national conferences/workshops. Several staff serve in leadership roles in professional organizations such as the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRO), the American College and Personnel Association (ACPA) and the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (complete list of professional development - student affairs).

Professional academic advisers in the Wilson Advising Center, Business Student Services Center and Academic Student Support Center for Student Athletes hold a minimum of a master’s degree. Arkansas State professional advisers and several faculty advisers participate in the Arkansas Academic Advising Network (ArkAAN), an association of professional advisers, counselors, faculty and administrators

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working to enhance the educational development of students and the advising profession. ArkAAN provides professional development activities at its annual conference held at one of the member institutions in the state. Advisers also attend regional and national meetings of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) for professional development.

Professional advisers in the College of Nursing and Health Professions hold degrees appropriate for the level of students being advised into health professions degree programs. The Colleges of Business and Sciences and Mathematics employ professional advisers to assist with entry level students while most departments have a designated graduate coordinator to assist graduate students in their initial phases of application and enrollment. However, the majority of academic advising at Arkansas State is provided by faculty, many of whom participate in professional development training for advisers through the university’s Academic Advising Council on Excellence (AACE) and training provided by their professional organizations.

It would be remiss for an institution of higher education not to provide incentives for its employees to pursue additional educational experiences to assist them in their professional life and personal growth. Arkansas State provides tuition discounts to its employees and their families. Undergraduate tuition is provided at 25%. Employees completing their first or subsequent degrees are rewarded with a $2000 increase to their base pay at the completion of the degree.

3.D. Arkansas State University provides support for student learning and effective teaching.

Arkansas State understands that it is a privilege to provide students with their higher education experience. Thus, it is obliged to provide students with the appropriate support needed for their success and persistence to degree. Both in and outside the classroom, the university seeks to provide a learning environment that is intellectually challenging, relevant and equipped to prepare students for the future. According to NSSE 2011 findings, 40% of first year students said services offered by the university help them cope with non-academic responsibilities “quite a bit” or “very much,” a rating similar to national comparisons. Similarly, 36% of graduating seniors surveyed described campus administrators as “helpful, considerate and flexible,” ratings that surpassed norms for all NSSE-participating institutions. The University’s diverse student population (40% first generation college students, 27% minority, 6% international, 40% non-traditional [based on age]) requires that its support services be diverse as well. Students are provided with an array of services throughout their academic experience. Some services are geared toward specific groups such as student athletes, honors, multicultural/international and students with accessibility needs. Other services provide assistance for the general student populous such as tutoring and learning assistance, career services, counseling, advising, study abroad and national student exchange, as discussed throughout the current chapter.

Arkansas State offers a series of support services to ensure student persistence, success and retention. Because the university recognizes a wide variety of services are needed to serve its large and diverse student population, it offers support services targeted to meet the unique needs of specific populations. Arkansas State offers numerous supplementary programs designed to support and enhance the academic experience and success of students. These programs further the successful education, quality of learning and service opportunities of students. The programs also increase the likelihood that students engaged in them will successfully graduate with the knowledge, skill and competency levels necessary for continued educational advancement and successful employment after graduation.

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3.D.1. Arkansas State University provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations.

Arkansas State serves several diverse student populations: first-generation, under-prepared, honors, international, transfer, graduate, non-traditional, veterans, low socio-economic from the Delta and others. The needed support services are as varied as the populations being served and Arkansas State strives to provide each of these populations with the support needed for their academic success.

Student Affairs Division Student Services The Division of Student Affairs at Arkansas State is under the leadership of the vice chancellor for Student Affairs. The goal of Student Affairs is to assist students in eliminating obstacles that interrupt their educational progress and to broaden students’ opportunities for personal, social, cultural and intellectual development within the campus environment. Specific goals include: (1) improve students’ basic skills as required for the selection and achievement of educational goals; (2) assist students in their selection and pursuit of career and vocational choices; (3) provide direction and guidance for students in their personal, social and cultural development; and (4) provide services that respond to the unique needs of specific groups within the diverse campus population and to the demands and responsibilities of campus life. Personnel in different areas of Student Affairs work cooperatively toward the achievement of these goals and objectives.

Financial Aid The primary purpose of the Financial Aid and Scholarship office is to provide financial resources to students who would otherwise be unable to pursue a college education. Information on available financial aid is disseminated to currently enrolled and prospective students. The staff in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships seek to accomplish this purpose by making every effort to meet the demonstrated financial needs of all students enrolled at Arkansas State. Financial aid is awarded on the basis of demonstrated need except where funds are specified for recognition of special talents or abilities. Practices and procedures followed by the office staff ensure fair and equitable treatment for all applicants. The director and the staff of the office compile composite financial aid packages for individual students to provide maximum grant and scholarship funds, along with part-time employment, in order to keep the necessity for loans at a minimum. They assist students in seeking, obtaining and utilizing to the best advantage all financial resources available. The office seeks to maximum funding for all aid programs--federal, institution and state sources.

Arkansas State processes approximately $150 million in scholarships and need-based aid for students every year, including external grants provided for this purpose. Aid distributed for the 2011-2012 academic year is shown in Table 7.

Table 7. Financial Aid and Scholarship Distributions Academic Year 2012

Aid Category Unduplicated Number of Amount of Awards in Dollars Recipients Federal, State & Institutional Grants 7,503 34,935,784 State & Institutional Scholarships 4,905 33,068,526 Institutional Employment 1,284 4,213,914 Federal & Institutional Loans 9,126 78,744,988 TOTAL $12,944 $150,963,213

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Pell Grants 27,516,860.00 Loans & Other Federal Aid Direct Subsidized 23,139,028.00 Direct Unsubsidized 51,054,034.00 Perkins 936,043.00 Direct PLUS 1,443,415.00 Direct Grad PLUS 2,667,053.00 Alternative 2,713,593.00 FSEOG 341,832.00 Work Study 485,021.00 Teach Grant Undergrad 50,503.00 Teach Grant Grad 956,808.00 Total Federal Aid $ 111,304,190.00 ADHE Arkansas Academic Challenge 16,161,359.00 Distinguished Governor's Scholarship 285,000.00 Governor's Scholarship 130,000.00 Law Enforcement Officer's Dependent Program 24,267.00 Military Dependent 32,133.00 National Guard GTIP 122,500.00 Non-Traditional Grant 181,281.00 Second Effort Scholarship - GO Grant 553,250.00 Total ADHE $ 17,489,790.00 Scholarships ACT- Based 10,281,737.00 Athletics 3,594,018.00 Pass-Through 1,406,500.00 ASU Foundation 382,360.00 University 71,215.00 Band 630,232.00 Art 59,124.00 Choral 133,141.00 Speech 29,970.00 Radio-TV 14,638.00 Theatre 37,850.00 Herald 38,315.00 Residence Life 217,519.00 Academic Performance 30,761.00 High School Honors 6,064.00 Cheerleading 26,640.00 Rugby 10,000.00 ASTATE Grant 13,000.00 Military Dependent Waiver 2,933.00 Total Scholarships $ 16,986,017.00 Grand Total $ 145,779,997.00

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The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship (FAS) provides students with assistance and support throughout their academic career at Arkansas State. Each spring, FAS staff sponsor “College Goal Sunday” to provide students and families with free assistance in completing the FAFSA.

Career Management Center The Career Management Center offers a variety of employment and career-oriented services and programs to assist students with their careers, professional, and personal growth, and development. Individual career consultation is available to help assess, evaluate and explore career and major options. A comprehensive website and resource centers include: salary information, current recruiting trends, a job posting and resume database system, career assessment tools, information regarding exploring majors, tips on resume development, job search, interviewing and networking, internet videos on professional career related topics, information related to internships, an electronic monthly newsletter and a graduate school guide. The Career Management Center sponsors numerous career events that include a part-time and Federal Work-Study job fair, career fairs, graduate school fair, career weeks, workshops, seminars and presentations on topics related to career management. The center posts openings for career jobs, internships, part-time and Federal Work-Study jobs. Employers post jobs and search for candidates on a basis through Career Connect Portal. Employer interview schedules for the on-campus interviewing program also are available through the Career Connect system.

Counseling Center The Counseling Center provides specialized services designed to help students perform better academically, cope with emotions and be more effective in relationships with others. Services are performed by psychologists, counselors, counseling interns and counseling practicum students. All clinical staff are licensed and services are always performed by those whose skills and training are appropriate to the task. The center offers daily drop-in hours when students can see a counselor without an appointment and discuss any concerns they may have. Both individual and group counseling are available for discussion of stress management, academic performance issues, depression, anxiety, grief, or other concerns about handling the demands of college life. The center also offers outreach workshops addressing various student concerns such as choosing a major, sexual assault prevention and alcohol and drug abuse. The counseling center provides a wide-array of services to students. In addition to personal counseling, the staff offers career counseling, and personality inventories that will help students better understand and explore career options and academic counseling that focuses on learning skills, test taking skills and test anxiety.

The counseling center staff members provide a wide range of outreach programming to student groups including, but not limited to, Greek organizations, religious organizations, residence life groups and SGA groups. They are a vital partner in the Making Connections curriculum, where staff provide classroom presentations on stress management, study skills, conflict resolution, communication skills, anxiety management, grief resolution and other related topics. Services are available to students enrolled at Arkansas State. All services of the center are confidential, consistent with the State of Arkansas Counselor licensing law and the State of Arkansas Psychologist Licensing Act. Counseling Center staff members are full-time employees and are either licensed mental health counselors and/or psychologists. The center staff members strictly adhere to the ethical codes of their respective professions. In a typical year, the counseling center provides approximately 3400 counseling appointments to more than 700 students. At market rates these services would cost our students more than $335,000.00 in a community mental health center. Additionally, the center annually provides classroom sessions and

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campus educational programs to more than 1,000 students and campus wide information programs to more than 4,000 Arkansas State community members.

Student Health Center The Student Health Center relocated to a new facility adjoining St. Bernard’s Regional Medical Center’s First Care and Physical Therapy facilities in 2004. These health care services ensure students are physically well and ready to learn. A variety of services are offered at minimal cost for students, including the treatment of illnesses and injuries, health care screenings and immunizations. Health promotion is a primary focus with programs on wellness, health education, nutrition and injury prevention offered throughout the year. The center also serves as a clinical learning site for the nursing and athletic training programs on campus. Full-time employees on staff include two board certified advanced practice nurses, a registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse. In a typical year, the center manages about 4,500 student appointments. Optional student health insurance is provided at a reduced cost through CHARTIS, a third party vendor. International students are required to enroll in a health insurance plan. Approximately 500 health screenings are provided each year for incoming international students. The Student Health Center provides pharmacologic therapy for mental health conditions in conjunction with psychotherapy services provided by the counseling center.

Multicultural Center The mission of the Multicultural Center is to focus on matters related to diversity and multiculturalism. This programming promotes awareness, understanding, appreciation and value in the human differences (sponsored activities - Multicultural Center).

New Student Orientation This summer program aids all new and entering students in their transition to Arkansas State. This program exposes all new students to an array of social and educational opportunities. Students are advised of academic majors and are assisted with class registration. Parents also have a unique program of events that involves their participation in their student’s collegiate experience. All incoming freshmen students are required to attend New Student Orientation (NSO).

Culminating the NSO experience for students and their parents is a tradition started in 2004, the First Year Convocation. This ceremony mirrors the commencement program anticipated for each entering class. First-year students and their parents join faculty and administrators in a program that introduces the history, culture and expectations of the university experience at Arkansas State. Students take a first year oath, learn the alma mater, hear remarks from Arkansas State students and faculty, learn the significance of academic regalia and are ceremonially conveyed to the faculty.

The First Year Parent Association provides parents with a weekly on-line newsletter during the fall and spring semesters to keep parents abreast of campus activities, mid-semester and final exam periods and other information. This keeps parents “in-the-know” without intrusion into the life of their new, independent college student.

Office of Non-Traditional Student Services The Office of Non-Traditional Services helps connect non-traditional students to Arkansas State and Jonesboro by providing educational and social resources and programs to help ensure success for all non-traditional students. Non-traditional students include those who are: 25 years or older, returning to school after five years, full-time working professionals, married or single with a child/children,

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veterans, or commuters who travel 30 miles to and from the university. In 2012-2013, 24.2% of Arkansas State undergraduates were classified as non-traditional students. The office of Non- Traditional Student Services provides educational and social resources and programs such as Grab-N- Go Monday's, coffee fellowship, educational lectures and workshops that address academic matters and family activities. The office also sponsors social events such as: “Meet, Greet and Scoop,” “Spring Fling,” “Movie Night” and “Parent's Night Out.”

Parking Services The Department of Parking Services provides many services to students and the campus community. The department issues and manages more than 10,000 parking permits annually. Parking permits are available on-line through the myCampus web portal. The department also manages the operation of the campus parking infrastructure including commuter and residential parking lots, several hundred contract parking spaces, parking structures, non-residential gate access, parking meters, and pay stations. Parking Services personnel enforce the campus parking regulations and process parking citation appeals.

Campus Recreation The Red W.O.L.F. Center and Intramural Sports program provide students with a wide variety of activities that contribute to their overall health, social development and well-being. The Red W.O.L.F. Center is a state-of-the-art fitness facility. The center opened in January 2010, with an indoor track, three basketball courts, a MAC gym (soccer), dance studio, free weight and cardiovascular areas, spinning studio, and assessment rooms. Students have the opportunity to participate in programs such as group fitness classes, fitness challenges, nutrition programs, weight loss/maintenance programs, personal training, and fitness assessments. The Intramural Sports program offers a wide range of individual and team sports.

Residence Hall Governance The university holds the view that the residence hall setting provides excellent opportunities for student self-governance. Each residence hall has an elected council for implementing this concept. The councils involve residents in the principles of self-government through responsible leadership and provide programs of interest to the residents.

Residence Life The Department of Residence Life offers on-campus housing for full-time college students in one of seven residence halls. Students who have earned at least 60 hours of college credit can reside in either the Red Wolf Den or Collegiate Park apartment complex. Housing in the Village is also available for students with families, as well as nontraditional and graduate students. All single undergraduate students who have completed fewer than 60 hours and are under 21 years of age must live on campus, unless living with parents. Students with extenuating circumstances may request exemption. Residence Life manages facilities for a total of 3,239 beds. Additionally, Residence Life oversees the operation of 23 units dedicated to housing full-time faculty and staff.

Residence Life provides quality living and learning experiences in a safe, comfortable environment. Through a variety of programming within each residential facility, students are encouraged to grow academically and personally. Arkansas State’s residence halls provide great opportunities for students to learn about cultural differences and diversity (Residence Life website).

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A holistic approach to student development is followed in the residential facilities. This approach leads to higher persistence rates for on-campus students when compared to off-campus students. Furthermore, on-campus students tend to have higher GPAs than off-campus students. Hence, on- campus residential facilities attempt to create opportunities for student success.

Living-Learning Communities Three Residence Halls have been designated as First year Residential Experience (FYRE) halls for occupancy by first year students only. Each FYRE hall has one or more Graduate Hall Directors (GHD) living in the residence hall. The GHD is responsible for managing his/her residence hall and providing direct supervision to the Resident Assistants (RA). RAs who have lived on campus for at least one year prior to appointment reside on the floor with their residents. RAs serve as mentors, program planners, peer counselors, first respondents to crises, and conflict mediators. The average RA to resident ratio in the FYRE halls is 1 to 26. Another important staff position in the FYRE halls is the Peer Academic Leader (PAL). PALs provide academic assistance to residents at no additional cost.

A new Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) opened in fall 2009 housing 221 upper-class and first year students in three separate residential buildings. Students living in the HLLC share some of the same academic classes and may attend classes in the on-site Honors classroom. HLLC residents are exposed to a variety of programs designed to enhance community. A fourth HLLC residential building housing an additional 102 residents was added in fall 2013. A GHD supervises the 12 RAs assigned to HLLC. Two more living learning communities were established fall 2011. The STEM Den is home to 50 students who are enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics disciplines. These residents have created an environment that thrives on knowledge-sharing in a small community. Likewise the ROTC living learning community supports the mission of the military science program by bringing together 50 cadets in a unique residential experience. The cadets share similar training regimens, team - building exercises, and academic expectations.

Arkansas State recognizes that its juniors and seniors seek an experience that allows them the autonomy to emerge in collegiate experiences while preparing for their post undergraduate life. Two apartment complexes are dedicated to junior and senior students. These complexes allow independent living experiences within the boundaries of campus life. Non-traditional students are housed in The Village.

The new Greek Village is composed of five sorority houses. Each accommodates 20 members from the organization living in the house. All members of the organization have access to the house and come together to plan campus activities, participate in social functions, and establish extraordinary relationships.

Student Conduct Arkansas State promotes community standards through education. The university has a duty to protect its educational purpose by setting standards of conduct. The guiding principles of university regulations are to promote student responsibility and accountability while protecting the community as a whole. The university has jurisdiction over any student or student organization alleged to have violated the standards of student conduct. Off-Campus violations can also subject a student to the jurisdiction of the University Conduct System. Every student is responsible for living up to the

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standards Arkansas State has put forth in its policies. Students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner and conform to the set standards of student conduct at all times. Students who fail to abide by the university policies set forth in the Standards of Student Conduct fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Student Conduct and the conduct process. Students who are found responsible for violating institutional policies are sanctioned in an educational manner. All students are expected to know and observe the rules and regulations set forth in the standards of student conduct. Failing to educate one’s self is not considered an acceptable reason for violating these policies.

Student Union The Carl R. Reng Student Union provides students with a centralized location that meets many of their needs while at the university. Acansa Dining Hall and the Food Court area are located on the first level. Many student service offices are located in the facility, including: Student Account Services, Cashier’s Window, Financial Aid and Scholarships, Leadership Center, Career Management Center, Counseling Center, Disability Services, Recruitment, Admissions, Records and Registrations, Residence Life, Testing Center, Student Government Association, Student Activities Board, Non-Traditional Services, the Arkansas State Bookstore and the Multicultural Center. Meeting rooms are available for reservations by registered student organizations for meetings, conferences and events. Campus information is located on the second floor of the union. The staff is trained to answer questions about the Carl R. Reng Student Union, Arkansas State and the community. Brochure racks located on the counters provide information about various departments.

Testing Center The Testing Center is certified by Educational Testing Service (ETS), American College Testing (ACT), the Psychological Corporation, Pearson VUE, and several private boards and societies to coordinate the administration and security of standardized testing programs. Through the Testing Center, students seeking admission to specialized undergraduate degree programs can take the required exams on any national test date. One program gives students the opportunity to earn college credit-by-exam. The Testing Center also administers exams to individuals from the surrounding communities to certify proficiency in the fields of teaching, contracting, or counseling. The specific tests administered by the Testing Center are: College Level Exam Program (CLEP), ACT Assessment, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), COMPASS Diagnostic Assessment, SAT, COMPASS Placement Exam, PRAXIS I: Pre- Professional Skills Test (PPST), Graduate Management Admission Exam (GMAT), Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Miller Analogies Test (MAT), PRAXIS II: Specialty Area Tests, and National Counselor’s Exam (NCE).

University Police Department The University Police Department (UPD) enforces all federal, state and local laws of its jurisdiction. The UPD is staffed with 21 officers. The office is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with four police radio dispatchers. Each university police officer meets standards established by Act 452 of 1975 and is certified by the state of Arkansas as a certified law enforcement officer. The university Police Department also conducts crime prevention classes and distributes prevention literature.

Public Safety The university is committed to maintaining a safe campus, and this commitment is evident campus- wide. Campus safety is a collaborative effort among departments such as Residence Life, Information and Technology, the Campus ID Center, and UPD. Constituents have opportunities throughout the academic year to attend campus safety programs such as residence hall safety, general campus safety,

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Rape Aggression Defense (RAD), alcohol awareness, identity theft prevention and active shooter response. University Police also conduct a themed campus safety week encompassing several safety issues during the fall semester of each academic year. During the academic year 2012-13, University Police conducted 66 safety classes with 6,527 attendees from the campus and community. University commuting policy officers prepare reports monthly concerning safety concerns, testing emergency phones and lighting repairs, or additions and they make recommendations for increased safety using the concept of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). The student patrol division also compiles safety concerns that are included in safety reports. The reports are forwarded to the appropriate department for consideration and/or repair. The annual Clery Act report is compiled by the Office of Student Conduct and available on-line. The university recently committed additional resources into campus safety by installing additional cameras, electronic door access controls, gated control access at residence halls, additional emergency phones, and additional staffing for the police department. The University Police Department is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Arkansas State publishes its annual crime statistics on-line as required under federal law (Arkansas State crime statistics).

Assessment of campus safety needs and use of assessment data for continual quality improvement resulted in a 15% drop in crime between 2010 and 2011 (see Criterion Five).

Dining Services Dining services strives to meet the needs of a diverse campus community. The Acansa Dining Hall is open seven days a week and has a variety of stations, including international foods, brick-oven pizza, "like-home" favorites and much more. The food court houses Godfather's Pizza, Howl's Campus Grill, Jump Asian Express, Lobos Rojos, Starbucks, and Chick-fil-A.

Vocational Rehabilitation Persons who have a permanent disability may receive personal and vocational counseling and financial assistance while pursuing a college education. The vocational objective of the disabled person must be approved by a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor. These services are available through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, State Department of Education in Little Rock, Arkansas. Counselors periodically visit the campus to assist Arkansas State students.

Office of International Programs The Office of International Programs (OIP) helps bring the world to Arkansas State and take Arkansas State to the world. The OIP is responsible for the admission of all international students, as well as students attending the university as international exchange partners. Some of the services provided by OIP for international students include: new international student orientation, advising and registration, social, cultural and immigration advising, site seeing tours and events, 24-hour emergency assistance, free airport transfer services to and from Memphis International Airport, health insurance, and Arkansas State housing and meal plan assistance.

Disability Services Arkansas State is committed to facilitating opportunities for students with disabilities in higher education. Disability Services is responsible for the coordination of academic, non-academic, and other adjustments for students with disabilities who are enrolled in traditional and on-line courses at the university. In addition, our staff advocates for and strives to ensure access for students with disabilities in compliance with Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with

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Disabilities Act as amended, and ADAAA and ADA Accessibility Guidelines ADAAG. Disability Services offers a variety of support services to ensure that students with disabilities are fully integrated into the university. Students have access and opportunities to participate and be successful in academic, social and recreational programs and services. Disability Services (DS) strives to enhance campus opportunities for students with disabilities by recommending modifications of existing campus services and programs when programmatic, attitudinal and/or environmental barriers exist. Disability Services works with the faculty to provide the required accommodations for enrolled students. These accommodations include the following: personal, social, and academic counseling, extra time for exams, proctoring of exams, and special equipment or tools needed in or out of the classroom. Disability Services continually improves its services through of its goals for quality support services for all students with disabilities (assessment report - Disability Services).

DS staff routinely collaborate with faculty in academic departments, staff, and administrators in support services such as advisement services, residence life, athletic departments, ITS, Beck PRIDE Center, regional programs, Center for Learning Technology, financial aid, testing services, and facilities management to facilitate access for students with disabilities. Additionally, responsibility is shared with Arkansas State administrators, faculty members, and staff in the modification of policies and procedures regarding access for students as required by federal and state laws. DS advocates for accessible resources which enable students with disabilities to manage daily activities in the academic and social environment on campus (see complete list of disability services).

Academic Affairs and Research Student Services Veterans – Beck PRIDE Center Arkansas State is proud to provide America’s veterans with their higher education experience. Since its inception in 2007, the Beck PRIDE Center has served 500 veterans and family members with about 150 active participants at any given time. In fall 2013, Arkansas State will be awarded the Military Friendly Schools® title for the fifth straight year by Victory Media, which focuses on assisting military personnel transitioning into civilian life. The list honors the top 15% of U.S. colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students to ensure their success on campus. Arkansas State averages about 450 veterans in attendance. In 2011, the Board of Trustees adopted a policy providing that active duty military and their dependents, as well as individuals who are honorably discharged, are eligible for the in-state tuition rate at all Arkansas State University System campuses, regardless of residency or duty station.

Through the Offices of Admissions and Records and Financial Aid, the university provides traditional services to veterans associated with attendance. However, for combat-wounded veterans, Arkansas State’s Beck PRIDE Center provides first-class educational programs and services such as resources for access to the higher education experience, resources for counseling, personal rehabilitation, advocacy, and financial assistance needed for these individuals to achieve their post-service education.

Student Athletes The university employs a full-time academic eligibility and degree audit specialist to monitor student- athlete academic eligibility per NCAA regulations (procedures manual - degree audit specialist). Under the direction of University College, four academic coordinators provide collaborative interactions for student athletes between their academic units and athletics. The Student Athlete Academic Success Center,

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located in the Performance Enhancement Complex, serves as a resource center to assist student- athletes in various aspects of their academic, athletic, and personal lives. The center offers several avenues to success through tutoring, career planning, mentoring, and community service.

Additional Academic Student Services are provided in 3.D.2.

Preparation for the College Experience CAMP A-STATE is a two-day, one-night program designed to provide incoming freshmen students with information to aid them in the transition process to Arkansas State. Participants have the opportunity to meet current students, staff, faculty, and administrators from the university. Topics include leadership, history of Arkansas State, involvement on campus, skills for collegiate success, college life, peer relations, and teamwork.

Transfer Students The Office of Recruitment serves as the gateway for students who would like to transfer to Arkansas State from other higher education institutions. Recruitment advisers visit the college campuses, attend transfer fairs, and set up information tables at key points on the two-year campuses. Advisers communicate with students early in their academic plans so they may take classes that will transfer credit to Arkansas State. Students also are put in contact with other service areas on campus through publications and on-campus visits. Recruiters attend campuses and events on two-year campuses as appropriate.

International Students International students with limited English language skills may participate in The International Center for English (TICE) program prior to enrollment in academic programs leading to a degree. The OIP provides five main services: 1) International admissions 2) Immigration advising for degree-seeking and short-term visiting international students 3) English training through The International Center for English 4) Recruitment 5) Support and Retention Services

TICE provides six levels of intensive, comprehensive instruction (Zero, Beginner and Advanced). Interactive and dynamic courses prepare students with academic skills such as listening, note-taking and presentations. Content-based courses are taught by instructors who are experts in teaching English as a second Language (ESL). The instruction is student-centered with group work, pair work and whole class discussion. The student:teacher ratio is 15:1 with an average ratio of 11:1.

In addition to classroom training, students also receive:  Computer-based English language lab dedicated to ESL students  Conversation partners, tutoring and special ESL student organizations  Extra-curricular activities for students  Free and unlimited access to all university facilities and services  Participation in academic classes while enrolled in ESL (requires approval in advance)  On-campus housing facilities with American roommates

After completion of the ESL / TICE Program, international students are eligible to apply for entrance

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into undergraduate and graduate programs at Arkansas State with no further English proficiency examination, e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, etc. provided they meet the following:

 Completion of the final level of the program with 80% or higher proficiency for undergraduate admission.  Completion of the final level of the program with 90% or higher proficiency and a passing grade in the International Graduate Bridge course for graduate admission (grading for this course is pass/fail)

Students must also meet any additional university admissions requirements such as placement exams (COMPASS or ACT) or other requirements of the program of study in which they desire to enroll.

All international students have support from the International Programs units for assistance with admissions, immigration documents, transportation, new international student orientation, cultural programming, and other services specific to international students. Otherwise, international students have the same access to support services as any other Arkansas State students. The OIP provides information, programs and services for international students including new student orientation, personal counseling, and immigration advising. The office also works to facilitate interaction between domestic and international students through workshops, social programs, trips and cultural excursions. The OIP collaborates with the International Student Association, Multi-cultural Affairs, and other groups to promote cross-cultural activities and programs.

The Dean B. Ellis Library Arkansas State’s Dean B. Ellis Library building opened in 1963, and expansion projects in 1978 and 1992 increased the total area of the library to 215,792 square feet. While the eight-story addition that opened in 1994 greatly increased its capacity to house resources and provide services, it also provided an opportunity for Arkansas State to develop the library into an inviting place for research and study.

The full-time library staff is comprised of 15 professional librarians and 20 classified technical assistants, computer specialists and administrative support personnel. They are assisted by approximately 40 part-time employees, mostly students. Library services available to all students, faculty and other library patrons include an active instruction program for effective use of all library services and resources and numerous general and specialized on-line databases from quality academic content providers. Scheduled training classes as well as personal assistance, whether in-person or via on-line communication, are available. Questions are answered by professional librarians who assist library users in locating needed information.

The library is open to the public for 102 hours during a seven-day week. Its hours are: 7 a.m. until 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday. Information / Reference services are available during 80 of 102 hours with the exceptions of 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. until noon Saturday. Study areas, computer workstations, and book stacks are open during all service periods.

Collections and Resources The print and on-line collections consist of more than 2,000,000 total volumes or volume equivalents including approximately 600,000 print books, more than 300,000 eBooks, and in excess of 500,000 federal and state documents, 600,000 units of microforms, and 140,000 bound journal volumes. Media collections include more than 29,000 pieces of media, including approximately 6,000 DVDs and more

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than 13,000 music CDs.

On-line journals are key to academic success, and the Dean B. Ellis Library provides on-line access to more than 40,000 journals and other periodicals. Additionally, the library provides full runs of backfiles for more than 5,000 journals through resources such as JSTOR, Periodicals Archive On-line, the American Chemical Society archive, the SAGE backfile, and ScienceDirect.

Current lists of available periodicals in all fields may be viewed in real time on-line by using the library’s On-line Journals catalog (http://atoz.ebsco.com/Titles/12823). A full list of all subscribed databases may be accessed through the library databases page: (http://www.library.astate.edu/databases/journalDB/DatabaseListing.cfm).

Arkansas State is a full member of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and enjoys full access to their resources and services, including expedited inter-library loan of materials held in the collections of the CRL.

To support disability services, the library works in collaboration with the Office of Disability Services, TRIO (Upward Bound, Student Support Services and McNair Achievement Program), and the Learning Support Center. The Disability Services resource room in the library contains equipment that students who have deficits in reading comprehension or fluency may use to convert textbooks, tests, study guides and other printed classroom materials into alternative formats. Text to speech resources also are available through a number of the research databases.

Collection Development Through the library’s formula-based allocations to all academic departments, faculty select books, journals, and databases for purchase or subscription in their areas of subject expertise using nationally recognized reviews, bibliographies and professional journals. College and departmental faculty submit on-line requests for books and media as recommendations for purchase. Once requested, materials are received and processed, and the requesting faculty are notified that the new materials are available for use. Faculty members in each department participate in periodic evaluation of journal subscriptions and make final decisions on the continuation or cancellation of current titles and subscriptions to new titles.

Students at Arkansas State are assessed a student library fee, and the funds collected are specifically directed at supplementing the library’s acquisitions budget. The fee was originally assessed at a rate of $2 per credit hour in 2004-05 and followed a schedule of planned increases until the fee reached its current rate of $6 per credit hour in 2006-07. Each year, the student library fee revenue is used in combination with the library holdings budget line of $928,890, greatly increasing the library’s capacity to expand the number of quality academic resources available to faculty staff and students.

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Student library fee revenues have Table8. Student Library Fee Revenues by Academic Year been used to pay subscriptions to on- Year Library Fee Revenues Total Library Collection line databases and for the purchase 2004-05 $446,998 Development$1,375,888 Funds (Fee print books, eBooks, and journal and 2005-06 $977,098 Revenues$1,905,988 plus $928,890 newspaper backfiles, The most recent 2006-07 $1,364,629 Library$2,293,519 Holdings budget) major library acquisition funded by Student Infrastructure Fee revenue 2007-08 $1,350,970 $2,279,860 was the purchase of the entire Books 2008-09 $1,392,060 $2,320,950 at JSTOR eBook collection in the 2009-10 $1,416,413 $2,345,303 spring of 2013 (Table 8) 2010-11 $1,460,543 $2,389,433 (http://www.astate.edu/a/asunews/newsDetails. 2011-12 $1,695,866 $2,624,756 dot?newsid=10b6fc55-f833-4b54-980e- 9ec42b1eda68). 2012-13 $1,814,223 $2,743,113

The library continues to seek additional, permanent funding for acquisitions in order to maintain pace with inflation and to increase the resources available to the university. The distribution of any new funds for library collection development will include a review of the current formula for allocation of library collection development funds to assure equity based on current program size, emphases, strengths, as well as new programs.

3.D.2. Arkansas State University provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for directing entering students to courses and programs for which the students are adequately prepared.

Arkansas State provides learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. By closely coordinating the academic and support services offered through Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Athletics, the experiences of Arkansas State students are strengthened and enriched.

Underprepared First Year Students First Year Studies (Conditional Admission/Remediation) First Year Studies (FYS) is the academic home for students entering the university through the FYS Admissions program. The department also houses developmental courses in math, reading and writing and coordinates services to freshman international students through the International Academic Success Institute. In addition, courses in reading, writing, math and career planning are available to any Arkansas State student who has need of such courses.

First year students who are conditionally admitted (19 composite ACT or equivalent and high school GPA of 2.35) must participate in the First Year Studies (FYS) Program (formerly Academic Success Institute [ASI]). FYS prepares students for college level work and provides extensive advising and mentoring that fosters student responsibility and self-sufficiency to ensure a successful transition into the collegiate environment. FYS students are limited to 12 hours of coursework during the first enrollment and must earn a grade of “C” or better in all coursework completed to continue. Any required developmental courses must be started in the first semester of enrollment. Class attendance is closely monitored as is required participation in tutoring, supplemental instruction and other learning

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assistance. Students are required to meet with their assigned FYS adviser and the FYS counselor on a regular basis. The program is intrusive and holds students accountable for program requirements and academic success while providing support to each individual. The second semester of the program provides students with continued reinforcement of success skills and transition. Students who do not successfully complete the program are required to attend a two year college before being eligible to re- enroll at Arkansas State. Data concerning the impact of the FYS programming is found in Criterion Four, section four.

Student Support Services and Upward Bound (TRiO) Upward Bound (UB) and Student Support Services (SSS) report to the dean of University College. Housed in the Eugene W. Smith Hall, TRiO is a comprehensive program designed to promote retention and academic success. Both TRiO programs are funded through grants from the United States Department of Education and maintain specific requirements for eligibility (SSS eligibility requirements). Student Support Services (SSS) provides group and individual tutoring, counseling and advising, assistance with financial aid applications, career planning, and workshops on study skills. Students admitted to the program may use SSS notebook computers and the University College computer lab. Upward Bound serves eligible students in grades 9-12 in targeted schools in Northeast Arkansas. The program provides activities and services that seek to ensure that participants complete high school and enroll in and successfully complete a four year college degree. Upward Bound accomplishes this goal through a variety of activities including: tutoring and awareness classes on Saturdays during the academic year, a mandatory six-week intensive summer residential program that focuses on academic preparation for college, social and cultural enrichment activities, career and college planning, and a College Bridge program for graduating seniors. Eligibility for TRIO Programs is based on student/family incomes and/or parent educational attainment.

First Year Students Although Arkansas State provides students with an array of services throughout their academic experience, the university focuses attention on services provided during the first year to assist students with the transition from high school to college. Provision of support services begins with admission by directing students to the various university services such as scholarships and financial aid, new student orientation, testing, and first year studies that will assist as they prepare to attend Arkansas State. New Student Orientation (NSO) is required of all first- time students and provides students and parents with information concerning university services (academic and non-academic), policies, academic programs, student organizations/activities and other pertinent topics. During NSO, students meet with an academic adviser and complete registration for their first academic semester (fall, spring or summer) as appropriate.

A robust First Year Experience (FYE) Program continues this orientation through the student’s enrollment in “Making Connections,” a mandatory, three-credit hour, first year seminar course required of all first time students during their first semester of enrollment. This course is designed to help students make a successful transition into college by connecting students with their major, college peers, and a faculty mentor. There are many sections offered within the various academic disciplines at Arkansas State including honors and undecided majors. The FYE “Making Connections” has grown in concept this year, requiring iPads and a common reader, designed to further connect freshmen, faculty and the campus. While each course has a special emphasis on the students’ academic discipline, all sections include a common core including campus resources, university policies, learning techniques, critical thinking skills, and degree information. Approximately 80 sections of this course are offered in the fall term with fewer sections required in the spring term.

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At-Risk Students Students in Poor Academic Standing Arkansas State realizes students in poor academic standing who are suspended from the university or placed on probation often need assistance in changing behaviors or developing skills that lead to academic success. When a student on academic probation earns a cumulative and semester institutional GPA below 2.00, he or she is placed on academic suspension. In order to avoid suspension students must apply to successfully complete Restart@Astate, a mandatory intervention program. Students enroll in a one-credit, graded course designed to direct them toward solid academic performance, self-responsibility, and proper decision-making. Students who do not successfully complete the restart program or earn a second suspension are not permitted to enroll at Arkansas State for one calendar year. The university has been especially proud of its success with this program, particularly in light of the high risk population served.

Early Alert Program The ability to identify students at-risk or in need of university support services is critical for early intervention with at-risk students. An in-house Early Alert Program (EAP) allows faculty to refer students who may need academic support. Students may also self-refer. Students are triaged based on the nature of the reported concern. Services to which the student may be directed include: counseling, advising, learning support services, financial aid, disability services, Beck PRIDE Center for Disabled Veterans, advising center, health center, or other services areas. The individual referring the student is provided with a follow-up email explaining that the student has been contacted and support services are being provided. The Dean of University College along with the Director of Technical Services and Support created a national clearinghouse for Early Alert Initiatives in Higher Education (National Clearinghouse - Early Alert). Early Alert listserv membership is open to all institutions of higher education dedicated to student retention.

Learning Support Services University College’s Learning Support Services nurture successful, independent learners at Arkansas State through individual and group tutoring, course-based support, and academic coaching. Prior to 2010, tutoring and other learning support services were scattered across campus and lacked any coordinated effort to consolidate for easy access by students. The Learning Support Services (LSS) Center was established on the ground floor of the library. The center provides tutoring, math and writing labs, supplemental learning (SL), and structured learning assistance (SLA). Programs offered by LSS include the Learning Support Center and Writing Lab, Supplemental Instruction, and Structured Learning Assistance (SLA). All services are provided free of charge to Arkansas State students. Tutoring services are certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). CRLA-certified peer educator tutor training is provided for tutors working in the center and in other areas such as athletics. Learning Support Services provides academic assistance for all students and assists students who are truly struggling in their coursework, students who simply lack confidence in their learning skills or performance, and academically self-assured students who are processing their understanding of course concepts. The center offers drop-in, peer, one-on-one, and small group tutoring in most 1000 and 2000 level general education courses as well as in some upper-division core courses.

Structured Learning Assistance (SLA) Structured Learning Assistance (SLA), a proactive academic support program that identifies high- risk courses rather than at-risk students. High-risk courses are those from which students are most

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likely to fail or withdraw. SLA is section-specific, that is, students must register into SLA during the regular registration process. Students are required to attend SLA help sessions twice a week until the first quiz or test. After the first grades are reported, only students scoring below a certain grade (as determined by the professor) are required to attend. Students have the opportunity to "test in" or "test out" of SLA with each subsequent assessment. Students who are required to participate in SLA must adhere strictly to the university attendance policy. SLA facilitators are upper-division undergraduate students, graduate students, or adult professionals, all of whom either have taken the course they facilitate or have in-depth knowledge in the field.

Supplemental Instruction (SI) Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a course-based academic support program targeting historically difficult courses through regularly scheduled, peer-facilitated study sessions. These sessions are open to all students enrolled in the targeted course and are attended on a voluntary basis. Supplemental Instruction (SI) provides regularly scheduled, out-of-class, peer-facilitated study sessions to support historically difficult academic courses that tend to have a high rate of D or F grades and withdrawals. Session times are scheduled based on a survey conducted during the first week of the course lecture and are open to all students in the course section. Students attend SI on a voluntary basis and sessions are completely free of charge to the student.

Writing Lab The Writing Lab is run by the English and Philosophy Department in collaboration with Learning Support Services. The Writing Lab is the only computer facility on campus that is staffed by trained writing tutors (most are English graduate students) to aid students in their own writing. All students are welcome to visit for writing help, computer use, internet research, and e-mail access. The lab is located in the Learning Support Services Center.

Math Emporium The LSC Math Lab is available for students to practice and certify in Hawkes-based algebra courses. A qualified LSC tutor is on hand in the Math Lab during the normal LSC business hours. Additionally, valuable resources including tutorials in chemistry, physics, algebra and other courses are available on the LSC website.

Languages Multimedia Center The Department of Languages has a multimedia Language Lab equipped with student computers and a networked laser printer. During tutoring/walk-in hours, students may use the computers, including software that accompanies the textbook Panorama. A satellite television with many Spanish-language stations and French TV5 are available for viewing during tutoring and walk-in hours. The center is located in Wilson Hall, the hub of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

3.D.3. Arkansas State University provides academic advising suited to its programs and the needs of its students.

Of the many support services provided to students, academic advising is paramount to student success, retention and timely matriculation. According to NSSE 2011 reports, 79% of first year students believe the overall quality of academic advising at Arkansas State is good or excellent;

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these results are comparable to student ratings across Southeast Public universities. Quality of advising ratings by seniors at the university exceeds national norms, with 78% of seniors labeling their advising experience as good or excellent.

Arkansas State strives to provide students with academic advising approaches that are supportive of their needs. Students are assigned an adviser and are encouraged to meet often with the adviser to confirm academic progress and academic requirements for degree completion. The university advocates that successful advising is based on responsibilities shared by the advisee and adviser. Student advisees are encouraged to get the most out of their advising sessions by coming prepared to each advising session. Students are ultimately responsible for knowing the requirements for their degree as stated in the Undergraduate Bulletin or Graduate Catalog. In addition to being knowledgeable of degree and university requirements and policies (Guidelines for Advisors), advisers are expected to assist students in exploring the possible short and long-range consequences of their choices, retain appropriate documentation of the advisee's academic plan, and appropriately challenge the advisee to meet his/her full potential.

All students must meet with their assigned advisers prior to registration. Advisers release the advising hold following the advisement session in order for students to register in the Banner system. Registration is staggered with graduate students and seniors registering first, followed by juniors, sophomores and freshmen respectively. The timeline for registration is posted on the registrar’s website.

Advising for undeclared majors is centralized and is provided by staff at the Wilson Advising Center. Advisers assisting first year students and transfer students adhere to the state freshman assessment and placement requirements for state colleges and universities. Advising for declared undergraduate students is decentralized and provided by professional and faculty advisers within the department or college of the major. In most cases, professional advisers provide freshmen-sophomore advising in such departments as business, health professions and sciences with faculty assuming advising duties during the students’ junior-senior years. In other areas, faculty provide advising throughout the university experience. Graduate students are advised by their assigned graduate adviser within the respective academic department.

The Study Abroad Adviser helps students identify programs, not only with these exchange partners, but in any country in which a student may wish to pursue academic opportunities. The office also provides advising for students applying for grant and scholarship applications intended for international educational experiences. The Gilman Scholarship, Fulbright Fellowships and the National Security Education Program (NSEP) are examples of such scholarships and grants.

As academic advising is valued, an annual outstanding adviser award has been established and is awarded each spring along with the other outstanding faculty awards in teaching, scholarship and service. The awardee addresses the first year class on behalf of the faculty at the First Year Convocation in the fall. The “You Make a Difference” faculty advising award (Criteria - Faculty Advising Award) that is based entirely on nominations by students has become a very coveted award by Arkansas State faculty.

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3.D.4. Arkansas State University provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites, museum collections, as appropriate to Arkansas State University’s offerings).

According to the 2013 Faculty Senate Faculty Climate Survey, tenured and pre-tenured faculty members have positive impressions of their teaching environment and facilities -- they receive the necessary support to deliver high quality and innovative instruction. Sixty-one percent of faculty surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that their classrooms are conducive to student learning, and 55.5% said they have sufficient teaching support. Over half (51.2%) of faculty surveyed said Arkansas State supports their professional development, and 61.7% said their offices and equipment are adequate for their teaching needs. Thus, faculty are generally pleased with the infrastructure and support Arkansas State provides for teaching. However, as we seek to become more research-intensive, Arkansas State should survey faculty concerning specific needs for supplies, equipment and financial resources needed for research endeavors, as only 27.3% of faculty surveyed indicated that they have sufficient equipment and funding to conduct research.

The university provides faculty and students with classrooms and scientific laboratories, performance spaces, clinical practice sites, museum collections, field sites and agriculture farms for learning, application and research. State of the art laboratory facilities in the College of Nursing and Health Professions include two health assessment learning labs, a nurse anesthesia learning center, a simulated efficiency apartment, and a clinical learning lab for nursing which includes high technology simulation mannequins. (Donald Reynolds Center) This lab is outfitted with birthing and critical care rooms. For the capstone course in strategic communication, the College of Media and Communication has invested millions of dollars in high-end technology and equipment for student use. Most recently, the college spent $1 million on a new four-color printer for Printing Services and $.5 million to upgrade the television studio to high- definition.

In 2010, the Colleges of Sciences and Mathematics and Engineering received more than $3 million from the state to renovate critical labs. With these funds, they were able to completely renovate six labs and make substantial changes in more than 10 others. Besides creating a better pedagogical environment by providing better equipment, audio/visual improvements and group learning space, these renovations also increased the safety of using these labs and brought them into better ADA compliance (COSM renovations). Engineering students now benefit from two specialized computer labs that provide high-end computer software for designing, simulating and even manufacturing specialized equipment, devices and systems. Students can create solid models of parts or structures and then manufacture them with the College's CNC-controlled vertical mill. Engineering students in all three curricular areas benefit from undergraduate research opportunities with faculty working on a number of leading-edge projects in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.

Technology Resources Arkansas State provides students and instructors the technological infrastructure necessary to support effective teaching and learning. Ongoing classroom and faculty office technological renovations and upgrades, multiple computer labs across campus, Blackboard Learn, the Interactive Teaching and Technology Teaching Center, the IT Help desk, on-line available software downloads and the iPad

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initiative are but a few examples of Arkansas State’s dedication to technologies’ relationship to teaching and learning.

Learning Management System In fall of 2004, Arkansas State implemented the Blackboard Learning Management System to support learning and teaching. Initial implementation focused on instruction assistance in areas of homework assignments, grading, and faculty productivity improvements. Using version 9.1, the most up-to-date upgrade provided by Blackboard, the university has been able to keep abreast of the key emerging technology trends to support instructional design for traditional face-to-face teaching, fully on-line teaching, and hybrid web-assisted teaching. Continued upgrades, faculty training, student support, and instructional design have allowed the users of the Blackboard system to experience the latest teaching and learning tools such as course capture and recording for later viewing, integrated grammar tutoring, plagiarism monitoring, anonymous course and faculty evaluations, and webinar style teaching.

Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network (ARE-ON) A member since 2007, Arkansas State has played a key role in this not-for-profit consortium of all public degree-granting higher education institutions in Arkansas. ARE-ON provides a high-speed fiber optic backbone network throughout the state with 1Gb and 10Gb Ethernet connections to its members. Arkansas State is a key member, allowing use of existing data center facilities to host the gateway to northern Arkansas rural communities that utilize the ARE-ON bandwidth for telemedicine connectivity from rural clinics to the medical school in Little Rock. As an ARE-ON member, Arkansas State research faculty are able to attach to the Great Plains Network that allows connectivity to the Internet2 fiber optic backbone used to connect major research institutions across the globe. Membership in ARE-ON has allowed Arkansas State to reduce costs of commodity internet connectivity up to 40% annually.

On-Line Learning In fall 2008, Arkansas State began expansion of its on-line distant learning offerings as a way of reaching students who, because of time and place, are not able to participate in on-campus instruction. Prior to this time, the University provided and continues to provide, instruction to eleven sister/distant Arkansas State sites via compressed video networking or similar technologies. Through the collaborative work across campus among colleges, departments, faculty, IT professionals, and instructional designers, the university went from providing a variety of class course hours to now providing six master’s level degree programs in the College of Education, an on-line MBA in the College of Business, a master’s level degree in Public Administration, a bachelors level Interdisciplinary Studies, Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management associate, bachelors and master’s degrees, the RN to BSN, and other undergraduate degrees.

IT Store The Arkansas State IT stored opened in spring 2013 and provides hardware, software, and technology support for the campus and community. It provides Apple and PC products. In addition to the showroom, it has space available for workshops, seminars, meetings and other activities for students, faculty and staff.

Library Infrastructure The library’s integrated library system is provided by Ex Libris with its Voyager software product. Voyager is able to offer access to images, full text resources, and other local and remote databases and

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resources. It features multi-tiered client-server architecture, built-in EDI functionality and full compliance with library standards such as USMARC format, ISO 10160/10161, UN/EDIFACT, and Z39.50. It is a fully integrated library system with a web-based public access catalog, cataloging and authority control, acquisitions and serials control, circulation and course reserves, standard and customized reports, and system administration.

The Voyager on-line public access catalog has a single interface to a wide variety of on-line resources. It provides an easy and intuitive interface that allows access to local and remote catalogs, bibliographic and full text databases, images, video and audio files and other resources available through the Internet. The Voyager integrated library system uses Oracle as its relational database. This relational database structure provides for better indexing capabilities and easier data extraction for creating reports. The Oracle relational database uses the SQL standard that makes it easy to create reports from any data in the system.

In 2012 the Library implemented the EBSCO discovery search interface which provides simultaneous searching of most of the library’s subscribed resources along with the library catalog. This interface may be accessed by using the “ONESEARCH” search box on the library home page (library website).

On-line Program Support More than 300,000 academically oriented eBooks are now available to current Arkansas State students and faculty to support off- campus programs as well as those who are on campus and prefer to use on- line resources. Among the many subscription databases available on-line that provide subject-specific or comprehensive citation and/or abstract information to Arkansas State students and faculty are: Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, CINAHL, Physical Education Index, PsycInfo, Science Citation Index, Sociological Abstracts and the databases of FirstSearch. Full-text resources are available on-line through resources such as ABI-Inform, Dissertations and Theses full text, EBSCOHost Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, eLibrary, IOP Science, JSTOR, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, Mergent On-line, OVID, Project Muse, ScienceDirect, Wiley InterScience and many individual on-line journal subscriptions.

Off campus on-line access is provided to all current Arkansas State students, faculty, and staff via a proxy server. Materials that are not contained in the library’s collections or available full-text on-line are accessible through the interlibrary loan office. Resource capabilities are greatly enhanced through resource sharing agreements with networks and consortia such as ARKLink, Amigos, Lyrasis, the Center for Research Libraries, and OCLC.

Special Collections and Archives Arkansas State formally opened its archives in 1997. Today the archives focus on collecting, preserving, and making accessible to students and researchers the documentary history and heritage of Eastern Arkansas. Important collections in these areas include the papers of Congressmen E. C. “Took” Gathings, Bill Alexander and Marion Berry, and the records of the Judd Hill Planation. The archive also collects the history of Arkansas State and seeks collections that support the university’s growing research emphasis. Special collections maintained by the archive include the Cass S. Hough Aeronautical Collection, which has been described as the single most valuable collection of aviation materials in private hands; an outstanding collection of Lois Lenski books for children; collections of notable Arkansas authors Charlie May Simon, Lois Snelling, Faith Yingling Knoop, and John Gould Fletcher; an Arkansas Collection; and Arkansas State publications. Archives personnel are in the early

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stages of digitization projects that will increase the use and accessibility of numerous unique collections.

More than 100 computers are available inside the library for student and faculty use, and all computers have full printing capability. Additionally, more than 60 computers for student use are located on the first floor of the Library Building in a computer lab operated by Information and Technology Services. This Lab is open continually from 2 p.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The campus wireless network is available throughout the building. A presentation practice room, fully equipped with a pc and digital projector, opened during the fall 2007 semester, providing students with a central location on campus to rehearse their presentations prior to delivering them in class. In 2012 the Library purchased and installed two self-service book scanners that students may use to easily digitize print resources they may then download, email, or print.

The first floor of the library is currently undergoing renovations that will result in the installation of compact shelving which will house older print resources that will be retrieved upon request. This installation will keep these resources in the library building while allowing prime library space to remain open for student study, research, and collaboration.

Fine Arts Infrastructure The College of Fine Arts at Arkansas State is fortunate to be the home of the Fowler Center and the Bradbury Gallery. The former is a state-of-the-art performance facility, with outstanding venues for Theatre and Music. The Bradbury Gallery, also a state-of-the-art facility, presents contemporary art exhibits throughout the year. These two resources provide our students with excellent opportunities to hear and see professional guest artists in a variety of disciplines and also to perform and exhibit their own work in professional venues.

Recent Developments – The Center for Digital Initiatives Under the direction of Dr. Alyson Gill, associate professor of Art History, the Center for Digital Initiatives (CDI) promotes Arkansas State's position as a leader in the creation of virtual interactive environments and data visualization tools for cross-disciplinary teaching, research, and service. Established in April 2011, the CDI has secured more than $500,000 in sponsored projects in fields ranging from scientific education to heritage studies and restoration. These dollars support faculty development, engage students in cutting edge projects, produce visualization tools, and bring regional, national and international attention to Arkansas State. Arkansas State faculty use the CDI to create innovative visualizations for classroom use. One example is the virtual replica of the George Harp Field Station, created for the College of Sciences and Mathematics. The CDI also showcased Dr. Harp’s extensive dragonfly collection through a geo-mapping project. In addition, the CDI created a virtual hospital for the College of Nursing and Health Professions to educate future health care professionals. Furthermore, art history students and faculty routinely use CDI models in art history courses. Faculty also use the CDI expertise for grant proposals. Data visualization programs offer new ways of engaging information, imagining possibilities, and solving problems.

CDI has partnered with Arkansas State Heritage Sites to bring all of their sites on-line. These include the Dyess Colony, Lakeport Plantation, Hemingway-Pfeiffer House and Barn, Southern Tenant Farmers Museum and Rohwer Japanese-American Internment Camp. For example, the Dyess Colony in Dyess, Arkansas, was a resettlement colony for impoverished farmers during the Great Depression. This site is also the location of Johnny Cash’s boyhood home. The CDI worked extensively with Dr. Ruth Hawkins

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and members of the Cash family to create a perfect, virtual recreation of the Cash home. These heritage projects culminated in a recent prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities Institute for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities award. This $200,000 award will support a summer 2013 training institute in 3D visualization of cultural heritage sites for 20 humanities scholars.

3.D.5. Arkansas State University provides to students guidance in the effective use of research and information resources.

Students learn to find and use sources of information effectively through the general education curriculum, and they hone those skills across degree-program curricula (sample courses - information resources CoAT, sample courses - information resources COE, sample courses - information resources ENGR ). Many major programs offer a research methodology course as part of the undergraduate (e.g., RTV/JOUR 3363 Communications Research Methods; NRS 3312 Introduction to Nursing Research) and graduate (e.g., MCOM/SCOM 6053 Quantitative Research Methods; MCOM/SCOM 6253 Qualitative Research Methods) required curricula. As students progress in their disciplines, they are trained in the effective and ethical use of information resources. Formal support is available through the library. The library provides students with a wide variety of academic and scholarly resources in numerous formats.

To help students use these resources as effectively as possible, the library provides multiple methods of assistance in promoting the proper use of research and information sources, including: selecting research topics, evaluating resources, using the library catalog and search engines, understanding academic integrity, accessing and using databases, and learning how to cite resources used in their assignments. Personal, on-line and phone assistance is available from professional library staff. Electronic help also is available. Assessment of student information literacy has led to improvements in library assistance to students.

Courses in the use of information resources as well as course-embedded assistance are available. LIR 1011, Introduction to Using Electronic Information Resources, provides students with strategies for effective information research, including: formulating searches, comparing and contrasting electronic and traditional resources, evaluating various tools for quality, and selecting and using appropriate resources. LIR 1011, is offered several times each semester as an elective. Course-embedded assistance is provided through active librarian participation in the Making Connections class and a one credit hour course in the effective use of information resources. Research guides have been created by Arkansas State librarians specifically for Arkansas State students (http://libguides.astate.edu/).

The Office of Assessment partners with Information Services library staff to administer the SAILS information literacy test. Based on findings from the 2012 study (Project SAILS information literacy study 2012), the Dean B. Ellis Library and College of Humanities and Social Sciences are piloting a 2013-2014 “embedded librarian” collaboration, whereby a staff librarian co-teaches a humanities course and serves as the students’ resident librarian as they complete term papers and hone their information literacy skills. Several courses will be participating in the fall semester pilot, including HIST 3683 - African-American History, HIST 6003 - Introduction to Graduation Study of History and ARTH 4613 – American Art History.

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3.E. Arkansas State University fulfills the claims it makes for an enriched educational environment.

Curricular and co-curricular opportunities at Arkansas State align with its three-fold mission to educate, enhance and enrich the lives of our students. Formal and anecdotal evidence indicate that the university fulfills its mission.

3.E.1. Co-curricular programs are suited to Arkansas State University’s mission and contribute to the educational experience of its students.

Through more than 160 student organizations focused on academics, service, and student governance, Arkansas State students have the opportunity to become engaged in activities that support inquiry, practice, creativity, and social responsibility. These co-curricular activities are coordinated by different academic departments, student clubs, and other divisions within the university, and they provide out- of-the classroom experiences that serve the mission of Arkansas State (sample mapping - co-curricular programs). Examples of co-curricular activities, as they relate to the mission of Arkansas State, are discussed.

Arkansas State Educates Leaders

Sample Co-curricular Opportunities for Student Leadership Student Organization Leadership Training is an intensive program through which students participate in hands-on training and learn to recruit members, write a constitution, create a strategic plan, use parliamentary procedure for meetings, plan and market a successful event, communicate effectively, resolve conflict, and retain members.

Student Government Association: (SGA), is the student’s liaison to the administration of Arkansas State. This vital organization works as an advocate for student interests and concerns, becoming a voice to the university’s faculty, staff, and administrators. Each college has representation, and undergraduate and graduate students are represented by classification. In addition, the international students and non-traditional students have senators. These senators and SGA staff members serve on many shared governance committees, representing student concerns in important matters such as financial aid and scholarship, safety, parking and motor vehicle, gun control, and student disciplinary areas. SGA is committed to providing support, fellowship, and advocacy for Arkansas State students. As the designated representative voice for the students, SGA strives to promote a greater understanding and cooperation with the faculty and administration. SGA works to ensure that the students realize their rights to influence university policies and the campus climate.

Student Activities Board: The Student Activities Board includes the following positions-president, cultural issues director, homecoming/Spring Fest director, marketing director, student union events director, and spirit director. These student leaders plan and implement programs that encourage student campus engagement. Events include: Homecoming, Spring Fest, speakers, Cultural Week, Order of the Pack, Pride Day, special entertainment performances and more.

Emerging Student Leader: Students commit to a one-year living-learning community while taking a four-credit service learning course and engaging in the local community.

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Leadership Day: Expert leaders at Arkansas State train high school students in leadership skills.

Structured Learning Assistance and Supplemental Instruction Facilitators: SLA and SI peer leaders are students who already have been successful in the course and can offer study tips based on past experience. Leaders attend all lectures in the course, take notes, read assigned material, and conduct two or more 60-minute SI sessions each week. SI sessions focus not only on what to learn, but also on how to learn. Each session integrates subject-specific study skills with course content in order to increase memory retention and student success in the course. Sample activities might include lecture review, group collaboration, test preparation, practice tests, homework questions, or learning games.

Leadership in Academically Related Societies Each college within the university sponsors activities and clubs that are open to persons who choose to major in those respective areas. The clubs provide leadership opportunities for the academic and social interests of the members. They meet regularly to study special current problems peculiar to their major interest and to promote fellowship, social activities and understanding among the students of the different areas. Leadership within these organizations (sample leadership and professional organizations) is rewarded at the local and national levels. For example, student leaders in the College of Agriculture and Technology compete for community impact awards that highlight effective leadership of student organizations within the college and reward high-performing, student-led organizations with increased funding for the group’s activities. At the national level, noteworthy accomplishments include organizations such as the Arkansas State Student Nurses Association, a constituent member of the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA). In April 2013 the Arkansas State Student Nurses Association received the NSNA Stellar School Chapter Award. This award program recognizes NSNA school chapters that demonstrate ongoing involvement in NSNA, including a strong commitment to shared governance and professional development of their students and faculty. The awards are open to official NSNA school chapters that have maintained constituency status for the previous five years and meet specific criteria for recognition. The Arkansas State SNA is one of only two chapters in the nation that received this award for 2013.

Arkansas State Enhances Intellectual Growth

Academically related co-curricular opportunities enhance intellectual growth of Arkansas State students and engage the surrounding community in a culture of academic excellence, service and innovation. Co-curricular academic and honorary clubs highlight student learning and academic achievement as primary goals for our students (sample honorary organizations). Academic excellence is modeled by national recognition of our students such as those serving on the award-winning Arkansas State Debate Team. Led by Dr. Chris Harper in the College of Media and Communication, the Debate Team won the national championship in 2013.

Intellectual growth of Arkansas State students is encouraged through the dissemination of student-led university publications. The Herald is the official campus newspaper published on-line and twice- weekly in print by the university during fall and spring semesters. All students become regular subscribers upon registration. The university yearbook, Wolf Tracks, is published annually under the direction of an Associate Dean of Students. Wolf Tracks contains a pictorial history of the major events throughout the year. It serves as a history of the school year, reflecting student life and activity in pictorial review. Affairs of State, an alumni publication, is published annually and mailed to all

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Arkansas State graduates whose current addresses are known. Tributary, a publication containing the literary efforts of Arkansas State students, is sponsored by the Department of English and Philosophy. Voices, a magazine of Arkansas State’s Alumni Association, includes profiles and feature stories and is published twice-yearly, with subscriptions available through membership in the Alumni Association.

Intellectual growth of Arkansas State students is enhanced through the university’s commitment to innovation and research. The Catalyst Innovation Accelerator Program, a strategic collaboration designed to promote a culture of academic excellence and leadership on campus and within the local community, reflects the university’s commitment to lifelong learning and academic entrepreneurship of Arkansas State graduates. The Arkansas State Research & Development Institute (RDI), Northeast Arkansas Business Community, Arkansas State, the Arkansas BioSciences Institute, the Delta Center for Economic Development, U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration are collaborating to establish the Catalyst Innovation Accelerator program. Catalyst is located inside the Arkansas BioSciences Institute facility on the Arkansas State campus. Catalyst offers business services, executive office suites and conference space, and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities to new and growing science and innovation based ventures. It assists emerging companies with technology transfer, intellectual property protection, equity funding, prototype development, and other services to accelerate the technology transfer process from inception to growth and profitability. Catalyst exemplifies the university’s efforts to foster innovation- based economic development, with an ultimate goal of creating opportunities that will develop and retain the most talented among our region’s students and workforce.

Arkansas State Enriches Lives

Arkansas State is committed to enriching the lives of students, community members and individuals throughout the world. Co-curricular opportunities that enrich the lives of students through campus engagement and interaction with fellow students include: athletics and intramurals, religious activities, Greek life and special interest activities. Students also are committed to enriching the lives of members in their surrounding community and engaging in co-curricular research opportunities that serve the global community. These service-learning opportunities are discussed in section 3.E.2. For example, Drs. David Radin and Carole Cramer involve student researchers in biomedical research and development that uses bioengineered plants for manufacturing human therapeutic proteins. Their award-winning P3 Center demonstrated the normal gene for a human enzyme, responsible for a rare genetic disease called Gauchers disease, could be transformed into plants and expressed to produce a bioactive human enzyme. (P3 CENTER)

3.E.2. The institution engages its students and contributes to their educational experience through other activities related to its mission, such as research, community engagement, service learning, religious or spiritual purpose, economic development, or others.

Arkansas State fulfills its claim to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives. Faculty mentoring of students is the primary means by which faculty at Arkansas State educate leaders (educating leaders - examples provided by faculty). Faculty mentors involve students in undergraduate and graduate research as discussed in section 3B5 of this self-study. According to a 2013 survey of student participants in the Create@STATE, the annual showcase of student research, creative activity and scholarship, the primary benefits of this co-curricular experience are: “increased confidence in my ability to do

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research,” “increased intellectual curiosity,” “ increased ability with statistical analyses” and “preparation for graduate study” (Benefits of ASU Research Experience 2013 Survey). Some of these research opportunities include service to the needs of the surrounding community. For example, The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds the Experiential Learning Fellowships (ELF) Program in the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Arkansas State. This five-year, $567,000 project provides 16 undergraduate and four graduate students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines with scholarships that will allow them to further investigate how science can be used to solve local problems. These students work in teams to investigate issues that are brought to them by members of the local community. Assessment of the 2013 Experiential Learning Fellowship (ELF) revealed that “working with a faculty mentor” was the primary contributor to student learning for participants in this high-impact program. As one participant in ELF commented, “The activities we participated (in) more helped my professional career rather than my educational career. I joined the program late as a senior, but I feel the lesson learned would be very helpful to a lower classman who has yet to understand topics such as understanding scholarly journals and resume building.”

Arkansas State also fulfills its claim to enhance intellectual growth. Although the university offers specialized services to developmental, as well as honors students, Arkansas State faculty are committed to advancing every student to the next intellectual level (intellectual enhancement of students - examples provided by faculty). The students take their knowledge to local community leaders of non-profits and for profit businesses through internships, collaborative projects, and service-learning. Internship opportunities are afforded by each college. Examples include COB, CoAT, Intrnatl, COMC, ABI and COE. Collaborative projects such as those offered in the College of Business, also serve the broader community. For example students enrolled in a capstone course draw upon the knowledge gained through College of Business core classes in accounting, economics, organizational behavior, marketing, finance, operations management, and management information systems to complete a team assignment in Strategic Management. Student teams are required to complete a strategic analysis of an existing firm, develop a business plan for a new company, or prepare a strategic plan for an existing company. All of the teams present the results at the end of each semester. Undergraduate students present completed projects to the class, and graduate students present their strategic plans to the business owners and/or managers.

Finally, Arkansas State fulfills its claim to enrich lives. Arkansas State’s engagement of students in active and collaborative learning surpasses NSSE 2011 scores at public and private universities nationwide (community engagement of students - examples provided by faculty). Capstone experiences and service learning enrich not only the lives of our students but also the lives of children and youth in the local community (service-learning - examples of local impact). For example, senior level Communication Disorders majors enroll in CD 4752 – Introduction to Clinical Practice in their final semester of the undergraduate degree. The practicum is conducted in local public schools beginning at 3p.m. two afternoons per week. Communication Disorders majors provide language/literacy intervention services for public school students of all ages whose academic and reading performance are sub- average. One school reported that 80% of elementary grade students having received one year of after-school intervention services were removed from the school’s “at-risk” list.

Service learning by Arkansas State students also impacts the global community. For example, through the previously mentioned Ecuador Project in Salinas de Guaranda (see 3.B.4.), students develop an understanding of how different cultural values and economic conditions affect the citizens of the village and the marketplace. Students remark it was a “life changing experience” realizing how people live

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without the basic essentials of life and how they can make a difference for others. This project has resulted in a collaborative effort between Arkansas State, The Jonesboro University Rotary Club, and Rotary International to build a $140,000 hydroelectric system that will be sustainable for the village. The excess electricity generated will return more than $20,000 to the cooperative each year. For many students, faculty’s commitment to enriching the lives of students is not realized until after graduation. Alumni letters of thanks testify to the effects of faculty involvement in the lives of our students (sample Alumni correspondence).

Criterion Three Strengths and Opportunities Teaching and learning are appropriately broad and comprehensive, reflecting the mission of Arkansas State. Strategic units provide an array of proactive student services that anticipate and respond to the needs of a diverse community of learners. Support units view success in terms of their ability to create a rich environment that allows students to advance their learning and engage in campus life. Faculty and staff involvement with conditionally accepted students, honors students, and with the broad community of learners has increased persistence and retention rates of struggling first-year students, encouraged degree completion for returning students, and increased expectations for all students. In spite of increased admission criteria, honors enrollment has steadily grown for the past four years. Arkansas State ranks above comparative institutions for the educational benchmarks of student-faculty interaction and collaborative learning. Although academic challenge is a low-scoring benchmark for Arkansas State, students report having worked harder than they ever thought they could, and value- added metrics are high. Thus, faculty maximize learning for students of the Delta region. Arkansas State fulfills its mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives.

Opportunities for continual quality improvement include peer mentoring for pre-tenured faculty and attention to diversity. According to the 2013 Faculty Senate Faculty Climate Survey, pre-tenured faculty members were less satisfied with career and professional development than tenured faculty. Although some colleges have mentoring programs in place, no formal program exists at the level of the university. Academic Affairs collaborated with ITTC to implement a faculty mentoring program that is being piloted this fall. In addition, the chancellor hosted the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, new faculty and recently tenured faculty in his home to network.

Although it seemed intuitive that increased internationalization of the campus would result in an improved culture of diversity, assessment data presented in Criterion Four of this self-study suggest this initiative was myopic. Classroom dialogue about multicultural issues increased, and student concern for diversity grew; however, meaningful discussion between students from diverse groups did not improve as a result of these initiatives. Plans are underway to assess the impact of efforts such as the global living learning community, expansion of study abroad and increased emphasis on curricular diversity in anticipation of rectifying this campus challenge.

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CRITERION FOUR

Teaching and r Four r Learning: Evaluation and

Improvement Chapt CRITERION FOUR 135 Chapter Four

Criterion Four Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement

The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

Core Components

4.A. The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs. 1. The institution maintains a practice of regular program reviews. 2. The institution evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what it accepts in transfer or awards for other forms of prior learning. 3. The institution affirms that those degree or certificate programs it represents as designed to prepare students for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes. 4. The institution maintains specialized accreditation as appropriate to its educational purposes. 5. The institution maintains and exercises authority over the prerequisites for courses, rigor of courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and faculty qualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs. It assures that its dual credit courses or programs for high school students are equivalent in learning outcomes and levels of achievement to its higher education curriculum.

4.B. The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning. 1. The institution’s goals for student learning are clearly stated and processes for assessment of student learning and achievement of learning goals are effective. 2. The institution assesses achievement of the learning outcomes that it claims for its curricular and co- curricular programs. 3. The institution uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning. 4. Assessment methodologies and processes reflect good practice. Faculty and other instructional staff members participate substantially.

4.C. The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to its retention, persistence, and completion rates in degree and certificate programs. 1. The institution has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that are ambitious but attainable and appropriate to its mission, student populations, and educational offerings. 2. The institution collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs. 3. Processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutions are not required to use IPEDS definitions in their determination of persistence or completion rates. Institutions are encouraged to choose measures that are suitable to their student populations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.) 4. The institution uses information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs to improve its persistence and completion rates as warranted.

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CRITERION FOUR

TEACHING AND LEARNING: EVALUATION AND IMPROVEMENT

Arkansas State University demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

The notable absence of an assessment director at the time of the 2003 HLC site visit appropriately drew the attention of peer consultant-evaluators concerned with increasing public demands for accountability for student learning in higher education. Arkansas State had neither the administrative cadre nor the faculty culture necessary to effect change and meet what the Department of Education would soon unveil as federal mandates outlined by the 2006 Spellings Commission: accessibility, affordability, quality and accountability. Faculty hesitated to commit to assessment as they thought it might be a passing and token initiative given excessive administrative turnover in recent years. Despite these obstacles, each attempt to focus the university on student learning outcomes moved assessment forward from its fledgling state. Successful campus-wide engagement in developing the 2011-2015 strategic plan, placement of trusted leaders into upper administrative positions, and intentional linkage of assessment to Arkansas State’s research agenda provided the infrastructure needed to advance assessment. Since the 2003 visit, shared governance committees have implemented university-level, program-level and general education assessment. Faculty have developed and presented assessment strategies at national conferences. Collaborative efforts between the Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) and the Office of Assessment have provided year-round faculty development in assessment, including a train-the-trainer system whereby faculty train their colleagues during summer assessment institutes. The campus has adopted a strategic plan in which three of six institutional priorities focus on quality programs and student learning. Arkansas State’s commitment to these priorities is evidenced throughout this chapter.

4.A.Arkansas Arkansas State State University University maintainsdemonstrates a practice responsibility of regular for the qualityprogram of i tsreviews. educational programs.

Faculty demonstrate responsible oversight of Arkansas State’s academic programming through shared governance curriculum committees, external program reviews, degree-program advisory boards and professional accreditations. According to the 2011 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, 87% of the faculty believe Arkansas State emphasizes the need to provide students with support they need to succeed academically “quite a bit” or “very much.” The current chapter highlights Arkansas State’s commitment to student success and continuous quality improvement.

4.A.1. Arkansas State University maintains a practice of regular program reviews.

Arkansas Code §6-61-214 requires that the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (AHECB) regularly review existing academic programs of all institutions of higher education. In compliance with this code, the university must externally review all academic programs every 7-10 years. The review cycle is established by the university with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) and can be amended with permission from ADHE. The two categories of review are as follow:

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1) External review of accredited/licensed/state certified programs follows the usual review practices and schedule of the accrediting/approval body (sample self-study). The site team’s written evaluation and institutional response must be sent to ADHE within six weeks of receipt of the written evaluation.

2) Academic programs which are not program-specific accredited must be reviewed by external reviewers/consultants. The university must select a minimum of two out-of-state reviewers affiliated with programs that are similar in mission and scope to the program under review. At least one consultant is required to conduct a site visit and meet with program faculty, students and administrators. The university completes a comprehensive self-study that is reviewed by the program consultants. Components of the self-study must include, but not be limited to, information related to: program need/demand, curriculum, faculty, resources, course delivery methods, student outcomes and recent/planned program improvements. The consultants submit a written report of findings to the institution. Key information on continued program improvement must be included in the report submitted to ADHE.

Findings from academic program reviews are reported annually to the AHECB by ADHE staff. The consultant reports may be used as a resource when decisions must be made by the AHECB regarding institutional role and scope, budget requests, new program approval and statewide funding issues. ADHE staff may encourage institutional administrators, faculty members and boards of trustees to consider implementing the recommendations made by the consultants for program improvement.

If appropriate, a resolution will be offered concerning program deletions, modifications and/or follow- up. A resolution recommending program deletions will place the program(s) on notice for removal from the AHECB approved program inventory. At the end of the two-year notice period, those programs still not meeting minimum standards will be deleted from the approved program inventory. State general revenue funds may not be used for the operation of a program beyond the termination deadline set by the Coordinating Board, and SSCHs generated by major courses of programs removed from the approved program inventory will not be used in the state funding formula calculations. General education courses listed in the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) will not be subject to loss of funding.

ADHE academic program viability is determined by the following viability standards, based on a three- year average:

 An average of four (4) graduates per year for career and technical education certificates (CTE) and career and technical associate degree programs (AAS);  An average of four (4) graduates per year for bachelor’s degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, foreign languages, middle school education and secondary education programs for licensure in science and mathematics;  An average of six (6) graduates per year for transfer associate degrees (AA, AS and AAT) and bachelor’s programs;  An average of four (4) graduates per year for master’s, specialist and first-professional programs; and,  An average of two (2) graduates per year for doctoral programs.

Cognate, embedded and related programs will be considered one program for program viability purposes.

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Prior to 2009, no external program review was required by the state. Accredited program review reports were forwarded to ADHE, and non-accredited programs conducted an internal review with results provided to ADHE. During changes in program review and the program viability process, the schedule was suspended and then implemented effective 2010. Arkansas State conducted its first external reviews of non-accredited programs as of spring 2013 (Chemistry Program Review, Chemistry External Review, Physics Self-Study, Physics Review, Biology Review, Biology Response). Programs preparing self-studies for 2014 include English, Philosophy, World Languages, Agriculture, Technology, Geography, Sociology, Criminology and Communication Studies (Table 1).

Table 1. Academic Program Review Schedule

Program Review Schedule Year Accreditation Body Visit or Program Review 2010-2011 Environmental Sciences (PhD, MS) PROGRAM REVIEW – 2009 Heritage Studies (PhD, MS) PROGRAM REVIEW – 2009 Molecular Biosciences (PhD) PROGRAM REVIEW – 2009 2011-2012 Athletic Training CAATE 2011-2012 (Spring 2012) CAAHEP Technology NAIT Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Initial Accreditation Visit June, 2012 (AAS, BS, MS and Graduate Certificate) NLNAC 2011-2012 (Spring 2012) Follow-Up Report due Nursing (AAS, BSN, MSN) Fall 2014 (By 10/1/14) 2012-2013 Clinical Lab Science (BS and AAS) NAACLS 2012-2013 Biological Sciences & Wildlife Management PROGRAM REVIEW (Spring 2013) Chemistry PROGRAM REVIEW (Spring 2013) Physics PROGRAM REVIEW (Spring 2013) Doctor in Physical Therapy CAPTE 2012 Higher Learning Commission Comprehensive Visit Fall 2013 2013-2014 Art NASAD 2013-2014 NAST (Spring 2012 Initial Accreditation Application 2/27/12); Commission deferred action on the Theatre application for Plan Approval for the degree BA-4 yrs: Theatre (Directing) – report due 2/1/14 for the March 2014 Commission meetings Nurse Anesthesia COA (Fall 2013) Diagnostic Medical Sonography JRC-DMS (CAAHEP) (Fall 2013) School Counseling CACREP 2011 (Spring 2014) Agriculture, Technology and PROGRAM REVIEW Bachelor of Applied Science Criminology PROGRAM REVIEW English BA, MA PROGRAM REVIEW

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Program Review Schedule Year Accreditation Body Visit or Program Review Philosophy BA PROGRAM REVIEW Geography PROGRAM REVIEW Sociology PROGRAM REVIEW Foreign Languages PROGRAM REVIEW (World Languages and Cultures) Communication Studies PROGRAM REVIEW 2014-2015 Journalism ACEJMC 2014-15 Radio/Television ACEJMC 2014-15 Rehabilitation Counseling CORE 2014 Public Administration NASPAA 2014 Computer Science PROGRAM REVIEW Exercise Science, Health Promotion, PROGRAM REVIEW Sport Management, Sport Administration Interdisciplinary Studies PROGRAM REVIEW Mathematics PROGRAM REVIEW Printing PROGRAM REVIEW 2015-2016 Radiation Therapy (BS) JRCERT (Fall 2015) Social Work (MSW) CSWE (Fall 2015) Magnetic Resonance Imaging JRCERT (Fall 2015) Teacher Education NCATE 2016 Political Science PROGRAM REVIEW Psychology PROGRAM REVIEW History PROGRAM REVIEW 2016-2017 Athletic Training CAATE (CAAHEP) AACSB 2016-17 (Received team report 5/21/12 and Business official certificate of accreditation) Nutrition & Dietetics ACEND (Fall 2016) Radiologic Technology (AAS) JRCERT 2015-2016 NHP Graduate Certificates - Aging Studies, Health Care Management, Addiction Studies and Health Sciences PROGRAM REVIEW Education; MS Health Sciences 2017-2018 Engineering ABET 2017 School Psychology, EdS NASP 12/31/17 Music Programs NASM 2017-2018 2018-2019 Social Work (BSW) CSWE 2018 2019-2020

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Communication Disorders ASHA 2011 (Spring 2011) CAA (Fall 2019) The state program viability standards placed the following programs on watch in 2008 due to insufficient number of graduates: Bachelor of Science – Economics, Bachelor of Arts – Economics and Bachelor of Arts – Geography. An appeal for an extension to provide an additional three years (through spring 2013) to improve graduation rates was filed for each program and approved by ADHE.

4.A.2. Arkansas State University evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what it awards for experiential learning or other forms of prior learning.

Students earning academic credits at Arkansas State do so by enrollment in credit bearing courses in which they complete the various course requirements, exams and other graded components of the course. Upon completion of these requirements and evaluation of the student’s performance by the course instructor, the instructor assigns the official grade via entry into Banner, and the earned credits are then posted to the student’s official transcript. After the official grading period, any change in official grade must be completed by the instructor on the “Change of Grade” form which also requires the signature of the department chair and college dean. The form is processed by the Office of the Registrar resulting in a change of grade and recalculation of grade point and academic standing. The Registrar sends final documentation of the grade change to the department offering the course.

Arkansas State uses a four-point grading system. The grading system includes permanent letter grades and grade point values as shown in Table 2. Table 2. Grading and Point System

Grade Grade Description Explanation Points/Hour A excellent for outstanding achievement 4 B good for less than outstanding but demonstrating better performance than the normal competency required for satisfactory progress toward 3 graduation C satisfactory for performance that demonstrates the normal competency required for 2 satisfactory progress toward graduation D poor for performance that meets minimum course requirements but is below 1 standards required for satisfactory progress toward graduation F failure for performance that does not meet minimum course requirements and 0 for which no degree credit is justified P pass for satisfactory performance (non-degree credit courses for meeting 0 minimum degree credit standards for courses only - no degree credit) CR credit not requiring letter grades 0 NC no credit for NOT meeting minimum degree credit standards for courses not 0 requiring letter grades AU audit for meeting all course requirements except taking examinations and 0 completing written papers I* incomplete for students’ inability to complete all course requirements for reasons 0 beyond their control (An incomplete grade not removed within one semester will be recorded as an F.) W withdrawal for dropping an individual course OR for complete withdrawal from the 0 university

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Students may obtain credits for experiential and other forms of prior learning through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Advanced Placement (AP), American Council on Education (ACE), Military credit, credit by exam, International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Council on Adult Experiential Learning (CAEL) Learning Counts. In a limited number of instances, such as the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management programs, coursework completed through specific venues such as fire and police academies and federal agencies may be articulated as experiential credit.

For CLEP, the qualifying score required to receive credit for a specific course is determined by the academic department/college in which the course resides. Guidelines for accepting CLEP test scores for credits are outlined in the Undergraduate Bulletin, page 45. (Undergraduate Bulletin)

High School students may earn college credit through Advanced Placement (AP) and Concurrent Credit. The Advanced Placement (AP) qualifying score required to receive credit for a specific course is determined by the academic department/college in which the course resides. A minimum AP score of 3 is required for basic credit in most disciplines. Higher scores may result in additional courses or credits. A complete listing of scores and equivalent Arkansas State courses/credits may be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin, pages 45-46. Credits received are applied toward graduation. Some credits may satisfy General Education requirements. If an equivalent course is not available for the AP exam area completed, elective credit may be awarded in the appropriate academic discipline. Students also may earn credit through concurrent enrollment, which is discussed in section 4.A.3.

“Credit by Exam” is offered on a class-by-class basis as not all departments/programs participate. Interested students must contact the department chair/program director to determine if an exam is available and to make arrangements for taking the exam. A special “credit by exam fee” is required and must be paid before credit can be posted to the student’s transcript by the registrar. Course credit but no grade is posted to the student’s permanent academic record.

Credits earned through experiential and other forms of prior learning are included in the total credits completed but are not assigned a grade and do not count in the quality-points, class standing, or graduation with honors calculations. As no grades are earned though these methods, credit may not be used as repeat for change of grade purposes. No more than 30 credit hours of any combination of prior learning may be applied toward a baccalaureate degree and up to 15 hours toward an associate degree.

4.A.3. Arkansas State has policies that assure the quality of the credit it accepts in transfer.

Arkansas State accepts transfer credits from colleges/universities that are associated with one of the U.S. regional institutional accrediting agencies (Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education; New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education; North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning Commission; Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities; Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges; Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges; Western Association of Schools and Colleges). For international students, the Office of International Programs determines whether the institution is appropriately accredited.

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Accepted transfer credit may be assigned as equivalent credit if the course is deemed to be equivalent to a specific university course, or if not, as elective credit. Courses that are equivalent in content but not equivalent in level (lower level vs. upper level at Arkansas State) may satisfy the requirements for a course but will not apply toward satisfying upper level credit hour requirements. The university maintains an institutional course equivalency table for courses previously evaluated and updates it as new courses are evaluated by department chairs as to transfer eligibility status. For courses which have not been previously evaluated, students may be required to submit a syllabus for the course. Arkansas State is amassing course equivalences in its database for international transcripts evaluation by an agency that is familiar with international universities/colleges (e.g., World Education Services [WES]).

Grades for transfer work do not convert automatically to an Arkansas State GPA. For graduate students, transfer credits transfer only if the student earned a minimum of a “B” (or its equivalent) for the course(s) transferred.

For undergraduate programs, there is no general limit on the period of time that transfer credits are valid. In some disciplines such as the health sciences, students may be required to update classes that may no longer be current. For degree completion and graduation, undergraduate students must meet the requirements under a bulletin that is seven years old or less at the time the degree is completed. Graduate programs limit individual transfer credits to nine hours or fewer, and time to degree must fall within the six (Master’s degree) or ten (Ph.D. degree) year time frame for completing the graduate degree. Additionally, the credits cannot be transferred until the student has completed 12 semester credits at Arkansas State and attained a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

4.A.4. Arkansas State University maintains and exercises authority over the prerequisites for courses, rigor of courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and faculty qualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs. ASU assures that its dual credit courses or programs for high school students are equivalent in learning outcomes and levels of achievement to its higher education curriculum.

Faculty Oversight of Curriculum

Curriculum and academic program development and implementation are the responsibility of the faculty. Academic program curriculum changes such as new programs, emphases, or minors; new courses, course deletions or course revisions; prerequisite requirements; and other additions or modifications of undergraduate and graduate curricula originate in the departments and colleges. Curriculum changes require approval by the department curriculum committee, department chair/program director, college curriculum committee and college dean. The role of the departmental curriculum committee is to work with the department chair in developing the curriculum. The role of the college curriculum committee or the college graduate committee is to evaluate proposed changes submitted by the departmental committees and recommend curriculum changes to the dean. Changes associated with teacher licensure programs also must obtain approval from the Council on Professional Education (COPE). Following these approvals, proposals are then routed to the Undergraduate Curriculum Council (UCC) or Graduate Council (GC), respectively. The provost grants final approval. These two shared governance councils are largely responsible for curriculum oversight.

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The primary role of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) is to advise the provost about all undergraduate curriculum development within the university. The committee considers individual course proposals, Undergraduate Bulletin changes and institutional termination or modification of academic programs. Membership on the UCC consists of the academic college curriculum committee chair (elected by the college) from the Colleges of Agriculture and Technology, Business, Media and Communication, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Nursing and Health Professions, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Sciences and Mathematics, and one representative appointed annually by the Student Government Association. Nonvoting members include the registrar and one representative from the Honors College, University College, Continuing Education and Community Outreach, Assessment Services and the Dean B. Ellis Library. Nonvoting members, with the exception of the Registrar, participate on the review subcommittees. The associate vice chancellor of Academic Services serves as ex-officio, nonvoting chair. The committee reports to the provost.

The Graduate Council (GC) provides guidance and direction for the university’s graduate programs. The council considers and recommends graduate curriculum changes and new programs; policies on graduate admission, academic standards and graduation requirements; policies on graduate faculty status; policies regarding graduate assistants; and policies on graduate stipends and assistantships along with their distribution to programs.

Membership on the Graduate Council consists of one tenured graduate faculty member from each college with graduate programs. Colleges with doctoral programs have an additional faculty representative from the doctoral program(s). Two graduate students appointed by the Graduate Student Council serve on the committee. The graduate dean and the director of Assessment Services serve on the council as ex-officio, nonvoting members. This council reports to the provost through the dean of the Graduate School.

UCC or GC approval is required for:  New academic programs, certificates, minors, emphases/concentrations  New courses and special courses  Program revisions  Program and course deletions  Bulletin changes pertaining to academic programs and courses

A specific form is available for each of the changes above and is used to route the proposal through the process (http://www.astate.edu/a/shared-governance/shared-governance-committees/undergraduate-curriculum-council/forms.dot). For those changes requiring ADHE approval, the appropriate ADHE form(s) (e.g. letter of intent or notification, new program proposal, deletion, on-line mode of delivery, etc.) must be submitted along with the university proposal (http://www.adhe.edu/divisions/academicaffairs/Pages/academicaffairs.aspx; see Academic Program Proposals, then Forms).

Representative information required for new courses and programs includes:  Justification  Course prefix and number, title, type (lecture, lab, internship, etc.), grading type, offering frequency, mode of delivery  Prerequisites  Course syllabus(i)  Course goals and learning outcomes  Assessment

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 Resources  Budget (new program)  Employment/Employer Surveys (new program)

During each step of the review process, the appropriate body considers the justification and academic integrity of the proposed action. At the college and university levels, the appropriateness of curricular additions and revisions along with their effect on other academic programs is specifically reviewed. Programs converting to distance education delivery are requested to notify the UCC or GC for approval. New online programs must complete the regular program review process. Curricular changes specific to general education courses also are reviewed by the General Education Committee.

Curricular actions requiring Board of Trustee approval include new programs, certificates, minors, emphases/concentrations, or deletions. Any required Board actions must be completed prior to consideration by the AHECB.

Prerequisites for courses are set via the curriculum process and are determined by the department providing the course or program. In most cases, course pre-requisites are coded in Banner, which restricts enrollment of students not possessing the appropriate pre-requisites. For courses in which automated restrictions are not possible, enforcement of pre-requisites is the responsibility of the department and/or instructor. Students who do not meet the prescribed pre-requisites may appeal to the department chair or instructor if they believe that they have credentials that can be considered for enrollment.

Expectations for Student Learning Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are determined by the faculty for each academic program. Syllabi are posted on Banner, and all syllabi must list the relevant general education or degree program student learning goal and relevant student learning outcomes (Requirements for Syllabi Submission). The academic department that offers the dual-credit course is responsible for ensuring equivalency in content across syllabi and including sample artifacts from sections of the course offered on campus, at instructional sites or high schools, and online when conducting assessment. Faculty qualifications and authenticity of assessment practices of general education dual-credit courses are overseen by the shared governance General Education Committee through a rigorous quadrennial review of courses (Submission Form Course Review). Courses that are cross-listed at the undergraduate and graduate level must articulate different learning outcomes, expectations for work and assessment practices (New Course Proposal). The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and Graduate Council oversee this process.

Concurrent Enrollment High School Courses (Dual Credit) Concurrent enrollment credit earned by high school students provides credit for both high school and college. In the state of Arkansas, concurrent credit may be offered in a partnership agreement between high schools and local/regional higher education institutions. Normally, teachers at the high school who meet the same credentialing requirements as faculty at the higher education institution provide the instruction for the course. In some instances, faculty from the higher education institution may provide the instruction. Students in grades 9-12 may enroll in the program if they meet the higher education institution’s enrollment requirements. Students who are at high schools that are working with Arkansas State to offer the courses receive their grade and course credit on their transcripts directly. Students who receive their credit from another higher education institution in the state need to have their credit transferred to Arkansas State as if they had attended the institution.

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ADHE policy for concurrent high school courses stipulates that concurrent credit courses must be college or university courses that are approved through the normal process of an institution and included in the catalog. The course must be listed in the Arkansas Course Transfer System. A course is required to meet the same standards as college courses taught on the campus. The faculty use the same syllabus, require the same textbook as approved by the college or university, and adopt the same learning outcomes as those developed for the course on the campus. If departmental exams are used in campus courses, then those exams will be used at the high school site (concurrent policy).

Access to Learning Resources Dean B. Ellis Library The Dean B. Ellis Library has a comprehensive range of resources and services to support the teaching, learning and research goals of students and faculty members. The library is open seven days a week with the exception of holidays. The library maintains reduced hours during breaks and a limited operating schedule for the final two weeks in December when the university is closed for the winter break. The library building also houses the Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) and is the home of the compressed video distance learning classrooms.

A staff of 15 professional librarians and 20 support staff acquire, organize and service the collection and provide all library services. Reference librarians are available during the majority of library operating hours to assist students and faculty with searches and to find materials. Reference librarians are also available by telephone to answer brief questions. On request the library provides orientations, tours and specific instructions for classes.

The Voyager online catalog provides access to in-house library holdings. Online databases from all subject areas including education, humanities, medicine, nursing, psychology, social sciences and current events are available. Databases of particular relevance include BioMed Central, CINAHL with Full-Text, the Cochrane Library, EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete, Health and Wellness Reference Center, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Medline, Medline Plus, Ovid, PubMed, PubMed Central and LexisNexis Academic.

The print and online collections consist of over 2,000,000 total volumes or volume equivalents including more than 600,000 print books, more than 200,000 eBooks, 500,000 federal and state documents and 600,000 units in microform. Media Services has over 25,000 multimedia items. Current lists of available periodicals may be viewed in real time online by using the library’s Online Journals catalog (http://atoz.ebsco.com/Titles/12823).

The Dean B. Ellis Library has a particularly strong Interlibrary Loan service, with no limit on the number of requests one can make. All interlibrary loan requests filled for students, faculty and staff are completed at no charge. Additionally, over 99% of all requested articles are delivered electronically and usually are delivered to the requestor within one working day of the original request.

As of April 24, 2013, students and faculty at Arkansas State have access to more than 14,000 additional scholarly “e-books” from an array of the nation’s top academic publishers. The new agreement with JSTOR, a non-profit digital library that supports universities and colleges, gives patrons of Dean B. Ellis Library full access to the entire collection of titles from 34 major publishers. The list includes highly respected scholarly sources such as the Modern Humanities Research Association, RAND Corporation, and university presses at Kentucky, Princeton, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas and many more. Arkansas

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State has the distinction of being the first institution in the country to acquire the complete “Books at JSTOR” online resource as announced by JSTOR at the recent Association of College and Research Libraries biennial conference in Indianapolis. Students and faculty at Arkansas State will benefit greatly from having these scholarly books available 24/7, both on and off campus.

The titles in “Books at JSTOR” cover all the degree program areas at Arkansas State, including health care and the sciences, but the collection is strongest in the areas of business and economics, history, language, literature, political science and sociology. In addition to the collection of e-books available online, the references available provide quick electronic access to journal articles and other sources, giving the researcher the richest and fastest access to the source information on which each book is based. The scope of this acquisition allowed Arkansas State to negotiate an arrangement whereby Arkansas State purchases the existing JSTOR eBook titles and all new titles that are added in future years will be made available to Arkansas State under what is called “demand-driven acquisition“ where Arkansas State will purchase an individual title, with a discount for bulk purchase, only after a particular e-book has received a minimum level of usage.

Faculty largely determine the library’s holdings and acquisitions; however, all of its constituencies provide input through the shared governance library committee that advises the library staff on needs of library users and provides a forum for expression for library users’ views in areas of acquisitions and operating policy. Chairs and departmental faculty liaisons to the library are responsible for the development of the library’s collection. Individual faculty members and students may recommend books and periodicals for purchase. Although faculty members may directly request book purchases, a faculty member who has served as the library liaison for several years typically submits the official request. Faculty requests for book purchases are made using a number of professional review sources such as development guides. Over the past several years, numerous periodical and journal subscriptions have been added or made available through broad content databases or open access. The new subscriptions were added as result of specific requests from departmental faculty. The list of subscriptions acquired from the funds allocated to the department is generally reviewed on an annual basis.

The total library acquisitions budget is $2,600,000 of which $1,710,705 is allocated to academic departments. Of the total library acquisitions budget, approximately $900,000 is not allocated to any department and is used by the library for purchases and subscriptions that either apply to the campus as a whole, such as EBSCO’s Academic Search Complete, LexisNexis Academic Universe, the journals and eBooks of JSTOR, Project Muse, Digital Dissertations and Theses, and journals from ScienceDirect, or to fill in gaps in the collection that are not covered by faculty requests.

Library needs are taken into account when new program proposals are being developed. For example, an additional $20,000 budget line to specifically support the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree has been added for this recently approved degree program. Faculty participating in the DNP program will have primary responsibility for selecting the resources to be acquired or subscribed to with this additional line.

In 2004, discussions began to introduce a student library fee in order to increase funds available for collections and online resources. Students were highly involved in the discussions and supported an incremental approach to the fee collection beginning at $2 per credit hour with a final maximum of $6 per credit hour. The student library fee currently is assessed at a rate of $6 per credit hour and has generated $1,932,158 in FY 2013. The fee has allowed for units throughout the university to increase

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the number of subscriptions and book/media purchases. This fee revenue, combined with the library holdings budget of $928,890, constitutes the funds available each year for library acquisitions (Table 3).

Table 3. Library Fee Collection by Fiscal Year 2006-2013

Actual Fiscal Revenue Expenditures Revenue Minus Year Budget Actual Difference Budget Actual Difference Expenditures 2006 1,000,000 977,098 (22,903) 1,000,000 920,590 79,410 56,507

2007 1,500,000 1,364,629 (135,371) 1,500,000 1,398,476 101,524 (33,846) 2008 1,500,000 1,350,970 (149,030) 1,500,000 1,358,179 141,821 (7,209) 2009 1,365,000 1,392,060 27,060 1,365,000 1,365,168 (168) 26,892 2010 1,365,000 1,416,413 51,413 1,365,000 1,372,493 (7,493) 43,920 2011 1,365,000 1,460,543 95,543 1,365,000 1,434,049 (69,049) 26,494 2012 1,365,000 1,695,866 330,866 1,365,000 1,461,495 (96,495) 234,371

2013 1,365,000 1,932,158 567,158 1,365,000 1,809,874 (444,874) 122,284

Since the implementation of the library fee, Arkansas State has been able to improve its library holdings significantly. During the past five years, the number of volumes of books increased over 21%; audio- visual units increased by 22%; periodical subscriptions, which are supportive of research initiatives, increased over 93% (Figures 1 and 2). The increase in government documents has been minimal at 1%, but these documents are easily available through interlibrary loan.

Figure 1. Increases in Periodicals and Audio-Visual Units Figure 2. Increases in Books and Govt. Documents

45000 900000 40000 800000 35000 700000

30000 600000

25000 500000 20000 400000

15000 300000 Number Number 10000 200000 5000 100000 0 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Audio/Visual (Units) 22892 25179 25004 28372 29429 Gov. Documents 523892 524715 528374 534172 529366 Periodicals (Volumes) 2764 3595 10931 33458 40264 (Subscriptions) Books (Volumes) 620610 631161 638942 643148 787237

Changes in technology and improved access to electronic holdings is changing the use and role of the university library. In 2010, the electronic database use jumped 24% from the previous year to 1,169,388 hits. During this year, there was a downward trend of most other uses such as general circulation, reserve, shelved periodicals, media and other resources. These trends continue as more faculty and students become knowledgeable and comfortable with the use of the on-line databases.

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Table 4. Library Usage 2008-2012

Fiscal Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Circulation General 90,656 102,695 37,290 39,213 31,144 Reserve 3,710 3,959 2,130 1,235 864 Faculty 7,225 6,232 8,472 7,991 7,233 Documents 5 6 0 10 0 Other 939 562 467 483 971 Periodicals 100 196 168 135 74 Media 7,216 6,813 5,533 4,842 4,088 Special Collections 1,249 708 663 450 1,180 In Library Use 11,103 10,120 11,710 15,220 13,632 Data Base Searches 779,227 889,252 1,169,388 1,362,289 2,226,220 Interlibrary Loan: Borrowed 4,699 3,569 3,344 3,263 2,783 Loaned 5,021 5,001 5,326 5,908 6,480 Gate Count 344,539 538,500 431,086 444,560 432,396 Information Service to Groups: Presentations 156 178 249 175 222 # of Persons Served 3,491 3,492 3,393 2,693 3,590

In 2005, space restrictions in the library required that shelved, pre-1980 bound journal volumes be boxed and stored. These journals (the vast majority of which are not yet available online at Arkansas State and many of which are not available online at all) will once again be made available to students and faculty in the spring 2014 semester following current renovation on the library’s ground floor.

Learning Support Center The Learning Support Center is located in a high traffic area of the the main corridor of the lower level of the library. Located directly across from the university’s largest student computer lab, it provides readily available tutoring and learning resource assistance. The majority of tutoring is associated with general education and introductory courses, but students may request assistance with upper level courses. All services are free to Arkansas State students. Located within the learning center is the Writing Center, a collaborative effort with the Department of Engish and Philosophy that assists students with writing needs. Graduate students in English staff the lab, which is overseen by the Director of the Learning Support Center. Associated with the learning center is the Math Emporium which provides both class instruction in developmental math courses and tutoring assistance. Instruction is provided by University College First Year Studies math instructors with tutoring provided by undergraduate and graduate students.

Other tutoring is available for specific student groups through the Academic Support Center for Student Athletes, Student Support Services, First Year Studies, Beck PRIDE Center for Disabled Veterans and Disability Services. In some cases, academic departments may provide tutoring or supplemental instruction for high-risk courses. These services are discussed in detail in Criterion Three.

Information and Technology Services (ITS) Arkansas State maintains campus-wide wireless access for students and the ITS provides an online manual for student use (student manual IT). Learning resources and recent advances in technology provided on campus are detailed in sections 3.D.1. and 3.D.4.

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Faculty Credentials Required faculty credentials are outlined in the Faculty Handbook Section II Personnel Policies, II.h (Faculty Credentials) and are discussed in detail in C.2.

Faculty members are hired based on approved search plans and criteria that specify the academic credentials and experience necessary for the faculty member’s role per the hiring department. Ongoing review and evaluation of a full-time faculty member’s credentials is accomplished via retention, tenure and promotion, and merit evaluation procedures for the department and college in which the faculty member resides.

In Arkansas, dual credit courses are regular college level courses taken by high school students. These courses are either taken by the student on the university campus, as an on-line course, or through other means of delivery with a university faculty member serving as the instructor. Concurrent credit courses are taught by a qualified high school instructor in the high school classroom. High School students receive both high school and college credit for the course. The high school teacher must meet the same credentials as a regular Arkansas State instructor (Master’s degree with a minimum of 18 hours in the discipline), be approved by the department offering the course, and use the same syllabus, tests and measurements as used on the Arkansas State campus for the course. These measures are intended to assure that the educational experience and outcomes for students in concurrent credit courses are equivalent to other university students.

4.A.5. Arkansas State University maintains specialized accreditation for its programs as appropriate to its educational purposes.

Arkansas State currently holds 25 specialized academic accreditations. All academic programs hold approval from the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Educational licensure programs also hold approvals from the Arkansas Department of Education. College deans and department chairs/directors of respective programs provide leadership for accreditation program reviews which are faculty driven. Upon completion of the internal self-study, the documents are reviewed by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs. After all internal reviews are successfully completed, required accreditation self-studies are sent to the appropriate accreditation agency. Costs of program accreditation reviews are shared by the respective college and Academic Affairs. Upon receipt of the final accreditation review, all associated documents are forwarded to ADHE as required by the state for program review. Specialized academic accreditations held by Arkansas State are listed in Criterion Two or may be viewed here (Specialized Accreditations).

Degree programs in which area do not have a discipline-affiliated accrediting agency defer to the discipline’s professional societies for curriculum guidelines and student learning outcomes. For example, the department of psychology maps its curriculum to standards set by the American Psychological Association.

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4.A.6. Arkansas State University evaluates the success of its graduates. The institution assures that the degree or certificate programs it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes. For all programs, the institution looks to indicators it deems appropriate to its mission, such as employment rates, admission rates to advanced degree programs, and participation rates in fellowships, internships, and special programs (e.g., Peace Corps and Americorps).

Prior to 2013, the success of Arkansas State graduates was evaluated through various departments including institutional research, career services, assessment and individual college’s alumni surveys. Results were made available to the campus community and to the public through the following: College Measures ESM , the College Portrait Voluntary System of Accountability, Arkansas State’s Senior Exit Survey and Institutional Research Reports - Graduates.

A recent audit of Arkansas State concluded that a standard means of reporting placement and types of employment obtained by graduates of its degree programs should be established. Thus, beginning with August 2013 graduation, in addition to administering a revised Senior Exit Survey, the Office of Assessment and Office of Career Services will administer a follow-up graduate survey (Follow-Up Graduate Survey) 90 days after each graduation ceremony according to an established timeline (Graduate Survey Timeline). This system of reporting fulfills requirements by 34 CFR 668.41 (d)(5) to make graduate information available in truthfulness (34 CFR § 668.41 (d)(5)(iii)) and with accuracy (§ 485 (a) (1) (L)).

Individual departments track student success through metrics such as senior exit surveys, alumni surveys, board pass rates, licensure rates, job placement and employer surveys.

Sample Department-Specific Evaluation of Student Success The Department of Physical Therapy tracks matriculation, attrition and graduation rates of students admitted to either the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) or Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) programs. These data are posted on the department’s websites. After graduation, the PTA and DPT programs track three-year ultimate pass rates on the licensure board examination in addition to employment data. Three-year ultimate pass rates for the DPT and PTA programs remain above the accreditation standard requirements of 80%. Respondents to the DPT and PTA alumni survey report that 100% are employed in the field of physical therapy. Data from employer surveys for both programs report that employers are pleased with their employee’s knowledge of physical therapy and would “strongly recommend” the DPT and PTA programs at Arkansas State to potential applicants or interested persons. Seventy percent (70%) of DPT alumni reported an annual salary of $50,000-$79,000, and 30% reported an annual salary over $100,000.

The School of Nursing evaluates the success of its graduates by measuring program outcomes of graduation rates, National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) pass rates, and advanced practice certification rates, student and employer satisfaction and employment rates. The outcomes data are used for ongoing assessment and improvement of the undergraduate and graduate programs. The NCLEX-RN pass rates are above the national average for the AASN and BSN programs. The reported graduate certification rates are above the national average. Anecdotal and alumni survey responses indicate graduates are employed. Graduate and employer satisfaction with the programs is high.

The College of Business uses a number of methods to ensure that all programs accomplish the appropriate goals with respect to preparation for advanced study and employment. These metrics

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include senior exit surveys, alumni surveys, pass rates on professional certification exams, program learning outcomes assessment and input from alumni and employers. All students in Strategic Management (capstone course for graduate seniors) are asked to complete an exit survey. This survey includes information on the student’s major, employment and/or graduate school plans. Alumni and employers participate in the assurance process through advisory boards and individual interviews. Although business majors are not required to complete professional certification exams, the College of Business monitors student pass rates on exams including the Certified Public Accountant, Certified Global Business Professional and Certified Treasury Professional exams. Information gathered from program assessment activities, student exit surveys, alumni and employer input, and certifications exam results is used to improve programs on a continuous basis.

The Department of Communication Disorders routinely completes extensive summative assessments of its students as they matriculate and complete degree program requirements. One of those assessments involves tracking pass rates on the national licensure exam. For the past four graduate classes, these students have had a 100% pass rate on that exam as compared to an 80% pass rate for all accredited graduate programs in the nation. In addition, the department routinely tracks student feedback and employer feedback using electronic surveys to sample alumni and employer satisfaction at 1, 3 and 5 years post-graduation regarding knowledge and skills Speech Language Pathologists acquired in the degree program. These surveys have reflected high levels of satisfaction from alumni and employers for the last several consecutive years.

The Office of Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) uses state and national data repositories and networks to track the success of Arkansas State graduates. The office works with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) to track Arkansas State graduates in graduate programs at other universities and colleges within Arkansas. In addition, the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Student Tracker system is being used by IRP to report on the number of Arkansas State baccalaureate graduates who enroll into graduate and professional school at other universities across the country. Since 2004 the office has found that the percentage of Arkansas State baccalaureate graduates entering graduate school has averaged 28% a year.

4.B. Arkansas State University demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning.

With the help of the Assessment Academy of the Higher Learning Commission, Arkansas State University has advanced assessment by intentionally investing in faculty, students and data management systems that can sustain and thrive amidst unforeseen changes in leadership or budget. Faculty-driven assessment works to improve student learning at the levels of the university, the degree program and general education. Evidence of Arkansas State’s commitment to keep stride with the moving target of assessment is presented throughout this section and is available on the Assessment Website.

4..B.1. Arkansas State University has clearly stated goals for student learning and effective

processes for assessment of student learning and achievement of learning goals.

Aligned with the Arkansas State’s mission to educate, enhance and enrich are three university goals including critical thinking, global awareness and using technology. Specific student learning outcomes

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(SLOs) for these goals are assessed through both direct and indirect measures (University-Level Student Learning Outcomes). Oversight of the assessment of university-level goals is maintained by the Learning Outcomes Advisory Council. Direct measures of critical thinking include the ETS Proficiency Profile and the NSF CAT critical thinking test. Indirect measures of critical thinking include the senior exit survey and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Direct measures of global awareness include three forms of the Global Perspectives Inventory, while indirect measures include the senior exit survey and NSSE. Use of technology is measured directly through a campus-wide inventory (SLO Curriculum Trajectory Mapping Inventory) and the Smarter Measures Readiness test, and indirectly through the senior exit survey and NSSE.

Oversight of the assessment of general education goals is maintained by the shared governance General Education Committee. Five general education goals (General Education Goals) and associated SLOs, listed in Criterion Three of this self-study, are assessed through a rigorous quadrennial review by the General Education Committee (General Education Goals - Quadrennial Review). Faculty responsible for teaching a given general education course submit a detailed assessment report (General Education Course Review - Submission Form), along with syllabi from every instructor of the course, to the shared governance General Education Committee for review. Feedback and recommendations from the General Education Committee are given to the department chair of the course and to the Office of the Provost. The general education goal of written communication was assessed directly by the 2007 HLC Assessment Academy team and by the Department of English and Philosophy. The general education goals of using mathematics and oral communication were assessed by the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, and Media and Communication, respectively. Results from these projects are discussed in section 4.B.2.

Oversight of course-level assessment is maintained by faculty and chairs. The primary means for assessing courses are embedded assessments, pre-test/post-tests, end-of-course evaluations, annual assessment committee meetings held on study day, end-of-course projects, collaborative assignments and curriculum mapping (curriculum mapping sample). Sample findings from course level assessment are presented in section 4.B.2.

Oversight of the assessment of degree program goals is maintained by faculty curriculum committees within each college. Degree programs have stated learning goals along with direct and indirect measures of assessment that link to the program goals (sample program-level assessment plan). The most common assessment tools at the degree program level include direct measures such as major field tests, board and licensing exams, portfolio assessments, capstone performances and projects, proficiency exams, adaptive learning modules and certifications. Frequently used indirect measures of assessment at the degree program level include student evaluations of faculty, student self-evaluations, peer review by faculty, senior exit surveys, alumni surveys, employer surveys, advisory board recommendations, independent review panels and focus groups. Samples of stated goals for student learning and effective processes for the assessment of student learning and achievement of learning goals are provided below and grouped by college.

College of Agriculture and Technology Assessment Plan Sample Assessment Meeting Minutes Sample Historical Assessment Document Sample Reports: AGRI, TECH Recommendations: AGRI BSA, TECH AS

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College of Business Assessment Plan Sample Assessment Meeting Minutes Sample Historical Assessment Document Sample Reports: ACCT , MACC, BSADM , MBA, BSE, CIT, ECON, FIN, INTRNL, MGMT, MRKT Recommendations: COB

College of Education Assessment Plan Sample Historical Assessment Document Sample Collaborative Project Assessed Sample Reports: EDD, ERLYCHLD, PSYEDS, MSE Recommendations: EDD

College of Engineering Assessment Plan Sample Historical Assessment Document Sample Reports: CIVIL, ELCT, ENGR, MCNL, ENMGMT

College of Fine Arts Assessment Plan Sample Faculty Involvement Document Sample Faculty Assessment Project Sample Reports: MUSIC Recommendations: THEATRE

College of Humanities and Social Sciences Assessment Plan Sample Assessment Meeting Minutes Sample Reports: CSG, SOC, LANG, HSTRY Recommendations: CSG

College of Media and Communication Assessment Plan Sample Faculty Assessment Project Sample Reports: COMC Sample Process: COMM Recommendations: COMC

College of Nursing and Health Professions Sample Assessment Plan Sample Faculty Involvement Document Sample Reports: DPT, RDTHRPY, MRI, SOCWRK, COMMDIS Sample Assessment Meeting Minutes College of Science and Mathematics Assessment Plan Sample Outcomes and Measures Sample Historical Assessment Document Sample Reports: BIOL, CHEM, PHYSICS Recommendations: CS

University College Assessment Plan

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Sample Report Program Goals Sample Report Making Connections FYE course Sample First Year Studies Report

4.B.2. Arkansas State University assesses achievement of the learning outcomes that it claims for

its curricular and co-curricular programs.

Academic Assessment Assessment of university-level student learning outcomes is conducted by teams of faculty and administrators. Various instruments have been used to aid them in this process. The goal of critical thinking was assessed in first-year and senior cohorts in 2009. Although critical thinking scores were slightly lower than national averages (ETS Proficiency Profile Report), noteworthy gains were observed in value-added analyses (Value-Added Report), indicating that Arkansas State fulfills its claims to enhance the intellectual growth of its students. The goal of global awareness is assessed with the Global Perspectives Inventory. In this area, Arkansas State students score similar to national norms (Global Perspectives Sample Report). The university level goal of using technology is assessed at the university level through NSSE, at the course level, through end-of-course evaluations and at the individual level through SMARTER MEASURES as part of the introduction to Blackboard Learn. According to NSSE 2011 comparative data, first-year and senior student use of information technology is slightly higher than national norms.

Curriculum trajectory mapping is used to highlight courses that address the three university-level goals of critical thinking, global awareness and using technology. Across general education and upper-level courses, content related to each of these goals as well as items listed as predictors of competency in these areas are examined through the University Goals Survey. Results from this survey are used to help curriculum committees improve the curriculum such that goals of the university are addressed. (Sample Report - University Goals Survey)

Assessment of program-level student learning outcomes takes place at the level of departmental faculty teams in each college. Sample findings from program-level assessment are shown in 4.B.1.

Assessment of general education student learning outcomes is conducted by faculty and reviewed by the shared governance General Education Committee (GEC) according to the quadrennial review timeline (Quadrennial Review Timeline). Completed reports, (sample GEC report), including actions taken by the General Education Committee, are posted on the assessment website. Based on assessment findings, the GEC makes recommendations (sample GEC recommendations) to the provost concerning the appropriateness of each general education course for linkage to general education student learning outcomes. The general education goal of effective written communication was assessed in 2007 through the Assessment Academy team. Through the Academy Project the team developed a rubric to assess writing and trained faculty to score artifacts. Although inter-rater reliability problems were noted with the rubrics, writing scores did show improvement from lower-level to upper-level coursework. Thus, results from assessment of critical thinking and writing via the rubric project paralleled findings from the ETS Proficiency Profile.

Assessment at the course level is implemented by individual professors teaching the course. As one

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would expect, different types of assessment are used by different faculty. Some course-level assessment plans, such as those in the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management programs, use rubrics to grade signature assignments in each course. Other courses, such as some in the Colleges of Agriculture and Technology and Sciences and Mathematics, use pre-test and post-test comparisons of student knowledge of key concepts. Professors teaching socio-cultural courses use standardized inventories such as the Intercultural Competency Exam. Final projects assigned to graduate students, such as the simulation required for Management Information Systems, MIS 6493, assess student competencies to create a system or product that becomes part of their portfolios. Courses within the AASN and BSN programs use nationally normed final exams. Results from individual courses are shared at faculty meetings. (sample course-level assessment)

Co-Curricular Assessment Arkansas State desires to create a positive experience for students not only in the classroom but across the co-curricular, administrative and support units that contribute to student engagement, retention and success. Assessment of support services is prioritized in the University Strategic Plan as the goal of creating a “service and support culture that is focused on student learning, retention and academic success.” The entire campus environment contributes to the academic success of its students. Thus, assessment for continuous quality improvement is the standard for all academic units including those who recruit students (sample report - recruitment), assist conditionally accepted freshmen (sample report - Upward Bound), protect the student body (sample police assessment report), provide financial aid and scholarships (sample report - financial aid), provide healthcare and safety (sample report - health center; sample report - safety supervisor), counsel students (sample report - counseling center), provide testing services (sample report - testing center) and host campus-wide events (sample report - convocation center). The goals of each unit link to Arkansas State’s three-fold mission of educating leaders, enhancing intellectual growth and enriching lives (sample linkage of co-curricular assessment to university mission).

Arkansas State administers the Cooperative Research Institute Program (CIRP) survey as well as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to assess the effectiveness of co-curricular activities. Other measures of co-curricular student learning include research (sample co-curricular research), post-event surveys, (sample post-event survey), user surveys (library user survey) and focus groups (commencement ceremony focus group). The assessment teams from the various student affairs divisions administer surveys for the co-curricular support units (Student Affairs Assessment Dashboard).

Student Affairs The goal of the Division of Student Affairs is to assist students in eliminating obstacles which interrupt their educational progress and to broaden students’ opportunities for personal, social, cultural and intellectual development within the campus environment. Specific goals include: (1) improve students’ basic skills as required for the selection and achievement of educational goals; (2) assist students in their selection and pursuit of career and vocational choices; (3) provide direction and guidance for students in their personal, social and cultural development; and (4) provide services that respond to the unique needs of specific groups within the diverse campus population and to the demands and responsibilities of campus life. Assessment also extends to its co-curricular outcome goals that students demonstrate through life skills, multicultural competence, active citizenship and leadership. The division’s departments use direct and indirect assessments such as number of workshops or training sessions held,

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exit interviews, program participation, interviews, satisfaction surveys, use of program services and leadership assessments.

Members of the Student Affairs staff also track students’ participation in campus programs and their use of services, including intramurals, recreation facilities, select educational and social programs, and career-focused events and programs. The staff regularly uses student feedback, program participation and institutional data to improve services and experiences for students. The three principles of achievement, engagement, and responsibility drive leadership, discussion, planning of activities, and prioritization of staff time and effort.

Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) Arkansas State University participates in the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA). The College Portrait website was created as part of the VSA, a project specifically created to provide greater accountability through accessible, transparent and comparable information on public 4-year institutions of higher education. Participation in the VSA is voluntary; however, over 300 institutions have elected to join the VSA project and publish their information on the College Portrait website. The VSA and College Portrait are sponsored by two nonprofit organizations in Washington D.C. – the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

One of the components of the VSA pertains to student activities and involvement at an institution. Students who are actively involved in their own learning and development are more likely to be successful in college. Colleges and universities offer students a wide variety of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom to become engaged with new ideas, people and experiences. Institutions measure the effectiveness of these opportunities in a variety of ways to better understand what types of activities and programs students find the most helpful.

Institutions participating in the VSA program measure student involvement on campus using one of four national surveys. Following are the selected results from the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at Arkansas State. The questions have been grouped together in categories that are known to contribute to student learning and development. The results reported below are based on the responses of Arkansas State seniors who participated in the survey.

Group Learning Experiences  91% of seniors worked with classmates on assignments outside of class  54% of seniors tutored or taught other students  41% of seniors participated in co-curricular activities (organizations, campus publications, student government, fraternity or sorority, intercollegiate or intramural sports, etc.) Active Learning Experiences  42% of seniors participated in an internship, practicum, of field experience  51% of seniors participated in community service or volunteer work  90% of seniors made at least one class presentation last year  80% of seniors attended campus events and activities (special speakers, cultural performances, athletic events, etc.)  76% of seniors thought they acquired job or work-related knowledge and skills  75% of seniors thought they had learned to work effectively with others  63% of seniors voted in local, state, or national elections

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Institutional Commitment to Student Learning and Success  95% of seniors believe this institution provides support for student success  78% of seniors rated the quality of academic advising at this institution as good or excellent  63% of seniors reported that this institution provided help in coping with work, family and other non-academic responsibilities  97% of seniors reported working harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor’s standards or expectations Student Interaction with Campus Faculty and Staff  56% of seniors believed that the campus staff were helpful, considerate, or flexible  79% of seniors believed that faculty are available, helpful, or sympathetic  95% of seniors reported that faculty members provided prompt feedback on their academic performance  77% of seniors discussed readings or ideas with faculty members outside of class Experiences with Diverse Groups of People and Ideas  66% of seniors reported that they often tried to understand someone else’s point of view  89% of seniors reported their experience at this institution contributed to their understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds  52% of seniors often had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity Student Satisfaction  78% of seniors would attend this institution if they started over again  81% of seniors rated their entire educational experience as good or excellent  85% of seniors reported that other students were friendly or supportive

4.B.3. Arkansas State University uses the information gained from assessment to improve student

learning. University-Level Goals

Critical Thinking At every level of assessment Arkansas State uses the information gained for continuous quality improvement of student learning. At the level of university goals, data from direct measures, such as the Academy Assessment Team project and the ETS Proficiency Profile, as well as data from indirect measures, such as the University Goals Survey and NSSE, indicated that students’ ability to think critically was below national comparisons. Interventions were implemented at every level of leadership. Upper administration supported all recommendations of the General Education Committee and the Learning Outcomes Advisory Council (Critical Thinking - Recommendations to Provost). Arkansas State decided to forego the use of a multiple-choice standardized national exam that was leaving faculty out of the assessment process and, instead, decided to assess critical thinking through a reflective writing test that is graded by faculty. The Office of the Provost provided resources for six faculty members across several colleges to be trained to administer and score NSF’s CAT Critical Thinking Assessment Test. Arkansas State is the first campus to have faculty trained in writing domain-specific analogs for the CAT and for their own use in the classroom. Tennessee Tech, authors of the CAT, are remunerating Arkansas State faculty members to write and pilot critical thinking analogs associated with their areas of expertise. Faculty led train-the-trainer grading sessions are conducted for faculty across colleges. These training and grading sessions serve as a catalyst for faculty discussion of ways to incorporate critical thinking activities into their courses. Additionally, at the request of faculty members, the Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) and the Office of Assessment collaborated in sponsoring a webinar on how to write critical thinking items for exams. Two faculty members now teach a seminar on the topic

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throughout the year. Based on assessment data from the university goals survey and NSSE findings, curriculum instruction specialists from ITTC who work with faculty in course design now emphasize to faculty the best practice of requiring at least 20 pages of writing across the semester and 40 pages of reading a week in order to increase students’ critical thinking scores.

Global Awareness Assessment of global awareness from 2007 to 2011 revealed both improvements in institutional commitment to diversity and challenges to student interaction with diverse groups of people. From spring 2008 through spring 2013, Arkansas State expanded the number of well-qualified international students it serves from 127 in 2008 to over 1,000, students in 2013. The growth of international students has allowed Arkansas State to expand into new markets, taking the number of represented countries from 47 to more than 60. Comparative analyses of NSSE data revealed increased institutional attention to student diversity. In 2007, 48% of first-year students and 41% of seniors said Arkansas State University encourages contact among students from different economic, social and racial or ethnic backgrounds “quite a bit” or “very much.” In 2011, those percentages grew to 58% and 53% as reported by first-year and senior students, respectively. Similarly, the percentage of first-year and senior students who said they were “quite a bit” or “very much” understanding of people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds grew from 53% (2007) to 59% (2011) for first-year students and 52% (2007) to 60% (2011) for seniors. Although these findings are encouraging, reports of meaningful interaction between diverse groups of students is concerning. Specifically, frequency of serious conversation between diverse groups of students remained constant over the years, despite the increase of international students on campus. Both the 2007 and 2011 NSSE data indicated that 49% of first-year students and 52% of seniors said they had serious conversation with students of a different race or ethnicity than their own “often” or “very often.” The ineffectiveness of mere exposure to diverse people to prepare Arkansas State students for global engagement was mirrored in a pilot study of global perspectives that used a different measure of global awareness. Data from a 2013 study using the Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI) indicate that, although Arkansas State students demonstrate respect and concern for others, they lack meaningful dialogue among diverse students.

To fulfill the goal of global awareness of graduates Arkansas State has increased the number of courses that address multiculturalism. According to student report, faculty have increased the inclusion of diverse perspectives in classroom discussions and writing assignments by 6% between 2007 and 2011 (NSSE). However, it appears that students from diverse backgrounds are not engaging in meaningful conversation as a result of institutional efforts to prepare students for a global marketplace. While Residence Life is attempting to address this gap through Global Engagement, a living-learning community that pursues intentional interdependence among diverse students, Student Affairs is expanding its Global Student Leader’s program in order to expose more Arkansas State students to the diversity of cultures. Efforts also are occurring in many courses across campus to reflect attention to diversity and global awareness (faculty report – incorporating global awareness in classes).

Using Technology Results from NSSE, the Senior Exit Survey and the University Goals Survey indicate that 87% of Arkansas State seniors are using technology at high levels throughout their college experience. According to 2011 NSSE, students’ use of electronic media to complete assignments at Arkansas State is higher than both regional and national comparisons. To maintain competencies in the student-learning outcome of using technology, Arkansas State launched an iPad initiative in which all first-year students will complete assignments and coursework with the use of this technology. Arkansas State is the first university in the

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state to require freshman students to use an iPad for coursework.

Program-Level Goals At the level of program goals, degree programs highlight the use of assessment data to continuously improve student learning by submitting annual “blurbs” that appear on the Assessment website. Program directors briefly discuss one area of data-informed decision making in everyday language to explain what they are doing to improve student learning. Blurbs follow the jingle, “Data say; So what? How we changed; What we got.” Documentation of ongoing use of data is available on the Assessment website and sample blurbs and brief summaries appear below:

College of Agriculture and Technology AS, APPL SCI, AGRI

College of Business FINANCE, ACCT, MGMT, CIT, LAW, ECON

College of Education EDD, EXSCI, SPRT MGMT, PSY, PHYSED, HLTHPRM, CURRINSTR, MDLEDU

College of Engineering CIVIL, ENGR, ELCT

College of Fine Arts - ART, THEATRE, MUSIC

College of Humanities and Social Sciences ENGL, PHIL, SOC, LANG, HRTGSTUD

College of Media and Communication JOUR, RTV

College of Nursing and Health Professions DPT, DIETETICS, BSRS, COMMDIS, CLS

College of Science and Mathematics CS, MATH, BIOL, CHEM

University College INTRDISC, DVLPMNT, FYE

General Education Goals At the level of general education, information gained from assessment has redirected resources and changed pedagogy. For example, assessment of the goal of using mathematics (college algebra assessment) guided the faculty in their choice of the system for teaching college algebra (College Algebra - Hawkes report) as well as the decision to create and offer a general education course in quantitative reasoning (Quantitative Reasoning assessment report). Assessment of effective communication (Composition II assessment report) led to the hiring of a composition director and the creation of a certificate in composition assessment program (sample composition assessment report) through which faculty are trained in using a computer program to access artifacts and assess a common assignment graded with a common rubric (composition assessment sample grading procedure) across sections of Composition I and Composition II. Results from indirect measures of student learning for the five general education goals supported a decision by the Learning Outcomes Advisory

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Council to replace senior exit survey questions about perceived general education competencies with direct behavioral measures of assessment (student perception of general education competencies sample report).

4.B.4. Arkansas State University’s methodologies and processes to assess student learning reflect good practice; including the substantial participation of faculty and other instructional staff members.

Co-curricular units continually make improvements to meet Arkansas State’s strategic priority of creating a service and support culture that will enhance learning for its students. For example, based on findings from the Educational Benchmarking Survey, Residence Life has developed a training manual for professional development of residence life staff and made improvements in the living environment of the residence halls.

Although general education and degree-program student learning outcomes at instructional sites and degree centers are assessed by the Arkansas State departments offering the respective courses and degree programs, Continuing Education and Community Outreach oversees assessment at degree center operations. The quality of the learning environment, availability of offerings and student satisfaction with degree center operations are evaluated at the following campuses: Beebe, Blytheville, Forrest City, Mountain Home and West Memphis.

For a culture of student learning to develop organically, assessment leaders must herald conversation over compliance, collective capacity over administrative mandate, recursive rather than episodic documentation, and innovation over tradition (Priddy, 2007). Whereas historical inquiries to the Office of Assessment focused on templates, procedure and deadlines, frequently asked questions in 2012- 2013 include: requests for training, assistance with survey development, invitations to faculty meetings and support for faculty development. Based on findings from faculty surveys of the campus climate of assessment (assessment newsletter), the Office of Assessment devotes resources to empowering faculty to lead assessment (sample support for faculty development), collaborates with faculty (sample faculty collaboration) and students (sample student collaboration) to present assessment findings at local, statewide and national (sample local scholarly presentation; sample statewide scholarly presentation; sample national presentation) conferences, and implements changes based on faculty feedback (sample faculty feedback - assessment conferences) from attendance at assessment conferences and workshops. The Interactive Teaching and Technology Center, Office of the Provost and Office of Assessment collaborate to sponsor a faculty fellow (sample faculty fellow MOA) in assessment. The Office of Assessment encourages faculty to incorporate assessment as part of meaningful, ongoing regular data collection in their departments. The office adjusts to different styles of assessment and historical use of varying platforms for assessment documentation across colleges. For example, the faculty teaching in the AASN program meet bi-annually to realign curriculum with standards and make pedagogical decisions based on NCLEX licensing exam pass rates, whereas faculty teaching in the BS physics program administer pre- and post-classroom assessment tests by inviting students to use their smartphones to answer key questions from lectures and provide the professors with real time feedback. Furthermore, colleges differ in their preferred platform for assessment documentation. The College of Education historically has used LiveText for assessment of portfolios, while the College of Media and Communication prefers Blackboard Learn. Thus, Arkansas State concerns itself more with the dissemination and meaningful use of data than it does with uniform documentation of findings and reporting of results. Specific templates are not required. Productivity reports, proposals for new courses, and promotion and tenure reviews include a component of assessment.

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Because of Arkansas State’s increased focus on research, assessment intentionally is linked to the scholarship of teaching and learning. STEM faculty in particular have adopted assessment practices as part of their research on student success in STEM courses and professions (sample faculty presentation - assessment as research).

Student researchers are mentored by the director of assessment to work with faculty and present scholarly assessment research (sample student involvement - assessment as research; sample student involvement - statistical analyses of rubrics; sample student involvement - recommendations for university-level assessment) at the annual Create@StAte campus-wide research conference. Arkansas State faculty are promulgating the scholarship of assessment not only with students on the local campus but also with colleagues across the state. Barbara Doyle, an Arkansas State faculty member in First Year Studies, is credited with spearheading the creation of the Arkansas Association for the Assessment of Collegiate Learning, (AAACL), a statewide assessment consortium of assessment professionals in higher education.

4.C. Arkansas State University demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to retention, persistence, and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs.

Arkansas State views student learning as an experiential and continual process and makes an effort to cultivate the learning process from time of initial enrollment during New Student Orientation through graduation. Arkansas State believes that a strong learning experience is the driving force behind improved retention, persistence and graduation rates.

Several Arkansas State committees are in place to continually examine the status of student pathways from entry through graduation. The retention component of the Enrollment Management Strategic Planning Committee focuses on the review of programs, policies and practices that assist or hinder student persistence such as academic standing and course load policies. The Academic Retention Council (ARC) is comprised of a faculty member from each college and examines the institutional and national data on graduation pathways and completion rates. The Undergraduate Enrollment and Academic Policy Committee, a shared governance committee, evaluates and may recommend or revise academic policies and procedures in support of student retention and success.

Arkansas State’s Academic Retention Council proposed the following priorities for an improved learning environment to promote student retention, persistence and completion:

Priority One: Improve the Learning Environment by Change in and Attentiveness to the Change in Admissions Criteria Priority Two: Improve the Learning Environment through Accentuating Graduation Pathways Priority Three: Improve the Learning Environment through Enhanced and Enriched Academic Experiences Priority Four: Improve the Learning Environment through Continuous Assessment and Feedback These priorities are discussed in greater detail in support of Arkansas State’s commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to retention, persistence and completion rates.

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4.C.1. Arkansas State University has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and

completion that are ambitious but attainable and appropriate to its mission, student populations,

and educational offerings.

Based on data presented in April 2013 Figure 3. First Year Retention Rates for Arkansas Public by the Arkansas Department of Colleges and Universities Higher Education (Figure 3), Arkansas State’s retention and graduation rates meet or exceed the state average for public four-year universities. The fall- to-fall retention rates over the past five years have averaged 68.6% while Arkansas State averaged 69.7% with a high of 71.3% during that period.

Six-year graduation rates for the state’s four-year colleges have Figure 4. Arkansas Department of Higher Education Public generally increased with the last University Six-Year Graduation Rate by Cohort cohort for which data are complete (CY 2007 = fall 2006) averaging a completion rate of 40.8% (Figure 4). This same cohort for Arkansas State graduated at a rate of 41.6%. Although this falls into the average graduation rate for state universities, Arkansas State is actively working to improve this area. Since fall 2007, Arkansas State has been making changes in its admissions standards and intensifying retention initiatives to improve its standing in both retention and completion. The need for remediation makes a significant impact on student persistence and completion in the state of Arkansas. State-wide, only 21% of all university students requiring remediation receive a degree. With changes in Arkansas State’s admissions criteria over the past five years, the number of students requiring remediation is diminishing with 30% of all incoming first-year students in 2012 requiring remediation in one or more subject areas compared to 48% in 2003.

Based on preliminary data associated with changes in admissions criteria and other retention initiatives, Arkansas State has set what it believes to be ambitious and obtainable retention and graduation rates. Over the next five years, Arkansas State’s unconditionally admitted student population (ACT of 21 or above and HS GPA of 2.75 or above) will allow for the achievement of the following retention and graduation rates: 75% first-year retention rate; 60% two-year retention rate; 35% four-year graduation rate; and 50% six-year graduation rate. Evidence in support of proposed changes for increased retention and graduation rates are presented and discussed in 4.C.2 and 4.C.3. Management of these goals will be

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achieved through monitoring the four priorities noted in 4.C. and managed by the Academic Retention Council.

4.C.2. Arkansas State University collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence, and completion of its programs; AND

4.C.3. Arkansas State University uses information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs to make improvements as warranted by the data.

For most of Arkansas State’s existence, it has been a quasi-open admission institution. Prior to the extensive perpetuation of alternative higher education opportunities provided by technical and two- year colleges in the state, open admission was an appropriate approach for Arkansas State to provide higher education to the people of the Delta. Although retention and graduation rates showed marginal improvement, entering student preparation and college success were not optimized regardless of the support services and programs provided (Table 5).

This circumstance coupled with the growing number of two-year colleges Table 5. Historical Retention Rates Fall to Fall Retention After (22) available for students in Fall Cohort Arkansas, the university assumed the Term Size 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years opportunity to better define the 2001 1,607 67.3% 55.6% 49.5 27.4% 12.7% 7.9% credentials of the successful Arkansas 2002 1,546 69.9% 55.8% 50.2% 29.4% 12.5% 6.5%

State student. This was done through 2003 1,433 68.0% 55.3% 49.6% 28.4% 13.4% 8.0% a series of changes in admissions 2004 1,303 65.4% 53.0% 45.0% 25.7% 13.7% 8.1% criteria and academic support 2005 1,491 71.9% 55.2% 47.4% 26.3% 9.8% 5.8% programs. 2006 1,663 68.6% 56.6% 50.2% 25.4% 12.3% 6.3%

2007 1,666 68.3% 56.3% 47.5% 26.5% 12.7% 2008 1,752 67.9% 52.5% 45.4% 24.8% 2009 1,650 70.8% 54.8% 47.5% 2010 1,665 71.3% 60.2% 2011 1,505 70.4% Priority One: Improve the

Learning Environment by Change in and Attentiveness to the Change in Admissions Criteria

Studies of first-year college GPA suggest that ACT scores and high school grades are closely aligned to first-year academic performance whereas strong first-year grades correlate with long-term college success. In 2007, Arkansas State implemented the first change in admission’s criteria by adding a minimum ACT requirement score of 15 to the existing high school GPA requirement of 2.00. Prior to that time, there was no minimum ACT or comparable test score required (Table 6).

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Table 6. Admissions Criteria

Entry Term First Year Studies Unconditional During the 2008-2009 academic year, a careful Conditional Admission review of the undergraduate graduation rates Term Admission led to a more strategic decision to raise the Fall 2014 ACT 21 AND 2.75 GPA ACT 19 AND 2.30 institution’s admissions criteria incrementally Fall 2013 ACT 21 AND 2.75 GPA ACT 18 AND 2.30 through 2014. The longitudinal review of Fall 2012 ACT 21 AND 2.50 GPA ACT 18 AND 2.30 Arkansas State student completion rates Fall 2011 ACT 19 AND 2.50 GPA ACT 16 AND 2.30 delineated by ACT and HS GPA revealed students Fall 2010 ACT 17 AND 2.50 GPA ACT 14 AND 2.20 with a composite ACT score less than 19 and HS Fall 2009 ACT 18 OR 2.35 GPA none GPA of less than 2.50 did not persist at a Fall 2008 ACT 15 OR 2.25 GPA none significant rate through graduation. This cutoff will be identified later as the criteria for Fall 2007 ACT 15 OR 2.25 GPA none admission through the First Year Studies 2006 and Prior 2.00 GPA only none Program.

With the implementation of the new admissions criteria still in progress, data are limited as to the 2008 impact of these changes. However, based on a comparison of the fall 2008 and 2009 cohorts, retention has increased in those students whose HS GPAs were higher in the fall 2009 cohort (Figure 5).

Figure 5. 2008-2009 Cohort Fall to Fall Retention Rates by ACT and High Arkansas State’s School GPA administration was cognizant that a change in 2008 admission criteria would 2009 ACT 18-20/2.25 GPA impact students living in the region for which the ACT 16-18/2.25 GPA university was established.

ACT 14-16/2.25 GPA The institution chose to remain faithful to its obligation to provide access 2009 to educational opportunity ACT 18-20/2.35 GPA for prospective students in

ACT 16-18/2.35 GPA the Delta Region. The geographic audience is ACT 14-16/2.35GPA outlined in the Institutional 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% Role and Scope Destinations set by the Arkansas Higher Year 4 Year 3 Year 2 Year 1 Education Coordinating Board. By fall of 2014, students who graduate from high school at the marginal-level (see previous) identified as an ACT 19 and 2.50 HS GPA, will remain admissible to Arkansas State University through admission through First Year Studies Program in University College. To promote long-term academic success, First Year Studies (FYS) offers this at-risk population additional academic support services during their first year of enrollment.

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Figure 6. First Time Freshman Remediation Rates Outcomes Short-term data are encouraging. While

Math English Reading long-term success rates for the FYS program

50 are pending, short-term improvements in remediation are clear. Students needing 40 remediation upon admission at Arkansas 30 State has decreased significantly since 2008. 20 Reduction in required developmental

10 coursework for first-time freshmen is noted in Figure 6 and Table 7. 0

Percent Requiring Remediation Requiring Percent 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Fall Semester It is anticipated that the smaller, more concentrated groups of FYS students will allow both instructors and staff to offer Table 7. Numbers of Students Requiring Remediation by necessary feedback and greater academic Cohort Year 2008-2012 support. The initial evaluation of this Number of Students by Cohort Year program revealed students admitted through Subject 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 FYS earned a slightly higher first year GPA (2.73) than the same peer group prior to the English 544 466 342 249 194 program implementation (2.64). At the Mathematics 731 645 514 398 350 same time, as expected, the retention rates Reading 508 433 289 231 181 for FYS admitted students have decreased Unduplicated due to revised, strict dismissal criteria. The 909 837 692 557 507 Student Count First Year Studies department anticipates increased admissions criteria coupled with % Requiring 47.8% 48.5% 40.3% 35.7% 30.3% the stricter dismissal policies will promote Remediation retention and graduate rates for Arkansas State’s academically at-risk population. Table 8. African American Composition of First Year Cohort A need to initiate and maintain services for at- 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 risk populations is acknowledged. The First Total First-Time 1,902 1,716 1,562 1,562 1,671 Freshmen Year Studies Program provides an avenue for African American 414 329 321 255 261 enrollment for at-risk African American Freshmen students (Table 8; Figure 7). Though smaller in % African American 21.8 19.7 20.5 16.3 15.6 Freshmen number, those who remained admissible through First Year Studies were significant. Figure 7. Remediation Requirements by Ethnicity First Year Studies admitted 47.3% African American students in the fall of 2011 African American White American Other Ethnecity compared to only 16.3% in the overall first-

100 time, first-year cohort for the same year. Of

80 this group, 81.6% of the African American population completed the first semester with a 60 GPA of 2.00 or higher. This is encouraging, as 40 literature confirms that first semester GPA is positively linked to timely college completion. Percent Students of Percent 20 A plan for increased admission, retention and 0 graduation rates of the African American

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population will be introduced into the FYE program in 2013-2014.

Priority Two: Improving the Learning Environment through Accentuating Graduation Pathways

Retention and graduation rates have improved. Overall, the new admission’s criteria allowed Arkansas State University to pursue students who would thrive in the learning environment including honors, international and graduate settings. Despite higher admission standards, the impact on first-time, first- year enrollment has been minimal. The six-year average for first-time freshmen enrollment is 1,645 whereas the fall enrollment recorded for 2011 and 2012 was 1,505 and 1,633 respectively. While enrollment levels have remained mostly flat, initial trends in first year fall-to-fall retention and six year graduation rates are positive (Table 9). Retention & Graduation Rates Percentages Table 9. One Year Retention and Six Year Graduation Rates (Retention and Graduation Cohorts are Unrelated) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total Cohort Freshman 1,666 1,752 1,650 1,665 1,505 1,633 Enrollment One-Year Retention 68.6% 68.3% 67.9% 70.8% 71.3% 70.4% Six-Year Graduation 38.6% 39.8% 38.0% 34.8% 40.2% 41.6%

Graduation Rates Table 10. Historical Graduation Rates The average four-year graduation Graduation Within rate for the last 10 cohorts of Fall Cohort 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Arkansas State students is 25% Cohort Size Years Years Years Years Years Years Years Years with an average six-year 1997 1,693 1.1% 16.3% 33.1% 39.1% 41.5% 42.7% 43.5% 44.2% graduation rate of 39% (Table 1998 1.708 1.5% 17.0% 32.1% 36.5% 38.6% 39.8% 40.9% 41.7% 10). The most recent cohort (fall 1999 1,657 1.4% 19.0% 34.5% 39.2% 41.4% 43.1% 44.1% 44.7% 2006) for which data are 2000 1,591 1.1% 20.2% 36.3% 41.0% 43.4% 45.1% 46.3% 47.4% complete had a 41.6% six-year 2001 1,607 1.2% 20.5% 33.8% 38.6% 41.9% 43.2% 45.0% 45.7% graduation rate. Arkansas State 2002 1,546 1.3% 19.9% 34.6% 39.8% 42.6% 44.0% 44.7% 45.6% recognizes these rates are less 2003 1,433 1.6% 17.4% 31.8% 38.0% 40.8% 42.6% 43.6% than desirable and are in much 2004 1,303 1.2% 16.9% 28.9% 34.8% 37.3% 39.5% need of improvement. Changes 2005 1,491 1.3% 21.1% 34.7% 40.2% 42.0% in admissions criteria and other 2006 1,663 4.0% 24.7% 37.0% 41.6% retention initiatives noted in this 2007 1,666 7.4% 25.0% 35.4% 2008 1,752 12.1% 28.4% section will improve these 2009 1,650 9.8% outcomes.

In an effort to determine what would be reasonable four-year and six-year graduation rates based on the new admissions criteria, projected graduation rates were calculated based on actual student admission data from Fall 1997-2007. Table 11 shows that the potential for the largest gain is the six- year graduation rate. When compared to the 2006 data above, the six-year graduate rate increases from

41.6 % to 52.0%. The five-year rate increases from 35.4% to 47.5% and the four-year rate has the least projected improvement of 2.2%.

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Table 11. Projected Graduation Rates Based on Changes in ACT and HS GPA Criteria Using Fall 1997 - Fall 2007 Actual Retention Data Unconditional Conditional Admissions Entry Term Graduated Within Admissions Criteria Graduated Within Criteria 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years Fall 2014 ACT 21 & 2.75 GPA 30.6% 47.5% 52.0% ACT 19 & 2.30 GPA 12.4% 27.0% 32.6% Fall 2013 ACT 21 & 2.75 GPA 30.6% 47.5% 52.0% ACT 18 & 2.30 GPA 11.9% 26.1% 31.8% Fall 2012 ACT 21 & 2.50 GPA 29.5% 46.0% 50.6% ACT 18 & 2.30 GPA 12.7% 27.6% 33.3% Fall 2011 ACT 19 & 2.50 GPA 26.8% 43.3% 48.2% ACT 16 & 2.30 GPA 7.2% 19.0% 24.3% Fall 2010 ACT 17 & 2.50 GPA 24.8% 41.0% 46.0% ACT 14 & 2.20 GPA 3.5% 11.6% 16.2% Fall 2009 ACT 18 or 2.35 GPA 21.3% 36.0% 40.8% NONE Fall 2008 ACT 15 or 2.25 GPA 20.4% 34.8% 39.5% NONE

Several factors contribute to the low four-year graduation rate at Arkansas State. One is the historical issue of insufficient number of hours completed by many students during the fall and spring semesters, and failure to make up hours during interim and summer sessions. On average, undergraduate students complete 12.5 hours per fall and spring term. To complete degree requirements of 120 hours in four years, students must complete 15 credited hours per term. The reduced availability for financial aid in the summer and scholarships restricted to fall and spring terms has reduced summer school attendance. Although many new first-year students complete several hours of concurrent enrollment prior to enrollment at Arkansas State, they often have excess electives not applicable to their chosen degree. The extra courses are often a result of students needing to satisfy high school credit requirements (e.g. two semesters of college-level American history may be required to satisfy high school graduation credits, but only one semester of the course is required for the general education core at Arkansas State and most other higher education institutions).

The issue of excessive electives also applies to many two-year college transfer students. For example, the B.S. in Biological Sciences degree requires three courses (Biology of Animals, Biology of Plants and Biology of the Cell) at the lower-division level. Many of the two-year campuses do not teach these courses, as they have a very small demand for biology majors. Instead, they offer three biology courses geared toward nursing majors, their biggest population. Because of this, biology majors transferring from these institutions must still complete required major’s courses, resulting in the transfer biology courses becoming electives.

The state recognizes these concerns and encourages more 2+2 articulations between two and four year institutions. Statewide 2+2 articulations exist for the AS in Teacher Education and AS Business Administration. Based on student demographics at a given two-year college, it may elect to establish an articulation with a four-year university that will best fit the needs of its students. For example, Arkansas State has 2+2 articulations with several two-year colleges in criminology. Social work and environmental science are other common articulations. Discussions are now occurring between institutions in the region for agreements in the natural sciences. General education courses associated with any AA or AS degree are automatically articulated between public institutions as are other courses in the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS).

The state instituted the 8-semester graduation plan requirement in 2005. It requires that every new first-time student be provided with a degree plan during their first advisement/enrollment session that outlines each semester of courses for completion of a baccalaureate degree in 8 semesters. A few academic programs are exempt from the 8 semester completion due to accreditation-related internships, clinicals and other requirements that may lengthen the program. Students requiring remediation or not declaring a major must acknowledge that degree completion may not be possible in

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8 semesters. Although good in theory, the plan has not increased timely degree completion, as anticipated by legislators, as students frequently change majors and drop or fail courses leading to increased time to degree. ( 8-semester agreement )

Retention Rates With a first-year retention rate of 71.3 % for the fall 2011 cohort, Arkansas State ranks second among the public four-year universities with the University of Arkansas ranked as number one (83.4%). In terms of two-year retention rate, Arkansas State ranks fourth at 54.8% trailing behind the University of Arkansas (74.7%), the University of Central Arkansas (59.6%) and Arkansas Tech University (55.1) for the fall 2009 cohort.

In addition to the change in admission’s standards, several Arkansas State workgroups are in place to continually examine the state of student pathways to graduation. The retention component of the Enrollment Management Planning Team focused on the review of programs, policies and practices that assist or hinder student persistence toward graduation. The Academic Retention Council (ARC) is comprised of a faculty member from each college. The ARC examines institutional and national data on graduation pathways and completion rates and makes annual recommendations to the provost in terms of college completion.

Policy Review Policies associated with academic standing have undergone several changes in recent years to be more supportive and prescriptive in assisting students. The Enrollment Management committee noted that first-time, first-year students and those in poor academic standing, who took average to heavy course loads (15 or more hours), were less successful academically in terms of GPA and credit accrual, both of which negatively impact college persistence. As a result the academic load and academic standing policies have been revised. Stricter measures were set for students placed on academic suspension, increasing the required time out and mandating an appeals process upon return for second and subsequent suspensions.

Restriction to Hours of Enrollment Changed in 2008-2009: First time freshmen students and/or students with less than 30 hours should not enroll in more than 12 semester hours on a three-day schedule (MWF) or no more than 9 hours on a two-day schedule (TTh). Sophomores and above should enroll for no more than 15 semester hours on a three-day schedule (MWF), or no more than 12 semester hours on a two-day schedule (TTh). (p. 36. 2012-13 Bulletin)

Restriction to Hours of Enrollment Changed in 2008-2009: Students placed on academic probation are restricted to enrollment in 12 credit hours until the current semester and ASU cumulative GPA are 2.00 or above. (p. 49. 2012-13 Bulletin)

Extension of Dismissal Period Changed in 2010-11: Second Suspension: Students who earn a second suspension are not permitted to enroll at ASU for one calendar year. Students returning to ASU after serving a second suspension must first seek approval to re-enroll from the Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Credits Appeals Committee… Third and Subsequent Suspensions: Students who earn a third or subsequent suspension are not permitted to enroll at ASU for two calendar years. Students returning to ASU after serving a

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third or subsequent suspension must first seek approval to re-enroll from the Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Credits Appeals Committee... (p. 49. 2012-13 Bulletin)

Outcomes: As a result of these changes, academic probation and suspension numbers have decreased (Figures 8 and 9).

Figure 8. Academic Probation 2007- 2011 Figure 9. Academic Probation 2007-2012

720

3000 700 2900 680 2800 660 2700 640 2600 620 2500 600 580

2400 Students of Number

560 NumberofStudents

Academic Year Academic Year

Restart@Astate is a program for students encountering their first academic suspension who wish to continue enrollment in the subsequent semester. The program promotes behavioral changes and basic skills supportive of academic and personal success. The 2009 change in program policy limiting the participation to only first-time suspended students has positively increased the program outcomes in terms of academic standing (Figure 10 and Table 12).

Figure 10. Changes in Academic Standing at Completion of

Restart Program

Suspension Probation Good Standing 100 80

60

40

Program 20 0

Restart Students Number in of 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 Academic Year

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Table 12. Restart@Astate Data Trends Fall 2006 through Fall 2012 Total Total Students in Total Students on Total Students on Semester Restart Program GOOD STANDING at PROBATION a at End SUSPENSION at End Students End of Program of Program of Program Fall 2006 105 11.43% 34.29% 26.67% Spring 2007 106 5.66% 27.36% 41.51% Fall 2007 123 13.82% 28.46% 35.77% Spring 2008 94 11.70% 26.60% 41.49% Fall 2008 105 13.33% 20.95% 44.76% Spring 2009 100 18.00% 26.00% 40.00% Fall 2009** 94 18.09% 19.15% 53.19% Spring 2010 94 24.47% 19.15% 46.81% Fall 2010 67 19.40% 19.40% 56.72% Spring 2011 69 28.99% 27.54% 39.13% Summer 2011 26 11.54% 50.00% 34.62% Fall 2011 72 22.22% 19.44% 55.56% Spring 2012 47 23.40% 25.53% 51.06% Summer 2012 33 42.42% 27.27% 30.30% Fall 2012 80 37.50% 25.00% 36.25% ** Policy changes in effect.

Intermediate Success Markers Retention literature suggests midway achievement markers serve as motivating factors for college student progress. Starting in the fall of 2009, Arkansas State University implemented and began conferment of en route degrees. Students who satisfactorily complete 60 or more hours of the requirements for selected baccalaureate degrees may elect to earn an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree while en route to their baccalaureate degree. For part-time students, or students who need to stop out due to personal or extenuating circumstances, the en route associate degree can also be a valuable intermediate goal, bridging the period between matriculation and the completion of a four-year baccalaureate degree. Since beginning this program in spring 2009, Arkansas State has conferred approximately 1,400 en route degrees.

Rethinking Data Mining and Redesign of the Pathway to Graduation The Academic Retention Committee (ARC) noted there is a challenge to how institutions measure student success. In their 2012-13 annual report, ARC suggests the institution rethink the role of institutional data for internal purposes to better understand and change university outcomes. Traditionally, institutional data collection supports long-term measures of reporting to state and federal entities data used to benchmark fall-to-fall retention and overall graduation rates. These historic measures are inadequate to change completion outcomes, as these data do not assist institutions in understanding the intimate pathways to graduation. Institutional data fail to capture and respond to the intermediate measures of success previously noted. Research on postsecondary student completion suggests recognizing students’ academic accomplishment during their tenure has a profound impact on graduation rates. Part of the ARC 2013-2014 action plan is to identify specific markers to use as data points to provide students with the added push or necessary momentum to remain steadfast in reaching their goal. The ARC committee also plans to strategically track intermediate outcomes per discipline to allow departments to better identify where student progress stalls and to make adjustments to university completion pathways.

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One of the most influential intermediate measures is credit accrual. Much research has emphasized the importance of early accumulation of college credits in providing student motivation toward degree completion. The Academic Retention Counsel supports the material provided by University of Hawaii and the “15-to-Finish” informational campaign. These media blips were shown during all Arkansas State student and parent New Student Orientation sessions during summer 2013. ARC plans to take additional steps during 2013-2014 to introduce the positive benefits of credit accrual into academic advising and to recognize students as they reach major benchmark such as the 30, 60 or 90 credit hour marker.

Reduce time-to-Completion Arkansas State, like other four-year institutions in Arkansas, was required to comply with Act 747 of 2011, which mandates 120 hours for most baccalaureate degrees. Requests to require more than 120 hours are evaluated individually and generally are programs with external accreditation or licensure requirements. All undergraduate programs made adjustments to credit hour requirements, as appropriate. With reduction of the general education requirement to 35 hours, some programs were able to add either major-specific or elective hours that strengthened their degrees. While it is too soon to see the outcome of the change, Act 747 is likely to support Arkansas State’s increased four-year graduation goal.

Arkansas State’s adoption of Prior Learning Assessments (PLA) and related evaluation policies that allow students to be awarded college credit for prior learning and/or work experience (AHECB and institution- level policy revisions for uniformity) also are expected to reduce time to completion.

National data suggest that time is the enemy of college completion especially where remediation is involved. Arkansas State is no exception. In 2008-2009, the three departments offering developmental coursework, First Year Studies, English and Math, examined trends in developmental education. At the same time, the ADHE began a parallel review. In fall of 2011, ADHE and nine participating institutions (five, 4-year and four, 2-year institutions) were awarded the Complete College America (CCA) grant. The national non-profit organization invested in advancing the national degree completion agenda awarded Arkansas with an 18-month, $1 million award, to transform remediation and accelerate some certificate- and-degree programs (or strategies reducing time-to-degree). Arkansas State’s participation in this CCA grant has led to several changes with the goal to reduce time and cost of remediation while improving the quality of developmental education on campus. Subsequently, Arkansas State has been recognized by the state for the work in reducing time to degree strategies.

The changes included the centralization of developmental education under one department, First Year Studies within University College. This allowed one department to continually monitor, support and track developmental education. Starting in spring 2012, First Year Studies reduced time-to-completion in developmental reading, writing and math by combining all lower-level courses within each of these subject areas resulting in one course per discipline. In addition, the subjects of English and reading were combined into one course, Academic Literacy, which is taught in tandem with Composition I as a learning community. The change to literacy instead of English and reading allows students to enroll directly into their college-level English course along with the built-in, co-requisite as support. Prior to this, the developmental curriculum required students to complete a prerequisite course before Composition I enrollment, which lengthened time to completion. Initial findings are positive. After the first semester (fall 2012), 82% of students successfully completed both courses, Academic Literacy and English Composition I. Looking at the overall picture, students with the lowest placement scores were previously required to complete two developmental math courses, two developmental reading courses and one developmental writing course before starting college courses within these subject areas. The

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former pathway required significant time from which students may lose momentum toward college completion.

In terms of mathematics, Arkansas State adopted the Emporium Model for developmental math redesign in the spring of 2012. The Emporium Model meets the six principles of course redesign supported by the National Center of Academic Transformation (NCAT): 1) redesign of the whole course; 2) encourage active learning; 3) provide students with individualized assistance; 4)build in ongoing assessment with automated feedback; 5) ensure sufficient time on task and monitor student progress; and 6) modularize the student learning experience, especially in developmental math. NCAT partner institutions using the Emporium approach increased the %age of students successfully completing a developmental math course by 51 % on average (ranging from 10 to 135 %) while reducing the cost of instruction by 30 % on average (from 12 to 52 %) and increased the percentage of students successfully completing a college-level math course by 25 % on average (from 7 to 63 %) while reducing the cost of instruction by 37 % on average (from 15 to 77 %).

Upon initial review, completion rates for the fall 2012 cohort of first-time, full-time students enrolled in developmental education is positive. Over 80% completed the literacy requirement and almost 40% completed developmental math within the first year.

Table 13. 2012-2013 Arkansas State University Remediation Data for Redesigned Courses Number Total Completed FA Completed Developmental Area % Enrolled Completed Fall 2011 Spring 12* Complete Developmental Math 36.3 288 105 34 71 (module or COMPASS Test-Out) Completed Literacy 81.3 182 148 144 4 Completed ALL Developmental 48.1 387 186 178 75 Courses

Also noted, a review of the new math instruction model from fall 2012 and spring 2013 revealed a strong link between students who accrued a minimum of 75 hours of time-on-task during the semester and received a passing grade. This is an equivalent of approximately five hours a week in documented activities such as attending class, listening to lectures, working homework assignments and taking tests. Seventy-five percent (or 192 students) of the students who met this minimal standard passed developmental math with a grade of C or higher. This information confirms that time-on-task is the critical component in completion of this course. Consequently, instructors will use this data to inform students of the effort required for passing.

These changes appear positive as well. The percentage of first-time, full-time students who required any level of developmental education that passed the top tier of developmental education in their first term of enrollment have remained stable or improved in both math and English. The ADHE reported 45.0% completion rate for developmental math for fall 2012 compared to only 30.0% the previous fall term. In literacy (combined reading and writing), ADHE reported 68.1% completion rate of the top tier courses which was similar to the previous fall term (68.4%).

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Course Grades and Gateway Courses Another stumbling block to completion are gateway courses and Grade College Quantitative those courses with high D, F, W rates. Students who do not make it Algebra Reasoning through college-level gateway courses may prematurely change A 23.5% 12.8% majors or drop out of college. A review of these courses at B 19.5% 25.6% Arkansas State and within the state, revealed college algebra has a C 15.4% 30.7% low success rate and is a hurdle to college completion. During the D, F, FN, 41.6% 30.8% fall 2012, Arkansas State piloted a non-algebra course, Quantitative W Reasoning, for non-STEM majors as a replacement for College Algebra. The non-STEM math course meets the AHECB minimum core requirements and contains a quantitative reasoning component. College Algebra will remain the pre-requisite for all higher-level math courses relevant to STEM majors. While the course is too new for significant evaluation, Arkansas State believes the new course will help place students in a more relevant math course focused on statistics and quantitative math most appropriate to their chosen programs of study/careers. Although this is a small sample, currently the Quantitative Reasoning course shows a moderate improvement in the percentage of student passing their general education math requirement.

Priority Three: Improving the Learning Environment through Enhanced and Enriched Academic Experiences

High-Impact Experiences Certain college experiences have been widely tested and have been shown to be beneficial for college students from varying backgrounds. These practices take many different forms, depending on learner characteristics and on institutional priorities and contexts. Arkansas State established high-impact experiences including: the First Year Experience, Honors Program, McNair Scholars, study abroad, undergraduate research opportunities and Residential Learning Communities. Others opportunities are in their early stages. For example, the College of Education and University College are offering for-credit service learning courses which are scheduled for enrollment in 2014-15. Other colleges, especially the College of Nursing and Health Professions, have numerous service learning experiences built in to the curriculum of their academic programs. Common intellectual experiences include learning communities, global learning, service and community-based learning, capstone courses, collaborative assignments and projects, writing-intensive courses. Campus-wide high impact offerings and the effects of the experiences on student learning are highlighted in Criterion Three.

First Year Experience (FYE) All first-time, first-year students at Arkansas State University are required to take a first-year experience (FYE) course, “Making Connections.” The three-credit hour course is embedded within the academic majors where applicable. There are also mixed major sections available for undecided students, conditionally admitted students and honors students. Each section is linked to a general education or major-specific course, creating a common six hour block of classes (Table 14; FYE Linked Courses). This block facilitates students’ access to peers within their majors. Arkansas State offers approximately 80 sections of FYE and linked courses each fall

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Table 14. Examples of Humanities and Social Science Making Connections and Linked Core Courses FYE Course No. Title Core Course No. Title HIST 1003-001 Making Connections History HIST 1023 002 World Civilization Since 1660 SOC 1013-001 Making Connections Sociology SOC 2213 003 Intro to Sociology POSC 1103-002 Making Connections Political Science POSC 2103 005 Intro to US Government

All sections of FYE have a common core curriculum based upon the FYE program goals and serve to introduce students to their major. The FYE faculty designed and wrote the First Year Handbook, which is now published as an iBook. The text is comprised around the four main modules aligned to the FYE goals. All FYE common core material also is placed in Blackboard for easy access by faculty and students. Within Blackboard, there are four university-required exams for first-year students to demonstrate their knowledge in the four content areas. Instructors in the FYE and linked courses are carefully selected and have access to continual training.

The FYE program is regularly assessed (FYE course content assessment) . The mission of the First Year Experience at Arkansas State University is to promote student engagement within the first year. The FYE program is governed by a faculty advisory board, which set these classroom goals:

 Institution Engagement – FY students have a reasonable understanding of the underpinnings of the institution including resources, policies and organization and know how to best navigate within.  Academic Engagement – FY students know how to develop and manage study habits to master new learning.  Community Engagement – FY students have a sense of belonging (socially, emotionally, or cognitively) to the campus community.  Personal Engagement – FY students have a reasonable understanding of and a commitment to degree completion.

The First Year Experience Program has introduced two new components to the campus as of fall 2013. Both promote a common intellectual experience. The first is the course requirement of an Apple iPad. All first- time, first- year students are required to have an iPad for FYE classroom use. The iPad will advance the FYE mission by promoting engaged learning within the classroom and promoting management of learning outside the classroom. Instructors will use the tool to encourage involvement in class discussion and activities as well as teach students how to use their mobile devices for lifelong learning. Uses such as classroom clicker applications, testing methods and apps will augment and change the classroom dynamics.

The iPad initiative provides the ideal platform and perfect timing to introduce a common reader within the first year. A common reader is a book assigned for a designated student population to read during a set period of time. The FYE common reader will be part of the fall semester with the purpose to promote a shared intellectual experience and to engage students socially and academically in and outside of the classroom. Themes from the selected reader, Zeitoun, will be incorporated into discussions, activities and experiences of first-year students. One of the main themes is a natural disaster. To heighten the common reader shared intellectual experience, the FYE program along with the Disaster Preparedness Program will host a simulation of a natural disaster on September 30, 2013, on the main lawn of the campus. FYE students from each major are invited to participate in hands-on, career-oriented activities. For example, students in the communication FYE courses will be in charge of

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communication activities. Health professions FYE students will be stationed in the trauma areas. Theatre students will play the role of the victims or casualties. Engineering students are responsible for assessing structural and logistic concerns. These are just a few examples of classroom involvement in this event. The desire is to create a sense of community, promote discussion, encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue and promote critical engagement with ideas. (DPEM/FYE Video Link)

FYE students receive a free digital download of the FYE text and the common reader. This, along with the use of free ebooks/iBooks in other courses, can result in substantial savings for students. As an example, students in the PHSC 1014 Energy and the Environment course linked to three FYE sections will receive a free iBook written by the instructor, thereby saving $150 over a comparable textbook formerly used in the course. Arkansas State is hopeful that as both students and faculty become more familiar with the use of tablets and the availability of both ebooks and ibooks increases that substantial savings in textbooks and ancillary materials will occur.

The Honors Program The Honors Program offers several opportunities for high-impact learning experiences. Honors courses provide students with small, highly interactive courses in a challenging academic environment. The Honors College has added a variety of new upper-level cross-listed Honors courses over the past three years to help retain juniors and seniors in the Honors College and increase the number of students graduating with distinction (Figure 11). Honors also has increased the number of lower-level and general education Honors courses to ensure that we can meet the demand of a growing incoming freshman class each year. Figure 11. Honors Graduates by Category Figure 12. Honors Senior Theses Completed

30 Students graduating “In University Honors”

Students graduating “In Honors” 25

Students earning an Honors Certificate 20

30 15

20 10 Number of Theses of Number 5 10 0

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2000 Number of Graduates of Number

The honors senior thesis (Figure 12) provides another high-impact experience. Students graduating in “University Honors” complete a senior thesis which provides them with the opportunity to do an in- depth study leading to expertise in a particular area of interest; develop advanced research and writing skills, confidence and discipline in preparation for career or professional school. Students from most all disciplines participate in the Honors Senior Thesis experience as shown in these recent examples:

• Mammalian Cell-Based Assessment of Enzyme Replacement Therapeutics for Gaucher's Disease • Comparative Lipid Synthesis and Acyl Unsaturation of Psychrophilic and Psychrotolerant geomyces spp. Fungi • A Statistical Analysis of Fantasy Baseball • Why do College Students Take Online Classes? • Cosplay as Performance: Anime on Display

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• Cyber Bullying & Secondary Education • Degradation of Bat Wings by Geomyces destructans • Mary Sue in Literature • Finding Myself through Science Fiction • The Stress of Resultant Luck on the Condition of Control • The Real Housewives of Pedro Almodóvar: Defying Maternity and Submission in Post-Francoist Spain • Perceived Stress in Undergraduate Nursing Students • Effect of methyl jasmonate and cyclodextrin on production of polyphenolic compounds in hairy root cultures of Scutellaria lateriflora • Biosynthesis enhancement of arachidin-1 in peanut hairy root cultures and assessment of its cytotoxicity in pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells • Deal Makers and Law Breakers: The Perceived Hypocrisy of American Foreign Policy in the Middle East • Derivative Securities and the Financial Crisis of 2008 • Spatial Distribution of Nutrients and Microcystin-LR in Reservoirs and Recreational Lakes of Northeast Arkansas • How Violation Punishments Effect the Success of Football Programs

Another high-impact learning experience is the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) which opened in fall 2009. Until August 2103, the HLLC included three residence halls housing 219 students (132 freshmen and 87 upper-class) and the Honors Smart Classroom Building. The exponential growth in the Honors population signaled a need for additional housing for both freshmen and upper-class honors students. A fourth HLLC residence hall opened this August and houses an additional 102 students (60 freshmen and 42 upper-class). The HLLCs have been a key component in building culture and a sense of belonging among Honors students.

In addition, the Honors College has collaborated with the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the College of Business to develop honors cohort models. This allows students in both colleges to enroll in discipline specific Honors courses as early as their sophomore year. This is extremely beneficial as many honors students come to Arkansas State with an abundance of concurrent college credits and AP credits.

The Honors College Association (HCA) is a registered student organization at Arkansas State that helps plan activities and events throughout the academic year for honors students. The student leadership of HCA has taken a particularly active role the past three years and has substantially impacted student pride about being in the Honors College. Students regularly attend social events, wear Honors apparel and bring their friends to Honors activities. Honors is known for having an open and inviting atmosphere where all students are welcomed.

Other Living-Learning Communities and Cohort Models In addition to the HLLCs, Arkansas State residential students Additional Living Learning have several other Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) from Communities (Discussed in Criterion which to select that encourage student involvement, Three) motivation, engagement and academic achievement through  First Year Residential Experience active participation in the university experience. The LLCs also (FYRE) promote a sense of cohesiveness, self-responsibility and high  STEM Den Living-Learning standards among peers. Each LLC targets specific student Community interests and may include academic advising, tutoring,  ROTC Living-Learning Community mentoring, seminars, workshops, team building activities,  Global Engagement Living- Learning Community educational field trips and other experiences.

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Similar to an honors experience or living learning communities, students who feel connected to a strong learning environment persist and thrive in college. An example of another cohort model success can be found in the TRiO sponsored Student Support Services (SSS). SSS provides participants with academic and support services to ensure successful completion of a baccalaureate degree at Arkansas State. The program is evaluated on the following strategic goals and objectives that are outlined in its approved proposal effective 2010-2015.

Outcome & Measurement 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 Outcome - Active SSS There were 69 individuals There were 45 individuals There were 56 individuals Participants will graduate identified as New SSS identified as New SSS identified as New SSS within six (6) years. Participants in the 2004-2005 Participants in the 2005-2006 Participants in the 2006-2007 academic year. In order to academic year. In order to academic year. In order to Measurement - 46% of new meet this objective 31/32 meet this objective 20/21 meet this objective 25/26 SSS participants will students needed to graduate students needed to graduate students needed to graduate graduate in six years. by the 2009-2010 academic by the 2010-2011 academic by the 2011-2012 academic year. 20 students actually year. 29 students actually year. 31 students actually graduated which allowed us graduated which allowed us graduated which allowed us to have a 30% six- year to have a 64% performance to have a 55.3% six year graduation performance rate. graduation performance rate. rate. Outcome – SSS Participants will meet performance SSS served 194 participants SSS served 211 participants SSS served 198 participants levels required to stay in during the 2009-2010 during the 2010-2011 during the 2011-2012 good academic standing academic year. 173 of those academic year. 178 of those academic year. 186 of those with the institution participants were in good participants were in good participants were in good standing academically at the standing academically at the standing academically at the Measurement – 85% of all close of each term. This close of each term. This close of each term. This program participants will equates to an 89% equates to an 85% equates to a 94% maintain good academic performance rate. performance rate. performance rate. standing Outcome – Foster climate that mentors and SSS served 194 participants SSS served 211 participants SSS served 198 participants encourages SSS Participants during the 2009-2010 during the 2010-2011 during the 2011-2012 to persist from one academic year. 191 of those academic year. 196 of those academic year. 174 of those academic semester to the participants persisted from participants persisted from participants persisted from next until graduation Fall 2009 – Spring 2010. This Fall 2011 – Spring 2012. This Fall 2011 – Spring 2012. This equates to a 98% equates to a 93% equates to a 88% Measurement – 78% of all performance rate. performance rate. performance rate. participants will persist from one semester to the next semester.

Student-Athlete Academic Eligibility, Retention and Graduation Over the past five years, Arkansas State has responded positively to significant deficiencies in the way it has supported its student-athletes relative to academic progress, athletics eligibility, retention and graduation rates. In that time, the University has influenced a change of culture in these areas, which is evidenced in measurable data.

In the late summer of 2008, through due diligence, the university discovered discrepancies in the eligibility certification records for its student-athletes. After a lengthy internal and external investigation, it was determined that the institution had committed a major violation of NCAA rules. As a result, the NCAA imposed significant financial and programmatic penalties on the institution. Also, in the 2008-09 academic year, one of the school’s high-profile athletic teams failed to meet the

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requirements of the NCAA’s Academic Performance Program (i.e. low APR scores). As a result, additional penalties were assessed to the men’s basketball program.

At that time, the institution employed one full-time athletics compliance officer. Final sign-off on eligibility certification was performed as an additional duty of a Registrar’s office staff member. The student-athlete academic support department consisted of a director, two full-time academic coordinators and a graduate assistant who also performed tutor-coordination functions.

University’s Response to Critical Deficiencies As a result of collaborative self-reflection, the university determined that it was understaffed in both the areas of athletics compliance and student-athlete support. In reaction, the institution prioritized incremental staffing additions to these critical areas. First, the university employed a full-time eligibility certification officer outside of the Athletics department to have final authority over all athletics eligibility matters. This individual reports to the Office of Academic Affairs and Research through the Registrar. Additionally, the university now employs a second full-time athletics compliance officer. In the area of student-athlete support, the university hired two additional full-time academic coordinators, bringing the total to four for approximately 300 student athletes. A separate tutor coordinator position also was created.

In addition to increasing the size of the staff, the university codified a written eligibility certification process and also created collaborative teams to provide oversight to the areas of athletics compliance, eligibility certification and academic progress. The enhanced eligibility certification process involves collective participations by the eligibility certification officer, the athletics compliance staff, the academic support staff and the university’s faculty athletics representative. In concert with the improved procedures, the Eligibility and Academic Accountability Team was organized to identify and resolve all matters related to athletics eligibility, and student-athlete academic progress. Also, the APR Committee and Improvement Plan Team was created to monitor the Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for each of the institution’s sports team and to develop strategies for improving the scores for any underperforming teams. The university also directed the already-established Compliance Committee to provide better oversight to the eligibility certification process. Each of these committees has broad, campus-wide representation.

Improved APR Eligibility and Retention Rates Over the past five years, the university has seen pronounced improvement in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores of its athletics teams. This NCAA metric measures academic progress in two components, academic eligibility for competition and retention/graduation. Although, the NCAA does not contemplate nor calculate an overall departmental APR score, Arkansas State produces this calculation for its own internal analysis. As the table below demonstrates, the department-wide score (all teams) has increased a full ten points in the last four years—from 948 in 2008-2009 to 958 in 2011- 2012. The table also separates out the eligibility and retention components of the calculation. While the eligibility rate has shown modest improvement, the retention rate has increased markedly (Table 15).

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Table 15. Arkansas State University Student Athlete Academic Progress Rate (APR) APR Year Cohort Years Multi-year APR Eligibility Rate Retention Rate 2008-2009 05-06 to 08-09 948 948 942 2009-2010 06-07 to 09-10 951 947 949 2010-2011 07-08 to 10-11 959 949 960 2011-2012 08-09 to 11-12 958 950 955 2012-2013 09-10 to 12-13 (in progress) (in progress) (in progress) NOTE: Multi-year APR scores incorporate graduation points not included in eligibility and retention rates. 2012-13 scores will be available in the fall of 2013.

Although the rates for many teams have improved, a significant success story has occurred within the men’s basketball program. In 2008-2009, the team had a single-year APR score of 796, which resulted in an unsatisfactory multi-year score of 882 (four-year rate). As this was the team’s second occasion below the NCAA’s penalty benchmark of 900, the team was subject to the loss of scholarships and practice time. In response, the university developed and implemented a robust APR Improvement Plan for the men’s basketball program. This improvement plan affected a dramatic turnaround in the team’s academic performance as measured through the APR metric. In the subsequent academic years of 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, the team achieved single-year scores of 980, 978 and 953, respectively. As a result, the multi-year rate has steadily improved to the current 922. With the NCAA’s penalty benchmark increasing to 930 with the 2012-2013 cohort, the team has positioned itself to avoid future penalties under the enhanced requirement.

Currently, all of the university’s other athletic teams exceed the revised penalty benchmark of 930 and most have seen improvement over the past four years. This positive trend in APR scores coincides with the establishment of the university’s APR Committee and the hiring of the full-time eligibility certification officer, who also serves as the university’s administrator for the Academic Performance Program. The new athletic director hired in 2012 is committed to a quality and compliant athletic program. From the chancellor to the individual sport coaches, the university has shown itself to be engaged and attentive to this important nationwide metric for evaluating student-athlete academic success. Supporting data is provided (APR Data).

Student-Athlete Graduation Rates and Academic Honors The student-athletes at Arkansas State have traditionally graduated at a rate that exceeds the general student body rate. The federal four-class average for all students was 37% for the two most recent reporting years—made up of cohorts that concluded with 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, respectively. In comparison, the student-athlete graduation rate for the 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 cohorts was 55%. The four-class rate concluding with the 2006-2007 cohort was 56%. As the graduation metric lags behind the other measures of academic progress (e.g. APR), the university expects the student-athlete graduation rate to reflect a similar positive trend in upcoming years.

Finally, the academic success of the university’s student-athlete population can be demonstrated by highlighting some of the most recent academic achievements. Six teams were recognized in 2012-2013 for achieving the highest team GPA in the SunBelt Conference (athletics assessment 2013).

High-impact Research Experiences Both undergraduate and graduate students have opportunities to participate in high-impact research experiences at Arkansas State. The Honors senior thesis research experience, as previously discussed, is

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one option for undergraduates. However, non-honors undergraduate students often pursue research activities with faculty members as part of a class assignment, special topic or independent study. Graduate student research is generally thesis or dissertation orientated. A sample of undergraduate and graduate research topics recently completed or currently in progress follows:

 Assessment: Focus Groups for Student-Centered Commencement (Psychology)  Student Success and Motivation in Online Versus Traditional Lecture Classes (Education/Biological Science)  Inside the Minds of ASU: How Cross-Cultural Students Perceive Their University (Interdisciplinary Studies/Psychology)  Retention of Mathematics and Computer Science Majors (Mathematics – Graduate)  Analysis of Feminine Construct vs. Universal Codes in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (English)  Gender Roles in Early Twentieth Century Ireland (Middle Level Education)  Bronte and Gender Roles (English)  The Effects of Suppression on Women Writers (English)  Gender in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (English)  The Impact of Honesty in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (English - Graduate)  Engineering Hydroxyproline-O-Glycosylated Peptide Motifs in Hairy Roots for an Enhanced Bioproduction Platform (Molecular Biosciences -Graduate)  Numerical Approaches to Thermoelastic Rods with Dynamic Contact (Mathematics)  Applying the Exterior Matrix Method to the Inclined Cable Problem (Mathematics/Computer Science)  Bounded Area Tests For Comparing the Dynamics Between ARMA Series (Mathematics -Graduate)  Properties and Construction of Generalized minimum Aberration Designs (Mathematics)  Ethical Decision Making by Collegiate Coaches (Sport Administration - Graduate)  Sport Agency Boarding Schools: Ethicality, Legality and NCAA Compliance (Sport Administration - Graduate)  NCAA Minority Hiring Practices: African-American Head Coaches in NCAA Division I Institutions (Sport Administration -Graduate)  Doping Prevention in Elite Professional Sports (Sport Administration - Graduate)  The Acts of Cheating, Professional Fouls and Gamesmanship in Sports (Sport Administration -Graduate)  Character in Sports (Sport Administration -Graduate)  The Innocent Eye: Personal and Political Change Through a Child’s Lens (English)  Filling the Gap: Giving Readers Purpose with Science Fiction (Middle Level Education)  How Victorian Masculinity Prevents Character Growth in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (English)  Understanding Spatial and Temporal Precipitation in Northeast Arkansas Using Voluntary Rain Gauge Network (Civil Engineering)  Trend Analysis of Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Human Elephant Conflict in Nepal (Environmental Sciences - Graduate)  Monitoring Insect Pest Populations Across Variable Fields in Midsouth Cotton Through Management Zones Based on Soil electrical Conductivity With and Without Wheat Cover Crop (Plant and Soil Science - Graduate)  Differential Scanning Calorimetric Analysis on Three Molten Salts for Renewable Power Plant Applications (Mechanical Engineering)  Synthesis of CZTS with Applications to PV Cells (Physics)  Construction and Operation of Experimental Simulator with Thermodynamic Modeling for Binary/Ternary System (Mechanical Engineering)  Electron Beam Vacuum Evaporation of Thin Films (Environmental Sciences - Graduate)  Synthesis and Characterization of Nanoporous Titanium Dioxide Membranes for Environmental Photocatalytic and Filtration Applications (Environmental Science -Graduate)  Hitchhiking and the Road (English)  History and Culture of the American Road (Accounting)  The Beat Generation (Mathematics)  Alice L. Preston: Educator, Advocate, Mountaineer (Theatre)  Look Like Women, Play Like Men (Radio and TV)  Examining Mineral Variability with Infrared Spectroscopy (Physics)  Rapid Identification of Salmonella Serovars by Flow Cytometry-based Multiplexing Analysis System (Molecular Biosciences - Graduate)  Automatic Control of Video Sources Through RFID in Online Classes (Computer and Information Technology)  Mathematical Modeling for a Space Elevator (Mathematics - Graduate)  Hardware-Aware Computing: Achieving High Performance Computing in Heterogeneous Systems (Mathematics/Computer Science)  Study of Commercial Applications of Micro Wind Turbines in a City Environment (Technology)  Changing Fuel Efficiency Standards (Technology)  Dual Role Balance: An Exploration of Interrole Conflict and Implications of Success Beyond the Glass Ceiling (Accounting)  Upasana: Traditions Thriving Sustainably (International Business)  Differences in Perceptions of Why Stalking Occurs as a Function of Age (Psychology)  Cross-Cultural Perception of Common Colors (Psychology)  Effects of Religious Views of a Defendant and a Jury on Verdicts (Psychology)  Developmental Play and Sensitivity to Nicotine (Psychology - Graduate)

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Priority Four: Improving the Learning Environment Through Continuous Assessment and Feedback

In order to reach Arkansas State’s retention and graduation goals the Academic Retention Council will serve as a governing body and report directly to the provost. ARC believes continuous assessment and feedback to campus constituents is the only way to improve completion rates. Feedback will take place in the form of scheduled meetings with the Provost, the annual retention luncheon, a published annual report and regular conversation across campus. This council was put in place to sustain conversations with each academic college in terms of the four priorities listed in this section and to utilize the resources available through the Complete College America (CCA) initiatives set forth by the state. At this time, Arkansas State has been selected three times to be part of a five-person team representing the state of Arkansas at CCA national trainings. The workshops led to changes, each of which has been outlined in the current chapter: credit accrual through “15 to Finish,” exploratory majors to declare interest clusters and gateway courses.

Arkansas State has set what it believes to be ambitious and obtainable retention and graduation rates. Over the next five years, Arkansas State’s unconditionally admitted student population (ACT of 21 or above and HS GPA of 2.75 or above) will allow for the achievement of the following retention and graduation rates: 75% first-year retention rate; 60% two-year retention rate; 35% four-year graduation rate; and 50% six-year graduation rate. Evidence in support of proposed changes for increased retention and graduation rates are presented and discussed in 4.C.2 and 4.C.3. Management of these goals will be achieved through monitoring the four priorities noted in 4.C and managed by the Academic Retention Council.

Summary Figure 13. Graduation Rate by Cohort Arkansas State was making selected progress in increasing four-year graduation rates prior 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years to its incremental changes in admissions 50.00% criteria (Figure 13). The higher admissions 40.00% standards have improved student retention, 30.00% and we are optimistic that as data become 20.00% available, we will see similar changes in four- 10.00% and six-year graduation rates. Completion Rate Completion 0.00%

Overall, the new targeted set of learners allows faculty members to “raise the bar” in Cohort Entry association with the level of academic rigor in the classroom and other campus learning environments. The campus can deliver enriched academic programs. Approved for 2013-2014, the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies was revised to have admissions criteria, several research courses and a required service learning component. At the same time, First Year Studies within University College serves as a bridge for selected students within the Delta region and identified minority populations to begin their academic journey at Arkansas State.

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4.C.4. The institution’s processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutions are not required to use IPEDS definitions in their determination of persistence or completion rates. Institutions are encouraged to choose measures that are suitable to their student populations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.)

Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) is responsible for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data related to retention, persistence and completion. IRP has several reporting initiatives in place that provide current (and historical) information. Several of the processes and methodologies used by IRP are often prescribed through federal or state regulations. Arkansas State regularly reports retention and completion rates to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) and entities such as the College Board, ACT and Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA). To provide consistency of data, the university primarily reports the IPEDS definitions of educational measures and statistics. The following standard reports are compiled annually and presented on the IRP website:

 Retention rates for incoming full-time freshmen and sub-populations  Graduation rates for incoming full-time freshmen and sub-populations  Degrees awarded data by college, department and program

In addition to the commonly reported data mentioned, Arkansas State develops its own measures of student success for specialized needs of the various divisions of the university. For example, the Academic Retention Council regularly calls upon IRP to compile specialized reports of topics under review by the council such as D, F, W rates of gateway courses, retention and completion data for specific student groups, trends in remediation and academic standing, and other information. Academic departments often request program specific retention, persistence and completion data for accreditation reports and for implementing improvements in advising, instruction and planning purposes. Retention, persistence and completion data collection and analysis aligns with best practices and benchmarks.

Arkansas State’s use of retention, persistence and completion data has resulted in several initiatives and revisions of policies and procedures. For example, the First Year Experience Seminar “Making Connections,” started out as an elective, one-credit hour course designed to assist new students with the transition from high school to the university environment. In fall 2006, the seminar became a mandatory 3-credit hour course that serves as the cornerstone of the first year. It has undergone significant analysis and revisions since the late 1990’s. The course is reviewed regularly with content determined and contributed by the faculty-based FYE Advisory Council.

As previously discussed, changes in admissions criteria were supported by comprehensive analyses of the retention, persistence and graduation rates of the university’s student population. Data were used to determine the best high school GPA and test scores for both unconditional and conditional admission of students. Data indicate the success of conditionally admitted students requires a narrower window for admissions criteria than originally anticipated, resulting in the final conditional admission criteria that go into effect fall 2014. Analysis of retention and persistence data also supported the changes in policies associated with academic load, probation and suspension.

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Criterion 4 Strengths and Opportunities Arkansas State has successfully created and implemented a three-tiered structure for assessment of student learning that is reasonable, meaningful and sustainable. Faculty have taken responsibility for assessment such that a culture of student learning will continue to thrive amidst any unforeseen changes in budget or leadership. Across curricular and co-curricular units, data are being used to improve pedagogy and programming. Opportunities for intentional and rigorous assessment of online learning remain as Arkansas State increases the number of offerings of graduate programs. Assessment of academic programs and academic support initiatives will continue as a high priority for Arkansas State.

Data-informed decision making in the area of persistence and retention have improved completion rates, and interventions designed to reduce exit points have been effective. Opportunities remain for increased retention and timely completion of degrees for students beyond the first year.

The mantra of Arkansas State’s Director of Assessment, “Data say; So what? How we changed; What we got” has infiltrated the campus and is widely understood. This mantra is positively changing the outcomes of the institution as the “jingle” assists Arkansas State successfully meet its mission to educate, enhance and enrich the lives of its students and the community.

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r Five r CRITERION FIVE

Resources, Planning, and Institutional

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CRITERION FIVE 185 Chapter Five

Criterion Five Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

The institution’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.

Core Components

5.A. The institution’s resource base supports its current educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future. 1. The institution has the fiscal and human resources and physical and technological infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered. 2. The institution’s educational purposes do not suffer as a result of elective resource allocations to other areas or disbursement of revenue to any superordinate entity. 3. The goals incorporated into mission statements or elaborations of mission statements are realistic in light of the institution’s organization, resources, and opportunities. 4. The institution’s staff in all areas are appropriately qualified and trained. 5. The institution has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring expense.

5.B. The institution’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes. 1. The institution has and employs policies and procedures to engage its internal constituencies in governance, including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students. 2. The governing board is knowledgeable about the institution, provides oversight for the institution’s financial and academic policies and practices, and meets its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. 3. The institution enables the involvement of its administration, faculty, staff, and students in setting academic requirements, policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort.

5.C. The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning. 1. The institution allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities. 2. The institution’s processes for assessment, evaluation, planning, and budgeting are linked effectively. 3. The planning process takes into consideration the entirety of the institution and appropriate input from internal and external constituent groups. 4. The institution plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity. Institutional plans anticipate the possible impact of fluctuations in the institution’s sources of revenue, such as enrollment, the economy, and state support. 5. Institutional planning anticipates emerging factors, such as technology, demographic shifts, and globalization.

5.D. The institution works systematically to improve its performance. 1. The institution evaluates its operations. 2. Documented evidence of performance routinely informs the institution’s processes for evaluation, planning, and improvement in its operations. 3. The institution learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its institutional effectiveness, capabilities, and sustainability, overall and in its component parts.

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CRITERION FIVE

RESOURCES, PLANNING AND INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Arkansas State University’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. Arkansas State University plans for the future.

The university’s resources and planning processes are vital to fulfilling its mission, providing quality academic programs and ensuring that Arkansas State can reach its goals now and in the future. Through continuous planning, evaluation and strategic allocation of its fiscal, human and physical resources, Arkansas State is positioned to respond to the changing environment of higher education.

This chapter provides evidence in support of Arkansas State’s use of resources and planning processes to promote institutional effectiveness and success as the university continues into its second century of educating leaders, enhancing knowledge and enriching lives.

5. A. Arkansas State University’s resource base supports its current educational programs and its

plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.

Since the last comprehensive accreditation visit, Arkansas State has made significant progress in expanding its academic programs, research focus and enrollment. These outcomes have contributed positively to the university’s resource base while also increasing demands on fiscal, human and physical resources. Arkansas State takes pride in the effective management of its resources in support of these outcomes while maintaining the quality of its current academic programs and services and planning for the future.

Because of the Revenue Stabilization Act, the State of Arkansas has not suffered significant budget cuts during the economic downturn. However, public higher education remains grossly under budgeted. Seventy-nine percent of the state’s total budget is appropriated for K-12 education, the Department of Human Services and Corrections. The remaining 21% covers all other appropriations, including higher education. The state’s goal is to fund institutions at a need level of 75% through state appropriations. Arkansas State is currently funded at only 63.6% of its need, which is the lowest of any four-year institution in the state. Meanwhile, Arkansas State has record enrollment growth and numbers of graduates while ranking fourth in the state for tuition and fees rates.

Another state budget issue of concern is that Arkansas does not have a dedicated capital revenue source for critical maintenance needs of its institutions’ physical plants. This poses a hardship to all state campuses as they must foot the bill for aging facilities. Unfortunately, maintenance is often deferred to allow for other uses of limited resources. Arkansas State is proud of its physical facilities and although strapped for maintenance resources, has dedicated $ 7.6 million to campus improvements in the last five years to provide enhanced learning facilities and technology. (Radiologic Sciences, Newly Renovated Student Computer Lab, State of the art conference rooms)

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Arkansas State is realistically not optimistic with regard to new state funding and achieving the 75% mark. Therefore, the university is looking for entrepreneurial opportunities as alternate funding. In recent years, increased recruitment of international students and on-line course offerings have assisted with revenue flow. As these initiatives stabilize, new opportunities await in the Arkansas State University Mexico campus and a potential Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine School.

Another strategic initiative was the relocation of the Arkansas State University System Office from Jonesboro to Little Rock. The system office is now situated directly across the street from the state capitol allowing the system president regular contact with the Governor and legislative members, thus keeping the needs of Arkansas State and higher education in the forefront.

In times of challenge and opportunity, one of Arkansas State’s greatest strengths is its ability to consistently operate within the limits of its revenue sources while accomplishing its goals and supporting its mission. Its ability to do so is linked to its planning and evaluation processes and the collaborative spirit of the university’s many stakeholders. Evidence provided by strong financial audits, accreditation and program assessments, productivity of faculty and staff, advancements in technology, growth in physical facilities and support services and the success of its students are just a few of the measures used to evaluate the sufficiency of Arkansas State’s resource base.

5. A.1. Arkansas State University has the fiscal and human resources and physical and technological infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered.

Arkansas State’s many changes to its landscape in student, academic program and research growth has required judicious allocation and use of resources to ensure that all aspects of the university’s operations are adequately supported. The evidence that follows demonstrates that Arkansas State has the resources needed to not only accomplish its mission but to do so with excellence.

Fiscal Resources Arkansas State’s annual operating budget is approximately $152 million. The Figure 1. Historical E & G Revenue Trends revenue base for the university’s operations comes from three main Unrestricted Restricted Total E&G Revenue sources: tuition and fees ($83.7 million, $250,000,000 54.95%), state appropriations ($65.1, 42.77%) and federal and state grants and $200,000,000 contracts ($1.85 million, 1.21 %). Other $150,000,000 revenue sources include auxiliaries, federal appropriations, private gifts, sales $100,000,000 and services, investment and gains and other Education and General (E&G) $50,000,000 revenues. These revenues are used to $0 support the daily operations of the 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 university including instruction, student services, administration and plant operations as well as to provide for specific long term projects.

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Over the past five fiscal years, tuition and fee revenue has increased 34% while state appropriations (restricted + unrestricted) have remained essentially flat (Figure 1). Federal and state grants and contracts have increased approximately 40% during this period, in part due to the funding of several federal earmarks.

Detailed data for Unrestricted and Restricted E & G Revenues and Expenses by Fiscal Year 2008-2012 are provided (E&G Revenues and Expenses).

During FY 2012, instruction, academic support Figure 2. E&G Expenditure by Source FY 2012 and research initiatives constituted 38% (red) Transfers Other E&G of the total annual expenses supporting the Public 6% Expenses priority given to the academic mission of the Service 1% 8% Instruction university (Figure 2). Providing access to Institutional 24% higher education was the second largest Support 6% expense through the funding of scholarships Plant and fellowships at 29% with student services Maintenanc Academic e Support comprising an additional 5% of student-based 7% 7% expenditures (black). Institutional support and Student Scholarships Research plant maintenance total 13% and public Services & 7% 5% service accounts for 8% of the total expenses Fellowships 29% (gray). These allocations illustrate that the university is focused on student learning and success. Figure 3. E&G Revenues and Expenses FY 2008-2012 The university’s 2013-2014 operating budget is Total E&G Revenue Total E&G Expenses publicly available and may be viewed on the $250,000,000 website by any interested individual (Budget). Arkansas State maintains a balanced budget as $200,000,000 required by state law (Figure 3). $150,000,000

$100,000,000 Auxiliary Funds Auxiliary operations exist to support the $50,000,000 university’s educational mission and provide $0 important support services to the campus 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 community, our students and other constituencies. The university engages in a Figure 4. Auxiliary Revenues and Expenditures number of auxiliary activities including athletics, $35,000,000 housing, food service, parking and certain other Total Auxiliary student activities. Additionally, the university $30,000,000 Revenues operates a dual-purpose event arena that $25,000,000 Transfers In provides a venue for educational and athletic $20,000,000 activities as well as community and $15,000,000 Total Auxiliary Expenditures entertainment events. $10,000,000 Transfers Out $5,000,000 Auxiliary operations at Arkansas State are $0 Debt Service managed conservatively. Certain auxiliary 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 $5,000,000 Fiscal Year

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activities, while considered strategically important to the university’s mission and priorities, do not currently generate sufficient resources to support themselves financially. Accordingly, auxiliary operations are managed collectively to provide resources sufficient to insure their overall continued viability. Revenues are optimized in accordance with university priorities and market conditions and expenses are carefully monitored and controlled.

Tuition and Fees Historically, Arkansas’ public universities have been underfunded by the state requiring institutions to rely heavily on tuition increases to offset inadequate state support. Over the past decade, the Arkansas State University Board of Trustees has approved increases in tuition and fees to allow all campuses within the ASU system to meet their revenue needs in support of quality academic programs and campus operations (Table 1).

Table 1. Historical Tuition and Fees 2003-2012

Undergraduate Graduate Academic Annual Tuition & Fees Per Credit Hour Tuition Annual Tuition & Fees Year Per Credit Hour Tuition (Based on 15 Hour (Based on 9 Hour Load Load per Semester) per Semester)

Resident Nonresident Resident Nonresident Resident Nonresident Resident Nonresident 2003-2004 4,810 10,720 125 322 3,488 7,844 158 400 2004-2005 5,155 11,515 135 347 3,740 8,420 170 430 2005-2006 5,440 12,145 142 366 3,947 8,879 180 454 2006-2007 5,710 12,760 149 384 4,145 9,329 189 477 2007-2008 6,010 13,390 154 400 4,370 9,770 196 496 2008-2009 6,370 14,290 163 427 4,640 10,436 208 530 2009-2010 6,370 14,290 163 427 4,640 10,436 208 530 2010-2011 6,640 14,860 170 444 4,820 10,850 216 551 2011-2012 6,934 12,238 177 354 5,030 9,073 225 449 2012-2013 7,180 12,610 181 362 5,198 9,338 230 460

During the last five years, Arkansas State’s undergraduate and graduate resident tuition and mandatory fees have increased 19.5% with an average increase of 3.5% increase per year during this time (Table 2). These increases have been in alignment with other state institutions. Arkansas State generally has ranked fourth or fifth in tuition costs among the ten public four-year universities during this period. During the 2013-2014 academic year, Arkansas State will take a very critical look at budgeting in all of its units in anticipation of no tuition increases for FY 2015 so that access for the students it serves is preserved.

Table 2. Annual Full-time Resident Undergraduate Tuition and Mandatory Fees for Arkansas Public Four-Year Institutions FY 2008-FY 2013 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 5 YR 5 YR 2012- 1 YR Institution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Increase Average 2013 Increase

UAF 6,038 6,399 6,459 6,767 7,173 25.1% 5.0% 7,553 5.3%

ASU 6,010 6,370 6,370 6,640 6,934 19.5% 3.9% 7,180 3.5%

UALR 5,740 6,121 6,331 6,642 7,040 27.9% 5.6% 7,343 4.3%

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UCA 6,215 6,505 6,698 6,908 7,183 18.0% 3.6% 7,332 2.1% 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 5 YR 5 YR 2012- 1 YR Institution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Increase Average 2013 Increase

ATU 5,120 5,430 5,610 5,908 6,258 27.5% 5.5% 6,528 4.3% 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 5 YR 5 YR 2012- 1 YR Institution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Increase Average 2013 Increase

HSU 5,689 6,024 6,204 6,444 6,714 22.8% 4.6% 6,984 4.0%

SAUM 5,224 5,646 6,066 6,426 6,786 36.8% 7.4% 7,146 5.3%

UAFS 4,060 4,410 4,600 4,918 5,267 33.9% 6.8% 5,436 3.2%

UAM 4,300 4,600 4,750 4,990 5,290 29.3% 5.9% 5,560 5.1%

UAPB 4,499 4,676 4,796 5,033 5,330 22.6% 4.5% 5,517 3.5%

Average 5,290 5,618 5,788 6,068 6,398 26.3% 5.3% 6,658 4.1%

Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education

Arkansas State’s tuition and fee collections have increased from $58.7 to $88.6 million over the past five years while scholarship and fee waiver awards have continued to increase, to the extent allowed by state law, to assist students with accessibility to attend (Figures 5 and 6).

Figure 5. Tuition and Fee Revenue Figure 6. Scholarships and Fee Waivers

$100,000,000 $20,000,000 $90,000,000

$80,000,000 $15,000,000 $70,000,000 $60,000,000 $10,000,000 $50,000,000 $40,000,000 $5,000,000 $30,000,000 $20,000,000 $0 $10,000,000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 $0 Academic Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

State Appropriations Although funding for state public institutions in Arkansas may not be ample, unlike many states across the nation, Arkansas has been fortunate that during the recent national economic crisis, funding in support of Arkansas Public Higher Education has been stable and enrollment has climbed (Table 3). The increase in state appropriations to Arkansas State over the past five years has been 1.84% (FY 2008- 2012). The university’s enrollment has increased 16.3% during this same period.

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Table 3. Arkansas Public Higher Education: 5-year Growth in General Revenue and Fall FTE

Arkansas Public Higher Education: General Revenue Distribution and Forecast FY 2008-FY 2013 INSTITUTION FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 5-year % Distribution Distribution Distribution Distribution Distribution Forecast Increase TOTAL $799,817,111 $797,345,972 $792,902,235 $810,068,388 $820,061,351 $819,480,591 2.5% $ INCREASE $19,663,480 Arkansas Public Higher Education: FTE Enrollment Fall 2007-Fall 2012 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012 5-year % Increase TOTAL 98,660 102,111 109,088 113,980 116,211 117,086 18.68% Arkansas State University 5-year Growth in General Revenue and Fall FTE ASU General Revenue Distribution and Forecast FY 2008-FY 2013 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012 5-year % Increase ASU $59,052,443 $59,228,731 $58,028,329 $59,054,066 $60,148,141 $60,141,168 1.84% ASU FTE Enrollment Fall 2007-Fall 2012 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012 5-year % Increase ASU 8,698 9,102 9,310 9,828 10,023 10,112 16.26% Source: Arkansas Department of Higher Education General Revenue Forecast sheets and AHECB Enrollment Report dated 1/26/12 plus Preliminary Fall 2012 Enrollment Report.

Research Extramural Funding In response to Arkansas State’s goal to become a more research intensive institution, the university has recognized the need for its faculty and researchers to actively pursue additional external resources to fund their research. In 2011, the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT) was redesigned to include a Research Development Director, as well as two Research Development Specialists and a Program Coordinator. The office provides cradle-to-award services helping faculty and researchers find funding programs and submit competitive proposals for these opportunities. The office also sponsors an annual program, the Institute for Research Development. This three-week intensive boot-camp guides participants from research idea to fully-developed grant proposal draft, including necessary diligence on issues of research compliance, export control, intellectual property and post-award budgeting and reporting.

Most universities have struggled to maintain Figure 7. Grants and Contracts Awards and Expenditures their level of extramural funding in the difficult fiscal climate of the last several Total Expenditures Total Awards years. While funding through directed 40,000,000 congressional appropriations is falling off, as 35,000,000 it is across academia; Arkansas State is 30,000,000

maintaining a stable influx in competitive 25,000,000 grant funding due to this investment in 20,000,000 providing grantsmanship assistance to our Dollars 15,000,000 faculty (Figure 7). 10,000,000 5,000,000 Funding awards by type are provided in 0 Figure 8. Grants are the predominant source 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 of extramural funding averaging Fiscal Year approximately $18 million annually over the

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past five years. During this same period, appropriations have averaged almost $5 million per year. Sources of funding have been diverse with faculty researchers securing grants from federal agencies such as EPA, NSF, NIH, DOE, USDA, private foundations (Table 4) and numerous State of Arkansas agencies. Detailed information concerning awards by academic unit is available (Extramural Funding: Award by Unit, Award by Type, Award by Source, Award by Agency, Expenditures by Source, Expenditure by Type).

Table 4. Examples of Funding Sources (Excludes Arkansas Funding Agencies)

Economic Development Administration Environmental Protection Agency Federal Highway Administration National Aeronautics & Space National Center for Science and Civic National Endowment for the Arts Administration Engagement National Endowment for the Humanities National Institutes of Health National Park Service National Science Foundation US Dept. of Agriculture US Dept. of Agriculture US Dept. of Commerce US Dept. of Education US Dept. of Energy US Dept. of Health & Human Services US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development US Dept. of Justice US Dept. of The Army US Dept. of The Interior US Dept. of Transportation US Fish and Wildlife Service US Forest Service Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

Figure 8. Total Awards by Type

Grant Appropriation Internal Cooperative Agreement Contract MOU, Non-Grant, Other $25,000,000

$20,000,000

$15,000,000

$10,000,000 Dollars $5,000,000

$0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Grant $14,005,185 $17,896,682 $18,160,614 $21,582,600 $18,141,006 Appropriation $3,334,602 $4,676,427 $4,012,762 $5,667,571 $7,080,605 Internal $1,151,217 $697,411 $424,862 $194,395 $42,119 Cooperative Agreement $340,679 $394,664 $408,998 $476,614 $456,719 Contract $307,306 $300,613 $290,753 $234,580 $245,842 MOU, Non-Grant, Other $82,862 $252,266 $107,175 $88,020 $83,869

Major Gifts and Other Resources Friends, alumni and corporate entities provide generous support to Arkansas State that enable the university to attract and retain high quality students and provide many enhancements to the academic and extracurricular experience. Private support endows numerous scholarships each year, typically over $500,000. As scholarships are more necessary now than ever to assist students in completing their higher education experience, the receipt in May 2012 of Arkansas State’s largest endowment donation in its history – a $5 million estate commitment from alumnus F. O’Neil “Neil” Griffin to establish the Griffin Scholars Endowment Fund is especially timely. The Griffin Scholarship will be available for qualified incoming freshmen with an ACT score of 30 and above who are permanent residents of the state of

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Arkansas or a permanent resident of selected counties in Missouri. Sensitivity to the financial needs of the students’ families, especially Pell Grant eligible students, will be strongly considered. The amount of the scholarship fund is for tuition, fees, on-campus housing and books for up to 18 credit hours per semester. A stipend also is available for junior and senior year students to study abroad for a semester.

The generosity of others since the last HLC comprehensive review has assisted with a new state-of- the-art health sciences center, alumni and foundation centers, field research stations, programming and support for wounded veterans, a faculty endowed chair and other improvements and initiatives for Arkansas State. Examples of some of these gifts and commitments follow (Table 5).

Table 5. Selected Gifts and Commitments to Arkansas State University Since 2003

Gift or Donor Purpose Commitment

Darrell and Charlotte Pugh Cooper, Alumni $2,000,000 Construction of 20,000 sq. ft. Cooper Alumni Center

Judd Hill Foundation $1,000,000 Construction of 6,300 sq. ft. ASU Foundation

Donald W. Reynolds Foundation $14,508,342 Construction of 50,650 sq. ft. Reynolds Health Sciences Center

Buddy and Charlotte Beck $1,000,000 Beck PRIDE Center for America’s Wounded Veterans

Miscellaneous Donors $400,000 Library Tower 23-Bell Carillion

Liberty Bank $5,000,000 Football Facility Improvements

Judd Hill Foundation $1,000,000 Endowed Chair in Agricultural Biotechnology

Judd Hill Foundation $1,000,000 Maintenance of Reynolds Health Sciences Center

George and Phoebe Harp, Faculty Emeriti $30,900 George Harp Field Station - Buffalo National River

Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation $30,000 Children’s Exhibits for Museum

Regions Bank $100,000 Scholarship Endowment

Wal-Mart Foundation $100,000 Beck PRIDE Center Programming

Neil Griffin, Alumnus $5,000,000 Griffin Scholars

Donations and gifts to the university from 2003-2007 remained relatively flat with totals averaging about $5 million per year. Growth in donations has increased in the last five years due to major gifts for buildings and scholarship endowments. Total gifts and commitments for FY 12 were over $11.5 million.

Historical contributions on behalf of faculty and staff, alumni, friends and others in support of academics and athletics are shown in Table 6.

The Faculty Association in support of the university and community effort to “Save the Kays House,” home of Dr. V. C. Kays, founding president of Arkansas State University, pledged $7500 towards its restoration. The V. C. Kays residence remains one of few campus structures associated with the institution’s formative years, a fact made more evident during the university’s Centennial Celebration. This is a rare opportunity to sustain the spirit of historic celebration from the Centennial and create new

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usages that coincide with and support the university mission of cultural heritage preservation and appreciation.

Table 6. Academic and Athletic Donations FY 2008-2012

Source of Fiscal Year Donation 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Academic Gifts Faculty/Staff $237,618 $153,147 $155,401 $203,800 $140,121

Alumni 2,045,686 519,243 487,136 470,118 704,681

Friends of ASU 213,559 363,693 226,214 228,561 457,253

Organizations/Corp. 4,393,979 12,480,044 5,052,363 2,297,856 2,565,247

Non-Cash Gifts 366,413 75,065 2,602,940 4,403,118 66,164

Academic Total 7,257,255 13,591,192 8,524,054 7,603,453 3,933,465 Athletic Gifts Cash Gifts 1,082,444 1,216,289 1,789,127 1,513,666 1,689,465

Non-Cash Gifts 13,135 15,727 2,383 0 0

Athletic Total 1,095,579 1,232,016 1,791,510 1,513,666 1,689,465

Grand Total $8,352,833 $14,823,208 $10,315,564 $9,117,119 $5,622,931

Fund Balances Educational and General Fund Figure 9. Arkansas Department of Higher Education University balances are the perennial measure E&G Balances as a Percent of Revenues (Fund Balance) of the financial condition of institutions of higher education. For universities, the minimum recommended level is 5% of the E&G operating budget with an ideal level of at least 14%. Arkansas State has fallen below the 5% recommended level only once in the past five years (2007) and has met or exceeded 14% for the last two years that data are available. A comparison of historical fund balances for Arkansas public universities is shown in Figure 9.

Another evaluation of the institution’s fiscal health is its financial rating. The financial rating provided in January 2013 by Moody’s Investors Service validates Arkansas State’s sound financial status while providing the university with awareness of potential challenges for the future:

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NEW YORK, January 22, 2013 --Moody's Investors Service has assigned an A1 rating to Arkansas State University's $30.5 million Housing System Revenue Refunding Bonds (Jonesboro Campus), Series 2013. The rating outlook is stable. Moody's maintains A1 ratings on several series of prior revenue bonds detailed below under rated debt.

SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE The A1 rating and stable outlook are based on the university's role as the second largest provider of higher education in Arkansas, diverse revenues supporting balanced operating performance, strengthening market position and manageable debt burden. Credit challenges include additional borrowing plans, moderate balance sheet strength and limited liquidity relative to operating expense base.

STRENGTHS • Relatively stable state support from Aa1-rated State of Arkansas. State appropriations comprise 37.4% of FY 2012 operating revenue. • Diversified revenue base, with grants and contracts comprising 20% of operating revenue in fiscal 2012, up from 17% in fiscal 2008. • Breakeven operating performance, with three-year average operating margin of 2.3% for fiscal years 2010-2012 and average debt service coverage of 2.4 times. Operating cash flow of 13.0% in FY 2012 is strong for the rating category. • Stable system-wide enrollment after several years of robust growth, with nearly 15,500 full- time equivalent (FTE) students in the fall of 2012 and a growing proportion of graduate students (from 6.5% of total enrollment in fall 2008 to 9.9% in fall 2012). • Strong demographic projections in the State of Arkansas, with high school graduates expected to increase by 12% over the coming decade.

CHALLENGES • Funding capital needs for growing system likely to require additional debt in coming years, increasing the university's leverage. • Liquidity, while acceptable for the A1 category, remains limited at 78 monthly days cash on hand in FY 2012. • Research program has gained momentum, but is likely to experience heightened competition for federal funding, limiting revenue diversity. Research expenditures grew to $12.6 million in FY 2012 from $9.1 million in FY 2008, however research expenditures increased by less than 1% from FY 2011 to FY2012.

State Performance Funding In January 2011, Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe made the following statements in his “State of the State” address: “Our woefully low rates of degree completion must change if we are to truly claim educational success. With thousands more Arkansans now receiving academic scholarships, we have begun addressing the financial barriers that block some students from obtaining their degree. With this increased enrollment and increased opportunity, I am committed to seeing increased responsibility for results. I want to tie funding for higher-education institutions more closely to coursework completion and graduation rates, not simply to enrollment. These tax dollars must produce college graduates, not just fill up seats. We can and must double the number of college graduates in Arkansas by 2025 if we are to stay competitive. This is a lofty goal aimed at the future, but we must begin implementing it today.” Arkansas policy makers decreed the following for public institutions of higher education:

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 Accountability: - More graduates in high demand fields - More focus on success of underserved populations  Better Performance: - Efficient and cost-effective instructional delivery focused on completions  Collaboration: - Particularly among two-year and four-year institutions Arkansas’ initial funding formula for public higher education institutions (Acts 1429 and 1760 of 2005) was a needs-based model centered on the type of institution and level of enrollment, missions and various other components. ADHE has incorporated performance (completion) incentives into the model during the last few legislative sessions: 2009-11 funding recommendations were based on 90% census date SSCH and 10% end of term SSCH (Student Semester Credit Hours); and 2011-13 funding recommendations were based on 80% census date SSCH and 20% end of term SSCH. In response, Act 1203 of 2011 instructed ADHE, in collaboration with the presidents and chancellors, to develop funding formulas with a Needs-Based component and an Outcomes-Centered component (Performance). The Performance Funding Measures are defined in Table 7.

Table 7. Performance Funding Definitions for Arkansas Four-Year Universities

Measure Explanation This is an overall headcount of all credentials awarded by the institution except that it excludes Total Certificates of Proficiency. This is degree levels 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08/11/12, 09/17, 10/18 and 19. Credentials (01 is Certificates of Proficiency and it is excluded.) Bachelor This is an overall headcount of all bachelor degrees awarded by the institution. This is degree level 05 Graduates (Bachelor's degree) only.

Associate This is an overall headcount of all associate degrees awarded by the institution. This is degree level 03 Graduates (Associate's degree) only. 1-Year This is an overall headcount of all Technical Certificates awarded by the institution. This is degree level Certificate 02 (Technical Certificate) only. Graduates Master and This is an overall headcount of all Master and Specialist degrees awarded by the institution. This is Specialist degree levels 07 (Master's degree) and 08 (Post-Masters, Specialist, Post-First Professional Degrees Degree/Certificate) only.

Doctoral This is an overall headcount of all Doctoral degrees awarded by the institution. This is degree levels Degrees 09/17 (Doctoral Degree - Research/Scholarship) and 10/18 (Doctoral Degree - Professional Practice).

This is an overall headcount of all certificates and degrees (Technical Certificates and above) awarded by STEM the institution in the STEM CIP Codes. The 2011 version of the STEM CIP Codes were obtained from ICE Credentials (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

This is an overall headcount of all certificates and degrees (Technical Certificates and above) awarded by HIGH DEMAND the institution in the HIGH DEMAND CIP Codes. The 2011 version of the HIGH DEMAND CIP Codes were Credentials obtained from ADWS (Arkansas Department of Workforce Services).

This is an overall headcount of any credential (Technical Certificates and above) awarded to persons Minority identified as Asian only, Black only, Hispanic any, American Indian/Alaska Native only, Hawaiian/Pacific Graduates Islander only or Two or More Races. Unknowns, Non-Resident Aliens, White and Other graduates are not included.

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Non-Traditional This is an overall headcount of Non-Traditional students earning any credential (Technical Certificates Graduates and above). Non-Traditional Graduates are defined as age 25 or older at the time of graduation.

This is an overall headcount of any remediated student earning any credential (Technical Certificates Remedial and above). Remedial Graduates are defined those failing to achieve the score of 19 on the ACT test or Graduates its equivalent test and score. Pell However, reliable state data is not yet available. Therefore, Pell information was obtained from IPEDS. (Low Income) This is the percentage of all undergraduate students receiving Pell assistance. Graduates Transfer Graduates – Receiving This is a count of any graduate earning any credential in which the student transferred from another Institution Arkansas public institution of higher education. The institution “receiving” the student is counted. (All and Bachelor's Only) This is a Successful Course Completion Rate calculation. It compares the number of all SSCH hours Course earned to all SSCH attempted in non-remedial courses. The Successful Course Completion Rate is Completion expressed as a percentage and changes over time are expressed as a difference in percentage points. (The successful grades include A, B, C, D, S, K [CR] and R.) This is a Successful Course Completion Rate calculation for remedial courses only. It compares number Remedial/ of successful SSCH to all SSCH in remedial courses only. The successful grades include A, B, C, S, K (CR) Developmental and R. The Successful Course Completion Rate is expressed as a percentage and changes over time are Course Completion expressed as a difference in percentage points. This is a measuring using a cohort of degree/certificate –seeking students enrolling in 6 or more hours during the fall semester. This cohort is then tracked through the next academic year to identify how Progression: many students in the cohort earned a total 18 or more credit hours through the two academic years 4-Year Version (including remedial/developmental courses). The Progression Rate is expressed as a percentage and changes over time are expressed as a difference in percentage points. Regional Economic Number of all credentials (technical certificates and above) earned by a student for an academic year Needs Programs regardless of enrollment status in programs identified by the institution and approved by the Arkansas Credentials Higher Education Coordinating Board. Expenditure of Increase in restricted federal expenditures excluding transfers and scholarships by fiscal year. Federal Awards The number of U.S. patents (utility, plant or design) issued or reissued to an institution within the year. Patents Certificates of plant variety protection issued by the USDA should be included.

New Company Start- The number of new companies started during the years that were dependent on licensing an ups institution’s technology for their formation.

The Outcomes-Centered component was implemented beginning with the 2012-13 school year with funding recommendations affected for the 2013-14 school year. Distribution of funding in the Needs- Based and Outcomes-Based categories is shown in Table 8.

Table 8. State Appropriations Funding Formula *During the 2012-2013 legislative session, the State Appropriations Funding Formula was amended to freeze the School Year Needs-Based Outcomes-Centered Outcomes-Centered funding percentage at 10% until such time as the ADHE determines that all institutions are funded at the 2013-2014 95% 5% minimum standard of equity, defined as 75% of needed state 2014-2015 90% 10% * funding, as determined by the needs-based component of the funding formula models. In any fiscal year that the aggregate 2015-2016 85% 15% general revenue funding forecasted to be available for higher education institutions is less than the amount in the 2012-13 2016-2017 80% 20% fiscal year, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education will not further implement the funding component until such time as the 2017-2018 75% 25%

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aggregate general revenue for higher institutions is restored to he 2012-13 fiscal year level.

In summary, the evidence presented in this subcomponent supports the financial soundness of Arkansas State University to deliver the programs and services consistent with its mission.

Human Resources Arkansas State takes pride in the expertise of its faculty, staff and administrators who collectively stand behind the success of the university and its students. The low staff to student ratio (11:1) allows for timely and personalized responsiveness to student needs. As of the fall 2012 term, the full-time workforce included 1,582 employees (Table 9). The increase in professional/non-faculty and technical/ paraprofessional categories in 2009 corresponds with the new initiatives in international students and online program growth. The decrease in service/maintenance positions largely is due to an increase in the out-sourcing of some maintenance related services. Table 9. Full-time Employees by EEOC Category

EEOC Category Fall Semester

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Instructional/Research Faculty 461 482 482 485 493

Executive/Administrative/Managerial 66 65 59 61 61

Professional/Non-Faculty 373 409 413 460 480

Technical/Paraprofessional 96 138 150 135 164

Clerical/Secretarial 155 164 156 150 139

Skilled Craft 95 93 106 108 116

Service/Maintenance 180 157 140 141 129

Total Employees 1,426 1,508 1,506 1,540 1,582

Faculty Table 10. Number of Faculty by Rank Arkansas State’s faculty to student ratio is 19:1. The national and SREB ratio is 18:1. Fall Semester Faculty Rank Increasing FTE faculty is a priority of both the chancellor and the provost as is 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 continuing to improve faculty salaries in Professor 94 95 104 104 104 alignment with other SREB institutions. FTE faculty increased by 9.2% from fall Associate 115 128 126 129 120 2003 to 2012 (446 to 487). In preparing the FY 2014 budget, both of these Assistant 147 151 151 147 154 priorities were the focus of Academic Affairs and Research (AAR). Through this process and reallocation, nine new tenure- Instructor 105 108 101 105 109 track faculty lines were funded. Although this may not appear to be significant, few All Ranks 461 482 482 485 487 Arkansas public institutions were able to

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budget new faculty lines for FY 2014. Arkansas State’s faculty number by rank is shown in Table 10.

An average of 79% of the SSCH instruction is provided by full time faculty with the remainder of the instruction provided by part-time adjuncts, graduate teaching assistants, administrative staff and high school teachers (high school concurrent courses)(Figure 10). This distribution of instruction is reasonably consistent from year to year with a slightly higher percentage of credit hours taught by assistant professors and instructors. Terminal degrees are held by 79.5% of Arkansas State’s faculty.

Figure 10. Student Semester Credit Hour Instruction by Faculty Rank

30.00%

25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00%

Percent SSCH Taught SSCH Percent 5.00% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Professor 13.70% 12.10% 13.40% 15.70% 16.90% Associate 18.90% 19.30% 19.30% 20.00% 18.40% Assistant 23.70% 22.00% 25.40% 22.40% 21.40% Instructor 22.90% 23.80% 21.50% 21.50% 22.30% Supplemental Faculty* 20.90% 22.80% 20.30% 20.40% 20.90%

*Part-time adjuncts, graduate teaching assistants, administrative staff and high school teachers

These data trends indicate Arkansas State’s continuing commitment to providing sufficient faculty to support Table 10. Historical Faculty Salary Increases quality instruction as indicated by its close alignment 2003-2013 with the SREB benchmark. Year Faculty COLA or Merit 2003 0.00% - Faculty salaries have been a concern of both the faculty 2004 2.70% Merit Based and administration for some time. Four colleges: 2005 2.70% Merit Based Nursing and Health Profession, Business, Engineering, and Sciences and Mathematics, have implemented 2006 3.00% Merit Based differential tuition. Students in these colleges pay a 2007 3.00% Merit Based higher credit hour fee. Revenue generated from these 2008 3.00% Merit Based fees is directed toward faculty salary enhancement and 2009 2.00% COLA faculty development. 2010 0.00% - 2011 2.00% COLA Progress is being made in bringing faculty salaries closer 2012 0.00% - to other SREB institutions, a benchmark used by 2013 2.00% COLA Arkansas State, through a series of cost of living adjustments (COLA) and merit increases during 9 of the 2014 3.00% Merit Based past 11 years (Table 10). In FY 2013 faculty were provided with a 2% salary increase funded by a new Academic Excellence fee. For FY 2014, faculty were eligible to receive up to a 3% merit increase

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facilitated by the Academic Excellence fee and other reallocations within the university. In addition, Academic Affairs and Research has worked with deans,

chairs and faculty to provide salary equity adjustments implemented over a two to three year period to adjust for internal salary inequities. Approximately 100 faculty have received an equity adjustment totaling almost $1 million. Additional equity adjustments are available for faculty in those colleges assessing differential tuition fees. Historical salaries for faculty by rank are shown in Table 11.

Table 11. Historical Salaries by Faculty Rank Salary Fall Increase Professor Associate Assistant Instructor Semester COLA/Merit

2003 0.0% $65,716 $54,628 $44,742 $33,480

2004 2.7% 68,187 57,603 47,281 35,517 2005 2.7% 70,673 57,625 49,732 35,415 2006 3.0% 72,462 59,755 50,912 36,352 2007 3.0% 74,928 61,489 53,029 37,160 2008 3.0% 75,343 61,720 53,637 36,664 2009 2.0% 75,475 60,146 53,809 36,538 2010 0.0% 73,652 60,171 54,918 34,966 2011 2.0% 78,155 62,546 56,764 36,468 2012 0.0% 81,892 65,936 56,657 38,045 % Change in Salary 2003-12 24.6% 20.7% 26.6% 13.6%

The SREB State Data Exchange information published in June 2013 compares average faculty salaries in each of the SREB states with the regional average and with the national average. The average university faculty member’s salary in Arkansas was the lowest in the region, $12,825 below the SREB average and $16,807 below the national average. Salaries of SREB institutions are used as benchmarks for improving Arkansas State faculty salaries.

In FY 2013, Arkansas State was within 4% or less of the SREB average salaries for SREB III Professors, Associate and Assistant Professors. The instructor category was lowest at 13.4%. When compared to the SREB average for Arkansas Public SREB III institutions, Arkansas State exceeds the Professor and Associate ranks in salary; is just slightly below the average salary at the Assistant level and ranks farthest behind in salary at the Instructor level (Table 7). Arkansas State (SREB 4-Year III institution) has made significant progress in closing the gap between its faculty salaries and those of the region and state (Table 12).

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Table 12. SREB Faculty Salary Benchmarks

Full-Time Instructional Faculty Salaries * SREB Institutional Associate Assistant Categories Professor Professor Professor Instructor SREB 4-Year I $119,877 $82,057 $71,403 $47,291 SREB I Institutions Award at Least 100 Doctoral Degrees Distributed Among 10 CIP Categories SREB 4-Year II $109,520 $77,661 $66,084 $44,517 SREB II Institutions Award at Least 30 Doctoral Degrees Distributed Among 5 CIP Categories SREB 4-Year III $84,177 $68,564 $58,166 $43,920 SREB III Institutions Award at Least 100 Masters Degrees Distributed Among 10 CIP Categories Arkansas State University 2012-2013 (SREB 4-Year III Institution) $81,892 $65,936 $56,657 $38,045 Arkansas Public SREB 4-Year III Institutions $81,325 $64,810 $56,760 $39,764 ASU Salaries as % of SREB Salaries SREB III 97.3% 96.2% 97.4% 86.6% Arkansas SREB III 100.7% 101.7% 99.8% 95.7% * Note: Salaries of 11/12 month faculty are converted to 9/10 month equivalents.

Cost of living also is a consideration as Jonesboro, AR and its surrounding communities are well below the national average. Significant savings are realized in many areas including housing, food and utilities (Table 13).

Table 13. Cost of Living Comparison City C2ER Index C2ER Cost of Living Index Dallas, TX 94.9 The C2ER Cost of Living Index measures relative price levels for consumer goods and services in participating areas. The average Indianapolis, IN 92.7 for all participation places, both metropolitan and Lincoln, NE 90.7 nonmetropolitan, equals 100 and each participant’s index is read Jackson, MS 88.6 as a percentage of the average for all places. (Council for Jonesboro, AR 87.4 Community and Economic Research Cost of Living Index, First Quarter 2013).

Although there continues to be room for improvement in faculty salaries, Arkansas State has made significant gains in increasing faculty salaries to better align with the SREB benchmarks and other public universities in the state over the past few years. Faculty salaries will continue to be a priority for the university.

Adjunct salaries are far less than desirable and are a continuous target of discussion. In fall 2012, the provost pledged to the faculty senate that pending funding, increasing adjunct salaries would be a priority. Significant reallocations within AAR were required to assist with providing salary increases to full-time faculty and staff for FY 14. Unfortunately, no increase was able to be made in adjunct salaries during this funding period. As budget planning begins for FY 2015, increasing adjunct salaries will continue to be a high priority.

Physical Resources The Arkansas State campus has taken on the look and feel of a mature university in recent years due to its physical growth. The campus includes 534 acres with 201 buildings that support academic, administrative, auxiliary and residential needs. A 453 acre farm provides for hand’s-on class and

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research experiences. The university’s sports complex consists of: a 30,000 seat stadium and football complex; 10,000 seat multipurpose convocation center that supports basketball, volleyball, track and field, commencements, concerts, rodeos and other events; baseball complex; track and field complex; tennis courts and soccer field. Intramural sports facilities include softball fields, rugby pitch, cricket pitch and multipurpose sport fields.

Arkansas State has made major strides in improving and increasing its physical resources in support of academic programs and student services. Since 2003, the university has increased its physical square footage by almost 10% with the majority of this increase in E&G facilities. Not included is the addition of another Honors Residence Hall and five 8,052 sq. ft. sorority homes occupied in August 2013. Also, a new 120,625 sq. ft. Humanities and Social Sciences Building is under construction with anticipated completion by fall 2015. Table 14 provides a list of major facilities completed since 2003.

Table 14. Major Facilities Completed 2003-2013 Facility Major Use Year Completed Square Footage North Park Plaza Administration 2004 8,864 Student Health Center Administration 2004 3,913 Student Union and Reng Student Services Administration 2004 225,363 Arkansas Bioscience Institute (ABI) Research 2004 102,049 Facility Major Use Year Completed Square Footage Cooper Alumni Center Administration 2006 23,501 Judd Hill Center Administration 2006 6,603 North Park Commons Residence Hall 2006 3,186 North Park Residence Hall Residence Hall 2006 223,520 Childhood Development Center Research and 2007 13,419 Delta Center for Economic Development AdministrationEducation 2009 28,852 Reynolds Health Sciences Center Education 2009 56,045 Honors Living Learning Community Classroom Education 2009 3,205 Bearitage Farms Field Station Research 2009 1,339 Honors Living Learning Community Residence Hall 2009 79,809 Red Wolf Den Apartments Residence Hall 2009 64,638 Red Wolf Den Commons Residence Hall 2009 4,153 Red W.O.L.F. Center Recreational Center 2010 115,297 ROTC Living Learning Community Residence Hall 2010 16,458 5 Sorority Houses Residence Hall 2013 40,260 Honors Living Learning Community II Residence Hall 2013 29,501

In the past five years, over $1.24 million in capital improvement funds have been provided to academic units for classroom and laboratory upgrades. At the last accreditation visit, it was noted that Wilson Hall, home of Arkansas State’s humanities and social sciences programs, was in need of maintenance and improvements. Today, Wilson Hall, Arkansas State’s oldest building (1932), boasts a new 120 seat auditorium style classroom and updated Wilson Hall

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technology in 34 classrooms. Just southeast of Wilson Hall lies the new humanities and social sciences building scheduled for occupancy in 2015. The 120,625-square-foot, New Humanities and Social four-story building will contain state-of-the-art classrooms, computer Sciences Building labs, faculty offices, departmental suites and conference rooms. The new building will consolidate all of the College’s academic departments under one roof. As best said during the ground breaking ceremony by former dean, Dr. Gloria Gibson, “just as the new structure will stand as a powerful physical landmark—the intellectual heart of the university—a liberal arts education continues to provide a durable foundation for life-long learning. The humanities and social sciences are central to what it means to be educated, because the disciplines celebrate and nurture human creativity and freedom. The new Liberal Arts Building will more effectively allow faculty to continue to prepare students for the increasingly global world that awaits them.”

The Reynolds’s Center for Health Sciences is a 50,650-square-foot Reynold's Center for Health Sciences structure that houses the Speech and Hearing Center, the Beck PRIDE Center for America’s Wounded Veterans, the Department of Communication Disorders and a nurse anesthesia lab. The center also houses interdisciplinary labs, a community education center, research labs, classrooms, an auditorium, a computer lab, a student lounge, a conference room, group study rooms, a nursing clinical learning lab, health assessment labs and special project rooms. Standard equipment fixtures include high fidelity mannequins and classroom teaching technology. The facility is furnished with $744,801 worth of major equipment and $344,645 of loose furnishings. The Reynolds Center also is home to 105 pieces of art (57% Arkansas artists) valued well over $250,000.

“The Reynolds Center for Health Sciences has provided new learning opportunities for students in the College of Nursing and Health Professions,” Our students are very tech-savvy and the state-of-the-art technology creates a wonderful environment in which to learn. The Clinical Learning Centers allow students to gain skills and confidence prior to entering an actual patient setting.” Dr. Sue McLarry, Former Chair, School of Nursing

“Relocating the ASU Speech and Hearing Center to the new Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences has provided our students and patients a state-of-the-art environment for improving communication skills. Approximately 55 patients are treated each week in the ASU Speech and Hearing Center. Since we use the Speech and Hearing Center as a ‘hands-on’ teaching facility, we provide free services to the campus and the general public. The Reynolds Center is providing wonderful opportunities to expand the number and types of diagnostic and treatment services students and faculty are offering.” Dr. Richard A. Neeley, Chair, Department of Communications

The College of Nursing and Health Professions faculty and administrative offices and several classrooms are located in the university’s second oldest campus building (The Commons Building built in 1937). It was last renovated in 1975 with a $1 million gift to the university. Recent renovations exceed $2 million.

Arkansas State’s research future changed dramatically with the Arkansas Biosciences addition of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI) completed in Institute (ABI) 2004. The modern 102,000+ square foot building contains research space with animal care and greenhouse facilities.

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The Catalyst Innovation Accelerator is located inside ABI and is a collaborative effort of the ASU Research & Development Institute (RDI), Northeast Arkansas Business Community, Arkansas State University, the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the Delta Center for Economic Development, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The Catalyst offers business services, executive office suites and conference space and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities to new and growing science and innovation based ventures. The Catalyst (Business Accelerator/Incubator) provides students and faculty a laboratory for learning and research and helps businesses grow. It marks another exciting step in efforts to foster innovation- based economic development, with an ultimate goal of creating opportunities that will develop and retain the most talented among our region’s students and workforce.

Additional Classroom Improvements (Classroom Renovation) The university has been proactive in evaluating physical infrastructure to better serve its students. Over the course of the past ten years, Arkansas State has made a conscious effort to offer improved classroom space for student learning and success. During this ten-year span, the university has renovated 75,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space. Renovation and upgrade of teaching laboratories in the Laboratory Science East and West Buildings for Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Engineering were accomplished through $2 million of Federal Economic Stimulus Funds.

To improve the learning environment for non-native speaking students, approximately $1.75 million in revenue generated by the international English studies program provided for the renovation of the former Smith Center to house The International Center for English (TICE). This renovation provided 17 smart classrooms for focused instruction of small student groups, computer laboratories, faculty offices and other space in support of TICE programming.

With the move from analog to digital technology in communications, the Arkansas State television studio and associated teaching facilities were upgraded ($.5 million) to support digital technology to providing media and communications students with the training needed for competitive employment in the communications industry. Also, a new $1 million Heidelberg four-color press was dedicated in July 2013 and is one of only a handful of presses of this caliber in the nation. Renovation of advising and career services, and graduate programming within the College of Media and Communications is underway to accommodate curricular changes and increased growth.

Other campus improvements include classroom modifications to accommodate changes in developmental education such as computer laboratories for supplemental and self-paced learning in literacy and mathematics.

Student Services Upgrades Several student services building projects have occurred in the last decade including new housing units for traditional and non-traditional students, a student union and a student services center, a student health center and a recreational center. These cornerstone facilities help to establish Arkansas State as a “destination campus.”

The Student Government Association passed a resolution supporting a student fee to construct and operate a Student Recreation and Wellness Center, the Red WOLF Center, in 2007. The $18 million facility is being funded by a bond issue and a recreation center fee of $7 per credit hour. This 85,000 sq. ft. building accommodates a student fitness club, an indoor walking-running track, a multipurpose activity

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court, a multipurpose gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, a dance studio, free weight training and cardiovascular fitness rooms, classrooms and meeting rooms.

Several residence facilities recently have been constructed on the Arkansas State campus. The 200-bed Red Wolf Den apartment complex has a neighborhood style layout, which creates inviting outdoor community spaces. The mixed use, new urban design incorporates two, three and four bedroom apartments for upperclassmen with a commons area and a retail convenience store.

Completed in August 2013, the fourth Honors residence hall provides an additional 102 beds for honors students. The original three Honors Living Learning Community (HLLC) residence halls opened in 2009 providing housing for 219 freshmen and upper class students.

Adding excitement to student housing was the construction of five new homes where members of Arkansas State university’s Greek sororities reside as of the fall 2013 term. This construction marks the first time in Arkansas State history that sorority chapters have had individual housing. Each house is Greek Village 8,052 square feet and has a unique front portico and brick color. The interiors are exclusive to each sorority. The university owns the facilities for those sororities that have signed lease agreements guaranteeing occupancy and additional support from the national chapters for common spaces. Revenues generated by the lease agreements will repay the bonds issued to construct the sorority houses.

Technological Resources Arkansas State strives to keep up with emerging technologies that are changing the academic environment and global access. The department of Information Technology Services (ITS) collaborates with various departmental units across the university to keep abreast of new technologies by continually reviewing and evaluating new trends and technological advances.

The university’s Technology Plan (Technology Plan) is closely aligned with the Strategic Plan. The Technology Plan is driven by academics, student needs, technology trends, campus business and student records operations, and feedback from students, faculty, and staff. The ITS department uses all of these sources as input in the development of the Technology Plan as well as its annual operating budget. ITS is vertically aligned to meet the mission of the university while at the same time maintaining alignment horizontally across all areas of the university including students, faculty, and administration.

Continual input and feedback from students, faculty, and staff along with collaboration between ITS, academics, campus business and administrative departments allow for the university technology strategy to be driven by core competencies for overall success.

Business and Administrative System In fall 2006, Arkansas State began its conversion to Banner business and administrative software in order to support student admissions, student enrollment, registrar operations, and financial operations. From initiation to present time, the university has invested over $4.6 million in hardware and software with another $1.5 million in human resources and training directed towards this initiative. Like any technology product of this type, its application and use constantly evolving and changing, thus its perceived strengths and challenges vary with each end user. In the past seven years of use, the Banner

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system has become part of the day to day operations at Arkansas State. The collaborative effort across core areas of the university has allowed for immediate and continuing streamlining of business office processes.

Web Presence In January 2013 the university launched a new interactive public website (www.astate.edu) by use of one of the latest foundational content management systems available (dotCMS). Employing this new technology allows for reuse of key data and content across university departmental web pages without having to duplicate or recreate redundant content and information. Included in this redesign is the use of responsive design software. This design software allows the website to automatically size and resize responsively based on the type of computer the user employs such as a tablet, laptop, desktop, or mobile cell phone. The new website is well aligned with Arkansas State’s marketing strategies and provides increased functionality for prospective students and the campus community making it easier to keep an accurate, relative, and timely global web presence.

Technology Advancements The advancements of technology over the past decade, both in the computer industry and in telecommunications, have resulted in a significant investment in infrastructure upgrades by Arkansas State. Key introductions and upgrades such as the following are included.

 Classroom audio visual upgrades introducing projection technologies, SMART Boards, WiFi connectivity, and many other teaching and learning technologies  155 MB internet connectivity in classrooms on campus via a Wide Area Network (WAN) to sister/distant locations  Telephone infrastructure upgrades utilizing Voiceover Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone systems  Increased access points and bandwidth coverage across campus for wireless Wi-Fi connectivity  Consistent 3-4 year refresh rate upgrading of desktop and laptop computers in office areas, classrooms, and computer labs across campus  State of the art anti-virus protection, intrusion protection, firewall unauthorized access and detection tools and practices are continually reviewed and tested  Daily and weekly offsite storage of mission critical data  Pilot iPad initiative in numerous courses for all incoming freshman beginning fall 2013

Technology Fee and ITS Budget Arkansas State allots the ITS department $9.2 million annually to effectively manage and support technology enhancements. This budget includes an assessed $10 per credit hour technology fee to all students. The technology fee is used to assist in supporting and providing the constantly changing technology needs of the university. The technology fee generates approximately $3 million annually that is specifically allocated to teaching and learning technology investments. Arkansas State’s plans are to continue to provide sufficient funding for technological infrastructure investments in order to support its operations and emerging growth.

Campus Master Plan (Master Plan) Arkansas State completed its most current Campus Master Plan in 2012. A committee with representatives

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from the Dean’s Council, Faculty Senate, Athletic Department, Student Affairs, Student Government, Registrar’s Office, Research & Technology Transfer, Delta Heritage Initiatives, The Delta Center, Staff Senate, Administration, and Facilities Management selected the planning firm of JJR, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, to lead the development of the campus master plan through a process that began with the issuance of a Request for Qualification in the fall of 2010.

The purpose of the Master Plan was to assess the manner in which the university facilities presently serve the needs of its constituents and how the university might meet future facilities’ needs effectively and efficiently.

The Master Plan identifies critical planning priorities and includes the following elements:  Campus Space Utilization and Needs  Safety and Security System Assessment and Strategic Safety and Security Plan  Landscape Master Plan and Campus Standards and Guidelines  Traffic Circulation and Parking  Land Use Plan

Per the Campus Master Plan, Arkansas State has sufficient physical resources to support its current operations. The university is committed to updating its Master Plan if there are significant changes to its strategic plan and vision.

A major construction project on the west side of campus resolved a century-old safety concern with the completion of the Marion Berry Parkway. The parkway provides an aesthetically appealing entrance to the campus and allows for a bridge overpassing three sets of railroad tracks that have posed a safety issue for faculty, students, staff and visitors to Arkansas State. This project was the result of the BOT approved use of federal grant funds along with Arkansas State University funds to design the Caraway Road Safety Enhancement Project. Federal Aid National Scenic Byways Grant Funds along with Transportation and Community and System Preservation Grant Funds (funded at 80% and requiring a 20% local match) were requested for the design of the Caraway Road Project.

Total funding to complete the project was in excess of $18 million.

5. A.2. Arkansas State University’s educational purposes do not suffer as a result of elective resource allocations to other areas or disbursement of revenue to any superordinate entity.

The allocation of resources at Arkansas State is focused on academic, instructional, learning support and other student services. Resource allocation is based on the strategic plan, economic conditions, anticipated state funding, and current needs of students and the university community. Each division (academic, student affairs, finance, advancement, and athletics) is involved in the budget process. Final approval of the budget is made by the Board of Trustees appointed by the governor of the state.

The state sets maximum caps on athletic and academic and performance scholarship expenditures. Athletic revenues must equal athletic expenditures unless there is an ending fund balance. State of Arkansas Act 366 of 1991 (A.C.A. § 6-62- 804) prohibits athletic deficits. A designated athletic fee must

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be charged to the students by the institution if athletic-generated revenues (i.e., ticket sales, media/tournament/bowl, concessions/program sales, and game guarantees), foundations/clubs and other private gifts, other athletic income, auxiliary profits, and the allowable educational and general transfer do not cover the total expenditures for athletics.

§A.C.A 6-80-106 establishes limitations on the maximum percent of unrestricted tuition and mandatory fee income that can be spent on academic and performance scholarships, which in 2011-12 was 30%. The scholarship cap will decrease by 5% each fiscal year until reaching a 20% cap in 2013-14. Beginning in 2013-14, if an institution exceeds the cap there will be a reduction in the funding recommendation for the next fiscal year. Academic and Performance scholarships awarded to students who received maximum Pell Grants will be excluded in the calculation of the scholarship cap. A five-year comparison of state peer institutions’ scholarship expenditures is shown in Table 15.

Table 15. Academic & Performance Scholarship Expenditures as a Percent of Tuition & Fee Income Among Arkansas Public Institutions Institution 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Arkansas Academic & $8,254,302 $9,981,131 $7,088,241 $8,613,991 $8,641,834 State Performance University Scholarship Tuition & $58,671,724 $67,011,792 $73,194,110 $83,317,001 $88,566,132 SFechoesl arship 14.1% 14.9% 9.7% 10.3% 9.8% % University Academic & $10,631,822 $10,026,866 $8,686,822 $10,481,902 $11,890,374 of Arkansas Performance Scholarship Tuition & $109,491,153 $125,688,331 $131,918,43 $149,585,188 $180,261,378 Fees 2 Scholarship 9.7% 8.0% 6.6% 7.0% 6.6% % University Academic & $6,121,887 $6,601,296 $6,964,646 $8,454,382 $8,836,605 of Arkansas Performance - Little Rock Scholarship Tuition & $54,039,441 $58,958,964 $65,238,119 $69,689,299 $73,272,098 Fees Scholarship 11.3% 11.2% 10.7% 12.1% 12.1% % University Academic & $16,363,271 $17,426,127 $13,307,762 $11,300,863 $10,315,011 of Central Performance Arkansas Scholarship Tuition & $62,130,784 $71,514,073 $68,479,631 $68,951,666 $69,777,090 Fees Scholarship 26.3% 24.4% 19.4% 16.4% 14.8% %

*Academic and Performance scholarships awarded to students who received maximum Pell Grants were excluded for 2010-11 in accordance with Act 323 of 2009.

As a public university, Arkansas State does not does have a relationship with a superordinate entity and thus there is no disbursement of funds to such.

5. A.3. The goals incorporated into mission statements or elaborations of mission statements are realistic in light of Arkansas State University’s organization, resources, and opportunities.

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The goals associated with Arkansas State’s strategic priorities adopted in 2011 support the mission, and role and scope of the university. These goals are realistic based on the university’s organization, resources, and opportunities. The institution continues to fulfill the goals of these priorities established prior to the appointment of Chancellor Tim Hudson in May 2012. Under the leadership and vision of Chancellor Hudson, Arkansas State is pursuing expanded opportunities in support of these priorities. Examples of action steps that are evolving in support of the university’s priorities follow.

Strategic Priorities (Associated Goals found in Criterion One) ● Refine ASU’s mission and identity as an emerging global research institution. o Focus on growth of existing graduate programs and opportunities for new programs such as the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Doctor of Philosophy in Literacy o Continue expansion of research initiatives and extramural funding ● Create a service and support culture that is focused on student learning, retention, and academic success. o Increase opportunities for high impact academic experiences such as the honors program, study abroad, undergraduate research o Initiate First Year iPad program to enhance learning ● Create learning experiences through student engagement, service to our region, and partnerships with our community. o Increase service learning opportunities and student volunteerism o Pursue new academic programs or enhance existing programs to meet the interests of students and support the economic development of the region o Increase the availability of quality health care in the state and region through the Doctor of Nursing Practice program and a School of Osteopathic Medicine ● Create a collaborative decision‐making environment that is based on effective shared governance, open communication, and mutual respect of all members of our teaching and learning community. o Focus on the evolving shared governance process o Provide office space for the Faculty Association in the Administration Building o Enlarge Executive Council to include presidents/chairs of Faculty, Staff and Student Senates and Shared Governance Oversight Committee ● Adopt policies and models that continuously promote, grow, and reward all modes of effective teaching and learning experiences. o Increase faculty development funds from AAR o Increase faculty salaries FY2013 and FY2014 ● Increase our diversity and expand our globalization. o Hire a full-time diversity officer to facilitate growth and retention of faculty, staff and students o Expand the university’s international presence through the establishment of a campus in Querétaro, Mexico and creating more international partnerships with higher education institutions o Develop signature study abroad programs (Spain, spring 2014) ● Continually improve our institutional efficacy and alignment of resources with our priorities. o Continue cost containment initiatives o Explore retirement incentive program

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Table 16. Comparison of Selected University Benchmarks 2003 and 2012 Arkansas State’s ability to realistically support its 2003 2012 % Increase mission, core values, FTE Enrollment 8,517 10,095 18.5 vision, and role and scope International Students 176 858 387.5 based on its organizational Full-Time Faculty 446 487 9.2 Full-Time Staff 875 1089 24.5 and resource structure is Physical Resources (E&G) 1,998,630 2,358,345 15.2 supported by its positive Budget $113.6 million $174.5 million 34.9 changes in student enrollment and increases in faculty, staff, physical and fiscal resources over the past decade (Table 16). The university has pursued opportunities for entrepreneurial initiatives to offset fluctuations of state and economic revenue through its expansion of campus internationalization, on-line programming, and enhanced branding and marketing for recruitment of new student populations in and out of state. Opportunities for future revenue resources include international campus expansion and doctoral level professional programs. It has been demonstrated that university exercises careful financial planning, good stewardship of its resources and continues to be entrepreneurial in its endeavors. Arkansas State’s completion of each of the last 10 or more years with a balanced budget attests to the fiscal accountability of the university.

5.A.4. Arkansas State University’s staff in all areas are appropriately qualified and trained.

Arkansas State is proud to employee almost 1,600 fulltime faculty and staff plus more than 550 part- time employees. Approximately 800 part-time positions are available for student employees. The university’s staff members are well qualified and encouraged to seek professional development to remain current and to advance in their fields. The institution’s employee discounted tuition policy makes the pursuit of education affordable for those seeking their first or terminal degree.

Arkansas State’s full-time faculty members are exceptionally qualified with 79.5% holding a terminal degree. Appropriate faculty credentials are adhered to in the hiring of both full-time and part-time faculty regardless of how or where courses are offered. Outside of the academic units, the divisions of Student Affairs and Finance and Administration have high levels of employees holding a master’s degree, particularly those in leadership positions. Several have completed a doctoral program or are near completion.

The hiring process includes several steps that help ensure that staff possess the appropriate education, skills, and experiences that will help them become successful, contributing members of the university. Detailed job descriptions identify the education, skills and experience that are required for appropriate applicants. For classified positions, the state provides minimum guidelines for each classification. Seeking applicants from underrepresented groups is a high priority for Arkansas State. The process for hiring staff is outlined on the HR website (HR Hiring) whereas additional guidelines for the hiring of faculty are outlined in the Faculty Handbook (Faculty Hiring).

In most cases, search committees assist in the hiring process. Search committees consist of a diverse group of constituency representatives both within the unit and from those areas of the university that will work closely with the position being filled. In the case of administrative positions, community

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members are often part of the search committee. After careful review of the applicants, the committee recommends the most suitable applicants for consideration by the appropriate hiring official. Any employment offers are contingent on the results of a background check. All faculty must submit official transcripts prior to the awarding of an employment contract.

New staff members participate in New Employee Orientation provided by Human Resources that includes information on benefits, university policies such as sexual misconduct, child maltreatment reporting, Title IV and other topics. New faculty members participate in a similar orientation that is offered collaboratively by Human Resources and the Office of Academic Affairs and Research. Additional information provided to faculty includes academic expectations, assessment, FERPA, university policies and procedures, the promotion and tenure process, research support, and other pertinent topics specific to faculty.

Arkansas State offers a wide range of professional development opportunities for staff to further enhance their expertise:

● Computer skills training on a wide variety of software and applications; BlackBoard Learn; Banner ● Opportunities for external professional development including conferences, workshops, seminars, training courses, and certification activities. Examples of staff professional development activities are provided (Staff Development) ● Discounted computers and IT Store merchandise for personal use ● Free Microsoft software downloads ● Discounted tuition and degree completion bonuses ● Bookstore discount for texts and other supplies

5.A.5. Arkansas State University has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring expense.

The operating budget is the university’s official financial plan for the fiscal year. It is used throughout the university community by all levels of management to help implement and achieve the university’s goals and objectives. It also provides a rational means of allocating limited resources, establishes a framework for controlling expenses, and provides a mechanism for tracking and implementing the university’s strategic plan.

The university has adopted Budget Planning Principles to help guide the allocation of the university’s resources. Budget planning should:

 Respond to the needs and expectations of the students and the university community  Ensure successful, effective, and efficient performance on a long-term basis  Facilitate the achievement of the university’s strategic plan as related to its mission  Recognize the need to enhance and preserve the established asset base  Acknowledge enrollment growth or change in student distribution  Allow for funding of new initiatives that support the university’s mission  Reward both productivity and creativity through incentives for entrepreneurial activities

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 Build adequate reserves to provide for contingencies  Avoid compromise of long-term strategies with short-term decisions  Encourage and support internationalization of the university  Be managed conservatively

The university prepares an annual budget for unrestricted revenue sources only. Restricted sources, such as sponsored programs and research grants are not budgeted on a fiscal year basis. The annual operating budget is comprised of three types of operating activities:

 The Unrestricted Educational and General (E&G) budget represents activities supported by a combination of revenues from Tuition and Fees, State Revenues, and Other Sources such as Investment Income and Indirect Cost Recovery.  Dedicated Revenues budgets represent activities supported from revenues generated by specific operational units on campus. Those allocations are then "dedicated" to the operation of that same unit. Revenues are generally obtained via a fee assessment or from a charge for technical services performed by the unit.  Auxiliary and Service Operations budgets are displayed in summary form and also individually. These budgets represent activities of self-supporting units, further explained as: ○ Auxiliaries are enterprises that exist to furnish goods or services to students, faculty, or staff, and that assess a fee directly related, although not necessarily equal, to the cost of the goods or services. This category includes, but is not limited to, activities such as Intercollegiate Athletics, Housing, Campus Bookstore, Vending, and Parking Services. ○ Service Units are operations that provide a service or product for a fee to users principally within the institutional community. A service unit develops a rate for the service activity based on actual incurred costs and charges users based on actual usage. This category includes, but is not limited to, activities such as printing services, telephone services, and certain facilities management activities.

Budgeting is a participatory effort throughout the university. As the budget preparation process is initiated, executive administration is apprised of internal and external driving forces such as state financial forecasts, enrollment predictions, unfunded state mandates, major physical plant projects, costs associated with increases in employee health benefits and salary increases. Each budget manager (dean, chair, director, etc.) submits a budget request for their respective unit through the appropriate administrative channels culminating with the vice chancellor overseeing those units. The vice chancellor consolidates and prepares a division report to be presented to the chancellor and Executive Council for use in drafting the budget. Throughout this process, changes in driving forces are shared with the University Planning Committee (UPC), a committee under the Office of the Chancellor that provides leadership and advisement for the annual budget planning process (UPC).

The chancellor and Executive Council are assisted in resource allocation decisions by the University Planning Council (UPC). This deliberative body is comprised of representatives of the university’s various constituent groups including academic deans, faculty, staff, and students among others. This group serves as a forum to allow constituencies representing the entirety of the institution to voice opinions and concerns, advocate for priorities, and influence the university’s decisions involving strategic direction and resource allocation. Through this process, the university ensures its resources are closely aligned with institutional mission and priorities, and its processes for assessment, planning, and

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budgeting are carefully linked.

Institutional State Appropriation (Personnel, Capital and Operating Budget) requests are submitted to the Arkansas Legislature on a biennium cycle. The Legislature makes appropriation decisions regarding these categories for two years. On the off year, the legislative body has a fiscal session to review funding issues facing the state, and financial appropriations/allocations may be adjusted during this annual session.

Public higher education institutions must appear before the joint budget committee to present financial requests and answer any concerns or questions presented by the legislative body. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education presents all public higher education budgets to the legislative body as a combined request, but each institution must be available for questioning during the budget hearings.

A flowchart of the university and legislative budget process is provided on the following page.

Finance Organizational Structure The Division of Finance and Administration, under the leadership of the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration, has a staff devoted to budget planning and monitoring of financial activities. The division is broadly organized into the following six areas: Finance, Budget Planning and Development, Procurement and Travel Services, Human Resources (including payroll services), Information Technology and Services, and Facilities Management. While Human Resources, Information Technology and Services, and Facilities Management have defined responsibilities in terms of resource management within their areas, the Finance, Budget Planning and Development, and Procurement and Travel Services offices perform overall resource management and planning, budget development and administration, and financial analysis and reporting for the university.

Division of Finance Finance is led by the associate vice chancellor for Finance and is organized into five operational areas: the office of the controller, the office of financial operations, the office of the treasurer, the office of business services and risk management, and the office of compliance and process improvement.

The office of the controller is responsible for financial analysis and reporting including the preparation of the ASU system annual financial report and coordination of the annual external audit, the administration of financial systems and records, the financial administration of sponsored programs activities, accounts payable and disbursing activities, appropriations management, capital financing, and debt administration.

The office of financial operations directly coordinates and provides oversight to the financial and business activities of information technology and services, childhood services, and athletics and assists other campus offices and departments with financial policies, practices, and procedures. The office coordinates its activities with the controller’s office and also has significant responsibilities in overall financial administration including analysis and reporting.

The office of the treasurer is responsible for cashiering and receipting, investments, banking relationships, and accounts receivable including student accounts and non-student billing activities. Additionally, the office manages tax compliance and reporting and the university’s campus card

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program.

The office of business services and risk management administers the university’s contracts and external vendor agreements with the exception of certain auxiliary operations, manages the institution’s insurance portfolio, and works to establish a strategy and framework for enterprise risk management.

The office of compliance and process improvement works to assist the division of finance and administration in establishing policies, practices, procedures, and processes that maintain a strong framework of internal control, ensure compliance, promote higher education best practices, and encourage effectiveness and efficiency.

Budget Planning and Development The assistant vice chancellor for Budget Planning and Development is an ex-officio member of the University Planning Committee and meets with the institution’s Executive Council on a regular basis during the budget development cycle and guides the institution through the budget development cycle. Monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue and expenditure reports are analyzed to ensure budgeting parameters are followed.

University expenditures are monitored through internal control mechanisms established within the Banner Finance and Human Resources systems as well as manual processing procedures. Established budgetary guidelines ensure funding availability when processing employee status forms (ESF’s), budget transfers, requisitions and internal department transfers. Reports are processed on a monthly basis that monitor expenditures compared to established budget parameters, and adjustments are made as necessary. Institutional revenue as compared to budget projections is monitored through reports that are processed on a monthly basis.

The university’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system, Banner, provides robust budget checking, editing limits, approval requirements, and internal controls to ensure that all payroll expenditures are within budgeted limits, properly approved, and accurately recorded.

Budget planning and development and finance office personnel work closely with the office of payroll services (reporting to human resources) to ensure payroll expenditures are made in accordance with authorized budget amounts, properly approved, and accurately reported, remitted, and disbursed. Additionally, these offices ensure the university complies with federal and state requirements involving payroll-related tax compliance and reporting.

Procurement and Travel Services Likewise, the university’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system, Banner, provides robust budget checking, editing limits, approval requirements, and internal controls to ensure that non-payroll expenditures are within budgeted limits, properly approved, and accurately recorded. Exceptions are carefully monitored and identified and require appropriate approval and authorization by designated personnel within the division of finance and administration.

The offices of procurement and travel services, budget planning and development, and finance closely monitor expenses and carefully coordinate exception approval utilizing the ERP system’s parameters and reporting capabilities and established accounting practices. Well defined yearend deadlines are established to allow adequate time to effectively manage purchases and provide for proper budgetary

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and accounting controls. Procurement and travel services and finance personnel exercise due diligence and care to ensure that university expenditures are made in accordance with applicable state statutes, laws and appropriations.

Reporting to the provost is a fulltime academic budget director with primary responsibility for annual budget development and monitoring for all academic divisions. Other divisions such as Student Affairs, University Advancement and Athletics have similarly assigned budget directors.

Budget Planning and Summary of Annual Budget Process Financial Monitoring and Reporting The office of finance engages in extensive and detailed financial monitoring and reporting. As discussed, the university’s ERP system provides a framework for controlling and monitoring expenditures and other financial activities. Additionally, Banner provides significant query and reporting capabilities. The finance staff utilizes the system to generate detailed information that provides the basis for extensive internal analysis and internal managerial and external regulatory and public financial reporting. Daily reports on key financial activities are generated and reconciliations prepared and reviewed by supervisory personnel within the various finance offices.

Internally, the associate vice chancellor for finance, controller, and associate controller/director of financial operations meet at the end of each month to review financial activity and results and consider the need for any adjusting entries prior to the closing of the period. After closing, numerous reports are prepared and circulated internally that summarize the month’s financial activity and the university’s financial standing. The university’s unrestricted revenues and expenditures are reported electronically to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to facilitate proper appropriation management and reporting. Additionally, in accordance with Arkansas’ “Open Checkbook” law, the university maintains a website to promote public review and inquiry of expenditures. (Open Records) At the end of each quarter, finance officers prepare a detailed summary of the financial activity in the university’s educational and general fund and auxiliary operations, a comparison of year-to-date budgeted and actual revenues, expenditures, and transfers, and a forecast of expected fiscal year financial results. This summary is reviewed internally by the assistant vice chancellor for budget planning and development and the vice chancellor for finance and administration and then submitted to the system office for review by the system vice president for finance, the university president, and ultimately, by the university’s governing board. Significant variances between budgeted and actual financial activity are identified and explained and appropriate action taken as warranted.

Review efforts are intensified immediately before and after the end of the fiscal year to maintain proper accounting for financial reporting purposes and to allow strategic resource allocation decisions to be carefully considered. Finance office personnel review the results of operations, prepare required accrual and other adjusting entries and provide the vice chancellor for finance and administration with detailed financial reports to facilitate the discussion of strategic priorities and resource allocation.

Additionally, representatives of the finance staff attend all construction project meetings and work closely with facilities management personnel to develop appropriate project budgets and monitor and control construction and plant expenditures. Bi-weekly meetings are held to review all construction and plant activities and to forecast and plan for anticipated future projects and funding needs. Finance staff work closely to coordinate capital financing activities with the ASU system office, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas legislature, and the university’s external rating agency.

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The finance office also collaborates with the university’s faculty, academic, and research personnel to manage the financial aspects of sponsored programs activities. Restricted federal and state appropriations and external grants and contracts expenditures and other financial activities are carefully monitored to insure regulatory and contractual compliance and accurate and timely financial reporting.

Externally, the finance staff prepares and submits numerous regulatory reports to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the Arkansas State Treasurer, the United States Department of Education, the Higher Learning Commission, and other entities. As a component unit of the State of Arkansas, the university reports financial information for inclusion in the state’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The finance staff compiles financial and other information from all of the Arkansas State University system campuses and prepares the university’s comprehensive annual financial report. The report and the university’s financial records are audited annually by the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit.

Through an inclusive campus-wide budget planning and development process, reliance upon a ERP system and framework of internal controls, intensive monitoring and analysis and careful coordination between the involved offices, extensive internal and external reporting, and detailed public disclosure, Arkansas State demonstrates a well-developed process for budgeting and for monitoring expense.

5.B. Arkansas State University’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes.

Over the last several years, Arkansas State has made a concerted effort to build a culture of shared governance on campus. The university’s executive officers along with the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and Student Government Association, collectively exchange viewpoints on matters that may impact the present and future of the university as a whole as well as the individual constituency groups. The Faculty Senate plays an appropriate governance role with respect to the academic matters within its purview. The faculty’s involvement is central in setting curricula, establishing new programs, and similar core academic functions. Similarly, the Staff Senate and Student Government Association respond to appropriate needs and concerns.

University Administration The institution is under new executive leadership on all fronts. Dr. Charles Welch was appointed as the second president of the ASU system in April 2011. Following interim leadership, Dr. Tim Hudson was named as the second chancellor of Arkansas State University in May 2012. Within the past year, Dr. Hudson has appointed four new executive officers. The new team has meshed well and is dedicated to moving Arkansas State to the next level in all of its endeavors.

The Executive Council comprises Arkansas State’s top administrative leadership and is composed of the Executive Officers (left to right): Dr. Len Frey, VCFA; Dr. following executive officers: Jason Penry, VCUA, Dr. Tim Hudson, Chancellor; Dr. Lynita Cooksey, Provost; Dr. Rick Stripling, VCSA; Dr. Terry Mohajir, Athletic Director

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Chief Executive Officer: The chancellor is the chief executive officer of the university (CEO) and is responsible to the ASU System President. The chancellor is charged with overseeing the day-to-day operations of the campus. The chancellor is responsible for the organization and activities of the administrative staff of the university; oversight of the activities of the faculty, staff and students; and represents the university to the external constituencies of the institution. Dr. Tim Hudson has served in this capacity since May 2012. Prior to 2007, the positions of

President of the System and chancellor of the university both were held by Dr. Les Wyatt as the ASU system was being established. The first chancellor, Dr. Robert Potts, was appointed in 2006. (ASU Flowchart)

Chief Academic Officer: The provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research (VCAAR), working under the general direction of the chancellor, represents the academic interests of the faculty and is responsible for the development and administration of the teaching, research, scholarship and creative activity, and service programs of the university. As the chief academic officer (CAO), all colleges and academic units report to the provost and VCAAR. Dr. Lynita Cooksey assumed this role in October 2012 after serving 12 years as associate vice chancellor for Academic Services. (AAR Flowchart)

Chief Financial Officer: The vice chancellor for Finance and Administration (VCFA) is the university’s chief financial officer (CFO). As a direct report to the chancellor, the FAO is responsible for the financial and administrative operations of the university. Specific duties include the overall fiscal management of the university’s resources, development and management of the university’s budgeting processes. Dr. Len Frey was named to this position in July 2012 having served as Dean of the College of Business since 2005. (Finance Flowchart)

Chief Student Affairs Officer: The vice chancellor of Student Affairs (VCSA), working under the general direction of the chancellor, is responsible for the development, supervision, and coordination of student services programs. Dr. Rick Stripling has served as the chief student affairs officer since 2002. (Student Affairs Flowchart)

Chief Advancement Officer: The vice chancellor for University Advancement, reports to the chancellor and provides coordination and support to enhance the university’s relationships with its key internal and external publics. Dr. Jason Penry is the newest member of the executive council and serves as vice chancellor for University Advancement (VCUA). He was appointed to the position in July 2013 after a brief appointment as chief of staff for the chancellor. (University Advancement Flowchart)

Director of Athletics: The Director of Athletics is responsible for oversight and leadership to all NCAA sports programs, sport facilities and associated staff. Dr. Terry Mohajir joined Arkansas State in October 2012 as Athletic Director (AD).

The following shared governance positions serve in an advisory capacity to the Executive Council: presidents/chairs of Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and Student Government Association, and the Shared Governance Oversight Committee.

Each of the executive officers has advisory councils specific to the units under their supervision and in some cases, from the community. For example, in addition to the Executive Council, the chancellor has the chancellor’s Cabinet comprised of members of the community; the provost has the Deans and Chairs

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Councils, Faculty Senate, and Graduate Student Council; the Student Government Association provides student insight for the VCSA; the VCFA receives council from the Staff Senate; and the VCUA has the Alumni Association and ASU Foundation.

In addition, transparency and the opportunity for constituent participation in University Governance is provided through Arkansas State’s shared governance process. Shared governance provides for the university community to propose substantive changes or additions to existing policies or procedures. The understanding of shared governance and its process has been evolving at Arkansas State since the late 1990’s and continues to mature. The current shared governance principles were approved by the Board of Trustees June 1, 2007. The principles address multidirectional communication, accountability of all participants, proportional representation of constituency groups that are self-selected and diverse, procedural integrity that includes openness, timeliness and review of shared governance effectiveness. In keeping with the tenets of shared governance, Arkansas State makes a conscious effort to include all internal stakeholders in decision making processes to enhance communication that supports institutional effectiveness and efficiency.

5.B.1. Arkansas State University has and employs policies and procedures to engage its internal constituencies in governance, including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students.

Governance on the Arkansas State campus is a collaborative effort among many levels of administration, faculty, staff, and students. In addition to the formal shared governance process, many constituency groups have standing councils and senates.

All faculty are members of the Faculty Association. Their elected representative body is the Faculty Senate (Bylaws). Staff and students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, have elected bodies: staff senate, student government association and graduate student council respectively. The chairs and academic deans also have councils. These senates and councils act independently and in concert with shared governance, as appropriate.

Central to the beliefs of Arkansas State, shared governance has been discussed in Criterion Two with regard to how the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff and students participate in campus governance. Since 2008, shared governance has increased in relevance and use as the process has been defined and refined to meet the needs of this campus. Originally purposefully prescriptive, the current process, in place since 2010, is more flexible, being driven more by spirit and intent than by minutia. Though not yet a true culture of shared governance, definitive and substantial progress and campus buy-in is evident. In addition, subject to recent administrative changes and turnover, the shared governance process has become somewhat of a model mantra as the university transitions under new leadership and campus redesign.

The Arkansas State principles of shared governance: communication and accountability, representation, and procedural integrity (openness, notification, timeliness and oversight) serve to guide the campus milieu of shared governance. Shared governance is comprised of two tiers. One tier is dedicated to academic issues and the other tier provides institutional governance on issues of broad interest to faculty, staff and students. Representation on shared governance committees is largely drawn from elected and representative constituency groups. The Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Student Government Association, Graduate Student Council, Chair’s Council and Academic Dean’s Council make shared

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governance committee appointments according to committee membership criteria. The shared governance website provides easy access to view ongoing proposals, committee minutes, etc.

The shared governance process is managed by the Shared Governance Oversight Committee (SGOC). This committee is comprised of the elected leaders of faculty, staff and students with additional members from administration, faculty and staff. The SGOC serves as a sounding board for shared governance issues, shepherds proposals in process, establishes the timeline for review, determines constituent involvement, functions as liaison to administration, investigates any potential violation of shared governance and functions as the committee on committees for process review (Table 17). The SGOC typically meets twice a month. In support of the workload of the chair of this committee, a graduate assistant is provided by the provost.

In accordance with the guiding principle of shared governance on a university campus that those with the most direct interest in an issue affecting their constituency group should have the most input regarding that issue, the SGOC will defer to the majority view of the members of that group when reviewing or acting on issues primarily affecting that group in the unlikely event there is disagreement among the committee members on how to handle a particular issue.

Table 17. Shared Governance Oversight Committee Proposal Routing Process

Type of Review

Shared Governance Process (extended, full or Action Date Date

Date Date expedited)

Received Forwarded

SGOC Chairperson/SGOC 5,3,or 2 days Establish type of review and forward to SGC

SGC Chairperson/SGC 5,3,or 2 days Forward to Constituency Groups

Constituency 21, 14, or 7 days Forward comments to SGC Chair/Constituency Groups

Prepare final draft for voting and forward to SGOC or recommend SGC 21, 14, or 7 days to SGOC the proposal be withdrawn SGOC 5,3,or 2 days Return to Constituency Groups for Up/Down vote

Type of Review Shared Governance Process (extended, full or Action

expedited)

Date Received Date Date Forwarded Date Constituency Groups 21 days Vote and notify SGOC of vote

Tally vote results from Constituency Groups and make final report SGOC 5,3,or 2 days to chancellor

Inform Campus Community of support and forward to President as Chancellor 10 days appropriate or if unsupported, inform Campus Community of rationale for decision

The SGOC facilitates proposals from 16 academic shared governance committees and 10 institutional shared governance committees (committee list and descriptions provided later in this section). Beginning in spring 2009, the SGOC processed numerous proposals (32) as the ASU System office began to formalize system policies (15) and the campus worked on issues of concern. A year-end evaluation of

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the shared governance structure and process by the SGOC resulted in two process improvements. To decrease constituency confusion, the SGOC presented at the 2009 Fall Faculty Conference to clarify questions about the campus process. In addition, Information Technology was consulted to assist with an electronic tracking system development. The following academic year was also very busy with 20 proposals processed. Although the annual volume of proposals has lessened, the process is still very active on campus. As shared governance committees became proficient in their duties, recommendations for modification of some committee structures and functions were addressed. For example, the landscape architect was added to the Buildings and Grounds Committee. The Undergraduate Admission, Graduation, and Academic Credit Appeals Committee became the Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Appeals Committee and a new shared governance committee, the Undergraduate Admission Appeals Committee was formed. This change was made to better serve the students. The SGOC continues efforts on the development of a Proposal Workflow System Dashboard to assist the campus in tracking the progression of shared governance proposal approvals. A prototype of the dashboard was reviewed by the SGOC committee at the end of the spring 2013 term. After additional programming refinements, implementation of the dashboard is expected in fall 2013. Sample Shared Governance Proposals processed for 2012-2013 are provided in Table 18.

The SGOC also has plans to formally evaluate shared governance on this campus. Campus wide and committee surveys have been developed, approved through IRB and will be distributed in fall 2013. Also noteworthy was a recent shared governance presentation on concealed weapons at the spring Board of Trustee’s meeting. The campus was pleased to provide input on this important topic prior to the Board’s vote.

Table 18. Shared Governance Proposals Processed in 2012-2013 Proposal Proposal Title Status Outcome Number 12FA-01 System Patent Policy Complete Supported 12FA-02 Academic Calendar Complete Supported 2012-13 & 2013-14 12FA-03 Faculty Credentials Complete Supported 12FA-04 Discrimination Pending Supported through campus level 13SP-01 Class Attendance Pending (edits) Proposal Proposal Title Status Outcome Number 13SP-02 Teaching Overload Pending (edits) 13SP-03 Concealed Handguns Complete Supported 13SP-04 Making Connections pulled 13SP-05 Developmental Course Completion pulled 13SP-06 Adjunct & Temporary Full-Time Faculty Employment and Pending Instructional Training, Supervision & Performance (edits)

Academic Shared Governance Academic shared governance committees are the vehicle by which the faculty influence decisions and courses of action in areas of faculty responsibility by being informed of, expressing views on, and making recommendations about academic issues affecting the institution. Academic shared governance committees address those areas of academic programming, policies and procedures central to the interests of the faculty, students, and staff. Academic Committees are described in detail in 5.B.3.

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Institutional Shared Governance Institutional shared governance committees are the vehicle by which the university campus community has the opportunity to participate in shared governance by being informed of, expressing views on, and making recommendations about a wide variety of issues affecting the institution. Institutional shared governance committees address those areas of activity which are of broad interest to the faculty, staff, and students of the university. A description of these committees follows. (Shared Governance)

Buildings, Grounds, and Facilities Committee The Buildings, Grounds, and Facilities Committee reviews space utilization, facility planning, campus improvements, facility maintenance, and campus appearance. The committee will review any concerns about the aforementioned made by faculty, staff, or students. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration.

Computers/Technology Committee The Computers/Technology Committee coordinates computer and technology implementation. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration and the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Development, Communications, and Alumni Committee The Development, Communications, and Alumni Committee advises and makes recommendations on issues concerning fund raising, communications, and alumni relations. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for University Advancement with copies to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs and the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Disability Services Committee The Disability Services Committee reviews compliance with legal requirements regarding disabilities; ensures needs are met for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities; and recommends specific solutions for disability-related problems to university programs and offices. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs with copies to the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration and the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Employee Benefits Committee The Employee Benefits Committee reviews policies for employee benefits and requests for leave funding from the Catastrophic Leave Bank. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration.

Financial Aid and Scholarships Committee The Financial Aid and Scholarships Committee is responsible for recommending minimum standards for receiving and maintaining financial aid through federal, state, and university financed programs. The committee serves as the selection committee in awarding privately funded scholarships that do not have specified selection committees and hears scholarship and financial aid appeals. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs with copies to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research, the vice chancellor for Finance and Administration, and the vice chancellor for University Advancement.

Intercollegiate Athletics Committee The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee reviews and makes recommendations on issues involving the welfare of student athletes, the role of athletics in campus life, and the athletics program's compliance with the university, conference, and NCAA regulations; serves as a search advisory committee for key athletics program personnel; reviews the role of existing and potential sports programs; and reviews the athletics budget. The committee reports to the chancellor.

International Students and Scholars Committee The International Students and Scholars Committee addresses concerns that arise for international students, scholars, and visiting faculty. Committee members should have some experience with or specific interest in non- U.S. cultures/students. This committee reports to the chancellor.

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Parking and Motor Vehicle Committee The Parking and Motor Vehicle Committee reports on parking and regulations for operating a motor vehicle on campus and serves as an appeal body for anyone wishing to appeal a citation. The committee reports to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

University Diversity and Affirmative Action Committee The University Diversity and Affirmative Action Committee reviews university affirmative action programs and serves as a source of committee members for hearings involving alleged discrimination. The committee reports to the chancellor.

All shared governance committees operate by majority vote. Routine functions of shared governance committees include regular and timely posting of committee minutes on the shared governance website and reporting to the appropriate vice chancellor.

Any issue with regard to the appropriate committee jurisdiction shall be resolved by a majority vote of the Shared Governance Oversight Committee (SGOC).

The Arkansas State Daily Digest contains a major division completely dedicated to providing all constituencies with the latest information regarding shared governances proposals including responses and rulings of the chancellor regarding the proposals.

5.B. 2. The governing board is knowledgeable about the institution, provides oversight for the institution’s financial and academic policies and practices, and meets its legal and fiduciary responsibilities.

The ASU Board of Trustees agendas and minutes reflect appropriate exercising of the Board’s oversight roles, including finance and academics, as well as fulfillment of the Board’s legal and fiduciary responsibilities. Trustees operate under the Bylaws of the ASU Board of Trustees which grant the trustees with the authority of the entire management and control of the activities, affairs, operations, business, and property of the Arkansas State University System. Upon general or specific authorization or delegation provided for in the Bylaws, the Board may exercise its management and control by and through such officers, officials, committees, and agents as may seem fit and proper (Board Proposals).

5.B. 3. Arkansas State University enables the involvement of its administration, faculty, staff, and

students in setting academic requirements, policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort.

The Academic Shared Governance Committees are the vehicle by which the faculty, students, and staff can influence decisions and courses of action concerning academic requirements, policy and process. A description of these committees, their role and composition follows.

Academic Budget Committee The Academic Budget Committee (ABC) provides assistance to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research on budget development as it relates to the goals and overall planning of the unit. Fiscal strategies are discussed which support the growth and development of units which report to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research office. Assessment strategies also may be employed to evaluate current operations as they relate to budgetary efficiency and effectiveness. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

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Academic Calendar Committee The Academic Calendar Committee is responsible for studying and making recommendations regarding the university academic calendar. The committee provides information on calendars of other universities such as length of semester, start/end of classes. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Academic Hearing Committee The Academic Hearing Committee hears faculty grievances related to terms or conditions of employment such as promotion, retention, termination, salary, and job assignment. The committee reports to the chancellor.

Education and Technology Committee The purpose of this committee is to address issues concerning technology assisted education including the implementation of courses and/or degrees at distant sites. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research concerning relevant issues pertaining to distance education.

Faculty Achievement Awards Committee The Faculty Achievement Awards Committee is responsible for proposing guidelines and procedures and selecting recipients of the faculty awards for teaching, research, and service. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Faculty Handbook Committee The Faculty Handbook Committee reviews Faculty Handbook issues and recommends proposed changes. The Faculty Handbook can recommend editorial changes without constituent involvement. Editorial changes are changes in punctuation, wording, or grammar that do not affect the content or meaning of the text. Such editorial changes shall be recommended through the Faculty Handbook Committee directly to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research who shall promptly forward the proposed change with recommendation to the chancellor who shall submit it to the President and Board for decision and implementation if appropriate. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Faculty Research Awards Committee The Faculty Research Awards Committee proposes criteria and procedures for awarding university sponsored research grants, reviews and recommends the awarding of university sponsored research grants, and reviews compensated leave requests and makes recommendations as to which should be awarded. Additionally, the committee reviews applications and selects recipients of the Nathan Deutsch and Eleanor Lane Grants. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

General Education Committee The purpose of the General Education Committee (GEC) is to provide guidance and direction to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research to improve the quality and relevance of the university's general education curriculum. The GEC considers proposals for modification of the general education curriculum and reviews each course in the general education program once every four years to determine its acceptability as a general education course. The GEC will review assessment data on the general education program provided by the Assessment Office and make recommendations to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Graduate Council The Graduate Council provides guidance and direction for the university’s graduate programs. The Council considers and recommends graduate curriculum changes and new programs; policies on graduate admission, academic standards, and graduation requirements; policies on graduate faculty status; policies regarding graduate assistants; and policies on graduate stipends and assistantships and their distribution to programs. This council reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research through the Dean of the Graduate School.

Honors Council The Honors Council develops ideas, evaluates proposals for honors classes submitted by faculty to the respective College Honors Committees, and works closely with the Dean of the Honors College on all major aspects of the program. This council reports to provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research through the Director of the Honors College.

Library Committee

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The Library Committee advises the library staff on needs of library users, and provides a forum for expression for library users’ views in areas of acquisitions and operating policy. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Sponsored Programs Committee The Sponsored Programs Committee reviews and recommends policy with regard to externally funded grants and contracts. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research through the associate vice chancellor of Research and Technology Transfer.

Undergraduate Admission Appeals Committee The Undergraduate Admission Appeals Committee will serve as an appeals committee for students contesting decisions of college admissions. Committee decisions will be forwarded to the office of the vice chancellor for Student Affairs for final action. Recommendations concerning university requirements for admission will be forwarded to the office of the vice chancellor for Student Affairs with a copy to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee The primary role of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) is to advise the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research about all undergraduate curriculum development within the university. The committee considers individual course proposals, undergraduate bulletin changes, and institutional termination or modification of academic programs.. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

Undergraduate Enrollment and Academic Policy Committee The Undergraduate Enrollment and Academic Policy Committee is responsible for studying and recommending undergraduate admission and retention policies and standards to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research and recommending undergraduate recruitment policies and standards to the VCSA. The committee reports to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research or the vice chancellor for Student Affairs as appropriate.

Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Credit Appeals Committee This Committee will serve as an appeals committee for students contesting decisions on the university requirements for graduation and academic credit. Committee decisions will be forwarded to the office of the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research for final action with a copy to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

University Promotion, Retention and Tenure Committee The UPRTC reviews and recommends changes in university policy and procedures on promotion, retention and tenure. This committee reviews all college and department PRT guidelines for consistency and compliance with university policy and approves these documents annually. The committee forwards its recommendations to the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research.

5.C. Arkansas State University engages in systematic and integrated planning.

Arkansas State has engaged in more intentional systematic and integrated planning in the last decade than at any other time in its history. Internal and external forces such as changes in the economy, needs of its stakeholders, technology and the global educational marketplace require that Arkansas State maximize its planning effectiveness to fulfill its mission.

Since the last comprehensive visit, the university has completed two cycles of strategic planning: 2005 and 2010. The plans were developed through the participation of numerous stakeholders who endeavored to link the university’s mission, core values, vision, and role and scope with pertinent strategic priorities. Each planning process resulted in strategic priorities with associated goals and measurable action steps that are being implemented throughout the university. The current strategic plan is a living document as actions steps are completed and new initiatives are added.

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A plan that has been significant to the university’s increase in student enrollment and retention is the Enrollment Management Major Institutional Plans Plan. This dynamic plan is ever evolving as adjustments and (Active links in Blue) improvements are made in response to frequently changing internal  Strategic Plan and external forces such as student demographics, state and  Enrollment Management Plan national economics, and stakeholder needs. The constant vigilance  Assessment Plan provided by the various units involved in keeping this plan current  General Education and relevant is an invaluable asset to the university. Assessment Plan  Comprehensive Campus Other comprehensive planning activities include the development Master Plan of a Campus Master Plan, Emergency Operation Plan, University  Emergency Operation Assessment Plan, General Education Assessment Plan, Emergency Plan Operation  H1N1 Plan (Influenza Plan) Plan, H1N1 Plan (Influenza Plan), Minority Retention Plan, and  Minority Retention Plan Marketing and Management Plan. Other specific unit or program  Marketing and plans exist throughout the university. Management Strategic Plan

Evidence follows that demonstrates Arkansas State’s commitment to comprehensive and strategic planning that effectively positions the university for the future.

5.C. 1. Arkansas State University allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities.

Arkansas State’s ability to effectively fulfill its mission of educating leaders, enhancing intellectual knowledge and enriching lives relies on planning strategically for the future, prudent management of resources, and improving institutional effectiveness.

The university’s mission and strategic priorities guide the institution’s operations and its allocation of resources as exemplified by its strategic priority to “continually improve our institutional efficacy and alignment of resources with our priorities.” Resource allocation begins during the budget development process and involves representation from across campus to ensure that all aspects of the mission or priorities are considered. Recommendations for budget needs are initiated from the roots of the institution (department level), filtered through the various levels of management, and culminate in the leadership of the Executive Council. The chancellor and the Executive Council finalize the decisions related to the annual budget. Ultimate approval rests in the Board of Trustees. Broad participation ensures the alignment of resources with the institution’s mission and priorities.

5.C.2. Arkansas State University’s processes for assessment, evaluation, planning, and budgeting are linked effectively.

The mission, core values and vision, and planning documents of the university direct all areas of its business and academic operations including assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, planning, and budgeting.

Arkansas State works diligently to plan within a number of important areas and to integrate these

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separate and distinct efforts into a comprehensive framework that supports its mission and priorities. Ongoing planning efforts include strategic direction, enrollment management, assessment, campus facilities, technology infrastructure, emergency operations and others. These efforts are coordinated by university administration and ultimately are integrated into a comprehensive strategy by the university’s chancellor and Executive Council. A key element of this strategy is resource allocation.

As discussed in 5.A.5., the University Planning Committee (UPC) provides leadership and advisement for the annual budget planning process. The university engages in extensive and continuous analysis to understand its current and forecasted capacities and to confirm its planning assumptions. In-depth revenue forecasting and expense monitoring are performed on an ongoing basis by the university’s office of finance in close coordination with the ASU system office. Economic activity at the national and state level is closely watched with particular attention focused on state revenue forecasts and performance. Internally, the finance office monitors enrollment activity and trends as reported by the office of institutional research and the admissions office to insure that tuition and fee revenue assumptions are accurate. Other areas of revenue generation are also continuously reviewed and tracked for budget variances. In this manner, the university anticipates fluctuations in its revenue sources and carefully considers and mitigates their impact on institutional planning.

Additionally, the university closely monitors its financial standing and debt capacity as a basis for its planning for campus facilities and other capital financing activities. Long-term financial decisions are made based upon a clear understanding of the university’s current capacity, conservative estimates of future financial trends and conditions, and careful consideration of continuing environmental trends and emerging factors.

Academic Assessment The assessment of student learning is embraced and nearing acculturation at Arkansas State. It is a vital aspect of the university’s academic operations as these assessments assist in continuous improvement and fulfillment of the mission. Assessment is the responsibility of the faculty and is guided by the Learning Outcomes Advisory Council, the university-level assessment council, the General Education Committee, and discipline-specific accreditations. Assessment activities are coordinated by the Director of Assessment who is an active member of the faculty. Specific examples and detailed explanation of Arkansas State’s academic assessment practices were discussed previously in Criterion Four.

With the acquisition of a richer knowledge base provided by SLO assessment, the institution is now at a juncture where it has begun linking financial information alongside student learning, program enrollment, program viability, and labor market data. As this report is prepared, two academic programs are awaiting final decision concerning viability by the ADHE. A few other programs have been placed on the watch list. Arkansas State has been closely monitoring academic program statistics for the past few years. It is inherent that deans and department chairs, in collaboration with the provost, critically analyze the resource allocations associated with current program offerings and be prepared to make prudent, although possibly difficult, decisions to redirect resources to strengthen current programs and make way for new programs that will better meet the needs of future students.

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5.C.3. The planning process takes into consideration the entirety of the institution and appropriate input from internal and external constituent groups.

Arkansas State relies on, and involves, its various internal and external constituencies to guide the institutional planning processes. Information is gathered internally through collaborative input from faculty, staff, and students. The various shared governance committees and senates are primary contributors. External stakeholders such as alumni, local government, business groups, state policy makers and citizens contribute input to the chancellor and Executive Council. Feedback is solicited from these various groups to assist in validating the university’s planning processes.

The university’s strategic planning processes in 2005 and 2010 included the entire university community and selected community members illustrating the university’s commitment to involvement and reaction from its stakeholders. Over 200 individuals (faculty, staff, administrators, students, alumni, and community supporters) participated in the 2.5 day event generating over 90 discussion topics and 500+ pages of proceedings (Strategic Planning Topic Index) providing strategic “ideas” for improving Arkansas State and preparing it for the future.

Other planning processes follow similar routes in constituency involvement. The university works diligently in ensuring that planning committees are diverse and representative of the institution’s stakeholders.

5.C.4. Arkansas State University plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity.

Institutional plans anticipate the possible impact of fluctuations in the institution’s sources of rev- enue, such as enrollment, the economy, and state support.

The university uses enrollment forecasts, trends in state scholarship funds and federal financial aid, and other factors in an attempt to predict the best and worst case scenarios for budget planning. The institution takes a proactive approach to ensure that it has the ability to support current capacity and beyond.

Arkansas State anticipates and prepares for possible revenue changes and has become more entrepreneurial as a response. Examples of responses to changes in revenue include:  Conservative increases in tuition and fees  Cost-containment measures  Marketing and branding strategies  Focused student recruitment  Internal reallocations in support of institutional priorities  Increased entrepreneurial initiatives o on-line programs o international enrollment o international campus (Mexico) o pursuit of new academic programs (osteopathic medicine, graduate programs, certificates)

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A recent example of planning based on the fluctuations of external forces is the impact of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship implemented in 2010 through the state lottery funding. Scholarship funds for Arkansas students increased allowing both two and four year institutions to prosper momentarily from increased enrollment. When lottery earnings failed to meet projected revenue, legislative action resulted in decreased awards to students based on classification (Table 19). Whereas first year and sophomore students originally were funded at a rate that significantly reduced the cost of attendance, effective fall 2013, the scholarship amount awarded was reduced by up to 55% for first year students. In anticipation of the impact this would have on fall 2013 enrollment, the institution planned its budget on a flat to slightly reduced enrollment for the FY 2014 budget.

Table 19. Changes in Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Award Academic Year 4 Year School 2 Year School 2010 -11 $5000 $2500 Year First2011 Awarded-12 $4500 $2250 2012-13 $4500 $2250 2013-14 $2000 (1st year) $2000 2013-14 $3000 (2nd year) $2000 2013-14 $4000 (3rd year) $2000 2013-14 $5000 (4th year) $2000

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, state appropriations remain relatively stable but are not expected to have any additional capacity to support higher education. The number of high school graduates is decreasing due to changing population demographics and the on-line education market continues to become more competitive. These and other factors are at the forefront each time budget planning and resource allocations are considered. Thus, the university is positioned to be proactive in response to these changing variables.

5.C.5. Arkansas State University’s planning anticipates emerging factors, such as technology, demographic shifts, and globalization.

To the extent possible, the university’s planning processes seek to anticipate shifts in emerging technology, changing demographics and globalization. Many units of the institution engage advisory councils made up of external stakeholders. These councils guide the university in its continued fulfillment of the university’s mission, and prescribed role and scope, while assisting it in staying ahead of these, and other evolving trends.

Arkansas State anticipates emerging environmental trends and factors in its planning activities as evidenced in its planning documents such as the Campus Master Plan, Technology Plan, Enrollment Management Plan, Marketing Plan and others. The rapidity of change in technology, demographics, and globalization amid other factors and the complexity of their interaction make forecasting, and, accordingly, planning in these areas exceedingly difficult. The university therefore seeks to establish plans that are grounded in flexibility, responsiveness and adaptability.

5.D. Arkansas State University works systematically to improve its performance.

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Over the past decade, institutional actions have become more intentional in order to improve performance and realize the goals of its strategic priorities and mission. The improvements realized by Arkansas State can be directly attributed to its increased attention to planning processes, outcomes, and evaluation. The campus has embraced a culture of assessment and evaluation yet recognizes that this is still a work-in-progress.

Evidence provided for this core component demonstrates Arkansas State’s commitment to systematic improvement.

5.D.1. Arkansas State University evaluates its operations. AND 5.D. 2. Documented evidence of performance routinely informs Arkansas State University’s processes for evaluation, planning, and improvement in its operations.

Arkansas State uses several methods, internal and external, to evaluate its operations. It is the responsibility of the vice chancellors in each division to establish evaluative procedures and effective use of the data for improvement. Divisions use annual reports from direct reporting units to evaluate the accomplishments and statuses of their units. These annual reports provide input to the chancellor and Executive Council for institutional improvement and planning. During the fiscal year, updates from the data amassed for these reports are provided to the Board of Trustees prior to each board meeting.

Fiscal Evaluation (Financial Audit 2011, Financial Audit 2012) The fiscal health of the university is evaluated annually through the state audit process as stated in 5.A.1. The system’s internal audit process is used to evaluate the adequacy of internal controls, accuracy of financial records and compliance with standard accounting practices, government and state regulations, and university policies and procedures. Internal audit helps to insure integrity, ethics, sound business practices and leadership within the institution. Results of internal audits assist the university in developing sound practices in its operations and validate its integrity. Other audits include federal, state, accreditation and athletic entities to confirm compliance with policies and procedures associated with student academic records, academic programs, financial aid, student athlete compliance, environmental health and safety, etc.

Annual Performance Evaluation The university also seeks to improve its operations through annual performance evaluations of its faculty, administrators, and staff members. Personnel, including faculty, staff and administration, undergo annual evaluations of job performance. For faculty, this is in addition of the promotion and tenure review process. Individual faculty members are evaluated annually for their performance in teaching, scholarship and service by their department chair or director. How each of these areas are evaluated and weighted may vary by college or department. Faculty complete an annual productivity report early in the spring semester for submission to their chair or director. After review of the report, the supervisor meets with each faculty and provides a brief written review of the faculty member’s performance. The dean then reviews the faculty performance report and chair’s evaluation. In collaboration with the chair, the dean makes a merit recommendation based on this performance evaluation. In addition to productivity, faculty evaluations include reviews of service and performance goals as well as student reviews.

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Deans and Department Chairs meet annually with the person to whom they directly report for a discussion and evaluation of their performance, career goals and objectives. The Office of the Provost/Academic Affairs and Research conducts an annual review of deans by full-time faculty in their respective colleges. The dean of the Graduate School is reviewed annually by the graduate program directors in the college and members of the graduate council.

Non-classified staff positions and responsibilities vary greatly across campus as do the evaluation forms for individuals. The staff member prepares a self-evaluation, including goals for the coming year and provides evidence of accomplishments. The supervisor reviews the self-evaluation, meets individually with each staff member and provides a written evaluation that will be used for merit consideration. Classified staff is evaluated annually using specific guidelines developed for performance as directed by the state and university.

The chancellor is evaluated annually by the ASU System President. Vice chancellors and the athletic director are evaluated annually by the chancellor based on productivity and established goals.

Academic Assessment Many of Arkansas States’ academic programs are reviewed through the self-study process associated with the 24 discipline-related specialized accreditation affiliations. Non-accredited programs now undergo an external review (previously internal review) every 7-10 years as required by the state. The external reviews for these programs provide objective benchmarking with other comparable programs external to the state. The Office of Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes has developed workshops on developing student learning outcomes (SLO) for academic units, methodologies for assessing SLOs and appropriate criteria for evaluation to guide departments in the assessment process. The Office of Assessment also meets individually with all academic units to discuss the reports, provide feedback and assists in utilization of assessment data for program improvement. More detailed information on assessment, particularly as it relates to teaching and learning, is in the discussion in support of Criterion Four.

Co-Curricular and Institutional Evaluation The Office of Institutional Research assists non-academic units with evaluation activities and interpretation of outcomes. Both internal and external methods of evaluation are used. Various standardized instruments such as NSSE and CIRP are used as are unit-specific instruments.

5.D. 3. Arkansas State University learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its institutional effectiveness, capabilities, and sustainability, overall and in its component parts.

As an institution of higher learning that promotes life-long learning to its students, Arkansas State is obligated to model this same philosophy in its operations by learning from its experiences and applying this knowledge to improve all aspects of the university. The university strives to continually improve its performance through internal and external review, participation in professional development and associations, solicitation of constituent input and best practice comparisons.

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Academic and Co-Curricular In the academic and co-curricular areas, use of data from multiple direct and indirect measures of assessment of student learning along with direct and indirect measures of success of co-curricular units demonstrate the university’s commitment to continuous quality improvement. Evidence provided in Criterion Three and Four of this self-study demonstrate the use of data-informed decision making and continuous quality improvement from recruitment (sample report) and retention (first-year studies) of students to graduation (sample commencement survey). At the curricular level, assessment of student learning informs pedagogy, policy, course offerings and supplemental learning programs (sample curricular report). At the co- curricular level, goals are set and progress is evaluated in areas ranging from student leadership programs (sample co-curricular report) to the development office (sample report). Data from these studies inform decision making regarding strategic planning, campus safety, event planning and student services (sample report).

Financial Operations The university’s financial standing and performance is audited annually by the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit. This mandatory review not only satisfies numerous statutory and compliance requirements for the university but also provides useful insights that assist in improving the university’s financial operations. This audit report is presented to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee of the Arkansas legislature and is carefully reviewed by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the university’s governing board.

Other external audits and program reviews provide compliance assurance for the university’s policies, processes, procedures and practices in such diverse areas as academic records, financial aid, athletic compliance and campus safety. Additionally, the ASU system office of internal audit is active on the Jonesboro campus and regularly issues reports, findings and recommendations intended to strengthen and improve our financial operations. These reports are reviewed by the audit liaison of the university’s governing board. The system president and campus financial officers are required to provide quarterly progress and resolution reports on outstanding audit matters to the BOT.

Other finance-related performance assessments include the university’s annual reporting of its financial ratios to the U.S. Department of Education, The Higher Learning Commission and annual submissions to our external bond rating agency, Moody’s Investor Services. These mandated external financial reports provide useful information and objective feedback to the university that assists in evaluating performance, assessing plans and improving institutional capabilities.

The university also provides extensive financial information and other regulatory reports to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The information submitted by Arkansas State and other institutions of higher education in Arkansas is carefully considered by the department and the state’s higher education coordinating board and provides the institutions with comparative data that allows useful comparisons with in-state peers. Access to this information allows Arkansas State to benchmark its performance and operations against those of other Arkansas institutions and make appropriate changes and improvements.

Units within the division of finance and administration have developed training opportunities for campus personnel in areas such as budget administration, procurement and travel policies, sponsored

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programs accounting and administration and administrative and accounting procedures and processes within the university’s administrative software system. This training assists the university’s efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. Through interaction with campus staff members in the sessions and post-training surveys, finance and administration personnel gauge the effectiveness of the training and gather important insights for improving operations and communicating best practices to the campus community.

The university’s finance and administration staff members participate in numerous professional development activities (reference list) and professional associations such as the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO), the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Frequently, they are invited to present at conferences and meetings on Arkansas State’s best practices. These activities afford staff members the opportunity to learn about best practices in higher education finance and administration. Additionally, the university is a member of the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI). NCCI was founded in 1999 by professionals in quality improvement in higher education and as a spin off from NACUBO. It is a non- profit association, dedicated to improving higher education nationally and internationally through providing a collaborative professional network for change leadership.

Finally, the office of finance has established an office of compliance and process improvement to assist the division of finance and administration in establishing policies, practices, procedures and processes that maintain a strong framework of internal control, ensure compliance, promote higher education best practices and encourage effectiveness, efficiency and continuous improvement.

Closing the Loop Use of evaluative data in “closing the loop” extends throughout the operational divisions of the university as evidenced by the following examples.

Campus Safety Concern of increasing crime in neighborhoods surrounding the campus and on campus prompted the university to take a closer look at what could be done to improve safety and security for its students, faculty and staff. A 10 member Task Force on Campus Security was appointed in April 2010 to examine the campus safety and security practices. The committee was charged with assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Arkansas State’s practices and recommending reasonable additions or changes to enhance the safety and security of the campus.

The task force gathered input from students, faculty and staff as well as from the surrounding community. In addition, task force members made two physical tours of the Arkansas State campus at 9 p.m. to get an accurate sense of the nighttime environment on campus.

The Campus Safety Action Report provided an extensive list of recommendations, including the addition of police officer positions in the next biennium cycle; automatic enrollment in the Rave Emergency Alert notice system with an “opt-out” feature for those who do not wish to receive e-mail or text messages regarding emergencies on the Arkansas State campus; installation of new vehicle access and pedestrian gates and security cameras in the Collegiate Park area; expand the student patrol service into the core of campus residential facilities; develop a timeline for upgrading lighting across the campus; increase the number of emergency phones across campus and paint the posts red for better visibility; update the

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campus Emergency Procedures Handbook and distribute across campus and online; develop a marketing plan to promote safety resources and practices; require emergency response training for faculty and staff and provide similar training to students; and post signage designating areas on campus where security surveillance exists and where crime watch programs are in effect.

The chancellor’s Executive Council approved the expenditure of $350,000 to address immediate and critical safety issues raised in the task force report which have now been addressed. In addition, as part of the FY2014 budget, another position for a university police officer was approved to assist in supporting the safety of the growing student population.

Student-Centered Commencement Data gathered from student surveys and focus groups concerning commencement exercises is assisting the university in making its three commencement ceremonies (December, May, August) more student- centered and meaningful to graduates, their families and friends. Length of ceremony concerns resulted in dividing the colleges into two ceremonies for the May and December graduations. The traditional student processional was adjusted without loss of tradition or meaning. The August commencement survey yielded positive comments from students concerning this change and it will be continued in future ceremonies. Other improvement plans include integrating students into more of the platform duties such as introducing speakers, singing the national anthem and alma mater, and using student processional leaders. The university will continue to explore speakers who are more meaningful to students. AAR previously responded to requests from faculty concerning improvement of faculty processional line-up locations, ceremony communications and location of faculty seating.

Consolidation of Admissions Units Student admission processing was distributed in three separate locations depending on the student application group: Undergraduate, Graduate and International. Undergraduate admission was under the leadership of Student Affairs with graduate and international admissions offices reporting to Academic Affairs. This arrangement was not only confusing for students and members of the campus community but was not efficient. During the past academic year, all three processing units have been consolidated into one unit, the Office of Admissions and Student Records (formerly Registrar). Cross- training of the admissions processing staff is increasing efficiency and cost savings. The processing of academic records is better served and the Office of Recruitment is now able to focus on its highest priority of recruiting students for Arkansas State.

Destination Incentives Student surveys, focus groups and anecdotal evidence gathered during student recruitment indicate that in addition to academic programs, students seek universities with amenities and services similar to larger institutions. (Campus snapshots) Information gleaned from various interactions with students and their parents, who have a major influence on a student’s college choice, reveal that students want their university “destination” to have the comforts of home and the feel of a “big” city. Students also want more competitive and selective admissions standards. Parents desire a safe campus, modern residence facilities and a good educational value for their money. Non-traditional students want daycare, learning assistance and flexible modes of course delivery. Arkansas State has listened and responded by providing the following improvements and additions in the past decade: ● Sorority Houses ● Apartment-Style Housing ● Family Housing

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● Daycare Facility ● Red WOLF Center Sport and Exercise Facilities; New Intramural Complex; Intramural and Club Sports (Champion Rugby Team, Softball, Trap Shooting, Cricket) ● Comprehensive Student Union ● IT/Apple Store ● Selective Honors Programs ● Starbucks, Chik-fil-A, Godfather Pizza, Jump Asian Cuisine, Lobos Rojos, ● Beck PRIDE Center and Other Veteran Services ● Acansa Dining Hall Dietary Diversity (Meatless Mondays, Pasta Bar, Salad Bar, Stir-Fry, Ethnic) ● Flexible Food Plans ● Rising Athletic Teams ● Competitive Admissions ● On-line Courses and Programs ● Increased Learning Assistance ● Parking Garage/Reserved Spaces ● 24/7 Self-Service Access to Registration, Class Schedule, Transcripts, Account Management ● Increased Security Measures: Residence Hall Card Access, Campus E-Phones, Text Emergency Alerts, University Police Substation

Although far from being a “Big City,” the City of Jonesboro has revitalized its downtown with loft living, restaurants, clubs, shopping, galleries and other businesses attractive to young adults. Arkansas State and the city are partnering to bring other amenities within the reach of the campus and its students as part of the strong gown and town relationship.

Mascot In April 2007, Chancellor Robert Potts appointed a Mascot Review Committee to develop guidelines for reviewing the Indian Mascot in light of directives from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which declared that educational institutions with Native American nicknames and imagery would not be allowed to use the names or imagery at postseason competitions. The Mascot Review Committee engaged in a thorough and open process that resulted in the cogent recommendation to respectfully retire the names "Indian" and "Indian Family" together with all Native American imagery connected with the University's intercollegiate athletic program and engage in a broad-based process to select a new mascot with related imagery. A small steering committee was then assembled to guide the process for the selection of a new mascot. The committee was charged with appointing and organizing a broad-based committee representing all Arkansas State constituencies and the public to solicit and evaluate new mascot names and advise the steering committee on other matters referred by the Steering Committee to the broad-based group. In addition, they were to establish steps for retiring the existing mascot and imagery. Upon completion of its duties, the Mascot Selection Steering Committee made their recommendation to ASU Board of Trustees through the president of the ASU System.

The “Red Wolves” were introduced in 2008 along with “Howl”, a whimsical and spirited mascot. Five years later, the campus, community and alumni have embraced the Red Wolves with more enthusiasm and support than ever imagined. Students are particularly proud of being a member of the Red Wolf Pack, howling for their team, and sporting the menacing Red Wolf on apparel, merchandise, vehicles and most anywhere else imaginable. The Red Wolf is proudly

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displayed throughout the community with the masthead of The Sun, Jonesboro’s and northeast Arkansas’ regional newspaper, changed during “Paint the Town Red” week to reflect its support of the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Howl yes!

Brand Identity Plan and Updated Logos Through the years, Arkansas State has had several identities with separate logos for academics and athletics, and marketing approaches that have come and gone. The “branding” was inconsistent and confusing to external constituencies. The identity of the flagship campus extended to branch campuses within the system which further blurred the university’s identity. With the growth of Internet and social media use, Arkansas State has encountered ongoing market confusion with its “ASU” moniker. In particular, Arizona State University registered the Internet domain name “asu.edu” in 1987 while A- State adopted “AState.edu” in 1991. The Twitter hashtag “asu” almost always references Arizona State while the “AState” hashtag is working effectively for Arkansas State. Another ASU in the Sunbelt Conference with Arkansas State is Appalachian State University that refers to itself as “Appalachian,” uses the domain name “appstate.edu,” and implements the Twitter hashtag “appstate.”

As higher education becomes even more competitive and students have more choices, it is imperative for Arkansas State to have a strong identity and marketing plan. Thus, research and planning began three years ago to construct a consistent marketing plan and a national identity for Arkansas State. SimpsonScarborough, a marketing research and strategy firm that specializes in higher education based in Alexandria, Va., and Stone Ward, a marketing and advertising agency in Little Rock, presented key findings regarding university marketing and the logo after conducting focus groups that were inclusive of students, faculty, academic leadership, and athletic groups. The Stone Ward study focused on visual identity for the entire system, while the SimpsonScarborough research addressed A-State’s image and brand. The university flame logo used by non-athletic entities had low recognition in these studies whereas the STATE logo had the widest recognition and most positive feedback. It was identified as “unanimously loved”. (SimpsonScarborough Report)

As Arkansas State is a growing national brand, it’s important for the university to brand itself differently and consistently. Printed materials are being updated with the new logo as existing supplies are exhausted to minimize the cost of the conversion. Newer banners on campus already incorporated the STATE logo, and other signage is being updated by the university’s facilities management department. A detailed brand identity standards manual and high-quality electronic versions of the logos will be posted to the university website so all constituencies will have access and contribute to consistent use. The manual details font usage, official color specifications, logo designs for various campus entities, and spacing requirements. A committee is being formed to develop a website and social media standards policy for the entire ASU System that will be subject to shared governance procedures and approval by the ASU Board of Trustees.

Academic Benchmarks As discussed in major detail throughout previous chapters, changes in admissions criteria were data driven. Retention and graduation rates of students admitted with inadequate preparation for university success did not persist. With new standards in place, preliminary findings are optimistic as the 2009- 2010 cohort approaches the four-year graduation mark. Subsequent cohorts with increasing standards will provide confirmation in the years ahead.

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Preliminary data as of August 30, 2013 supports that Arkansas State’s enrollment management and retention initiatives have resulted in the enrollment of the best and brightest students as indicated by ACT scores, remediation rates and percentage of graduates. These data further confirm that Arkansas State’s integrated planning and evaluation is effective.

Table 20. Arkansas State University VS Four-Year Public Arkansas University Averages 2012- 2009- 2013 2013 Fall Semesters 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Change Change # (%) # (%) Average ACT 21.3 22.1 22.8 22.9 23.3 0.4 2.0 (1.7%) (9.4%) High School GPA 3.15 3.28 3.34 3.37 3.43 0.6 0.28 (1.8%) (8.8%) Retention Rates (Entering Freshman Enrolled Fulltime) 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- Percent Percent 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 1st-2nd Year 67.9% 70.8% 71.3% 70.4% 73.1% 3.8% 7.7% Retention

Summary Evidence of the many changes made to improve performance throughout the university during the past decade, even with administrative changes, demonstrates that Arkansas State has the resources, structures and processes sufficient to fulfill its mission and be sustainable. This evidence also shows that Arkansas State has the means, the structures and the personnel in place to improve the quality of its educational offerings. Through continuous planning, evaluation and strategic allocation of its fiscal, human and physical resources, Arkansas State is positioned to respond to the changing environment of higher education.

Criterion Five Strengths and Opportunities During an economic period when many universities have struggled, Arkansas State has continued to grow its programs and student enrollment, provide adequate faculty and staff to maintain quality academic programs and student services, make advancements in its research endeavors and exceed its obligations of service to the community and university stakeholders. The campus physical resource improvements have changed the face of Arkansas State. The campus no longer has the look and feel of a “suitcase college.” Aesthetically, much improved, but more importantly, the campus is functionally on target given the attention paid to classroom, laboratory and technology enhancements. These accomplishments have occurred with a balanced budget and less than adequate state appropriations. This success is due to increased focus on institutional priorities and intensified planning activities. Entrepreneurial and global initiatives have provided additional revenue flow and the university continues to explore new models and venues to provide a stable fiscal future.

A culture of academic assessment is taking root with evaluative measures expanding throughout the campus. Assessment and evaluation of all aspects of the institution will continue to be a top priority for Arkansas State. Substantial improvement has occurred with Arkansas State’s shared governance vision and practices. Shared governance, though improved, is not yet fully part of the campus culture. It

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continues to be a “work in progress” as the institution strives for consistent transparency and valued input. Improving full-time and adjunct salaries remains on the forefront until the university achieves equity with SREB benchmarks and peers. The university will need to develop non-state funded revenues to move forward on this important agenda.

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Request for Continued Accreditation

Institutional Snapshot Data

Federal Compliance

Abbreviations

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Request for Continued Accreditation

During the last three years, the faculty, staff and students of Arkansas State University have worked collaboratively to collect and present evidence of the university’s efforts for continuous improvement in all aspects of its operations as it works to achieve its mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives.

Evidence within this report demonstrates that Arkansas State University fully meets the Criteria for Accreditation as set forth by The Higher Learning Commission:

Arkansas State’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

Arkansas State fulfills its mission ethically and responsibly.

Arkansas State provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

Arkansas State demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

Arkansas State’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.

After full consideration of the evidence supported within this report and the required supplemental materials, it is respectfully requested that the accreditation granted to Arkansas State University by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools be reaffirmed.

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Institutional Snapshot Data

Many of the data topics required for the Institutional Snapshot are imbedded in the self-study report. These data have been provided through the Office of Institutional Research and Planning as published in the 2012-2013 ASU Fact Book (Fact Book PDF; Fact Book Link).

The Quick Stats provide a look at various institutional data categories for a given year. Quick Stats Guides for 2011 and 2012 are provided with additional years available on the IRP website (IRP). Data sets not found on the IRP website are available upon request.

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Federal Compliance Filing by Institutions Effective September 1, 2013 – August 31, 2014

This document outlines the information institutions should provide in a separate federal compliance section of its comprehensive PEAQ self-study report or AQIP Quality Check Up. Institutions must address the federal requirements in the information they submit to the Commission before the visit and additional supporting information on federal compliance in the Resource Room during the visit. Institutions should address these requirements with brief narrative responses and provide supporting documentation, where necessary. (Institutions participating in the Standard or Open Pathway will provide all of their information through the Assurance System.) The information requested in this document should be provided in the separate federal compliance document before the visit unless otherwise noted. The institution should refer to the Federal Compliance Guide for Institutions and Evaluation Teams in completing this template. The Guide identifies applicable Commission policies and an explanation of each requirement. Note that some federal requirements are related to the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation or Assumed Practices. This document identifies those related Criteria and Assumed Practices so that the institution may cross- reference any material it prepares to address those Criteria and Assumed Practices.

Institution under review: Arkansas State University

Assignment of Credits, Program Length, and Tuition 1. Complete the Worksheet for Use by Institutions on the Assignment of Credit Hours and on Clock Hours attached to this document, and submit the worksheet and the attachments listed in it. 2. Provide information about the length of the institution’s degree programs and identify and justify any difference in tuition for specific programs. To comply with Arkansas statute, ACT 747, enacted in the 2011 state legislative session, undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs at Arkansas State University were reduced to 120 hours. The few undergraduate programs that exceeded the 120 hour degree requirement were approved by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board due to licensure requirements or accreditation standards. All curriculum adjustments that were made to meet the new state degree hour requirements were approved by department, college, and university curriculum committees prior to state approval. Associate degree programs require a minimum of 60 degree hours.

The program of study for Master’s degree programs includes a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate course work. The Specialist degree programs are sixth-year programs of studies consisting of a minimum of 30 hours beyond the Master’s degree. Candidates for the doctor of education program must earn a minimum of 99 hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor’s degree. The

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doctor of philosophy in Environmental Sciences Program requires a minimum of 72 graduate credits beyond the baccalaureate degree or 42 graduate credits beyond the master’s degree. The doctor of philosophy in Molecular Biosciences Program requires a minimum of 72 graduate credits beyond the baccalaureate degree or 45 graduate credits beyond the master’s degree. Doctoral students enrolled in the doctor of philosophy in Heritage Studies Program are required to complete a minimum of 57 semester hours beyond the master’s degree. For students without a master’s degree, the Doctoral Advisory Committee and the Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program Committee, on a case-by-case basis, may require additional hours.

Please see the Undergraduate and Graduate bulletins to view specific degree program lengths. (Undergraduate Bulletin and Graduate Bulletin)

Academic programs that require differential tuition rates include those in the College of Business, College of Engineering, College of Nursing and Health Professions, and the College Sciences and Mathematics. These programs were approved for differential tuition rates to provide additional funding to hire and retain faculty, to compensate faculty at salaries consistent with the marketplace, and to maintain the necessary specialized instructional laboratories and equipment to support student learning and faculty research. Please see tuition and fees information. (Tuition and Fees).

Institutional Records of Student Complaints 1. Explain the process for handling student complaints. Calls received in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Students Affairs typically come as an escalation of a problem encountered by a student or their parent who has been in communication with one of the many departments within this or other divisions. Sometimes the caller initiates contact on their own, sometimes they are referred to Student Affairs by other campus departments. All complaint resolutions begin with direct communication by phone or email to gather information from the complainant. The next step is phone, email, or personal contact with the director or designee of the department(s) involved. The goal is to determine the source of the problem, understand its relevance to multiple departmental, university, and/or governmental policies and procedures, and develop a clear path to resolving the matter. The complainant is then contacted and given an explanation of where, when, or why the problem occurred, along with next steps for resolving it. Many times problems are minimized simply by patiently allowing the complainant to tell their story completely and in detail, sometimes more than once. This allows them to “vent” and it gives the staff member a chance to glean additional details the caller might forget to mention the first time through. When complainants feel that someone is listening, they are more accepting of an outcome that may not be exactly as they had hoped. Fortunately, the majority of problems can usually be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction by putting them in touch with the right department or person.

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When students contact the Office of Academic Affairs and Research, the request or complaint is recorded. Most requests for assistance are resolved quickly by contacting the appropriate office, dean, chair, or faculty member. If a complaint is made regarding a specific class or instructor, students are advised to follow the proper procedures for resolution outlined in the Student Handbook. In most situations, resolution occurs at the department level. Records of student contacts with the Office of Academic Affairs and Research are maintained in that office. Records for the past five years are available upon request. The Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Credit Appeals Committee serves as an appeals committee for students contesting decisions on university requirements such as graduation requirements, academic suspension, and academic credit. Records of this committee are maintained in the Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration. Records are available for review upon request. 2. Summarize the number and type of complaints and track their resolutions since the last comprehensive evaluation by the Commission. Within the past five years, Student Affairs has documented approximately 200 complaints, primarily in regard to campus housing, parking, student account billing, and financial aid. The general complaints are:

 Housing: Roommate conflicts and room requests submitted after application deadline.

Most roommate conflicts are resolved simply by informing complainants of the established room transfer procedure and advising them to follow it. Cases involving students who cite personal or property risk as the reason for changing rooms are addressed in consultation with appropriate campus departments including University Police, Counseling Center, Student Health Center, Academic Affairs and Research, or others as needed.

 Parking: Citation disputes.

The vast majority of complaints are referred to the Parking Committee for resolution. Students, faculty, and staff may appeal citations by submitting an online appeal form. They are scheduled for a time to meet with an appeals committee that is comprised of department administrators and students (3), faculty (3), and staff (3) appointed by each body’s governing group. The committee hears information presented by the appellant and reviews documentation and photos taken at the scene by Parking Services personnel. The committee considers all available information and only the student, faculty, and staff members vote on a decision.

Occasionally, this office is involved in resolving parking matters when a student has a very high number of parking fines that affects their ability to enroll or receive financial aid. In those

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instances, this office coordinates discussion among relevant departments and produces a single

response outlining a plan for resolution and notifies the student of actions to be taken by all parties involved, including the student.

 Student account billing: Billing for all student, faculty, and staff accounts is handled by the Student Account Services department. An outstanding balance can prevent a student from enrolling or receiving a transcript. Often, account problems are associated with course enrollment and financial aid problems. Students call the vice chancellor’s office to complain about the financial aid department when the root of the problem may actually be because of an academic course enrollment past or present. In these cases, Student Affairs contacts Student Account Services, FAS, Academic Affairs, and/or other departments involved to clarify the problem. Student Affairs staff then contacts the student and explains the connection between financial aid awarding and the root cause of the problem. Steps for resolving the matter are given and Student Affairs staff follows up with the student afterwards to see if things worked out. If the problem does not involve a department within Student Affairs, the student is simply put in contact with the appropriate person or office.

 Financial Aid: Award money withheld or otherwise unavailable to student.

Financial aid is available and awarded on schedule to eligible students who follow procedure and meet deadlines stated in the application and award instructions provided by FAS. Unfortunately, some students do not comply. Federal guidelines govern most aspects of the financial aid process; therefore ASU is not at liberty to offer flexibility to accommodate every student request. Financial aid complaints to this office are resolved in the same manner as other complaints, by referral to the appropriate person or department for assistance or through a single response based on coordinated effort with other departments involved.

ASU Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) office processes approximately 12,000 aid applications annually. This office receives most complaint calls one to three weeks prior to the beginning of a new term, especially the fall term. Another peak time for complaint calls is late in the spring semester when students realize they have missed the deadline for scholarship application. Financial Aid and Scholarships publicizes its procedures and deadlines by email to current students, on its web site, and via workshops at area high schools to benefit seniors and their parents.

During the past five years approximately 321 students contacted the Office of Academic Affairs and Research to request assistance, to express a concern, or to issue a complaint. When students request assistance with an academic issue such as academic suspension or probation they are referred to the Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Credit Appeals Committee for

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resolution to their situation. In some situations when students have questions concerning transfer credit, their status in the student information system, or other questions regarding specific academic policies and procedures, AAR works directly with the Registrar to communicate official information to students concerning their academic record. On a few occasions, course substitutions have been approved by AAR because of advising errors. In almost all cases, the UGACAC hears the students’ issues. In situations in which students complain about a course grade, a specific assignment, or actions of a professor, students are referred to the instructor, chair, and dean as outlined in the Student Handbook for resolving these types of academic issues. These issues are typically resolved at the department level. During the last academic year on three different occasions the student’s frustration level with the instructor, chair, and dean was so great that AAR facilitated discussions to resolve the issues. All three situations were resolved in ways that satisfied the student and faculty. Summary data from last year that is representative of most student contacts with AAR shows that 19 students were referred to the instructor, chair, and dean for assistance, 13 students received information from the Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration that resolved their issue, 9 required action from AAR for resolution, 4 appealed to the UGACAC, 1 case went to Legal Counsel for resolution, 1 to the Advising Center, 4 to Student Accounts, 1 to Student Affairs, 9 in which students were ill and needed assistance with contacting instructors.

3. Explain how the institution integrates what it has learned from the complaint process into improvements in services or in teaching and learning. In addition to departmental modification or implementation of technologies and programs throughout the division to streamline services to students, this office developed a Customer Service Procedures policy by which all Student Affairs employees are expected to abide. These principles and standards place the focus on students and other customers. Through ongoing observation and discussion by and between department directors and the vice chancellor’s office, services are added or improved for the benefit of the customer and the efficiency of the department.

The following is Student Affairs Customer Service Principles and Standards which is provided to all Student Affairs employees and listed on the vice chancellor’s web site: (Customer Service Procedures)

Customer Service Procedures The Customer Service Procedures of the Student Affairs Division at Arkansas State University- Jonesboro is the foundation for all staff interactions with constituents including students, faculty, staff, and the general public. Student Affairs Customer Service Principles and Standards Customer First Outlook  We will listen, be courteous, and treat customers with dignity and respect.  We will actively seek to understand customer needs in order to serve them right the first time and every time thereafter. Contributing to student “run-around” will not be tolerated.

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 We will deliver high quality service that meets or exceeds needs and expectations.  We do not discriminate and offer the same quality of service to all regardless of age, race, sex, nationality, educational background, physical limitations or any other criteria such as attitude.

Confidentiality  We will ensure all interactions and transactions with customers of the University will be considered confidential and will be discussed only in a professional context. Staff should remember that discussion of confidential customer issues should be limited to non-public areas. Efficiency  We will respond in a timely manner to customer questions/concerns. All customer inquiries will be responded to within 24 hours (or 48 hours during peak periods including the two weeks prior to and after the start of the fall semester) of the original request.  We will designate a key customer service contact in each department. This person will listen to the problem, find a solution, and follow-through if the contact needed is unavailable.  We will take the initiative to identify problem situations up front and propose workable alternatives. Recovery  We will acknowledge our mistakes, apologize when appropriate, and do our best to prevent the same mistake in the future. These are general customer service principles and standards to be utilized by the Student Affairs Division as part of the annual evaluation process for all Student Affairs employees.

Every student request and/or complaint received by the Office of Academic Affairs and Research must be treated with respect and investigated. Most situations are resolved fairly quickly once students are connected with the individual or office that can provide direct assistance. In one case, student concerns and complaints about a class provided the chair and dean with previously unknown information about an instructor that led to a thorough personnel investigation. Sometimes student concerns and complaints are not issued directly to the Office of Academic Affairs and Research but are offered informally to advisors or program directors. Even these types of informal concerns are shared confidentially with chairs to ensure that they are informed of possible classroom situations. An example of this occurred when several students noted that a few classes in one department were dismissing early and class sessions were cancelled frequently during the fall semester. The chair of the department was informed and began to monitor the class sessions of the identified sections and to take corrective actions. No more concerns have been received regarding this department. These two examples demonstrate the importance of taking student comments seriously and using that information appropriately to improve teaching and learning.

Publication of Transfer Policies 1. Demonstrate that transfer policies are disclosed in the institution’s catalog, on the web site, or in other appropriate publications.

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(Transfer policies in Undergraduate Bulletin) (Transfer policies in Graduate Bulletin) (Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration Transfer Policies on web site) 2. Demonstrate that articulation agreements, at both the institutional level and the program level, are disclosed to students. Ensure that the disclosures clearly identify whether the institution under review: 1) accepts credit from the other institution(s) in the articulation agreement; 2) sends credits to the other institution(s) in the articulation agreement that it accepts; or 3) both offers and accepts credits with the institution(s) in the articulation agreement. Policies and procedures regarding transfer credit are published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletins and on the Office of the Registrar’s web page. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education requires that public colleges and institutions in the state comply with Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS). This system provides students with detailed information regarding transferability of courses within the state. The Office of the Registrar also provides students with a searchable Transfer Course Equivalency database that allows students to see if a course from another institution is accepted at Arkansas State. Some departments may substitute equivalencies for their programs. There may be stipulations to acceptance of some courses. Some courses may transfer as “elective” credit, which means the hours will transfer to ASU. The major department will determine if these “elective” hours may be used in a degree plan. If a course is not located in either of these two sites, students may request that the appropriate chair of the department review the transfer course for equivalency.

3. Demonstrate that the disclosed transfer policies align with the criteria and procedures actually used by the institution in making transfer decisions. Staff in the Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration that evaluate transfer credit are required to follow Arkansas Department of Higher Education rules and institutional policy and procedures when evaluating transfer credit. Transfer work is entered into the student information system where previously articulated courses automatically prepopulate course equivalencies. New courses are evaluated course by course and sent to the appropriate department for review.

Practices for Verification of Student Identity 1. Identify whether students are enrolled in distance or correspondence courses. Arkansas State offers 16 graduate degree programs as fully online programs and three undergraduate degrees as fully online programs. Students are admitted to the programs following the same application process as residential students. For many years students were required to receive permission from their advisor and dean of the college to enroll in correspondence courses. During the past two years students could enroll in

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correspondence courses without permission from an advisor. This summer a revised policy was reinstated to require students to meet with their advisor and department chair to receive formal permission prior to enrolling in correspondence courses. This process will provide advisors and department chairs with an opportunity to assist students in locating traditional course offerings.

When obtaining an ASTATE ID card students must present either their drivers license, other state issued id, military id or passport. The id number, issue date, and expiration date of one these forms of identification is recorded on the ASTATE ID card application that is completed and signed prior to the issuing of the ASTATE ID.

2. Demonstrate that the institution verifies the identity of students enrolled in these courses, that any additional costs to the student because of this method are disclosed to students prior to enrollment, and that the method of verification makes reasonable efforts to protect student privacy. Information and Technology Services at Arkansas State create, assigns, and manages the student username used for accessing all university systems and network. The student’s identity is authenticated using Active Directory when utilizing all systems including the Blackboard Learning Management System that is used for all online courses, selected correspondence courses, and many traditional courses. The passwords are chosen by the student and are subject to the ASU password management policies that require resets every 90 days and use of strong passwords.

In compliance with Federal Law, Arkansas State uses the Software Secure Remote Proctor software to verify a student’s identity before any proctored exams are taken online. Not all colleges or departments on campus use this proctoring software. The colleges/departments that currently use the Remote Proctor software for exams are, College of Business online MBA, the College of Nursing and Health Professions RN to BSN program, and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences college algebra course offered through the online Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree. All courses that use the Remote Proctor software have an area on the course menu that provides the cost and user software information.

Title IV Program Responsibilities This requirement has several components the institution must address. The institution staff compiling this information should work with the financial aid office and the chief financial officer or comptroller.

1. General Program Responsibilities a. Provide information regarding the status of the institution’s Title IV program; in particular, submit information about recent findings from Title IV program reviews, inspections, or audits. Arkansas State University has been approved as an eligible institution to participate in the Federal Student Financial Aid Programs based on the submission of the program participation agreement.

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The last submission was in March, 2009 and the institution was approved for a five year period. The next approval will be spring of 2015 to continue to participate in the Federal Aid Programs. Copies of the PPA are attached as well as the approval letter from the U.S. Department of Education. Arkansas State University was selected for review by the U. S. Department of Education in September of 2012. This process is still ongoing, but should be completed by the end of September, 2013, when we are expected to receive an official response from the U.S. Department of Education. (PPA approval letter) (PPA Full approval letter) (Audit) (Audit report for ASU 7-10-13) (ASU Response to 7-10-13 report)

b. Disclose any limitation, suspension, or termination actions that the U.S. Department of Education has undertaken and the reasons for those actions. There are not any limitations, suspensions, or termination actions undertaken by the U.S, Department of Education at any time.

c. Disclose any fines, letters of credit, or heightened monitoring arising from the Department of Education. Explain the consequences of these challenges for the institution’s short- and long- term financial health. There have not been any fines, letters of credit, or heightened monitoring from the Department of Education.

d. Discuss the institution’s response and corrective actions to these challenges. No response was necessary.

e. Provide information about findings from the A-133 portion of the institution’s audited financial statements that identify any material weaknesses in the processing of financial aid.

There are not any findings from the A-133 portion of the institutions audited financial statements that indicate any weaknesses in the processing of financial aid.

2. Financial Responsibility Requirements. Provide information about the Department of Education’s review of the institution’s composite ratios and financial audits.

The Commission also annually analyzes each institution’s financial ratios to determine whether there might be financial concerns. The team will check with the institution and with Commission staff regarding whether the Commission or the Department has previously raised concerns about an institution’s finances based on these ratios. If so, the institution should have addressed in its

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documents the actions it has taken and plans to take in response to these concerns. Related Commission Requirements: Core Component 5.A, 2.B; Assumed Practice D.1.

No information has been provided to the university about the Department of Education’s review of the institution’s composite ratios and financial audits.

3. Default Rates Note for 2012 and thereafter institutions and teams should be using the three-year default rate based on revised default rate data published by the Department in September 2012. The institution should take steps to avoid excessive loan default rates. a. Disclose student loan default rates as provided by the Department for the three years leading up to the visit. The two year default rates for the last three years are attached as well as the 2009 three year rate. The 2010 rate for both the two year and three year will not be available until September of 2013. (Two year default rate) (Three year default rate)

b. If the default rates are higher for the institution than its peer institutions, if rates are rising, or if rates have exceeded Departmental thresholds or triggered a Department review, then the institution should address the actions it has taken in response and submit to the team any corrective plan filed with the Department. Arkansas State University has seen an increase in the default rate in the last three years, although the rates are nowhere near the U.S. Department of Education thresholds, it was decided to develop a default management program as a service to our students as well as the University. Additionally, we have an arrangement with Edfinancial to provide additional default prevention solutions. The institutional Default management plan is attached as well as information concerning Edfinancial and their role in this process. (Default management plan outline) (Default prevention)

c. Submit information about the institution’s participation in private loan programs and any loan services that it provides to students directly or that a related corporation provides to its students.

Arkansas State University participates in the private loan programs, but recommends that students exhaust all of their eligibility for federal student loan before requesting a private loan. Arkansas State University does not promote any one lender and allows the students to choose for themselves. The link below leads to the website which is managed by Great Lakes called Fast Choice. This is a free service offered by Great Lakes and meets all federal requirements concerning private loan

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information on the web. (Fast Choice web site)

4. Campus Crime Information, Athletic Participation and Financial Aid, and Related Disclosures. Title IV responsibilities include the legal obligation to disclose information to students and to the public about campus crime, athletic participation and other information. Identify any findings from the Department regarding these disclosures. Supporting information: Provide samples of those disclosures in the Resource Room.

As a recipient of Title IV funds, Arkansas State University is required to make certain disclosures to students on campus crime, athletic participation and other information. In compliance with this requirement, Arkansas State has created a centralized “Consumer Information” web site and also duplicated it at the “Right to Know” web site (Consumer Information and Right to Know). In addition, prior to October 1st of each year, Arkansas State University sends out an email notification to all students outlining the types of information disclosed on campus crime with direct links to the web site.

Here is an example of the notification: Subject: Campus Crime Statistics for 2011 “As of today, the Campus Crime Statistics for 2011 are posted and available. The Clery Report is compiled by the Office of Student Conduct at ASUJ. Crime and arrest statistics for ASU Jonesboro are compiled by ASUJ University Police. Conduct referral statistics for ASU J are provided by the Office of Student Conduct. Every attempt is made to ensure that the information provided is accurate. They can be located at http://www2.astate.edu/a/student-affairs/student- conduct/Crime_Statistics.dot. Campus Fire Safety Statistics can be found at http://www.astate.edu/a/student-affairs/police/crime-stats/. If you would like a paper copy of either document, please contact the Office of Student Conduct at 870-972-2834.”

Arkansas State University publishes crime statistics annually in compliance with the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Data are submitted annually to the FBI in compliance and statistics are published annually on Arkansas State University’s web site with links from the University Police Department, Campus Safety, Consumer Information or Right to Know. The Clery Campus Crime Statistics is located at the following link (Clery Campus Crime Statistics). The annual report provides statistics for the past three years in specific categories as required. Copies of recent crime and fire statistics reports are available on the university’s web site from the following link (Crime and fire statistics reports)

Athletic participation data is available to the public through the Consumer Information or Right to Know web sites under the sub-heading of Intercollegiate Athletic Program Participation Rates and Financial Support Data (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) at the following link (Intercollegiate

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Athletic Program Participation Rates and Financial Support Data). The information is derived from athletic data submitted annually as required by the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) by all co-educational postsecondary institutions that receive Title IV funding and have an intercollegiate athletics program. A copy of this information from the web is located in the Resource Room.

5. Student Right to Know. Title IV responsibilities require that institutions provide graduation/completion for the student body by gender, ethnicity, receipt of Pell grants, and other data as well as information about the process for withdrawing as a student, cost of attendance, refund and return of Title IV policies, current academic programs and faculty, names of applicable accrediting agencies, description of facilities for disabled students, and the institution’s policy on enrollment in study abroad. In addition, certain institutions need to disclose their transfer-out rate. Supporting information: Identify any findings from the Department regarding these disclosures. Provide samples of these disclosures in the Resource Room. Related Commission Requirements: Assumed Practice A.6.

Information required to be disclosed under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008), requires that institutions of higher education receiving Title IV funds make certain disclosures to students, more commonly referred to as “Student Right to Know.” To comply with the requirements, Arkansas State has created to two links from its main web site to connect consumers to the information. Students can click on the “Consumer Information” link or the “Right to Know” link and be connected to the required information.

Specific items covered in the general requirements and on the web site are as follows:

CONSUMER INFORMATION

 Notice of Availability of Institutional and Financial Aid Information  Contact Information for Assistance in Obtaining Institutional or Financial Aid Information  General Institutional Information  Privacy of Student Records - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)  Facilities and Services for Students with Disabilities  Student Diversity  Price of Attendance  Tuition Estimator  Refund Policy and Requirements for Withdrawal and Return of Federal  Financial Aid  Textbook Information  Educational Program  Instructional Facilities

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 Faculty  Transfer of Credit Policies and Articulation Agreements  Accreditation, Approval, and Licensure of Institution and Programs  Copyright Infringement-Policies and Sanctions  Computer Use and File Sharing  Career and Job Placement Services  Teacher Preparation Program Report  Student Financial Assistance  Assistance Available from Federal, State, Local and Institutional Programs  Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations  Student Loan Information  Initial Loan Counseling for Student Borrowers  Exit Counseling for Student Borrowers  Institutional Code of Conduct for Education Loans  Preferred Lender Arrangements  Health and Safety  Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program  Vaccination Policies  Campus Security Policies, Crime Statistics and Crime Log  Fire Safety Policies, Fire Statistics and Fire Log (On-Campus Housing Facilities)  Student Outcomes  Retention Rate  Graduation Rates/Transfer out Rates (Student Right-to-Know Act)  Graduation Rates for Students Receiving Federal Aid  Graduation Rates for Students Receiving Athletically Related Student Aid (Student Right-to-Know Act)  Transfer-out Rates for Students Receiving Athletically Related Student Aid (Student Right-to-Know Act)  Job Placement for Graduates  Graduate and Professional Education Placement for Graduates  Intercollegiate Athletic Program Participation Rates and Financial Support Data (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act)  Voter Registration

Academic Programs and Faculty

Arkansas State University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees from 10 different colleges and the Graduate School ranging from the associate to doctoral degrees. All colleges and their specific academic programs can be viewed from each individual college’s web site or by going to the link for Academic Programs to view all colleges and links to individual programs from the following link (Academic Programs and Degrees) Required information for disclosure on faculty can be

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obtained under the “Consumer Information” or “Right to Know” at the following link (Right to Know Faculty Information).

Names of applicable accrediting agencies

Information pertaining to Arkansas State’s accrediting agencies for institutional, colleges, and departmental as well, can be ascertained from the “Accreditation” web link on Arkansas State’s web page at the following link (Accreditations)

Description of facilities for disabled students

Disability Services is responsible for the coordination and provision of support services to students with disabilities. We strive to ensure access for students with disabilities and to comply with ADA, ADAAA amendments act of 2008, Section 504 and Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act. From our Disability Services office web site, a link on the left of the web site directs students to Parking and Physical Access (Disability Services web site) By clicking on that link, students are transferred to a page that details instructions for requesting disability parking and provides information on building access by building name (Parking and Physical Access).

Policy on enrollment in Study Abroad

Information for Arkansas State’s Study Abroad program can be obtained directly from the Study Abroad program’s web site. (Study Abroad)

Transfer out rates

Information pertaining to Arkansas State’s transfer out rate can be obtained from the “Consumer Information” or “Right to Know” web site under the heading of “Student Outcomes”. Clicking on the following link Transfer-out Rates for Students Receiving Athletically Related Student Aid (Student Right-to-Know Act) will take you to the transfer out rate information (Transfer out rate).

Supporting information: Identify any findings from the Department regarding these disclosures. Provide samples of these disclosures in the Resource Room.

Arkansas State University went through a federal audit in October 2012. The purpose of the audit was to review selected aspects of ASU’s administration of Title IV programs. This was in accordance and authorized by the Inspector General Act of 1978 and conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. The areas audited include, Default Management and Prevention, reporting of information through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Date System (IPEDS), Satisfactory Academic Progress measures for students and consumer information published by ASU on the web site. This was a routine audit required for all institutions that participate in the use of federal funds. A copy of the findings of the audit is located in the Resource Room.

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6. Satisfactory Academic Progress and Attendance Policies. The institution is required to have a Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and an attendance policy as part of the Title IV program. Document that these policies are readily available to students, satisfy state or federal requirements, and are being appropriately applied by the institution in individual student situations. (Note that the Commission does not necessarily require that the institution take attendance but does anticipate that institutional attendance policies will provide information to students about attendance at the institution.)

Arkansas State University monitors academic progress of students each pay period in conjunction with federal regulations pertaining academic Progress. Each year students must accept new awards to continue school. We have required that all students receiving federal financial aid must read and acknowledge that they have read the policy before we will disburse financial aid. Information outlining the process is attached and additionally, the link to the actual policy on our website is listed below. This will outline the requirements, how to appeal and how to renew eligibility for federal student aid. (SAP information outline) (SAP page on Arkansas State’s web site) (Undergraduate attendance policy) (Graduate Bulletin statement on attendance)

7. Contractual Relationships. Disclose contracts with third-party entities not accredited by a federally recognized accrediting agency. (The institution should have previously disclosed to the Commission all existing contracts in the 2010 and 2011 Annual Institutional Data Updates and received approval for those contracts. The Commission’s substantive change policy requires that the institution notify the Commission of any new contracts for up to 25 percent of an academic program, that the institution obtain prior Commission approval before initiating any contract for 25 to 50 percent of a program, and that the Commission approve contracts for more than 50 percent of a program only in exceptional circumstances under strict scrutiny. The institution should review the document, “Information on Contractual and Consortial Arrangements,” for more information. Related Commission Requirements: Assumed Practice A.10.)

No contractual relationships exist beyond those previously disclosed to the Commission in the 2010 and 2011 Annual Institutional Data Updates.

8. Consortial Relationships. Disclose consortial relationships with other entities accredited by a federally recognized accrediting agency. (The institution should have previously disclosed all consortial relationships to the Commission in the 2010 and 2011 Annual Institutional Data Updates. The Commission’s substantive change policy requires that the institution notify the Commission of any new consortium for 25 to 50 percent of an academic program and that the institution obtains

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prior Commission approval for any consortium that offers 50 percent or more of an academic program. The institution should review the document, “Information on Contractual and Consortial Arrangements,” for more information. Related Commission Requirements: Assumed Practice A.10.)

No consortial relationships exist beyond those previously disclosed to the Commission in the 2010 and 2011 Annual Institutional Data Updates.

Required Information for Students and the Public 1. Submit course catalogs and student handbooks to the team. (Undergraduate Bulletin) (Graduate Bulletin) (Student Handbook)

2. Identify sections of the web site that include required disclosure information.

Information required to be disclosed to the students and public can generally be found on Arkansas State’s web site under the category of “Consumer Information” or “Right to Know”. Both headings will connect you to the same location. Information required to be disclosed by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, can be assessed from this site with three or fewer clicks. Please see pages 11 and 12 of this document for a list of disclosed information provided at the Consumer Information/Right to Know web site.

Advertising and Recruitment Materials and Other Public Information 1. Demonstrate that advertisements and recruiting materials provides accurate, timely, and appropriately detailed information to current and prospective students and that information about the institution’s accreditation status with the Commission and other accrediting agencies is clear and accurate. Arkansas State’s primary source of recruitment materials for undergraduate programs is produced through the Recruitment Office with products such as the Recruitment Viewbook, Transfer Guide, Tuition and Fee Matrix, “Road Piece” (a marketing piece used by the recruiters to hand to prospects while in the field recruiting), and Invitations to Preview Day and Academic Open House to name a few. Copies of these materials are available in the Resource Room. All of the documents are reviewed and produced annually to keep the material current and are available to the public through the Recruitment Office or recruiters on the road.

Information about Arkansas State’s accreditation can be viewed from Arkansas State’s web page at

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the following link (Accreditations). Specific program accreditation information may not be provided in the recruitment pieces but specific program accreditation information is updated as needed on the web page. Information is provided for the institution and for individual programs.

There is a direct link to the Admission’s web site from the main page of Arkansas State’s web page www.astate.edu. From this site, students and the public can be directed to links for recruitment, accreditation agencies, and Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Arkansas State University uses a variety of advertising methods to promote their online offerings. Some of the degrees are marketed through a partnership with Academic Partnerships who provides collateral materials, recruiters, and access to program information through a website accessible via the ASU website but maintained by AP at the following site (Academic Partnerships). Other online programs are marketed by their respective colleges and departments. Collateral materials are created in-house by the Office of Marketing and Communications and include brochures, personalized emails, letters, etc. Information about these programs can also be found on the individual college websites. For example, information about the Online Masters of Business Administration is located alongside the on-campus information at the College of Business web site (Online MBA).

Materials used to recruit international students contain detailed information about Arkansas State’s undergraduate and graduate programs and their accreditations. The brochure contains a link to Arkansas State’s International Programs web site that provides accurate program and accreditation information to students (International Programs).

2. Demonstrate that the institution provides such information to current and prospective students about its programs, locations, and policies. The marketing pieces are distributed primarily by the Recruitment Office and by recruiters while performing their jobs or other venues when opportunities arise including but not limited to visits with high school counselors and school visit days. Additional marketing is done via social media and the web. Information on all aspects of the college life, admissions, and recruitment can be obtained from the Admissions’, Office of Recruitment, and departmental web sites from Arkansas State’s web page.

Graduate recruitment is a centralized effort for the University. Designated recruiters in The Graduate School attend formal recruitment events hosted by colleges and universities throughout Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas each year. Additional recruitment activities held in conjunction with professional conferences, such as McNair Scholars and the Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society/National Institute of Science annual meetings, are also attended. The Graduate School maintains a customer relationship management (CRM) system for all prospective students and applicants. Carefully timed email messages are sent to prospects via specific communication plans set up within the CRM. These

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emails feature information about the student’s program of interest as well as links to degree specific web pages. Correspondence from faculty program directors is also included. Applicants’ messages encourage completion of incomplete applications and a link to a web page, featuring degree specific checklists, where they can track their progress.

3. Provide the team with a link to the Mark of Affiliation on the institution’s web site. The Higher Learning Commission’s Mark of Affiliation is located on the Accreditation web page. Clicking on the Accreditation link from the Arkansas State web page will take you there and the mark is clearly visible on the right side of the page at the following link (Accreditations). Clicking on the Mark will take you to Arkansas State University’s Statement of Affiliation Status page on the Higher Learning Commission’s web site (HLC web site).

Review of Student Outcome Data 1. Demonstrate that the institution collects information about student outcomes. Chapter 4 of the self-study explains the process for collecting student outcomes. 2. Provide evidence that information collected about student outcomes informs planning, program review, assessment, etc. Chapter 4 of the self-study report provides evidence that the institution collects information about student outcomes and uses that data to inform planning, program review, and assessments.

Standing with State and Other Accrediting Agencies 1. Disclose information about any relationship with a specialized, professional, or institutional accreditor and with all governing or coordinating bodies in states in which the institution has a presence. Arkansas State’s programs are accredited by 24 different accrediting agencies and the university is approved to offer online programs in 39 states. Please see the Academic Program Review Schedule. Supporting information: Provide the team in the Resource Room with the most recent comprehensive evaluation report and action letter from each institutional or specialized accrediting agency as well as any interim monitoring prepared for that agency.

Public Notification of Opportunity to Comment 1. Determine what constituencies should receive the notice of opportunity to comment. These groups should include students, parents, alumni, taxpayers, donors, community groups, local businesses.

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2. Determine what media the institution will use to solicit comments. Local newspapers, institutional web sites, and alumni magazines are appropriate choices. The notices should reach all constituencies but should not unduly burden the institution. The notices should include: the purpose and dates of the visit, the institution’s accreditation status with the Higher Learning Commission, an invitation to send written, signed comments directly to the Commission, and contact information for the Commission.

The notices should specify that comments must be sent to the Commission no later than four weeks before the start of the visit.

3. Publish the notices of the visit following the prescribed format; a sample notification is provided below.

4. The institution must send copies of its notices to the Commission in .pdf format to [email protected] at least a month before the comprehensive evaluation visit. Commission staff will compile the comments and the notices and send them to the evaluation team and to the institution three weeks prior to the visit. The Commission will also review and forward comments received after the deadline lapses and even during the visit, as third party comments are an important part of the comprehensive evaluation visit process.

5. In cases where comments are of a sensitive nature, the Commission staff will ensure that the commenter is aware that comments are typically forwarded to the institution and the evaluation team with identifying information intact. In some cases, Commission staff may redact the identifying information of the commenter or summarize the comment.

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Appendix A: Assignment of Credit Hours

Part One: Institutional Calendar, Term Length, and Type of Credit

Institutions that use multiple calendars across the institution may need to complete more than one section below. For more information about the terminology and calendaring units referenced in this form, see 2011-2012 Federal Student Aid Handbook, Volume 3, Chapter 1, Academic Calendar, Payment Periods and Disbursements. Definitions in this section are taken from that Handbook.

Name of Institution: Arkansas State University

Arkansas State University’s academic calendar follows a 15 week fall and spring semester class offerings with two 5 week summer terms. Selected courses are offered during a December, May, and August Interim sessions. During the fall and spring semesters 7 week first and second half of term classes are offered. Selected graduate level programs offer 5 week courses that may start prior to the regular 15 week semester courses. All of the courses in these programs are being realigned to follow the 7 week first and second half of terms that coincide with the start and end dates of the regular semester. Selected courses are offered through the correspondence course program. These courses may begin every two weeks throughout the year and students have six months from the start date to complete a correspondence course. (Academic Calendars, left menu at AAR web site contains link to academic calendars)

Column 1 Column 2 Terms Term Length: Number of Starts Number of weeks Semester / Standard Format: 15 1 Trimester Calendar 14-17 week term Compressed Formats: 5 weeks* 3 4, 8 or other week terms 7 weeks 2 within the semester calendar1 Summer Term 5 weeks 2 10 weeks 1 Quarter Calendar Standard Format: NA 10-12 week term Compressed Formats: NA 2, 5, or other week terms within the quarter calendar 1 Summer Term NA *Five week courses were graduate level online program courses that are now being offered as 7 week courses within the regular semester. These programs will continue to offer 5 week courses during the regular summer terms.

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Non-Standard Terms (terms that are not semester, trimesters, or quarters. A non-standard term may have the following characteristics: courses do not begin and end within a set period of time; courses overlap terms, including self-paced and independent study courses or sequential courses that do not begin and end within a term; terms may be of equal or unequal length.)

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Term Term Length: Number of Type of Credit Number of weeks Starts Non-Standard Term One 6 months Variable Regular semester Term Calendar Correspondence throughout the credit Courses academic year

Term Two December 2012: 15 1 per session Regular semester Interim Sessions: days credit May, August, May 2013: 15 days December August 2013: 10 days Term Three Summer Term* 2 week course 1 Regular semester 4 week course 1 credit 8 week course 1 13 week course 1 *One 2 week 3 credit hour course was offered as part of a grant for Math teachers—met for a full day— MTWRF. Three 4 week 3 credit hour nursing courses were offered this summer—met for 3 hours 50 minutes— MTWRF. Two 8 week 3 credit hour courses were offered this summer—marketing class met for 4 hours 45 minutes one evening per week and the nursing course was delivered online. One 13 week courses was offered this summer. Five students enrolled in a 13 week 3 credit hour internship/practicum for the College Student Personnel Services degree.

(Spring 2013 Class Schedule) The first tab in the excel file contains all Spring 2013 courses. The additional tabs contain Spring 2013 courses separated by category. (Summer 2013 Class Schedule) The first tab in the excel file contains all Summer 2013 courses. The additional tabs contain Summer 2013 courses separated by category. (Part of Term Definitions for Summer 2013 Class Schedule) (Courses with more than 6 credit hours) The first tab in the excel file contains Spring 2013 courses with 6

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or more credit hours and an explanation for each type of course. The second tab contains Summer 2013 data.

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Part Two. Format of Courses and Number of Credits Awarded

Spring 2013: 15 Week Courses Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses 85 2 6 53 8 0- varies by varies by # of meetings 30 course course 0-60 0-15 0- varies by varies by 1 Meeting length 2.8 course course 0-2 0-1.8 # of courses 2 1 1 # of meetings 15 varies by course varies by course 1.5 Meeting length 1.25 varies by course varies by course # of courses 74 4 11 20 1 0- varies by # of meetings 60 0-30 course 0-30 30 0- varies by 2 Meeting length 2.8 0-.9 course 0-4 varies by course # of courses 660 93 125 78 35 0- varies by # of meetings 75 0-45 course 0-45 0-45 0- varies by 3 Meeting length 3.25 0-2.8 course 0-4 0-5 # of courses 33 4 10 0- # of meetings 60 varies by course 0-30 4 Meeting length 0-2 varies by course 0-8 # of courses 1 # of meetings varies by course 4.5 Meeting length varies by course # of courses 4 7 0- # of meetings 45 0-15 0- 5 Meeting length 2.75 0-9.25 # of courses 4 1 12 14 0- varies by # of meetings 30 course 0-45 varies by course varies by 6 Meeting length 0 course 0-9.25 varies by course # of courses 2 1 # of meetings varies by course varies by course 7 Meeting length varies by course varies by course # of courses 1 1 2 varies by 8 # of meetings 0 course varies by course

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varies by Meeting length 0 course varies by course # of courses 6 2 # of meetings varies by course varies by course 9 Meeting length varies by course varies by course # of courses 3 # of meetings varies by course 10 Meeting length varies by course # of courses 1 10 # of meetings varies by course varies by course 12 Meeting length varies by course varies by course # of courses 1 # of meetings varies by course 15 Meeting length varies by course

Mixed FTF classes at Arkansas State include web-assisted classes. If an online class requires students to take exams on campus, the class is web-assisted. If a face-to-face class uses periodic virtual class sessions on Blackboard, then the class is web-assisted. The mixed FTF category includes these types of classes and those that vary in between these two types of web-assisted contact.

Spring 2013: 7 Week Courses Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses 18 9 1 varies by # of meetings 7-21 course varies by course varies by 1 Meeting length .8-2 course varies by course # of courses 6 # of meetings 0-7 1.5 Meeting length 0-1.25 # of courses 1 1 varies by # of meetings 14 course 1.25- varies by 2 Meeting length 1.8 course # of courses 5 1 46 2 varies by # of meetings 0-42 7-28 course varies by course varies by 3 Meeting length 0-2.75 1.25-2.8 course varies by course # of courses 1 varies by 4 # of meetings course

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varies by Meeting length course # of courses # of meetings 4.5 Meeting length # of courses 2 # of meetings 28-42 5 Meeting length 2-2.25

Spring 2013: 5 Week Courses Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses # of meetings 1 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 2 Meeting length # of courses 28 varies by # of meetings course varies by 3 Meeting length course

Spring 2013: Correspondence Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses # of meetings 1 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 2 Meeting length

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# of courses 23 # of meetings varies by course 3 Meeting length varies by course

Summer 2013: Full Session Courses (10 Weeks) Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses 1 1 1 1 2 varies by varies by # of meetings course 10 course varies by course varies by course varies by varies by 1 Meeting length course 1.25 course varies by course varies by course # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length # of courses 6 3 1 4 1 varies by # of meetings 0-40 0-10 course varies by course varies by course varies by 2 Meeting length 0-1.3 0-1.8 course varies by course varies by course # of courses 20 6 20 18 8 varies by # of meetings 0-50 0 course 0-40 0-20 varies by 3 Meeting length 0-8 0 course 0-8 0-2 # of courses 2 1 # of meetings 20-30 varies by course 4 Meeting length 1.8-2 varies by course # of courses # of meetings 4.5 Meeting length # of courses 1 # of meetings varies by course 5 Meeting length varies by course # of courses 3 8 4 # of meetings 0-50 0-40 varies by course 6 Meeting length 0-2.8 0-12 varies by course

Summer 2013: Session I & II (5 Week Courses) Credits Instructional Time FTF Mixed Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum

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FTF

# of courses 25 1 2 8 3 0- varies by varies by # of meetings 20 course course 0-5 0-10 0- varies by varies by 1 Meeting length 2.8 course course 0-.8 0-7 # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length

# of courses 14 1 4 4 1 0- varies by varies by # of meetings 20 course course 0-20 varies by course varies by varies by 2 Meeting length 0-3 course course 0-2 varies by course # of courses 182 42 122 32 18 0- # of meetings 25 0-25 0 0-25 0-50 0- 3 Meeting length 4.75 0-3 0 0-4 0-7.6 # of courses 11 1 2 10 0- varies by # of meetings 25 course varies by course 0-5 0- varies by 4 Meeting length 3.5 course varies by course 0-7 # of courses # of meetings 4.5 Meeting length # of courses 1 # of meetings varies by course 5 Meeting length varies by course # of courses 3 # of meetings varies by course 6 Meeting length varies by course

Summer 2013: Interim Sessions Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses 5 varies by # of meetings course varies by 1 Meeting length course 1.5 # of courses

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# of meetings Meeting length # of courses 2 varies by # of meetings course varies by 2 Meeting length course # of courses 5 5 11 1 varies by # of meetings 0-12 0-3 course varies by course varies by 3 Meeting length 0-4.5 0-2 course varies by course

Summer 2013: Large Scale Distance Education Course (5 Weeks) Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses # of meetings 1 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 2 Meeting length # of courses 25 varies by # of meetings course varies by 3 Meeting length course

Summer 2013: Large Scale Distance Education Course (7 Weeks) Instructional Mixed Credits Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses # of meetings 1 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length # of courses 2 # of meetings

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Meeting length # of courses 42 varies by # of meetings course varies by 3 Meeting length course

Summer 2013: Correspondence Courses Mixed Credits Instructional Time FTF FTF Distance Correspondence Independent/Directed Weekend Internship/Practicum # of courses # of meetings 1 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 1.5 Meeting length # of courses # of meetings 2 Meeting length # of courses 19 varies by # of meetings course varies by 3 Meeting length course

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Other Courses Not Reported Above

List below any other courses that were not included in the Form for Reporting an Overview of Credit Hour Allocations and Instructional Time for Courses. Identify the course names and the number of credits allocated to them along with a brief description of how instruction takes places in these courses and how many hours of instruction are provided. (Such courses might include travel, summer term, or other courses that do not fit in the columns above because they have a different delivery format. However, if this activity is a small part of the institution’s offerings, it should be reported on with brief information.)

Part Three: Policy on Credit Hours

The institution has a policy specific to the assignment of credit:

__x__ Yes* ____ No

The institution has policies specific to the assignment of credit at the following levels (check all that apply):

__x__ Institution-wide ____ Delivery format specific

____ Department-specific ____ Program specific

*Include the institution’s credit hour policy in the attachments to this worksheet.

Arkansas State builds its academic calendar around a 15 week semester schedule that includes the traditional 50 minute Monday, Wednesday, Friday class schedule and the 75 minute Tuesday, Thursday class meetings to meet the 2250 minutes of class time provided in university courses. This class schedule expects that students will spend 2 hours out of class for every one hour in class to meet minimum class expectations. The university also offers traditional 5 week summer classes during a summer 1 session and a summer 2 session that are scheduled for 2250 minutes per session. The summer school credit hour guidelines are posted on the Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration’s web site to assist faculty and department chairs in meeting federal credit hour requirements. In addition, the three online undergraduate degrees offer two 7 week sessions as a part of their year round seven week course cycle. In recent years as individual courses have been moved from a face-to-face delivery to web and web-assisted departments and colleges have reviewed courses to ensure that courses meet the credit hour expectations as defined by the Department of Education regulations. As new online programs have been developed university undergraduate and graduate curriculum committees have approved the programs and courses to ensure that courses meet the credit

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hour expectations as defined by the Department of Education regulations.

The more challenging question involves the quality of programs and courses offered by Arkansas State University. When programs and courses are approved initially through the university process, they are scrutinized carefully at every level of review. Once courses and programs are delivered, students evaluate courses, PRT committees review the student course evaluations, chairs review the information, course and program assessments are reviewed by assessment committees. The challenge for all universities is how to determine the quality of courses and programs and how to maintain quality programming. At Arkansas State an important measure of quality course and program performance is course level and program level assessment. During the past several years faculty have become more engaged in the assessment process at the course and program level. This has provided opportunities for departments to engage faculty in discussions concerning quality teaching and learning.

*(Arkansas State University credit hour procedures)

Part Four: Total Credit Hour Generation

Identify the typical number of credits of a full-time or part-time undergraduate and graduate student takes during a regular term.

Provide the headcount of students earning more than this load in the most recent fall and spring semesters/trimesters or the equivalent for quarters or non-standard term institutions.

____ Most Recent Fall Term ____ (identify the year)

____ Most Recent Spring Term ____ (identify the year)

Undergraduate Full-Time = 12 hours Undergraduate Part-Time = 6 hours

Graduate Full-Time = 9 hours Graduate Part-Time = 5 hours

Provide the headcount of students earning more that this load in the most recent fall and spring semesters.

Fall 2012 Part-Time Full-Time

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UG (PT Hours >6) 1,141 5,751 (FT Hours > 12) GR (PT Hours >5) 627 421 (FT Hours >9)

Spring 2013 UG (PT Hours >6) 1,234 5,048 (FT Hours > 12) GR (PT Hours >5) 543 448 (FT Hours >9)

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Part Five: Clock Hours

IMPORTANT. THIS WORKSHEET DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL INSTITUTIONS. It is not intended for institutions to demonstrate that they have assigned credit hours relative to contact hours in accordance with the Carnegie definition of the credit hour. This worksheet solely addresses those programs reported to the Department of Education in clock hours for Title IV purposes. Institutions that do not have such programs should not complete this worksheet.

Answer YES to the statement below only if the institution offers any programs in clock hours OR that must be reported to the U.S. Department of Education in clock hours for Title IV purposes even though students may earn credit hours for graduation from these programs. For example, any program that prepares students for a licensed or professional discipline may need to be reported in clock hours to the Department. Check with the institution’s financial aid officer to determine if the institution has programs of this nature. Such programs typically include those required to be identified in clock hours for state licensure of the program or where completing clock hours is a requirement for graduates to apply for licensure or authorization to practice the occupation. Such programs might include teacher education, nursing, or other programs in licensed fields.

The institution reports clock hours to the U.S. Department of Education with regard to some programs for Title IV purposes:

____ Yes ___x_ No

If the answer is Yes, complete Appendix B, Clock Hour Worksheet, and attach it to this report.

Supporting Materials The institution should include with this document the following supporting materials: All supporting materials are included in the report.  Copies of all applicable policies related to the assignment of credit in .pdf format.

 A copy of the catalog or other document in .pdf format that contains course descriptions and applicable credit hour assignments.

 The catalog or other document in which the institution has marked or highlighted any course that is provided by the institution in non-standard terms or compressed format for the term reported. This information can also be provided on a separate list that identifies those courses and how to find them in the course catalog.

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 The course schedule for the most recent completed fall and most recent completed spring terms with times and meeting dates for all classes at all locations and by delivery format. If the course schedule is not available as a separate document, include a URL to access this information online. If a password is required to access this information, include that password.

Note that the team may ask for additional data to examine credit hour production by educational program and by course. These data may include separate breakdowns for general education as well as by delivery format and by course academic unit (semester, quarter, etc.), by level, by location or by delivery format.

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Appendix B: Clock Hour Worksheet

Important. Please review the following instructions. Only certain institutions must complete this worksheet.

Complete this worksheet ONLY IF the institution answered YES in Part 5 of Appendix A indicating that the institution offers any programs in clock hours OR that must be reported to the U.S. Department of Education in clock hours for Title IV purposes even though students may earn credit hours for graduation from these programs. For example, any program that prepares students for a licensed or professional discipline may need to be reported in clock hours to the Department.

Check with the institution’s financial aid officer to determine if the institution has programs of this nature. Such programs typically include those required to be identified in clock hours for state licensure of the program or where completing clock hours is a requirement for graduates to apply for licensure or authorization to practice the occupation. Such programs might include teacher education, nursing, or other programs in licensed fields.

Federal Formula for Minimum Number of Clock Hours of Instruction (34 CFR §668.8) 1 semester or trimester hour must include at least 37.5 clock hours of instruction 1 quarter hour must include at least 25 clock hours of instruction

Name of Institution:______Not Applicable______

Identify the academic programs that are reportable in clock hours based on the information above. (The institution may attach a separate list.)

N/A

Explain the institution’s credit to clock hour conversion policy.

N/A

If the credit to clock hour conversion numbers are less than the federal formula, indicate what specific requirements there are, if any, for student work outside of class.

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Direct URL web links

Undergraduate Bulletin http://www.astate.edu/dotAsset/9e846ffc-efc2-4aa6-8660-dc6945952c18.pdf

Graduate Bulletin http://www.astate.edu/college/graduate-school/files/13-14+G+Bulletin+copy.pdf

Tuition and Fees http://www.astate.edu/a/student-accounts/tuition-fees/

Undergraduate Graduation and Academic Credit Appeals Committee http://www.astate.edu/a/registrar/students/appeals-committee/index.dot

Customer Service Procedures http://www.astate.edu/a/student-affairs/customer-service/

Transfer Credit Policy - Undergrad http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Transfer-Credit-Policy-UGBulletin-2013.pdf

Transfer Credit Policy - Grad http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Transfer-Credit-Policy-GradBulletin-2013.pdf

Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration Transfer Policies on web site http://wt-dc-prod.astate.edu/a/registrar/students/transfer-work/index.dot

PPA Approval Letter http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/PPA-Approval-Letter.pdf

PPA Full Approval Letter http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/PPA-Full-approval-letter.pdf

Audit http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Draft_Audit.pdf

Audit Report for ASU 7-10-13 http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Draft_Report_for_ASU_071013.pdf

ASU Response http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/ASU_Response.pdf

Two year default rate

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http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/two_year_default_rate.pdf

Three year default rate http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/three_year_default_rate.pdf

Default Management Plan Outline http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Default_Plan_Outline_Implemented.pdf

Default Prevention for ASU http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Default_Prevention_for_ASU.pdf

FAST Choice web site https://choice.fastproducts.org/FastChoice/Welcome.do?configId=1336150445393

Right to Know and Consumer Information http://www.astate.edu/a/consumer-information/index.dot

Clery report http://www.astate.edu/dotAsset/ccb45fcb-7c51-48c6-8082-3d18c54de824.pdf

Crime and fire statistics http://www.astate.edu/a/police/crime-stats/index.dot

Intercollegiate Athletic Program Participation Rates and Financial Support Data http://www.astate.edu/dotAsset/849034d1-a1c3-43f5-8304-eb60d37fa4da.pdf

Academic Programs and Degrees http://www.astate.edu/info/academics/degrees/index.dot

Right to Know Faculty information http://www.astate.edu/dotAsset/4a099e4f-b294-4587-9947-43e1190ebb90.pdf

Accreditations http://www.astate.edu/info/about-asu/accreditations/index.dot

Disability Services web site http://www.astate.edu/a/disability/

Parking and Access http://www.astate.edu/a/disability/physical-access/

Study Abroad

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http://www.astate.edu/college/humanities-and-social-sciences/departments/languages/study-abroad/

Transfer out rates http://www.astate.edu/dotAsset/e8eafe99-24e3-46ce-93ae-2fb83c2dd207.pdf

SAP Information Outline http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/SAP_Information_Outline.pdf

SAP web page http://www.astate.edu/a/finaid/progress-policy/index.dot

Attendance Policy -Undergrad http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Attendance-Policy-UGBulletin-2013.pdf

Attendance Policy - Grad http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Attendance-Policy-GradBulletin-2013.pdf

Student Handbook http://www.astate.edu/a/student-conduct/student-standards/handbook-home.dot

Accreditations http://www.astate.edu/info/about-asu/accreditations/index.dot

Academic partnerships http://degree.astate.edu/

College of Business Online http://www.astate.edu/college/business/degrees/degree-details.dot?mid=6fef462e-09b3-4404-bfaa- c5ae626ba02a.

International Programs http://www.astate.edu/info/admissions/international/

HLC Mark of Affiliation http://www.astate.edu/info/about-asu/accreditations/index.dot

HLC website http://www.ncahlc.org/?option=com_directory&Action=ShowBasic&instid=1018

Academic Program Review Cycle http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/ASU-J_Program-Review-Schedule-Revised- 072913.pdf

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Spring 2013 Class Schedule http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Spring_2013_Class_Schedule.xlsx

Summer 2013 Class Schedule http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Summer_2013_Class_Schedule.xlsx

Summer 2013 POT Definitions http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Summer_2013_POT_Definitions.xlsx

Courses with 6 or more credit hours http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Courses_with_6_or_more_credit_hours.xlsx

Credit Hour Procedures http://www.astate.edu/a/hlc/resources/_files/_fc/Credit_Hour_Procedures.pdf

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Self-Study Steering Committee and Criterion Subcommittee Membership

Higher Learning Commission Self-Study Steering Committee

Dr. Lynita Cooksey, Co-Chair – Academic Affairs and Research Ms. Julie Isaacson, Co-Chair – Nursing Dr. Osa Amienyi – Media and Communication Dr. Beverly Boals Gilbert – Continuing Education and Community Outreach Dr. Russ Hannah – Finance and Administration Dr. Bill Smith – Advancement Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch – Humanities and Social Sciences Dr. Kathryn Jones – Academic Affairs and Research Mr. Phillip Ladd – Staff Senate President Dr. Thilla Sivakumaran – Education (Replacing Dr. Greg Meeks on Sabbatical) Dr. John Pratte – Sciences and Mathematics Mr. D’Andre Anderson – SGA President Dr. Jim Washam – Business Dr. Lonnie Williams – Student Affairs Mr. Mark Young – Community Representative Dr. Josie Welsh – Assessment Graduate Student - Student representation varied throughout the self-study process Undergraduate Student - Student representation varied throughout the self-study process

HLC Criterion Subcommittees (Under Former Criteria)

Criterion I: Mission and Integrity Mr. Jeff Bailey – Co-Chair - Library Louella Moore – Co-Chair - Accounting Elaine Poynter – Advancement/Alumni Bill Humphrey – Agriculture and Technology Stacy Willmott – Athletics Len Frey – Finance and Administration Natalie Johnson-Leslie - Education Lina Owens – Education David LaVetter – Education David Saarnio – Education Craig Cullison – Education Loretta McGregor - Education Marika Kyriakos – Fine Arts Larry Salinger – Humanities and Social Sciences Brady Banta – Humanities and Social Sciences Marty Allen – Music Mike McDaniel – Nursing and Health Professions Mary Young – Community

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David McKinney – Student Affairs

Criterion II: Preparing for the Future Russ Hannah – Co- Chair - Finance and Administration Richard Grippo – Co- Chair - Sciences and Mathematics Beth Smith – Advancement/Alumni Beth Hood – Agriculture and Technology John Mello – Business Gail Hudson – Business Jeff Pittman – Business Dan Marburger – Business Chris Brown – Business Osa Amienyi – Media and Communication Rick Clifft – Engineering Curtis Steele – Fine Arts Allyson Gill – Fine Arts Bill Hall – Finance Andy Sustich – Graduate School Rebecca Oliver – Honors Stacy Troxel – Nursing and Health Professions Jeff Jenness – Sciences and Mathematics Terri Moody – Nursing and Health Professions Vanessa Hardaway – Student Jaquisha Williams – Student Haley Stout – Finance and Administration Al Stoverink – Finance and Administration Kathryn Jones – Academic Affairs and Research

Criterion III: Student Learning and Effective Teaching Jim Washam –Co-Chair – Business Deborah Owens – Teacher Education Tracy Finch – Academic Affairs and Research Melodie Philhours – Business Gil Fowler – Media and Communication Mitch Holifield – Education Dixie Keyes – Education R. Kelly – Education Amany Saleh – Education Dianne Lawler – Education Julia Grady – Education Patricia Murphy – Education Shivan Haran – Engineering Ken Hatch – Fine Arts Yvonne Unnold – Humanities and Social Sciences Deborah Chappel-Traylor - Humanities and Social Sciences Cherise Jones-Branch – Humanities and Social Sciences Cathy Calloway – Humanities and Social Sciences

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Gina Hogue – Academic Affairs and Research Henry Torres – Information and Technology Dominique Hallet – Library Laura Downing – Library Loretta Brewer – Nursing and Health Professions Roy Aldrich – Nursing and Health Professions Debra Walden – Nursing and Health Professions Jeannean Rollins – Nursing and Health Profession John Pratte – Sciences and Mathematics Julie Huggins – Sciences and Mathematics Paula Bradbeery – University College Christi Johnston – Finance and Administration Josie Welsh – Academic Affairs and Research

Criterion IV: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge John Pratte – Co-Chair - Sciences and Mathematics Gina Bowman – Advancement Richard Segall – Business Farhad Moeeni – Business Matt Thatcher – Media and Communication Mary Jackson Pitts – Media and Communication Mylea Hill – Media and Communication John Hall – Education Temma Balducci – Fine Arts Carol O’Connor – Humanities and Social Sciences Gretchen Hill – Humanities and Social Sciences Myron Flugstad – Library Rick Neeley – Nursing and Health Professions Angie Schmidt – Nursing and Health Professions Debbie Ingram – Sciences and Mathematics Jill Simons – University College Barbara Doyle – University College Loretta Fulton – Finance and Administration

Criterion V: Engagement and Service Beverly Boals Gilbert – Co-Chair - Continuing Education and Community Outreach Mr. Pradeep Mishra – Co-Chair - Media and Communication Greg Phillips – Agriculture and Technology Kevin Humphrey – Agriculture and Technology Lillie Fears – Media and Communication Collin Pillow – Media and Communication Sandra Combs – Media and Communication Holly Hall – Media and Communication Joanna Grymes – Education Don Maness – Education Paul Finnicum – Education Ann Ross – Education

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Genee Gaines – Education Molly Simpson – Fine Arts Rebecca Matthews – Nursing and Health Professions Susan Hanrahan – Nursing and Health Professions Nonnie Wiggins – Nursing and Health Professions Annette Stacy – Nursing and Health Professions Mike Bowman – Regional Programs Phil Hestand – Student Affairs Patrick Dixon – Student Affairs Tim Padgett – Student Lonnie Williams – Student Affairs Randy Martin – Student Affairs

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Abbreviations AA Associate of Art AAACL Arkansas Association for the Assessment of Collegiate Learning AACE Academic Advising Council on Excellence AACSB Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International AAR Academic Affairs and Research AAS Associate of Applied Science AASN Associate of Applied Science in Nursing AAT Associate of Arts in Teaching ABC Academic Budget Committee ABET Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology ABI Arkansas Biosciences Institute ACA American Counseling Association ACCRAO American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers ACE American Council on Education ACEJMC Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications ACPA American College and Personnel Association ACT American College Testing ACTS Arkansas Course Transfer System AD Athletics Director ADA American Disabilities Act ADAAA Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act ADAAG American Disabilities Act with Accessibility Guidelines ADHE Arkansas Department of Higher Education AETN Arkansas Educational Television Network AHECB Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board ANC Arkansas Northeastern College AP Advance Placement APR Academic Progress Rate ARC Academic Retention Council ARE-ON Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network ARISE Accelerated Research Into the Science of the Environment ARK AACRAO Arkansas Division of American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers ArkAAN Arkansas Academic Advising Network Ark-LSAMP Arkansas Louis Stokes Advancing Minority Participation AS Association in Science ASB Alternative Spring Break ASHA American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ASI Academic Success Institute

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Abbreviations ASSET Assessment of Skills for Successful Entry and Transfer ASU Arkansas State University ASUB Arkansas State University-Beebe ASU-TV Arkansas State University-Television ATU Arkansas Tech University BA Bachelor of Arts BEST Boosting Engineering Science and Technology BOT Board of Trustees BS Bachelor of Science BSE Bachelor of Science in Education BSN Bachelor of Science in Nursing BSRS Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences CAA College Art Association CAAHEP Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs CAATE Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education CACREP Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Prgms. CAEL Council on Adult Experiential Learning CAFR Comprehensive Annual Financial Report CALEA Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies CAO Chief Academic Officer CAPTE Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education CASA Court Appointed Special Advocates CAT Critical Thinking Assessment Test CCA Complete College America CD Compact Disc CDI Center for Digital Initiatives CDLC Course Development Life Cycle CDO Chief Diversity Officer CEA Commission on English Language Program Accreditation CECO Continuing Education and Community Outreach CEO Chief Executive Officer CFA College of Fine Arts CFO Chief Financial Officer CHSS College of Humanities and Social Sciences CINAHL Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature CIP Classification of Instructional Programs CIRP Cooperative Research Institute Program CITI Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative

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Abbreviations CLEP College Level Exam Program CMC College of Media and Communication CNC Computer Numeric Control CNHP College of Nursing and Health Professions COA Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs CoAg College of Agriculture CoAT College of Agriculture and Technology COB College of Business COE College of Education CoEng College of Engineering COLA Cost-of-Living Adjustment COMC College of Media and Communication COMPASS Computer-adapted Placement Assessment and Support Services COPE Council on Professional Education CORE Council on Rehabilitation Education COSM College of Sciences and Mathematics CPTED Crime Prevention through Environmental Design CRL Center for Research Libraries CRLA College Reading and Learning Association CSPS Certified Safety Professional Specialist CSWE Council on Social Work Education CTE Career and Technical Education CY Current Year DCFS Division of Children and Family Services DFA Department of Finance and Administration DNP Doctor of Nursing Practice DO Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine DOE Department of Energy DPT Doctor of Physical Therapy DS Disability Services DVD Digital Versatile Disc E & G Educational and General EAP Early Alert Program EdD Doctor of Education EDI Electronic Data Interchange EDS Education Specialist EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ELF Experiential Learning Fellowship

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Abbreviations EPA Environmental Protection Agency ERP Enterprise Resource Planning ESF Employee Status Form ESL English as a Second Language ETS Educational Testing Service FAO Finance and Administration Officer FAS Financial Aid and Scholarship FERPA Family Education Rights and Privacy Act FOIA Freedom of Information Act FRAC Faculty Research Awards Committee FSEOG Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant FTE Full Time Equivalent FY Fiscal Year FYE First Year Experience FYRE First Year Residential Experience FYS First Year Studies GC Graduate Council GEC General Education Committee GFOA Government Finance Officers Association GHD Graduate Hall Director GMAT Graduate Management Admission Exam GPA Grade Point Average GPI Global Perspectives Inventory GRADSCH Graduate School GRE Graduate Record Exam GSL Global Student Leader HBCU Historically Black Colleges and Universities HCA Honors College Association HLC Higher Learning Commission HLLC Honors Living-Learning Community HOLA Hispanic Outreach and Latino Appreciation HPESS Department of Health, Physical Education and Exercise Science HS High School IB International Baccalaureate ID Identity Document IDC Indirect Cost IELTS International English Language Testing System IPEDS Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

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Abbreviations IRB Institutional Research Board IRP Office of Institutional Research and Planning IRS Internal Revenue Service ISO International Organization for Standardization IT Information and Technology ITS Information and Technology Services ITTC Interactive Teaching and Technology Center JRC-DMS Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography JRCERT Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology JSTOR Short for Journal Storage K-12 Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade KASU K-Arkansas State University (K=West of Mississippi) LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender LIBRY Library LLC Living-Learning Communities LSAT Law School Admission Test LSC Library Circulation System LSS Learning Support Services MAT Miller Analogies Test MBA Master of Business Administration MESC Middle East Studies Committee MIA/KIA Missing in Action/Killed in Action MLK Martin Luther King MPA Master of Public Administration MS Master of Science MSE Master of Science in Education MSN Master of Science in Nursing MSW Masters of Social Work NAACLS National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences NAC North Arkansas College NACADA National Academic Advising Association NACEP National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships NACUBO National Association of College and University Business Officers NAIT National Association of Industrial Technology NASAD Natrional Association of Schools of Art and Design NASM National Academy of Sports Medicine NASP National Association of School Psychologists NASPAA National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration

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Abbreviations NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAT National Center of Academic Transformation NCATE National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education NCCI Network for Change and Continuous Innovation NCE National Counselor's Exam NCHC National Collegiate Honors Council NCLEX National Council Licensure Examination NCLEX-RN National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses NCSCE National Center for Science and Civic Engagement NEA North East Arkansas NLNAC National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission NPQ Northpark Quads NPR National Public Radio NSC National Student Clearinghouse NSEP National Security Education Program NSF National Science Foundation NSNA National Student Nurses Association NSO New Student Orientation NSSE National Survey of Student Engagement OCLC Online Computer Library Center OIP Office of International Programs ORTT Office of Research and Technology Transfer OSC Office of Student Conduct OTD Occupational Therapy Doctorate PACES Parent and Child Educational Services PAL Peer Academic Leader PhD Doctor of Philosophy PK-12 Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade PK-16 Pre-Kindergarten through Higher Education (four years) PLA Prior Learning Assessment PRIDE Personal Rehabilitation, Individual Development and Education PRT Promotion Retention and Tenure PTA Physical Therapist Assistant QR Quantitative Reasoning RA Resident Assistant RAD Rape Aggression Defense RCR Responsible Conduct of Research RDI Research Development Institute

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Abbreviations RISE Research Internships in Science and Environment RN Registered Nurse ROTC Reserve Officer Training Corps SAACRAO Southern Region of American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers SACUBO Southern Association of College and University Business Officers SAILS Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test SAT Standardized Admissions Test SAUT Southern Arkansas University Tech SCUP Society for College and University Planning SENCER Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibilities SGA Student Government Association SGOC Shared Governance Oversight Committee SI Supplemental Instruction SL Supplemental Learning SLA Structured Learning Assistance SLO Student Learning Outcomes SMART Science-Math Advisement, Retention, and Tracking SQL Structured Query Language SREB Southern Regional Education Board SRHC Southern Regional Honors Council SSCH Student Semester Credit Hours SSS Student Support Services STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics SURF Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship TICE The International Center for English TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language UALR University of Arkansas at Little Rock UAPB University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff UC University College UCA University of Central Arkansas UCC Undergraduate Curriculum Council UN/EDIFACT United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport UPC University Planning Council UPRTC University Promotion Retention and Tenure Committee URL Uniform Resource Locator URM Undergraduate Research for Minorities US United States

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Abbreviations USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture VC Vice Chancellor VCAAR Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research VCFA Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration VCSA Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs VCUA Vice Chancellor for University Advancement VOIP Voiceover Internet Protocol VSA Voluntary System of Accountability W.O.L.F. Wellness, Opportunity, and Life Fitness WAN Wide Area Network WES World Education Services

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