Graduate Program Review Self-Study Report Principal Authors: Jim Allen (Executive Director) and Tom Kolb (Graduate Coordinator) March 22, 2011 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 1 OVERVIEW OF NAU AND THE SCHOOL OF FORESTY .................................................. 2 The University ............................................................................................................................. 2 The School of Forestry ................................................................................................................ 3 History of the School of Forestry ............................................................................................ 3 School of Forestry Mission ...................................................................................................... 4 School of Forestry Organization and Administration ............................................................. 4 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF LAST PROGRAM REVIEW AND ACTIONS TAKEN ............................................................................................................. 6 GRADUATE PROGRAM.......................................................................................................... 13 Graduate Degrees Offered ......................................................................................................... 13 Master of Forestry ................................................................................................................. 13 Master of Science in Forestry ................................................................................................ 14 Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry .......................................................................................... 15 Admission to the Graduate Program ......................................................................................... 16 Graduate Courses ...................................................................................................................... 17 Overview of courses............................................................................................................... 17 Role of Service Courses for Non-Majors ............................................................................... 18 Distance-Delivered Courses .................................................................................................. 18 Program Changes During the Past Five Years .......................................................................... 18 Master of Forestry ................................................................................................................. 18 Master of Science in Forestry ................................................................................................ 18 Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry .......................................................................................... 18 Program Assessment ................................................................................................................. 18 FACULTY ................................................................................................................................... 20 Faculty Numbers and Characteristics ........................................................................................ 20 Faculty Workloads .................................................................................................................... 20 Faculty Sabbaticals .................................................................................................................... 21 Nature and Breadth of Faculty Scholarly Contributions ........................................................... 21 Nature and Breadth of Professional Service ............................................................................. 22 GRADUATE STUDENTS.......................................................................................................... 24 Enrollment and Graduation Trends ........................................................................................... 24 Graduate Teaching Assistants ................................................................................................... 25 Graduate Research Assistants ................................................................................................... 25 Student Advising and Mentoring .............................................................................................. 26 Other Support Available to Graduate Students ......................................................................... 26 The Forestry Graduate Student Association.............................................................................. 26 RESOURCES .............................................................................................................................. 27 Budget ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Staff Positions ........................................................................................................................... 28 Physical Plant and Equipment ................................................................................................... 29 Computing Resources and Other Information Technologies .................................................... 30 Library Resources ..................................................................................................................... 31 Centennial Forest....................................................................................................................... 31 PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE ............................................................................................. 32 Relationship of the School of Forestry’s and the University’s Strategic Plans ........................ 32 The Foundation for Excellence Plan ......................................................................................... 34 Challenges and Opportunities ................................................................................................... 34 APPENDICES A1: Catalog descriptions of School of Forestry Graduate Degrees (M.F., M.S., Ph.D.) A2: List of 500- and 600-level courses offered by the School of Forestry A3: 2010 Annual Report on Degree Program Assessment of Student Learning from the School of Forestry to the University Assessment Committee and Office of Academic Assessment. A4: School of Forestry Faculty Background Summary A5: School of Forestry Adjunct Faculty A6: School of Forestry Peer-Reviewed Publications, 2004-2009 A7: Incites™ Reports on NAU Forestry Publications A8: Cline Library Support of the Forestry Graduate Program, October 2010 A9: School of Forestry Strategic Plan, 2005-2010 A10: Proposal for Becoming a Top Ranked Forestry Program in the United States: A Foundation for Excellence EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a comprehensive baccalaureate and focused graduate research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a large, comprehensive, doctoral, high undergraduate, primarily residential university with a high level of research activity. The University is organized into six colleges, including the College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences, of which the School of Forestry (SOF) is a part. The SOF offers a B.S. degree in Forestry, two Masters degrees and the Ph.D. The Master of Science (M.S.) degree was initiated in 1969, the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1994, and the Master of Forestry (M.F.) in 2004. The M.S. degree has an emphasis on thesis research, while the M.F. emphasizes coursework and a capstone integrative professional paper. The Ph.D. emphasizes specialized and original research. The number of SOF graduate students ranged between 63 and 84 over the last five years. While enrollment increased over much of this period, a decline over the past year is attributed in part to the loss of faculty who are available to serve as advisors. Currently, 43% of graduate students are female, and 13% are minority. Degree productivity (55 M.S., 19 M.F., and 15 Ph.D. over the last five years, 2005/2006-2009/2010) exceeds Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) thresholds. Most M.S. and M.F. students graduate within three years, and most Ph.D. students graduate within five years. The SOF has 20 full-time tenure-track faculty, one half-time tenured faculty member, three research faculty, about 25 graduate student Research or Service Assistants, and a small administrative and support staff. The faculty includes nine women, one Native American, and three faculty members who are originally from other countries (Ethiopia, South Korea, and Taiwan). Full-time faculty teach most undergraduate and graduate courses. Currently, 46 graduate-level courses in forestry are listed in the NAU Catalog, of which 34 are formal disciplinary courses. However, several of these courses have not been offered in three or more years. Most graduate-level courses are taught using a variety of modern teaching and learning approaches such as experiential learning, web enhancement, student-to-student mentoring, and student-led discussions, in addition to classroom lectures. Faculty have research appointments that range from 10 to 50%, and currently have 52 external grants and contracts from a wide range of agencies and organizations. In the past five years, research