Goal 1:
Offer high-quality, challenging academic programs that influence and respond to a changing society
Taking national leadership:
Baldrige Award activity
As
the first university to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award, UW-Stout has taken a national leadership role in higher education
through its Center for Assessment and Continuous Improvement. This center
manages requests from a variety of organizations that want to learn more
about the benefits of the Baldrige model. The center's 13 quality consultants
provide these organizations with the knowledge, skills and tools essential
for designing and implementing a continuous improvement program.
- The center shared quality concepts with 19 higher education institutions by either hosting lead teams from visiting campuses, or by traveling to present on site. For example, the center conducted presentations at the Harvard Fall Alumni Seminar about the quality improvement movement in education. Due to positive feedback, UW-Stout was also invited to participate in Harvard's spring 2004 program.
- Center consultants conducted sessions at 25 national conferences, including the Quest for Excellence XIX in Washington D.C.; the National Quality in Education Conference in Ohio; state quality award conferences in New Mexico, Wisconsin, Florida and Missouri; and workforce and business improvement conferences for government agencies.
- Genuine interest in Baldrige concepts also exists internationally. The center conducted presentations at major conferences in Austria, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, Mexico, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
- The center also hosted Baldrige information sessions on the UW-Stout campus for international visitors, including two administrators from the University of Ryukyus, Japan, and seven members of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
New certificate programs for professionals
UW-Stout developed two new professional development certificate programs designed for individuals who want to enhance their personal growth and professional advancement by obtaining new skills.
- The creative writing certificate program offers individuals the ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of people and solve problems creatively. The certificate program offers a technical component that is uncommon in creative writing programs. To make the certificate available to adult learners, many of the required courses are offered online, at night, on weekends and in weeklong blocks during the summer.
- The human resource management certificate program, offered completely online, prepares individuals to take the Society for Human Resource Management's Professional Human Resource Exam. The certificate program is part of a larger project between UW-Stout, the local SHRM group and Chippewa Valley Technical College to create a seamless training system for human resource professionals.
Improving Academic Assessment
A campus assessment coordinator is refining the way UW-Stout measures student learning in academic programs; deploying a new model to assess general education; and evaluating how assessment is conducted campuswide.
Academic Programs
Through an evaluation of the university's customary academic program assessments, the following opportunities for improvement were identified:
- Provide templates that allow program directors to post their assessment models; the methods they will use to gather data; and the way they will collect feedback online
- Encourage academic programs to put their finished assessment reports online
- Integrate program assessment with student advisement online via the e-Scholar portal
The expected outcomes of these improvements are:
- increasing the campus community's understanding of assessment.
- encouraging faculty and staff to share assessment ideas and methods.
- strengthening accountability.
- creating a better student advisement system.
- facilitating rapid progress toward an assessment-based culture.
General education
UW-Stout's General Education Committee developed a new assessment model for general education. The committee refined assessment topics and shortened the reporting cycle to meet those suggested by the Academic Quality Improvement Program.
Also, responsibility for general education assessment will seamlessly shift from the Program Review Committee to the General Education Committee, which will adopt the AQIP model.
New global experiences in France
During
spring break, sixteen students and two staff members traveled to France
for a 10-day tour of such sights as the Louvre and Notre Dame. The Go-More
Program's experience in France was funded by a College Completion Grant
through Student Support Services-ASPIRE and Disability Services. UW-Stout
students who have a disability, or demonstrate financial need according
to federal financial aid guidelines, or are the first in their family
to pursue a bachelor's degree, were chosen to participate in this global
experience.
While in France, the students attended French history lectures to prepare them to tour a number of historic sites. They received one academic credit for the transdisciplinary experience, which goes toward fulfilling UW-Stout's global perspective requirement.
Six UW-Stout students also studied in France during the fall semester as part of the new Abbey Program. Located in a 1,000-year-old abbey in the Loire Valley, this program brings nearly 100 students from all over the United States together for a semester to take courses and explore French culture. As part of the Abbey Program's inaugural year, four UW-Stout students received $1,000 scholarships to cover the cost of their international experience.
Additional Resources:
- Center for Assessment and Continuous Improvement
University of Wisconsin-Stout
http://www.uwstout.edu/mba/ - Academic Quality Improvement Program
NCA Higher Learning Commission
http://www.aqip.org