Program Quality – Reviews and Accreditation

If there have been program reviews, accreditation visits, or internal reviews in the discipline pertinent to the proposed program, or related disciplines, provide all the recommendations and summarize the University’s progress in implementing the recommendations.

The University has specialized accreditation in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and audiology, health service administration, public health, health information management, dietetics &

nutrition, social work, school psychology, and special education. In

addition, the University has completed academic program reviews for many of the life science, physical science, and health science programs during the last three years. These reviews included comparisons with benchmark programs at other universities, the use of outside consultants well respected in the relevant fields, and public scrutiny of review findings in special public forums. Based on these reviews and the University’s strategic planning priorities, the University will make investments in the natural sciences, biomedical engineering, and the health sciences in accordance with the institution’s strategic directions and the availability of enrollment growth funding. The various recommendations, and FIU’s response to them, are set out in the FIU Table below.

FIU Table 2 Program Reviews

Recommendations and Responses

Program Recommendation Response

Health Information

Mgt.

Develop a plan to boost enrollment

Double enrollments next 2 years, then grow 10% per year.

Review certification options

In process.

Improve rate of success on certification exam

Alumni (1990-2003) and employers surveyed annually;

course syllabi reviewed and

revised to meet needs disclosed in survey. Adjusting program goals as appropriate.

Program Recommendation Response Address accreditation

concerns about curriculum and assessment.

Employ knowledge content assessment to assure that all knowledge content areas,

domains, sub-domains and tasks are covered. Also employ SUS Student Assessment of

Instruction.

Improve Retention Retention rate to be calculated each year; aim to retain at least 76% of students.

Develop a plan to recruit master’s level students

New recruitment materials developed.

Plan to graduate students who will meet or exceed national accreditation rates

Modified testing format to more closely resemble accreditation exam; introduced regular tutoring sessions in key areas; entering students must have 3.0

undergraduate GPA and 1000 on GRE.

Develop an integrated 5-year MS program

Program is now in university curriculum review and approval process.

Develop a non-thesis option for MS program

Done.

Develop continuing graduate education programs

Have developed with the Center on Aging a certificate program in gerontology for post

baccalaureate students, all on-line.

Biomedical

Partnership Program includes all major medical technology firms in area; smaller firms may access labs and equipment.

Program Recommendation Response Increase federal and private

C&G support

C&G income increased to $1.27 million in FY2003.

Position the Department to participate in the

development of medical education at FIU

Department Chair appointed as a Medical School Task Force member.

Nursing Benchmark the program against peer institutions

Done as part of the regular program review.

Increase federal funding Received $1.15 from NIH for Nurse Anesthetist Program in July 2003; also received $768,000 from Health Resources and Services Administration, the largest grant in Florida.

Plan to increase student pass rates on the NCLEX Exam

Data analysis of exam scores will be conducted annually in October.

Identify doctoral degree and faculty development options, program locations, family practice partnership options, and facilities needs and costs.

Have identified seventeen current faculty members ready to

participate in Ph.D. program.

Financial and logistical matters under study.

Biological Sciences

Develop a strategic plan that emphasizes graduate enrollment growth and Ph.D. production plan for enhanced multidisciplinary research initiatives in

bioinformatics, biomedical, and environmental areas.

Department has emphasized hiring new faculty in biomedical areas, particularly faculty with established track records.

Department has re-oriented graduate program to emphasize Ph.D. students with a 6-year target of 90% of funded students being Ph.D. students. It has entered into planning meetings with the Southeast Environmental Research Center to develop a multidisciplinary

interdepartmental Ph.D. program in the environmental sciences.

Program Recommendation Response Address concerns about

graduate workloads, C&G research assistantships, and undergraduate advisement

Department has instituted policy that graduate T.A.s should teach no more than 2 lab courses per semester, as at peer institutions.

Department has increased C&G support for graduate students to cover 50% of graduate students.

Department has dedicated a full time secretary and a full time faculty member to advise undergraduate students at University Park campus.

Department has hired an

instructor with responsibility for advising undergraduates at Biscayne Bay Campus.

Expand federal support for shared research equipment, NIH funds, NSF

dissertation improvement

Department hiring new faculty with NIH R-01 experience. NIH Minority Biomedical Research Support Program supports

biomedical research. Department is putting together a major

instrumentation proposal to NIH to develop a biomedical imaging center. Department has acquired EPA dissertation improvement funding at the same level as NSF support and will pursue additional funds from NSF.

Program Recommendation Response Chemistry Develop a strategic plan

that emphasizes graduate enrollment growth and Ph.D. production

New plan calls for 80% Ph.D.

students among graduate students, and ratio of R.A.s has increased to 1-1. Graduate enrollment has more than doubled.

Plan for enhanced

Department has focused on

environmental chemistry with the Southeast Environmental

Research Center. Forensic

chemistry group has been formed and is exploring a Ph.D. in that area. A biomedical group has also been formed. In process of hiring a physical chemist to address the materials sciences with an interest in

nanotechnology.

Revise the tenure and promotion guidelines to match C&G and refereed publication goals.

Guidelines revised in May 2003 to match goals for increased standards for publications and increased C&G standards.

Physics Develop a strategic plan that emphasizes enrollment growth and Ph.D.

production

Department has switched graduate enrollment strategy to enroll almost exclusively Ph.D.

students. Additional

undergraduate courses have been developed and offered to draw more students and increase number of majors by offering a B.A. in physics and tracks in business and physics and education and physics.

Program Recommendation Response Identify and plan for

increased interdisciplinary research initiatives in areas such as nanotech, quantum computing, and biophysics

Department has hired another nanotech specialist and is proceeding with the hiring of a fifth, a total of 4 experimentalists and 1 theoretician; will work with Arts & Sciences and Engineering to apply for a state-funded

Research Center of Excellence.

Department is hiring 2

biophysicists to strengthen the biophysics groups and is already participating with the chemists in various biotech projects.

Increase C&G support for Research Assistants

Brought in more contract and grant revenues and support more students with these funds.

Develop ties with Oak Ridge National Laboratory similar to those with

Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory so that each research active faculty member produces a Ph.D.

each year.

Have established direct contact with Oak Ridge National

Laboratory program officials.

Recalibrating to establish a target appropriate to a small department with a limited number of

assistantships and fellowships.

IV. Curriculum

A. For all programs provide a sequenced course of study and list the