Faculty involvement in planning, assessing, and improving general education English and math programs in Tennessee two -year colleges
Abstract
This study investigated faculty perceptions of and involvement in planning, assessing, and improving general education English and math programs in two-year public colleges in Tennessee. The participants were full-time faculty and department chairs or division deans in general education English and math programs in 12 community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents. Data were gathered through document analysis, telephone interviews, and responses to a survey questionnaire. Document analysis included the mission statement, long-range strategic plan, and general education outcome statements for each institution in the study; telephone interviews were conducted with directors of institutional research, academic deans and department chairs; and the survey instrument was sent to 349 faculty and department-level administrators in general education English and math programs. The findings indicated that all 12 of the institutions have established planning and assessment procedures that include general education, that faculty are aware of the procedures, and that faculty participate in planning and assessing general education through department meetings and service on committees dedicated to general education planning. Findings showed that awareness of the contents of the mission statement was strong (93.3% agreement). Likewise, 75% of respondents agreed that institutions have developed systematic processes for planning and assessing and that those systems play an important role in institutional improvement. However, results to several survey items indicated that a significant number of survey respondents do not perceive their institutions to be fully committed to planning and assessing general education. Sixty-five percent of respondents reported that the primary motivation for planning and assessment comes from external sources, and only 51.6% of respondents believed that administration is committed to allocating resources to remedy areas of weakness found in the assessment process. Interviews with deans and department chairs, along with the survey responses, indicated that while processes for planning were well established, processes for assessment were much weaker and less defined. Additionally, junior faculty reported much higher levels of confidence and involvement in planning and assessing at all levels of the institution than senior faculty.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching|Community colleges
Recommended Citation
Mickey Ray Hall,
"Faculty involvement in planning, assessing, and improving general education English and math programs in Tennessee two -year colleges"
(2002).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3061766.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3061766