Year 5 Annual Report

Major Accomplishments

Institutional

The UTEP Model Institution for Excellence (MIE) Initiative continued to focus institutional attention on student learning and the development and implementation of innovative strategies to improve student performance. UTEP institutionalized critical programs developed by MIE for SEM students and made them available to all students.

• The University Faculty Senate approved the following curricular enhancement initiatives: SEM Entering Student Curriculum, University Seminar, Environmental Science Degree Plan, and the Basic Engineering Curriculum.

• The University strongly recommends teaching portfolios for tenure and promotion decisions. All faculty, including SEM professors, applying for tenure must submit teaching portfolios for review.

• Members of the university community are annually designated Teaching and Learning Fellows to lead a highly visible effort to promote scholarly teaching.The Fellows directed a nationwide search that led to hiring co-Directors of the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning who are supported with university funds.

• For three consecutive years the University has bestowed its highest awards for teaching and service upon faculty for contributions to the MIE Program.

• Based on the lessons learned from the SEM Entering Students Program, UTEP allocated $560,000 in the 1999-2000 academic year for the University Entering Student Program. UTEP has been awarded an additional $2.5 million Department of Education grant for further development of the program.

• The University now supports thirteen faculty positions initially funded through the MIE Program.

MIE Advisory Committee

The UTEP MIE Advisory Committee played a major and critical role in redirecting activities for the first phase of the program and selecting new activities for the renewal proposal.

• The Committee praised the achievements of the SEM Entering Students Program, Undergraduate Research Experiences Program, and the Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists.

• The Committee praised the plans for expanding the Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists

• The Committee acknowledged the potential of the Basic Engineering and Environmental Science Programs as strategies for increasing student recruitment and retention.

• The Committee urged the University to commit to a culture in which scholarly teaching and educational research are rewarded with tenure, promotion, and merit pay.

• The Committee urged the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning to focus on promoting communities of learners among SEM and English faculty.

Student Development and Support

Since its inauguration in the fall of 1997, the Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists (ACES) has provided an environment for the UTEP commuter student body to work on science and engineering academic and professional development activities.

• In July 2000, the number of active users reached an all-time high of 1824 SEM undergraduates. These students have access to active learning and quiet study areas, lap top computers and peripherals, books and test banks, and workshops. The Center also offers 24-hour access during final examinations.

• Based on the success of the Center, two classrooms were modified to serve as temporary ACES satellite sites in the Departments of Computer Science and Chemistry. These satellites were created in response to the high demand for tutoring services, computers, and study areas.

• Plans for the construction of an ACES satellite in the Physical Science Building were approved. Construction of this site began in April 2000. The satellite, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2000, will serve all SEM students enrolled in Freshman Chemistry and Sophomore Physics courses.

• The Center's management approach, which emphasizes "service for student by students," proved to be an effective strategy. To date 45 undergraduate students have developed their leadership skills as members of the ACES management team.

• Students who use the Center perceive that they are better academically prepared, more aware of employment and undergraduate research opportunities, and more eager to participate in campus life.

Faculty Enhancement

Since its inception in 1996, The Center for Effective Teaching and Learning (CETaL) has promoted excellence in university teaching. The center has provided support to faculty who seek to improve teaching effectiveness, curriculum development and classroom evaluation.

• The Center organizes cooperative learning workshop retreats. A total of 161 faculty and teaching staff have attended at least one of these workshops. Of these, 59 are SEM faculty.

• The Center organizes teaching & learning workshops, teaching portfolio and orientation to teaching seminars, and licensed satellite teaching & learning programs. To date, the number of participating individuals in these activities is 335.

• The Center sponsors semi-annual active learning conferences to promote the dissemination of scholarly teaching and educational research.

• The Center implemented an outreach program to promote excellence in teaching among K-12 teachers (n=24) and El Paso Community College faculty (n=23).

• CETaL Fellows, appointed by the Provost to represent the University's diverse community of learners, contribute to the development and promotion of the Center.

Undergraduate Research

For five consecutive years, the Undergraduate Research Experiences program has provided support for on-campus and off-campus research experiences and promoted enrollment in graduate programs.

• Since 1995-1996, 216 students have been awarded undergraduate research stipends.

• At least 161 students have participated in UTEP Research Expos over the past two years.

• 63 undergraduate students have presented a paper or attended a national research conference or workshop.

• 83 undergraduate students were placed in academic, industrial, and government research sites across the nation.

• 57 stipend recipients have graduated; 14 of them have enrolled in graduate school at UTEP.

Entering Students

UTEP successfully implemented a combined orientation, advising, and curriculum program that promotes the success of all entering SEM students.

• As of fall of 1998, all full-time entering SEM students are required to attend an integrated summer orientation, enroll in cluster courses (i.e. learning communities), and take part in advising sessions.

• Statistics for the fall 1998 full-time entering SEM student cohort show a significant increase in one-year retention for Hispanics compared to 1997-1998 baseline data. Statistics also show an improvement in academic performance and completion of more freshman credit hours for the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 SEM student cohorts.

• Sophomore, junior, and senior SEM students develop leaderships serving as facilitators in orientation sessions and cluster courses.

• The Department of Mathematics redesigned its College Algebra and Pre-Calculus course sequence to enhance student learning and increase success rates. Completion of courses between semesters is offered through the Internet.

• The Institution designated the University Seminar, a three-credit course for entering students modeled after the SEM Seminar, as part of the university core curriculum.

Laboratory Infrastructure

The Colleges of Science and Engineering improved the infrastructure for SEM teaching and research by developing and enhancing laboratory settings.

• Six undergraduate teaching SEM laboratories were renovated and re-equipped. Areas that benefited from this effort include chemistry, physics, and biology.

• The academic content of six undergraduate SEM laboratory courses was modified to incorporate critical thinking, design, and team learning activities. Targeted areas included electrical engineering, biology, and chemistry.

• An engineering computer center was re-equipped to enhance user capacity.

• A premier undergraduate biology laboratory dedicated to aquatic life research was developed.

• A number of SEM research laboratories received equipment to support undergraduate research.

Program Evaluation

UTEP created a unit to provide formative and summative evaluation of educational improvement initiatives and to assess and document program effectiveness for continuous improvement and accountability.

• A standard process was implemented for collecting, analyzing and interpreting institutional data for formative and outcomes-based assessment tied to the goals of the project.

• A customer service (stakeholder) approach to data with the goal of placing all evaluation and assessment processes and instruments in the hands of the Colleges was developed.

• Working partnerships with faculty, staff and administrators were developed to design evaluation and assessment activities and to use data from those efforts.

• The capacity of the Colleges of Engineering and Science for their own evaluation and assessment needs was increased through the purchasing of equipment and training of faculty, staff, and administrators.

Future Directions

The framework for all the components in Phase 2 of the MIE Program are in place.

Institutional

UTEP will continue to support the MIE Program through university-funded appointments.

• Two CETaL co-Directors will assume responsibilities in the fall of 2000.

• A newly appointed Director for the Environmental Science Program will assume duties in the summer of 2000.

Student Development and Support

A strategic expansion plan has been developed to ensure that all SEM students will receive quality service and have access to state-of-the-art study facilities.

• A new ACES satellite will be opening its doors in the fall of 2000. The satellite will serve freshman chemistry and sophomore physics students.

• ACES will expand its main facility to provide additional quiet study areas and a room for conferences and workshops. The expansion will be completed by the end of the summer of 2001.

Faculty Enhancement

Faculty enhancement opportunities must be made widely available, and teaching assessment strategies must be implemented to ensure that the faculty-centered teaching paradigm is replaced by a student-centered learning paradigm.

• CETaL will continue to offer SEM and English faculty a diverse set of workshops on technology-aided instruction, active learning, and standards-based instruction in Mathematics and Science.

• CETaL will support SEM faculty in implementing learning communities beyond the freshman year.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

External research and internships must be an integral component of the undergraduate research experience.

• All UTEP MIE stipend recipients will be encouraged to accept off campus-summer research appointments.

• UTEP will develop partnerships with Research Institutions to place UTEP students in summer REU programs.

Curriculum Reform

The College of Engineering and the College of Science will give emphasis to the continuous improvement of SEM curricula to increase retention rates.

• The College of Science will implement supplemental instruction and inquiry-based learning in Chemistry and Physics introductory courses. The College will also register its first cohort in Environmental Science.

• The College of Engineering will implement a sophomore level learning community in the Basic Engineering Program. The College will also implement modules for sustainable engineering in strategic courses to satisfy new ABET criteria.

Entering Students

A top priority will be to ensure that institutional resources are allocated to the program.

• The English Department will assign 3 full-time lecturers to the program. Each lecturer will receive a multiple-year contract to ensure the continuity of the teaching staff.

• The University will award stipends to SEM faculty who teach the University Seminar.

Program Evaluation

Modification of program strategies and activities will continue to depend on their formative evaluation.

• The assessment team will refine the customer service (stakeholder) approach to data with the goal of developing targeted outcomes-based assessments for all project components in partnership with the Colleges and MIE project.

• The assessment team will create more effective and efficient means of dissemination and mechanisms to include evaluation data in the decision-making process of MIE for improvement and accountability.

• The assessment team will work with the College of Engineering to assist with the integration of teaching assessment and the ABET accreditation process.