Year 6 Annual Report

Major Accomplishments

Institutional

The UTEP MIE (Model Institution for Excellence) Initiative continued to focus institutional attention on student learning and the development and implementation of innovative strategies to improve student retention and performance:

• UTEP announced the creation of the University College, an administrative entity that will serve all new entering students starting June 1, 2001. This entity will build on the success of the CircLES (Circles of Learning for Entering Students) summer orientation and learning communities program, the University Seminar in Critical Inquiry, and ACES (the Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists).

• UTEP's highest awards for achievement in teaching and research were bestowed upon two SEM chairpersons, Kate Miller and Jorge Gardea respectively, and a CircLES staff member, Elizabeth Dahl, for her contributions to SEM student development.

• UTEP institutionalized the Directorship of CETaL, the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning. Two new co-directors, Christine Reimers and William Roberson, lead the center's efforts to promote scholarly teaching university wide.

MIE Advisory Committee

The UTEP MIE Advisory Committee played a major role in the modification of existing activities and the selection of new activities for the renewal proposal:

• In its Fall 2000 meeting, the Advisory Committee renewed its commitment to the program for three more years and recommended that the anticipated outcomes for the second phase proposal be clearly outlined by the MIE leadership.

• 3 members of the Advisory Committee participated in the MIE Annual Conference and discussed their perspective of the program with MIE Principal Investigators and NSF program officers. Two members of the Advisory Committee transitioned to departmental advisory boards to assist the College of Engineering with accreditation issues.

CircLES Entering Student Program

UTEP successfully demonstrated strategies that improved the performance of entering SEM (Science, Engineering, and Mathematics) students. Since the scale up of the program, students who have participated in CircLES interventions are earning better grades and are more likely to stay in college:

• 81% of the fall of 1999 entering CircLES cohort returned in the fall of 2000 and had a two-semester cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.63.

• Institutional fall 2000 census data show that the two-year retention rate for the 1998 CircLES cohort was 69%. The two-year average cumulative GPA for the 1998 CircLES cohort was 2.65. Similarly, the three-year retention rate for the 1997 pilot cohort was 65% while the three-year retention rate for the non-clustered comparison 1997 entering student cohort was 46%. The three-year average cumulative GPA for the 1997 pilot cohort was 2.76. The three-year average cumulative GPA for the non-clustered comparison 1997 entering student cohort was 2.61.

• Students who took the CircLES summer orientation math refresher in 2000 were able to place in college-level mathematics, thus reducing the time they spend on developmental course work. Specifically, 62% of the entering engineering students who went through the CircLES summer orientation program tested into college mathematics. 43% of the entering science students who went through the same program tested into college mathematics.

Curricular Enhancement

UTEP continued to implement new academic programs and strategies for teaching that promote SEM student success:

• The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the bachelor degree in Environmental Science.

• The modus operandi of the introductory freshman chemistry course was modified to include peer based supplemental instruction. Similarly, the sophomore Physics course sequence was modified to include guided-inquiry learning.

Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists

ACES continued to provide an environment for the UTEP commuter student body to work on science and engineering academic and professional development activities:

• Use of ACES increased from 1390 active users in 1998-1999 to 1770 users in 1999-2000.

• A new ACES facility located in the heart of the Physical Science Building was made available to all SEM students enrolled in Freshman Chemistry and Sophomore Physics.

• Plans for an expansion of the main ACES facility were completed. Construction began in the summer of 2001.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

The REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program continued to provide support for on- and off-campus research experiences:

• REU awarded research stipends to 85 SEM students compared to 76 SEM students in 1999-2000.

• 21 REU students participated in off-campus research and internship experiences in the summer of 2001, similar to the 20 REU students who participated in the summer of 2000.

• 102 REU students have graduated with a baccalaureate degree in science or engineering and have gone on pursue SEM advanced degrees.

Center for Effective Teaching and Learning

CETaL continued to support faculty seeking to improve teaching effectiveness and to implement best practice:

• CETaL hosted 47 professional development seminars for faculty and staff in the fall 2000 and spring of 2001. The number of participating individuals was 432.

• During the same period, 51% of the College of Science faculty and 43% of the College of Engineering faculty attended at least one faculty development workshop.

• In Fall 2000, all SEM tenure-track professors documented teaching accomplishments in their promotion portfolios.

University Infrastructure

UTEP continues to create the infrastructure required for educational improvement initiatives and to assess and document program effectiveness for continuous improvement:

• A hydrology laboratory was remodeled to promote and support Green Engineering curricula. Similarly, a chemistry laboratory was refurbished to accommodate hands-on supplemental instruction.

• Four rooms of the Engineering Science complex were refurbished to support cooperative learning sessions.

Future Directions

We now have in place all the components envisioned in Phase I of the MIE Program. In the first year of Phase II, the push was on continuous quality improvement driven by assessment and the transition to Phase II.

Institutional

UTEP will continue to institutionalize activities initially funded by the MIE Program:

• The Office of Academic Affairs will continue to provide funds for faculty development activities undertaken by CETaL.

• The Office of Student Affairs will study the feasibility of placing a fee charge for ACES users.

MIE Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee will continue to provide constructive critiques on the status of the MIE program to ensure its success:

• The Advisory Committee will meet in November to discuss UTEP's plans for dissemination of the MIE accomplishments and to assist in the identification of urban institutions that should be targeted as potential buyers of the model.

CircLES Entering Student Program

A top priority of this program will be to coordinate activities with the recently established University College to assure a seamless transition toward its institutionalization:

• SEM faculty and staff teaching a University Seminar section in the fall will receive training in cooperative learning and compensation for their effort.

• The need for additional student advising staff will be assessed and resolved.

• Peer leaders will receive formalized training in leadership skills and cooperative learning strategies.

Curriculum Enhancement

The Colleges of Science and Engineering will give emphasis to the continuous improvement of SEM curricula:

• The College of Science will continue to invest resources to improve student performance in lower division science courses.

• The College of Engineering will offer two new senior courses on green (sustainable) engineering. Students who enroll and succeed in these courses will receive certification.

Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists

A concerted effort between SEM administrators and MIE staff will be made to maintain a resource system that reaches all SEM students and provides quality service:

• GRE and MCAT preparation workshops will be offered for REU and other interested students.

• The ACES coordinator will lead mentoring sessions for SEM female students involved in the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program.

• ACES will increase its capacity to offer tutoring for freshman and sophomore SEM courses with the assistance of REU students.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

External research and internships will be an integral component of the undergraduate research experience:

• All UTEP MIE stipend recipients will apply for summer research opportunities at NSF REU sites.

• Proposals will be submitted to NSF to support two summer REU programs in science and engineering at UTEP.

• An intensive tracking of REU students who have gone on to graduate school will be undertaken.

Center for Effective Teaching and Learning

Faculty development opportunities will be made widely available and changes in evaluation policies will be implemented to ensure that the faculty-centered teaching paradigm is replaced by a student-centered learning paradigm:

• CETaL will continue to offer a diverse set of workshops on technology-aided instruction, distance learning, and active learning.

• CETaL will continue to work with administrators at all levels to assist with the integration of scholarly teaching into faculty evaluations.

University Infrastructure

Infrastructure for MIE activities that directly impact student development will be in place to support the day-to-day operation of the program:

• An ACES facility will be created in the Department of Mathematics to better serve science majors and entering students.

• REU will develop an undergraduate research facility to support the production of undergraduate research materials including student abstracts, articles, and posters, and web pages.

Personnel Decisions

The University administration will continue to work with administrators and decision-makers at all levels to ensure that teaching effectiveness is integrated into all personnel decisions:

• The Colleges of Science and Engineering will continue to aggressively recruit highly qualified faculty including those of Hispanic descent.

07/12/01