Big 12 Engineering Project-Policy Research

PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR MECHANICAL AND SIMILARLY NAMED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS Lead Society: American Society of Mechanical Engineers These program criteria will apply to all engineering programs including "mechanical" or similar modifiers in their titles. 1. Curriculum: The program must demonstrate that graduates have: knowledge of chemistry and calculus-based physics with depth in at least one; the ability to apply advanced mathematics through multivariate calculus and differential equations; familiarity with statistics and linear algebra; the ability to work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems areas including the design and realization of such systems. 2. Faculty: The program must demonstrate that faculty members responsible for the upper-level professional program are maintaining currency in their specialty area.

APPENDIX 1-4A Section 1 Question 4 Institutional Issues Assessment Plan for Distance Learning and Off-Campus Instruction 1. Assessment of student learning outcomes Readiness Survey * Assessment of student readiness to complete course delivered in a specified modality * Administered prior to a student's first enrollment in a course delivered via a specific modality * Development of readiness surveys for each modality (e.g., broadcast TV, Internet, video conferencing, mixed modalities) Modality Assessment * Student self-report of how modality affected course delivery * Administered at end of term for each course * Instruments developed for each modality of delivery (e.g., broadcast TV, Internet, video conferencing, mixed modalities) Learning Objectives Assessment * Assessment of student mastery of learning objectives for a specific course * Faculty member for course establishes learning objectives and processes for assessment, documents findings, and uses for improvement of teaching and student learning * Conducted by faculty or faculty team each term course is offered Degree program student learning outcomes assessment * Discipline or degree program faculty identify specific learning outcomes that are expected of students * Methods of assessment selected from best practices in discipline * Assessment plan designed and implemented by disciplinary faculty * Assessment conducted at several points of student's progress through degree program (sometimes, at entrance, mid-point, and at exit) * Degree program faculty document findings and use for improvement in teaching and student learning 2. Retention * Institutional Research to implement retention reporting for two groups: 1) distance learners and 2) off-campus educational site students. * Retention research will parallel existing retention research conducted for students studying at Lubbock. * Retention benchmarks for distance learners and off-camp

APPENDIX 2-1C Section 2 Question 1 Educational Programs Texas Tech University Distance Learning and Off-Campus Site Program Proposal I. Title of program (e.g., English, Secondary Teaching Certificate, Business Administration) II. Degree offered (BA, BS, BBA, M.Ed., MBA, MA, MS, etc.) III. Timeline for offering the degree (Beginning date, courses per term, end date; continuous offering or cohort-based offering) IV. Brief description of degree and curriculum (brief narrative of academic program) V. Evidence of long-term need for each program in terms of student demand (marketing analysis of regional or state-wide student demand, THECB approved programs, state occupational data, institutional data, etc.) VI. Evidence of institutional capacity to assure the students can make continuous progress toward their degree (Institutional faculty staffing adequacy, regional part-time adequacy, facility and technology adequacy, institutional commitment, etc.) VII. Strategy for providing comparable on-campus support to distance and offcampus learners (standards for admission, enrollment, registration, financial aid, availability of faculty for on-site or Internet office-hours, institutional and regional library resources, administrative support personnel to provide on-site services, training for support staff who will work with distance or off-campus learners, quality control measures, etc.) VIII. Strategies for scheduling courses to meet degree requirements for distance and off-campus learners (sequencing of course delivery, method of delivery, etc.). IX. Degree plan (required curriculum for degree completion; under-division courses required but not currently offered by regional community college; recommended four-year program for undergraduates; recommended term-by-term program for graduate students). X. Degree courses (list each course number, title and description from current institutional catalog) XI. Learning outcomes and assessment processes for courses and

Section 3 Faculty 1. The qualifications for distance education faculty are the same as faculty teaching the same courses in a traditional on-campus format. Please describe rationale applied for making exceptions. ELECTRONICALLY-BASED DISTANCE EDUCATION Faculty members are the core of distance education and off-campus instruction. Issues related to faculty qualifications and services are covered in a variety of University Operating Policies, which will be referenced in appropriate portions of this report. Faculty Qualifications Full and part-time faculty members must meet the qualifications stipulated by SACS. OP 32.02 http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/New.contents.links/32academic_policies_faculty.htm denotes the qualifications needed for all faculty levels. Departmental chairpersons must certify the qualifications of faculty members at the time of employment, including those faculty members contracted for course development and implementation through Outreach and Extended Studies and those teaching at off-campus educational sites. Exceptions to the stated requirements are not typical at Texas Tech, but may be permitted in cases of persons who have "demonstrated exceptional scholarly or creative activity or substantial professional experience." As noted by Institutional Research and by Outreach and Extended Studies, over 95% of those teaching distance courses are the same faculty members who teach the course on campus. OFF CAMPUS INSTRUCTION At Texas Tech University faculty members who teach in the various distance education programs and courses hold the same credentials as those teaching on-campus courses. Full and part-time faculty teaching distance courses or at off-campus sites are appointed by the respective academic departments at Lubbock. All policies and procedures that apply to on-campus faculty members apply to faculty members teaching distance education courses and at off-campus educational sites.