INSTITUTIONAL PORTFOLIO.

Vision

The vision of Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus is to be the recognized source of Indiana University and Purdue University degrees and programs in southeastern Indiana.

Mission

The mission of IUPU Columbus is to identify and respond to post-secondary education needs and enhance the quality of life of the residents of our 10-county service area by providing Indiana University and Purdue University degrees, programs, courses, and faculty expertise.

To achieve this mission, we deliver high quality courses and degree programs of IU and Purdue; encourage student achievement in a supportive and caring environment by providing small classes, academic advising, mentoring programs, preparatory courses, learning labs, student clubs, social activities, and service learning; provide university access in a cost-effective manner at Columbus and other commuter locations; provide support for research by faculty and students through release time, facilities, equipment, and travel assistance, opportunities for undergraduate research, presentations, and publications, and faculty development grants and interdisciplinary scholarship; work in partnership with community institutions, organizations, and businesses; broaden the perceptions, knowledge base, and understanding of area residents by providing access to library and learning resources, presentations and public forums, international exchange programs, continuing education courses, in-house training, and speakers for outside groups.

Values

IUPU Columbus values honesty and integrity, achievement and excellence, collegiality and cooperation, creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship and community support, and inclusivity and diversity. These values are expressed by the commitment of students to learning and academic integrity; faculty to the highest standards of teaching, scholarship, and service; staff to the highest standards of service; and the campus to provide access and appropriate assistance for all who demonstrate the ability to benefit from higher education; personalized attention; recognition of diversity in learning styles; faculty and staff development; continuous improvement of its programs and services; an environment conducive to learning; service to the community by students, faculty, and staff.

Enhance Undergraduate Student Learning and Success

At IUPU Columbus, we work on the same model as IUPUI and attempt to implement the teaching and learning initiatives as our resources allow. For example, in our University College we provide a math assistance center, a campus writing center, and a student advising center. Core to the University College is the First-Year Seminar, or learning community.

Learning Communities

IUPU Columbus offers learning communities through University College as well as program learning communities in business, education, and psychology. Within the learning communities, we have a successful student mentor program. We have experimented with block scheduling of linked courses and are evaluating the effectiveness of the linking.

Analysis of the block schedule program for entering freshmen is ongoing. In the fall of 2001, students in 21 courses (10 part of a block schedule and 11 comparable courses) were surveyed regarding their educational plans and their experiences at IUPUC. Preliminary analysis indicates that students participating in the blocked program were more likely to develop friendships with their classmates (social engagement) that led to a higher intention to re-enroll for courses at IUPUC in the Spring 2002 and Fall 2003 semesters. The block schedule of classes did not have an impact on student learning (academic engagement). Tracking of these students is continuing.

Technology and Enhancement of Student Learning

We are encouraging our faculty to use technology in the classroom and have installed computers and projectors in almost every classroom. Every class has access to PowerPoint presentations, computer simulations and programs, and resources from the Internet. We also encourage the use of OnCourse in every class.

Principles of Undergraduate Learning

We encourage the awareness and use of the Principles of Undergraduate Learning in all of our courses. We have asked the faculty to indicate the extent to which the PULs are integrated into their courses. Based on the data collected to date, 95 percent of the courses include components of the Core Communication and Quantitative Skills; 94 percent include Critical Thinking; 81 percent Integration and Application of Knowledge; 73 percent Intellectual Depth, Breadth, and Adaptiveness; 49 percent Understanding Society and Culture; and 65 percent Values and Ethics. We have also begun to collect data from graduating students in the form of reflective statements of their growth in the Principles of Undergraduate Learning.

In addition to the campus Principles of Undergraduate Learning, the education program has developed six Principles of Teacher Education.

These principles form the conceptual framework for the Teacher Preparation Program at IUPU Columbus, as they do for the Teacher Preparation Program at IUPUI.

Principle 1: Conceptual Understanding of Core Knowledge
Definition: The ability of teachers to communicate and solve problems while working with the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of different disciplines. For secondary education candidates, this means developing rich expertise within their chosen discipline. For elementary education majors, this means developing a solid understanding of the range of disciplines taught in the elementary grades. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to:

• Set learning goals that reflect command of the subject matter.
• Design and implement instruction that develops students" conceptual frameworks.
• Interact with learners, providing accurate and in-depth information.
• Improve learners" communication and quantitative skills through meaningful learning engagements.
• Model effective communication and problem solving.
• Use a variety of media and technology.
• Distinguish high-quality educational materials.
• Write and speak with clarity.

Principle 2: Reflective Practice
Definition: The ability of teachers to step outside of the experiences that make up teaching and to analyze and critique the impact of the experiences and contexts from multiple perspectives. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to:

• Explain the principles that guide the teaching.
• Demonstrate teaching as an inquiry process, collecting and analyzing data about students" learning, and generating plans designed to support student learning.
• Entertain multiple perspectives.
• Self-assess from multiple perspectives.
• Collect information through observation of classroom interaction.
• Assess learners" development and knowledge.
• Use assessment processes appropriate to learning outcomes.
• Invite learners to employ multiple approaches, solutions, and diverse pathways to learning.

Principle 3: Teaching for Understanding
Definition: The ability of teachers to draw on their knowledge and frameworks to plan, implement, and assess effective learning experiences and to develop supportive social and physical contexts for learning. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to:

• Set clear goals for learning experiences.
• Establish suitable classroom routines.
• Provide learners with meaningful choices.
• Create a collaborative, supportive social environment.
• Engage learners in generating knowledge and testing hypotheses.
• Help learners articulate their ideas and thinking processes.
• Use multiple strategies that engage students in active learning.
• Encourage learners to see, question, and interpret ideas from diverse perspectives.
• Convince learners to assume responsibility for themselves and their own learning.
• Motivate all children to learn.
• Create an inviting, interactive learning environment.
• Ask questions that promote learning.
• Build on children"s prior knowledge.

Principle 4: Passion for Learning
Definition: The ability of teachers continually to develop their own complex content and pedagogical knowledge and to support the development of students" habits of continual purposeful learning. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to:

• Synthesize and teach complex concepts and networks of knowledge.
• Learn about learners and teaching through reflective practice.
• Recognize and support learners" intellectual, social, and personal growth.
• Support learners with special needs.
• Engage learners in multiple ways of knowing.
• Convey reasonable, but high and positive expectations for learner achievement.
• Integrate the disciplines to create meaningful curriculum.
• Give learners opportunities to solve community problems and make authentic choices.
• Provide learners with access to learning opportunities.
• Seek help from other professionals when needed.
• Engage in personal inquiry to construct content knowledge and skills.

Principle 5: Understanding School in Context of Society and Culture
Definition: The ability of teachers to value and teach about diversity, to recognize the impact of social, cultural, economic, and political systems on daily school life, and to capitalize on the potential of school to minimize inequities. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to:

• Act as a change agent.
• Communicate in ways that demonstrate a sensitivity to a broad range of diversity.
• Mediate when learners need help to resolve problems or change attitudes.
• Collaborate with parents, teachers, administrators, and other community members involved in the lives of students.
• Embed knowledge of community into teaching.
• Challenge negative attitudes

Principle 6: Professionalism
Definition: The ability of teachers to be active members of professional communities that collaborate to improve teaching and student achievement by developing shared ethics, standards, and research-based practices. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to:

• Articulate the ethical principles guiding professional conduct.
• Demonstrate and document standards-based practice in the classroom.
• Stay current in terms of research on pedagogy and content areas.
• Participate in professional organizations and resource networks beyond the school.
• Dialogue with colleagues about issues that are complex and difficult.
• Give presentations for other professionals.
• Initiate activities such as teacher research, study groups, coaching, and so on to improve the teaching and learning of a school community.
• Promote positive attitudes.
• Facilitate decision-making.
• Operate on democratic principles .

Assessment of Learning

In addition to the traditional ways of assessing learning for the assignment of grades, we monitor the outcomes of our courses in several ways. For those programs that have licensing exams, we track the pass rates. For courses where there is a common final, we compare the results of our students with those in Indianapolis. For all of our courses, we compare the grades assigned with the grades assigned in the same or similar courses in Indianapolis. In addition, some of our faculty use their own research to look at student achievement. Below are examples from psychology and sociology.

In psychology, some instructors use pre-post testing and measure student knowledge at the beginning of the semester and then after completion of specific topics or the entire course. One instructor asks students to write a description of what they have learned at mid-term and checks their statements for accuracy. Instructors in the capstone courses continuously evaluate students" knowledge in a variety of psychology content areas and in research methodology, throughout the semester. One instructor is planning an initiative to compare the efficacy of different instructional formats, including live classroom interaction, videotape, and Web-based instruction. Two instructors are completing an ongoing study of predictors of success in introductory psychology.

End-of-semester surveys of students in one instructor"s R100 Introduction to Sociology courses have been conducted for five semesters. The surveys request information regarding students" study habits and use of learning resources (e.g., PowerPoint lectures, partial lecture notes on OnCourse, exam review sites on the internet, and practice exams). Early analysis indicates that students who earn a B or above tend to spend almost twice as much time studying for each exam. Higher scoring students are also more likely to read the assignments, use the practice exams, and the exam review sites on the Internet.

Students in the Elementary Education Program at IUPU Columbus are evaluated at four points during their program coursework.

• Admission to the program (Praxis I Exam)
• Block I Assessment
• Block II Assessment
• Licensing (Praxis II Exam)

Support and Enhance Effective Teaching

As part of the Trustee Lecturer Initiative to hire additional full-time lecturers, IUPUC has added four lecturers in the past two years, in English, Math, Communications, and Business. As a campus, we have always emphasized and encouraged excellence in teaching. Now that we have started to implement site-specific degree programs, we are developing promotion and tenure guidelines. These guidelines will have a strong emphasis on teaching and the scholarship of teaching. We have also promoted one of our lecturers to Senior Lecturer based on teaching. In addition to the Trustees" Teaching Award, we recognize a full-time faculty member each year with an Outstanding Full-Time Faculty award for excellence in teaching, research, or service.

Because of our heavy reliance on part-time faculty, we have a faculty development program for them that provides for mentoring and the possibility of promotion into a Merit Status.

IUPU Columbus Faculty Mentoring Program Faculty Mentoring Program pairs new part-time faculty with experienced faculty members. One program goal is to promote excellence in teaching and increase communication and the spirit of collegiality. Another program goal is to help new faculty feel welcome and be acknowledged as an integral part of the university community during their first semester. This program encourages peer review in an atmosphere of mutual respect and exchange of information. IUPU Columbus Merit Status Program IUPUC Merit Status is offered to part-time faculty who have taught for three continuous years. Candidates must submit a portfolio for review by the review committee. The portfolio includes a summary of teaching philosophy, course outlines/summaries for all courses taught at IUPUC, classroom observations by three reviewers, summaries of student evaluations, a 10-minute videotape of teaching, and outcome measurements for successful teaching. The candidate should document use of the Principles of Undergraduate Learning in the coursework and use of technology. Those who achieve Merit Status will receive $100 additional stipend per credit hour and will be expected to serve as mentors to new part-time faculty.
Other Recognition and Rewards for Part-Time Faculty

For many years we have given an outstanding part-time faculty award for excellence in teaching. We also recognize part-time faculty who have taught for ten and twenty years at IUPU Columbus.

Go on to: Strengths, Challenges, and Questions