EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: AN INVESTMENT PROJECT

Justification

The CSU, through its academic programs, has engaged in an educational development process, impelled by new educational philosophies, new expectations of the public for higher education, accountability requirements within public universities, and new accreditation standards. As a consequence of this movement, faculty members and academic program units are expected:

· To develop educational plans which include assurances of educational effectiveness and its continuous improvement. That is, to be able to make decisions about hiring, faculty development, curriculum, teaching, learning, advising, and other issues, based on a single criterion—continuous improvement of student learning,

· To generate evidence of their educational processes,

· To become learning organizations.

These expected changes within programs, and new service expectations for faculty, imply institutional and cultural changes -- they are activities within an investment process that will use resources over a period of years. SSU has begun financing some activities of this process, but the effective implementation of the project will require: a detailed project description, including the project life cycle, its expected benefits, and an estimation of the investment costs.

Expected Investment Benefits

Student learning, and faculty development will improve.
SSU will be able to comply with the new accreditation standards of WASC and the accountability demands of the CSU.

Cost of the Investment Project

Attendance at institutional workshops
Campus visits of experts
Department or School level workshops for the faculty
Allocation of time for faculty coordinators during the implementation period:

For leading colleagues to learn and establish educational planning and assessment, within the framework of a learning organization
For integrating program review within the above educational planning process

Project Life

The implementation of the investment project will take four years.