Standard 6 Supporting Artifacts
Narrative
Standard 6: Unit Governance and Resources
The unit has the leadership, authority, budget, personnel, facilities, and resources, including information technology resources, for the preparation of candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards.
Standard 6.1: Unit Leadership and Authority
The College of Education is the unit for planning, delivering, and operating all educator preparation programs at the University of Georgia. The dean and associate deans, as well as the faculty within the educator preparation units across campus, work closely together to provide strong, standards-based educator preparation programs. Collaboration with the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Agriculture and Environmental Sciences occur through formal and informal mechanisms including grant-funded initiatives such as the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program
(GSTEP) and Partnership for Reform in Science & Mathematics (PRISM) projects and through the Professional Education Advisory Council (PEAC), a council of all program coordinators across campus facilitated by the associate deans of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education. In addition to these efforts, the Associate Dean for Students, Curriculum, and Accreditation is charged with facilitating conversations with all campus units involved in educator preparation on campus. She regularly facilitates individual and group meetings with program coordinators to ensure that programs are meeting state and national standards and to provide oversight for the assessment systems across all programs. The certification office, which approves all certification applications for educators, is housed in the dean’s office in the Office of Student Services.
Overseeing the college is the dean assisted by three associate deans who are viewed as leaders in their respective areas: faculty, administration, and finance; research, technology, and external affairs; and students, curriculum, and accreditation. The Dean of the College of Education provides the overall vision and leadership for the college. Louis A. Castenell, Jr., was appointed dean in August 1999. He meets regularly with the Provost and the Dean’s Council as part of the university’s governance structure. His meetings with this group, as well as individual meetings with the Provost, serve the purpose of collaborating with other units on campus around issues of educator preparation. In addition, the Dean and the Associate Dean for Students, Curriculum & Accreditation along with deans in the College of Arts and Sciences regularly attend the Board of Regents Educator Preparation Advisory Council, a body made up of all education and arts and sciences deans in the University System of Georgia schools. The dean also meets regularly with individual faculty and with groups of faculty in monthly conversations.
The College of Education recently completed a three-year period of significant reorganization that has resulted in major administrative changes. Formerly, there were four schools that housed a total of 19 departments. Through an extensive self-study and college reorganization process, the college is now configured differently. The school structure is no longer in place; there are 9 departments rather than 19. There are also two administrative departments—the Offices of Information Technology and Student Services. This reorganization process was approved by the faculty in September 2004 and by the Board of Regents in January 2005.
Formerly, there were four schools that housed a total of 19 departments. Through an extensive self-study and college reorganization process, the college is now configured differently. The school structure is no longer in place; there are 9 departments rather than 19. There are also two administrative departments—the Offices of Information Technology and Student Services. This reorganization process was approved by the faculty in September 2004 and by the Board of Regents in January 2005.
The new structure includes a democratic decision-making process where policies can emanate from the Faculty Senate, the Administrative Cabinet made up of the nine department heads, or the Dean’s Cabinet (dean, three associate deans, and financial assistant to the dean), and the Staff Representative Group (SRG). The administrative team meets in a Dean’s Cabinet meeting every Monday and for longer retreats three times per year. The Administrative Cabinet made up of the nine department heads, faculty senate president, the dean and the associate deans meets every two weeks to discuss college issues. Periodically, the heads of the Office of Information Technology (OIT), Student Services, the Diversity Council, and the Staff Representative Group (SRG) attend to share information relative to their units. Others may be invited on an ad hoc basis as appropriate. Proposed bylaws of the Administrative Cabinet state:The Statutes of the University of Georgia recognize the Dean as the ultimate authority in the College of Education. Given that context, the Administrative Cabinet, chaired by the Dean, will work in consultation with the Faculty Senate to make administrative decisions for the college. This approach to governance reflects our belief that our college is best served by democratic decision-making in which the voices of all faculty and staff are heard and respected. In this capacity, the Administrative Cabinet shall act as the agent of the Departments and the college as a whole and shall exercise the following duties and functions:
(a) To consider and act upon matters of policy and administration of the college,
(b) To consider matters that may concern more than one department and matters of college-wide concern,
(c) To assist and advise the Dean of the college in the performance of official duties,
(d) To make such rules and regulations for the conduct of its business as it may deem advisable, and
(e) In the event of a disagreement between the Dean and the Administrative Cabinet, the disagreement shall be reflected in the minutes of the Administrative Cabinet.Unit-wide policies have undergone significant review and revision to ensure equity across all departments. The unit’s budget was centralized in the dean’s office with specific budgets and increased control allocated to the departments. The faculty senate has revised it bylaws and passed those bylaws in October 2005. The college curriculum committee streamlined and updated its operating procedures. The dean established a new Student Advisory Board consisting of both graduate and undergraduate representatives from each of the newly formed departments. In addition, the dean established a community-based advisory board to share the work of the college more broadly and to solicit input from this group. A Dean’s Council for Diversity has been in operation for two years and grew from a decade-long Multicultural Task Force in the college <see Standard 4 for details>.
Specific functions within the dean's office are administered by the dean or the three associate deans. The dean oversees all functions of the college and is also responsible for alumni and development functions, facilitating the college-wide initiatives--multicultural education, technology, and academic community learning--and overseeing the fiscal management of the college.
The Associate Dean for Faculty, Administration, and Finance handles the day-to-day operation of the college and also serves as the initial point of contact for requests from central administration and department heads regarding college issues and funding matters. Oversight of Faculty Services, the Business Office, and COE participation at Gwinnett University Center falls under this office. This office is responsible for preparing and presenting budget reports to the Provost, faculty employment issues such as promotion and post-tenure reviews, ensures appropriate policies and guidelines are in place, and represents the Dean at functions and meetings when he is unavailable.
The Associate Dean for Research, Technology, and External Affairs facilitates faculty development and support and is responsible for off-campus instruction, including undergraduate, graduate and certification programs online and at the Gwinnett University Center in metro Atlanta. The office oversees the effective use of advanced technology for teaching and learning, research, outreach, and administrative programs in the college and is responsible for external and internal communications publications, electronic media and other collaborations. This office supervises a sponsored programs officer who has primary responsibility for assisting faculty with grant development and ensuring proper administrative approval and routing of all college funding proposals. The office also fosters the development of individual, multi-disciplinary, and multi-institution research proposals, and assists faculty with all aspects of proposal development. Staff handle routine communication regarding research issues with the faculty, serve as liaison to university offices or other institutions regarding college research, direct a summer faculty research grant program, and coordinate and facilitate faculty research efforts.
The Associate Dean for Students, Curriculum, and Accreditation handles four major areas within the college: assessment and accreditation, curriculum processes, international initiatives, and student affairs. Specifically, the office oversees the college's overall performance-based assessment system by assisting programs with ongoing national, state, and university program assessment and accreditation efforts, managing the collection of information for various college reports, and working with external bodies including the Professional Standards Commission and USG BOR. This office facilitates all curricular matters such as new or revised courses/programs, deactivation/reactivation and termination/reinstatement of programs, and maintaining information on degrees offered. It serves as a liaison between the college and University Curriculum Systems and the Graduate School around curricular matters. The office also serves in a coordinating role to the college's international efforts and oversees the Student Services Office.
The college has a Faculty Senate (one of two in the university) with elected representatives from each department in the college. The senate works with the dean to develop college policy and to ensure faculty involvement in open and informed decision-making in the college. It has standing committees that manage aspects of the college's governance, including a College Curriculum Committee with representatives of all departments that meets monthly to review and approve all curricular changes in the college. Any curricular change begins with program-level faculty, is approved within the departments, and then moves to the COE Curriculum Committee for unit-level approval. The university curriculum systems process facilitates curricular changes through the university and Board of Regents levels. Any curricular changes that impact other units are carefully reviewed and must be approved by the impacted unit.The Student Services Office ensures that all candidates have access to high quality advising and counseling. With an advising staff of seven, this office advises all intended majors in years one and two. Candidates are introduced to college and program regulations and requirements during academic area meetings, which are held in conjunction with the university's new student orientation. Each semester, intended majors meet with their academic advisor to review their progress and to discuss their academic schedule for the following semester. Advisors are also accessible to candidates through phone, e-mail, and during Walk-in Wednesdays. Walk-in Wednesdays take place every Wednesday during the semester and provides time for candidates to ask an advisor follow-up questions or to discuss alternative majors. The College of Education Continued Academic Achievement Program (COECAPP) program provides counseling to candidates who are experiencing academic difficulties and refers candidates to campus resources, such as Academic Enhancement, Career Services, tutoring services, Disability Services, and Counseling and Psychological Services.
The quality of academic advising in the Student Services Office is ensured through the following practices:
- File review process: Every advising file is reviewed for accuracy of information by a senior advisor after each advising appointment.
- Professional development: Advisors participate in the fall and spring University Academic Advising Workshops, which provide sessions such as Best Practices in Academic Advising, Advising Students in Academic Difficulty, etc.
- Weekly advisor meetings: The advising staff meets weekly to discuss items such as college curriculum changes, advising issues and academic policy changes. These meetings also provide a forum to reflect on and evaluate the advising practices and to develop new strategies and techniques.
Each spring, candidates are provided with an opportunity to evaluate the assistance they received from their advisor. In 2004, the first year of the survey, the college received a 68% approval rating. The college's approval rating changed in 2005 to 87%, indicating that candidates are growing more satisfied with the academic assistance they are receiving from College of Education advisors.
The university’s Equal Opportunity Office requires a statement, “UGA is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer,” to be included in all position announcements. All employment procedures must follow UGA guidelines and be approved by the EEO officer for compliance. In addition, the college developed a set of guidelines for faculty searches that encourage publication of position announcements to reach a broad audience. The college’s faculty and staff recruitment efforts have resulted in increased faculty, staff, and candidates of color over the past five years. Positions are advertised in outlets such as Hispanic Outlook. The Student Services Office, a central unit for undergraduate student contact through dissemination of information, advising, and certification services, now has a staff that is 50% African American, Asian American, and Native American.
All academic calendars, catalogues, publications, grading policies, and advertising are available electronically and reviewed and revised annually. The college faculty submit their syllabi to the dean’s office each semester to be uploaded on the college website to comply with UGA’s syllabus policy and to be accessible for student review. During 2004-05, the college website was redesigned and updated to reflect the new college structure. Departments used that opportunity to ensure the accuracy of their program materials.
Standard 6.2: Unit Budget
As part of a university-wide effort, the unit completed a strategic planning process to develop a Five-Year Plan, 2005-2010, that is an elaboration of its existing ten-year strategic plan. This plan set out specific strategic goals and initiatives, outcome-based performance measures to assess its progress to those goals, and a five-year budget of line items to support the achievement of each of the goals. The annual report for each unit on campus is tied to its Five-Year Plan. At the beginning of each spring semester, the dean’s leadership team participates in a budget development process to discuss funding needs for the following fiscal year. These discussions identify budget requirements and funding allocations necessary to support high quality work within the college and with school partners. Subsequently, the dean meets with the vice presidents for academic affairs, research, and service to address college budget issues. In early April, the college receives BOR and university budget guidance and the actual budget allocation. The new budget is executed in July for the new fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). The total college budget from the legislature for FY2006 is $22,760.227. Faculty, staff and graduate assistant salaries represent 98.40% of this budget. The remainder is allocated to operating and equipment (1.50%) and travel (.10%). Additionally, external awards received through FY2005 were $64,493,296. The following table summarizes major expenditures in the unit’s budget:
Table 6.1 COE Budget Summary, FY2006
Category
Amount
State Budget
$22,760,227
External Funds awarded and active through FY2005
64,493,286
External funds received in FY2005
18,059,691
Foundation Accounts Principle Balances through FY2005
15,434,997
Revenues from Foundation Accounts to support student scholarships and faculty development FY2005
2,405,200
Total O&E and travel spent FY2005
4,389,016
O&E and travel per faculty spent FY2005 (compared to $12,700 in A&S)
15,920
Travel per faculty member spent FY2005
1,900
Graduate student professional travel support budgeted FY2005
30,000
Additional faculty development budgeted in dean’s office FY2005
132,000
Total department sales and service for FY2005
2,031,431
Editorship funding FY2005
14,015
Editorship funding FY2006
19,699
Faculty retention/compression supplement FY2006
265,500
Research expenditures in the College of Education budget for FY 2005 totaled $4,480,177. The original budget for FY2006 listed $5,365,783 in anticipated research expenditures. This includes faculty research time, graduate assistants, administrative and staff support as well as operating expenses. In addition, the college generated funding for an additional 57 grant-funded GA’s from its $18,059,691 in FY ’05 external funding.
Additional research support for faculty included our new COE Research Funding Programs. Through this program, an additional $120,000 is set aside for faculty release from instruction, travel, research assistance or consultation, or other support needed to complete a grant proposal. Through this program begun in FY 2006, 11 faculty have received funding for research leaves <sabbaticals>, time for proposal development, support for travel, summer salary, or Graduate Research Assistants. Additional funds <$48,000> are set aside to support faculty <especially current and potential department heads> and staff professional development.
Funding provided by the college for graduate research assistants to support faculty research projects for FY’06 totals $119,738.47.
Graduate student support provided by the COE included funding for travel to present scholarly papers. Last year, 109 graduate candidates received $29,932 in travel support from the college. Many if not most of these candidates received additional funding from the university and from their departments. Finally, the college has provided support for three years for an annual Graduate Student Research Conference.The unit has reached a crisis for research space in the College of Education. Based on a recent audit of space allocated to research and grant activities, we have approximately 132,563 square feet of research only or mixed-use space in the college. One of our research and development centers pays $200,000 per year to lease 12,583 square feet. The current space at Fairfax is inadequate in terms of handicap access, accessibility, space, and computing connectivity. This year we signed a contract with UGA to rent space in a new facility to be designed according to our specifications to house the Georgia Center for Assessment and Test Scoring and Reporting Services.
Nevertheless, our need for research space is severe. For the rest of our contracts and grants, lacking any dedicated research facilities, we have had to adjust space within our existing buildings. As a result, we have lost 24 classrooms in Aderhold Hall since 1989.
A building is needed to house the multiple research centers and projects in the college. We have several large projects involving large numbers of full and part-time staff, research faculty and research assistants. For example, the CDC- funded Violence Prevention Project hired 60 people at various times; The Learning and Performance Support Laboratory has over 40 people on one or more projects; and, the Test Scoring and Reporting Services employs 80 or more individuals for several months of each year. These groups would like to come together to create a larger center through which they can share staff and collaborate in large, multidisciplinary educational research proposals. This collaboration would be greatly enhanced if projects were housed together as they are at some of our aspirant institutions. The limited availability of research space is also affecting our ability to attract and retain top candidates for faculty positions.
In FY2005, The Office of Research used three offices, Room 104 River's Crossing, Room 302 Ramsey Center, and Room G2 Aderhold Hall, to host international visiting faculty from China, Israel, Michigan State, Korea, and Tajikistan, sponsored by the departments of Workforce, Education, Leadership, and Social Foundations (Lynch); Recreation and Leisure Studies in Counseling and HDS (Kleiber); two visiting scholars with Mathematics and Science Education; and one IREX scholar sponsored jointly by Kinesiology and TSARS (Chepyator-Thomson and Al Cohen). Additionally, numerous departments provided space for a number of other visiting scholars.
Standard 6.3: Personnel
College of Education tenure-track faculty at the entry level are typically budgeted for .45 EFT for instruction (60% assigned time) and .30 EFT for research (40%). Career-track professionals are budgeted based on their specialized role within the college. Academic professionals are limited to .37 EFT (49% assigned time) for instruction. The balance of their time is devoted to program management and technical assistance. Budgeted instructional time is used to teach courses, lead seminars, supervise candidates in field settings, advise candidates, and engage in program or course development. Tenure-track faculty members typically teach two courses per semester and use the balance of their instructional time for other instructional activities, such as dissertation advisement and independent study. Actual assignments are negotiated between the department head and faculty members and are guided by programmatic needs. Budgeted research time is structured by the individual faculty member and may be devoted to any combination of field- or lab-based research, scholarly collaboration with field-based professionals, curriculum or software development. Budgeted time for faculty can be modified as programmatic needs and faculty performance change.
All faculty members have budgeted time in at least two areas (instruction, research, service, or administration). Merit-pay and promotion decisions are tied to productivity and excellence in each budgeted area. Faculty members must provide documentation of activities in all areas for which they are budgeted. Technical assistance to school districts or state agencies and leadership activities in national and state professional organizations are claimed based on the nature of the activity. The guidelines for promotion specifically list these types of activities as examples of contributions to teaching, research, and service.Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (UGA Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost)
The unit ensures that part-time faculty contribute to the integrity, coherence, and quality of the unit and its programs through support within the departments, specifically through the work of assigned mentors and program coordinators. Part-time faculty must have terminal degrees and/or expertise and experience in a specific field needed to support the instructional program. All part-time faculty are reviewed by the department and college as part of the hiring process. Student evaluations are required of all faculty, including part-time instructors.
The unit has a total of 160 staff that serve the needs of faculty and candidates across the college. Academic and administrative departments have staff in positions of accountants and administrative assistants. Many academic departments also have advisors and degree program specialists to support the work of the unit.In addition, the Business Office is staffed with 13 individuals who report to the Assistant to the Dean and are in positions of accountants II, III, and Business Manager. There are five professional staff who report to the Associate Dean for Research, Technology, and External Affairs who are primarily responsible for pre- and post-award research support for faculty and handle the publications and communications functions within the unit. One professional staff reports to the Associate Dean for Students, Curriculum, and Accreditation and is primarily responsible for data aggregation and support of the unit’s assessment system.
Standard 6.4: Unit Facilities
The nine departments that comprise the College of Education are housed predominantly in three buildings: Aderhold Hall, River’s Crossing, and the Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities. Aderhold Hall is a 33-year-old building. The college assumed responsibility for River’s Crossing in 1996 after its complete renovation. This renovation included office space, classroom modernization, installation of computer labs, and a video conferencing room. Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities was built in 1995 for student activities and learning. At a cost of approximately $35 million this facility ranks as one of the premier student centers in the nation. The college occupies the instructional wing of this building and was instrumental in its design. The following summarizes the facility and equipment upgrades since 2000:
Aderhold Hall
Classrooms
Upgraded all rooms
- Electrical wiring - New lighting and controls, wired for ceiling-mounted projector, wired for computers
- Replaced chalk boards with dry erase boards
- Installed new carpet, paint, ceiling tiles, furniture
- Installed at least one projector screen in each room; two in some
COE Conference Rooms
- Electrical wiring - New lighting and controls, wired for ceiling-mounted projector
- New tables, chairs, carpet, paint, and dry erase boards
Lobby Areas
- New tile floors, paint, display cases, benches
- Escalators walled over
- Elevators upgraded with new mechanicals and interiors
- New entrance doors – Ground, First, and Second floors
- New awards walls, partnership picture walls, welcome signs, and directory cases
- New 42” Plasma information screens – Ground, First, and Second floors
All floors
- New directory and floor maps at each stairwell and elevator
- New stair treads
- New alarm system
Ground Floor
- New carpet and tile
First Floor
- New tile
Fifth Floor
- New carpet
New OIT offices constructed on Second floor
Many offices in the building have been renovated – new carpet and paint –
G10/12 suite, 122 suite, 201 suite, 329 suite, 516 suite, 604 suite, 614 suite, Snack Bar, and others.
Security System
New control computer, camera, software, and digital recorder
Ramsey Center – 10 Years old
New security system computerNone
Security system maintained by Ramsey Center
River’s Crossing – Building completely renovated before we moved in 1996.
Standard 6.5: Unit Resources Including Technology
The College of Education recognizes the importance of technology as a tool that is used to achieve or exceed the strategic goals of the college for instruction, research, and public service. Decisions concerning technology resources have been based on goals identified in 1993 and updated in 2005. The importance of aligning technology resources and COE strategic goals and the Conceptual Framework are reflected in the planning process and development of the 2005 technology plan.
COE Technology Plan Development Site
Candidates in the College of Education benefit from technology resources that are appropriately and equitably allocated across programs. These resources provide the opportunity for candidates to meet the standards required in their field and to be successful in 21st-century classrooms. A 21st-century learning environment is a digital environment with access to global and diverse resources through reliable and secure infrastructure. The College of Education maintains an Office of Information Technology (OIT) that provides the leadership and support of information and instructional technology that contribute to this digital learning environment. The department has two teams: Client Services, Standards and Infrastructure and Instructional Services, Applications and Special Projects.
OIT and UGA’s Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) collaborate to provide an appropriate local and central support model for networked access to information, curriculum resources, and library resources. Additionally, candidates, faculty, administrators, and staff have access to technology used for instruction, communication, production, decision-making, and assessment.The College of Education uses the University of Georgia network to connect to the Internet via wired and wireless infrastructure. UGA’s connection, an OC12 (Optical Carrier), provides bandwidth of 1,200 million bits of information per second (1,200 Mbps). This total bandwidth is divided to provide 255 Mbps for Internet 1, general Internet usage, and 1,000 Mbps for Internet 2, research and advanced network applications. The University of Georgia activated a local branch of the Southern Light Rail in July 2005. The Lambda Rail can carry data at a rate of 40 gigabits per second and represents the next generation of network technology for the university and COE.
COE’s main distribution frame (MDF) in each building connects to the UGA network through a 1GB fiber backbone. Fiber connects the MDFs to the intermediate distribution frames (IDFs) located in standard network closets. Cat 5 wiring runs from the IDF switches to the classrooms and computer labs. This infrastructure enables computers from classrooms and labs to share information at rates of 100 Mbps (100 Base-T). COE’s network infrastructure also has capacity to provide 1GB connections to specific computers with the flexibility to increase this offering as campus bandwidth increases. The ubiquitous wireless network for laptops and PDAs connects at 11Mbps.Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Candidates benefit from technology and network standards applied to all classrooms and computer labs. The standard classroom configuration includes computer, projector, sound capability, video and DVD display, overhead projector, teacher presenter stations, and connectivity to Internet resources. Nine computer labs supporting 16 to 32 candidates provide computers, projector(s), sound capability, standard software image, and program-requested curriculum software. Classroom and computer-lab technology is updated every three years. Candidates also have access to technology resources at the Student Learning Center including multi-media classrooms and 500 computer stations.
Classroom and Computer Lab Scheduling and Descriptions
Members of the COE Technology Advisory Council
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides technical support, equipment and software recommendations, training, and troubleshooting for candidates, faculty, and staff on weekdays until 6:00 pm. Student Technology Support provides services daily, after OIT office hours and on weekends. Services include online support, telephone support, and assistance with connections in dorm rooms and through the wireless network called Personal Access Wireless/Walkup System (PAWS).
Specific services for distance education are provided for candidates and faculty through the Instructional Services team of OIT and through the university’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Candidates can seek assistance with WebCT and Live Classroom via the web or telephone help desk. These services support online degree, endorsement, or certificate opportunities including Special Education on the Web (SETWEB): Gifted, ESOL, and Reading Endorsements: M.Ed. in Adult Education: and WEBCT Online L-5 Add-on Certification. Services also support mixed delivery of instruction where faculty deliver courses face-to-face, enhanced by the use of WebCT or Live Classroom.An analysis of data collected from a 2005 survey of technology resources, delivery options, and courses meeting the PSC Standard 7 program requirements reflected a 100% technology allocation for standard technology resources and online information, including library resources, UGA and COE web-based resources, and OASIS (student information). The survey revealed that more than 581 courses had access to appropriate discipline-related technology such as microscopes, probe technology, etc. Faculty used a mixed approach to deliver instruction face-to-face and complimented through resources such as WebCT in more than 415 courses. Faculty delivered more than 111 courses online through WebCT or Live Classroom. Over 49 courses were offered with an e-portfolio component. Candidates demonstrated use, application, and integration of instructional technology in 117 courses. Additionally, candidates expressed in exit surveys that the COE had provided the resources and opportunities to learn technology skills, use, and application.
Exit Surveys from Teacher Candidates – 2004-2005
The successful allocation of technology requires collaborative planning and funding support. The 2005 COE Strategic Technology Plan sets goals for the college and identifies current initiatives and future direction. OIT implemented a departmental strategic planning process in 2002. The OIT plan has a tactical focus and addresses project management, improved process and procedure, and customer service. In 2003, OIT facilitated the development of an instructional technology plan for the use of student technology fees. A COE Technology Advisory Council including faculty, IT professionals, and candidates identifies how the student technology fees are allocated across departments and prioritizes special projects. All planning documents and results are published for the community.
2005 COE Strategic Technology Plan
OIT Strategic Planning and Results
In 2005, the university created the Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC). This council serves as an advisory body with membership that includes representation from the four functional areas of the university (Instruction, Research, Public Service, and Administration) as well as the Information Technology community. The council includes faculty, staff, candidates and administrators. ITAC serves the university at the discretion of the Chief Information Officer (CIO).
ITAC fields proposals such as compact planning initiatives from all campus IT committees and provides advice and/or recommendations to the CIO and/or other committees. The council encourages communication, collaboration, and alignment between all IT groups to avoid overlap in purpose and duplication of effort. The Executive Director of COE’s OIT serves as the Chair of ITAC.
Current initiatives under review by ITAC include security planning, data integration, integrated staffing models and business process reviews in student services, finance and human resources.
The COE commitment to technology and access to technology resources is documented in the funding provided by the college and the allocation of student technology fees in classrooms, labs, media services, and infrastructure. COE has provided funding to support IT professionals, student workers, and graduate assistants to provide leadership, technical support, and instructional services for faculty, candidates, and staff. Additionally, COE has provided funding for OIT staff equipment, training, travel for professional conferences, and office operations and expenses. Additionally, capital improvements including network upgrades, wireless network installations, server consolidations and data-storage projects have been funded since 2002. A long-term plan for maintenance, upgrade, and improvements for infrastructure and innovation has been submitted as part of the 2005 Strategic Technology Plan.
Budget Summary of State Dollars, Capital Improvements and Student Tech Fee
The College of Education applies technology resources to develop and implement the unit’s assessment plan. In 2002, COE developed an online database called the Faculty Activity Report (FAR) to capture yearly contributions and activities of faculty. The data is used to develop the COE annual report, assess results, and support yearly faculty evaluation. The FAR can be used to capture individual faculty data or aggregated to capture department or college-wide data.
The technology resources at the college have provided the opportunity to implement an e-portfolio pilot. The goal is to create the means for candidates to capture their growth over time by collecting artifacts, assessments, and reflections as they complete their coursework. Two grants, the PRISM grant and a Student Technology Fee Special Project, have provided one-year licenses for over 1,000 candidates. By spring 2006, every teacher-education program in the college will havepiloted the e-portfolio opportunity.
LiveText Account Distribution 2004-2007
LiveText Department Use Summary - 2004-2007
Technology is also used by departments, programs and candidates to develop surveys to capture data for unit or program effectiveness and continuous improvements. The unit maintains a license for Facilitate.com, a software program for the creation of survey-type instruments that aggregates data in Excel spreadsheets. OIT staff assist unit faculty and administrators in the creation of on-line surveys using this program. Examples include the faculty and student technology surveys, strategic technology planning surveys, and surveys developed by candidates as part of their instructional programs.
The University of Georgia Libraries is one of the major research libraries in the Southeast and the largest in the state of Georgia. With over 4 million volumes and 5 million microform units, the UGA Libraries is ranked 36th among 114 university libraries in the United States and Canada by the Association of Research Libraries. It is composed of three campus libraries, a Curriculum Materials Center, and several specialized libraries scattered throughout the state. The Main Library collects materials in the social sciences, humanities, and business. The Science Library contains holdings for the physical and life sciences. The Student Learning Center houses an electronic library with 500 computer workstations and study space for 2,240 students. Many of the University of Georgia’s library resources are available on and off campus through the GALILEO virtual library, which contains over 500 research and reference databases and over 27,000 full text scholarly and popular journals. Approximately 25 of these databases and 1200 of these full-text journals deal specifically with education reference and research. Far more databases and online journals cover fields allied to education.In addition to providing resources for research, the UGA Libraries also offers College of Education candidates research assistance through classroom instruction, one-on-one consultations, and a variety of online tutorials and research guides. On-demand research assistance is available 14 hours a day in person in the Main, Science, and Student Learning Center libraries, as well as by telephone, email, and online chat reference. A bibliographer, a Main Library reference librarian, and a Science Library reference librarian serve the College of Education exclusively, and proactively seek out opportunities to provide research and other services to faculty and candidates.
The unit provides technology leadership for the university with its design, support, and implementation of technology resources for the community. A major accomplishment of this collaboration has been the development of a retention and career-development strategy for UGA IT professionals. Additionally, OIT staff and faculty have participated in UGA and community projects concerning preparation for SACS accreditation, policy development for data security and application development, recommendations for centralized back-up strategies, policy, and recommendations for software compliance, and the development of strategies to share programming for applications such as the Faculty Activity Report and the Online Course Evaluation. OIT professionals serve as leaders and active participants on UGA organizations such as the Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC), the Information Technology Management Forum (ITMF) and UGANet.
The university is in the process of conducting a Business Process Review (BPR) under the leadership of the CIO. This assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of administrative, financial, and operational processes will conclude with an evaluation of alternatives for current process if necessary. Faculty, staff and administrators from UGA and the College of Education have participated in focused sessions concerning student services, financial aid, human resources, finance and Identification (ID) Management.
The knowledge gained from these in-depth discussions with the experts on campus will be used to make appropriate decisions as UGA upgrades core strategic assets and develops integrated data resources for faculty, staff, and candidates. These improvements will improve the ability to access and use data for instruction, decision making, research, assessment and public service.
Information about the BPR and CIO
The unit has the leadership, authority, personnel and resources to provide high quality, research-based preparation for its candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards. While the unit’s facilities currently support the work of the programs, space for both classroom instruction and faculty research is limited. Rich technology and library resources in the unit are available and infused throughout the programs and used in the assessment system to evaluate the unit’s programs.
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