Strategic Plan
Department of History
Texas Tech University
Strategic Plan
Goals, Critical Success Factors, Strategies and Assessments
Goal 1. Access and Diversity: To increase student enrollments and recruit and retain more students and faculty from under-represented groups.
Critical Success Factors
- Establish on-campus and local programs that highlight the applicability of the study of history to matters of social justice.
- Increase our undergraduate enrollments for majors and minors in our program by 10%.
- Increase the percentage of under-represented groups to 20% of our total student body.
- Increase the percentage of women in the graduate program to 33% in the graduate program.
- As hiring opportunities occur, recruit women and under-represented faculty members.
Objective 1.1: Attract more undergraduate enrollments
Strategies
- Provide superior student advising and counseling
- Work with university recruiters to inform potential students of our programs
- Have faculty personally contact interested students
- Invigorate Phi Alpha Theta, the history student association
- Maintain contact with students who graduate from our department
- Survey student interests regarding classes and the overall effectiveness of the program
Assessments:
- Annually review changes in enrollment and revise strategies accordingly
- Document efforts at recruitment
- Document efforts aimed at surveying student interests regarding classes and the overall effectiveness of the program
Objective 1.2: Recruit and retain more students form under-represented groups
Strategies
- Commit financial and faculty/staff resources to recruit students from under-represented groups
- Advertise the value and usefulness of our programs to members of minority groups
- Strengthen ties with Hispanic serving institutions in various parts of Texas
- Establish ties with traditionally African American institutions in various parts of Texas
- Work with university offices, such as admissions and recruitment centers around the state, to contact students from under-represented groups
- Seek more Hispanic graduate students through faculty connections at University of Texas, Pan American; University of Texas, Permian Basin, and other institutions
- Join the university in a renewed effort to attract minority students from Lubbock and surrounding communities
- Meet with teachers and counselors at secondary schools with large enrollments of under-represented groups
Assessment
- Chart changes in the number of under-represented groups in the graduate and undergraduate programs
- Annual review of our strategies for their effectiveness
Objective 1.3: Increase faculty diversity and establish a faculty profile that will serve as a model for diversity and inclusion
Strategies
- Continue to fund our department’s ABD Fellowship program (designed to recruit minority and female ABDs)
- Instruct and monitor search committees to advance our objectives in promotion faculty diversity
- Foster a climate within the department that respects and appreciates diversity
- Seek additional resources from TTU to improve the terms of employment for under-represented faculty
- Utilize personal contacts to identify and recruit a more diverse faculty
Assessment
- Annual review of the unit’s efforts in promoting faculty diversity
Goal 2. Human Resources and Infrastructure: Expand upon our department’s existing national and international reputation as a distinguished center of research and learning. In addition, the department will seek to achieve the highest standards of excellence in all facets of our departmental mission—teaching, research and service.
Critical Success Factors
- Have more members of the department selected for the Teaching Academy
- Formalize a mentoring program for new faculty mentors
- The department’s ABD Fellows program will seek to attract individuals to our program that we might be able to hire into a tenure-track position(s) at some future time
- Each year apply for at least one college/university teaching or research award
- Expand our Teaching College History course (HIST5101) to better instruct graduate assistants on effective teaching strategies and methods
- Have no graduate part-time instructor teach a lower-level course larger than 60 students (except in cases where GPTIs agree to teach large sections in order to accommodate student demand)
- Use highly visible and quality research agendas (in conjunction with the Southwest Collection and the Vietnam Center) to attract first-rate graduate students to the department
- Fund more (worthy) graduate student requests for travel to deliver research papers at professional meetings
- Have all regular faculty members teaching a 2/2 load
- Have all regular faculty members rank above a 3.75 for questions #1 and #11 (overall effectiveness of the instructor and overall effectiveness of the class) in end of semester student evaluation forms
- Appeal to the university for continued funding of the ABD Fellows program and for at least two new faculty positions
Objective 2.1: Enhance the quality of our undergraduate program
Strategies
- Structure the training of graduate assistants for classroom responsibilities
- Reduce our faculty/student ratios in our regular sized classes
- Make use of TTU programs, such as the TLTC and the Writing Center, to strengthen teaching performance
- Make instructional support and incentive rewards more available to faculty members who pioneer the use of new instructional technologies and strategies in their undergraduate classes
- Continue to give appropriate weight to teaching of undergraduate courses on tenure and promotion decisions
- Have students complete a survey of their assessment of the value of the undergraduate program in their HIST4398 (capstone course) sections
Assessment
- Monitor performance in teaching
- Continue conducting evaluations of junior faculty
- Analyze the results of the HIST4398 questionnaire in order to monitor our students’ assessment of the value and effectiveness of our undergraduate program
- Analyze the results of rubrics utilized in HIST4398 to measure our effectiveness in achieving our stated departmental Learning Outcomes and Learning Assessment goals
Objective 2.2: Improve our graduate program
Strategies
- Recruit high quality graduate students by using “pipelines” to schools throughout Texas, the US and other nations
- Use our unique and most successful research activities as a tool for recruiting MA and doctoral students
- Reduce the teaching workload of students and stress the importance of their own professional development
- Raise stipends to a minimum of $12000 for 9 months
- Place our graduate degree recipients in the best possible jobs for which they qualify
Assessment
- Annual review and evaluation of the graduate program, including student progress toward completion
- Monitor performance in teaching
- Continue conducting evaluations of junior faculty
- Analyze the results of rubrics utilized in HIST5304, 5305, 6301 and 6304 to measure our effectiveness in achieving our stated departmental Learning Outcomes and Learning Assessment goals
Objective 2.3: Provide incentives and resources for faculty research, teaching, and service
Strategies
- Adopt a standard teaching load of two courses per semester
- Increase flexibility in assigning faculty duties
- Encourage faculty development leaves and visiting professor appointments
- Seek further funding support for faculty travel
- Provide incentives and resources for associate professors to qualify for promotion to professor and lobby for the resources to do so
Assessment
- Increased faculty performance in teaching, research, and service
Goal 3. Undergraduate Teaching and Learning: The undergraduate program will produce students who have historical knowledge, research skills, epistemology, professional understandings, and habits of mind enabling them to pursue graduate school, careers in secondary education, or professional school training.
Critical Success Factors
- Increase departmental support for ongoing discussion of what constitutes “excellence in teaching”
- Within our capstone course (HIST4398) at least 70% of students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through finding, evaluating, and synthesizing historical evidence and demonstrating an ability to discuss issues such as causes and consequences of historical change and continuity, race, gender, class and other historical categories
- Within our capstone course (HIST4398) at least 70% of students will construct well-written, organized, and argued historical narrative papers
- Within our capstone course (HIST4398) at least 70% of students will complete research assignments in their course that will utilize both primary and secondary sources.
- Within our capstone course (HIST4398) at least 70% of the final papers in such sections will demonstrate the student’s ability to find secondary sources in professional journals related to their field(s) of study which will be used to provide historical and historiographical context for their work.
- Within our capstone course (HIST4398) at least 70% of our students will demonstrate the ability to use proper citation techniques in their papers.
- Within our capstone course (HIST4398) at least 70% of our students will differentiate between primary and secondary sources and utilize these to become conversant in current and past historiographic arguments in their specific areas of interest
Objective 3.1: Produce students who have historical knowledge, research skills, epistemology, professional understandings, and habits of mind of professional historians
Strategies
- Reduce our faculty/student ratios
- Make use of TTU programs, such as the TLTC and the Writing Center, to strengthen student performance
- Monitor student performance to make certain that they are learning and utilizing “best practices” of the profession in regard to their research, writing and citation skills
- Have students complete a survey of their assessment of the value of the undergraduate program in their HIST4398 (capstone course) sections
- Utilize rubric for HIST4398 to measure student performance and compare and contrast with departmental Learning Objective/Learning Assessment goals.
- Contact recent graduates to ask them how their training in the department has impacted/affected their career goals
Assessment
- Analyze the results of the HIST4398 questionnaire in order to monitor our students’ assessment of the value and effectiveness of our undergraduate program
- Analyze the results of rubrics utilized in HIST4398 to measure our effectiveness in achieving our stated departmental Learning Outcomes and Learning Assessment goals
- Contact recent graduates via email, phone, or through correspondence
Objective 3.2: Enable our undergraduate students to pursue graduate school, careers in secondary education or professional school training
Strategies
- Reduce our faculty/student ratios in our regular sized classes
- Make use of TTU programs, such as the TLTC and the Writing Center, to strengthen student performance
- Monitor student performance to make certain that they are learning and utilizing “best practices” of the profession in regard to their research, writing and citation skills
- Have students complete a survey of their assessment of the value of the undergraduate program in their HIST4398 (capstone course) sections and how their undergraduate experience helped them achieve their career goals
- Utilize rubric for HIST4398 to measure student performance and compare and contrast with departmental Learning Objective/Learning Assessment goals.
- Contact recent graduates to ask them how their training in the department has impacted/affected their career goals
Assessment
- Analyze the results of the HIST4398 questionnaire in order to monitor our students’ assessment of the value and effectiveness of our undergraduate program
- Analyze the results of rubrics utilized in HIST4398 to measure our effectiveness in achieving our stated departmental Learning Outcomes and Learning Assessment goals
- Contact recent graduates via email, phone, or through correspondence
Goal 4. Graduate and professional education: The graduate degree programs will produce individuals who have historical knowledge, skills, epistemology, professional understandings and habits of mind necessary to conduct original research and produce works of historical analysis, enabling them to pursue careers in secondary education, junior colleges, universities and other professional settings for historians.
Critical Success Factors
- At least 70% of our students will become conversant with various schools of historical thought
- At least 70% of our students will learn about historical sources, methods and analytical techniques
- At least 70% of our students will be able to discuss historical and historiographic issues orally
- At least 70% of our students will be able to integrate and synthesize current historiographic interpretations
- At least 70% of our students will gain a broad knowledge of their specific (and related) content area through independent research
- At least 70% of our doctoral students will demonstrate mastery of significant literature of four historical fields and an ability to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of historical arguments
- At least 70% of our doctoral students will demonstrate a mastery of the significant historical events, actors, and factors in four historical fields
- At least 70% of our doctoral students will demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research
- At least 70% of our doctoral students will demonstrate effectiveness in classroom instruction (based on questions #1 and #11 in the student evaluation forms)
- At least 70% of our doctoral students will demonstrate the ability to write and present conference papers
Objective 4.1: Produce students who have historical knowledge, research skills, epistemology, professional understandings, and habits of mind of professional historians
Strategies
- Make use of TTU programs, such as the TLTC and the Writing Center, to strengthen student performance
- Monitor student performance to make certain that they are learning and utilizing “best practices” of the profession in regard to their research, writing and citation skills
- Utilize rubric for HIST5304, 5305, 6301 and 6304 to measure student performance and compare and contrast with departmental Learning Objective/Learning Assessment goals.
- Contact recent graduates to ask them how their training in the department has impacted/affected their career goals
Assessment
- Analyze the results of rubrics utilized in HIST5304, 5305, 6301, and 6304 to measure our effectiveness in achieving our stated departmental Learning Outcomes and Learning Assessment goals
- Contact recent graduates via email, phone, or through correspondence
Goal 5. Engagement and Partnerships: Provide programs that connect the history department more closely and productively with other academic units at Texas Tech University, other universities, secondary schools, civic institutions and the public at large.
Critical Success Factors
- Increase our level of efforts to establish courses with an interdisciplinary focus
- Promote historical awareness in the community and region
- Open regular avenues of communication with secondary schools in LISD and other neighboring school districts
- Use student and faculty expertise to benefit community projects
- Use the media to inform the public of departmental activities and accomplishments
- Maintain and expand our ties to the Honors College
- Enable students to travel and research abroad
- Provide additional budget support for foreign travel
Objective 5.1: Connect the department more closely with local schools, civic groups and the public at large
Strategies
- Designate a faculty member to communicate with and visit LISD schools
- Encourage faculty and student interaction with the public media
- Develop press releases on the department for distribution by News and Publications
- Assign appropriate credit for effective community service in tenure and promotion decisions
- Encourage faculty and students to lend expertise to local agencies and organizations when appropriate
- Continue and expand our long-standing relationship wit the Vietnam Center, the Southwest Collection and the West Texas Historical Association
- Create a list of faculty speakers and their topics for distribution to interested groups and schools
Assessment
- Annual review and documentation of the department’s relationship with the community
Objective 5.2: Foster departmental interaction with other programs and units on campus
Strategies
- Maintain and expand our participation in interdisciplinary programs on campus including Women’s Studies, Environmental Studies, Ethnic Studies, Latin American Studies, and the Honors College
- Encourage new course offerings in distance education
Assessment
- Annually evaluate and document our interdisciplinary activities
Objective 5.3: Develop mutually advantageous relationships with local colleges and junior colleges
Strategies
- Establish routine communications between our department and the departments of history at Wayland Baptist, Lubbock Christian, South Plains College and West Texas A&M.
- Establish routine communications between our department and traditionally Latino and African American serving institutions throughout Texas
- Invite faculty and students from neighboring institutions to seminars, conferences, and professional meetings at TTU
- Encourage joint research projects with members of other departments at TTU and members of history departments at other institutions
- Recruit graduate students from regional institutions that do not offer advanced degrees
Assessment
- Record and review all joint efforts with regional institutions of higher learning
Goal 6. Information Technology: To maximize the effective use of technology in all facets of the department’s mission
Critical Success Factors
- Have faculty optimize the use of the internet to teach undergraduate classes
- Provide incentives (time and money) to faculty to develop new instructional technologies
Objective 6.1: Increase faculty and student usage of computer technologies
Strategies
- Address faculty and student needs for state-of-the-art hardware and software
- Enhance all instructors’ capacity to use information technology for teaching
- Utilize the services of TLTC
- Recognize and reward faculty who are innovative in the use of instructional technology
- Support efforts to develop distance education courses
Assessment
- Annual review of the department’s success in providing sufficient support for hardware and software
- Report departmental activities in utilizing information technology
Objective 6.2: Develop individual web pages and improve the department’s web page
Strategies
- Employ a professional to upgrade the department web site
- Provide technical support for individual web pages and networking
- Enable department staff to improve computer skills and knowledge
- Electronically submit standard reports and forms to the university
Assessment
- Annual review of the department web site, the number of faculty members who have a website, and the extent of utilization by visitors
Goal 7. Research Productivity: Increase research productivity and funding for tenure-track faculty in the department.
Critical Success Factors
- Increase number of publications by faculty and graduate students
- Increase number of presentations given by faculty and graduate students
Objective 7.1: Promote excellence in research among faculty
Strategies
- Increase funding for faculty participation in conference activities
- Maintain our departmental speaker/lecture series in order to attract noted speakers and further raise the department’s research profile
- Assist faculty in procuring subventions for the publication of manuscripts
- Support the department’s association with the West Texas Historical Association Yearbook
- Increase funding for research-related technology support
Assessment
- Annual review of level of productivity among our faculty
- Annual review of spending associated with subventions, research-related technology, and funding for travel to conferences
Objective 7.2: Promote excellence in research among graduate students
Strategies
- Increase funding for research-related travel by graduate students\
- Increase funding for graduate student travel to conferences
- Award competitive one-semester writing fellowships
Assessment
- Annual review of level of productivity among our graduate students
- Annual review of the number of conference presentations by our graduate students
Goal 8. Tradition and Pride: To project a strong image locally, regionally, nationally and internationally
Critical Success Factors
- Communicate with alumni once a year
- Place faculty members on boards of professional organizations
- Have all faculty members involved with professional organizations and attend at least one professional meeting per year
- Strengthen our honor society
- Hold an annual banquet, invite alumni, and attract a prominent speaker
- Expand public relations to increase our visibility with local and regional media
- Tout faculty who achieve national and international recognition for their work
- Publicize our strengths in teaching a research
- Develop a department newsletter
Objective 8.1: Build a strong public image
Strategies
- Communicate department news to alumni and friends
- Maintain contact with recent graduates
- Cultivate a positive image of the department in the public media
- Encourage public presentations by faculty
Assessment
- Review contacts with alumni, recent graduates, and the wider community
- Document our progress in image building
Objective 8.2: Establish a greater presence in professional organizations
Strategies
- Nominate faculty for offices in regional and national professional organizations
- Urge faculty to accept duties in regional and national professional organizations
- Provide better funding for attendance at conferences and meetings
- Assign adequate weight to professional service in making merit and tenure decisions
- Reward faculty whose scholarship appears in top-tier journals
- Work to attract editorial and business offices to TTU
Assessment
- Document all participation of faculty in professional organizations
Objective 8.3: Establish an active presence in the community
Strategies
- Participate in local civic activities
- Make our professional expertise available for benevolent community purposes
- Make ourselves accessible to the public and media on issues related to our specialized areas of knowledge and experience
Assessment
- Document our interaction with the community