ANNUAL REPORT OF INSTITUTIONAL PROGRESS
FY 1998
VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY to
THE CHANCELLOR and
THE BOARD OF REGENTS of the
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
Hugh C. Bailey President
VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY Valdosta, Georgia
June 30, 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION A
Summary of Major Institutional Accomplishments in the Preceding Year	 1
SECTION B
Annual Progress in Institutional Strategic Planning 	 7
SECTION C
Annual Progress in Assessing Institutional Effectiveness. . . 10 SECTION D
Overall Institutional Health 	 11
ADDENDUM
Response to the Student Satisfaction Survey 	 13
1997-98 Annual Report of Institutional Progress

1997-98 ANNUAL REPORT OF INSTITUTIONAL PROGRESS
Section A: Summary of Major Institutional Accomplishments
In 1997-98, Valdosta State University focused its efforts on quality enhancement, regional service, and strategic planning to improve institutional effectiveness.	At VSU, quality and
effectiveness have been accepted as values within a learning community perspective. New curricula, new admission standards, and enhanced use of technology were important aspects of the University's development. These endeavors are consistent with the goals of the University System of Georgia and with the criteria required by regional and disciplinary accrediting organizations. VSU has also stressed collaboration with its 2-year partner institutions, applied research by faculty and their students, and promotion of an awareness of global issues. Advanced technology has challenged faculty and students to create new ways of teaching, learning, and transacting business. The following summary reflects some of the more specific activities that resulted from these organizational values and perspectives.
Under the newly approved doctoral program, VSU awarded six Ed.D. degrees, and the second student cohort for the Ed.D. program was admitted. The MSW program graduated its second cohort group. The Master of Accounting (MAcc) degree was begun in September, 1997, and an Ed.S. in Instructional Technology is scheduled for the fall term, 1998. An interdisciplinary M.Ed. in Higher Education and a Master7 s degree in Criminal Justice will be offered in the fall 1998 also. (System Goals, 4,5, hereinafter cited as System; Institutional Goals, hereinafter cited as Inst.)
Dr. Wayne Plumly was selected as a University System of Georgia Regents' Professor, recognizing his excellence in teaching.
In order to monitor graduate students' progress, the Graduate School organized automated recruiting and admissions processes; a database to track prospective graduate students was developed, and an improved monitoring process for theses and dissertations was implemented.
The Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and Multicultural Affairs counseled hundreds of students individually and in groups aiding greatly in maintaining VSU's high minority retention and graduation rate, and it sponsored many special events, including Diversity Week and Martin Luther King Day. Special Services conducted 1,193 student conferences, 592 parent/student interviews, and 146 new student interviews. Project Right Track/PREP had 175 participants who engaged in a two-week summer session and weekly classes throughout the year. (System 4,6, Inst. I.A. 4,5, IV. 1,2)
Serving the region through the P-16 effort, VSU created a Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, a collaborative effort between VSU and the Valdosta City Schools
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which permits faculty from both institutions to work together on common concerns. In its first full year of operation, the Center developed a mission statement, conducted a needs assessment, and sponsored regularly meetings of the Regents' Distinguished Professor and three Teaching Fellows to develop and implement faculty development and best practices procedures. The Center also facilitated a teaching circles program which promotes best teaching practices on campus. (System 11,29, Inst. I.B.5, II. A.l, B.2, III. B.2)
Faculty engaged in 1,469 scholarly activities, an increase of 35%, and presented 1,138 papers at professional meetings, an increase of 37%. Many of these activities were supported through three VSU programs: The VSU Center for Faculty Development and Instructional Improvement (with over $170,000 in awards), the VSU Faculty Research Grants Program, and the International Travel Redirection. The increase in scholarly productivity and the resources devoted to promote it are consistent with VSU's emergence as a regional university. The same is true of the Graduate School's initial publication of Perspectives on Research, VSU's first research journal. The journal showcases current faculty and student scholarly activities, and has received excellent reviews across the state. (System 1,6,14, Inst. II.A.,III.A.2)
VSU increased its grants and contracts from $4,256,909 in awards in FY 97 to $5,099,620 in FY 98, an increase of 20%. During FY 98, the Office of Grants and Contracts processed 186 proposals, an increase of 93 proposals over the previous year. The Office continued management of the VSU policies regarding Conflict of Interest and Intellectual Property, and Human Resources.
The M.S.W. program received initial accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education, and the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association reaffirmed accreditation of the Speech/Language Pathology program.
In preparation for VSU's year 2000 SACS reaffirmation visit, the University employed a consultant to study VSU's preliminary plans for its self-study as well as its institutional planning, assessment, budgeting, and effectiveness programs. This resulted in the creation of a new position devoted to institutional effectiveness which will be filled September 1.
The Biology/Chemistry and the Special Education/Speech- Language Pathology Buildings are under construction. The design work is approved for doubling the size of the Odum Library, and the Education Classroom/Laboratory Building adjacent to the Continuing Education Building is completed. An architect has been chosen to design the Student Recreation Center. These projects represent investments of over $50 million and will dramatically improve the University's infrastructure and its ability to attain its goals. (System, 22,23, Inst. IV.4)
There are many other indices that quality work continues to be done on campus. Generic nursing students achieved a 100% pass rate
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on the N-Clex licensure examination from October 97 through March 98. Five students in the College of Business Administration were on the SIFE team that won the Regional Championship. One hundred percent of the students who have graduated from the M.S.W. program and took the first licensing exam passed it. A recent graduate of the Division of Social Work won a post-MSW fellowship to Yale University for continued study on work with children. Communication Arts students interned with the David Letterman Show and with the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta; another Communication Arts student was hired to tour with Robert Goulet in Camelot.
Sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences Council on Undergraduate Research, the 4th annual Symposium on Under-graduate Research was held in May, 1998 with 35 participants. The A&S Student Advisory Council remained active, and its principal goal for the past two years was realized: the establishment of a Student Development Fund through the VSU Foundation.
The Odum Library added 8,865 volumes to its collection, increasing the number of bound volumes to 404,241. The total collection including microforms grew to 1,532,430 items, an increase of 2.57%. For 1997-1998, GALILEO received 146,598 log-ins from Valdosta State University users, 11.6 percent of log-ins from the entire state. Users performed 245,096 keyword searches, 6,161 browse searches, viewed 418,771 citations, and displayed 100,278 full-text articles. An Odum Library Government Documents web page (http://books.valdosta.edu/gov/) was created and added as a link from the Odum Library web page. (Inst. IV.B.l)
The Valdosta State University Debate Team, finished 11th in the nation and in the championship rounds at Appalachian State University and the University of Florida.
The AFROTC cadet corps has steadily grown in size and is on schedule to meet its production goal for 1999. One-hundred percent of the cadets passed the Field Training Exercise and .55% earned awards at camp.
This year the institution's 222 student athletes compiled a cumulative GPA of 2.85, well above the all-campus average, and 45% of them earned a 3.00 or higher GPA.
The VSU Faculty Senate completed and distributed a revision of the Faculty Handbook. It approved a number of policies, including those dealing with mid-term grades, leave with pay for professional development, academic probation/suspension/withdrawal, priority registration, and tenure upon appointment.
A number of collaborative programs have been developed or expanded over the last year, many using distance learning extensively. The Graduate School and the College of Nursing coordinated the development of a collaborative M.S. Nurse Practitioner/Care Manager program with Albany State University; further collaborative efforts are being pursued in Education and Social Work with Albany State also. At the request of officials at
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the Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, VSU has continued to expand its programs at the Base. VSU assisted four of its 2-year partner institutions with the creation of the South Georgia Regional Educational Consortium to bring developmental studies and core classes to college students from Lowndes and adjacent counties who need remediation. (System 4,5, Inst. I.B.1,3)
The College of Arts and Sciences and its Computer Science faculty established a Fast Track program in Computer Information Systems, through ICAPP funding, to provide Goldleaf Technologies with an increased workforce in the areas of applications development and database management. Two cycles of academic coursework and team projects involving 25 students have been completed. Work is now under way with ABAC and Coastal Georgia in another ICAPP-sponsored initiative to increase the number of computer professionals throughout this region of Georgia. Partially, as a result of this program, the Computer Science faculty has established new curricular objectives and modified its degree to meet business needs in this area. (System 5,8,10,19,31, Inst. III.A.1,2)
The television production facility of the satellite is completed and operational. Training on both basic and advanced functions of the system continues, and extensive graphics capabilities have been added. Uplink staff established new and strengthened existing relationships with numerous departments throughout the University.
During FY 98, 84 faculty taught 330 courses at 10 locations in south Georgia, and off-campus enrollment continued to increase quarterly. The student population grew at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base when VSU began teaching some core classes. The BBA was offered via distance learning at three off-campus locations. The Early Childhood Programs (ECE) were continued at Waycross and Tifton. A new undergraduate cycle in ECE was started in Winter Quarter, 1998 in Waycross. The Technical, Trade, and Industrial Education program continued to be offered at Albany, Moody AFB, and Kings Bay. The M.Ed. program in Vocational Education was offered at Kings Bay and as a Tifton/on-campus rotating program. An alternative Educational Leadership graduate program was developed and offered at Ware County High School. (System 19,20,21,32, Inst.
I.	B.1,3, II.B.2, III.A.1,2, III.B.2)
The College of the Arts continued as the Arts Center of South Georgia. On campus, 20,868 persons attended outstanding theatre performances. In cooperation with the Jekyll Island Authority, significant improvements in lighting and sound equipment were made and facilities were upgraded for the Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival. In the summer of 1997, performances of three productions were presented to audiences totaling 9,700. In the summer of 1998, the number of performances were reduced to 30 because of the shorter semester calendar.
In the Arts area planning continues for two important new capital projects. These are renovation of the Gould Casino on
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Jekyll to provide an indoor facility for musical theatre and other arts programming and a Regional Arts Center in Valdosta. Both of the projects are major parts of an emerging new capital campaign. The Valdosta Symphony Orchestra expanded its season to include a sold-out subscription series and two special event concerts as well. Sponsorships have been secured for all concerts, patronage dollars are up, and the youth orchestra and related programs continue to develop. Seven youth concerts in Whitehead Auditorium were provided for area schools, three youth orchestras organized by age and experience, and the South Georgia String Project expanded into additional schools. Seven thousand students and adults visited the Fine Arts Gallery, and numerous exhibits were taken to locations throughout the region. (System 6,21, Inst. I.A.4, B.2,
II.	B.l,4,	III.B.l)
Of special significance regionally is the fact that in FY 98 the VSU faculty recorded 3,431 regional services, only a few of which will be cited. The Graduate School sponsored 10 GRE prep seminars across the VSU service area.	The Small Business
Development Center (SBDC) relocated to VSU's College of Business Administration and aided the South Georgia Institute (SGI) in providing service to the region. VSU's SGI provided a wide variety of services including economic studies, contract research projects, and management education for the South Georgia business community.
After receiving national appeals to expand its operation into other areas, the Rosalyn Carter Institute chose to expand initially by establishing a CARE-NET unit on the VSU campus. Led by the Division of Social Work, funding was received from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to replicate the CARE-NET program in a 16-county South Georgia area. A Leadership Council of 40 members from the region has been formed and is working to identify formal and informal caregivers, to ascertain their needs, and .to develop plans to assist them. Mrs. Carter visited the site, met with the Leadership Council, and dedicated The CARE-NET site.
The Office of International Programs (OIP) in collaboration with local school systems, businesses, and civic groups, continued cultural outreach activities including: organizing an International Awareness Experience; placing 18 international students in 18 schools for one day a week over a six-week period; organizing the City of Valdosta International Fair; and sponsoring the annual International Dinner. (System 1,3,4,5,8,19,20,21, Inst. I.B.3,5,
III.		A. 1, B.2, IV.B.1,2)
Cultural diversity remains a strong component of the VSU culture. Led by the OIP, foreign student enrollment increased from 151 students from 49 countries to 178 students from 53 countries. International enrollment in semester or year-long student exchanges increased from 6 to 14 students and in short-term group study abroad programs from 78 to 97 students. OIP brought a prominent Russian scholar and television personality to tour eight communities around Georgia; it initiated through the European Council a pilot student exchange project between six USG institutions and the University of Northumbria at Newcastle in
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England. Also in collaboration with the European Council of the University System, it administered a third cycle of the Roehampton Program for summer 1998 and developed a second system-wide study abroad program at Metz, France. International dimensions were added to the College of Nursing and the Communication Arts Department through linkages in Belize and Russia respectively. OIP hosted the President of the University College of Belize (UCB) and negotiated a formal bilateral faculty/student exchange agreement. International scholars joined the faculty for part or all of the year in the Departments of Biology, Modern and Classical Languages, Philosophy, and Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice. Arts and Sciences faculty participated in faculty exchanges with Syktyvkar State University in Russia, the University of Belize, and Esterhazy Karoly College in Eger, Hungary. Arts and Sciences led programs in Guadalajara, Mexico, and England and Scotland. The College of Education pilot tested the Secondary Education Student Teaching Abroad Program. The Art Department hosted Mr. Keith McIntyre from England as an artist-in-residence. (System 3,4 Inst. I.A.4, II.B.l, IV.A.1,2)
VSU was the first University System institution to implement all facets of the Banner software systems and has also implemented a full-featured registration using the world wide web. The GUI version of Banner has also been implemented. VSU has now utilized BANNER for over four years to admit, advise, register, aid, bill, and successfully process students.	PC self-registration was
offered as an option to telephone registration. An option was added to the telephone information system for students to access their quarterly grades as well as fees, housing, and meal plan information. Additionally, the Registrar published the Undergraduate Projected Schedule of Class Offerings for Spring 1997-Summer 1998 to assist students and advisors in planning for the semester conversion (Fall 1998).
The Division of Student Affairs revised its mission statement and each department submitted goals for institutional review. The Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Education conducted 72 programs throughout the year. Career Planning and Placement hosted on- campus interviews and career fairs that involved 191 employers and 1,014 students. Cooperative Education placed 205 students, a record number of co-op and intern placements. The Counseling Center provided direct counseling to 1,075 individuals. Housing and Residence Life increased student participation in programs offered during the year, which contributed to a reduction in the number of violation of residence hall policies. The Student Government Association won the following awards from the Board of Regents Student Advisory Council: "Most Outstanding SGA" and the "Best SGA Project" for Regional/Research Universities. The Campus Activity Board sponsored 110 programs with 24,318 in attendance this year. Student Health provided care for students through 15,814 patient visits; there was also an enhanced emphasis on preventive care and wellness. The Office of Testing expanded the number of testing opportunities this year which resulted in a 6% increase in the number of test takers; the Office also expanded the
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testing services to the VSU Center at Kings Bay. (System 6,10, Inst. IV.B.l)
Continuing Education experienced success with its summer children's programs; there were 141 registrations for Kamp Kids and 135 for swimming lessons. The SCOPE Program continued with another successful year, providing weekend enrichment activities for 492 students from South Georgia (692 registrations). Membership in the Learning in Retirement program doubled, from 60 to 120 members. Co-sponsorship of programs with academic departments and divisions, particularly Social Work and Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, provided additional credit programs for Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists. Successful conferences were sponsored with the College of Nursing, Small Business Development Center, and others.
The Division of Business and Finance completed and upgraded its web pages. Layouts of buildings, positions available, textbook and many other order forms are now available on-line. Training and employee development were enhanced; 309 employees participated in programs sponsored by the Training and Development Office in Auxiliary Services. VSU's wage and salary plan was upgraded, as recommended by the Council on Staff Affairs. Plant Operations continues to make renovations across campus doing high quality work at a cost well below the rate charged by outside contractors. In the area of Public Safety the Crime Prevention Unit presented 85 programs on campus, and VSU experienced a reduction in the number of reported crimes.
Section B: Annual Progress in Institutional Strategic Planning
VSU had as one of its primary goals the implementation of a broad-based planning process that involved all major budgetary units in Academic Affairs and Academic Support Units. In Academic Affairs planning focused upon approved institutional goals and assessment. Academic Support units developed or revised both mission statements and goals and proposed means for assessing their operations in order to enhance service and effectiveness.
Key elements in the planning process were: inclusion of all units on campus, active participation of the Institutional Planning Committee, the linkage of this planning process to the definition of institutional goals and budget for FY 99, and the articulation of formal means of assessment of the core, academic majors, and administrative support units. (Board of Regents Policy 209.02-04)
Academic Affairs' goals are divided into four categories: (A) Instructional Goals, (B) Scholarship and Creative Activities (C) Service, and (D) Professional Environment and Institutional Effectiveness.
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Major Goals Attained
A.		Instructional Goals
VSU completely revised its core curriculum which includes, in addition to the standard System core components, a highly innovative interdisciplinary area "b" (Institutional Option). All courses taught in this area (Perspectives) were jointly developed by faculty from at least two different disciplines. Furthermore, the core was defined in terms of competencies and skills all students are expected to master within the context of liberal education. Core competencies are "cross-cutting" and are reflected and assessed in the academic majors. Students are encouraged to connect general education to their majors and not view general education core as an end in itself, but rather, as providing the foundation for life-long learning. Finally, all core courses were developed from the perspective of assessable learning outcomes.
The campus made great strides in promoting global awareness and cultural diversity. The number of VSU students traveling abroad or engaged in exchanges increased as did the number of foreign students coming to VSU. The number of faculty traveling abroad either through USG programs or our own exchange programs continued to grow. In support of this goal, VSU doubled the funds available to faculty for travel abroad purposes.
Conversion to the semester system was a major goal. The faculty saw semester conversion as an opportunity to reform academic programs. VSU brought two consultants to campus from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities who worked with the Academic Vice President and faculty to rethink their majors from the perspective of desired educational outcomes that determined limits for discipline coverage and directed a structuring of each major to have an identifiable beginning, middle, and end. Majors include courses that address the history of the discipline, an introduction to the field of study, research assumptions, and a discussion of the limits of the discipline.
The VSU Bulletin now lists learning outcomes for all majors and at least two forms of assessment. Conversion to the semester system was facilitated by the Semester Transition Committee. One of its major contributions to ensuring a seamless conversion was the production of the Semester Conversion Handbook that has provided a model for other USG institutions.
VSU works hard to assure students from diverse backgrounds are able to achieve to high levels. Through peer tutoring, minority leadership development and various support activities, African- American students at VSU are retained and graduate at rates comparing favorably with majority students.
The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning sponsored regular meetings of the faculty to discuss ways to improve student learning, assisted with development of Web-CT
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courses across the campus, and offered symposia on critical thinking and teaching portfolios.
VSU was the only institution in the southeast to be invited for a third time to participate in the American Association of Higher Education Summer Quality Academy. In addition, VSU was one of 19 institutions invited to send a team to Burlington, Vermont to attend the AAC&U Summer Academy.
Finally, VSU set its admission standards at the 2001 level and transformed remedial education into a program of learning support in order to assure student success and enhance retention.
B.		Scholarship and Creative Activities
To support faculty professional development, VSU increased support by 37% for faculty to travel to present papers, perform, or develop ways to enhance their instruction. This is the second year support has been increased and the net results included a marked increase in papers presented, articles printed, and growing use of technology to enhance instruction.
C.		Service
VSU, as a regional university, supports the application of scholarship or faculty expertise to meet societal needs. The extent to which faculty and student service has increased was described in section "A" above. Especially noteworthy was the development of the Fast-Track program in computer information systems. Students are increasingly active in service programs ranging from tutoring to literacy instruction to PREP involvement. In the cultural area, VSU mounted a performing arts series to bring nationally recognized performers to campus to present and participate in master-classes for our students and public school children.
D.		Professional Environment and Institutional Effectiveness
The major accomplishment has been initiating the master planning process and design of four buildings currently or soon to be under construction. Faculty, staff, and students played a major part in the planning process.
New Goals
Supplanting conversion to the semester and development of the core as primary concerns will be a commitment to assess the core and outcomes in the majors.
VSU will emphasize the development of service learning within the majors in an effort to create meaningful capstone experiences for students as well as to help VSU meet its regional service commitment.
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VSU will increase the use of technology to enhance student learning and transform a significant portion of the curriculum in targeted areas to web-based, asynchronous instruction.
VSU will advance the P-16 agenda emphasizing the development of P-16 standards and the co-reform of teacher education.
We will form a task force to study student retention, advising and orientation.
Section C: Annual Progress in Assessing Institutional Effectiveness
New outcomes for each major and means of assessing outcomes have been developed and are published in the latest University catalog. New procedures for faculty assessment and development through pre/post tenure review were approved. The first cohort of faculty were reviewed under the new policy this year. In addition, colleges are revising their promotion and tenure guidelines and policies. (Inst. IV.A.4)
The Graduate School implemented a new exit questionnaire for graduate students that reflects graduate students' concerns. As part of semester transition, each academic department developed methods of assessing program learning objectives. Each department in the College of Business Administration completed the first cycle of assessing its major(s); COBA's Assessment and Curriculum Quality Improvement Committee established a framework and process for systematic assessment of program educational outcomes.
VSU, in anticipation of its SACS review, has focused intensely this year on strategic planning and assessment. Assessment has been presented as an institutional imperative and is seen as everyone's business. It is an integral part of planning and institutional recalibration during the year. However, the major import of our assessment work is evident at the time of budget build-up and at the end of the year when assessment data are collected from students, academic units, and academic support areas. New goals and budget allocations are informed by the assessment process.
This year, the Institutional Planning Committee reflected upon the planning process and institutional goals. The work of this Committee helps ensure that all units have assessed progress in the goals that were set last year. The Committee will give advice on new goals and review administrative assessment procedures for all units.
Another major step intended to improve overall institutional effectiveness is represented by the hiring of a Director in Institutional Effectiveness and Planning. While the Institutional Planning Committee plays an important advisory role, the Director will monitor progress with greater consistency and constancy as well as guide VSU in collecting and preparing all planning and assessment data and studies required by SACS.
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This year Academic Affairs has three major tasks. The first is to develop procedures for the assessment of the new core curriculum and utilize assessment data to improve student and retention learning. Second, all re-formed majors will have developed for them learning outcomes and a minimum of two forms of assessment. This year the assessment of majors will be implemented to determine the quality of the programs. Third, VSU has committed to the delivery of several of its programs via the web and other means of distance learning. Assessment of the needs, best means of delivery, and program effectiveness will be major undertakings.
Academic support areas have all reviewed or developed mission statements consistent with the VSU mission, developed goals, and addressed means for assessing effectiveness and improving operations. One major outcome has been the development of a program emphasizing client service. Participation has been exceptionally high.
Section D. Overall Institutional Health
The transition to the semester calendar provided the opportunity to examine the entire VSU core curriculum and every undergraduate and graduate major. The most distinctive component of the new core curriculum contains courses which offer students interdisciplinary perspectives on global and regional issues. Area F and the Senior College Curriculum were developed to provide a new and refined curricula for the majors. Outcomes from the core and from the majors were stated as well as strategies for assessing these outcomes. The VSU Bulletin will contain examples of the outcomes and assessments for each major. The Semester Transition Handbook was distributed, placed on the VSU web site, and linked with the USG web site.
VSU reorganized the Department of Developmental Studies into the Office of Academic Student Instructional Support within the College of Arts and Sciences. The University has increased admission standards to a level appropriate for regional universities; it admitted no developmental studies students in the fall of 1998 and will not do so henceforth. To enhance its academic programs, regularly admitted students with diagnosed weaknesses will be placed in Learning Enrichment Programs to supplement instruction in sections of basic freshman English, Mathematics, and History.
Augmented by funding from the Chancellor's Initiatives, redirection, lottery funds and grants, VSU has methodically established a sophisticated environment of electronic classrooms, roll-around multi-media instructor stations, student computer labs, GALILEO workstations, e-mail (with classroom applications), highly utilitarian Web pages, and other technology-based capabilities in support of instruction and research. In response to the University's goal of enhancing instruction, a recent course content survey shows that over 2/3 of VSU classes include some use of technology on the part of the students and that multi-media
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instruction has become an integral part of VSU's technology-based academic delivery system. The University is using new ways to access information (GALILEO, www, e-mail, interlibrary transfers) which augment the traditional forms of research and instruction. Six courses were taught on the web and 75 on GSAMS for credit. More specifically, the College of Education installed multi-media teaching stations in 15 classrooms and provided training to all faculty members on how to operate the systems. The College of Nursing published course syllabi and resource materials for five courses on WebCT and provided a web based course. Seventy-five percent of nursing courses incorporated use of computer technology. The Department of Philosophy continues to offer a popular web-based course (PHICYBER). The College of Nursing, the College of Education, and the College of Business Administration initiated new or significantly upgraded Distance Learning Classrooms. (System 8,10, Inst. Ill.A.1, B.4 )
Technology at VSU is a growth industry. In FY 98, $3.3 million was spent on computers, software and network products. The inventory of microcomputers reached 2,400 machines, all attached to the campus-wide fiber optic based data network for easy Peachnet/Internet access. Eighty percent of those computers are Pentium-level as are all the 650 micros available to students, located in the 24 on-campus labs. VSU has successfully processed over 70,000 registrations using Banner; it is the only University System institution to support both telephone registration, dial-in Web registration, and student self-registration utilizing PC's in various student labs. (System 6,10, Inst. III.B.4)
As this report indicates, Valdosta State University has enjoyed a hugely successful year of enormous, planned changes, ranging from an increased focus on quality enhancement through the measurement of institutional effectiveness, to the new direction in strategic planning, and preparation for the dramatic system-wide switch to the semester system. VSU stands posed on the threshold of the millennium for even greater service to our students, our region, our state, and our nation.
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ADDENDUM
RESPONSE TO THE STUDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY
Valdosta State was happy to receive the results of the Student Satisfaction Survey. We have done a similar survey every two years which involves 25% of our total student population. It is gratifying to see that the results of an external evaluation is similar to that we have obtained over the last ten years. Moreover, it is a privilege to be able to compare ourselves (for internal use only) with other units in the University System.
The results of the Student Satisfaction Survey indicate that Valdosta State students were significantly more satisfied than their System counterparts with College Services in the areas of academic advising, library facilities, financial aid, computer, and veterans. In the Academic Area, our students rated the following services higher than their counterparts: testing/grading system, out-of-class availability of instructors, attitude of the faculty toward students, variety of courses offered at this college, class size relative to the type of course, flexibility to design your own program of study, availability of advisor, and value of the information provided by advisor. In Admissions, we outranked other schools in the areas of general admissions procedures, availability of financial aid information prior to enrolling, accuracy of college information received before enrolling, and college catalog/admissions publications. Our Facilities were rated superior in the areas of classrooms, laboratories, study areas, Student Union, and general condition of buildings and grounds. In the General Area, our students were more highly satisfied with our concern for the student as an individual, attitude of the college non-teaching staff toward students, religious activities and programs, and satisfaction with this college in general. Valdosta State students' opinions compared less favorably with those of students at other System schools in three areas only: parking services, recreational services, and availability of housing.
We are addressing all three of these areas at this time. A new parking lot accommodating 575 vehicles has just been opened and additional bus service has been developed to provide better access to all campus areas. Working with the College Activities Board, Student Services has scheduled additional events, particularly aimed at providing recreational opportunities on weekends. A student-funded Recreational Center is in the process of being designed, and we anticipate construction will begin in 1999. It will provide facilities essential to serve adequately our student population.
When discussions are conducted with students regarding housing availability, it is clear that a major desire is for different type facilities than we have. Our residence halls are typical dorms constructed before 1970. These aging facilities have gang showers at the end of the hall, few study and recreational areas, and an ambiance not conducive to gracious living. After consultation with the Office of Facilities, we are discussing with private developers the possibility of developing a systematic program to renovate each dorm, a program which would take a number of years to complete.
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