Speech and Hearing Sciences Strategic Plan
Fall 2018 - Summer 2023
Informed by our department mission and goals and the mission, goals and strategic plan of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Portland State University, the Speech & Hearing Sciences Department's 5-year strategic plan demonstrates our commitment to elevating student success, supporting excellence in teaching and research, strengthening community engagement, increasing our financial stability, and expanding our commitment to equity. Objectives are linked to departmental committees’ action plans for Fall 2018-Summer 2023 and are reviewed and evaluated by individual committees as an ongoing process. The entire plan is reviewed and evaluated by the SPHR faculty annually and, when necessary, revised.
#1. ELEVATE STUDENT SUCCESS
A. Increase the number of research opportunities for undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2019: Identify procedures that will increase and promote student participation in research.
2019-2020: Propose guidelines that would delineate multiple structured, credited learning experiences for undergraduate students interested in gaining exposure to research in speech-language pathology.
2020-2021: Implement structured undergraduate research opportunities, including any proposed curricular requirement changes.
2021-2022: Refine structured learning experiences for undergraduate students interested in speech-language pathology research.
2022-2023: Evaluate the increase in students engaged in formal research activities for direct educational benefit and adjust the research opportunities process as needed.
B. Develop a one year online undergraduate/postbaccalaureate sequence with a focus on academic excellence and accessibility
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2019: Propose a plan for an online postbaccalaureate sequence.
2019-2020: Develop an implementation plan for starting, monitoring, and recruitment of an online postbaccalaureate program.
C. Continue developing a medical speech-language pathology concentration
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2019: Complete a draft of a proposal and send it to our primary external stakeholders, submit drafted proposal to the SPHR Curriculum Committee, and present proposal to the faculty.
2019-2020: Revise proposal integrating feedback and further develop specific components of the Medical Concentration.
2020-2021: Develop a marketing and recruitment plan.
2021-2022: Implement a medical concentration program for graduate students.
2022-2023: Monitor the success of the first year of the medical concentration implementation.
D. Improve integration of the culminating experience into the graduate degree program
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2020: Evaluate any feedback provided by the Council on Academic Accreditation related to current culminating experience options and gather information to identify strengths and weaknesses in the current options to develop a draft of culminating experience plans.
2020-2021: Propose revised potential culminating experience options and make program changes in accordance with currently approved program requirements.
2021-2022: Incorporate changes for all new students based on approval timeline from the university graduate council.
2022-2023: Evaluate the changes incorporated by conducting student and faculty surveys, incorporate modifications based on the evaluation.
E. Increase and monitor retention of students in SPHR undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and graduate programs
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2020: Develop a plan to increase and monitor retention of students in SPHR programs, develop a system to collect and report UG/PB alumni retention and persistence data, explore a system for supporting UG/PB students professional development to increase persistence and retention into graduate programs, develop a data collection system reporting student demographics , provide recommendations to the SPHR faculty about recruitment, and develop a system to inform our marketing and recruitment strategies.
2020-2021: Develop a marketing and recruitment plan for SPHR programs.
#2. SUPPORT EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
A. Develop a peer teaching review process
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2023: Contact the Office of Academic Innovation (OAI) to determine faculty teaching resources and distribute to faculty, particularly related to peer review of teaching, incorporate feedback regarding teaching from accreditation with faculty.
B. Revise the grader assignment process
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2019: Determine if there is continuing budget support for graduate student graders and record current method and criteria for distributing grader support.
2019-2020: Develop a system that indicates the relative amount of support/resources allocated to each faculty based on pre-established criteria that can be applied to the different levels of funds available each year.
2020-2021: Apply the new system to allocate resources and evaluate new system based on faculty feedback.
2021-2022: Evaluate the new system for allocating resources to faculty and determine changes for the existing system based on feedback and modify as needed.
2022-2023: Apply the revised system and re-evaluate at the end of the year.
#3. SUPPORT EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
A. Develop a Ph.D. Program
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2021: Develop and submit a competitive Ph.D. program proposal to the Office of Academic Affairs by November 2021. To this end, the committee will collect, organize, and synthesize information to address the following areas: (i) provide a detailed Ph.D. program description, (ii) describe the relationship of the proposed program to the mission and goals of the University, (iii) clarify any accreditation requirements, (iv) demonstrate the need and demand of the program, (v) develop outcome metrics and quality assessment procedures, (vi) explore synergies with other academic units, and (vii) develop the blue print for the financial sustainability of the program.
B. Increase support for faculty to pursue external funding
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2019: Collect and organize information on timing and availability of funding, propose criteria for prioritizing requests, solicit input from faculty, collect information from other PSU offices, develop a timeline for proposal creation.
#4. STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
A. Expand and support community relationships with alumni, partner organizations, and clients
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2023: Disseminate two newsletters per year, post on social media weekly, and increase our followers to 1,150. The Department will use analytics to identify content and information valued by the community.
B. Offer a variety of sustainable professional development activities each year
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2023: Develop procedures for event logistics, obtaining topics of interest and organize workshops that engage the community.
#5. INCREASE FINANCIAL STABILITY AND EXCELLENCE
A. Pursue funding sources to improve existing and develop new clinical opportunities addressing community needs
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2019: Implement a procedure/system for collecting client and family donations in collaboration with the PSU Foundation.
2019-2020: Submit a funding proposal to the Oregon Scottish Rite Speech and Language Charity to develop clinical opportunities for rural populations in collaboration with partner organizations.
2020-2023: Install a donor wall, in collaboration with the PSU Foundation, to increase acknowledgment of donors and explore fundraising for departmental needs and priorities.
B. Increase student scholarships
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2023: Increase student scholarships from $2,000 to $3,000 per year including a diversity scholarship through fundraising events and increased community and faculty participation.
#6. EXPAND OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY
A. Revise undergraduate program requirements with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2023: Gather information to identify course needs or requirements to address diversity at the undergraduate and post-bac level.
B. Increase the diversity of students admitted to our graduate and undergraduate programs
Timeline and strategies for obtainment
2018-2023: Analyze demographic information and create a plan to increase the proportion of underrepresented students in SPHR programs. Modify graduate select procedures to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups. The Graduate Admissions Committee will also develop strategies to encourage students from underrepresented groups who are offered a spot in the program to select our program, identify financial resources to motivate underrepresented groups to select our program, and promote PSU’s reputation for quality diversity and inclusion efforts.