SVP MESSAGE – 2015 FALL CONVOCATION AND FACULTY ASSEMBLY
Håfa Adai, and welcome to the 2015-2016 academic year! It’s a great time to be at the
University of Guam! New and exciting initiatives round up our journey to greatness, with
funding opportunities that support academic excellence, such as teaching and research
assistantships, faculty development, research grants (such as those from EPSCoR and many
others housed within our centers for excellence), and a plethora of new initiatives generated by
our University citizens in concert with external partners.
This academic year will be one of review, by our regional accrediting body, the WASC Senior
College and University Commission (WSCUC). The off-site review is scheduled in November 12,
2015, and the on-site accreditation review April 18-20, 2016.
Based on a review of our 2013 Interim Report, since our most recent accreditation
reaffirmation in 2009, WASC recognized the progress that UOG has made and sustained:
“There is much to praise including significant improvements in the financial situation; a campus
culture of collaboration and shared governance; strong presidential leadership; open,
transparent and ongoing communication to constituents; and success in enrollment
management, program review, and assessment efforts. The University of Guam is to be
commended for these accomplishments.” (WASC Senior College and University Commission,
Interim Report Committee Letter, January 6, 2014. WASC Senior College and University
Commission changed July 1, 2013, from ‘WASC’ to ‘WSCUC’. www.wascsenior.org )
As we prepare for this major review by the WSCUC evaluation team, I am pleased to announce
the great progress we have made.
Through our governance processes and committed engagement by our faculty, we have
institutionalized our efforts to assure that they are sustaining long-term. Our self-study has
captured how the institution is progressing through its Good-to-Great (G2G) initiatives as they
relate to “Educational Quality: Student Learning Core Competencies, and Standards of
Performance at Graduation (Program Priorities and Program Recommendations); Student
Success: Student Learning, Retention and Graduation (Student Experience, Instruction &
Research Ideas); Quality Assurance and Improvement: Program Review, Assessment, Use of
Data and Evidence (Big Data); and Sustainability Financial Viability, Preparing for the Changing
Higher Education Environment (HR Configuration, Connectivity, Resource Allocation, Financial
Balance & Funding Future, Big Data, and Institutional Transformation).
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Academic Master Plans capture major strategic academic goals that focus on 1) Academic
Quality, 2) Student Success, Enrollment Growth, and Institutional Stature, 3) The Land Grant
Mission and Engagement, and 4) Institutional Effectiveness and Efficiency, that are aligned with
our core commitments as a small comprehensive university. As part of the G2G
Implementation Plan, the Academic Master Plan serves to strengthen the academic programs
central to UOG’s purpose. An academic quality tool that supports instruction and scholarship is
the Qualtrics Online Survey, which is available for use by all University faculty, staff, and
students to capture survey results from a publicly-available survey, or from users who are
specifically given access to a survey. Contact the Office of Academic Assessment and
Institutional Research 735-2585 for details on setting up your Qualtrics account.
To support “Educational, or Academic Quality,” everyone needs to know our agreed-upon
Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ILOs) that drive the meaning, quality, and integrity of
our degrees. These can be found on our institution’s website:
1) Mastery of Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2) Master of Quantitative Analysis
3) Effective Oral and Written Communication
4) Understanding and Appreciation of Culturally Diverse People, Ideas and Values in a
Democratic Context
5) Responsible Use of Knowledge, Natural Resources and Technology
6) An Appreciation of the Arts and Sciences
7) An Interest in Personal Development and Lifelong Learning
Earlier this year, the Faculty Senate endorsed the University Assessment Committee-endorsed
core and clarifying statements to effectively address these within respective degree program
learning outcomes across the institution.
The University is committed to effectuating across the curricula the development of core
(learning competencies), which include critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, oral
communication, written communication, and information literacy.
Institutional-level
assessments have been ongoing, including gathering results of critical thinking of incoming
Freshmen and graduating Seniors. The latest report, “Assessing Core Competencies: Results of
Critical Thinking Skills Testing, Graduating Seniors, 2015 Spring” is available. To assist faculty in
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developing this core competency within curriculum, a “Questions to Fire Up Our Critical
Thinking Skills” handout is available for review and possible adaptation.
Through our Annual Assessment Inventories submitted by all colleges and schools to the
Director of Academic Assessment and Institutional Research and reviewed by the University
Assessment Committee, we are able to monitor the closing of assessment loop initiatives, and
subsequently provide recommendations on ongoing improvements on student learning
outcome initiatives.
WASC also noted the following, in their observation of progress made toward “Student
Success”:
“UOG has set itself a target of a 75% retention rate, with a 2% increase annually in retention
between the freshman and sophomore year. New initiatives are underway to help achieve these
targets, such as special competitive funding for departments that wish to put in place strategies
for improving retention and graduation rates. The panel believes that UOG’s retention
initiatives, early alert system, and the strengthening of academic support programs show
promise in improving retention and graduation rates. Time is needed, however, for these efforts
to take root and yield the desired results.” (CFRs 2.10, 2.13)” (January 6, 2014, WASC)
A review of our Fall 2013 to Fall 2014 persistence rate of new Freshmen revealed that UOG
achieved and exceeded its target, to 76%. This is a testament of the various learning
communities and other high impact practices that we have implemented and plan to replicate
and elevate further at an institutional level to optimize our student success ecosystem of
support. UOG’s G2G efforts toward strengthening the Student Experience, in part, will highlight
“Student Success,” and the resulting meaning of our programs to students.
I invite the faculty and student leaders to work towards addressing high impact practices, such
as First Year Experiences (FYEs), learning communities, service learning community
engagement projects, internships, capstone courses, among others, to foster student success,
as students progress through gateway courses and into their respective major or minor
pipeline. According to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, of which
UOG is a member, the highest quality first-year experiences “place a strong emphasis on critical
inquiry, frequent writing, information literacy, collaborative learning, and other skills that
develop students’ intellectual and practical competencies. First-year seminars can also involve
students with cutting-edge questions in scholarship and with faculty members’ own
research.”(George D. Kuh, LEAP High Impact Educational Practices: What they are, who has
access to them, and why them matter, AASCU). According to Kuh, “First-year seminars can also
involve students with cutting-edge questions in scholarship and with faculty members’ own
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research.” I plan to engage a FYE task force this semester to help develop a solid First Year
College Experience that propels beyond remedial education to meet our student success goals.
Increased funding to support collaboration of faculty and students through teaching and
research assistantships, development of integrated collaborative high impact practices, a
reshaping of the General Education Framework that is aligned with UOG’s institutional learning
outcomes will provide propel the path of greatness to excellence, through a strong partnership
between our academic and student affairs ecosystems of support. The General Education
Review Committee will continue its work during the Fall to expand on a GE Reform Action Plan
they developed over the summer at the General Education Institute; this will require further
consultation with stakeholders, including conversations with our GE consultant who will be on
campus this October to help us make further progress. We look forward to the Committee’s
great work and the resulting outcome that makes the best quality fit for our programs.
In closing, I am excited about the new academic year and the great University citizens on board
to effectuate our initiatives. As an institution, we look forward to a very favorable accreditation
review. As a community of scholars, we know that learning and assessment are ongoing, and
we will always strive towards effectuating better outcomes. To our Faculty Senate leaders,
officers of our Student Government Association leadership, faculty and members of the
Enrollment Management and Student Success team, and our University community, we are all
in this together. You individually and collectively bring unique value to support our mission well.
Please join me on this ongoing G2G commitment towards advancement of academic quality
student success at our fine institution. Biba UOG!
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