Monday, December 22, 2014

Current state of internationalization at PSU


Last week I had conversations with Professors Patricia Wetzel, Linda Walton, and Meiru Liu – experts in international affairs and Asian Studies – about PSU’s internationalization efforts.  The four of us were in a van traveling from Shanghai to Suzhou, China where an informative conversation took place.  Suzhou is Portland’s sister city and its university, Soochow University, is our Confucius Institute partner institution.

Internationalization progress
In 2008 President Wiewel identified internationalization as one of PSU’s five campus themes. Faculty-embraced international initiatives have contributed to successfully growing the University’s international character, with a total of 330 strategic partnerships worldwide. The quality and depth of these relationships is expanding, especially in the School of Business Administration and the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.  Recent joint teaching programs with Changchun University of Technology and Jilin Jianzhu University exemplify this trend.

International student enrollment has grown 37% over the last five years and the goal is to increase international enrollment to 10% of our student body. Students from Saudi Arabia, China, and India make up 48% of PSU’s international student body; India in particular provides a significant number of students at the graduate level. Vietnam is among the countries with the greatest potential for rapid enrollment growth. PSU’s commitment to international student success is also reflected in our mentoring program for first-year international students, which has grown considerably in recent years.

A collective effort
The Office of International Affairs (OIA), directed by Ron Witczak, oversees all of the major international activities at PSU. They provide support for our international student population as well as our international scholars and faculty. OIA offers opportunities for PSU students to study and intern abroad and for PSU faculty to teach overseas. OIA houses Centers and Institutes, promoting cultural understanding and engagement focused on specific geographic regions. In addition OIA hosts Special Programs for foreign students visiting the U.S.

OIA works closely with PSU's International Studies Program and the Internationalization Council (IC).  The IC, in cooperation with academic and administrative units on campus, facilitates:
  • curricular integration
  • travel abroad opportunities
  • increased international presence on campus
  • increased engagement with others, both nearby and around the world
  • formation of the Internationalization Council
  • reporting on campus international initiatives and activities

Recent changes
The Office of International Partnerships was created this past year through internal reallocation within OIA.  Joyce Hamilla, its Director, joined PSU this fall. Most recently, after I consulted with faculty, staff and student groups, Margaret Everett, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Sociology, agreed to add the Vice Provost for International Affairs duties to her portfolio.

The work ahead
One of Linda Walton’s suggestions during our van ride to Suzhou was the reinstatement of a full time vice provost for international affairs.  This was not a criticism of Margaret Everett’s abilities, but a recognition that for the past two years the vice provost for internationalization has been an add-on to someone’s existing portfolio. Although PSU did have a full time vice provost of international affairs prior to 2012, I chose to eliminate the position in response to faculty concerns that there were too many administrators and the need to make budget reductions. I added the duties to the former vice provost for budget and planning, Kevin Reynolds, and subsequently to Margaret.  We do not have the resources to fund a full time vice provost for international affairs. However, like Linda and me, a number of faculty, staff and students have expressed concern that we not lose momentum on our efforts.

Our progress is something to celebrate, but we have work ahead. We know that PSU needs to examine existing partnerships; to sunset ones that have never moved past the “let’s be friends” stage and to strengthen those that have potential to grow.  We need to establish new partnerships that have the potential to provide PSU faculty and students with rich international experiences and connections.  Lastly, we need to be more mindful and strategic in our efforts in recruiting and retaining international students.


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The Biology Interactome

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About a week ago, department chair, Jason Podrobsky, took me up on my annual offer to visit any department upon invitation.  A lively presentation was held in the Science Research Center Building, filled with Biology Department faculty. 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhOPC22b3SgJDPj9XfbVK9a85_tNozIpahgj9LZYHt_-eRhQhqubsTv36d6nCZDJpMR4nYkqEWIftwyxVA0X2w2twPx4UmgewOI_AXnclfIfjZzvwAjkDP31aFwtLMbzsL8WVYmFb2AFT/s1600/Slide2.JPGhttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GnRaUMQ7heMCzs0NFUvrdZ764yIK9rXrSA1xtwlzXMcT4hgdPe2kFkyWSzNAMPmLAM4NRgcryd2l0anQ9jEGx9iYWV5AH8z7F_lRCamdNIxh4g4ybitfy8ncCS0hBsNDWn-qNK3avbyO/s1600/Slide6.JPGJason started out with a basic question: How is Biology connected to other units across PSU?  

This was an intriguing topic for me given my blog post last month on complex systems and how we benefit from considering all of the relationships we have within the university.

Using DataMaster, a data warehouse solution used to run reports for strategic decisions and daily operations, and through the support of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, Jason had mined course data from fall 2014 enrollment and the SCH generation by Biology majors for the 2013/2014 academic year.

He created a set of interactive maps to examine student flow and relevant data. In the elaborate diagrams, you will see:
  •  Circles proportional to student FTE for colleges
  •  Number of majors for departments
  •  Lines directly proportional to the strength of the interaction
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliY-i1xuxuVGPHizXPxc3BpFk0wzQgbdRzwdvSS4XczPsqcn2HcMj9rQhHfgmaRFeWbt0bGEBk5WFCfMFIn304A6t1TKWhdrzSDy5FW0cZ94MoOUESBkYcGFvT1mLFxWoKCuLCFIh9niw/s1600/Slide3.JPG
Take Home Messages
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNr9kc-oyg7yo5w0pkO3vJwGdsQYEAWjQ3U3muTyQpoBgmcpqQXbi02sk2ayPYKFlPA4C4mvjF3t6sGAvg6RCXB2SJRQHDf9h7iVMTK2i0BGpUYS41EhU9kQFCZI3gPEsg3hJn2WANYvY/s1600/Slide4.JPGThe interactome-style maps clearly show that Biology serves a large number of majors and plays an important service role at PSU.  They are highly interconnected and several other colleges and units depend heavily on their courses. In addition, because Biology is of central importance to the STEM disciplines, a strong and healthy Biology department is critical to the development and sustainment of the STEM education system at PSU.


I applaud the Biology Department for creating interactive maps to understand how Biology is connected to other units across PSU. With the appropriate data available in DataMaster, and now with Educational Advisory Board Student Success Collaborative tools (described below) , departments can also explore these critical questions and use data for strategic decision making and student success.

What does your department’s interactome look like? Where are the connections for your majors and students taking your classes?



The EAB Student Success Collaborative (SSC) is a new tool for PSU.  It combines technology, research, process improvement, and predictive analytics to positively inflect outcomes with at-risk and off-path students. By accessing and analyzing underutilized academic data, we can unlock hidden insights about patterns of student success (and failure). These insights allow advisors, faculty, and retention specialists who sit on the front lines of student engagement to have earlier, more proactive, and more data-driven conversations with at-risk, but savable students. SSC members have access not only to an innovative web-based retention platform, but also to a collection of services—from peer benchmarking to live webinars to national student success summits—designed to facilitate cross-membership learning and maximize the value of participation.






Wednesday, December 03, 2014

How do we sustain and grow our sustainability efforts?

Sustainability has been part of PSU’s vision and strategic emphasis area since the 2005 adoption of the Declaration of Support for Sustainability. There are many of us, me included, who were not at Portland State when this declaration was made.  I suggest it is time for everyone to re-read (or read) the declaration.  It articulates a commitment that can only be realized if we work together.

A lot has taken place on sustainability at PSU that we can all be proud of.  Under Professor Jennifer Allen’s leadership, our Institute for Sustainable Solutions (ISS) has served as a hub for sustainability activities and actions.  ISS has a team of dedicated faculty, staff and students, but they cannot do this work alone.

Made possible by ISS support
ISS has been instrumental in the development of our Graduate Certificate in Sustainability, the Research to Action symposia, the Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative, and the Ecosystem Services for Urbanizing Regions Graduate Research Traineeship (IGERT). The ISS administers the 10-year, $25 million challenge grant made to the University by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in September 2008.  The 2013-14 Annual Report for Sustainability provides much more detail on the sustainability accomplishments of PSU.

The work ahead
PSU is seven years into a 10-year, $25 million challenge grant from the Miller Foundation.  We have developed a set of goals and initiatives that has become known as the Sustainability Playbook. The playbook is divided into six sections: Education and Curriculum, Student Experience and Engagement, Research, Community Engagement, Campus Operations, and Institutional Policies and Administration.

I think of the playbook as both a blueprint and a challenge.  A blueprint in that it outlines the strategic initiatives needed to follow through on PSU’s commitments on what it means to be an institution dedicated to sustainability.  A challenge in that it is a call to all of us to help move this work forward.  Although individual and groups of faculty, staff and students can make things happen, it will require all of us to make PSU an institution known for sustainability. 

Portland has a national and international reputation as a sustainable city.  It goes to follow that we would be its university known for sustainability.  I would like to challenge everyone on campus to take just one page out of the playbook and think about what you can do to advance PSU’s efforts in sustainability.

Feel free to share your thoughts about the playbook below.

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Academic Program Prioritization (APP) Moves Forward


On November 24, the Academic Program Prioritization Committee (APPC) held its first public forum. I was one of approximately 60 in attendance for a very informative 1.5 hour session.

“Portland State is conducting an APP (Academic Program Prioritization) process during the 2014-15 academic year as a way to take stock of the broad range of academic programs that our university offers. More specifically, the results of this process will be used to support well-informed, strategic planning for the purposes of program development and resource allocation and to help in identifying new opportunities and directions for the university. The goal is to build and share a greater understanding of who we are, what we do, and how we interact with and support one another through our diverse array of academic programs.” -- Academic Program Prioritization Committee

Mark Jones, Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the APPC, facilitated the session by: 
  • Providing an overview of the APP process  
  • Discussing and soliciting feedback on the draft proposals for Criteria, Metrics, and Questions that will be used. 
  • Discussing and soliciting feedback on the draft proposed list of academic programs that are included in the review.
  • Discussing initial plans for the scoring phase of the APP process, including a role for broader faculty involvement as members of the Program Scoring Teams (or PSTs).
There were great questions and comments – some from faculty who were just learning about APP and from faculty who have been following the work of the Faculty Senate and the APPC over this past year.  Mark and the other members of the APPC did a terrific job in responding to questions and listening to the concerns and input received.  I have no doubt that the conversation was helpful to  the APPC and those present in the audience.

Learning more about APPC:
There is a lot we can all learn about APP. On August 6th, I blogged about APP to share the preliminary work and to reiterate that this must be a faculty-driven process. It is an opportunity for our faculty to determine and make known the priorities for our academic program array.

You can follow the APPC work, including copies of the proposals and other documents at the APP website. 
You can also subscribe to the APPC discussion mailing list via the blog site. As of last week the appc-discuss@lists.pdx.edu had over 50 subscribers.

Next public forum:
The next public forum will be in January or February of 2015.  Details will likely be announced at the January Faculty Senate meeting (or shortly thereafter) and on the APPC blog.

Sy Adler, CUPA
Talya Bauer, SBA
Samuel Henry, GSE
Mark Jones, chair, MCECS
Karin Magaldi, COTA
John Rueter, CLAS
Lynn Santelmann, CLAS

Ex Officio:
Michael Bowman (in capacity of his Library faculty position, but there is also benefit in his role as chair of Faculty Senate Budget Committee) 
Steve Harmon, Provost Office
Kathi Ketcheson, OIRP

I know members of the APPC would love to hear from you. To send a message just to APPC members please use: pdxappc@gmail.com.