Executive Summary of Program Assessment

Campus: MU

College/School: School of Natural Resources

Academic Unit: Natural Resources

Date Submitted: 9/6/13

Person Responsible for Success of Program: Mark Ryan, Director SNR

Person Submitted Executive Summary:

Patricia Okker, Faculty Fellow for Program Assessment and Accreditation, Office of the Provost

Degree Programs

Degree (e.g., BS, MA, PhD) / Degree Program / Enrollment / Number of Degrees Awarded
Most Recent Fall Semester
(Fall 2012) / 5-Year Fall Semester Average / Most Recent Academic Year
(Fall 2012) / 5-Year Average
MNR / Natural Resources / 1 / 1.8 / 0 / 0.6

Changes Since Last Review (2007)

·  Creation of Sport Management Emphasis within Parks, Recreation & Tourism, leading to very significant growth in that department.

·  Significant growth in undergraduate enrollment, student credit hours, and number of majors throughout SNR, including the following: increase of more than 400% of number of majors in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; increase of 117% of student credit hours in Parks, Recreation & Tourism, 27% in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences, 247% in Forestry, and 27% in Soil, Environmental & Atmospheric Science. Overall, the School has nearly doubled in total student enrollment since 2007.

·  Significant increase in student diversity: student diversity in SNR increased from about 4% in 2007 to over 12% in Fall 2012.

·  Consolidation of graduate degree programs: 5 MS degrees and 3 PhD degrees consolidated into one MS degree and one PhD degree, both in Natural Resources.

·  Increase in research productivity: from about 2.8 peer-refereed publications per tenure-track faculty members in 2005 to an average of about 4.7 in 2010-2012.

Strategies or Plans for Improving Program

·  Complete implementation of new graduate degree structure.

·  Refocus Environmental Studies (currently as interdisciplinary degree in College of Arts and Science) as Environmental Policy within the School of Natural Resources, drawing on affiliated faculty from diverse disciplines across campus.

·  Increase SNR engagement with honors (both campus and divisional).

·  Increase interdisciplinary research.

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