SACS Reaffirmation
| Objective | Breadth Of Knowledge | |
| That our English graduate students will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of English language and literature within theoretical contexts; will demonstrate a knowledge of the subject and structure of the discipline and the ability to link the subject with other selected disciplines; and will demonstrate the ability to articulate this understanding in a critical idiom befitting graduate-level studies. Associated Goals: Knowledge And Skills |
| Indicator | Classroom Certification In Five Course Blocks All English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have acquired a breadth of knowledge in the subject, have developed critical reading and writing skills appropriate to a graduate-level education in English, and are well-prepared for future professional endeavors by successfully passing classes across a range of five curriculum blocks. Each block comprises classes with shared topics or historical kinship. |
| Criteria | Classroom Certification in Five Course Blocks As demonstration of classroom certification, all students who earn an MA in English at Sam Houston State University during the assessment period will show completion of the five-block course requirement on their official transcripts. |
| Finding | Completion of Course Block Requirements Without exception, all students who took the MA in English during the assessment period showed completion of the five-block course requirement on their official final transcripts. The findings demonstrate that the English MA Program has met the standard established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | MA Exam Certification In Three Comprehensive Areas All English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have acquired a breadth of knowledge in the subject, have developed critical reading and writing skills appropriate to a graduate-level education in English, and are well-prepared for future professional endeavors by passing a rigorous comprehensive examination in three areas. Although students choose the three areas for examination from among thirteen comprehensive topics, one must be in American literature and one must be in British literature; one must be a literature area before 1800, and one must be a literature area after 1800. Students are allowed two attempts in passing the examination. A double-blind grading system is used, in which both the candidates who sit for the exam and the faculty readers are anonymous. |
| Criteria | Standard Pass Rate on Comprehensive Examination As demonstration that the English graduate program is successful in preparing students for the comprehensive examination, at least 90% of examination essays submitted during the assessment period will pass. |
| Finding | Comprehensive Examination Pass Rate In the fall of 2007 and spring and summer of 2008, fourteen students sat for the comprehensive examination in English. Collectively, they submitted forty-seven examination essays (this number includes seven retakes). Four of the forty-seven essays failed. The pass rate was 92%. The findings demonstrate that the English MA Program has met the standard of 90% established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | Preparation For Further Graduate Studies English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and body of knowledge for advanced graduate education in English (as for example, the PhD in literature, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric; or the MFA in creative writing). |
| Criteria | Placement in Advanced Degree Programs As demonstration that the English MA Program has successfully prepared its students for advanced graduate work, at least three students will enter advanced degree programs (PhD or MFA) during the assessment period. |
| Finding | Placement in Advanced Degree Programs By the end of the assessment period, three English graduate students had been accepted into PhD programs in literature, at the following institutions: University of Oklahoma (1), Miami University of Ohio (1), and Purdue University (1). Two students had been accepted into MFA programs, at the following institutions: University of Alaska-Anchorage (1) and Bowling Green University (1). The findings show that the English MA Program exceeded the goal established by the criterion. |
| Action | Advanced Graduate Study in English While the English MA Program exceeded its criteria for placement in advanced degree programs, in 2008-2009 it will continue to encourage qualified graduates to apply to PhD and MFA programs. The Graduate Director has also published information about further graduate study on the English graduate web pages. |
| Action | Biannual Comprehensive Examination Prep Sessions To help students prepare for the comprehensive examination, the Director of Graduate Studies in English annually conducts two preparation sessions, which provide MA candidates with information about preparing and sitting for the exam, with sample questions, and with sample responses across the range of fail, pass, and high pass essays. The Director has also published information about the exams on the graduate web site and has published a booklet on preparation for the exam. Because the biannual preparation sessions and published materials seem, in part, to be helping students pass the comprehensive examinations, the Director will continue with these activities during the 2008-2009 assessment period. |
| Action | Program Orientation and Degree Plan Reviews Given the uniform success in satisfying the course block criterion, the English MA Program will continue with its existing courses of action during the 2008-2009 assessment period: The Graduate Director in English will maintain detailed information about course block certification on line and in print. All new students will be required to attend an orientation session outlining the degree requirements, including those for the course blocks. Because the course blocks are a requirement for taking the English MA ,when a student applies for graduation, the Office of the Registrar will continue to send a copy of the student’s degree plan, which alerts her or him to any missing course block requirements. |
| Objective | Critical Thinking And Writing | |
| That our English graduate students will demonstrate their abilities as independent critical thinkers and writers, capable of employing effective sophisticated critical thinking skills in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of knowledge. Associated Goals: Knowledge And Skills |
| Indicator | Classroom Certification In Five Course Blocks All English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have acquired a breadth of knowledge in the subject, have developed critical reading and writing skills appropriate to a graduate-level education in English, and are well-prepared for future professional endeavors by successfully passing classes across a range of five curriculum blocks. Each block comprises classes with shared topics or historical kinship. |
| Criteria | Classroom Certification in Five Course Blocks As demonstration of classroom certification, all students who earn an MA in English at Sam Houston State University during the assessment period will show completion of the five-block course requirement on their official transcripts. |
| Finding | Completion of Course Block Requirements Without exception, all students who took the MA in English during the assessment period showed completion of the five-block course requirement on their official final transcripts. The findings demonstrate that the English MA Program has met the standard established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | Holistic Assessment Of Graduate Writing The English MA Program will demonstrate that the majority of its students are capable of sophisticated graduate-level thinking and writing about topics in English literature, language, and writing disciplines by undertaking an annual holistic review of graduate student writing. |
| Criteria | Holistic Standards for English Graduate Student Writing As demonstration that the majority of English graduate students are capable of sophisticated critical thinking and writing about topics in English literature, language, and writing disciplines, a holistic reading of graduate papers submitted during the assessment period will show that on a grading scale of 1 (unacceptable) to 4 (exemplary), at least 90% of students will write at a level of 3-4 (acceptable-exemplary). |
| Finding | Holistic Assessment of Graduate Student Writing On July 23, 2008, three members of the graduate English faculty holistically scored a randomly selected sample of seventeen essays written by students in graduate classes during the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008. These essays ranged in topic from literature to linguistics to rhetoric and composition. All seventeen essays demonstrated acceptable or excellent English graduate-level critical thinking and writing skills. The finding of 100% exceeds the goal of 90% established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | MA Exam Certification In Three Comprehensive Areas All English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have acquired a breadth of knowledge in the subject, have developed critical reading and writing skills appropriate to a graduate-level education in English, and are well-prepared for future professional endeavors by passing a rigorous comprehensive examination in three areas. Although students choose the three areas for examination from among thirteen comprehensive topics, one must be in American literature and one must be in British literature; one must be a literature area before 1800, and one must be a literature area after 1800. Students are allowed two attempts in passing the examination. A double-blind grading system is used, in which both the candidates who sit for the exam and the faculty readers are anonymous. |
| Criteria | Standard Pass Rate on Comprehensive Examination As demonstration that the English graduate program is successful in preparing students for the comprehensive examination, at least 90% of examination essays submitted during the assessment period will pass. |
| Finding | Comprehensive Examination Pass Rate In the fall of 2007 and spring and summer of 2008, fourteen students sat for the comprehensive examination in English. Collectively, they submitted forty-seven examination essays (this number includes seven retakes). Four of the forty-seven essays failed. The pass rate was 92%. The findings demonstrate that the English MA Program has met the standard of 90% established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | Preparation For Further Graduate Studies English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and body of knowledge for advanced graduate education in English (as for example, the PhD in literature, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric; or the MFA in creative writing). |
| Criteria | Placement in Advanced Degree Programs As demonstration that the English MA Program has successfully prepared its students for advanced graduate work, at least three students will enter advanced degree programs (PhD or MFA) during the assessment period. |
| Finding | Placement in Advanced Degree Programs By the end of the assessment period, three English graduate students had been accepted into PhD programs in literature, at the following institutions: University of Oklahoma (1), Miami University of Ohio (1), and Purdue University (1). Two students had been accepted into MFA programs, at the following institutions: University of Alaska-Anchorage (1) and Bowling Green University (1). The findings show that the English MA Program exceeded the goal established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | Professional Accomplishments English MA students will demonstrate that they either have become or are becoming active members of the profession of English language, literature, and writing disciplines by publishing in the field, presenting scholarly and creative works at professional conferences, and/or serving the profession in other ways (as, for example, membership and/or leadership in scholarly organizations, attendance at professional development seminars and workshops, sponsorship of professional activities, and development of teaching curricula). |
| Criteria | Professional Accomplishments As demonstration that English graduate students are becoming active participants in the profession of letters and language, at least four students will present conference papers or other scholarly or creative work at professional venues during the assessment period, and at least two students will submit for publication scholarly or creative work in a peer-reviewed publication over a period of two years. |
| Finding | Professional Accomplishments During the assessment period, twelve English graduate students presented scholarly work at regional and national professional conferences, including the South Central Writing Centers Association Conference; a comparative literature symposium at Texas Tech University, and the International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan. Several of these students presented work jointly as panelists. Two students presented more than one scholarly paper. And one student submitted a scholarly article for publication to The Cormac McCarthy Journal. The findings show that the English MA Program exceeded the goals for the assessment period. |
| Action | Advanced Graduate Study in English While the English MA Program exceeded its criteria for placement in advanced degree programs, in 2008-2009 it will continue to encourage qualified graduates to apply to PhD and MFA programs. The Graduate Director has also published information about further graduate study on the English graduate web pages. |
| Action | Biannual Comprehensive Examination Prep Sessions To help students prepare for the comprehensive examination, the Director of Graduate Studies in English annually conducts two preparation sessions, which provide MA candidates with information about preparing and sitting for the exam, with sample questions, and with sample responses across the range of fail, pass, and high pass essays. The Director has also published information about the exams on the graduate web site and has published a booklet on preparation for the exam. Because the biannual preparation sessions and published materials seem, in part, to be helping students pass the comprehensive examinations, the Director will continue with these activities during the 2008-2009 assessment period. |
| Action | Holistic Assessment of Graduate Writing The holistic assessment of graduate student writing found that 100% of students demonstrated acceptable or excellent English graduate-level critical thinking and writing skills. The English graduate faculty will continue the practice of holistic assessment in 2008-2009. |
| Action | Program Orientation and Degree Plan Reviews Given the uniform success in satisfying the course block criterion, the English MA Program will continue with its existing courses of action during the 2008-2009 assessment period: The Graduate Director in English will maintain detailed information about course block certification on line and in print. All new students will be required to attend an orientation session outlining the degree requirements, including those for the course blocks. Because the course blocks are a requirement for taking the English MA ,when a student applies for graduation, the Office of the Registrar will continue to send a copy of the student’s degree plan, which alerts her or him to any missing course block requirements. |
| Action | Scholarship and Professional Activities While the MA Program exceeded its criteria for professional accomplishments, in it will continue in 2008-2009 to encourage students to participate in professional activities such as scholarly and creative conferences and to encourage them to send work out for publication. The Graduate Director has also published information about conference activities and about graduate-level researching and writing on the English graduate web pages. |
| Objective | Preparation For Continued Graduate Education | |
| That the English MA Program will produce graduates who are well-prepared for further graduate education in English (as for example, the PhD in literature, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric; or the MFA in creative writing). Associated Goals: Professional Development |
| Indicator | Preparation For Further Graduate Studies English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and body of knowledge for advanced graduate education in English (as for example, the PhD in literature, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric; or the MFA in creative writing). |
| Criteria | Placement in Advanced Degree Programs As demonstration that the English MA Program has successfully prepared its students for advanced graduate work, at least three students will enter advanced degree programs (PhD or MFA) during the assessment period. |
| Finding | Placement in Advanced Degree Programs By the end of the assessment period, three English graduate students had been accepted into PhD programs in literature, at the following institutions: University of Oklahoma (1), Miami University of Ohio (1), and Purdue University (1). Two students had been accepted into MFA programs, at the following institutions: University of Alaska-Anchorage (1) and Bowling Green University (1). The findings show that the English MA Program exceeded the goal established by the criterion. |
| Indicator | Professional Accomplishments English MA students will demonstrate that they either have become or are becoming active members of the profession of English language, literature, and writing disciplines by publishing in the field, presenting scholarly and creative works at professional conferences, and/or serving the profession in other ways (as, for example, membership and/or leadership in scholarly organizations, attendance at professional development seminars and workshops, sponsorship of professional activities, and development of teaching curricula). |
| Criteria | Professional Accomplishments As demonstration that English graduate students are becoming active participants in the profession of letters and language, at least four students will present conference papers or other scholarly or creative work at professional venues during the assessment period, and at least two students will submit for publication scholarly or creative work in a peer-reviewed publication over a period of two years. |
| Finding | Professional Accomplishments During the assessment period, twelve English graduate students presented scholarly work at regional and national professional conferences, including the South Central Writing Centers Association Conference; a comparative literature symposium at Texas Tech University, and the International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan. Several of these students presented work jointly as panelists. Two students presented more than one scholarly paper. And one student submitted a scholarly article for publication to The Cormac McCarthy Journal. The findings show that the English MA Program exceeded the goals for the assessment period. |
| Action | Advanced Graduate Study in English While the English MA Program exceeded its criteria for placement in advanced degree programs, in 2008-2009 it will continue to encourage qualified graduates to apply to PhD and MFA programs. The Graduate Director has also published information about further graduate study on the English graduate web pages. |
| Action | Scholarship and Professional Activities While the MA Program exceeded its criteria for professional accomplishments, in it will continue in 2008-2009 to encourage students to participate in professional activities such as scholarly and creative conferences and to encourage them to send work out for publication. The Graduate Director has also published information about conference activities and about graduate-level researching and writing on the English graduate web pages. |
| Objective | Preparation For Other Professions | |
| That the English MA Program will produce graduates who are well-prepared to enter other professions requiring graduate-level training in English language and literature (writing professions, editing, and researching). Associated Goals: Professional Development |
| Indicator | Preparation For Other Professions Students will demonstrate that they have the requisite skills to obtain positions in other professions requiring graduate-level training in English language and literature (writing professions, editing, and researching). |
| Criteria | Placement in Other Professions As demonstration that the English MA Program has successfully prepared its students for the professions, at least one student or graduate during the assessment period will find a position that employs her or his graduate-level training in English (writing professions, editing, and researching). |
| Finding | Placement in Other Professions During the assessment period, one MA graduate reported accepting a position as a technical writer with a firm in California. The findings show that the English MA Program met the expectations established by the criterion. |
| Action | Information about Other Professions The English MA Program met the criterion for preparing students for other professions requiring specific graduate-level skills in English. While the Program does not provide a placement service for professions that employ graduate training in English, the Graduate Director has posted and will continue to maintain links on the English graduate web pages to professional placement sites during the 2008-2009 assessment period. |
| Objective | Preparation For Teaching | |
| That the English MA Program will produce graduates who are well-prepared to enter the profession of English as teachers in public junior colleges and enhance the knowledge and critical skills of those who teach in public and private secondary schools. Associated Goals: Professional Development |
| Indicator | Preparation For English Teaching English MA graduates will demonstrate that they have achieved the educational background, skills, and training necessary for public junior college teaching, enhanced public and private secondary teaching. |
| Criteria | Placement in English Teaching Positions As demonstration that the English MA Program has successfully prepared its students for English teaching, at least four MA graduates will secure positions as public junior college teachers or administrators and/or adjunct instructors at senior colleges during the assessment period. |
| Finding | Placement in English Teaching Positions During the assessment period, three graduates accepted teaching positions in public junior and community colleges, one of them serving also in an administrative capacity. One graduate was appointed as a permanent, non-tenure track instructor at The University of Houston-Downtown. Five graduates accepted positions as adjunct instructors at Sam Houston State University. The placement rates exceed those established by the criterion. |
| Action | Placement Leads for English Teaching The English MA Program exceeded the criterion for placing MA graduates in teaching positions. While the Program does not provide a placement service for teachers, in 2008-2009 the faculty will continue to communicate with administrators in public junior colleges and to send information about teaching positions to current graduate students and recent MA graduates. |
| Objective | Curriculum Review And Development | |
| That the English MA Program will continue to reviews its existing curriculum and to develop new graduate classes that reflect developments in the profession of English literature, language, and writing disciplines. Associated Goals: Program Development |
| Indicator | Review Of Existing Curriculum And Installation Of New Classes The English MA Program will demonstrate that it is both current in its course offerings and responsive to student curricular needs. |
| Criteria | Curriculum Review and Development As demonstration that the English MA Program is actively reviewing its graduate curriculum, the Graduate Studies Committee (comprising the Director of Graduate Studies in English and four other members of the graduate faculty) will periodically review the existing curriculum and, as appropriate, propose new courses in English language, literature, and writing disciplines. The Graduate Studies Committee will report its findings to the Chair of the Department of English and the collected graduate English faculty and will solicit suggestions for new graduate courses from the faculty. During this assessment period, the Graduate Studies Committee will also undertake a comparative review of the English MA Program with graduate programs at peer and aspiration institutions. Each member of the Graduate Studies Committee will compare a range of program features with those from three institutions, one in the state of Texas and two from out of state. The Graduate Director will report the Committee''s findings to the collected faculty. |
| Finding | Curriculum Review and Development During the assessment period, the Graduate Studies Committee undertook an extensive review of the English graduate curriculum and formulated a long-range plan for the English MA Program; the report of the review and the long-range plan are attached. During the assessment period, graduate English faculty proposed three new courses (one of them a significant revision of an existing class); a synopsis of the course proposals is attached. During the assessment period, the Graduate Studies Committee undertook a comparative study of the English MA Program with programs at peer and aspiration institutions; a report of the comparative study is attached. The extensive studies and reports satisfy the expectations for review established by the criterion. |
| Action | Curriculum Assessment and Development During the 2008-2009 assessment period, the Graduate Studies Committee will review the existing curriculum and, as appropriate, propose new courses in English language, literature, and writing disciplines. The Graduate Studies Committee will report its findings to the Chair of the Department of English and the collected graduate English faculty and will solicit suggestions for new graduate courses from the faculty. |
| Objective | Faculty Development | |
| That English graduate faculty will demonstrate their professional competency and credentials for teaching graduate courses and serving as models for students continuing their graduate education, entering the teaching profession, and entering other professions that require graduate-level training in English language and literature. Associated Goals: Program Development |
| Indicator | Faculty Accomplishments English graduate faculty will demonstrate that they are current in their fields and are qualified to teach graduate courses and to serve as models for students entering the profession. |
| Criteria | Faculty Accomplishments As demonstration that they are current in their fields and are qualified to teach graduate courses, all graduate English faculty will demonstrate that they are actively engaged in the profession by one or more of the following means: One article or significant creative work published in a peer-reviewed publication every three years; one book published by a recognized press every seven years; one conference presentation every two years; one significant editorial project every three years; a leadership role in a professional organization. As part of a newly initiated faculty research colloquium established to encourage scholarly and creative production, at least two graduate faculty members will present their work to the Department. |
| Finding | Faculty Accomplishments The professional accomplishments of graduate English faculty during the 2007-2008 assessment period are listed in an attachment. While one graduate faculty member has not reported activities, the criterion does not require annual production. The findings indicate, however, that almost all graduate faculty have satisfied the criteria, even in the narrower assessment year. In the spring of 2008, two English graduate faculty members presented work in the newly initiated faculty research colloquium, satisfying the expectations that at least two faculty members present their work during the assessment period. |
| Action | Faculty Accomplishments To encourage scholarly and creative production among our graduate faculty, the Department will continue the research colloquium series in which graduate faculty present scholarly and creative work in progress. Two or three faculty members will present their work every semester. |
| Objective | Student Recruitment | |
| That the English MA Program will continue to recruit qualified graduate students. Associated Goals: Program Development |
| Indicator | Student Recruitment The English MA Program will demonstrate its commitment to recruiting qualified graduate students by continuing to identify promising graduate prospects, advertising the program, and inviting qualified individuals to apply. |
| Criteria | Recruitment As demonstration that the English MA Program has been successful during the assessment period in its efforts to recruit qualified applicants, the number of graduate students accepted in regular admission status will increase from the previous academic year or at least remain equal to graduation rates. |
| Finding | Recruitment In the fall of 2006 and spring and summer of 2007, there was an average of 62 students in regular admission status at various stages in their degrees. In the fall of 2007 and spring and summer of 2008, there was an average of 56 students in regular admission status. This number shows a decrease of 9%, despite more vigorous recruiting actions taken during the assessment period. While the decrease may be due in part to a larger-than-usual number of students who graduated in the spring and summer of 2007 and the fall of 2008 and in part to a greater number of applicants who were accepted as probationary and conditional students, the findings show that the English MA Program has failed to meet the recruitment rate established by the criterion. |
| Action | Recruiting Efforts While the decrease in the average number of graduate students in regular admission may be due in part to a larger-than-usual number of graduations during the previous assessment period and a larger-than-usual number of students who were accepted in probationary and conditional status during the current period, this decrease requires that the Program step up its recruitment efforts. During the 2008-2009 assessment period, the Program will undertake the following actions: The Graduate Director will step up the actions undertaken during the previous assessment period (recruiting visits to upper-division classes, identification of students through the University’s “Project Graduation,” and mailings to promising prospects). The Graduate Director will consult with the Director of Marketing in the University Advancement Office for advice on recruitment. The Graduate Studies Committee will bring the recruitment problem before the collected graduate English faculty. |