The MAE has outstanding students and faculty who contribute meaningfully to the success of our program. Our program is highly regarded in the state and our students are well-prepared to stay in the field. We enjoy a camaraderie with colleagues throughout different departments at Truman State University and have MAE faculty involvement with the undergraduate programs by offering institution-required courses such as Writing -Enhanced and Junior Interdisciplinary Seminars, teaching in undergraduate minors, serving on committees (e.g., Undergraduate Council and Faculty Senate), and supporting undergraduate research.
Well-qualified Faculty and Staff
Our Education Department is staffed with high quality faculty, staff, GTRAs, and student workers. A chart detailing the qualifications of faculty is available in Appendix C. Faculty possess expertise in a wide range of fields and multiple faculty can teach multiple courses in the MAE. Typically, secondary and K-12 faculty work in their primary discipline, which contributes to their content expertise. The MAE math and science faculty member, Dr. Pareja, has a half time appointment in Biology and a half time appointment in Education. For secondary and K-12 MAE faculty, they have releases from content courses to teach MAE courses required for their discipline. The MAE is unique because our program is embedded in and reliant on courses/departments across campus. Other university colleagues with content expertise teach required certification courses for the MAE such as ENG 415 Children’s Literature for the elementary and special education MAE programs.
Several key staff members support the work of our department. Our Certification Analyst/Assessment Coordinator works full-time and is responsible for all certification for our preservice teachers and assists our completers as needed, as well as advising transfer students. Our Field Experience Director coordinates all of the clinical placements of our students and is absolutely instrumental in our social media, Hooding Ceremony, and relationships with our stakeholders. The MAE also has a designated Office Assistant who works 32 hours a week. Our most recent assistant left for another job in Kirksville and we have been given permission to hire a new assistant.
Lance Ratcliff, Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Education, is housed in Violette Hall near the MAE Department and is an important supporter of the MAE Program. The Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC) is in Violette Hall near the MAE Department.
Fiscal Support
Fiscal support is sufficient to maintain program quality. The MAE budget was $67,498.00 in 2019 and 2020. We were not using all of our funds when COVID came and our supervision became more frequently online vs. face to face so our budget was adjusted in 2021 to 52,498.00. Funding for the other programs in the School of Health Sciences and Education (Nursing, Health and Exercise Science, Communication Disorders) is comparable to the MAE program. There are additional funds in Foundation money that we can access. For example, the MAE program hosts a Homecoming Event and we order food and prizes for alumni supported by the Foundation money.
The budget request process is the same for all departments. All departments have a Department Chair and a Dean. Starting salaries for all departments are determined through a faculty compensation committee with national norms and Human Resource data. The University is trying to get at 80-85% of the median for each field. There is a defined process for adjunct compensation, which is true across the board, tenure and promotion and review guidelines are published and shared with faculty, faculty governance–education has a seat on Faculty Senate and Graduate Council and Undergraduate Council. All departments at Truman are required to complete five-year reviews for the Faculty Senate.
We have a budget of $32,000 to hire GTRAs to assist the Education Department. The GTRAs have been instrumental in supporting our research (e.g., social justice rubric, completer surveys, professional disposition), teaching INDV 110, conducting outreach with our community (e.g., Ozobots, TSU Art Gallery exhibits, Engineering is Elementary), and participating in recruitment and retention.
We have had two faculty members retire recently and have gotten permission to hire replacements for both–English MAE and Elementary MAE. Further, we have permission to hire an MAE Elementary colleague who will have a Spring/Summer contract rather than the traditional Fall/Spring, because that suits our program better. We are also requesting to hire an advisor for the MAE programs soon and anticipate that we will have support to hire someone.
Availability of Resources to Support the Program
All faculty, staff, and GTRAs have individual offices in which to work. Most faculty teach in the buildings where they have an office. In addition, all faculty have personal computers, access to printers/copiers, and can receive headsets and microphones for teaching. Faculty are supported for travel to supervise interns and we have state cars available if needed. Although faculty are traveling less, we have dedicated funds for professional development, which includes professional development for our secondary and K-12 faculty who might have professional development obligations with their home departments and MAE professional development interests regarding the teaching profession.
In addition, we have institutional resources such as a Writing Center, Wellness program, Center for Academic Excellence, Counseling Services, IT Help Desk and a dedicated IT colleague for Violette Hall, Office of Student Access and Disability Services, RPDC, Speech/Hearing Clinic, and Academic Professional Development Center. The library has a dedicated librarian to work with education students and faculty. They are willing to purchase resources that we need. The library has a green screen for filming and a light board for lectures. We have an instructional designer who provides professional development as needed. Most recently, she is teaching faculty how to use Ally on Blackboard to increase our accessibility of content for students with disabilities. She provided everyone with Zoom pro accounts who needed them. All buildings have Wifi and there is a VPN to connect at home. Our instructional designer worked with MAE faculty to create a tech space in VH1304 that met our technology goals as a department.
There is a focus on wellness at TSU and we have several services such as Student of Concern, anytime warning notifications, and kudos for students who are exceeding expectations. Wellness is included in university advising rubrics. Further, since our last national review, Truman has participated in the JED Foundation national program.
Other
Truman State University’s MAE program is small enough that faculty know cohorts of students well. We consistently receive and review feedback from students and act upon their requests when it is possible. Examples include:
- Transfer students explained that they did not have as smooth a transition to Truman as they would have liked. We collected data from the transfer students in 2019; among other things, they indicated a desire to participate in a coffee or luncheon with the Department Chair. The Department Chair provided a lunch and an orientation to the program for transfer students each semester, which supported their transition to Truman. GTRAs send emails to transfer students inviting them to specific Department events so that they can get to know people and attend as a group.
- The Living Learning Community began based upon requests from students who wanted to have undergraduate experiences with other pre-MAE students. Missouri Hall has a designated wing for the MAE LLC.
- The ESOL add-on certification was started because of students’ interests. Currently, there are 34 advisees seeking this particular certification.
- We bought a Keurig machine upon the request of a GTRA who was providing tutoring for LLC students. At our work tables in Violette Hall Education wing, we provide food for students after learning some of them were experiencing food insecurity. Truman has a food pantry too.
- Many of the graduate courses are held at night so that students have the opportunity to substitute teach during the day.
- Based upon requests, we created a Hooding Ceremony for our graduates that has become institutionalized quickly. December graduates attend the Hooding prior to the graduation later that day. May graduates have the Hooding the night before graduation.
- A faculty member connected with alumni and teachers who were getting ready to retire to create a free teacher store in Violette Hall. Students can come and get supplies as needed for their placements and retired teachers are thrilled to have their materials have a second life.
- The MAE faculty carefully consider textbook costs and fees to keep those as low as possible for students by providing copies of texts, using free resources, utilizing the library reserves, and other means.
- The MAE faculty are all advisors and we meet with pre-MAE students and MAE students each semester if at all possible to discuss their plans.
- We have created a professional development series for current students and completers based upon the interns’ professional development plans.
We have multiple scholarships, grants, and awards for MAE students including a Kay Clapp Literacy Award, which honors a current elementary MAE student and a NEMO teacher who shows excellence in literacy. Both awardees are given $500 for their classroom libraries. We review Truman Foundation scholarship applications every semester in the process of awarding internal monies to MAE or MAE-bound students. One member of this committee has life-long ties to the institution, and personally knew many of the individuals these scholarships memorialize. In 2021-2022, $34,400 was awarded as scholarships for education students. The NOYCE grant provided funding to increase the number of STEM completers. In addition to supporting our current MAE students, Dr. Sarah Berke and Dr. Wendy Miner have applied and received grants for NEMO teachers to have STEM training through Missouri Career Pathways.
Provision of Support Services to All Candidates on an Equitable Basis
As mentioned previously, all students have 24-hour access to counseling services. The Writing Center has virtual appointments as well as face-to-face. The Recreation Center has in-person classes as well as online pre-recorded content. The Health Center is available to students on campus for appointments. We have a Title IX and compliance officer who is housed in Violette Hall. Tutoring services are available online or face-to-face depending on the program. The campus bookstore has books and materials for students. There are multiple student organizations available at the undergraduate level (nearly 240) and some of those include educational ones (SMSTA, SNEA, Elementary Education Club). All education students enroll in a Blackboard course in ED 388 that provides them with employment opportunities in addition to information about how to substitute teach and apply for internships.
If students have a concern about courses or the program, they can submit an evaluation at the end of the semester, which is reviewed by faculty and the Department Chair. Students can speak directly to the Department Chair of Education or the Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Education. In addition, students can report directly to the Title IX office and/or the Academic Affairs Office.